Metamora

For some reason that city name reminds me of Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings.
As if my nerdiness needed to be further confirmed...
Anyway, WORS #2 was this weekend, Rhinelander. As cool as that place is, it's Canada really and Canada is a long way away from a south suburb of Chicago.
Luckily we had an alternative, The Illinois Homegrown Series. Today's race was in Metamora and put on by PAMBA. This was just over a 2 hour drive for us.
We arrived in plenty of time for John to pre-ride. I didn't want to do a whole lap, just get a feel for the entrance/exit really.
So John got back and pretty much told me what I expected. It was 90% singletrack.
Sweet.
First was Zoe's race. Turns out it was a grass race and she was riding her small wheels. John and I had to push her the majority of the race, but that was fine. She still had fun. Even though she did cry.


For finishing she received a water bottle with a full size Snickers bar! Um, jealous!
John and I started at noon. Shortly after Zoe's race I lined up. Women's Open started with the sport men. This made me very anxious. I was relieved when the women asked to start after them.
I was second into the singletrack. I was able to get by the lead girl when she bobbled after the creek crossing. So it was me and Betsy cruising through the singletrack. I know she's a stronger rider than I am, but I also know I'm a good singletrack rider. Still though, I was breathing hard and she wasn't. My hip and back were already starting to hurt, not to mention I had numbness in my leg starting (I'm beginning to think I have some kind of sciatica going on).
The course was awesome. Bench cut singletrack, whoops, bridges, multiple creek crossings, log overs, ravines. GAH! SO.RAD. Betsy got by me when we were spit out on essentially one of the only places on the course not singletrack (there and the start/finish). It was about a mile long and perfect to get some food and drink in ya.
I would say all the sport men we came upon let us by right away, barely having to ask.
I only had one problem with one dude. I'll get to him later.
Moving into the second lap Beverly creeped up on me on the switchback climbs. She is such a strong rider. So is Betsy for that matter. I had settled on my 2nd lap riding my own race, however the hip/back/leg thing was very discouraging. I don't think my result would have changed, but not having any power and just being uncomfortable sort of sucks. To add to that, I had issues with my 2nd gel. It just didn't want to settle in my stomach. Yuck.
My favorite part of the course was the beginning singletrack (all benchcut and downhill and then there was a section with a few log overs. I just love that shit.
I finished 3rd. Beverly had actually passed Betsy to take the win! WOW. How cool to come from that far back and win. Good stuff.
I sat around waiting for John to come in and trying to stretch out when I saw John come in all by himself. I knew he had won! How very cool for him. I think I was more excited than he was.
Afterwards we cleaned up and headed for awards. Ryan was 3rd age, I finished 3rd in women's open and of course John won expert. Cash payouts for both of us. After race entries paid and gas money and food, we were still up over $50.
I hit a tree once while racing. Doris took the brunt of it. Her glass dome and fist are a bit bruised.


I was going to dedicate a paragraph to the sport racer dude I mentioned above- who is the reason I'm sitting here drugged on ibuprofen and an ice pack, but I'm not. I'm super annoyed at his lack of understanding what racing is about, but, I guess, that's racing.

There's a pretty cool photo sequence of John entering one of the creek crossings.
Start here and hit the arrow forward. I'm amused easily, but it is cool.





Next up: WORS #3. Wausau.

Because I'm so not going to Canada next weekend

Rhinelander is frickin' far.
I have no desire to sit in the car for that long for a 2 hour race.
It doesn't help that the kids are still in school, the drive back is hell, not to mention the next day.
PAMBA has a race scheduled for the same Sunday. I'm 99% sure we'll be going down there.

Anyone want to come? It'll be fun.

more frame talk...

So to get my mind off of waiting for the Form (which reminds me, I have to finish getting my measurements), I've been looking at full suspension bikes.
I'm not big on full suspension for cross country riding 'round here, but they can be fun. My reason for really wanting one is, well, let's be honest, it's another bike to geek over, but a couple Super D's on my tentative schedule have me really thinking on what I'd want.
I've been looking at the Yeti forever. I've always had a soft spot for them since Missy Giove's days. The A.R.C. was so pretty. I can't imagine riding one now... That rear triangle screams ouch to my back. But their full suspension bikes, yum.



I love the ASR-5 and just recently fell in love with the ASR-5 carbon. Yeti is one of my customers at work, so the deal I'd get is a steal. HOWEVER, their sizing is wonky for me. Like WTF- the XS has a 15.8" seattube with a 21.6 toptube, which is essentially my Eriksen- but the Yeti has a 68° headtube. Ugh. So the small jumps to a 18.5"! seattube and 22.6" toptube. Um, I'd have like 2" of post. So I'm not going to take a chance on either size and nobody has a demo. So I'm looking elsewhere.

Elsewhere brought me to the Ibis Mojo. I have a love/hate relationship with that frame. The only thing I can't get by on the Mojo is the cable routing on top of the toptube. Ugh. The only other way they could've routed it is under the downtube and I don't like that much either. On top at least it won't get muddy, and I usually don't sacrifice function over aesthetics and downtubes in my experience get pretty darn muddy.

Now, what color?



And since this wouldn't be a blog post without me complaining about the weather, WTF Mother Nature? At least we aren't getting snow like some of our friends up in Wisconsin.

Mom's day picnic today. Errands. Blah.

New frame... again

Keeping in touch with Zach and Sara since they've left, Zach has gone on about Daryl from Form. Forwarded me pics of his frames and just spoke of him as a friend in general. I had the fortune of meeting and riding with Daryl while on vacation. While we were out there, that Saturday, we spent the day essentially in Daryl's front yard- the Sedona trails.
He was riding a ti 29er that was pretty pimped out. Super clean and just beautiful, and you all know how picky I am about aesthetics.



At this point I was still on the fence about getting a custom 29er built up because I had maybe a ride or two on the Superfly. The Superfly was/is my experiment into a lightweight 29er, do I want to race one or do I just want it as a fun bike? Seeing his bike was definitely leaning me towards- yes you want a ti 29er (duh).
After getting some time on the Superfly, as much as I dislike the geometry, I climb well, it's fast and just plain fun. I love my 26" bike still, but there is just something about a 29er that is fun; I can't explain it really.
As mentioned before I've had issues with the Superfly steering and handling in general. I know I'd eventually adapt to that, but what I probably won't adapt to is the carbon. Carbon is sick light, but it feels dead. I'm not sure if I can explain it, but a ti or steel bike just feels alive; it's forgiving, yet stiff. I've been spoiled. It was pretty much a no-brainer that I would get a custom ti 29er and I've contacted Daryl at Form to do it.
So I dug the handling of the Ferrous, the climbing of the Superfly and the feel of my Eriksen- the Form will have it all, not to mention a killer headtube badge.
Some people say that mountain bikes don't have to be custom... most people who say this have never had a bike built just for them.

Anyway, it's going to be sick!

DNF

First race of the year = DNF for me.
I'm sort of bummed but not.

Doc today = antibiotic and pain relief.

Hopefully I feel better in the next couple of days.

John had an awesome result. 17th overall. Very nice! I'm proud of and happy for him.

Probably no Rhinelander for us. I wish. But it's like an 8 hour drive. Casey has soccer that Saturday. There's a PAMBA race that Sunday, so maybe we can race that.

I'd like to ride today but I'm just too tired. The dumb part of me wants to go ride the mesa; the smart part is like JUST GO SIT ON THE COUCH AND WATCH TV.

Since Monday...

I’ve been feeling sort of bad since Monday. It started with a painful sore throat.
It still hurt Wednesday morning but as the day went on it felt better. Mostly scratchy.
During the day I seemed to be having stomach issues too. I won’t go into details but just queasy, but not awful.
Wednesday after my ride I felt like complete shit. Almost moany groany tired and awful.
I still, on Friday, I have a sore throat and my voice seems to be in and out. It’s just dry and scratchy. I also still have stomach issues. Gas, have the sensation of feeling hungry even though I’m not and just noisy.

I don’t want to complain and say figures as Iola is Sunday. I’ve been pretty lucky as far as being sick goes this year. And even though I don’t feel great, I know I could feel a lot worse.

I’m hoping it’s just a virus and it will finish running its course any minute now… Please?

Jinxng myself

Shaving my legs today I realized that I only had two, for lack of a better word, injuries from AZ, which is surprising. One I didn't stick a rock right away and trying to stop myself from rolling backwards said rock scraped my shin. The other was the Element door slamming into my calf; it's still bruised. I never crashed out there. Huh.

I'm not going to complain about the weather forecast; I feel that we pretty much lucked out the past month with unseasonably dry and warm weather. In saying that though, it kinda sucks and I can't help but be bummed I probably won't be riding trail this weekend.

The jury is still out on my Superfly. It's taking me a really long time to get the feel for that bike. It's wicked fast on the climbs and flats, however turning that thing is anything but. The Ferrous was fucking awesome. That bike just railed the singletrack. If you have one DON'T sell it. If you can find one, buy it. I don't regret selling mine really because I'll just get a custom frame at some point, and I hear Gina really enjoys it, but still, that bike was fun and didn't really give me the feeling that I was turning a 29er. Not to mention it was beautiful.

I'm told to be patient with the Superfly, that I'll adapt. I've no doubt I will, I'm mostly just making an observation I guess.

in AZ

John and I have wanted to visit Zach and Sara out in AZ for quite some time now. Just never seemed to work out timing wise, well more cash wise. This year we decided to use our tax return money to score us some tickets. We haven't been on a vacation since our honeymoon in 2003. We've had extended weekends here n there but it's just not the same.

When I booked the tickets it seemed like forever before the time would come that we'd be out there. But as you know time flies and we were here before we knew it and now today is our last full day here. We fly out tomorrow morning.

We arrived Wed afternoon. First we grabbed some In n Out. It was great, but to be honest not as great as I remembered. Still though, I had no problem finishing my double. After eating we came back and got the bikes as ready as possible. It was nice of them to let us ride their spare bikes. To not ship or travel with bikes is so nice. Not only is it a pain in the ass but they also seem to get beat to shit in the process.

I didn't realize that Prescott was at altitude until the shuttle bus was struggling (or so it sounded) to get us from Phoenix to the Stanford's. It was then really confirmed on our journey on the trails that Wednesday night. They took us on a short loop that was a bit more rolling and didn't climb very steep, but man, I was winded. It was almost kind of funny really to feel that out of breath with not much effort. I was a bit uncomfortable with how loose it was here, not to mention I hate (this is for you Zach) Nanoraptors. HATE THEM. My weakness on a bike is loose fast (or slow) corners. And since I'm a princess when it comes to bike fit I was way high on the front end and a bit long. Still though, it was great to be out on trails, only a small taste of what was in store for us the rest of the week.

Thursday Sara had a test and Zach had to work. They sent us out to Granite Mountain (?) with a map. Sara said to follow 347 and then find the Mint trail or something like that. I know I'm probably mixing this all up, but whatever. So we proceeded to leave the truck without a tool or the map. We are so experienced (rolls eyes). Luckily we were fine without a tool, but the map would've helped. 347 went two directions. Of course we chose the wrong way. It was a super fun technical decent but then just ended. So we had to climb all the way back up to get to where we were supposed to go. WOW, talk about being worth it. That trail was fucking awesome. Just fast flowing whoops where you could catch air easily. We stopped a few times for photos and just to chat. It's been a long time since John and I have spent any time together just us, without kids, etc. It was nice to get back in touch with him that way- no worries, concerns, responsibility, etc. I love our kids and I miss them terribly, but I'm grateful for this alone time with just him. So back to the riding. We found the mint trail right away. It was full of cacti which completely fascinated me. I've never seen so much of it. I mean, yeah, I've seen small plants at home, but nothing like this. It was almost distracting how fascinated I was by it. I had to remind myself not to look at the cactus... it'll suck if you run into it.
The mint trail was pretty dope as well. It was a bit more technical than 347 but I so enjoy that. I had one holy fuck moment when I couldn't reach my brake lever, but that was about it. When we got to the bottom we were a little uncertain on which way to go. The trail seemed to cross a pretty decent size creek which wasn't a big deal but once we crossed it the trail seemed so different. It was very deep sad almost un-pedalable for my weak midwest legs. We came across a horse only area and began to seriously doubt our choice. The map would've come in handy about then. We had been out there for well over 2 hours at that point and wasn't sure how long that trail was so we decided to just head back to where we came. Not too much of a bummer, but still would've liked to have had the map. Over 3 hours later we made it back to the truck. I'm not going to lie, I almost cried at the top. My hands were cramping from trying to reach the brake levers (we forgot to move the reach adjust in) and my back was killing me from getting pounded by the horse tracks. But still, it was an awesome day.

When we came home we made some minor adjustments to the bikes. Hung out with Zach and Sara and prepared for another day.

Friday we headed to Thumb Butte. Their friend Brian headed out there with us. It was about a mile road climb up to the trail head. I was much slower than most of them, but not as slow as I thought I was going to be so that was sort of a relief. The beginning of the ride of course was ALL climbing. Like 8% to 12% with some recovery time in between. When it would drop to like 3% it almost felt like going downhill until you stopped pedaling and realized you were still climbing. Brian had to take off after he gave us bunk directions to one of the trails we were looking for which brought us up this gravel road which seemed to climb for fucking ever. We made it to the top and both Zach and Sara were pretty sure we were not on the right path. So we headed back down to the area they knew and of course had to climb back up in the singletrack. The trails were gorgeous. Slightly technical and fun. We saw snow! I was so fucking excited to be in short sleeves and there be snow on the ground! Just one of those things. John and Zach separated from us for a longer ride while Sara and I continued to head down. I think this was my favorite part of the day. Fast sections with slower sections that you had to pick your way through. Small drops into creeks, etc. Very good times.


John and Zach met us in town where we had some kick ass burritos and then headed over to the Raven where we had a couple of beers. Saturday we'd be heading to Sedona.

Sedona was awesome. We met Darryl from Form Cycles (which if I do decide on a ti 29er, will be my next bike- so fucking awesome) at the Bike n Bean and headed out to the trails. I'd never ridden trails like that before so it was definitely a real treat! I rode in my granny gear the entire day. It was tough but wicked. The views were amazing as well as the trail riding. It was pretty cool dropping off the slick rock, picking your lines, etc. The steps and rocks while climbing were a real bitch. It was very difficult to say the least. I walked more than I would have liked, but I wasn't discouraged or bummed. There was so much good stuff, you just couldn't be bummed about anything..
Afterwards we headed to Sara's parents (they have a winter home in Sedona). They took us out for an awesome dinner to end our day.

We thought about staying in Sedona to ride more of the trails there but opted to come back to Prescott. I'm glad we did. The trails we rode yesterday had a ton of climbing. More climbing than I've ever done in my life (once John downloads his Garmin I'll see how much), but the descent was money. It was probably my favorite of the trip. I'm not sure why. I think it had a lot to do with feeling accomplished from doing all that climbing and not crying like the whiney baby I can sometimes be. I was also super confident on that terrain, probably most used to the bike, etc. I was exhausted when we were done. It was the first ride all trip (surprisingly) where my legs were like "we're done".


Today we are headed over to Thumb Butte again. Sara wants to show us her favorite trail right now. There's a part of me that can't wait to go and then another part of me that just wants to relax and internet. But it's our last day and I'd hate not to ride.

I can't thank Zach and Sara enough. I wish I could put into words just how awesome they are; I don't think I can. They make you feel so at home and so comfortable not to mention so much fun to be around. They have seriously made this vacation an amazingly fun trip for us.

I'll miss them. Hopefully we can take up a day of theirs when they visit IL come summer.






p.s. I don't know how Sara and Zach survive with their shitty internet connection. I'll maybe post more pics once it finally completes uploading them to flickr.

Done.

I'll be bringing up the rear in the CAT 1 races this year but at least I'll look pro.



John and I leave for vacation Wednesday, first time really since our honeymoon.

I'll be here tomorrow morning.

My Ferrous

I'm probably going to sell it.
Anybody interested?
Depending on interest I might sell it sooner than later.
As with all my bikes, you can be pretty certain that it's RAD.
It has a sussy fork on it now, white with purple robot decals. I'll sell it with both forks- Salsa rigid and Reba Team.
So let me know if you are or might be interested.

all singletrack all the time

My plan this weekend was to get a lot of road miles in. To be perfectly honest I'm sort of dreading the WORS season. Cat 1. Ouch. I'm not interested in what place I take really, but at the same time I want to represent the Cat 1 category well. Ya know? Personally I don't think I'm a Cat 1 racer- skills yes, fitness, no, and I've told this story before, but I don't feel right staying in Cat 2. I don't know why I dread it so much, I mean I just have to ride my bike, right?
It's hard to explain how I feel about all this, but I know there are plenty of girls who have made the jump for whatever reason and know exactly what I'm talking about.
Anyway, I didn't help my cause any by spending these past two days in the dirt. I just can't help it. And this is why I will never be a decent Cat 1 racer. When it comes right down to it I just don't have the drive to "train". The couple races I did that last lap was a total and complete painful suffer fest- and the courses weren't that difficult as far as climbing, etc. If I want to not dread WORS so much I have to sacrifice and do rides I don't prefer. It's the end of March and I have maybe one ride over 30 miles. I struggle with all this really.
I don't care to make time to train, but I still want to race and not suffer too horribly. Yes I want it all. But whatever, I rode singletrack in March TWO DAYS IN A ROW! And none of what I cried about really matters, once May 2nd comes (or tomorrow) I won't care about any of this. I'll just do what I do.

Swallow Cliff

I rode singletrack today.
Tom and I headed out to Swallow Cliffs from our houses, we met up on the paved path and took that plus the road out to the multi-track.
The multi-track was in great shape, only a couple of watery spots to keep it interesting. So of course, being out there, and Tom never have ridden the single track there, we of course went to check it out.
The singletrack had some good, some bad and some OMG, but all ride-able.
The first section we rode was practically mint. It actually all went downhill from there conditions wise, but we were still able to ride everything. Seemed weird to be off-road.
If it wasn't supposed to rain I'd be there tomorrow too, or the Mesa. Looks like it might be a wet paved path ride. But whatever, I'll be on my bike. I hope.

I do this every year...

I remembered one of the links I wanted to post.
Brown County Sub-9 Super D. I so want to do this. Unfortunately it conflicts with the Border Battle, one of my favorite WORS courses. I lean towards the Super D only because it's a lot shorter of a drive and it looks like it's going to be a festival type weekend.
But who knows. I need to decide soon though as I see that filling up quite fast.
I have such mixed feelings about doing just WORS races. On one hand WORS is a lot of fun, we have a bunch of friends that we see every other weekend. But on the other hand I'd like to start riding different places again. As much as I love a lot of the WORS courses, I've ridden them over and over again. I miss riding different trails, and since there aren't many non-WORS weekends we don't travel to ride different places either. I miss that.
There are a lot of races to choose from this year in IL, IN and WI. MI too.
The new NIMBA series. I love racing Imagination Glen. But that race conflicts with Wausau24. We'll have to pick what we want to do that weekend. There is also the new IL Homegrown MTB Series. Lots of great places to ride on that schedule as well. Then there is DINO, which has a stop at Brown County, and MMBA, which has Ft. Custer (RAD course)- and of course conflicts with Iola.
This isn't even factoring in the one day races like the Cooper Harbor Fat Tire Festival- which I'd like to do this year.
So much to choose from and not enough weekends.
I also don't want to just race. I want to ride too. Brown County and Levis Trow are the destinations I'm looking forward to.

We'll see. It's still early. I have all these grand plans and then just turn into a sheep and do WORS.

Who needs water?

Apparently not my dumb ass. How annoying to forget your water. Especially since I've been a bit dehydrated lately.

I'm too lazy to do my link post tonight. I wanted to get in bed at 10pm- so I've failed twice. Besides I don't even remember what I wanted to post.

stupid blogger

I had to change the comments back to blogger because halo scan forced me to some other JS Kit or something and it wasn't free.
I saved my comments but don't feel like figuring out how to re-add them.
Meh. How annoying.

Nothing much over the weekend. Saturday was a shitter of a day weather-wise.
Sunday all I can remember is I was cold ALL DAY. Nothing I did could warm me up.
I finally warmed up in time just to go to bed.

Which reminds me, I should probably do that now.

I don't have much to say anyway, other than I hope the forecast for Saturday stays.
I know it won't, but I'll still hope.

Actually I do have things to talk about, but it includes finding links and stuff.
I'll save it for tomorrow.

I'll think of Sunday, but forget Saturday now...

Today was pretty uneventful.
I worked from home and snuck a 45 minute ride in after Liz picked up Zoe.
I just picked up Casey straight from my ride. I sort of felt dumb all spandex-ed out.
I shouldn't have, some of the things people will wear out in public amaze me, and I'm pretty chill.
John's bike is half built. Since we are short on wheels and brakes he hasn't parted out the Ferrous yet. Luckily there are brakes here to replace his XX, but no wheels.
I went to order rims today, but of course they are out of stock everywhere. Stan's site looks to have them in stock, so I'll look into getting the pro-form tomorrow.
Then getting all the hubs, spokes and rims to someone to build them all.
I may wait on my 190s though, but actually probably not. I really want the Crest rim because of its weight. I read somewhere that it wasn't as easy to set up tubeless and this turned me off. One of the reasons I ride Stan's (main reason being weight) is how easily they set up tubeless. It's a dream really compared to other rims. So I may just stick with the 355s. I'm really not that big of a weight weenie.
I need a fork for my Superfly as well. I almost wish the Bontrager rigids were available and then I could just take John's :). Someone did me a favor for his, so now I have to figure out how to get a 51mm for myself.
I guess it's good to have bike problems.

I'm glad it's Friday tomorrow. Holly's coming by SRAM to drop off her Rock Lobster so I can ride it on the gravel trails. We're going to lunch, should be fun.

Weekend will be a little bit of spring cleaning, gettig rid of clothes and hopefully a ride. Saturday looks to be out at this point, but now Sunday is looking okay.

I don't even want to think about Sunday...

I left work about a half hour early to hopefully get a ride in.
Technically it was my last Kenpo work out and I sort of feel a bit, I don't know, bad for missing it seeing it was the last one, BUT IT WAS SUNNY AND IN THE 60s! No way I wasn't going for a ride!
It was only 45 minutes but it was oh so fun. It was so nice to be out there un-layered.
My feet still froze though. Drastic measures had to be taken when I got home so I could take a shower:



Kinda can't wait for John to build up his Superfly. It's driving me mad that all the parts are here and he hasn't started. I don't blame him necessarily, we haven't really had the time, but still. I need to see a new bike built dammit!

I'm hoping my gramma can watch Zoe for a bit tomorrow so I can take advantage of the weather.

decisions

Since I got this:



I'm not sure what I'll do with this:



I love the Ferrous. It rails the singletrack like a dream. I'm not sure how the Superfly will compare. The Ferrous has a pretty short wheelbase whereas, when I see photos of the Superfly, not so much. Huh. I guess I can't make a decision until I finally get it built up and ride to compare. So now, I'm impatient.

What I do know is that I don't need both. A part of me is hoping to super dig the Superfly so I can sell the Ferrous for one of these:



Chromag Sakura. I'd build it up non-race, like ith some riser bars, etc. More of a super rad trail bike (or Ray's) with their Ranger stem and riser bars, and the Juniper saddle.
I need a place for my Industry 9 wheels; they'd go well on there I think.

John still hasn't started his Superfly. He, too, loved his Ferrous and is unsure of what the Superfly will bring. He'll find out sooner than I will fortunately.

Our trip to AZ is like 3 weeks away. Time flies.

P.S.
I hope this is for real:

Sunday June 13

Anyone interested in doing this?

It's a WORS weekend but it's, um, Sunburst.

Looks like men are welcome- just not part of the clinic.

I dislike DST... at first

I wanted to make a point to get out of bed this morning at 7am (really 6am). I was awake, like my internal alarm woke me up exactly at that time, but my bed was too warm and cozy. I had nothing going on, no kids harassing me for breakfast and John left on a road ride, so I stayed in bed. Then... I didn't wake up til after 9am! Ugh.
I felt like the whole morning disappeared.
I dressed and walked downstairs and preheated the over for cinnamon rolls. The oven dinged letting me know it was ready but when I went into the fridge, NO CINNAMON ROLLS. Total bummer. I was too lazy to make pancakes so I just had a bowl of cereal. Talk about a let down.
I didn't feel well at all today so was pretty stoked when I actually did finish my scheduled workout (that was actually yesterday's). I even killed the ab workout, my best to date actually. I only missed about 8 moves. I planned to do some yoga tonight, but it just wasn't happening; I was too tired.
I was hoping to have some pics of John's bike done, but we didn't even get to it this weekend. He plans on tackling it tomorrow; I think his saddle will be in anyway so he'll have everything.
Essentially all I really wanted to do today was this:



Back to work tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to it. At least it'll be super quiet with everyone being in Taiwan.

random

Lots of bike shit to do.
John's frame is here AND all the parts to hang on it, well, except for a saddle, that comes Monday.
My Eriksen is done. Superfly will be a bit. I have nothing to build it up with and our bank account is like NOOOOOOO!!!!!
So many things I want to get. Wheels are an issue. I need to buy rims to get shit done.
I hate buying rims; it's like a boring purchase. 3 wheelsets to REbuild and 1 to build new. The ones that need to be rebuilt are annoying; all three wheels were practically brand new when stupid shit happened that requires rebuilds. Meh.
I need to make a list. I love lists actually.
I started typing this entry at 9:42 this morning... I planned to get some pics of John's frame and some other parts but never got around to it.
There was a ride starting at the I&M trail today. I hemmed and hawed about going. Last minute I decided to go. 45 degrees and raining. I was prepared.
Wool jersey, wool knickers, wool tall snowboard socks, arm warmers and my new cutter jacket I scored on Bonktown. It was perfect gear for the day.
Towards the end of the 26 miles my feet were sloshy and my feet and hands were starting to get cold. I think I was cold more from waiting for Ryan, who bonked, rather than from what I was wearing.
Anyway, I guess what I like about the past two rides in the rain is that I remembered that as long as you are prepared it isn't so bad.
I missed my other workouts today. I have less than 2 weeks left in the program I've been doing... because of the weather and being back on the bike it may just be the hardest two weeks of them all.
The Goat and his fam traveled down from Wisco to hang out and pick up Gage's new bike.
It was nice to hang out as usual.
I'm not sure what tomorrow brings yet... I need to catch up on my workouts so I don't feel bad about it and I really want some cinnamon rolls. Riding is also of course a possibility. I'll be sure to get some pics too of John's good stuff.

meh

I feel like crap. Not like sick crap, just meh. Pissy.
Earlier I was all about posting up a fun post, now I don't even remember what that was.
Hopefully tomorrow my day will be brightened. I need to work on some bike part lists. Tomorrow though. I'm going to bed; I know, it's not even 10pm yet, but fuck it. I'll only get more pissed off sitting here me thinks.

Holy Shit... and I ♥ sheep

I rode outside today!
FOR REAL!

I didn't get a chance to ride on Saturday so today it had to be. I knew there was a chance of rain so I decided to run my errands later.
I hadn't been outside on a bike since the last CCC race at the beginning of December. Finding my clothing didn't take as long as I thought it would, but still.

First I have to share my shitter morning. I woke up earlier than usual to make some pancakes so I'd be fueled for my ride. I just about finished, there were 2 cakes left on the griddle, when I moved the batter bowl into my french press which was brewing my coffee. FUCKING THING TIPPED OVER. Coffee grounds and water everywhere including all over my freshly made pancakes. Surprisingly I didn't flip my shit. I just calmly put everything in the sink, cleaned everything up like it didn't happen and started over.
What a mess. Coffee grounds are the worst.

So after eating and internetting for a bit I decided to get my arse in gear to head out. I had an idea of what route I'd take in my head but it wasn't very detailed.

I pretty much fail as a roadie. To get to 76th ave I decided to take the path from 135th street. I knew it was going to be shady but a part of me wanted to have the thrill of almost falling and having to ride in the grass. Slicks on snow and grass kinda suck. But whatever. It was actually worse than I thought it would be. Really wish I had a cross bike.

Finally made it out of there and headed towards Archer Ave via Rte 83, 104th and 107th Ave. About a mile away from Archer the rain drops slowly started hitting my face. FUCK. I hated being on my road bike in the first place, but carbon rims in the rain suck. I had no desire to call John; I really wanted that road ride. I figured if it got sketchy and I had issues, I'd call him, but if not I was game to be a bad ass.

70 minutes of my 120 minute ride I was poured on. I thank the sheep that contributed to my wool clothing as they kept me insulated even though I was soaked.
About mile 26 I could feel the water splashing around in my shoe and my chamois was feeling quite heavy. At that point my only worries were to not get sick.

I arrived home, John was waiting for me, I think he expected me home way sooner (when I finally did get in the house my mtb was waiting for me in case I came back). Anyway, he snapped a pic for me... which was cool, I needed to show Russell proof I actually made it outside this weekend.
You can't tell from this photo, but the front of my socks are like a neon green.



Speaking of my mountain bike, my Eriksen is almost done. I have a few minor things to take care of (drop travel in fork, bleed front brake, and take off the white crappy stuff).



(Casey and the neighbor kids are gaming.)
This'll be my first time using triggers since 1994 or 1995. They say XX is actually a good trigger to transition to coming off twisters because of the feel of the lever... we'll see. There's rumor of us coming out with a twister in like 2012. *crosses fingers it's not just a rumor

For Sale

Powertap SL+ hub:
Pro Level Power Measurement

* Wireless 2.4 GHz transmission with Ant+Sport
* Alloy axle
* Carbon/alloy hubshell
* Hub weighs a mere 412 grams

laced to Zipp 303 clincher rim.
Zipp front hub laced to the same rim. Perty.

$1600 with head unit and HR strap.
Mostly used on the trainer.

Email me spicyride at gmail dot com if you're interested or want pictures or have questions.

Trainers are lame

I rode the trainer today. I hate the trainer. I do admit that it sometimes gives me the option of a cycling workout without spending a half hour to get dressed, but still I hate it. I almost with we didn't have one. I feel guilty if I don't ride especially after seeing everyone internetting about their bike/training rides.
I'm not sure whether I should be jealous of you people who can sit on it for hours... or be glad I'm not psycho like you are.
The weather was nice today but we had other plans, just no time. I need to suck it up here at some point and just find my winter clothes and head out. Our roads here are depressing so it makes it harder to get motivated.

Nothing big going on. I'm putting XX on my Eriksen right now. John has a new race frame this year so we need to start acquiring parts for that. I'm hopefully getting a new cross bike and then frame at the end of summer. We celebrated Casey's birthday party last weekend. It was amazing. John and I are going to visit Zach and Sara in AZ next month. I'm stoked. Tickets weren't too bad and we've been dying to get out there. Not only for the warmer weather but we miss them. We need to decide whether we're shipping our bikes out or riding theirs.

Other than that nothing new. I'll try to get some pics of stuff and post them at some point. Maybe update here more often.

whoa (IKR, an update)

Lots of snow. It's still snowing. I knew I should've gotten a pugsly.
I'm selling my cross check; if you know anyone interested let me know. it's real perty, just not what i want. King headset, full Rival, frame looks practically new- I'd like $650 for it complete.
I'm in the mood to swap out parts on my bike(s), but I don't have all the parts to do it. So.I'm.Frustrated. Hopefully when I get the parts I'll be this motivated.
I haven't done much in terms of cycling, but I have been keeping myself busy with other things: weights, light cardio, ab work outs. I've even given up donuts. It doesn't seem to have helped though; it's only made me miss donuts.
The trainer's been on my mind, but that's about it. I tried it a couple times to see if my feelings towards it have changed... they haven't. My ass still hates it the most.
Girls are good. Casey cut her hair. She asked, I said go for it. Still, I wasn't prepared when she peeked around the corner to show me. She looks great. It's a lot easier for me too. Zoe is still OMG ZOE. John's good, he's recovering from a black eye Zoe gave him. It's pretty ugly. Looks like he was in a boxing ring. My dog is still obnoxious. So yeah, nothing new really.
I had a bunch of returns to Patagonia that I've collected over the past year or so, it was enough to get me this bitchin' pullover. It's one of those pieces that you are like, well, that'd be cool. but when you get it, it's the most awesome thing ever. I'm actually excited to wear it tomorrow. It's the little things ya know.
I'd like to get John a new race frame this year. It sucks when you want something and it's impossible to get. It'll all work out though. The ferrous is still rad. it'd be cool to get it painted though, at the very least.

Anyway, what's new with you?

p.s. I need a new header.

OMG I'm so bored

And because I'm so bored I'm going to do a blog update, with really boring stuff.
My weekend was, well, uneventful. I did nothing. Saturday I never stepped out the door.
Today I didn't realize the snow was all gone until I looked out the window at almost noon. I did get out to take Casey to school though. Yeah, she has school on Sunday. It's fun school though, art and theater.
My mom also bribed me to hit the mall with her, she told me she'd buy me something. Score. So I have a new purple hoodie.
I made banana bread last night, low fat and low cal. It is pretty damn good. I've never made bread before. I almost want to bake bread all the time now. It's probably cheaper than buying it right?
I started thinking about bikes a lot lately. Like what do I want to change, what do I want to race, etc. I still have no clue but it's been fun thinking about it.
I'm slowly getting XX stuff to try out. It's so hard to get. I'm still bummed it's triggers, but I'm open to try them (again).
*sigh
I should also start thinking about riding my bike. I just saw Smashley's blog about being a Cat 1, which reminded me that I'm also a Cat 1. I too should start acting like one, or be better at pretending.
Meh.

Dudes

It's still like winter and stuff. What a long season.
I've done nothing and am liking it.
The bike bug is near though; I sense its presence.

sigh

I'm not even sure why I have this blog still.
I've got nothing really.
I think I'm getting a cold. I keep sneezing, I'm really tired and I have to keep blowing my nose. I also have a headache, but I think that's dehydration.
It's snowing right now. Meh.
I'm done Christmas shopping I think. Now I just have to wrap it all. Thinking about that, ew.
I'm excited for Christmas because of the girls. They are just so excited. Their excitement has made me not care about the expense, lines, shipping charges and stupid people. It'll all be worth it Friday morning.
I'm hoping to sell a bunch of stuff to afford a cross bike. My cross check will be going. We'll probably head up to Madison for the swap if we can get our shit together.

OMG! The weather didn't suck!

EMO

This weather FUCKING SUCKS!!!

So, yeah.

It was my birthday this past weekend.
I love my birthday. It's like a day I don't feel guilty for wanting things to be about me. I have issues with making time for myself or doing things for me without feeling guilty about it every other day of the year.
I had a good day. We went to Beechwood and I rode while John hung out with the kids. I'd hardly call it racing. I overheated at the beginning of the first lap. Pulled off the trail to strip and try not to puke. Got back on the bike and was happy to have the trail to myself. I was getting super annoyed in the singletrack for my usual reasons, but whatever. I'm probably only bringing that up because I'm having a pity party for myself at the moment. I won't get all emo and give reasons why.
Anyway, lap 2 I ran into Bubba. I hung out with him while watching him fix his busted chain. Took his ass forever.
We rode the last 2 laps together. Almost conversation pace really. It was fun. Those trails are fucking awesome. I wish they were closer. I wish everything was fucking closer.
I'm getting fat. I really need to watch what I eat and get more exercise. Maybe I'll start tomorrow.



*Thanks to Brittany for the photos.

Do people read these anymore?

What a great weekend.
Waterpark on Saturday with the kids and some friends. Good times for sure.
I ended up making my rib hurt on the waterslides so started to have second thoughts about Sunday. Then it being so cold I was like meh, I'll just call it a year.
We headed to the course to get Ryan ready. He was racing sport.
Sent him off and went hiking into the woods. I saw the dirt and the roots in the singletrack and there was NO way I wasn't suiting up! It helped that it wasn't as cold out as I thought it was going to be.
So hurry up and eat. Talk shit with Meg. Register. Run to get dressed. Find all my shit. Get ready. Warm up. And hurry up to wait.
Don said Goooo...
I had a decent first 3 laps. Minus the crash where I lost all my food and almost ended up in the river, the first lap was okay. Second lap I realized I lost all my food in that crash, but whatever. I wasn't going to stress about it. However the ghost shifting or stiff link or whatever it was I had going on after the crash was pissing me off. Major pressure on the pedals and it popped. After awhile I got over it and just stayed in easier gears. The third lap I was starting to cramp by the elite cut off and I still had a lap to go. Fuck the last lap. I was DONE. I don't think I could have rode it any slower. I stopped at the elite cut off climb and tried to stop from cramping. I knew I was going to be in trouble when I got to the equalizer.
The equalizer was easier to get up that time than my 3rd lap and I think that's because I stopped. Next year I have to be more aggressive there even if I'm walking. I was so paranoid about getting in the riders' way that I spent way too much time waiting and looking back. The crowd didn't give anybody any room, barely enough for two riders to get through. Anyway, I'm glad I raced. As much as I suffer in elite it is much more satisfying than sport. It would be way too hard to go back to being stuck behind much slower people (the last of the sport pack). I'd rather bring up the rear in elite any day. As much as I suffer out there, it's still fun.

Two things though about Sunday:
1. It would have been nice to prepare for racing on Sunday. I barely ate breakfast and I was totally dehydrated from not drinking good fluids. Not to mention the waterpark all day on Saturday.
2. I don't ride very much. I usually get in 1-2 rides a week. The past 4, or has it been 5, weeks after my rib injury I haven't really ridden at all. I've tried more than a few times to only have to come back home because it was too painful or I couldn't breath right. You can't not ride for a month before an elite race and expect a better result. Not that I did, but I can't help but wonder how I would have done if I had been healthy and ridden more.

One of the highlights of my race was on my last lap John caught and passed me (obviously). It's always nice to see him on the course. Anyway, Matt Gehling shortly after was behing me. He was like "Wrong Gatto" and took off. That totally made me laugh and forget about the fact that I could barely ride my bike.

Again Sheboygan didn't disappoint as the finale. I can't wait til next year.

I can't believe the season is over!

Complaining

I've managed to not come on my blog and complain every day for the past two weeks about how terrible my ribs feel. And how my sternum keeps like popping. And if I raise my left arm my ribs click.
I tried to stay away from riding as much as possible, but who am I kidding... if I can do it, it'll be done. You'd think I'd be smart and ride my road bike, but no. But really I didn't ride too much... I don't want to be stupid.
Actually riding off road wasn't too horrible... it's the breathing that would get me. Trying to fully inhale was painful so it would always cut the ride short.
Not to mention there was a sort of fear of crashing that I never have. The thought of going down on my ribs wasn't a pleasant one.
The past two days were really painful. It was way worse than even the day after it happened. I woke up today and felt a lot better. I didn't even feel the need to dull it with pain meds. So I decided to ride. It still hurt and it hurt a little to breath, but I could. Too bad it didn't stay light out, I would've stayed out much longer.
I feel okay right now, not too bad... but I'll know how much better I am by tomorrow when I wake up.
This weekend.... what to do, what to do....

So....

Who is NOT going to Chequamegon?

No racing for me

It wasn't worth it. I sneezed a few minutes ago which pretty much sealed my no regrets. I'm bummed I didn't but I don't regret my decision. I'm more annoyed at my situation. It sucks being injured.
Lake Geneva is one of my favorite courses. It's technical and I do better at that type of climbing than I do at Palos type climbing.
Meh.

I still was able to see everyone so that was cool.

I don't even know what to write about so I'll leave it at I'm hoping to ride this week.
John'll be gone all weekend for Chequamegon.

Is there anyone not going, provided I can find a sitter, up for a ride down here?

Mesa, Swallow Cliffs, Palos? Or maybe I'll finally try to get to See Wee Kaw, depends on my ribs though.

Ow, my ribs.

Fuck. I'm so pissed.
I think I may have a cracked rib.
It sucks to laugh, cry, cough and OMG don't even mention sneezing.
It doesn't totally suck to breath, only when I breath deep.
For the most part I'm just really uncomfortable.
I'm going to pre-ride tomorrow and see how I feel.

I'm going to bed now because I'm so irritated. I took some prescription pain relief to sleep. I'm hoping to be magically be better by morning.

Rather

I can't even believe I'm saying this...

I have no desire to race Sunday. NONE. The weather is fucking fabulous and all the trails are MINT around here. I don't want to sit in a car. My ribs hurt. Climbing can suck it. I have lots more reasons as to why I don't want to race.

Right now I'd rather just stay home. I'd love to go on an epic mtb ride here, hang out with my kids and *gasp* watch the damn Bears' game.

ETA: I'm pre-registered which is a huge reason I feel obligated to go.
That and the majority of my friends will be there anyway, so my epic mtb ride wouldn't happen.

real quick...

I rode Swallow Cliff tonight. It was awesome. A-W-E-S-O-M-E! I can't describe the feeling I had riding through the illegal singletrack. I was super pumped! I need to bring people out there pronto to have that same feeling.
What pisses me off though is, well, at the end of my ride as I was heading to the lot I decided to check out the creek singletrack. I didn't remember if it went anywhere or it just stopped.
So as I was looking at the pretty creek and avoiding the down tree I hit another log I didn't see. BAM! I hit the down tree hard as hell with my rib cage and hip. I knocked the wind out of myself for what felt like minutes. It hurt, but I think I was more pissed that that's how my ride ended. And then to add insult to injury there was fucking ITCHWEED!!!
My left side is getting purple. If it gets purple enough I'll get a pic.
Sneezing sucks and laughing and coughing... but it's not bad enough to stop me from riding or anything.

Wait... It's Monday?

So weird... it's felt like Sunday all day.
Maybe it's because I've barely done anything this holiday weekend except get a couple bike rides in.
There were things going on this weekend, however I didn't want to commit myself to anything. It was nice not being on a schedule for once.
Saturday I ended up taking my road bike out. I hadn't been in awhile and I think I was still pretty worked over from the race last Sunday and the mountain bike rides I hit during the week. I clipped on my iPod and just headed out with no plan. It was pretty uneventful really. I felt like crap the whole ride; but I was on my bike so how crappy could it be?
Sunday... hmmm... Sunday. Yeah, I sat around all damn day. I had no desire to get up and get motivated to do anything. And I didn't even have the excuse of the internet because that was super boring all day. So finally I checked the CAMBr board and a friend of mine, Nancy, posted a ride for 3:30. Perfect. It's 2:50 now. So I quick loaded up and headed to the staging area. It ended up being Nancy, some other dude whose name escapes me, Cory and me. I felt bad the whole beginning of the ride, but by the end I felt like I shook whatever was making me feel flat off. We rode the old portion of Cemetery Hill. Holy log crossings. I love log crossings.
Monday (today I guess). I was itchin' all day to ride. I wanted to ride with John but that just wasn't workin' out at all. The neighbor kids came over to head over to the mesa later that afternoon. I thought about tagging along with them, but just didn't feel like it. I ended up taking a nap. I don't know what my deal was/is lately, but I've just felt tired. I woke up determined to get out of the house. Right away I grabbed my Twin Six bird jersey with matching socks and my iPod. I headed straight for the Mesa.
When I first arrived I felt, yes you guessed it, like crap. WTF? Anyway, I just kept riding. I started to feel really good right about rainbow bridge. Pat Benatar came on my iPOd. Coincidence? I think not. I felt really good and just started attacking the singletrack. I came into some corners WAY too hot testing my SRAM XX brakes. It felt good to push my skills a bit. I just wish I'd seen that one tree...



It ended up being a great ride. I came home refreshed and with a big smile on my face.
I didn't think it could get any bigger til I saw Zoe pimping her two wheels all by herself! She sort of had it a couple months ago but was all over the place. She hated it. She wouldn't ride anything but her Strider. Apparently today was the day cuz she was awesome. I'm so proud of her!

The Meltdown. Second ravine