THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF SAMBO

The New Dream Cycling Trip

2009-04-14T14:41:00.002-04:00

I will be a father soon, 1-3 weeks to go is the current estimate. Fatherhood will change everything from what i have been told. My free time will now be focused on the kids.

But i can still dream...

Last year Mark and I went to Belgium for a week to watch the RVV and ride the course. We had a great time and typical Belgian weather. When we returned i realized....it could be better. This time of Europe there are bike races twice a week if not more often. That means that a short trip of say 10 days could include 3 great Northern classics which would leave 5-6 days to ride bikes on the race courses or other places.

Here is my idea:

Friday: depart for Belgium

Saturday: arrive, unpack the bike, pick up rental car, go see Tom and Nele, give Tom a bunch of shit for being a Belgian that doesn't like beer or cycling. Go for a ride to shake off the Jetlag.

Sunday: RVV race around the countryside to see the pros suffer in the beautiful flemmish ardennes

Monday: Ride the RVV, starting in Oudenaarde, follow the signs to ride all of the helligens

Tuesday: Ride part of the route of the Gent Wevelgem Mostly flat, 4 hills, just to get a feel for the course

Wed: G-W race around the countryside to see the pros (no real suffering here...it's flat afterall)

Thursday: Trip to the Ardennes ride part of L-B-L some nice hills, but everything is paved.

Friday: Ride somewhere else, day trip to holland or Germany, or just hang out and try to sample one of each of the 300+ belgian beers.

Saturday: Ride Paris Roubaix, come on ....it's flat

Sunday: Paris Roubaix, watch the pros suffer on cobbles.

Monday: Go home

Looks like fun, maybe 2011????

Wonder if Tom will be in his house by then??? Doubt it. :-)

My Quick Ride Route

2009-02-23T12:39:00.003-05:00

Back in Staunton if i only had an hour or so to get a ride in, i would do the Springhill loop. It was about 21-22 miles long, and i would push myself to see if i could do it in an hour. (the answer is yes, i was successful). Now that i am in a new town, new home, new roads, i've been looking for a route that i could do in an hour or so. Below is that route. It is an out and back route that climbs to the top of Burnt Mountain on RT. 136 and then back home. It takes about 1:15-1:20 to complete. I will work towards knocking it out in an hour, but somehow i doubt i can fly up the hill that fast....who knows, maybe someday.

02/23/2009 Route
Find more Bike Rides in Jasper, Georgia

Cycling Fashion Faux-pas: The pain and suffering of limited cycling funds.

2009-02-18T13:29:00.003-05:00

I have a rule when buying clothes, my shirts should not cost more than $10. I try to carry that rule over to pants, shorts, t-shirts, basically any other non-cycling related clothing that i may need to purchase. Granted, it is not always possible to stick to this rule, sometimes you have to pony up a little more. The strange thing is, i have no such rule when it comes to cycling apparel. That $15-30 dollar dress shirt, that i will wear to meetings and meet customers in will make me stress about the cost, but dangle a $100 jersey on sale for the low price of $65 at the PI outlet and i'm salivating. It's all about trying to look good while you are doing one of your favorite activities. That is the "On the bike" fashion, but what about the "bike fashion"????

Note the pictures below: the first is my ByStickel travel bike, notice the pretty green michelin tires. I realize that this green color doesn't really go with anything, but there "was" a certain uniqueness about them a few years ago. The key was that you had to go with two, you can't run just one colored tire.

The next pic is of my old Litespeed Alum/carbon bike. Notice the blue bar tape, blue paint, blue tires. A thing of beauty. Color coordination is key. The downside is if the bike breaks. Like this one did, your new bike is red....you are stuck with extra tires that don't match. The shame!!!
This third pic is of my cross bike, another fine example of color coordination, yellow sidewalls to match the yellow paint, red tread to match the wheels, this happened by accident actually. But you know i would have made it happen eventually.
I know what you are thinking...is there any real meaning behind this post, or did i just want to find an excuse to show off some bicycles....mmmm....mmmm....what was the question again?? My point is this: we are having twins in May, so we are trying to watch our spending. I have some old tires in the basement, black, blue, gray, red, but no matching sets. I have decided that before i replace another rear tire on the road bike, that i will wear out the extra tires in the basement. I know right, how embarassing is that, one gray tire, one blue or two red tires that don't match. WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TOOOOOO!!!! I hope my kids recognize the sacrifices i have made for them. I hope no one recognizes me when i am on my bike. I'm sooo embarassed. Thanks for listening.

The Original SUV - Sweeeet Utility Vehicle

2009-01-01T21:35:00.002-05:00

Here is my new ride. The original utility vehicle. My in-laws got a new car, so i bought this from them to drive back and forth to work. Better mileage than the truck, and less wear and tear on the truck. Pretty sweet huh. I think it was the wood paneling that sold me.

My Mac and Cheese Recipe...(kind of like OK Cafe's)

2008-12-26T20:57:00.002-05:00

So over the past few years i've been making a Mac and Cheese recipe for all of the pot-lucks and major holiday meals. It is, in my opinion, the best mac and cheese EVER!!! I got it off the internet and it is supposed to be the same recipe that is used by OK cafe.

Here is the recipe (with the modifications i have made.

8 ounces of macaroni (i don't use the elbow shaped, i typically use the spirals or coil shaped noodles)

2 eggs

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon sugar

large pinch of cayenne pepper

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 tablespoon (heaping) ranch seasoning

10 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese grated

5 ounces of monterey jack cheese grated

6 ounces of parmesan cheese grated

I typically use the lazy(pre-shredded) cheese

pre-heat oven to 350 degrees, cook macaroni according to package, drain and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs. Add the milk, heavy cream, sugar, cayenne pepper, salt, ranch seasoning. mix well. mix in the noodles and stir till they are coated. Add in the cheese and mix until fully incorporated. Pour into large baking dish, cover with foil and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove foil for last 5 minutes.

There ya have it. And yes, it is as healthy as it sounds.

TENSION - EXPLORATION OF THE LOW TOLERANCES OF CHAINRING

2008-12-16T11:08:00.002-05:00

The idea of a single speed bike is that it is supposed to be simple, uncluttered and open up a whole new world of freedom when cycling. None of those pesky gears to make it easier to go up hills or so you can go faster going down hill. Vast expanses of bar space for your squeaky horn or coffee cup holder. Freedom!!! and it's simple.....WHOA, not so fast, is it really simple? Maybe because you don't have to set up a deraileur it may seem simple....BUT IT'S NOT!!. The beauty of a geared set-up is the spring loaded arm on the deraileur that tensions the chain, who cares if the chainring is round...the deraileur will suck it up. Also, a standard mountain bike has vertical drop outs, there shouldn't be any question whether the wheel is straight.
In building, riding, tuning and maintaining my Single Speed bike, i have discovered that some of these items add a whole new degree of frustration to a bike that is supposed to be simple. Tolerance on Chainrings, cranksets is HORRIBLE. My chain will go from super tight to super slack in one rotation. This is even on chainrings manufactured specifically for SS use. come on folks, I'm not asking for a concentricity of .0001...but at least try to get it close so that the tension is consistent through a revoloution. Who knew this would be such an issue, before i read a blurb on the Park Tools website that pointed out that chainring manufacturers do their technical drawings with crayons and no rulers, i was struggling to figure out why the heck the chain tension on my bike fluctuated so much. I switched chainrings, rear sprocket, crankset, bottom bracket, chain....what a pain. The other thing with the SS with sliding dropouts is making sure the wheel is straight. Not really a big deal, but a regular bike doesn't have this problem. I had to break out the builder's square to get it close to centered. Hopefully everything stays put. I guess if i want a truly simple bike, i need one of those "like a bikes".

Finally...a Muddy cross race

2008-11-30T21:53:00.004-05:00

Today was the make-up race for the GACX series. I was orginally planning on doing this race because i wasn't making the trip to Savanah, but with my DNF, i still have a big goose egg for points in one race....shucks. Today's race was in Conyers, GA. After a beautiful day on Thanksgiving, and okay weather on Friday, it rained all day saturday. (oh, did i mention Georgia Tech beat Georgia on Saturday!!!!) It was raining this morning as Sara and I drove out to the race, so we knew it would be fun. The course had a bunch of off camber soup, with some real squishy sections, two stream crossings and some slick hills that felt like you turned the pedals twice as much as normal because the back tire was searching for traction. I finished 8th out of 17, so not too bad. I stayed upright the whole race too. :-)

Here i am making it to the top of the slick hill.

A nice after the race shot, with a close up on the muddy bike below. I finally had an excuse to wash the bike.

Oh BTW....Sara is Pregnant with Twins!!!!

2008-11-26T09:41:00.000-05:00

GACX races 5 and 6

2008-11-26T09:18:00.002-05:00

I feel old and tired. I think i just haven't trained as much as i have in previous years. I need to learn how to train smarter. GACX race 5 was in Blairsville, GA. It was the first hilly race, and for some reason my legs were dead. I ended up finishing 9th out of 12....OUCH. The next race was in Winder, a nice flat race with lots of tight turns on grass. 3 sets of barriers and a beach run....I thought we were only supposed to have two sets of barriers. So what if the third set were trees, if they were placed there to use as barriers, they are man made, if the tree falls across the course then they are a natural obstacle. Below are few pics that Sara took. The bottom pic is of my friend John who is trying out CX for his first time this year. GO BIG JOHN!!!

When in Rome...DNF GACX race 4

2008-11-09T20:43:00.003-05:00

I've been pretty lucky with my cyclocross races, i haven't crashed much and i haven't had a flat in a few years...knock on wood. Today made up for lost time. The course in Rome took advantage of the only hill in the area...the Levee along the river. We went up and down the hill several times and even road along the side for some up and down off camber on grass....oh joy. I made it almost through the first lap when i hit one of the sharp down hill grass off-camber turn, rolled my front tire off the rim, the wheel dug in, i flipped over the side of the bike and the guy behind me came crashing into my bike and got tangled up in it. I jumped up to get going and realized their was a bunch of grass and dirt in between the tire and rim where it rolled, my handle bars were about 70 degrees out of wack and my right shifter was messed up. I didn't want to try and force the handlebars straight with my carbon steer tube, so i had to call it a day. Next race i'll carry a multi-tool. Live and learn. I should have some nice bruises on my calves tomorrow.

On a positive note...nothing was broken on the bike.

This is right after the start....i didn't make it this far again, where the guy is re-mounting his bike is right about where i crashed the next time around.

The first time up the hill you could ride it easy, then there was a u-turn back down and another u-turn back up, I opted to run since it was just as fast, and different muscles...litte did i know my race would be over in about 30 seconds. Not finishing sucks!!! I think i might put a mtn bike in the pits next time.

JUST ONCE, I WOULD LIKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO VOTE FOR A CANDIDATE I LIKE,

2008-11-05T08:15:00.003-05:00

not just picking what i consider to be the lesser of two evils. It hasn't happened yet, may never happen. The problem is, when a candidate tries to please everybody...they really can't say anything. They speak in generalities and never on specifics. They also make tons of promises that they know they can't deliver on. Kind of like when you interview/accept a new job, they tell you all sorts of great things that you will be doing, and changes the company is in the process of making....only expect 20-30% of that to happen. Even though that may overly optomistic, it is usally about right.

Now we just wait and see what "CHANGES" are made and if they are good ones or bad ones. I wish there had been a candidate pushing the Fair Tax. It just doesn't get any better than that. You get all of your income and only pay taxes on what you spend, plus the government sends you a prebate each month to cover the taxes you would pay on the necessaties. Everybody wins, the poor don't pay taxes and people who don't normally pay taxes would (paying under the table, drug dealers etc) would actually end up paying taxes. Pretty sweet huh? But if we didn't have Taxes to fight about...political races would probably be dull and what would all the lobiest and IRS agents do? Oh well.

GACX Race #3, pushing it to the limit

2008-11-04T09:00:00.002-05:00

The third race of the GACX was this past sunday. It was a beautiful day, much warmer than it was the week before. The course was a bit different from last year, they put a HUGE!! spiral of Dumb right next to the start finish, then added a steep climb through the woods, two sets of barriers and one sandy run-up with a log at the bottom. Very long laps, we only did 5 in my race.

After the race i checked my HRM to see what the Heart was doing during the race. For 49 minutes i average 171 bpm with a max of 182 bpm. I would say i was going pretty hard. I finished 7th out of 20. Not too bad, but it sure would be nice to be able to hang with the front guys.

Here are some pics that sara took. I figured Mark would appreciate them since i made an effort to smile for the camera. Also i didn't want to look cooked again.

Getting ready for Cyclocross race 2

2008-10-30T10:52:00.004-04:00

It's been a month since the first race of the Georgia series. there was a race two weeks ago, but it was down in Savannah and with the new house, the budget wouldn't allow it. There are 6 more races in the series so my november weekends are full.

I'm excited even though i'm just a mid pack hack, I love to race and push myself really hard. I can never push myself as hard when i am just out for a ride. Bring on the pain.

I was hoping this weekend would be really cold and give me that cyclocross feel, but it looks like the weather is warming up slightly. The masters race rolls off at 10 am so at least it will still be a little cold and maybe even a little slick with dew.

I realized that the UCI world Cyclocross Championships are being held in the one place i have been to watch a pro race before. I went to Belgium in 2003 for work and convinced Luc to take me the 30km to the cyclocross race. It was right at freezing and dry as a bone. But the beer and frites warmed me up.

I took some pics of it, they aren't very good, but maybe they can prove i was there. Look at all those people freezing their butts off to watch cyclocross.

Cyclocross has Begun - Back to my Midpack ways

2008-10-06T07:56:00.003-04:00

The Georgia Cross series kicked off yesterday, it looks like i'm right where i left last year. I'm in the no man's land between the really fast guys and everyone else. I did have one guy that i fought with during the race. I dropped my chain during the run-up and he was able to get a good bit of distance on me, I caught back up with 2 laps to go, but he pulled away on the last lap. I guess i was tired from chasing. Oh well, 8th out of 18.
Here are some pics of me sporting the Orange Cartecay kit.

Moving and Training

2008-09-10T12:18:00.002-04:00

Friday is the big day, Sara and I become home owners once again. The excitement is building. After 14 months in an apartment we will be free!!! Free to do all of the moving. Free to do Yardwork. Free to repaint the rooms that Sara doesn't like the color. Free.....oh well, it will a nice place to live.

I'm trying to get into shape for cyclo-cross. It's been a strange year for me and i feel like it is Feb. and not September in relation to my fitness. We shall see, maybe all of the fast guys got slower or decided to bail on cross....could happen...

I've talked a few friends into trying cyclocross this year, it should be interesting. Hopefully they will enjoy it as much as i do. they already ride a good bit so it won't be like trying to talk someone who has never even drank to try cocaine, it's more like talking a coke head into stepping up to heroin. Just try it once...come on....everyone else is doing it...next thing you know all you can think about is your dismount and re-mount, tubular vs clincher, Dekonic vs Duvel, trying to remember how to set up Cantis.

The sad thing is there is no re-hab....unless your just a big wuss and stop riding. but that would be crazy talk.

What's it been...like a month or something

2008-08-19T07:28:00.003-04:00

Phew...finally back in Georgia and taking the time for a little update:

First...I'm 98% recovered from surgery. A quick note, anytime they have to cut through the skin, don't think of it as minor surgery. (I'm going to try and avoid all types of surgery in the future if i can)

Second...Just got back from a trip to California for my friend Justin's wedding. We stretched it to 10 days and saw basically all of my and sara's family that live in California plus all of my high school friends that i still keep in touch with. Went to Yosemite, Napa, Sanoma, Monterey, Cambria, Orange county. Great trip....now it's time to start training for cyclocross so i can keep my mid pack status.

Third.... we are under contract on a new house in Jasper GA. After Sept. 30th we should have lots of room for people to stay when they come to visit. Make your reservations early.

Fourth....last time i checked my Ferratin level was down to 81...I'm going today to have it checked today. If i'm below 50 i might get to wait until Oct. to bleed again.

I'll aim to try to keep my blog more up to date.

Thunderstorm...where's my guard dog

2008-07-18T11:33:00.003-04:00

Clap of thunder...i hear some scraping in the bathroom. For a dog that doesn't like baths, it must be mighty scarry for her to hide in the tub.

Completed 29er

2008-07-18T11:21:00.003-04:00

Here are some pics of the complete bike. Now i just have another week or so to recover from surgery before they let me ride "vigorously" again.

Back in the 29er Game

2008-07-09T14:27:00.002-04:00

Last year...or maybe the year before, i decided i wanted to try a 29er. I pieced together a frame, fork, tires from ebay and presto...29er. I was never happy with the fork and the aluminum frame always felt harsh. I decided i would sell the parts of the bike and put the money into something else. This year i decided i wanted to give the 29er a good honest chance. Nice Frame, good fork, quality parts. Plus i wanted to run it as a single speed with the option to upgrade to gears. I ended up going with the Voodoo Cycles Dambala, a steel frame with sliding vertical dropouts that will allow me to run one gear or switch to multi gear once i realize how foolish i was for wanting a single speed. I purchased a RockShox Reba Race to go with it, I was leaning towards the Fox, but the price difference was a little much. Plus you need to remember who is riding the bike. Mr. No Skills, like i will be pushing the limits of any fork off road, with the exception of the rider weight limit.

The frame arrived yesterday, and although i haven't had time to put it together, i did take a few minutes to throw some parts on it to make it look like a bike.

Biking to Work - Is it Free?

2008-06-25T15:28:00.003-04:00

I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately, and who hasn't. Gas is approaching European prices and we are all looking for ways to save money. I don't know about you, but i have been known to ride a bike from time to time, so i thought that riding my bike might be a good cost saving alternative to driving the truck. (see previous post about MPG) I know i have shared this thought with a few of you, but i thought i'd post about it.

I live 21.5 miles from work. At 14 MPG and $4.79 per gallon that is about $7.35 each way for me to go to work. When i ride my bike to work my computer says that i burn over 2000 calories each way. How much food do i need to eat to get those 2000 calories back? How much does that food cost? If i didn't care about eating healthy (actually i really don't, heck, that's why i ride my bike after all....JUNK FOOD) i could buy 3 "hand spun" milkshakes from chick fil-a and that would cost me almost 10 bucks. I think those would come in aroud 2000 calories. If i want to go healthier it could be as high as 15-20 bucks for that 2000 calories.

I know, I know, i'm going to ride that 40 miles anyway, but that's not the point. What if i didn't "occasionally" jump on a bike and go for a ride? This would be a whole new expense. Plus, if i did eat only cheap food to get the calories back, would that cause digestive problems? produce gas? maybe an equivalent or greater amount than the truck. I don't see a particulate filter on my backside (does underwear count?) Maybe there is something to this "couch potato" lifestyle that i am missing. Think of the money i would save.
Wouldn't only eating 3 meals a day be soooo cool!!

Visiting the N-laws

2008-06-24T14:23:00.002-04:00

Spent a long weekend with the n-laws in Michigan. They live on a lake so even though it was a bit on the cool side for June, we forced ourselves into the water to sail and ski. Check out my awesome cycling tan lines. In some pics the contrast between my feet and calves is so great i look like i have socks on.

6.4 Litres = 1.69 Gallons....should i really expect better than 17 MPG?

2008-05-30T10:19:00.002-04:00

Here is my new "game". I drive like an old man, easy accelerations, i do the speed limit, i brake early for stoplights in hopes that i am still rolling when it turns green. I'm trying to see how good my mileage can get with the big truck. With a 6.4 litre engine (with two turbos) there will be a limit to how good the mileage will be. Currently with my daily driving i am averaging 14.5 mpg, which is up from 12.8-13 with my old style of driving. I need to do a time/cost analisyst to see if my time is actually worth more than the 1.5 mpg and the 10mph slower on all the roads. I'm having a few transmission issues (nothing major) so i plan on taking it in next week. While it is there i'll have them update any and all programs on the truck. Maybe ford has released a program update that will improve the mileage further. I haven't done any long trips in the truck since last fall, so i am curious what the freeway mileage will be...maybe 18....call me crazy.

I'm thinking a Mini Cooper Clubman in yellow with black stripes would make a nice "drive to bike races" vehicle.

I AM IRON MAN!!!

2008-05-23T15:25:00.003-04:00

Have i told ya? I found out a little while back that i have Hemochromatosis. It basically means that my body absorbs much more Iron than normal. My older sister found out she has it back in November. I call her Iron Maiden...pretty catchy huh. It is a hereditary thing, so i had my doctor check for and...i've got it too. As far as genetic things go, this isn't bad assuming you find out early like i have. I basically have to bleed my iron level down to a low level, then go 3-4 times a year to keep the level down. If I didn't find out till i was much older, i would have started having heart/liver problems and other issues. I have given 4 pints of blood in the past 5 weeks. I've got at least 9 more pints to go to get to the low level. This makes staying fit for cycling kind of tough. I'm basically riding as much as i can to slow down the loss of fitness. Hopefully i will be done with the weeklies by July and i can start building my hemoglobin/redbloodcells/ hemocrit back up. Would this justify EPO? will my insurance pay for it? I've basically scrapped any plans i had to race this spring/summer. I just hope i can stay in shape enough for cyclocross.

Tour de Georgia Re-cap

2008-05-01T13:07:00.003-04:00

Here are a few pics of the Tour de Georgia. I watched the first KOM on stage 5 and then went to Dahlonega to watch them finish. Sunday Sara and I went down to Atlanta to watch Stage 7.

Here is Tyler Hamilton hitting the top of Burnt Mountain, he was cooked, he looked even worse when he finished the stage
Here is the last corner of stage 5. A race in the south wouldn't be complete without Waffle house support. (I got a WH t-shirt and head band too....SWEET!)
This is the winning move going into the last turn.
Emma and Mary Anna are big cycling fans....althought i think they like hockey better.
This is what the peleton looked like all day sunday. High road was pulling the train all day...they ended up winning the stage, the race and the sprinters jersey too.

I did see Micheal Ball of Rock Racing , i wanted to get close to him to maybe hear him drop a few F bombs....but alas i didn't get near him. He was sporting a jacket with the special sunday TDG Rock racing jersey.

A good time was had by all. It is pretty cool to have a big race like this going right past where i live.

The Tour Duh Georgia

2008-04-25T09:20:00.002-04:00

It's pretty cool that even in a state like Georgia that they can put together a cycling race that attracts Pro-tour teams. I am heading out today to watch the Tour climb over Burnt Mountain. My parents live on Burnt mountain and the tour is going right past their driveway...They feel sooooEuro. I'm going up the road from their driveway a little bit to watch the race pass the KOM. No sense sitting on the downhill side...the view will be really short. Although the downhill is 18-20% and there is one corner that could cause some problems...not to mention a few nasty potholes. Good luck on the descent racers. After they pass the KOM i'm heading to Dahlonega to watch the finish. Should be fun. I'll take a few pics.

SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY....WE'VE TURNED THE BOTTOM OF THE OMNI INTO A GIANT 6 FOOT DEEP...

2008-04-21T08:36:00.002-04:00

MUD PIT!!!!

Is there a point where it would make sense to just lose the entry fee and skip a race because it will probably cost you more to repair the bike than the entry fee??? So far this year i have done two big rides and both have taken their toll on the bikes that i decided to ride. The First was De Ronde, things don't seem as smooth as they were before, but i think i can fix most of them...maybe a new chain is needed. The second was the Cohutta 65 i did this past Saturday. (The 65 is the Big Sissy version of the 100) It was a rough 6 hour slog through the mud. Driving up to the race Saturday at 4:30am it was raining pretty steady, It had rained most the night. When the race started the entire course had about 2cm of squishy mud on everything. About half of this race is single track and the other is fire road, i thought the fire roads wouldn't be that bad, but it turned out the fireroads turned into quicksand or something similar. To add to the slick fun, i learned about 4 miles into the race that my middle chainring needed to be replaced because with just a little bit of mud and slop, it started sucking. 45 miles of switching from the big to granny until, with 12 miles left, it started sucking in all gears. I stopped and cleaned as much mud as i could off, put some lube on the chain and it worked until i got to the finish. 6:03 or something like that. Here are some pics of my pretty bike...i'm thinking i will tear it down and make sure everything is okay.

Finished 21st....i think

I'm back and sleepy

2008-04-09T09:05:00.003-04:00

Here are a few picks.

Stijn Devolder Won...in case you missed it.

Mark and I watched the race come up the Nokerberg before heading to Meerbeke for the finish. We did a little posing before the race came through.

Sick World full of Crazy people

2008-03-30T21:38:00.002-04:00

My neighbor knocked on my door tonight. He is a nice quiet guy, i've talked to him about cycling several times but we have never managed to ride together. He works second shift and rides his bike to work everyday, even in the dead of winter. When I answerd the door, i noticed his right eye was bruised and swollen. He said he wanted to warn me that he had been jumped by three guys while riding his bike through Jasper.
He was coming back into town on Old Hwy 5, inside the city limits near the Citgo station when a truck with three guys in it yelled something at him. I think he said they yelled the standard "get off the road" maybe with some more colorful words. He yelled back at them that they needed to give him at least 3 feet when they pass. Aparently having a cyclist explain laws/rules to these guys set them off and one of them ran at him and punched him. He fought back and then the other guys jumped out of the truck. My neighbor tried to use the first guy as a shield to block the punches from the others. I'm assuming that someone from the gas station chased them off. They stomped on his bike wheel and took off. He was able to get a partial on the plate and the clerk said that the survelence camera may have cought it. He called the police and filed a report, hopefully they catch the bastards.
Makes you wonder what these people are thinking. I try not to yell back at people when i ride...but i fail miserably. It must be the adrenalin, you feel the wind of a car coming to close and you automatically stick your arm up in the "what the hell was that gesture" (i have managed to avoid the giving the finger). Apparently even that gesture or a friendly reminder of the rules is enough to set people off.
Be careful out there!!!

RVV packet arrived today...it's official

2008-03-25T21:16:00.002-04:00

Got my packet today...the number for my handlebar, my punch card so i can get my certificate at the end (and a free water bottle), basic instructions with emergency phone numbers, voucher for a lottery ticket (get timmy to pick that up), and my bus pass from Ninove to Bruges.

One exciting bit is that there will be a drop point halfway through the ride that we can leave a change of clothes, extra food or whatever...bonus! One week from tomorrow we leave... I can't wait.

Hill Training for Flanders and a New Camera!!!

2008-03-25T08:11:00.002-04:00

I'm training in the mountains for Flanders...does that make sense??? Probably not, but what are my options, I live in the friggin mountains! Yeah they aren't huge Mountains, but i know of several 5-8 mile climbs with 12-20% grades around here, and the rest of the roads are rolling. Not many Flanderish roads for me to practice long flat miles. When i was living in Belgium for those few short months my afternoon rides were mostly along the canals. Flat as a pancake, the only hills were bridges or the headwind. I'm pretty sure that i will be sore after the RVV tourist version, hopefully the weather will be okay. I'm fine with cold, but cold and wet will really suck, i'm packing clothes for either condition and we'll see what we get.

I bought a new camera with the proceeds from a bike sale. I bought a Nikon D40. After using Kevin's camera at some cross races in 2006, i've been thinking about getting one. They just work soooo much better than the point and shoot cameras. I should get some good pics from the RVV.

1 week from tomorrow i fly out....woo-hoo Bring on the beer and frites!!!

The Excitement Builds....I sure hope my legs are up for 160 miles

2008-03-10T11:09:00.002-04:00

3 weeks from Wednesday is the departure date. I just can't wait. I've been fighting a slowly progressing cold for the past week or so. At least that is what i am blaming for my "wooden" legs. At least it is daylight savings and i can get many miles in after work. I guess i also need to get a couple of 100+ mile days in prior to my trip.

The weather wasn't cooperating this past weekend, I had all day saturday to do what i wanted.(Ride) Shortly after Sara left for her fun filled day of testing, the snow started to fall along with the temps....what the...where did the 60 degree days go damn them!!!! So i headed to the bike room to organize and ride the trainer (damn that sucks) I did get a bunch of stuff done so that is a good thing. I would have rather gone for a multi hour ride and had to walk over wheels and tires in the bike room tho.

Russell raced the enduro event yesterday at Camp Hilbert, looks like i will be wheel sucking in Belgium.

Jayson and Jenn's New Little Germ Factory

2008-03-04T14:48:00.003-05:00

After Vegas i traveled west to visit an old high school friend in California. Jayson and his wife Jennifer downloaded their new Germ factory 3 months ago. Grace is a very sweet, mellow little baby. She didn't cry much, and she even sleeps through the night. Lucky for Jay and Jenn that they are both home to get into the swing of things. Their world turns upside down next week when Jenn goes back to work. Good Luck guys!

DAM

2008-03-01T20:34:00.004-05:00

I spent most of last week in Vegas for a trade show. One afternoon we left a little early and drove the 30 miles to the Hoover dam. We went on the dam tour with our dam guide and saw all of the dam sights. I can check this off of my dam list now.

FACTORY TOUR!!!! The magical world of Plaques.

2008-02-19T12:55:00.005-05:00

Since i made the jump to my new career in award components i've had trouble explaining what we make to people. It's not that i have trouble describing what we do, it's just that most people think of a trophy shop when i tell them that we manufacture plaques, trophy bases, etc... I've found that once people see the actual factory it helps them understand the scale of what we do. In a nutshell we are a manufacturer plaques and bases made out of MDF (medium density fiberboard) and covered with a foil (actually a mult layered paint that is applied with heat and pressure) to make the pieces look like differnt types of wood or marble or other colors. Half of our building is used for manufacturing and the other half is our warehouse where we inventory the stuff we manufacture along with other items that we offer in our catalog. (colored metal engraving stock, plastic figures, solid walnut items and other accessories used in the trade.) We try to offer all the pieces required to create the finished trophy or plaque.

Here are some pics from the factory:

Here is a view from outside of my office window. The factory is approx 80,000 sq. ft. half of which is shown here and the other half is the warehouse
this is a pic of the front and back(below) of our panel saw. This saw is programable to cut the desired size pieces out, and will cut 7 sheets of 5/8" MDF at a time.

Here are the CNC routers. Similar to CNC mills for metal working, these routers can do all sorts of cool things. Any shape we want, cut outs for pictures, fancy border work for perpetual plaques. We actually keep the programs pretty simple, but these things run everyday. Depending on how busy we are we run them 8 hours/12 hours/16 hours a day. Right now we are running 12 hours a day.this one just finished it's cycle...1 sheet of this plaque down...79 more to go. (there are 72 of this style plaque per sheet)

The machines in this photo are the edge foil, they take the plaque, shape the edge with a concave or bevel, sand it smooth and then apply the foil.

These plaques are waiting to be top foiled. Just like it sounds, foil is applied to the front and rear, then the plaques are boxes and taken over to the warehouse side for storage or shipment.

Here is a poor quality picture of the warehouse. You can see the back of my sister's minivan that is for sale...anyone needing a 2002 Caravan?

There ya have it. The Factory. I can't help ya with finished plaques, but i can get you the pieces.

What good are rules if even the enforcing body won't follow them?

2008-02-16T21:18:00.002-05:00

I'm reading the headlines on CN this evening about the cycling team everyone loves to hate...Rock Racing and their troubles with the Tour of California. The UCI has a rule that says if you are actively being investigated and prosecuted for a doping offense you can't race. But apparently they have decided that isn't enough. It appears that if they even think someone might be involved but they don't have enough evidence to proceed with prosecuting them, that should be enough to ban them too. The TOC crowd has fallen in line with this. I could care less about botero or sevilla, but hamilton should be alowed to race. He was caught, prosecuted and has served his punishment. Regardless of whether he admitted to it or not. He has done his time and according to the rules should be able to race. If he is tied to puerto, that is old news, that just proves he did it and was caught. This crap about banning him forever is wrong. It seems like they are doing that anyway. I like watching pro racing, but this doping stuff makes it less and less desireable to follow. If you catch someone...great, convict him, suspend him and then after his suspension, let him race again if someone will hire him.
IF YOU WANT TO BAN THEM FOR LIFE...CHANGE THE RULES SO THAT YOU CAN.

The tour of California organizers suck.

SNAP!!! And he's down!!!

2008-02-12T13:41:00.001-05:00

The weather was great this weekend. Sunny and clear, altough the wind did pick up quite a bit on Sunday. I was able to ride both days, saturday on the mtn bike and sunday on the road bike. Both days i had a little mechanical trouble....maybe i'm not quite the mechanic i think i am. The mtn bike is just a learning curve thing, remembering how each different hub goes together and how to adjust the bearing. The road bike was a real surprise. I finished up my 3 hour ride on a loop from Jasper to ellijay and back on a relatively flat ride (there are no flat roads around here). I had just swiped my key card to open the gate into the apartment complex and i was rolling slowly when...SNAP!!.....BOOM!! i was on the ground. The bolt that held my seat on had broken. It was fortunate that it happened when i was barely moving...it could have been nasty. I had tightened the bolt last tuesday because my saddle felt loose. It didn't feel over tight, so i figured it just backed out a bit. Looking at the bolt now, it looks like the bolt had started to fail a long time ago, about halfway across the bolt the metal is discolored like it has been exposed to air for a long time, the second half is shiny from this recent break.

Now it's time to go through all the bikes and make sure everything looks good. And a lesson is learned, at least once a year, pull the stuff apart and check for cracks or problems.

You can thank me later for not posting a picture of my bruised behind.

Pray for low airfare!!!

2008-02-08T13:23:00.000-05:00

Everybody out there, put your hands together and pray to whomever or whatever you might pray to for airfares to drop.

You don't want poor little old me to be all alone on the roads of West Flanders with 18,000 waffle makers do ya??

I figure the Tour of Flanders will be good training for the Cohutta 100. I'm thinking about doing it. Maybe a couple of 100 mile races in a year will help me bring my time down.

SOLD!!!

2008-01-28T07:48:00.000-05:00

With a tear in my eye, and a wad of what i hope is real 100 dollar bills in my pocket the Audi has a new owner. I got a call saturday at 2 from a guy in Birmingham, AL interested in the car. They drove the 2+ hours to look at a few cars in GA and picked mine. Of course, because my car was awesome and in good shape. It will be missed....I sure wish we had gotten a turbo outback. Oh-well, i'll just go out in the truck and hook a chain around something and pull it out of the ground to make myself feel better. No more 1.8 litre turbo, now just the 6.4 liter twin turbo...darn.

BLUE STEEL

2008-01-25T16:01:00.001-05:00

I like to Tinker. I can't help it. I like take things apart and put them back together. Try out different set ups on the bike. Sometimes i will put the stuff together and never even ride the bike before i take it apart again. This is my latest creation. I had my Giant NRS built up as a SS before, but i decided to sell the frame. So i put all the parts on this beautiful Steel Nashbar frame. 49.99....you like? I also put my Geax Blade 2.25s on the front an back for that Monster truck look. I plan on riding this at least once. i'm thinking about rebuilding my White Ind. ENO eccentric hub to 26" so i can ditch the tensioner...we'll see.

Has it Been a week already

2008-01-24T08:10:00.001-05:00

Time just flies by, one week I'm skiing in Aspen, the next i'm back at work.

The good news from the ski trip is that my dad was able to get back out the last two days and ski. He is still hobbling around a bit, but that might just be old age. The last two days on the mountain were cold and dreary. The light was very flat and the skiing wasn't as much fun...but it was skiing so it was better than working. Thursday night we went down to Carbondale and hung out with Taz at her work. Very nice place, lots of fancy bikes. She seems to be enjoying the CO lifestyle.

The only downside of the trip was that our flight was canceled on Sat due to the threat of snow....IN ATLANTA!!! I didn't see that coming. We were scheduled on a 1:30 pm flight and they re-scheduled us on a 12:45 am flight. We didn't find out until we were already up and dressed Saturday morning. We decided we would head into boulder to check it out. I called Jim and he invited us over to his house. Jim gave us the grand tour of boulder, we hung out with Trisha and the kids in the afternoon, then we hit the local mall for a little shopping and a movie.

Big thumbs up for JUNO.

Sorry, no more pics from the ski trip, the camera got too cold to take any.

Day 3 - Dad gets a new boot after half a day of skiing.

2008-01-16T17:49:00.000-05:00

3"+ of fresh powder fell last night. Dad and I headed out at 8:30 to hit the runs. It seemed like a lot more than three inches, and it took a lot of getting used to, Bring back the corduroy. After Sara was done with her conference we headed over to Sara's favorite run...Green Cabin. Green cabin had a lot of fresh snow on the trails and we were some of the first people on this trail. The fresh snow turned out to be dificult for Dad, after several falls, he finally fell and twisted his ankle. I headed down to an emergency phone to call for help, Dad got to ride down in the sled (he said it was not a pleasant ride) We are hoping that the sprain is not too bad and maybe he can ski again, after all, theses boots are really stiff right.

Snowmass day two

2008-01-15T20:32:00.000-05:00

Weather was great again today...but it looks like it will end tomorrow. The high tomorrow is either 12 or 7 F depending on whose forcast you believe. My dad arrived today, he is coming out to ski for 3 days with us. This is a tradition that was started back in 2005. When Sara and I go on a ski trip we invite my dad along to ski for a few days. He likes to ski, and we are his opportunity to hit the slopes. (he usually takes us out for a nice dinner when he stays with us...that is the real reason we invite him) Hopefully the day isn't too miserable tomorrow, i'll probably head down to Taz's work tomorrow to say hello.

I hope everyone is having fun working this week.

here are some pics from day two....more blue skies, snow covered mountains, sara's beautiful face and my ugly cheesy smiling mug:

Skiing Day 1

2008-01-14T17:16:00.000-05:00

The weather today was perfect. Sunny, clear, high of 25. I hit the slopes right when the lifts opened, and i was happy to find out that i remembered how to ski. My quads started burning on the first run, but after that everything seemed to work fine. Lots of fun.

Here are a few pics

Snowmass 2008

2008-01-14T08:46:00.000-05:00

We made it!!! It's been a fun weekend of travel and visiting friends and now i am up early, eagerly anticipating the first day of skiing. Sara is already off to her conference. I'll head out at 8:30 when some of the lifts open and ski until about 10 and meet up with Sara.

Before we got here we visited with some friends near Boulder. Sara has two friends out here that she has known since she was young. We visited with their families and had lunch, then we headed over to visit with my Friends Jim, Trisha, and their 3 kids. We saw Jim's family in July of 2006 when they were heading out here from PA. After hours in a car and in a strange place kids tend to be shy. On their own turf the kids were a blast. Plus the twin boys are still light enough to throw around without hurting this old mans back. Jim and Trisha's house is very nice and has an incredible view of the mountains.
Sunday was spent driving out to Snowmass, getting groceries, and checking in. I've got my skis, lift ticket and i am ready to go.
Taz from H'burg moved out here a while back, she works at a bike and ski shop in Carbondale. Sara and i checked out the shop yesterday, we knew Taz wasn't working, but since Sara actually has a conference to attend we figured it was her only chance to check it out. Taz and maybe her boyfriend might make it out to ski on Friday, but i will probably head over to the shop one afternoon for some bike shop therapy after a hard day of skiing.

Here are a few pics of the condo...small...but it will get smaller when my dad gets here tomorrow.

ASSAULT = TO THREATEN VIOLENCE

2008-01-04T23:43:00.000-05:00

The locals here are so much fun. Today i went for a ride on the cross bike. I was trying out a new route with some long dirt road sections. The dirt road was very smooth, and as a bonus, not a whole lot of traffic. Ellijay seems to be a hotbed of pain in the ass drivers that all seem to hate bikes. I'm not really sure why it is, could be because they are UGA fans, could be that they don't like all the new people moving into there little inbred backwoods world...who knows.
My ride included 1 mile each way on old hwy 5 which can be busy and 1 mile each way on progress road that has less traffic. My ride was almost over, i was about 75 yards from the entrance to my work, I looked over my shoulder and saw a white car starting his super fast pass (because i just can't get stuck behind one of those damn bikes!!!) After the car passes, i stick my arm out to signal for a left turn. I looked over my shoulder and there was a F350 dually getting ready to fly by on the left. As the truck passed, i turned my left turn signal into another hand gesture to let this guy know i thought he was number one. I yelled at him wondering why he was in such a hurry and asking how he was able to drive with his head up his ass. Apparently he wasn't in as much of a hurry as he thought because after i turned off the road i saw him hit the brakes and turn into a parking lot up the road. I thought, hey...maybe he is coming back to apologize for almost hitting me.
I pull into the parking lot at my building, I lean my bike up against the truck and i am about to go inside and I see this guy come through our gate. He pulls right up to me and gets out of his truck and says "you a big man to flip me the bird". That set me off, i was shaking with anger. I started to explain to this portly redneck fella, how he almost hit me and i realize that he was in such a hurry that it didn't matter if he hit somebody. After he told me i shouldn't ride on the road, i asked why not? I pay taxes, i follow the rules, the law says that i can. I told him he was on private property and that i was calling the police. I called 911 and started to walk around to the back of his truck, he jumped back in an backed out so that i couldn't see it. I talked to 911 but since i didn't have a plate number it wouldn't do any good.
Ellijay is a small town, after work i went to the bike shop, when i was leaving i pulled up to the traffic circle i saw across the way, a Black dually with silver lower trim, push bars and a HD front plate...well what do ya know, I didn't have a pen, but the passenger side silver trim had De Foor's grading and paving....it pays to advertise. So i called the police when i got home. I wanted to know if i should file a report just in case something were to happen with this guy in the future, i wanted a record of this instance. I didn't want this guy to be arrested after the fact, if the police had come when he was at my work, that is a different story.
Here is where the story get's a little funny. An ellijay policeman calls me back, I tell him what happened and point out that it is assault. The officer said did he hit you, i said no, he said then it is not assault. I said, well i understood it that assault was the threat, and battery was actual contact, sara looked up a definition online and i read it to him. I told him, i'm not trying to teach you anything, I try to stay up on my rights as a cyclist. I think he was looking up laws while we were on the phone since towards the end of the phone call he said, well we could charge him with simple assault, and possible road rage (but he needed to read up on that). Well...now i know. I hope i don't see this guy again, it almost sounded like the cop may know who he is, he said if he has a reason to stop him, he will get his side of the story and tell him what he did is against the law.
whatever good that will do. I'm going to mountain bike tomorrow. Take a day off the roads.

Oh the Places I'll Go in 2008

2008-01-03T14:09:00.000-05:00

Sara and I spent the last weekend of 2007 in VA checking on the empty homestead. It was a fun visit, Baja with friends, Mtn biking with Mark, Video games with Curt, Mill Street, and working on the house. Good Times.

Now i'm getting ready for several trips this spring. First on the list is a trip out to Snowmass, CO. Sara has a conference so i'm going along for moral support. We are planning on visiting Jim and his family outside of Boulder, a couple of Sara's friends from her youth that live there now, and maybe even get to see Taz who lives not too far from Snowmass. It should be a fun trip and we are hoping it is much warmer there than it was in Tremblant.

Second on the list is Las Vegas. The anual trade show for the award industry. Four fun filled days of setting up displays, talking to customers, and losing money. Before i head back east i'm heading out to LA. Jayson and Jenn just had a baby girl, Jayson's brother is engaged (TO A GIRL!!!) and another friend's wife is due around the same time.

Third is the Trip we've all been waiting for: RVV with SAMBO!!! Departing on April 2 and returning April 8th, 5 full days in the most likely cold, rainy, windy and nasty land of Flanders. A little 256km bike ride on the 5th, watch a little pro bike racing on the 6th. Check out Timmy's new house and Neleke's new apartment. Drink lot's of fresh Belgian Beer, eat lots of Frites, and ride my bike. Should be lot's of fun. I've got my plane ticket and i've registered for the Tourist version of the RVV. Hopefully Russell can make it too, we can take a trip north. 50 euro...what a deal.

See...it's trick photography....sure it is... now you know the truth about Timmy and me.

Nele can fly!!!

I'll post pics from Snowmass. At least we know there is snow this year.

End of the Cyclocross Season

2007-12-10T07:56:00.000-05:00

Well, another cross season has come and gone. I'm happy with my first year in the GACX series. Hopefully next year will be better. The last two races i finished in 6th place. The last race i lost fifth in a sprint. The top 5 guys were still way out in front, but maybe next year i'll find a little more speed. Now is the time to ride more for fun than for training. Time to hit the gym to build a little muscle. Sara, Katie and I are going to explore some of the state parks nearby. Heck we paid 30 bucks for the annual pass, we need to get our money's worth out of it.

Here are some pic's from the weekend:

bumpy grass downhill with a steep run up at the bottom
the tougher of the two sets of stairs, i hate uneven steps!!
Here I am Sprinting for the finish, I got a late jump since i didn't realize when i passed this guy going down the bumpy downhill that he was ahead of me and not just lap traffic. If i had a kick like Russell the Muscle i could have taken 5th.
My folks made it out to this race, it's like being in High school again, except where did all that gray hair come from?!?

Sara and Katie at Amicalola Falls for our post race hike.

Katie and me on the hike.

Sara and I got all gussied up for here company Christmas party. I just noticed that i had my coat buttoned in this pic, you can tell i wear a coat and tie all the time. Sara looks great!

GA aquarium and i am finally back to "normal"

2007-11-27T09:00:00.001-05:00

Sara's folks came to town for Turkey day. It was a nice visit. My folks took them to play golf Wednesday. (Sara and I don't do golf) Saturday morning we got up at 0 dark thirty and headed downtown to the GA aquarium. This place got all kinds of press 2 years ago when it opened. Now that we are living in GA we figured we should have a visit. We were very impressed. The walls of the tanks are made of acrylic so they can curve and bend anyway the designers wanted them to. Some of the areas had fish windows overhead as well as windows in the wall. Although the price was kind of steep, we had a good time, and will probably take our next visitors there too...if they want to go.

I spent the whole last week under the weather. After the race in Augusta, i was sick to my stomach and nauseaus all week. Not sure what i caught, but i finally had my appetite back on Sunday. Oh it feels good to be "normal" again. It was weird not exercising or riding my bike for a week. I wonder how bad the race will suck this weekend after my week off.

Georgia Cross Race 5, Augusta....I am the King of 8th place!!!

2007-11-21T07:45:00.000-05:00

Wow, what a long drive it is from Jasper to Augusta. Apparently it wasn't quite far enough so sara and i added another 4 hours to Sumter, SC to see her cousin.

I felt like crap the morning of the race, maybe it was bad food the night before, maybe it was the people arguing in the courtyard of the hotel at 2 am, i'm sure i caught some sort of virus. I'm still not 100% on Wednesday, boy i sure hope i get my appetite back by tomorrow.

The race course was at the ASU sports complex, it was rolling grass with some pavement. I few steep short pitches that were rideable and two sets of barriers. I felt tired during my warm-up, so i didn't have high hopes for the race. The race started as normal, i fell back a ways in the group and then started to work my way back up. After three laps the front 7 were gone, and it was me and two other guys. They seemed content to just follow my wheel. I was a little concerned since i was feeling really tired, and i didn't want to do all the work. I let them go around on the tight grass section and they managed to pull a little bit of a gap. With 2 to go, i started to catch back up to them. I decided if i wanted to beat these guys, i would have to try to get a gap on them half way through the lap when we hit the pavement. Once we hit the pavement, they seemed to slow up a bit, I hit the gas and tried to get as far away as possible. When we came through the start/finish i had about 50 yards on the next guy. I managed to keep the gap and held my position. It just happened to be 8th. I was happy i didn't give up and let the two guys go. But i was done after the race, i let sara drive home, and once we got home, i just sat on the sofa. I'm hoping this is my one illness this winter. Knock on MDF. The next two races are close to home. Hopefully there will be lots of people i know at the races.

This is my office

2007-11-14T11:06:00.001-05:00

Can you tell we make plaques?

One step forward, two steps back

2007-11-12T08:25:00.000-05:00

9th place yesterday. Kind of disappointing. I felt okay before the race, we stayed in Macon Saturday night instead of driving 2-1/2 hours early sunday, so i was able to sleep till 7 get up eat and get to the race. I think i ate too much, too close to the start, since i was feeling a little full before the start. The fullness didn't bother me much once the race started, i pulled my usual anti-hole shot (need to work on that) and i started passing people to move up a few spots. The soil in this part of the south has a lot of sand in it, and it doesnn't take too many bikes going over it to start loosening up. Some of the tight turns became slick pretty quick. There was a long sandy beach run followed by some switchbacks up the embankment with a steep finish. I was surprised that i could ride the steep part each lap. I thought these old legs would have given up by lap 4. Next week we go to Augusta, it should be a fun weekend. We are hoping to see sara's cousin in Columbia on Saturday. i hope the legs are faster.

On the way home from the race we stopped off at the Summit Racing Equipment store. I was checking out some new headers for PAPA, trying to figure out a way to keep the truck from eating starters. I think Ceramic coated headers and a high torque starter (smaller) should do the trick. We will probably give the motor a thourough check to make sure it's all good....did someone say new cam....maybe... I need a truck that goes whump......whump.......whump.... at idle.

no pictures this weekend, i forgot the camera. Maybe i'll find some on the web again.

Busy Busy weekend, football, concert, family, party, bike race and b-day

2007-11-05T10:49:00.000-05:00

Wow, what a weekend. Thank goodness we had an extra hour to squeeze it all in. Thursday night I watched my team SUCK!!!! Friday night we went to see They Might Be Giants in little five points. (Thanks for the tickets Lisa and Paul) Saturday afternoon we had a big family gathering with my moms side of the family. Saturday night we went to a party at a friends house. John and Veronica had a fun little shindig, Sara and I were a little disappointed that there wasn't any Spotted Dick though. Oh well.

Sunday i rolled out to Monroe, GA for the third race of the GA Cross series. Fun course, really flat though, lots of tight turns through the pine trees. (anyone know of a tread pattern that will hook up in pine straw?????) Even though i wanted to get a better start, i was still pretty far back right at the start, but i worked my way through the crowd and even passed my usual spot and finished 7th....WOO-HOOO!!!!

Sunday was also my dad's b-day, so after walking the dog, we went to my parents house to cook them dinner and help celebrate. 66....yikes!

HALLOWEENIE!

2007-10-31T08:11:00.000-04:00

MMM, another halloween another year of not dressing up. Someday maybe we will have kids so we can get some of the excitement back in the smaller holidays. If i were to dress up, maybe i could wear the same costume i sport every weekend....the fat, 35+, slow, wanna be bike racer. Do these shorts make my ass look big?? I should study guys like Cippo and learn the italian way of making everything look cool. This guy even looked cool asking people to help push him up Brasstown Bald. That is truly a gift.

I don't think i could have looked any dumber in this picture, at least Mark had the good sense to hide behind the microphone. LA was at the TDG that year, but who cares about him, Cippo is a god.

Georgia Cross Race 2, Fort Yargo

2007-10-29T08:21:00.000-04:00

Another week another 8th place finish i think (I didn't update the blog after the last race, but i got 8th instead of ninth) I didn't stay around to see the results posted, but Sara thinks i was 8th again. The race was at Fort Yargo State Park in Winder Georgia. My friend Chris lives right down the road so he came over with his dog Mia to help Sara and Katie cheer me on. (Nice bag Chris) The race went well, I got off to a strong start and passed those pesky folks that always out sprint me at the start. The course was much more technical than last week, some roots, lot's of off camber turns, a sand pit, and a short run up after the barriers. My only dissappointment is that i seem to be in this "no mans land" between the really fast guys and the slower guys, actually i guess it's just that i am off the back of the fast group. I need to work on this, next week i will really focus on the start and see if i can stay with the front bunch for a bit. Sara took pictures again this weekend, the battery died, so there aren't many.

I saw Mr. Russell's IF planet cross doppleganger yesterday, from a distance the Orange/white/black team paint scheme could have been confused for the Orange/white/blue. This bike had a carbon fork, which would be nice, apparently it dropped 3/4 of a lb from the bike weight. gotta get one.

More pics

2007-10-23T09:22:00.000-04:00

Georgia Cross race 1, Horse Park

2007-10-21T22:06:00.001-04:00

So i had my first Georgia Cross race today out at the Georgia Int. Horse Park. Fun course, very fast, but very long. We only did 5 laps in 45+ minutes. I raced the 35+ group and finished 9th(i think) out of 24+ people. The tubular tires seemed to work pretty good. I felt pretty strong, i just need to get a better start. As usual.

Rambling Wreck Parade, like many things, it isn't as good as it used to be

2007-10-21T21:46:00.000-04:00

Sara and I went down to Georgia Tech this past weekend for the Rambling Wreck parade (homecoming parade) When i was in school, I was always involved with building the wreck. Jim, Chris, Tate, and me were the main people that worked on the wrecks, but we always had help from others. When we were in school the wrecks were noisy, everyone had a vehicle in each class, and people actually put a little effort into them. I told Sara stories about the Ford with a 351 windsor, the Belair with the upside down headers (pointing forward), the pontiac, the mercury with the 429, the chevy with the 4barrel 350, the dodge aspen or the renault 1.8 (although this wasn't actually a wreck....we wrecked it) We had a bunch of really nice, loud wrecks that we actually spent time making. This year....almost all of the wrecks sucked!!!!!! Come on, anyone can attach a frame to a car and put cardboard on the side. The contraptions were just as bad...bicycles are not wrecks...we need engines smoke and noise. Some people actually used their own cars with just paper on them so sad. I guess i might have to see if i have the time next year to get involved with all 10 members of my fraternity. Looks like they are having some issues with membership. I think they should start letting the alumni enter wrecks, at least we could get the parade back the way it used to be.
One more sad note...the only cars to spin their tires were the GT motorsports cars. Very disappointing. The picture is of one of the few fixed bodies, if not the only one, that was like they used to be.

If that is what jet setting is like...I'm too old.

2007-10-16T09:27:00.000-04:00

Whirlwind trip to Miami this past weekend. Went down to see Georgia Tech struggle through another motivational struggle and come out with a Victory. A High School friend of mine flew in from California for the game. He went to Miami. It was a fun trip, good to see Steve, and nice to meet his friend Ric and his family. I spent only about 24 hours in town, stayed up late drank more beer in a day than i normally do in a month (and sadly that is not that much). I was worn out by the time i got home. The Orange Bowl isn't the nicest place to watch a football game, but at least they sell beer during the first half. It seems like most of the people that go to the football game that sit outside of the visitor's or student's sections are not actually Miami Alums or students. I think the Miami fan base is similar to that of UGA or VT...(insert your prefered second rate college that every redneck in town roots for), about 90% of the fans you see, didn't go there. I'm not trying to be a snob or anything, but it is easier to take crap from a fan who actually went to the school rather than some guy that picked his favorite team out of peer pressure or because Wally mart had a sale on VT stuff. I know it is a money making proposition for the schools to sell the stuff, but if you want to pick a sports team purely on color scheme, geographic location, or just because they are good that year, stick with pro sports. (now if you chose to attend your school based on color schemes, good season, geographic location, or because they offered AG 305 - tractor backing i that is okay...at least you went there.)
It has been my experience that the "blue light special" fans are usually not positive representatives of the school. So in that aspect....I'm glad that you don't see that many fans of my school in these parts. You know that 9 times out of 10 you can walk up to them and actually talk about Tech. Maybe even throw in a quick..."What's the good word?"

TO HELL WITH GEORGIA!!!

Parting Ways With an Old Friend

2007-10-11T08:10:00.001-04:00

It is one of those difficult decisions we have to make. Do we hang on to our old stuff or do we get rid of it. Now that i work in an 80,000 sq. ft. building I'm sure i could find a place to keep everything i own and lots of new stuff. But what good would it do me. I've toyed with the idea of hanging on to the Audi, it's a fun car, fast(for a 4 cyl. turbo) and still in good shape. But what is the point of hanging on to an extra vehicle that you won't drive much. I don't think the Audi would make a good project car, I need something older with fewer computers and electric gadgets. So it is with a heavy heart i have decided to sell my faithful car of 4 years. It will be sad, but maybe to make myself feel better....I'll buy something new for my bike. I would go so far as to say a new bike, but Sara reads this blog, and i'm not sure she would agree that another bike is "needed". (you don't have to be hungry to want a doughnut, you don't have to need a new bike to get one.)

I'm flying to Miami on Saturday morning to watch the football game with my high school friend Steve. Wish GT luck.

Cylcocross....the next level. (over-coming fear of the nut cracker)

2007-10-03T12:17:00.001-04:00

Yesterday i finally turned the corner on my re-mount. For years it has been my not so private shame. I always dabbed my left foot on the re-mount. Sad i know, i have been sooooo close for soooo long, but i just couldn't let go. Something deep down (actually about right in the middle of my body if you know what i mean) wouldn't let me make the leap of faith. But yesterday i told myself, just do it you big wuss. It works!!! I still cringe each time i do it, but maybe that will go away with some more practice. A few of my attempts i was missing the inner thigh and landing squarely on the saddle with all my tonnage. This led me to another first....I rolled my first tubular off of the rim. I'm looking forward to the availability of the Hutchinson tubeless ready tires now. Seems like it will be much easier to run stan's than to glue tires to rims.

4/5/08 RVV with SST

2007-09-10T10:56:00.000-04:00

Saturday April 5, 2008 is the day of the cycletourism version of the Ronde Van Vlaanderen. A day where 18,000 people (mostly waffle makers) head out on the famous race course that covers the north west part of Belgium known as Flanders. (Hi dily ho neighbor) I did a shortened version of this course in 2005 with Mr. Russell, but i have always wanted to go back the weekend of the actual race to do the full 260km. In 2007 the entry fee was 15 euro ($20) i assume it will be close next year. It turns out there is a shuttle from the finish to the starting point in the morning. This is a relief since i was trying to figure out how to get back out to Brugge after the long ride. I had this image of sitting on a train all stinky cruising back from Brussells. (That would have been soooo euro) After the ride on Sat, I want to head over to some of the climbs and watch the actual race go by on Sunday.

Here is my time schedule so far. Let me know what ya think:
Thursday 4/3/08 fly to belgium and arrive morning of 4/4/08
4/4/08 put the bike together, visit with friends, drink beer, eat fries (mmmmm fries)
4/5/08 get up really really really early, head to the finish west of Brussells and catch the shuttle to Brugge. Do the ride...it's only 160 miles. I was thinking it would be cool to get a group of 4 people to go, that way we could have a decent paceline and show those Waffle makers what for!!!
4/5/08 evening more beer...lot's and more fries maybe some waffles
4/6/08 head back out to watch the actual bike race (note to self: bring beer and fries) maybe a little bike ride on sunday morning/evening

After that i haven't quite figured it out. There is another race on Wednesday, and it may be fun to spend a few more days in Belgium, riding and sight seeing.

I know airfare isn't cheap, but at least it isn't too bad in April. Let me know if you're interested and maybe a probability of being able to do it. We can try and keep the cost as low as possible, maybe just airfare, food and and a rental car. oh and about 30euro for the bike ride

How I spent my Labour day weekend - by Sam Thompson

2007-09-07T09:27:00.000-04:00

It was the usual sticky hot summer afternoon last Friday when Sara, Katie and I jumped into the Audi with 3 bikes on the roof headed for the Valley for the Labour day weekend. We each had different plans for the weekend, Sara was planning on visiting friends in Richmond while i was planning to visit some friends and suffer with them for many hours on the mtn bike.

SM100: This was my third time doing the Shenandoah Mountain 100, the two previous times i finished at about 10-1/2 hours. The funny thing was, each race seemed so different (pain in different spots, trouble on other spots) but i got the same time. My goal this year was to get into the nines. I was vague about this goal, I said in the nines, but in my heart i was hoping 9-1/2. I didn't really make any special effort to train for this above my normal training. I have been riding my mountain bike more this year than previous years, and most of the races i have done were around the 30 mile mark. I figured i'm a little faster than i was two years ago, i should be able to improve my time. On the plus side i did break into the nines, 9:59:20 was my official time i believe. But inside i'm a little dissappointed, i wanted to do it faster. I should feel good about it though, i was dead tired at the end and everything hurt. IF i do it again, i will train a little harder.
RACE PREP: Rule # 1 don't mess with stuff like your shock pressure the night before the race, Especially if you descend like a little girl!!!!! I added some air to my F100R the night before cause it felt soft when i was riding my bike around on the road. (WHAT AN IDIOT!!) the front end seemed really stiff and just shook the hell out of my arms. I've been riding this bike for a few months and i feel like i can descend better on it...with the softer air setting.
THE RACE: Mr. Russell was nice enough to ferry me out to the race early sunday. We arrived about 6 so we had a few minutes to hang around before the start. We did learn that if you want to dress as a baboon for halloween, you can wear your PI shorts inside out so the red pad is showing....It's a good look. (good show Bill) The race went off at 6:30 the usual mad dash of crazys that think that the .25 mile gravel road from the campground will make or break their race. Once out on the road i started to pick up the pace to try and beat the traffic on the first single track. There was still a good bit of fire road and climbing before we got there, but the fewer in front the better. I saw Kevin from Tri-power on the road, and Bill from tri-power just past with water crossing with the first flat of the day. As i was moving through the crowds on the dirt road, i saw a few other folks i know, had a few brief words. That was about all of the fun for the day, soon it was up the grind to the radio tower, down narrow back, pace line down tilman and up the road to the dam. Lynn was like a long slow conga line. I walked most of it, since i was able to keep on the wheel of the person in front of me and if they bobbled, i didn't have to worry about falling. I shot down Wolf in my usual pokey fashion (is that smoke coming from my brakes????) Hit tilman, blew through aid station 2 and over the paved climb and up hankey. I was also slow going down Dowells. (i'm sensing a theme here) Filled everything at aid station 3 and headed out to 250. I passed Floyd Landis coming out of Braleys....at that point he was about 1.5-2 hours up on me...kind of sucks. After the mountain house/braleys loop, i started the death climb, which i actually did okay on this year. I was tired, but i stuck on a guys wheel and let him pull me up. It was nice to see Mark (the lube man) at aid station 5, and the cola hit the spot. The climb after Aid station 5 sucks....I can't say this enough...it is just mean for people to tell others that it is rolling....it is a climb...plain and simple. Once at the top i knew what was left, i just focused on getting through the last two climbs. At the bottom of the last descent, my watch said i had 10 minutes to finish, i hamered that fire road and the single track through the campground and just barely made it.
All in all it was fun. Thanks to the Tri-power folks and support crew for letting me linger around. Thanks to Mark for transport and support. I'm glad that race is over....sheesh.

New Wheels...

2007-08-31T09:57:00.001-04:00

Here are some pics of the new Company Truck. 6.4L diesel, 4wd, 20" wheels. Who needs those Testosterone patches anyway

Here is a pic with the offices of BRMW in view.

Warm up for SM100....RAMPAGE!!!

2007-08-30T13:14:00.001-04:00

To warm up for the SM100 I decided to do the Black Bear Rampage in TN this past weekend. It was a 42 mile race on lots of fun single track near the Ocoee river...where they did the olympic kayaking (or so they tell me). I don't know about you, but when i think of rivers and the south only one word comes to mind....Deliverance. Fortunately, when you get enough cyclist together, the spandex scares away the bad elements. The race rolled off about 8:30ish.(actually 9) The first wave was pro/expert/pathetic 36 year old thinking he is faster than he really is class. I hit the woods about 8 back and kept a really nice pace for the first 7 miles of single track. This was the only part of the course i had done before. I hit the first descent and i was trying to go as fast as i could, unfortunately i tried to change lines and kept moving till the right until i moved off the trail. I guess i scrubbed enough speed prior to hitting the tree since neither my bike or me were hurt. (my butt hurt the next few days, apparently that is the part that hit the trail) I was still moving along pretty good until the rain started. I'm not very good in the rain, and i had not prepared my bike for rain so this was when my race slowed down. With all of the dirt/sand in the drive train, i felt like i was on the verge of chain suck anytime i was in the middle ring. Fortunately it didn't happen, but i was reluctant to really push the rpms on the cranks. I took it easy over the roots and ended up rolling in at 3:28 i think. 6th out of 9 in my age group. I know if it had been dry i would have been much faster. I had to save my self for the SM100.

I'm not sure what i was thinking by wearing a white jersey...I'll check the weather this week so i don't make the same mistake again.

dry start

muddy finish

Check out the cheesy smile underneath all that mud....Russell eat your heart out.

HAPPY B-DAY MR. RUSSELL

2007-08-22T07:58:00.001-04:00

Boy these youngsters seem to grow up soooooo fast. Just a few pics off of the old hard drive:

I need to work on my cheesy smile

It's a 185 miles to DC, we've got full bottles of water, half a can of Dip, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses....hit it!!!
Apparently it takes about 190 miles or so to keep Mark from cheesing it up for the Camera.
Hope you have a great day.

Dogless Dog Days

2007-08-15T12:42:00.000-04:00

Here we are halfway through August, the mercury just seems to stay at the top of the thermometer. This has been the hottest summer in a few years, next week it should cool off....I hope. It's been tough talking myself into heading out for a ride at 5 in the blistering heat, I guess we are lucky Katie is still at Camp Michigan, otherwise she would have to suffer in this as well. She is coming home this weekend hopefully this will be an end to the Dogless days and the Dog days.

I'm heading out for a ride tonight, I'm debating between a road ride with lots of hills, or a mountain bike ride with lots of ...uh...mountains. With the Black Bear Rampage and SM100 coming up, the mountain biking seems like the way to go. I'm hoping i make a good showing at both races, I know lots of folks doing the SM100 so the pressure will be on. But as both of my blog readers know....I always look good. It should be a good time.

Here is a little pic to help think of cooler climates. This is the summit of the Col de la Croix de Fer (in the French Alps) in May of 2005. 80 degrees at the bottom, brr cold at 2067 meters. I froze my butt off that day going back down. That would be a welcome feeling today.

I was watching NASCAR...SOBER!?!

2007-08-14T08:23:00.000-04:00

Pretty scary stuff. I'm really not sure what caused this strange behavior. Back in college, i did watch a little nascar. I've always been a car nut and i love racing. I love all kinds of racing, off-road, WRC, F1, ALMS, IRL, CART, Touring cars, and even the big trucks in europe. But as many people realize, there is a certain quality to your average die-hard NASCAR fan that is not so desireable to the Bathing masses. I like to go to the races as long as the tickets are free. The crowds are such a hassle....
But back to the reason i was watching Nascar this past Sunday. Sunday's race was at a road course, and it's much more exciting to watch cars turn left and right than just left. But the road course alone wasn't enough to get my trigger happy remote control finger to stop on the race. I wanted to see if Juan Pablo Montoya could upstage all of the Nascar regulars and win another race. The weird part about this is that I didn't like JPM when he raced F1. I am a schumacher fan, mainly because he drove a ford early in his F1 career, but later just because he was so dominant. I always felt that JPM was out of control and would crash people out of the race or run into other cars. Those "qualities" came to mind when they announced he was leaving to race cars with fenders. I thought to myself....this is the perfect type of racing for him. I really hope he keeps improving, it would be great to see a foreign born Nascar champ. Maybe they should play the national anthem of the winner at the end of each race like they do in F1.
JPM was knocked out of the race this past weekend trying to block a car for position, I'm surprised that Nascar turns a blind eye to all of that contact, but they seem to be more like NBA officials more concerned about TV and scoring than really a fair contest. Just look at all the mystery cautions that go up.

Anyhow, I have no idea what the Nascar schedule is, but if there is another road course, i'll be pulling for JPM. I can't believe i'm rooting for him...but it's not the end of the world.

36!!!

2007-08-03T07:55:00.000-04:00

Another year has passed... In the grand scheme of things i realize i am not that old, but i am now twice as old as i was when i graduated high school...OUCH! In two years i will have been out of high school for TWENTY years. It's all good tho, i have a wonderful wife, a family that cares about me, and some really great friends. What more could you want (except maybe a 953 SS road frame). I hope everyone (both people that read my blog) has a great day. Got out and eat some Mexican food tonight in honor of my b-day. You know i am.

I'm on top of the world!

A few pics from the trip

2007-07-31T10:41:00.000-04:00

I had already successfully exited the boat when Sara requested that we get back in for a photo...that is when i took a little dip in the prince william sound. Brrrr.
the bob worked out great, it was little top heavy tho. It was pretty chilly, a nice change for July cycling.
Denali (Mt. McKinley) came out of the clouds at 4 am. Not very dark for that time of morning. We didn't see the moon for 2 weeks.
this is the harding ice fields. a 4 mile hike straight up past the Exit glacier leads to these. There is a great restaurant at the end of the road near here. Salmon Bake. mmmm good food.
Julie, Jerry, Sara and Me standing on the Root Glacier in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

ALASKA!

2007-07-23T03:08:00.000-04:00

We have been up here in AK for a little over a week. We've been all over, Denali, Valdez, Seward, Anchorage, we've been having a good time. I didn't bring the camera cable so i can't post any picks today, but sara took a couple of me on the Stickel towing the bob with 50lbs of camping gear back to Wonder Lake Campground in Denali. Lot's of mosquitos there....lots of them. And don't just try to spray the Deet on the bare skin parts, they will bite you through your socks....it was just nuts. We did get to see Denali mountain while at the wonder lake campground, it came out of the clouds around 4 am and stayed clear till about 11 am, lot's of pic's were taken. There was also the excitement of a moose walking through the campground one evening. The thing was HUGE!! We didn't see any bears in Denali, but while we were gone the last week, Sara's sister had two in her back yard in Anchorage....we could have stayed here to see them... We've been doing a lot of the camping thing, not too much bathing going on, we are lucky if there is running water at the campsites, and there are never showers. We payed $4 each last thursday to shower at a laundromat...(a highlight of my life) We are back in Anchorage tonight and we are heading to Wrangell mountain tomorrow with Julie and Jerry. We fly home on Friday...hopefully i'll get some pics up next weekend.
BTW...the BOB Ibex is very cool, with 50 lbs on it you know it's there, but i did do some riding with only about 30 on it and you barely knew it was back there.

Hope all is well in the lower 48, i'll bring home some mosquito bites for ya!

MOVED!

2007-07-12T16:14:00.001-04:00

We have settled in to a little (actually tiny is a better word) place in Jasper, GA. It sure is nice to have the wife and dog around full time. It is also nice to not see my parents every night after work. Don't get me wrong, i love my parents, but I think my parents will agree that there is a reason your kids move out.

Oh, i also think that i could have gone the rest of my life without living in an apartment again. Now this place isn't as small as my place was in Belgium, but it is quite the shock after living in a house for the past 8 years. Boy i hope someone buys my house in VA soon so that i can start looking for one down here. I need to have one by this winter so that i can talk my friends from VA into coming down to ride with me. Maybe watch a little TDG. We don't even have enough space for me to keep my bike stuff here. I'm only allowed to have one bike in the house at a time. On the plus side...I keep the rest at work...uh...i'm gonna go out in the shop to work on something, don't come looking for me.

Here is a pic of our apartment building. We are on the top floor. Swimming pools...movie stars...
here is a pic from the parking lot in front of our apartment. The building on the right is the local hospital. The red brick building on the left, with the green roof, is where my wife works. Must be nice huh? It's like .2 miles. And she has been a good girl too, she rides her bike to work every day. LUCKY!!

We are off on Holiday starting this weekend, heading up to AK to do some camping, biking and hiking on our own and with sara's sis and b-n-l. should be fun. I got the Stickel back just in time to take it up there. We've also got a B.O.B. waiting for us to use there too. I would take my computer and try to post pics as we go, but i seriously doubt i'll have that many chances with an internet connection.

Sara's Big Day

2007-06-13T14:12:00.001-04:00

Sara flew in last week on her birthday. Being the awesome husband that i am, i made her two(2) birthday cakes. Below is a picture of one of them. I won't tell you how old she is...you do the "math". I surprised her by meeting up with my whole family at a restaurant in Atlanta. Then up to my sisters for some cake.

Here is Sara with our nieces getting ready to blow out the candles. (Gotta go with the number candles, individual candles equalling the age is a fire hazard)
We even had a little bit of entertainment at the party.

IT'S NEVER TOO EARLY TO THINK ABOUT CROSS SEASON

2007-06-13T14:02:00.000-04:00

I decided i would give those tubular tyres a shot. I was able to convince my Brother-n-law that i could make better use of the Helium Clinchers that he had in his basement. With some help from Les at ECBA i was able to get new Helium Tubular rims and build up the wheels. Les also helped me out with gluing up some used tyres so i could give them a shot and break in the wheels. Might have to buy a fancy new set of tyres for the race season. I wanna be that old guy bringing up the rear of the Masters race with some high $$ tyres...wonder if Costco carries Dugast??

7th place BABY!!!

2007-06-12T08:49:00.001-04:00

So i fianlly had a good race. Actually i think i finally had a race on a course that suited me. This past Sunday Sara and I headed up to the top of Fort Mountain, which is only about 18 miles from Ellijay, a local race....WOO-HOO!! Until a few weeks ago i had never ridden at Ft. Mt., It's not that far from here, but there are other (more fun) trails closer to town, plus they charge to ride on the trails (on top of a charge for parking) The course was about 6 miles in length and had a profile like a V. The first half was all downhill with one slight climb, very rocky and lots of switchbacks, the second half was just as rocky, but all up hill. There was also one set of 5 switchbacks that were so steep i ran up them each time.
The race started on a paved road with a 1/2 mile climb before we headed into the woods, knowing that i would not be the fastest heading down the hill, i started off in the second row. When we hit the woods i was in about 11th or 12th out of 14. I managed to hold that sad spot throughout the down hill, I may have lost one spot, but i was trying to go fast darn it...I just don't like pain!!! Then the fun began, the climb. Not sure what it is about climbing, maybe it's the suffering, but i've always been able to do it, i may not be the fastest, but i rarely get passed going uphill. I started catching people on the climb, my heart was racing, i think it was still going fast from the excitement of the start. Even though the trail was very rocky, it was pretty wide, and you could pick your way through to pass. I was able to move myself up into 7th spot on the climb and pretty much hang there the rest of the race. There was one guy that kept passing me on the downhill, but i always managed to pull away on the climb and keep my spot.

I'm happy with the result, I think i'm getting a bit quicker on the technical stuff....we'll see. I need to start ramping up the distance to get ready for the SM100 in Sept. Have you Sent in your entry yet???

Suspend the rest...But let Hamilton race, he's already been punished

2007-05-09T20:19:00.000-04:00

Whether you admit you did it or you don't, if you serve your sentence, you shouldn't be punished again. Does anyone else think it is completely unfair to suspend Tyler Hamilton??? Last year the WADA blow hard said if it was true about Hamilton, that he would be banned for life. What the....?!? Am i missing something? They found him guilty of doping and suspended him for two years, now they figure out who helped him and boom! your gone. I really don't care if he races again or not, but that should be left up to the teams to determine if he is good enough to race. We can only assume he is clean now, and what ever happened before he was punished is in the past. But i guess there is no Double jeopardy in cycling. Cyclist don't need rights.

On the bright side...we can at leas.t confirm that he is guilty and that he doesn't have a vanishing twin...or maybe it was the twin that did it....kind of like that movie "the prestige"

Double Squishy

2007-05-08T09:07:00.000-04:00

I bought a new bike. An Ironhorse Azure Expert. This one i plan to keep for a while. I was looking for something with the DW link suspension or similar (like the Giant anthem). This was up for sale on the performance website and after a price match and a coupon the deal was done. It's not super light, but it rides very nice, and the suspension seems to work as advertised. The timing was great too since my Giant NRS decided to destroy a bearing in the rear suspension during my last race.

Nice place, but we had to pass....we wanted 50 bathrooms.

2007-05-01T07:53:00.000-04:00

Sara and I did a little house hunting the other weekend. We found this little place, it's quite a drive from Ellijay, but it seemed nice enough. Heck, they have mountain bike trails. We had to pass tho, we were looking for a few more bathrooms (we both have tiny tanks you know) and there wasn't a garage...what the...did they build this thing before cars or what.

Tour de Georia TT start

2007-04-19T15:45:00.000-04:00

Here is a link to all my pics: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8KYuWLZs2YjI

At My Age, I'm Just Happy That I Can Move the Day After.

2007-04-16T21:08:00.000-04:00

I made the trek out to Athens, GA on sunday for the second race of the Georgia Mountian bike series. Normally i wouldn't travel to that god forsaken part of the country since it the home of the University(sic) of Georgia. I am thankful for the recirculate button on my AC in the car so i didn't have to smell the stench that rises up from that place. The race was about 20 minutes south of town at the Heritage Park. It would have been a really fun course in the dry, but with the rain and the large number of roots, it wasn't much fun. I realized after slipping and sliding over many, many, many roots, hitting a few trees, and going ass over elbows into a creek embankment,(in the first half lap) that i had the wrong tires, too much pressure and not enough skill to make it around this course without killing myself. I had serious thoughts about bailing, but i finished the first lap and stuck it out for the next two. I let a bunch of air out of my tires and the trail started to dry out a little as the ride (notice i'm not calling it a race since i was soooo far back) wore on so it started to get better. I finished 13 out of 18 (14 finishers, i think i loaned my CO2 can to the guy that finished behind me...this close to DFL)
I've realized that i need to just focus on my skills and do whatever it takes to make me more comfortable. If that means running a heavy front tire with a huge footprint, so be it. I will probably turn faster laps with it rather than a 300 gram lighter tire. I'm afraid it may be too late in life to sharpen the skills....we'll see. I've been mountain biking a lot more and i still hope that i can finish the mtn. 100 in 9 hours or so this year.

BTW: no serious wounds, a few scrapes, lumps and bruises. nothing that my childrens tylenol won't fix.

STEEL IS REAL BABY!!!

2007-04-13T19:53:00.000-04:00

So in case you were ever wondering where I got my e-mail address....here it is. This is PAPA. Papa was my first car. My dad drove it back out to California after my grandfather (Papa) passed away. Papa bought the truck new and i'm hoping to keep it in the family for many years to come. When i turned 16 i started driving it. At that time it had the stock 352 c.i. V8 with a 2bbl carb and a set of desert dueler off road tires on steel wheels. I still managed to turn the rear tires into slicks within a year. We built a 390 with a 4bbl carb, headers and a mild cam to put in the truck. We then pulled the motor, interior, bumpers and grills and had him painted. The original color was desert tan and following a quote from Papa "it could be cat shit brown for all i care as long as it works" (at least my dad claims that as the actual quote) we stuck with a tan color. It is actually close to an 88 ford light chestnut beige. We had the grill and bumpers chromed (they were white) and bought some wheels and some new tires. (I had to buy the tires...what the???? it's not my fault 70% of the weight is on the front wheels) We haven't really played with Papa in a few years, but now that i am in Georgia one of my projects is to freshen it up and drive it on a regular basis. I'm looking forward to cruising in a vehicle that gets 10mpg with $3.00/gallon gas. I'm thinking i need some dropped front I-beams, put the rear axle on top of the leaf springs and tuck some 20's in the wheel wells. Rollin' Hard, Old Style.

Those Crickets keep sneaking back up on me!!

2007-03-28T08:35:00.000-04:00

I know i haven't posted in over a week. It seems like all i do now is work, bike and drive home to see Sara. This weekend i'll be in GA. I've got a friend from College coming over so we can fix his mtn bike so he can start riding again. It's always good to help get people back into cycling. After we work on his bike, we'll probably go for a ride, I might drag my dad along too.

Sunday i was toying with the idea of racing at Tsali, but Mike from Cartecay Bike shop, http://www.cartecaybikes.com/ said they were going to do a grueling 35 mile ride with lots of climbing. That sounds like the ride for me.

I promise i will work on keeping my blog up to date. Although i did join Netflix again, so that may cut into my blogging time.

14th Out of 25...not bad for the first race.

2007-03-18T21:51:00.000-04:00

I spent the night in Atlanta Saturday night to shorten the drive down to Macon for the first race of the Georgia series. The course was made up of tight twisty single track that went up and down like a roller coaster. There were only a few spots where you could get any real speed. It was kind of like Camp Hilbert, maybe slightly hillier and with many more twists and turns. The loop was 5.5 miles and the race was 5 LAPS!!! That's 27.5 miles to you and me Rus. I started the race with my typical bad start, I was middle pack until the rider in front of me hit a cone and i had to stop, then i settled into DFL 100 yards into the race. Once i finally got the diesel up to speed i started to pick off other riders. As usual, i was strong on the hills and the flats, but left a lot to be desired on the downhills. I think i had too much air in the front tire, or the tread wasn't that great cause i washed the front wheel out 3 times on the first lap. It could have been my error too, but i'd rather blame the tire. I knew it was going to be a long race, so i pushed it close to the red line, but left a little to make sure i could go the distance. My hammies cramped up on the last lap, but i just pushed through it cause i knew it was almost over.
I need to work on my fitness some more, it's been tough since i've been in GA. But thanks to daylight savings i can actually get some rides in. Another bonus is that my Parents live on top of a mountain, so every loop from home or ride from work to home ends with a 1500ft climb.

BTW: i only ran the front kenda, it worked out fine except for the pressure/tread issue. I did a warm up lap with both of them, but the rear lost 20 psi in 30 minutes. I guess i need to swish the stans around a little more to see if i can seal it.

Keep well.

First Mounatin Bike Race Coming Up!!

2007-03-16T11:04:00.000-04:00

I'm getting fired up for the first race of the season. I'm heading down to Macon, GA on Sunday. I splurged this year and got my Norba license to go along with my Road and Cyclo-cross. I better do a few road races to make it worth while, i can race cross and mtn bikes on just the Norba. I bet ya in a few years it will be an extra 30 for a cross license too.

I'm going to give this new tire set-up a shot. This was Jeffro's idea last year, I've got a set of Kenda Karma LR3 DTC 2.0's that i mounted on tubless rims with Stan's. The tires weigh 450-480 grams a piece which should save me at least 200 grams a tire. I guess we will see how they hold up. I'd hate to DNF my first race. I guess it could be worse, i could have a little trouble like Mr. Horvath last weekend. Maybe i should bring some extra shorts and extra wheels. Do they have pits in XC mtn biking like they do in Cross????

I found the Creator!!

2007-03-09T09:22:00.000-05:00

It turned out that Steve wasn't as hard to find as i had feared. I was able to get a phone number from Thomas at SBC, http://www.shenandoahbicycle.com/home.html, and i tried Steve's old e-mail that he still checks. I talked to him last night and he is going to see what he can do to fix the frame. The nice thing is that the frame breaks into two pieces and is easier/cheaper to ship. I'm just sending him the back half. I'll put a fork and a wheel on the front half and gallop around the basment like i'm riding a toy horse while the back is being fixed. Actually i am transfering parts to my 29er frame so it will have gears.

So all is well in GA now, hopefully i get steve's address via email today so i can ship it out.

Just for the record, the seat tube setup on my bike was something out of the norm for Steve's bikes. With the exception of this problem the bike has been great, and thanks to Steve it should be again.

p.s. I didn't eat any food at all yesterday thanks to Mr. Horvath's comment. I'm shooting for 140 lbs. (I could probably do okay with only one kidney and one lung, wonder what they weigh)

O Stickel Where are't Thou!!

2007-03-07T22:22:00.000-05:00

I found Steve. I don't want to give a negative impression of Steve or the quality of the Frame so i figured i would pull the pic's. I'll put up some new pics when i get the bike rolling again.

Congrats Mr. Russell

2007-03-02T07:48:00.000-05:00

Now get out there and kick someBUTT!!!

Another walk down memory lane

2007-02-28T10:11:00.000-05:00

Sunday i stopped by Roswell Bicycles. This is where is bought my first (and second) mountain bike. I used to go there so often, many of the staff knew my name...which i think is a good thing. I was checking out the selection (they usually have a ton of stuff, plus so high dollar stuff) Todd stopped by and said hello. Todd is the owner, and i was impressed that he remembered me. He was helping the other customers, so he couldn't chat but i was wondering if he still had his mustangs and if he had added any more to the collection. They had the 2006 anthems on sale, they looked like good deals, but i didn't really care for the component mix. The 2007's are where it's at. The Anthem Advanced and Anthem 0 look to be out of my price range, but the Anthem 1 may be just right. Even though it's not yellow, it will make a fine replacement for the NRS. Too bad i didn't win more money in Vegas... We'll have to see how this mtn bike series goes, maybe i can get on a team that gets a discount on Giants...who knows. Wait...I haven't checked my lottery ticket today, this could be the day.

Ipod Vending Machine

2007-02-24T12:35:00.000-05:00

It's three AM, you've been gambling for a while, and you think, "Man i really need an ipod and some accessories". But where can i get that stuff at this time of night. BOOM! is the answer my friend ....The IPOD vending machine. This caught my eye on the last day of my stay here. Just swipe your card and buy an ipod, headphones, and other accessories. Maybe you want to lavish that woman of the night that you invited over with a small gift...here it is.

VEGAS BABY!!

2007-02-23T10:27:00.000-05:00

So i'm in Vegas for my first business trip with the new company. We have a booth at the ARA (awards and recognition assoc.) Who would of thought we have so many award options. I was thinking that trophies and plaques were just an american thing, but apparently its North/South American. We have had a ton of Canadians and Mexicans coming by that buy our products or want to. It's been pretty productive so far.
I was up $60 wednesday night when i went to bed, up $105 when i went to dinner, and only up $25 when i went to bed. I'm still up, but i am not holding my breath. I've been hitting the Roulette wheel. Betting the easy stuff on the outside. I just wish the drink service was faster.

Yesterday i hit the hotel gym at 6:15, it was packed, no open treadmills or bikes. I brought a hat and some gloves for this occasion and i hit the street for a run. The lows are in the 40's, but i had a nice 7 mile run along the strip. Really flat (except for the stairs to the bridges over the streets) It's very peaceful out there early in the morning. I only saw one person that i assumed was a lady of the night heading home.

I'll try to take some pics today.

A moment of Weakness (Wanna buy some parts?)

2007-02-20T08:40:00.000-05:00

So i have a problem...an addiction really. I like to find deals on close-out bicycles, buy them and then part them out. My goal is to break even on money, while keeping some of the parts. I know that there is a risk that i won't get my money back, but even if i do end up spending a some money, it works out in the end that i get some nice stuff cheap.

This past weekend while visiting my wife, we took a little trip to c'ville. As with any trip to any shopping area, there is always at least one visit to a bike shop. On this trip there were two. My first stop was c'ville bike and tri to look at some nice FS cross country bikes. I'm thinking the 2002 Giant NRS may need a replacement so i was looking at the options. I like the Anthem and the Epic, but i may just race this year on the Giant and my hardtail and save up for a new ride next year. Maybe someone will put some yellow paint on their higher end bikes. (If anyone sees any sweet deals on an Anthem...let me know) The next stop was performance, this is my favorite place to find bikes on sale that i can part out. I had been eyeing a Fuji Professional for a while that had been in the shop for a while, and i kept waiting for the price to come down. The bike has a full Dura-Ace group with decent wheels and a nice frame and fork, the only problem is that the frame is a 52cm and the cranks are 170mm. Other than that, the price was too good to pass up. Now both the cross and the road bike will be rolling 10spd.

Anyone interested in some DA cranks?? I'll make you a good deal, or i'll swap them for some 175's

BACK WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

2007-02-16T07:50:00.000-05:00

I am still settling in at the new job, so i haven't had much of a chance to post. The new job is going pretty good, I feel like i have known my boss my entire life. :-)

This past weekend I hit some of the local Atlanta mountain bike trails. I bought my first mountain bike at Roswell Bikes (just outside of atlanta) back in 94, so this is where is all started. I remember my first few rides on my GT corrado that i spent $700 bucks on. I kept thinking i paid how much for a walking stick?

Saturday i hit Chicopee woods over in Gainesville. I have been riding there since at least 95 and it is still one of my favorite places to ride. The trails have changed some over the years because of erosion and wear, but it is still just as fun. They do seem to take out all of the really difficult parts, but i guess with trails with that much traffic, you need to avoid the lawsuits.

Sunday Paul and I went to Blankets Creek in Woodstock. This trail wasn't around when i started, but this park has two nice 4 mile loops of rolling single track. No real serious climbs, but a good place to get a workout in. Last year I took the cross bike down to do a few laps, the only thing i missed was the front shock when i didn't get the front tire up high enough to clear the logs completely. Front forks compensate for a lot of errors. Unfortunately on Sunday, Paul bobbled on a big rock and took a spill. He landed on a rock and had to cut the day short.

I'm heading home today, and next weekend i'll be in Vegas. So i'll have to wait a few weeks to hit some more of my old stomping grounds. If you're heading through north GA, give me a shout, I'll show ya around.

Anyone coming down to watch the Tour de Georgia??

BAXTER

2007-02-11T21:39:00.000-05:00

Here are some pic's of my sister's new puppy. I say puppy, but Baxter is 5 months old and already as big as Katie. Baxter got his name from a fine piece of parenting by Lisa and Paul. Anyone who has ever gone for a drive with Paul knows he enjoys yelling at his fellow drivers. One of his favorite phrases was/is "you stupid Bastard". That was fine until they had their first child, Emma. Emma started talking and started repeating words. Lisa and Paul said that paul was calling them a Stupid Baxter. What a great name for a dog...
Sorry, some of the pics are kind of dark. Baxter thinks he is a lap dog, i you put him in your lap he will stay perfectly still hoping you won't put him back down.

Hiking on Betsy Bell

2007-02-09T08:43:00.000-05:00

Sara, Katie and I hit the oh so short trail on Betsy Bell a few weeks ago. Nice views of the Valley up there. Some trails are better than none.

New Job New Town, Missing Sara and Katie

2007-02-06T21:44:00.000-05:00

So i started the new job yesterday. I had the typical feelings, a little excitement about the new job, a little nervous because i wasn't 100% sure what to expect, and sad because it means that i will be spending time away from my wife and puppy. I'll also miss staunton.

I had a nice last weekend in town. Sara and i went out for a nice dinner on Sat. I went for a long, cold mountain bike ride with Russell and the tri-power gang. I think i was one of the few that didn't hit the ground on the slick ice on the fire road.

Tonight it was a trainer ride in the basement. It's supposed to be mid 40's this weekend so i will try to put together a few long rides and maybe see some family and friends. Does anyone need me to check the pearl izumi outlet for something??

Way to Go USA

2007-01-28T22:05:00.000-05:00

How cool is it that Jonathan Page and Katie Compton both earned silver medals at the cyclocross worlds. There was even a junior from the USA that earned a silver medal too. Of course it would have been great to have one of them win their race, but this is huge compared to last year.
Maybe this is a sign of things to come. Americans have been very powerful in the TDF and other races, now we are getting in the game with Cross and maybe Jeremiah and others will be more of a powerhouse in the World cup mtn bike series. JB got 8th in the world championships last year (I think) maybe 2007 will be even better.

Went for a nice mtn bike ride with James from BDB today. Did the old standard, Narrowback. Not too cold and the rain that they predicted never materialized. phew. Looking forward to another mtn bike trip on Sat.

Hope everyone got outside on Sat to enjoy the warm temps.

Rollers!?!

2007-01-24T22:11:00.000-05:00

I'm not really sure how this is supposed to help my cycling. Everyone always talks about using rollers to get smoother, is this some sort of Karate Kid training technique?

We are back from the ski trip and i have started working on the house to make it look a little better so maybe someday someone will want to buy it....maybe. I've been painting everything that will sit still, but don't worry, i haven't painted anything yellow yet.

This week started out with a really fun visit to the Dr. I went in for one of those exams that i normally wouldn't need for 10-15 more years, apparently Sara found out there was the slightest bit of history and recommended (forced me to) that i have it done. Apparently she wants me to live a long time...crazy huh? Everything was fine, like they said the worst part is the prep. What kind of sick bastard makes you go a whole day without solid food. I normally eat every two to three hours. (I have to say, if i ever go to prison i hope they knock you out before they attack ya, I woke up and it was over, that's the way it should be)

I did sneak out this afternoon for a little bike ride. 40 miles in 37 degree temps. A week and a half off the bike i was hurting by the end. Not sure if it is just out of shape or if i bonked, i think it was a little of both.

Maybe it will warm up again...or maybe i will just get out on the mtn bike.

All this Doping stuff needs to go away

2007-01-17T20:31:00.000-05:00

I figured i would vent a bit about something other than skiing

I keep reading these reports about Landis and operation puerto and i just want it to be over.

I think/hope Landis is innocent, I know some people say that they all push the limits of what is legal with testosterone and other chemicals, but after reading through his powerpoint, it seems possible that he is innocent.

The puerto case either needs to poop or get off the pot. If they have more than nicknames on the blood bags, they need to pull that stuff out now. I think that unless they actually convict someone with the puerto thing, the should allow them to race. This not letting people race because of suspicion is just CRAP! Landis failed a test, so he should not be allowed to race, but if you haven't failed a test or been caught breaking a rule, you should be allowed to race.
And don't get me started with the people getting suspended for missing a tests that aren't clearly marked or notified. The sanctioning bodies know where these people are all the time, it would be easy to chase them down and test them. Before taking away someone's livelyhood, they should at least see if they have been using first.

I guess i will never have to take drug test, so it is not a big deal to me, but i like to watch the racing, and i wish they could just stick to that.

More pic's from the trip.

2007-01-17T20:25:00.000-05:00

The sky was clear, but the temps were the lowest yet. We could only stay out for a few hours at a time. Still having fun tho. Always better than working.

What a difference a day makes. Sun...but OMG cold!

2007-01-16T21:07:00.000-05:00

Last night we hit the town and went to one of it's eating establishments. Nice place with very nice presentation. It's all about the presentation. With a big full belly and our legs warn out from the first day of skiing, we were out like a light.
Woke up this morning and we could see the sun, but with the clear skies come colder temps. The temp at the bottom of the mountain was 4 F at the top of the mountain -7 F!!!! And to top it off, the wind picked up in the afternoon. It actually wasn't that bad, Sara had to go in every few hours to thaw out. So i went with her. (only for support of course, i can handle the cold, i'm macho) We hit a bunch of the runs today, they were much clearer and groomed. We will give it a shot tomorrow, but it is going to be cold, the high is supposed to be 0. The quads are a burning, but by the end of the week maybe they will be in shape.
Dad heads home tomorrow, he's stopping in Montreal to visit a customer. He said two days of skiing is enough for him.

you could bounce a quarter off of this!

I got your 70 deg weather right here mister!!

2007-01-15T16:49:00.000-05:00

The high today was 12 F. Yes, you heard me...12!!!! Thank goodness for the clouds and the snow storm to hold the heat in, the high tomorrow is supposed to be 5. Balmy. Dad rolled in last night about 8, thank goodness he had that knee surgery, it's nice to have him skiing with us again. (you know that Sara and I are his favorites, who else invites him to ski every year)

We headed out the door this morning at about 8:30 when the lifts opened, it was cold and snowy. When we got to the top of the mountain you couldn't see anything. They were making snow and the mist/fog drifting across the top of the mountain was so dense you could barely see right in front of you. It was just a big wall of white. The legs are getting used to skiing again, they will probably be just getting into form when the week is over. :-( just in time to go home.

Here are som pic's from today. (fortunately our ski jackets help color code the pics: Sara= Blue, Dad= orange, Me= yellow (like you didn't know)) There are no pics of me today, maybe tomorrow, you'll just have to check back.

-Sambo