5-0 pics

Lumpy's race recap:

Mile 8: My back tightened up so bad that I thought I had fire ants in my jersey.

Mile 15: I clipped a log on my downstroke and crashed hard.

Mile 21: While passing someone on the grass, a fire ant flew into my jersey and bit me three times

Mile 24: I blasted through a fresh cow pie splattering "pie" all over my legs and into the mouth of the guy behind me.

Mile 30: I got leg cramps in places I didn't think you could get cramps.

Mile 39: As I pushed my bike up the "Widow Maker", I was trying to think if I had enough tools in my backpack to disassemble my bike and bury it in the woods, and then hike out, forgetting that this ever happened.

Mile 48: I crossed the finish line 3 hours behind the winners and proceeded to puke my guts out........ twice.

48 hours later: I'm ready to do it again!

Good times, Goatheads! Good Times!

"It went in my mouth!!!!!!

The best way to describe what went down last Sunday was a multi-round fight. The Goatheads decided to challenge the Dakota 5 0 to a duel. The first body blow to handle was bike problems. Tires, center pivots, brakes, shifting, and frames all had issues in the weeks, days, and even hours leading up to the start. However, shops in Omaha and Council Bluffs were up to the challenge and helped the bikes get ready. Lumpy and J.A. even enjoyed the service of a local Spearfish shop. A personal thanks from me goes out to Andy and Bryson from Highgear. Andy, my bike performed great and you’re the reason. Bryson was working on J.A.’s bike at about 9:00 pm Saturday night.

The course, in Goathead terms was like connecting/riding Dakota Ridge, Apex, and Larry the Bear all at once. To non-Goatheads it was like “Dr. Seuss’s worst nightmare.” We at least got to ride about ¾ of a mile on flat ground before the first hill. Climbing all the way up to the single track REALLY spread out the field and took a nice chunk of our energy. Once on the single track, the key was pace. Which wasn’t hard because we were going up. The first part of the trail was not super technical, but it went up and up and up. I happened to crash twice in the first 15 minutes of the single track. Meeting up with J.A. at the first aide station was a huge blessing. Between miles 16-21 I had a near meltdown mentally. I was secretly wanting a mechanical issue to call it a day. Keeping my mind occupied through conversation J.A. and I made it to one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, Aid station number 2!!!!.

The Second part of the course contained one of the longest downhills I have ever ridden, at least 8 minutes of just going down. Of course the second half of the course also contained: some very technical riding, a downhill that me and some other competitors walked, the climb known as “the widowmaker”, and a climb up a fire rode that went on forever.

After riding back on the single track we started on, we descended back into Spearfish on the gravel and paved roads that took us out of town. You can imagined how relieved we were to see the end of the single track.

Goathead times were(roughly)- 6:24, 6:34, 7:20, 8:30

Lumpy gets the “good Samaritan” award for helping a cyclist dealing with cramps. He also gets the “cow pie award” for causing a person behind him to swallow some after Casey rode through it. J-mac will be selling videos next year called “Less is More”, he rode his bike less than 20 times this season before tackling the 5 0. I trust my fellow Goatheads will help fill in the parts I missed.

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.

Wake'n Bacon

Check out my new alarm clock. Just put a strip of bacon in the bacon alarm clock the night before. Then, 10 minutes before it's set to go off, 2 halogen lamps set the bacon to sizzle. The sweet aroma of bacon gently nudges you awake........ Brilliant!

Critical Mass Brutality

The cyclist in this video was arrested, held for 26 hours, and charged with attempted assault and resisting arrest.



After a review of the tape, the police officer in the video – 22-year-old Patrick Pogan – has been stripped of his badge and gun and the NYPD has "placed the officer on desk duty pending the outcome of a department investigation."

Oh, SNAP!

I'll find out tomorrow how good Trek's lifetime warranty is.....

Hello 31!

Goodbye 30

Fare Thee Well...

It Sounds like Mt. Neverest will be no more after this Sunday. I'm going to try to make it out to help with the trail work after church, but by the time I get there it may just be a distant and painful memory...... And I think it's a crying shame.
Yes, Neverest kicked my arse every time I went there, but that's the point of biking. You have to be a bit of a masochist to be a mountain biker to begin with. It's all about pain management and pushing yourself to new limits. Neverest is the best way in the metro area to test my limits..... But alas, it's going.
I'm trying to withhold judgment though. I haven't seen the new reroute. Maybe it will be better. Also, I don't know the exact reason it's being taken out. Maybe there's a great reason. I hope the reason isn't that most single speed riders can't make it up the hill. That would suck for those of us geared wusses.
If it's at all possible, it would be awesome if Neverest could remain an option for riders, but perhaps that's not doable. As with most things I'm generally mis/uninformed, but I continue to form opinions.
There have been a few questions floating around about how the new reroutes at L&C will effect the 321 Cycling Challenge. The answer is, not really. We will find a ridable lap at L&C before heading to Manawa.

I leave you with Kate Rusby singing Fare Thee Well to Mt. Neverest (complete with bagpipes)....

Time to mow

I hope the rains holds off tonight, I need to mow.



Anyone else want to mow tomorrow?

Climbin up the top sail, I Lost My Leg!!!!

Double D hooked me up with a ticket to last night's Dropkick Murphys concert.

It was a Wicked Pissah!!!

Here's a few clips to prove it.

Trek Stop

Vending machine for basic bicycle repair parts and accessories: tubes, patches, chain lube, water bottles, bacon, etc.

I could use one of these just in my garage, the way I go through tubes!

Also, check this out: pictures from someone's tour of Specialized

Become an honorary Goathead for a day!

(Hey, get back on the singletrack!)

That's right folks! You too could be an honorary Goathead for a day.

"What are the qualifications?" you might ask.

1. Wicked mad bicycling skills (duh)

2. A passion for riding (can't you see it on his face?)

3. A helmet (in the case that a helmet is not available, a ponytail no shorter than 12" long may be substituted)

4. You must not be faster than the slowest Goathead, me in this case (um, it's for your own safety... don't ask questions)

"What if I don't meet all the qualifications?"
In the event that one of the above qualifications is not met, a one time substitution of 1 lb of bacon or 2 dozen assorted donuts may be made, upon the approval of the Goathead Council

"How do I get on the waiting list?"

If you're waiting to ride with me, boy are you in for a big disappointment...

Disclaimer:

-The Goatheads are an equal opportunity riding organization

-May cause nausea and/or vomiting

-Use only as directed

-Contents under pressure

-The Goatheads do not endorse or recommend any commercial products, processes, or services
-If an erection lasts more than 4 hours, see your doctor immediately

ATTEMPT #2

A lot of the Goatheads know that two years ago I took my father-in-law mtn. biking. The trip ended badly when he dislocated his shoulder. Deciding that it was a freak accident I took him on another ride this year, but we stuck to neighborhood streets. Still wanting a little bit of excitement, I put one of my nephews on a bike that was about 4 inches to big for him and my other nephew rode on the top tube of my father-in-laws bike. To make up for the accident last time I did let my father-in-law ride my Fuel. After a very brief ride and a stop at a park we all made it home in one piece.

Smashed

Schoolgirl's head run over by car. Helmet smashed. Contents of helmet okay.





Link to article

The fruits of your labor

Since the wind storm, I've ridden Tranquility, Swanson and the Wabash, and it's obvious a lot of labor has gone into clearing each of those trails. The creek section of Tranquility alone looks like it took an army of chainsaw-yielding-lumberjacks to clear and I just wanted to say thanks to each and every burly, flannel wearing, pancake eating one of them.
All the trails are in pretty good shape right now (Manawa excluded), but Tranquility is in great shape. Whoever is in charge of maintaining Tranquility (Dale?)is really setting the bar high. It's more than maintained, dare I say it's manicured. I hear Augusta National is looking for grounds keepers. Let me know if you need a reference.
But seriously, every time I go there somebody has cleaned-up/worked-over a new trouble spot, and the new sections are starting to flow really well. So anyways, Thanks!

On another note, a few of us did the famous "Taco Ride" this week. It was insane. I didn't know every single person in the Omaha area owned a bike.......and spandex. After hanging out on the patio for a while and people watching, we decided instead of Taco Ride, it should be called the Sausage and Spandex ride. C'mon people, it's 10 miles of flat cruising so that you can hang out in a social setting. Is all that spandex really necessary?

Happy 4th

This is how I Commute....

I never thought I would own a skinny tire bike, but after doing a good deal of research I decided to sell my second mountain bike and buy a dedicated commuter bike. It's rugged and fast.....It should make my 11 mile daily commute a breeze...... This is how I commute!



.....And this is how I make bread!

IN RESPONSE TO GLOBAL WETTING - BIKE FOR SALE

Okay, so maybe I'm not going to sell my mountain bike. However, with all these trail riding days being ruined by rain I was wondering if MTB Goatheads should become RB Goatheads (road bike). While I do like A.B.'s suggestions of going elevated I am guessing city officials wouldn't go for it. Another suggestion I have is moving. During our fall trip to Moab we spotted Moab High School. Lumpy, J-mac, and I could teach there. J.C. every good school has an I.T. department. Johnny Law, well your name gives your job away. A.B., the Goatheads will keep you on retainer as our official bike mechanic. You can also turn the mono cog into a fixie and try to record the fastest time on Porcupine Rim for a fixed gear bike (Time pedals will help with that). Proletariat, well being the small business owner that you are I'll let you figure out your own job.
Whose coming with us?

not LOL

Is it time to go all "North Shore" and build elevated trails yet?

It's all coming together

Last week was Donut Stop....... This week it was Wing Stop at 120th & Blondo.





You know what's next........ Time to connect the dots, son.
Next week we're going Stop to Stop. Who's in?


If wings and donuts don't appeal to you, maybe you can just ride home and bake a fresh batch of bacon and chocolate chip cookies with a maple glaze. Go here to read how.

A visit to Endor

Although I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, I never rode a mtn. bike until I live in Nebraska. So on a recent visit to the homeland I checked out a local trail. There is no trail map available so I just explored for about 2 hours. Imagine taking Jewell and putting it on the side of a mountain, that is the best way I can think to describe it. If you look closely in some of the picture I think you can see an Ewok. I also have a couple of pictures that show Big Foot isn't happy we built a trail on his homeland (call PETA).

Innovation is good

I Just got home from Tranquility. I wasn't able to do a full lap because of mud. It was only about 70% ridable. The creek section was not ridable and the wooded sections were a little sketchy, but all the grassy sections were good. If rain holds off today (it probably won't) it should be nice and tacky for Sunday. Anyone else been to any other trails?

On another note, The professor is in Portland but he graciously left me his Soho S to mess around with while he's gone. Yesterday I flipped the hub around and made it a fixed gear. After tooling around my neighborhood for a while I decided to go run a few errands around town with it. I returned home in one piece (barely) and with a new respect for fixie riders. The Soho has front and rear brakes, but I tried not to use them so I could get the true fixed gear experience. I came pretty close to getting bucked off the bike about 3 or 4 times. Simple tasks like grabbing your water bottle while rolling down the street suddenly became a near death experiences. Also, trying to slow yourself down while going down a long steep hill really takes a toll on you legs after a while. By the time I got back to my neighborhood, I was starting to get the hang of it and I can see where it would be fun once you got really good, but for now I'll stick to a free wheel. I'll also continue to use my digital camera, my ipod, my laptop, my microwave and my electric razor. Innovation is good.