Killin it at Tranquillity

Friday Night Doughnut Ride

Where were you?

I know where you'll be next Friday.

Do you feel a draft?

Not really mt bike related other than I got to ride around on it in my neighborhood and take some pics. The tornado hit about 2 blocks to the east and 2 to the south from my house- we are ok, no damage or anything. Down the street to the east:

The other way to the south:

I didn't hear of anyone getting hurt so that is a good thing. We heard some loud weird noises outside around 230a.m. and turned on the TV. They said thunderstorm warning so we just thought no big deal but when sirens went off 2 or 3 minutes later we took everyone downstairs. By then I think the tornado had already passed us. Outside there are police and street crews everywhere right now, and they are doing a good job of cleaning up the neighborhood and keeping the streets cleared of people sightseeing-there was tons of traffic before they closed the roads (of course it didn't stop me and my bike and my camera).

Smithville Lake

There are a lot of MTB trails in the Kansas City are so I might buy a house, I think maybe I could afford this one that we passed on the way back.....little bit of a fixer-upper.....

My brother and I went to Smithville Lake today to ride. (its about 25 miles south of St. Joseph, MO) It was the only place around that was supposed to be dry enough to bike. It was dry enough......but it had its issues.

We rode for about an hour and a half through some really nice trails, except for the 1-to-1 peddle-stroke to cobweb ratio. Literally, our helmets were black when we started, but white from cobwebs when we finished. .........that wasn't the worst part.....

ticks......lots of these.....................................and those...........

and a gazillion of those bottom ones. Literally, my brother counted 60 ticks on himself/clothes. Only 4 got around to digging in on the two of us though. Needless to say, our stop for water ended up being the end of our riding for the day.

Office Rage

You ever feel like this on a nice day when you know you're not going to get a chance to ride?..... This dude goes berserk! Not sure what sets him off, but I'm astounded by the people just standing by watching.

3-2-1 is approaching

Don't forget to block off Saturday, August 2nd for the 2nd annual 3-2-1 Cycling Challenge. It's a 50 mile dirt and pavement group ride to raise money for the Omaha Street School. Here is a link to the info I posted last year. It's all pretty much the same this year except for a the date of course. I'll post all other important details here in the coming days. Once again you'll be able to register at 321cycling.com

Treehuggers, look away!

Certain circumstances have come together this week to make a little bit of riding possible. I took advantage of this last night. I headed over to Tranquility at 8:45. Upon arriving, I began the process of assembling my bike (it rides in the trunk). I had to deal with a patch that came off from a pinch flat at Landahl, and reinflate. Hit the trail at about 9:05. The sun quickly disappeared, so it was time to find out just what this night riding is all about. I had the bar mounted light seen in the pictures below and a small head mounted light. The bar light has 3 LED's and runs on 2 AA's. It lit up my front tire and a very small patch on either side of it. The headlight has 1 LED and runs on 1 AA. It created a circle of light about 2 feet in diameter, depending on how far ahead I was looking. With this combination, I very easily achieved what I like to think of as "light speed." This is the speed at which I was riding beyond the capabilities of the lights I was using. I managed to avoid catastrophy for the first 15 minutes or so, but then, going through the nursery, I caught my right brake lever on a small tree. As I attempted to regain control, I hit this little guy dead on.

I appologized and gave it a hug, checked myself for injuries, reattached my visor to my helmet, and carried on, a little more cautiously.

The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful. I had to bail on the last climb because the rear tire was getting really squirmy. The tube just would not hold air and I had to stop and reinflate it a couple times.

Overall, it was a good ride. (any time I can get out on the trail is a good ride these days) Hopefully, I will have enough foresight to organize it with a couple other Goatheads next time.

Should we stay or should we go?

..... That's what we were asking each other on Friday. The plan was to go camp and ride at Crowder in Missouri for the weekend. Then God grabbed a Super Soaker and sprayed down every trail within a 3 hour drive of Omaha. After calling the ranger station at Crowder we decided it would be a waste of time to go there. So the Goathead security council called an emergency meeting and plan B was hatched;
Plan B: Camp at and ride Indian Cave Friday night and then camp at and ride Landahl in Kansas City on Saturday night. None of us had ever been to Landahl so we really didn't know what to expect or what we would find for camping.

Plan B turned out to be an exceptional choice. Unfortunately, only 5 Goatheads made the trip, but we had a blast.

We found one three mile loop at Indian Cave that was ridable.


The rest of the trails are in desperate need of attention.


Friday night was perfect camping weather. After a night ride, we slept under a canopy of approximately 18 trillion stars (I actually lost count around 12 trillion).

When we got to Landahl we found several incredibly helpful and friendly people. The dude at the shooting range gave us ice cold water at told us where to camp. A rider on the trails pointed us in the right direction several times, and a Jackson County Ranger gave us every piece of information on Jackson County parks and recreation that he had in his brain and his Jeep Cherokee. Here's a highlight from our 20 minute conversation:
Me: Can we buy a camping permit from you?
Him: Yes, let me grab those out of my Jeep.
Me: How much is it?
Him: $8
Me: $8 a person?
Him: Yes.
(silence as we all fumble around for $40)
Him: Let's make this simple, how many tents will you be using?
Me: One.
Him: ...... All of you are sleeping in one tent? (He looks us over counting to 5 in his head)
Me: Yep, just one tent.
Him: Okay,....... (long pause) that'll be $8.

I paid him and he was on his way, but I was hoping to see him again so that I could explain that it's a really big tent.....

.... Any ways, we rode almost all of the single track at Landahl and loved it. We will definitely go back. Trails in the big O are great, but you can't beat rocks. Landahl has tons of technical rocky sections.







The only bad part of the weekend was that J-Mac's frame broke on the chainstay. It's the same spot where Professor's frame broke last year.

All Roads Lead To Moab

About 8 months ago, 6 of us went to Colorado and Moab. When we got back I said, "give me your pictures and video and I'll make a montage video set to music that makes us seem cooler than we really are."........... My Pa' told me a man was only as good as his word........ I dun good Pa!



Jess asked for sound track titles.
Intro: Ping Island/Lighting Strike by Mark Mothersbaugh
Track 1: Weapon of Choice by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Track 2: Dearly Beloved by Bad Religion
Track 3: A-Punk by Vampire Weekend
Track 4: Sometimes I do by Social Distortion
Track 5: Seper8 St8 by Outer Circle
Track 6: Split Needles by The Shins
Track 7: Forever Fades Away by Tiger Army

It's Like That! ... And That's The Way It Is!

Weekend started off right with a spin at Platte and brats on the grill with family and friends.






Double D left a little skin on the rocks.



Despite my lack of trust, Mrs. Lumpy delivered in the hot-coals department.



On Saturday I took my ipod for a few laps at Tranquility and ran into J.A.
We joined up for a lap. I have no pictures to prove it, but fun was had.

On Sunday, a few Goatheads met at Manawa for a MTB version of "Stomp the Yard". We teamed up and took turns riding ttf's, each time trying to outdo the others. Every time someone really threw down a nice run they tossed their bike aside and screamed something like "Who's the man!" or "You got served!". Then I ran around spinning a towel yelling "Oh Baby! Oh Baby!"......... Come to think of it, it was more like the And1 Mixtape Tour than anything else. Whatever it was, J.A. owned the day.



Most people think the whole "you-got-served", dance-off phenomenon is 100% American. Would you be surprised to find out that those same wacky Soviets that brought us fur hats, vodka and gulags were also the first to stomp da yard?

End of quarter

According to my calculations, we've reached the end of the first quarter of the 2008 riding season. So, it's time to send home report cards

Weather: C+
Bad start, but it's been better lately

Trails: A-
There was a little hiccup with some of the new trail sections, but it all seems to be straightened out now.

Riding Frequency: B
I've logged a lot of miles riding back and forth to work, but I haven't been on dirt that much. I can't count how many times I've said "we should go down to Platte this week." Guess what, I haven't been to Platte yet.....Anyone want to go to Platte next week???

Bike Maintenence: A-
No major problems in this department. J.C. had a few parts fall off his bike, but it wasn't anything Mod couldn't handle. The only reason it isn't a solid "A" is because A-Train still can't figure out why his tubes keep exploding.

Group Rides: D
A couple Goatheads need to get their priorities straight....November-February is family time....Check the calendar....What month is it?
This Wednesday, we ride! No excuses! (trail TBA)

Overall Grade: B-
A lot of room for improvement, but not bad enough to justify dad's belt out by the wood shed.

Now for some things to look forward to:

May 30th - June 1st, we're going camping and riding at Crowder State Park in Missouri. None of the Goatheads have been there before, but we've heard good things. Right now it sounds like there's 5-7 of us going down. If anyone wants to join us, you're welcome. Be warned though, The Professor has been known to wake up in other people's sleeping bags and J-Mac never leaves home without his Lil' Chub

On August 2nd, Team Goathead will be putting on the 2nd annual 3-2-1 Cycling Challenge. It's a charity group ride that benefits the Omaha Street School. Like last year we will ride to and do a lap at three different trails. We'll start at Dodge Park in council Bluffs, then ride and do a lap at Lewis and Clark. Next we ride to and do a lap at Manawa. We finish up by riding to and doing a lap at Swanson. After 50+ miles of riding, we throw some Bar-B-Q in our pie hole and call it a day. Last year was a huge success, I hope you can join us for year number two. Stay tuned for more details.

On August 31st, several Goatheads will be heading up to Spearfish South Dakota for the Dakota 5-0. Personally, I'm looking forward to this, while at the same time I'm a little nervous about it. I don't do a lot of racing, let alone a 50 mile race, but based on what I hear it's a tremendous event. I just hope I can keep up with J.A. and The Professor.

......And finally, like last year, we will continue our Adopt-a-Goat program. There are so many Goats out there just looking for a loving home. Recently, I met a goat named "Knobby"


For $19.95 a month, you can sponsor this Goat. Operators are standing by. Please give Knobby a home.

Randomness...

Tagged along with J.A. for his warm up lap at Tranquility on Sunday. Conditions were sweet. Turns out I'm still fat and not riding much isn't helping things. New berm is cool. No good pictures to share other than a phone picture of "the man" between laps.

Went on a walk at lunch yesterday. On my way out the door, I ran into James. I've known him for a couple of years now. He's a super cool guy. Rides bikes all the time. He is also known as "Spoke Daddy" and has this business called Spokiz. They are glasses (sunglasses, prescription, anything) that are modified by drilling the frame and using some kind of plastic tubes and bicycle spokes to replace the earpieces. He said that they are super-duper light, adjustable, and don't fall off your face. Good idea.

Then I walked over to the new pedestrian bridge. They recently connected the two halves.

Great! Now I can't just drive my lazy butt to Council Bluffs to ride, the rest of these crazy Goatheads are going to make me ride there!

And finally, I saw this online today. Pretty neat since the Apple earbuds fall out of my ears if I so much as blink.

Just don't throw it in the washer.

Better than expected...

The Professor made an executive decision at the last minute to change the ride from Platte to Wabash. Sorry if you showed up at Platte with brass knuckles. I swear you'll get another chance to throw fists at a Goathead soon.

We were afraid Platte was going to be too muddy. We figured if the single track at the Wabash was too muddy we could at least ride on the trail. It turned out that the single track was in almost perfect condition.......Every time I ride there, I always say 'why don't I ride here more?' Turned out to be a great ride. I lost A-Train on the way back, but as far as I know he completed the ride without blowing a tube, so that's worth celebrating right there.

J-Law, sorry we didn't hook up this time, hopefully next time it'll work out. Don't take your frustration to work with you. That's can only end one way......a grand jury. Get out and ride so you don't go NYC cop on the next meth dealer you take down.

Goathead Nation

It's been a while since Goathead nation assembled en masse.
Cross your fingers and hope that the rain holds off. If it does, the plan is to descend on Platte this Sunday around 2:30. No excuses! If you've ever called yourself a Goathead, be there! If you've always wanted to be a Goathead, be there! If you've ever wanted to punch a Goathead in the face, be there!.....

So it's Video Tuesday

Sorry - didn't ride this evening, just watched videos of other people riding...



Here's to keep on keeping on. He was going for a 360, but it wasn't to be had this day.


I'm feelin the THOR energy here - I'm feelin it, I'm feelin it... I know some of the courses have great stuff, but imho every trail should have at least one ladder. ;)


And here's some video of Porcupine Rim that does not have any Goat Heads in it, but reminds me of good times.

Cement vs Dirt

If the Goat Heads made a music video...

.. this is what our rehearsals would look like.



I love the ROTFLOL part! :)

2wheels1gear

Gas prices keep going up, and I live less than six miles from Grace. What should I do? Our friends at Highgear provided the answer. While the ride to work wasn't bad, I think the ride home may be a bit tougher.

Manawa - 4/20

The Professor, Proletariat and myself went out to Manawa on Sunday. Overall it was fairly dry, with a few spots to avoid and the small pond near the end section. Since we got miles on the road the day before, this was mostly a play da... I mean bike handling training day.

**braaaaaap** Burpin my bike.

Here's a little something we like to call the Proletariat Slide.

Modding Mod's Motivation

Mod, the GoatHeads challenge you to set your sights higher, and in color.

Oops

I thought this was a funny story.

Went out for some paved miles late afternoon yesterday. Only came home with two though...

I stopped to snap this shot of one of the longer climbs, put the phone away, clipped in, hissssssssss... Not again!! I ended up walking up over that hill to where my wife could pick me up.

I kid you not, about 60% of my rides have ended this way since I changed my original tubes. You guys all know what I'm talking about, the Professor had to pick me up on the last long ride we tried to do. J.A. rode back to my car to get a spare tube for me at Manawa. When JC, Lumpy and I went on that ride and met our wives for a picnic, it happened then too. I'm getting really tired of this.

Why do the valves keep pulling out of the tubes? Apparently the tire slips on the rim, pulling the tube with it, putting tension on the base of the valve. Somebody please help me figure out how to stop this. (it was the front tire this time, by the way, so only braking forces acting on the tire)

The best I can do......

All I can do is offer my sincerest apologies. You've all been waiting patiently for the Goatheads 2007 video, complete with helmet cam footage from Moab so cool that it will make you face melt off. Unfortunately it's been held up in post production for several months. It started with the writers strike and is now embroiled in a law suit over copyright and distribution rights. As soon as the lawyers give the okay the video will be released here......Until then, I've put together a short montage of some of our photos (sorry, no video). I'm sure men in black suits will try to shut us down for leaking this early, but I'm willing to take that risk. I'm sick of The Man holding me down with his foot I my neck. Today is the day that I "Raise My Fist and Resist!"




Hopefully that lifted your spirits a little, despite the crappy weather. If not, Wilford Brimley surely will.

Inconvenient Truth

As I watched the snow fall during breakfast today (the morning of APRIL 11TH) I realized there would be no Goathead group ride this weekend. At least not on single track (THOR guidelines). I began to wonder something, can we start a recall effort on Algore's Nobel Peace Prize.

Action Figures? I KNOW those guys!

FW: What Dads Do with Action Figures...

Prank

Here's a simple prank; all you need is 30 guys in spandex, 40-50 people with signs and cowbells, and a race podium. Let the hilarity begin.



This is the only way a Goathead will ever see the podium.

Swanson Controversy

Mod brought up the one thing I forgot to mention from Swanson on Saturday. Join the controversy.

With the changes to Tranquility and Swanson, will Manawa be the new downhiller entry trail?

(stirring the pot)

Update: When a blog censors itself, it makes it really awkward for the other blogs that link to it. I feel exposed. I think my slip is showing. :(

A Swanson Saturday

The Angry Butcher took me along to sharpen his cleavers on Saturday, looking forward to a bountiful new season. While we just road the front-side to avoid getting our pretty tires dirty, the new signs that marked sections as "difficult" puffed up our egos enough that it didn't really matter we missed out on the whole trail. The only thing better would be black diamond signs that say "May Cause Injury or Death!" If the parking lot had one of these signs, we would ride around our cars all day and leave feeling like we conquered the world.

A shout out to Mike D. and the mustache posse - thanks for making my day! You and Mod put the Goatheads to shame.

Perseverance

Obviously flats are something we have to deal with in cycling. But what do you do if you are leading a race, you flat, and don't have anymore cartridges / spare tires? You push on.

Mood change

I woke up this morning and it was raining. It looks like it might rain all day. Yet, I find myself in a great mood. It finally hit me as I was getting ready to teach my first class today. My joyous mood was my reaction to FINALLY being able to hit some single track. The trainer wasn't bad, but you can only watch so many DVDs. Did a couple snow rides with Lumpy and A.B. and they were a nice chance of pace. The past two weeks it was also nice to do a few road rides. BUT, there is no riding better than single track (if your MTB freak). Based on the new re-routes, Tranquility has gone from one of my least favorite courses in the metro to one of my favorites. While A.B, J-mac, and Johnny Law were missed yesterday don't worry they will be making their season debut soon.

Kung-fu Action at Tranquility

This is J.C. demonstrating how his Kung-fu training would allow him to break the Professor's arm without him feeling it. As exciting as this may seem, it actually wasn't the best part of the ride.
This was the first Goathead group ride since there was snow on the ground. Sadly, not all the Goatheads could make it, but their absence was minimized by the presence of J.C.'s brother in law, Tyler (not pictured). This was Tyler's first trip to Tranquility, I think you'll see him out there again, but he'll just be doing super fast laps around the creek. I think that was the only section he really liked.
As for the rest of us, I think the general consensus was that each full lap at Tranquility is 6 miles of bliss. I should point out though that any one of us would have been satisfied riding through an Indian burial ground if it meant we could ride on dirt. However, we did think that the new sections at Tranquility are going to be super tasty as soon as they smooth out a bit.
I know I'm a little behind the curve on this, but team Goathead would like to officially declare that the 2008 mountain biking season has begun (Which should mean more frequent updates to the blog). I think it's going to be a good year.
The Professor locked himself in his basement with his trainer for the last four months and is looking stronger than ever and his wife seems happier than ever. J.C. allegedly used his thigh master nonstop for 18 hours while sitting in front of his computer this winter, and if you felt his inner thigh, there's no way you could argue. J.A. (AKA the Beast) seems extra motivated this year, and since he usually throws down like Kimbo Slice at a back yard bar-b-q anyways, you know he's going to destroy this year. Johnny Law traded in his police cruiser for a bike. He spent the entire winter peddling after meth heads on the mean streets of C.B. The A-Train hasn't touched his bike since December, but he's been carb loading since then so I think he'll be ready. The rest of team Goathead hasn't taken the off-season as seriously (like myself) but the residual effects from last year still seem to be with us.
Now, check out this video of guys on recumbents riding on mtb trails. It appears that recumbent bikes are ideal for mountain biking as long as the trail is straight, the slopes are gradual and the only TTF you encounter is a little mud.

All of Omaha waits

You can see it on the face of every mountain biker in town.....Frustration.
It's been a long cold winter and it's been way too long since knobby tires have hit dirt. A few snow rides helped pass the time, but they didn't satisfy. Reports from around town are that the trails are close to ridable but not ready yet. The Professor tried Swanson and failed. I tried Tranquility and failed. The A-Train tried L&C and epically failed.

Give it another week comrades, we will reclaim the dirt!

Made me feel happy...

Ride on over to my meat house.

It's been a while since this thing's been updated, but the spring is hovering just out of reach so I'm hoping you all have singletrack on your mind..... For the sake of an update,........ I took advantage of the nice temps and found a new gravel loop up north of town. It was a great ride, but it reminded me that I'm not in shape. Playing basketball with co-workers once a week and riding the trainer every now and then just doesn't cut it. Now that high school basketball season is wrapping up, hopefully I can start bike commuting to work a few days a week. Nothing gets me in shape faster than that.

After my ride I went home and made a meat house for dinner.




No, actually that's a lie. I just cooked up a couple steaks on the grill. But if you'd like to make a meat house, go here to find out how. I plan on making my own very soon. Could there be anything better?

Goats on Ice

"What're you looking at?"

Although conditions weren't perfect (lots of ice!), three amigos made it out to Manawa on Saturday. We tested our balance, technical bike handling skills, and general manliness. I was the first one to cry, but I definitely wasn't the last.

Folding wheel

Very interesting. I can just imagine myself jumping a pothole and landing on a folded wheel.

Hey, I invented one of these this summer, it just didn't unfold.

Hawaii Chair

Forget riding your bike in the winter to stay in shape, just take the Hawaii Chair to work with you.

Rodney Mullen

Please hold very still while I blow your mind.

Top 15

Top 15 mountain bike crashes

Right Now!....... Garfield is cool again

I used to think Garfield was lame, until I saw this. Thank you Jim Davis!

I think we're ready

The Professor Joined me at Manawa on Sunday to hone his snow, bike-handling skills. I'm pretty sure we're both ready now for the Alp d'Huez Mega Avalanche race. It's a 22 mile down hill race in France. It also happens to be the largest mountain bike race in the world with 1,400 riders.

Here's a helmet cam of the start of the race. It starts really slow. Move it ahead to the 1:50 mark to see the good parts. The best part is around the 4:00 mark