A couple of hard days

Tuesday – I headed out for a lunch ride. I’ve been having computer issues with my Garmin Edge 301. I couldn’t get my little “Pacer” to show up the way I wanted him to. I got it to show up and started racing myself. I did about a 20 mile time trial “against myself”. You can race any previous effort – so I raced a good one from about 2 weeks ago. When I finished this effort, my pacer was 2.5 miles behind. Roughly 6-7 minutes, probably! I was tired and sore, but wow…. what a work out! Most pleased. Then I realized – it’s Tuesday – and I have to race tomorrow night. Suck it up – be tuff – cool – I got it!

Wednesday I get off work early and ride with Sarah. We did that and it was fun. We did about 23 miles on the Silver Comet Trail. Sarah exhibited new behaviors in her riding including sprints and powering over a hill out of the saddle – I think she’s finding her inner sprinter or something. It was really a nice day on the trail.

Get off the trail and head to the DLV. Race night! Warm up went about as planned. I did about 25 laps before the organized warm up, then 20 with the “C” group, and 15 with the B. I felt good … life was good, let’s race.

Typically, the short races start slow and unless I jump they stay that way. Not last night – some fast guys from Alabama were in town and they LIT IT UP! I was seeing Elvis and this was only our first race. I didn’t finish last – that’s about all I can take out of this one. The Miss-n-Out was a little bit better. Started SUPER fast … but I played it a bit smarter. Got a wheel – rode it out… I bet I was “middle of the pack”.

The “Tempo” is something new for this track, but its old pain for me. A race, where the 1st rider gets 2 points per lap, the second rider gets 1. Simply put, it’s FAST! I was determined to do better in this one and I did. No placing, but I stayed in the field. I may have gotten a top 5? not sure, but I know we lapped a bunch of people. I sort of found my game.

Now… let’s add on a madison. It was an odd, small madison. I unleashed a GREAT sprint for the first sprint and scored us a second place points. I was happy with that and then realized – we still had 20 more laps and that sucked. I suffered it out and we finished – I think third – good deal.

I finished off the night riding up a category in another Tempo – I don’t think that was smart – I think I was too smoked, but hey… 70 laps of racing with only minimal breaks – thats good training.

No track racing for a couple of weeks – but we should get some good training. Now it’s time to get to work – then ride with Sarah. I hope she doesn’t hurt me too bad today.

Bicycling Magazine felt the heat!

After I posted my wacky take on entry level bikes – Bicycling magazine had to answer. They felt the heat!

http://www.bicycling.com/bikesunder1k/

Good bikes there – a super quick review would have me picking the Cannondale – but there may be others that are better…

Scott

So you want to buy a bike?

Recently my sister wanted to buy a bike.  Of course – she came to me.  I get the “What bike should I buy?” question a lot.  My answer is almost always about the same so I thought I would take a few minutes and lay out my opinion on this – maybe I can forward people to this page?  Maybe not – we will see!

What bike should I buy?

I can’t help you with mountain bikes.  I can’t help you with cross bikes.  I can help you with fixies, track bikes and road bikes.  I can tell you probably more information than you would ever care to know – but for the sake of conversation – let’s assume you likely want a road bike.  My basic answer is “one that fits”.  I will always start there.  You need to find a bike shop that will help you get sized properly.  Much like shoes, my bike probably won’t fit you.   Find a shop that will help.  It’s important!

Now – how much is this going to cost me?  I want you to buy a bike.  It’s how I am!  I want you to buy a nice bike.  I want you to spend more than you probably want to   It’s just how I am!  Don’t worry – you probalby don’t have to.  First off – I’d avoid any department/super store type places – You need to go to a bike shop.  Cannondale, Trek, Felt, Bianchi, Fuji… all good brands.  I have NO loyalty!  If it fits… good!

I recommend getting as many gears as you can.  Bikes now days come in “8 speed”, “9 speed”, “10 speed” and if you spend a lot even “11 speed”.  Most road bikes you find will be 9 or 10.  This isn’t 10 total – this is 10 in the back.  “Ten Speed” is the current industry standard.  We’ve been here for a while, it’s plenty of gears and it’s refined a great deal.  9 speed – good stuff.  The tech push has brought more quality farther down.  A 9 speed road bike will get you years of fun and dependable riding.

Now the big question:  How much?  Realistically you can get a NICE 9 speed, entry level road bike for $900-1000.  If you can find clearance models, you can save some off that.  Often times, you can spend $100-200 more and get some really nice upgrades, like better wheels and/or even 10 speed shifting.  (Wheels affect the ride of a bike more than just about anything).  Give me 20 minutes and I can spec you a $20,000 road bike that won’t make you ANY faster – but will make your wallet quit a bit lighter.

Shop around, test ride a few bikes.  Find a shop you like.  Find a bike that is comfortable and that fits you.   If you have specific questions – I can help.  Remember – after you buy the bike there are a few accessories you should think about, so don’t spend all your money on your bike – you could end up with a flat tire and nobody to help you out.  Not fun!

It’s a big descision – have fun with it!  Don’t get stressed out and worry – as Lance said “It’s not about the bike!”

Track Racing – a hard night

Last night was another night @ the DLV.  Things are starting to come around, but I’m still not where I want to be.  I’ve got a few obsticles in my way, but am working though those.  I saw some progress tonight – which is good!

The night started with a 5 lap scratch to seed the “Wheel Race”.  Having no deisire to ride in the wheel – I had little motivation in this.  The problem with a 5 lap scratch is that it’s so short, you cant wear anybody out – and if you don’t ride aggressively, everybody sits around and rides slow.  Last night, a guy took off for 2 laps… which was nice as that is ussually me.  From there, everybody just watched each other… I kept the pace moving and with 1.5 to go gave it an 80 % effort.  I was happy to not finish last – about all I was trying for.

The “Unknown Distance”.  It’s unknown.  Everybody wanted to save it for the end, so 3 times I punched got a gap, led for a lap or more…. and got sucked back in.  When the bell rang, I was recovering from a punch and had nothing – SUCK!

Points race 1.  I thought I had more than I did.  After the first sprint (which I grabbed a point in) I saw a guy up the track.  I thought I could catch him.  I did.  I thought I could gap the field.  I didn’t.  Right after the chase, the bell rang… had NOTHING… spent a few laps playing chase and sprint.  Didn’t work out – I got 5th.  We lapped a lot of people.

Points race 2.  I was certainly not recovered from the first one.  I had a lot of issues and was wishing I had a bigger gear.  I couldn’t see straight, it hurt.   After 6 or so laps – I “threw in the towel” but then got mad at myself for doing so.  I never left the track, I sat up – got back on the end of the field and finished in the field.  Yeah, a lap down, but I fought it out.  On the 5 to go sprint, I was cracking.  Steve Hill said “Come on Scott”.  He was on my wheel – I knew if I pop’d he would get gapped and thats not nice.  I dug in, stayed in the field and finished it off.  A good effort.

All in all – a fun night.   Good racing – nice weather.  No “spats”.  I earned a point – my first of the year.  Progress.

Rebuilding the long bus

A couple of years ago, Sarah and I bought a tandem. We thought it would be great for riding together – and in many ways, it was. We did have a lot of fun on our big – salmon – tandem. We linked it together with a trail-a-bike and even a trailer too. Let me tell you, that’s a BEAST to drive.

The key thing is that the tandem is actually a bit small for both Sarah and me. We are cramped. Sarah has started riding her single bike more and actually enjoys that more. I still tow Derek and Max in the trail-a-bike/trailer configuration – which is fun, but Derek is getting bigger and the trail-a-bike isn’t the best option any more. If we could just stop them from growing…. With Sarah on her single, that frees up a seat on the tandem. The problem is, Derek is actually a bit SMALL for the back of the tandem…. sigh. The tandem is what is called a “Softride Tandem” which means it as a HUGE carbon fiber beam that absorbs shock and makes the back seat more comfy. The problem is it is very unconventional and the seat only goes so low. Being a problem solver, I came up with several scenarios that involved complicated stuff like my friends fashioning complex new beams, welding additional tubes onto the tandem, modifying the cranks to make them shorter – let me tell you, I had thought through this all and SOLVED my problem.  Well, sort of.

The thing I didn’t think of is that many other people have solved this problem in the past.  There is a “kit” called a Child Stoker Kit that adds another crankset to the bike.  If you look at the picture on the left, you will see how it all sorts out. This effectively moved the stoker (person in back) cranks a bunch closer and makes it so they can reach!

Now – this kit sells for $350 – which is quite reasonable – but I am known for pulling random things out of nowhere and getting some good deals.  Off I go on m quest for at least “bro-deal”.  I call in a couple favors, search ebay and actually find the part I need.  I am pretty suprised – the guy wants $70 for it … I email him and say “Would you consider a buy it now?  I don’t get an immediate reply.  I continue the quest.

Late last night, I am online, minding my own business and I start chatting with my buddy Nathan.  I am telling him my Tandem story – laughing at myself for “over-solving” my problem.  About 1/2 way through the story he says – “You know, I have a child stoker kit out in my garage, you want it?”  I reply (literally) “no sh*t?”.  Turns out when he bought his tandem, it had the kit on it, he doesn’t need it.  He’s cutting the price in half – down to $30 for exactly what I need!

We do have a couple minor issues to overcome – like his tandem is aluminum and has a 31.8 mm tube, mine is steel and has a 28.6 tube.  Yeah, Nate’s got a bigger tube… pardon me – I digress.  This can likely be worked out with a semi-common shim available from most any bike shop.  I will have to investigate that a bit.  I plan on phoning a tandem shop today – I believe they sell the part for about $10.

I started the week with a $225 quote to fashion new parts on the frame.  By mid-week I’m at $40ish and everything will look good!  The long story made short – we should be shortening up our bus really soon.  It should make my life a LOT easier and make riding a lot more pleasant for the male popultion of the Georgia Pattons.  Heck – it will shorten the bus by at least 8′.  That will make us a cornering MACHINE

Home at last!

We made it home.  Wow – I don’t know where to start becuase I don’t know where I left off.  It was really the worst day in a long time but when you put it all into perspective – how bad was it?  We were warm, sheltered, had food and got home just a day later.  Burned a few stress calories along the way – but what can you do.

So this morning, I got up early and Kevin picked me up.  Kevin, I do hope you read this someday – you are really truly one of the nicest guys I have ever met.  I am going to work out a cookout or something @ Julie and John’s and you will be the guest of honor.

Anyway… Kevin took me back to the van and I searched the internet from the van and found some tires in Commerce.  Good price, good tires.  Can do it now.  I call in the tow truck and off I go.  We get the tires on, get the alignment done and all is well.  Took about an hour longer as they expected as Run Flats are SO HARD to get off.  They are shit.  Anyway… it was done.

I get in the van and all is well, grab some lunch, eat in the hotel and we are driving home.  I-85 STOPS… probably due to some debris in the road or something.  I was somewhat proud of myself on this one…. I took a deep breath, relaxed and let it go.  Good job!

A long weekend.  I’d like to send a shout out to some people here -

Uncle Ted:  I haven’t talked to you in 25 years and you were willing to drop everything and drive 3+ hours to help me.  Thanks.  Maybe you can come to this cookout I am planning at your daughters home!

Jay – aka Peeps:  Also willing to drop everything and bring me tires if thats what I needed.

Julie and John – Knowing I have only met John once and he was willing to call in his little henchman to come to my rescue – man, that was great.  Julie – We must get together.

My kids – Guys, you were the best.  In a tough time – Daddy was really stressed.  Derek wanted to help, I know.  Max didn’t know what to do but he tried and was quiet and good.  Given the situation, you guys could have made things so crazy but you were wonderful.

Sarah – I’m not sure who’s job was harder – mine or hers.  Watching kids in a hotel room, high on yogurt and fruit loops with next to nothing to do, dealing with me stressed out – thanks for helping me solve all of this.  We got r’ done.

Kevin – you saved countless people, countless hours of driving for a complete stranger.  I told you I would do something and I promise you I will – very soon.

Thanks for listening – hopefully the next chapter of my life will be a bit more fun than the last 24 hours!  My bed is going to feel REALLY good tonight!

Making some progress

I found some tires in Commerce, Georgia.  That was where I was going to stop for dinner last night and where we slept last night.  Oh the fun.  Anyway – waiting on a tow right now.  Then I will take the 14 mile journey and pay the $2 per mile overage.  Joy.

I will summarize the deal with run-flats later, but they suck.  They are a stupid idea concieved to rape you of your money.

Please allow me to summarize my s****y day

Today started like any other day at my in-laws.  Very well.  We had a nice breakfast, enjoyed the company, watched Paris Roubaix – life was good.  I am not kidding, being sarcastic or mean when I say – it really started well.  I genuinely enjoy my in-laws company.  They are very nice people.

We left at about 2:00.  The kids were good.  Max slept a long time.  Everything was going well.  My average speed was 70+ – no traffic, clear roads – life was good.

Just as we passed exit 164 on I-85 my day started to suck really freekin bad.  I thought it was a shitty moment in time and well, figured I would have us back on the road in 5-20 minutes.  You see, the front of the car started to shimmy a bit and got really loose.  I pulled over and looked – the front tire was going low – so much for our “run-flat” tires.  (more on that bullshit in a few minutes).  We backed up a vacant exit ramp and stopped at a gas station.  I grabbed some “Fix-A-Flat” figuring it would get me home – sort this out tomorrow.  That’s when I realize – this was not your average flat.  You see, our tire was basically destroyed – ok – to keep you up to speed, lets look at the situation -120 miles from home, full family, no tire, easter sunday, 5:30…

We started calling people.  Everyplace we could.  We used the GPS, we used the phone book, we used everything we could find.  Well, then I realized they had WiFi … don’t know if it was public, don’t care…  I called my cousin, Julie.  Mind you – I haven’t spoken to Julie on a telephone in 15+ years?  I think I have seen her once in 30 years.  Might be exagerating, but to say we aren’t close would not be a lie.  Thankfully we have touched base on Facebook and I know she lives about 40 miles from where we were sitting.  After a bunch of phone calls that I will leave out for brevity – Julie called back and I spoke to her and her husband John – who I have met ONCE in my life … for about 4 hours at my sister ill-fated wedding.  Well, they knew Kevin, a guy that lives about 5 miles from where we were.  They pulled Kevin up on the phone and Kevin came “to the rescue”.  I only put that in quotes becuase we were fighting an un-winnable battle.

Well, Kevin called everybody in the state and found a guy that had a tire that “should work”.  Kevin borrowed his sister-in-laws big ass vehicle and gave us a ride 15 miles into the backwoods of north georgia to a place “behind stubby’s”.  No… i’m not kidding you.  We got there and a well dressed mechanic greated us and began working on the wheel.  Then he realized his tire wouldn’t prefectly match.  You see we have “all wheel drive” which means “it sucks”.  All 4 tires have to PERFECTLY match in size.  If they don’t you will destroy your transmission.  He found some tires – but they were “SUV Tires” and they were almost $200 a piece.  OUCH!  Add on tax, installation, etc… you are buying a lot of tire you don’t need.

It came time to end the fight – and that’s kind of where we are now.  Now we sit in a hotel in Commerce, Georgia.  There really isn’t much here other than an outlet mall and a hotel with internet access.  Kevin, you are the man – this guy I NEVER met did more than any human should have done.  He drove us around – helped us out – he really helped.  Tomorrow, he will come get me and give me a ride back up to the car where I will use the wifi, the phone and every resource I can to resolve the issue.

The list of people we need to thank and send something after this long and very helpful.  Ultimately – my family and I are all safe.  We will be okay and that is the important thing.

I feel like writing forever … but I should sleep.  Kevin will be back to help more at 7:30… This is the shit I have to deal with tomorrow:

Four races – not the hardest battle of the night

Tonight I raced for the first time this year.  Wow – reality is – track racing is hard.  Harder when you are out of shape.  Let me run them down for you as some folks have told me they enjoy my take on racing … This wont have a lot of excitement, but feel free to read on!

8 lap scratch – To anybody who happened to be in that race, you were riding like a bunch of masters women.  It’s lame.  Race your bike, commit to an attack, try to go fast.  Don’t wait for a 41 year old fat guy to attack.  Anyway … I lost track of laps and wanted to attack with three laps to go.  I got impatient as the tension was high and peoplere were twitchy.  I drilled it only to see 4 laps to go.  I said … oh well… gotta go.  I got swallowed up – didn’t finish last.

Miss-n-Out – I was about 7th out?  not sure.  I did okay but I hate the event so it’s hard.  I did 4 laps on the frunt riding tempo to control things – goood effort.

Tempo #1 – The tempo is an evil race created to break you.  Every lap there is 2 points for first, 1 for second.  That basically means, from the “gun” you are flying.  This one was just like that.  I missed a key split in the field and ended up back in a second group.  We rode hard, dropped a few people.  Finished pretty good.

Tempo #2 – I decided to ride one more for training.  I got a good wheel, thought I was golden.  But the guy in front of the guy I was following exploded.  He’s a good guy, he was tired, I’m not upset with him, but he gapped us.  Following one of the strongest sprinters in the area, when he decided to bridge, I TRIED to hold his wheel but I was SMOKED!  I found some folks to race with – good workout

46 miles after work.  My longest day of the year – with racing too!

Now – the hardest battle I fought tonight was to pass Sonic.  For the last year, every time I come home I stop and get some food.  I know it’s not the best, I order  grilled chicken wrap …. sometimes two.  I also get a big honkin diet cherry lime ade.  I wanted to make sure I ate good tonight – and while I drove home and had peanut butter and jelly on whole grain toast, which some might argue isnt that great for me, it was better than stopping and being tempted to get a milkshake.  I also had a huge bowl of peas – my latest obsession.  I love peas all of the sudden.  I feel as if passing up the instant gratification and just coming home for an easy sandwich was the right thing to do.   I take that as my victory tonight.

It’s good to be back on the track and have my weight headed in the right direction again.

Let me apologize

I went on a bike ride today.  I rode pretty hard.  My time is limited and I wanted to kill as many calories as possible.  I really just wanted to get in a great workout.  I rode from my home to the Silver Comet Trail.  Rode about 11 miles up the SCT and then turned around.  On the way back I was getting tired, I was riding “tempo” and just grinding away at about 100 rpm.  Good pace, tired, not paying attention.  On the trail, I space out now and then.

The next 20 seconds of my life – i’m not sure what happened, but I sort of realized all of the sudden that I was about to drill some guy, I couldn’t go around him as there was another guy coming… I realized I could make it so I sort of ‘buzzed’ the guy really close.  I didn’t hit him, I wasn’t scared… but apparently I made him angry.  He chased me down and started yelling at me.  I was quite apologetic.  While what I did was “safe” in the sense that I had no problem passing somebody that close, I did invade his (and another riders) “personal space”.  He said “that was closer than even bike racers come”.  I said “I’ve done a little racing in my day”.  We talked about bike racing… got on to track racing.  He read my jersey and said something about FixedGearFever – apparently he reads it all the time and asked me how I got a FGF jersey.  I told him it was actually my site.  He said in an excited manner “Are you Scott from FixedGearFever?” I told him I was and he was in sort of a state of shock.  I’ve seen this unnecessary reaction a few times before, but at the next few moments cracked me up.

This guy (named Mike) said “I am sorry!”  I asked “for what?”   He said “If I had known you knew how to ride so well, I would never have said anything like that!  I am sorry for questioning your skills!  Wow, I just insulted a real track racer. I am so sorry!”

I told him I was just a regular guy that loves track racing and geek stuff.  I felt bad for spacing out and putting other riders in danger.  I said that my apology stands and he had NOTHING to apologize for.  I’ve been yelled at for smaller stuff.  This was all good.  We chatted a bit more then he went back to his rest day.

As my illegitmate uncle Fred one put it “Scott is just a fan of track racing, no Scott is a super fan!”  I’m not a hero, roll model or above the law.

Overall – a GREAT ride.  I burried myself in 2 hours.  Good work.