with a huff and a puff

This past weekend I had my first experience riding in Eastern Washington, we had a large group so is was not a race, we hiked a bunch, there was a lot of steep hike a bike sections and a lot of loose talus to be dealt with. My friend Brett, who will also be at the Creampuff was our ride leader, the scenery and trail conditions were vastly different than the Western side of the Cascades, think extremely dry, rocky and loose, although I have said since living here who ever put in the forest service roads here looked where they wanted to be and went straight up. we climbed 1000 ft in the first 2 miles of the ride, most of that in the last 3/4 of a mile. The views were worth the agony, my favorite quote of the day goes to Keith, who after 2 plus hours of riding and hiking and hiking some more was overheard saying, "the only thing that will make all that worth it is if this ride ends in a field of beer and handjob." To which the rest of the guys responded, "handjobs, I prefer blowjobs." There you have it. While the ride didn't end in either, the last half of the ride was much better and the last descent was fantastic. Thank you Brett.
On to my fear about the Puff, I just want to finish and not be destroyed, with all that life has been throwing at me I think that this is all I can hope for. I could list all the stressors, but that just isn't the point. I feel as though I am making excuses, but they are not excuses just the truth about what has taken priority this year. Riding has mainly been a utility to and from the daily grind. Training, was limited and my health has been an ever present challenge. Nuff said. I am going to go out and have some fun and see what the day brings. It is a race, but I plan to ride it, if I feel like racing later in the day, I will, if not I will just try to maintain a consistent pace, eating and drinking so that I stay away from the dreaded bonk. This is a large challenge and I pray that I am not taking on too much with all the health issues I have faced. I think that I have the physical fitness, the mind is a terribly hard monster sometimes. I would just like to have a good ride, and finish before the cut off time in good spirits. Funny how goals change from year to year. The biggest challenge for me is knowing that I am going back to a race that I have done well at and that I most likely will not beat my time from the previous year. Not impossible, but not very probably given the shape I was in that year. The goal is to have fun. Not regrets, I will have lots of time to converse with myself, somewhere around 11 hours I hope. thats all for now. as always keep pedaling.

Baby's got a new pair of shoes...

and pedals. That is right a few weeks back I wanted to post that about this but never got around to it. While out riding the Tiger Mountain trail my friend Keith and I got to the Preston loop singletrack and began our descent. Lucky for me there was a short 15 foot steep pitch to navigate and as I came around the corner and applied a bunch of pressure to the pedals I snapped the spindle of my Crankbrother's Candy pedals in half. Keith took pictures to prove it and all, but he is the forgetful type, I am afraid he would lose his head if it weren't attached. I will get those pics up, because a pic is worth a thousand or more of my words. If it had happened a bit more down the trail it could have been disastrous, the speed and the technical features of the trail would not have been kind to me, think rocks, roots, trees and speed all rolled in to one giant fun descent. As upset as I was, I was glad, so we went back the way we came and rolled down the fire road. I got a first hand idea of what it might be like to be Brett Wolfe, he is truly amazing.
I am in the process of getting myself a I quickly made some calls to friends got new pedals on the way of the XTR variety and since I needed shoes as well, mine have seen better days, with little sole left and barely any heel, I felt it was time. While I was in the spending mood I went ahead and got new skewers, a seat post, tires and I am working on getting a tubeless wheel set as well.

In other news I went for a nice off road fix the other day. I even hit some jumps.

I have been really tired, Creampuff is going to be an experience. Goal to finish and not be totally and utterly spent, have fun, and enjoy. I'd like to finish right around 11 hours, but no pressure. I will be running a 34x22 drivetrain for the day. I finally bought a 22 tooth cog. It is black and tuff looking. ohhh. Work has taken a bunch of my time that would otherwise be devoted to other things, that and all the work around the house.

this just arrived..

My dogs started barking and the door bell rang, look what the postman brought me. Now I just need to start killing dreams right? Keep up with the rest of the team here. is calling and I am scared. Big miles and elevation to be had there. Life just hasn't let me train like I want. It will still be fun. I just ordered a 22 tooth cog. I'll leave you with my best tough guy Went on a good ride out at Tiger yesterday, can I tell you I am glad to have a suspension fork up front, on the downhill it didn't feel like my fillings were going to be rattled out of my head. I will go back to a rigid fork in the fall for the winter months. I know I am getting weak, what next gears? maybe on the road for awhile. After all I am only human, I don't have my mutant card, still working on it. This weekend is full with work events, have to get another dirt ride in next week. Creampuff is the next race on the agenda: oh and the great divide race has started keep up to date here.
my best tuff guy impersonation:

so i got a mud bath

Sunday was the Test of Endurance, a race near Corvallis, OR. Going in to this race I was worried to say the least. I just hoped to not come out shattered, with the Creampuff coming up I wanted to see what the legs were up to. They behaved alright, my fitness not being what it used to be and my legs feeling a bit dead. To say I don't have race legs is an understatement. In the days leading up to the race I joked about just sitting in and having a good day of riding, knowing full well that when the race starts I would punch it and see what happened. Well I did just that, and the group splintered I stayed near the front for the first half of the first lap, then I decided that it was time to settle in and pace it out a bit.
The weather called for a few showers, the day before it poured buckets all day long, so I knew I was in for some mud. Good thing I was running Nanoraptor tires, they work great in the mud. ha ha cough sputter. Probably the worst tire, but then again I don't think any tire really mattered with the mud that was encountered. When it was raining steady the mud was alright, when the sun came out for 20 mins caked up, then it rained again. The weather was as confused as a 13 year old girl on the cheerleading team who is really a tom boy. Pardon the pun. The fact that I didn't have a fender and no glasses wasn't working in my favor either. To say I had to deal with some adversity is putting it lightly. The kind of mud that there is no stopping in, no using the front brake unless you want to crash, just mud surfing and a whole lot of body English to keep it up right. Check out my flickr. Or the OregonVelo site for more evidence.
As for the course, I would have liked a bit more single track and from a Single speeders perspective there was a lot of rolling to flat road sections that made it monotonous at times. The director and the vibe were great and the certainly, unlike a lot of other races, honored, recognized and took care of the single speeders. We had our own raffle, awards, etc. They said that they are continually adding trails to get around all the road sections, and add more single track in the future. I don't know that i will go back next year, as I like to keep finding new events and courses to ride, but the race is well executed. My hats off to them for making it happen in such adverse weather conditions.
I finished under the time I set for myself so i have to be happy about that, but I would have like to feel a bit more powerful. nuff said. as always keep pedaling. To those who gave encouraging words thanks so much. I will leave you with this parting shot.......

searching for my legs...

My legs and health seem to be in question, at least to me. For those faithful readers who have been around since the beginning you may recall that I got ill. It knocked me out and left my body and mind in pieces. As I ready myself for the Test of Endurance this weekend in Oregon I have some doubts, concerns and to be honest I am down right scared. My body and mind are not cooperating right now, not to the extent that they did a few years back, but I have been a bit tired lately. I am left wondering did I try to get fit too fast, did all those long rides set me back instead of making me stronger? shit. Well I plan to race/ride this 50 miler this weekend with the end result being a finish. I don't have my race legs, I haven't really been racing, just a lot of riding, commuting etc. Race fitness maybe next year, I just want to survive this year without putting myself in the black hole. Some people may call it perspective, some may say I worry too much, some may say your crazy for even attempting this race and the puff in a few weeks this soon after such an incredible fireworks show a few years back. I search for reasons and direction and meaning in it all. Am I headed down the path of self destruction again, or am I just hanging on to the past and looking for reasons why I am not as fast. Is it all real or imagined. This beast that we call fitness, what does it really mean. My goal is to be healthy and happy, sure I want to be a mutant, freak, but like I said above it all comes down to perspective, and healthy and not a freak is better than just burned out. My goals are to finish, I would like to finish in under 5 and 1/2 hours, the record to beat is 4 hrs 40 mins. If for some reason my body shuts down then I will deal, and reassess with the focus being to be healthy.

I have been resolved to this. It is temporary and lasting way to long for my liking, but what option do I have than to be in the moment weather that is good or bad, resisting the flow may cause it to last longer. The plan has been laid and now I just have to be ok with sticking to it, win or lose I am along for the ride. They say life is a journey not a destination, words of wisdom in this mad world. Wish me luck and good energy. as always keep pedaling.

the wait is over...

here is what happens when you mix booze, fire and desire to entertain....

Barr how do you like me now......

skids for beer.....

After a long day of riding a man needs a cold one. Thanks to Carey for the beer hold, notice the dog she is fending off, and Myles for the camera work.

Bend and all it glory

We took off on Friday to head down to Bend, OR, and the annual Memorial Day weekend of fun. I was really look forward to getting away and being in the high desert again for a bit. We loaded up the car in the morning and waited for our traveling partners to arrive. We remarked how odd it felt to be packed a ready and not scrambling around making sure not to forget but always forgetting at least three key components to the trip. We had it all, I wondered to myself if this could be a sign of age, or if I was just getting lucky. First stop was Walking Man brewery in Stevenson, a nice little spot by the Columbia River. Talking with Jacob was fun, and the beer was world class as always.



Then it was on to Bend. To make a long story short we had a lot of fun. There will be more on all the goings on later I will tempt you with this: What happens when you mix whiskey, beer, fire and bikes? scorchers to be exact.



That is just a teaser, this story is far from over.


Our travel partners, and partners in crime for that matter Carey and Myles. This is at the Diner in Randle, WA after a long day of driving and a bunch more to go.

Wade and I finally got to ride together.


That was on Sunday, i got a great ride in, we both rode the scorchers and had a blast, it was great to see Wade for a few hours and to ride some of his local trails that are way off the radar.

Saturday we rode in a huge group and had a great time bonding. I didn't take any pics but soon I hope to get some from Carey who did. Carey and Myles who are both new to mountain biking charged all weekend and rode like seasoned veterns. It was great to have them along. Carey works for Raleigh Bikes you can here more stories from her and others here and here.

I could go on and on, I am known for that, but I am stopping here, there is just too much to say, I saw old friends, created new friends and did some memorable things. Ever do something and wonder what your motivation for doing so was, and the cameras where there. I think it brought the whole camp together and made for a memorable moment in time, one that won't leave the memory bank soon. You will see what I am talking about real soon, I promise. Fire, booze and bikes. Bend, it will happen every year. as always keep pedaling.

The final countdown

After 9 days in a row of work i am down to the final day. I hear "it's the final countdown" dah dah dah, dat dah, dahda datdat da, that great song from Europe playing in my head. Tomorrow we head to Bend, its the anual Memorial Day weekend trip. Did it last year had a great time, looking forward to some high desert trails, visit with the man himself( the Vulture) that is, and hopefully get to ride with him.



In other news: Although I failed to enter the Creampuff on time, I was short on cash and wondering where my fitness would be. I got confirmation yesterday that I am in. I greet this news with one part happiness and two parts oh shit. I remember just what it was all about now. Really I am happy as hell, I love that trail, and there is no feeling that compares to being done with a endurance race. I feel so satisfied, complete, like there is no better place I would want to be, like it all makes sense, my place in the world that is. Enough, enough, I have this tendency to over type, speak what have you.

I will be seeing this again, here I am descending the Jedi Trail just before Aid Two. It's three laps again, I will see old and new friends. I sent my friend Mr. Kevin Noble a email saying that I had gotten in. His first email said "nice" his second said" what I meant to say was fuck I have to race you again." Kevin who has been kicking my ass up in Bellingham have no fear my man, it will be a solid day of fun, no matter what. I just hope I can find my fitness by then. I am really looking forward to it again, after two years of absence.

And waiting at Aid 2 that year my wonderful dogs.

so i've added some flair....

yes it clashes, and it is just a start, but then again it's brighter than it was.

Flair, not just the bare minimum either. Enough said, I always got a kick out of that scene.

aunties got back...

There she is in all her glory


I just poached this off the BaconStrip blog's comment section. Looks like they had a great time eating pancakes atop Peavine Mountain, wish I could have been there boys. But heres a little ditty that Wolfy composed I think...

I like pan CAKES andIcannotLie…
Al you otherbrothers can’y DE-Nie…
When Mrs. B walks up with her itty bitty waist
and her maply but in your face
You get SPRUNG
Wanna pull up tough
Cuz you notice that cake was stuffed (with baocn and Butter)
Deep in the bottle she’s wearing
I’m hooked and I can’t stop staring
Oh, baby I wanna get with ya
And take your picture
My homeboys tried to warn me
But that butter you got
Make Me so hungry
Ooh, rump of smooth skin
You say you wanna get in my belly
Well use me use me cuz you aint that aunt Jamima…

Thank you bacon strip for all the great snapshots of life in the land of eternal sun, hoping to get down there sometime soon. over and out. as always keep pedaling.

this whole blogin thing....

So I read other people's blogs, I could probably put link after link in this space that I am filling with my run on sentence filled rantings. I feel that my blog is all over the map filled with the days or as it has been lately the weeks or the moment I decided to blog thoughts. I feel that they lack a certain cohesion, the only common denominator being me. Photos, which lets face it make a difference in this sound bit society, are lacking. My thoughts, as much as I would like to put thoughts to words, just don't seem to sound the same when I write them as when I think them. When I think them they sound, well for lack of a better word, better, not so scattered, more cohesive and well thought out, not so matter of fact and boring. When I tell stories in person I get to see reactions, it has depth, I feel that when I write it sounds so we did this and then we did that. It lacks all those writer moments and insights that really make up the story, that add depth. I guess what I am trying to say is I think that I have more to say than I do, or I have more to say and I wish I knew just how to stay on task long enough to come full circle. There I go making no sense. I guess this is why I am attracted to things in the physical realm over those in the mental, while do physical things you either do or don't, you either are or aren't. It is base, simple and straight forward, there is no where to hide. The more you do it, the better you get. As of late by chance I have come across a handful of people that I am glad to have run in to and I hope I can put in to words just what it has meant to me. I get all touchy feely sometimes, it's a side effect of my childhood, but that's a whole other story.
So by chance within the last two months I have literally run in to people, and it has made all the difference. The kind of run ins that make you immediately think about what a small world it is, cause lets face it sometimes in this journey we call life we fell so small and insignificant. The first character in this story is my friend Craig, who I met in passing a few cyclocross races. One day I wonder what he was up to, I knew he raced mountain bikes and I need a partner in crime someone to go ride with during the week, turns out he has Thursdays off. Not a day after thinking what he was up to I run in to him while on my way to work, now he is on the job, he's a messenger, and we chat for a second, exchange numbers and we are riding that weekend. We schedule a ride for that weekend. Well here is what I am talking about earlier kicks in, I feel that my words have become no more than words on a screen and boring at that. I feel that what I am saying could be said with more flair, that is if I knew how to write. So I will cut to the chase. We arrive at the parking lot in Bellingham to ride and who shows up Kevin Noble, meet him at the puff a few years back. We exchange numbers and ride a bunch of times in the following weeks. Now the story really turns to those the world getting small or right place right time kind of things. Last Tuesday Danielle and I go to Tiger Mountain, its a gorgeous day, and I randomly have the night off because of scheduling difficulties at work, had that not been the case I probably would not have been out there at all. I exit a trial head and hear "Is that a Vulture?'' I stop and say "why yes it is." I am now standing talking with Carey and Myles, who I don't know, but they know Kevin. We talk, it feels all old friend like, not just met like, we end up drinking beers and it feels real from the get go. Kind of like we have know each other all along. I am struck with the feeling that I am where I am supposed to be, it is reaffirming, because I want to live where I can ride from my door to the trials, it is a bit far from my current house. There I go switching subjects and getting off topic, I am no writer, sorry dad, sorry mom, they are both English majors, and teachers at one point in time. this is said with a bit of sarcasm, how proud they must be ha ha. Its a joke both of them tell me they are proud of me, although my dark side wonders,oohh another dark comment. So there you have it I started out with the topic of blogging and rambled on. Cohesion is my challenge in the upcoming year. that and those photos i keep talking about. So here it is, my commitment to taking more pics, and to really keeping a written history of my life, cause lets face it on this blog it is his story..... ha ha, It is really hard to put inflection on to a blog, does my humor or lack there of come across, how bout my depth of feeling or my insecurities, we all got em. right? I' ll leave with that, more to come more often, i hope. as always keep pedaling.....

the birthday ride.....yer sufferfest

So the plan was set. Celebrate my birthday with a kick ass ride, one that leaves you wondering what the fuck did I sign on for. It started with 3 trusty soles. Kevin, Scott and myself. We wanted to be riding by 9 or so, well we got riding by 10 or so, the best laid plans.... The plan was to ride every trail, or to at least touch every major trail on Galbraith, which I found out is actually Lookout Mountain. Yeah look out here comes the pain. Now the numbers are Kevin and Nat numbers, every ride seems to be between 41 and 43 miles lately. This one consisted of lots and lots of singletrack, twisty rooty, short grunt kind of singletrack.... back to the story, we started at Kevin's house and leasurly spun the interurban trail to Whatcom Falls park and were quickly on the trails. Up the ridge trail, down Bob's trial, up the pipeline, a series of steep pitches that most use as a bail out going the other way. I forget some of the next trails, Rock and Roll, up something down 911 where I crashed really hard of a log, good scrapes on the ankle and shin, and we kept rolling on, and on, getting near to the towers a couple of times, but always veering away to hit some other far reaching area. Kevin had a great loop planned, and thank god that the ladies in our lives put a time limit on us, because I was hurting this day. The trails were in perfect condition, but my legs were wonder what I was asking of them. But the ride must go on, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger...well many of you readers may know that I need to be careful with that statement as I was and still worry about what I was able to do to my body and mind a few years back. That always is in the back of my head and I rest more than I used to, but I may need to slow it down a bit so that I have legs for some of the upcoming races. That said the rides must go on. Somewhere in the middle Scott need to take his medicine, and we met up with Dale another on of their co workers at Kona. Dale was fresh and we hit Kung fu something or other, then Cheech and Chongs wild ride to not Shawn's to not not Shawn's to the bottom, then it was up the three pigs and then it was up to the top of the Woopsy Woodle, now I was getting low on fuel and my stomach which had been bothering me all day really took a turn for the worse, well I pushed through, what else is there to do. Then it was up to the towers down Evolution to the Scorpion and then some other trial I forget the name of, Galbraith is such a lace, maze of interconnected trails that I have a hard time knowing where or what I am riding, i am getting better and I have left whole sections of this ride out cause I have no idea what I was riding. I know we finished on SST, which left me and my back wondering why I was riding with now suspension, my hands where wondering the same. While Kevin and Dale were raving about how fun it was I was standing in pain wondering about suspension. I may go back to it for the summer, oh gasp..... well here are some pictures in no particular order thanks to Kevin, who remembered to take a camera and some pics to boot.....
These are in no particular order.... Here somewhere towards the end of the Woopsy
Somewhere nice, and totally different from most of Galbraith
Scott a bit blurry at the bottom of Bob's

Kevin, our master of direction, taking a breather, and forming a plan
What a view, Scott, me, Robin and Dale...
Me on the corner towards the bottom of Bob's, I know most of the pics are of me, but then again it was my birthday, thirty fuckin three.....

cars a necessary evil.....

Before I get to the birthday ride post, I know you are all dying to know just how it went, i am sorry but you will have to wait another day. I know my posts have been sporadic, but when the weather is nice here in the Pacific Northwest one must take full advantage of it and get out and away from the computer and the house. It was a long long wet, winter,did I mention snow.....back to the post at hand.

Disclaimer, this is just my thoughts, so don't rip my head off if you see it differently, I will try to explain.

I know loyal readers will be wondering about the title. I commute by bike and have written about all the evils of cars, those things still exist. There is also a very good side to cars, not there exhaust or how much they clog up the road, but for most of us mountain bikers they are a necessary evil. I mean without them getting to the trial head would be a lot more of a chore. Now if you live someplace where the trials are really close, you should ride. I used to live for many, many years in places where this was possible and I took full advantage of it. But what about those times I wanted to explore the South side of the lake, without a car it would have taken a much larger time investment to do so. Not impossible I in no way am saying that it would not be doable, but time is money, and time in the saddle tends to tire us out, so to ride 40 miles before even hitting the trial is not very cost effective in the time on dirt equation. I will explain it more in detail, we mountain bikers usually like the joy and exhilaration found in singletrack, you know that foot wide path to enlightenment that we seek each and ever time we head out. Now lets face it the same old is that the same old, variety is the spice of life. That is where the car comes in we have to drive to find the variety in life that also leads to the dirt path to enlightenment, got it. I have now completely confused myself and rambled on about cars, on a bike blog, oh my I advocated cars, yes for the pursuit of the dirt path to enlightenment. They are good when used for the right purpose. They are not meant for in city travel, again they are only useful in the pursuit of the dirt path...... you get the point. Life would be different and I think that cities should have more paths, and bike only trials in parks, so that we don't always have to get in a car to search out our bliss. The colonnade park here in Seattle is a start, but what about real in city singletrack, that goes from park to park and around, sure we would have to ride pavement here and there but think about using the green spaces we have in a different manner, what would a little bike only singletrack do, but make more people able to find a passion that keeps them fit and is exhilarating. I have ideas, What about Discovery park, to Golden Gardens to Carkeek, and beyond. Think about it, it's not out of the question. So this post has spilled over its time limit and gone off subject, just a seed, I am just planting a seed.
My world would be vastly different with out a car, not that it would be bad, but we need to think of ways to move people differently so that cars are not the easiest, simple answer to getting around, only time will tell. I would like to think that we could include all walks of life, even us cycling bottom dwellers that we are seen as. I really think that bikes can change the world, that is if we let them and expose more and more people to them as an answer. Sorry I got all preachy there. enough is enough with the rambling, I hope it was clear enough to plant a seed. as always keep pedaling.... I know I promised pictures, but those will be here tomorrow, you'll just have to wait....

Galbraith Art

ONE
TWO

Notice the Kona theme???? These pics were taken up on Galbraith a mountain just out of Bellingham, WA. There are many, many trails and now 5 pieces of art. I have seen them all. this is just two of them, the french fries and the ???blades of grass, you be the judge. Have fun guessing which is which. After all I am captain obvious some times. Kevin sent these to me and I liked them and wanted to put them on my blog, so here they are for your viewing pleasure. If there is one thing, and one thing only that this blog needs more of, in this digital age, it is picture. After all a picture is worth a thousand words, I want to take more pictures I just never seem to remember the camera or if I do I get so caught up in the riding that I don't want to take the time to stop and pull the camera out. I need to get a smaller camera, that is weather proof and attach it to my hydration pack so that I can shoot on the go, from the shoulder or cuff so to speak. Well I think that you get the picture, ha ha get it. I know I should quit while I'm ahead or at least before I make to much more of an ass of myself, which by the way I am good at if you hadn't already noticed. enough already.
This weekend it looks like I will be staying close to home as there is danielle's family to be around, I will sneak away at some point, but birthdays need to be celebrated and young ones to be run ragged so adults can get some piece and quiet, thats where I come in, with my eternal energy, which I must tell you is running low today, rest is in order. What perfect timing I will hang out with family and fall asleep, ha, I will run around with a 5 year old and hope to keep up. So there you have it, not big ride this weekend, next weekend I hope to do a big birthday ride followed by some bbqing and beer drinking fun. I hope that kevin stays in town so we can attempt to ride all the trails on Galbraith, see the above picture in a day. Won't that be a 33rd birthday to remember. Thirty fucking three, I almost don't know what to think of it, that used to be so old, oh my god. My good friend Keith who planned a birthday party that included beaches and surfing is also celebrating his birthday in the upcoming week, young pup is only turning 30. ah to think of thirty brings back horrors. Anyways he put my name on the invite like I was gonna be at the beach to ring in my 33rd, keith I love you, but I gotta ride, I not really the beach going kind of guy. The mountains are calling my name. Hoist one in my name will ya.
I have rambled on much longer than I should have and probably offended someone, not my intentions. Best wishes to all and as always keep pedaling.

A Noble Sufferfest

Kevin Noble that is. Kevin lives in Bellingham and works for Kona, he has lived there for many years now and knows all of the trials in the area. Ever time we ride he puts together different trails and loops to keep it all fresh. The trend has been to get longer and tougher each week that we ride. While this Saturday's ride wasn't longer in mileage it was harder. It had rained all week and the ground was saturated, the kind that makes you feel like you have a bigger gear on your bike than you do. It also didn't help that my bottom bracket was totally toasted and knocking from side to side. I am not the best mechanic, and usually a single speed will just go and go, but then it needs some TLC, well thats where I am right now. My bike needs a little overhaul, the winter has taken its toll, and I need to invest in a few upgrades.
We started with a couple hours on Galbraith, think twisting, turning trails, power climbs and puddles were the norm. Then it was on the road for a bit, then the biggest climb of the day, on that has been dubbed "Sick Joke" nothing to laugh about. Its mellow in the beginning and then rears its ugly head with a quick rock strewn right handed turn in to a 15 + degree pitch that goes on and on. I wanted to get off, but would not allow myself, even though my arms felt like they were going to fail, funny they felt similar last week, but not quite as bad. Then we hit the Hemlock trial, more mud, and made our way around towards Lost Lake, more mud, pitches that were usually climbable were not and we pushed our bikes through the mud. We joked about the desert guys having it easy. Mileage in the northwest is deciveing, keep that in mind. We made our way back to the Ridge trial and then the interurban trail and on towards the home front. This sufferfest lasted 6 hrs but we were left feeling shattered. We chalked it up to the mud and the two pedal strokes forward, one back feel of the whole day. That night we ate pizza and drank some beer. The next day was a quick 2 and a half hours on Galbraith again and then I was homeward bound. Thank god the suffering is over for the moment. Now its time for a little recovery, I hope.
Hopefully we will celebrate my birthday by riding all the trails of Galbraith on the 12th of may. I look forward to it. thanks again kevin for the beating.

and we think we're tough....

This picture was taken from The Six Day Bicycle Race website. These hardened men were tough as nails. 24 hrs try six days. They would race on wooden indoor tracks for 6 days, covering unheard of distances. They were the stars of their time, making more money than baseball stars, they were the kings, not just the sideshows that we are now.
6 days on a small oval, on a fixed gear with smoke and thousands of cheering fans. 100 dollar primes, 1000 dollar primes. The equivalent of 5,000 dollars a day for racing. I didn't know anything about it until I stumbled on the book at the library, took it out and started reading. I am floored, at a loss for words. I am humbled by this, I think that 24 hrs is a long time 6 days, eventually it was teams of two, but still that is a long long time to be riding, reminds me of the RAAM athletes of today, although they usually have to work and don't get paid much at all, they have to do it for the love of the bike or the challenge. Apparently there is a movie too which I think would be fun to watch as well. thats all I have today, I have a bit more reading to do and then I am off to sling the beers at the Big Time Brewery.
To weigh in on a post by Dicky, titled "My current (self imposed) dilemma" to me, and call me a purist if you must. Riding a fixed gear implies that you not plan on taking your feet off the pedals while going down hill, and that you run a front brake, or brakeless, but I in no way intend to say or advocate the breakless concept, I roll with a front brake at all times. Taking your feet off and letting the pedals eggbeater is not riding a fixed gear, that is like the new double crank/freewheel set ups, they can't be called singlespeeds, thats not what they are. That is where i stand on the matter of fixed off road, feet in pedals at all times. AT the Furnace Creek 508 they don't allow the fixed riders to coast with their feet out of the pedals for just that reason, it is no longer the pure definition of riding a fixed gear. as always keep pedaling. over and out.....

so i read it a second time, i will change what i said, ride with a rear brake, just don't take you feet out the pedals. that phil wood hub that is fixed with a disc rotor sounds kinda nice, although wade at vulture made my decisions easy, there is no rear cable routing or disc or canti mounts of any kind on the monster cross. takes the thinking out of the equation.

life little treats

Well here we go again, I am not so good at remembering a camera to take pics on rides so the reader gets lots of text at times with very few visual representations. After all we are a visual culture these days. I will keep this post short and sweet. I should be racing at South Seatac right now, but the thought of going in circles didn't really appeal to me today, I plan to get out on the fixie for a bit of road time here in a bit, as soon as I get done with this here post. I worked late on friday night,was up early saturday to drive north towards Bellingham and a ride of 5 hours or so. I knew nothing of the route, terrain or what to expect. I planned to bring lots of food, even bought it, but you know what they say about plans, even the best laid plans..... but I digress. I had some, just not enough, good thing my riding partner did. Kevin had an amazing route planned with gobs of climbing. We started off on the interurban bike path and made our way south, after 6 or so miles of basically flat spinning the real fun began and up it went. On Thursday my legs has felt really crappy, while riding out at Tiger Mountain, so I had imagined that my legs would just be shot after no sleep on Thursday night and a long night on Friday, I was wrong, my legs felt quite good and we slogged up and up. We talked about Washington riding and compared it to other places, now I can see why singlespeeders are few and far between up here, everything is steep, wet and power robbing, oh yeah there is the roots and other slippery elements as well. On the other hand why not more singlespeeders and rigid ones at that, less moving parts means less maintence and I can't imagine the toll the weather takes on a full suspension bike up here. Back to the ride at hand, filled with ripping descents, kevin overshot a corner and hurt his thumb on one of them, it made descending a treat for him. The second climb of the day is dubbed "burnout", my immediate response to this was "why cause by the time you get to the top you are burnt out" to which he replied "yep" off we went, up and up and up, steep and steeper, grunting. My arms were taking a beating, I worried that they might actually just fail. We crest out and descend and descend on our way to the British Army Trail, a brutal hike a bike, that landed us at the top of the Blancard Mountain descent which was a fucking blast. Now at the bottom we began the ride home. We hit the lower trials on Galbraith and then the rails to trails home to kevins. All in all we had a great time kick the shit out of each other. WE ended with 6,800 ft of climbing in 43.43 miles in 5 hours and 20 mins. The numbers dont look like it was all that bad or tough, but it was. considering that most of that climbing was in the middle 15 or 16 miles of the ride. We plan on a bigger ride next time. oh goody.

Today is earth day, do something, but don't drive, love your mother earth. I will leave the sarcastic comment off then end here. Just be good people.

and finally this, and email from my good friend Dusty.....

Hey, first, I rode the cross-check fixed yesterday. I got a long way to go, but I just kept thinking about Rudy doing the puff and shut the fuck up.

So I think I bought a house here in Fort Collins and I was thinking that it had been a really long time since I had seen a Hummer. Also, there are at least two dedicated Subaru shops in town. I think this is my new criteria for judging the livability of a town, the subaru to hummer ratio. Ketchum- lots of subarus but also an inordinate amount of Hummers- no good. Back east, not many Hummers, but also not many Subaru's either, and they don't have roof racks- also not good. Fort collins, lots of subarus, especially pre-outback dark green beaters, nary a hummer to be found- ah, home.

Here is my response......

I like the theory, Tahoe,lots of subarus and lots of Hummers, after all the bay area is only 3 hours away, thats only a couple hundred dollars in gas to get your hummer up to tahoe and show it off, the ladies are impressed. Seattle, well its a city and I will only last so long here, but lots and lots of subarus not too many hummers at all, we are a humble breed here in the northwest. I will be moving on hopefully north to Bellingham, everytime I go there I fall more and more in love with the place, the riding sure is epic in every sense of the word. sounds like life is good, I would like to add that beer and the quality of beer in a place adds to this equation, reno ok, tahoe not much good beer, seattle lots of good beer, bellingham good beer,and you in fort collins have good beer, not so sure how the beer is there is sun valley.

so I lied short post my ass, what ever that means it was a long one but I hope you enjoyed it. as always keep pedaling and enjoy.

foiled again

This weekend we went to portland for "Filmed by bike" a celebration of the bicycle. It is short films about cycling or related to cycling. It is in its fifth year, and grows each year. They tell the story of the first year hoping that 50 people would show up. Last year they had just two showings on Friday at 7 and 9 this year they had 6 showing and it sounds like they were all sold out. 1,300 people in all. To me that is just amazing, and inspiring. Seattle we should get one going. Outside the theater, before the first showing.

Fat Tire was there with some of their bikes, sit and spin, oh not so good after all that beer.

"Filmed by Bike" raffle girls where everywhere.

After we went to the sold out 7 o'clock show we exited to see this madness, the streets before the 9 o'clock showing. too bad you can't read the lighted board. Is that called the marque? just wondering.

Like i said we went last year and it was great, we didn't really have to wait in line, this year was different we had to wait in line, the weather was similar, rainy, and the air was filled with excitement, bikes, bikes, bikes....what more is there to say.
We didn't really plan that well and ended up heading home that night so that we could get to the step it up rally the next day here in Seattle, we figured the traffic would be easier to deal with at night, than on Saturday morning. We had a really big step it up rally, we marched and chanted and showed our support for lower carbon emissions and our support that global warming is a real issue that we will need to deal with in the upcoming years if we wish to leave the earth in any shape for future generations. There were still people that were trying to tell the marchers that it is all one big hoax to make money, but it fell on deaf ears as everyone marching was commited to the cause. It rained on us a bunch, but by the end the sun came out and warmed everyones spirits.
Sunday my friend Craig and I went to Skukoom Flats and the trails off the 410 here in Washington. 410 is the road that goes out towards Crystal Mountain. As those of you who live here know this winter has been a rough one. It started hard and fast in November with the most rainfall in a single month ever recorded, and never really let up at all. Most people that I have talked to that have lived for a long time have dubbed it the worst winter in 15 or 20 years if not the worst winter they have ever had here. It went a little something like this, rain, rain, wind and rain, wind rain and snow, ice and snow, rain, wind, rain, I think you get the picture. We had a group that we thought were going, but it only ended up being us two brave soldiers by the time the day actually arrived. I thought that it would be difficult, but interesting enough I didn't think about the blowdown and damage we might see. I thought it would just be a bit damp and maybe a little muddy, but the soil out there is more loamy and filled with pine needles and roots. So we arrived it was bit chilly, but not too bad. Did the whole strip by the river thing, no peeking etc. then doned our uniforms and it was off to explore, and we got our monies worth.
This was the fifth or sixth tree that we came across in the first mile, and the only one that was even close to be ridable the others were head high. So I got my log hop on.....

and road away clean, I didn't say it was pretty though....

Craig got to enjoy some open trail, he is smiling like he always is.....

That was the White's Creek side of the equation, then we crossed the highway and went on an adventure, retracing the route of last years Greenwater Gamble, we added some extra climbing, and the whole time it felt like I had a lead weight attached to my bike, the earth was pedal power robbing, think snow melting on dirt and you get the idea, I felt filled with gu, and stuck in place, craig on the other had just pedaled along, damn gears. So we climbed for awhile and hoped to get to and intersection with the Sun top trial, but the snow turned us around, riding through snow at 30 miles an hour is fun, like cutting marshmellows, I hope you all understand that, cause I don't.
We wanted to be over there, I think, have to go back at a later date and do some more exploring when there is less snow on the ground.

After finding our way back and through some snow,we reconnected with the race course and eventually found our way to the Skukoom Flats trail, and we were off like a herd of turtles. There was a lot of blowdown on this trial, and even a large section of the trail missing. Just take a look at the picture....

and that suspension bridge that used to be so fun... well not so much anymore...

I would imagine that this trial will get cleaned up sometime in the future and maybe rerouted, well for it to continue it really needs to be rerouted, because the steep side hill hiking that we had to do was just a challenge we joked that the most fun thing to hike through brush and over and around trees with is a bicycle, it just felt like the forest wanted to grab every part and rip the bike from your had, by the end the bikes started to get a bit heavy on the arms, and the mind started to be a bit tired of on the bike off the bike. Like a bad cross race with 4 foot barriers that try to strip the bike from you hands. oh now thats an idea, that would make for a great spectator sport. any takers??????

So I have rambled on enough i figure and made up for not posting for awhile. thanks for reading, and if you made it this far you are a real trooper and deserve a medal or a chest to pin that medal on at the very least. as always keep pedaling......

testing, testing

yes I fell off the face of the planet, soon to return. family in town, my little brother to be exact. I just aint as strong as I once was. Won an Indie series race, I beat the other four people in my class, and to thing they didnt time it they just collected the finishing order. It was straight up and straight down and full of more mud, rain and snow then I have ever had the pleasure of mountain biking in. someday I will remember to bring the camera and document all these goings ons. Celebrated a birthday, not mine but my better halfs, and have just been out riding the bike. so hanging there and above all else, keep pedaling. thanks for tuning in. nat

what a weekend

Last week was a long week. It started on the Sunday after St Patricks day, work that is. I proceeded to work for the next 7 days. Did a bit of riding. There was a time trial on Saturday at the tapeworm trial. Check out photos here. I was having a great ride until I flatted. I forgot to check tire pressure and came the conclusion that I was running about 15 lbs of pressure just before the race. I didn't carry a spare tube or pump, so I ran for awhile. Did I mention that it had been raining all week and Saturday was no different. That cold rain that is unrelenting. So it was a bit of a disappointment to DNF, but better to make mistakes in a friendly time trial, than a race. I learned my lesson, one I should have a long time ago, always be prepared, or deal with the consequences. I dealt with them, but would have been more happy if I were able to fix the problem trial side as opposed to running.

Sunday, on 5 hrs of sleep I took off to Bellingham to ride with Kevin, it looked like rain but as I got closer to Bellingham, my eyes began to hurt, what was that yellow orb in the sky and the color blue, man it sure has been awhile since anything like that. It turned out to be a beautiful day, the trials were still muddy with a capital M, we had a blast chasing each other around the woods for the better part of the day. Lately the city life here has been getting to me a bit, I have been thinking about where I would like to live, not that it is terrible here, but I would like to be able to ride from my house to the trials and home if at all possible, I got to do just that on Sunday with Kevin. Danielle and I have been talking about moving sometime, that is if we can sell our house in Reno, don't get me started on that, I owe people money and can't pay right now and it hurts me deeply, finances are never fun to talk about, so I will stop, suffice it to say I am in a bad way until that house is sold.
So Bellingham was great, I got another taste of it and I like it. If I am to stay in the Northwest that is high on my list of places to stay. So Kevin and I chased each other around for 5 hours, we sampled a lot of the good on Galbraith, cant wait to do it again sometime. Kevin is a great guide, and i was lost for a better part of the day, meaning I had no idea where I was.
Now it is back to the grind, for a couple/four days and then my younger brother graduates from culinary school up in Vancouver, so I will be up there this weekend and then on sunday there is a race down outside of Olympia in Capitol Forest, Part of the Indie series. More to come on that.
as always keep pedaling.

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.