I miss my bicycles

I stare at them sitting in my basement as I work on the house. They call out to me, begging to be ridden. Tires so low on air you’d think they have been sitting all winter, dust on the top tubes. Oh the sadness.

I rode my mountain bike a total of 3 times this summer. My road bike probably 10 times. That is just plain god awful. I can make excuses all day about how I was working on the house, working, drinking too much beer, but I really regret not riding more. I’ve had a bum knee for about a year and a half now(Thank you 24 solo races) and it still bothers me enough to keep me from racing, but I can at least ride here and there. Damn, I miss riding a bicycle. When I’m on a bike I truly feel free from everything. I don’t think about anything going on in my life besides riding.

I’m most happy when I’m on my mountain bike. Oh the sexiness that is my 2006 Specialized S-works carbon hardtail. Tricked out and made for speed. Thats right I’m still on a hardtail. My dad always looks at me funny after I finish a race. I usually throw the bike to the ground because I can barely stand up do to ridiculous back pain. Thats OK, a small price to pay for simplicity I think. The excitement and even a little fear that I might get hurt today. Its all good though once I hit the trail. Barreling into that corner pushing the limits of my tires. Riding down some gnarly descent that once I hit the bottom I think “damn” that was cool. Getting away from the stress that is everyday life. Not having to deal with idiotic drivers, loud annoying people on their stupid walkie talkie phones, bills. No, the only issues I have are dealing with a deer passing by, hearing birds chirp away, or figuring out if I should take this line or that.

I’ve developed more love for the road bike over the past few years. More so after I installed Campagnolo parts. My lord those levers are damn comfy. I tell myself that at the beginning of every road ride. COMFORTABLE. I’ve got big plans for my road bike next summer. After moving stores and getting the most excellent opportunity to build and ride a Seven road bikes with regularity, I WANT ONE. Oh in the worst way. I think for what I do on my road bike its the perfect fit and can’t wait to go ape shit with my check book and build up a really cool bike. I really can’t wait for the 2010 riding season. And god willing, doing some racing.

 

 

SBCU 2009

2009 S-Works Epic

I recently returned from my latest trip for work. I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to take a yearly trip with my fellow service managers at Eriks. The past two years we went out to Colorado Springs for Sram’s STU(Sram Technical University). Last year plus STU we got to partake in the Bill Woodul Race mechanics clinic. For someone that wants to be a race mechanic this is the first step. This year we got to go out to Specialized Bikes for their SBCU program. This past October they added a technical clinic to their list of classes. Specialized Technical Masters Course. I have never been to California before so I was pretty stoked to spend part of my winter in a warm climate for the first time in my life. Specialized has a beautiful facility. Very well kept. Top notch. The tech clinic was roughly 4 days. The first day was a lot of Theory. Explanations on carbon fiber, integrated suspension and its advantages, spring rates, and rider experience. The second and third days were in the lab. We briefly looked at Roval wheels. The new Command Post. Then we dove into suspension. The rest of the second day was pulling apart the rear AFR shocks. The third day was all forks. We pulled apart the E150 fork, and the E100 Future Shock fork. All in all, the course was very good. However I could tell it is still in its early stages, and it can only get better. Brennan Marquez did a great job. We got to meet the engineers behind the front and rear shocks. Even the well known Mike “Mic” McAndrews. A pioneer in the suspension world who helped invent the BRAIN shock on Specialized bikes. The last day was spent out on the trail testing out the suspension and seeing how it performs in different conditions.

   The weather out there was perfect. I think we were in the 60’s all week. I guess it had been raining a ton there the past week and some of us were worried we weren’t going to get to ride. I rained overnight most nights, but was dry during the day. Luckily we were able to ride that last day. And it was an epic ride. THE best mt. bike ride of my life. I rode the 2009 S-Works Epic. It was outfitted with the Fast Trak LK(low knob) tires. I was a bit concerned with this because of the muddy conditions we were hearing about, plus “AT” the rear shock engineer looked at my tires and gave me a funny look. Uh Oh, I thought. The bike was flawless. Climbs like a banshee. As fast if not faster then my S-Works Carbon hardtail. The tires were the most surprising. No issues at all. And it was MUDDY. Ya see, we Minnesotans don’t get the opportunity to ride in the mud because our trails close if there is the slightest hint of mud. We took full advantage. It was some of the gnarliest shit I’ve ever ridden on. I followed a guys line who was riding an S-Works Enduro down a really aggressive, steep rocky section. I’m sure I had that “OH SHIT” look on my face. But the bike came through with flying colors. A great 3+ hours of riding had us all spent. Some frosty Sierra Nevada Pale Ales, then pizza was a great way to end our week out there. 

   As much as I love these trips and am grateful for them, every year I debate on going. I don’t like flying. No, there are parts of flying I don’t like. You always hear that you’re more likely to die in a car accident then a plane crash. Thats just by the numbers. Take a car crash vs. a plane crash. Thats how I look at it. Secondly I hate turbulence. Can’t stand it. On our way back we hit some wicked shit over the Rocky Mountains. Worst I’ve ever experienced. I prefer window seats, but looking at that wing flop all over the place, while the plane is swaying back and forth and changing altitudes makes me feel like the pilot has no control. Taking off and landing are pretty cool. Gimme just that, and put me out for the rest of it. The whole time this is going on this guy sitting behind me is snoring his ass off. How? Not sure, maybe he’s got some good drugs. We’ll see what happens next year. Maybe I won’t go?  I tell this myself every year, and end up going. It was pretty cool to be laying in green grass one moment, then just 4 hours later walking in 8 degree weather and fresh POW. Oh yes, and In-N-Out Burger is worth all the hype. 

 

Cycling industry trends

It is quite an interesting time to be working in the cycling industry. Technology rules all and with that new products seem to come out every other day. This years top item will likely be fazed out in a year or two. Its becoming harder and harder to keep up with things. Its almost as if you need to spend every free minute of your time scouring the internet to read up on new products. Our biggest parts distributor’s current catalog is a whopping 1600 pages! Thats not including the new products they will see weekly throughout the year. There are sometimes 20-30 different options for one part or accessory. Do I need bar tape from 20 or so different manufacturers each with numerous styles to choose from? How many choices for BMX chain wheels does a kid really need? Chains! Cripes, the options for chains are crazy. Something else that I’ve noticed that bugs me are the prices on some of these items. I was perusing through our new 2009 parts catalog and some prices really came out at me. How about $400 for a Bottom Bracket. Two cups, two bearings with a weight range probably around 60-100 grams for $400! How about cranksets that are now pricing up to $1500. For two crank arms and a chain ring. $10,000 complete bikes, $160 set of derailleur pulleys, $450 derailleurs and so on. Even mid level prices have shot up. You could blame rise in prices for raw materials. You could blame the cost of researching and designing these products. Whatever the cause, I guess there’s still some crazy bastards that don’t have the luxury of being sponsored that can afford these things.  I struggle myself keeping up with my bikes and their parts even with a discount.  I often ask myself why a company comes out with a product that for most riders would break the bank. Does the performance and reliability out gain the price? Am I going to notice the extra $100 I spent on that rear derailleur? I think in most cases thats a no. When it comes to a part I pick out for my bike the first thing I consider is longevity. I like my parts to last a long time. I take care of them well, and keep tabs on them. Why fix it if it ‘aint broke right? And with the eye gauging prices I saw coming for 2009 I’m glad I abide by this. 

Another trend I see sprouting up around the industry is companies creating their own integrated designs on parts. New “standards” from different frame manufacturers. Everyone is now coming out with their own proprietary headtube sizes, bottom bracket sizes, suspension products, on and on. I guess Cannondale really was on to something years ago when they started their SI designs.  I know this is a business and everyone is working on the next best thing. Come ride our product. Companies will say that the system as a whole works better. I’ve always been skeptical of this approach with bikes, even in my early days of wrenching learning what SI stood for. One thing I don’t like about this is the customer is usually limited to one option for that area. If I’m gonna spend well over $3000 for a bike, those are some critical areas that I would want so free reign as to what I want. I feel like its a way of the company to force the customer into spending more money through them. What if some company comes out with some new groundbreaking suspension design or a new type of crankset? Should I have to get an entire new bike to ride it? I don’t think so. Am I too bold to say its creating a monopoly over everyone else? Not entirely, but who’s to stop it? I guess in a way I wish things were more simplistic. Things seem to be getting more complicated. I can’t imagine how hard it must be for people that don’t work in the industry to keep up. I’ve had people ask me “Why are you still riding that bike?” or “You really should go full suspension, hardtails are dead”. Why not? I like what I ride, and it still works great. Besides, I can’t afford an entire new bike these days.

 

The dreaded “creak”

  Being a bike mechanic there’s nothing I hate more then that bike that rolls in and the customer says “my bikes creaking”. “Ok, where is it coming from?” “I dunno.” What follows are a series of questions directed at the customer to help pin point where it is coming from. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t. The most common creaks are the ones that come from the bottom bracket area. I guess you could say its the most common for a number of reasons. That area is under a lot of load while riding. It can be exposed to a lot of crud. Water, dirt, energy drinks, other sugary substances.  I’m working on one in the shop right now that I can’t figure out. Both my bikes have one. The mountain bike has one coming from the bottom bracket area that I’ve yet to solve all summer. My road bike, recently equipped with Campagnolo Centaur 10-Speed developed one in the bottom bracket too! That one I also am yet to solve, although this post from The Rogue Mechanic might have helped me solve that one  #mce_temp_url#    The best way to eliminate these annoying sounds is by process of elimination. Start with the small things, then dig in deeper. It might be as simple as removing and re-greasing the pedals. Or it might be as in depth and time consuming as removing and cleaning chainring bolts, a bottom bracket overhaul, and a bottom bracket tapping and facing. The thing I hate though is the one you can’t get rid of. The one that you spend all day on. It laughs at you as you try everything you can think of, but he’s still there. You think you’ve got it solved, take the bike out for the umpteenth time and there he is. Creeeeeeeak. BALLS. Still there.  Free time does not exist in my shop in the summertime. And the last thing I want to do is spend an entire day trying to solve one silly sound.

     Its not like you can just say to the owner of the bike “just deal with it.” A creak can take away the sole purpose of that ride. The chance to get out on the country road away from all the chaos that is the city. Just you and the pavement. Cruising down the road with the wind in your ears. Nothing but thinking about what cold beer you are going to crack when you get home. Lager or Ale? Or what’s the post ride meal? Chicken or Steak? Do women think men in spandex are hot? Creeeeeeak. First it starts happening intermittently. You don’t think anything of it. Then it gets worse. Increasing with each pedal stroke. Now its constant. Non-stop. That single noise can drive a cyclist crazy. Your train of thought is gone. All you can think about is that wretched creak. The ride is now ruined. You curse the bastard who put the bike together(In my case I’m cursing myself) full well knowing that the problem is not mechanical error but your emotions are high, and thats the first thing that comes to mind. The last thing a person wants on his or her ride is a nagging noise. Thats where I come in. Its just sometimes those nagging noises that cause all that trouble on the ride, also can cause all sorts of trouble in the shop. If it was just as easy as the father in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” says. “Just put some windex on it”.

 

Commuter deaths on the rise

If you go by percentages Minneapolis is the second most popular city in the U.S. for bicycle commuters. This is great, I myself hope to start doing more of this. But it has come with a price.  This year there have been nine commuter deaths. All of last year there were four. Commuting in Minneapolis is on the rise, and you could blame that for the spike in deaths. Being a hardcore cyclist for 10+ years and having spent 2+ years in Uptown, a hotbed for bikers, I can see where the problem lies. You can blame both parties for the problems we see occuring.

Drivers around town don’t give cyclists respect for the road. A lot still drive with the mindset that cyclists are not allowed on roads. They honk at us and yell at us to get off the road. This, is wrong. In a city like Minneapolis, its actually illegal to ride your bike on the sidewalk.  I can count so many times where I’m riding on the shoulder of a road, minding my own business and I get honked at, yelled at, flipped off, and the occasional object thrown my direction. Water balloons, bottles, you name it. Another favorite of mine is when I am riding up to street and the car behind me speeds up, cuts me off to take a right, causing me to slam on the brakes, curse the bastard for doing so, then thanking the company that made my brake calipers. You know they are thinking “oh cripes, I don’t want to wait for this clown”. So instead, you floor it, then suddenly brake. Pu-leeease. You can’t wait a few extra seconds to make that turn. Are you in that big of a rush? Drivers are supposed to give cyclists three feet of clearance between them and the rider. Now, in some cases this is impossible, but I’ve been buzzed many times by cars when they had plenty of room to move over. Sometimes, as they pass by they will add the revving up the engine that scares the shit out of you and almost makes you fall over. 

Bikers are just as much to blame as drivers. If not the worst of the two. I’m gonna be honest on this. Bikers in Uptown, and downtown Minneapolis are some of the worst. As an avid cyclist myself I cringe at some of the things that go on. I can’t count how many times I see a biker blow right through a stoplight. Although there is occasion where they will slow down and check for cars, but still blow through the light. Thanks guys. What about hand signals? Good lord, would it kill someone to use a hand signal. I love the look back they give you while you are coming up behind them, like you know what they are thinking, then all of the sudden jet across the lane to make that turn. Its a good game of cat and mouse. The use of lights. Lights and reflectors are required at night. I have had so many instances where I’m driving down a back road in Uptown and some clown comes out of nowhere. Why? Because I can’t see him. Not a single reflector or light on them. I especially love it when they start yelling at me for not seeing them. 

Don’t get me wrong. There are plenty of law abiding drivers and cyclists in this city. Sadly, I think the bad apples out number the good ones. We’ve made a lot of strides to make commuting around the cities easier and more enjoyable for cyclists. The Mid-Town Greenway for example. Or the numerous biker “lanes” in the road. Those things make the experience for drivers and riders more enjoyable and less hazerdous. I fear, that if we continue to abuse our freedoms its going to get tougher and tougher to promote commuting. People need to wise up, and start paying attention. How many deaths is it going to take?

 

Wheel building

    Ah the bicycle wheel. Such a cool and simple machine. You take a rim that isn’t laced up to a hub, and its pretty easy to bend it in half. But you put some spokes in there, bring it up to tension, and that thing can take a hell of a lot abuse. Of all the things there are to do when it comes to wrenching on bikes, building wheels is by far my favorite thing to do. 

     The wheel is one of the most important parts on a bicycle. You could say #1. The advances that wheel manufacturers have made the past 10 years is quite astounding. From road wheels that are as light as a feather, yet are stiff as hell and climb like a banshee, to mountain bike wheels that take insane amounts of abuse yet manage to stay relatively true. Thats all good, but there is nothing like a traditionally laced, handbuilt wheel. My years of experience building wheels is at about 2 1/2. I’ve built maybe a dozen wheels in my time, but my latest project will really show how I’ve been doing. A customer of ours is doing a coast to coast bike trip next summer. He came in a few times, and and spent a lot of time perusing through the QBP book seeing if there is anything that would work. They didn’t really have any wheels from their wheelhouse to suite his needs.  He did some brainstorming and wanted to have me build a wheelset. He decided to get the Phil Wood Touring hubset. A good choice for riding thousands of miles with a lot of luggage. I told him the Velocity Dyad would be a great rim. Those Australians can make a good product. AC/DC, Wolfmother, Velocity bicycle components.  DT Swiss Double Butted 2.0/1.8 spokes would accommodate those rims and hubs quite nicely. A 36 hole, 3X wheelset. 

    I know 3 ways to lace up a wheel. I know there are more, but I’ve only known 3. There’s my way, which I was taught by my old service manager. I can’t explain it to someone else, its all upstairs in my head, and seems to work out each time. Although I have had a couple times where I’ve had to lace the wheel a couple of times to get it right.  The Barnett’s way, which I’ve never done, but from what I’ve heard works great. I think it takes a little longer, because it uses a way of marking each hole in the rim with a number and letter. The latest way I’ve been lacing wheels is the “Schraner” way. I purchased the book “The Art of Wheelbuilding” written by Gerd Schraner about a year ago. His method is quite unique. You lace one side of the wheel first. Then do the other side. I have now done 3 wheels using this method, and so far it is my favorite. Its easy, and it makes sense. He goes into detail as to why he has his “braking” spokes going one way, and his “pulling” spokes go another way. I now consider the Schraner Way my way.  I got these bad boys laced up and tensioned yesterday and they look great. This will really be a test to see how well a wheel built by myself will hold up. I’m confident it will. A good mechanic should have wheel building in his repertoire. Not just because of the fact that you can build wheels, but wheel building helps you understand how wheels work. Why are you blowing through spokes down at the hub? Why do your spokes keep coming loose? Whats the purpose of radially laced wheels?

   There are a lot of crappy wheels out there and I’m amazed more don’t just fail while someone is riding them. I blame machines, and no name spokes. If you are not using either DT Swiss or Wheelsmith spokes, you should consider those spokes inferior and nowhere near the quality of these two. Its sad some well known manufacturers opt out of using quality spokes. I’ve seen first hand when a wheel is machine built, with no name spokes, and is not hand tensioned. Its not good. The last year or so I’ve built more wheels then I have my entire life. I’m still a youngling when it comes to wheel building experience, but I will say I believe I build a good quality wheel, and will stand up to many miles. I only hope to get more chances here at the shop building wheels, and continue to learn more about them.

 

bahy-si-kuhl

Bicycle, as it is stated in the dictionary is “a vehicle with two wheels in tandem, usually propelled by pedals connected to the rear wheel by a chain, and having handlebars for steering and a saddlelike seat”. I think there are two people to thank for giving us such a cool toy. First the Mesopotamian’s for inventing the wheel sometime around 3500BC. And Baron Karl von Drais in 1816 for putting two wheels on a frame with a steering column and a saddle. It was called a Draisienne. Look where we are today with them. Superlight bikes with carbon, titanium, and in some extreme cases bamboo and wood. Suspension technologies, that back then would have sounded ludarcis. And in a time where oil shortages seem inevitable, a renewed respect for what this machine can do for us. Not being able to ride one since last August has made me appreciate it even more. I’ve had a problem with my knee that won’t allow me to pedal. Thanks to a 24 hour mountain bike race for that one. I haven’t been able to get it fixed yet. Some unfortunate financial situations have put that fix on hold. It pains me to hear about guys outside riding, or inside on the trainer getting ready for the upcoming season. Einstein was quoted in saying “I thought of that while riding my bike.” He was referring to his theory of relativity. There are so many ways to get out and enjoy riding. You can spend a Saturday doing a century road ride with some buddies, take all day out in the sun, see the sights. You could shred the gnar out on your mountain bike, hucking off jumps, down drops, and epic singletrack. Getting together on a Sunday afternoon with your fellow cyclists, and racing your ass off for two hours or so. You could spend the day out at the jumps with your bmx bike. You could go out and just take a nice stroll down the greenway on your cross bike. It could be a nice urban ride touring different bars. Or you could just use it to get to the store. There are endless ways to enjoy cycling. If I were to pick a favorite way to ride a bike, it would have to be an all day epic on my mountain bike, some beers, good company, and sunshine.

However, my #1 favorite thing about bicycles is the mechanics side of it. How does this machine work? Bicycles, unlike automobiles are fully exposed. You can see how the entire mechanism works without having to lift a hood. The other night I was griping about how busy it gets in the shop and someone asked me “Andy, why don’t you get a job that isn’t so stressful?” I said, “because there is nothing better then the satisfaction I get when you fix a customers bike, and get a thank you, a smile, and one time a tear, for fixing their bike.” I have two favorite repairs from last summer. The first was a women who brought in(and I’m saddened I don’t have a picture and can’t remember the manufacturer.) an old custom made Italian frame with old Campy Record on it. It was pretty worn out. Old sew up wheels, worn out parts, and very dusty. We rebuilt the wheels, replaced parts, and made the bike look like new. When she came in to pick it up, she was speechless. She told me she could start crying. Crying!! Over a bike. That was awesome. She was going to let her daughter ride it around town. The second bike was an old Raleigh Chopper. Think of an old Schwinn Sting Ray. Thats what this looked like. It was a wreck. Suicide shifter broken, tires worn out, cables shot, wheels out of true, all the chrome was rusted over, everything out of adjustment. Customer said money is not an issue, so I went to town. Fixed the shifter, new tires, cables, cleaned and polished the chrome. The whole shebang. Customer came in and was stoked. He wanted his boys to experience this bike like he did when he was a kid. There is a picture of me on this bike somewhere, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to attain it. There were many other cool repairs we did last year, but those two stick out because of how happy the customer was to see their 35 year old bikes looking brand new. I can’t wait to see what transpires this coming cycling season.

Bicycles are cool and storied machines that will continue to evolve, and I plan on being there every step of the way. Here’s to bikes. Cheers!!

 

Lust…..

Feast you’re eyes on the 2008 Rock Shox SID. 2008 marks the 10th anniversary for the SID design. SID stands for Superlight Integrated Design. Totally revamped design for ‘08. It was very much needed. Some upgrades from the older SID(sometimes known as Squid) are as follows.
1: 32mm stanchions(improved from the older 28mm upper tubes). This will increase the rigidity a ton.
2: The lower legs are equipped with what are called “power bulges” to increase stiffness even more
3: Scaled down guts. The damper assembly and dual air assembly are you could say shrunk from the old style. The lower legs are now hollow allowing the fork to save weight(think Marzocchi forks)
4. No more carbon crown/steerer. Back to good old aluminum. Its a forged crown.
5. Its still using the always dependable Dual Air spring assembly which has been its motto over the years.
6. Black Box motion control damper. It comes with a titanium spring and a few carbon control knobs.
7. Claims to be lighter yet stiffer then is counterpart the Rock Shox Reba.
8. The baby blue is BACK!!!
I have been running SID forks for over 6 years now. I was planning on getting a new fork next spring. Initially I wanted to get a Reba. I like the SID but my biggest gripe with it was how flexy it really was. As my riding style has progressed over the years I’ve noticed it more and more. I wanted a new fork that still will be much stiffer, yet lightweight being that most of my mt. biking on the new hardtail is cross-country oriented. The minute I saw a picture of this fork I knew I wanted one. Availability is sometime in Feb. of ‘08. I’m hoping QBP will have them in stock in time for Frostbike. Super stoked and from what I can tell, Rock Shox did a good job on this one. I can’t wait until we go back out to SRAM in January for their STU(Sram Technical University) program. I hope to get to service this new gem up front and personal. Cheers to Sram.
As you probably know I had to drop out of this years 24 Hours of Afton due to a pain in my right kneecap that wouldn’t allow me to pedal a bike. It became so bad I could barely walk. I took almost exactly two months off the bike after that race. I went out on a ride last week and the pain was still there. Something is wrong. After doing some research and talking to some people I may have figured out what might be wrong with my knee. Chondromalacia: which in short is defined as a “irritation of cartilage behind the patella. Basically just too much for my knee to handle. I still think part of it was using brand new shoes that I just threw on. After referring to my Aunt(who is a physical therapist for runners) it sounds like this may be my problem. I plan on visiting the doctor in a few weeks. Thankfully the fix for this is just physical therapy. It may take up to 6-8 weeks to heal. I’m just thankful this didn’t happen in early June. But, I am bummed because I can’t do any more riding for awhile. I love riding my bike in the fall and this is a big bummer. I’m gonna have to find some other form of activity to keep my in shape for awhile. Haven’t quite figured it out yet. I can’t ride a bike, I HATE running, and I don’t have rollerskis. I’ve got plenty of time to figure that out though. Thats all for now, I’ve got to write up my resume. Yikes, gonna have to do some homework on that. Cheers

daily quote- “Perhaps Al Quaida is planning to infiltrate a cable news channel and staff it with morons” -Jon Stewart commenting on Fox News’ bogus reporting.

 

Crunch Time!!!!

The 24 Hours of Afton is coming up faster then Alexandre Vinokourov all doped up on EPO. Just 23 days now until the big race. Training is going well, and that “wall” I talked about in my last post was just a phase. My legs are back, and better then ever. My hopes of a top 5 finish in this race are in my opinion attainable. We’ll have a cheering section this year. Kyle’s lady will be there. Matt and Luke are making plans to come and hang out, cheer us on, get drunk, and have a good time. So I ask, if you don’t have any plans on Aug. 24th and 25th. come on down to Afton Alps and cheer on a couple of good ol’ boys destroying their bodies and minds to nothing. We’re gonna need it. Those of you who have been there with us before we’ll be in our usual camping spot. Cell phones don’t work down there so just keeps you’re eyes open for the brown honda accord with the “I’d rather be home brewing” bumper sticker.
I have got to hand it to the French population. With all of the scandal and bullshit that went on in this years Tour de France, they still came out by the thousands to cheer on their race. That just wouldn’t happen in America. I only wish we had an even where an entire country shows such passion for. The Super Bowl doesn’t even come close. Some had called this cycling’s darkest hour, but people still came to see the spectacle. However, cycling has never been as popular in the U.S. then it is now. Look at the Tour of California and the Tour de Georgia. Small steps, but it is gaining some street cred here in the states. I really had respect for Alexandre Vinokourov. I thought he was a solid rider, and had a lot of heart. That all vanished when he failed his blood test. Same goes for Iban Mayo and even Michael Rassmussen. Even though he didn’t fail any tests, the fact that his whereabouts leading up to the Tour were misleading makes me to believe he was up to no good and ruined this years race. If it wasn’t for Alberto Contodor’s brave ride through the mountains, and Levi’s TT win, this tour would have been ruined. Cheers to those that are clean and truly stand by the term “dopers suck”.
I’ve found myself the past few days thinking about friends I haven’t seen in awhile. This summer hasn’t been what I thought it would be. Yea, I’ve done more riding then ever and thats great, but I feel myself missing out on a lot of things, and missing some old friends. Just kinda down and bored. Work has taken a lot out of me as well. I’m thinking my summer will not come until September. With that said, its time to do some laps at Elk River. The quote and term will take a break this week to the map of the Afton Course. So if you plan on coming, copy a pic of this so you can stake out some places to cheer us on. A couple hot spots are…..The Manhandler, Shady Lane, Southern Switchbacks, and Larry’s Revenge. Ciao

 

Everything hurts, Canada on the mind.

Ok. Its done!! Finally, after weeks I finally have a new mountain bike. So far I’ve been impressed. I’ve gotten in a few rides. The main one was this past Sunday in Mankato at Mt. Kato. It was a scorcher as usual. The bike performed flawlessly. I did notice that it is a little more responsive in the corners. I can lean into them a lot more. Gotta love that Specialized frame geometry. Yesterday Kyle and myself went out to Lebanon Hills. I was stoked to get this rig out on this trail to see how she performs. Lap 1 was good. Lap two we decided to take some pics while riding. It started off ok, then Kyle took a horrific digger. He was coming off this log pile/jump and clipped his rear wheel on the log. Sent him tumbling down the hill, and he actually ended up running after he was thrown from his bike down this hill and slammed into a tree. It was bad. His entire left leg was bleeding, bruised and his entire left arm was the same. His leg looked like someone took a bat and was whacking away at his shins. “Is my bike ok” he says instantly. We thought we were done, but no. After about 10 minutes we were back on the trail. I was thinking to myself just as Kyle was saying “ya know I was thinking before that crash that I haven’t had a bad crash in a couple of years”. Well, in the middle of the XX loop Kyle was going to get some pics of us coming down this really steep rock. As I came up to it I went slower then usual so he could get a good shot. Not even 1/4 of the way down the rock, my from wheel gets stuck, my bike swings sideways, and I go flying over the bars. I come down along this rock, smash my head on the rock(wearing a helmet of course) smash and cut my ankle on this fallen tree branch and land on Kyle. “hows my bike”? It was fine. To my surprise my head felt ok after a couple of minutes to realize what just happened. But my ankle was pretty bad. We finish the lap and decide thats it for the day. I was hoping this group of kids saw me eat shit on that rock. They weren’t wearing helmets. That trail can kick you’re ass in a split second, and these kids and adults think they are unstoppable. I just don’t wanna see someone break their neck or even worse, and then see that trail close because people will start thinking it is too dangerous. I dunno, I mean its none of my business to tell them what to do, but cripes, use some common sense. Then came this morning. Every muscle and joint in my body is killing me, my ankle is killing me, and i can barely lift up my left arm to scratch my head. There goes today’s plan on riding Afton.
What worries my the most is I won’t be able to throw a fishing rod back and forth this weekend. This Saturday my family and I are going up to Lake of the Woods for some fishing, beer drinking, fishing, beer drinking, and maybe some sleeping. I really hope my shoulder is ok by Sunday to do some fishing. This trip couldn’t come at a better time. Work is still really stressful and a week off is just what I need so I can come back with a fresh mindset. I’ve never been to Lake of the Woods so I can’t wait to get up there and check it out. Time to take a little break from riding. I think its a good time to do so. I don’t wanna say it, but I’ve been getting a little burned out on the training and this trip will be a nice break. Well, my arm hurts to much to continue writing so with that I bid you adieu. Off to Canada!!!!

daily quote – “Canadians have an abiding interest in surprising those Americans who
have historically made little effort to learn about their neighbour to
the North”. -Peter Jennings

today’s term – chunder v. to crash.