5.31.2005

05.31.05 - a canadian victory

yep, rack up another win. this time at the 8 hour epic up in canada.

short version now, as i have to get to work:
40 solo's in my class, approx 60 teams. gun goes off, i get the whole shot on the field. i come in on the first lap in 5th overall, 1rst solo. i stay in first place from start to finish, and my competitors only get within two minutes of me at their closest gap.

consistant lap times lead to me lapping 2nd place on my next to last lap (lap was roughly 30 minutes). by the end of the race, i put a lap plus probably 10 minutes into him. can't remember his name, but he came in 13th at worlds last year.

so, from the looks of the results, i won solo by a hefty margin, and had i raced the team event, i probably would of been 3rd overall for the entire race.

needless to say, everything went perfect.

results are here:

MAVIC EPIC 8 RESULTS

OTHER RESULTS:
HIGHLAND HEX 6 HOUR RESULTS

8 HOUR PANDO RESULTS

more later, gotta get to work...

sologoat out

5.25.2005

05.25.05 - getting ready for an 8 hour

hey all - don't know how much more i'll get to post this week as i need to get in a ton and a half of miles and then head out to toronto.

wobblenaught fits are going to be held off until next week as this week is getting too hectic already. juggling work and riding is difficult enough, then throw in a couple of hours for a fit -- just not going to work this week.

sacrifices, sacrifices....

it's going to be a good year though, so i am pretty pumped. 4 24 hour races on the schedule should keep me busy and this year i am doing a ton of enduro's as well. the enduro's seem to be fitting in nicely with my workout schedule. for some reason, to me it is a lot easier getting in a 8 hour race then to go out on a 8 hour ride. guess because my mind doesn't wander off and i am too freaked out about stopping. sometimes races can be the best training - so that is why during the season i don't get hung up on placings in road races or events that i don't consider my main races. have to keep it real, yo. and i can honestly say that racing with that type of attatitude has really kept racing and riding exciting for me. i have seen a ton of guys come and go whom raced every single weekend and all they concentrated on was placing well. ya, doing well is great -- but if you are not having fun, then you will never succeed in the long run. short term goals will overwhelm the longterm goals and you'll quit racing/riding and play playstation all day. seen it a million times.

ah, enough ranting. if you are racing - keep it real. have fun. if that means riding 24 hours or 24 miles or 24 feet, so be it. make it a passion and you will succeed.

man, i think i should be a motivational speaker.

gotta run - have to meet the boss man in a little bit.

sologoat out.

5.24.2005

05.24.05 - long week ahead and past week race update

hey all...

www.heartrateup.com still does not have the results posted from the past weekend, but they are coming....

this weekend - off to the toronto'ish area for one of the chico 8 hour races - they have three of them up there this year. this will be the first year i have done them, so we'll see how the first one goes and then i'll decide i like 'em or not. looks like they have a set up similar to grannygear where you can log into a web site and check out up to the minute lap times. my family digs that.

in speedgoat news, i am heading out for a photo shoot in my new gear with the new bikes in a couple of weeks. lots of women have been asking for more photos of me, so we decided to shoot some for a calander coming out next month.

no - seriously.... they will be taking it for some new bike fit web pages they are coming up with, along with some general web page photos to pimp the asylum frame. should be good press for all - tifosi, fsa, hammergel, xpert, asylum and the goat.

sorry for no parts reviews lately - all i have been concentrating on is getting ready for next month. two big 24 hour races coming up and all i can think about is body weight, fitness, coming into the races well rested and fit as a fiddle.

long day - gotta run.

sologoat out

5.22.2005

05.22.05 - victory at the highland hex 6 hour

hey all -

quick update on the race this weekend - final results are not posted on their web sight.

race started at 10am saturday. rain in the weeks before the race left the oranizers to make the single track/double track course consist probably of 20% fire roads, 30% single track, and 50% climbing. oh darn....

gun went off, and i was in the top 4 going into the first single track section after the first immediate climb. the plan was to watch the locals on the single track to pick the good lines on the first lap and then slowly up the pace and drop them. about half way through the course on the first lap in the middle a decent climb, i turned around and saw nobody. i was with two others and i thought that they were going too slow - so i didn't really attack them, but i just went at the tempo i wanted.

i immediately opened a gap. the next section was a flat/fast fire road into a semi-decently long technichal section. i flew on the flat and then ripped up the technical (the asylum handled like a dream). the next section was some grassy single track that rolled - but mostly climbed. by this time, they were about 100 feet behind me. since i could see the trail climbing up in three stepped sections ahead of me, i locked out the reba, shifted to my big ring up front, and attacked.

at the top of the third step, i looked back and couldn't see them. and that was the last i saw them.

in fact - nobody caught me the entire race.

so here is the short version of the end race results:
1. i finished the race putting in over 17 minutes on the second place overall solo rider.
2. i finished the race 1rst overall - i beat EVERBODY INCLUDING THE DUO TEAMS. i had over 12 minutes on the best placed team. yep - i was passed by NOBODY!
3. and as an added bonus - i also had the fastest lap

that's the short version - off to sleep and maybe some other race specifics tomorrow, time permitting. overall very happy with the results, just good to see the training is right on and my hammer gel/e-cap nutrition is 150% pinned down. now all i have to do now the rest of the year is pedal.

pedal like a man possessed with hammer gel.

gotta sleep -
sologoat out

5.20.2005

05.20.05 - off to NY

out to the highland hex 6 hour in NY.

results should be posted some time on sunday on one of these two sites:
http://bikeloft.com/site/page.cfm?PageID=246
http://www.heartrateup.com/NYSERS.htm

sorry, don't have time to do the web link thingy....

3 hour last night with asylum teammate ej sigety (cyclocross superstar). had these sweeeeeeeeeeeet zipp 404's with the new dimples on the outside and now have a reinforced carbon section where the spoke connects to the rim. oh ya, and they updated the rim so that the spoke connects up on the raised section of the rim - not on the lower part of the rim. this is cool because now you can run a lot shorter spokes (lighter weight) and they won't pull on the carbon sides like they used to when it connected lower in the rim -- and working on them should be a lot easier too.

anyhoo... he has them built up with wtb's lightest flange disc hub. super light. super cool. mike curiac - you may need to build up some new wheels with the new rims because the new 404's are oh so cool.

that's it - gotta run 'cause i am holding up the show. off to new york, 6 hours of fun, and afterwards, a viewing at niagra falls.

i'll be sure to spit over the side for you and in honor of all my enduro brothern and sistern...

ride to live, live to ride.

sologoat out.

5.19.2005

05.19.05 - quickie updates

sologoat has had too much coffee today and is short on time. here is some random updates:

1. star wars update:
yep, i was a super geek and caught the flick at 12:01. through an endless 20 minutes of previews (what is up with that??), i was pretty impressed with the movie overall. don't want to say too much more to blow it for those who are still wanting to see it. oh ya, the place was filled with major geeks - at least a dozen people dressed up in various outfits, there was two light sword battles in the crowd before the movie started, and then we had to sit across from possibly the most annoying teenagers in the world.

2. asylum updates:
wobblenaught fit MAY be happening today, depending on fellow speedgoat racer ej. he's in town and we may head out on a road ride. if he bails - i'll get my bikes fitted, if not, it will have to wait to next week.

3. races:
last week michigan, this week new york, next week.... stay tuned. already scheduled this race, looks pretty cool. payout is nill, but it's for a good cause. setup is really nice though, and is supposed to be on some sweet trails.

4. asylum secret update:
hard tail. scandium. chris working on specs? hmmmmmmmmmmm..... more on this later.

5. hammergel/e-caps
last week was the first race i have ever done 100% on hammer products. very pleased with the results - no upset stomach and the much dreaded bloating/gas. yep, gas is not much fun to talk about, but it's the result of having to drink some type of protein (usually) during my races. had problems before when i didn't use hammer. looks like the problem is solved. sweeeeeeeeet....

that's it - gotta run. possibly no updates until monday.

sologoat out.

5.17.2005

05.17.05 - pando podium pic


8h of pando 012small
Originally uploaded by solo_goat.

05.17.05 - preparing for the next enduro race

coming this weekend just out of syracuse new york. part of the 6 hour series up in new york - this will be the first of 3 races. should be some fast locals, with some possible pro/semi-pro riders coming from indy fab. these guys always show up to the races up there - with fresh legs.

races i have done against them have always been with a 24 hour race in my legs less then 14 days previous - always wondered what i could do without having put myself through some major hurt so close to their events. the pando 8 hour didn't cook me at all, so it should be a good test for me.

bikes held up fine at pando - rode both the rp3 and the 5th element rear shocks. think i am going to go with the rp3 - just seems a little more compliant. the 5th is lighter and is actually the shock i rode last year, but it just seems too stiff on the asylum. i'm going to tweek the settings on it a little more and give it another week before i 100% decide.

other than that, riding is going good - weather is supposed to be nice all week. YAHOO! but when will it finally stay over a high of 70 all week?!?! grrrrrrrr.....

in other news:
billy corgan/smashing pumpkins freaks, let it be known -- with his new album coming out next month, there is a tour. a very small tour. if you are fellow corgan nutcase like myself, pre-sale for the tickets is tomorrow at 10am. if there is two shows that i would absolutely 150% love to go to, would be the chicago shows. it's his hometown, yo.

i caught his last little tour for his book -- very, very super cool. got his autograph and then caught his show at a very small venue in cleveland. maybe 200 people at it, max. he played a ton of his new stuff and read some of his poetry. if you ever get a chance to see one of his shows - check it out. simply amazing.

corgan rules.

and so do my asylums.

sologoat out

5.16.2005

05.16.05 - 2nd at 8 hour pando

here is the quickie update: day before, rain. and more rain.

morning of the race, more rain that would not stop until about an hour before race time. during breakfast at the local diner, the rain outside was more annoying then the old coot/genius that was talking loud enough so that everbody could hear him how that star wars was not science fiction and that it was a cartoon to him (even though he never really saw one of the movies). anyhoo, the sandy soil of michigan would prove to be the thickness of peanut butter in the opening laps.

gun goes off, mark hendershot (7th at worlds last year - 3rd a few years back when they had a freak snow storm), myself and 3 local yocals soon drop the entire solo field of approximately 30 guys. the locals and mark all knew each other and were talking most of the time - which was annoying me because i thought they were going a little too slow. so on one of the climbs at about an hour into the race, i jumped and immediately dropped mark and one of the locals. i would drag these two guys around for 3 laps (one guy was on a single speed). i would slow down, and when the wouldn't pull through, i would attack them. i must of done this about 8 times.

at around a little over 2 hours, i attacked, they chased back on, then the non-single speed local attacked me. i stuck with him a little bit, but he dropped me. the single speed guy was dropped. right about this time the soil starts to firm up a little as the temperture was rising and the rain stopped.

an hour passes, and the local yocal dies. i catch him on a climb and noticed that his head was hanging and his shoulders were rolling to keep the bike going so i backed off a little to get a drink, then waited for some rollers and then attacked him. i immediately opened a gap.

about an hour later, hendershot caught me on the climb at the begining of the lap. i stayed relatively close to him (approx 2 minutes for about an hour) and then his margin grew, but never got over roughly 8 minutes -- which is a lot better then the 15 minutes he had on me last year at the same race.

i took 2nd overall, 1rst in my age group.

bikes - worked perfect. disc brakes worked so well that when sometimes i would forget that i had disc brakes (with my v's i had to squeeze my levers with all the strength i could muster in my hands) that one several occasions i came to a complete stop on a downhill...

that's it - pretty happy overall with my fitness. looks like i am on track for the rest of the year. got home early enough yesterday that i was actually able to fit in a 3 hour recovery ride which almost seemed short compared to the 8 hour epic i raced in the day before.

gotta run - pics up in a few days, though i only have a few. i will post them when i get 'em.

sologoat out.

5.13.2005

05.13.05 - lucky number 13

lucky - as in, lucky i am getting asylum #2 today with my pretty pink hubs. oh yes...

bike is en route to the ernesto casa, then me and dan the mechanic man are heading out to enjoy an 8 hour solo jaunt outside of grand rapids. should be a good test for the new equipment.

preliminary on the bikes are that they have an overall nice ride to them - very impressed with the geometry, riding, etc. guys at the shop have been raving about how it descends (which i haven't fully tested yet - tomorrow has a good downhill so i can judge it then) but i can say undoubtedly that it flies over small rocky/rooty stuff a lot better than conventional 26 inch wheels. and the acceleration - honestly, can't tell the difference between my old santacruz superlight and this bike. must be the lower bottom bracket...

anyhoo...

got the fork/rear shock all adjusted up - running the reba race up front and the fox rp3 in the rear. right now, the front is at 70 on the negative, 110 on the positive with the blowoff set pretty stiff. rear shock is set at 110 pounds with the dapening set at the mid-level adjustment. seems to be working good, but i haven't had good full on off road testing for it. oh, and my weight - coming in at 142 pounds this morning. so - base your air pressure on that, yo. and - just to note - i like the ride a little more stiff. i like plushy rides when i am riding, but hate it when i am racing.

8 hour tomorrow - little course. technical, short little climbs. i have race here before... oh, and sandy in some spots. not much of that in ohio...

better run - update either sunday or monday. with pics of the new ride.

may their be good weather in your future...

sologoat out.

5.11.2005

05.11.05 - miscellaneous rambling

asylum misc parts ramblings:
1. Easton EC90 Zero Carbon Seatpost

2a. SRAM® X.0 SRS Shorty Shifters - front shifter

2b. SRAM® X.9 Trigger Shifters (2005) - rear shifter


post was updated from the ec70 to the ec90 and the right shifter was switched to a twist type to save on weight.

asylum quick review rambling:
initial short two rides have me rating this bike fantastic. quick in the corners, very responsive. weight seems to be about the same as last years bikes, but with the bigger 29r wheels. initial climbing tests were super duper - i have a very short/steep/rocky section that i like to test my climbing skillz on. i have actually only cleared it a total of 3 times - 2 times were on my santacruz superlight at a pretty high speed and holding on for dear life. my third time that i cleared it was this morning - and it was almost effortless. the fox RP3 soaked up the hit and kept the rear end down. i rode up and almost couldn't believe i made it... very, very impressed with the geometry and the overall feel of the bike. chris at speedgoat gets an "A+++" on this one.

further reviews will come in a few weeks - 3 enduro race weekends in a row.

this week - pando. an 8 hour on a course that i raced a 12 hour on last year to qualify for worlds. very short 20/25 minute loop that makes one go dizzy, unless they changed it around. local yocal mark hendershot from the santacruz syndicate team won the last event i was at and i am not sure if he is racing this event or not. either way, it will be tough.

oh, and if you ever see mr. hendershot - ask to see his ink. way cool.

sologoat out.

5.10.2005

05.10.05 - few tidbits

got asylum #1 this past weekend, and will get #2 this friday as dan the man is coming out to the ohio region so we can head out to michigan and an 8 hour enduro going on out there.

bike rides really nice - very similar to my superlight of last year, but with the 29'r wheels. very quick through the corners, very quick accelerations, very quick with the handling -- all something my k monkey was not. oh, and it is about 10 pounds lighter than that bike too. that could have something to do with it.

quickie on the bike:
sram all around, trigger on the rear and twisty on the front. xtr wheels with ceramic bearings are superfast. fox shock on the rear is nice, and the new pop lock rock shox has going on the reba will work pretty cool. liked the lever they had last year which was similar to a thumbie, but didn't like it when i crashed bad at worlds and snapped the thing off -- and didn't have a tool to disconnect the cable from the fork because my allen wrench set didn't have a size that small... dah...

gotta run - have to drink up some hot nectar from the coffee gods and then off to do the work thang'.

sologoat out

05.10.05 - asylum #1 in the house


asylum#1
Originally uploaded by solo_goat.

5.05.2005

05.05.05 - ASYLUM large link

SPEEDGOAT.COM BLOG

check out the asylum in the extra large - only 4 left! these are also the first production run of this frame for the shop (as was the medium).

and if you look carefully - you may note that this bike has several of the same components on it as my race bikes. hmmmmmmmm.....

could this possibly be dan the man's bike? yep.

dan is so obsessed with working on my bikes that he had to build one up himself so that he could practice wrenching in PA while i am out riding in OH.

or maybe he just liked the bike.

sologoat out.

05.05.05 - cinco de mayo en the casa

hola - mi nombre es ernesto. mi casa es su casa.

translation:
TRANSLATION THINGY HERE!


ah, nothing like celebrating the 5th of may with some frozen burritos. yummy.

not much going on lately - will be getting the new asylum this saturday, then the other one in about a week or so. the bike is actually complete and i am dying to ride it, but the work thang' has me not getting out to the shop until saturday.

:( (insert tears of sadness here too....)

another crit this weekend coming up - hopefully the rain will hold off. and with any luck, hopefully the riders who can't hold a straight line will stay away as well. last week was a little too nutty for me. love those crit's, but man... some of those guys just don't know how to ride in a pack.

looks like i'll be passing on the double up of races as well - not that i don't think i couldn't hang in the second race, but time constraints would make getting to the shop an impossibility. definetely would need work if i were still racing the road bike more, but seeing as there is not too many road sections in enduro racing, i think i am OK.

a few races coming up - should be fun. all the enduro type - 6 or 8 hours. should be good enough to sharpen up the skillz and get the asylums dialed in. dan the man will be in attendance - he needs to sharpen his skillz too. seriously - a good mechanic and pit crew are pretty essential to racing well. quick pits just give you extra time over others that have to screw around with water bottles, bikes, etc. gots to plan the race out yo.

and - time to plan the vegas bike show already. pretty much the same layout as always - bike demo on monday and tuesday then the show on wednesday through friday. definetley something to see. i sometimes help out at the shop and they were super awesome and took me along with them last year, so i will be out there again this year. i'll skip the demo days and just check out the products.

i work mostly with construction/fabrication companies, so to see the bike industry side of things was cool (last year was my first time out). booths are everywhere - sort of like a huge fair, and each one is bigger then the next, trying to get you to stop by their booth. how do they get you to stop? cool free stuff, free expresso or beautiful women in scantly clad clothing whom probably never ridden a bike in their life (but who cares?). what was cool is that any of the big companies that were there that supplies the shop with product had a meeting setup with the shop and they personally showed us their new products and gave us the low-down on pricing, fabrication, supplies and shipments. all the stuff that goes into bringing the bikes into the shop and to the consumer. was there to talk to moots, tifosi, shimano, a bunch of others. oh, and don't forget the stars - marla streb, bob roll, phil leggit, hincapie, landis... last year there was even a booth that was made 100% of titanium tubing. very cool. if you can get there, you gotta go.

bikes and babes. ah... they are both so beautiful.

sologoat out

5.03.2005

05.03.05 - asylum update

ah, the bikes finally arrived....

dan the man at speedgoat is hard at work building up bike #1 and he just sent me a secret spy photo.

couple of things i left off of the parts list from a couple of days ago:
1. xtr disc brakes
2. xt levers

xt levers are a little lighter than the xt, so we opted for the xt. i also originally was going to run a twist shifter on the left and a trigger on the right, but for simplicity sake, i think the shop went with both trigggers.

and the stem - not sure what length we are going to run, but by the end of the month, i will have the FSA's on both. have a salsa on the bike now. however, don't knock the salsa's - they work awesome, they are light, and yep - el cheapo too.

and, looks like the ASYLUM decals are not on yet - they will be black, just like the SPEEDGOAT decals on the chain stay. and, rumor has it, that the 'goat has an actual head badge in the works.

added bonus - this is technically the first medium ASYLUM ever built up. the originals were only made up in the large size, the next were i believe the XL's and then spurred on by my results last year and a fasination of 29r's (both chris the shop owner and myself have seen the light of bigger wheels), the medium ASYLUM was born during a meal at the vegas bike show last year with the titus guys.

and, just to top the meal off, when we were walking out floyd landis was walking out as well. i think he was trying to listen in on our secret discussions....

anyhoo, gotta run...

oh, and what the hell is up with this weather? 45 and light rain? what the heck? and what is nuttier - i saw somebody running today in those silly light running shorts. WITH NO FRIGGIN' SHIRT! i had on my hammer wind vest, leg warmers, two layers on top, a winter cap under my helmet and winter gloves. then i see this schmuck standing in a parking lot, just hanging out, looking cool.

see, just when you think you seen the biggest idiot in the world, there comes another person that tops the last person.

questions on the bike? give me a shout out, yo.

sologoat out.

05.03.05 - asylum 29'r - medium


Fastone - asylum 29'r - medium
Originally uploaded by solo_goat.

5.01.2005

05.01.05 - asylum parts list

hey all, quick update on the asylums. i'll add links tomorrow for the parts!

were originally going to get black frames, but decided on the polished aluminums because that is what came in. titus builds the bikes for us, they have to send them off to get buffed out, they get them back. they send them to ano, they get them back. titus puts them together, presses in the bearings, and they ship to the shop. so, with that in mind, i decided to go polished.

here is the parts list:
1. frame - aslyum with i believe the top-line fox rear shock
2. wheelset - bike 1, dan the man xtr hubs with bontrager rims. bike 2, kings with salsa rims.
3. tires - schwable
4. forks - rockshox reba with remote lockout
5. stem - fsa
6. bar - fsa
7. shifters - sram thumbies
8. deraillers - sram
9. seat post - easton
10. seat - san marco concor with titanium rails
11. crank - fsa
12. pedals - crank brothers single ti
13. cables - complete nokon sealed system
14. chain - sram
15. rear cassette - xt
16. skewers - ti salsa's

hmm... thinking that is it. we are approximating about 23 pounds for a full race ready bike -- which for a full suspended bike technically qualifies as stupid light.

dan the man started creating these beauties on friday. POSSIBLY may get bike #1 this upcoming weekend.

sweet.

now, gotta get some food in me. hope you alll got some good mileage in this weekend.

sologoat out.

05.01.05 - weekend update

saturday races:

category 3 RATL (race at the lake)
45 degrees and raining. yuck-o. left the house and road to the race in a rain cape and 2 layers, booties and cap under the helmet. mounted the rear fender for fun.

race went off - 19 laps around a loop with a couple of decent corners, one decent short little climb that hurts. rain made me tentative - i hate the rain, or should i say, i hate hitting the ground in rain.

about 7 laps in going into one of the corners, i felt a nudge on my inside shoulder and i hear "keep it straight man" and about 2 seconds later i hear carnage behind me as two riders stack it up and roll into a bed of rocks. ouchy. that was ambulance #1 of the day.

5 laps to go, i unleash my attack up the climb. the whole pack must of been waiting for it as i had a decent jump and ramped up the speed to almost 30mph uphill. i turn around and i have 5 riders on my tail, i pull over so they can take a pull and they all look at me like i am crazy. i hate road riding, it's so negative sometimes.

we start heading down the backside of the climb - and crash! big carnage behind us. ambulance #2 had us riding nuetral laps for over a half hour. race starts back up, i wait until the last corner, muster up all my nerve to take a corner at speed in the rain, come out of the corner in fourth and sprint past one guy for 3rd.

race #2 of the day: 1/2/3 crit.
started about 15 minutes after the previous race, and was just enough time for me to start chivering in rain soaked clothes. normally, i can hang and even attack in this group, but the dude that was in front of me kept letting gaps go in the corners. i snapped about 7 laps in.

winning enough money to cover my expenses for the day, i put on some dry layers and finished up the day with 5 hours.

sunday: 1/2/3 road race - 40 miles.
windy, negative day. on the second lap of a 5 mile loop, an attack went. the field watched. i missed the break.

2 laps later, another group goes. since they were only paying 5 deep in this race, i looked at the pack. they looked at me. i looked at the 2nd break group. they were gone.

i don't understand this - seriously. you have a pack of 20 guys and they don't want to chase the group of 8 up the road because they don't want to ruin their chances for 9th place. DUDE - if they are only paying 5 places, pick it up!

i pretty much gave up helping them pretty quick when it was apparant they were not going to chase anybody, so i saved it for the final sprint. i waited until the last little riser before the start/finish and jumped. i held off the pack for a half mile and came in tenth.

bonus rides put me in the house with a 6 hour day and a wind burned face. oh joy...

sologoat out