Last call for the Dirty Apple Alley Cat

This Friday, November 6

Time: 7:00pm - 11:00pm
Location: Triangle Park Manhattan, KS

What you can expect: According to race organizers Twhet and Thomas Krap, you can expect to hurt.

These guys have put a lot of work into this event. They've lined up a lot of great sponsors, including: Chrome Bags, Salsa Cycles, Surly Bikes, All-City, Velocity USA, El Duke Degreaser, Tallgrass Brewery and Chipotle.

There is going to be over $750 worth of prizes for those who compete!


Facebook event page

Details from the organizers:

1) In no way am I or anyone liable for your actions.
2) There will be fun.
3) Party afterwards featuring TERROR TRACTOR, DROPJAW, and maybe some more loud, live, awesome music.
4) The course map will be posted no sooner than 24hours before the race starts.
5) Pre-registration gets you a t-shirt $10; Day of $12 no shirt

Late breaking news from Twhet:

"Tomorrow, there is a race.
I rode what I thought was the fastest route yesterday, and clocked it at somewhere around 15-20miles, there are 9 checkpoints, and it took me about 1.5 hours to complete.
Meet tomorrow at triangle park, I recommend that you bring a helmet, light, lock, and pen with you. also, try to be there close to 7pm.. I know it doesn't start until 7:30pm, but try.
You should be prepared for fun, and lots of it!!! bring all of your friends.
I will post more details to the facebook event page tomorrow around noon, and I will also have them at The Pathfinder."

Back to the Interweb, Part 2: Post-Interbike Musings

This year I joined forces with the Bike Magazine crew to do some Web / multimedia coverage of Interbike. I'm rather jaded when it comes to "latest and greatest" spiels, but very now and then a product catches my eye because it's innovative, makes life simpler, or makes me ask,"why didn't someone think of this sooner?"

Here are my top three products from the show.

Interbike Video: Pedro's New 8-bit Multi-tool—the Tulio from Bike Magazine on Vimeo.

Interbike Video: Exposure Lights from Bike Magazine on Vimeo.

Interbike Video: The new DT Swiss Tricon wheelset from Bike Magazine on Vimeo.

Back to the Interweb: Part I

I've been remiss in my blogging duties this year.
Real life has taken precedence over E-living, and life has been good.

Cyclocross season is well underway. Cross starts earlier every year; I'd prefer the season to start in October and go through February. But as long as I'm racing, I'm not complaining.

My plan to race myself back into shape seems to be paying off. Every weekend I've been feeling stronger and have slowly been creeping my way up in the standings.

For some reason I've been riding like a squirrel — making little mistakes that cost me time — silly crashes, dropped chains and bad line choices. I'm hopeful that repetition through racing is the solution.

Back from the backwoods of Arkansas

I spent the first weekend of the new year backpacking in Arkansas, Devil's Den to be exact.

I love winter camping. It's the only time I really get to use all the cool gear I've accumulated over the years — cold weather means I can sleep in my mummy bag, rather than spend the night sweating on top of it!

Jaime, my partner in crime, was up for exploring each and every cave and crevasse we came across. She's also one heck of a camp cook.

I'm planning a return trip soon. This time with my brothers and our bikes.

Any takers?

Jaime exploring a cave
Feeling at home in Devil's DenPipistrellus Subfavus, Eastern Pipistrelle

Back online, last race of the 'cross season

Cross season was long, painful and mostly dry — nationals and today's race were the exceptions. Boss Cross #3 was a fast course turned painful slog thanks to risings temps and melting snow.

A third of the course was faster on foot than on the bike.
Still a fun race, and a good way to end the season.

There are three more local 'cross races, but I'm burnt out. I'm ready to ride my bike in the woods, with friends, for fun.

Here are some shots of today's mudder, compliments of Roger Harrison.

Power washing is overrated.
Real men use the Missouri River to clean their bike, then jump in to clean themselves.

Weekend in review

I've been absent from the interwebs for a few weeks, school is back with a vengeance. I've still managed to have fun on the bike though.
I headed to Manhattan last weekend and joined their monthly Critical Mass. They had a fairly good sized group. Those kids are much more civil than the rable-rousers here in Lawrence.



Saturday was Cruise the Blues, if you're not familiar with the race, it's a uniquely Kansas cycling event. Nestled in the middle of central Kansas is Doug and Tracey Palen's farm. In addition to being a farmer Doug is also a passionate mountain biker. He has created a network of fast flowy singletrack which meander through his fields and pastures. Dodging cornstalks and cow patties is part of the experience.

The race loop is approximately 13 miles of hardpacked goodness. The trail was not as buff as it has been in years past, thanks to a downpour the week before the race. Nothing five hours of racing can't remedy!

My teammate, Cycle City's very own John Waller, and I launched our assault on the men's five-hour "glory" field. I had a good first lap and John had an even better second. Unfortunately for me, the previous night's overindulgence in cheap beer and pulled-pork sandwiches would not be silenced — a counter-attack on my stomach was launched. I hurriedly exorcised the demons in the nearest johnny and just missed my teammate riding in. We lost some time but still managed to hold off third place. We went home with money in our pockets. Not a bad weekend. Congrats to the dynamic Chambers duo for taking home the big win!

Rapture in Misery

I've raced and ridden at Landhal many times, I don't think conditions have ever been as good as they were for last weekend's Rapture in Misery. Mild temps and tacky hardpack made for ideal race conditions.

There's a bit of wisdom that says one should never race on untested equipment. Excellent advice, but I always seem to mix things up before race day. Many things have been mixed up this season and I've done what I can to make the best of it.

For this year's Rapture I was on a new frame, new drive system, and a squishy fork—first time I've spent any significant amount of time on a suspension fork in over a year. For endurance racing at Landahl I welcomed the chance to run suspension; it was nice to be able to plow through rockgardens, even when fatigue set in.

It did take some getting used to. Halfway through my fourth lap I crashed hard. There's a sharp left turn over exposed rocks and roots where, instead of braking, I lift the rear end and pivot on the front wheel to conserve momentum through the turn.

I did a poor job of executing this maneuver on my fourth lap. I leaned too far over the front and, as the fork rebounded, shot off the front, landing hard on my right side and twisting my right knee. I stood around for a few minutes, catching my breath and making sure my knee was still in working order. One racer, Kyle Shour, passed me while I getting myself back together. I struggled to catch Kyle, but he was hauling and my knee wasn't having it. I decided to try and make up time slowly over the next few laps—bad choice.

Of all the pit crews at Landahl mine was far and away the most spirited, thanks in no small measure to the free beer provided by the fine
folks at Heartland Sports.















Every time I rolled thru the pit raucous cowbells and empty beer cans greeted me. Unfortuntely, in their exuberance they mistakenly thought the racer who passed me was a lap down and relayed this golden nugget to me. I figured I was still in first and rode conservatively the rest of the day.

I ended up taking second, and had I known Kyle was not a lap down, I would probably have still finished second.

New Bike.

I'm not one to rant and rave about bikes until I get some time on them, but I'm enjoying the fit and handling of the Spot. It served me well this weekend—the belt-drive was certainly a conversation starter. More on the new bike in a future post.