We're off......

Unfortunately, only 4 Goatheads will be heading up to Spearfish..




Check back next week for race reports.

Santa's got a brand new sleigh.....

I finally got my bike back after my frame break. I put in a ton of miles on pavement while I waited, but there's nothing like dirt. It was a long wait, but well worth it. Big thanks to Andy at High Gear for taking care of me.

Here's a picture of my new rig. The frame's completely different, but they tell me it's an upgrade. I guess I'll take their word for it. Supposedly it's some super secret experimental frame and eventually everyone will be on one..... Thanks guys!!!!

Since commuting is all the rage these days...

...I decided to give it a shot. I figured, "It's Saturday, traffic won't be bad, it won't matter if I'm late, it won't matter if I have a catastrophic failure and don't make it at all. If I do make it, it's just extra OT." It's probably not a big deal for those of you who commute by bicycle every day, but I've always figured I lived too far away from work to ride (omahorn, or elkaha, or whatever to downtown)


So, I got up, ate breakfast, packed my gear, applied a liberal helping of MonkeyButt, and left the house in the dark this morning. I headed east on Maple to 90th, south to Dodge, and east to downtown. Nice sunrise, but I didn't get any pictures until I got downtown because my phone camera doesn't take very good low-light pictures.

1 block from the office

Fantom Cyclist

I got a garment bag too (clothes rolled up in a Target bag and shoved in bottle cage)

Total mileage: 14.72 miles in 1 hour

Total footage: 77,721.60' in 60 minutes

Total inchage: 932,659.20" in 3600 seconds

Total # of wheel rotations: 10,237.08

Total # of crank rotations (if I were pedaling the entire time): 5,758.38

Don't even get me started on how much more work it would've been on a 26"er.........just messing with you guys!

Theft Deterrence

There's something wrong with two of these pictures...... There's absolutely nothing wrong with the third. Guess which is which.

Passenger Side Rage

The Professor's post reminded me that I was going to post something about commuting....... Commuting is the only kind of riding I've been doing lately. I was going to post something about the increased number of bike commuters I've seen on the road this summer. Then I was going to say something about the increase in courtesy I've seen from drivers. When I first started commuting about a year and a half ago, I could usually count on a horn, a finger, a "SIDEWALK A-HOLE!" or a combination of the three on every other ride. However, I'm pretty sure I've gone about 2-3 months without any angry gestures directed at me (excluding my wife). That is, until yesterday's commute. Just when my faith in the good people of Omaha was being restored, a white contractor's van full of anger buzzed my head around 72nd and Blondo.
I was reading a post on another bike blog a while back that made the observation that if you're going to get yelled at, it's always from somebody in a truck. I've found that to be about 75% true, but what's been 100% true for me is that if I'm going to be yelled at, there's always two people in the car/truck/van. I guess the extra body in the vehicle makes people feel a little more bold. Plus, I get the impression that they're trying to show of for their buddy. I don't know if that was the case for this guy in the white contractors van or if he just had really low self-esteem and rage issues. Whatever it was, he let it all out at once as he passed. I couldn't tell exactly what he was saying as he hung out the passenger side window (I had my headphones in), but it appeared that he said something to the effect of:
"I'M SHAKING MY FIST AT YOU IN ORDER TO VISUALLY SHOW HOW UPSET I AM ABOUT THE SLIGHT INCONVENIENCE YOUR PRESENCE ON THE ROAD HAS CAUSED ME AND MY FRIEND!!!!!!"
I responded with my usual friendly wave, but in this case instead of diffusing the situation, it made him even more belligerent. Going up the next hill, the van slowed down so that he could hang half way out the window and give me the bird while shouting:
"MY WIFE AND KIDS HATE ME BECAUSE OF MY EXPLOSIVE ANGER...BUT IT'S HARD TO LOVE MYSELF WHEN MY FATHER NEVER LOVED ME!!!!" (my headphones were still in)
Again, I just waved. I assumed he would drive off and I would never see him again, other than perhaps his mugshot on the news. However, as we got to the bottom of the hill, he pulled into the left turn lane as I went through the intersection. As I passed, I gave a "What was that?" gesture to him. Again this might have been a mistake. I'm pretty sure he thought I was taunting him. This prompted him to get out of the van and stand in the street and continue screaming as I road up the next hill. I'm pretty sure he said something about his wife having hamburger helper in the oven if I wanted to stop over for a bite. I was in a hurry to get home so I kept rolling.
I notice the same cars passing me on a daily basis. There's a very good chance I'll run into Mr. Sunshine again. In the meantime, I hope he gets a chance to read this blog entry from Lincoln's police chief. In fact it would be awesome the entire city of Omaha could read it......... Probably not though, I guess I'll just keep hugging the curb and making new friends.

PROBLEM SOLVED

Last spring I wrote about planning to commute on my new Soho S. Well, during the late spring and summer it was easy to commute to work because I could just fold up my jeans and polo shirt and put them in my backpack. Jeans don't wrinkle that easy. However, what about when school starts and I want to wear a button down shirt, slacks, and a tie. This handy pannier/garment bag does the trick.

Life's too busy

My students come back to campus this weekend. That means summer is nearing an end and that we are in the last stages of the mountain bike season. Trying to rate how the season has gone is proving difficult. Going by miles, I have been able to ride more at this point in the season than all of last year. However, a lot of those miles have been as a solo Goathead. I bough my first (and ONLY) single speed bike this year and love it. But the very wet June we had meant that I rode 90% of my miles on that and hardly any on my Fuel. Rode Landhal for the first time and it is a great course. Unfortunately not all our bikes made it out in one piece and not all the Goatheads could go. In fact I don't think we have had a single ride where all Goatheads were present and that sucks.
So with this seasons rating in flux I am focusing all my attention on the 5 0. If all four Goatheads particpants come through with their bike still together and their body in one piece I believe the season will be considered a success.

Other season highs
-J.A.'s new bike (from HighGear)
-Lumpy's new commuter (I forgot where he bought that)
-J-macs new carbon fiber rear triangle
-night ride at Indian Cave

Other season lows
-JC4300 having fork issues
-few A.B. sightings
-Lumpy's frame snapping
-the cancellation of the 3 2 1 cycling challenge
-manawa being closed almost all summer

Colorado downhilling

I am already itching to ride again.
I have a free place to stay if we want to take a two day trip
to Keystone to ride. Of course it will have to be a few weeks.
Right click to chose HIGH QUALITY video. Or go to Youtube for full
screen HIgh Quality.

Protect your junk

I'll see your "Monkey Butt", and I'll raise you "impaired testicular function"..
(don't worry, there aren't any pictures)

According to Dr. Mercola, "96 percent of male mountain bikers have scrotal abnormalities"......

Who's up for a ride this weekend?

Monkey Butt

And all this time I thought it was a birth defect I was stuck with!


So I mixed it in with some chocolate milk in my camelback and headed off for a 35 mile ride. I found out that is an inproper application method. Doesn't taste good either. Next time I'll dump a pile of it on my saddle and then sit on it. Hmm, I could use some "Country Crock" to hold it on there.
I'll let you know how that turns out...

Innovation

What direction will the Mountain Bike Industry go next? Are we ready for Suction-cup tires? Remember the first rule of industry, if you're not innovating, you're imitating.

Frisco, Colorado

I am in Frisco right now. Planning on doing some mountain biking, and a day of freeride at Keystone. But first things first- a couple days of dirtbiking- since that's all I have pics of so far here they are. If you look close you can see the rest of the goatheads.

Not really that important

A few Goatheads are training for Spearfish . Mod , Lumpy says he is gunnig for you (on his new frame). While we are worried about finishing the 5 0 , Lance Armstrong is training for the Leadville 100. An article I read yesterday, talked about a recent decision he made. No offense to Mod or my boss Miah, I think LA made the right choice.