First 50

OK, so I did not race Mountwood.  Too many reasons to skip it.  But, since I already had the morning off from playing guitar at church, I headed out on a long road bike ride.  Once the clouds lifted, the morning was great for riding.  In and out of the sun and low levels of traffic made for a great 50 miler (forst 50 of the year).  The wind started to pick up as I rolled through Albany on 681, but other than that, it was a great ride and I don't regret missing the mountain bike race.

Not sure how much riding and/racing I will get to do in the near future.  We just got informed that we would be on mandatory overtime for the next 5 weeks.  Oh well, haven't really been able to turkey hunt since I started at Sunpower, why should this year be any different?

Another commute, tires, testing

Last Thursday, I had to leave home late to drop off a letter to my doctor.  The letter needs signed so that I can participate in a study at Ohio University.  As I have asthma, they needed my doctor to clear me so I wouldn't die during the test, I guess.  Anyway, since I was already going in late, I decided to ride my bike to work again.  Mistake.   It was cold, upper 30's and low 40's and I was slow.  Felt like my legs were 300lbs.When I did roll into my doctor, the receptionist was afraid to open the glass door. (I must look really mean in my cycling gear.)  The total ride took me 14 minutes longer than the last time (over 24 miles).  Glad that I was meeting Shelly after work and I got a ride home with her.  Crazy thing is, on Friday I did the Wilkesville short loop (a very typical, 17 mile, fast ride for me). Did it in at my second fastest time ever (and wasn't particularly trying to).

I have also been studying tires for my mountain bike.  Mine were getting worn out and really were not the ideal type of tire for me anyway.  I was running a WTB Nanoraptor 2.1 (wire bead) rear and a WTB Exiwolf 2.3 (folding) front.  The Nano is a fast tire on hard trail.  The Exiwolf has a nice volume.  Neither are particularly sticky though and I routinely have issues with spinning the rear, particularly on hard, standing climbs and the front slides easily in turns.  After looking at tires from Bontrager, Schwalbe, Geax, Maxxis, and Continental, I settled on the new Continental X-King 29x2.2.  The Cycle Path ordered them in for me and I picked them up Weds and mounted that night.  I also got in a ride on them Thursday.  My impressions:

I weighed them on the scale at the office before heading home.  Not the lightest tire (728 and 738 grams) but still lighter than the over 800 gram Exiwolf.  Hope the weight means durability.  They mounted nicely on my Stan's beaded Sun Ringle Black Flag Expert rims, with a bit of effort to get the tire bead over the rim.  I seated them with an air compressor, but I would bet the floor pump would have done it too.  Squeezed in 2 ounces of Stan's in each wheel and did the Stan's shake.  I gave them a quick measure after I set the bead with 40psi.  They are narrow. I measured 2 inches from sidewall to sidewall.  I would image that they will stretch a bit over time and maybe Continental measures the knob profile width, but still, they are a narrow tire.  I was surprised by how little air I lost over night.

I threw the bike in the truck and grabbed my gear on the way out the door to work and then took a late lunch to hit the Athens trail network.  Out the bike path from the office the tires rode nicely.  They did not seem slow with 30psi though you could hear them a bit.  Up the connector to the Rock House Trail I could already tell I liked the tires.  Several roots and rocks on short steep climbs that typically have me loosing the rear tire, they hooked right up.  Turning was very neutral, in fact, I can't think of any moment where I slid the front out, which I did a lot on the Exiwolfs though I could tell the difference in tire volume.  By then end of the ride (about 12 miles of trial) I was pleased overall with the tire choice.  Maybe should have picked up a 2.4 for the front?  They did loose some air over the ride and by the time I got home, the front was completely flat.  I did the Stan's shake again and shall see.  I have heard that the Continental tires cane take a few days to seal up tubeless.

Speaking of the Sun Ringle wheels, I developed a rattle inside the front wheel, directly across from the valve stem, at the welded rim joint.  A message to their tech support was responded to very quickly that the sleeve guide they use when welding the rim had come loose. I can either use a ball punch to crimp the rim back into the guide (under the rim tape), spray some spray adhesive through the nearest spoke eyelets, or listen to the noise as the guide does not provide any structural support after the rim is welded.  For now, I will just listen to it.

And since I am on a roll with equipment notes, I will say that I am completely satisfied with the Shimano SLX brakes.  I would recommend them to anyone looking for a new hydraulic disc brake setup.  Power is very good (one or two fingers is all that is needed), they modulate well, quiet, and they look good.

U12 soccer on Saturday in Marietta.  Mountwood race is Sunday.  Still have not decided to race, shall see.  Either way, hope to enjoy the predicted nice weather.

Commute

Yea, first bike commute of the year (and first ever on the recommisioned Redline d440).  Nice getting 24 miles in before work.  The steel frame and Big Apples make the road feel real nice.  I can certainly tell it is heavier than the Masi Evo climbing the hills though.  Need some racks still, it was along ride with a backpack.

Summer in the winter

Ok, so I am complaining - again.  Really, why is it 84F on the last day of winter, 85F on the first day of spring, and today is forecast for another 81F day.  You'd think with this sunny warm weather it would mean lots of miles.  Well, nope.  Family schedules still reign supreme.  I can't even ride my motorcycle to work.  Plus, with the early spring I got an early bout with allergies.  Lost my voice last week.  This week, the voice is back, but my head is spinning and I have coughed so much that my stomach and chest muscles are sore.

Missed all 4 days of the Athens Bicycle Gravel Rouser.  The few rides I have been getting in are breaks from the office.  Not all a bad thing, but work is really slammed (still) so it is hard to justify long lunch rides.  First race is really close, it is going to hurt.

I picked up a used Race Face Next LP crankset.  I stripped all the paint and replaced the missing carbon inserts.  Nice crank and looks really good on the Monocog.

Couldn't resist adding the picture.  Chickens, dog, mud boots and a stick equals a happy little boy.

Life always gets in the way of living it seems

In what seems to now be my monthly cycle for posting (the months go so fast), here is an update to cycling life.

I drank a lot of coffee during the month of January.  Shelly bought me the Starbucks refillable tumbler for Christmas.  So, I made one or two trips to the coffee shop everyday.  Oh, and if you notice, even Starbucks is on the 29er kick.

The logistics of having a family with 3 kids, a spouse, a job, a spouse with a job, a church, an extended family, an extended church family, and trying to train for the coming cycling season (OMBC opener is just about 8 weeks away now!) is exhausting.  As you can see below, the kids agree.  Lots of days I get to bed by 11pm and wonder 1. why I am so tired, and 2. what did I accomplish?  Training?  Well, that isn't happening.

February begins with a high every year though as the 4th is our wedding anniversary.  This year marks 17 years hitched.  I was excited to take Shelly to dinner at the newest restaurant in Athens, Sol, a Cuban fusion place that opened in the old Salaam location.  I don't know if it was really the food was great, or if I was influenced by the fact that I was at dinner without any kids!  Just us.  Doesn't seem to happen much anymore.  The food was really quite good.  Based on a good friend's recommendation, I had to get the chicken and yellow rice (Arroz con pollo).  Too full for dessert and they were not set up yet to make a nice Cuban coffee, we headed home where Shelly's folks were watching the boys.  Oh, forgot to mention that Brock and I got sick the day before and were still feeling pretty pathetic on the 4th.  Life always gets in the way of living it seems.

Good news of January and February is that I have a limited number of miles on the trainer.  That is because the weather has been fairly mild for a south eastern Ohio winter.  Lots of sunny and 40 degree days means road riding.  No trail riding since the trails aren't frozen, but miles none the less.  I did rejoin Team Athens again (figured as long as they let me on the team, I better join).  Looking forward to some more riding and racing this year.

Happy Riding...

Saturday

A little UEFA soccer and some indoor rolling, that is, at least until Brock woke up.  All the windows and the wood stove made it feel like a summer ride.

No Time

Most days I feel like I am living the Guess Who song, no time.  And everyone just wants more.  Work has asked me to put in more hours.  Church is asking me to play guitar more.  Ethan is playing basketball and practicing 2-3 times a week plus games.  Brock is so stinking busy, if you turn you back on him for 2 seconds, you don't know what you'll find when you turn around (like on his belly on the island counter top).  I am way behind on firewood for the year (luckily it has remained fairly mild thus far).  I am planning to finish part of the basement into another bedroom to move Michael into so we can move Brock out of our bedroom and into his own room.  I had to turn down playing soccer after a friend asked me to join their indoor team, just can't commit the time to play.

Typical Saturday: drop off Ethan for warm-ups before his first game at 9am.  Run to the gas station, grab some milk at the grocery store, pickup a package at the post office, and be back to the school by 9:30 for his game.  Home around 11 and replaced the furnace blower.  Grabbed a bite to eat and put in a quick 17 mile road ride.  Dropped Ethan off at grandpa's at 3 and stopped to get a truck load of firewood.  Home around 5 and showered and in town to get a sandwich and drop off Michael at the winter homecoming dance by 8p.  Back home, get Brock in bed (a chore in and of itself) and back to the school at 11p to pickup Michael.

Anyway, with the weather being mild for an Ohio winter, I have put in some miles outside instead of just on the trainer.  Speaking of miles, I finally looked at my 2011 log.  Managed 1,665 miles, 107,700 feet of climbing, and nearly 92 thousand calories.  Not too bad, more than double what I did in 2010.
Folks got me a near rear tire for the Masi, a floor pump, and a rechargeable taillight (Serfas USL-5R) for Christmas.  I'll try to write something up about the taillight.  Shelly also got me a 900 lumen headlight (bright!).  Now if I just had the time to get some night trail riding in.

Not a real blog post without pictures, right?

Christmas Eve's Eve OU ball game with Ethan.

The shadow proves the sunshine.

I love this old barn.  Ride past it all the time.

Glove and jacket weather.