12.29.2008

group ride


sunday_ride
Originally uploaded by solo_goat
went down this past saturday headed up by shawn - other saturday rides will continue through whenever, depending on weather.

rides and house work are rolling right along as i eek out my last vacation days to concentrate on house work, resting and getting some early season miles in.

2009 calander not set in stone yet as i haven't had the time to plan things out - same rough schedule, though i may switch things up and try to get out to a few more of the hundred milers.

gotta run - need to ride and paint.

sologoat out

12.24.2008

merry festivus

off to see the family in little while after i sneak in a christmas eve ride.

not mucho going on, planning out 2009, taking some much needed time off and getting in a little r&r before i start logging the miles.

roughly two weeks of unscheduled workouts for me, then it is time to get back to the schedule.

rough schedule is basically the same, but with more enduro's and less 24's out there, should be interesting to see how things pan out.

with that, gotta ride - and then rest up for some feats of stregnth.

sologoat out

12.22.2008

ernesto speedgoat socks



will soon be up at Speedgoat.com so be on the lookout to not only look stylish, but to also help Speedgoat in their effort to support me during my 2009 racing season.

sologoat out

12.21.2008

odd weekend



in the sense that i don't really have anything that i am specifically training for - probably the first weekend i can say that since... about this time last year.

so it's my offtime for the year - two weeks of riding without looking at the calendar or without a specific workout. and, it's also two weeks of getting house stuff done as after january 1, i probably won't have the time.

mas o menos for 2009 - need to contemplate that and the rest of the goals for the year.

in my holiday gift search, i did pick something up for myself - the Park Tool RK-41 Portable Race/Ride Kit.

there's a few options out there for tool sets, but for traveling and going out to races, this seems like the best tool/tool case option out there.

that's it - time to drink some java, put away cross bikes, and plan out 2009.

sologoat out

12.15.2008

cross nationals - sunday


masters start - 45 to 49
Originally uploaded by solo_goat
9am - 60 degrees

1:30pm - 21 degrees

clear but friggin cold day - ligned up in approximately the 5th row and had a good start, but went downhill from there.

felt good overall but just lacked the speed - would eventually end up getting pulled, but had enough laps to get placed. made it to the top 70 riders.

kind of disappointing, but the game plan going in was just to stay on the same lap. goal next year will be the same.

overall, had a blast - glad i stayed around for both races. and for all you fellow cross freaks that cheered me on - thanks.

sologoat out

12.13.2008

cross nationals - saturday


IMG_0051
Originally uploaded by solo_goat
update: i came in 18th and andy came in 20th.

gerry got 9th and fellow ohio rider andy applegate came in 11th in the masters 40-44 group.

got about 60'ish pics or so up on flickr - mostly of gerry's race. this is one pic is pretty classic - tuba player in the background.

two years ago during the elite race, i caught a glimpse of a hula girl playing a ukulele.

sologoat out

cross nationals - saturday


IMG_0015
Originally uploaded by solo_goat
conditions were super windy today, mud was dry, tacky and slow.

lined up in the 3rd row, right next to andy.

gun went off, and all hell broke loose. held my position for the entire race, made up a few more. course layout was tough, you were either going up or going down.

one run at the top of the climb, one barrier at the bottom and one more little run up at the end.

finished up somewhere around 15th, results will be up soon. andy finished a spot or two behind me.

gerry had a great race - finished in 8th in his race.

now, rest and some coffee. tomorrow, the elite race and then the drive back. both will be painful.

sologoat out

12.12.2008

cross nationals - friday


100_2732
Originally uploaded by solo_goat
arrived into town today around 2'ish, right before gerry and andy got in.

was able to do about 7'ish laps - conditions at time of riding was tacky mud. kind of stuff you can ride real fast, hold off the brakes and let the tacky mud act as brakes. nothing too crazy, wide open stuff.

will say though, the preview i posted last week is a bit deceptive - there is a lot more going "up" then you would think and the layout is not exactly as it was in the preview.

but, overall the vibe is positive, the course is good and i think everybody is pumped up about racing.

first race up tomorrow - masters. then sunday, the big show is on. it's a racers race - people screaming, lungs burning and it's the last race of the year. hells ya.

sologoat out

12.10.2008

the packing is almost done

but somehow i have managed to a pretty decent write up on cross tire choices on the speedgoat blog - you can check it out here

race conditions - i'm not jinkxing them or anything, but it's looking better then it was last year.

head out tomorrow, get there for a pre-ride and registration on friday.

masters event for me is around 2'ish where i will line up 3rd row, 2nd person in next to my man andy. we'll race, give the race course secrets to gerry who will be lining up for his race right after we finish up.

with that - gotta roll. 2 more to go then i get some rest.

sologoat out

12.08.2008

cleveland cross final


HPIM3036
Originally uploaded by Flickr de Julie
not mucho to say here, going into the final race, the battle was up for the overall.

for me to tie for the win with paul, basically both shawn and paul would not both have to not show with how the points worked out. with probably only a few good races in me left, i decided to go safe and stay upright as my 3rd place was basically already ensured at the start line.

stuck it out for the first laps, but the 2.0 tires on my salsa were no match to the speed of the cross bikes. ended up on the day way back, but finished out 3rd overall in the series.

overall:
1. paul
2. shawn
3. ernesto
4. tony
5. brett

with it's 10 year under it's belt, congrat go out to bike authority and team lake effect for putting on the series. first race ever 10 years back had a total of 9 riders - they had a race this year that had over 200. awesome.

with no work having to be done to my cross bikes, i am ready to roll out on thursday with trailer in tow, hauling out 4 bikes, 2 extra wheelsets and a bunch of other stuff i probably won't need but will take anyway.

and thanks go to my man shawn who let me borrow his dugast tubulars...

sologoat out

12.06.2008

snowy saturday

snow hitting ohio today, so i hit up the local hike and bike path to get in a ride. little did i know, i literally would hit the trail twice as i bagged it early due to black ice all over the trails.

tomorrow, last cleveland cross race for the year up, then nationals. looking forward to wrapping things up for the year and getting some house work done.

and - a few new items on my Solo Goat Garage blogsite.

gotta roll - sologoat out

12.04.2008

cross on my mind



this time next week, the adventure of cross nationals begins as my dad and i journey out to kansas so i can attempt to cough my lungs out - twice.

check out the preview - and imagine it covered with snow with 30 degree temps.

could be worse - you could NOT be there.

sologoat out

12.01.2008

murrysville cross

heading out to the state where i started racing, it was good to be seeing some old friends, but not good. temps in the mid 30's and a cold steady light rain was going to make things hellish.

small field, but things got strung out pretty quickly. mike, steve-o, joe, gerry, andy and myself soon gapped the field in super sloppy conditions.

steve-o and joe cheked out pretty quick, and i got in a group with andy, gerry and we slowly brought back mike. that's when all hell broke loose.

rain started coming in heavily and the course gradually got worse. on the backside of the course, i took a spectacular header over the double barriers allowing gerry and andy to catch back up and mike to make a gap into a big gap. my hands drenched in mud and water, they would soon start to freeze.

bars turned, hands going numb, i get back up to gerry and andy. gerry powers through for 4th, i come in 5th and andy comes in 6th (after winning the earlier masters race).

hands stinging in pain, it was a good race to get through. these are the types of races that make you savor the days when it's 80 degrees and sunny and makes you tougher in the later hours of an enduro when nothing seems to be going right.

as the saying goes, that which does not kill you only makes you stronger.

sologoat out