Locked and loaded.

I am heading out to compete in the Salsa 24 fest (www.salsa24fest.com). Start at 5pm tonight, end 24 hours later. Solo.

Real time results here; http://www.peaktiming.com/results/2009salsa24/

And a pic, why bring 2 Gary Fisher 29er's when I can bring 3? The single speed has got the mud tires ready to go just in case.


And always, btw.

So Pro.

Many things are attributed to being "so pro". As in shaving your legs is "so pro", or your name on your bike is "so pro".

So which of these is more "so pro"? (Note, both are wearing Velorochester gear)

Getting your face on Velonews.com as you line up behind Geoff Kabush like Ben "Brendan's Brother" Moore,

OR

getting a blurry shot of you lined up behind Lance Armstrong at Leadville like Dan "Afton King" Dittmer on superhumanmag.com's video?


You decide....when you get off of work.

PSA

Add this to your do not do list:
Put bit in drill.
Hold up new shelf support with right hand (back of hand to the wall).
Use drill to turn in a screw.
Lean in hard on the screw.
Have the bit slip off, penetrate, hit bone, and chew up the end of your index finger.

No Dan, this will not stop me from battling at Afton this weekend. Looking forward to 24 (25?) hours of fun:=)

BTW.

Review: Hi Fi Pro

So I thought I would post some reviews. I preface everything I say with the understanding that I am supported by Fisher bikes and I like the company because they are awesome, so no bias.

The Gary Fisher Hi Fi Pro-
100mm front and rear travel. G2 geometry. Superlight frame. Big wheels. Blingy.

Set up. I messed with most of the parts on this bike when I got this bike. Most things were swapped out, not because of quality, just my preference. Needless to say, I have it loaded with Bontrager goodies. For gearing I run a 11-34 cassette and a 26/36 tooth set up on the front. I find this perfect for my needs. The bike weighs in at 25.75 pounds as set up in this picture with "heavy" tires. Close to 25lbs with racey tires. Fox supplies the suspension on both ends with the optional propedal settings to increase efficiency. Sag was set up at 25% of travel.

The ride. Gary Fisher likes to hype the G2 geometry on their 29'ers. It is designed to make the bike ride like a 26'er in the tight stuff. I got to say there is something to this. I found the bike rides best when the Fox shocks are set up on their propedal setting of "1". With propedal on front and rear this bike becomes a singletrack guru, slicing up the tight stuff. No fork dive, no pedal feedback, but still fantastic at schooling any bumps along the way. Small drops are handled with aplomb.

Climbing is great. Traction is great like any 29'er. The weight is very light, especially for a dually. The propedal settings make sure the power hits the rear wheel like Bill Clinton hits on interns, while the shocks still work well at keeping rocks from wrecking my fun. The Lord did not bless me with innate climbing abilities, but this year I have done much better in this department, and I like to think it is partly due to this bike.

With the lightweight Bontrager XR-1 tires this bike amazes me. Superfast, light, nimble, but still bump gobbling goodness. This is the fastest set up I have EVER ridden. Me likey. I throw on bigger meat when the need arises, but in a XC this is the bees knees.

As mentioned before, I love this bike (or did I forget to mention this?). Know that the purchase of the bike will leave you happy.

Now, stop reading about bikes on work time (or maybe free time) and get busy.

24 Hours of Afton

So at the moment I have no real support for Afton (known as Salsa 24). The Baby's Momma will be out of town. Dad will be recovering from surgery. I have some people that I might be able to lean on during the race, but anyone want to help out?? I would be looking for someone that is willing to stay up much of the night, fill my flasks, maybe take some pics, fill bottles, get lights ready, and let me know how I am doing; basically be a set of hands and eyes in the pit for when I roll through.

Rewards are that you would get a blog mention/pic and a heart felt thank you. Yeah, so both of the people that read this site would know who you are.

There is a whole bunch of other stuff going on during the race that I wouldn't care if you frolicked in as well.

Anyone?

charlytri at yahoo dot com

Oh, and got lots of riding in last week. A bunch up in Cable. You should see the new epic singletrack going in from Hayward to Cable. It is off the chain, yo!

BTW

Buck

Well, I spent 75 minutes of my life racing 6 laps at Buck Hill as part of the MN series. That averages to about 12.5 minutes a lap. A little ridiculous, but that is the end of my rant. The race was fun, people where cool (on course and off) except for one of my fellow competitors that got too heated when passing some of the comp riders, and the course was fun (albeit short). I let off the gas a little on the start as I was expecting a bad day. My body was not revving well in warm up and the heat was not to my liking. First lap I was towards 8th or so with several guys around me (that's what she said). By the end of the last lap I was able to shed all but Dave Oachs. I would roll in to take 4th overall, 1st in Cat 1 (my best MN series finish ever, oh, and cash money!!). Dave would finish about 10 seconds back. Sure, the field was thinner than normal and I wish there were more riders, but 4th is 4th and the cash already went into the "Moab trip fund". I am especially stoked because the course was not good for me (passing primarily on the climb), the heat was not good for me, and the race was short/intense not long/arduous. Brendan "KC" Moore took top honors again (I think they should name part of the trail after him and all of his wins there), and Chris "My wife won the chick catagory" Fisher rolled in for 8th.

Here is a video from MNSCS, I can be seen at 2:40:



That is all for now. I have had very little time to get this out.
Now I am off to Cable for 4 days of riding while you surf the net at work. Have fun without me.

I've been thinking.

This is how I look when pondering. Yes, I put on the jersey to think.
So, Abi and I have been talking about how I want to handle my 2nd part of the season (while I was changing a loaded diaper). The plan was to race the 12 hour race in LaCrosse this weekend and than prepare for Moab on October 10th. Well, Abi is full of insight and she reminded me that I always was disappointed I didn't race the 24 Hour race at Afton. So, now that is on the schedule. Well, I was hoping to get in 2 three week blocks of hard training (plus rest). La Crosse would throw a hiccup in that plan. Without it, I would be missing out on a fantastic race (course/people/atmosphere). I was heavily considering it when Abi took a break from eating Cheerios and pulled up the weather for that day. Having suffered heat exhaustion there last year and then having a hard time recovering from it I have decided to not race this Saturday. Can't say I am not a little disappointed.

So I am in my first week of the first block. Long hours, big gears are on the agenda. I will now be making an appearance at Buck Hill this Sunday to see what I can do in the Elite class. Afterwards, Abi's Mom and I will tear up Lebanon or Murphy.

Next weekend, 4 days at the cabin. I wonder if there is any good mountain biking in Cable?

BTW.