Thursday, April 29, 2010

Bike is in!!!




Not much to say, personal best on my lunch hour training ride today. Everything just lined up. Got back to the office and there was an e-mail from Brad. My bike is in!!! I just need to schedule a time to get back to the hometown and pick it up. Sounds like the Q-Ring is in too. More later as well as more pix than you care to see I am sure.

I'm out...

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Fixed again...





















While I continue to wait for my new 29er to show up I will have fun on my fixie. Had a great ride in this am and a nice Lunch hour loop. Only issues is that it seems like Grandad's walk to school held true today. No matter which way I turned there was a headwind. On the lunch hour loop I did end up finding a bit of a tailwind which pushed me the remainder of the way back to the office.

People ask why I have this addiction to Bicycles now I think I just need to tell them to hop on one and see if it catches. Maybe it is an illness and not an addiction. maybe both.

I'm out...

Ontario Cup #1 Mansfield

First race of the season loomed. I was waiting for my new bike to show up. It was not looking good. The Nishiki was having issues in the bottom bracket. I took it into a LBS who was only able to extract one side of the bottom bracket. They replaced the races and bearings and greased them up well. All in all I rode out of there feeling pretty good about how it was feeling. Still not solid but better than it had been in a long time. I went for a ride with a buddy an the Hydro-Cut in Kitchener Tuesday night. Rode well but about 3/4 of the way through I could hear the races crushing. That is not a good sound. I called my friends shop where I await my new Kona Unit and no luck. A mis-shipment had put it in the wrong city with no chance of it arriving on time. After I explained my plight he offered up his Kona Explosif singlespeed for the race.

Super excited with this bike with more bike bling than I have ever ridden I took it out for Saturday's pre-ride in Mansfield. It was just amazing. It handled well and rolled fast. It was my first time riding Tubeless as well as my first time with a Rotor-Q-Ring. Not sure if it is my training, the q ring, or the grippy Geax Saguaro running tubeless but all climbs were attainable in the 38x20 gearing. I was feeling good about the race. I wanted to ride the loop all day but decided it was better for me to rest. Back to the in-laws to hang out with my kid's and deal with my weird pre-race day eating habits.

Sunday was race day. Woke up early and ate my Yogurt, Strawberries, and Granola and a couple of my Mother in law's homemade energy bars. Got my e-load all ready and prepared myself. Showed up at Mansfield about an hour before the race to clear the butterflies and warm up. I was feeling good, watching to see who else was racing Singlespeed this year. Some amazing new Misfit Psycles Dissent Fe as well as a nice Vassago Jabberwoky provided some nice eye candy. A couple guys had a Misfit weigh off and from what I could tell the Dissent Al came in a hair lighter than the Fe in their current configuration.

Race time, we all lined up and chatted a bit more. I met a couple people and then we got the closest thing to a race face on and waited for the horn. We were off. I decided not to kill the first hill like last year as in the end it killed me. A few people passed going up. A long stretch of double track had me watching all of these 29ers roll past me while I was spinning like crazy to try to keep up. Once in the singletrack things started to look good. I moved up the field to find my comfortable pace. I took a header in a small technical downhill and fell back 2 places while still in the first lap. After passing these guys and a couple of guys from one of the Sport Male categories I was back where I was before. I had 2 guys in my sights that I wanted to catch as they were just a little ways in front of me when I bailed. It took me until half way through the second lap to make my pass on an uphill. Shortly after passing the first I was able to pass the second rider. Getting closer to the end of the second lap we were starting to catch up to slower riders from other categories. Made quite a few passes when they were available and rode out the rest of the race without incident. All in all I ended up in 9th place which I was very happy with after bonking last year and finishing 25th.

It was a great time and I can't wait for my race. Next up for me is the Mansfield Spring Epic 8 Hour. As in the past 3 years I will be running this race tag team with Paul. Should be on my new bike by then.

New things on the shopping/wish list after riding Brad's bike: Rotor-Q-Ring, Bar Ends for powering up climbs. If you are ever in/near Orangeville Ontario and need a great LBS look up The Epic Ride. Amazing people amazing customer service!

Closing, I had an amazing time at this race and just want to ride some more!

That's it for now... I'm out...

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Not Awesome but Simple and basic...


Perfect for my commute on the budget build is my old-tube strap. Just a length of quality double sided velcro slid thru a length of old 700c tube. Slits cut thru the tube for a micro-pump and tire levers. Basic elastic to hold the tube to the strap. Holds in place well. No lateral movement but seems to slide a bit vertically. I still plan on purchasing an Awesome Strap for XC as they are just a better built product. Just watched the video on their site and if I wasn't already sold I am now!! This will do for now but I probably wont trust it with any prize possessions Like I would the Awesome Strap. Sorry if I infringed on anything but I don't plan on selling it anyhow. The things you do on days you could be riding if you did not have prior commitments. Well, that's it for now. I'm out...

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Victory!!


After such a kick in the face type of ride yesterday and the report to go with it I just had to post about todays ride. It was amazing. Everything just flowed. Another loop to many of the same spots just starting and finishing from a different location. More climbing, more cadence testing, faster pedaling. Lungs and legs came out to play. And a hot shower when I got back!! Bike is still creaky. Probably get me a new bottom bracket for this bike so I can retain a 26er and a 29er. The 26er will be a great cottage bike. I may move to a 42x16 gear for up there tho. Well back to the salt mines... I'm out...

Am I an Oxy-Moron?? :)

Ok, I currently ride the 26er with gearing set at 34x16, and the Fixie at 42x13. I have been contemplating where to setup the new Kona 29er for her maiden voyage. Depending on how things work out this may also be my first race of the season (well probably the pre-ride). I am currently leaning towards 34x18. I was looking at running 32x16 or 32x17. Wow the gear choices on a Single-speed... I think I will likely end up riding 34x17 for everyday riding but think that 34x18 will put me in a good place for a Mansfield race. the reason I battle with this decision is that I always feel that I get a little jump on people by pushing the steeper gear. Of course there are the people out there well in front of me too :). I find 34x16x26 or a Gear inch of 55.3 extremely comfortable. I don't really have any time to test the new combination of 34x17x29 or 32x16x29 both are a Gear inch of 58.0. I am not sure if it is better to take the leap or move down to 34x18x29 or a Gear inch of 54.8. I am probably stewing over nothing. I already have a great 34T chainring I can transfer to the bike. The final option giving almost the same result is to keep the stock chainring and run 32x17x29 or a Gear inch of 54.6. All in all it will be a fun race. I will be somewhere mid pack anyway so why do I do this to myself? Ah all in the fun of the game I guess. That is all for now... I'm out...

Edit: After a quick read from Sheldon Brown's pages I was able to find out that I am fighting with .2 or .3 kmph if I were pedaling at 90rpm. I think I will go with 34x18x29 or 32x17x29 for the first race. Depends whether I feel like pulling a cog or a chainring that day ;)

Monday, April 12, 2010

Breakdown...

Can you count the way's 1,2,3... First off road lunch hour ride of the season. Attacked it hard. Felt pre-bonk way too soon. Rode thru it anyways as it is only a short ride (12km). Fought up to a respectable speed thru the whole ride. Paul was having a great ride and pushed me along the course quite hard until he blew a tube. Never ride in a pair with no tools or tubes... Then back on the bike I went back to Paul's and got his tools and a tube and delivered it back to him. Grabbed some water in his kitchen and energy was back. Damn it is time to put a cage back on that bike. So-far two fails... Anyway dropped Paul's stuff off with him and headed back to work as I had a 1pm meeting. Hit the showers.... No hot water!!!! Well I guess that was the story of todays ride. Better ride home after work I home. The old Nishiki is creaking like crazy from the bottom bracket, can't wait for the new Kona Unit to arrive!!! I'm out...

Edit: great ride home and to work today both above average ride speed from previous years on this bike. Maybe I just ate/drank/etc wrong before my lunch hour ride. Will do better next time...

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