Singlespeeding the Laramie Enduro!

That's right! I went up to Wyoming to do a little 70 mile race called the Laramie Enduro, it turned out to be a great event. Chad and I went up Friday night and set up camp. It rained over night so the chance of a dusty race at elevation (about 7500 vert.) was little. The race started at7 am with the Pros, singlespeeders, and expert riders going out first wave into the foggy trails. I really wasn't sure how to ride/race this course. Everyone kept telling me the same thing. "Between 4-5 aid stations is really hard. And then you have to climb 10 miles after aid station 5 to get done."
The gun went off and everyone hit the gas! I sat in the top 30 and paced myself. We went through some single track and popped out on some road. I was sitting in the third chase group. I could tell the geared guys were way up front and some single speeders in the 2nd group. We went through some twisty roads. I went with a group to the left when we should have gone right. This was my first detour. I think I lost maybe 10-15 minutes here. No worries, 60+ miles to go. I found myself back on the trail with a bunch of sport riders. No offense but the drafting speeds are a lot different between expert riders and sport. I planned on skipping station 1, but something in my head said bad idea. I stopped grabbed some water. Talked to a guy for a few minutes about my SS and SS cyclocross. Then I went out again. The open fields were killing me. I couldn't keep my tempo going. I really needed suspension up front to keep up the pace. made it to aid station two with no real problems. Got some Hammer gel and drinks. Went back out. Started to make up time and then the second detour came. This was hurt. I climbed out of a field on single track, luckily enough I popped out on the race course I really don't know how much time I lost but I know it was at least 5 minutes. Hit aid station 3 and grabbed some water. Rolled out to four without any real problems. It was bumpy between 3-4 and I couldn't roll as fast as I wanted to without the shock up front. I would make good time on all the grinders and tight single track but the open roughness killed my rhythm. I stopped at 4 and ate some food drank a bottle of H2O and talked to a few people. After leaving 4 I was feeling really good. I hit it hard for a while and then the tech. parts started coming. I had to walk a bit. This section is only 12 miles long but it is all climbing and really hot with loose gravel. Hooked up with another SS'er and we rode to aid 5 where I ate water melon and talked to a few more people. I asked the guy how many had come through so far. He told 95. I was shocked because I thought I was really far back. Like in the 200's. He told me that I had 10 to go and could make it in under 6:45. I left with some fire under my ass. I bombed down the road passing people and then hammered up the gravel grinder of a road. I hit the single track and all was good and then the big rocks started getting in my way. I rode where I could and walked a bit. I hit the rolling top and went hard but it was really hard on a ridge fork. I hit the last down hill, which I hated. There were bigger drops and boulders in my way. I took it easy, not wanting to flip over. I hit the finish line at 6:46 (unofficial) and came in 89th (unofficial). My goal was between 6-6:30. Next year I will race it again with a front shock, no detours, and less time at the aid stations. It was a fantastic ride. It was hard but really fun. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to suffer but have fun doing it.

What's that! Is it a Plane?NO, is it a train? No it's...

I am rolling into Boulder this morning going to class. I stop at a light and then I see him. "TREND MAN"! A man in his mid 40s' maybe 50 rolls up on the sidewalk intersections and gets ready to push the crosswalk button. No big deal so far right. He is talking on his blue tooth, caring a Starbucks in one hand. Still no big deal. He is wearing a polo shirt with nice dress pants and wearing some nice Ray Bans, still no big deal. This is normal in Boulder. The catch is this. He is riding a fixed gear that is PIMPED out!!!! While he is trying to talk , drink coffee, and push the light he forgets he is on a fixed gear and stumbles forward. It was kinda funny, this guy following the trend of Fix Gear Madness in Boulder. He was not a daily rider. He was all business. I find it strange that people follow trends that really don't fit them. I wonder if he will be on a long board tomorrow?I think I am going to start to go to garage sales in Boulder and see if I can find some nice fixies.
On a different note I went up to the "Cone" and rode my bike. I needed to shake it out and see if it is ready to race. Good thing I did because it wasn't. On the way home I bought some lock tight. I also needed to know if the 34x19 would work for me. I rode up from Mayhem Gulch and then counter clock wise to keep the climbing going. It felt good, I am sure it will be great on Saturday. I will have the bike all tighten down tonight and ready to go tomorrow. We are leaving early to beat traffic, get our packets, drink a PBR and set up the tents. Race report to follow! Good luck to anyone going to Salida for the weekend.

3 months in 3 weeks!

I just sent my final paper to my prof. I have to say that the last three weeks have been a true test of academic endurance. Everyday covered a weeks worth of material. Talk about brain overload. Education is sometimes a crazy to thing about. When you add a theory class into the equation it becomes even more crazy. I am heading to the Laramie Enduro on Friday with Chad. I am looking forward to 70 miles of solitude single speeding through the mountains of Wyoming. It will be nice to slow my brain down for a few days. My real job starts the 4th. That means that I have about a week to get a few projects wrapped up. No rest for the wicked....wicked FAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. Cross is getting close. Took down the bike today. Getting the gearing (42X18) ready along with some new brake cables.

10 days?

That's about how long it's been since the last blog. I have only a few words to say. Crazy busy!!! I am in a class at CU Boulder right now from 9 - 12 every day. We are in class for three weeks. So... Every day of class is like one week in the normal school year. Not only going to Boulder, which is the easy part, but the 30 -40 pages of reading a night, along with three major projects to do have taken up all my time. We finish on the 25th, and I race the Laramie Enduro on the 26th. School starts the next Monday with district stuff! So, I am a bit overwhelmed. I didn't ride today because of this, but also because it was the hottest day of the year. Yesterday was 98 so I am not sure how hot it got today. I sat in the air con and read, read, read, read, and read. And then I typed, typed, typed,and typed. I also got to eat in there somewhere. Julie has been great with helping make time to get this stuff done. I am really hoping to be done Monday. Everything is due Monday or Thursday. I doubt you will hear from me for a while. I hope everyone is riding and ridinfg well.
P.S. My team won the cat.2, cat.3, and cat4 state crit championships last weekend. I was part of it and finished 13th. I could have finished much higher but I wasn't going to chase my teammate down. A great weekend for the team!

Bike Breaker 50

So... The race yesterday...do you really want to know? It started out normal. Good pace a few hitting it hard up the 9 mile climb. I sat in and spun until the diesel started working. At about mile 8 everything came together. There were a group of single speeders, maybe 6. There were a few up the road. I pinned it and dropped everyone. I rode hard all the way to the single track. I had to jump off and run. I was in great position at this point. Top 10 for sure. I passed a few more single speeders on the down hill and single track. At the bottom of the first wicked down hill my seat popped up. I tried to push it down but that didn't happen. I had to stop and fix it. About 50 riders went by. I got it fixed, didn't panic and started chasing. I caught up and passed almost everyone that had gone by. I ran up another stiff climb and hammered out the of camber single track. After bombing down another rocky section my cranks felt funny. I ignored it and kept going. As I started a little climb, my bike started making bad noises. I stopped to find my crank had backed out. I had to fix it and lose a bunch more time. At this point I was worried that the bike wouldn't make it. I had seat trouble three more times and my cranks once more. I limped back to the start after 2hours and 38 minutes. A few friends where there and told me how far ahead everyone was. I had lost 20 mins. I decided that the cranks were not going to make it around another lap, so I had to stop. The good news is that I felt good. I am sure that I could have made top five without the mech. problems.

The Laramie Enduro is in three weeks. I will have new cranks by then and a new seat post. It sucks to have the bike keep you from racing. Overall I had a blast. It is always fun to pass full suspension bikes on the down hill on a ridge SS. My gearing was good but I didn't have my climbing legs under me, but that's okay. This was a race to see where I'm at. The Laramie is now the focus. I am excited to have a good race and be in the top group.



A few projects that are starting to come to an end. Wilvin1 and the deck.

Secret project "Wilvin 1"

is almost done. I will give a few hints. It has a lot of stanless steel. And it will not, I repeat WILL NOT fall apart. I am replacing parts and doing it Linwood style! Made to last F..O..R..E..V..E..R....!!!!!!

Projects!

Ihave had a mental list of a few projects that I need to get done before school starts up again. Not my masters program, but my real job of teaching. Today I started tehm. It is a hot day and I knew it was going to be so I got up and started working early. The plan was to stain the deck, dig in the dirt, and fix some rotten wood. The thunder storms are rolling fast today, so the stain didn't happen. It would have been a great day to do it, but the rain makes it to risky to start.

I am sitting down to eat lunch before I go and try and work on a top secret project, only known as "Wilvin1".Pics. will be leaked later.

Here are a few of the before and after projects I have done today. One of the pics is a mud duaper nest. I didn't want to move it but I had to.

The last pic is my last project of the day! I may be tired when I get there,but I am sure I can get the job done.