02.28.06 - i'm rolling

back in the town o' cinci. 25 degrees in cleveland with snow, high of 55 in cinci today. hmmm... these trips down to cinci for work don't seem so bad.



not mucho exciting stuff going on lately, just riding n' such.

next tuesday i'll be in the cleveland'ish area talking to the guys/gals at the CAMBA meeting. i'll have more info up later in the week, but it's going to be pretty low key. was going to talk about my adventures the last couple of years, bike setups, etc. and i'll probably take a few questions too.

no note taking allowed or i will have to unleash my furry.

that's it tonight - have a ton of reading left to do tonight.

sologoat out.

02.26.06 - putting in some miles

word up.

seems as if winter in ohio has not given up - had to ride in 25 degree weather today, with wind chill in the 10 degree area. luckily, it warmed up a little about half way through my ride at the warm part of the day, but i slightly miscalculated the ride back and the weather turned for the worse. no snow, but man, that temp went down quicko. i think i frooze my brain slightly.

anyhoo, not mucho going on these days - just finishing up my base mile training, getting clothing finalized/ordered and i think i finally have somewhat of a schedule planned out. but - i still don't know what is going on with solo worlds yet.

i will be running the limar 911 this year in black - last year i ran the yellow 909. decided to get the 911 as it has a small visor, more vents and is more of a moutain bike style.

had a few questions about the asylums - yes, all frame sizes are in stock right now. and if any shops are interested, speedgoat will consider setting up a dealership with ya. email me for info.

that's it - gotta run.

sologoat out.

02.24.06 - asylums now at speedgoat

02.21.06 - thinking of arizona

howdy. back in the town of cinci for a few days for work and to hit up the little miami trail - exciting stuff indeed. warmer weather is back in town, so that's always a good thing.

will be heading out to arizona this coming march to ride with the big dawgs at the first NORBA of the year - should be an interesting trip. going strictly to race - would like to hang out a little more but i have to be careful of my vacation time and especially careful of how much cashola i am spending. booked the flights, now just have to schedule everything else.

i did only one NORBA last year and had a mechanical 3/4's of the way through it - which was a bummer at the time because i was in the top 5. wanted to do well as it was the only one i was going to do and because it was on one of my favorite hellish coarses (snowshoe, wv). little did i know at the time the race would not be coming back to the venue for 2006.

so with that in mind, i must ride. and ride. and ride.

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......

and look for an upcoming interview of the sologoat to be up in the next week or two. very good questions from one of the speedgoat crew for his first published 'zine.

gots to run -
sologoat out.

02.18.06 - updates you gotta check out

here is a picture of the little miami trail in cinci - thing goes on forever. kind of boring, but at least you can get a ride in and not get run over.



close up my burns - exciting stuff.

some more updates for you - since i forgot to post about them the other day.

ASYLUM CYLCES
has now got up their new web page. check back as i think this is the first version of it and i think there are some more changes.

also, i will be talking at some demo days coming up this summer - the shop will be having demo's of the new giant road line up and they will be geared more towards the newer rider. i'll be talking at two demos - one on nutrition and one on clothing.

and if i see anybody taking notes or that has a tape recorder, they will be "escorted" out by my posse.

NORBA
this may be old news, but the marathon series has been updated. they will have more races, but you can only drop one to be considered for the overall series.

aspen remains to be the marathon nationals, in august.

24 hours of adrenaline
well, i don't intend to start a flurry of questions here, because i don't have all the details, but i have it from a realiable source that it looks like they are going to announce the dates for worlds next week.

seems as though there are some issues at whistler now with the upcoming olympics and they were having more problems with trails access. they had to change the course a little last year because of some of the stuff they are putting in (downhill runs, etc) and i guess they are having more difficulities this year because of the same reason.

that's all the info i really have....

it's cold
so i am hitting the rollers today - wind chill is currenlty -3. mother nature wins again.

gotta run - sologoat out.

02.16.06 - asylum updates

hey dawg. asylum updates are in 'da house. here goes...

ASYLUM CLOTHING
well, we have now made the decision to go with garneau. i'll have some 'ernesto' clothing with the sponsors on it and a little different color then what will be available to customers.

bibs will also be available - and it sounds like we may be doing a run of both speedgoat and asylum shorts. things are not 100% yet, so don't quote me on all this.

downhillers will be happy - we'll be doing a long sleeved downhill jersey in the new asylum logo/color scheme.

cycling caps - will also be available. these are the cold weather ones that have a drawstring top. seems my hat collection will soon be growing.

ASYLUM FRAMES
YES, i know i said they are coming, and they will be here super soon. new logos n' such.

and... i will be very vague in saying that you should expect some exciting new stuff in the future from asylum by the end of the year. i have been talking to the guys at the shop and they have some good stuff planned. stay tuned.

ASYLUM WEBSITE
will soon be up and running. not sure of the layout, but it will probably have a picture or two of yours truely.

that's it - gotta run. fighting off some bad food i had for lunch today - it made me really sick. yucko.

sologoat out.

02.15.06 - miami

little miami, that is.

in cinci again today for work, and i'll be hitting the trail up again. i'll take some pics tonight as i'll hit it in the daylight hours (ya-hoo!).

one would think traveling for work sucks, but this time it is really working out well for me. the temperture difference is at least 10 degrees warmer in cinci then in kent/akron - and that is huge. how huge.

it's huge.

so huge that last night i was contemplating not taking a vest - then i looked over and saw a group of guys guying out that looked like they had about a hundred layers on. they thought it was cold, i thought it was a heat wave.

it just goes to prove, pain is just all in the mind.

gots to run - have some new news in the world of asylum and some info for ya' in the world of hammer gel/e-caps. it's all good, yo.

sologoat out

02.14.06 - off to work

again. gots to run - but..

i have some new news in the world of asylum. cool, exciting stuff!

more in the next few days.

sorry to be short, but i am running suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper behind today.

stay tuned!

sologoat out.

02.12.06 - pimp my asylum

here's the first photos of the updated 2006 race bike (1 of 2). bike two will have the same exact setup, but with pink king hubs/headset and salsa rims.

new logos were created for the 2006 frames, and we ended up taking off the reba stickers on the fork and slapping some asylum ones.

non-drive chain side of the bike. to note, this paint is powder coated and was done by a painter who normally paints harleys. these were the first bikes he ever painted.

here is the long awaited parts list:

hubs - king
rims - bontrager
spokes - double butted dt
tires - schwalbe little alberts
tubes - salsa
cassette - SRAM PG-990 9-Speed Mountain Cassette (11x34)
chain - SRAM PC971 Chain
rear derailler - SRAM X.0 Rear Derailleur
front derailler - Shimano XT
crank - XTR (running 2x9 - granny gear has been removed)
pedals - Crank Brothers single ti
cage - king ti
post - easton e90 carbon
saddle - San Marco Concor 5 Star Light Saddle (titanium version)
headset - chris king
brakes/levers - xtr disc
stem - ritchey wcs (130mm)
bars - easton monkey lite sl
grips - ODI Ruffian Lock-on Grips
front shifter - SRAM X.0 Twist Shifter
rear shifter - SRAM X.0 Trigger Shifter
cables - NOKON
frame - medium custom painted ASYLUM OCD - medium

that's it - if i missed anything, post to the blog and i'll update ASAP!

sologoat out.

02.12.06 - new asylum sneak pic

here's a sneak pic of the new asylum with the killer cool paint job. more to come - complete with a detailed parts list.

for now - i must eat and ride. complete details/pics to be up by monday.

must ride,mustride,mustride...

sologoat out.

02.11.06 - new asylum in the house

quick update as i gots to gets some miles in dawg.

asylum is in the house, looking real nice with the new ritchey wcs stem and the easton monkey lite bars. super light, super stiff.

paint - looks hella cool.

me - gotta go ride. pics up by sunday.

sologoat out.

02.09.06 - 13

is the wind chill factor tonight. hmmm. rollers it is.

not mucho going on - just getting ready to head out to the shop tomorrow to pick up asylum #1 of 2. the picture above is from the shop - they have now moved dan the man downstairs to be near all the bike stash.

NORBA has made some changes to the marathon series - bumped it up to 5 races now, not including the final in aspen. some nice races - but man, they are waaaaaaaaay out there for this east coast cat. bummer is, that you cannot drop any races to be considered for the overall marathon series. not 100% sure on my schedule yet, but i'll hit up a few - but to hit all of them - no way.

gotta run - sologoat out.

02.09.06 - back home

just getting back from cinci - kind of gets crazy traveling out of town for work. i never really thought about traveling for work as being as hard as it is.

can't skip workouts, so i have to take all my riding stuff with me. so my car is completely packed for two days of work. nutz.

thankfully, cinci has been working out really nice - they have some really super nice bike paths down there that is part of the little miami trail that is approximately 70 miles long. boring, but no traffic to deal with. and i can ride it at all hours.

last night, got in three hours on it in 30 degree temps only to come home to 20'ish degree temps and 2-3 inches of snow. crazy.

anyhoo, gotta run - really busy with work, and i need to get caught up today so i can get one of my asylums tomorrow. can't wait - they look super sweet.

sologoat out.

02.06.06 - going to the shop

heading out to speedgoat this friday to pick up at least one of my race bikes for the year - and to drop off some wheels that need to be worked on.

coolest thing is, i think i am going to get my surly fixed flip/flop hub set up so i can get a 700c fixie going. the bike trails around here are perfect for it - and i have been wanting one for awhile. think i am going to build up another k monkey, but i haven't decided 100% yet what i am doing.

i used to ride single speeds a lot in years past, but got out if it when i came to ohio and didn't have anybody to ride single speed with. (note - if you check the single speed championships that were held in minneaopolis, you will see i finished top 10 - i think this was in 99'ish?)

that's it - quick update - have to go to cincinatti for work.... ah, at least it is 10 degrees warmer and the bike path doesn't have snow on it...

sologoat out.

02.04.06 - check out the groundhog

happy belated groundhog day.



totally cruddy day in ohio - rain and more rain coming, backed with some of the white stuff. really stinks.



got these pics off the weather channel the other day - hillarious.

totally off the bike subject for a bit... i am a big indy film nut and NPR freak (think steve at the shop is too - he downloads broadcasts to his ipod) and i heard about this story of a guy who was shooting all this footage of grizzly bears and ended up getting attacked by one and was killed. and he happened to catch the audio of his own death. the guy was going through a lot of his own demons, some people didn't like what he stood for or what he was doing. anyhoo, i caught a documentary on it last night. very thought provoking and some very good photography.

they are rebroadcasting the documentary tonight on the disccovery channel. otherwise, you can check out the film's website here:

GRIZZLY MAN MOVIE

anyhoo...

back to bike stuff...

clothing... sponsors...

clothing is about to be ordered, nothing is set in stone yet. basic info is that i'll be getting a custom jersey for my sponsors, and then there will be another jersey available that will be available to customers.

other clothing is not 100% at this point - so i am not letting you guys in on it now because i am a firm believer in jinxing... though the clothing order may include my favorite clothing accessory.

sponsors - possibly work and one other to help the 'goat out this year. i'll find out more next week on both of them.

that's it - gotta get on the trainer.


sologoat out

02.02.06 - the asylum's are coming!

hey - just a quick update from the crew at SPEEDGOAT.COM..

a new shipment of medium asylum's are coming in the next week or so - get 'yer order in now holmes, because from all the ramblings i see on the forums and from the shop, they'll probably be going pretty fast. dan (my head mechanic) better get his rest up, he's going to be building bikes for the next 2 months straight.

my second asylum frame just got back from the painter today. sweet.

and - i'm seeing what i can do for all you folks coming out to the march CAMBA meeting. maybe a surprise from hammer gel? hmmmm.... i got an email going out to them tonight - no promises, but we'll see what happens.

speaking of which - placed an order with hammer gel today.
1 bottle - sustained energy
2 jugs - hammer gel
2 medium long sleeve jerseys - one winter weight, the other summer
2 beanies - one summer, one winter

next order will probably be my caps supply for most of the year, which i'll probably place right before racing starts (or when i run out of my current supply) - which ever comes first.

as always - i would highly recommend checking out their PDF's on useage, and their "guide to success". very good info to help you NOT make mistakes in your fuel intake. wish i had read it before i found out the hard way....

gotta run - roller ride in store for me tonight. yipee!

sologoat out.

02.02.06 - quick updates

hey all - few quick updates..

the web page developer (myself) continues to work on the blog - give me about a week and i'll have it all fixed up.

TIFOSI OPTICS has hooked me up this year with some new shades. i'll be running either the Q3 or the QUAM 1.5 during the races, and after will be running the cool guy BACKLASH. my personal favorite is the Q3 - which is the updated version of last years Q2 that i ran (they are the glasses i am wearing in the header picture) last year. main difference is that they now come with lenses. sweet.

HAMMER GEL getting ready to place my first order with them. beanie hats are now available (to add to my growing collection) and a ton of winter riding apparel is in from VOLER. guys and gals - i HIGHLY recommend the voler winter vest and jacket. super awesome - very nice windstopper type material that works really well. and their bibs/jerseys - very nice as well. i would often wear the shorts on my 6+ hour rides because the pad was so nice.

and then don't forget all their nutritional products - i'll been using mostly the HEED, SUSTAINED ENERGY and HAMMER GEL to get me through these past few months. been working very well for me.

that's it - gotta run.

(short version of a day in the life of sologoat)

work, work, work.

ride, ride, ride, ride, ride, ride. eat, make a phone call. sleep.

repeat.

sologoat out.

02.01.06 - i got no skillz

as a blog template editor....

sorry for the new layout - been playing around with new templates and when i finally had some changes made on my last one, i tried to post and it wouldn't update my page.

so - i had to go with the new template.

if i happen to be missing any old links, info, etc - give me a few days and i'll try to update it.

but - got the cool new pic up on top which was taken at the 2005 solo worlds during the first laps, so that is kewl (hip spelling for "cool")

gotta run - supposed to be working.

sologoat out.

02.01.06 - goat to speak at CAMBA

yours truely will be speaking at CAMBA next month. i'll be doing an interpretive dance about my racing, training, etc. just joking. i mean i'll be talking about my racing, training, etc.

CAMBA is a local group affiliated with the IMBA - both organizations help build mountain bike trails, work on trail access, etc. they have an article about it HERE

sorry for the ho-hum posts lately, but the warm'ish ohio weather has been forcing me outside to ride and i haven't had much time to post. still pondering the race schedule for this year. what races to do, what not to do - that is the question.

hope you like the somewhat updated blog layout - just let me say that web page development is not my specialty...

gotta sleep - sologoat out.