A random collection of thoughts associated with the sport of cycling, as relayed by one hopelessly devoid of too many competing interests. It's a one track blog I'm afraid. But hey, if you like bikes you might enjoy it. So keep reading and the worst that'll happen is it might rot your brain..

Sunday, December 28, 2008

2 weeks

It's been two weeks since the last post and hopefully everyone got out in the snow before it melted away in a flash. Snowshoeing at Lincoln Woods was fun and while I was enjoying the peace and quiet afforded by 14" of snow I didn't think I'd be out there on the bike this Sunday. But, we arrived home from Boston earlier than I thought and the snow was gone so I called Frate and Mike Sam and we went for a spin in the slick and muddy woods. The ground held it's own and wasn't soft but the rocks were icy and everyone went down, or almost went down, at least once. Frate sampled the Lincoln Woods brew of muddy water face first and was no worse for the wear.

The Throwdown was, as per usual, a crapload of fun. Once I get the longer video off the camera I'll figure out how to post it here. The first night was spent dodging really BIG old dudes while night #2 revolved around trying to get some decent photos from the bar above the stage.









Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Winter Warmer Fun Ride Recap

Thanks to all who came out on Sunday morning! We wound up with 300 + pounds of food and almost $200 in cash to give to the RI Food Bank. Not half bad for an event we pulled together in about two weeks time. Definitely going to get some better PR next year, if only to get more food dropped off (might stop tools from pulling down the arrows as well). Big thanks to EFTA for the help with the insurance as well. Thanks Craig for going out and putting arrows back up after people took them down!

The loop ended up being closer to 7 or 8 miles due to the 4" of water that fell during the previous week. Many of the trails were either under water or sheets of ice. Laying the course out on Saturday had me getting creative and utilizing one really old trail that had almost completely disappeared. Roughly 70 people came out to ride and/or help out. Stacy made some awesome chili (vegan friendly and a turkified version) and we had plenty of food to go around. The chili was a nice touch due to the cold wind coming off the water. Oddly enough temps rose ~ 5 degrees or more, and the ground began to soften considerably, while I was pulling down arrows. In keeping with the winter theme my dietary intake for the day was decidedly horrid; 3 donuts, 5 cups of coffee, two cups of chili, chips and some water. No wonder I finally succumbed to the cold floating around my office.

No pictures of the Sinister just yet. I was going to ride it but I found a huge cut in the front tire and the wheels needed emergency resuscitation. If it doesn't snow too much on Friday I'll get it out in the woods this weekend. Until then it's the trainer, riding fixed on the road and running (yeah, it blows).








It was a long weekend, and I got sleepy by the end of it. Remember, don't sleep and drive kids!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Life in the Snow Lane - and, come to our bike ride!!

First, let me apologize for having exactly zero pictures of the Sinister to share with all 2.25 of you who read this stuff on a regular basis. In case you are wondering it rides friggin' great! I'll whip some up soon I promise. It'll probably happen on Saturday while I'm out at Lincoln Woods stapling arrows to trees. Speaking of which, if you enjoy riding your bike in the winter and eating Chili (veggie and regular) afterwards then be sure to come on down to LW on Sunday for RI NEMBA's Winter Warmer Fun Ride Part I (part II to follow in Burlingame at a later date). Speaking of food please bring a can of soup or other food for the RI Food Bank. Bring a few bucks to toss into the raffle and win some bike related goodies. All proceeds are going to the Food Bank. If you are so inclined consider joining NEMBA while you're at it. We need members more than ever these days.

There will be one roughly 10 mile loop with a few stiff climbs and the usual things needed for MTB riding; dirt, rocks, roots and wildlife (well, creeps in the woods anyways, it is LW after all!). Registration will be 9-11. Don't show up too early, because I may not be there! Serious and for reals yo! If, perchance, you need to show up and ride before 9 AM just go for it and follow the arrows. Also, for all you freeride types, Mike Iafrate will be on hand if you would like to huck the gnar or just ride some of the more technical trails the park has to offer.

OK, now on to yet another race report detailing the excruciatingly mind, and extremity, numbing fun that was had at Goddard Park on 12/7. Yeah, you know what.. screw it. Here's the quick and exciting version from the point of view of some chump on a singlespeed On One.

"Hey this isn't soo bad, a little slippery but...OMG, OMG where the f*ck did all this ICE come from??!! OOOOFFFFFF that sucked. Woah, watch out dude! Don't worry buddy I won't run you over (this was repeated many, many times). Running sucks. Running really sucks. Is this over yet?? It is over! Yaaaaay, time to go eat breakfast like a normal person. Hey, $1 beer? Grrrreat! Sure, I'll go yell at Bad Brad as he looks oddly at peace with being in pain. Hey, there goes Dan"! "Where the hell is St. Germaine, and why does GeWilli dress like a janitor at these things?"

Did I miss anything? Oh, thanks to Stacy for putting up with me, taking the below pictures and waking up at an ungodly hour on a Sunday. And, it was good to see Lynne Sam out racing and in good health. Oh, yeah, and some Frate dude drank all the 'Gansett.

Hard to believe these pictures came from a phone. Granted it's an iPhone but jeez.. lucky Stacy, huh? Now if you don't mind I'm going to go feed my carrier pigeons, I have many messages to send out in the AM.





Friday, December 05, 2008

Simon Says

It's new bike time! I'm feeling Sinister... details to follow. No pictures yet but I'll leave you with some entertainment of some sort. Go get your Chocolate Choo Choo on and sit back and relax....

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Bikes, crap, bikes, more crap, and bikes.

I am in a phase of marked de-motivation when it comes to riding my bike in a fast(ish) manner. Not sure why but the desire to push hard evaporated recently and I couldn't care less. Even so I finally registered for the big Showcase Showdown extravaganza that is known as NBX 'cross weekend. This late show of support, and self malice, guarantees me a damn near last row start. Couple this with the singlespeed factor and I'm sure to be smoked. Of course, by some people's logic, merely racing a SS makes you an underdog hero or some such bullshit. Well then! I should seem like the fucking 1985 New England Patriots on Sunday morning to those folks! Mosi Tatupu and Steve Grogan express comin' through!! Outta my way bitches! Whoops, dropped the ball...again. Shit, damn you Eason!!

It's gonna take a lot less than a million fumbles, The Fridge and Ditka to ruin my race. I'm sure if I do end up DFL rolling on down the road at the start I'll trip all over myself trying to accommodate any accompanying DFLers. The last time I raced this course I found myself and another day of registration slacker fighting over who would get DFL honors going into the woods.. The conversation between myself and Mr. Bloodred Surly guy was something like this "You first. No no no, I insist you go. Nah, man, you go for it." Fine, I'll go!... I guess". Yes folks it's sure to be an epic battle of who could give a shit less, be sure tune in for the exciting details.

I am excited about the brief return of Dan Langlois, renowned international (er, East Coast anyways) man of velo racing, high dolla neckerchief pimping and home made woolen undergarments. I plan on procuring a new woolen base layer from the man to replace the rag I've been wearing for the last 10 years. At this point it fails to resemble anything a self respecting human would want touching their skin. It's that grody. In fact I bet the shroud of turin is cleaner.

Also, on a positive note, I will be sporting mostly hole free clothing in this race! This is nice. And not just because it'll keep me warmer but because any race poor Stacy attends usually elicits comments about how everyone could see my ass. I also hear all about the holes in my nasty jerseys and how they make me look like a bum who woke up beside the course and decided to give it a go. Sorry honey, no pro kit for a guy like me. But at least I won't be in threadbare rags this time.

In all seriousness it should be fun. I do wish that after doing 9 CX training races I could re-mount with something resembling grace, but it's been coming along real slow like. I broke my super duper wicked awesome 500 year old Schwinn Stinger saddle in Wakefield last week. Who knew Ti rails could break so easily? Well, they can when you remount will all the grace of a cracked out gorilla. Luckily I had a red one kicking around after the sale of the Kona. Speaking of selling bikes, the Rip9 frame is being sold tomorrow. I'm down to ONE mountain bike for the winter (well, OK, two if you count the Schwinn but that really doesn't count). It's gonna be all Karate Monkey all the time until I figure out which frame I'm going to buy. Sinister's Simon Bar and the Niner EMD 9 are on the short list. Someone out there give me another idea, or two, to mull around in my head. The only requirements are that it costs well under $1,000, it can handle 100mm - 120mm of travel, it's relatively light and is a neutral handler. Any ideas?

No pictures so I'll leave you with this. It is about that time of year again after all...

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