3.31.2008

Parting out is such sweet sorrow


speedgoat vicious
Originally uploaded by solo_goat
last chance to all you bloggers out there - the speedgoat vicious has now been parted out.

frame/fork and king headset to be listed within the next few days. will be more then likely selling this combo with some type of clothing kit (older matching jersey/short kit - or as my wife calls them - outfits). post a reply if interested...

and - those cool carbon 9 speed campy levers are now up for sale too....

new ernesto speedgoat kits will be in this week, along with some new parts for the moots road bike so all you roadies out there can't make fun of my worn out road equipment.

with that, gotta run - it's 55 in ohio and i just got a bonus from work. for once, i love mondays.

sologoat out

3.30.2008

dirtrag appearance and big miles


100_1041
Originally uploaded by solo_goat
this week with the snow finally clearing on the paths and road. temps are still chilly, but at least i can get a ride in with only 2 or 3 layers and stay dry rather then 4 or 5 layers.

cross commuter build up - getting somewhat closer. down to either the BH or the RedLine - stay tuned.

and..

got the word from some fellow bloggers and from dan the man - guess i got a pretty good shot in the latest dirtrag magazine for granny gear - think it is around page 90'ish or so. from what dan said it's a pretty good shot - can't miss it.

that's it - gotta roll.

3.26.2008

if or IF?



last few days have seen me getting back to the basics - rolling the pedals over on a single speed. bike of choice - my old very first somewhat custom IF cross bike.

1 inch fork, no bottle mounts, track drops. 32x12 gearing, running a standard pauls single speed rear hub because fixed hubs scare the heck out of me. gearing is tuff, but perfect for the flat'ish bike path.

and now, somewhat of a bike commute update:



speedgoat will soon be able to get 'yer favorite ortlieb bag thanks to my man steve. why ortieb? because they are waterproof. guess we'll find that out in the upcoming weeks/months. stay tuned to see how my laptop holds up..

and - my man justin from priceton tec has hand made a new super duper tail light that uses 3AAA's that is made entirely out of a rock, paperclip, some wires and a piece of gum.

some of that is "slightly" made up, but the new light is going to be making a red carpet appearance at sea otter.

gots to run - crystal report fun to be had.

sologoat out

3.25.2008

first commuter experience


passionate bike messenger
Originally uploaded by williwieberg
was had yesterday with success, though i must say every extra pound seems to add up when you start heading up a climb.

total ride time was well over 3 hours - not bad considering i had to be carrying over 20 pounds of laptop and clothing.

bike choice of the day - the salsa el mariachi. this will more then likely be switched out to my "commuter cross" bike project that has been twirling in my head.... hmm... BH, RedLine or Voodoo?

BH - great bike, lots of clearance, new cool bike of the 'goat. Nice complete if you go that route with an ultegra SL package and mavic kysrium's. frame/fork nice option too.

RedLine - another bike with good clearance and running a similar Ultegra SL package. Both bikes run compact cranks in the setup - finally. nice to see both BH and RedLine to have a complete cross setup with a group that makes sense.

Voodoo - frame is about the only option here as the complete is not too swell in my mind. Frame has clearance to run bigger cross tires and comes in super light scandium. in this price range, voodoo has a nice light build up option and would be a great spare part part build up bike.

decisions, decisions....

sologoat out

3.22.2008

ernesto needs a new pair of shoes...


not really, since john from northwave just sent me out my shoes for the year - thanks mucho john.

but - i gots some stuff that is going up for sale as i need to update some road components, clear out the basement and... make room for more stuff...

you can check it out on my flickr site HERE.

sologoat out

3.21.2008

tgiins (thank god it is not snowing)



or at least not right now.

not mucho going on right now as i get in some miles and work for a little bonus at work that should provide some fundage.

speaking of which, got some stuff for sale, pics up later this week:
1. pauls single speed 26 inch wheelset - non disc
2. mavic crossride 26 inch wheelset - non disc
3. mavic crossride 26 inch wheelset - disc
4. kooka old skool square taper cranks, rasta - great condition, orig rings
5. vicious motivator - 29er built up cross-like, with speedgoat custom paint. king wheelset, campy record carbon 9 speed. built up to "spec" by my man chris himself.

misc parts:
1. l&m vega light
2. rocky mounts - disc adapters (2) new
3. wtb mountain drop bars - originals, not the cheesy new ones
4. avid mechanical disks - new set, with rotors. used 3x.
5. dura ace rings - 53 and 39 new, never used.

more to come...

stuff i'm looking for:
1. road wheels: 1 set good clichers and tubulars.
2. good condition ultegra/dura ace drivetrain and/or shifters

trades only considered locally..

gots to ride

sologoat out

3.17.2008

embracing my irish heritage



being part irish, i feel a strong moral obligation to celebrate the holiday.

especially after seeing some of the local yocal irish citizens of kent ohio getting hammered at the pub around noon today.

for me, my serviings will have to wait until after my ride.

sologoat out

3.16.2008

it's still cold


2006 Cyclocross Nationals 200
Originally uploaded by solo_goat
but looks like the weather is going to take a turn for the better coming tomorrow. thank you cycling gods as i really hate wearing 4 pairs of gloves to get through a ride.

lumberjack sold out, so your out if you didn't get singed up. seems like the 100's are filling up, which is good - and bad. guess you could debate it either way, but it's great to see the race format getting popular. no worrying about pits, lights, crew, etc. just pedal.

thinking of 100's, bill over at the 'goat is diving into getting a 100 miler going in speedgoat's backyard. should be hella cool, but to get it organized right the tentative plans are to hold the event next year.

now, back to my latest obsession - looking at tubular rims for the 2008 cross season.

sologoat out

3.15.2008

hours o' fun


shawn - admin of pain
Originally uploaded by solo_goat
group ride today, fog and 40 degrees was the early forcast that only saw the temps stay the same and fog rise later in the day. felt great to another long ride in this week.

gotta run - yet another fun filled evening of house work.

sologoat out

3.13.2008

08 speedgoat kit



the 08 speedgoat kit got a tryout today (same basic setup as the "ernesto" green kit, but mine will have the sponsor logo's all over) as i got in some good miles as a heat wave around 50 degrees hit ohio. felt great to get out with the heavy winter gear on - any day you don't have to wear lobster gloves in ohio is just awesome.

if your not in the lumberjack 100 yet, only about 50 spots left - great course - 25 mile loop, 4 times the fun. as i told shawn last year, the half way point is the 75 mile mark as the heat sets in and you start noticing you just sucked in a lot of dust and you have another 1.5 hours of hard tempo to go. great course, great beer after the race. don't miss it.

that's it - sleep, eat, ride, work. repeat. more riding is always better..

sologoat out

3.11.2008

dan the old man



a aged photo rendering of dan the man as the shop, myself and the blog'o sphere wishes the bike miracle man a happy birthday.

drink a pint (and two more) for me.

sologoat out

when going in circles is a good thing



say hello the the proposed INDOOR cleveland velodrome from rick adams at fasttrackcyling.

it's a project that is gaining speed that rick has been working on for over 2 years now - check it out and lend your support as we cleveland riders need a place to hide from the white stuff in winter.

cool thing is, it will eventually serve as a place to ride for bmx and cyclcross riders, as well as possible indoor running & rollerblading.

get 'yer track bike now.

sologoat out

3.09.2008

snow sucks


snow_combo
Originally uploaded by solo_goat
espcially if live anywhere near the cleveland area - we got hammered since mid-friday. above shot - the left side is from 5pm on friday, the other is 5pm on saturday. no joke. i shoveled the driveway 4 times yesterday.

and - temps to hit higher then 32 by tomorrow, will hit 47 by the later part of the week. nice.




in good news, john from northwave sent me out my mountain shoes for the year - a nice set of the new 2008 raptors.

lightweight soles, buckels, reinforced heel, front toe spikes, vented toe area... been running northwaves for over 7 years now and they have never let me down - and now speedgoat is carrying them, so if you need a set, check 'em out.

and - just to note with winter still around, NW has some nice winter road/mountain options out there too.

that's it - gotta hit the trainer.

sologoat out

3.07.2008

chris and evil chris



chris of speedoat is visiting chris of pivot/bh (previously of titus) this week - sure as hell picked a good time as ohio/PA are getting the mother of all dumps of snow and has every rider in ohio seriously thinking of taking up playing wii professionally or moving south. anyhoo, the Speedgoat Blog has a post on it.

also, may want to check out the speedgoat page if you ride an XXL asylum - the last ones are being blown out hella cheap.

and - just got in some super sweet northwave raptors in gold and black - they offically qualify as hella cool. stay tuned for pics.

that's it - gots to run, lots of domestic and bike work to catch up on this weekend as i paint away and make a final decisioin on my heart rate monitor for the year...

looking like possibly the garmin 305 with a rigged up re-charge unit for life over 10 hours, or going super basic as usual and updating my cateye heart rate monitors (usually buy 2 monitors in case one goes nutty) to the newer version and waiting a few weeks for their new V3 to setup on the road bike. no downloads on the cateye's but i've found them to be pretty reliable.

anyhoo - sologoat out

3.05.2008

the asylum down low



well, it didn't take long for you guys to find out - asylum is going underground...

here's as much info as i can pass along - i'll revert all other quesitons to chris at the shop...

1. i'm still affiliated with asylum through speedgoat - i've been racing for the shop for over 7 years now, and will continue racing on speedgoat's bikes.. wether that be an asylum, a salsa, a moots, a niner, etc. one things for sure, as far as sponsoring goes, nothing technically has changed for me.

one good thing for 2008 is that jerry pflug will be racing in speedgoat colors this year, so i am pretty stoked to be racing with jerry again and to actually have some teammates to travel with during both the mountain and cross season.

2. frames this year - i will race throughout the year on the bikes i currently have. depending on race length, location, etc, etc, etc - i may have either my salsa mamasita or moots 29er in the pits as backups.

3. asylum - can't go into much detail, but as the website states, if one does come out, it will be made in the US of A, it will be a new design unlike anything out there, and it's from a pretty cool frame material. (for more info, bug chris...)

so, long story short - i'm not going anywhere, speedgoat will still service any asylums out there in the world and i'll still be riding one in 2008.

sologoat out

3.02.2008

solo



was the theme of the weekend as i hit up two solo rides - feels great to be back outside again as the weather and my flu have both cleared up for a bit.

el mariachi is riding great after some readjusting of the saddle as somehow i got the measurements off.

couple of recomendations if you are thinking about one - double check the eccentric a few times as it loosened up on me and maybe switch out to some lighter tires as the stock tires weigh a ton.

heat wave is hitting ohio tomorrow morning - shooting up to a incredible 58 degrees, and then dumping rain later in the day. may be a good day for you ohio riders to call in with "morning sickness"...

sologoat out