The perfect December weekend

Well, we had 2 days of weather designed specifically for riding, I'm pretty sure, and the Goatheads spent both of them at Manawa. We were comfortable wearing shorts, the logs were super sticky, and honey-do's were completed throughout the week. Now if we could just get some sort of image capturing device that allowed us to show everyone what we're talking about! This is the only picture I have to show for the whole weekend, and it was taken at warpspeed on my journey home at sunset last night.
(Oh, and two goatheads conquered the TTF last night. Discuss.)

Goatheads meet pop art

A + B = C

A = Cold Weather
B = High School Basketball season
C = Lack of riding time

But I do have time to wonder what Team Goathead would look like if Andy Warhol took us on...........




You too can Warholize your friends and family by going here
 

MTB Goat Heads 2006

Using the magic of color video and hi-fi stereo in QuickTime 7, we now present the trials and triumphs of being a Goat Head in 2006.

To launch the movie in a new browser window, click the image below:



If you would like to download the QuickTime movie file, you can do so using Pando by clicking the image below.



Update: There have been a couple reports of only hearing audio with no video. This is due to an old version of QuickTime. Try installing the latest version of QuickTime.

Brim Full of Asher

The A-train and I went to Manawa to try and get our session on, unfortunately somebody brought a camera with dead batteries and unfortunately we crash more than we ride cleanly. We both had some good runs, but of course the camera didn't get those. But if you had your choice, wouldn't you rather see spills as opposed to picture perfect runs?.......... Well, this is all we got before the camera faded to black. By the way, is there anything funnier than watching your friends bite it in slo-mo?

Using the whole log

The logs were especially sticky on Sunday.
Every year about this time, the Goatheads have a hard time finding the motivation to get out and register a bunch of miles in the saddle. So, if it's late November and the mercury climbs into the prime riding range, you won't see the Goatheads hammering through their fourth lap at Tranquility, you'll find them at the playground.

The earth knows what's up.

Mother Earth has a message for you!

Prophetic vision

I do not claim to have the gift of prohesy, but all I can say is
NEXT YEAR!!!!

WOW

I just got done talking to my Ed Psych. class about motivation. I could have used this image in my lecture. This picture should motivate us all to keep going. I have no idea of this man's story, but obviously he is not letting life keep him down.

Video Preview

Here's a sneek peek at the first feature length Goathead movie. Hopefully I'll be able to post the whole thing in a few days. It all depends on what the studio says.

Viewing Party

The movie which chronicles the 2006 Goathead experience is now in the final editing stages. All that's left to do is choose a soundtrack, add Spanish subtitles for our Latin friends, and find some sweet video effects that make us look less awkward....Who am I kidding, that's a losing battle. Anyway, we need a time and a location for a viewing party. Take a look at your calendars. Would Sunday night work?????

What not to wear

My wife LOVES to watch the T.V. show "What not to wear?" Often times I feel the show insults people too much and takes them places to shop that "regular" people don't go to. I know I am going to sound mean, but should this lady be in Spandex? It is great that she is out on a bike exercising. However, it is not a law that you have to wear tight fitting clothes when on a bike.

Potter's Pasture

Anybody ever ridden Potter's Pasture? I've read about it on various mountain bike forums, but I've never actually talked to anybody who's been there. I think it's out near Ogallala. The Professor and I have talked about taking a detour sometime on our way to Denver. Can anybody tell me if it's worth it???

Monday night ride

Calling all Homo-Sapiens with a bike.....Anybody want to ride tonight?
I'm thinking around 5 at Tranquility. Those of you with a real job can come late. Food afterwards. If things go well, this could lead to a Tuesday night ride. For now we'll just take it one night at a time.

more Pics from the "epic" ride

More Goathead in the national spotlight

what do you guys think?
http://velonews.com/galleries/contest47/enjoying%20fall%20at%207%20oaks%20-%20by%20Jon%20Hood.html

Epic ride

Benson to L&C to manawa to South O. Good times!

Epic

Epic

Any takers??

The goatheads are looking to get in another "big ride". The weather this weekend is supposed to be good. As of now we are considering the Lewis & Clark / Manawa connection. Saturday will probably be the day but the time is TBA. Who is in?
I will warn you, the last time Lumpy and I tried this the heavens opened up. We were soaked.

Sorry Ma'am

I rode from my house to Tranquility, did two laps and headed back home. I've put in a lot of miles the last few months riding up and down Maple street. My conclusion is that in most cases the street is a lot safer than the sidewalk. However, if you're going to choose the street, you better have thick skin. If being called a d-bag or an a-hole makes you questions your self worth, you better stay on the sidewalk. Maybe there's something wrong with me but I've gotten to the point where I kinda enjoy getting yelled at. I just smile, wave and think about their blood pressure boiling over as they grip the wheel tighter. On today's ride I got yelled at once going out and once coming back. Which is about par for the course, so it wasn't going to change my riding habits. However, the incident that will stick with me occured around 78th and Maple in front of the Ready Mix plant. There were some big cement trucks taking up most of the road so I jumped onto the sidewalk. Up ahead of me was a women in a moterized wheel chair. I announced my presence and passed her on her left. I actually took the grass so that she would have plenty of room. For about the next block I could hear her calling me every nasty name in the book and some I've never heard. The difference between her and the other people that yelled at me was she was right. Sidewalks aren't for bikes. They're for ladies in wheelchairs.

One more thing, I thought this looked interesting: Klunkerz. It's a feature lenth documentary about the origins of mountain biking

Livin the Goathead lifestyle

No complaints here

If you have never been to Seven Oaks to bike, and/or camp, I think all the Goatheads would agree, it's worth the gas to make the drive up from Omaha. At only 2 1/2 hours away it's perfect for a weekend trip. The single track is luscious! With a little over 7 miles of wooded trails that take advantage of every nook and cranny the Iowa country side has to offer. One of the things that I like about it is you feel like the trails actually take you somewhere, as opposed to many of the trails we have in Omaha that snake around in tight circles (which are fun in their own way). I think we all came to the conclusion that Seven Oaks is both physically challenging and somewhat technically challenging. It has several tight switchbacks going both up and down steep grades. I already have Seven Oaks penciled into my calendar for the first week of October '07.

7 Oaks

You be the judge

Did we have a good time at 7 oaks this weekend? I'll let the facts and pictures speak for themselves.

FACTS
Perfect weather
no major bike break-downs
Jonathon saw my bike slip off the rack BEFORE it was too late
we got free passes to ski there this winter

Now that's what I'm talkin about!

Specialized Fatboy Cruizer


What? 1700 bucks!?!?
...Um, nevermind.

On another note, the new Redline Monocog Flight 29er looks hot! (and less than half the price of the Fatboy)
Lighter steel, option for gears, mechanical discs, all for 800 clams.

New bikes and stuff being shown this week at Interbike 2006 in Vegas.

WARNING: Trek's lifetime warranty does NOT cover full speed frontal impact!!

So don't even think about it, Lumpy!

After everyone left yesterday, Jeff and I turned up the Gnarl-factor two notches and shredded Swanson for another lap. Yeah, we're pretty extreme like that. I ended up running into Bill and Dave from MTB Beginners afterwards in the parking lot. Check 'em out. They're pretty cool guys. Not unlike ourselves. Just out to have a good time. Look for them flying off a cliff near you.

On another note, so Scott is a freak of nature. Getting my but smoked by a guy who, as far as I know, doesn't ride that often is pretty humbling. Maybe fitness does play some role in this sport. Dang, no more ice cream. Overall, good showing yesterday. Two bikes were carried off the field on stretchers. Danica ripped it up. Another beautiful Sunday.

Mile High Stench

I went to Denver this last weekend and found out what an apartment smells like that's been closed up and vacant for two weeks with sewage sitting in the sink.




Hanging out indoors was not an option. We weren't able to go biking for a variety of frustrating reasons, but we still got out and found some wildlife.



This coming weekend we head to seven Oaks. The forcast I looked at looks pretty good, (chilly but dry). We need to get a final head count and talk about transportation.
FYI: Seven Oaks charges $3 a day to bike and $4 dollars per person to camp. Trust me, it's worth every penny

Usual Weekend Ride

So this weekend I found myself riding at Swanson with Lumpy. We did our typical multi-lap routine, he led for parts of the ride and I led for other parts. I thought to myself, "what is different about today?". Then I remembered that I had paid $30 to do this ride with him, and we were actually racing each other. I forgot we were racing because I couldn't see the person in front of us, nor the person in back of us. The Goatheads were represented in fine fashion with Lumpy's top five finish.

Sunday - Urban Ride?

I'd really like to ride this weekend, but I'm not racing Saturday. If it rains Sunday and the trails are too wet, is anyone up for an urban ride?

The Omaha BMX scene is sweet!

So my wife's sister and her family came into town Friday just as I was getting home from a couple nice laps at Tranquility. Upon finishing our burritos, my brother-in-law, Fredy, and I found ourselves looking for something to do. I was like, "Hey Fredy, whatcha wanna do?" and he was like "No se" and I was like "There's this new BMX track down the street, and they're having races tonight, wanna go watch?" and he was like "Por supuesto" (not really, he's Guatemalan, but he speaks English just fine.) We headed down to Hefflinger at 7:45 thinking the races were over, but they were still warming up. Sweet. Some of these kids are fast! They were flying through the course, manualling over the bumps and stuff. It's crazy, we're grown men and the transition to clipless pedals is a big drama, but these kids were riding around, clipping in and clipping out, no problem. There was a couple "moto's" where the competitors couldn't have been more than 3 years old. It was so cool seeing these little guys and gals cruising down as fast as they could just to build enough momentum to get back up the other side. I was informed by the infamous Skinny D that there's a cruiser class that freaks like us could ride in with our big wheels, although I'm not sure what the situation is on you dorks with gears. We left at like 9:30 and they were still racing. Good to know about all this cool stuff going on in Omaha. Now Fredy's looking for a lightweight BMX for his daughter. Good times, yall.

Pro Mechanic Tip #1

If you decide to tighten your front brake, make sure you can disconnect and reconnect it before taking the front tire off of your bike. Don't tighten it so much you find you can't reconnect the front brake once you're out for a ride and have no tool, so you have to let your front brake flap in the wind.

That would be a silly thing to do, and you would be a silly, silly person.

New playground

On my commute home yesterday I ducked into Hefflinger Park to check out the BMX park and help out for a bit. Nobody was there except for a couple kids, so I jumped on the track and rode it a few times. VERY COOL!!! I had a blast. It's also a lot of work. After a couple of runs, my legs had a nice burn going. It's not the type of thing I would do all the time, but it'll be a fun once-in-while excursion to break the monotony. Since it's so close to Tranquility, it will be super convenient to swing over there and do a few cool down runs. I'm curious to see how crowded it gets. If it dries up quickly after the weekend rain, we may have to get a group ride together next week. On my way out of the park I saw Skinny D pulling in. By that time I had to get heading home so I couldn't stay to help. Thus I continue my usual practice of reaping the benefits of other people’s labor. I think the Goatheads should try to show up in mass at the next trail work day.
Who's camp'n this weekend?
Don't forget, 7-Oaks on the 30th.

How 'bout this?

Slightly less than epic.

The Professor and I had big plans for an epic ride that linked Swanson and Tranquility together. Unfortunately we cut it short because of the rain, but not before we got a good 20 miles in and not before we got a chance to start The Donald's initiation.



Now the riding can begin. Apparently he is immune to the effects of gravity.



Gravity still affects the Professor though.

Unofficial Team Seal

I was just messing around with the "Official Seal Generator". This is the unofficial team seal for the entire day of Saturday, Sept. 2, 2006.

new to me

check out the placement of the rear shock.