RideFetish.com Rider Blogs

Okay, so maybe I am an Ass Hole by Douglas

DouglasPalen@aol.com — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 05:28:37 GMT

Funny how life can bust a mirror into your face once in a while to let you get a glimpse of yourself. It’s only now sinking in that the voice calling me an asshole may not have come from the car stopping at the light. If that’s all it was I would have dismissed it as I darted left in front of it. Had it been just the asshole in the car I would have rode on blissfully on the maiden voyage of my new bike I just built. But no, at the moment I thought to ignore and crank around him, my left pedal took a chunk out of the pavement, and sent me flying up and over the bike onto my right shoulder. Then moments later realizing that me, my bike, and my water bottle were spread out in center stage of the intersection all alone except for all those cars right in the middle of their five o’clock commute home. Right now I’m thinking that even though I collected my shit and hobbled out of the way, part of my brain is still dwelling on that spot. What the fuck was I doing out there? I am 200 pounds and have only been out on a bike maybe 5 times this year. And three of those times I’ve managed to drag the exact same parts of my body along the road, rashing then re-rashing again and again. I got hit head on by a truck a few weeks ago. And had the audacity to think that somehow I could pull off a double century by substituting a dilusional self-image for training. And despite this, for some reason I made timeand spent money to build yet another bike. Maybe I’ve been ignoring this message longer than I thought… I have now fully realized that I am definitely not who I was last year. I have let things go like a landslide. While trying to hold on to an identity that fits as well as last year’s bike shorts. This has been by far the toughest year of my life. From my own persistant medical problems, to the loss of our son. The downward spiral of my business and then the miscarriage of our recent hopes to start again. And so much more that I could write one heck of a country song. But the point is that I am here feeling sorry for myself like an asshole. I have always believed that there is never a way to put things back the way they were. Life would be too boring if that were possible. Only an asshole would dwell on that instead of growing into life as it moves forward. As I sit here reflecting I think that this latest crash might have been what it took to smack my brain into letting go and getting back into the here and now. My identity on the bike as a small metaphore for a larger picture. But, metaphore or not, I really need to stop scraping my body and my bikes along the fucking pavement.

Happening at Huntington by Dirt_Dad

eatsleepfish@gmail.com — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:42:49 GMT

Here is what you missed yesterday. Tons of demos from Iron Horse, Cannondale, and Kona! Great prizes, BBQ, and some great riding.

More Freak Juice by Dirt_Dad

eatsleepfish@gmail.com — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:38:53 GMT

Here are some clips on the Gussy Trail riding my Fixation 69er.

The Upper Gussy Experience by Dirt_Dad

eatsleepfish@gmail.com — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 04:44:25 GMT

Thought I would share some riding scenes from the trail that I am building. And for those of you who have been thinking about trying the koolaid, try this:

Balloon Festival Classic by cprensky

fill@me.in.com — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 01:41:30 GMT

Saturday, June 8, will undoubtedly go down as one of my most memorable race experiences. Granted, in my short racing career, just about every race of any consequence makes that list, but this race will remain on that list for a long time to come. For starters, it was hot. The weatherman called for temperatures in the low to mid 90's and even by the time we went to breakfast at 6:15am it was warm. The course was also hilly, in a punchy rolling kind of way with very steep little power climbs. The 'big climb' was not so big, but it was a WALL with a little flat section in the middle with neutral water and a feed zone. Oh yea, and there was one tiny dirt section- just enough to add to the memorableness of the day. In the 3/4 field, we lined up with the same squad that tackled Jiminy Peak. Craig, Kurt and George joined me in the heat to battle the assortment of CRCA guys (not interested in ESG qualifiers) as well as upstate and New Englad teams. As we set out, nobody was in a particular rush to kill themselves and the smallish field of 58 riders was more than happy to allow the early breaks to go away. The race was pretty standard fare for the first lap and a half of three. There was the occasional puncture, the occasional yellow line infraction and one incident involving traffic on the course holding up our pace vehicle and the field almost stacking into its rear bumper. At some point before the third lap, George was able to go off the front with a few guys. For a while, it looked promising and I was doing my best to sit in at the front and silently cheer them on. Eventually, the group got anxious and George's break came back. Around this time (20 miles to go, or so) a group of five guys rolled off the front. They quickly established a substantial lead of about 1:30. Once again, despite some teams (including ours) prodding, the group would not chase. I found myself rotating with 3 other guys at the front, trying to make something happen. It was incredibly hard to get an organized effort moving. With about 13 miles to go, I pulled to the front and easily rolled off from the group- nobody would follow, except for Adam Zimmerman of Setanta. I asked how he felt and he insisted that he was not ready for a two man suffer fest. With about a mile to go before the dirt, I thought that I would at least get a nice line by being off the front. By the time the dirt section arrived, I had realized that the break was definitely sticking, and I might as well try a suicide mission to bridge solo. With my earlier observations about the fast line on the dirt road, I drilled it as hard as I could. The group seemed to close in on me, though, and by the end of the dirt road section, I thought that my fun was over. However, with a long descent, I was able to stretch the lead out again. For the next 35 minutes, I buried myself in the pain. I fought to distance myself further, imagining that I would at least finish clear of the field with a top 6 if I couldn't catch the break. Every downhill was an exercise in aerodynamics and high cadence power. Every little climb was a sprint. By the time I got to the 'big climb' (at roughly 5 or 6 miles to go) I had caught some of the 30/40+ masters. As I sprinted up the hill, nauseous and delirious at the halfway point, I noticed a couple shattered 3/4's. They were practically stopped. "This is good" I thought as I meekly called out for neutral water. Dumping the water over my back and head, I powered up the last steep section. "5 miles to go." Another screaming descent and we were on the long straightaway into town on rt.22. I could finally see the red Miata pacecar in the distance. There were two guys left. "Third will be sweet, but I can't let anybody catch me." I continue to drive down 22. The gap was closing. I slowly reeled the break in over the next 10 minutes, catching them with a half-mile to go as we rolled into Cambridge. The last two turns came up fast and we hit 200 meters to go. I lit up my sprint and pulled ahead. As I hit the bouncy, rough pavement of Cambridge, I lost my traction. James Morrison was able to pull up even and get me by a rim width on the line. Needless to say, I have never been happier to earn 2nd place in anything. I was seeing stars as a kindly lady handed me a bottle. And I dropped my bike in the grass... Back at the car, Bob was waiting for the most exotic beer money could buy in Cambridge, NY: a novelty sized Australian lager (Foster’s). Never tasted so good.

Big Weekend by DirtyBurd

dirty_burd_71@yahoo.com — Tue, 27 May 2008 13:34:28 GMT

Over the Memorial weekend we were fortunate to attend Moses Lake BMXs BIG WEEKEND of racing! We went over for their Friday evening race and stayed through Monday for the State Championship Race qualifier! The results went like this. Dirty picked up the win Friday. Close racing! He was up against a NAG (National Age Group) 10 rider who also holds the #1 plate in our district! Saturday was a Race For Life to help raise money for the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society®. He raced the same kids. He got second place that afternoon. Sunday was the Redline Cup Qualifier, Triple Point race! Again the same racers were on the track. Dirty came out of the gate and took the NAG 10 rider high in the corner, passed him and went on to win his main! Monday was the State Race. Two more riders showed up for this one. One of them was the NAG 9 rider. Dirty Qualified for the main in his first moto so he didn't have to run the second moto. In the main, he was right in between the NAG 9 and the NAG 10 riders on the gate. They left the gate together and when they came out of the first corner, Dirty had the lead! Half way down the second straight, one shoes came unclipped!!! He was passed by one rider and was able to hang on to place second. Over the whole weekend there were a possible 800 points to be scored. He ended up with 720! What a great time! He is really coming around and not letting the nationally ranked riders bother him! That's it for now! Ride hard! Bruce aka Dirty Burd Sr.

Kona Bicycles Mountain Bike Adventure Series by Dirt_Dad

eatsleepfish@gmail.com — Sat, 24 May 2008 10:14:04 GMT

For the 8th year NEMBA will be holding Mountain Bike Adventure Series rides at various locations around New England. This year the series will feature some of the best riding areas in our region. There's no better way to explore a new riding area than following a marked course that highlights a venue's best trails at your own pace. And all monies collected normally fund local trail projects. The ride series comes to Connecticut on Sunday, June 22nd, at Huntington State Park in Redding CT. This is the first time that the park has hosted this series. There will be new trails, lost of guided rides, skills sessions and many more reasons to join CT NEMBA in Southwestern Connecticut. The event will take place at the parking lot (Statues) off of Sunset Hill Rd, in Redding. Registration: 9 to 11 - $10 for members, $15 for non-members but if you join NEMBA the day of the event, then it's free. Led Rides Depart: 9:30 & 10 (return 12:30) Demos ( Iron Horse) , Women's Skill Sessions ( Campmor Womens' Race Team), Stunt Course : 10 to 1 PM Award Winning BBQ by Jamie Shier ($10), raffle : 12 noon to 1:30 PM Registration money will go to Huntington State Park for signs, maps, and trail improvements. BBQ money goes to Pan Mass Challenge. Volunteers are needed, so please contact Paula Burton (peburton@aol.com or 203-426-5369) if you would like to help. Directions: Off I-84 Eastbound: Take Exit 5. At stop sign, continue straight to traffic light. Turn right onto Main Street and travel to its end (1.25 miles). Turn left onto South Street, at 2nd light follow Route 53 into Bethel. At Route 53 and Route 302 follow Route 302 east for 1.6 miles. At Route 58 and Route 302, follow Route 58 south for 4.6 miles then take a left onto Sunset Hill Road. Collis P. Huntington is 0.8 miles on the right. Off I-84 Westbound: Take Exit 9. Take Route 25 South for approximately 3 miles, then turn west onto Route 302 for 6 miles. At Route 58 and Route 302, follow Route 58 south for 4.6 miles then take a left onto Sunset Hill Road. Collis P. Huntington is 0.8 miles on the right. Off Merritt Parkway Southbound: Take Exit 42. Take Route 136 north for 5.2 miles, at the intersection of Route 136 and Route 58, follow Route 58 for 7 miles then take a right onto Sunset Hill Road. Collis P. Huntington is 0.8 miles on the right. Off Merritt Parkway Northbound: Take Exit 44. Take Route 58 North for approximately 10 miles. Turn right onto Sunset Hill. Collis P. Huntington is 0.8 miles on the right.

Racing Update: First New England Road Race by cprensky

fill@me.in.com — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:49:53 GMT

So, its been a while since my last post, and the racing has continued to progress. Due to success in the 3/4 races in Central Park, as well as the CRCA club races in the 'B' division, I am being bumped up to the 'A' group, despite my current status as a Cat4. My Cat3 upgrade will be coming soon. Anyway, last weekend was my first real out of town race with a field of NYC guys as well as talent from New England and New Jersey. The Jiminy Peak Road Race is a major spring highlight for many area racers and I was excited to tackle my first race on real open roads. The cat4 field raced 3 18mile laps on rural, Western MA roads with a mile-long power climb to reach the finish line. We even had a rolling neutral start for this race and a neutral wheel support van following the field. It was cold, rainy and very windy at the start for the 113 guys in my field. I had 4 team mates who had committed, most gallantly, to ride for me in the race due to my good form and recent successes. I was able to spend the majority of the race out of the wind, just watching for any splits in the group. On the last lap, my team started coming to the front to animate the race. With a couple of miles before the finish climb, Sanchez-Metro was in pretty good control of the situation, and I was able to hold perfect position. The final climb in not long, and rises in three short, steep steps with false-flats between. The key was to have patience and let the yahoos try to sprint from the bottom and let them die by the middle of the climb. By the time we reached the third and final steep section, I sat first or second wheel, where I patiently watched. Waiting, waiting, waiting, I finally upshifted, and popped the biggest acceleration I could find just as the finish line came into sight. Nobody could come with as we were pretty pegged coming up the hill. I crossed clear of any other riders by a good margin. The best feeling was standing at the top and watching my team mates react one-by-one as they realized that our careful planning over dinner the night before had worked to perfection. They were probably more pumped than me. After waiting in the finish area for the official results to be finalized and the protest period closed, I rode back to the start area, down the 50mph descent with my payout in my back pocket. I reached our car to find my team mates already celebrating. Photo, hugs, shower, hit the road to head home and go back to preparing for my Microbiology exam on bacterial pathogens... A great weekend, made even better by the support and encouragement of my wonderful team, to whom I owe a huge debt of gratitude.

WTB: Aero Lever by Dirt_Dad

eatsleepfish@gmail.com — Wed, 07 May 2008 10:54:28 GMT

Anyone have a single aero level they sell me for a nice price? Building up an old Bianchi as an SS/fixie rig and I already have one lever but need another for the bull horns I am using.

For Sale: Mavic X223 disc rims/Scott sealed hubs by mindless

two.tired4good@gmail.com — Sun, 04 May 2008 01:41:38 GMT

hey all,

if anyone wants a pretty sweet wheelset, I've listed this on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180239408206

If anyone from this site does Buy It Now, I'll waive the shipping for you. Just select Local Pickup, and tell me your RideFetish screenname, and you get free shipping! Hard to argue, eh?

Finally, my own people by SoCalRider

mshmtb@gmail.com — Sat, 03 May 2008 04:10:19 GMT

Kinda hard to find Fetish owners out here in the valley. Just stopped by to say hi.

Question about competitive racing by BikeyMikey

Nyhc_223@yahoo.com — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:08:32 GMT

This year I want to take my riding to a new level and race. The thing is that I am totally oblivious to the racing world. I want to do either track or road racing. Any help here?

A few races so far this year by DirtyBurd

dirty_burd_71@yahoo.com — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:40:28 GMT

William got some indoor winter racing in this year. The high lights are a 2nd place at a Redline Cup Qualifier in Oregon, and making it to the Main at the Great North West Nationals pre-race on Friday and the semi finals at both days of the Nationals (Saturday and Sunday). Local races have been like last year in the Spring. Sunshine and then RAIN!! He won all four of our home races he was in this year. Other tracks in the area will be opening soon after complete rebuilds. Should be some good racing this year! GOGOGO! DB Sr.

The "Thommy Cloth": All 330 mil by Adam

adamjroth@gmail.com — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 18:42:16 GMT

2 sides of the same coin by maximumsmashism

jconnolly@thebradleycenter.org — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 01:42:16 GMT

It was Friday and I got out of work early. Earlier in the day, I’d gotten the IT guy to install ITunes for me. I’d spent most of my day tying up lose threads and talking MMA with a buddy. When my girl got home, we drove to Iron City to deposit money for a friend who was buying a Crosscheck. The owner gave me an x7 front shifter for free cause it had a little crack in it. We went to east end brewery for growlers. They had a new one –wheat hop. It was lemony and sharp. Initially it tasted bad, but it was so intriguing and original, I wanted more. I imagine it would pair well with shell fish, sweet sausage or grilled mushrooms. My friend Damon came. We drank beers and talked. I got 2 growlers which pushed me to 10 on my little card so I got an additional one for free. We decided to go to an Ethiopian restaurant we’d never been to before. It was good to see my girl getting along with one of friends. the food was incredible. We split a growler of Big Hop which matched perfectly with the pungent earthy flavors. Amazing meal. We headed over to Kelly’s and stayed for a few more hours debating music and art. My buddy Jeff came too. It wasn’t smoky. The barmaid busted balls in a friendly manner and only charged us $10. I went home and ate some tater tots and fell asleep. Saturday I overslept and woke up very hungover. i could hear my girl throwing up in the bathroom. The bank closed at 1 and it was already 12:30. I crawled to the couch and fell asleep reading. The other bank closed at 3. I got there at 3:05. went to kraynick’s and bought housing and cables. An old friend was performing at 9pm so I had a few hours to finish building up my bike and hopefully do a lil riding. At 8 I quit. Top pull bottom swing derailleurs defeat me. I mistakenly thought I had a 185 mm adapter. My allen wrenches were all too short. The cable cutters kept making ragged cuts. Since I hadn’t made it to the bank, I had to borrow $20 from my girl. I hate doing that. I was riding to the show with a buddy and he announced that his wife was going as well. She is a beautiful intelligent normal person and I always feel like a subnormal weirdo around her. We got to the bar and there was a cover charge. We got a table and I realized I’d already lost my $20 somewhere. Most of the people there were former coworkers whom I have avoided for the last 2 years. My ex girlfriend showed up and began texting me. Former coworkers came over to gossip. Lot’s of saccharine sweetness and hugs from people I don’t like. Lot’s of being called Bro and chest thumps. Lot’s of people who stopped talking to me when we broke up affirming that we were still friends, right? Everyone wanted to know why I was hanging out in the back. My friend played. I love the guy and he is supremely talented, but I hate his music. I was there for support. Anyways, I snuck out the fire escape.

Trip to Denver soon. by reelinfeele

mariojm@earthlink.net — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:43:53 GMT

Hey all, am taknig a trip to see some long lost family in Denver. Where to ride? Don't know that I will have a lot of time to aclimate to altitude. Something in an intermediate level. The thought of going from sea level to 12000 ft seems daunting. thanks and happy pedaling.

2008 racing season. by moparvike

moparvike@gmail.com — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 18:42:52 GMT

Triple Valley Stage Race April 12-13 2008 Well, the race season kicked off for me this past weekend. First race of the year and it was a stage race. Haven't been able to train much as of yet with school still in full swing, but that ends next week. The good news is that I haven't gained any weight since the end of last season. I'm topping out at 180 lbs. A great weight to start with! Much better than last year's 190. So Triple Valley. 3 stages. Stage one was a 52 mile road race in beautiful, desolate Skull Valley. Felt good for this one. I can't seem to get my cyclocomputer to work, so the speeds are estimates. We started out right off of exit 77 I-80. Cat 4 turnaround was classified as 'turnaround B' about 26 miles south. The stage had a brisk pace the whole way through. I would say 20 or so mph to start with with a graduation to about 25-28 mph to finish. The starting group was about 50 or so riders, I would say. Category 4, of course. I stayed towards the front of the peloton for the first 1/2 of the race. As it would turn out, I should have tried to stay in the front. Our team captain rode this race with us. All in all, I had about 5 teammates with me. We cycled through with a couple of racers from Colorado. These guys were acting funny throughout the race and we decided to stay with them in case they went for the break away. The trip out was relatively uneventful. As we approached the turn around, a number of guys were wanting to stop at the neutral feed zone to relieve themselves. However, the boys from Colorado had other ideas and went for the sprint immediately. About 10 of us were able to hang with them for the sprint. Unfortunately, everyone caught up with us and just like that, the fireworks were over. Until the crash, of course. I fell back to about the middle of the peloton when someone to my right, just ahead of me touched wheels with the guy next to him. This knocked him over and he fell hard. He seperated from his bike and went careening off right in front of me. He skidded to my left and the guy to my left plowed right into him, sending him over. This was at about 25 mph, so it was rather violent. I slammed on the brakes and avoided getting tangled up. Unfortunately, I now found myself behind the rest of the peloton. I had to do some hard riding to catch back up with them. Once you're in no man's land, it gets pretty tough when dealing with a peloton. A couple of guys were behind me and we started working together to catch up with the rest of the group. Once we caught them, we mingled back into the fold. The pace was off and on like an accordian from here in. This was extremely frustrating. We were riding 3 and 4 abreast and the guys up front would not go. We were stuck in the back. I tried the left and the right to no avail. There were a couple guys back there that were yelling at the guys in the front, but there didn't seem to be any desire to go for it. With 8 miles to go, everyone was getting anxious and pissed. I was feverently trying to get past the wedge that blocked the path. The time to go was at hand. Everyone was dreading the possible pile up and we were all pretty much expecting it to happen. I was desparately trying to get up front for the sprint. Lots of yelling and positioning, but no change. One of my teammates almost went down. Someone cut him off and hit his front wheel. He about went over, but corrected. And just like that, we all crossed the finish line. I felt pretty good, still had a bunch of energy. I would need it. Stage 2 was in the afternoon. Stage 2 was the time trial. 7.9 miles from Copperton to the Kennecott Copper pit entrance, then back down the hill to the finish. Time trials are usually my bread and butter. When I'm in my training regime, I do 2 of them everyday for the commute to work. So I felt great heading into this stage. I had taken it easy from the morning skirmish and gave my legs a little recovery time. So far, my standing in the general classification was about right in the middle of the pack. We all had the same time going so this time trial was really going to break things up a bit. My start time was 05:43 PM. I had my skin suit on. My fancy new TT helmet and positive attitude. Too bad my body didn't feel the same. The start was purely downhill from Copperton to the very sharp right turn onto Baccus Highway. I almost overshot the turn, but was able to correct. Then the hard part came. Time trials are extreme exertion and alot of mental fortitude. The next 200 meters or so had a slight climb gradient to it. The burn came, but I was able to still push forward at a good pace. The west side of the Salt Lake valley is rolling foothills. So at the top of this minor climb came a quick descent down past the finish line. But first we had to trek back up the other side to the turn around point, which I wish that I would have driven the course beforehand to see the layout and plan accordingly. I hit the hill and proceeded to get murdered. My legs hit the wall and I found myself shifting way down to make it up the hill. My mind was screeming at me to keep the pace up, but my legs would have nothing of it. The guy that started 30 seconds behind me caught me on this hill and I thought for sure that the guy behind him would catch me too. He didn't which is good because that would've sucked. The kid, for his age is amazing, but he's only about 12 or so years old. He bypassed the juniors and is riding in the Cat 4 mens group. But he weighs 50 lbs soaken wet and time trialing isn't his specialty. Anyway, I reach the top of this murderous hill and I'm thinking that the turnaround it the next right, so I slow down a little. I look up to the left and see no other cyclists. I look forward and see everyone coming back, so I try to sprint back up to speed to get to the cone down the road to turn around. I shifted down to get my spin at a higher rate to try to flush the acid out of my legs for the descent to finish. Mentally I turned everything off and just gunned it down the hill as fast as I could possibly go. I would estimate here that I topped off at around 45 mph or so going down the hill. Thank god the course was only 7.9 miles long because I was beaten. I lost 3 minutes on this stage in the GC. Stage 3 was a 25 mile circuit race in Tooele Valley the following morning. The field thinned out a little bit due to the crash and some guys opting out. But I stayed the course. Entering into this stage I was at 29th place in the GC. Not too bad considering the amount of time that I have trained, which is almost none. I was 3 minutes behind the leader and I was determined to stay with the pack to try my chances at moving up in the standings. This was a pretty fun course. 5 miles in rural Tooele valley with 5 laps around this course. The finish leg was all downhill. Everything else was pretty much uphill, which, of course nuked me and several other guys by the time the race was over with. The pace was very fast right from the start. It was a neutral start for about 1/2 of a block to the circuit and then a left turn onto the course. It was on from the start. Again it was a fairly large group and everyone was concentrating on not crashing. The second turn started the slow climb back to the top of the circuit. This leg wasn't long, but had an increasing gradient to it. Not much leg burn here, but just enough to slow the group a little. Then another right hand turn to the main climb. There wasn't much elevation gain here, but it sure seemed like it. Everyone was amazed at how this hill was zapping you of your energy. I managed to stay with the pack. This leg meandered through the countryside, the whole time in a climb. Then a quick turn onto the southern, westbound leg. This leg was highly controversial. It was extremely short and wasn't marked. The other turns had someone directing traffic but this one did not. One guy at the front of our peloton went straight down the road at a high rate of speed. By my estimation, he was lost to the race. Everyone else turned onto the finishing leg, wich was one long, straight, downhill stretch. I figured we were all doing over 30-35 mph down this leg. The finish line was right about in the middle of it. 5 laps around this course. I stayed on for 3.5 laps, then the legs gave out again. Damnit all. Ah well, I stuck with it. There's nothing in cycle racing like seeing the peloton start to leave you. And there's nothing much you can do about it either. You just have to stay the course and attempt a personal time trial to finish the race off. I lost another few minutes on this stage. This race was pretty fun. My first of the year. Plus I felt better at the end of it than I ever had any of the years before. Shouldn't take long to shake all of the rust off. I hope at least. Overall I finished 34th in the general classification. I was 6 minutes behind the winner, so this was obviously a pretty close race for everyone. I just need to work on my uphill power. Up next: the Tax Day Circuit race. Inkom Idaho, April 19th. Beautiful course and extremely fun. A bit of climbing to do. Got to get the legs ready for it.

First Ride Today by Adam

adamjroth@gmail.com — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:39:27 GMT

My GT Marathon will hit the trails in less than 2 hours. Expect a ride report to follow. *Update* Rode a 9 mile loop with Eric & Clem. The bike is light, climbs effortlessly, rolls over everything, and is unbelievably maneuverable. Worth every dollar. I'm going out for another ride in an hour. *Update #2* Rode a 4 mile loop with Dan. This is the most fun I've had on a bike in years. Feels like I've been riding a boat anchor for way too long.

Points Race Lesson 1...do better math! by cprensky

fill@me.in.com — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 19:32:21 GMT

So this weekend was another Central Park-only one before some of the big more regional out of town races start. On my schedule was a CRCA club race on Saturday and a New York Spring Series on Sunday. The points race works like this: 6 laps in central park (6.1 mile per lap) with points awarded at the top of Harlem hill (a 1/4 mile power climb/sprint at the northern edge) on every lap except the first with 6 points going to 1st place, 4 to second and 2 to third. On the last lap, extra points (9,6,4,2) were awarded for the sprint to the start/finish line. I raced in the B field again. It sounds like fun, though as with every Saturday so far, the weather had to make things nasty. Rain overnight and budding trees made for very slippery conditions. On the very first lap, there was a nasty crash that resulted in two ambulances and three guys with serious injuries. I nearly got taken out when some unlucky rider slid into me, but I was able to maintain my balance. After that, I was a little careful not to touch my brakes in any corner (even still, I felt my tires lose traction). When it came time to earn points in the sprints, I did my job winning the first three, despite losing traction and pulling out of a pedal on the second one, nearly crashing. I was passed, but was able to find another gear and just come around at the line for the six. By the beginning of the fifth lap, I had won all of the sprints. With 18 points I was happy to let a break get away. This would prove to be a miscalculation. None of the previous points scorers were in the break, but it was large enough to easily stay away. All major teams had strong representation up the road (including my team with two riders) and so nobody was chasing. I finished out the race with the pack assuming that nobody in the break would be able to win the finish and score enough points on the two remaining Harlem hill sprints. I was wrong, and ended up losing by 1 point...lesson learned. Sunday morning was a Cat 3/4 race in Central Park. This time, only 4 laps. With a shorter distance and more racers fitness beginning to come up, the field was unable to blow off the sketchier riders with a long fast effort. Unfortunately, as these sketchy riders get tired, they get sketchier. This made for a bit of a hairy ride; thankfully it was dry this morning. I rode aggressively in the last lap to get position for the sprint. As the leadout began to wind up, BANG! a rider in front went down. Forced to swing wide, I let my sprint go an extra 75 yards early. I managed to get a gap, and held off the series leader for the win. This was my first real 3/4 win, which erased my frustrations over yesterday and made watching the finish of Paris Roubaix a real pleasure.

The new SID by mindless

two.tired4good@gmail.com — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 02:28:54 GMT

Got the new SID all installed today. http://www.ridefetish.com/bike/show/366 I had to replace my carbon bars with some cheap-o aluminums because the taper reaches farther out on carbon bars, so there wasn't enough room for the new lockout remote. such is life. :-/ I didn't want to mess up the lines of the fork with something as undeserving as a computer sensor and wire, so I mounted the sensor piggie-back on the brake caliper (check the pic), and wound the wire down the brake housing. Not bad. Nicely hidden. Anyone wanna put bets on how long before that gets ripped off and goes into my rotor? Woo-hoo!! I also replaced my blue grips with some ODI lock-ons we had around the shop. The blue, black, white and gold of the front end was a bit much for me. I'm thinking of going back to black tires once these wear out. All in all, absofuckinglutely B-E-A-utiful!!! I want to point out that Rock Shox has some awesome attention to detail. The sag measurements are printed on the stanchion. AND, they put a red o-ring on the stanchion that has one purpose: to help you measure sag using the measurements printed on the stanchion. On top of that, the rebound adjuster knob on the bottom pulls off (rather diffucult to do) and is a 2.5mm allen key, which you need to adjust the lockout knobs. Awesome.

Racing Update by cprensky

fill@me.in.com — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:50:27 GMT

Its been about three weeks since my last entry, and much has happened. After that last race that I posted about, I was given an upgrade in my club to race in the B's with Cat4, and was then given a discretionary USCF Cat4 upgrade due to recommendation from my coach and my Cat5 results. On the 22nd of March, I traveled with a few team mates to Branch Brook park in Newark, NJ to race my first 3/4 event. What a difference! The fields were large and the speeds were fast. the 35 mile race ended with a hairpin 180 turn a couple k's before the finish. I put myself in the perfect position (top 10) at the turn, but the field chaotically fell apart right before the sprint. Having no idea where I was in relation to the finish, I had to sprint behind a mass of people moving in all directions. In the most frightening moment of the year, I passed a fellow racer very closely as we hit the finish line. At the same moment, his tire blew and he hit the deck- breaking his clavicle. Unfortunately, after riding a smart race, I goofed on the positioning at the sprint and wound up somewhere between 8th-11th. It was so crammed at the finish, that the camera missed my number and I did not appear on the official results. I had to fly out to California immediately after the race, and so couldn't hang around to confirm and/or protest. A couple of hours later, I was on a plane to Northern California where my girlfriend and I spend the week visiting friends in the Bay Area. It was my first time riding out there it was amazing! My week was capped off with a 47 mile sufferfest of an outlaw mountain bike race- part of the Grasshopper Adventure series. I rode with a good college buddy of mine (who is a hell of a mountain biker). 3 hours and 13 minutes, several thousand feet of climing, miles on fire roads, singletrack and paved roads later I arrived at the finish line. I ended up in 31st place out of ~70. Not bad for a roadie who hasn't touched a mountain bike in 7+ months and so was totally sketch on the long technical descents. That brings me back to this past weekend back in New York where I had another successful pair of races. Saturday I won my first 'B' race after spending the whole time on the front. Riding in breaks, chasing down breaks, etc. I was pinned for nearly the entire race, since the larger teams would constantly send guys off the front and then shut down the front of the field, halting any chase. Many of the breaks stood a good chance of succeeding due to this tactical domination by the teams fielding a large contingent. It was another wet one, so my team ranks were thinned substantially. In the final few miles, that last beak away attempt (which I stayed out of) got caught and I magically found second wheel coming into the sprint. I allowed a guy to come around me before grabbing his wheel, taking a few pedal strokes in his draft and accelerating around him to take the line by a bike length and a half. It felt great, because the 'A' race had been shortened, so I had a bunch of team mates cheering for me at the line. It was nice to win after working so hard, but it a larger, more competitive race I never would have had it. Finally on Sunday, I hitched a ride with one other team mate up to Bethel, Ct. for their spring series race, the Criterium de Bethel in the 3/4's. It was a 30 lap crit (about 27 miles) in a industrial park with no real technical turns and one steep power climb at the start/finish. I rode a very tactical race, covering any moves that looked threatening. I also marked the series leader jersey, as well as a couple of hot 3's from NY. I wound up in perfect position in the finish, but burned too many matches over the course of the weekend. I wound up 4th, having misjudged the length and steepness of the climb. I was, however, very happy with that result since the field was one of the most competitive I've raced yet, and I played it smart. The payout of 40 bucks was great too (though 75 for winning would have been awesome)! well, though I seriously doubt anybody cares enough to have labored through that whole post, I thank you for indulging me! By the way, there was one other strong racer riding in the Bethel field on a Fetish Dirigente. We exchanged a few friendly words in the race. It was like, "you have the same bike as me!? Really, wtf?" Good times.

MTB Slicks by jdhoefer

jdhoefer@yahoo.com — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:01:01 GMT

In an ideal situation, I'd buy an extra set of rims in order to just change up on the fly. But that's not realistic to me. Instead I'm going to buy a set of slicks and put them on my bike until the trails dry up. Anyone have any thoughts about MTB slicks? I'm thinking that I want wide as possible, but I really don't know to much about tires.

pictures of the new fork by wesley124

wesley124@gmail.com — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 02:56:06 GMT

Three weeks ago I got to ride some top of the line 32mm, 36mm, and 40mm forks that my friend has on his bikes and I was sold. Technology has come a long way in the past eight to ten years - speaking of which, I have two forks from that era for sale, a 98 RS Judy XC and a 99 Answer Manitou SX ti (it might be a 00)...yes, that one with the titanium springs and tons of notoriety.

Bike Commute by Adam

adamjroth@gmail.com — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 22:08:04 GMT

20 min sped up to 2:51. The compression quality sucks, but you get the idea.

Fetish Cycles buys RideFetish.com by Adam

adamjroth@gmail.com — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:36:45 GMT

All- Long story short -- Fetish offered to purchase Ridefetish. Next month, the site's focus will shift towards brand marketing with an emphasis on Fetish's 2009 frames and components. To eliminate any conflict of interest, I'll be removing rider blogs and comments entirely. Eric and I will also be riding Fetish team Voyeurs and the new-for-09 carbon/magnesium composite 'Snuff' road frame. Thanks, Adam

Rock Gardens and Rollers by Dirt_Dad

eatsleepfish@gmail.com — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:29:34 GMT

After a couple of hours of trail building I led a few eager beavers on a 5 mile tour of Upper Paugussett State Forest and we hit some new features on the Upper Gussy Trail - the new trail I am building. Can you guess the group on the music?

Day Pond Ride by Eric

ericwroth@yahoo.com — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 04:47:24 GMT

The Dumpgoose - R.I.P. by Dirt_Dad

eatsleepfish@gmail.com — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 03:17:33 GMT

I sold the Dumpgoose last weekend. It was a tearful farewell. At the eleventh hour I came up with another role for the venerable Dumpgoose, an All Mountain, Full Suspension Fixie, but I had already promised to someone on Craigslist, not to mention I had to make room for a new addition to the road stable. My early 1980s Fuji Royale, that I had in college, has moved in after being removed from my parent's garage. The Dumpgoose's new owner is planning on using the rear triangle as part of an Extracycle, so at least it is going to a worthy cause, it will give some other or lad or lassie the joy of being chauffeured by one's parents. Rest in peace Dumpgoose. You will go down in the annals of mountain bike history as the first ever center suspended, 69er, single speed.

Come Ride Me by jeeproad

adamjroth@gmail.com — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:35:09 GMT

Come Ride the Sweet Widetrack of the Jeeproad!

WTB (Fetsh) Discipline by Adam

adamjroth@gmail.com — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 18:18:14 GMT

My new bike has arrived... 3500 miles away. 23 days until I can ride her. I still wear the same shoes, jersey, and shorts that I did when I was 13. For the next 3 weeks, I'll ride the same bike too. Cheryl and I are going up North to Santa Rosa to ride Annadel Park -- home of the "Rockhopper" MTB race from the mid-80s. Anyway, it's about time for upgrades. Last night I ordered a proper pair of shoes: ...and some new pedals: ...and maybe a helmet upgrade too: -or- 2008 Lazer Genesis XC Helmet

For Sale - 2008 Fox RLC 100mm & XTR M970 Shifters by Adam

adamjroth@gmail.com — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 19:11:00 GMT

For sale. Fox RLC 100mm
XTR Shifters
Also for sale, XTR Rear Derailleur. I'm going strip off the stock XTR that comes on my new bike and install the shadow model.

Racing update #3, win #3 by cprensky

fill@me.in.com — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 22:13:19 GMT

I awoke this morning to the prospect of yet another cold (and rainy) race in Central Park. Having been excluded from the Grant’s Tomb Criterium due to my Cat5 status, I was eager to race nonetheless. The plan was to work hard and set a fast pace from the gun, so as to keep the field stretched out and out of any rain-induced carnage. After two laps of pacesetting shared between a few other guys, and pulling back a few breakaway attempts, it was clear that we were headed for another field sprint. In the final quarter lap, three guys from Bablylon appeared from nowhere to set up a lead out for their sprinter. Happy to poach their train, I sat fourth wheel as we got up to Cat’s Paw. The sprint wound up very early (as seems to be the case in the 5’s every race) and I was able to come around and hold my acceleration all the way to the line to finish clear of the next rider from Van Dessel Factory Team. It was a successful race with none of the messy crashes from last weekend. I was happy to carry the flag for the team and successfully represent for all the guys who stayed in bed for a much deserved rest following their hard work at Grant’s Tomb yesterday. I have been upgraded to the B field in the CRCA club racing, and a still waiting for my Cat4 upgrade.

Seasonal Affective Disorder, Springtime, Riding, Shop, and a Respite from the hipster bike competiti by wch759

wch759@hotmail.com — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:16:32 GMT

When I really sat down and looked at how much riding I did this past fall, it was somewhat of an embarrassment. Save for the daily commutes, and sometimes not even daily commutes, I didn't really get myself out there on the path in the prime time when recreational riders are non-existent. I think sometime last month I finally decided to get myself out of the slump. Although I am no psychologist or psychiatrist by nature, I do somewhat understand that in the bitter winter, cold, and wind of Chicago winters, being seasonally depressed is actually QUITE common. With our string of snowstorms, -20 windchill days, and blustery winds, having Seasonal Affective Disorder seemed to be on the plate. Of course with me I don't get so much as sad thoughts as I just become sluggish, and have no interest in anything besides sleeping. And since I don't have therapy lamps, nor do I take the quasi-placebo cocktails including but not limited to fish oil, vitamins, etc. etc. etc. I rode it out for awhile before I realized what was really happening. At the precise moment when the revelation of being literally and scientifically SAD hit me, I immediately made it a priority to finish the tarmac build, and to just really really try in earnest to be out on the streets, trainer, and even gym. So far, all three of the modes seem to be not only picking up my mood, but also my general well-being. Instead of just doing my usual 4 mile one way commute, I will ride to work in the morning, do a 12 mile loop during lunch, and then take a 6 mile detour back home. I probably adhere to this riding schedule twice a week. On the other 3 workdays, I ride my obligatory 8 miles per day to and from work, but hit the gym for around an hour during lunch time. Adam has given some very useful tips on how/what to lift, and although I don't know if I am actually getting stronger just yet, I will be optimistic that as the weeks progress, I will be able to add more weight/do more reps per exercise. The trainer, of course - is a last resort in the cases of inclement weather, or a weekend "relaxer." Sadly, the tarmac hasn't seen the streets just yet. The weather has warmed up in the past few weeks; however, because of the massive snow that we got this year, the quality of the lakefront path has suffered immensely, and the city is now trying to patch/repave certain sections of it. Riding my armadillos on the white fetish isn't such an issue; however, since I don't necessarily enjoy riding with any gear or spare parts, riding over loose gravel, residual salt, and the occasional construction equipment scrap metal isn't as attractive on my Tarmac, which now sports the Michelin Krylions. My 'tenure' as a sales associate will resume in the next two weekends, with a possibility of my return later this week. Luckily most of the 2008 bikes were released in late 2007, so I have seen most of the new rides, clothing, equipment, gear, etc. I plan to do group rides this year with the shop's roadies, and even race as well. Our jerseys are hideous: black with a pink logo that says "Johnny Sprockets." There is also a man looking fierce on a single speed bike. I'm really not quite sure this is the message we want to be sending out to any other riders, but hey - it's a free jersey, so I'll wear it. My early predictions for this season are that the Giant Cypress will still be a high selling bike at the shop. Although they are by far the least expensive bikes we carry, they are a popular item among older riders, riders on a budget, or people who are new to riding. However, I feel that Gary Fisher can be a dark horse this year with the revamped performance hybrids, and continued production of bikes such as the wingra, monona, and utopia. High end road frames haven't changed that much from 2007 - 2008. I am, however - interested in more of these models sporting the SRAM red group. Our shop manager has the group on his ted w. bike, and I think that the entire group comes in at a full 1/2 pound lighter than Durace. Electronic Durace will most likely (duh) not be available to consumers this season, but I feel like the 2008 Shimano 105 group is leaps and bounds above what it used to be, and MAYBE even objectively better than a similar Campy group in the same price range. My knowledge of mountain bikes is still shallow, but it IS exciting that Adam got the GT, although I wish he would go ahead and splurge for the newly designed softride mountain/rode hybrid that I saw for sale. It looked like this: http://ridefetish.com/image/f/4627/large/Picture_8.png Ideally we would see the sales of special edition Langsters decrease this year, because honest to baby Krishna if I see one more hipster wanting to ride the new york edition, I will lose my mind. I will now refer you all back to the hipster bike competition... I've also decided that my next racing bike will be one made by either Blue Competition Cycles or custom Ti by Roark. Of course, all this costs $, which I am running low on right now. Vintage Bianchi update: Crankset, derailleurs, brakes levers, brakes, downtube SIS shifters all Shimano 600. The rest will be decided upon soon.

Sunday Ride 3/16/2008 by Adam

adamjroth@gmail.com — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:19:49 GMT

Good day for a ride. 60 and sunny. I headed out to Fairfax, CA -- at the base of Mt. Tam (birthplace of mountain biking) -- to check out a couple full suspension GTs for sizing. Then I proceeded to rip a very fast solo 9 miles on the Tamarancho trail. Followed that up a pint of Blonde Ale at Iron Springs Pub & Brewery. And now a 22oz of Marin County Blueberry Ale. What about you Dirtdad? Where's my beer review.

Update

Forgot to mention that I successfully completed the "Carpenter's Dream" log ride. 30 feet long to start... then then a tight 180' bend... and another 60 feet to finish up.

NEW BIKER BUILD OFF - ALL WELCOME by ThePolarBear

polar@bear.com — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 06:56:47 GMT

I was cruising the Ice Road with Mr. Andy Chang late last night and we stumbled upon this site for hipsters, queens, fairies and queers to design their dream bikes. (excuse my terminology, I've been on the Ice Road too long). http://www.pedalmafia.com/mafid/mafia_id.html Customize your bike. The most ridiculous (as voted on) will win something. Not sure yet. Maybe a late night bedtime story from DirtDad. Get to it. Take a screenshot and add the bike to your profile. Then post a link here.

Polarbear's Entries

Eric's Entries

Tallbike

Black Bitch

"CannonGT - A tribute to the gearbox concepts of Cannondale and GT"

"Dumpgoose Meets Pugsley"

Cheryl's Entry

"What... you don't know?"

Editors note: This bike looks far too much like something we'd actually see in Chicago or San Francisco. Automatic disqualification.

Andy's Entries

Extra points for the lantern.

Douglas' Entries

Very Complicated Drive Bike

By far my favorite.
Bling Hummer

Wesley's Entries

Niner
He steps it up with an entire scene! I like the crate of parts.

More Proof! DirtDad loves the rolls... by Eric

ericwroth@yahoo.com — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 12:44:49 GMT

...California Rolls that is. How about you bring a batch when you come to paint my place? Thanks DD!

Andy Wins the Build Off by Adam

adamjroth@gmail.com — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 21:27:25 GMT

In an amazing turn of events, Andy has actually won the Biker Build Off. Spooky coulnd't get their shit together so I pulled out out of the deal. I had to scramble to change flights, cancel part orders, ...and I'm still left with a few components I'll need to resell (Fox RLC 100, XTR Rear, XTR Shifters, Thomson X4). I almost won a 2007 Cannondale Rush Team on eBay last night, too. It had all of the parts I was about to order for my custom Spooky (Crossmax SLRs, Avid Juicy Ultimates)... but someone was willing to pay more (or maybe I was too cheap). Instead, I just bought the 2008 GT Marathon Team (23.6lbs stock). Monocoque carbon frame, full XTR, Ritchey WCS and Thomson components... for about $2500 less than simliar top-of-the-line full suspension bikes from Specialized or Trek (and $1500 less than I would've spent to complete the Spooky). It's being shipped to Connecticut. I'm stuck in San Francisco until April 13th. ...I'm sure it'll be a long wait. Anyone in the area wanna ride the week of Apr 13 - Apr 21?

Redhook Long Hammer IPA by Dirt_Dad

eatsleepfish@gmail.com — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:13:15 GMT

Rode the Fixation yesterday after work with the new bars and OMG, what a difference. The original set up when I first built this bike up as a 69er was OK but this bike totally rocks, now. It rides better than my 29er when it was rigid. Cracked open a few bottles of Redhook Long Hammer IPA last night using the Surly Tugnut. Something about IPA, the flavor, and empty stomach, and a long ride puts you in a nice zone!

Fulcrum vs Mavic MTB?? by mindless

two.tired4good@gmail.com — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 03:59:05 GMT

Anyone have an opinion on Fulcrum Red Metal vs. Mavic Crossmax? I've heard good things about the Fulcrums lately. Good Campy quality. But, the Red Metal 3 is 200 grams heavier than the Crossmax ST for similar price. Thoughts?

back to the trails by Cheryl

cheryl.joan@gmail.com — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 23:27:55 GMT

My poor sad mountain bike, bought 3rd hand from Clem this summer, got a pretty rough deal in our cross-country move. The wheels wont ever be true again, but after getting her new brakes and lubing up her headset proper, she's been feeling like new. Adam and I took the bikes out the last 2 weekends to the Tamarancho trails in Fairfax, ca. Its a 9 mile loop with a 2 mile climb to get up to it, and its a damn good time. Nothing near as technical as CT has to offer, but challenging enough for myself, who needs to beef up some mtn biking skillz. There's some technical sections, rocks, roots, lots of rolling hills that are super fun to cruise through, and TONS of switchbacks, which are the bane of my existence. My first ride out I couldn't make any of the tight u-turns, kept having to clip out, and fell all over the place in slow motion to get around them. Yesterday was much improvement, I got about half the switchbacks climbing uphill, and 1 going downhill - the mechanics are so different for such a similar movement. Its fun to see how I'm getting better again, and I hope next time we try this trail, I'll be able to get even more of the challenges. I feel more alive on my mountain bike than I've felt in a long time, and we're gonna keep going out every weekend, hopefully finding different trails. Maybe when I get to ride bikes in CT again, I'll be able to flaunt some better skillz.

Vintage Bianchi Road Frameset... by wch759

wch759@hotmail.com — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 04:35:18 GMT

Won this one on Ebay the 'old fashioned' way, aka not sniping. Sat around on the computer and waited until 9 seconds left before entering in my bid. Final bid of an archaic 238.74 sealed the win at 202.50. From what I have read, this frameset was produced in the 80's and into the 90's from Tange Infinity Tubing. Italian design, most likely Japanese manufacturing. I will mostly likely take some parts off of the white Fetish, or maybe even order a complete tiagra set. Did not expect to make another bike purchase so soon, but it's very rare to find something this nice in my size. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=270216253877&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=017

Cash payout! by cprensky

fill@me.in.com — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 14:58:30 GMT

This morning I went 2/2 and got my first cash payout for the result! It was in the low 40's and raining off and on this time. Not the most pleasant conditions, but fortunately, no carnage this time. I traded pulls with one other guy for the first 12 miles or so, and broke the field down to about 5 guys that lasted to the sprint. Two tried to go WAY early, so I ended up having to sprint off the front, with no lead out or wheel to suck. Fortunately, it was an uphill sprint, and I got enough of a jump. So far, so good. One more cold one tomorrow morning. It should be dry, at least.

Trail Politics by Eric

ericwroth@yahoo.com — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 12:47:34 GMT

Over the last few weeks we have renamed some of our classic trail obstacles after the 08 political hopefuls. Some include:

* The Mike HUCKabee Rock, which would take a lot of faith to ride off of. It is always showered in rays of divine sunlight. Kinda creepy. * The John McCANE CREEK rock / stream crossing. Very rigid and tough to handle. Set in its ways. It is located right below the glowing light of the huckabee rock. * The HILLary is the massive climb on our Gypsy Moth trail that only a handful of us have ever successfully ascended in over a decade. A real bitch. * The BaROCK Obama is new temporary name for the Chinese Wall at the Middlesex trails. A really inspirational trail feature.

pics of the new SID by mindless

two.tired4good@gmail.com — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 02:54:18 GMT

In case anyone besides me is wondering what the color schemes of the new SID Team and Race models are going to be...

Hey, isn't that Andy's old bike by wesley124

wesley124@gmail.com — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 07:18:26 GMT

3/19/08 Update Wheelset arrived. Bike should be all built up mid-April. ------- 3/12/08 Update I posted the specs last night as a new bike but don't have any pics yet to show. ------- The first Orbea Opal I ever saw was on this site when Andy had posted pics of his when he got one. I thought it was a nice frameset then; I have spent the majority of my free time over the past month deciding on the specs for the used Opal I bought somewhat randomly online about a month ago. The wheelset is going to be insane. I went with Sapim CX-Ray bladed spokes in black, White Industries H2 Hubs in a black finish on DT Swiss RR 1.1 Rims, and ControlTech Titanium Bolt-On Skewers (the 5mm hex wrench type) in black which weigh 47g total for the set, and a Dura-ace 12-25 cs-7700 cassette. The rest of the parts selection is pretty solid, so I'm absolutely psyched about the whole project in general and can't wait until it's all built up and ready to be taken out on the road. -------

Finally Proof! DirtDad's 10ft Roller!!! by Eric

ericwroth@yahoo.com — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:28:00 GMT

Only DD can command a 10ft roller skinny solo of this intensity. Now get over to Glastonbury and paint my new apartment!

First Race by cprensky

fill@me.in.com — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:50:39 GMT

This morning (in brisk sub-30 degree weather), was the first race of the spring. I, as a newbie, am racing Cat 5. This morning was the first race of the NYC Spring Series. Today's race in Central Park was a pretty wild experience. Initially, race organizers started the 5's with the 3/4 and Master's fields, and half way through the 5's race decided to separate them out with the help of the moto-marshal. While rolling with the combined field there were at least 120, maybe 150 people. I was tucked in on my team mate's wheel when the first pileup went down. He went down right in front of me, and I managed to avoid any problems. Thankfully, everybody was o.k. save for some bike damage. Anyway, shortly thereafter, the 5's were pulled out of this group to allow us our own finish. I managed to set myself up perfectly for the finish and got my first victory on an uphill sprint finish. I'm pretty psyched about that. We also had a guy finish in the money (5th) of the cat 4/5 race. Except for one team mate who cracked his frame when he rode over a treebranch (?) in the race, and the crash victims, it was a successful start to the season. Here's to the arrival of Spring!

RAAM Videos.... by Douglas

DouglasPalen@aol.com — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 13:37:20 GMT

I finally got around to posting my RAAM videos Before the race, we attempted to film part of a Volvo commercial... Volvo commercial (attempt)

Add to My Profile | More Videos Pre race bike inspection RAAM Pre race bike inspection

Add to My Profile | More Videos This the start line... Race Across America Start (shot from my bike!)

Add to My Profile | More Videos This is in the first hour of the race, on the bike path before they stopped us at the bridge and spaced out the teams bike path near oceanside

Add to My Profile | More Videos Sunrise shot... Racing through one of seven sunrises

Add to My Profile | More Videos

admittedly bad mechanic by wesley124

wesley124@gmail.com — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 17:30:44 GMT

I am a bad mechanic who loves working on my bikes. I can't be the only one out there in the world, like the inevitable guy decked out in camo each season who absolutely loves everything about hunting but can't hit a god damn thing, but it's less about whether I might be in good company and more about the realization that I'm not that good good at something that I love to do and want to keep on doing. This also brings with it the realization of safety concerns; would you want me working on your bike after what I just said? at least cheney hit _something_. So, yeah, that whole area is suspect and certainly not good...in terms of my safety on the bikes, not cheney, any commentary on him at this point is moot. I don't trust most bike shops let alone feel that their pricing strategies are fair and equitable - not to mention having to pay retail should you need to buy anything ~unless you are related to the owner, are the owner, are on the shop team, work for the shop, etc.~. And last but not least, the warm and fuzzy feeling you get from the employees of the shop with the standard requisite *attitude* of either complete resentment , bitter apathy, or utter insincerity (i.e. see Jack Black in _High Fidelity_). Surprisingly though, there's good news instead of just bitching and self-deprecation, I met a dude who's also obsessed with bikes, but unlike me, rides them well ~pro~ and is a master mechanic. He wants to help me out with some projects and setting everything else right. Granted his schedule is pretty tight, with his residency, but I'm not riding any of those bikes anyway, just ask Eric or Jan or that Polar Bear wait, strike that, don't ask the Polar Bear, there's something not right about that guy, for real).