More pics from RAGBRAI

For one day only

Miah insisted that my Nema's would not be good for 100 miles.

Sunday Ride

So I go into Highgear on Saturday and Miah asks if I want to do a century on Sunday. He says him and some of the other guys at the shop are going to do the first stage of RAGBRAI. To make it a century we were going to ride to Red Oak (day one) and then turn around and ride back to Omaha. Before really thinking about what I was saying I blurted out, "Yes, I'll do it". Okay, well I don't think the Soho S or EX 8 are good for a century so I need a bike for the day. Thankfully Paul donated a bike to the cause. It wasn't great, but it helped get the job done.



As we started the ride Miah did play a little theme music for us.



Obviously what makes this ride fun or famous are the people. Wow there were people everywhere. As we got to Mineola the road was so crowded we actually had to walk our bikes. When we finally got to Red Oak it was lunch time. For me that meant Steak Kabob. The rest of Team Miah enjoyed other types of red meat.





Of course now the real fun was about to begin, the ride home. My good buddy Lowell Peterson and I road back together. Remember how crowded Mineola was, when we came back through it looked like a ghost town.



When I finally reached my car I had gone 120+ miles. WOW!!!! I haven't gone that far in 20 years. My body feels fine, except for my pinky finger on my right hand. It is kind of numb. Thanks to my HG buddies for a great group ride.
By the way, sorry to Team Goathead for not wearing the official jersey. I needed pockets to carry fuel for the road.

Lock it up!

12 trails in 5 days.
Keystone(I Guess that's a trail), Dakota Ridge, Prime Cut, Zippety-Doo-Da, Kessler Run, Holy Cross, Vegetarian loop, Chutes and Ladders, Joe's Ridge, The Ribbon, Horse Thief Bench and More Fun Trail......... That was exhausting!

I have my own thoughts about Fruita, but instead of sharing those I think I'll just share some of the pictures. Hopefully the other Goatheads will post their thought on the trip.
(Stay tuned for a more pictures and videos. It was a well documented trip, now I just need to do some editing)

All systems go

The Goatheads are slowly making their way toward the rendezvous point in Denver. I took a picture of the above goat near the top of Mount Evans. I offered him the secret hand shake but he declined. He must be from another chapter.




The view from the top of Mt. Evans is pretty incredible. Now that I'm fully acclimated to the altitude, I'm ready to ride. Tomorrow, The Professor, T-Rev and myself are heading over to Keystone. On Saturday, we'll meet up with J.A. and A-Train for our annual Dakota Ridge ride. After that we're off to Fruita for three full days of riding. The only negative is the noticeable absence of J.C. J-Mac and Johnny Law. It just wasn't in the cards this year. Don't worry, we'll post plenty of pictures that will make you jealous.

It's settled..... for now.

After months of negotiating, bickering and back room deals we've finally decided that our summer destination will be Fruita, CO. There were many other worthy options, but Fruita just simply had too much going for it. We leave in a couple weeks. None of us have ever been there, if you have, please share some advice. What are the must ride trails? Where should we eat? Local bike shop? Anything else?

Tour de Bellevue

Southern Loop

Wet trails forced us onto pavement yet again. This time we opted for the southern loop





The heat and a stiff wind made it a good workout. JC was strong for the whole ride...... He only needed one quick break.



I'm not used to all of these road miles. My legs are starting to wear down. I think tonight I'll try out my Wonder Sauna Hot Pants.

J-mac and TheProfessor have some company

Wednesday night was a big night. J-mac made his 2009 debut on the dirt. It was the first time I have ridden Manawa all year. And J-mac and I brought our wives along.



One of them had fun and one of them endured it. You can decide.



As always J-mac wasn't afraid to try the new TTF.

Don't forget dad

In honor of Fathers Day

Gotta adjust

So the rain is ruining plans of hitting the dirt. That mean hitting the pavement. In the afternoon I convinced Mrs. Professor to go on a ride.



In the evening I met up with JC and Lumpy. We cruised around the CWS and then headed over to the pedestrian bridge. Once across we visited Lumpy's favorite convenient store.

Guess what - less than a month until Crested Butte.

Hammer It Out!

We're entering into the dog-days of summer, sometimes it gets tough to find the appropriate inspiration needed to "hammer it out." This should provide the needed motivation. Now, go be a champion!

Comfort Wipe

At some point, every cyclist will break a clavicle, which means loss of motion. Next to chamois cream, this might be the most important product you could own.

GoatHead Shopping Trip - Success

Thanks for coming out everyone! We found some great deals on the pants, and it felt like a success all around. Maybe we'll do the next shopping trip around a theme or something...

In Honor of J-Mac's first trip to ES

I present the GoatHead Pickle.

Cool Guys Don't Look at Explosions

Andy Samberg and Will Ferrell

Escalator diving looks fun...

I'm not sure how he imagined this in his head, but I'm guessing it didn't turn out like he thought it would.

Why Platte is the best

Flags, food, friends, family and dirt.......

It turned out to be a great weekend for riding. I hope everyone was able to go out and hit the dirt.

I Love Playoff Hockey!

Marty Havlat get's blown up.....

Down and Up

Fun at Platte

Nobody saw that, right?

Did a quick 1.5 laps at Tranquility yesterday afternoon. Ate it real hard at the end of the first lap along the creek. Started pedaling right before a small dirt hump, right pedal was at 6 o'clock when it hit, transmitted all my forward momentum into upward force through the bike, throwing my weight forward and the bike over my head, and twisting my ankle in the process. Felt fine finishing the other half lap, but today I can hardly walk.
I have a work trip to Denver tomorrow through Friday, and was thinking about making a call to T-rev to see about hooking up for a quick ride. Probably not going to happen now. :(
Now, I'm just hoping it'll heal soon. I'm going to need all the time I can get to be in shape for Crested Butte. (is squishy a shape?)

Do the Panic

12 hours of Branched Oak
Music by Phantom Planet - "Do The Panic"

Baptism by fire

On Friday, Andy (Highgear Mechanic) called and said my bike was built. It was raining when he called, so there wasn't going to be a chance to ride it then. That meant I might as well take it to Branched Oak and race on it for part of the 12 hours. Initial thoughts, I love that bike!!!!! Andy, you did an incredible job putting it together.

About the 12 hours, somebody forgot to tell weather this is Spring. WOW it was cold. What made it worse was that it was wet cold. So, we would do a lap / change into clothes that were cold and wet / shiver for two hours / change back into our wet riding clothes / and start the whole process again. Next time we do this the Goatheads will need to bring one of two items. A portable fire pit or an RV.

Even though we were cold and VERY TIRED, Team Goathead finished third in the team division

First Dirt!

Took my oldest son out to Tranquility yesterday.
We rode one lap and then three more times around the creek.
He had a lot of fun, said his legs were reeealllly tired afterwards.
He hung with on all the climbs, only had to walk one spot because of being in the wrong gear. After breaks, when I asked if he was ready, he just mounted up and shook his head yes.

We bumped into Dale working in the trees. He suggested ice cream post ride. I'm a sucker for ice cream.

Whoops

I'm not riding in the race this weekend, because I misunderstood what we'd be doing for 12 hours and didn't train right.

Entertainment options

If you're not doing the 12 hour MTB race at Branched Oak this weekend, you can always go see the new Trek movie, although you might be disappointed. I hear it's actually watchable.


Trekkies Bash New Star Trek Film As 'Fun, Watchable'

Uhhhhh?????

Somebody brought this into the shop after they found it on a ride.

The anticipation is killing me

Must watch TV

We are living in the golden age of television programing.

Skillz

I wanna Know what love is...

As if we needed more proof that Guster is the best band on the planet.

I Wanna Know What Love Is from Dead Elm on Vimeo.

It's official

Team Goathead is sending a contingent to the 12 hour race on the 16th. My question is who wants to take us on!!!!!! Before you answer the challenge you should know some facts. At last years Dakota 50 four members of team Goathead finished within 4 hours of the winner. In three separate adventure races Team Goathead has finished in the top half of the field (One year we fielded two teams). In the local Psycowpath series, Goatheads have been known to finish in the top ten of the beginner or 1st timers field. Still want to take us on? We'll see you at Branched Oak.