- Bad Idea Racing - HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

I finally got a copy of the Bike magazine with our Trans Rockies story in it. Not much to it, but kinda cool. Kinda weirded out by the pic they chose to use.  Brado on MTBR.com computericated the article so I am going to borrow his handiwork.

photo credit to John Gibson

John really got some awesome shots of us. I don’t have permission to show ‘em (I never asked), but he was nice enough to share them with us. I was just suprised at the picture the magazine chose to use. We’re not riding or carrying our bikes. We’re not even holding them over our heads on the last climb (really sweet shot). Oh well, the photo kinda looks like I am trying to figure out where my testicles are. At least my “widow’s peak” is famous.

The photo was snapped right after the first day was over. It was hotter than hell and people had serious hydration problems. Josh had cramped just before we got to the finish. It was a hard day, but not our defining moment by any means.

The article did quote me when I asked if anybody was up for a fixed gear attempt in 2007. Trans Rockies is already sold out? Oh well, maybe 2008.

BTW: I dig cross racing. I’ve done a few in years past, but I just don’t want to drive too far to do another one. I even did one in Charlotte years and years ago. There was one about a half hour away from Charlotte last month, but I had to take The Boy to his last short track race on the same day. It didn’t help that MTB’s had to race in their own open category, and I had mixed feelings about that.

Looking for a race?????

How ’bout this for the peeps in the 704? I’m heading to the mountains on the 16th so I won’t make it, but it looks like a good time.

Although most of the other people in the blog world are getting sparse with their words it doesn’t seem like that has slowed their riding. All this talk about base miles and cross season is making us slackers look bad. I don’t bother with extra miles this time of year. Cold and dark doesn’t do it for me. Cross racing? Driving hours in a car to pay $25 for 45 minutes of pain? Can’t do it. What can I do? How ’bout try to hold steady with my seven pound weight gain? There’s a lofty goal. I usually push ten to fifteen through the entire off-season. Yesterday was “birthday day” (all you can eat cookies) at the firm I deliver for topped of with “meatloaf night” at the hacienda. Not exactly a recipe for weight loss, huh? I heard cigarettes will help keep the weight gain down….

I got an email from Clay Higgins about the Dirt, Sweat, and Gears 12 hour race in Fayetteville, TN this morning.  There is going to be a $10,000 cash purse up for grabs and $1,000 for the first place single speed.  From what the press release said he has some big names interested and Dejay Birtch said he is going to show up with Monique Sawicki.  I’m probably not going, but I figured I should give his race some mention as those $$$$$$’s are pretty unprecedented in the endurance scene.  I don’t think this kind of money has ever been offered up before. 

Then why ain’t I thinking about going?  I have complained about the size of the purse when I felt slighted in the past.  When I would start crunching numbers and figuring out total entries, expenses, and such I would be dissappointed if I felt that the payout didn’t quite make sense.  Now I don’t care so much.  If money is such a big deal to me I should call the promoter before I show up and ask how much I can win.  BUT the money really isn’t as important to me anymore.  Sure it’s nice, but I choose the races I do for the experience.  Excellent prizes and cash are just an incentive to do well at a fun event, nothing more.  I have very little room in my brain for too many 12/24 hour events.  They kinda drain me, and no matter how good the course is eventually I’ll be bored.  I have two 12’s and one 24 less than two hours from my house so I find it hard to travel very far to do one.  Hell, the two 12 hour races are right here in Charlotte.  I’ve kinda got the nutrition and pacing aspects of 12/24 hr lap racing down, so it SEEMS less challenging than the big loop races (I did say SEEMS).

So anyways, Kudos to Clay for making this happen.  I wish the race were closer to home so it would be easier for me to do it.  It sounds like it may end up being a battle royale with some big guns duking it out for the payola.  

Most of the day the skies threatened rain, but it only drizzled and sleeted a couple times. By 3:00pm it was on. It was the nasty sub-forty degree rain that makes being a messenger suck, and just my luck I was getting slammed with work. I was running like mad so I could meet The Pie in time to beat some of the mass exodus from the big city. I was on my last job and moving fast to make a far away elevator when I experienced what we call “The Sidi Slide”. I tried to grab a marble pillar near the elevator to cut a hard corner into the elevator, but my hands were too frozen and numb to get a grip on it. I was looking in the face of the guy who made it into the elevator before me when my right foot came out from underneath me like I was on ice. BAM! I was on the marble with my hip and elbow taking the brunt of the fall. It was just my luck that it was 4:50pm when it happened, so the elevator lobby was full of witnesses. I heard the gasps of concern as I sprung back up and jumped into the elevator leaving my pride behind me on the floor. The gentleman made some comment about “lucky I was wearing a helmet” or something of that nature. Fortunately I was only going up to the second floor so I didn’t have to enjoy any more of his witticisms. Sidi’s on a rainy day…what was I thinking?

While I was in Ohio I did drag my ass out to the railroad tracks for a ride on Friday (after pussing out Thursday). I went out for a leisurely ride and just enjoyed the scenery.  Of course Thursday when I bailed it was a wonderful day with a rare Ohio sun in the sky.  When I got around to riding Friday it was around thirty degrees and foggy as shit outside.  I ended up walking a few times just to get some feeling back in my hands and feet as I was way underdressed for a long ride in freezing temps. The huge puddles were still there, but they weren’t frozen this time so I had to ride through them (and soak my feet).

I also got a little La Ruta style training in.

Right before my ride ended I found this little guy hanging out in the woods. Obviously he didn’t let me get too close. I guess too many people were after his headgear this time of year.

I ended up leaving Ohio with a decent cold that almost kept me from going to the mountains yesterday. I joined up with a bunch of nimrods for a 43 mile sampler of the ORAMM course. It definitely met my standards for a hard ride as I probably wished for a quick death at least three times on the nine mile climb up Curtis Creek Road. I’m sure I’ll pay for riding so hard with a cold, but it was well worth it.

I’ll be outta the blog world for a few days.  Have a happy “rape and pillage a new world” day.

Merriam-Webster:

Rape:  1 a archaic : to seize and take away by force

Blue Man Group was Friday night. Hmmm….what can I say? Interesting. It’s been awhile since I’ve spent some time with so many people in fashionable leather coats with gel in their hair. I even saw a few sweater vests. I don’t understand fashion. Lights and noise and a message I’m not sure people in Charlotte would understand. Too bad.

I couldn’t get up the gumption to go for a mountain bike ride over the weekend. I felt like I should give my hands a rest while I could. I didn’t want to go for a long road ride (lame) or an extended fixie ride (every day of my life is on my fixie). I decided to sidewalk surf my way to the local bike shop. Hit some geekalicious curby air, maybe double up on some driveway entrances, just have fun. I got to the shop, looked around, and basically shot the shit. Then I fell in love.

I rode it around, did a little negotiating, and rode it around some more. It just felt good, so I worked a deal for just the frame, fork, and old skool Dura Ace cranks. Sweet.

I had to go home and get the car to pick her up, but she was built in less than half an hour.

Of course I left my “spoke card” in place. This thing still means something to me.

I kinda felt bad chucking my old DeBernardi frame for a new steed. It’s seen more time uptown than any other bike in Charlotte. I think it was going on it’s seventh year of service. It started out as a road bike, then a bullhorned road bike, and then I put on flat bars. It degraded down to a five speed, and then a single speed. It had been fixed for about four years, and brakeless for about three. Now it will hang in the garage till I figure out what to do with it.

I have always wanted to try a “real” track frame, but just seeing one on Ebay wasn’t enough. I needed to ride one that fit me to really get a feel for it. The top tube on the C-Dale is 1.5 inches longer then my old bike and it feels spot on. That would probably be because it is close to my road bike and my mtn bike. The BB area is SOOOOO Stiff, and the acceleration is off the charts. This thing just feels good. I think I’m gonna drop a tooth in the rear when I get a chance. One area I’ll have to address is the lack of water bottle mounts. This is a real track frame folks, so I guess longish rides next summer will require a bottle in my messenger bag. BFD.

Buddha be damned, I bought something I didn’t really need and I like it.

I hope none of you were really enjoying the I hate Todd Wells blog  too much as it is already over. It seems he has been legally ASKED to cease and desist. I’ll say it once again, I have to get to that echelon of riders where I am revered and hated enough to inspire others to write about me. Then I can get something I have never had before, an attorney.

I am going to see the Blue Man Group tonight. It is one of the few muscial “styles” The Pie and I might actually agree upon, so we are going on a….what’s that thing called? A date? I hope that she likes me enough to stop by my place after the show.

Bike related things??? Well I won’t be on big wheels this weekend, so I am looking for a local ride that doesn’t beat the piss outta my hands. Road ride? Pffffttt, right. I don’t think so. If there is a dry trail within twenty miles I am going offroad. I gotta do something because I am going to Ohio next week for Thanksgiving and the only thing nearby is an old abandoned railroad bed that goes on forever. Last year I rode it, and I kept having delusions of a Trans Ohio/Pennsylvania/NewYork…however far the things go. I have no idea where they start and where they end, but my grandfather hinted that there is an extensive system of old railroad beds out there. If I lived up there this race would be so on. The ex-tracks go through a bunch of small towns as it traverses the heartland of America, so restocking wouldn’t be a problem. There are portage sections where the trestles have been washed away and puddles that go on for hundreds of yards. Too bad there isn’t a MTB enduro nutjob up there willing to put this dream race together. Here’s a photo I snapped last winter when I went exploring. 

Yes, that is a DEEP ice covered puddle (yes, it goes on forever). The stuff an epic race really needs.

Yesterday was a good day to be a messenger.

Receptionist: You hungry Rich?

Me: Whatcha got?

Receptionist: They had a luncheon and there is a bunch of leftover salmon and green beans.

Me: (after seeing the large quantity of high end meat) Can I spend the night here?

The other night The Pie and The Boy went to see a Christmas concert, and I was forced to entertain myself around the house. I was surfing over at Kerkove’s blog and I clicked on the link for The Bicycle Page. I was a little suprised to see a link to my blog in there as I never put it on there. I have no idea what protocol there is to linking up on the site, but there sure are a lot of blogs there. I really like the picture that linked over to Dave Harris’s blog:

  I think this is from his “bomb squad” days.

I clicked on a few random blogs and found another cycling Dicky out there. Guess I am not that special. I also found a guy who for some reason or another really hates Todd Wells. Someday I hope I’ll be so good that some misanthrope will start www.ihateteamdicky.blog.com. Maybe someday?? I clicked around a lot and saw some good stuff and some bad stuff. I also found this guy who is riding a high wheeler (or whatever they’re called) around the world. He is the definition of bad-ass crazy. Got me thinking about high wheeling the GDR (for my hundreth birthday).

Trans Rockies is 95% sold-out. When I first did it back in 2005 it didn’t sell out until a few days before the event. When the 2007 race sells out I will be able to get it outta my head and move on to other things. Right now I dream about doing every race I read about. Maybe it’s time to step away from the computer.

Raining heavy out there today. The good news is I’ll be able to try out my new PacLite Goretex raincoat, but the bad news is I’ll have to try out my new PacLite Goretex raincoat.

for the worms

Crap, on further inspection my swap meet brakes need some love. Some ham-fisted pseudo mechanic stripped the master cyclinder cartridge. The good news is I have never torn into a Hayes lever, so now I am totally familiar with all its internal organs. The bad news is that was kinda schiesty on someone’s part to sell them like that. Live and learn.

Has anyone seen my fitness lying around? I seem to have misplaced it. 

Found out today that not only Tim Dougherty rocked La Ruta on his SS, it would seem Topher joined him.  Awesome.  Who’s Topher?  He’s one of those guys who has been around long enough that he just gets one name like Cher, Sting, or Prince.  That’s some elite company.  I got an email from the La Ruta people last night that they are opening registration for 2007 today .  The race is going up to four days, and also going up to $1000 + transfers. Ooooooo…aaaawwwwww

Topher

Some photos from the Swank65 taken by the Extreme Tomato’s little lady, Kristin.

Here I am closing down the gap on the riders (Matt Johnson and purple jersey guy) who took time outta me on the last descent:

I was really cranking on the climbs.  This pic makes it look like I’m gonna fall over. 

Here I am leaving the aid station before climbing to Farlow Gap.  Short sleeves in November, nice.

Of course she got a picture of me screwing up on the creek crossing right before the finish.  My brain was a little toasty and technical riding was no longer my friend.  I’m sure big wheels would roll right through it???