killthedarkness

sick...sicker.

crazy guys signs, pt II

saddle up

rewind to a week ago at wors #3 in wausau. i played it safe w/ tyres and kepts some decent knobbies on. the track was a little slick in spots, boggy in others but overall not too bad. good start had me 2nd into the singletrack behind jesse. we got a gap for a bit before being joined by brian and the other brian (eppen) shortly after. jesse kept it down for a bit. i helped out a bit when i could on the flats. i wasnt flowing very well on the skinny trails but getting the job done well enough. we gapped eppen and he held the gap at 15 seconds for 2 laps. matter took over for the last lap and 1/4, throwing down some massive moves on the flats. we spun it out and matched 3 or 4 times. jesse ends up flatting/burping on the last lap as we hit the steep singletrack section. as i struggled to turn over my gear, brian very slowly started putting on a few seconds. we hit the ski trail as brian had 5 seconds. by the end it turned to 50 as i slowly blew up my legs trying to chase back on. overall a decent race. its good to have a battle going this year. skipping the wors cup will put me down on points for a while, but hopefully i can catch up later in the season. a little mental vacation and a solid "kill myself" block of riding will pay off sooner or later. this past weekend was a whole lot of bike to work week. bacon on the bike path, bike to work with the mayor, the final fiesta. ill try to catch up with it soon. foto cred: John Senkerik

gruesome twosome.

i didnt notice until i slid on the saddle bright and early this am. two of those little bastards festering; remnants of the overly bumpy rhinelander course. looks like im living on the saddle nose for this ride. it was all fine and dandy. light on the pedals, heavy on the torque. as i mashed over the crest and slid back on, i felt the release. looks like the twosome has become one.

rough day at the office.

wors#2 in rhinelander. decided to mix it up and get some race time on the geared 96er. gasp. right from the get go things weren't quite right. it took me a solid 40 meters to get clipped in as half the field went by. got stuck behind the pileup on the first corner. but none of that was all that bad. i was less than 10 seconds down on the front and i rejoined the group by the time we hit the singletrack. i weaseled my way through as jesse led brian and myself to a small gap. i had that feeling of invincibility as i bombed a steep hill with no regard for brake scrubbing. just like that i was on the ground. quickly up and chasing back on. as soon as i hopped on i realized i had some crooked bars. i made do and rode it like that for close to two laps. the train remained. jesse hammering on the front, brian in the middle, and myself feeling like i had a 20 lb backpack on riding the geared bike. somewhere through the middle of the second lap it dawned on me that i really had no idea how to ride a mtb on anything other than a dirt road race. i resigned myself to staying on the tail of the group, hoping that i might be able to outlast the other two. a few miles into the last lap, through a particularly rough section i got a chance to practice my flat fixing skills. slit my racing ralph along the bead of all places. the stans wouldn't take. pull the tyre off, pull the rims strip out, throw the tube in air it up w/ whatever CO2 I have left. It wasn't the quickest but I got it done just as the 2nd group was coming by. I about blew myself up chasing, but managed to roll in 5th. not a good day, and a part of me has to believe that it was all just some bad juju for trying out the geared bike. thanks to all the sponsors for making it happen: Planet Bike, GT, Twin Six, Oakley, and Crank Bros.

opening up

with a later than normal first race i did my best to control my overly active nerves. it was a fairly typical start as i sat in the top 8 or so. no need to burn all your matches off the line. by the end of lap one the lead group of five was established. just after two laps chris p had an unfortunate incident and was shed from the group. just after the completion of lap three we lost nathan g and just prior to the last lap jesse and i lost brian in the sea of comp riders. i felt strong enough to pull for a couple of laps and managed to hold the bro at bay to the line. first mtb win in close to two years and second ever wors win. the 17.1 lb gt zaskar singlespeed 96er was a rocketship. maybe im just not as in tune with my bike as i thought, but i noticed very little difference between the 96er and 29er. all the equipment held up wonderfully, something i was a tad worried about having ridden less than 3 hrs of singletrack this year prior to the race. thanks to all my sponsors for the great support: Planet Bike, GT Bikes, Twin Six, Crank Brothers pedals, Oakley, Surly Cogs, and Edge Wheels. foto by bubba.

Race Bike Specs: GT Zaskar Pro frame
White Bros rigid fork, 445mm
Edge XC clincher 29er front wheel/DT 240 centerlock, Hutchinson Python @ 27psi
Edge XC clincher 26 rear wheel/DT 240 centerlock, Kenda Small Block 8 @ 29 psi
Shimano XTR Crank, Surly Cog, Salsa ring-36x17
Thomson Masterpiece post
Fizik Tundra saddle
Avid Juicy SL brakes, Alligator rotors-160/140
FSA OS99 stem, Carbon Pro bar
Ritchey bar ends
ESI grips
Crank Bros 4ti egg beaters

a little hank to get ya thru the weekend.

seen on the road.

soggy commute.