How natty got his groove back....

As I am sure most of you are aware this weekend was St Patrick's day, a good excuse for most people to drink all day, wear green, act obnoxious all in the name of good olde st Patrick. God Bless the Irish. Well it was also the weekend that The Seattle Randonneur's held there 200km brevet. I had told a few people in the club that I was planning maybe to do this, but was hesitant to as I am still afraid of pushing myself too far and further being sick or doing a slow backslide in to the hole that I have been struggling to get out of. With so many highs and lows in the last year dealing with whatever got to me has been a valuable lesson, but one I don't wish to revisit. I was able to get the day before off, I didn't want to ride 200km or 126.8??? miles on little to no sleep. Looking at this distance was a bit intimidating, you may laugh, I have competed in long mountain bike races and even a few 24 hr races, but this distance would be the longest road ride I have undertaken, and nearly double the distance I have ever ridden on a fixed gear. After the 100km I went back and forth with gearing issues, should I stay with what I have been riding 45x18 or should I drop a tooth in the back to 45x17. I decided to just stay with what I have been on, not wanting to change anything right before a big day in the saddle. I was a bit worried about the weather, and not being the biggest road rider I was thinking what am I doing, I answered with its early in the season, much time to mountain bike and I really like the people they are really quality cyclist, no attitude just out enjoying a day in the saddle.
I will set the stage for you the ride was to start at 7am and it was about and hour from my house to the start, meaning i would have to be up way before I usually am. I got the night befores shift covered and hung out watching movies and taking it easy. Up at 5 eating and out the door to find my way to the start, yes I drove. Arrived at the start with 8 mins to spare till the start, register, spend time looking for Eric, he had a waterproof envelope for me to put the route sheet in so I wouldn't get lost, just before we roll out i find him and head towards the front of the 100 plus riders. We roll down the roads of Kent on our way towards Dash Point. I am so spun out on the 15% downhill, it is not raining and it is nice and warm. We are chatting and joking with one another, a few comment on my choice of bike, and make jokes about the fact that I am going to ride faster then them, they have googled me and the cat is out of the bag, I am a 24 hr mountain biker, no wonder I have endurance and such. I share stories with Chris Ragsdale, he has done some amazing things and has a big goal for the upcoming season. We are a group of about ten or twelve by the time we make it to the first check point of the day. We all stayed together until Green River Road at which time in short succession those of us on one speeds got spat out the back as the speeds reached 23 or 25 miles and hour. I tried to hang on but just decided that I would have to go my pace to finish and be in an ok state of mind. I gained a bunch of time back on the little climb out, catching most of the group by the time we hit the next checkpoint in Black Diamond. Flats have never been my strength and today I was going to have to ride my ride if I were to survive, my heartrate was a bit high in the begining, but calmed downa few hours in and stayed that way for the remainder of the day. I had a few stomach issues going on in black diamond that I had to take care of and missed the group of 5, including Chris by a couple of minuetes. It is here that my experience paid off, no one else wanted to leave and it is the time off the bike that kills your overall time so I was off by myself, where I stayed for the next 40 miles, riding by myself at my pace over flat and rolling terrain. The next section took us out towards the town of Greenwater, and out and back, I thought for sure that they would put big time in to me here, but I arrived to find them at the store in Greenwater, again I loaded up and rolled out thinking that they would eventually catch me, Chris and John did and Chris decided that it was time to go and that is what he did, he was gone, I briefly pedaled away from the rest of the group, but soon was caught and passed on a steep down hill, it wasn't the ups that hurt the most it was the downs as my legs were forced to spin at an ungodly cadence on some of the steep hills. It is here that I started to think about gearing again. We regrouped at the next checkpoint and now we were close to home, my goal of going under 8 hours was obtainable, it began to sprinkle lightly at first and as we got closer to the end pretty good for a few mins. We stayed in a group of 4 all the way in, arriving in 7 hrs and 35 mins. Mission accomplished. I was amazed to hear that chris came in at 7 hrs 18 mins tieing his time from last year. I am unsure how many more rides I will do with the Randonneurs again this year, mountain biking is still my major focus, but i had a great time and it is filled with lots of cool, quality people, I sure would like to get out for the 300km and maybe even the 400km, but only time will tell. Looks like next weekend will be a trip to Bellingham to ride with Kevin again, I hope the weather cooperates and we can enjoy warm temps and sun possibly, if not we will have fun not matter what. Thursdays are also devoted to mountain biking closer to home, last week Craig and I hit up Tokul West and had a great time.
as you can see from this picture I usually don't get up this early. This pic was taken by Kent Peterson just before the start of the ride on Saturday.

blood trails

This was sent to me awhile back and I meant to get it on here sooner. Bikes are they making a come back in the movies. Watch the trailer below and tell me what you think.



In other news I am planning on riding with the Randdonneurs this St Patricks day for their 200km ride. I will be riding my fixie to see how it feels to start piling on the miles aboard a fixed gear bicycle. More on that on Sunday. The race schedule is starting to come together and I am usually getting one or two mountain bike rides in a week. Not much else to say, hope you enjoy the trailer. as always keep pedaling.

when the weather.....

Gets warmer and sun filled for a bit, it must be taken advantage of. The guys a Swobo have posted a few times about 30 rides in 30 days. My loose understanding of the undertaking is that the challenge is to, for thirty consecutive days to ride thirty rides consisting of 1 continuous hour, each day, not a total of an hour in that day. no running errands and the such. I am now entering my 4th and final week of this challenge which I started on February 11th. I have made my commute to work at least an hour, thus getting about an hour and a half of riding minimum a day. I have been averaging between 10 and 15 hours a week and 150 to 200 miles, including off road miles. I am feeling better, and beginning to plan a season of racing. As most readers know I have been fighting with what I have dubbed "the sickness" for quite some time now, just about two years to be exact. Enough about that, now on to this past weeks undertakings.

Saturday: My friend Eric, who I wrote about awhile back, invited me to the 100km randonnee ride. I was hesitant to go, it started at 9 am and i get off work around 3 am, not much sleep. And I really like my sleep. Hesitantly I set the alarm, knowing I would probably go, but still giving myself the out. Well he had tried to get me a ride there, that fell through, so I used Danielle's truck and headed out. I ate what I eat most of the time for breakfast, Grape Nuts, and a banana followed by liberal coffee consumption. Leaving my house around 8 am. I had asked Eric about the course, and I decided I would roll the fixie, why not, what did I have to lose? Did I say that it was raining, not that sideways blowing rain, but steady drizzle, and the roads were wet, and dirty. I arrived at the start of the ride, the Redhook Brewery, or should I say Bud Hook, not the best beer, but beer none the less. Yes I am a beer snob. Oxymoron I know.
The ride started in mass and we were off, we were all given cue sheets that mapped out the ride, this would be our only method of staying on course, there would be no markings and such. Road riding not being my strong point I sat in for a bit and slowly made my way up towards the front. Chatting here and there with people, more quiet that usual as I was still waking up. We had a good little pace going at the front down the side of Lake Samamish, headed out of Redmond. Then came the first hill, Eric had told me this was the steepest and steep it was, out of the saddle I was. I was surprised my legs felt great. I was towards the front. We got to the top regrouped a bit, and then got to the first control. Papers signed we were off. The rain was still steady. More side roads and some descending latter most of the riders missed a turn and the bottom of a hill. More paceline work we were keeping a good pace. secret control, to make sure everyone is on course. 2nd control a coffee shop in Carnation, and everyone stops and is resting. I see one person sneak away and I am off. We are now a group of 10 I keep pushing the pace, it is wet and we are dirty, that is to be expected, I see now why full fenders are a must for group rides on the road in the rain. Just before the third check point there is a small climb and I am gone, I am surprised by this, but forge on. At the third check eric tells me I am a minute off the leader, now I am competitive and I understand that randoneering is more about the camaraderie than the speed, but I now think it would be great to catch the leader, why not. I charge. Catching him at the top of the climb, where i make a navigational error, not following him, and lose some time. Now I must go it alone, and I finally figure out how to read the cue sheet, which is drenched and soggy by this time. I make it in just behind the leaders, I am happy and throw a no handed skid in to the control, again why not.
I eat and head home to relax, but am amped.

Sunday: The plan was simple, drive to Bellingham and ride singlespeeds. Keith who had invited me out the night before, I turned him down, showed up with a raging hangover. I took the wheel, as I can drive, Keith not so much. We met up with the others and took off up the highway making it to Bellingham in 1hour and 15 mins. not bad. Craig had some other friends meeting us there and they had a few friends meeting them. Turns out I knew them from the racing world, and we were so lucky Kevin and Jeff know every knook and cranny of Galbraith, they took us on a great ride, dubbed the art tour of Galbraith, I guess we saw four of the five pieces on the mountain. It was slippery and I think everyone crashed at least once. I had so much fun. I am going up there more. The trails are just too good not to. Thank you Kevin and Jeff.

Swobo has their bikes out. Urban Assault vehicles.

Thanks to Elk for the Mcrad cd, brings back so many memories.

life little jokes

I am growing facial hair for the first time in 32 years. Right now i have some fuzz on my upper lip. I am hoping that it turns in to a great 'stash so I can finally give out some free rides of the moustache variety. haha. I however can not grow side burns oh how I wish I could. On the upside of things I dont have to deal with things like back and chest hair, yes I am a hairless wonder. thanks to my great gene pool. Well enough about me. I hope at least one person gets my sarcasm in the above sentence. who ever you are thanks.

I rode a bunch last week, skipped a race, it would have taken to much energy for the reward of getting there, plus I had no ride, and it was a ferry ride away. all together a good call as it hailed and sleeted and I heard it was cold as all get out. If i was to miss a race it seems that that one was the one to miss, plus it is an xc race not and endurance race, hence not worth as much to me as just a great ride. I however will be racing a few of the shorter length races to gauge fitness and just to have fun. Gotta get back in shape somehow.

I am doing some more exploring on the mtn bike, just trying to find all the good places to ride, and this weekend it is off to Bellingham for sampling of some great trials. hope to have some new people to ride with the old as well,as the circle of friends grows.

It is amazing how long it takes to get a community of riders around you, time in is time out, just like time on the bike makes you better, speaking of that I gotta go put in some miles before work today, after I run a bunch of errands.

New tires are on the way, soon, I am in the process of deciding just which tires I want to run, thinking of the Rampage, or the new WTB tire. I'll let you know when I know.

thanks all and as always keep pealing. I will leave you with this, I pulled in off of the Fearless Gearless site, it has been submitted to the Bicycle Film Fest. I like it. Great song to go with it. Tell me what you think.

inspiration

Watch this and tell me you are not inspired. It is good to see someone who is willing to put it all on the line. He already cycled around the country, his next project is to go around the world. Bikes are great way to express ourselves aren't they. Check out his website here.

Right now I am doing a lot of reading about he real costs of oil, in a book called Lives Per Gallon, as well as reading Big Box Swindle which is all about the effect that box stores are having on society. Both are very interesting while at the same time a bit disheartening, we as a society need to start seriously reconsidering some of our past choices and making much more informed choices in the future. Stay strong and as always keep pedaling.

Harmonic Convergenss

Harmcom was a blast. Like I said before I wanted to get down to this last year but didn't make it. This year it all worked out and I am so glad that I went. The day started soon after the night ended. As in 3 hours to be exact. I will back track a bit. Friday while on the way to work I crashed my bike yet again. I felt like a bit of a moron. It was raining a bit, the roads were slick and I was exploring a bit, so I was on unfamiliar roads. Intuition was telling me that it was dangerous, and that i had made a wrong turn. As I was turning at slowspeed going downhill i noticed oil on the road, before I could correct i was laying on the ground, and in pain. Everything would have been fine, minus the cellphone in my pocket. I had a really bad charlie horse, the kind that made it really hard to pedal a fixed gear, and walking was an effort. Well as you can guess I soldiered on. Road to work, worked and entire shift behind the bar. Medicated a bit with Vitamin I and you guess it a bit of product sampling, or should I say quality control. Left work, road home, telling my self that using it would force blood though it, thus helping it heal. The bruise had started to show a bit. 3 am went to bed. Keith, my friend and ride to harmcom called promptly at 6:20 and it was confirmed we were headed out. A. the weather looked too nice, B. I wasn't going to miss this ride again. The drive down was uneventful, and we arrived at the said location. There were familiar faces and lots of unfamiliar faces, but the vibe was all good. We caravaned out to the parking location and met up with some more folks. This is when the fun really began. We divided in to different groups and set off. I picked the group lead by Joel, most of us were on single speeds. To say we rode some trail is an understatement he showed us the way. To say we traveled great distances, not so. These trails are slow speed , twisty knotted routes. We had a blast. Log rides, mud, to say I had the wrong tires is an understatement, WTB NanoRaptors were not the best, but not the worst either. We rode around for a long time, then had a mid ride meeting for some barley pop and then some more riding. I met some great people. Oh are you wondering how the leg felt, stiff, and a bit underpowered, but I pushed through and no one else knew the difference, save for when I got off the bike and hobbled around. The black and blue was better than ever. I always mean to take pictures, but never seem to get around to it. I plan to work on this. Photos make all the difference. Heard about some great events coming up, more on that later. This is a worthy event. We had originally planned to stay the night, but the leg needed to be treated with a bit of respect, so we headed home.

All you myspace people out there. I know I caved in a set an account up. my address is
http://www.myspace.com/onegearonemind

as always keep pedaling.

what more to say

I have been occupied with a bunch of things, and am currently working lots while still managing not to have any free monies to devote to such things as bicycles. Why you ask. Well we currently own two houses and are paying said mortgages. The former one in Reno is about to be sold, which will do wonders for us financially. Meaning we can pay back all the debt incurred by having to pay two mortgages. There is money owed to friends for work done that I have not been able to pay back, and they don't deserve this kind of treatment, I thank them for being friends and being understanding. Well back to bikes, this blog in theory is devoted to all things bike related.
Last week consisted of working all seven days, but still managing to get 145 miles in, all but a few on the fixie and on the road. I however need to get some dirt on, which I will be doing this weekend. The Harmonic Convergenss, that is part of the Indie Series, looks to be rolling terrain, maybe I will race the ride is this weekend down the road in Longview, WA. Looks to be back to back days of new trails, and new friends. I am planning on bringing the Skull bike, and coasting a bit. The following weekend there is a short race over on the Peninsula, might take the fixie and see how it rolls out. Why not right. All in the name of getting more fitness back in these legs. Elk had a great post the other day.
Happy to say, I am part of the Bare Knuckle Brigade, cant wait to get the kit, so I can start representin. Hope to make it to some races on the east coast and Midwest to meet some of the other members.
I going to ride at least 10 hrs a week, thats the plan at least. Gonna make my commute to work an hour long and see how the body responds. It is terrible to say, but I am scared to push it too hard after what happened to me, but little by little I am getting stronger and stronger and more willing to push it harder and harder. The goal is to get to 200 miles a week or a bit more. I need to start getting more dirt miles in, as the road gets boring. I am trying to be realistic and just slowly move towards more miles and better fitness. Nothing like look ahead to races and having a goal again. This time the goal won't consume me though.
Looks like Tahoe finally got some snow. Shredder got a new bike, I would like to get one from the same builder some time, but more than that I would like to get some traveling in as well as some good old fashioned racing. Well enough is enough, its time to go track down the last of my W2's so I can get the money I so badly need right now. as always keep pedaling.

Beer and BBQ for Breakfast...

Here is how Wednesday started, 10am beer for breakfast, you do only live once. It was Pete's, in the blue vest, 32nd birthday. B was the theme of the day. First we started with a beer, pictured here, then it was off, on an empty stomach for the next B of the day, BBQ. I will attempt to fill this space with the back story on this event. A year ago to the date of Pete's birthday is when I happened to meet Pete and Keith, I had just started back at the Big Time Brewery, my first night back to be specific. Around 9 pm these two characters walked in and proceed to say they were out celebrating a birthday by riding around to numerous breweries in the Seattle area and sampling the beers, as I a sure you can guess we were the last stop, and they were mildly intoxicated. Keith proceeded to tell the same story multiple times, as he is prone to doing, but manages to make it funny each time. There is intricate math that goes in to finding the real truth in his stories, but none the less he is great, and I am happy to have met them. They truly have made living in Seattle much better than in would have been had I not met them, so thank you gentlemen. Enough, now on to the next stop of the adventure, Dixie's BBQ over on the East Side.
Here again is the birthday boy pondering his choice of breakfast meats. Did I just say Breakfast and meat, other than bacon in the same sentence. ouch. This one left a mark. Sitting like a bomb in each or our stomachs for the remainder of the day. After the experience that is Dixie's was complete, we were off to the Tapeworm trail in Renton for our next B, bikes. We had a great ride, complete with stunts, log rides, drops and even some jumps. Back to the picture, doesn't Pete look confused? he was. After the Tapeworm, which I had heard mixed reviews of, we were off for a bit of lunch, and then I was off to work. The Tapeworm is a marvel of packing trail in to a small area, twisting turning, logs, roots, lots of low speed stuff, talk about a skill improver. Not long enough,or enough elevation change to make for an epic, but fun none the less. Yes I coasted, I had so much fun coasting again, I still love scorchin too. It made for a long day to say the least, but memorable and totally worth it.


So I will follow all that up with a plug to go and sign this, we need to save PBS and NPR, feels like we just did this a few months back. I will ask a rhetorical question, is our president really that much of an idiot? as always keep pedaling.

scraped elbows and strained backs

Yes the title pretty much says it all. I have a bad back strain, allowing me to ride in the saddle, standing is not so much fun, and painful as well. Then on Friday I had the pleasure of crashing my bike on the pavement and getting scraped elbows, yes both. It happened at 3 in the morning and made for a great night of sleep. Pavement is not all that forgiving, but bound to happen at some point. I have been here a year and only crashed a couple of times, considering the amount of rain and time spent riding I am ok with it, however I don't wish to crash anytime soon. Crashing on a bad back did wonders for the pain, Saturday it started raining again and I spent lots of time watching movies. Saw This film is not yet rated. Lots of information about the film industry and the control exerted by a secret group of raters. I suggest you all go out, rent it and watch it.

So I am riding not as much as I would like, working more than I would like and spending more time not in motion than I would like.

As for the upcoming season I am trying to put it all together, but it really depends on the sale of our Reno house going through and how we come out of that, it will be great to be out from under that load, it has been sucking us dry of all our funds. Makes traveling hard, as i need to work all that i can, at least for the time being. I am looking forward to doing some races in BC, and will do some endurance race on a fixie, if everything goes as planned. Tomorrow is my 1 year anniversary at the Big Time Brewery, this is the same day that I met Keith and Pete on there Brewery tour on bikes, to honor the day we are going to go for a ride, I still have to work at night, but we are going to hopefully go ride some trails in the area. This weekend there wont be much riding, but over the weekend of the 17th we are headed down to Longview, WA for Harmonic Convergenss. The weekend after that I am going to race an XC race as "training" over on the Peninsula as part of the Indie Series.

My first 100 miler

I will try to set the stage as best I can. I had been racing Norba races, and competing on 4 man expert teams in 24 hr racing, in fact I had raced duo at one already before this race, but never a 100miler all in one go. I sent off the registration, after talking a friend, Nate Simonson, in to doing it with me, I wanted some company for the 8 hr drive from Reno to Brianhead, UT. I had become bored with the Norba attitude scene, and wanted a challenge. What better way to challenge ones self and endurance than to ride 100 miles off road in a day. Since I had been racing 24 hr races I liked the people more, out for a challenge, more supportive and just plain more fun. More like being part of the event, not the side show as the age group races are at the Norba events. I have always had a lot to prove to myself, kind of a self loathing, hurt to feel good, no pain no gain, looking for the edge kind of feeling. I was quite nervous at this race. This was 2003 and I had only been riding for 3 years to say I was intimidated, wondered what kind of hell I had signed on for is and understatement. Upon arrival I noticed some familiar faces, Uber super hero Steve Fassbinder was there on a 29er singlespeed, Sean Mclaughlin, Mike Janelle, who look veiny as all hell, he didn't look human i remember thinking that. We got there to 8,900 feet checked in to the hotel, registered and then we just had to stretch the legs a bit so we rode the first climb, I was riding gears still, yes it was that long ago. Then it was eat, have a quick drink, I believe we drank Guinness, and then off to bed.
Race Day
Wake up shower, get all things in order, lube chain, recheck and out the door, to ride up to the start. Mill around. Man was I nervous. My stomach was churning and churning. In to the line, an I wearing too much, not enough, ahhhhhhhh. One minute to start and I have to drop the kids at the pool, take the browns to the superbowl, not gonna happen, it will go away I say to myself. The gun goes off and we are off, pacing I know nothing I am just going for it, I want to run out front with the big guns. It is all climbing out of the gate up the pavement and then up to 11,000 ft then a really fun descent all the way to aid 1. I just ride through, it is at this time that I go by Steve Fassbinder, we exchange a few words, mind you we are on fairly flat terrain and I have gears and he doesn't. Big advantage. Through the lava fields, down some more double track, and in to aid 2 where i stop and fill up with water. I think all the descending is going to be climbing on the way back. After aid 2 it is more rolling and flat and I remember a horrible head wind on a road before we hit some ripping single track along the Virgin River Rim trail. Aid 3 m and m's and Sloane Anderson and I are riding together for a bit, we pull each other up and down some of the hills. Aid 4 same as aid two, my legs are really starting to hurt now, and that stomach hurt is really coming on. At 75 miles there is an informal aid station, I am really hurting but keep plugging on. I forgot toilet paper, the woods are super dry, i must wait until aid 5 to rid myself of these hostages that I am holding at this point in time. I get there and not soon enough. I literally drop my bike and run for the port a potty that is in the blazing sun and it is 90 degrees at 9,000 feet, it is like a sauna, before I get there I am fighting with my jersey,It needs to be off, why you may ask, well I made the big mistake of wearing bibs on a 100 mile race, not only do my nipples hurt, but it is a fight to get to the port a potty. I throw my shirt on the ground , jump inside the little blue sauna sit down, and remember that I first need to lower my bibs. I somehow manage to do this and avoid disaster, but I have to hold on to both sides of the box to keep my self in place. I am in so happy, and lighter. I finally am able to get up and out and people are laughing and clapping. Glad I made someones day. Now I must finish this race. 14 miles to go, how bad can it be. It was the longest 14 miles of my life. All up hill save the last 3 miles which went down. Almost two hours. I was dehydrated but determined to finish. I wanted to make it in under 9 hours so I could get my chalice. Well I succeeded 8:40 and change, 2nd in my class, that is if you take Mr Fassbinder out because he was on a single and won that class. 14th overall. not too bad. I felt good, had a few beers, with Sean, Eric Rector, who had done it on a single speed, and a bunch of others. Nate finished a bit later and was in good spirits. After the awards we just crashed anticipating the long drive home the next day. There you have it, if you made it this far thanks. as always keep pedaling. I will revisit races from time to time, next time I will get to my first single speed 100 miler, the Cascade Cream Puff.

tuffness....

I just started reading the book pictured at the left. Quite a tale, light read, and inspiring, Mike is tuff, just like the others mentioned below. From a 255lbs man to 170lbs racer, in two years, gave up smoking and drinking too. Committed to the end result of being faster on a bike. It is a good read. In fact quick as well as I picked it up yesterday before work and am on page 100 already. I suggest it to all you cyclists out there in cycle land. Nothing like having a goal to keep you focused and on track, oh I forgot to mention he also quit eating, all except for 3 shakes a day to lose weight and lost it at a rate of 5 lbs a week. Hats off to Mike and his tuffness.

I thought I was a bit tough this weekend by riding my fixie out to Port Townsend for the day, then I checked on my friend mark Mcdaniel's out of Reno, the land of no snow at this time, who rode his fixie up and down and up and down, without brakes. Geiger Grade on a fixie, Congrats mark. I bet your legs they were a hurtin for a few days. Geiger ain't no joke, and Gold Hill on the other side is 15 or 18 percent. Mark you just plain rock. I will put this one in writing, not as a definite, bu none the less in writing, makes me want to rock a large mountain bike 100 miler on my off road fixie, not sure which one, but I am thinking about it, lots of ups and downs. I am scared to say the least. Rich, any advice???? Mark is tuff, he and rich for that matter are inspiration for the title.
So I rode to Port Townsend this weekend, first time I did it, sure is fun. I will have to get over to the peninsula for some more rides.
I am trying to put together a race schedule that maxes the fun factor, is cost acceptable and I can get work off for. No easy task, also looking to keep it in the managable body wise as I don't wish to get sick again in the form that I was kind of way. Wow that was a run on sentence. Not willing to put anything down on the blog yet as it is all up in the air. I will probably try to fine tune some of my fitness by racing shorter local races, I want to get a 100 or two in, I have family back east. I am juggling right now.

a diesel engine

This is a picture of my friend Eric. He is a diesel engine, not the fastest guy out there, but he keeps going and going and going. He is focused and determined to reach his goals. Now a little back story if I may. I met Eric through my job at The Big Time Brewery, he would come in dressed in his cycling clothing, I saw a brother in arms so to speak, and the rest is what we call history. He is part of the Seattle Randonneur's, in fact I believe that he is a the head of membership, although I could be wrong. As I took out my camera to take a picture of him he got a worried look, as I think you can tell by the picture he said something to the effect of "what do you want with a picture of me?" The answer is simple to the left is a picture of the current record holder for most Randonneur miles in a year, it amounts to 7,500 miles or 12,000km if I remember correctly. I am sure most people that read this are familiar with Randonneuring so I will skip all the details, but basically it is long distance, open course, timed, light cycling touring ranging from 100km to 1200km. Each event counts only once, and he also holds down a full time job at the University of Washington, one can imagine he spends a lot of his free time in the saddle. This year he has set the lofty goal of 10,000 "event" miles, I have faith that he will accomplish his goal. Eric thanks for the inspiration and support. The title of this post refers to Eric a diesel engine and a great guy. Congrats and best wishes in the upcoming year.

down in This here picture is of one dirty Vulture after the ride down in Eugene. The camera didn't like all the sunlight and I was not in the mood to take more pics, but this turned out more artsy than I thought. I kind of like it. The weekend of February 17th is shaping up to be a good time. It is the weekend of the Harmonic ConvergenSS Longview, Washington. I plan on being there. Mark your calenders.

This weekends mayhem

This past weekend was a much needed brake from Seattle. I heard about the Disciples of Dirt's All Comers Meat in Eugene, OR, talked some of favorite riders in to rolling down there for a get away. It all came together and we were off on Friday morning, with the plan of stopping at a few breweries on the way down and making our way to Eugene early enough to enjoy some fun, and still get some rest for the next days debauchery. To say we had a great time is an understatement. While it had rained in the days leading up to the event, the day itself was perfect, sun, I hadn't seen that in a while. Since it was mostly a single speed ride, I thought why not ride the fixie, see how it rolls out on a longish ride. Lets just say I had lots and lots of fun, ran a 36x17 on 700 cc wheels and it was great. It took some getting used to and my back hurt alot the next day, but that could have been a result of the wrestling match that Keith and I got in to in the parking lot later, way later in the evening. Back to the event, which was a well executed event, for just a ride. 88 people showed up for the event, we traveled the longest distance, and it was worth it. The keg was tapped prior to the beginning of the ride and the beer was flowing all day, if you cared to partake. We all decided to jump in with the fast group, and it was the way to go. I was hoping that Wade, of Vulture fame, would be there, but he was not. Instead I met up with Eugene, who I have met before, and a few other folks, we ended up splitting off from the larger group and being shown the trails by Tom, it rocked. I had a great time, I will ride fixed off road again. The story could go on and on, but I wont bore you with the details, but it will be an annual event for the 3 of us. Below is short clip of me skidding my fixie off road while drinking a beer. Sure this could have been shot from a better angle and I could have done it faster, mind you I had a thin plastic cup in my hand and it was the first attempt at such a maneuver, it was shot with a point and shoot digital camera, so I know it is more to give an idea of all the fun we were having. This was mid ride, yes they brought the keg around to different spots and we rode to it. Without further adu:


So I hope you enjoyed it. Here is a link to mtbr and the photos from the event.
Now it is back to the daily grind for a bit and then this weekend I am riding out to Port Townsend, about 50 miles, for Strange Brew, Water Street Brewing's big party.
Looks to be big fun. Well it is sunny here again at least today, so I better get out and enjoy it all. As always keep pedaling.

snow and ice

Seattle has snow on the ground, not the status quo here. Let me tell you I am glad to be riding a bike in this stuff, to think about driving around in a tin can makes me sick. Well in fact I am sick right now so I spent the day downloading music from Emusic, if you don't know about them you should check them out, all kinds of music for your ears. I have been a member for over a year now and am never at a loss for new and old songs to download. And if you end up becoming a member tell em who sent ya. Please. Enough about that snow, when compacted on a cold street becomes ice, bet ya didn't know that, so I have been ripping around dodging the ice and looking for bare pavement, this can make hills somewhat interesting. On my commute home last night I had to walk a hill as I spun out and almost took a spill. The skill as with most things in life is not to overreact, go with the flow. Being sick reminds me of the last two years and I get frustrated and think that I might be headed back there, or not getting better. This truely has been a monumental challenge to keep in perspective, and like riding on ice not overreact and go with the flow. Rest can be good. I am hoping to get next friday off so that I can go to this. I wanted to go last year, but never made it happen. Also, I have signed up for this, I have heard that Dejay puts on one hell of a good time, and I would like to ride with Rudi, get some tips from the master about schorching. But thats enough, I will be sure to bring a camera on either of these excursions ifin and when they happen.
In other areas, I found this site today and liked it,the people at Bicycle Fixation have the right idea. Check it. I spent a bit of time browsing there.
As always keep pedaling. I am going to keep watching the snow come down and rest so that when the weather is better I will be ready to charge it, not that it is not fun out there right now, but the batteries need a little charging and what better excuse. as always keep pedaling.

you'll laugh I hope...

at least at one of these videos. Gonterian is a great guy. I have yet to meet him in person, but when I do I hope to do some scorching with him, of course that is if I am worthy. I have been practicing my fixed gear skills, and hope to get a bunch more off road fixing in real soon. Here is a video he made, I like it. Here it is.

And now that you have watched that, it is time to laugh, this is a test...... I think most will find this funny especially those of us who grew up in the 80's a time that was full of cheese so to speak. So here it is Justin Timberlake hits the mark here. Thats saying something cause for the most part I don't have positve things to say about him. ha ha Like I said this will make you laugh, you may have seen it and I may be beating a dead horse at this point in time, its catchy watch out.

I should have brought a camera....

to document how muddy I got yesterday. I should probably start with a little bit of a back story. Originally Keith and I had planned to go skate skiing/ him wanting to try his new toy out a rather large kite that he hopes will pull him around the mountains. Keith and his new toys, kites, I just don't get it, but then again I don't have to, it would have been hilarious to watch him put skis on hook up, with a harness, to a 7 meter kite and fly it for the first time in 30 mile an hour winds. Needless to say I would have had 911 plugged in to my cellphone and my finger on the dial button at the ready. So that was the plan, as you can tell it is not what happened yesterday. We left town, got on the interstate heading to the mountains and then while in the foothills saw signs that read "power outage at the summit" no problem, then this one was the final straw, "4 mile traffic jam at the summit", that did it we turned around and headed back in to the city. We both wanted to do something active, as it was a sunny, read not raining and too ugly, in Seattle, obviously in the mountains it was a different story, so we decided on a ride at St Edwards just north of Seattle. This is no epic ride, but enough to get an hour or two of riding in, two if you do the loops twice. We had a great time after we got rolling. It was a wake of vulture's if two can be considered a group, we both were riding Wade's master pieces on dirt, well mainly mud. We had a great time. Gonterian was right, fixed+dirt=fun. On a side note I rode in the Swobo shorts, they rocked. It was the first time I have worn baggies in a while and I can say that I enjoyed them. Speaking of having fun, Cubed Meat, down in Oregon is on the 20th, if I can talk a few or even one person from up here to go we will, looks like fun.
Looking ahead to this years racing I am still trying to figure it all out. More to come on me racing. I want to race some of the local Indie series races, some endurance races, the cascade cream puff, maybe 24hrs in the sage, Moab? , I have been tempted by the Ultra Series, and Boris' endurance week looks to be amazing as well. It really comes down to how I am feeling, if I keep feeling better and better, and I can get the money thing in order, I will travel and race more , if not it will be more local. As always keep pedaling.

this is a must listen...

he only forgot to get quicksilver into the song.


could have been a bit longer though. It is raining, and windy. I have to work this evening, sure wish I didn't cause then I would be at Fast Fridays. But then again it is cold, windy and rainy, so it might be nice to be inside pouring beer for the masses. Who am I fooling I would much rather be out breathing. I am off for a run and then to get some beer to the event. I am not the best runner but have been doing it as cross training for the moment, it is an easy way to get a fast aerobic workout in. Tomorrow I hope to get some skiing in, it will be good to get out of the city for a bit.

why is it that.....

I bet you were thinking that I was going to start with a list about why is it that....
I seem to be in my pj's in the early afternoon or
why is it that I wake up with coffee and go to sleep with beer or
why ride one gear when there are other options
or why would I bore you with a list of things that I do, so I won't what I really wanted to say was why is it that those closest to us get forgotten. I thanked everyone except those that live under the same roof with me, and share the same bed. The one person that needs the most thanking and honor for what she does 365 days a year. I neglected to thank the lovely lady in my life for all the support throughout the years. So here is it is thanks so much for all that you do for me Danielle, it it appreciated and sorry for leaving it out of any post for quite some time. I also need to thank my two dogs who teach me new things all the time about love, commitment, and life in general all the time. Moezlee the great who has had hip displasia since birth was given a short life sentence of two years and is in to his 9th, talk about pushing through the pain. Tanner the blissful who is all dog, but happy all the time, he is in bliss, however much I used to think that it was bad in the beginning.
So with that I will go back to the why is it that we seem to take advantage or take for granted those closest to us. They get to see us at our worst, best and in between, and why is it that they get treated worst sometimes. We yell at our loved ones, but not our friends, why.? We forget to thank those same loved ones, but thank strangers for the smallest things. why? So this year I am going to make a effort to thank those around me that are closest to me, hell I will thank those that inspire me, those that I haven't thanked in a while. So thank you Danielle, mom, dad, Manon, Stefan, Genevieve, tanner and Moezlee, grandpa and grandma Pellman, grandpa deal, Carol, Robert, Katie and Annie. I think I will start with the family and move out as it goes. Thank you all so much for taking this journey in life with me, what a twisted, rocky, fun road it has been. I love and appreciate you all. There I have done it, a totally sappy post and think it is only the 4th day of the year. more to come.
On the riding front I have been feeling a bit more invigorated, got 3 1/2 hours in yesterday on the fixie, with a bit of climbing, then off to work i went to stand and talk and pour beer for the masses. Oh in other news I am drying out for the month of January just to see how it feels, should make for an interesting time as well. I also would like to post a bit more this year. Well it is nice again here today or at least for the moment so I am going to sit in the window and enjoy some vitamin d while reading a book and resting the legs. as always keep pedaling.

2007....

Some thoughts on the new year. I am tempted to put up a list, but I don't really do the whole new years resolution list. I set some goals and revisit them throughout the year to check in on my progress. At times I slip and fall of the path, usually to later only get back on. I am a perfectionist by nature, and tend to over analyze the nature of things, of peoples motivations and attitudes, so a list of resolutions seems a bit silly. I like goals not resolutions, the word goal has a lot more positive ring to it. However in the new year i plan to post more regularly and I plan to ride and race my bike a bit more regularly. Seattle rang in the new year with a return to rain on the first day of 2007, nothing out of the ordinary for olde mother nature in the new year here.
I had my brother in town over the holidays and it was fun. He is 11 years younger than me and I realized how much I like being an older brother, we had a lot of fun. He is going to school to become a chef, so we ate well while he was here. Its funny we grew up on the east coast and here we are in seattle ringing in the new year. I was not around for much of his youth, he did have a couple great trips to Tahoe while we were living there, he let me know how much he apprecitated that.
So in the new year the goal is to get out of debt. there it is. There are a few smaller goals, but they all go along with the greater goal, simplify. I have been burning all my cds on to my computer, and will be unloading those as soon as I get a back up hard drive. Less stuff, less headaches, less to cart around. Simplify. That is all there is to it. So here is to wishing you all the best in the new year. I will again thank everyone at a later date, just because, why wait to tell those around you how you feel once a year under all this stress of the holidays. I am also working on a birthday challenge for this may. keep you all posted. as always keep pedaling.

off road fixing...

Is what I am looking forward to. I have ridden some cross races on the fixed but have yet to get a full on xc ride in on the fix. I have been riding it around town a bunch and hitting the trails, but they are more walking paths and such than real single track. I have however been trying to hone my skills on the bike while here in town so that I can be kind of ready when the time comes to actually put tire to dirt. I have set obstacles outside the house and hop up and down curbs, drop off things of varying heights whenever possible, this is all I can do when trapped in the city for most of the time. That and the weather here has been so miserable, rain, rain, wind wind. I wonder how many trees are down out on the trials right now, inside the city it is a disaster. So below is an image of the little obstacle that I have out front. It is 8 inches high and 12 inches wide. I can now bunny hop it on the fixie, soon I will be making it a bit higher to further improve my skills. By bunny hop I mean clear it, no tire touching the obstacle.

On the fit front I have been trying to find the right position and I am getting close. I have tried many different stems, stack heights, and am getting close to feeling great on the road, now I have to ride off road to see how the muscles hold up on the rough stuff. My friend keith thinks that I am going to crash and burn and can not wait to see it. to him I say this, when I beat you down with out coasting, I will laugh sooooo hard. I am not sure that this is possible, but I will give it the old college try. so on one of the first bunny hop attempts I had the pleasure of crashing , I landed a little over the front end and proceeded to land face down on the pavement, I only burised my hand a bit, but I tore my favorite bar tape, concrete is a little less forgiving in the give department than dirt. I have gotten the sticker on downtube. I think it looks good. The bar tape ripped, thats ok I messed up wrapping it the first time so I will wrap with new tape soon.



I am really liking the fixed gear riding right now, cant wait to get out on some longer dirt rides in the near future. enjoy the holiday's. i must say the wade at vulture made a bike like now other, it is soooo fun to ride and beautiful to look at. thanks so much wade. cheers. as always keep pedaling.

holi daze

tis the season, I have been super busy with work and parties, shopping not me, we have decided to go on a diet this holiday season and are abstaining from buying in to the whole buying gifts and giving big presents thing. dont you think it is not necessary and a corporate marketing sceme to get your money. Lets face it the season is not about the gifts it is about spending time and honoring those you love. I would rather save my money and spend it when my loved ones are around. enough about that. I got more eggnog to attend to. to everyone that reads this thank you. I will leave you with this, taking the my other skateboard is a fixed gear thing to a new level is this guy, mind you he must have been a street skater or more likely a Rodney Mullen fan. watch closely as it is impressive. It is obvious to me that he had a lot of time, or he just has really good balance.



Dustin over at Cadence had a link to utube and the above video, I must give credit where credit is due.

I have been riding the Vulture fixie a lot and trying to improve my skills, I can now bunny hop 6 inch obstacles and had the pleasure yesterday of dropping off a foot and a half ledge. I hope to bunny hop some stairs this evening.

A group is meeting up this evening to discuss an endurance race here in Washington, boy do we need on, the trails here are awesome, more on that later. back to the egg nog. over and out and as always keep pedaling. nat

thanks to all

Today is more about thanking those in your life past and present than it is about 12 oz curls and the food coma. So to all those friends and family past, present and to yet be determined I say thanks. To the onespeed family thanks, we are al brothers and sisters to the core. Cyclist lets be a family road, mountain, gears or not we are the chosen few who have seen the answer, bikes really are the answer to most of the worlds problems, ok I am over generalizing it a bit, but seriously they are the answer. Mom, rock on, fight the good fight, this is a heart felt thank you for being in my life here and now. Dad, thanks for putting up with my outburst and becoming a better father and friend because of it. There are too many people to bore you with thanking everyone. Kent Peterson and Dave Nice thanks for the inspiration, we will all have to get together for a ride sometime. Keith L, Pete and Smiley, seattle just wouldn't be the same without you, thanks for the chance encounter on your pub ride to celebrate Pete's thirty first. You have made a difference in my world. Keith Wegner if you are reading this thank you for getting back in touch with me, if you read this will you drop me an email with your contact info again, my computer died and with my connection to you. Same goes for my great friend Sara Lorden hope I spelled it right, if you read this the same goes for you. A big thank you to the internet, which has helped me to connect with my community at large. Thanks to the trails for all the joy they bring me. Ok Ill stop now, as I am getting a little choked up over this all. Seriously thake the itme to thank those close to you today, in this crazy world we all to often forget to take the time to apprecitate those around us and those things that we are greatful for. so here is to us, them and you. as always keep pedaling. over and out

did I die?

Some of you may be asking just that question. It seems that every time I get in to the rythum of posting more often than not life takes the chance to throw a curve ball at me to take me out of that oh so familiar pattern. It started over a week ago, I thought I'd have the weekend to recoup not race, my body was in need of a change of pace. One can race and ride only so much in the cold rain before it becomes a little tough on the body and mind. I already have problems at the change in the seasons, it always seems to take me a bit to get used to it being so dark all the time. I am in hibernation mode, curled up on the couch watching movies, a little bad tv, I dont let myself indulge in the evils of tv too much as it is no good for the mind, body or spirt, or reading books. I just finish GarbageLand, the tale of one woman from NYC following all her and her families waste to it finaly resting place. What an eye opener. It made me mad, sad and glad all at the same time, I dont mean to get on my soap box, but it may seem like that, we as a race and society really need to start taking all things, natural resources, waste and what we are doing to this here place we claim to love so that it will continue to be around. At the end of the day we all need to think about our consumption habits and scale them back. I know that doesnt sound glamerous, and a bit bland, but at the end of the day it is the answer to a lot of our problems, that and not to drive so damn much which is the real killer of the planet. So cyclist ride your bikes more for those short trips around the city, or country. It does make a difference and the more of us that ride the more power we cyclist have, and that is the real answer. Alright Ill stop for now.
back to the title, I didn't die, but I sure as hell did feel like I was going to. I slept and went to work and that was about it, my body ached and my lungs shot goo for days, I could barely breath, which made the daily trip to and from work fun, there I was coughing and huffing and puffing my 5 or 6 miles to and from work in the rain. I am sure that did great things for the cold. Enough of my bitching. I have to get going, but wanted to keep those of you who care informed. Sorry that this blog has become less about cycling lately and more ego centric, but it will get back to the cycling, of which I am doing a bit of, mostly commuting for the moment. as always keep pedaling and enjoying it.

Class, nothing but class

AS the saying goes Holloween is a time for woman to dress sluty and for men to dress as woman and no one thinks anything is out of the ordinary. Wonder what people would think if I wore a dress every thursday, they would probably just get used to it, or I could just keep saying "its not holloween, opps, I thought is was!!!!" So above are some of the photos that my girlfriend snapped of me in my evening wear. The "rocker" in the picture is my co worker Jesse, he can really pull off the 80s rocker thing, dont ya think. There is a shot somewhere of us in a more revealing embrace, but that is not going to show up here, yet. You'll have to wait for that one. The only thing missing from the outfit is a cigarette holder. Class, nothing but class here all the time, every day. Not much else to report at this time, just wanted to show off my best evening gown, it sparkles. I also had the good fortune to wear stockings and let me tell you, I dont envy you woman, those things just wouldn't stay in place. as alway keep pealing.
my friends down in Reno have a new blog, lots of fun stuff. Check it out at www.thebaconstrip.blogspot.com. Mark, shawn, wolfy, etc. its great.

"the immortal class"

Here is a paragraph taken from Travis Culley's book The Immortal Class which I read a few years ago and this morning decided to revisit. I remember liking it the first time around, I don't think I was blogging at the time, and I am not a messenger myself, but the way he mixes words to create great imagery speaks to me. I will get to the paragraph here, it speaks to me because it puts to words better than I can at this time my feelings about the bike, about what the bike represents in our society here and now. A little background, he is speaking about drivers, and the rest of the masses and how the bike is scene and then he gets to this paragraph. So without further ado:

"What these people don't know is that the bicycle is more than a sport and more than a job. The bicycle is a revolution, an assault on civilian territory, intent upon taking, from the ground up, responsibility for the shape of our cities. It is a mutiny, challenging the ever-one-way street. The bicycle is a philosophy, a way of life, and I an using it like a hammerto change the world and to redeem our war-torn cities."

Is that not great. Thank you travis for putting it so well. Like I said I am not a messenger, but I don't own a car at this point in time, so my bike is my transport, and I get to experience some of what it must be like in the urban jungle of Seattle. Seattle is touted as a green city as bike friendly, and it is alright, but it lacks vision and a plan to make it better, to get some flow in it, right now it is a bit disjointed. Thanks to people like Kent Peterson and others at the bike alliance, the Cascade Bike Club things are getting done, but we Americans are so tied to the belief that we need a car, we are entitled to have bigger, more. A car is a symbol of your status, it really says who you are. Right. If you are riding a bike it is either cause you are poor, or you lost your license, not because you are choosing to, it must be for something out of your control. That I think is the common belief among most people, no in ten years when gas is really, really expensive, bikes will be the answer. They already are the answer in my opinion we are a fat, lazy society bent on doing things faster and faster. What would/could change all that..........You guessed it the bike. The bike a simple invention. Most trips are a couple miles, bike. Want to lose weight, bike. Want to feel intimately connected to your environment and meet some people, bike. It is that simple, think of all the extra space we would have if more of us biked. Want to save money, ride a bike. So lets change the world one revolution at a time. Bike.

As always keep pedaling. Nat

appologies and a race report

My appologies for the rant, I have been in a funk of sorts and went off, wrong time, wrong place. After all this is my spot to rant, but the rant the other day about hippies and such was way off. Everyone needs to have the space to be themselves and I let it all, the world has a way of getting to me sometimes, go. Enough said. Please accept my apology on the matter.

On to the race report:
I awoke to rain at 4 am, pouring rain was still pitter pattering when I actually got out of bed at 8:30. I mentally prepared for another sufferfest. All week my legs had been acting a bit funny, the change of the season always has a way of getting to me. I was a bit worried about the race, I wanted to do well, and wondered where I was at mentally and physically. We started our drive out to Snohomish, and arrived at the school where the race was, by now the skys had cleared, the sun was out but the rain had given the earth a good soaking. I got dressed, registered and the such, and then went out to pre ride the course. My heart sank. It was not a course I particulary liked, a true cross course according to some, no place to rest, lots of running, lots of peanut buttery mud and lots of side hill riding, that and two sets of barriers and a few short run ups. I am not a runner and the back side had a long mud run. Two laps trying to figure out how to make this work, and get the lines down. Then the start. I was on the inside which i thought would be good, but I got boxed in, stuck I gave it my all trying to get towards the front, I got there and was hoping to stay when we ran in to the 35 + masters class, no good lines, and lots of wheel touching. Taking the high line into one of the corners I go down, my rythum is off. In to the barriers and the run up, this running with my bike thing is not my strong point, did I mention that. I stay close to the front for the first lap and a half or two, then begin to fade. OH shit I am thinking, my legs just dont have the power I would like. I have no desire to chase, so I settle in and take a beating. I do my best and dont quit, even though at times I wanted to, only because I was sucking it up. I am hard on myself, I did alright considering I was feeling bad, and stayed in it, just not as aggressivly or on the attack like i like to be. I ended up ninth, I was hoping for 3rd or 4th, but then again goals are just that, and we dont always hit the mark. like rihgt now I am trying to upload photos and it just isnt happening, so alas, i will try to add to it later.

Hats...I like hats

Like the title says, I like hats. Cycling and hats go together like peas and carrots, like stink and shit, or is it flies and shit, well however or whatever analogy you choose, I am in luck. So to the right we have one of the two shaun deller hats that I own. This one is pinstriped wool with a camo brim. camo bet you never would have guessed that.














here we have the newest addition to the hat stable. Dustin over at cadence puts out some fine clothing. I especially like the new fall line. This hat rocks, I have been wanting one for a bit, and this one finally fit right and spoke to me, in only the way a piece of clothing can.





Two posts in two days, can I go for three. Today i am thinking about going to see this. I have heard really good things about it. Since I was in to the hardcore punk scene as much as a kid in Vermont can be. Anyways tomorrow should be a goodtime. There is a great messenger scavenger hut tonight, I don't think I will go, danielle's sister is in town with her kids and I need to put in some face time so to speak. But I may sneak away. That and I am thinking about racing two races tomorrow so I would like to be a bit rested for that. Then again I can rest when I am dead, oh wait I almost took myself out a few short years ago with that same motto, maybe I should be wise and listen to reason, and my body. Now I am rambling I will sign off and hopefully have a race report up tomorrow or Monday. As always keep pedaling.

hippies.....some of my thoughts

here's the picture I tried and tried to upload to go along with the last cross race report. Can you see the pain from the balls to top tube incident. Cross sure does put the hurt on ya. I had to chase making me feel like my insides were going to burst. I need a good analogy here but an at a loss for the right one. Better late than never. It was a wet one. This weekend looks to be shaping up to be dry, but colder. I keep learning how to dress for these things. I got the new bar tape on the beast. I do have a camo obsession so as I am sure you have guessed by now, it is camo. It needs to get dirty, which shouldn't be a problem, so that it mellows out a bit. What a way to break in a new jersey, rain, mud, and sweat.

The Vulture has been hard at work, he got a 40 hr a week j-o-b working for someone else, I imagine it cuts in to his framebuilding time, but I am sure it helps with the bills.

So I will continue to run the 38x17 gearing for the upcoming race, I have been thinking about changing tires, but then again I just want to go race and have some fun. I am going to get my girlfriend to take some more photos for this race. Keith has dubbed us team None, as we are not affiliated with a sponsor or at least they forgot to write down team wake or vulture for me, but we are team none, we joked about getting jerseys made with things like 'your logo here" "coming from nowhere" etc. I think you all get it. I am trying to figure out next year, but taking it with little pressure in mind. Right now I would like to finish in the standings in the cross series, but I would really like a top 3. I haven't decided if I am going to double up on Sunday or not, racing the ss and then the b's race. Only time will tell.

Enough of the boring stuff, does anyone really care about what gear I am running or the dullness of planning my upcoming season, this blog needs more pictures, more, it just needs more. So I
will recount this little tale for you, if it can in fact be called that, well I'll just get on with explaining the picture to the right here. I must first start by saying that I am in fact a hippie, I hope you are smiling right now, because I will get to it. Not the annoying kind of hippie found twirling in the corner whenever the dead is playing, or following phish around the country claiming to have no money while driving a 2006 xterra. I am for sure not the fucking long haired hippie, fuck long hair. That's why this spoke to me, these are my weapons against all things long hair. I know its a personal choice, I allow for that, but cut your fuckin hair. Alright for those of you that are totally upset and taking this all to seriously its a joke man. dude, bro, bra, just take it with a grain of salt, we are all here to make it through the day in our own way. That is the kind of hippie I am. But I am a dark, sarcastic person. I have recounted that my mom once had this to say on the matter, and I can only imagine as she looked at her 12 year old pride and joy as he made some black humor remark about the way we humans are, "Nat you are far too sarcastic for a 12 year old" I wonder if she remembers saying it, because it is an indelible mark on my soul. I have this dry, sarcastic humor, some people, those that don't get it are really missing out. I will also be the first to make fun of myself when I make mistakes, or act like a hippie, or prance around in ladies clothing, opps did I let that slip. Well I have told you all too much. So all you hippies out there relax I am not arming myself with clippers, sissors or a brush, but for gods sake just cut it before I do have to arm myself. I would like to see us all just get along, and I don't think that is too hippie. I associate the word hippie with those who aren't realistic about their lives, but then again maybe I am just jealous of the fact that they are always so damn happy. I guess if anyone consumed that much illegal substance they too could not see the light of day, that might make it all go away, but then again I am obsessed with reality. If you are still reading this I commend you, if not, or if you got pissed off and skipped to the bottom you missed the explanation. So no one get offended and lets just all get along. As always keep pedaling.

so I went to see my grandparents...

On thursday of last week caught a ride in the big steel bird in the sky to Washington DC, on my way to see my grandparents in Harrisonburg VA. They are getting older and time is of the essence so that I could enjoy their company while they are still quite aware and active. I meet my parents in the airport, we managed by some luck to fly in to Dulles airport on flights from Seattle and Burlington, VT and land within minuetes of each other. We would have been out of there real quick except for United leaving my their luggage on the ground in Burlington. Imagine that just out there waiting to fly. anyways it would take them almost the entire time to get their luggage, I think they recieved it saturday afternoon sometime. So rent the car jump through some more hoops. For those of you who have never had the pleasure of flying in or out of Dulles it is a rat hole, twisted maze, and completely spread out, you have to take these huge people movers that look like artic vehicles to move from gate to gate and baggage claim etc. In other words it takes longer than the long time it always takes at a well designed airport, that may be an oxymoron, well designed airport that is.

So we drive through rushour traffic finally arriving at my grandparents house sometime after nine pm. chat a bit and then go to sleep. I had called ahead to see if I could rent a bike and thomas at SBC was able to help. It turns out that I used his personal bike, as everyone kept saying "Is that thomas bike," or "that is thomas' bike" and I would give my standard " thats what everyone keeps telling me". It turns out that on friday they had a informal race that cost a six pack to enter, so I thought why not, and took thomas up on the offer. The hills back there are quite steep, I did however get to ride a 29er so things were somewhat the same. However it was the first time in quite awhile that I have ridden gears or a regular handlebar. It turned out and I hate to say it that the gears came in handy, after of course getting used to shifting again. No worries I dont have a real desire to have geared mountain bike in the stable again, yet. So shifting aside on friday I meet at the Food Lion chated and then followed everyone out to the site of the ride. Heartland or something like that. Climb, climb climb. Gather back together. Sign up for the downhill and go, in 30 second intervals. I havent worn glasses while riding in awhile and didnt have any along, so my eyes teared up, the leaves covered the rocks and conspired to make me go slower, that and the fact that I was not used to my steed. So I flated rode it out changed it, then my pump broke and deflated the tire again so I waited for assistance. I was in one of the steeper sections of trail and no one really wanted to help a brother out, we were racing after all. That said a little guy named Jack stopped and gave me his pump. thanks man. I finished up, I think DEad fuckin last, and rode to the car to go home. Everyone else camped out.

Saturday was a perfect day and since the grandparents were going to nap and dad was going to his 45 high school reunion, and there was a big ride scheduled I went ahead and drove back out to ride again. stopping at one of the local stores where everyone else was dressed in camo i felt a bit out of place, luckily there was no deliverance remake or reinactment. The ride on Saturday was epic, perfect weather, good people and a climb that Sue Haywood said " is where evil lives" quite possible one of the more difficult climbs I have ridden, granny gear grinder so to speak followed by a desent down little bald that was equally steep and rocky in the other direction. I had an amazing time, rushed back to the car and went back to hanging with the grandparents. A little longer than the 3 hours later that I thought. ONe would think that by now i would have it figured out, when i am told 3 hours double it and then that is more realistic. The leaves where in there prime and it was good to be back on the East coast for a visit.
Sunday it was back to Dulles for another airport experience. I barley made my flight, in fact I wouldnt have had i not cut the lines that wrapped around the building, I have never seen such a cluster fuck in my life. So I made it back went to see Citizen Cope as soon as I landed, and then back to the weekly grind come monday morning.

All in all I was happy to meet some great people and to have the experience of riding gears agian, it was a little refreshing, as the two ride I did would have been over the top pain prison rides had I been on a rigid single speed, then again I probably would have had as much fun or more had I been on the single. EVery once in awhile it is good to change it up, keeps things fresh. call me soft if you must, but have no fear, I love one gear.

So now it is back to racing a little cross and commuting in the rain. thanks for reading and as always keep pedaling.

i got muddy.......

I have great photo, but I cant get it to post, so when I can you will see it.

On sunday I had the pleasure of racing my bike in the pouring rain. I am unsure if it was a pleasure of just a chance to get muddy while riding around in a field with lots and lots of bumps.

So on saturday night I worked the cask festival, cask beer for those of you who don't know is beer done in the old world style, is poured directly from the vessel at room/cellar temp, its only carbonation is provided by a small second fermentation. It damn good, usaually dry hopped or wet hopped, it is special. With 40 breweries bringing their beer to be showcased, well lets just say I had a bit to drink that evening. So on sunday I awoke with a bit of a hangover, being a little slower than my already slow pace in the morning.

So I got up sunday and it was raining..... A little more history about saturday, I have been having this nagging chainring bolt loosening problem going on that I decided to deal with, so it was off to the bike shop to get some chainring bolts. Here is where I figured out the nature of the problem, I had double chainring bolts with spacers on the back, so I got single chainring bolts, I would think my friend the mechanic who built the bike would have not done this but oh well. While at the shop discussing this I inquired about larger chainrings, and to my surprise they had just what I wanted a 38 tooth chainring in the appropriate spacing. Bam. So I came home greased the bolts and went about changing the chainring. With the larger gearing and skinner tires, I had just got some of wtbs cross tires I was ready to charge it on Sunday.

So I got up sunday and it was raining, and not just showeres it was full on raining. Argh!!! I thought this is either going to be a blast or just plain suck and be miserable. After some of Danielles famous pancakes we were off, a little later than I had wanted to be, but I figured it was not too far away. Well we cut it close, pulling in to the parking lot 25 mins before the race, so I had to run around find where registation was, run back get dress, drop the kids off at the portojohn and head to the start line. I was amped and it was raining. Call ups etc, then we are off, it was a dead flat field with a bunch of bumps and ruts, having not ridden the course I had no idea what lay ahead. It was a grinder. But before I could start to do battle I dropped a chain in the first 150 ft of the race. shit, there goes the next class, great. put it back on and limp my way around till it falls off agian, this time I had it figured out. 1/2 a lap in I get to the pits, grab a 6 mm key and fix the problem. Now I layed chase. grind, grind, slip slide, but keep on fighting. I am half a lap down of the winner by the end of it, but considering the time lost with the chain dropping and the balls on the stem thing that I forgot to mention above, i was happy. I got 6th place.

This weekend there is a race, but I will be with family in Harrisonburg, VA. I am there for 2 days, so i dont think that I am going to pay to bring the bike, but I just might, I may just use the time to enjoy my grandparents and rest. So my quest for the point series now means that I must race flawlessly for the remaining races and not miss one more. I am unsure if I really care, but I am focused again and having fun.

I talked with my friend Bart, he made a suggestion about the upcoming season,we will see what happens, but it would be fun. Bart keep air in them tires next time.

Cross is like one big family, it is very refreshing to be racing agian and in such a fun laid back atmosphere.

thanks for reading and as always keep pedaling.

congrats to dicky.....

He did it, he is the "World Champ". What a year he has had, lots and lots of racing. Does he ever get tired? Get all the details here.

Chris Eatough got beat. It would have been nice to see him win again, but who likes cheering for the 6 time champ, its kind of like cheering for the Yankees, oh yeah they got beat too. I must say the winner Craig??? from Australia, he works full time too. Way to go underdog. I always like cheering for the underated, working man. Should make the Solo 24 movie and interesting one to watch.

Jeff Kerkove posted about Moab vs Worlds, which is more prestegious? I think everyone here knows how I feel about Adrenalin. I do like the addition of the 24 hr ss class, but for the most, races are about the caliber and quality of competion. Sounds like nationals was the race this year. The fact that Adrenalin's worlds is more about marketing, than about a real world championship sanctioned event. It sure would be nice if the Granny Gear folks and the Adrenalin folks could come up with one series, or at least one championship that alternates between promoters. I dont know I have a cant we all get along complex. We as a society need to put our egos down and do what grows the sport. Yeah to dicky for not even waiting around to stand on the podium. We all know. Enough of me rambling about my opinion, I like Granny Gear more than adrenlain, that is all I have to say. They are more human, in fact I got sick a while ago, as I am sure most readers are aware, and still have a paid race slot with granny when I decide it is time to use. Laird was very accomadating and understanding. thank you laird.

I am listening to this series of podcasts right now. yeah cowpunk. thanks for the the link mark.

I raced cross again this weekend. It was pretty formulaic, however there were three of us on fixed gears. I ended up fighting the good fight and was the fastest man on a fixed gear and able to dice it up for a bit longer witht the leaders before getting dropped. Drank some good beer and rode home from the race, i am starting to feel more focus and desire, but afraid to speak of it for falling back in to the sickness again. So I am keeping it low key and just riding when i feel like it. Like everyday, I ride to work or like saturday go exploring for a bit. I have been riding mostly fixed with the occasional coast here and there. So I have to work on Saturday at the Cask festival here in Seattle, racing on sunday, i think i will race the ss race at 11:30 and then the b race at 1:30 just to see how I am feeling fitness wise. Craig, who just crushes, does it and I was inspired to try it out. Wish me luck. again congrats to dicky for rocking out. as always keep pedaling, the revloution happens one pedal stroke at a time.

Big Time Porter takes gold at GABF

I should have posted this awhile ago, but alas I have waited again. Last weekend was the GABF in Denver, I am sure Dave was overwhelmed with people and is glad that the 40,000 beer drinkers, geeks and friends have all gone home until next year. Our brewer, Bill, I wish I had a picture, anyways he has been raving about the porter for the last year, and finally all that paid off, he was able to pull of a gold in a catagory, that has a lot of entrants. No small feat. Congrats to Bill. I work monday day 11-6 and Tues-Friday night, starting at 6. I'll buy a pintof porter for the first 3 people to come in and mention this post. The secret word is "dark Goddess" , oh yeah the porter won under the suedo name of Goddess, not the Coal Creek, which it really is, Bill just wanted to change the name, and I am told there is a story to it all, but I am not at liberty to divulge it here. nuff said. Oh when you come by make sure to tell us just how good that porter is. so I wanted to upload a picture of the lable to give bill his props, but it did not happen, something wont let the picture load, so you will have to do with out.

So me, Bill assistant got a job working as the head brewer at the Rouge Issaquah brewhouse, so he is down an assistant, that said he needed a little help with the brew yesterday, so I offered up my services, and got to slep around in the brewery yesterday for a couple of hours. I had a great time, weighing out hops, lifting grain buckets, and generally just helping out. I think bills wife was happy as he was able to get home on time so that she could enjoy her time out on the town.

Not much else to report, no big rides on the monster cross yet, just a bunch of communting and short trips in town. I think I am racing this weekend but that may change, I may go visit my brother in Vancouver, but then again who knows, I am trying to go with the flow and enjoy the day to day.

Dustin over at Cadence is putting on his first Fast Friday tonight, wish I could go, I will just have to hear the stories, but then again I am used to that being a bartender and having to work on a lot of nights when there is cool things goin down.

Found this on MTBR today, this is the wave of the future, environmentally friendly business, wind power, 100%, they are buying credits to offset, but its a start. way to go Performance.

Monster Cross pics/race report

So here they finally are, pictures of the bike I have talked about for months, and made you wait for months to see. I had hoped to have the build pics too, but they werer lost when the hard drive went . This is one amazing ride. I went with the utilitarian green, thought it was fitting for the bike. My other Vulture has an amazingly wild skull theme to it so I thought that this one should be more toned down, letting the amazing craftsmanship speak for itself, that and the fact that it is a dedicated fixed gear bike, no posts or disc mounts in site on this one. This is a really bad picture of the head badge, its made of brass, and is a one of a kind.







Above here is the heart of the monster cross, look at that guy. I let Wade create what he wanted me to ride, I gave him the freedom to create, and this is what he put out, I know he rides off road fixed most of the time, follows suit that this is the kind of bike he would build. It fits 45c tires, not 29er tires, has a disc only front wheel. I am so stoked on this bike. That leads me in to my next topic, I had wanted to get out and ride the bike before I raced a cross race on it. So I rode it to and from work a bit, with no bar tape, I wanted to get this, but its all backrodered, so I eventually just put the black bar tape on it last night while preping the bike for todays race. I played with stem heights, and fit, but not much was need, being that it is an off road bike with drop bars, i had to raise it it up a bit. Lets just say today when I woke up to race after hanging out at StarCrossed last night, and thinking " oh shit what have I decided to atempt." Speaking of Star Crossed, my friend Craig, who ride for Counterbalance killed it in the B's race, winning it by a ways on a singlespeed bike. Congrats Craig. Craig is a super nice guy and is smiling while suffering, what a way to be. So back on topic, I woke up this morning thinking " oh shit", having not ridden the bike at speed or on singletrack I thought what most people think about riding fixed off road, wtf. So my directionaly challanged friend, keith showed up at 9am and we were off, after a little spilled coffee, and some chainring maintence by keith. We found our way to south seatac, got registered and warmed up by chasing craig around some of the trails. Then the course, it was more mountian bike ish by cross standards I was told. This being my first cross race I had nothing to compare it to. We line up, fimilar faces, bart from BC was there, craig, casey, who I had just met, and a handful of others. We were off, I thought the start would be a little more crazy, but we started behind the 45 b masters. We were soon in traffic, off our bikes and running sections that didn't need to be run. More sand, singletrack, run ups. All in all I had a great time. no crashes, carried good speed through the sand, running sucks, but all in all i had a great time. I got to be "the crazy guy on a fixed gear" I am sure they would have thought I was even crazier had they known if it was my first off road fixed gear ever. I ended up finishing 4th in the singlespeed class, i was happy with my finish. That said I think I will race again, wonder what the mud will be like. Wade thank you so much my brother, I can't wait to ride bikes with you. To my friends in the wake that I meet last night paul, kyle and adam, heres to next weekend at St Eds. Props to adam for rockin the fixie at Star Crossed last night. Brandon, of trackdaddy fame was there, we finally met and had the change to kick tire, brandon, nice to met you finally.

hard dirves go pop....

It seems to be a theme that I have with this blog. I have plans to post, to add photos, to have great things to say way more often than I get to. This time I have real reasons. Hard dirves go boom. I am using someone elses computer to get this up and running. So other than hard drives blowing up causing me to lose all kinds of info and music. I am more worried about the music than anything else at this point. So the monster cross is built and has been ridden around a bit. Lets just say that it is an awsome looking bike, handles great, a little toe overlap, all in all an amazing ride. that is the short story. more later. I have opened my big mouth and said that i will race cross on the thing. what could be better than trying one thing that you have never done, ride off road fixed, than to combine it with yet another thing that you have never done, race cross. I am thinking my shins might get a work out, ie eggbeaters to the shin. Run ups and dismounts, that and the one thing that has sufferd the most in this illness is my desire to ride at full out put. Any ways I am looking forward and this weekend and my first cross race. I have some big old mutanoraptors on it, thinking I need to get some real corss tires on it for this weekend. again pictures will be here soon. so all this talk about cross, sounds like I know what i am talking about, but I really am just looking forward to having fun.

In other news I got some good riding in this weekend with my good friend Mark Mcdaniels. He and his wife amanda are two of my favorite people. Without them our, danielles and my, trip to Reno and Lake tahoe would not have been so easy and flawless. While I live there Mark and I didnt get to ride that much, we had a great ride on Thursday. Friday and Saturday where wedding related. Congratulations to the new Mr and Mrs Crawford. You guys rock. Best wishes. It was good to see old friends. We had a blast.



I love the above shirt. The premire of Mashsf is this weekend is at the Bicycle Film Festival in San Fran. Wish I was going. Check out Swobo's website for all the organic goods.

Twin Six has the new goods out. I really like the socks.

I am looking to be able to draw on the wonderful diatibe that I have while riding, where the words flow, where it all flows, where I can actually write and focus, which I can not do right now so I am signing off. More real soon, hopefully more semantic than right now. thanks and as always keep pedaing.

lifes ebb and flow

So the monster crosser is just about complete. I am dying to ride her, to take her on her madian voyage. to taste the dirt. I am a bit nervous, but I imagine it will be a great ride no matter what, I will start with an easy ride and then increase the level of difficulty. I will have pics up as soon as I can. I have an old stem on her right now, I imagine I will get some kind of riser stem thingy. I have been reading Matt Chesters setup instructions on 63xc dot com. All I can say is finally. I will need to get some cross tires on her and get my cross on. fixed on a cross, what better way to learn, never raced cross or ridden off road cross, should be and interesting experience. Can you say steep learning curve. Lets just hope its not toooooooooooooo painful.

This weekend my friend Sloane came up to his old homeland from Bend, and we got some riding in. We had planned to do the Noble Knob ride, but the day had other plans. I am sure everyone has had one of those days that starts out with grand plans and then a tool to put a Lefty wheel is forgoten and you are forced to retrace your steps and then some, on the path again, but a little behind schedule. Food is forgotten in the car and again you are turning around and retracing your steps, and finally a sidewall to a tire is totally gashed open, think at least and vertical inch in the sidewall of Sloanes tire. So we rode a short 15 miles instead of a huge climb and a bunch of descending, we rode some rooty rolling terrain. Sometimes we must just go with the ebb and flow of the world. Niether of us were upset and we just enjoyed each others company. It is always good to get out of the city.

My plan for next year is to pick 3 to 5 big races to do and do them, and have a good time and see what happens, no pressure and no expectations. Easier said than done. I always put a lot of pressure on myself to push the pace. Lets just hope my mind and body can agree on the goal and stay together. I ride almost every day, between 10 and 50 miles, usually closer to 20 or 30 miles, mostly commuter miles, stop and go, traffic riddled miles. Fixed half the time, freewheeling the others. Hopefully life will be a little more simple next year, I will have to simplifiy and stay focused, but I will have a year in seattle under my belt and with that comes more knowledge on what to expect. Hope everyone is enjoying the change of the season, and pedaling as always. More videos to come. I dont have much else to report. Finally have a day to just put it all in perspective. Life rolls on with the ebb and flow of it all.

This is my new favorite shirt. Organic cotton feels so good next to the skin. I really like what swobo is all about. Nothing like some blatant proganda, that is what all there emails say. Pass it on. Organic cotton is worth the extra coin, also you know that what is touching your skin is good for the planet. I have not met these guys and gals yet, but i hope to in the future, just so I can tell them how much I like what they are doing. Keep on rockin'

hot and smokey............

I am tired, lots of working and commuting and friends having other things to do than ride dirt and I have not ridden dirt all week. what a shame. I feel lame. Living in seattle lends itself well to riding road and commuting and not needing a car in city, but makes you get in the death bucket to get out to the trials, then all the meditation and relaxation that I get while riding is gone by the time I get home. I am more a mountain biker than a road rider, although you would never know it by how many miles I have been riding in traffic as of late. There are tons of forest fires raging in the area and the air is full of shit right now. All work and no play makes nat a dull boy. I am realing, there is a lot I like about seattle, and there is some stuff that really bothers me, deeply. Life after all is one big comprimise or so it seems that as of late. With my health, my mood, my job etc. enough whining on my part. the monster crosser is almost ready to shred. I wait with much nervous enthusiasm for the first dirt ride upon her. There is a cross race tommarrow, I however have to work agian. It just keeps getting in the way. We hire and they leave too soon, it is a vicious circle that is out of my control.


Speaking of fixed gear riding, which I have been doing some more of again, I have completed some backwards circles, and I can turn around, trackstands have been mastered, now I am trying to get one footed track stands down. I use mastered loosely, I am pretty good at them though. True master takes years. Skids, but not like these kids. Wheelies are just plain crazy. Check out Jovantee turner is this vid. he used to a pro skater. I am searching for some ss video as well. I hope this works.