Mission Accomplished

I got up nice and early this morning to get in a road ride on the new wheels. They roll nice. I still need to tweak the shifting as I was having some minor issues. I was not dressed properly and froze my toes. I had to stand in the shower and let the tub fill with hot water and just stand there to thaw them piggies out.


After that I set out for this place:

Bikeman.com World Headquarters

It was a nice drive and took a little less than 2 hours. Its a pretty cool shop with even nicer folks. I met Big Al and his wife Darcy. Nice people. So I spent some time checking out the El Mariachi's and took a little parking lot test ride and it felt nice. So after getting the rest of my Bikeman.com order together I was on the road with my shiny new snazzy Superior Blue Salsa El Mariachi.

El Mariachi

One big bonus was that I was anticipating gettin a bike in a box and having to build it this weekend. Lucky for me Big Al was willing to let me take the one he had built of the showroom floor. Dope man! So now my only project with it is to throw on the new On One mary Bars and the Ergon Grips. We'll have to see how the Mary bar and Ergon grips work together. Then I need to strip off the cassette and rear der. and put on the single speed cog and spacers, adjust the EBB and I'm good to go.
El Mariachi


Can't wait to get out and ride.

JJ

The weekend

Ahhh, the sun is out. Rode into work in knickers and no shoe covers. It was a bit chilly so I ramped up the effort to get warm- that did the trick. We may sneak out for an afternoon ride with Mike we'll just have to see how the day plays out.

JJ is on the road to Team Bikeman World Headquarters to pick up his new Salsa. A1 is setting up tents or delievering chairs, me I'm at my desk looking out the window at white capped mountains and blue sky. I'm in a much better mood now that the sun is out!

Looking foward to riding this weekend. Not sure what the schedule will be, we've got a b-day party for Emma (a week late but that's how it is these days) and my Grandmother's 85th! Happy birthday Grammy!

With the temps heading up we may see some trails be rideable in about a week- we'll have to see. I'd say we could head south but with all the flooding they saw near the coast I'm guessing that while not snow covered the trails down south are super wet. But soon, very soon.

That's it from here. The final parts for the Salsa road bike should be coming back with JJ today so maybe I'll start in earnest on that project.

later,


DEA

New Hoops have arrived

Christmas in April, well at least there was snow on the ground, but its April and the FedEx/Santa showed up at work today with two nice boxes. Each containing a new Neuvation Cycling wheel. They are wicked perty.



I stopped by DEA's and showed him one of them and we were impressed as we inspected them. I then went home and began to tear down the C-dale and clean it up a bit, which it sorely needed. So after tearing the wheels off and stripping the rubber I pulled the drivetrain apart and began cleaning and putting it all back together. I started with the front wheel and put the new skewer in and put the rim strip on and put the tire and tube on. It was a real f*&%ing bear getting the tire on, but once it was there it looked nice. I need to get tubes with longer stems now cause these rims are much deeper than the prior set.



I then began working on the rear wheel and I put my shiny new Ultegra cassette into place and then put the rim strip on and then began to wrestle with the new Michelin tire I had just gotten from DEA. Wow that is some stiff rubber. After much swearing and breaking a tire lever I finally got it in place. I inflated them and they held air, and it was all good.

I finished by cleaning the cranks and chainrings and topped it off with a nice new Sram chain. I threw them on the bike and opened the garage door to give them a test roll and was greeted by more rain failing from the sky. Oh well, this morning it was nice and sunny and is supposed to be 50ish. Brought the bike to work and hope to get out on a ride sometime during the day.

Thanks again to John at Neuvation Cycling. He set me up with a great looking set of wheels. I'll give some updates as I get some miles on them.

JJ

Strange Thing in the sky

I saw it, it was overhead briefly and it was bright and warm. I heard an old timer call it "the sun". Then it was gone. So with the nicer day today (no rain) I got out for a spin after lunch. Old Mill to Mill Street, then east on Hampshire Road (153) To Old County. To the top of Old County (ouch) spun around back to Hampshire Road (west) rode out to the state line, turned around and then back to Mill Street and home.

The route had quite a bit of climbing, probably about the same as our ride this weekend (3,000ish feet). I got to enjoy the climbs both ways on Mill Street, the Old County Climb, and the climb before the State Line on the Eaton side. Sweet. The rain washed away about 100 ft. of Old County at the base and as DEA mentioned Mill St. got it good too, I was careful not to get close to the shoulder.

Here's the ride numbers:

Time - 1:39
Miles - 25.6
Avg. Speed 15.4
Max. Speed 36.4

A1

Playing Catch-Up

The ride we (JJ, A1 and I) did on Sunday was great and it made me realize I'm way behind in fitness, so despite this Nor'easter I descided I need to get out and start playing catch up. Usually I commute to work at least two or three days a week starting in March and this year that just didn't happen for a host of reasons- and I wasn't making up that lost hour of saddle time a day- so needless to say I wasn't doing much.

Yesterday I got home from work, did a quick round of dumping buckets around the house (my redneck version of gutters) and applied for a quick hall pass. Part of the plan was to ride to JJ's house to pick up a DVD of PRB that he had so kindly burned for me. I snagged the Cross-Check from the basement that has been doubling as a pool as of late, geared up in my best snivel gear and headed out the door. Into the second song on my shuffle the battery died (reminded me of A1 only charging his light once every six months) oh well no tunes, but plenty of rain and roaring brooks to listen to. Actually I was sort of glad as the sound of all the running water was pretty wild.

Headed out to the Maine line on Mill Street and was surprised by how much damage had been done by the run off. Large sections of Mill street were in danger of falling into the abyss and had me riding at times damn close to the yellow line. I got to the Maine line and the road looked real nasty so I spun around and headed for the backside of Davis hill to see what that looked like.

As A1 had mentioned the town had dropped some large scale gravel on the parts of the road- I was glad I was on cross tires but was still waiting to feel a soft wheel. It never came but the climb did and up I went. I was surprised how firm the road felt, maybe because all the fines had washed away and I was riding on bedrock. It wasn't quite that bad but there were sections that were pretty gnarly.

I got to the top and began rolling down the dirt towards JJ's house and a truck rolled up behind me. I wasn't too anxious to get right on the side of the road but I pulled over to give him plenty of room but he wouldn't come by, I waved him to come by and still nothing. I wasn't sure what to think and the road was rough enough that I was keeping my eyes on where I was going. Finally he came up next to me and started by just as a big gap in the road appeared. I jumped for all I was worth (about 2 cents) and cleared the first three inches of the hole- but managed to land completely in it. I thought about how much fun it was going to be to hit the ground but amazingly I managed to roll out unscaythed (spelling?). I will chalk that up to pure luck as skill was sadly missing.

I got to JJ's and dripped on his floor while I talked to he and his wife while his kids looked at me like I was some sort of freak. I then realized I was getting warm and had better head out or else I'd be pretty misrable getting cold again. I snagged the DVD and headed out the door. I got home and the girls had already eaten so I snagged the leftovers. I got cleaned up, put the girls to bed and sat down with the sole beer left in the fridge (poor planning on my part) and put in the newly minted DVD of the 2007 PRB with CSC taking the win yet again. The anticipation built, the surround sound was cranked, and the player wouldn't read the disc. Damn. Try again, nothing. Ok that player is a piece of crap- it might be because Emma thought that a fruit rollup would work well as a DVD. So upstairs I went, hell it's kinda like porn so why not watch it in the bedroom! But again- no go. So over to the computer- nope. Damn!!!! So I still haven't seen the footage. Looks like JJ is going to have an uninvited houseguest soon.

So that was my afternoon. This morning I rode into work, fairly dry. A1 tried to hit me with a snowball as I pedaled by and JJ drove by and didn't give me a good draft- but at least I got in some saddle time today.

that's it from here.

later,

DEA

Wet

I'm glad we got out yesterday morning for a ride as the weather is just a big bag of suck right now. But if anyone want's to come over and go for a swim in my basement later on today it should be good and full. Ahhh the joys of home ownership.

It felt good to get out yesterday. I'm way behind the eight ball right now and need to step up my game if I want to have any chance of staying on JJ and A1's wheel at Crank the Kanc. At this point I'll be taking 20 second pulls while they're taking 2 minute pulls. Yikes.

The Salsa El Mariachi is all built up and looking pretty. It needs a shake down cruise and some work on position, maybe I can do that later in the week. I be honest I'd like to take it out on a dry day for its virgin voyage. I haven't even started working on the road bike yet. Maybe I'll start this week. The Cannondale is still treating me well and with this crap weather I'm not so keen to take a brandy new road frame out for torture, especially a steel frame with the salt that is still on the roads.

I didn't see it (maybe I'll connect with JJ and watch it at his house) but read about Stuart pulling off the PRB win- makeing it two years in a row for CSC. That's a race I'd love to see in person. It was interesting thinking of the weather they were having- 80+ degrees. Maybe they can ship that over this way with a case of good red wine.

That's it at the moment.

Stay dry out there!

DEA

TWAF sunday morning ride

After my solo ride yesterday we were able to get together for a ride this morning. So at 7am we rolled out for a relatively unplanned route and ended up doing a ride that A1 had done solo recently. Sad thing is I think he had better numbers speed and time wise for his solo loop than the three of us did this morning. We started out at a pretty reasonable pace and got warmed up well on the first climb. Of course there were plenty more climbs to come. Sad thing is A1 was schooling us on the climbs and had his rear brake dragging so much you could hear it pretty well riding beside him. I wish I was 19 again like him.


Ride Elevation

DEA and A1 each got a State Line to their credit and they also split the town lines as well. I was bringing up the rear as I am now confident that I am not a sprinter, not really a climber either. Maybe I belong in a team car or something like that.

Garmin Edge Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s) 2:37:13 4:09 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 2:34:24 4:05 pace
Distance (mi ) 37.79
Moving Speed (mph) 14.7 avg. 40.4 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +3,166 / -3,222

Avg. Heart Rate 138 bpm Zone 3.4

Temperature (°F) 36.5°F avg. 37.4°F high

Here's a shot of A1 (closer) & DEA (further) as we were bundled up for the chilly AM ride. As you can see we still have plenty of snow on the ground from the last storm.

DEA & A1


SO the weather situation has not gotten any brighter. This is what is heading our way. Oh joy. Here's what the National Weather Service is saying right now:

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EDT MONDAY.

EXPECT A TOTAL OF 10 TO 18 INCHES OF SNOW ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN MAINE AND NORTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE... WITH 6 TO 12 INCHES IN THE FOOTHILLS. SNOW WILL OVERSPREAD THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON... AND BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES TONIGHT. SNOW WILL MIX WITH RAIN AT TIMES MONDAY. EXPECT UP TO TWO FEET OF SNOW IN ELEVATIONS OVER 1500 FEET.

IN ADDITION...WINDS WILL GUST TO 40 MPH TONIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING. THE COMBINATION OF A HEAVY WET SNOW AND GUSTY WINDS WILL CAUSE SIGNIFICANT POWER OUTAGES.

THE COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS... HEAVY SNOW...AND DOWNED TREE BRANCHES WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY DIFFICULT TONIGHT AND MONDAY.

What's coming our way

I can't wait. Looks like I'll be off the bike for a few days with this coming in. My legs will thank me so its all good. Next weekend is looking good, as long as the roads are not all washed out or covered with trees and debris.

JJ

Pre Nor' Easter Ride

So we're supposed to get another f'ning snowstorm tomorrow. Weather Channel is saying another 10-18 inches on top of the foot we got Thursday night. The roads got cleared off well enough that I got out for a descent ride solo today.




Garmin Edge Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s) 1:54:44 3:42 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 1:52:26 3:37 pace
Distance (mi ) 31.00
Moving Speed (mph) 16.5 avg. 31.4 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +1,948 / -1,966

Avg. Heart Rate 145 bpm Zone 3.9

There's talk of a ride tomorrow morning early with DEA & A1 hoping to beat the storm and get a couple hours on the bike. Maybe DEA will have one of his new bikes built up by then to ride. GUess we'll have to wait and see.

JJ

One down, one to go

So I sold my 29er Singlespeed today. As a result I now have the clearance (and the $$) to buy another bike.



Going to be placing my order with Bikeman.com for a new Salsa El Mariachi 29er. Comes as a 1x9 but has an ebb and I plan to run it as a single-speed.

KHS Pro ST is still available if anyone is in the market.

JJ

Quick Spin

Nikki and I are going to a party tonight so I decided to pick her car up at the salon so I can pick her up tonight and only have one car. I had no ride agenda other than end up there at some point. Headed down 302 to 113 to Wallie World and then up the north south road to the village. Pretty mellow just spinning the legs out. At Carrier's a backhoe pulled out and I realized it was a freind of mine who plows our driveway. Decided to catch up and passed him on the little hill, and thought I was clear of him. He decided to pick up his pace and started catching up, which I couldn't let him do so I took off, we raced for about 1/2 mile at about 23 mph, until we got to Kearsarge Street, thankfully I was going left and he went right. So the easy spin turned into a short sprint, which was good since I beat him by about 100 feet. Time to buy a faster tractor Mike.

Thought about the Jackson loop and thorne, but decided on Upper West Side, which when I turned on found it really sandy. All the other roads were great but they must have sanded West Side last night. Turned around and decided to head to the salon. Very short ride.

Here's what I got:

37:58 Minutes (wow)
9.2 Total Miles (sweet)
14.5 Avg. Speed
31 MPH Max. Speed

A1

New Road Wheels on the way....

R28 Aero's

My rear wheel on my C-dale is sorta square these days and has a nice little hop in it when you get moving over about 14pmh. Fortuantely I am usually plodding along at much slower speeds, but from time to time I am coaasting downhill and hit the high teens. I have had these wheels trued too many times and it only lasts for a few rides before it's no longer round. (Maybe I need to lose some weight??) As a result I was in need of a new rear hoop and had heard very good things about Neuvation Wheels. After consulting with their owner, John, I ordered me a set of his R28's. I also go a new Ultegra cassette and chain from Bikeman.com so I should be good to go once the wheelset arrives. I love getting new stuff.

If anyone is interested in a couple bikes I have a Redline Monocog 29er in nice shape for sale and a KHS Pro ST for sale as well. Both medium sized frames.

Time to go dig my car out.

JJ

Pics from yesterdays Ride

Here are a few shots from my spin yesterday. The view from the top of Leavitte of Mt. Washington makes the climb worth while, and I actually remembered the camera. I think today is the 73rd anniversary of the highest recorded wind ever on Mt. Washington, 231 mph I believe. DEA would know if I'm right or wrong? Second shot is about half way down Potter, most of the road was muddy and snow but this section was pretty good.

It's snowing hard out, this sucks.

A1

Thorne Hill Loop

Got out for a lunch time ride to Jackson up and over Thorne Hill Road. It was one of those days when you hit the top you taste blood. Such a great lunch. Thorne is a nasty climb that goes up without a break until you hit the top.



Summary Data from the Garmin Edge 305
Total Time (h:m:s) 0:53:24 3:57 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 0:53:25 3:57 pace
Distance (mi ) 13.47
Moving Speed (mph) 15.1 avg. 35.3 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +1,244 / -1,245

Avg. Heart Rate 151 bpm Zone 4.2

Not looking forward to the forecast for 6-12 inches of white stuff being called for tomorrow and a possible Nor' Easter coming on Sunday. When's winter gonna end?

JJ

Why is it going to snow again?

So with today's nice weather and tomorrow looking like another 6-10 inches of snow I decided to head out for a little spin on the SS. Same loop up Davis to Gulf, Leavitte, Greeley, Potter, Mill St. past Pine Tree to 302 and home. Gravel was gooey and heavy. Greeley had a nice patch of mud on the descent. Nice to get and and spin on gravel again.

About 15 miles and 1 hour 12 minutes. Good ride. Legs felt pretty good after yesterday's ride and the Energease and Recoverease seem to be working well. Took a few pictures I'll post soon.

A1

First Ride with Numbers

So after 4 months I finally put my computer on my bike (I got it for Xmas). Headed out and did the same loop as DEA and JJ did Saturday (I think, if they did the same one DEA and I did a few weeks ago), except at Crystal Lake I took a left and headed south on 153 instead of North. Rode down to King Pine and turned right onto East Madison Road to the end then up 113 to Conway village and home. I don't have the elevation capabilities that JJ has so I have to get him to ride that route cause Eat Madison Road climbs, a lot. First 1.5 miles is pretty much staright up then it climbs again at the end and the first half of 113. I would say based on his numbers from the other day this ride could be around 3,000 ft. of gain?

Here are the numbers from the ride.

Total Mileage - 35.2
Avg. Speed - 15.4
Max Speed - 39.9
Total Time - 2:17

A1

Pre-Easter loop through Snowville

DEA and I went out for a chilly 25 mile ride Saturday. It was good to get out knowing I would be eating very badly on Easter.



Numbers courtacy the Garmin Edge 305
Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s) 1:41:21 3:59 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 1:39:59 3:56 pace
Distance (mi ) 25.37
Moving Speed (mph) 15.2 avg. 39.2 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +2,147 / -2,158

Avg. Heart Rate 142 bpm Zone 3.7

Temperature (°F) 35.6°F avg. 35.6°F high
Wind Speed ( mph) SSE 3.8 avg. SSE 5.8 max.

JJ

Snow

It's April, it's New Hampshire, we live in a place refered to as the White Mountains- so it makes sense that we're supposed to get up to 10" of snow tonight.

I wonder what the real estate market is like down near Dicky?

later,

DEA

LSD ride of sorts

I called DEA and asked if he was up for an LSD ride Sunday as I knew he was kid free for the weekend. I had a 2 hour window and the weather was beautiful. I told him I wanted to do a flat ride and keep the HR down as I am still trying to put in some base miles. He was cool with that and we were set to go for 1:30PM. About 1:25 the phone rings and DEA's at A1's house putting cream on his shammy or something like that. Either way they were on their way once they were properly lubed for the ride.

Ride Elevation

Needless to say, the ride was very good. Not quite flat as the elevation shows. I can't complain too much as I agreed to the rout beforehand. It is also very tough to find a rout of any distance around here that is flat anyhow. As we approached the first state line which is atop the biggest climb the question was posed, "Are we racing for lines today?" I said I was out as this was an LSD ride and I was trying to keep my HR as close to 140 or less as possible. A1 wouldn't answer the question. He was quite the politician in dodging the question, as we got closer the question was answered by A1 taking off for the line with DEA in tow. A1 was all over the road trying to be as wide as possible to keep DEA from getting around him. A1 was looking back more than to the front. At the line however, DEA was able to slingshot around and get A1 by a bike or so. I was quickly off the back at this point. They sat up and I proceeded along at my tortoise like pace and caught the hares. This is how the entire ride went as we hit 4 state lines on the ride with DEA getting the first 3 and A1 snagging the last one of the day.

Ride Map

All in all it was a good couple hours on the bike. Here's the number from the Garmin Edge 305

Ride Time 2:02:46
Distance 30.77 mi
Ave. speed 15.1 mph
Max speed 38.6
Ave. HR 143
Elev. gain 2,130

I guess 2,100 feet of climbing is flat around here. So I have about 500 base miles in so far and was hoping to have 750-1000 in before ramping up the intensity but the nice weather and riding mates makes it tough to stay focused. The weather this week will definitely put a damper on riding outside. Oh well, spring in New England. Gotta love mud season.

JJ

Good weekend

Ahhh, a good weekend. Got out for 2:40 on Saturday solo and then rode with the boys on Sunday for 2:20. A total of 5 hours in the saddle- can't complain!

What great weather, but this is New England- so today it's snowing/sleeting/raining with temps in the mid 30's. That's the weather for the next few days so yipee!

The girls come back from Florida tomorrow. I'm ready to have them home, it's been nice to be able to sneak out for a ride at any time that I want but it's also too quite!

The new bikes are slowly coming together. I pressed the headset and put in the BB on the El Mariachi- on the road bike front I looked at the new frame and drooled.

I've got new disc brakes on order so I figure I'll wait for those instead of pulling brakes off of one of the other bikes. I'm still waiting for a couple other parts and the new BB tool for the road bike- but soon, very soon.

Back to yesterdays ride, it was great to get out with A1 and JJ. We're racing Crank the Kanc as a team time trial- so it was nice to get out and ride with the three of us. We didn't really do any TT specific work in terms of pull intervals, but A1 and I had some fun racing to town and state lines. A1 ended up winning the last sprint back into NH with a ballsy move into traffic. I'm fearful of when he finally figures out how to sprint cuz the boy's got power. So until that day I'll use every tactic and trick I know to try and rack up some points- because the day is drawing near when I won't be able to touch him in a sprint.

JJ showed composure as this was an LSD ride for him, so he hung back and noodled along while testosterone got the better of A1 and I when we would see a town or state line.

For those who aren't familiar with where we live, we're in NH but real close to ME, so it's not uncommon to cris-cross back and forth over the state line numerous times in a fairly short ride.

So that's it from me. Later- DEA

Windy Ride

Out for an hour yesterday to the end of Mill Street and back. Wind sucked. One of the farms was boiling sap to make Maple Syrup, that was a pleasant smell for a 1/4 mile. Yummy.

DEA was supposed to meet at 6am this morning to lift, he bagged out. Some excuse about work or something. I think he just wanted to sit in his basement and stare at all his new parts (bike parts that is).

A1

Check

Race Face cadence cranks- check
2 FSA headsets- check
new headset press- check
Rampage 29er tires- check
Crank Bros- cromo BB- check
2 new Salsa frames- check
2 bikes ready to be stripped- check

all that is left to complete- downtube housing stops- on order
road bike cable set, brandy new- on order
outboard bearing tool- on order


Time to do it all- yup the girls are all in Florida for 5 days.

Ride this weekend?


later- DEA

Weekend Ride

Saturday was beautiful out and DEA called so we headed out for a spin. Considered the Kanc but decided on a less trafficed ride. Mill Street down to 153, then through Snowville to Eaton and back up to Conway on Stark and home. Pretty mellow to begin with trying to get my legs warmed up, which took a while. Mill St. has some decent climbing although it doesn't look it. Then we headed west on 153 towards Snowville. There's one good sustained climb right off then it rolls for quite a while. Pace picked up after the climb and we quickly were in Eaton at Crystal Lake. The rolls in the road make it hard to ride at a slower pace and it seemed like I was shifting constantly until DEA upped the pace, then it was much easier. DEA took all three town lines, and the Center Conway sign seems to be gone so no sprinting there. All said about 1 1/2 hours of saddle time. Monday DEA and I were back in the gym first thing. Legs felt good but we seemed to be taking it fairly easy. Legs feel good now, back to the gym Friday morning and hoping to get out tomorrow for a long road ride.

Time to go finish tileing the bathroom.

A1

Spring Ride - Long winded post

Yesterday was beautiful outside so I decided to go for a spin on the road bike to stretch the legs. As I'm planning to leave Nikki called from the salon and was on her way home, she had a workout at 1:00. So I waited and she joined me and we road up to 121 where she went in and I continued on, her workouts are 1 hour so I figured I had enough time to ride up to Jackson and back. Up 302 to 16a, started to think about Thorne Hill but decided that wasn't in my best interests since I ran Monday, lifted w/DEA Tuesday, rode w/DEA Wednesday night, lifted again Thursday morning and here it is Thursday afternoon. I stopped at Thorne Hill to take off some layers and decided to ride it. With each incline I kept telling myself that I'd turn around at the next pitch, then the next, etc. till I was at the top and rewared with the views of Mt. Washington. Down through Jackson back 302 to 16a and back into the village where I met Nikki and we headed North South Home. At Pudding pond we met up with a few Fryeburg guys I've seen at some races, they had ridden from Fryeburg (7 miles ish) and turned around to give chase. Nikki and I had a good tow going and they couldn't catch up until we hit the red light at Wallies World. I offed to let them go by which they replied "No thanks we'll sit back here for a while." Great thanks, off we go with Niki behind me and the two of them behind her through Redstone. She keeps yelling to me to "Go, go, go." Yeah sure, my legs are spent and I'm taking the wind. So I listened to her as I always do, now I'm in my big ring with one left in the rear and she's still yelling "Go." I went until the next intersection, maybe 3 miles and that was it, ready to explode. We stopped at the light and was thanked by the other 2 who said they'd let me pull any day as long as I didn't decide to run. There was no running in my legs at that point. They took off at the green light, and so did Nikki. Now I'm on the back and getting dropped. This can't happen,my wife can't drop me I'm thinking, but it was. So I put my head down and caught back on and was happy to be in tow at the back for the next 3 miles until we got home. Great ride and awesome weather. Just over 2 hours and about 35-40 miles in total, not bad for a gingerly spin. It's nicer out today but my legs are happy sitting inside, the Recover Ease seems to be helping. I tried the Energease before the ride and that seemed to help as well, we'll see. Nice to get out with Nikki and she's fast, once she realizes how to climb I'm in trouble.

Getch gave me a copy of ROAM so I watched that last night. Insane trails and riding. I gotta say though, I was disappointed. I heard so much about it that was kind of a let down. I can only watch people race downhill so long. Someone needs to make a movie where people actually are filmed riding up. Just my take.

Stopped by Bob and Terry's to get a 29er tube and talked to Ron, who hasn't been on his bike yet, sold his 29er and isn't doing Crank the Kanc and probably not the 24 Hours of Great Glen. Lets hope he changes his mind.

Weekend ride anyone?

A1

Good ride

A1 and I snuck out for a little over an hour last night, leaving the house at about 9pm. The temps were pretty good- low 30's and really no wind. It was a nice mellow pace (most of the time) and we cruised some of the camp roads that lead down to Conway Lake. We got about half way out and A1's light died. He's got an HID that has a 12 burn time, and the last time he charged it as three rides and over a month ago- oops. I guess he now knows the battery life! It didnt' really mater as we were on road or gravel so my light was throwing plenty of light for the both of us- and the added bonus for me was that he couldn't take off on me on the climbs as he needed my light! Of course when we headed up Davis a car was coming up behind us so A1 used it's light instead of mine and raced the car up and out of my view- eventually the pitch slowed him down enought that he let the car "win" and the dark inspired him to wait for me. I tried to show my speed on the top pitch- that lasted for all of about 100 yards and my mind thought better of it. All it all a good ride- nice to get outside in the dark for a spin.

Then it was a race home to get some sleep to meet up at A1's house for our 6am lifting session. Which we did, but without great enthusiasm. However we got through the routine and by the end we were starting to feel pretty good, but we were both glad it was done when it was done.

In other news got an email for Mike talking about the Jay Challenge which is on a one year hold. Here's their site with thier explanation: Jay site

Time for me to go order some bike parts so I can build the two new Salsa frames.


later,


DEA

I'm Back (Again)

This time was a 4 day excursion in Rangeley, ME. I've never been there before, and I must say it was a nice place. Lots of good restaurants and stores. We had two tents set up for the Northeast High School Championships at the XC Ski Center there, which also hosts the Saddleback Challenge in September and looks like some great mountain bike trails. I brought my bike in hopes of getting out since the weather had been nice, but as DEA showed with the radar that idea changed quickly. It was heavy snow and wind Friday night which kept us busy all night, and Saturday, 40 1/2 hours to be exact. I was glad to get some rest Saturday night. We stayed at the Loon Lodge, nice log cabin inn type place, and I had the best steak ever while I was there. So maybe a trip this summer there for steak and a little riding? Home for a while now with no other work trips planned for now which is nice.

Anywho glad to be back, lifted with DEA this morning, then started using my Recover Ease that came in the mail for me last week. Just waiting on my team kit from Wicked Fast Sports Nutrition and I'll be set to go. If anyone wants to try out their product let me know, they sent plenty of samples. DEA has already gotten some and I have some set aside for JJ.

Critter watch for the week:

32 Deer - All on the ride home.

Sounds like a ride tonight, I'm thinking of plowing a course off in the field at our garage for a little winter cross riding, any takers some weekend? Loser gets a white wash.

A1

Excited

I just checked the UPS site with my handy dandy tracking numbers and looks like I should be getting my new Lazer helmet and my two new Salsa frames from Bikeman today. I'm pretty stoked about that! Now I've got to order a few bits to build them out and then go ride!. I need headsets for both bikes- I'm a huge fan of King- but throwing down for two at once can be a bit painful on the wallet- then again..... Then the other big purchase is I need a new crank and BB for the road set up. The cannondale (the current road ride) has their Si crank and BB so it won't work on the Salsa. I have to admit I've fallen in love with the new Campy record ultra torque- but I have absolutly no reason to own such a fine piece of equipment- that and if I'm going to whine about at CK headset then what am I going to say about a carbon record crank! So I'll need to vibe on that a bit before I pull the trigger.

On the riding front I got out last night for a nice 1:20 spin on the surly. Managed to get out right after work while K had the girls as swim lessons- so I actually enjoyed a ride in natural light. I was nice to be able to see the world beyond just the spot of light from your head. The best part- I got home and K had a great meal on the table- perrrrrfect.

Then this AM A1 and I hit the weights, can't say it was super fun but good for me. We're planning to head out for a night ride tonight- (JJ, A1 and I) but we'll have to see what the temps are looking like as I heard it is going to be cold- like single to negative numbers cold tonight- hmmmm- have to see.

That's it from here.


later,


DEA

Ready for Spring

I got spoiled last week with those warm days and the sight of rapidly receding snowbanks. Then we had a good size storm rolling our way, oh well. I had considered racing in a nordic race on Saturday, but a skate race in over a foot of fresh snow isn't my idea of great fun- so instead spent the time sledding with the kids- which was a great time. Sunday rolled around and I was hell bent to get out and on the road. The temps weren't to bad- about 34 degrees but there was a pretty good wind blowing, gusting to about 30 at times. I took out the surly SS with cross tires and headed out for a spin. The roads in New Hampshire were in pretty good shape, but as soon as I hit the Maine line the plows must have given up the ghost as there wasn't a whole lot of black pavement- instead a lot of ice and frozen slush. Which is fine except for when your got cars behind you and they can't understand why you're riding out near the yellow line. Oh well- everyone was pretty good about it and nobody tried to put me in the ditch.

But the road condition motivated me to cut the ride a bit short as I didn't want to keep heading further into Maine as the conditions continued to worsen. The only downside was the trip back was right into the teeth of the headwind, which was fine but didn't bode well for keeping the heart rate down. Either way got in an hour and a half, better then nothing! Then of course I go and read Dicky's blog and feel like I should have gone and done my Kanc ride regardless. I hate getting shown up by a Southerner when it comes to cold weather riding.

As a side note did anyone else find themselves glued to the velonews live updates on yesterdays last stage of Paris-Nice? Damn that was a race. Looks like Disco has some young talent. Could be an interesting year.

later,


DEA

Long Ride May be on Hold

Well this is New England- so my hopes for a good road ride may have been dashed. But it should bode well for the skiing! Yeah that's us right on the line between 15" and the 18" to 24"- time to gas up the snowblower.

later,

DEA

ps- crank the kanc registration is open

Long ride needed

I was cruising the AM blog loop- FatMarc, Dicky and of course our buddy Blue and it got me feeling like we need to get out for good long ride. I've never done a century ride in March or April for that matter, and the thought of that is quickly becoming very appealing. Now just comes the making it happen. Hmmmmm.

I'm not sure a 100miles is a great idea with little to no base, so we'll need to cram in at least a 50 miler first. I'll have to try and make that happen this weekend. Any takers? I've got an XC race on Sat afternoon, but it's just for fun so I guess I could do it on Saturday. Sunday is also a good option. So any takers? One of the weekend days- leave at 7am be back by 10am- it would be a road ride- not sure of the loop.

Then we could look at the last weekend in March for a possible century. Thoughts?


later,

DEA

Back to the gym

A1 called last night and wanted to know if I would be up for a legs session in the AM. I said sure, knowing I didn't want to but that it would be good for me. I called JJ to see if he was interested, but he was tied up with a fantasy online baseball draft- priorities you know.

5:15 am and my alarm went off and I slowly got up, dressed and downstairs for coffee and yogurt with granola. Not the most inspiring breakfast but it did the trick, then over to A1's. Checked out his new truck before heading in- I'd never seen a pickup truck with a jake break- pretty cool. Then down to the basement for some pain- that just sounds bad. Nothing seemed to want to work quite right but we got it done. About an hour of lifting, then A1 hooked me up with some Recover-Ease and Energy-Ease, we'll have to let you know how they work.

No time on the bike today, and maybe that'll be the case until Friday, but let's hope not!

that's it for now.

later,

DEA

Slip, slide and away

Well as DEA said, we got out for an early morning gravel grind sunday. When we planned it 6am didnt sound so early. Forgot all about the damn time change. Would up having to get up at what was really about 4:30am to ride, that sucked. I knew something was wrong when I lloked outside and it was dark like night. Oh well, I was up and had not started thinking clearly yet so I suited up and headed out. After rolling around for about 10 minutes waiting for the rest of the crew to arrive and added another layer as I was feeling a bit underdresed, mistake. A few minutes later I saw a couple HID's heading up the hill towards me and it was DEA and A1. I could also make out a dark shadowy figure with them. It was Michelin Mike who was on a skinny tired road bike without lights. A brave soul is he. We started our ride and within minutes a plow truck passed us and none of us thought that was a good omen. He was not out to plow but to sand. It rained saturday night and the ground was still frozen and by sunday morning was pretty slippery.

Elevation for the Ride

After riding a couple good climbs we came to a road that has a very good pitch that we would need to descend. Problme was we would have need to borrow the Jamaican Bobsled to do it. Not a good idea on the bikes we were on, especially Mikes. We turned around and headed back to the ranch the way we came. The ride was a little shorter than expected, but it was still a good day. It was nice to get a group together for a ride as it has been a while. Here' the numbers form the Garmin Edge 305.

Total Time 1:10.32
Distance 9.22 miles
Ave. speed 9.3 mph
Elevation 1,180
Ave. HR 136
Max HR 182

JJ

Back in the Saddle

With the time change it felt like 4am when the alarm when off. I looked out the window and didn't see much other then black and could hear the water dripping off the roof. Oh how I wanted to go back to bed.

We had planned a gravel grind for the morning so I knew I had to get moving. I ate some oatmeal and slammed back and cup of coffee and slowly started pulling on the lycra. I hadn't really done anything in over a week and my body knew it, and my mind knew that my bed was still nice and warm. Oh well.

Out the door and the timing was perfect. I could see A1's light coming up 302 as I rolled down the driveway. We connected and began heading over the Pine Tree to meet up with Mike, who none of us had met but since he was up to ride at 6am in the ice and wet then he had to be ok. We met up and he pulled out a very nice looking S-Works with Campy Record and confidence inspiring 23mm slicks. I was sort of hoping he was putting that in the car for safe keeping and had a fat tire rig with him for the ride but he saddled up and off we went. Now we were planning to ride "roads" but a mid March Gravel Grind in New Hampshire at 6am often means ice, that being said Mike seems to have some impressive handling skills as he stayed upright the whole time. So Mike- Kudos and next time we'll detail the ride a bit more!

We met up with JJ on the climb up Davis where I was in the red way too early and wondering if I was going to be up for Gulf road. Slowly my legs came back to me and the rest of the ride felt pretty good.

We cut the ride a bit short as the full loop looked to be a bit sketchy and would have been downright dangerous on slicks so we spun it around at the top of the climb and enjoyed the freshly sanded descent of Gulf road.

For the ride I got in 1:40 of saddle time. A good first ride after feeling like death for over a week. Hopefully this will be the ride that gets us back on track in terms of "team rides".

later,

DEA

Placed my Order

So today was the cutoff for placing our Team Bikeman.com orders for Lake Bike Shoes and Lazer Helmets. So I will be sporting the new 2007 model Lake CX230 C road shoes in black. They sport a carbon sole so should be nice and stiff. I also am getting the 07 Lazer Genesis in Red/white. Both should go nice with the Team kit. Thanks to Bikeman.com.




Can't wait til May 19 and the first real event of the 07 season, Crank the Kanc. DEA, A1 and I will be signing up to give the TTT a go. Should be intersting.



JJ

Sunday Ride

Gravel Gride set for Sunday morning (March 11th) leaving Pine Tree school parking lot at 6am. Estimate a loop that should take under two hours.

A couple good climbs, warm up on Davis Hill and then the big climb is Gulf Road. Should be fun. Keep in mind- "Spring Ahead" on Saturday night so 6am will come earlier then you think but it will be a bit lighter then it has been as of lately.

see you there!


DEA

I'm back

It's good to be home. For those who don't know I've been in Northern NH (Coleman State Park) at the Snodeo for the past 7 days. The Snodeo is a 2 day event where the snowmobile manufacturers display the 2008 models. Lots of new cool things, especially the trike that Can Am unveiled for the first time, this one had two wheels up front and one in the rear. Anywho, we set 6 tents for the event. We finished setting up Tuesday morning (event was Friday and Saturday) then spent Wednesday and Thursday getting tables and heaters set up for the vendors. Beautiful weather all week then we heard of the snow moving in Thursday night. Oh well we can handle snow, just makes for a lot of raking it off the tents, no big deal. So Thursday night I go up to the park where the event is at 11:00 pm since the snow is starting sometime after midnight. Put the seat back in the truck and try to relax, then at 2am the wind starts blowing. Wind, cold, snow and darkness mean trouble for tents. For the next 18 hours the wind blew a sustained 60mph. We hustled all night and day and the next night to keep them tied down. We were fortunate they all stayed in place, with a lot of work. So I'm glad to be home, I think for the entire week I got between 15-18 hours of sleep as it requires lots of babysitting of the tents in winter conditions. I look at it as sleep deprivation training for 24 hour races. The event went off fine besides the wind, no one got hurt and we've already been contracted to do it again next year. Good times. Here's a few pics from the event although, these were taken a few days before the event. Six tents we set up, for every pin we put in we had to drill a hole using a 18 inch long bit that was 1 inch wide, then drive them in with 16lb sledge hammers, again training for this season right.




For the week I saw 2 moose, 4 deer, 8 fox, 4 raccoon, and 4 turkeys.

This week I have a rental at Downeast Bike, hmm maybe I'll trade that one. Then next week it's off to Rangely, ME to Saddleback Mtn. for 4 days of tent pleasure. Hoping the weather is better.

Looks like a nice weekend shaping up, any thoughts on a ride.

A1 tired SOB.

Being Sick Sucks

I've been enjoying the Flu (or at least that's what I think it is) for the last five days, and it's not that much fun. Last Friday was day one and I just felt stiff and sluggish and my head was a little funky. By Friday night I was starting to feel a bit feverish, but I had to host the Live Show on Sat morning so I was trying to just get through that. I made it through the show without fully losing it and then proceeded to spend the next 36 hours mainly in bed going from uncontrollable shivering to tropical rain forest type sweating and back. Super fun. Monday I had to go to Mt. Sunapee for a pitch, left the house at 6:30 am and got home at 9pm- felt pretty wiped. Then yesterday I had a meeting over in Vermont so I spent another four+ hours in the car. Today we had meisters so I got out and made my race run and then three others just to see how my body would hold together. It's amazing how good it can feel to do something after being a blob for about four days. The only downside was all the chunking of my lungs that would take place each time up the lift.

I realize I'm bitching and moaning about being sick, so not to much fun to read- sorry about that.

On a good note I saw that ASO and UCI agreed to get back to racing. I feel bad for the Unibet.com team, they're getting screwed on this whole thing. The reason being given about some French law and advertising betting is such a joke when ASO has made a ton of money from PMU, Lotto, and FDJ. I love France and have good friends in that country- but they're way of thinking sometimes is just off. Of course they say the same thing about us (like why do we work more the 35 hours a week- good question!).

Either way I'm glad to see Paris-Nice will take place, it would have been a major bummer to see that and other ASO events not have the big teams present. Can you imagine Paris-Roubaix not having Boonen, Bettini, or any of the other instigators on the start line.

Enought out of me, time for Theraflu.

later,

DEA

LOSTBO

Blue reminded me that I never explained LOSTBO- the name of a pub and glad up at Black Mountain in Jackson. Well it's time to explain so that Blue can start breathing again ;)

A quick bit of history- this guy Les Otten had bought and grown a little ski area over in Bethel Maine- Sunday River. He turned a little backwater into one of the premier ski areas in the east, and he really did do a fantastic job (side note many hope Les will buy Sunday River back in the coming weeks from ASC).

After Les did such a great job with SR he descided he wanted to buy more areas- first up our local hill here in the Valley (and a place I used to work) Attitash. He did some great things there. From there he went on to buy a whole bunch of ski areas from coast to coast and many skier types weren't to sure if it was a good thing.

Ok, back to LOSTBO- a player to remain nameless at Black didn't like what good'ol Les was doing and descided to name his pub LOSTBO Pub.

LesOttenSucksTheBigOne.

There you go, the background to LOSTBO. Les in case you're reading this, good luck in your bid on Sunday River. (hey you never know- maybe he'll Google himself and this is what he'll see).

later,


DEA


one last thing- Crank the Kanc has a new 3 person TTT format this year for ten teams. JJ called me last night to discuss options- hmmmmmm, A1 are you up for this? If you are you need to be in a "game on" frame of mind so you can just tow JJ and I. Here's the listing: Crank the Kanc

Anyone doing anything July 29th?

There's a race that day, over at Jay Peak in Vermont that day I hear. Wondered if anyone was up for a little ride? I seem to recall at least a couple people talking about doing it again (or finishing it) after last year's race. Registration opens tomorrow, March 1, 2007 for the Jay Challenge. Who's in?

JJ

a new view of peaked

our go-to ride during the early season seems to be a small climb up peaked, followed by a nice up-and-down traverse, to the middle mountain trail. it's a great lap that you can do a couple of times in a morning and it's a pretty trip, followed by the roller coaster bumps of sticks & stones.

but i've never done it in two feet of snow, which i did last saturday on snowshoes. allow me to report.

climing up the peaked mountain trail was more of as stroll on the boardwalk, really. the trail was packed down, and i took to breaking my own trail on the sides in order to get my blood flowing, which it had started to when i hit the fork in the trail. i also noticed phantom ski tracks in the woods, suggesting that maybe peaked does have some treasures hidden among the trees during the wintertime.

when i reached the traillead for the traverse, the first thing you notice is that it was untracked, so i laid down the first tracks of 2007 on the trail, reaching the first right-hand dogleg hill, and glissaded quite nicely down to the now-frozen riverbed.

everything was going great until i reached the top of the steep, short, nasty climb (on a bike, on snowshoes it's really not much): everywhere i looked seemed like it could be the trail. looking at an unbroken field of snow amidst lots of trees just looks like hundreds of potential trails leading somewhere.

so, i started bushwhacking, creating mini crevasses with my snowshoes and checking out small and (scarily) large animal tracks. eventually i came upon a set of snowshoe tracks and, thinking i'd stumbled on what possibly resembled the proper traverse to the middle mountain trail, started following them. i also couldn't help but notice that the tracks followed trees with blazes on them - something i probably should have thought of sooner...

it turned into a pretty dramatic climb, with the tracks leading from the relatively mellow pitch of the lower section of peaked, into a boulder-strewn scramble up an increasingly steep face, which was great for the lungs, heart, legs and arms. i was obviously way above the buried mountain bike trail now, but knowing that by heading east i was going to get to the middle mountain trail kept me from getting nervous - there was no need for panic.

i did finally hit the middle mountain trail, and then tromped back down to the car, with a new respect for peaked (i can't get those ski tracks out of my head), and a new excitement to get back out there on my bike...

...that's not to say i'm ready for winter to go away - far from it - but, i am looking forward to riding this summer for fun, instead of riding out of fear of quite literally dying whilst trying to finish the Jay Challenge. which has become, to me, something of a curse word in the past months.

mahalo!
nk

North Conway Derby

My first official race of 2007- the North Conway Derby- anyone want to joing me?
The Race


later,

DEA

a chilly one

I talked with DEA last night about riding in to work together this AM, but we didn't meet up and each came in on our own. One thing we did agree on was that it was cold. I saw the temp at 14 when I set out. I was dressed ok, but not great. My new Pearl Izumi Gavia plus tights were good, but I think I was below the temp rating for them. Could have used some knee warmers as well. Hands were kinda chilly too in the lobster claws. I skipped the Am-fib booties and went for the thicker ones but after about 40 mins at these temps they are pretty much past their ability to keep your toes warm. To make it even tougher, I have decided to try to get a good base in before I do any intense trainig and am trying to keep my heart rate below 140 until I have that base in. I am finding it much more difficult keeping wark if I am not working that hard. Life is rough, but at least at these temps there is still the good freak factor as lots of people see you and shake tehir heads at you for being out there at all.

See ya on the roads

JJ

random bits of cycling thoughts

Got my second day of commuting in this month- that makes a full year of at least two days commuting on the bike. While most of the time that is no big deal, and in the good weather I wouldn't consider two days a month commuting, but in January and February if I can get my two days I'm happy.

What I'm not happy about- my legs felt junky- oh well.

K told me that George crashed and broke his wrist during TOC- but then I read that he got up and ended up doing good work for Levi before dropping out- that man is tough! I'll never forget this image of GH on the ground during PRB- busted fork at full speed in cobbles- no thank you!


Got word from the team that the Salsa frame order should be on it's way in just a couple weeks- that's getting me pretty psyched! Here is a look at the new Salsa Primero road frame (of course I won't have those juicy Zipp wheels or dura ace crank- but you get the idea):

And here will be the new 29er to the stable, the Salsa El Mariachi:


I'm pretty excited for these to get here so I can start building them up, of course then that means I have to part with some more cash for a few parts- hopefully RSN will need me to grace their set a fair amount in the coming month- or maybe I'll get A1 to hand me a sledge and I'll help set tents

Ok time to get back to work. Looking forward to the ride home, JJ rode in as well so maybe I'll have a drafting partner!

later

DEA

Good weekend

Got a chance to get out on the XC skis a bit this weekend, which was good. Took the girls up to GGTOC on Saturday and braved the wind to go for a ski out to the cabin with Emma in the backpack and Lillo cruising along on her own. When we were in the woods the wind wasn't too bad, but in the field it was a bit rugged. The girls had a good time, but Lillo started to grumble a bit in the last K. I was sort of laughing thinking of all the trips my parents took me on when I was a kid and that sense of "we're never going to get back" and just collapsing in the snow. I may feel that way this coming Sunday if I end up being foolish and skiing the GG to BW 50km. We'll have to see what the weather is doing as we get closer before I pull the trigger.

Yesterday I got out and tested out my new rockship skis from Atomic. A pair of their World Cup classic's- they are awfully nice. To bad my skiing is in such rough shape. I think if my technique was a bit more "on" I could make those skis go really fast. Yesterday afternoon the whole fam-damly went up to Cranmore for a bit of lift serve skiing, it was good. I only took two runs off the top, including a first run that saw me go over the bars and land square on my keys, my leg is still killing me! The rest of the time I hung out with Emma over on the magic carpet spinning laps. We pulled the plug at the right time and then hit Zebs for some penny candy before heading home where she zonked out well in advance of pulling into the driveway. K and Lillo skied for a few more hours before they made the trip home.

This morning I got my February commuting day in the books, it felt good to be back out with the AM traffic. Temps were comfortable- in the 20's no wind. I'm looking forward to the spin home.

On other news. Jan has called it quits. Landis might get cleared. Levi has his first win with Disco.

All is good in the world. In TWAF racing news 24 Hrs of GGTOC has a new solo/ss class- just got word from Mary. She's also trying to recruit a few riders from a list that I'd sent her- including Fatmark, Dicky, and Kerkove. We'll have to see if she has any luck.

later

DEA

I think I made a mistake

Over the past month or so I have been listening to DEA and A1 talking about their early morning weight lifting sessions and since I broke myself I could not partake. I was beginning to get very concerned I was going to be way behind the curve with these guys getting all buff, well at least A1, and primed for the upcoming season. As a result I went over Wed. morning and met the fellas at 6 a damn clock in the AM. I still cannot do squats because of my shoulder, but I did a few exercises and felt like I had done something for the first time in a while. Well yesterday I was pretty sore, walking funny and having trouble on stairs. I thought I would be better off after a little easy spinning so I did that for 30 minutes yesterday and hoped I could get some of the poison out of my legs. Oh how that didn't work. I got up this morning and I feel ever more sore than yesterday. People watching me walk think and have commented on something being wrong with me. I'm beginning to think I may have done some permanent damage. (That would be a first) sad thing is I didn't lift near what DEA or A1 did. I need a wheelchair.

i love ebay

so, for about a year and a half now, i've been sitting on a pair of fresh, new fritschi freeride touring bindings, but noooo skis to slap them on. and, to be honest, no money to go out and spend on them. i actually considered selling them, since i didn't think i'd find the pair of skis i wanted for an affordable enough price...

but that's all changed now, and i was finally able to grab a pair of last year's salmon scrambler limiteds - brandy new, never drilled - off of ebay for a quarter of what you'd normally pay. i love the interwebs! i don't think i could think of a better way to prepare for another summer in the saddle than some backcountry touring.

now, anyone know where i can get a cheap pair of skins?

mahalo,
nK

Happening

I just read that Dave Z crashed out of TOC- that's to bad, he was the guy that I was hoping would go on to a good finish. Of course they said he was released from the hospital to go home with his wife- and I'm not sure if you saw the last issue of Velonews- but damn his wife is hot so I don't feel quite so bad.

Not sure if this is the crash that took out Dave Z- but this is just not a fun thing to be riding into. Nice form on the guy already fully on the deck trying to keep his arms from losing skin!


Big doings going on in the ski world. My old employ- Attitash got sold out of ASC along with Mount Snow, and then today they announced that Killington and Pico have also been sold. Add to the fact that they sold Steamboat this past fall and the once large ASC is now just a shadow of its former self. Now the rumor mill is that Les Otten, the founder of ASC, is looking to maybe buy back his first resort- Sunday River. Hmmmmm, we'll have to see how this all plays out.

Bonus question- Black Mountain in Jackson has a pub named LOSTBO Pub- anyone know what LOSTBO stands for? NK- you can't guess!

That's it from here.


later,

DEA

A day off

Lucky for me I had the day off from work. I got up and sat on the spinning bike for 45 minutes and watched DEA on TV. He's damn sexy on the tube. After reading his last post I decided to try to get out on the xc gear. I scored a short hall pass and headed out to Davis Hill to see if I could find some of the trail that DEA had been kind enough to break.



The snow was great. Plugged in the mp3 and cruised around for a bit. It was nice to get back out. It was about 15 and a little breeze but it didn't take long to get warmed up. Maybe a little night skiing is on the table shortly.

JJ

A bit of February Pedal Pushing

I've been trying to take advantage of this good snow we've got on the ground, so yesterday the whole fam-dam-ly (minus the cats) headed up to Davis Hill for a bit of XC skiing. I had Emmazilla in the pack and Lillo and K following letting me break trail. Even the dogs gave up trying to lead the way as for them pushing through almost two feet of snow was a bit much. It was a good ski, explored some spots that I hadn't seen before and we ended up skiing out on the beaver pond that is always a stopping point during our rides out there. Got in a solid two hours, and the last two K's I ended up pulling Lillo as well as carrying Emmazilla. We ended up skiing by another family and I think they thought we were nuts- but it was fun and a good burn on the legs.

After we got home I watched a bit of the NASCAR Busch race and then grabbed the Surly and headed out for a spin on the road. Within a few minutes I passed (going the other way) two different people out on their bikes- one was the guy with the crazy light setup that we always see out on 302 in the dark- I wanted to spin around to catch up with him to find out what the lights were- but by the time I got spun around after waiting for a couple cars to go by he was well up the road. I wasn't quite in the mood for a chase- so I just went on my merry way. Ended up riding up the backside of Davis and the road had begun to soften just a touch making for quite the grind. I wasn't feeling all that strong- so after the climb I spent the rest of the ride enjoying flat terrain. But I got in an hour on the bike and it felt good to get out.

Today I grabed the xc skate gear and headed over to Whitaker Woods. It's good to see so much snow in there and that they are actuall putting in some effort with the groomer. For those Conway residents, it's worth swinging by Ragged to get you pass- they're free (there's a set up charge if you don't have last years- but it's like 5 or 10 bucks)- but the skiing is really good in there right now.

That's it from here. It won't be long now before we start getting out on the roads pretty regularly to build up those base miles. I know we should be doing it now but I'm calling my XC skiing my base work.

As a side note my two new frames are on order- both from Salsa- I'll update with pics soon.


later,

DEA

tagging on an "amen"

i read through DEA and JJ's posts, and have to throw in a hearty "hear hear." i mean, the first legit powder day in two years, and we all got to sample the goods.

unfortunately, TWAF wasn't able to connect for any runs together, but i did have the chance to see DEA dropping his knees to the powder gods a few times on the lift - i'm not sure if he heard my hoots and hollars, though. what can i say? the boy makes pretty turns.

a day of powder skiing will definitely recharge your skiing batteries, and i'm filled with juice right now! how about some more! it's an addiction.

yes, it was a glorious powder day for all lucky enough to sample it, followed by absolutely brutal winds last night, which gave us some very creamy whipped stuff for this morning. well, i'm hitting wildcat tomorrow, so hopefully the snow gods decided to throw some piles of the goods deep into the trees for me...

mahalo!
nK

Ahhhh so good

Yesterday was a great day. Our boss had given us the morning off, nobody needed to report in until noon my wife had already planned to "work from home" and we knew that the littlest one would be good with hanging with the peguins at Cranmore while K, Lillo, and I hit the hill.

I have to be honest, I am usually a very selfish individual on a powder day and the phrase- "there are no friends on a powder day" is a phrase that I have lived by for a long time. For those unfamilier with that saying what it conveys is that while skiing is usually a very social sport where you wait for your buddies and don't worry about how many runs you get, that on a powder day that all changes. In the east we get very few of these days and when we do you want to get out and get to it- no dilly dallying. Which is all well and good except for when you have your wife and daughter with you- can't really bail on them! But to my surprise Lillo was really going for it and having a ball in the deep snow. I knew K would be in seventh heaven as these are the conditions she lives for and I usually struggle to keep up with her. But after a few runs (including meeting up with JJ and witnessing his fall- which freaked me out) Lillo was ready to call it quits so she hung out in the lodge with JJ and D3.

K and I went out and had a ball. She then needed to bail and I snagged a couple more runs before getting ready to head to work. At which time my boss called me and said lets just call it a day- can you let everyone know. Talk about good news! I ran into NK and told him (I'm not sure he believed me) and then went our for another few runs- at which time my legs began to say it was time to call it a day.

What a great day. Post skiing I ended up snowblowing the driveway a total of three times, and now there is a good pile for the kids to hollow out and build their first good snow fort of the year.

That's it on this front. Nothing bike related (other then I need to order my frames by tomorrow).

I hope everyone can get out and play- the skiing should be really good for quite a while now.

cheers,


DEA

I couldn't resist the first Powder Day in a long time

It seems as though we are actualy getting what they forcasters said we would. After so many broken promises, we finally have an epic powder day happening. With the schools closed and many places of employment closing early I was able to head to Cranmore Mountain to take my first ski run since I broke myself. I sold the pair of skis I usually ski on the wek after my crash and was limited to my GS race skis. Too long and too narrow for a powder day, but I was not cleared to ride my snowboard yet. The snow was faling hard and was piling up pretty fast throughout the morning. It was nice to be back on snow, but I felt like an old lady (no offense to the old ladies). There was no confidence and I was very tentative. Not a great combonation when you add the wrong skis to the snow conditions. On my second run I got buied and tipped over. It was one of those slo-mo falls that you know is going to happen, but there i nothing you can do about it. Lucky for me I fall down a fair bit so I am pretty good at it. I kept my arms in and rolled onto my back and lucky for me me head took the brunt of the fall. I didn't feel any shooting pains and was very happy. I got up and gave DEA the thumbs up that I was OK. At the bottom of the run I decided that it was best for me to head to the lodge. Not a great resumption of my ski season, but at least I didn't do any more damage. I want to ride my snowboard!!! It was made for pow!!! We've fotten a foot so far and its still falling.

Thats it for now, be safe.

JJ

whew, i'm back

well, i have to apologize. to A1, to DEA, to JJ. even to PJ. i've been an absentee member of the team, and i'm sorry for it. but, one apology makes up for months of neglect, right?

i suppose getting engaged, moving and building a life with the wifey-poo-to-be is an excuse enough, too.

good to hear that A1 has put DEA in the gym... he's got the biker legs, but he's got the arms of an olsen twin - i can't tell if it's mary kate or ashley, and old chief broken wing got the OK to get back in the saddle as long as he doesn't fall, huh? we'll see how long it is before that bird's back in the nest.

but, who am i kidding? i haven't been in the saddle since fall. so i can just eat it, i guess. but i have been training heavy on foot and on skis, as this little nugget below from wildcat last weekend will attest - as you can see, i graduated from the sven cole school of self promotion...

but i digress! there's potential for the first official p_____r day of the year (which i will NOT jinx by referring to by name), which has my molecules all aflutter, so here's to the white stuff, and here's to kicking off 2007 (albeit belatedly) for all of us on the snow... and bikes... and feet.

nK

Good news

I talked with the Orthopedic last night and got clearance to get back on my bike, assuming I don't fall off. That's the hard part, not crashing. I was also told I can ski, but have to take it very easy and not be at risk of falling. That sorta takes all the fun out of it for me. He said I was about 50% healed as far as the fracture goes and am still at risk for displacing the fracture if I were to crash the right way. Since it is entirely within my capabilities to reinjure myself I should probably take it slow for a couple more weeks. At lease he did not mention going under the knife. That's it for now, time to get back to the bike, just in time for some sort of epic storm. I'll believe that when I see it.

JJ

Ouch

As DEA mentioned he met me at 6am for a leg workout. DEA is getting stronger and it'll be interesting to see what it does for his speed and power, he was alreadly fast so we'll see. Kind of a funny workout, both of us felt like we weren't into it but I think we're just getting into a good routine so it's easier.

Decided to head out for a ride around 9:45, since the temps are slightly warmer. Up over Davis to Gulf. To the top of Gulf and turned around and came down Gulf to Mill Street to Old Mill and home. Davis was fine but when I hit Gulf road the legs from the morning lifting and the fact that I haven't ridden in a few weeks was kicking my ass. First few pitches and I knew I would struggle on the long climb. Got to the top and was glad the climbing, except for a few rollers out, was over.

This was the 3rd or 4th ride on the SS and first real climbing. I gotta say I'm liking it. Forces you to keep going hard and not opt for an easier gear, the only easier gear would be to walk. Liking the 29 inch wheels too, seems to roll decent.

That's it for now, time for a coffee.

A1

Weights

A1 and I hit the weights again this morning. The good news is my stregth is improving, the bad news is as you add more weight it just keeps hurting. I'm looking forward to feeling the difference out on the bike. This has been the longest stretch off the bike in about a year- it's been a solid two weeks off the bike. Ugh. Of course I've been on my xc skis and skates a bunch so that is good for the cardio- now I just need to make sure my ass doesn't go soft with the time off (pleasant image).

JJ's shoulder is coming along (I think- we'll let him explain that). PowderJew got up and skiied Left Gully up in Tuckerman's yesterday, I couldn't make the trip but soon I'll get up there.

That's my story at the moment. Supposed to be about -30 with windchill tonight and we have the potential for a huge storm on Wednesday (I just jinxed it).


later,

DEA

Weekend

Quick post today cuz since A1 has abandoned me at work and I have to pick up all of his former clients I have WAY less time to read all my favorite blogs! Ok enough complaining. The weekend is almost here- so hopefully some skiing and a good lifting session with A1. Who knows if it warms up maybe we'll get out for a quick ride.

TWAF will be looking to put together a good Feb ride- so stay tuned.

later

DEA

Hamilton back in the Peloton

Wow, it's been awhile since I've seen Tyler's name on a start list (other then our local romp up the big hill). I'm not sure how I feel. Tyler was at one point my favorite pro rider. I've met him on numerous occasions and worked a bit with him after he broke the long standing Mount Washington Hill Climb record ten years ago. He hadn't made it big yet, and Lance hadn't started his tear through the Tour record books and Tyler was this strong rider from New England who was our local rider and a great skier to boot. I cheered hard every time he was in a race and was estatic when he left USPS to go to CSC where he should have stayed. His move to Phonak never felt like it was the right thing to do- maybe it was the colors of those kits that made me feel like I was about to go into convulsion. Either way it all went downhill from there.

I so want to believe he was clean, but as we all know pro cycling is anything but clean and if you look at the leader board not many of those top names are untainted in someway. The issue I struggle with is that if he doped so be it- where I struggle is with that if he did dope and put up this super defence with the "I believe" thing- then it really hurts his credibility as a human. I just don't know what to think.

Tyler- ride well and put that new bumble bee kit on the map, I just hope my admiration isn't misplaced.

Onto other notes, XC skied last night in the dark for about 40 minutes. It was chilly but not to bad. It was a good skiing by braile experience and by the end I felt like my balance was coming around. This is good as now that the XC skiing is getting better I'm not as jonesed to get on the bike. Of course I need to make sure I keep some saddle time so that my bum doesn't get out of shape! I can always shoot for riding the two hour episode of 24 next Monday.

That's it from here.



DEA

finally getting out on skis

I took advantage of the new snow yesterday to get in a good hour plus of good skate skiing in Whitaker Woods in town. It felt a bit odd to be back on nordic race gear and the warm up loop reminded me how important balance is! I ended up running into (not literally) Cort who was out in the Bully grooming and we shot the bull for a bit- I found out that two weeks prior they had moved 500+ cubic yards of snow onto the trails for a local HS xc race. 500 yards- that's a lot of freakin snow! Cort had bladded it up at Storyland in their two parking lots that don't get used in the winter so the snow was clean. Then he and Nat Lucy started moving it with a bobcat and pick-up trucks and then LA Drew donated two 14 yard trucks and drivers for two days of non-stop hauling. My hat goes off to those guys for putting in that type of effort. The end result was a 5km race loop 12 feet wide and about 8 inches deep after grooming. They do stuff like that in Europe all the time fore World Cup races- but a HS race in the US? I guess that is why our local ski team has won the state title for the last four years straight.

Anyway that base meant that the new snow was just bonus and the skiing was/is excellent. After I got done chatting with Cort I headed out for an hour plus of uninterupted skiing- good stuff- it felt great to do that type of aerobic workout.

Then this morning A1 and I hit the weights this morning for a good leg and lower back workout. The good news is the range of motion is improving for me already, I'm finding that the real weak spots are getting better but that just means now I'm putting on a bit more weight- but that's the point isn't it?

It's going to be cold out this way this week- but not as cold as out in Blue Colnago country! Stay warm out there man!

That's it on this end.

later


DEA

A new Hundie in our backyard???

Test your skills and stamina at the inaugural edition of this premier mountain bike race, sanctioned by Eastern Fat Tire Association. The 100 kilometer course will wind through the beautiful and varied terrain of Southern New Hampshire.
Fees: $85 until June 30th; $95 after June 30th, if any entry slots are available

The single loop, 100 kilometer course will give participants a good mountain bike workout, while not being so extremely challenging the entire way that one never wants to return for a second year. The first 8 miles are open and fast, allowing lung and leg warm-up, and a stretching out of the field. Ample technicals and climbing follow in later miles.

Go to for more info and to sign up:
Hampshire 100



JJ

DEA in Action

August 06, Red Jersey/Importech Summer Series Race

On the mend

So I talked with the Dr. this afternoon. He said the x-rays looked good. Bone is healing and he did not see any diplacment of the fracture. So that is good news. I can begin passive range of motion of the shoulder but cannot do anything actively with the shoulder for another week or two. Still need the sling for another week or so as well when I'm out and about just in case I fall down and would try to use it to catch my fall and reinjure it. Bottom line at the moment is that it doesn't look like surgery will be necessary. Regardless, still no action on a bike for at least a few more weeks.

JJ

Rabbit Rabbit

Feb 1st- wow this "winter" is flying by. Today is A1's last day working in the world of advertising- next up he takes on his tent business full time. Crazy bastard. Anyone needs a tent or table and chairs for an event- give A1 a shout!

We (Steak Sauce and I) lifted again this morning. This time we worked the back- not sure what the hell we did but my neck is killing me now. I'm jonesing to get out and ride my bike, so for the time being this weight lifting thing will have to be my release. It's not that riding won't be happening but the temps and road conditions are a bit game changing (but still fun).

It's snowing now so we might have some good skiing for the weekend, hopefully we can get out and do a bit of track skiing. We'll have to see.

We should hear the status of JJ's shoulder at some point today- hope for good news so we can get him riding soon!

that's it from here.

DEA