Dirty Kanza 200

So I have made the decision, thanks to RD,  to bite the bullet and sign up for the Dirty Kanza 200.  For those of you who don't know it is a 200+ mile, one day, gravel road race in Emporia Kansas.  This should be a good time.  A co-worker, Nate, has said that he will partake in the punishment so now we need Douglas to man up [;-)] and commit to it and we can have an Omahaians showing.

More to come.

Tranquility....not so much.

The girl friend and I decide no to sit around the house all day and go for a ride.  Yes we know it is snowing and contrary to the loud old lady in our parking lot, no, we are not crazy or stupid.

I decide to throw the studded tires on my Redline and I dug out my Schwalbe Marathon Winter tires to put on her Kona Dew Plus.  And I was really proud of her.  She gave it a good try and was a good sport about it.  The snow was DEEP.  We only got from the trail head to the first road crossing and decided to go back.  It was a blast but it took for EVER.  Anyways here are some pics.

There she goes....sort of.  [:-)]

 

 It was some deep snow.

We both took some good spills.

Snow? What Snow?

So along with everyone else that is dedicated to spinning some cranks instead of turning a key, I too have a post about my adventures in the first bought of "real" snow in the Omaha area.  And here we go.....

I was on a quest this summer to build my own ultimate snow rig.  I had ridden my cross bike last winter with some studded tires and wasn't completely happy with the results.  I tried riding my single speed 29er and enjoyed the ride more than with the cross bike but my knee joints didn't like me when it came to trudging through the deep stuff.  So I opted for the best of both worlds:

Redline Monocog Flight 29er 19inch frame
Red Chris King headset
RaceFace Evolve Cranks (22-32-44)
SRAM PG-990 11-34 cassette
SRAM X.O rear derailleur and grip shifters
Shimano XT front derailleur
Custom wheel set, SLX center lock hubs, DT Swiss Comp Spokes and X470 rims  (a little heavy but super bommer!)
Avid Juicy Ultimate Brakes
Maxxis Ingnitor 29 x 2.1 tires for the fresh powder
Nokian Extreme 294  29 x 2.1 studded tires for the deep and icy stuff

Upright riding position, super low gearing, grip shift for easy use with gloved hand, and a straight bar for more control.  So far the results are very, very positive.  Here is some pics from the ride in on Monday:

A little bit of frost on the beard.

 

 Even with fenders had some nice build up on the frame.

 

X.O rear derailleur took it all like a champ and never missed a shift.

And I will have more from my commute on Wednesday.  Tuesday I have off.

Ride safe!

Very moving

New Rig....Wrong Time.

So I finally got my new rig put together.

Steel Langster frameset from Specialized.  True track geometry, 56cm.

Specs. as follows:

-White Steel 56cm frame set
-Custom Velocity Deep V White Rim
--Red All-City Track Hubs
--3 Cross lacing front and rear white DT Swiss Competition spokes

--Red nipples

-All-City Red 170mm 46t Cranks
-White Industries 17t freewheel
-TRP R960 red bake calipers
-Surly 17t fixed cog and lock-ring
-Cane Creek SCR-5 Brake levers
-Crank Brothers Candy SL pedals
-Thompson Elite silver seatpost
-Specialized Mondo Tire 700x23c red
-Nitto handle bar and stem
-S-wrap Classic bar tape
-Old School Saddle found in our back storage area 

22.5 pounds of road skiddin' love.  Just too bad I finally got it together when the weather turned shitty.  I hope for a few good days to break 'er in before the snow flys.

From MTB Omaha

CX Tuesdays

Who's up for CX practice on Tuesday nights? I've got a good practice course at Seymor Smith park by the soap box derby track. The course includes a paved climb, gravel climb, gravel/sand trap, and we can get a high speed barrier section too. I'm thinking 5:30ish. Two lap, five lap and three lap mini races.

All levels are welcome, don't be shy.

First SNOW of the season

Had an interesting ride Saturday morning.  Rode to the Joslyn Art museum for a class assignment and then rode to work on 151st and industrial.  The morning ride to the museum was really wet and still snowing.  The ride to work afterward was just wet and windy.  But I do have to say that the new FORCE/RIVAL 10 speed groupo performed flawlessly, way exceeded my expectations.

Even with all the ice on the cables I never missed a shift.

Other than the snap of cold, it was an awesome day for a ride.

Yeah 10 speed

Me being a bigger guy I expect to wear out bicycle components faster than your average rider.  On the Last bacon ride I apparently "broke"  my Truvativ carbon Rouller cranks.  I called SRAM and they warrantied them no problem.  Unfortunately they didn't have the exact cranks that I needed and were not making them anymore.  So they upgraded me to these bad boys!

SRAM FORCE BABY!!  For Free!  Now the only downside to this is that These cranks have a true ten speed spacing and I was running nine speed, so dang it! I have to upgrade my entire drive train.
 ;-}

Found a FORCE front derailleur in the used part bin at work.  SCORE!

 

I decided to go with a RIVAL rear derailleur and shifter set.  Why you might ask?  Well, during my discussions of whether FORCE or RIVAL would be the best choice, I think Nate put it best: "You brake shit."  I can't handle replacing a $150 rear der. or a $490 set of shifters if and when I get hit or wreck again.  The only part of this bike that I haven't broken or worn out is the tires, the seat post and the frame.

A new set of wrap as well and I think that I'm ready to give cross riding a shot this year....  If I can find the time.  Overall weight of the bike, with Acid2 pedals and bottle cages and pump mount, is now down to 22 lbs!  I know that might seem nothing spectacular as far as bikes go, but I wish I had weighed it when I first got the thing.  I have dropped some serious wight off of it.

WTF!!

This shit makes me very angry and sad at the same time. I don't know exactly what the G20 in all about but I'm gonna look into it.  Very scary that they are getting away with actions like this.  Using an LRAD on people is not something to trivialize.  This is from the LRAD manufacturers web site:

The Long Range Acoustic Device™ (LRAD®) is a highly directional acoustic array that is designed for long-range communication and unmistakable warning. The LRAD device can issue a verbal warning and has the capability of following up with a deterrent tone to influence behavior or determine intent.

B.O.L.O (Be On the Look Out)

Some jackass (white male, 40-55 yrs old, brown hair) in a early to mid 90's blue Dodge Dakota pick-up turning left across traffic, nearly clocked me yesterday around 5:30 at Pacific and the Interstate on ramp. The fucker wasn't looking where he going, literally, and he didn't even stop or slow down after he finally did see me. Very scary situation.

Oh What an Alleycat

The first alleycat style event in Omaha Nebraska. I think....

Sunday September 27th Meet at the arch in the Gene Leahy mall downtown no later than 11:15 am. Go is at 11:30. Check point style event with a few prizes for the first finishers.

Here is the link to check out for more info.

Hope to see you there.

Bacon ride.

I'm stoked for the bacon ride. Not so much about being up a 5:30 in the morning to do so.

SON OF A BITCH!!

Just needed to vent about the fact that I got HIT BY A CAR today. Almost a year from my really serious accident last September. I'm ok, a few scraps, but the bike is totaled. Better the bike than me. A few words of advice when it comes to riding in this stupid town: Don't cower, but understand that there are things that are out of your control and hope for the best. Ride safe, ride smart and always wear a helmet. I just got hit this morning.

School....why?

I would love to know if school, at the higher education level, is something that is really neccesary to ones existance in this world. I don't really understand how it can be so costly to take a single class and have it cost over $600 for a summer class! I feel that I am never gonna graduate and at some times I fell that this is ok.

Rain, rain, go away!!!

Enough said. Hope the trail gets dry enough for the race.

Preping for saturday

Well, this friday I went out with some friends for a good fun ride at swanson. The trail was good, the company was good and I felt awesome. That is until I ran into... no, more like flew, literaly, into a tree. I am fine other than a sore shoulder and a little bit of a shaken confidence. I need to get a new helmet, and a new front brake lever blade for my stumpjumper but things can be replaced...people can't. I can't even try to figure out what went wrong. One moment I felt great the next I felt that something was wrong and then I was saying hello to a tree.

Life is fun....

When a bad day turns good

Wow! today was an interesting day. Started out rainy and total crap. Had a relaxful morning on the couch, Cleaned the apartment a bit, rode the single speed up to UNO and climbed for an hour, tried to find people that were doing something....and then said screw it and decided to find something to do by myself, so I rode from UNO out to C.B. and then back home via downtown. Was too nice of a day to sit at home for all of it and with the rain the trails are unrideable. But they should be by Wednesday. If anyone interested...Manawa, wednesday, 6pm.


I'm hungry....

Lewis and Bark

Well, i didn't get hurt but I did take a spill out at Lewis and Clark. Apparently from the land dispute issues with the trail, you can either take your chances with the rangers and continue starting the trail as normal and go through the "chute" section or... you can start were the trail normally finishes, come down the hill and eventually you'll be heading the right direction. I hope that things get worked out before the race.

Anybody know what the plans are?

Who wants to ride tonight?

Ride, MTB, Lewis and Clark, 6pm, 4/15/09.


Hopefully I wont get hurt this time. Every time I've gone out there I been significantly hurt. Hey EB, remember the first time you took me out there and I busted up my knee.... yah, good times.


Hey now, did everyone get their taxes done?

Absoulutley Amazing

I'm glad to see that something as simple as this can be so inspiring. I'm ecstatic that a legit business has emerged in the Midwest that works like this.

Today

Today is the day that I have decided to make my life less complex. I will continue to live in a style that I see fit and not be persuaded or influenced by others around me