tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59379050144212833452024-03-14T00:15:10.914-07:00Living the Good Life.....Domestically and abroad!Living the Good Life, domestically and abroad!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger211125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-79532964199253638542013-05-05T11:30:00.002-07:002013-05-05T11:31:35.026-07:00BICI ITALIA - Custom Cycling Tours<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
New website and blog are up and running. Please check it out.<br />
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<a href="http://biciitalia.com/news">http://biciitalia.com/news</a><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-48814433292058538032012-10-27T19:46:00.001-07:002012-10-27T19:46:56.400-07:00650b? REALLY?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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REALLY! I've been throwing the idea around for a while and finally got around to pulling the<br />
trigger on it. I tried the 29'er thing, and just didn't like it for several reasons. Now that there is a<br />
good selection of product out there, why not give it a shot.<br />
The biggest misconception about 650b is that it's new. It's been around forever, it was just overlooked when the "bigger is better" 29'er made it into production (Gary Fisher) first.<br />
The 2nd biggest misconception is that it's 27.5". It's called 27.5" but it's actually 27.0". So it's not half way between 26" and 29", it's only a 1/3 of the way there. This is a big deal when I break out the equations below. <br />
The cool thing is that most 26" frames have enough clearance for 27" wheels. 1" bigger diameter is 1/2" radius. It you have a bit more than 1/2" clearance everywhere, then you can do it. Most 26" suspension forks can also handle this. In order to accommodate 29" wheels, frame dimension and geometry's get really tweaked. My Niner hardtail was over 6" longer (front of front tire to back of back tire) than my 26" full suspension bike. <br />
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(This is were my Advanced Mathmatics and Physics background gets to come out and play)<br />
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The worst thing I found with 29'ers was the rotational inertia of the wheels. Marketing Departments at the 29'er companies are great at praising the "terrain-interaction" property of the bigger wheels. The one and ONLY property they are talking about is the geometry of the larger tire as it meets the ground. YES, they are correct in that the larger tire will "interact" with bumpy terrain because it doesn't fall into holes between bumps as far as a smaller tire. This if 100% true. Notice I said "interact" previously instead of "roll". Once an object is rolling, there are laws of physics that come into play. Bike wheels have a certain weight to them. Rolling bike wheels have rotational inertia. When I built-up my 29'er, I built it with wheels that were roughly the same weight as my 26" wheels, and with tires that were actually lighter. (can't remember for sure but I think the 26" was a IRC Serac UST's at around 750gram and the 29'ers were Bontrager tubeless ready at 650g). Overall lighter wheels but still felt a LOT harder to spin up. I knew the physics going on here.<br />
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The formula for Rotational Inertia (or Moment of Inertia) = mass * R squared. R being the distance the mass is from the rotating axis. Because the R is squared, changes in this dimension have a big impact were as changes in mass do not.<br />
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Here are some Moment of Inertial calculations on 3 different tires (the rotational inertial of the rim and spokes is being ignored here since it is minimal)<br />
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The Kenda Nevegal is available in all 3 sizes: 26", 650b, and 29". I chose this tire because it comes in all 3 sizes, and it's a "real" tire(more on this later), and the exact same construction/tread across all 3 sizes.<br />
The weight of these tires are approx 610grams, 650grams, and 833grams respectually.<br />
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The Moment of Intertia for these 3 tires is approx 66.5gm2, 76gm2, and 113gm2 (grams meters squared). Notice there is small difference between the 26' and 650b, but a huge difference going to the 29er. This is that R squared thing kicking in. <br />
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Back to the "real" tire comment I made above. I consider a "real" tire one that I can ride the local trails with, works well in most terrain wet or dry. I can rip the local bike park with it AND race on it. A do-it-all tire. I don't keep mutiple wheels sets around with different tires for different things. I need a do-it-all tire and ones that durable enough to handle it.<br />
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Notice that the Moment of Inertia is only slightly higher for the 650b tire than the 26" and it's the same great tire, same great tread pattern I like. Now look at the 29er". It's almost double the 26" tire.<br />
Now of course this is for a real tire, sized up to 29". If 29er bikes had tires like this on them in the bike shop, it would feel so heavy during the "parking lot" test that nobody would buy them. That's why they have "29'er specific" tires. These are typically smaller (2.0 vs 2.1 or bigger), have lighter casings, and thinner rubber with a race tread pattern. The pro's you see winning races are on these, and the bikes in the bike shops come something like this. I wouldn't recommend doing downhill runs at your local ski resort with these. <br />
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Using the same Moment of Intertia(MOI) formula, we can find out exactly how light a 29'er tire would need<br />
to be to have the same moment of interia as 26" tire. Using the MOI of the Kenda Nevegal 26*2.1 at 610grams as the target, a 29" tire would have to weight 490grams. Using the MOI of the Kenda Nevegal 650b*2.1 at 645grams, a 29" tire would have to weight 560grams. Both of which are pretty light tires probably recommended for racing or light XC stuff. No all-mountain stuff or DH runs at your local ski resort.<br />
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The type of terrain 29er's really suffered in was super twisty, rolling single track. The longer bike, the constantly changing speeds with the harder-to-turnover wheels, and the constantly changing direction with a front wheel that has a high MOI. If you spin a wheel with both hands on the axle and try to turn it, the wheel will try to resist this change and it will actually twist on the vertical plane. The higher the MOI of the wheel, the more resistance the wheel has to changing direction. This is were the 650b front wheel is able to maintain the nimble and flickable characteristics of the 26. <br />
OK, so far we have a bike that maintains most of it's 26"
dimensions/geometry or in my case, it's the same frame/fork. We have a
slightly bigger wheel/tire that does roll over stuff better (maybe 1/3
better), and does it without the rotational inertia penalty, and you get
to use a real tire that you like (provided it comes in a 650b
version). You still have a short, nimble bike basically. <br />
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Another thing I discovered is that the jump from 26" to 650b wasn't enough to make the standard triple ring set (22/32/44) feel awkward. Standard triples don't really work with 29er's. Hence the reason they came up with the double 26/39, 24/36, 30/40 setups and so on. This is all dependent on the type of terrain you ride and/race on of course and all of this is only my personal experience. <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-11534765007760202272012-05-17T19:35:00.003-07:002012-05-17T19:35:59.814-07:00Amgen Tour of California<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Here's the final turn about 400 meters to the line. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-61264036354547826732012-05-17T19:24:00.001-07:002012-05-17T19:32:19.873-07:00Amgen Tour of California<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This was at the KOM spot on Mt. Diablo. This is only half way to the top but logistically they couldn't go any higher. Whole lot of people up there. I took half day off work and headed up there around noon. The leaders came over a good 8 or 9 minutes ahead of the main field. Once they passed, it was a mad dash to get down the climb and ride out to Livermore for the finish. <br />
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-43292818629130892452012-02-20T18:54:00.000-08:002012-02-20T20:45:52.914-08:00Tahoe MTB trip.....in January.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmLyQUfJjIHS6pzX482U_DfpUPMN2E2Kb20rRqfOuiOLWCPresrPijdPbeppeEBSKh83Nr-Op96lF-AWlTxczo9NN1zpjnNUqhC2Ix-Rq9O2RkSmAmHn6kGzwozI2y9nhuL7ARYUM6-5U2/s1600/DSCN2212.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmLyQUfJjIHS6pzX482U_DfpUPMN2E2Kb20rRqfOuiOLWCPresrPijdPbeppeEBSKh83Nr-Op96lF-AWlTxczo9NN1zpjnNUqhC2Ix-Rq9O2RkSmAmHn6kGzwozI2y9nhuL7ARYUM6-5U2/s400/DSCN2212.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711419251469146722" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNIsgj9LGH8E4klPIKIU9IZwVNGf2gMLJl8m52A2CxoByKH3uel4g2yjmtcrZlFpo1b9LqDOhDEaKPD0uiop4ibm19NwU5C-STYjHsaGPFJDgOf2QsX1nJ1GyO4Lge1S_nNtfwGHbZyBR8/s1600/DSCN2215.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNIsgj9LGH8E4klPIKIU9IZwVNGf2gMLJl8m52A2CxoByKH3uel4g2yjmtcrZlFpo1b9LqDOhDEaKPD0uiop4ibm19NwU5C-STYjHsaGPFJDgOf2QsX1nJ1GyO4Lge1S_nNtfwGHbZyBR8/s400/DSCN2215.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711419247395747378" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8gOYe0TfORpGNpSYsQ7uId-vnvTNnBIPEw10OTYwDcB4Ln81Le_0ekCnmB_ZgycRCprQhSlV-xKsZ4mPfaMHvZMm2Cqnrb5WAla05vERmt2FHUT2202EBNcl6JmQrtT4bR1wXT80B_jNq/s1600/DSCN2171.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8gOYe0TfORpGNpSYsQ7uId-vnvTNnBIPEw10OTYwDcB4Ln81Le_0ekCnmB_ZgycRCprQhSlV-xKsZ4mPfaMHvZMm2Cqnrb5WAla05vERmt2FHUT2202EBNcl6JmQrtT4bR1wXT80B_jNq/s400/DSCN2171.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711419238054389250" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9SSOASFEagSq6fvXgtpRmxmVhyphenhyphenomZc463MbICUnHSqKDFgPwXBBngbs-DsPST-7_ELFpT5eKND8ETx82ulrlZIAbMxo2513BS2H5jkeqTGVuJuP_uBRtzV8ta2NGBEx_OXSfh7919VSMM/s1600/DSCN2203.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9SSOASFEagSq6fvXgtpRmxmVhyphenhyphenomZc463MbICUnHSqKDFgPwXBBngbs-DsPST-7_ELFpT5eKND8ETx82ulrlZIAbMxo2513BS2H5jkeqTGVuJuP_uBRtzV8ta2NGBEx_OXSfh7919VSMM/s400/DSCN2203.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711419263528769794" border="0" /></a><br />Since Tahoe wasn't getting any snow yet, the wife and I packed up the 2 doggies and headed up. Cold and bit icy in spots, but for the most part, all the trails were rideable, even at the higher elevations. Got in 9hrs of great technical single-track mostly above 7000ft.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-84556320044893165342011-12-27T09:11:00.000-08:002011-12-27T09:35:42.873-08:00Closing out 2011Been a while since my last post so I figured i'd better get caught up. My last post was about the first cross race of the year. Since then, I'd done only 2 others. The 2nd was on November 6th, and was last minute deal. I'd done a long MTB ride the day before so I didn't expect much. Just wanted to race and get more time on the cx bike, which I needed. The course at Stafford Lake in Novato, CA was really fun if you had good legs. Brutal if you didn't. Mine were a bit rubbery so I was more the later. Super steep and bumpy climbing and descending was a bit different for me, on a cross bike anyway. In general, the course here are really bumpy so I need to start preparing for that different next year. I've never really been into riding MTB trails on my cross bike, but a lot of people here do and I can see why. Anyway, got a good start just to avoid being burried in traffic. After the first couple laps, I was burried in traffic and going backwards. There was one long run up that really hurt. Tried to keep it a "run" up but the last lap or 2 might have been a "fast walk"-up. <br />Third race was a night race: Round #2 of the Bay Area Super Prestige Series. Rain left the course nice and tacky in some spots, and like greased ice in others. I got a call-up this time around which was nice. 3rd row I think. Descent start but didn't drill it. I'm still a bit timid on the skinny knobs. My fault for just not spending around time sliding around on that bike. Other than having my bars slip a bit in the stem and some nagging shift problems, I "raced" the whole hour and came in 21st, same as the first round, and the same as previous weekend. I could see at least 10 guys in front and 10 guys behind me so it's still pretty tightly packed, 11th place to 31st. Night racing is pretty fun. So 3 races down and I got 21st at all three. Not much to say other than it's exactly what I should be getting based on what i'd put into it. I could honestly say that if i'd prepared right (or at least they same as i'd down a couple years ago), I could have cut those 21st places in half, and been on the verge of top-10. Getting into the top 10 and at least in sight of the podium will take something special. Basically getting faster than I ever have been. Not sure my work/other schedules will allow that so I can't really plan for it, just need to play it by ear next year and see how she rolls. <br />So 3 races down and that was it for 2011. Came into December with the Flu and some lingering sinus issues so really couldn't do much more. Finally got heathly for Christmas so that was nice. Got a good block of riding in over the Holidays so at least i'll hit '12 somewhat fit.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-55581461243722161392011-10-23T19:28:00.000-07:002011-10-23T19:53:18.651-07:00Bay Area Super Prestige #1 - San FranciscoFinally got my CX season underway this weekend. I got in 2 small local races last season, but missed all the big races in the area. This time I ended up missing all the smaller races so far but got out for this one. The Bay Area Super Prestige Series is the largest series in NorCal. Today's race was so exception. The Masters 35+ A race was filled (55 rider limit) during pre-reg. They had a standby system for racers that want to get in but is determined by how many pre-reg'ed riders no-showed. 5 no-show'd and I was the 5th racer on the stand-by list. Lucked out. Otherwise I would have done the Elite race which had over 60 guys in it. The first 2 rows in the grid were call-ups based on last years series. I skipped taking one last lap of the course and got to the front of the staging area and ended up in row 3 on the inside. Start was OK, managed to avoid the first turn elbow-fest and settle into about 15th. A few big crashes in turns took a bunch of guys from the front to very back and I managed to avoid all the mayhem. The course was bone dry and super bumpy. Huge holes, dry grass, and big rocks everywhere. Super technical course with very few places to really get out and try to move up. This actually worked out great for me since I was getting through most turns better than most and the faster guys behind me couldn't really chase me down. During pre-riding I burped my rear tire bad and up'd the pressure for the race. With the super bumpy course, I was trying to find some traction and comfort with lower pressure and pushed it too far. With 5 laps to go I almost crashed in a turn and burped the front. Dropped to about 15 psi. Rode the whole lap like that and managed to not make it any worse. I pulled into the SRAM Neutral Support tent for a quick pump and got a great push off by the tech. A handful of guys went by, not sure how many were 35+ or 45+, but I think I passed all of them back in the closing laps. Felt pretty good considering I only did/attempted about 1 week of actual structured cx work. <br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxlTCcsE9hApUHjkrIQ2sT7CFU-2hITo_cA1Me8yOD5tVl3QUyN5EwYZ38CAsY3iMkF7oz3zQssbUrTWCDH2A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwDfxg_L142FM8-atcF9p7ZfOF3yZQny-Kpk1QzD27dQNuw8m58dGsnJBV1HzfvyWCM6DG7eu7UdYeRd1iinA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-59235353213611722382011-08-29T08:55:00.000-07:002011-08-29T20:03:00.390-07:00Lake Tahoe - MTB epic weekend.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaq5ldCQ9cbMtE-FTR4kn94SDUcR0m4w9M9pwTvUI7BsCNKFZpe__IiZDLTnCn7c3nloQBMFk0wRedlGWyk5qwgbKIHQRmxWB3rRAlkAc2LEyahyphenhyphenrp64bU3Cba_vHk9pP2NWrmHw1_MSfh/s1600/tomacbike.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaq5ldCQ9cbMtE-FTR4kn94SDUcR0m4w9M9pwTvUI7BsCNKFZpe__IiZDLTnCn7c3nloQBMFk0wRedlGWyk5qwgbKIHQRmxWB3rRAlkAc2LEyahyphenhyphenrp64bU3Cba_vHk9pP2NWrmHw1_MSfh/s400/tomacbike.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646478741570809122" border="0" /></a>
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglOg2J7CtPulEzdADE7LqswWxsyKUv-b2FCHtpuin0LvtV168gwIVCGUrf2ga21fJxc_SZXK3FDMaqxqyNK1F3om_rDnDikVns89RRRP7rrG-syeAri0avNEAb8-HhPW96yjMB4zAGpDcn/s1600/flume-1.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglOg2J7CtPulEzdADE7LqswWxsyKUv-b2FCHtpuin0LvtV168gwIVCGUrf2ga21fJxc_SZXK3FDMaqxqyNK1F3om_rDnDikVns89RRRP7rrG-syeAri0avNEAb8-HhPW96yjMB4zAGpDcn/s400/flume-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646478736821041346" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGMm7isT-WAJJlra36fyE7frBtejxEj0dPIs4oja1m3a5aSRSHgHE8fpa_JYuSza336PrPlnVV1FEaf7yKaykvPFnOq1voxhk1msFoRGrl_GEP8bO6STJtPBCGc94_8QZNNBqljuNS-NCo/s1600/tahoemeadows+sign.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGMm7isT-WAJJlra36fyE7frBtejxEj0dPIs4oja1m3a5aSRSHgHE8fpa_JYuSza336PrPlnVV1FEaf7yKaykvPFnOq1voxhk1msFoRGrl_GEP8bO6STJtPBCGc94_8QZNNBqljuNS-NCo/s400/tahoemeadows+sign.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646476889177568402" border="0" /></a>
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<br />Spent another amazing weekend in Lake Tahoe. Got out on Saturday with an old MTB buddy from way back Mark Roberts. We had an epic battle in the mens sport class at the '88 MTB World Championships in Mammoth Lakes. He's basically a Tahoe local so he knows the trails there like the back of his hand. He took me on a bunch of stuff I hadn't seen before north of Tahoe City. We got in a solid 3hrs of singletrack with another hr of misc pavement at the end riding back from Squaw to Tahoe City and I got in another hr riding before/after for about 5 on the day. I had brought my road bike up with the intension of doing a lap of the lake on Sunday. Given the amount of traffic up there this weekend, I chose to stay off-road (mostly). Did the ever-popular Tahoe Rim Trail from the Rose Summit/Tahoe Meadows trail head to Tunnel Creek, then took the Flume Trail south to Marlette Lake and back, then Tunnel Creek down into Incline Village. Amazing single track with spectacular views of the lake from mostly above 8000 ft. This is one of the most popular "shuttle" rides in the area. Must have been 50 vehicles at the Mt. Rose Summit trailhead and another 40 at the bottem to take riders back up. It's only an 8.5 mile/2800 vertical feet road climb between the two. I started in Carnelian Bay (north shore) and rode the 8 miles over the Incline Village, NV. Then did the 8.5 mile road climb (averages 5.5 %) to the 8900 feet Mt. Rose Summit. The Rim Trail starts just below the summit at Tahoe Meadows. This section of the Rim Trail climbs up a few 100 feet in the first mile or 2, then gets super fun and flowy for the next 8 miles or so to Tunnel Creek rd. A quick descent down Tunnel Creek brings you to the north end of the Flume Trail. Took that south to Marlette Lake. Super fun single-track trail with some cool sections cut into the rock. Lake Tahoe is on your right, and straight down. This secion of the Flume is almost completely flat so it was mosly big-ring seated stuff. I turned around at Marlette Lake and rode came back to Tunnel Creek Rd, which was a wide dirt road downhill all the way down to Incline Village. Mostly deep powdery sand so i'd hate to climb up this way. Once back in Incline, it was a rolling paved ride back to Carnelian Bay. Ended up just under 5hrs total, 27 total paved miles and 22 dirt miles. Close to 10hrs of mtb riding over two days. Feeling it today for sure. Pics coming.
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-61929514335632713502011-08-08T08:35:00.000-07:002011-08-08T13:46:31.883-07:00Howell Mountain Challenge - Angwin, CaI had this race on the schedule for a while but sorta waited till the eleveth hour to make the commitment. Angwin is just north of Napa Valley, so it's a beautiful area. The race was 3 laps of a 10-mile loop. 30 miles off-road is a solid effort no matter how hard the terrain is. Couldn't preride much of the course since it went out a few miles before hitting the actual loop, so I only saw the first 1/2 mile and last half mile. The start was on pavement, uphill, to a wide gravel path and eventually onto some dirt roads. I sorta assumed that single track was out there somewhere beyond where I prerode so I attempted to get a good start. The lack of proper warm-up combined with NOT having down a hard start like that in a while KILLED me. I hit the dirt in 4th with completely gassed with ruined legs. I lot of guys blew by me while I tried to re-start the system. Took a few minutes and a good 1/2 mile but I "seemed" to be going good. Started catching back up to the guys that killed me off the start and actually started catching riders from the wave 2min ahead. The course was all dirt roads for at least the first full mile or 2 before hitting singletrack. The singletrack was supper fun and technical. I had never ridden this stuff before but I was at least staying with the guys in front. Got by a couple guys and seems to check out a bit. I was catching guys and the guys I passed seemed to fall away. The course alternated between single track and wide open dirt stuff. All middle-ring climbing until we hit the BIG ONE. 1/8 mile granny gear climb straight up. I generally don't do well on these but I caught back on to the front group the first time up this. Over the top they got a little gap on me again. The course rolled along some more with fun singletrack and middle-ring climbs. Towards the end of the lap was a 3 pack of rollers. Each had a crazy rocky ledge sections leading down so you couldn't hit the uphill part with much speed. Each uphill was middle-ring 'able but definately a handfull to clean. By the 3rd one I was wrecked. Some fun fast rolling stuff finished out the lap. This is around the time I decided that that only way I was going to make it 2 more times around that thing was to put it into conservation mode. Still rode hard and agressive but couldn't do much more than that without risking a DNF.
<br />Got caught by a lot of guys as expected, not sure which were in my age group or not. That 3rd lap was a killer for sure but managed to keep it together and at least finish. Had this been an 1:45 or 2 hour race, I think I could have faked it along better, but 2.5 hours is a bit different. Didn't quite have the breakfast for it. The race was held at a college so we could use the showers in the gym after the race. That is a huge luxary since Kristine and I were planning on wine tasting in Napa after the race. Not sure what place I got since they hadn't posted results when we left. Wasn't top 3. Did win a WTB Mutanorapter 2.4 tire in the raffle so that was nice. No, a 2.4 tire isn't exactly a cross-country race tire, but it will work perfectly for the majority of the stuff i'm doing. Having not raced much over the last year definately became obvious yesterday but that's how it goes. I get in plenty of riding. Good riding, solid efforts both mtb and road, but no amount of hard training can replace actual race efforts. Other than that, the Tomac bike worked flawlessly. A bit more bike than a lot of guys were on out there. If I was really serious about getting back on the podium at every race, i'd probably do a more race-specific bike, but I like a bike I can go beat up in Tahoe without getting destroying or beating me up. I've got that so i'll leave the podium spots to those guys that are simple WAY faster than me for now. Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-58971694128635489482011-07-30T21:36:00.000-07:002011-07-30T21:43:57.080-07:00Tuscany 2011Here are a few pics from Bella Vita Vacations most recent tour of Tuscany.<br /><br /><div><embed src="http://widget-0b.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=bb&il=1&channel=2954361355595796747&site=widget-0b.slide.com" style="width:400px;height:320px" name="flashticker" align="middle"></embed><div style="width:400px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=2954361355595796747&map=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-0b.slide.com/p1/2954361355595796747/bb_t016_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide1.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=2954361355595796747&map=2" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-0b.slide.com/p2/2954361355595796747/bb_t016_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide2.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=2954361355595796747&map=F" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-0b.slide.com/p4/2954361355595796747/bb_t016_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide42.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-21241283069552681842011-07-21T11:44:00.000-07:002011-07-22T21:00:22.353-07:00Italy in JulyJust got back from another fun-filled <a href="http://www.bellavitavacations.com/">Bellavita Vacations</a> Italy trip.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguNkPtfTGfh3lzblUTM5w_e3UannxHgbkBLff9F7zYS-JRp9b4AMdrW9iyXWL6SMvDDu354M4zQeVzYOXxzUBoz5orEfD8-5wRJ9KYCFLoTlnmf8L2ZTgBecvShOiFaSI-upH1o5ezXbhH/s1600/IMG00333-20110713-1244.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguNkPtfTGfh3lzblUTM5w_e3UannxHgbkBLff9F7zYS-JRp9b4AMdrW9iyXWL6SMvDDu354M4zQeVzYOXxzUBoz5orEfD8-5wRJ9KYCFLoTlnmf8L2ZTgBecvShOiFaSI-upH1o5ezXbhH/s400/IMG00333-20110713-1244.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632385064944353042" border="0" /></a><br /><br />BVV clients and staff relaxing in the Tuscan sun.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSP4DUT_qSRDm0Alk6SpsePnDuwvR3LTtATin3wfdWqVAmibZY4LMYP2OZbuyY9nwK5nJbzM8rEwanbFQ3s0x9rrDRqfF_fECIfp8MXyMjGTZ9zuxAQ0dFnliMux7qNrBG41D5r0CD0sTU/s1600/laptop-bike.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSP4DUT_qSRDm0Alk6SpsePnDuwvR3LTtATin3wfdWqVAmibZY4LMYP2OZbuyY9nwK5nJbzM8rEwanbFQ3s0x9rrDRqfF_fECIfp8MXyMjGTZ9zuxAQ0dFnliMux7qNrBG41D5r0CD0sTU/s400/laptop-bike.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632384518449463330" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Catching up on the Tour de France action before heading out to ride.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE0V-A4vA4deG7yZB-W_cLgcIJsVxwf9cniO_yuqUAdmSPgiKm9x-ti0HKx6WfKo2s_BOScW_BDRMFCiLvsm577ITq2FLBf1Oa9hlwDSscH3O9Ca0oDwB2BiqHDbZ89vZD4JPMpFdbNGfM/s1600/DSCN1880.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE0V-A4vA4deG7yZB-W_cLgcIJsVxwf9cniO_yuqUAdmSPgiKm9x-ti0HKx6WfKo2s_BOScW_BDRMFCiLvsm577ITq2FLBf1Oa9hlwDSscH3O9Ca0oDwB2BiqHDbZ89vZD4JPMpFdbNGfM/s400/DSCN1880.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632384512726686242" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Looking down on Pizzoferrato, near my house in Abruzzo<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnz-_jOB5UfMpZV4i1o0jbmg3-ecy_OGqWEFVjC4ijWHXoiNvrpLxTpSqFXMlbPLT8jD_ixhtH66jCaj6piMY8ZsMmJcAjoHW-PA5xu2Z6YyHOBOxa8QaBnVnnVYeFyGU2HWZQEaG_fSpK/s1600/DSCN1826.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnz-_jOB5UfMpZV4i1o0jbmg3-ecy_OGqWEFVjC4ijWHXoiNvrpLxTpSqFXMlbPLT8jD_ixhtH66jCaj6piMY8ZsMmJcAjoHW-PA5xu2Z6YyHOBOxa8QaBnVnnVYeFyGU2HWZQEaG_fSpK/s400/DSCN1826.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632384263356769810" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />BVV clients Scott and Jim with Castel Brolio in the background.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvT-sqU19t9COz1SXnidzF8NStD-MJRtewHsl-8skcCb5fCrv01fi0zrHDyQXCXZPYIV0v_yigR_KhhzpgrhI1T9IrujiUFz29LF4rP-TebiWLjeiCUIltnC5twugVQHFpNcPJSghuIFp/s1600/DSCN1679.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvT-sqU19t9COz1SXnidzF8NStD-MJRtewHsl-8skcCb5fCrv01fi0zrHDyQXCXZPYIV0v_yigR_KhhzpgrhI1T9IrujiUFz29LF4rP-TebiWLjeiCUIltnC5twugVQHFpNcPJSghuIFp/s400/DSCN1679.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632384258225630450" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Leading a ride but always keeping an eye on things behind.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYVLMEWKwn4CFqLfBvsrN0ToSF26KbKi7Zx-n352Rnsdjcc-gAJlzywG0V7-waIGi7J4QIkveXVr8IXBJa-o15bv8VTVNkoi8VrffhHdvg6Y-wpfzzq-_ehD7-hnLVKJkdlWs7HqefehMl/s1600/DSCN1652.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYVLMEWKwn4CFqLfBvsrN0ToSF26KbKi7Zx-n352Rnsdjcc-gAJlzywG0V7-waIGi7J4QIkveXVr8IXBJa-o15bv8VTVNkoi8VrffhHdvg6Y-wpfzzq-_ehD7-hnLVKJkdlWs7HqefehMl/s400/DSCN1652.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632384255167611282" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Scott filling his bottle at one of the many "drinking fountains".<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiozRryXpG7oVcuJ6vgsFNwHB-tr2ZdRKzO-7OkCUukr66hOP1sU6N-qe6ChIYlo4lK4rcD2EyXH1qoXFUJmDPRUF9Ael0utLhlzv-uyWC1d8XjbH1FrXfNEQqX2Sviz7AgmTikFJzWD3XM/s1600/dinner-table.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiozRryXpG7oVcuJ6vgsFNwHB-tr2ZdRKzO-7OkCUukr66hOP1sU6N-qe6ChIYlo4lK4rcD2EyXH1qoXFUJmDPRUF9Ael0utLhlzv-uyWC1d8XjbH1FrXfNEQqX2Sviz7AgmTikFJzWD3XM/s400/dinner-table.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632384250115422546" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The BVV nightly dinner table awaits<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguXw0ycD896IqfefBF5on1JjncWr52G_IBO4hJayFIN6BKy7k7KicK-qCQNXMVJ69Jsg0RmCHs3ef4N_QcRdO0BC5CwHSettXZZlse5Wvy4ZJACrIGby5g3ve1JYFLk9HcxM2yqi9ix6FG/s1600/dinner.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguXw0ycD896IqfefBF5on1JjncWr52G_IBO4hJayFIN6BKy7k7KicK-qCQNXMVJ69Jsg0RmCHs3ef4N_QcRdO0BC5CwHSettXZZlse5Wvy4ZJACrIGby5g3ve1JYFLk9HcxM2yqi9ix6FG/s400/dinner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632384251839833138" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Every dinner should start like this.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiELfjAQ_rwy6ciG_fFlbU72tSJCm7b9ILZ0QwvM09bo3dgzDPswQOWWe0UzwGeNL0bpeOaENzWdWJlDDsj41f1iFqjH76Rcz1XgRKVbpREiI1mYkkCCiV7s4qGzKf4zWCn6qw9S3IsCzzP/s1600/slimun-laundry.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiELfjAQ_rwy6ciG_fFlbU72tSJCm7b9ILZ0QwvM09bo3dgzDPswQOWWe0UzwGeNL0bpeOaENzWdWJlDDsj41f1iFqjH76Rcz1XgRKVbpREiI1mYkkCCiV7s4qGzKf4zWCn6qw9S3IsCzzP/s400/slimun-laundry.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632385425555602546" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />A little laundry hanging on the roof-top cloths lines.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-3093546092273068692011-06-20T08:53:00.000-07:002011-06-21T11:20:17.730-07:00Tahoe 4/8 hr MTB raceFinally got around to MTB racing again this past weekend. Hadn't raced a MTB race since April 2010. Of course a lot has happened since then so I haven't exactly been bored. I had no expecations for this race. Just wanted to get back into the swing of things. The 4hr Solo race had the same format that i'm used to doing for the 3hr "endurance" races: Go just as fast as if it was a 2hr race, just do it for an extra hour +. Well, 4hrs (minumum) is a bit different than 3, but I did the only thing I know how: Start at the front, lead out the first lap as fast as possible, and try to hang on from there. Starting on the front was no problem. Led up the first big-ring start hill till the altitude got the better of me. I eased up and let one guy go by me and stayed a few seconds behind him while I caught my breath a bit. The rest of the field though it best not to do what we did up the first climb and were back a ways. The first climb stair-stepped up a bit, all big-ring stuff, before the first cool downhill section. Pretty rocky and fast. New bike was a dream through this section and I easily caught the guy in front. He led up the next technical single track climb. Towards the top he pulled over with some kinda of mechanical so I found myself along in front. Over the top it opened up into some fast wide-open slightly down-hill dirt road. A bit more singletrack track climbing led to more wide-open slightly down hill dirt road. A cool flat singletrack across a meadow led to the day's first obstacle: a 4ft high, 100 foot long pile of snow to run through. Running during mtb races always presents unique opportunities. After this section, the piles of snow had either a line going around them OR a line cut right through them. These were really cool. The only thing that wasn't cool was the 35 degree ice-cold run-of f that was flowing everywhere. A constant spray for the next mile or so. After this section, it was another fast rocky dirt road descent to the laps main climb near the end. Nothing steep but it was covered in loose rock so getting out of the saddle was out of the question. Over the top, it led straight into a slightly uphill single track climb, then straight into a dirt road climb. These 3 climbs were really just 1 long climb. Over the top finally and it was flat to rolling to the start-finish area. Came through the first lap with what would eventually be the fastest lap of the day (under 53mins) . No way I was doing another one of those. A could see a group about 1 minute back. I put it into a reasonable cruise mode and clipped off consistent 2nd and 3rd laps (ended up being 54 and 56mins). I was doing 1 Gel per lap and drinking constantly. The 4th lap seemed the hardest (ended up being 59mins). I hadn't touched the granny gear yet but heading up the laps last climb, the hamstrings started locking up so I shifted down and spun super easy. that kept them from getting any worse. I came through 4 laps in 3:42 so out for a 5th lap I went. I knew the gap back to 2nd had been steadily going up each lap but I still needed to survive the lap. Before the race, they had announced that in order for your last lap to count, it had to be faster than the "average lap time", whatever that was. That ended up being 65 mins. Even in my exhausted state, I did a quick mental calculation and decided that 65 mins wasn't much slower than the lap I just did (59min). The legs were definitely getting heavy, but still pedaling smoothing. I tried to stay smooth on the climbs and get some "free time" pedaling the slightly downhill sections. Once I got up the final series of climbs without blowing up or cramping, I could push it more without risk. Somehow did the last lap in 58mins for a final time of 4:40:40 for 50miles. I was definitely spent after the finish and very surprised. I only had straight water, 1 full bottle and not-even my full hydro pack. Did 1 gel before the start, 1 more every lap, 2 on the 4th lap, none the last lap. I can safely guarantee that the race announcer consumed more calories during my race than I did.<br /><br />This wasn't the longest MTB race I've ever done but it did make the top 4 list (of races I can recall anyway):<br /><br /><br />1) Brianhead Epic 100 mile MTB race in 2002(?) : 100 miles in 8hrs 45 min<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />2) Team Big Bear 12hr MTB race: Raced 6hrs out of 12 hrs (2-man relay) miles unknown<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />3) Norba National Marathon, Phoenix AZ 2005 : 81 miles in 5:41<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />4) Tahoe 4hr MTB Race : 50 miles in 4hrs 40minUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-89580360936389335542011-05-20T09:55:00.000-07:002011-05-20T09:58:00.311-07:00Lake Tahoe - Amgen Tour of Cali picsBella Vita Vacations client <a href="http://chrislocke.blogspot.com/2011/05/pictures-from-lake-tahoe-trip.html">Chris Locke</a> has posted some great pics from his recent trip with us.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-5489330805400583352011-05-18T09:37:00.000-07:002011-05-18T11:08:47.280-07:00Lake Tahoe Amgen Tour of California TripWe arrived in Tahoe last Thursday to crystal clear skies and warming sun. I headed over to Reno to pick up Chris Locke. We got back in time to get his bike together and do a quick 90min "FLAT" spin ride over to Squaw Valley's Olympic Village. Friday's ride got a bit more vertical with a trip to Truckee, lap around Donner Lake and the climb up to "Rainbow Bridge" at the top of Donner Pass. Plenty of snow still up there. We enjoyed the 72-mile lap around the Lake on Saturday while all the big teams were out pre-riding the course. Interesting weather left us scratching our heads on Sunday morning. We had perfect weather Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The weather forecast called for snow to come in late Saturday night and into Sunday morning, but the forecast has been completely wrong up to this point. We woke up Sunday to about 4" inchs of fresh snow. Most of the roads were simply not rideable and several of the race caravan moto's hit the deck just getting out of town to look at the course. The snow was melting pretty quick, leaving just wet roads to deal with. The race was officially shortened to just 50-something miles when we left to head to the finish at the Northstar-at-Tahoe resort. It was a blizzard there and just got worse. We were there about 15min when we heard that stage was officially cancelled. Several Friends of mine, including Neil Shirley and Keith Ketterer, did the 50mile shortened course as part of the Amgen Ride to Recovery. They finished up cold, wet, and bikes completely frozen-up, stuck in 1 gear. We still enjoyed the expo area for a while before calling it a day. We woke up Sunday to really cold temps but more-or-less dry roads. Apparently the road over Donner Pass was too slick so they moved the Stage 2 start from Squaw Valley to Nevada City, about 70 miles away, so we missed the start of stage 2 as well. Headed out for a solid 4hr ride. Snow moved back in just as we were finishing up. I managed to get Chris back to the airport in Reno yesterday while the road over Rose Summit was still open. It was still snowing yesterday when we packed up and started heading back to the Bay Area. We ran into a blizzard moving it's way toward Tahoe and ended up getting a Police/CalTrans escort down the the hill on I-80. Traffic heading up the hill was stopped at the bottom and we assume was eventually escorted up in groups. Back home and back to the "9 to 5". Pics coming.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-84695227624709428072011-05-01T17:54:00.000-07:002011-05-01T18:18:15.015-07:00...and in with the new.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilsET7uynwvmrASb0iIjFcwKXQmm4vnEKHJSEkK2bsA8X-5TFcdXDMV5bTpl_injyvIkWhf6d_ZjbaN6DOJYIYb2lbXxkcmu1yE9AoPLucd4d4DscTRXY6aLCWo6Bqevxy8gpsZ7q1x6eE/s1600/tomac.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilsET7uynwvmrASb0iIjFcwKXQmm4vnEKHJSEkK2bsA8X-5TFcdXDMV5bTpl_injyvIkWhf6d_ZjbaN6DOJYIYb2lbXxkcmu1yE9AoPLucd4d4DscTRXY6aLCWo6Bqevxy8gpsZ7q1x6eE/s400/tomac.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601919977236059058" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Amazing bike. It's been a while since I've had a whole bike that worked perfectly, and this one does. 120mm (front and back) is a lot for somebody that's never had it. The old Niner frame and Manitou forks are already on their way to the Ebay'ers that bought them. Got it out for the first test ride last Friday. Couldn't do much with my sinuses completely ruined. Spent most of that time just adjusting stuff like lever/shifter position, tire pressure, etc. Got it our today for some more serious stuff. Again, my sinuses kept me honest up the climbs, but it definately climbs better than my hardtail, especially on the rougher stuff. Of course going down anything is amazing. My position on the bike has been getting more and more upright over the years as the flexibility in my lower back gets a little less every year. I'm now running the widest bars I ever have and the 110mm stem, which to some might be considered long, is the shortest I have every used. I started on 150mm stems (yes, that is 6 inches) back in the '80's and first half of the '90's, Then went to 135mm for a few years, then to a 120 the last few years. Now it's 110mm. Big difference. The whole 29'er thing just didn't work for me. Granted, if I had built up mine a little better, i might have had a different experience. I just couldn't get past the high rotational inertia of those things. I only had a 1X9 setup on it so that didn't help. One of the new double ring setups would have solved a lot of problems. Amazingly, the new bike is about the same weight as the old one. I was shocked when I actually weight the old one for the first time. I might actually do a mtb race coming up. New bike will be dialed in but it's more up to my sinuses cooperating.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-76463075689662964272011-04-26T22:40:00.000-07:002011-04-27T08:15:46.954-07:00Out with the old..........<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDM2RVGOe8nAheg3RdRXl5D3yxSEprVZgOeHDfYLZyBIxZlyo1cbfcMA_p43dqrwShsd00k7zqLomWbq6QeMQJ8j7-nnK9i7g8IsEWycw2hZOJc78yfJK0RwnScZokrVjyxPc3SffwcpkB/s1600/DSCN1474.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDM2RVGOe8nAheg3RdRXl5D3yxSEprVZgOeHDfYLZyBIxZlyo1cbfcMA_p43dqrwShsd00k7zqLomWbq6QeMQJ8j7-nnK9i7g8IsEWycw2hZOJc78yfJK0RwnScZokrVjyxPc3SffwcpkB/s400/DSCN1474.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600134367021195570" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I'm happy to say that the 29'er "experiment", that ended up lasting 3 years, if finally over :-)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-31057719965063293242011-04-23T10:55:00.001-07:002011-04-23T11:06:28.251-07:00Lake Tahoe - Tour of California recon trip<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitG0KCcKZurdozl6rIsn9UAurgxDJ7vvD2E81IPAEX5ksYwi6yfqS-JYygKDy6ZN5b-OT4xs8tDM8isttxKR4D_DbJZXNk6gpEHyQQyn_lxdXdwWwJychWvmsj1Qq7XRtALOWH0VKBFc4e/s1600/DSCN1441.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598841131974045090" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitG0KCcKZurdozl6rIsn9UAurgxDJ7vvD2E81IPAEX5ksYwi6yfqS-JYygKDy6ZN5b-OT4xs8tDM8isttxKR4D_DbJZXNk6gpEHyQQyn_lxdXdwWwJychWvmsj1Qq7XRtALOWH0VKBFc4e/s400/DSCN1441.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br />In Tahoe relaxing and scoping things out for the Tour of California in a few weeks. Still plenty of snow up here and it's been snowing since yesterday. It was perfect weather yesterday when we arrived, but got colder shortly thereafter and then the snow moved in. Might not get a full lap of the lake in this time. Looks like the snow if finally stopping so the roads can dry out a bit.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-70837011944478511832011-02-09T11:12:00.000-08:002011-02-09T11:35:46.290-08:00"Winter"?Comparatively speaking....not even close. But no complaints from me when it's <br />mid 70's and clear blue skies in February. Winter still brings the drag of shorter days, but the weekday Night Rides are slowly moving towards daylight for the first 30-40 minutes, then turn the lights on. Seems like just a few weeks ago it was dark before I even got home from work. Weekend riding is going well. The Saturday "House of Pain" group ride is ramping up into it's normal speed. We still do the optional 5 mile Diablo Junction climb at the very end which really stings. Once the ride is back to ful gas, that finishing climb goes away. I've been reserving Sunday for EPIC MTB stuff with serious climbing, descending, just about everything. I haven't even scratched the surface on the dirt stuff I can ride from my house. I've pretty much covered the North/West corner of the Mt. Diablo area but there is a whole lot more off on the Southern side. It's cool now that I've done a bunch of different loops, i can start linking rides together for some 4hr plus, 90% dirt rides right out my back door. Of course there's still MT. TAM off in the distance that I haven't been to yet. It's on the list and that will take years to ride all of those trails at least once.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-53029902110804556902011-01-17T21:18:00.000-08:002011-01-17T22:13:51.929-08:00Positive Mental......Altitude.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPc_BbH2CDEFaaYSZnBHDYg6lT99E9eQXDFHwYASlpUqtOoSWxy4VLRcepWbUq4nvaR5BC0dJ9iJ5lsLSVKBxQS3KgDf6mWl03KfgJpTBat7icgEW-nMTj8EMk3SPeX3RJyHh3TEMOzksY/s1600/IMG00207-20110117-1350.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563399329726169522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPc_BbH2CDEFaaYSZnBHDYg6lT99E9eQXDFHwYASlpUqtOoSWxy4VLRcepWbUq4nvaR5BC0dJ9iJ5lsLSVKBxQS3KgDf6mWl03KfgJpTBat7icgEW-nMTj8EMk3SPeX3RJyHh3TEMOzksY/s400/IMG00207-20110117-1350.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhnQOMxlpdnqnkmEyQoWVvxqL9dKKFS1timwct2X_y2zgWjsArzBW9n4gDWiYASUXio8QI2RvXHv8MDkMQqiI4wiq-yTl0BvcpuIWDDViAjec7sGQJePrjD2ucmwKpbYArcytTqJ4HsGrT/s1600/IMG00206-20110117-1348.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563399325531139970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhnQOMxlpdnqnkmEyQoWVvxqL9dKKFS1timwct2X_y2zgWjsArzBW9n4gDWiYASUXio8QI2RvXHv8MDkMQqiI4wiq-yTl0BvcpuIWDDViAjec7sGQJePrjD2ucmwKpbYArcytTqJ4HsGrT/s400/IMG00206-20110117-1348.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqf0belWKzdsdc8wjakktwNNYjZNUaSIe5f2W_pMWeKJr42l-pGpbtPaJMkPqgEs91EdKf55vYPvERemYj4A676SP5EyqCaB5OFVBFkCPKHAJmYBOBc6_BxEvfPZ-TrAe2nKEg6nF7VM3P/s1600/IMG00205-20110117-1348.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563399320787837298" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqf0belWKzdsdc8wjakktwNNYjZNUaSIe5f2W_pMWeKJr42l-pGpbtPaJMkPqgEs91EdKf55vYPvERemYj4A676SP5EyqCaB5OFVBFkCPKHAJmYBOBc6_BxEvfPZ-TrAe2nKEg6nF7VM3P/s400/IMG00205-20110117-1348.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZilB3DpDxIqm43Wplf7z7t-OTQznJFPy5fotWSUUgSOrsYZn6boN5KQf_4r4_b5U9tLNWYAbaHenMn7YkLLaiTMBGK2K92V56cE-U5bJUuo-SGg3wMoH7JgWSckHnbaHk1UpPBn-V0iP/s1600/IMG00203-20110117-1348.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563399313322647714" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZilB3DpDxIqm43Wplf7z7t-OTQznJFPy5fotWSUUgSOrsYZn6boN5KQf_4r4_b5U9tLNWYAbaHenMn7YkLLaiTMBGK2K92V56cE-U5bJUuo-SGg3wMoH7JgWSckHnbaHk1UpPBn-V0iP/s400/IMG00203-20110117-1348.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1fwOTgUNAaQYVu8YJ6-D81sp6arIOmCjXfTN5-_RL3roPy7X4JfTevebFcT96lDQ-JedaVifgl7_ZxxblFydOZnd8fBxfeGuhYKBqQTDuIbFEGc4t89g6d5eyOZHHSbCsdi9pwpu05Zs/s1600/IMG00202-20110117-1334.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563398693565211218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1fwOTgUNAaQYVu8YJ6-D81sp6arIOmCjXfTN5-_RL3roPy7X4JfTevebFcT96lDQ-JedaVifgl7_ZxxblFydOZnd8fBxfeGuhYKBqQTDuIbFEGc4t89g6d5eyOZHHSbCsdi9pwpu05Zs/s400/IMG00202-20110117-1334.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVjg-V5HPr8whRl7w90OJApZ3vvy_DMRY4RpxaPpci3O32ZhZSeITLTpHj4Cr2dE8nirb9T7-CYdNLGgkDxcRcHY3RQ430gm543PcNbiXfGA_cb9djju21yThEPsvVwmwPEcWkJ8Y5FTr/s1600/IMG00201-20110117-1230.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563398689193678242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVjg-V5HPr8whRl7w90OJApZ3vvy_DMRY4RpxaPpci3O32ZhZSeITLTpHj4Cr2dE8nirb9T7-CYdNLGgkDxcRcHY3RQ430gm543PcNbiXfGA_cb9djju21yThEPsvVwmwPEcWkJ8Y5FTr/s400/IMG00201-20110117-1230.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7vB-lvhXvJSjscoUMCpkLMJXON6PNqOpS4Kd4oWGG8F0pxJlFkS0obFmfkYm93h2LDMsbBELgEanIngmUdbba5XUhg1A-rA1HrGTRl6DfRudDbrVFgZ188VtnvoT0RQz9J5k6WfvV2-CI/s1600/IMG00200-20110116-1128.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563398681936491618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7vB-lvhXvJSjscoUMCpkLMJXON6PNqOpS4Kd4oWGG8F0pxJlFkS0obFmfkYm93h2LDMsbBELgEanIngmUdbba5XUhg1A-rA1HrGTRl6DfRudDbrVFgZ188VtnvoT0RQz9J5k6WfvV2-CI/s400/IMG00200-20110116-1128.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />MLK day MTB ride. I've been up Mt. Diablo on road a zillion times allready but i'm still learning my way around the VAST network of dirt trails up there. Yesterday I had ridden up the road to the mid-way point on the climb to scout out some stuff. I ended up bombing down this ridgeline that i'd been down once before. Crazy micro-climates out here. Leaving the house it was brisk and super foggy. Climbed up through the fog and eventually pop out into clear blue sky as far as you could see. The layer of fog obscurred everything below about 1800 feet. The temperature also changed like a light switch. The fog is actually really cold. Bombing down the ridgeline eventually dropped me back into it so the extra cloths went back on that were shed on the way up. To today I got the idea to climb to the summit and back down on dirt. I climbed up the ridgeline that I had descended yesterday. Brisk and foggy again and perfect sticky trails. The ridgeline road gets more than a bit steep for extended periods so it took some effort. Once again I popped out into clear blue sky around 1/2 up the mountain. I ended up climbing the rest of the way up on the road. Mostly hiking only single track on the upper 1/2. The summit showed the fog layer below extending as far I could see in every direction. I rode back down the road a few miles and found a fire road heading off the north. This thing was amazing as it rolled along with a single-track trail cutting across it and zigzagging down the mountain. Having never been down this thing before, I kept it pretty mellow and enjoyed the amazing views. Cooked the rear disk brake once but a quick stop to take a few pics took care of things. I've never seen a fireroad this steep. The bulldozer that cut it obviously just slid down the hill with it's blade down. Just like yesterday, I descended back to the ice-cold fog so the jacket went on. Popped out on the road and descended the rest of the way on pavement. I passed numerous other dirt roads on the way down heading off in different directions so there's much more to see. Felt great to get a couple good days on the mtb with lots of everything and seeing some stuff for the first time. Legs felt good considering how brutal Saturdays group ride was. I've down the Hop ride (house of pain) twice before. Once in the late summer when it was just rediculously fast and another time a few weeks ago when it was pretty mello but I was way out of shape so it hurt just the same. Felt better this time around and stayed in the front. After the normal couple hour loop down the Livermore and back to Danville, the group heading up to Diablo Junction (the 1/2 point on the mountain) from the south side. With the group still 50 strong, I started at the front just to stay in some clean air. The pace started a mello which is NOT what they normally do. I can't kick on the lower slopes of this climb so I have to keep it steady. I went up the first 1/2 mile or so when I hear this creaking bike coming up behind me. I assumed it was just the first guy in the group, with the rest of the group behind him. It was Garmin Cervelo's Kirk Carlsen. He's been staying in town and lighting things up on the group rides lately. The group was still a bit further back with only a couple other guys trying to bridge up. I figured i'd just hang on as long as possible then put it into survival mode. I amazed myself with some excellent climbing form and managed to stay with him all the way to the junctions, 5miles and 2000 vertical feet. It got really tough a few times and definately got me up the climb quick. The next guys were minutes back and most of the group came in 5mins later so I know we put in a solid effort. </div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-8900357468023416742010-12-19T12:17:00.000-08:002010-12-21T10:16:51.444-08:00Sacramento Cyclocross<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh5m3osXelUipvwr-CgJMUAZODDohm8kmWrQ7AShzjqELz_vwmnCrSzAfC-e-VCAun4df7Jp1EB84WnH62q5b7XiXfJ7iGOXv7c96rO0qSQ4mz8_u9oCu8AIMOlVVTFJBtqIeD_tIFKj0R/s1600/screensnap_mark_cx.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553201058897062946" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 308px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh5m3osXelUipvwr-CgJMUAZODDohm8kmWrQ7AShzjqELz_vwmnCrSzAfC-e-VCAun4df7Jp1EB84WnH62q5b7XiXfJ7iGOXv7c96rO0qSQ4mz8_u9oCu8AIMOlVVTFJBtqIeD_tIFKj0R/s400/screensnap_mark_cx.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7jDiFEj1FeEtCnHtloDzEFFbYuQcTt-QUPukhgmKSPYfZN4ZL8BmSVZglVwoN_irkfQ5xSZyRF2O04kBR24fjrSmLUUnzOyf_8OLag1W-cK2ecZJcQzFWcvAEn0NTBh2d8KaNBjB-yTp9/s1600/DSCN1174.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552494635950803218" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7jDiFEj1FeEtCnHtloDzEFFbYuQcTt-QUPukhgmKSPYfZN4ZL8BmSVZglVwoN_irkfQ5xSZyRF2O04kBR24fjrSmLUUnzOyf_8OLag1W-cK2ecZJcQzFWcvAEn0NTBh2d8KaNBjB-yTp9/s400/DSCN1174.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuwSyFDpLFGFQzSqyG803LUwi9aGWidj9S9Yh_7GK2DYaWECmZ0ix5aHu-jizwJknC2sD8sVfTbOTbGaFu0SLhk_Wb_1jpdDeRp6Bk30-YnvSNuoil-hjotYC6voQiDBJ40Lu09efL9k62/s1600/DSCN1186.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552494629937954034" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuwSyFDpLFGFQzSqyG803LUwi9aGWidj9S9Yh_7GK2DYaWECmZ0ix5aHu-jizwJknC2sD8sVfTbOTbGaFu0SLhk_Wb_1jpdDeRp6Bk30-YnvSNuoil-hjotYC6voQiDBJ40Lu09efL9k62/s400/DSCN1186.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPEMEe0w36M-arDSQwiH3YWARH4FATI5juMBq3dk6SV2IgRtdQPWdSrBsrgckY2vndY7sO8oSSxHP6xIn6lVwtAW6eKLMTpJFC4R4b7nyxf_5j4nVahDH2Wh2MqvtpEQLmxG2u8e7eEMd6/s1600/DSCN1185.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552494613423750914" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPEMEe0w36M-arDSQwiH3YWARH4FATI5juMBq3dk6SV2IgRtdQPWdSrBsrgckY2vndY7sO8oSSxHP6xIn6lVwtAW6eKLMTpJFC4R4b7nyxf_5j4nVahDH2Wh2MqvtpEQLmxG2u8e7eEMd6/s400/DSCN1185.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Race number 2 in the books. Over the last 6 years, i'd usually have about 20 races in by this time, but i'll consider 2 an accomplishment this year and it's all just preparation for next year. Serious rain over the last few days and the half the course was in standing water. The other half of the course was the problem. Super sticky mud a foot deep in spots was impossible to ride through and just a hard to run through. Each step seemed suction-cupped into it. The weather forecast kept a lot of people away so the fields were smaller but still quality guys. There were 14 starters in my Men A 35+ group. There was a tricky off-camber ride-up about 1/4 mile into the lap so I got a good start in 2nd and made a pass into the lead so I had a clean shot and riding it. After that I just settle in and tried to stay on the front as long as I could. That was short lived as we hit the first soggy swamp field crossing. I went left and about 5 guys passed on the obviously-better right side. I was riding good technically but still don't have much fitness to slug it out with the faster guys. I've never raced this heavy and that seemed to make me sink into stuff that other guys were floating through. It started to sprinkle in the closing laps and I was hoping it would rain. Some sections of the course were super sticky and thick and that would of at least helped out. The rest of the course was standing water or really thin soupy mud so it wouldn't have mattered. With about 2 laps to go, Jeremy Ferguson (Cal Giant Strawberries) came by me. I tried to follow briefly but that was pointless. He floated thought stuff that I could barely pedal through. Next to come by me was newly-crowned National Champ Don Myrah. Ya, local races here are a much different deal. Cody Kaiser (Cal Giant Strawberries) was also there but didn't race, probably not wanted to get thrashed before heading over to contest the Xmas week races at Euro Camp. Fun race and a solid effort. I was competative on the sections of the course that were fast but not in the slow thick stuff. </div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-76590862515765439612010-12-19T12:09:00.000-08:002010-12-19T12:16:49.836-08:00Weekend in Orange County<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7s6SaRUILYeRUmpcWV5G4cAm2i7kNFdWBhQ6tujSJTdOl0UfiJIBvHmNjt_uoWFQL2lHp2cHYrw1zp5DJJVsuQLzyyeVssHuvsN-YQIXuNitnIEN7vAaj46akeWOQB4WJhfeocwu-jep/s1600/DSCN1169.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552489708821506418" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7s6SaRUILYeRUmpcWV5G4cAm2i7kNFdWBhQ6tujSJTdOl0UfiJIBvHmNjt_uoWFQL2lHp2cHYrw1zp5DJJVsuQLzyyeVssHuvsN-YQIXuNitnIEN7vAaj46akeWOQB4WJhfeocwu-jep/s400/DSCN1169.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9EwqK5fF62gqSsLagvDguB6OZ-s8Hn1ev-P_eUKjTK7JnOFrFG7sUGwnw_WlAtS5BQfOB6_7bmxaiQVSgWgbtPGkSalQXGv-a-xt-oR0o7ePjhKn1n_29z2jsxxdWDU2fKW4xyoYz88ZF/s1600/DSCN1161.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552489701114906962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9EwqK5fF62gqSsLagvDguB6OZ-s8Hn1ev-P_eUKjTK7JnOFrFG7sUGwnw_WlAtS5BQfOB6_7bmxaiQVSgWgbtPGkSalQXGv-a-xt-oR0o7ePjhKn1n_29z2jsxxdWDU2fKW4xyoYz88ZF/s400/DSCN1161.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9D6pQKm6sk-V1pCc-GquwUBQg5FtpbX6kWvXwgdaT3vMFmqRzBC7R6XLe5ZszPCakcxxiIl8j5CmcCQhq4OtIN-7Or93uT7Nz1Ol18mC3iVu7RDS-wP8szntTKQDmFkVC5PcMHJ9hqBT/s1600/DSCN1157.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552489689546001490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9D6pQKm6sk-V1pCc-GquwUBQg5FtpbX6kWvXwgdaT3vMFmqRzBC7R6XLe5ZszPCakcxxiIl8j5CmcCQhq4OtIN-7Or93uT7Nz1Ol18mC3iVu7RDS-wP8szntTKQDmFkVC5PcMHJ9hqBT/s400/DSCN1157.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxwAo08f5rQqvVblB_uaV0zGPp6MnUucoD9SXA-uCVjUThgTkL-VQQ8qc_2qSijvO2NxgjAdCLm6LQx9_gaDcOp_7_w81zsrVmjmmkJyijrynTaNXYkzeV67N685WH51swl_yzSc2qRyD/s1600/DSCN1151.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552489686930935250" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxwAo08f5rQqvVblB_uaV0zGPp6MnUucoD9SXA-uCVjUThgTkL-VQQ8qc_2qSijvO2NxgjAdCLm6LQx9_gaDcOp_7_w81zsrVmjmmkJyijrynTaNXYkzeV67N685WH51swl_yzSc2qRyD/s400/DSCN1151.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Headed down to Orange County to visit Kristine's sister and her family. After a 6:30am flight out of Oakland, an aborted "look see" landing at John Wayne Airport, and a diversion to Vegas, we eventually made it back to Orange County. Had fun with the kids, did dinner at Dana Point and stayed for the parade of lights. Quick trip and back late Sunday night.</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-88071013866962720952010-12-19T12:00:00.000-08:002010-12-19T12:09:13.882-08:00Thanksgiving in Tehachapi<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAMCY1MSCbTDiGu-RcY3BuZCBj85piUTdyli4f0AHKFHwgFYUJV_ulL5oS4rpm46C8X4xH9rze6AxOK5cMSj7_c7QHYdXI9EzqQdwvh1LuKx_ycktemj7BXC_EdmmtNgR2ItgZMJJL2lhf/s1600/DSCN1144.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552487535097077426" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAMCY1MSCbTDiGu-RcY3BuZCBj85piUTdyli4f0AHKFHwgFYUJV_ulL5oS4rpm46C8X4xH9rze6AxOK5cMSj7_c7QHYdXI9EzqQdwvh1LuKx_ycktemj7BXC_EdmmtNgR2ItgZMJJL2lhf/s400/DSCN1144.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwst6NEMqitpymJMefFkZbluhTZNwJpbxxSn8siBFM4ykFcmX_GxCjlmRWb7SIjPk2fDxCvBsfJ8mamKJrDHtHoeA5JcWR5HisqoAudS4YOdi9d_Xc4lzDqEso0h6YPi3e2SiKLiZ_5rmA/s1600/DSCN1147.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552487528637098722" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwst6NEMqitpymJMefFkZbluhTZNwJpbxxSn8siBFM4ykFcmX_GxCjlmRWb7SIjPk2fDxCvBsfJ8mamKJrDHtHoeA5JcWR5HisqoAudS4YOdi9d_Xc4lzDqEso0h6YPi3e2SiKLiZ_5rmA/s400/DSCN1147.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRGArpMahNRNdae8c-QK9PD7gLIWrmgY7Edaep6KdEb-WojXs5UIt4vAf1IlOPx83AMZwnTosqwAuK06jVylJRtKVRWUZIJdL1fRZa9qM7HocNe9pS-HiImqsOpxzmg258ptxWilfxmLJ/s1600/DSCN1148.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552487523641004370" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRGArpMahNRNdae8c-QK9PD7gLIWrmgY7Edaep6KdEb-WojXs5UIt4vAf1IlOPx83AMZwnTosqwAuK06jVylJRtKVRWUZIJdL1fRZa9qM7HocNe9pS-HiImqsOpxzmg258ptxWilfxmLJ/s400/DSCN1148.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Kristine and I back up the 2 dogs and headed down to Tehachapi over Thanksgiving to visit my family. Tehachapi is right at the southern most end of the Sierra's and even though it's not necessarily "at altitude" it's still high enough to get some tough riding in. Got in a couple 2-3 hr rides. Had fun seeing the family. Weather was nice till the day we left, when some snow and freezing rain came in. I don't need to ride in that crap. Rode out to Stallion Springs to see the Woodward West facility. It was closed but still got a good look at the facilites and the lodging area. Pretty amazing place with tons of cool jumps, ramps, etc. </div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-6599131894654874372010-11-21T19:27:00.000-08:002010-11-21T20:15:19.706-08:00First 'Cross race of the yearMy 'cross season finally got going today, albeit a couple months late. It was part of the Sacramento CX Series, held at the Lange Twins Winery in Lodi. I've only ridden the cross bike a handfull of times and zero structured work outs like I have typically done getting ready for the season. It rained most of Friday night and then again pretty good last night. I figured the course today would be completely under water but it wasn't too bad. Preriding the course, it was still soupy mud but it was drying out in spots, which made it worse. The Open Men A group went off with my Men A 35+ group 30 seconds later, and a Men A 45+group after that. The start was at the bottom of the finishing climb with a tricky concrete descent into a hard left turn before hitting a tight 180 right turn. It was super narrow entering here so I got as good of a start as my legs would allow and hit the dirt in the top 3. The course wound around a bit with some greasy turns, a 3 step run-up, a greasy ride-up, and a bunch of off-camber muddy grass. straights. I was hoping to leave the "spirals of doom" back in KC but sure enough, they had one here, albeit really huge, on a sloping hill, and all soggy muddy grass. This thing got tough in the closing laps. I prerode this whole thing in the big ring but by the time our race got going, it was just getting super sticky and the ruts were wheel sucking deep. I managed to come through 2nd after lap 1 but that was short lived. I got by most guys just riding the greasy sections better, but would get out horse-powered on other sections. After 3 or 4 laps I was still in the top 5 and only about 100 meters behind those guys, but the legs were heading south and the course turning into glue was brutal. Most of the closing laps were ridden in some small gears just trying to keep some momentum. Kelly Benefits's Alex Candalario won the Open A group and came by me with 2 to go. Nice chops on that guy and he looked pretty smooth. Not sure what place I ended up, top 1/2 of the field at least anyway.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqzAQX7XcciI0qwQV3uK8kXXqf9CC9Nru9B2L4LQkuZqP3tS-YFnmPHKMLhaAerVWbq9jFk3YByoY20cX3XPkVAqtY3v4Hy9M66TMY3Xc9x8nougVMDihdkOZaAD-Q6lpkm0PAChucdgZ/s1600/DSCN1119.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542219441240895794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqzAQX7XcciI0qwQV3uK8kXXqf9CC9Nru9B2L4LQkuZqP3tS-YFnmPHKMLhaAerVWbq9jFk3YByoY20cX3XPkVAqtY3v4Hy9M66TMY3Xc9x8nougVMDihdkOZaAD-Q6lpkm0PAChucdgZ/s400/DSCN1119.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZE-nv6jo1iO3weU0yS9_l8vHCMj6RIxh9NnQpSz4O5WXZFVR5k65OtKVRdiYsb3B7P4tkhqd3-m3JBRZwb3NpKWanVbg3g2vv6QZPyBtMdLTRgCf3Jd5XJ3Bi_592FI9Z261Yo-A9Ovd8/s1600/DSCN1117.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542219437477989842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZE-nv6jo1iO3weU0yS9_l8vHCMj6RIxh9NnQpSz4O5WXZFVR5k65OtKVRdiYsb3B7P4tkhqd3-m3JBRZwb3NpKWanVbg3g2vv6QZPyBtMdLTRgCf3Jd5XJ3Bi_592FI9Z261Yo-A9Ovd8/s400/DSCN1117.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY6mmaKf4FWRQnyXQ8myl2EvGSXUsRkMzU5rkjFckTAnDoq1ibewN1YizSxQIsZhz55v2vtDkhw74Z9rYv2Fe092bUiLNE3Heq_X6A5v2KlKzsplo27C_lAD8I2hx3Yzxe64Tk758J-VrY/s1600/runup.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542219428216895730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY6mmaKf4FWRQnyXQ8myl2EvGSXUsRkMzU5rkjFckTAnDoq1ibewN1YizSxQIsZhz55v2vtDkhw74Z9rYv2Fe092bUiLNE3Heq_X6A5v2KlKzsplo27C_lAD8I2hx3Yzxe64Tk758J-VrY/s400/runup.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrUUQW70UeiqLi2KNRGfV6ZRdaPP9tG5soixy-QjKTKtRQWod2b_SJVkeghenO9c2syTdHrwaoywzsG8UyRbe0V_KUrxFtQivKX2mDPSmduqzaB_dnOQgFPlZCBOpqoTDzes64RJqR0EON/s1600/DSCN1113.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542219422115751986" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrUUQW70UeiqLi2KNRGfV6ZRdaPP9tG5soixy-QjKTKtRQWod2b_SJVkeghenO9c2syTdHrwaoywzsG8UyRbe0V_KUrxFtQivKX2mDPSmduqzaB_dnOQgFPlZCBOpqoTDzes64RJqR0EON/s400/DSCN1113.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF4BLYyu8_9BBko9XqIjrxAjX0rgKLe2XON3pGfPz-7HXOY0OniQraHOXNwOeM9UlUOLlgtx_q5OZll8PFEIhJ8C27xtRY5igDaTspKKwZIT3I6M8R3XXjvG9rtQssprIbJsbMFNcGWKFa/s1600/DSCN1111.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542219413495825122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF4BLYyu8_9BBko9XqIjrxAjX0rgKLe2XON3pGfPz-7HXOY0OniQraHOXNwOeM9UlUOLlgtx_q5OZll8PFEIhJ8C27xtRY5igDaTspKKwZIT3I6M8R3XXjvG9rtQssprIbJsbMFNcGWKFa/s400/DSCN1111.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-36364246359950628732010-11-15T20:46:00.000-08:002010-11-15T20:53:22.490-08:00Lake Tahoe Weekend<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCb8sva2g95WgBTVdKIz2VsVBaPVHDnzt_G7l3ALnsGgMPHjvEAmgqBzFhro9zgnUH0Et5_6Rn3B1QxNT5gPUfryEvW1i7sdLoKFKK4KkeVaAZPLyZaKMSj8Zc4k5rgvoRGqhqlq7MpddT/s1600/DSCN1094.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540006058044937474" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCb8sva2g95WgBTVdKIz2VsVBaPVHDnzt_G7l3ALnsGgMPHjvEAmgqBzFhro9zgnUH0Et5_6Rn3B1QxNT5gPUfryEvW1i7sdLoKFKK4KkeVaAZPLyZaKMSj8Zc4k5rgvoRGqhqlq7MpddT/s400/DSCN1094.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRh5-S1eXsLa4rbNy7_j4QYiYeM8mqwZQJrsz1VRjVjSPn0-4bIybfBJm-pUV_FheQxH5N5_m95Op9nDxvofs4ZtgtJApYhuKlAHjq7_OojtQWOtiW4eGZCkAlrKdAY6Kq8jVx2q0ugvwn/s1600/IMG00173-20101114-1243.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540005733901897106" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRh5-S1eXsLa4rbNy7_j4QYiYeM8mqwZQJrsz1VRjVjSPn0-4bIybfBJm-pUV_FheQxH5N5_m95Op9nDxvofs4ZtgtJApYhuKlAHjq7_OojtQWOtiW4eGZCkAlrKdAY6Kq8jVx2q0ugvwn/s400/IMG00173-20101114-1243.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlnj4weXjEiwnwhOUl5Ns0llz3wMhTR1KEo_Wr4q9kpBUtcgc1kVR50704qe32jVEMBjAesXgBnB56ndVUANbJkEUfW-R-nGmr7VgZbP5fIaRNfgDelWTT42djvWjZ1svTqHD-GJu2ENEc/s1600/DSCN1062.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540005295588230418" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlnj4weXjEiwnwhOUl5Ns0llz3wMhTR1KEo_Wr4q9kpBUtcgc1kVR50704qe32jVEMBjAesXgBnB56ndVUANbJkEUfW-R-nGmr7VgZbP5fIaRNfgDelWTT42djvWjZ1svTqHD-GJu2ENEc/s400/DSCN1062.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJN8k7Dj9b2R8y-Ygao6OApEPWqiIsDVXLChLAgf1bsrXV_fDeIAVkaPrmzYt0YCl3ZYF9xKFbI9pIy1Z6GFCIwTWiQwCFYFBvVA-QdspegBFi31MJTGPLygSypyjQ-wROGd5F-gLm2AeF/s1600/DSCN1060.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540005291393144034" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJN8k7Dj9b2R8y-Ygao6OApEPWqiIsDVXLChLAgf1bsrXV_fDeIAVkaPrmzYt0YCl3ZYF9xKFbI9pIy1Z6GFCIwTWiQwCFYFBvVA-QdspegBFi31MJTGPLygSypyjQ-wROGd5F-gLm2AeF/s400/DSCN1060.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKs6vdLH8r2QXBVlNDcwE7S092sJKmqbwbs-UZQDWRGFhIoABgb3ZtR8FBbB9woWc2mPSgX7sIbiGhGLWL5OLgo7mfTK_dlFKYGz8Jd0Nsn2CbZUZXyY8ljQlsS1WAluUe92ESqUArVJtF/s1600/DSCN1074.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540004714055740290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKs6vdLH8r2QXBVlNDcwE7S092sJKmqbwbs-UZQDWRGFhIoABgb3ZtR8FBbB9woWc2mPSgX7sIbiGhGLWL5OLgo7mfTK_dlFKYGz8Jd0Nsn2CbZUZXyY8ljQlsS1WAluUe92ESqUArVJtF/s400/DSCN1074.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5937905014421283345.post-27629187540565521142010-11-07T16:30:00.001-08:002010-11-07T16:48:41.161-08:00Out with the old.....<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfGc4wl-G3zf8WoRNRzTgPOGhq8QMD85exNUTt_fgsxigKRS4cJXfNJ1Kq2-5PnhvlcjpevGsLZwOAckPp7LkVNb356Ye4eea3Jv9SarD7YzN07DSMAknHAiEtT9n4lJhuSjR7fPJkz2t/s1600/DSCN0921.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536969947735094066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmfGc4wl-G3zf8WoRNRzTgPOGhq8QMD85exNUTt_fgsxigKRS4cJXfNJ1Kq2-5PnhvlcjpevGsLZwOAckPp7LkVNb356Ye4eea3Jv9SarD7YzN07DSMAknHAiEtT9n4lJhuSjR7fPJkz2t/s400/DSCN0921.JPG" /></a><br /><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>After 13 years and 278K miles, it was finally time to let her go. Couldn't count how many</div><div>races this baby got me to. A true testiment that American-made vehicles do last. I kept Mobil 1 in this for most of those years and changed it every 3K miles. The same K&N air filter has been in it for ALL 278K miles. Now my '98 Jeep Grand Cherokee that i've had for several years will be the new daily driver. With life getting rather "complex" this year, getting one vehicle out of the way helps simplify things a bit. </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com