8.30.2006

scheduling and riding

are about the only things i am doing right now.

enduro races wrapping up - one this weekend and a few more to go. scheduling conflicts have been the story for me this year as i seemed to have missed out on some of the smaller races i have hit up in years past. with a lot going on this year in my personal life, turning pro, etc - i tried to concentrate on the bigger races. the debate with going to smaller races is that you chance getting hurt and a big effort that is not properly scheduled can hurt your efforts for your major events. rest plays an important factor during all of this, so you have to take that into consideration too. hopefully, the enduro calander next year will not have so many conflicts.

so - i am heading out this weekend for the last of the ultra series races - the shenandoah 100. rumor is around town that all the trek boyz will be there, and of course, harlan price will be there to collect his series win. and - gripped films will also be out there shooting footage for the eatough documentary as they are local to the area. so wear your best riding clothes and smile nice for the camera.

local series info has been posted for most of the ohio cyclocross season, with details on nationals not yet posted. scheduling conflicts most times are not an issue as it looks like i am going to hit up quite a few races this year (at least a dozen cross races) including a few UCI events, Ohio state champs and Cross Nationals in Rhode Island in mid December.

i'll have links up for the races along with my cross schedule (i'm not so secretive about that schedule!) by next week.

in the meantime, the weather for the shenandoah 100 seems to be a toss up right now. will ernesto (the hurricane) and ernesto (myself) have to face each other this weekend? needless to say, the weather will sure be an intersting opponent this weekend.

with that - gotta eat and figure out a cross wheelset for this year... decisions, decisions...

sologoat out

8.27.2006

hurricane ernesto has arrived



i took some time off this week to head south for some training on the beach. the locals saw me and came up with a nickname for me, calling me "hurricane ernesto" because i was kicking up so much sand from my rear wheel from my mad power.

in other news...

next enduro race coming up soon. stay tuned.

sologoat out.

8.25.2006

the goat speaks out

had some questions/comments the last few days that i thought was worth mentioning....

regarding wattage:
looks like for us off road disc users, there are not too many options. there is an option for the ergometer system, but the issue with that is their system uses an isis bb to measure wattage. and i guess the bottom brackets are not the best of quality and if they need to be sent back, they are going overseas to get fixed.

and as far as the powertap goes, there are no disc specific hubs, only hubs that are 135mm. the only option i could possibly think of here is running only a front brake and maybe putting a shim on the rear brake so you don't accidentally squeeze your hydrolic brake. and, i probably would only do this during training rides on the local yocal bike path - and i wouldn't be bombing down some crazy downhill.

otherwise, you would need to go super high end with something like the SRM power meters - which, with two bikes, is not really an option.

offhand, though i did not check, sometimes the guys at problem solvers make some products that could be useful - maybe this is one area where they should start looking.

regarding cross crank setup:
the crank i pictured the other day will have both the ring and the gaurd on the outer ring - the gaurd will be spaced out.

this setup is required as my frame runs 135mm rear spacing (normally, moots cross frames run 130mm - this was custom for me) and because of such, the bottom tubes on the rear triangle flare out a little bit more then usual and i could not run the ring in the middle and the gaurd on the outside.

i have two moots cross frames - both have 135mm rear spacing. my original bike can run the ring on the middle and the gaurd on the outside when i run a 135. but - i ran a old ti race face bb and just moved out the bb a little on the drive train side.

other option is to run a little bit bigger bb spindle length to space it out a little more. but, options are really dependent upon the frame, what ring you are going to run and also what crank.

also - other thing to watch on the crank. some cranks run one of the ring bolts on the actual arm of the crank. if this be the case (campy and ritchey cranks) then spacing out the gaurd on the big ring may not work.

best bet - ask dan the man at speedgoat or chris - they worked out all the details for me and actually weighed out everything as well.

with that all that talk - now it's time to ride.

sologoat out.

8.24.2006

08.24 - you want me



on your cross bike...

here's the newest addition to my main moots cross bike - a 2006 dura ace crank with a 42 ring and a salsa chaingaurd. dan and i ran the numbers pretty much a thousand different ways and this was pretty much the way to go light and strong without going carbon.

i'll run this crank with a third eye catch and no front derailler.

while it is light, i run this setup mainly because i have found that i rarely shift into a bigger ring during cross races and when i did have two rings, it seemed not shift that great because of the mud build up and the fact that you usually have a ton of tension on the chain and that i was loosing time having to ease up to upshift and downshift on the front ring.

also, on those random times when the chain did drop, i seemed to have a difficult time getting the chain back on in the heat of battle.

though, it's mainly preference as to why i do it.

also, out of preference, i had my last moots cross bike made without water bottle mounts as i normally don't run water bottles during a one hour cross race. if you have to really run one to go out on a ride, then there is an option. twofish actually makes a water bottle mount that comes with a velcro mount. not the prettiest thing in the world, but if you hate taking on/off water bottle cages on your cross bike for races, it is an option.

more pics and posts on cross setup later - possibly even a youtube video instructional on dismounts/remounts. exciting stuff.

sologoat out.

8.23.2006

08.23 - tifosi review

is now posted at the SPEEDGOAT.COM BLOG. i did a write up on the Q3, quam 1.5 and the backlash. check it out.

also, a work in process has started on my new page ERNESTOMARENCHIN.COM. it's going to be a slow process as a buddy is helping me with it in his spare time. the second set of revisions should be up sometime this week, with hopefully the last update some time next week to finialize everything.

in the meantime, this site will stay up as i like some of the features and it is pretty easy to use.

in other news...

cranks have been ordered for my main moots cross bike. after hours of looking at weights, price, carbon vs. aluminum, etc - what we came down with for the best weight option without going the carbon way was the 2 piece dura ace with a 42 middle ring and salsa chain gaurd on the outside. just didn't want to go the carbon route.

and - looks like no interbike for me this year. vacation days are whittling down to negative and it is basically looking like i could either do a race or go to interbike. so.... this year, i am passing. though, if you have never been there and get the opportunity to go, i think it is defintely worth the trip just to see the spectacle of it all. bikes, bike geeks and pretty girls as far as the eye can see.

with that, gotta run.

sologoat out

8.22.2006

08.22.06 - random updates

CYCLING NEWS has updates from criterium championships that were held last week. congrats go out to local A&F team for two in the top ten and paul martin who came in the top 20.

and, WOBBLENAUGHT fit guru Jim Baldasare has a pretty kewl pic up on the cycling news site during the cat 1 race. you can check him out here. he's got the field strung out big time in this pic.

to note, jim has won this race in years past with the GOMART team. the year he won, paul martin led him out at some unbelievable speed and everybody was holding on for dear life. paul led the field out so fast that he actually opened up a gap on a flat section of road. when paul is on, paul is flying.

not mucho going on these days, just laying low trying to stay healthy and rest up for the last enduro races of the year. preliminary on the cateye heart rate monitor is that it seems to be working really well. nice options, nice price, etc. i think it is the next best alternative to sigma in the lower end heart rate monitors. sometimes i think that the higher end monitors just has too many buttons - they are nice to play with during a training ride, but when you are in the heat of the battle in a race and all you want is to see your heart rate and time, it can be a hassle to go through all the buttons just to see what your heart rate is without running into a tree.

that's just my 2 cents.

schwalbe has some nice cross tires called the CX PRO that are avaialable in both foldable and wire bead. tread looks very similar to the TUFO design and comes in at just a tad under 300 grams a tire for the foldables. they'll be on my next order along with a set of STELVIO for the road bike to finish out the season. why the stelvio? dual compound for longer wear pattern, light, puncture resistant.... and they have multiple color options including pink. heck ya.

that's it - gotta ride.

sologoat out

8.19.2006

08.19 - fancy shorts



so, last thursday was a local yocal low key 10 mile out and back two man time trail. the locals get their 1000 dollar bikes with their 2500 dollar wheelsets and go like hell for 10 miles.

so, i converted my asylum into time trail mode (pumped the tires up to 65 pounds and locked out the front shock) and headed on down to the race start.

and it was the perfect opportunity to try out some plaid shorts beth at speedgoat gave me awhile back.

race went pretty well - i think the top guys did the 10 miles on the high side of 22 minutes and we came in around 25 minutes. good change of pace.

today - just a long tempo ride in the rain. the moots compact has been riding really well so i have been sticking to that bike a lot as it rides really nice. didn't get it tricked out with the SL tubes as i don't do enough road racing to warrant me getting it. i will say hands down, as far as cross and road frames go, moots has to be my favorite.

well, gotta run - domestic stuff to do today. which, honestly, is hard for me as i pretty much have to write my house projects down in training schedule to make time for it.

later - sologoat out.

8.17.2006

08.17 - i can throw a pigskin a quarter mile



well, maybe not. but i can throw a football over that mountain...

ahhhh.... sorry - enough with the movie quotes.

late nighter last night as ernesto had to work super late. makes a long day seem even longer but with the local hike/bike path super busy as of late, it was nice to get on the trail where the only thing i had to deal with was dive bombing bats going in for "bug kills."

heart rate monitors are in - will be testing them out on today's local yocal two man time trail where i will be riding my time trail asylum complete with my super low profile non-aero everything. i'll be racing it with a buddy of mine - which i may be a hinderance since he is riding his mountain bike with 26 inch wheels which everybody knows by now is just silly to be doing.

just joking... still have a few 26 inch wheeled mountain bikes around...

powertap stuff is in - but, there was a slight mix up and i got a regular powertap and not the powertap pro as i ordered. so, no crazy wattage screen shots to look at yet.

local ohio cross events are coming up - stayed tuned as i post the info in a few days or so.

and - that's about it. just trying to stay fit, keep the weight off and get prepped for my last races.

with that... sologoat out.

8.15.2006

08.15.06 - gearing up for cross

is what's been going down the last few days or so...

with the end of the enduro season coming up soon, my full cross season pretty much starts about 6 days after with my first races of the year. i'll possibly hit a few up before my last enduro race, but my concentration will be on enduro's until they are over for the year.

so right now, cross freaks around the US are gearing up - what tires to run, what wheelsets to use, so i run a single or a double up front? decisions, decisions...

thankfully, my two bikes are pretty much set with a few exceptions. need to figure out a crank for my main bike as i want to go light, but need to consider that my moots cross bikes have 135 rear spacing - which causes some issues with what chainring i can run up front as the ring may hit the frame.

and the other setup decision is regarding wheelsets. tubular carbon with TUFO cross tubulars are super light and super cool. unfortunately, they are also super expensive.

this year i have plans on hitting up both the Ohio State Cross Championship race and then Cross Nationals as well. both are a week apart about mid-way through december. i have always wanted to do cross nationals, and since it is on the east coast this year, and my motivation for the cross seasonn is at an all time high, it wiil be a nice way to end out the racing season.

so, i gotta get all setup for cross now or it will be too late in october to do any work on the bikes as far as setup goes.

asylums are getting a nice little workover before the end of season as well - new drive trains and fresh schwalbe tires. everything else is working great, so nothing else needs switching out.

hammer gel order about to go down - ordering up my last major order for the year in the next day or so. endurolytes, premium insurance, anti fatigues, race caps, and gels are just a few things on order. i have to give a shout out to these guys - their products are second to none. very helpful staff, user groups. if you haven't checked out their "guide to success" PDF, do so now.

with that - gotta run. tifosi review up in the next couple of days along with some possible write ups on my powertap that is coming from the 'goat!

stayed tuned - same goat time, same goat channel....

sologoat out.

8.11.2006

08.11.06 - update on my heart

rate monitor status.

well, it seems like a few others have had issues with the sigma monitors. overall, i would say that they are an OK product but they seem to come with a battery that is just a tiny bit smaller then the standard US battery. this causes the back plate of the watch to sit up a little higher then ususual, thus causing the ever so important seals of the watch to "not" seal.

if i were to use them again, i would recomend getting replacement batteries from sigma direct for the battery for the monitor. the transmitter seems to work OK with the batteries from the local yocal target store.

so, i just ordered the same cateye heart monitors that MR. KERKOVE uses. these will be used on the mountain/cross bikes and sometimes on the road when i am going "old school" low-tech like and not running the newly ordered powertap schtuff.

should be interesting to see the results of the data - work has forced me to be a database kind of tech geek, so i have this mindset now that information is knowledge and the more i can get, the better.

hmm... sounds like i am selling something...

in other news... some interesting reads out there in cyberspace....

NAT ROSS CYLCING NEWS UPDATE
is now posted. read about his write up on 24 hour nationals. and dare i say, his second place is coming off of his RAAM ride, then his race at marathon nationals. nat is riding really well this year...

SPEEGOAT BLOG UPDATE ON SRAM ROAD KIT
click the link to the blog section and check out chris's update on the SRAM kit. latest posts are regarding the front shifter and the kewl carbon crank.

LIGHT & MOTION PRESS RELEASE
is out regarding 24 hour nationals. seems that 4 out of the top 5 riders were running light & motion lighting systems. hmmmm.... would the words lightweight, reliable, and long burn times seem super awesome to you? heck ya - that's why i made the switch over to their lighting systems a few years back.

with that, gotta run - have a good weeekend, keep the rubber side down.

now, time to drink some more coffee...

sologoat out.

8.09.2006

08.09.06 - heart rate failure

or should i say, heart rate monitor failure. my heart rate monitor to me has become an everyday indicator of how the body is feeling.

when my heart rate monitor is not working, i become confused, ticked off and tend to become a jerk.

so, i think i am pitching all my sigma monitors and making the switch to another brand. they go through batteries like crazy and the "little" rain storm at nationals fried out my last heart rate monitor.

considering going with the lower end cateye heart rate monitors for everyday use and off road, and then go full bore with a cycle-ops powertap unit and wheel. going from nothing to data overload in about a week.

catch with most of these systems that can also track cadence and wattage is that it relies on some costly part to gauge wattage. the drawback to the powertap unit is the hub - not only because the hub is heavy unless you go super high end, but also the hub does not come with an option for disc.

what up with that?

so, stay tuned. bars and charts to come at ya in the near future.

not mucho going on, other then training and getting prepped for the next race coming up in a few weeks. will be my first time at this venue and it is supposidly a super kewl course.

with that, gotta run. oh - and watch out for a tifosi optic review of the quam and a few other of thier models coming out this week.

sologoat out.

8.05.2006

08.05.06 - the ernesto chronicles



GRIPPED FILMS who made the "off road to athens" documentary, is currently in production of their next project. This project will highlight Chris Eatough going for his 7th consectutive 24 Hour Worlds win. Ken Bell (pictured) and Jason Perry will be working on the project which is sponsored by Trek Bicycles.



this was the first interview i have done with them, and there will probably be a few more. other riders that will be interviewed will include Nat Ross, Cameron Chambers and Mark Hendershot - to name a few.



questions ranged from how did i get involved in 24 hour racing, current sponsors and what would it take to beat chris at worlds.

if you haven't heard about either documentary, you should at least check out their site.

the film is going to give the enduro world some good press, so watch for it's release in early 2007.

sologoat out.

8.03.2006

08.03.06 - randomness & figuring things out

still trying to recover from last weeks adventure...

and it looks like CYCLING NEWS has updates in the mountian bike world posted. check out the write up on 24 hours nats and the wilderness 101. great ride shout out to harlan who just about sealed up the ultra series by winning the 101. he just needs to finish the virginia race and that's it. great job.

also - WOBBLENAUGHT has a write up on 24 hour nationals posted. is it by chance that 3 out of the top 5 riders at the race were "wobblenaughted"? hmm.. i think not.

also got a shout out about how many 29ers were at nationals - honestly, i would have to say that i notice more of the top guys riding the 29ers percentage wise, but for single speeds - jeez, i would have to say the majority (if not most of them) were riding 29ers. i've said it before and i'll say it again - if you are going single speed, 29ers make so much sense as they carry the speed so much better.

so the ultra series is wrapping up, end of the enduro season is in the headlights and cross season is coming up fast.

time to rethink, schedule, plan.

before i started racing seriously, i never planned anything out. i rode hard this day, even harder the next and went with how i was feeling today and didn't think about tomorrow.

you want to race enduro? gots to plan it all out.

so, i have just spent the last approximate 30 minutes disucssing race plans and training schedules through october with Jim Baldesare who has been my coach since day 1 and who is also a WOBBLENAUGHT fit guru. diet, training, resting, racing were all topics of today. i felt a need to get refocused on the rest of the year, so he's always the first guy i turn to.

so we made some slight adjustments, refocused and i think i am mentally set for the rest of the year. and now, as my father says, "all you have to do is ride the bike"...

speaking of which, watch out for a blog entry of race quotes from my father. i guess he has come up with some good ones when i was out on the race course, so i am coming up with a list... stay tuned to laugh your wheels off.

with that, gots to run.

stay calm, breathe deep, focus, think happy thoughts. and race your brains out.

sologoat out.

8.02.2006

08.02.06 - 24 hour nat write ups

here's a list o links regarding 24 hour nats..

TREK BIKES
write up on the trek home page. chris was riding 2007 trek bikes and the 2007 XTR.

CYCLING NEWS
brief write up from steve medcroft, more to come.

24-9
write up from the race organizer. where is the 2007 24 hour nats at? same venue - sharpen up your skillz and do your anti-rain dance.

RIDE WITH NICK MARTIN
Jon "Poz" Posner write up and audio posts.


with that, i am still bummed out by how the race ended because i felt like i was coming on strong, but it was probably the most fair thing for the results.

i just hope that the race organizers take what happened with the weather into consideration for next year.

overall, i would say that the event was very well run and from the standpoint of my pit crew, it had great facilities and everything was freshly stocked and cleaned. which is saying a lot - especially when we can all think of some of the nightmare conditions of other races that we all have been at in the past.

with that, i set my eyes to the rest of the season. a few more enduro's and holy smokes...

cross sesason starts next month?!

with that - gots to run.

sologoat out.

8.01.2006

08.01.06 - 24 hour national pictures



start of the race - typical le mans style run out to the bikes. didn't have too awesome of a run as it was somewhat hampered by the way the start/finish was marked up.

had to run through a gate setup that was wide enough for one rider - that bottle necked and i ended up getting on my bike somewhere around 25th place.



fueling up. hammer gel caps were downed with a flask full of coca cola. used to drink red bull. why the switch?

red bull - 4 cans at 8 bucks. coca cola - 24 cans for 8 bucks.



off for another lap. i try to keep pits super short.



kewl night shot before all hell broke loose with the weather.



podium shot. there were about 25'ish guys in our field. congrats to everybody racing and thanks for all the support from all the sologoat fans out there.