Washing your bike

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

"Washing and cleaning your bicycle is something magical."

I spent a large porting of today washing and bike-lusting my HiFi XC Procaliber. Just ask the other guys at the shop, but "Pong" sure looks good.

Also re juiced my rear tubeless tire after picking up some glass and an inner tube almost a week ago. it was a small enough cut in the tread to patch it from the inside. Just for the experiment, I tried Stan's NoTubes Solution this time over Bontrager's Super Juice. I'm hoping the Stan's will work just a bit better in the more resilient arena. Not that the Super Juice didn't work; just maybe the Stan's solution will work better. Still running Bontrager's rimstrip and valve stem, though.

Now quick.. go wash your bicycle. It will love you back!

Dirty Dawg Report

Hmmm. Tails from the Dirty Dawg.

A good day, not a lot of folks :-( Enough to keep it fun, though!

Pro / Expert add on loop was tough. way tough. at times, i thought about easier trail on rough sections of the Appalachian Trail. God bless Ben Brown for trying to keep it fun and challenging, but let's keep it ridable for folks other than the top pro / experts. Rumor has it, Ben is already planning on a different route for next year.

Well at least the main loop of the race was much more reasonable and ridable. This is the section most used by intermediate and beginners. So, still a reasonable mountain bike course for most.

Being unfamiliar with the course was my disadvantage. somewhere in there, i never picked up on the multi loop idea once the pro / experts completed their add on loop. I never quite knew where I was other than looking at my odometer and time. oh well. as Thomas Jenkins said when I commented about what I was doing at the start line with all these fast people, "It's just another Sunday ride in the woods." Well, Thomas rides quite a bit faster on his Sunday rides than I can, but hey, I was there and did not finish last. Yup. Some poor soul dnf'ed, and I finished 6 of 7.

Outside of the first two pro / expert finishers (Thomas Jenkins and Chris Pohowski, the other four of us finished fairly within reason of each other. In fact, in my efforts to not start too fast and finish within reason, I apparently put the fear of challenge in Ashwin's mind. Apparently, having left me behind in the technical walking section, Ashwin slowed down... until I came up behind him at the most in-opportune time... when a stick jammed in his rear disc rotor. I didn't even look at his face as I rode by and said "Sorry about the stick, good catch on not breaking the bike." Later, when I dismounting to ease my weary legs, Ashwin slow motion attacked from behind and took the lead. Good job Ashwin! (read Ashwin's report here.) I never got back on the lead, but I at least put the fear of mountain biking in someone's mind!

I finished 20+ miles at Mountain Lake's Dirty Dawy mountain bike race at 2:29:27 just 2 minutes and 12 seconds behind 5th place and less than 1/2 an hour behind first and second. oddly enough, those are about the speed and time I expected. Hmmmm. maybe my days as an pro / export are not over yet.

Good to see everyone from the Blacksburg shop, especially with so many of them participating!

Props to Wake Fulp of Roanoke kicking some XXC results!

btw. this race was much better for me in the realm of pace and lack of cramping wise :-) I started more reasonable for 20+ miles and made sure to drink while including e-cap powder in my drink mix and hydration pack. only started to cramp while trying to give it extra umphf out of the saddle on the last section of pavement and gravel road. I was happy with my results.

Pre Dirty Dawg 2008

it's 20 to 12am. i should be sleeping. funny how that always works. oh well. i've just been getting some stuff together and ready for the second annual Dirty Dawg mountain bike race.

last year, on 01 april 2007, for what was supposed to be the first of the Series 5 races, i volunteered and cheered folks on. it was good to see a lot of peeps i knew and used to know smiling and happily grimacing on their bikes.

this year, after my ill fated race at douthat, part of Kyle Inman's series, Middle Mountain Momma, i have mixed emotions regarding the possibility of being tackled by another grueling mtn bike race. hmph. bring on the pain train baby, 'cause i've got mind games on my side. ;-p yes, mind tricks of the jedi i have... hehehee.

oh yeah, also have the power of atari. Gordon pointed out the font on my Fisher HiFi XC Procaliber strongly resembles that of the fabled Atari. now if i just could get my hands on that Atari belt buckle....

Winning the Lottery

Sometimes you win the lottery... but you just didn't know you were playing or what the prize was. Well, it's a pretty cool prize, but there goes my chances for the powerball.

So, a friend of mine really likes vintage travel mugs. You know. The first ones before they were all fancy and fit in cup holders? Yes sir'ee. These travel mugs were ceramic with a narrow top and wide bottom with something of a gripper on the bottom to keep it from zooming across your dash board. Well, these champions of travel were replaced by fancy steel and plastic lined 'thermal' cups that fit in car cup holders. Now a-day's, champions of the far superior vintage travel mugs are relegated to finding replacements in thrift shops and the like.

So, I keep these vintage mugs on my mental shopping list whenever I find myself in such a cornucopia of left behind and hidden treasure.

Here comes the lottery winning.

On such a recent occasion, not only did I find a vintage travel mug in good condition (see above pic), but I also found this rare gem. Yes. Neither my friend nor I knew such a travel mug existed in all it's glory. Not just a vintage travel mug, but a vintage travel mug fired from classic Japanese chinaware complete with beautiful representation of the strength and beauty of the American Eagle.

This makes Bob Ross look like a stick figure artist! Perhaps the only thing that comes close is a certain 'pocket' knife emortalized with a winged 'buckskin bambie.' Now that was truly a knife that almost brought a grown man to tears. But this mug... this vintage travel mug... this vintage travel mug of Japanese chinaware embellished with the enormous power of the classic American Eagle?!

Well.. I won't be winning the lottery any time soon, and a certain top tier adventure woman will now be amping it up with the power of a rare beauty!

General Tso

"Why is it General Tso's Chicken? 'Cause it's Tso frickin' awesome!"


Thanks for the insight Gordon. How true it is. It's nice to have you back in the shop this summer.

btw.. who is General Tso? Check the Wikipedia article HERE.

Rock - Paper - Scissors & Chuck Norris

If paper beats rock, rock beats scissors, and scissors beats paper, what beats all 3 at the same time? Answer: Chuck Norris!

ps:
Chuck Norris' roundhouse kick is so powerful, it can be seen from outer space by the naked eye.

and oh yeah:
Chuck Norris can touch MC Hammer.

Unconfirmed Speed Record

In a phone interview last week, a new speed record was claimed on descending Catawaba Mountain. The bike was a coaster brake, and quite possibly a JC Higgins. The rider's own speedometer was topped out at 40 - 45 mph. However, while passing a Dodge Dart, the rider was able to look inside to the Dart's dashboard and read that speedometer, which read 65 mph. Since the rider was passing the Dart, with his bicycle, the rider claims a speed of 70 mph during the descent.

It was not clear which side of Catawaba Mountain this majestic feat was accomplished. However, I feel the greater feat in this story is a Dodge Dart traveling 65 mph.

JBC's and Sour Cream

Is is so wrong. I mean, people, put sour cream on their baked potatoes with bacon bits don't they? Why not sour cream on a Junior Bacon Cheeseburger from Wendy's. I like it, anyway.

2008 National Bike Summit - Climbing Capitol Hill

05-07 March 2008, I took a break from my daily role of assisting folks with their cycling needs to travel to Washington, DC. There, I attended my second National Bike Summit (sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists) to learn, network, and lobby for bicycle rights and recognition.

In contrast to last year's specific issue requests (Bicycle Commuter Tax Relief Act, Virginia's Ridge and Valley Act, and Bicycle as Transportation Study Program), the goal of this year's summit was to broaden America's view of bicycling to include being a viable solution towards today's health, energy, pollution, and transportation issues. Bicycling is not just a recreational hobby; bicycling poses viable solutions to today's needs.


New friends and familiar faces gathered to meet with our governmental representatives to ask for their support with recognizing bicycling as an important issue in the public interest. The first 'ask' was to support a Congressional Resolution creating a case for developing a national strategy to increase bicycle use and safety and to substansively include bicycling in efforts to solve today's challenges of pollution, health, oil dependence, traffic congestion, and more. The Second 'ask' was to take federal action in adopting Complete Streets Polices for the recognition of all road users, not just automobiles, in future transportation and infrastructure projects. The third 'ask' was to fund and support the National Park Service Centennial Initiative, a commitment to restore and repair our national parks in time for the 100th anniversary in 2016. A main goal of supporting this initiative is to improve and expand foot and bicycle access of the parks to increase exercise and better connect visitors with the natural world.

Sometimes, meeting with our goverment representatives can be a fast paced, hectic affair. Meetings are often done, on-the-fly in hallways, and even more often with 'office staffers', the folks that really run our nation. Note: the smallest person in the pic is actually the staffer, and the blur was someone trying to squeeze by in the 'rush' of politics.

All in all, the Summit was successful. There is an increasing reception of bicycling as more than just folks in spandex on childhood toys. Bicycling is being recognized as a viable alternative presenting solutions to today's challenges... along with a way to have fun.

(Socializing and Networking over an IMBA hosted dinner)


(Thomas of Shenandoah Bicycle Company takes a break between meetings)


(quite a mix of folks... all connecting through bicycling)

Fires on Mill Mountain :-(

Here's the video from Roanoke Times

Here's the link to the online article.

Trials of being sick...

So. Somehow on the way back back home from the National Bike Summit, I got hit with the Crud / Flu... hard. The worst part wasn't the high temps and feeling awful or even the coughing. The worst part was getting the hiccups from how hard / deep I would cough. Sure, the old adage of drinking water from the opposite side of the cup while upside down usually works for me while just bending over. Not this time. Extreme measures had to be taken. Due to general weakness, standing on my head could only be achieved twice. After that, Kristin suggested, and I acted to hang from the ladder to the loft. It worked! On my way back right side up, though, I smacked my head on our hook sticks, popped a lense out of my glasses frames, and got a small cut over my right eye. My hiccups were gone, though.... for about another 30 minutes anyway.

more of Frank's doodles

Two of the 'Three B's'...

Thanks for the snacks, Gary! We're always happy to help out.

No worries on the third B, but two out of three isn't bad.

I'll be in my office..

You thought your cubicle was small.

full moons

Somedays, I can just guess its a full moon. Sure enough, today is not only a full moon, but there was also a lunar eclipse last nite. (Photo courtesy of the Roanoke Times)

Oddities Museum Expands

Patient waiting has paid off. Finally, a display case for main attractions of my growing Museum of Oddities. Currently featured, a double feature of the Rubberband Octopus (formerly Rob's Rubberband Ball) and the Petrified Lime.

HiFi Keeps Moving Forward...

Hmmm. The HiFi in a cross country platform versus an all mountain platform. Nice. I love my HiFi Pro, but I think the cross country 3-4 inches of travel with racier geometry might suit my tastes a bit better than the all mountain 4-5 inches and more upright/comfortable position. I like the new ProCaliber. (available also in the more modestly priced SuperCaliber and Caliber.) Click the link to read more about the HiFi XC Series.

Brush Fires at Carvins Cove

High winds and wildfires report by the Roanoke Times

video courtesy of the Roanoke Times

continued video on the wildfires courtesy of the Roanoke Times

Cold weather still here.

So as the weather returns to regular February weather, let us not dwell on the fabulous warm weather of late. Instead, lets think back to late January on a Sunday when the high was in the low to mid 20's. Brrr... for Virginia. Somehow, though, Frank and I still headed out for a road ride. Just shy of 2.25 hours.

I had just got a pair of half lobster claw gloves, Borealis, from Planet Bike. Toasty.


Sure wish I'd had my Castelli Wrap Due booties then, but with a steady pace my body somehow managed to stay mostly warm.

One of Frank's water bottle froze during the ride and had to be thawed inside his jacket. My cytomax slushed up but frequent sips kept the top from freezing. My plain water bottle had an ice chunk in it that was still there 45 minutes after getting home.

(I think Bob still owes us lunch. He didn't believe we would actually ride.) Still, it was a good day to ride.

Trail Reviews

For Steve from West Michigan-

Thanks for asking about the trails. They are great.
Here's some info to get you started until I can get a better review.
Also, East Coasters Bicycles has been updated our ride info pages for Roanoke mtn bike riding. They are quite improved with lots of great info.

Carvins Cove: Great variety, lots of options, newly signed, local favourite

Explore Park: Great design, fewer trails, possibly closing :-(

Dragon's Back: Wicked tough, intermediate to expert riding only, poorly signed

Mill Mountain: in town single track fun

Check www.blueridgebicycleclub.com for their ride calendar as well as www.roanokecycling.org for their rides.

Check back later for more in depth reviews.

from the cookie...

Fortunes from the cookie on New Year's Day. Courtesy of Red Palace Chinese Buffet - Valley View.

"Idleness is the holiday of fools."

"The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."

Funny. I had just finished a 25 mile mountain bike ride with friends to celebrate the New Year.

time for the epic rides...

Last Sunday 30 december 2007 - last ride of the year and a very much needed ride for my sanity. I thought I would try to beat the rain. Read the following quote to find out what happened.

"you know you're wet from riding in the rain when you stand out of the saddle and feel all the water move in your tights. that's waaaay past a wet chamois. 1.5 hours and half way with no where else to go but keep riding; so i did."

I was in the middle of Bradshaw Road and the temp was in the mid to lower 40's.
I started shivering the moment I made it back inside my flat... because I stopped moving and generating heat from the inside.
Props to my clothing choice. At least 1.5 hours in soaking rain and my core was still dry. Arms, legs, hands, feet, and face were soaked, but my core was dry. Amazing what a wind vest can do.

Honest Tea and the Lorax

another Green Dragon Honest Tea, another tea lid... and another saying.

"Unless someone like you cares a whole lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." The Lorax - Dr. Seuss


(it's a good book. i own a copy. i'm a forestry / resource management major remember?)

From the Cookie

"It is easier to make friends than to keep them."

"Softening your attitude opens your heart."

"The current year will bring you much happiness."

(funny, I got the last fortune from a friend much the same time I got my Gary Fisher Triton fix gear.)

Mill Mtn Trail Work

It's always nice to give back to your favourite stomping grounds.

Earlier this morning, I joined Paul Chapman for some trail work near the Mill Mountain Discovery Center.

Nothing glamorous like building a rock staircase, see-saw log obstacle, or even making new trail, rather, we just did some needed maintenance on the grounds around the Discovery Center.


Mulch, Mulch,and More Mulch. Although the pile was not quite as big as this photo, the goal today was to spread mulch around the Discovery Center's gardens.

Despite the Girl Scout group canceling due to weather (keeping third grade girls gainfully helping, warm, and dry in forecasted freezing rain can be quite a task.) Paul and I were joined by some regulars, the Donahue Family.

Turns out the weather was not to bad; at least no freezing rain anyway, and most of the mulch still got spread. A good day was had by all :-)

Keep an eye out on East Coasters Bicycles webpage for future trail work opportunities.

Also a shout out to Les, who braved the cold for a road bike ride up to the Star. Sometimes, its about the Need for the Bike.

Wonder Twins

Stupid... but the best.

Strange Peanuts

Don't ask.
Thanks for the peanuts, though, Paul.

another Frank Deal creation

i thought this one was lost to the recycle bin. somewhere, though, deep from the musette bag, another Frank Deal stickie note art creation resurfaced.

Honest Tea Lid

"It isn't the mountain ahead that wears you out; it's the grain of sand in your shoe." - anonymous

- courtesy of Honest Tea




(i prefer the green dragon brew.)

Virginia Tech A day of Cross

I'm a little miffed. I lost a cyclocross race today due to a continuously plaguing seatpost clamp issue. Until now, I have calmly dealt and accepted it as a working issue. Today, though, I had the holeshot and could have held it... until the clamp slipped... again. The Thomson is on the way and can't arrive too soon now. I did however get props for making up minutes off the back to reel in two other riders (sorry Skip) and could have got a third rider if there had been one more lap. None the less, it was another great day of racing, and for once was in my own home turf (Blacksburg). Thanks to the Virginia Tech Cycling Team for hosting a cyclocross race!

MSG Cross 2007 #03

It's not every day you get to enter a Spiraling Cyclone of Death... unless you ride / race cyclocross!

holiday post-it art :-)

Kristin Strikes again with the art work. Thanks, Kristin :-)

Leprechaun Mario Kart 64

 

Thank's Frank! Now, I can be in Mario Kart instead of just wishing. Maybe it will help my cyclocross speed...

btw. Ben J. of the Blacksburg store says he believes in my Leprechaun Magic, but is worried about the fact that I am a Ginger as well. I told him to look over his shoulder as I was right behind him, but he did't want to look. Don't fear, Ben. I remember when you helped a leprechaun out when he first started working at East Coasters Bicycle, Roanoke.

I like Tater Tot's.

'Nuff Said.

Leprechaun breaks loose on Halloween

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Dermont Pimpkins, the Leprechaun Pimp.

Rowdy Dawg 2007

It's been a few years since I raced the Rowdy Dawg. The Rowdy Dawg roots go back a ways with me to my college mountain bike racing days. 2007 was the year, though, perhaps due to my new Gary Fisher HiFi Pro, to dust off my memories and bark out some new ones.

What was I thinking!? What was the course layout thinking?!... oh yeah.. epic. 30 miles for the Expert course and with only two laps up to the Fire Circle. None the less. Fresh with only one Cyclocross race under my belt (yes, the time of year I should be focusing on short, hard and fast efforts) I went for the expert course. My goal; to finish... in about four hours or less. That's about an 8 mph average. More than doable for me but would I last the duration?

With 74 other finishers, I did last the duration. In fact, I met my goal. 3 hours 55 minutes. Fourth Place in Men's Pro/Expert.... of four riders. It hurt.. a lot, and there was even plenty of conservative bike pushing for me. I was mainly worried about being able to complete the course and riding smart enough to last. It must have been fun, though. Several folks commented that despite my tired appearance, I looked happy :-) As a side note: the first place Chris Pohowski finished just shy of one hour before me and was quickly followed by second place Mike Coco on his single speed. Third place Derick Dotson had a more palatable 21 minutes on me.

Four hours of fun, fourth and last place, and I still walked away with Rowdy Dawg socks, a pint glass, tire levers, and second pair of socks with flowers and skulls.

Topping off the whole enchilada of my return to racing Rowdy Dawg... during a post race meal at the Cellar, I found Corvette Pinball. I rallied my senses enough to get in two games. The second of which ended with 110 Hundred Thousand plus points. Sounds pinballaliciousness! But not really. High scores were well over 100 Million points. Still, nothing like a good game of pinball.

Apparantly, it was pretty entertaining to watch me play. Too bad no cameras were available, but I least, thanks to the wonderous interweb, I was able to quickly find these pics of a similar but apparantly recently restored and available for purchase Corvette Pinball.

Looking forward to next June for the 2nd Dirty Dawg at Mountain Lake. Do I hear a Shenandoah 100 whispering to me?

Urban Cross at Ix 2007

Here are a few pics of my first cyclocross race of the 2007 season, Urban Cross at Ix. Photos are courtesy of Kevin Dillard. Check out his great photography at Velophotos.net

Note the slightly askew front shifter. Must have been post crash.

Definitely post crash. See the road rash on my bleeding left elbow? That's cross.

Not me, but hopefully my remounts look this good. Besides, this is just a cool 'just the right moment' photo. Props to Kevin!


Hmmm. Maybe all that Mario Kart from days ago has something to do with my love of cyclocross. Toad and Yoshi were my favourite drives.

A Happy Little Moment

Thanks to Frank for this 'Happy Little Moment' ala Bob Ross. It started with some happy mountains and a stream leading to a happy little El Chupacabra. Then Bigfoot appeared from behind a tree while an alien joined the scene. Caught without a camera, all Frank could do was this sketch artwork to document this 'happy little moment'.

Cyclocross at Ix 2007 - My first CX race of the season

My first cyclocross race of the season; Cyclocross at Ix 2007. I digged deep, but my front tire dug.

I am not looking at a very full cyclocross season this year. This is mostly due to race dates on Saturdays (a day I am usually working) and a lack of desire to travel far and wide this year. So, my season goal is to have fun, race what I can, and try some new things.

Cyclocross at Ix 2007 gave me a chance to try three new things. One that went wrong, one that just didn't go so well, and one that went great.

My front tire 'dug' was what went wrong. I was trying (completely through authorized experimentation) Stan's No Tubes on my front wheel. The Stan's had held well enough in trials and practice and seemed ready for racing... until about a quarter into the first lap. The tire 'burped' and lost significant air. I kept pushing despite the air loss. It didn't seem too bad. Yup. While digging into a 180 corner (on a small section of concrete pad) at the bottom of a descent and before an ascent, my front tubeless tire dug deeper with enough lateral pressure to pull it off the bead. - Mental note: no more Stan's for my road rim w/ low air pressure cx tires.

Quickly rebounding back up, I shouldered the bike and took off running for the pits, only one third into the first lap. Fortunately, the layout of the course allowed cutting the course to reach the pits but returning to exact point of leaving the course. Grabbing my spare front wheel and briefly explaining to a curious young boy (who had raced earlier) what my birthmark was rather than road rash, I ran back to the my crash site and dug deep to finish the race. Somehow I even reeled in at least one other rider.

Experiment two: I'm returning to moto style brake set-up. I'm just too used to moto and had difficulty braking into barriers and steep, off camber 180 descents. So, back to moto.

Experiment three: I'm really glad I went to a 27 tooth cog.

Thanks to all those unknow spectators who encouraged and cheered me on! I was a tough but fun course. Not to mention a 5' wide by 10' long by 10" deep sand pit. Props to Blue Wheel Bicycles and all those who participated in running the events of the day for a great day of cyclocross racing.

Gel Seat Cover Description

Gel Seat Cover Description

'It's like an omelette in a zip-lock between you and the seat.'

(All credits are due to Frank Deal for this statement.)