The Official Guide to the World between the Wheels

TW12 pt 2

So After pie on monday night with the locals I drove 25mins out of Madison to a park and rode with 3 Trek employees who invited me along, two of which currently race for the official Madison Store Mtb team. All 3 were very polite in showing me the course for the upcoming WORS event. The first thing I noticed was all 3 of them were riding 26" bikes? Whats up with that?? I tried to convince them to step up to an adult bike. Well the course here was extremely tight and twisty. Basically 8 miles of trails built in a Whole Foods Parking lot sized area! Coming fresh off of a Michaux Race this was a very hard adjustment for me. Those reading from the PA area will understand what I mean, Michaux is a 40 plus mile loop of the rockiest singletrack i've ever seen and its spread out using 40 miles of a huge 85,000 acre Forest. Well the course here in WI was fun fast and hard for me to keep up with Matt, Abby & Erik during the pre ride. With an extremely high heat index we only managed a lap and a half before we were all dry. I introduced Abby and Erik to the use of Peppermint Oil to reduce bugs and providing a cooling sensation to your neck.

We finished up and departed. back to the Hotel that I was calling home for 10 days and retired to bed. Wednesday morning was breakfast at IHop and then to the terrace to help assemble the Trek World Showroom floor. This is a job! Luckily I come from a construction background so its not hard for me to see the big picture of a finished job out of all the boxes and crates of material. I quickly got an assignment to assemble the bike display racks. A small group of us formulated a system and the racks came together quicker than you could imagine. 

I had to leave by 2:30 or so to head back to headquarters where i was meeting with the Pro Shop mechanics to see how they could help out with a creak i was getting on my Superfly. How cool was this? I rolled my bike into this secure workshop with pristine white walls and shiny floor. Bikes and parts for all the Pros rides were hanging and bagged neatly on shelves waiting to hit the next World Cup Race!

On the rack went my bike then I got asked several questions from 2 of the best mechanics. They  hit me left and right like i was on the lightning round of a game show. When all the questions stopped I was dizzy and somehow missed them disassembling most of my bike. They transitioned from questioning to answering almost immediately. Gosh Darn how did they do that??

Drop outs where off the bike and my ceramic bearing were laying on the bench.

"Here is your problem" they said

"your drop-outs got loose and wore off the edges and the bearing on the non-drive side is blown out" they continued

"Not a problem  just leave it here over night and everything will be complete tomorrow, and take this prototype bike to use on the trails"

Who was I to argue, so i took the full suspension 26" bike and left my bike in the Operating Room style Mechanics shops!

Sorry no pics allowed in the Pro Shop.

*stork

Closed for the month

Ok not officially closed but i've been really busy traveling, riding, racing and helping out at Trek World 2012. I'll get around to some full stories soon but just coming back from WI i've only had time to clean things up before i head to WV to race tomorrow. Lots of new products from Trek and Bontrager (wait for the new shoes they are fantastic!)

here's a shot from the Cam Rock race i rode in last weekend. photo from Melissa Kennedy

 

Winter Lecture Series

Last night Trek of Pittsburgh hosted another of their Winter Lectures at the Shadyside store. This week two individuals from UPMC Cycling gave a short program on Bike Fit. Both Bill Ankrom and Matt Tinkey did a great job of explaining all the benefits of proper bike fitting and used a power point program to get the information across. I cannot speak for Bill (although he did impress me with his knowledge) but I do know Matt well and I can say that he really knows his field and does a great job helping you understand and explaining the mechanics of bike fitting. In addition he's a great advocate of the bike scene and both he and his wife Dana race through out the summer and help with the Month of Mud Series. Sorry but once the snow falls Matt can only be found on the slopes with skies.

Quick news Chapter 32

Quick ride around Alemeda Park last night. It was nice trailing though the crisp leaves. Only rode around 10 miles since I've been so busy @ work but I need to keep up because the Iceman race is next weekend! I'll be leaving tomorrow for Cleveland to attend the Season Opener for Rays Indoor Mountain Bike Park! Stay tuned for photos it promises to be a fun & exciting place!

stork

Permanent Magnets

Sunday morning at Bavington to help out with this years Month of Mud Time trial

Don, Chrissy & Michelle discuss their strategies for the soon to start race beside my nice new red truck. A big thanks to Gary Bywaters, Chris Huffman Tom Bell & Ty Musser for putting in most of the work to make these events happen. Also lets not forget Don who helped out here today but also puts a major amount of time into the ACA Crit races on Washington Blvd. Most local racers show up, pay up, put out for the race and leave, never really seeing the work put in before hand to make these races what they are. I think all local shop racers should try to find a little time to help out in some way or another. Cleaning up, marking trail, laying a course out, registration.. etc. Give back... it isn't all about you!

Speaking of giving back.... heres my man JB tearin' it up! This guy can tell you about giving back. He's been cycling for a few years (he's 71) and yet he always seems more delited to hear of your race than to tell of his own. On top of that he can be found on the sidelines cheering for you at some of the most remote out of the way races. As you roll by a corner you'll hear Jerry yelling some encouraging words. Finally this week, since i wasn't racing due to the toe injury, I got to give back by yelling at him as he came by my crossing. "tenths turn into seconds turn into minutes" I yelled and Jerry hollered back "I know, I know!"

 

Alternate Anti-plugging Circuits

As fall draws nearer I start to settle into my end of the race season slump where I still manage to ride and to do so often but the intensity and duration of the rides are tailored more towards my enjoyment than that of training. Don't get me wrong by thinking that i don't enjoy training because anytime spent on my bicycles is enjoyment. Its just during fall I love being in the woods so I tend to start making frequent stops for videos or pictures, or I'll make routes more of an exploration than normal by taking alternate trails.

Ralces Ride

Yesterday I decided to honor Ralces Birthday by making the trek to Kennerdell and make an attempt to ride as many of the trails that he created before the sunset. I ran into Ralce on Sunday which gave him the chance to explain in detail the locations of a few of his new trails. This only fueled my curiosity to find them & ride them.....sooner than later! So there I was Tuesday night.........

A ride with Friends

A small film clip of my day at Kennerdell with some new friends.. Oh yea Happy Birthday to Ralce the master trail builder! We all say thanks for your glorious creations.

Pocohontas Co

With a few long days at work I managed to get caught up enough to take Friday off and load up the Cranberry Tart with all my biking gear along with Michelle & TJ with their gear and head southward toward Snowshoe West Virginia. TJ & I would be racing the Wild 100 at Elk River Touring in Slatyfork on Saturday morning then we would be joining my cousin and his family for an evening of Blues & Brews at Snowshoe Mountain. Sunday would be spent drinking coffee and doing a small recovery ride around the Mountain.

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures since I was really on vacation from everything. I do however have the tale to tell from my day in the saddle with my best bud and teammate TJ...............

Kennerdell "As darkness ascends"

First Up, I spoke with Bob Myers today & he is doing well and had been moved to a regular room which he hopes to only occupy for another day before returning home. 8 Broken ribs 2 dislocated fingers and a concussion. We happy to hear he's well and looking forward to his recovery. Wishing you the best Bob!

So last night I need to get away for a ride and decided to make a late run to Kennerdell by myself. I didn't get there until almost 5 but I was excited to get on the trails!