9.30.2006

random pics and random stuff



been doing some work for a client up in cleveland - they happen to be less the 100 feet away from cleveland's jacobs field.



cold weather is here in ohio - today, high of 50 degrees with light rain.



out on ride testing the new drivetrains dan the man put on the asylums. this ride went well - bike number 2 had some pedal issues. at least it happened in ohio - and not georgia.



cool chillin' at the shannondoah. about 50 feet past the finish line was a nice cold cold and hot food. it was like heaven.



putting on my race face the day before landahl.



self portait on the trails. this is part of a trail that will eventually link cincinatti to cleveland. say goodbye to traffic and hello to nature and crazy roller blade people who look like they are going to take you out.



part of my sponsorship with hammer gel requires me to eat their bars with the wrapper on.... just joking... if you haven't tried them yet, they are very tastey - without the wrapper.



been riding the cross bikes a ton now that the cross season is coming up. and - can't wait to try out the moots with the dura ace crank on it. that ride is coming up next week.

sologoat out.

resting up

for worlds, so sorry for the lack of content the last week or so. been on the down low, saving up for georgia and checking out the stuff from vegas.

salsa seems to have some cool stuff out, most noteably a carbon/scandium hardtail 29er. and ritchey has cool new carbon out as well. and industry nine has some very nice anodized wheelsets out - the goat has been running them for a few months and they have been working great. can't wait to see some of the new stuff on the asylums for next year.

so, georgia is on my mind. getting in on thursday to do some pre-riding for a few days, talk to the gripped film guys, go to the rider meeting, and generally hang out until the race start on saturday at noon. hope the run is shorter this time, that damn run was sooooooooo long last time.

haven't checked weather yet, but from my guess, it is going to be cooler then the 95 degrees it hit when i was last there.

and i'll also take another wild guess in that if it is dry, expect some super high lap counts - i'm guessing around 24'ish laps, weather permitting.

that's it - gotta run. packing for georgia has offically started as of now....

sologoat out.

9.28.2006

resting up for worlds

is going to be on my agenda for the next few days.

bike prep is pretty much done, new drivetrains and pedals going on the asylums for the big show going on down at georgia in a few weekends.

looks like it is going to be a good fight for both the men and women this year, so it should be pretty good from a spectators perspective.

if you haven't been checking out the vegas show schwag, and you are a 29er fan, you gotta check that stuff out. carbon is the rage for road bikes this year, and it seems likes 29ers are the rage on the mountain side.

white brothers rigid carbon forks, dt swiss 29er wheelsets, reynolds carbon 29er TUBULAR wheels, 29ers from GT/JAMIS/SALSA and about 20 others. very cool stuff coming out. hopefully, some of that stuff will be on my bikes next year.

and - sponsorship proposals are in the works as speak. resume is being updated and the list is being made - now is the time to start getting them ready to send out.

with that in mind, gotta roll. need some shut eye.

sologoat out.

9.26.2006

the vegas fiasco has started

in addition to all the other web pages out there, don't forget to check out the SPEEDGOAT BLOG for all the interbike coverage.

michael has trumped everybody on the Salsa El Mariachi To Go - it is the new Salsa El Mariachi that is setup to be sold as a complete. very cool 29er hardtail, with matching rigid fork and salsa stem and...

it comes as a complete. ya, so what?

it comes as a complete running a 1x9 shifting setup. way kewl.

chris also posts on the new XTR crank which as usual, kicks major arse, and the new xtr pods because we at speedgoat like pods, not shifter/brake combos.

and - michael also has a post on FUNK which is making a custom ti using a very unique rear triangle.

check it out - it's all good.

sologoat out.

9.24.2006

new stuff

on the asylums. landahl killed the drivetrains with the clay/mud, so chainrings, chain and rear casettes have all been changed. last race of the year will have me running new stuff - sweet.

also, should be running new schwalbe little alberts too - and getting a couple of sets of cross tires from them as well. their tubulars are not available as of the present, but i am hoping that they will be in from the boyz in italy for nationals.

other then that, got in a training day at the shop and did a few repeats up the long climb behind the shop. very good sustained climb.

and - got back to see the dura ace 2 piece crank just getting installed on my cross moots. very cool. very light. very stiff. saved about 80 grams over my last setup.

asylum prototypes are in the works - all i can say is that at this point, you will have some options and the frames are different from the current version. there is too much to speculate on everything as chris is still considering a lot of different things at this point, from angles to materials, etc.

and - the vegas show is coming up. expect some pics up from the guys at the 'goat, but this year they are running lean and mean and are not doing the dirt demo days because they tend to get over crowded and by the time you get to ride, the bike is totally trashed. just got to remember, for bike geeks interbike is like a dream. for most people in the industry, it is work.

with that - gotta get a ride in. today was the first day in a loooooooooong time i actually got to sleep in.

sologoat out.

9.22.2006

Chris blogs on the future of Asylum

here it is - straight from the owners mouth, courtesty of the speedgoat blog.



at this point, i have seen the prototype - looks to be lighter then the current version and i am happy to see some changes to the rear triangle. won't go into too much detail for now other then that.

for more details, keep your eye on the speedgoat blog.

sologoat out

9.20.2006

wobblenaught and kewl stuff

word.

wobblenaught got an article up on the recent results of nat and ernesto at landahl. couple side notes on this - cameron also has been running these fits and mr. ross is actually trained in the fine art of wobblenaughting.

CYCLING NEWS and PEZ CYCLING NEWS have got some shots of the new procuts coming out next year - pre-vegas show. cyling news has the coverage in the tech area, pez has it on the front page.

carbon was a big thing last year and from the shots i am seeing, it is even a bigger deal this year. crazy shaped tubes, hollow top tubes for dampening, curved rear stays for dampening too.

other stuff worth mentioning - zipp is coming out with some drilled out stupid light hubs that remind me of the old school campy stuff, reynolds is making a carbon 26 inch deep dish rim and SIDI is making rechargeable heated soles for freaks who ride it is cold out. and for some reason, i see some of the italian clothing companies are making super light weight jerseys and bibs. jersyes look ok, but the bibs are somewhat obscene and silly.

that's it - one more enduro race of the year coming up, cross wheels/tires about to be ordered up and i need to get back to work.

so do you - sologoat out.

9.18.2006

pics from landahl



running le mans style start at landahl.



pretty cool picture of the run. this is about the first 100 yards or so.



on the bike with nat in hot pursuit. single track came up soon, so a good start was important. with the start being on a slight uphill, you had an advantage if you could run up it, then jump on cyclocross style.



coming in on my last lap. i was glad i was done eating mud for the day.



5 minutes after the end of the race. i felt beat up and was wishing i had a hamburger to eat.



mud, mud, everywhere. first half of the course was really bad, the second section was rideable - except the rocks.



podium shot with nat, ernesto and steve.

long version - landahl write up

here's the long version...

day started off nicely with clear skies and nice temps. during the course of the next 24 hours, it would soon change.

gun went off, and the run started. i had a good run, came in about 10th'ish or so, but with some mad cyclocross skillz, i was in 3rd place by the time we were all on our bikes, and then soon leading after a few hundered yards. nat passed me just before the first single track section, and cameron was on my tail. cameron would soon pass me when i bobbled on an uphill. nat and cameron took off.

with my heart rate hitting 187, i backed it off. way too early to run the heart that high. at about 6 miles in on my first lap, i flatted. i reached for my spare in my back pocket and i must of lost it during the run. fumbling for my tube under my saddle bag, i made the change. then, the bead didn't sit well on rim and then i almost popped the tube. had to deflate, get another co2 catridge and start all over again. i must of lost at least 5 minutes during that mess.

steve passed me, along with a few other riders. i chased hard and caught up to steve, and we duked it out for several laps back and fourth, most times coming in within 30 seconds of each other on our opening laps. the heat was coming down on us too - 92 plus degrees it hit during those opening hours.

at around 5 hours in, i started using a camelback with water in addition to my bottle on the bike. water on back, Hammer Heed or Sustained Energy on the bike. I felt a lot better now and passed steve on a single track rocky section while nat slowly built a lead with super fast laps. shortly before nightfall, nat passed me while i put time into steve.

after that, my gaps on steve grew and came down, nat seemed to be going steady and i didn't seem to be making up any time on him.

got the report shortly before 2am that they were going to stop the race. bad rain was coming and they were going to stop the race for 4 hours and adjust times. so, they stopped the race at 2am then added 4 hours to your time. that would be your start time. (for instance, steve got in at 2:06, so his start time was 2:06. i got in a lap ahead of him and got in at 3:10, so i went out at 7:10)

bonus for me here was that i got an extra lap in when it was dry. so with the skies looking bad and thoughts of this years national 24 hour race and the mess of a restart that was, i took off and went as hard as i could.

i came in at 3:10am, so my restart was 7:10 and within 5 minutes, i knew the last 5 hours was going to be tough. the first half of the trail was really bad - i would maybe go 100 yards, then would have to clear the mud off my bike so i could ride/push the next 100 yards. very tough riding - the type i like to say "builds character"... because it didn't rain enough to thin the mud out, it was more like a clay consistancy. literally, mud would stick to my tires an inch thick on the sidewalls.

so, with the race coming down to the final hours of a super muddy course, i was thinking it was going to be a battle of who could clean their bike the fastest for 2nd place.

i turned in three more laps and so does nat. steve ended up snapping a derailler hanger and had to walk back to the pit area for another bike.

at the end, nat won, i got second and steve came in third.

tough day, great course - when it is not muddy.

sologoat out

short write up - landahl

here's the short...

nat and cameron took off. steve and i chased. nat slowly built a lead with super fast laps, then lapped me shortly before nightfall.

steve and i were locked in battle in the approxiamte 92 degree heat. we went back and fourth several laps. shortly before nightfall, i passed him for the last time.

bad rain came in, they stopped the race at 2am, then added 4 hours to your time. that would be your start time. (for instance, steve got in at 2:06, so his start time was 2:06. i got in a lap ahead of him and got in at 3:10, so i went out at 7:10)

bonus for me here was that i got an extra lap in when it was dry - which was pretty crucial because conditions on the trail went from bad to worse. i would maybe go 100 yards, then would have to clear the mud off my bike so i could ride/push the next 100 yards. very tough riding - the type i like to say "builds character"...

when dry, the course was great - but muddy, jeez. i wish it would of just downpoured to thin the mud out.

with that, gotta catch a flight. pics up in the next day or two.

sologoat out.

9.15.2006

pics up from Landahl & the cat is out

well, the cat is out of the bag - yep, i'll be at 24 hour worlds and not moab. i have been debating it all year and my thoughts are mixed between worlds and moab and i'll leave it at that.



soil is super dry here which is great for now, but can be slick if the rain hits this weekend. the words stupid fast come to mind.



"xxx" danger spots are all over the course - some bad, some not. while others, are simply not really marked. they assume by you seeing the huge rock and then a drop off, that you know it dangerous.



ouchy - watch out for those pointy, sharp rocky things. these guys are all over the course. gription on the tires is good, but just dont hit them.


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this is around the 7 mile mark, where the trail opens a little bit before the last single/double track sections. the next single track section follows a ridge line and has a ton of turns in it with a ton of rocks with little ditches inbetween. fun, fun.



last little open section before the finish. overall, very flowing course. not bad at speed, but if you ride it slow, it is hard to stay upright. better to go fast and float over some of the rocks then to go slow and hit every one of the darn things.

that's it for today - next post will be on sunday/monday with complete recaps and pics.

wish me good legs, huge lungs and clear skies.

sologoat out.

9.14.2006

out of ohio

and at the race venue.

wow - fast course, with lots of rocks and crazy squirrels running all over. course is super fast and flowing, with switchbacks and covered with rocks. it is one of those courses where you are flying on one section and cursing/slamming on your brakes on another.

all i can say is to keep that speed up to float over those rocks..

and the doomed wet stuff may come in - the fast concrete like soil could likely become slick as heck if it rains (or even thinks about raining). chances are likely the storms are going to come in later in the day in saturday, not until later at night. lets hope mother nature is nice to us.

solo field looks like it is going to be a battle for the series - nat ross and steve schwartz will be here bringing the field up to about 9 solo riders. going to be a great race.

cameron is coming as well - but he'll be racing on a team. he has another event later in the year that he is keying on. i'll keep you in suspense and just say that it is either worlds or moab.

with that - gotta run. pics will be up tomorrow AM, for now i have to get some rest.

sologoat out

next up - landahl

yep, the next venue on the ernesto world tour will be landahl. which leaves only question as far as my schedule goes....

worlds or moab?

decision has been made - but i'll leave you guessing for now.

check for updates - last one will be friday sometime mid-afternoon.

with that - gotta catch a plane.

sologoat out

9.12.2006

weather



for the weekend is looking pretty awesome. nice cool temps and the rain is staying away from the venue - which is always a good thing.

pit crew for the next event is mean and lean - dan the man and my dad will be heading out and will have a massively huge new pit tent coming in at a whopping 10 foot by 15 foot - condo style.

bikes are runnning great - maybe swap some stuff out, but otherwise they will be pretty much left alone for the last two events of the year if you don't count the new schwalbe little alberts.

and - just a little fyi for you cross nutz out there - schwalbe will be offering cross tubulars in the upcoming future. now you got options other then TUFO if you run tubulars for cross tires.

and - preliminary on the cateye heart rate monitors are that they are working really well - except when mounted next to a light & motion vega light. i think the new types of transmiters are having "issues" when ran next to lighting systems, but don't quote me on that.

with that - gotta run. posse coming to pick up the bikes.

sologoat out

9.10.2006

weekend update

not mucho going on these days - just training for the last season ending enduro races and getting the bikes setup for cross season.

last time i looked, hendershot was winning the kona 24 hour race that was going on, didn't get a chance to look at how it ended up. looked like 2nd place was just a few minutes behind him, but i couldn't tell.

so, it's looking like roughly a few more enduro races and then about a dozen cross races to finish out the year. switching from the long distance sustained effort to the hour long all out effort usually takes me a few races, but luckily, usually my endurance kicks in later in the cross races. i've found that cross is all about the last twenty mintues - if you can hold your own during those last few minutes, you can usually make up a few spots.

with that gotta roll - starting early to pack up this time for the next race.

stay tuned this week as i head out for my next adventure.

sologoat out

9.07.2006

pics from shenandoah - part 2 of 2



line up for the start of the race - this was about 6:30am



chris scott at this point is shouting out instructions to us at this point. one good thing he premotes is no trash on the trail - this is easily accomplished through one of the race sponsors Hammer Gel who supplies both flasks and Gel to all the riders. Sweet.



the gun goes off for the start of the race and 400 racers shoot for a jeep trail - i end up about 30 riders back in all the confusion.



rouding the last corner at around 8 1/2 hours'ish. overall, felt pretty good during the day and felt like my climbing legs finally have come back to me as i have lost a little weight in the last few weeks.



just about to cross the finish line. showers, a hot meal and some cold brews were awaiting me.

9.04.2006

shenandoah pics - round 1 of 2

more pics are going to be up tomorrow... for now - these are pics of the first climb on my pre-ride on saturday afternoon.



this is heading up to the first climb on a paved section. there were a few paved sections throughout the course which usually came after very hard sections - which served as nice little "breaks" to get to the next section.



this is still on the first climb - pavement turned to gravel, all while going upwards.



this is near the top of the first climb, right before the left hand that started the steeper, rougher area of the climb. thought the trees in front of me looked like palm trees, so i snapped off a picture.



the last 50 feet of the climb was pretty steep and seemed like you would drop off the end of a mountain at the top.



alas - no drop off. just another 90 miles to go.

round 1 of 2 pics done - pic post #2 up tomorrow.

sologoat out

shenandoah 100 report

09.01.06
Friday evening, headed out to the race venue with my parents in a SUV over packed with supplies for the weekend. Hurricane Ernesto fears were dancing in my head as the further east we got, the colder and wetter it became.

09.02.06
Awoke to cold and rain in Pennsylvania. Soon headed south and the weather cleared and temperatures were rising and drying out the ground.

Pre-rode the first 10 miles of the course which got me to the top of the first climb. In the first miles, it was real gradual and started out on the road. Then, it got a little steeper as it turned to unpaved jeep trails and towards the top you took a left hand turn and it got to be loose rocky stone that was decently steep at the very end. I could tell from the lack of good lines and how loose the stones was in the last mile of that climb that it would be the first real place the group would start to split up.

After some discussions about the course with other riders, I got back from the ride and switched out tires for some brand new treads and pumped the air pressure up to 55 pounds – hoping that my wheels would be flying on the tons of jeep trails that this course is known for.

09.03.06
4am wake up time was in order to get some grub and get to the venue. The local Waffle House is open 24 hours, so getting breakfast would be no problem. Get to the Waffle House, eat breakfast all the time being entertained by some drunken lady who was yelling at the top of her lungs across the diner to another patron. The story was something about a person she knew had her husband die when he was 34 because he was working 80 hour weeks to get a house. How did I know she was drunk? She must have repeated the same story 4 times in a matter of 15 minutes to the same person.

Got to the venue and got ready just in time for the 6:45’ish start. The pack was 400 riders and is was stacked with a lot of good riders – Chris Eatough, Jeremiah Bishop, Nick Waite, Harlan Price – just to name a few. It was going to be a fast race and word was out that Jerimah was there to break the course record.

Gun went off and there was a mad dash to the front for the next half mile. Things didn’t really didn’t thin out until the left hand turn on the first climb where it started getting steeper. Temperatures were cool at the start, but things were starting to heat up.

Soon after the top of the climb was the first section of single track. This section was rocky and rough – and was the first of many to come. By the time this section was through, the pack was split and little groups of riders were formed.

My group contained Garth Prosser, Justin Pokrivka, Dave Duvall and one other rider. We would split and regroup several times over the next 20 miles, until the second check point.

At check point two, I grabbed a quick bottle of Heed and started my way up the next climb. I dropped the group I was with and for the next 70 miles, I would only ride with two other racers – I was basically alone for the next 5 hours.

I was climbing well, but being cautious on the rocky descents. Most of the climbs were long and gradual and I was able to make up time and keep a high pace for long periods of time.

Shortly after the fourth check point started a gradual 20 mile climb – check point 5 was about 15 miles into the climb and then the last 4-5 miles continued upwards. On that climb, I met up and climbed with Visit PA rider Ray Adams who would finish 9th on the day. We rode together for awhile, but he was having chain suck/shifting issues and about 10 miles into the climb I ended up dropping him.

From check point 5, there was roughly only twenty miles left. A few more miles of the climb I was on, a long descent, another climb, and then about 4-5 mile mainly flat section. I just had to roll it in and keep upright to hold my 8th place.

The next 5 miles of climb seem to last an eternity – the altitude was around 4000 feet and because of the cloud coverage, it did not dry out completely. The trails were soft, rocky and in some sections steep and overgrown with weeds. This was probably the only section I really didn’t feel too good on the entire day and I was glad when the trail started heading down instead of up.

Right before the last check station, I recreated a scene from Superman during a stream crossing when my bike when right and I went left. Luckily, I somehow did not go down, but my bike was now dirt free as it lay in the stream I was trying to cross at 20 miles an hour.

I dropped off my hydration pack at station 6, got a fresh bottle of Heed and rolled up and over the last climb of the day – the last few miles were pretty scenic as you got a good view of the area on your way back to the start/finish.

At the end, I finished 8th place – roughly 60 minutes down on the flying Jerimah and 50 minutes down on Chris Eatough. Tough day in the saddle and it was a pretty good result considering the competition and that the course was new to me.

Hats off to race promoter Chris Scott – the course was marked out really well, trails were awesome and the venue/free beer/atmosphere were second to none. Definitely a race to include on the schedule for next year.

Sologoat out.

9.03.2006

quick update from virginia



check the pic for results - the trek boyz were flying today and the field was maxed out at 400 riders.

weather was amazing - a cool approximate 60'ish degrees for the start, about 75'ish by the end. nice breeze blowing for most of the day.

course was damp in some areas, soft mud at one point around the 90-95 mile mark that made that section last forever.

more race pics and updates tomorrow.

sologoat out.