In so many words I'm over it. I'm over the little slump. I'm over being lazy in so many ways it is refreshing. I got kicked out of my riding funk today by a cop. Well actually it was the other day, which I didn't realize. And then another one made me realize that the other one had kicked me out of my funk. Needless to say, F*ck cars. Bring on some snow. I am equipped and ready to go. I never did get around to setting the Monster Truck up with a freewheel and a rear brake, but screw it. I need a new rear tire (the Mythos is trashed) so it is either time for an XDX or some studs. Then I will have an ice bike, and a snow bike. I don't really know if a fixed bike is good for ice, but we'll see.
I have also been lazy in tearing down the SSuperfly. It definitely needs some love in the bb/hub area. Yeah they are both King, but screw it, they are easy enough to overhaul and probably should be done once a year (especially after what I put it through.)
I.am. over. it.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
All right time
All right it is time to start thinking about 2010. We are only a couple of months off and it is time as I am relaxing from riding to determine what the heck I am going to do in 2010. Number 1 above all else is get married. That is huge. So racing may take a little bit of a side seat to riding. I'll still be riding, and racing too, I will just be picking more selectively. Which means that my goals for 2010 vs. 2009 will be different. My winter is going to have to be pretty good to ensure that next season is going to be worth a darn.
So screw the racing stuff. What am I going to do for a geared race bike? I really want to give racing gears a chance next season. I have options upon options, but I really think I would like to go steel. Obviously in comparison to my Superfly SS, it would be a crazy decision, but my Karate Monkey is so stiff and comfortable ride quality wise, that I could save a little cash and go that route. I could just pull the drivetrain off of the Zombie Monkey and internal that sucker out. That option will also leave the Superfly in the garage instead of in the MTBR Classified section just in case I decide to scrap the geared idea.
So the next question is which builder? I have three in mind. All three are no frills, straight bike kind of guys. Nothing wacky, or cool, just no bull shit frames. One option is actually fillet brazed, and quite honestly I feel an industry secret. Not to bring it up, but one of his frames was reviewed in MTB Action years ago and even then they raved about how well the bike rode. I have wanted one of his frames for years, and now would be a great chance to own one.
So let me know, who should build my bike? Doug Curtiss would be my no.1, followed by Walt Wehner, then Tom Teesdale. Tom is a local guy and has been building frames for 30+ years. I would love to own a bike from him, but it would almost have to be a single speed. Remember, I don't want a show queen of a bike. If you've ever seen my Superfly, the frame is raced and well used (thus the reason I kind of want a steel bike for racing, ti is going to be my 5-10 year anniversary present). So let me know who else is blowing you away. I am picky, but these builders are top notch for sure.
I just don't know what to do. I am questioning everything right now about next mountain bike race season. I just want the ride to be the last thing I am worried about. There will be plenty of other things on my mind.
In the mean time, Suck it bike. I'm relaxing.
So screw the racing stuff. What am I going to do for a geared race bike? I really want to give racing gears a chance next season. I have options upon options, but I really think I would like to go steel. Obviously in comparison to my Superfly SS, it would be a crazy decision, but my Karate Monkey is so stiff and comfortable ride quality wise, that I could save a little cash and go that route. I could just pull the drivetrain off of the Zombie Monkey and internal that sucker out. That option will also leave the Superfly in the garage instead of in the MTBR Classified section just in case I decide to scrap the geared idea.
So the next question is which builder? I have three in mind. All three are no frills, straight bike kind of guys. Nothing wacky, or cool, just no bull shit frames. One option is actually fillet brazed, and quite honestly I feel an industry secret. Not to bring it up, but one of his frames was reviewed in MTB Action years ago and even then they raved about how well the bike rode. I have wanted one of his frames for years, and now would be a great chance to own one.
So let me know, who should build my bike? Doug Curtiss would be my no.1, followed by Walt Wehner, then Tom Teesdale. Tom is a local guy and has been building frames for 30+ years. I would love to own a bike from him, but it would almost have to be a single speed. Remember, I don't want a show queen of a bike. If you've ever seen my Superfly, the frame is raced and well used (thus the reason I kind of want a steel bike for racing, ti is going to be my 5-10 year anniversary present). So let me know who else is blowing you away. I am picky, but these builders are top notch for sure.
I just don't know what to do. I am questioning everything right now about next mountain bike race season. I just want the ride to be the last thing I am worried about. There will be plenty of other things on my mind.
In the mean time, Suck it bike. I'm relaxing.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Where have I been?
I've been racing, then not racing, training and now, after many months of training ( and then racing) I'm out! No more racing! Well except for Jingle Cross, and maybe a couple of other selected races. What has happened since Seven Oaks? 30 day's in the saddle (approximation) some of those hard days, some of them lazy. 30 beers (not an approximation, actually a down right lie.) One Gnomefest (and one super rocked, Iowa packed Alleycat top 3!) Many other things including cross bike and road bikes (although not in that order.)
Needless to say I wrap up my first actual season of racing with many thoughts in mind. All of which I have gained endless knowledge and good times from, but now which I happily leave in the past. Now is the time for Zombie Monkey's, studies, wool, snow, and XC skis. Oh and beer. Thanks to everyone for the craziness that has been the 2009 race season.
Thanks Kent for kickin' it off back on March 8. It sucked and I hate you. But you hate yourself for that day too. Thanks to the folks down in Arkansas. Not only do I hate you, but you hate you enough not to even run the 80 mile Ouachita Challenge again. I'm glad that I participated in that one before you axed it. 'Cause it was more brutal than 75/120 people realized.
Otherwise thanks to the new work family I so graciously was accepted into this season. Thanks for welcoming me in and kicking me in my ass. Sorry to all the family folk. I miss you Price, Lazio, and D'Quack Attack (Fridays just aren't the same...)
Otherwise I can't say enough. What one year brings. Not that this is the end of it, but hell if I am going to describe anything else that happened. Maybe a couple of other small details about the remainder, but it was a whirlwind ride that not even I was prepared for. I never knew how crazy racing some mountain bikes could be nor how far I could push myself. All in all a crazy awesome year of riding with all my friends. Now time for mas beers and many days spent on the Zombie Monkey.
Tranquility.
Needless to say I wrap up my first actual season of racing with many thoughts in mind. All of which I have gained endless knowledge and good times from, but now which I happily leave in the past. Now is the time for Zombie Monkey's, studies, wool, snow, and XC skis. Oh and beer. Thanks to everyone for the craziness that has been the 2009 race season.
Thanks Kent for kickin' it off back on March 8. It sucked and I hate you. But you hate yourself for that day too. Thanks to the folks down in Arkansas. Not only do I hate you, but you hate you enough not to even run the 80 mile Ouachita Challenge again. I'm glad that I participated in that one before you axed it. 'Cause it was more brutal than 75/120 people realized.
Otherwise thanks to the new work family I so graciously was accepted into this season. Thanks for welcoming me in and kicking me in my ass. Sorry to all the family folk. I miss you Price, Lazio, and D'Quack Attack (Fridays just aren't the same...)
Otherwise I can't say enough. What one year brings. Not that this is the end of it, but hell if I am going to describe anything else that happened. Maybe a couple of other small details about the remainder, but it was a whirlwind ride that not even I was prepared for. I never knew how crazy racing some mountain bikes could be nor how far I could push myself. All in all a crazy awesome year of riding with all my friends. Now time for mas beers and many days spent on the Zombie Monkey.
Tranquility.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Seven Oaks Race Report
Well I definitely felt about as unprepared as you could get for a race going into last weekend. I was completely trashed after the Lake Ahquabi weekend and just plain needed a break. I only rode into work for over a week. Finally last Wednesday, after getting all registered for school, getting my FASFA crap in line, I came home and knew I needed a ride. Having only been on a bike about 5-6 times for about 90-100 miles of commuting, I was interested to see how I felt. Rode some gravel and everything responded well after warming up. My back had also been really tight after Ahquabi and I of course did nothing before race weekend to make it better.
So Sunday rolled around and I rolled up to Boone with a crew of the usual suspects. The stupid weather made it so pre-riding the course sometime previously during that week an impossibility. So I was pretty much going into race day blind. I hate that. That is what this season is about though. Getting familiar with the IMBCS races. So I hit up a pre-ride lap that was quite abbreviated with Nick. Based on it I stupidly left my 36-19 on and called it good. That turned out to be a mistake.
The gear worked well for the start. Seeing as I hadn't ridden too much I was tentative at the start. Knowing full well I shouldn't but knowing that I had missed some of the course, I decided it was better to settle in behind some that were more familiar with the course. It turned out not to be too bad of a move. I should have grabbed Jed's wheel though seeing as he has been really strong and that we have been riding at a somewhat similar level. His fitness/strength is definitely higher that mine and he was definitely familiar with the course. My bad. I did however get into a group with Kevin and Shockey who after my fumbles gapped off of me a little.
So slowly things settled in and I found the backside of the course laden with freaking uphill switchbacks, punchy steep climbs, and slow weird drawn out climbs. About 3/4's of the way through lap one I felt like crap. My gear choice felt huge and I was sort of struggling to keep up with Kev and Shockey. I already knew I was out of the money (beer) for the unofficial SS MTB State Champs. Jed was checked out. Kevin pulled away from Shockey, and I finally gapped back up to him. Descending into the lower ski area, I came around Ben due to my larger gear and signalled for him to grab on and draft off of me. He was climbing well and I wanted to pull him up to Kevin. Didn't work out.
I got up to Kev and rode with him for around half of the lap. He got caught up where I had during lap one and I went around him. We rode together for a while, but I had to punch it on the climbs. At the end of the lap I was feeling a little squirrelyness from my front tire, but I had set my pressure low so I ignored it. I had a decent gap on the other two so I just held strong and kept trucking.
Going into lap 3 I ran most of the steep parts of the openning singletrack section and then dove into the descent to the bottom of the beginning of the course. Once I hit the base I heard the dreaded hiss of a cut. Shit. It was slightly spewing Stan's every revolution. I stopped and let the fluid pool to get it to seal. It did and I kept riding. Then it busted open again 100ft down the trail. I stopped this time and sealed it. I hesitated and knew I had to hit it with CO2. As I was hitting it Kev came around and gave me a little sympathy. He was riding strong and bouncing back. I never caught him.
I had to settle for 4th on the day. After the flat I was just a little knocked down. I haven't ever had a "mechanical" in a race before so I was due. I've been really lucky. After I hit the tire with CO2 I had too much pressure and just couldn't get back in the groove. I did manage to keep the gap at 20 seconds though and that was good.
Congrats to Cam for shredding our collective faces off one more time. You are on another planet. For sure. Gears might be coming, but not this season for fear of the of sticks and cable cutters. Jed good race. Wish I would have known the course and gotten my panties out of a bunch and just started as strong as I should have. You still would have cleaned house. Kevin, much earned "win". Keep those legs going during the week. Shockey good race too. Glad to be able to drink some beers with you and sorry about the van/beer incident. To everyone else see you sometime soon. Not the time trials weekend though. I'll be Gnomefesting.
So Sunday rolled around and I rolled up to Boone with a crew of the usual suspects. The stupid weather made it so pre-riding the course sometime previously during that week an impossibility. So I was pretty much going into race day blind. I hate that. That is what this season is about though. Getting familiar with the IMBCS races. So I hit up a pre-ride lap that was quite abbreviated with Nick. Based on it I stupidly left my 36-19 on and called it good. That turned out to be a mistake.
The gear worked well for the start. Seeing as I hadn't ridden too much I was tentative at the start. Knowing full well I shouldn't but knowing that I had missed some of the course, I decided it was better to settle in behind some that were more familiar with the course. It turned out not to be too bad of a move. I should have grabbed Jed's wheel though seeing as he has been really strong and that we have been riding at a somewhat similar level. His fitness/strength is definitely higher that mine and he was definitely familiar with the course. My bad. I did however get into a group with Kevin and Shockey who after my fumbles gapped off of me a little.
So slowly things settled in and I found the backside of the course laden with freaking uphill switchbacks, punchy steep climbs, and slow weird drawn out climbs. About 3/4's of the way through lap one I felt like crap. My gear choice felt huge and I was sort of struggling to keep up with Kev and Shockey. I already knew I was out of the money (beer) for the unofficial SS MTB State Champs. Jed was checked out. Kevin pulled away from Shockey, and I finally gapped back up to him. Descending into the lower ski area, I came around Ben due to my larger gear and signalled for him to grab on and draft off of me. He was climbing well and I wanted to pull him up to Kevin. Didn't work out.
I got up to Kev and rode with him for around half of the lap. He got caught up where I had during lap one and I went around him. We rode together for a while, but I had to punch it on the climbs. At the end of the lap I was feeling a little squirrelyness from my front tire, but I had set my pressure low so I ignored it. I had a decent gap on the other two so I just held strong and kept trucking.
Going into lap 3 I ran most of the steep parts of the openning singletrack section and then dove into the descent to the bottom of the beginning of the course. Once I hit the base I heard the dreaded hiss of a cut. Shit. It was slightly spewing Stan's every revolution. I stopped and let the fluid pool to get it to seal. It did and I kept riding. Then it busted open again 100ft down the trail. I stopped this time and sealed it. I hesitated and knew I had to hit it with CO2. As I was hitting it Kev came around and gave me a little sympathy. He was riding strong and bouncing back. I never caught him.
I had to settle for 4th on the day. After the flat I was just a little knocked down. I haven't ever had a "mechanical" in a race before so I was due. I've been really lucky. After I hit the tire with CO2 I had too much pressure and just couldn't get back in the groove. I did manage to keep the gap at 20 seconds though and that was good.
Congrats to Cam for shredding our collective faces off one more time. You are on another planet. For sure. Gears might be coming, but not this season for fear of the of sticks and cable cutters. Jed good race. Wish I would have known the course and gotten my panties out of a bunch and just started as strong as I should have. You still would have cleaned house. Kevin, much earned "win". Keep those legs going during the week. Shockey good race too. Glad to be able to drink some beers with you and sorry about the van/beer incident. To everyone else see you sometime soon. Not the time trials weekend though. I'll be Gnomefesting.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Mid-Season Break.
Well it is mid season. My legs are telling me so, and so is my mind. I can hardly even comprehend the races so far. CIRREM, Ouachita Challenge 80 mile, Sylvan Island, Banner Lakes, State Crit, ScoCoPa Chase, Camp Ingawanis, Lake Ahquabi. Somewhere around 8 races. One gravel metric, one epic mountain bike race, one road bike race, and 5 other mountain bike races. All the IMBCS so far have been Expert level races. All but two done 100% SS. One aided by suspension (yeah I know cheater cheater). My legs haven't been this used since.. well never.
Coming up on the schedule brings Boone XC, Des Moines Crit weekend, off weekend (supposed to be 24 hours of Boone) or maybe Colesburg gravel race, Gnomefest weekend, maybe SSWC09 weekend, Lake Manawa, off weekend, then Sugar Bottom Scramble. It wouldn't be all bad if most of those were just hour long cross races, but the shortest one so far has been 22.5 miles (other than State Crit weekend) and 1.5 hours in the saddle.
I need a mid-season pick me up. Tomorrow brings some testing, registering, and a road ride. Hell maybe I'll even go ride gravel to spice things up. This last stretch is going to tax my brain and body for sure. Anyone pushing me to race cross is crazy. My Zombie Monkey is just calling my name for some good rock bashing, town shredding, snow riding good times. Oh and chilling out and drinking beer. Just way more beer than average.
On top of all that I think tentative plans are beginning to be put into works for next season's race ride. A diversion of an asset and some funds to accomodate a change in the right direction for the future of my racing. A descision I thought would never come/be really hard to come to terms with is running through my mind with ease.
Oh what October 5th will bring.
Coming up on the schedule brings Boone XC, Des Moines Crit weekend, off weekend (supposed to be 24 hours of Boone) or maybe Colesburg gravel race, Gnomefest weekend, maybe SSWC09 weekend, Lake Manawa, off weekend, then Sugar Bottom Scramble. It wouldn't be all bad if most of those were just hour long cross races, but the shortest one so far has been 22.5 miles (other than State Crit weekend) and 1.5 hours in the saddle.
I need a mid-season pick me up. Tomorrow brings some testing, registering, and a road ride. Hell maybe I'll even go ride gravel to spice things up. This last stretch is going to tax my brain and body for sure. Anyone pushing me to race cross is crazy. My Zombie Monkey is just calling my name for some good rock bashing, town shredding, snow riding good times. Oh and chilling out and drinking beer. Just way more beer than average.
On top of all that I think tentative plans are beginning to be put into works for next season's race ride. A diversion of an asset and some funds to accomodate a change in the right direction for the future of my racing. A descision I thought would never come/be really hard to come to terms with is running through my mind with ease.
Oh what October 5th will bring.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Sunday Photo Session
Getting the ZM a little dirty for the photo session. Found a sweet little side trail while returning a movie and seeing Brett before finding a photo location. In front of the garage just gets boring. It sure is nice to have a geared mountain bike again. This one is a bruiser in the weight category, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I do need to change out that rear tire though until winter.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Zombie Monkey Musings
Tonight was a chill night following a chill week. Tomorrow brings DB's wedding and again a chill day in the saddle. The ZM project (Surly Karate Monkey, here on out known as the Zombie Monkey or ZM) officially wrapped tonight with the first test session being had. I had very little light beeming out of my puny Cateye. Initial impressions lead to too high of saddle height (gotta cut that post 20mm more), 10mm too short of stem (sorry NS) and short wheelbase. Hopefully I can slide the saddle back a little more, and maybe even rake the front wheel out a little more.
A custom fork would feel amazing on this thing. 472-474mm axle to crown, and 47mm of rake. Just enough to kick that front wheel out there a little more, and keep the handling in the ballpark. I might have to throw the old On One Carbon fork on the ZM for Gnome Fest.
I can't even believe how well balanced and behaved this machine is. Everything that led me to get the ZM turned out to hit the nail on the head. I now truly believe that if one of Surly's sizes fits you, you should have a Karate Monkey in some form. If you love 29er's you owe it to yourself to own one or give one a shot. Mine was transformed into the ZM though liberal usage of purple ano and lots of slow planning and care. Zombie's dislike purple and black. Known fact.
Only a true Zombie Apocalypse transportation device would recieve this much planning preemtively. Most post Apocalypse machines have to be whittled together from the last remaining remanants of post Apocalyptic society.
So to all: Do your homework. Prepare your bike well. If zombies should come, you are going to need some form of transportation, protection, etc. It's not like it's really going to happen, but hell, in my case it got me to build a sweet new 29er.
A custom fork would feel amazing on this thing. 472-474mm axle to crown, and 47mm of rake. Just enough to kick that front wheel out there a little more, and keep the handling in the ballpark. I might have to throw the old On One Carbon fork on the ZM for Gnome Fest.
I can't even believe how well balanced and behaved this machine is. Everything that led me to get the ZM turned out to hit the nail on the head. I now truly believe that if one of Surly's sizes fits you, you should have a Karate Monkey in some form. If you love 29er's you owe it to yourself to own one or give one a shot. Mine was transformed into the ZM though liberal usage of purple ano and lots of slow planning and care. Zombie's dislike purple and black. Known fact.
Only a true Zombie Apocalypse transportation device would recieve this much planning preemtively. Most post Apocalypse machines have to be whittled together from the last remaining remanants of post Apocalyptic society.
So to all: Do your homework. Prepare your bike well. If zombies should come, you are going to need some form of transportation, protection, etc. It's not like it's really going to happen, but hell, in my case it got me to build a sweet new 29er.
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