Thank you 4300. Hear my new Anthem!

Well, with the Moab trip coming up, I had been planning on taking my loyal Trek 4300 on the epic ride. It's been a great bike for me, and really did deserve to say it's ridden in Utah. However, things have changed. My 4300 will be staying home. The Professor and I went out today and picked up my new Giant Anthem 2.



Thanks to the Omaha Trek Store for calling around, and High Gear for the great deal!

And my trusty Candies still match the color scheme. I'm all set.

I think I'm going to be sick

This does not look like any fun at all. I think it's more of a test of endurance than a thrill ride.

glumbert - Amusement Park Ride from Hell

No need for a helmet

Trade in your helmet for some goo.

New World Speed Record

Markus "Hercules" Stoeckl, a 33 year old Austrian man, broke the World Speed Record for mountain bikes. He hit a top speed of 130.7 mph (210.3 kmph) on his bike. I'm not sure why it was done on snow, maybe he just wanted to increase the level of difficulty.

Roll Video:

Moab in '07 and The Crawford Ranch in '08

I don't agree with everything the President has done in the White House. However, we do agree on a lot of issues. Here is one more area of agreement between us.

Let's do it again

Wow, what a great experience at Manawa this weekend. J.A. and I had never done a 12 hour race, never gone farther than 40 miles in a day, and haven't ridden more than 8 laps at Manawa all year. A big thanks to everybody who put on the event. It was very well run.
On advice from an expert, J.A. and I rode two lap shifts. J.A. rode the first leg and put us right in the middle of the pack (PERFECT). By the time I finished my first shift the field was pretty spread out. From then on when I got passed I didn't know if I was losing position or getting lapped. Of course when I passed somebody it was the same thing (lapped or position?). By the 7th hour I am pretty sure most of the passing involved people being lapped and not position. At about 4:00 MOD informed me that we were in the top three. J.A. ended up riding one more lap than I did because I missed the 9:30 cutoff for starting new laps. Oh well, our 23 laps were good enough for 2nd place.
Thanks to our families and fellow Goatheads who cheered us on.
Lumpy, J.C., A.B., J-mac we hope to see you at the event next year.

Some good, some bad

I had a blast in Boston with my dad, two brothers, and sister.....Even though the Red Sox melted down and found a way to lose despite winning 7-2 in the 7th.

YOOOUUK!!!


J.A. and the Professor faired much better at the "12 Hours of Manawa" race. Sounds like they came in second. Well done boys!!! Maybe one or both of them will post a race report/recap.
I really hope this race, (or another 12 hour race) is part of the series next year. I'm bummed I missed out on it.

Good Luck Boys

I'm off to Boston in the Morning to take in the drama that is Red Sox-Yankees. The only down side of going to Boston is that I'll miss out on "12 Hours of Manawa". I'm sure it will be a blast. Good luck to the Professor and J.A.!!! I expect nothing less than a top 5 finish. Take a ton of pictures.

Bikes from the future

Amazing build process pics

Just dang cool

For the skinny-tire fans out there

Look At That Horse!

Is he really that stupid or is there some other explanation?

Suggestions?

At the end of October, the Goatheads are going to pile into a big, fossil fuel burning vehicle and drive west until we run into a large red butte........ This will be the first time any of us have biked in Moab. The tentative plan is to spend three days and two nights in the general vicinity of Moab. Beyond that, we have no real plans. Does anyone who's been there before have a suggestion or two for us? What trails should we ride? Where should we stay?(camp or hotel?)Where should we eat? Etc.
Anything would be helpful.

Airline sacrifices goats

When will the madness stop?

I'm craving chocolate.

This commercial for Cadbury Chocolate is the best I've seen in a while.

Maverick Speedball R

Back in May I was named "Member of the Month" by yourmtb.com (apparently it was a down month for them). It's taken three months, but I've finally received my Maverick Speedball R (with remote). They claim that their's a huge demand for these, which explains the delay. The reviews I've read on them have been very good. I'd love to throw it on my bike to try it out, but I'm resisting the temptation (even though it'd be perfect for our upcoming Moab trip)........A while back, my car got broken into and my i-pod was stolen. If I could sell the Speedball, it would pretty much cover the cost of a new i-pod.......So, it's for sale. Here's a link to the Maverick site. It retails for $250. They've been going on e-bay for about $225. I'm asking $199. Here's what it looks like: (it's a 31.6)

Five Wheeler

Perhaps it's a little noisy...........but if it comes in yellow, I'll take one.

Was I the only one thinking this?

Palm Olive Hands

I had Lumpy grip envy - mine are on the way:



Now I just have to figure out how to carbon-offset throwing my old rubber grips into the local land-fill. And the packaging for the new ones. And then the gas/oil spent for the delivery vehicles getting the grips to my house. And the energy consumption of the order fulfillment center. And the web site data center. And my PC. Even making the new grips, which look like they have more rubber than my old ones. Man, being involved in an 'out-doorsy' sport is so guilt ridden!

I guess I'll have to get out and ride with my new grips a few times as penance. :)

Tour de St. Joseph

Went to St. Joseph and KC over the weekend, and I decided to take the bike and check the trails in St. Jo. The main park (Krug Park) has a lot of good trails. Very hilly, reminded me of Jewell.

The entrance to the park- not a good sign

Came across this bridge- about 5' high, pretty cool



waterfall


after a couple of miles on the trails I had had enough of riding through cobweb after cobweb- probably 20-30 on the few miles that I rode. I hit the road for another hour or two of riding- more hills and curvy roads. Good times.



If you happen to go to St. Jo Krug Park is worth riding, just prepare yourself for the onslaught of cobwebs.

Thank you, benevolent city fathers.

Someone asked me recently if Omaha was a bike friendly community. I told them, "not really, but it seems to be getting better and better". For example, I really enjoy the new mountain bike rock-garden downtown. It seems like something a more progressive city would have. It's even staffed by guys on bikes, in yellow shirts and badges. They told us to leave, but I'm pretty sure that's just because it was after dark. It must be a daytime only park.........Thanks Mike Fahey!

Lumpy Jr.

This is really going to effect my riding schedule for a while.