Frazz

M4 Prep Ride

I am heading out to Miller's on Wednesday night to prep for the M4. I suspect there might be some singletrack riding in the dark. I have much experience riding after dark on dirt roads and pavement, but zip on singletrack. It is always best to avoid trying new shit while on a major ride. Thus I'll be out there at 8pm riding.

M4 Moved once again

The M4 has been pushed to the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

Just a little reminder...

"Tread for on-road use

Bicycle tires for on-road use have no need of any sort of tread features; in fact, the best road tires are perfectly smooth, with no tread at all!

Unfortunately, most people assume that a smooth tire will be slippery, so this type of tire is difficult to sell to unsophisticated cyclists. Most tire makers cater to this by putting a very fine pattern on their tires, mainly for cosmetic and marketing reasons. If you examine a section of asphalt or concrete, you'll see that the texture of the road itself is much "knobbier" than the tread features of a good quality road tire. Since the tire is flexible, even a slick tire deforms as it comes into contact with the pavement, acquiring the shape of the pavement texture, only while in contact with the road.

People ask, "But don't slick tires get slippery on wet roads, or worse yet, wet metal features such as expansion joints, paint stripes, or railroad tracks?" The answer is, yes, they do. So do tires with tread. All tires are slippery in these conditions. Tread features make no improvement in this."

Reading a little Sheldon Brown this morning and just felt this section was so very important. Make sure to read it once if you are a believer and like 500 times if you are a skeptic! I myself have real world knowledge of exactly what he was saying. The 2010 Wicked Wind was damp, rainy and grey. I had been riding a pair of Specialized Mondo tires for only a week. I was absolutely scared shitless at the prospect of running these smooth tires in the wet. Guess what? Not only did I never see an issue, I turned in my fastest 50 ever to that point. Should my testimonial be not so convincing to you, go get a pair of mondo's or some other relatively cheap smooth tire. Then you can obsess about getting the good one's after your first ride!

I totally recommend reading the full article as well, here.

3

Back on a road bike

I was out for 90 minutes Sunday. It may not seem like much, but is was the first time I have been out on a road bike for longer than 20 minutes since the first week of October. It was a good feeling; being pissed at drivers, being able to ride a straight line for more than 40 feet, having to climb, fighting the wind, coasting.... All in all, it was a great feeling. I am excited for the M4 ride, but also look foward to getting to know my road bike again...

a

M4 moved.

Trail is too wet. I'm moving back one week. Email me any additions, deletions, or team changes.

Aaron


- Posted from my iPhone

El Dorado Loop

Yesterday took a quick 18 miler with a friend from El Dorado. The wind was a bit blustery out of the west, making it very chilly in that direction. No problems just a fast jaunt around the lake. I di however tweak my lower back on the dam. I went for an uphill sprint and my chain skipped. Upon further inspection, I discovered that my chain and cassette are both worn out. That really sucks, and my back hurts!

3

Pavement! Sweet Pavement

Today was the first time I have been on a road bike in over 5 weeks. I have spent my training time on the 29er at Miller's getting ready for the M4 ride. Today I needed a break, and when I say I, I really mean my back. The road seemed so smooth after 5 weeks of single track. I am looking forward to getting back on the skinny tires and logging some longer distance rides soon after Sunday.

a

Review: Marmot WindShirt

This piece has been a staple of my fall to spring riding gear. It is basicially a fleece lined windbreaker. When my Optik jacket is too little and my Pearl riding jacket is too much, this one works perfectly. It isn't cut for riding, so there is no elastic across the bottom, which can be a drawback on a high cross wind. I had to send it back to Marmot last year for a broken zipper and they repaired it at no cost. The only drawback was it broke in January and I didn't get it back until March. What I really like about it is it's ability to pull double duty. I can ride or run in it and not feel like a cycling dork if I wear it to a football game or out and about away from the bikes.

Mar11 Update:  Since this is a loose-fit jacket, it works perfectly as a layer over my Pearl jacket for those really-fucking cold, Eddy or Jens would , Rule #9 rides.

Classified

This morning WC and I went to a classified location for training maneuvers on the bicycle. We went for about an hour. WC gave much wisdom, making me rethink what I was doing. I discovered I was putting too much torque into the bike, causing maneuverability to suffer. Increasing my cadence and choosing a lower gear allowed me to have a very satisfying ride. Additionally, I made a change in tire pressure, dropping about 8-10 PSI, much much better ride today. Thanks so much WC for the insight and support!

Zack attack

I hit Miller's yesterday for a quick lap. I took 3 of the last 4 days off and needed a stretch ride to loosen up. Zack showed up at the trailhead as I was finishing and we did a quick lap together. He ride the shop's test Epic. It was a fun ride. He stayed for a few more laps.

What I love about the shop is that we are all brothers. We laugh and fight and do all that stupid brother shit. But in the end, we ride together.



- Posted from my iPhone

M4 Design

Here is the design for the M4 ride shirt:

Review: Mad Alchemy

One thing I like about cycling websites is product reviews. But as useful as initial reviews sometimes can be, it really is reviews after the product has been used for a few to many thousands of miles that I find most useful. Thus I think we should review products that we have used for a while.

I have been using Mad Alchemy Embrocation for about two years now. It is hand made somewhere up in New England to order. It cream has a good feel and goes on smooth without leaving a residue. If you rub your legs with it for 10 minutes or so it activates faster. If not, it takes about 30 minutes to start working. After that you feel a nice warming sensation in your legs for the next few hours. (I keep it in a zip lock back as one time the lid screwed loosed and I got some on a GU packet that I opened during a ride my mouth....WOW. I tasted it for 30 miles.)

And it will last for a few hours. So don't use on a short ride as your shower will be a nasty experience. Event 5 hours later you can still feel it and a hot or even warm shower will reactive it.

Over all, it has become a vital staple of my winter riding gear.

Click the post title to link to the website.

Neewollah, October 30

Saturday traveled to Independence KS to watch flute boy. While there I took two hours to ride Montgomery County. Started at Elk City Lake and headed out on Peter Pan road. According to the county pages from KDOT the roads were supposed to be paved but the first 20 minutes were on gravel. After that just quiet rural roads for 37 miles. There were three pretty good size hills but mostly flat. There is nothing in Elk City so plan accordingly. One gripe about Kansas, would it kill you to have paved through the trees rather than around them?