creepyfriendly

It's Faux easy.

Smoking spoke recovery was delayed a day after a random night out with T-da and Amanda. Random drinks were drank which lead to random riding at a random time during a random night under a random moon forcing me to wake the next day at a random time.

Wednesday the legs started to show signs of life. Amanda and I went out for an hour and a half and I got my ass handed to me by the single speed queen.

So what's to look forward to other than the joys of rubber on pave? Good food, graphics, bikes, and nutrisoda! Thanks to fine gents at Twin six my shipment of airforce nutrisoda arrived today. Since the habitual act of lifting a beer can to my lips won't help me to the podium I've jumped in headfirst with the good soda. My personal favorite, renew.

I wonder what Marko's up to?

operation superfly.

Frame: pre production Gary Fisher carbon superfly (17.5)
Fork: Bontrager carbon switchblade 29
Wheels: Bontrager race x lite 29 (no tubes)
Tyres: F/Bontrager dry x 29/2.1 (24psi)
R/Kenda small block eight 2.1 (27 psi)
Crank: xtr 175mm
Ring: Black spire 38t
cog: surly 17t
Tensioner: soulcraft convert

19.3lbs

Leading up to August 26th the hardest race I've done was the sswc's in State college Pennsylvania. Why? Well, climbing was a factor. Terrain was rough for a rigid but what really sticks in my mind is the fact that I felt good and it still hurt that much. Keep in mind that I was digging my own grave and didn't know it which seemed to elevate everything. Cramps, heart rate, fatigue. It was painful.

As of 1:06 pm Sunday my idea of a hard race changed. Enter the Smoking spoke in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Home of Camp Tesomas boy scout camp and the Hodag. The last time I was here Marko and I were kicking Webelo ass and taking names. We continued the rotation with a 1/3 finish in the grueling 42 mile sufferfest.

Start was even. I was set. Mikey was cruising off the front. By mid lap Matter settled on my wheel and we discussed the gap between us and Mike. "Wanna close it?" Probably should. Nearing the end of lap one Mike, Matter, and I regrouped with Marko in tow. I went to the back and urged Marko to latch on which he did.

Entering lap two Brian turned the screws through the camp area. He had us pretty wound out until the hills started. I went to the front just before the singletrack and slowly uped the pace. The rough terrain was brutal but I somehow managed to find rhythm in the single track. For a while I thought the "soft tails" were laughing at Marko and I on our rigids. Literally, we must have looked like rag dolls getting bounced around. I slowly memorized the sheepish course midway through the second lap. The fast spots were fast and the slow spots were sloooow.

Somewhere along the line Mike popped as three of us entered the third lap. I think I was still on a rampage of sorts. It's all a blur. I was definately trying to test Matter in areas but it appeared that he was content riding the race as hard as I was. By this point not only is fatigue starting to set in but also lapped traffic becomes a factor. Ski trail is never the issue but the single track was tough. We had excellent luck getting by most everyone. Midway through lap three Brian dabbed on some lapped folks which I took full advantage of. I thought for a second I was going to get away but he reeled it back as soon as I encountered more lapped riders. I was a bit bummed since your only given so many chances to reveal how your feeling. It seemed that Brian was on to me as we traded blows well into the fourth lap with Marko holding on.

Theres a sense of relieve knowing Marko was still in it with me but at the same time I was getting nervous. Brian and I were destroying ourselves as Marko got to sit in on the show. The thought of Marko overtaking us at the end occured to me which later he revealed couldn't have happened due to his raw hands and spun legs but you never know. Nearly 41 miles into the race and I finally broke the band. I'm sure we were all hurting the same and I was dealt the luck card as I sprinted the final mile to victory!

Overall weekend impressions: When it comes to dining in the northwoods, take what you can get. Course wise, I think many were perplexed. What constitutes a marathon? Well, a UCI santioned marathon is much longer but this isn't a UCI race. Terrain? Yeah, the smoking spoke was jittery but I enjoyed it. It was definately a arm numbing experience that I was stoked to be part of.

The bike was flawless. I'm alway apprehensive to use a tensioning device but the convert was impeccable. Frame wise I was canned on the terrain. My body will ache for days but it's mostly my fault for doing the rigid thing. The stiffness and lightweight made up for the rigid ride as I could rocket in and out of corners. This was just the test that she needed before Chequamegon.

Once again thanks to the boys with the toys. All the family and friends that came out to superfan and Twin 6 for making me look purty on the podium.

Daze off.

I've always been a fan of aesthetic. From my first nike airs to the paint on my bike the facile appearance of an object brings a sense of peace. Enter the Trek dealer show/sales meeting/Trek world. The annual festivities went down in Madison Wisconsin this weekend as the who is who of Trek, Fisher, Lemond, Bontrager, Klein, yata yata were introduced at the Monona terrace. Plenty of old friends, new friends, and bike world celebs had a chance to celebrate the 2008 product that Trek has to offer. My personal fav's included a Fisher city bike with prototype rack and fenders. Think Vanilla (aesthetically) for the masses. Of course the new Fishers, and the Trek kid bikes. Besides viewing perfection there's always the after party scene which included my newly acquired friends from Nebraska and Gary Fisher himself hanging out in my basement.

As party mode wore off race day quickly approached. The weekend promised to be alluring with a new venue for the Subaru cup in Mt Morris. Marko and I arrived just in time to catch regional Trek/VW manager Shaw daddy and Travis rolling in. We registered, suited up, and headed out for a quick pre ride. First impressions were good. After race impressions were great. IMHO, the best mtb course in the WORS series. Thanks Don.

Piss n' vinegar: Call ups put Marko and I front row as we sandwiched Matter on the line. As the past weeks festivity jitters left my body I felt the adrenalin pump through my veins. Goooooooooooo! Ron "whole shot" Stawicki was off the front on his whodoovoodoo single as we filed into line. Travis, Marko, Matter, TJ, myself quickly separated from the field as Peariso dangled. By lap two I was getting anxious, TJ was relentless with mini attacks, and Peariso was hanging on.

Somewhere along the way, entering the third lap maybe? Actually, it was more like two miles into the third TJ was drilling the front and I heard a thud. I glanced and saw Matter down. Go, go, go. I thought a gap would stick but it appeared that Travis brought it back. During the next segment of switch-backs I went around TJ and kept it steady, really steady. I pegged it at the right time as our group strung out quickly. I kept it down all the way to the highest point of the course before descending for the next mile. As I approached the bottom of Nordic "mountain" I noticed TJ was still rocking and by the time we approached the start finish area it appeared that he closed the gap dramatically. I planned to climb hard in the switch back sections which is what I did.

Little did I know Marko was overtaking second as I threw it into cruise control on the last lap. The rains continued to fall as I completed my last lap. My water logged gloves were off by lap four and the closing descents were rubbing my palms raw. White knuckle death grip was applied as my wet chamois felt like a three day old diaper. I rolled into the final stretch 2 1/2 minutes ahead of Marko in second. Another awesome day for the Fisher 29er team!

Radical pics by RUSTY®.

Escape artist.

Funny how memories from the past come back to you on long rides. Grade school pranks make me chuckle as easy as the pranksters that made me flinch. We've all struggled in the past and we've all prevailed...

Mountain become hills and hills become zits.... or something. In the early hours of July 29 Eatough's mechanic comes towards out pit area mumbling something about butt butter. I think he was in search of a higher quality chamois cream until the Darkness offered what was left of his assos. "uh, are you sure" he responded. No problem. Hours later Poz brought it back explaining that Chris didn't need it.

2:37Am: Blurry eyed and fatigued Marko awakes for his next lap. While prepping his chamois for the grave yard shift he notices the pube in his assos cream! Knowing damn well that he didn't contaminate his own glory he yells over to the pit crew who knows nothing of the sort.

Am rolls around, Eatough is rolling comfortably in first, Poz is chilling at our pit, and Marko throws a "what the fuck?"

Turns out that Eatough did use the cream and contaminated. Ebay, here we come!

Recently my youngest brother James and friends to a trip. A bike trip from Milwaukee to yeah, Montana. They took a train from Milwaukee out to East Glacier Park, MT, which is where they started the ride. From there they rode north up the east side of the park to Canada and then doubled-back about half way down. They traversed the park from east to west, which sounds awesome. Some of the biggest climbs and longest descents were through that stretch. After that they took a bunch of back roads (lots of gravel) to the southwestern corner of the park. Casey took the train back to MPLS, but everybody else got off in MKE. Lots of biking, boozing and swimming – Epic!

Jean Claude Van Damage.

With rain in the forcast I contemplated over tyre selection, gear selection, and even a cancellation plan. After receiving some 29er proto mud x tyres last week it looked like the perfect race to test. After a long Saturday at the shop it was hard to get into the lab to make the proper adjustments so I applied the "rung what ya brung" theory. The ferrous was coming off of 4 consecutive wins so I rolled it out with a fresh coat of polish.

WORS #7 Goooooooooooooooooooo! Pedal whiff, whiff, whiff, gooo! Marko and I scoped the start stretch before hand so I followed our perceived line into fourth wheel behind Ron "holeshot Stawicki", Mikey P, and the Mullet. First lap was a shocker as we were introduced to more tackiness than I thought possible. The pace was even but not red lined so I took the initiative on the hill closing lap 1. By the single track I broke the field and kept it steady. I began memorizing the course. Stumps, rocks, turns were etched into my short term as I planned the victory. I used the hills as my gap points and the single track as my recovery.

Going into the final lap I felt the twitches. I didn't feel like I stretched myself to the point of cramps but 36:17 can do funny things. I heard the gap and put it on cruise control. Every hill was felt and all words of encouragement were heard. Thanks!

Big props to Marko for pulling the second over Matter. Ron for putting four ss'ers in the top four. Landon for once again taking the comp overall, and all the great spectators who worked as pure motivation.

Life in the pits.

Recovery is the only word in my vocabulary as 24-9 took it out of me. The muscles won't release as I prep the superfly for this weekends WORS race. Stretch, eat, repeat.

This is inconceivable! I hope all my family and friends are ok.

There's a new planet in the blogosphere.

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