Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Gett'n extreme at the Chequamegon 40

Wisely, I rejected an offer to ride super fun single track so that I could pace line with 1,800 of my closest friends on 20 foot wide paths. Leading up to the race I was fighting a cold. Saturday morning and the wife asks, "You don't want to race do you". "Nope", was the response. I just felt like poopy. Last year I ended up with 26th place and the nagging thought that I had more left in the tank. I had wanted a top 20 place before the day of the race.

Off we go at the start. I took up my standard place at the back of the preferred start area and somehow was falling back during the neutral lead out. The race to the grass hurt and I was hoping that back ending a stalled tandem a mechanical would take me out. No such luck. I limped along dry hacking all the way. I rode the first 10 miles on the side of trail as to let others pass easily, and boy did they take advantage of that. Gobs of riders made their way past my already disappointing position in the race. I contemplated stopping and waiting for the wife so that we could ride together.

At some point my body got use to the constant hacking and rising pain in the throat. At the same time others in front of me started to slow. I must have passed close to 50-75 people between there and "OO". After that I continued to work my way up, even passing 9 people in the last 2 miles. Never did I stop hacking, never could I breath all that well. I ended up 64th overall, which surprised me as I didn't think I was in the top 100 after falling back so far.

I want to apologize for those during the race and after that I could not talk to. My throat was in severe pain and left my voice non-existent. Oddly, the only thing that loosened it back up to the rough "you have a cold?" voice was the Gu2O energy drink at the finish. So no, I was not snubbing you. I just couldn't talk. The one positive was that I never noticed the pain in my legs as the pain in my throat took precedent.

Fire ensued that night back at the cabin and stories were told by fellow Rochester racers. Abi slept soundly back in Rochester as her parents enjoyed a weekend up north without there child.

Next year I am sure I will be back for more "fat tire" fun and the elusive top placing.


From the last 2 miles, taken from skinnyski.com.

BTW

Friday, September 17, 2010

E-mails with Paul B.

This is part 2 of my series with Paul B. Part 1 can be found here. That infamous day I remembered Paul mentioning that he had bought a Gary Fisher Cronus that day as well. Well, eventually I found the craigslist ad. After being able to find out that it was legally purchased I started a conversation with him as the asking price was $500 over retail, a red flag.

Go ahead and read our exchanges, starting at the bottom. It is not hard to find his ad, so DO NOT use this info to harass the guy. If you want to investigate his honesty I will not hold you back, however. He is already getting the snot kicked out of him on this, so don't be take this any farther. If you are interested in his bike then certainly go at it. It is a very nice bike.

So again, start at the bottom and read the interesting story on this bike.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thu, September 2, 2010 2:17:49 PM
RE: Bike.
...
From:Paul B
To:Becky


I understand that you know that I am in a world of hurt. My options are slim. I am in a corner with a bike that I cannot afford, and being tried as a felon. Maybe that is what I need to change. I will change the listing. Bottom line, this is not the person I want to be. I do have a good family, but from their love I somehow fashioned nothing but a life of detrimental ways. I hope to look back at this point in my life and say those guys at the bike shop changed my life for the better. For now it just hurts. But thank you for assisting me in fixing my life.

~Paul


Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2010 10:38:21 -0700
From: Becky
Subject: Re: Bike.
To: Paul B.

Oh I see, I was wondering how you were going to do that. Well, here is the deal Paul. We are watching you. We know about the stolen bikes that you are being charged criminally for. We also know the "stories" you gave as to how you acquired them: ie your brother, girlfriend, found in a ditch, etc. We also know that you bought your Cronus at Brone's bike shop (a great shop btw). I simply wanted to see why you thought you could sell a $3,500 bike for $4,000. I guess you could casually and easily make up lies in conversation, why not e-mail?

Here is the deal, you are a con artist, and we have been following you and documenting. I will give you 2 options. One, you can bring down the price of your bike to a logical number and tell the truth to people as to what it is and where you got it. Option two, you can continue to try to defraud people. You have a large group of people in the bicycle community licking there lips that you choose option two. With that option you will see all hell reign down on you in legal and ethical ways (something you are not use to doing yourself). We are just giving you an opportunity to follow the right path.

I am not sure where you decided to become such a punk (sorry, I couldn't think of a better word to describe you). Was it running track in High School? Maybe when your Mom would drag you to St. Mary's Assumption? Maybe at Ironman WI? Wait, we both know that was a lie as well. Maybe it was something your sister did? She seems so nice, even picking up your car when you were in jail, so I doubt that is it. Your Mom seems nice enough to bring down the car keys from Arkansaw as well. Hmm, I don't know. Either way here is your chance to change.

We will continue to monitor the sale of the bike. If we still see falsehoods, than expect the worst. If not, than good luck selling your bike to pay for your attorney's fees. I suggest changing the craigslist ad first, and doing it soon.

From all of us to you.





From: Paul B,
To: Becky
Sent: Thu, September 2, 2010 11:35:08 AM
Subject: RE: Bike.

Hello there Becky,
No I did not sell the bike yet. I have another guy that is going to be looking at it on the 10th. So if you decide to buy it before him then it't yours. He is still willing to pay 4,000, but i gave you a different price being that you are giving it as a gift. But I will be going out of town for a week being that the 7th is my birthday. Perhaps I can have my sisters fiance meet with you. If that would be ok. If you want the bike, I will sell it as low as 3,750. I hope all is well with you.

~Paul


Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2010 06:33:57 -0700
From: Becky
Subject: Re: Bike.
To: Paul B.

Paul,

Did you get this last e-mail? Did you sell the bike already? Please tell me you didn't.

Becky



From: Becky
To: Paul B.
Sent: Tue, August 31, 2010 12:41:19 PM
Subject: RE: Bike.

Yeah, I would be looking at the 7th. I would prefer someplace public. I could do the McDonald's on 55th st at noon?

Do you mind if my husband's friend comes with? He understands bikes a lot better than me as he works at a shop here in town. He just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to get taken for a ride, which I told him things were fine, but he worries. He just is suspicious of anything used. He just busted some jerk who had stolen 2 bikes and was trying to trade them in. I guess the guy got arrested and charged with a felony. Too bad being stupid is not illegal as well, huh? It disappoints me that there are jerks like that out there in the world, but he had a lot of fun getting that guy arrested! Chalk one up for the good guys.

Anyways, I look forward to meeting you. Thanks!

Becky






--- On Tue, 8/31/10, Paul B.> wrote:

From: Paul B.
Subject: RE: Bike.
To: Becky
Date: Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 10:35 AM

well last year when I did it I finished in 9:42:45 which won my age group, but i couldnt walk the next 4 days. It is a grouling race. That is why i bought the Fisher, to further increase my time, but school is tougher than any race I have done. So I guess winning this race would be a 4.0 so I gotta keep going at it. Tuesday the 7th?


Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:35:35 -0700
From: Becky
Subject: RE: Bike.
To: Paul B.

I want to see it when I have the money, which looks like next Monday. Can you meet on Tuesday?

How was the Ironman triathlon? Was it hard? How long did it take you? I am really curious as it sounds like a really hard event.

Becky



--- On Mon, 8/30/10, Paul B. wrote:---

From: Paul B.
Subject: RE: Bike.
To: Becky
Date: Monday, August 30, 2010, 7:40 PM

Haha, no this bike has not been riden in france. The opportunity came via my brother being friends with Lance, although Lance is not allowed to ride any other bike, but the Trek Madone basically. Funny huh. And from being sponsered I have other rights that most dont ie getting a bike specifically made for me. Only here in my hands has it been riden. Since I was there when it was being put together. A cross bike means that you just have to buy differents tires and rims for the bike and it can go "off road" so to say. I bought this bike specifically for the madison ironman triathlon. All that is necessary for converting it for a time trial would be aero bars which are take 2 mins to screw on and they are cheap like 40 bucks.
so when would you like to meet to look at the bikes.
~Paul


Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:09:24 +0000
From: Becky
Subject: RE: Bike.
To: Paul B.

Wow, this sounds like a really cool bike. You actually got this through Lance? That is so cool. I suppose it wasn't ridden in France was it? Ha, ha. What is a cross bike, btw?

Just one last question. Would this bike work well for triathlons? He has been talking about trying those as he already runs and bikes.

Becky

--- On Mon, 8/30/10, Paul B. wrote:

From: Paul B.
Subject: RE: Bike.
To: Becky
Date: Monday, August 30, 2010, 12:36 PM

Sorry or being so vague. Basically a prototype is one of the first made and they are made with the best of components. So the bike that I have is a cross between the frame of the Ultimate with the components of the Pro. That is why i paid so much more. My brother rides with Lance Armstrong, and my brother caught wind of the new line coming out so he contacted me and i got ahold of the source to design me this bike specifically. That is why it is so nice, especially for the height of 5'8. So you are not missing anything. YOu are correct that the comercialized Cronus Pro does cost 3,695, but that is not what this bike is. It is the best of both worlds with a cheaper price.
sorry i replied separately.
~Paul


Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:28:18 -0700
From: Becky
Subject: RE: Bike.
To: Paul B.

Paul,

That is great that it is the right size! I have been looking for something used for awhile. It looks like it is in great shape as well. I would like to come and look at it sometime next week.

I don't understand what you are saying about Lemond and Trek. This is a Gary Fisher correct? I found this bike on their website and it says it sells for $3,659. Am I missing something?

Thanks,
Becky



--- On Sun, 8/29/10, Paul B. wrote:

From: Paul B.
Subject: RE: Bike.
To: Becky
Date: Sunday, August 29, 2010, 9:48 PM


Here are some pictures for you to look at so you can at least see it because it is different than the ones online and sold in stores.
VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL
ADD MORE PHOTOS
This online album has 5 photos and will be available on SkyDrive until 11/28/2010.







--- On Sun, 8/29/10, Paul B.

From: Paul B.
Subject: RE: Bike.
To: Becky
Date: Sunday, August 29, 2010, 9:36 PM

Hello there Becky. The Gary Lemond Cronus Pro PRESENTED by TREK is not the version that my bike is. My bike was one of the prototypes of the brand new line. Therefore higher density of oclv carbon. Better geometry than most biks. It was hand-made here in the US unlike the others even those from Waterloo are scetchy. Finest of grades for this product. If you are really interested, I can drop the price for you perhaps. As long as you believe that this is the bike for your husband. This is a bike that I would never get of rid in any other scenerio than this. I am sure he could give the love that this bikes deserves of course not taking of from yours. So for $3,650, which is the base price of their base model final sale on any website, is what i would sell it for to you. I am 5'8 and the bike was designed specifically for my height of 5'8. SO the height seems perfect for your husband. If you would like to talk to work something out like to ride it or inspect it, you can call me on my cell at 555-555-5555.
Thank you Becky

~Paul


Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:35:48 -0700
From: Becky
Subject: Bike.
To: sale@craigslist.org

** CRAIGSLIST ADVISORY --- AVOID SCAMS BY DEALING LOCALLY
** Avoid: wiring money, cross-border deals, work-at-home
** Beware: cashier checks, money orders, escrow, shipping
** More Info: http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html


Hi,

I am looking at buying a road bike for my husband. I am really interested in you bike, but have a few questions though. What height would a 54cm fit? My husband is about 5'8". Also, you say you bought it for $5,200, but it says on fisherbikes.com that it sells for $3,569.99? Am I missing something?

Thanks,
Becky



this message was remailed to you via: sale@craigslist.org






Thursday, September 16, 2010

Afton recap...finally.


So it has been a long time, the wizard of pain has come and left. Hmmm, so in order to stop being harassed, here is your recap.

The 24 Hours of Afton/Salsa Fest was not on my radar this year. I had no plans to race it, much less solo. An e-mail in early July set my mind in motion and I decided to do it again. Now leading up to the race my mind was not in full "Rocky Prep" mode. Long rides were neglected, and things like the Thursday night Buck races and Tuesday night Rochester TT's were put on the front burner.

A quick note about the course. It is about 7.5 miles long and over 1,000 feet of climbing per lap (I am not sure exactly, but I think it may be over 1,100 ft). On this course you are typically grinding up a steep long climb, or flying down one. This course has about the same climbing as Moab, but in half the distance.

Set up went fine the day of and I found a lot of heavy hitters. Those that I knew of for sure were Dan Dittmer (3 time winner), Cody Larson (3rd overall in MN series in Elite), and Chris Schotz (several time WI Endurance Mtn bike series winner). My plan was to ride the first lap like I would ride the later laps. The granny gear was used liberally on the first lap. Although I was most definitely not worried about it, I think I held the lead for the first several hours. Chris seemed determined to sit on my wheel for as long as he deemed necessary.

The temps that day were very high. Add in the fact that most of the climbing is done in the open and you have a hot time on the bike. This ended up taking its toll on most people as I soon saw Chris and Dan in the pits looking for relief. I too would stop with heat and nausea problems for a little bit, but I figured I would just walk climbs if needed. The theory was that at least I was still moving forward. Cody would take the lead at this point with Ben Popp (unknown to me, but a very accomplished endurance racer, including RAAM) in second. I would roll for a long while in third, I think.

Night time came and the cooler temps were much appreciated. I started to stop for shorter times and felt better and better after suffering in the heat. The cramp pings stopped and I always love riding at night. Somewhere around 2ish in the morning I would head out for a lap telling Mark (Super Pit Crew) that the witching hour was upon us and things can always fall apart for people. Well, I didn't think that would be me as I felt pretty decent. At this point I was told that I sat in 2nd with Cody about 10 minutes up on me. Ben was about 30 minutes behind me.

I was close to half way through the course when Chris Fisher would pass me, helping his team in their domination. We exchanged a few words and he was on his way. At the same time I was thinking about how I was really going to have to stop at the pits and get some food in me, calories were needed and the gel was not going down well. I was not worried as I had this happen several times already and was able to ride out the lap fine. Right then my light prematurely died on me. My back up light (small 3 led camping light) batteries were "luckily" almost dead and reverted to an emergency mode. I had about as much light as you would see with a bic lighter, if that.

So as I very slowly fumbled through the dark with hunger pains setting in I hoped to come across another rider. Finally another rider came by and I latched on. Well, I latched on up until I crashed really hard into the hillside. I sat there hungry, tired, and determined just to get back to the pits. Back on the bike I found myself on the bottom of "manhandler", which I would walk for the first time, slowly; very slowly.

Somehow I made it back to the pit, and with the desire to eat a greasy burger. Well, my food variety sucked. Mark lent me his pasta salad that I nibbled on, and then I scavenged the Trekvelolag camp for food. My stomach was in extreme pain, extreme hunger, and heavy nausea. More pasta salad would be consumed one bite at a time with a long pause to allow the stomach to settle. I was in need of calories, but could hardly eat.

That essentially is how the race ended. I couldn't eat enough to safely get back on the bike (mental note, lots of cooked bacon would have been perfect). I am pretty sure I was dehydrated and that contributed to the problem. So, I spent about 17 hours on the course. Usually after a race like this the next couple of days are spent consuming everything in site to help the body resupply and recover. Well, my stomach was so messed up that I could not eat a full meal for almost 3 days. Needless to say my recovery has been slow even though only my stomach and sleep seemed to be really effected by the race. The legs/back were not that bad off.

Congrats to Cody for taking a well deserved win, Ben for toughing it out on a 26" hardtail for 2nd, Jeff for being consistent to take 3rd, Dan for rallying to pass me for fourth, and the rest of the riders. My laps gave me 5th place for the day. My Superfly 100 was perfect that day.

So there is you're recap.

Get ready for tomorrow. I had an e-mail conversation with Paul B. that is sure not to disappoint. Letter to Paul B. part 2 to come.