Sunday AM Ride

Finally got out for a long dirt ride. Cannot beleive it took til JUNE to happen. DEA and I met at his house at 7 am to start and as I arrived at his house his kids met me at the door to tell me that he'd overslept. Apparently DEA texted all his friends for the ride and they all showed up. SO the two of us set off for a good ride. We explored some new trail and rode some old favorites. All in all it was pretty good. I decided that since DEA was running a 2x9 I would not use my granny gear. As a result we both did our fair share of walking. Have to keep the walking shoes in shape for the SS.




JJ
DEA

These shots are mid way down the Red Tail trail. Behind me in the distance is Mt Washington. Behind DEA is a bunch of scrub.

Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s) 3:41:24 8:23 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 3:02:38 6:55 pace
Distance (mi ) 26.40
Moving Speed (mph) 8.7 avg. 32.3 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +2,997 / -2,997

Avg. Heart Rate 152 bpm Zone 4.0

Temperature (°F) 78.4°F avg. 84.2°F high
Wind Speed ( mph) NNE 0.9 avg. NNE 3.5 max.





The ride was inside of 4 hours which was good since we'd both be in the dog house if we were out any longer. Ended up with a rolling time of a little over 3 hours, about 26 and a half miles with about 3000 feet of climbing.

Works out to about 3 laps at the 24 hour race. Boy am I in trouble.

JJ

Went for a run

Why?

Ok onto a more uplifting topic- ride this weekend? Who's up for a good one? Thinking about the loop around from Ctr Conway, Freyburg, Trail 19, HMR, Red Tail, SS, SideHill, PowerLine, Rec, home.

Leave at 6am be back by 9ish to 10ish.

thoughts?

DEA

Cedar Creek

Got out for a good ride yesterday with A1 and a few other folks. Met up with a friend of my sisters that I've been trying to ride with for a couple of years now, and he brought along a friend who had the ultimate in Ti gear- a new shoulder! Get this- he had the Ti shoulder "installed" six weeks ago and was out hammering on a mountain bike- he said he was having a hard time as he was basically riding one armed (sounds like JJ most of last year!) but he was hanging tough. I can't wait to ride with them again after he's a bit stronger in the arm. He did say that he was sold on the SS option- ah yes our attempt to concour teh world continues! (not really)

We also met two other guys out on the trail, so we had a good group and it was fun.

I had one of my best rides down the descent at the mineral site, and I have to say- I was freakin flying (and I'll also so it won't happen again as i scared myself) but I had a guy riding an Ellsworth Truth behind me and I was hell bent to stay in front on my rigid SS- I did and it was fun and I hope I can ride that way again- but I might back it off from the edge a bit in the future as I came close a couple times to stacking hard.

A1 was out and riding well- but he needs to put Ergon's on the new ride- the round grips on a rigid SS just don't cut it when you've bombing downhill. As always A1 was killing everyone when the trail went up- ahhh to be 19 again!

That's it from here. Jason left a note (last years 24HOGG SS Solo winner) that he's thinking about a fixed gear team this year- yikes! I'm doing some research to see if it's been done- hmmmmm.

It's June by the way.


later,

DEA

Here kitty kitty

I haven't ridden in the woods since the rumor of the Bobcat started to circulate, but I have to admit I'm not that freaked out by this rumor.

How can a nice kitty like this be an issue:

That being said a mountain lion would be a different story, and while no sightings have taken place near our house, there have been some in the greater Mount Washington Valley.

This Kitty would tweak me out:


Considering the luck my dogs have had out in Davis Hill (Molly- two trips to the vet from Porkupine and Jake one trip due to a Porkupine, and then Molly's mystery attack/injury that left her side sliced wide open) I would be more nervous about one of them tangling with a bobcat- but I'm hoping that the two of them would be able to at least make a bobcat think twice about messing with one of them- and yes I'm thinking the cat would be smarter then the two dogs combined.

So that's it for me. Getting out on the bike this weekend- I hope!

DEA

three good days of riding

Spent some time on the mountain bike the past few days, got back on the El Mariachi and had a ball. Saturday rode by myself and cruised around Pine Tree and the trails off of Mudget Road. Then on Sunday got the dogs out for an hour and a half in Davis Hill, did the same on Monday- need to get the dogs in shape!

In all though it was good to get out and ride in the woods. Word of caution, it's tick season. I pulled off a few each day, and the dogs picked up few as well (so a post ride groom is always called for).

That's it from here. Hope to get out again soon.

later,

DEA

Not really bike related, but...

So Monday I was at work and one of my partners said he had an extra ticket to a baseball game. I checked with the boss(wife) and got clearance to head to the game. We checked out of work around 3pm and started the trek to the ballpark.

Chocorua

We parked the car and as I was getting my stuff together my phone rang.. It was DEA asking if I wanted to go for a ride. I said I would, but I was walking towards Fenway Park in Boston. Its not too often to get an offer for tickets to Fenway to see a Sox game so you take em when you can get em, particulary these seats.

After a quick bite and a few Bass Ales we went inside Fenway and the game started.
Fenway Park, Boston

It was a cool evening with a pretty good breeze. The Sox were playing well and put a few early runs on the board against the KC Royals. In the middle of of the 4th inning I leaned over to my buddy and said, "do you know what's happening?" He looked at me with a look that he knew what I was referring too.





So as the innins went by we saw some great defense and even better pitching by John Lester. As we hit the inth inning and the no-no was in tact everyone was on their feet. It was crazy. I cannot believe I saw it. I was at a No-Hitter. Pretty rare thing to witness. Wow. Not abike ride but a great eveing just the same. See ya on the trails.

JJ

Ride with Mike

Ok so I know I'm out of shape, my Crank the Kanc time showed that. But last night was rather eye opening.

Michelin Mike and I headed out for a ride after work- me on the Mamasita and him on his Pugsly. Let's talk about the Pugsly first- damn that is a crazy looking bike. The wheels are so huge and the dish on the wheels is just nuts, that and the width of the BB is just crazy.

Rolling it makes a noise that sounds like a large truck rolling up on you, and in the woods it spooked me a couple times (of course there were only a couple times I was in front- but more on that in a minute). So we rolled out on the pavement and I'm looking at this beast of a bike and I was pretty comfortable with the idea of having to wait for him on a regular basis. Then of course we rolled onto the trail and I quickly starting falling behind- oh and then there was a bridge- so I walked.

Soon we were rolling along and I was getting pissed that I couldn't easily keep up. We then hit sticks and stones and he just started riding away. Of course he's just chatting away and I've got my heart in my throat and can't come close to speaking. I was trying to figure out why I was slow- so I kept looking down at my bike trying to see if something was rubbing, or if the brakes were engaged- or something- to no avail. Then I realized we were actually riding quite fast and it was just that he was hauling (at least in my view).

It was great to get out and hammer for a bit. We then rode the Pudding Pond trail and there are a number of new bridges- kudos to those who did the work. After that we rode the backside of Sticks and Stones and then jammed the traverse (the climb was the only place I actually was able to stay ahead of Mike- I think the 30 lbs difference in bike weight had something to do with that!)

After that we parted ways and I rode home, exploring the trails off of Stritch road and then the trails between Mudgett and Mill Street. In all almost two hours of riding after work combined with the 40 minutes in the morning- gotta love "commuting".

later,

DEA

dirt commute

rode the Mammasita into work today- I'm liking that bike. May change the bars and I need to add some air to the shock- but I'm liking it. The issue of course is I really like my SS- argh (like that is really an "issue" to have two bikes I really dig).

Hoping to get out for a bit longer dirt ride on the way home- any interest?

DEA

Crank the Kanc

This past Saturday was Crank the Kanc, the weather ended up being much nicer then anticipated and everyone seemed in good spirits at the start. This year not only was TWAF racing (as individuals- sans Nick and PJ) but K, Nikki, and Susan were all racing as well.

This meant we had to stage cars at the top as the wives wouldn't be waiting for us up top. I drove up early and was picked up by JJ and Susan- all I'm going to say is that ride back down was rather exciting- i think Susan was in a hurry.

I met up with K at the school and we did the registration thing and realized we had almost two hours until our start time- we came very close to going to McD's for a bit of breakfast- and it wasn't common sense that stopped us- it was laziness as I didn't feel like loading the bikes back into the truck to make the run. Now that is pathetic!

I got to cheer on K, JJ and Susan at the start but A1 and Nikki were starting behind me. My biggest fear was that Nikki would catch me. I wasn't sure what my game plan was if she had but it did entail fabricated excuses and maybe even some self inflicted road rash to sure up the story- but that never had to come to pass.

The course is 21 miles, 17 of flat to slightly rising and then 4 straight up. The first 17 I felt pretty good. I didn't run aero bars but did end up laying out on the bars a fair amount as the headwind was kicking up. I think next year running bars may be in the cards. I rode pretty well out to the climb, the amazing thing was how fast the people that passed me passed me- that was a bit of a wake up call!

On the climb itself I cracked and just went nowhere fast. I even ended up getting cold- I'm not sure if I went a bit to hard on the first 17 or if it was the fact it was my first real climb of the season (now that was smart!)- but I just had no power or pop going up. In the past my small gear has been a 39x23 and I would climb much of the climb in a 39x21- sort of like the whole single speed thing- you tend to go uphill faster when that's what you've got for a gear. This year I was running a 36x26 and I was using it a lot and you just don't go uphill fast in gear that small.

Needless to say I was happy to see the top and not so happy to see my time. I had hoped to "ride it" in a 1:30 but ended up with a 1:33:27- so I've got some improvements I've got to make for next year.
javascript:void(0)
K had a good ride, putting in a 1:54:31. She wanted to be under 2 hours and she did so with time to spare. I think she actually enjoyed it! Of course I give her credit for the improved weather as she spent a pile of money on snivel gear for the race- just in case.

Yesterday took the dogs out for a recovery ride on the Davis Hill trails- it was good to get out there. Rode the Mamasita- still a few things to tinker with on that but I'm going to like that bike- just need to get used to riding gears and suspension again.

So that's the story.

Get out and ride.

DEA

Getting spanked on the Kanc

Saturday morning was the Crank the Kanc Kancamagus Bicycle Hillclimb Time Trial. A race we all try to do each year. Last year we did it as a 3 person team. We went back to doing it solo this year.

The concern all week leading up the to race was the weather. Well it was one of my concerns, besides being way out of shape. It looked like it was going to rain pretty hard and be in the low 40's. Quite a combo that could also mean some snow at the top. As Friday night rolled around, the Red Sox game was a rain out and the radar looked like the forecasts were spot on. When we got up early Saturday morning we were pleasantly surprised that it had not rained, yet. As I was loading the car with the bikes it started to sprinkle. I figure, "here it comes." It was already about 50 degrees so that was nice.

We staged a car at the top of the climb as we had a little league game immediately after the race to get to and at the top it was dry and about 48 degrees. We headed back to registration and got our stuff ready to go as it started clearing. As we waited for the race to commence the sun started to appear and we all started to wonder if we were overdressed. By the race start for me I was down to a jersey, bibs and arm warmers.

The weather turned out to be fantastic. Mid 60's and sunny. Although there was a descent head wind at times. It must have been significantly stronger for me that other people though.



Overall the race was the same as it usually is, 21.3 miles of up hill fun. The first ten are a constant climb gaining about a thousand feet of elevation. The middle section is a little flatter where over the next 6+ miles you gain about 200 feet. Then you hit the wall of the final climb. 4.8 miles where you gain over 1,500 feet. There are no flats or places to rest. Well there are rest areas and scenic vistas, but if you stop you might not decide to get back on the bike again.

I felt OK during the ride, notice I'm not calling it a race anymore. I was looking for a time around an hour thirty. I was a few minutes off pace when I hit the final climb. No doubt due to the poddy stop I needed to make on the way. Problem was I did not have enough in the tank to make up any real time on the climb. As a result I chugged along working to try to catch people in front of me and not let too many people pass me. Not that I could do anything about a fast guy coming past me if I wanted too.

I think one of the most disappointing things to see is when you are on the last climb and starting to wonder why you are doing this foolish event you start seeing the people who stared before you ripping down the mountain at 40+ mph, not even bothering to say hello, or good job or even a nod of the head. The last 5 miles can be a lonely ride.

I rolled across the line and was worn out. My back was starting to tighten and both calves were also getting crampy. It was good it was not any longer. I finished but 7 minutes off my last solo time so that was a disappointment. Regardless it was a nice day for a bike ride. Hopefully next year I can get more bike time in before the race and fare better. Congrats to everyone who raced. See ya on the trails.

JJ

got a day of commuting in

In trying to do my part and get a car off the road this week I was able to commute by bike today and met DEA for the ride in. He has obviously been riding more than I as he punished me for something I must have done to him this morning. Saturday's TT will be a normal crappy weather ride up the Kanc it sounds. Don't really want to load up on snivel gear cause its not as easy to ride wearing that much, but who knows, it might be snowing at the top.

JJ

The weekend ahead

Crank the Kanc is this Saturday, I'm a bit nervous and I just heard from my wife that she went on a buying spree of snivel gear for the race! It's supposed to be in the 40's to lower 50's with rain- so it'll be a typical Crank the Kanc.

Right now it's super nice out and I'm inside- but I did commute today (so I'll get three of the five for bike to work week as I can't tomorrow or Friday- although I'm thinking of seeing about the trail a bike tomorrow night home- not sure yet)

I hope others are out riding!

later,

DEA

Weekend

Ah spring in New Hampshire. A great time to ride, when you're not doing yardwork. But the good news is we got most of the yard work done, and I was still able to sneak in a ride on Saturday with Emma on the trail-a-bike.
Then on Sunday K and I got out for a good spin. It was the maiden voyage with the new SRAM kit on the road bike- very nice. Shifts smooooooth and even without the front trim adjustment I wasn't getting any rub. So far so good. I really like the hoods on the levers- very comfortable.

I was able to commute in this morning, so maybe I can sneak in a few extra miles after work. Saturday will be interesting to say the least!

DEA

Looking like....

...crank the kanc won't be much of a crank but a leisurely stroll up to the top of the Kanc. I'm not sure what is up with me this spring- I just haven't been riding the miles that I need to or want to be riding. Hopefully that will change here very soon (although I'm not sure what I'm waiting for).

In other news, at work we're working on an event to promote the TechVillage and it's sort of interesting as we are building the event with feedback from those who are looking to participate- should be an interesting concept.

We're also still having the commuting conversation here- Blue- we need some representation from Iowa, especially those who commute by jet!

Hopefully we'll ride this weekend- although Ward is trying to talk me into skiing the snowfields and maybe aiplane on Sunday (Mothers Day- that should go over well) any other interest?

Alright time to get back to work.

DEA

Party Challenge

Had a birthday perty on Saturday to celebrate turning 40. DEA and A1 were amongst some of those in attendance. A1 brought a PBR pounder and a very nice mug. Towards the end of evening someone thought it was a good idea for DEA and I to shotgun a couple of beers. Problem was there were only 2 cans remaining. One was your standard 12oz PBR and the other was the aforementioned pounder. Well since I was the birthday boy I ended up with the punder and DEA got the little one. Someone said "GO!" and we were off.



DEA was hampered by the size of his hole or some other issue and as a result got beaten by the old guy with the bigger beer. I bet my parents who were watching could not have been prouder.

In other bike related news, I got in an early morning spin with my wife but I had left my road bike at work so I rode the new Dos Niner on pave as Sue rode her road bike. Made it a bit more work but it was a good ride to get some setup issues worked out.

Hopefully the great weather we had today will hold out this week and dry things out.

JJ

Davis Hill this weekend?

Who's up for exploring Davis Hill this weekend? I'm guessing things are clear of snow and are for the most part dry. We'll have a bit of trail work to do I'm sure, but could be fun.

DEA

Happy 40th to JJ

So this man is now 40:


I'm not sure why, but now he seems just so much older then the rest of us now. Maybe that means he's wiser then the rest of us now. Maybe he'll sit in the lotus position on top of a hill while wearing a robe and answer all of our questions, ahh yes he is a wise man.

So hats off to JJ and good vibes on this historic day.


DEA

new commuting "community"

Just signed up on Commute Better, could be interesting to see how this builds out. A buddy of mine put it together. Of course I had to drive today- how ironic!

Anyone build up a Surly Big Dummy yet?

DEA

Ride at Fort Rock

Got in a good ride down at Fort Rock in Exeter, went down with JJ and picked up my brother in law at 8am and then headed over to the trail head. None of us had been there so we weren't sure what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised, good trails (lots of rock- hence Fort Rock!) and a ton of bridges with NEMBA etched into the decking.

The riding was fairly technical, lots of stutter pedaling and lots of having to loft the wheel up and over. It was fun, but I'd hate to race on that course with a fully rigid SS.

I did have one mishap- fell off a bridge- or maybe dove off is the better description. I landed flat on my back in a nasty ass swap of black stinky muck. Which I found to be pretty funny. I remember JJ doing a very similar thing, so I think maybe he found it humourous to look at me sinking into the swamp. Of course you do something stupid like that and you know there is an injury somewhere under the black muck. It was my shin and I knew it was going to hurt- but I also knew that I had another hour or so of riding so I didn't want to know how bad or not bad it was.

The real bummer at the time was how wet I was, so I started getting a bit cold and to be honest my confidence had been shaken a bit- so I was a bit more hesitant from that point going forward. I still had fun and then I started getting back in my groove and felt pretty good at the end. We'll have to go back down. Thank you to JJ and Frank for the ride, and we'll get back down there at some point I'm sure.

later,

DEA

The New Ride

I got the Mamasita fianlly built and got it out for a test ride last night. No pics as yet- but I'll get those up soon.

It's nice, the handling is quicker that the El Mariachi and it is lighter despite having gears and suspension. Actually I haven't put it on a scale, but my gut is that it's lighter.

Right now I'm running a grip shift for the front, which was much better then the monstosity I was trying to build (a cut down Scott bar end with a bar end shifter stuck into it- not sure what I was trying to do with that other then make it look like a mac truck!)

I'm trying to descide if I should cut down my ergon grip so it fits with the grip shift or if I buy a SRAM front trigger- hmmmm.

I got out on a few trails, but the snow was mostly gone- until I hit a snowbank and cracked my left knee on the stem and M%$^&YF@#$er it hurt! Then last night it was really swollen and I couldn't really walk- but by this morning it bends, it's tender but I was able to ride in without to much pain.

Looks like we might head south tomorrow to Fort Rock- looking forward to giving a ride report on that system.

Also hoping to get JJ and A1 out with rakes at Pine Tree and that will be buffed with about an hour's work by the three of us.

Get out and ride.

DEA

A new bike in the family

For the first time in the 15+ years my wife and I have been together a bike rolled into our home that I had nothing to do with. K decided that she wanted a new road bike, she had been rolling around on 650c wheels for years and wanted to get 700c wheels and see if that helped her keep up. So she went out and bought a new road bike a Trek WSD 1.2.



I had commuted yesterday so I called K when she told me that she had picked up the new ride and we figured it would work to have her ride toward me and then we could spin out up Mill Street. It was amazing the difference the big wheels seemed to make as she was able to hang on my wheel in many places where she had in the past gotten easily dropped. So she seemed pretty psyched. Now my oldest has a road bike- a bit big for her, but I think I'll be able to make it work with a shorter stem and a new bar (maybe a flat bar for now)

Speaking of commuting we had 10% of our office commute by bike yesterday, not a huge number but a start! Now I just need to talk our owner into building a new office here and we'll have good mountian bike trails and maybe even XC ski trails right out the door!

So that's it for me. Slowly feeling like my legs are waking up, they're still fat and slow but they seem to be remembering how to go around and around- so that's a start!

later,


DEA

After work spin

After work I went out for a nice ride with a co-worker. Turned out to be pretty nice 20 mile ride. We headed down West Side Road and into Conway. Then turned south until we got to Bald Hill Road. We terned and headed up Bald Hill. After a short bit we passed the Proulx homestead and Chris was on his deck and warned us that the road went up hill. We thanked him for the secret info and continued on. After some good climbing we had a nice descent and then were back heading North and towards home.


THe plan was to ride about an hour and we were not too far off. Had some good climbing and got close to 1200 feet in. It was a much better ride for me than Saturday's Kanc ride. Course it was a much easier route.




Garmin Edge Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s) 1:17:48 3:50 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 1:17:49 3:50 pace
Distance (mi ) 20.28
Moving Speed (mph) 15.6 avg. 39.0 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +1,185 / -1,114

Avg. Heart Rate 142 bpm Zone 3.5

Temperature (°F) 78.8°F avg. 78.8°F high
Wind Speed ( mph) S 4.0 avg. S 4.6 max.

Once Spring came this year it has been great.

Ride on.

JJ

Happy Earth Day

Is that the appropirate thing to say on Earth Day? Hmmm, have to think about that.

In our office today 30% of the crew rode their bikes to work, not bad- but we could do better! Of course a few of the team work quite a ways away from here- so commuting is a much bigger commitment for them. That being said I'm working on a project with the Maine State Planning Office that deals with living close to work- sort of an interesting project. It lead me to this story.

My ride home yesterday I felt sluggish- this morning I checked my rear tire and had been running 60psi- jacked that up and that made a difference!

Didn't make any progress on the Mamasita last night, but did start jonesing hard again for a Big Dummy all kitted out with a Freeloader set up....hmmmm


So that's it from here. Hoping the weather holds!

ride on.

DEA

Good three days

Friday I was able to take a client out skiing, up on Mount Washington. It was epic weather- blue bird, no wind- warm temps. In fact it was one of the warmest days I've ever had skiing up there. We got a bit of a late start but it wasn't long before we were passing people on the Tucks trail as we skinned up. The skin track was in great shape and every time I go up there I realize that hiking with skis on your back sucks, skinning is the way to go!

We got to HoJos and here's a shot of Patrick and I relaxing for a minute:

Patrick and I at Hojo's

Here is a view of Hillmans Highway- this is to the left as you look up of Tuckerman Ravine. The top isn't as steep up in Tuck's, but I really like skiing in there as there usually aren't as many people.

Hillmans is the line in the center that runs from the top to the bottom of the pic

Then this weekend got out for a spin on Saturday just tooling around the camp roads around the lake and then up and over the back of Davis for about 1:15 then headed home to cook up some wings. Here is visual proof that JJ isn't always a beer snob!

Dennis drinking the good stuff

On Sunday K, Lillo and my mother ran the 5km race at Pine Tree so Emma and I chased them around on bikes (Emma on the trail-a-bike) along with my father. It was cool as it was an out and bike course so we rode down the yellow line cheering both the leaders and the those just out for a cruise. Then later in the day we went out for a family cruise on some of the dirt roads- I need to get a better fender as Emma was pretty covered with mud!

So that was the weekend. The Mamsita is partially built- still have some work to do.

That's it from here.

later,

DEA

Riding the Kanc

The wife and kids headed out for spring break for the week leaving me bacheloring it. I took advantage and headed out for a good ride Saturday AM. I figured that since the first event of the season is a month away I needed to see how bad off I am. Unfortunately the ride confirmed I am in bad shape, literally.

Starting the climb

The actual race is a 21 mile time trial that climbs amlost 3,000 feet. The first 17 miles are a gradual steady climb that took me about an hour, then you hit the wall. The final 4+ miles go right up.

Still ice on the pond

At about the 18.5 mile mark there is a pond along side the road and as you can see it is stil frozen.


Low shot

Not sure what it means that you can read the logo on the wheel as I took this one, I'm afraid that it means that I might have been moving pretty slow.

suffering

At this point I had no more gears to drop into and was just working to keep moving and upright. Why was this a good idea???

The Top

Finally, the top is in sight.










Garmin Edge Ride data:
Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s) 2:58:22 4:04 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 2:50:27 3:53 pace
Distance (mi ) 43.81
Moving Speed (mph) 15.4 avg. 32.4 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +2,970 / -2,969

Avg. Heart Rate 161 bpm Zone 4.5

Hope to get out more in the next couple weeks to start getting some legs. Would really love to get on some dirt but that still looks to be a while form now.

Ride on.

JJ

Cycling Socks

I'm going to poke fun at myself, as I am one of those riders who wears cycling socks pretty much all the time at least once the temperatures get warm enough that I can stop wearing winter weight ski socks! I know I've read in several places out on this world wide web that doing that is considered "poserish", so alas I am once again a poser- just like my mid eighes days when I couldn't afford a pro model skate board and had a Nash board until I had collected enough cans and bottles to buy a Santa Cruz Hosoi, with Indy 169's and SC slimeballs (damn I loved that board!)- it was funny my love of skating didn't change between the two boards- but once I had a "real" board I was no longer a poser- interesting.

I bring this up as I was sitting at my desk talking with one of our coders and I saw my socks (so I took a picture) and I realized I was a poser.

my hairy ankle and purtty sock

So I started thinking about my socks, and I either own cycling socks- most of which are freebees that I've won at races (not for my speed- but for hanging out long enough that I win a raffle of some sort). Most of them are like the ones I have one- Michelin (Thanks Mike!) or they are Bikeman socks. Now the reality is I don't really buy clothes- so my sock collection are either wool socks from Smartwool (I used to get them for free as a product tester- I miss those days) or my cycling socks- or my least favorite- dress socks that are required when I try to look all professional.

I guess my point is do I make fun of myself for wearing cycling socks all the time, or do I make fun of those who spend thier money on casual socks instead of a new pair of Mavic c29's? Hmmmmm thoughts to ponder.

Anyway it's sunny out- hoping to get out for a ride soooooooon, hoping to get on trails soon as well. Anyone in the NE region got rideable trails? Would love to hear about it!


later,

DEA

The riding efforts begin

It's been a great week. Got out with A1 and his wife on Saturday, skied like a mad man on Sunday with a group of 60+ year olds and tried my damndest to stay with them (and my legs are still killing me!) Got in some commuting this week and snuck out with JJ for a good lunchtime spin yesterday. This morning I rode in and my legs were junk- I'm thinking it was the Applebees I ate last night- I should have known better!

I'm hoping to get in some good milage this weekend and maybe we can talk about a trip not to far south to get on trails here pretty quick- that would be sweet!

The Mamasita is still in bubble wrap- saving that for a rainy day project.

That's it from here- but I hope everyone is taking advantage of this great weather this week. I did see Michelin Mike out yesterday

cheers,


DEA

Finally

With the temps finally warming up and snow banks on roads melting I've gotten out for some longer rides recently. Saturday did the loop from home to West Side to North Conway village and back down North South Road and home. That evening I decided to grab the SS and head out for a little spin around Old Mill and Pine Tree to play around a little. Sunday was cold and rainy so Monday Nikki and I rode the North South to the village again and then around Old Bartlett by Cranmore and back to the village and home. Yesterday I had to bring some tax things to our accountant so I decided to ride. He's in Tamworth Village so I headed down Rte. 16 to Rte. 113 in Chocorua then continued on that to the village. Decided to bypass Page Hill as it was pretty sandy, or that's my excuse, it's friggin steep too. Accountant wasn't there so I spun back and rode the same route home. Little over 40 miles on the ride and best part I saved about $10 in gas (now that diesel is over $4 gal.). Today I had to bring the truck to Meredtih to get serviced and oil change so I turned down all offers for a ride home and brought my bike instead to ride back. Another $10 savings. I've never ridden that far south of here. Pretty decent amount of hills and roads are really smooth. Only really bad section is from The Neck Road in Moultonboro to the school, absolutely no shoulder and was pushed off once by a tractor trailer on one of the corners. It seems for every hill you climb you descend one as well so the 23 mile ride was actually just over an hour and ten. Stopped at our garage in Tamworth and grabbed another truck as I have a meeting later and needed a vehicle so wasn't able to continue to Conway. So since Saturday I've been about 115 miles, not bad. Legs feel decent too.

After yesterdays ride I went to Frontside got a large coffee and a donut, then decided the donut was good so I drove to Leavitts for 2 more. Monday after the ride I also drove to Frontside for a capuchino and a cookie, yummy. I'm off to get more donuts now, sweet.

A1

Dos in progress....

I went over to DEA's last night with a bunch of bike parts and some beer. We made some good progress on my Dos Niner.


Still need to finish running some cables and get the drivetrain dialed in.



I am trying to run the wheelset tubeless with some Stans sealant and regular Maxxis tires. We were able to get the front to air up pretty easily, but the rear was a nightmare and we never did get the bead to set and hold any air.




Overall I'm pretty happy with how its coming together. Much thanks to DEA for his bike prowess. I need to buy more beer so we can finish the job and start to out his Mamasita together. Of course we have another 3 months of winter yet, so what's the rush?

JJ

A slow start

I've been getting out a bit more on the bike, got in better then three hours this weekend and did a half commute on Monday (ended up working super late and didn't have lights so needed to catch a ride home), and then of course it snowed again- argh.

Drove over the Kanc yesterday- the snowbanks are rather impressive. I think JJ and I are going to try and ride it this weekend- we'll have to see if we can get A1 to go with us as well.

Box season continues, and I think I have everything I need for the Mamasita build, I'm thinking that will happen tonight, JJ may come over to build his Dos as well. I've got a few other bike projects- but the DA kit over on to the Surly cross-check and the the new Rival kit will go onto the Primero, then I need to sell the Jake and also the Specialized SS, so if anyone is looking let me know!

The girls are down in FL doing the disney thing and I'm hanging with the dogs and snowbanks, hmmmm.

Hopefully we get good weather this weekend and we can snap a few pics from the Kanc ride- should be pretty cool with the 12 foot plus snowbanks!

later,

DEA

Seriously, the snow needs to end!

Another 3-5 inches today, this is ridiculous. At this rate we'll be riding dirt about mid June. In my boredom of plowing I decided to snap a few photos like Sven did on his bike. I'm not actually moving at this point so no worries.





I am at one of the finest eating establishments in the valley however. Seconds trip there of the day. Any guesses? Not sure what our snow totals are for the year, it's a lot and at 4:00 it's still snowing.

I did get out on the bike on Monday, about an hour or so and I rode the new Redline I got back in Dec. First time out on it and liked it. Nikki came with me on the older Redline and she liked the single speed thing. We'll see. Off to Boston this weekend for a few days away, taking the kids to the aquarium and there's also a bike/run expo in cambridge we're gonna go check out.

A1

Christmas Morning

I was about to call DEA last night to plan our trip the Bikeman.com HQ when my phone rang. It was DEA so I saved the dime I guess. He had a work thing come up so couldn't make the pilgrimage to Bikeman. I was on my own. I got up at 6AM and after getting all red up, headed out to the car. The car thermometer told me it was a whopping 8 degrees. Not really bike weather. The drive is about 90 miles and at about 8:30AM I was getting off at my exit and was getting close.

Almost There

I pulled into the shop a bit after 9 since I needed to make a stop at Dunkin Donuts.

Bikeman HQ Sign

Part of my reason for making the trek is for goodwill and so that Big Al has a face to put with my innane emails and stories of bicycle prowess. Unfortuantely Big Al was not in when I got there, but the bonus was I got to deal with his wife Darcy, who I must say, no offense to Big Al, is much more attractive thatn he is.

Darcy started pulling my boxes of stuff out and putting them all together and I started taking them out to the car. I Could not wait til I got home to peak so I opened the parts box.

Box o Goodies

Next was the Frame. The Salsa Orange Peelz Dos Niner. Pulled it from the box but still in it's prophalactic plastic protection. Nice, can't wait to strip it and start to build it.

Dos Frame

Last box was the topper. A new wheel-set. THe new Mavic Cr29max 29er's. They look sharp.

Crossmax Wheelset

After cleaning up my drool I got back in the car and made it to work about noon. Not to bad for a little early morning field trip. Now if I we can get the snow to start to really melt I can get to ride the new addition to the family.

JJ

Another day out on the bike

No Kerkove shots, I wanted to try and take a shot while riding and picking my nose for Blue as I thought he'd get a kick out of that- but it was still pretty windy and I didn't want to explain to my wife why I had ended up on the deck and my phone was in pieces. While reader of this blog might find if funny my wife wouldn't thing this was a good explanation, "honey you see this guy that reads our blog knows this other guy whose blog we all read and he always takes pictures of himself while riding, and there are these other pictures of him picking his nose so I thought it would be funny to combine all of that into one thing but the wind took out my front wheel and now I'm broken and oh yeah I need to replace my phone- but it's a great story don't you think?"

So I just rode my loop. Did 302 to Halley town, took a left to merrel corner then a right up the hill to a right onto Old County and then back home to Mill Street. Took it easy (I'd say- it took me 1:20 to do the loop) but it felt good to get out. The section from Halley Town to Merrel Corner was a bit dicey as there still is a lot of snow and ice crowding the road so not much room, but it's a short section so all is good.

Tomorrow I might head out into Fryeburg Harbor for a spin. Could be interesting if there is still a fair amount of wind.

That's about it on this end. I'm gonna go back out and plan in the puddles in my driveway and try to see if we can get some drainage going.

later,

DEA

Christmas in March

I say that not because of the couple inches of new fallen snow like stuff on the ground this morning, but because on Monday of next week, DEA and I are making a pilgrimage to Team Bikeman.com World Headquarters to pick up our necessities. I am picking up my new Salsa Dos Niner frame. If it looks half as nice as DEA's Salsa Mamasita I'll be stoked. I also have most of the components to build the bike to pick up, but the (pardon my french) piece de resistance is the wheel-sets both DEA and I ordered. New Mavic Crossmax C29maxx 29er wheels. I've never owned a top end wheelset before so I am really looking forward to rolling these around. Might lose some of my excuses is the only problem.

Weather for this weekend looks good for maybe one of the good end of season ski weekends. Next weekend its Viva Las Vegas or Lost Wages. Not sure I'll be able to sleep until we arrive monday am in Bath, Maine.

JJ

Out for a ride

Snuck out for an hour after work yesterday, gotta love it being light later in the day! It's weird riding later in the day with such massive snowbanks- just doesn't seem right.

Here is my best Kerkove style shot- the guy should have a photo style named after him!

Here is a shot of a road sign, and this is after we've been seeing a lot of melting!


I was trying out some new gloves that I got from RSN (we gave a bunch away on Watch and Win and P-dog let me keep a pair). These are great for this time of year- a light glove with a mitten wind cover that come be flipped on or off.


That's it for now- although I did hear from JJ that our wheels are in at Team HQ, sounds like we might take a ride over there early next week- I'm so excited!


later,

DEA

Ready for "spring"

I'm ready for a more rapid melting of snow. I know I shouldn't say that being a skier, but that's what I would like to see. I really want to start seeing the trails loose snow, as I know that after the snow is gone it's still another couple of weeks before they dry out enough to ride- so we're gonna be waiting for quite some time!

My hamstrings hurt- I think I know why- here's a shot from the Spread Eagle World Championships where I survived but certainly didn't place very high, I'm not sure how to call this cross training but I will.


But no matter how much training I do, I know that Crank the Kanc will have my face twisted in pain, here's my "game face" during the 2006 race:


In other news 24 Hours of Great Glen may be looking at a small course addition, we'll have to see how that plays out. I'm sure TWAF will get up there to help with some recon work once the snow goes away.

Also found out that 24 Hours of Pats Peak is much earlier this year- hmmm, maybe the 6 hour or 12 hour again this year? Time will tell- its May 31- June 1st.

That's it from here. Hope for sun!

later,

DEA

The race season on the horizon

We signed up for Crank the Kanc as JJ mentioned. I almost didn't get in as I'm an idiot and thought that registration was on Saturday night, not 12:01 Saturday morning. But the cycling gods smiled upon me and I did get in.

Me training this weekend consisted of competing in the Spread Eagle World Championships up at Attitash, it was fun- but it's been awhile since I've gone off a big jump and I was not looking to pretty! Needless to say my knees are a bit sore from pounding them on the landings, but it was fun and I stayed upright!

Sunday I skied at Cranmore with the girls and it was good, Emma has come a long way and Lillo is on her own just checking in from time to time, kinda crazy.

I did ride in again today, so that was good. The scary part I have a 42x23 as my low gear and the North South road used all of that gear. Granted there was a headwind but in the summer that is a 53x18 section of road no problem- man I've got work to do!

K is going to race CTK this year so that should be fun, she'll have to spend some time on the trainer as she's not up for riding in crap weather and bad roads- and I don't see us having anything but that for the next 6 weeks or so (at least the bad roads- the weather is good today).

So that's my story. Waiting to see what the UCI does with all the Paris Nice riders. Should be interesting. Keep waiting to see my boy Tyler show up on a results sheet at some point. Still trying to figure out why the UCI is hell bent on support Contador despite his link to Purteo- but that is a conversation that just goes round and round.

If anyone is in the market for a 26" wheeled single speed let me know- I've got a 19" specialized S-works M2 that is set up that way and need to sell it to make cash for parts for the Mamasita. Just let me know! It'll go cheap, or if you've got a MTB crankset, 175mm that you need to get rid of we might have a trade opportunity.

later,

DEA

Crank the Kanc 2008

So I signed up for the firat event of 2008. Crank the Kanc is a 21 mile Time Trial Hillclimb. We did it as a team last year but this year we went back to the solo catagory. The race is May 17, 2008. Exactly 2 months from today. I have not ridden outside in months it seems and the spinning bike has seen sporadic action at best.

Guess it is time for me to try to get on the bike since this is an individual time trial and I won't have DEA and A1 to tow me up the climb this year. Not sure when that's going to happen though since we're supposed to be getting 2-4 inches of snow today. Skiing was nice this moringin was I was doing course maintenance for the Easter High School Regionals slalom race at Cranmore Mountain.

Team Bikeman.com from 2007 Crank the Kanc


See ya on the road, or more likely on the side of the road sucking wind or just throwing up.

JJ

Finally!

Finally got back out on the bike as a means to get to and from work. That was the longest stretch I've been off the bike in a LONG time- don't really want to do that again.

It felt great to get out on the road, and put me in a much better frame of mind (at least for a few minutes) when I got to work. It is also giving me something to look forward to for the end of the day.

So thtat is the extent of my excitement.

Now for my random questions/comments about the world.

Why is the UCI behind getting Contador into the Tour but did nothing for the Rock Racing guys? (aren't all of them somehow tied to Opperation Puerto)

We have two US skiers who look to take the overall world cup- Bode and Vonn- pretty cool, yet 99.9% of the country doesn't have a clue- oh well.

Ok gotta go back to work.


DEA

new 24HOGG site

The new 24 Hours of Great Glen site is up and live- interesting site. I'm playing the role of moderator so that should be fun.

Now I just need to get my ass out on the bike!

By the way box season is still underway- I'm tracking a box of SRAM parts coming in today and a big box from Salsa came in earlier this week. I'll get some photos up of it soon!

later,

DEA

North Country Traffic Jam

JJ