New Gear I've been digging

This weekend on the GLGA I finally got to try out some new gear on a long gravel grinder, which is more like saying, it's the first time I've really tried some of it... heh :). When I started out, I dug real reviews of stuff from real folks, espescially bigger folks, so when I find something that works I like to give my spiel on it. Here goes!

Bontrager RL MTB Shoe:

Let me summarize this real quick - the GLGA was the first really long ride with clipless shoes/pedals, and it's also the first really long ride that I've not had foot numbness or pain on. In fact, my feet were downright dang comfy the whole ride, and afterwards, something that I couldn't say was entirely true last year when I was still on my sneakers and platforms kick. I have big, wide feet that are next to impossible to find comfy shoes for, but these things fit me as good, or maybe even better, than my work shoes - which I bought at an actual shoe shop, and weren't what we call cheap (I got sick of hurting feet all day). I like these shoes so much that I'm wanting to pick up another pair, just in case Bontrager got a wild hair and decided to discontinue them. Maybe two more pairs.

I'm only partially kidding.

Next: Aerotech Designs Jersey

Disclosure: Aerotech Designs sent me this jersey and a pair of shorts as a thank you for allowing them to use my previous review of my favorite shorts ever on their website. Which was awesome, and worked out well because I've been wanting try a jersey for some time.. but anyway, here's the deal - for $35 bones, this is a pretty dang good piece of clothing. I've been using it a couple times a week since I got it, and about the only sign of wear is the reflective strip across the butt/pockets, which is coming off thanks to washing.. or probably forgetting to not-dry. The fit is excellent, and the pockets are awesome, I really appreciated having them on the GLGA for the cue sheet and nutrition. Most of all, it was comfy for the entire ride.

My only gripe? I wish the fabric was a "smooth" type, like Under Armor shirts. So next year I'll probably go the route of a "smoother" fabric, but I'll pick another one or two of these up. Oh, and I wish they came in black.

Planet Bike Blaze 1W CREE headlamp:

Last year I found the limits of my cheapo Bell Luxeon-based LED headlamp. It was OK, but not even good and certainly not great. With winter coming a little while ago I figured it was time for a new headlamp, so I picked this up. Now has been the first chance I've really had to use it.. and...

It's awesome. Seriously.

I got into light geeking a couple years ago, and I have a nice little stock of a couple really nice SureFires, Innova (tacticals), and some Streamlights. So I judge lights on that level, which bike lights - unless you spend a ton - haven't been able to compete with. Until now.

This light is awesome, simply awesome. When I bought the LHT I picked up a Planet Bike Superflash taillamp, and that thing is killer, this is no exception. Way to go Planet bike, this thing has awesome throw, spill, runs on AA's, and is cheap. You can't go wrong. Want more light? Get two. This winter is going to be SOOO much easier with this light.

Yeah, I'm about to review socks: Twin Six Argyle sock:

Here's the deal: I wouldn't review something like, you know, socks unless I thought they were really good, and had a impact on my comfort on the bike. Well, they are really dang good, and they are really comfortable on the bike. I didn't buy them because of that, I bought them because I was at Cycle Works picking up some spare tubes, saw 'em and had a little laugh at the geekiness factor. I'd been meaning to try out some wool cycling socks, and I dig the good stuff Twin Six does for the cancer fight - so I grabbed 'em. And I'm glad I did.

Just like my Smartwool socks that I use for hiking/winter cycling, they're immensely comfortable while also keeping the feet from getting that "clammy" sweaty feeling. Sock Guy socks seem to do a great job in both, but after 4 or 5 hours they start to feel kind of damp. I don't like that feeling. These, at no point, got to there - and I sweat a LOT.

So I was comfortable, and stylin'. I'd like to drop some more pounds so I can sport the matching jersey next season. Yes, I'm totally serious.

That's all I've got for today, folks. Lookin' forward to a nice spin home.. awe yeah!

The Good Life Gravel Epicness

I don't think "adventure" sums it up, for the second year in a row it's more like "epic". First things first, I DNF'd this year at checkpoint 3/Mile 81. Or, about mile 87 for me for the day. I learned lots of lessons, did pretty good on applying ones from last year, met some awesome folks I was hoping to see again, and some awesome new ones. Summary: It was epic. Again.

Now, why the DNF? Cramps. Again. For the past 24 hours (give or take) I've been searching for a reason why they crept up again. Did I hydrate? Heck yes I did, thanks to the Kansas Guys I had my gigantic Gatorade bottles (seriously, thanks again, and it was good to see you again), plus my third bottle, PLUS two reserves. In the first 4 hours I went through 96 ounces of regular old water and 48 ounces of Smart Water. I started taking salt tabs two hours in, and took 3 per hour. Chewed 3 shot blocks every hour. But, at mile 30 when I was really startin to rock it, they reared their ugly head. Why?

Branched Oak Road. It's my nemesis.

I'm not entirely joking.

This year Corey put Branched Oak and the tough stuff right at the beginning/middle, which I thought was awesome. Looking at the layout of the route, I figured once I made it to Malcom it'd be a nice roll into Denton with a couple rollers, then a little bit of elevation to Cortland, and a nice roll up North from Cortland to Lincoln that I've taken most of before. So I had a very simple strategy from the beginning: the Tortise still finished the race. I was going to be the tortise, so once we hit Branched Oak I let the group split off ahead and I grannied up the hills. I'm not kidding, I put the front der in the little ring for the first time ever (aside from making sure I could after buying the bike), and I spun. On a couple of the biggies I swore grasshoppers passed me, I just dug in and listened to the tunes, and rode through it.

Then, well, something happened. I decided to push it harder so I geared up and did that. I forgot to drink for some time, probably a half hour, while I did my little attack, convinced I needed to close the distance to the rest of the group I was ridin' with. So I did that. Then I turned on to Northwest 30th street - closing in on Valpraiso - and saw it was pretty mild, so I hit it again. Then the hills started to come, and I didn't give 'em respect. I saw someone in the distance on the top of a particularly gnarly lookin' roller bent over by his bike, and was like yeah, I'd better hit it.

At the top of the hill a few minutes later I was too bent over by my bike, with full lockup leg cramps. At mile 32-ish. Or maybe it was 36. Whatever it was, I was fully in panic mode. So I took a break, ate, hydrated (slugged 24oz of smart water, and my reserve bottle), shot block..ed, and I might have yelled.

A lot.

Over an hour later I made it the last 10 or 11 miles into Valpraiso, where Guitar Ted and Oly were about to head out, and I arrived with leg cramps and a flat front tire. They were awesome and repaired the flat while I picked up some junk food and more water. After a little rest I felt awesome again, and was ready to rock it. I had been riding with Oly and Guitar Ted for quite a while until Branched Oak, where I turned into the Turtle, and they got some good distance on me. At one point during my ill-fated rally I'm sure I saw them a couple of rollers ahead of me, obviously that didn't hold up.. :).

Anyway, we rolled out of Valpraiso with the promise that soon that semi-gnarly wind out of the North would turn into a wonderful and glorious tailwind to push us the 60 miles South. That's some inspiration right there. I took it conservative, convinced that I'd catch back up to them after a little bit.

Then, some cramps.

Dale from Omaha, great guy who I met and rode with last year for a bit, met up with me just as I had turned on to Ashland Road, where I was in the grips of some cramps, and trying to (but thankfully not able to) post a rather dark Facebook status update. Told him to go on, I knew at that point I didn't have much of a choice, I had to get to civilization.

Not pride, but because the two cellphones I had with me were a AT&T and a Sprint phone. So you can be guaranteed when you absolutely need to use 'em, they won't be there.

Some time passed, probably almost two hours, and I made it to Malcom, NE where I saw Dale sitting in front of the store, and where I had my first clipless fall. Haha, looking back I still laugh as I was thinking of myself laying there with a skinned up arm (I do clipless falls GOOD, folks), laughing at the ridiculousness of my luck. At that point I knew finishing wasn't in the cards unless something seriously changed, I was getting to that point where every other hill was bringing cramps, even in the granniest of granny gears. In retrospect I should have just jumped on the highway and headed back to Lincoln, hung out at the trailhead to see the fast group finish (the fastest of which finished the thing in 8hrs 25 mins, I'm in awe, yo), but fueled with some really mediocre/bordering on terrible food from the Snack Stop (or whatever it is) I had a little rally again.

Climbing the little hill on gravel outside of Malcom, my chain snapped. I had to stop and just, you know, laugh. Hard.

Thankfully I had the foresight when replacing a chain this spring to put the old SRAM PowerLink from that chain into my flat repair kit, so 20 minutes later I was rolling again (I'm not exactly fast at the chain replacing thing, but big thanks to Jim and Matt W last year for showing me how to do it), and laughing. That waas it, at that point I knew it - the signals were loud and clear, this year a finish just wasn't in any cards. I was going for Cortland, a nice gravel century, and figured it was there.

Right about here I knew it wasn't. The cramps were back, and I just wasn't going to finish like last year, destroyed and in pain. I rode a bit further, then called my wife and told her to meet me in Denton.

In the end I know the reason for the cramps, it's really simple: Lots of tissue, not enough miles. I've learned all kinds of stuff, again, and it's time to apply it. And, again, I met a ton of simply awesome people there. I'm not kidding, it's a totally different group that rides these things, and I'm glad I was there.

Will I do it again next year?

Yup.

:)

Tomorrow

Can't wait for it, I'm ready and raring to go - the only possible problem could be my still-sore anke/heel/tendon. I'm hoping the slight pain/stiffness is going to work itself out quickly tomorrow, or won't even show up on the bike - but I'll deal with it if it does. The course this year is 140 miles, but it looks rockin'. Weather looks to be perfect - high of 74, winds out of the North at 10-15mph. *awesome*

I'll be updating my facebook and twitter accounts enroute, just because that's how I roll - geeky. With two smartphones. Heh.

On a not completely unrelated note, inside something has been missing for me lately. I'm hoping tomorrow brings some time for me to work that out inside, and walk inside the house afterward tomorrow evening bringing something new with me.

The Good Life Gravel Adventure

Next weekend it's 135(ish) miles of gravel insanity, ready and caling. Am I in? Oh hell yes. It looks like right now (or sometime today) the PCL crew was out testing the route in prep for next weekend. Last year the route was tough, real tough, and if I were to think it's going to be easier - I'd be foolish. It's goona be tough, real tough - but full of glory.

What's my strategy? I have little. Next week I'm riding to work every day but Friday, no long rides, just 20 miles a day. Goona eat right, keep hydrated, and take good care of my body. During the ride I'm going to turn the bike into a camel, and carry as much water as I can. I'm gunning for six bottles between the three cages and the rack trunk. Heck, maybe even 7 or 8. Last year that was one of my two critical errors - not enough water - and I'm NOT repeating it this year. I'll carry 8 extra pounds of water to avoid a repeat of those cramps. Seriously.

Second folly last year was pushing too hard during the first half and running completely out of steam. To avoid that this year I'm going to wear a heart rate monitor and keep close religious eye on my heart rate/effort. If I spin up a hill in a granny gear, I spin up a hill in a granny gear. It's better to do than blow up late in the ride.

Finally, I'm just going to ride until I can't ride any more. If that's at the end, at the mopac trailhead - awesome. If it's somewhere in the middle, right on. But, I don't like giving up. I'm also going to take regular smal breaks instead of a couple realy long ones - I'm shooting for 10 minutes every two hours, maybe more, maybe less.

I've not ridden much at all this month, but I'm not worried about that. In fact, ironicaly enough, I'm not worried about anything. I'm going to enjoy myself, and I plan on completing the ride with a smile on my face. That's how I roll.

More soon, I'm planning on running Google Latitude during the ride and possibly doing some twitter updates with location enroute. There's a lot else on my mind, if you can't tell, of which I'll likely post soon. Spin the cranks, lots of hugs, enjoy life.

Voltage

The Chevy Volt has done three things that are somewhat amazing for me: 1.) It makes me want a Hybrid, real bad, 2.) It makes me want a GM PRODUCT real bad, and the biggest one - breaking a personal cardinal rule - 3.) it makes me want a brand new vehicle. See, I'll admit it, I'm a car geek. I can rattle off horsepower and displacement numbers for anything built between 1962 and 1971. I love horsepower almost as much as I love my bikes. Seriously.

Volt, however, is a game changer on a level which I never previously realized. At first glance I went "eh, whatever, big deal - another hybrid" - I personally don't dig hybrids because, simply, the batteries are an environmental disaster waiting to happen - and most can achieve the same thing by just buying a small, small car - but I digress. Then I read about the thing and realized - wow, GM got it. This car is always powered by it's electric motors - the gas motor is only there as a generator for when the charge runs out. Other hybrids act completely opposite - the electric motor supplements the gas motor, which turns a tiny gas motor into something with some uumph and that gets great mileage.

Then it hit me - 40 miles on a charge. A charge acquired by plugging the thing in to your electric outlet. A charge that will cost you around a quarter in off-peak energy. For me, there's rarely - very rarely - a day when I drive more than 40 miles - heck, most WEEKS I don't drive more than 40 miles. Let's put it this way, for me, one of these things might mean weeks, or months without using a drop of petroleum products for my driving. Suddenly, that appeals to me. Big time.

Of course, this is GM and as such they have to screw it up somehow - and that somehow is price. This thing is goona be starting at forty grand, forty grand for a glorified Cavalier. Uggh, I get it guys, but if you made the thing 20, or even 25 grand you'd sell 'em as fast as you can make 'em - which might be the problem right there. Maybe they figure there's enough folks out there who will pay 40 grand for the first round of 'em (they're absolutely right, I know I'm not the only one who remembers the first round of Prius buyers who were paying $10k OVER sticker just to get one - which is right up there at 40k in today dollars), they'll be able to pay off development costs and ramp up production (helloo Prius).

Anyway, I can't blame them at all, and when this thing comes into reach of mere mortals, I hope they sell a ton of 'em. This, and the Honda FCX Clarity (which is Hydrogen powered, and also a complete game-changer of vehicles that need to be.. uhh.. filled, and for those who travel over 40 miles) are making me really like the future. I hope these are more signs of what are to come, and that things such as the Escalade ESV are on their way out.

Satruday Gravel

There really is nothing like a sunrise when you're out on gravel. It's simply amazing, seriously. And there's nothing like a gravel ride. Just ask Oly, he seemed to be enjoying it:

We headed out north bound from Casa Oliver, destination was Branched Oak Road and 98th, then Cultiva Coffee at 15th and South. Yeah, kind of a convoluted way of getting there, but whaddya get, right? I was nervous, real nervous and out of sorts - see the last time I was on Branched Oak Road it tried to kill me about a dozen times. There was an amusing moment when we pulled up to Branched Oak and Highway 77, and I pointed out that I had sat on the site of the road with fig newtons and water bottles. "Oh so this was the spot" (where I almost gave up) Oliver mentioned, "This was ONE of the spots.. there's plenty more". Heh. Anyway, Branched Oak was a mental hurdle because, well, it wasn't pleasant at all the last time.

Don't ever let anyone tell you Nebraska is flat...

When we turned onto Branched Oak I had to throw the headphones on, I needed some tunes to get me through the next 7 miles. I was going to go for Led Zeppelin II, but I hit "shuffle" on a whim and the iphonepod threw out some irony - Ozzy's "Road to Nowhere". Hah, so. freaking. appropriate. So I rolled out behind Oly and suffered up and down the hills that almost beat me last year.

There's a strange, sadistic allure of gravel to me. You go up, you come down, you go up, you come down. Branched Oak has some hellacious hills, but the nice thing about it is that it gives you a break on the downhills. Pella Road ain't havin that, you go down, you go right back up. The hills you see in this pic are nice and gradual.. not the mini mountains of Pella.

My memory, of course, could be a bit tainted.

Weather was.. honestly? Kinda brutal! There was/is a 25 mph wind out of the south/southwest today and the temps when we left were already over 80. By the time we hit Cultiva Coffee at around 9:45am, we were at 93 with a heat index of 105. Whew! Heat, Headwinds, Humidity, and Hills.. rock it.

Took Branched Oak to 14th, then decided to take the pavement back into town. Some dang nice views at that time of the morning

The headwind made us pay for every mile of the pavement, I'm tellin' ya. It was hilly, lots of traffic, and lots of wind. But still good. I still cussed, because I said I was going to and I couldn't let Oly down. Seemed like forever, but eventually we were back in town - and shortly after, at Cultiva. Had a cappuccino, which was.. I don't know how to describe it. Phenomenal. Amazing. Etc.

Big thanks to Oly and a guy at work for telling me - repeatedly - to check out Cultiva. I'm not a coffee nut, but I dig a good cup, and this was simply amazing. I bought a thermal mug (which fits perfectly in a bottle cage, btw), and filled it with some of their brewed.. goodness. Man, amazing stuff.

I started out today feeling pretty apprehensive about the upcoming GLGA but now I'm cool. I've got a lot of work to do over the next two weeks, but you know what? It'll be awesome, regardless of the outcome, but I'm goona work on my fist pumps. You know, just in case.

Today was, of course, definitely aided by excellent company. I know many struggle to find riding partners of equal, or even close, capability and route/terrain interest. I lucked out big time in that respect.

That's all I've got. Heck of a great day of riding - and a good week of it coming up, too. GLGA, here I come.

Snap

http://www.fatcyclist.com/2009/08/05/dont-say-she-lost

I've been following Elden and Susan's fight for as long as I've been cycling, about three years now. In fact, I think it's one of the first sites that pulled up on one of my first Googles for information back then. Simply, reading this is downright heart wrenching. Like many I'm sure, I kept hoping the story would have a happy ending - that in the end it'd be like Lance's book, where somehow the chemo took and it had a happy ending.

Tonight I'm going to hug my kids a little tighter, and tell my wife I love her more.

And I'm going to hit the weights. And that awful, evil, vile stair stepper. Tomorrow I'm going to ride my bike, a lot. I'm goona suffer through ever mile of the GLGA.

I'm never, ever, ever again going to have a cigarette. Or McDonald's. Or Burger King. Or.. you get the idea. After two instances like this in the past two years, two mothers ripped from the planet before their time - I get the message.

She definitely didn't lose.

Cash for Clunkers

I generally try to avoid getting political, or anything like it in this blog, but this one really annoys me. I'm sure you're aware of the Cash for Clunkers program the government is spearheading right now. On paper, it's a great idea - get your "clunker" and trade it in for a mroe fuel efficent vehicle, then the .gov gives you $3500 or $4500. Not bad! Here's my problems with it:

1.) MPG Requirements: Your old vehicle must get less than 18MPG combined to qualify, and your new vehicle needs to get a combined total of 4MPG more than the old one to qualify for the $3500 - or over 10 than the old to get the $4500. Here's where that's ridiculous, let's say you have a '92 Chevy 4x4 pickup, your combined is 13mpg. You can get $3500 for just finding something that gets 17mpg combined - not too hard, right? Hell, you could probably stay in a pickup, and find something that gets 23mpg combined, and still get the $4500. To add to this ridiculousness, and the thing that really torques some off - the EPA "revised" it's numbers on July 24th. Many found their gas guzzler to magically have new EPA numbers.. yet it never previously got that mileage. Tin foil hat, anymore?

2.) Old vehicle destruction: This one really gets me going. In the name of the environment we're going to.. throw away the old vehicle, brilliant! Wait what? So your old car got 15MPG and your new one gets 19.. we're goona throw the old one away? Let it rot in a scrap yard? I'm lost on this, why not do something smart like take those vehicles, and give them to those in need? I know there's probably plenty of construction workers or contractors who could use a newer pickup, why not give it to them? Why not use them for public works projects? I know Lincoln's parks and rec folks still drive around in OLD pickup trucks.. why not give it to them?

3.) New car requirement: Here's the rub, you HAVE to buy a new car. On average, that tax credit means nothing, your new car is going to depreciate more than $4500 (unless you buy a niche vehicle, or something like a Prius) the second you pull off the lot. Why not extend it to all cars? I mean seriously, the $8,000 tax credit on home purchases was made available to every home, and it's been working brilliantly - why not do the same thing with CARS?

Why? This is nothing more than a stimulus for the auto industry, not the consumer. The auto industry hates used cars, in america we sell - every year - 4 to 5 used cars for every new car sold. Destroying old cars, I can't fathom how that's good for our environment. Like I said previously, the $8,000 stimulus on home purchases has worked, why? Because there's very few loopholes attached, and it directly benefits US. It benefits the person selling the home, and it benefits the home buyer. Sure it benefits the economy as well, I'm sure Lowe's wants to give the government a big old hug this year - but really, it's good.

Here's my idea for a "Cash for Clunkers" stimulus - make it extend to every car that gets over 25MPG combined, and make the max be $4500 if the vehicle purchase is over $10,000. Then take the old vehicles and put them up for auction, an auction only open to people below the poverty line, charities, and cities - cap the auction price at $2,000.

In a perfect world, let's really make it work. If you take your "clunker" and trade it in on a bicycle, give 'em the $4500. You want your environment savings, there you go. Otherwise, this is ridiculous, and I hope it comes to an end quickly.

In other news, recently I started smoking again. I'm not sure why, rather I know why but I don't know why it continues. Smoking is a horrible habit that, anyone who has been a smoker can tell you, also is one that you never truly break. I think 3 weeks of it is enough to break me again - I feel like crap, I'm hacking up lungs, and I'm washing my hands all the time to get rid of the smell. I've also been barely riding my bike. Working things out in my head, so to speak, and trying to get back in the "zone" which has eluded me for several months now.

It'll happen. Better damn well be soon, too, the GLGA is three weeks away...

Perfection in Blogging Syndrome

I've apparently been afflicted with some new disorder where I can only post to this blog when I think the post is "perfect". Which has led me, of the course of the past couple weeks, to start a post only to stop 1/3rd to 2/3rds of the way through, abandon it, and then 10 minutes later realize how ridiculous that was.. only to not have the time at that point to restart it. It's a seriously strange disorder, I tell ya.

Been a slow month for riding, I've been, honestly, focusing on a lot of other things rather than cycling. Glad I did, too, I've now got a relatively clear mind and my focus is quickly coming back 100%. I'm not worried about the mileage, I've got three weeks until the GLGA, and I can't wait. Gravel Goodness. That's what I'm talking about.

Weight thankfully has remained stable. I've been watching the intake as closely as possible, so it really shows how you can maintain - or lose - if you don't have a chance to get much exercise in. My new favorite thing in the world - seriously - is the Livestrong Daily Plate iPhone App. I can't summarize how nice that thing is to have around, both for tracking and looking up foods when we go out. Going out is STILL my weakness as it's so painfully easy to fall so far off the wagon.. but with this, it's not so tough.

Bike has been put back into great order thanks to the guys and gals over at Cycle Works, the LHT had a loose rear hub and needed a wheel true - they had it back to me the next day. So happy that they opened up a south location a mile from my house featuring a service area - go visit 'em up at 70th and Pioneers! My daughter recently has been mastering the cycling art, so to celebrate a couple weeks ago I decided she deserved a new ride. We took a trip up to CW after much box store searching (don't. ask.) and on the first shot they had the perfect ride for her:

She really digs her new Giant Taffy and I predict it's only a matter of time before she drops me. If you knew her, you'd realize that once she saw it and the color scheme I had no choice but to get it for her. The smile is worth it, lemme tell you, one of the greatest gifts as a Dad is the smile. I'll admit in advance it's also my biggest weakness. LOL.

That's all I've got today. I'm around, I'm doing better than ever and I'm looking forward to the next couple weeks. I've got about 18 pounds to go before October 1 to beat my lowest on October 1 2008 and that's cool with me. After that.. well.. the big "300 lost" is looming closer and closer. I'd really like to see that. REALLY.