numb shins

industry nine 01, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

was what i got today, along with a flat during the local yocal valley race topped off with 2 flats on the way home. nice way to wrap up a cold and wet day.

next up, the cohutta 100, one of my favorite 100 milers - long sustained open climbs. you get clobbered about 30 miles in with basically a 30 mile climb and just when you are feeling like toast, the last 10 or so miles are mostly all single track.

thanks goes out to the industry nine folks for rebuilding up my wheels this year, should be all setup and ready to go by this weekend. if you haven't checked their stuff out lately, they got some new hella cool road wheels with a new front hub that makes for a super stiff front wheel.

that's it - time to get some continental tires on those wheels.

sologoat out

about my bar/shifter setup

IMG_2739, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

got a few questions recently about my shifter setup, so here goes.

for shifters, i am running a front sram x-0 twist shifter (new old stock from 2009?) with a 2010 xtr rear pod. back in the day, and the guys at speedgoat could give you all the gram/weight details, this was the lighter setup then running both xtr pods.

but in my instance, back in the day, it was also a cheaper setup then running two pods and it also allowed for trimming up the front derailleur a lot better when the chain line gets crazy and the chain starts rubbing on the front derailleur. i ran this on my old cross country bikes, i ran this on my old santa cruz's and asylums and now i am going back to it - mostly because of the chain rub issue.

and to "modify" the ergon grip to a twist shifter variety, i take a hacksaw and whack it off. though i will say, this pretty much voids any warranty from ergon, so beware...

and, the syntace stem - pretty much the only 135mm stem i can find on the market right now (without going custom) and is also pretty light as well. my fit calls for a 135 stem, so that's what i run.

cables, brake housing and pads are all jagwire, headset provided by my pals over at canecreek and thanks to the guys over at magura providing the magura marta sl disc brakes which are the same exact brakes spec'd on the pivot 429 ultralight complete bike.

bars are the easton e90's, flat style. i personally hate any degree of bend as it seems to put my wrists in an odd position and was causing me some wrist fatigue issues after 6 hours.

more pics up later -

sologoat out

2010 pivot build up sneak pics

IMG_2735, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

just a few shots of my 2010 build ups - now posted up on flickr.

ck it HERE

sologoat out

rest day

IMG_2697, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

ah, big block of training in preparation for cohutta now wrapped up just as my big work project is nearing completion. very odd going from having no time to having time for anything - like getting to actually change out my tires on my training bike.

or rebuild a king rear hub. or yard work (not so fun).

and got a chance to hit up the first cuyahoga valley cicuit race last weekend, which is always a good time. it's a good reality fitness check of sorts.

break went early, everybody chased. a crash half way through split the main group - and thank heavens i just missed it.

with a lap and a half to go, a good little break went and had the gap. i buzzed right across but the group decided to chase us down, but i decided at that point to stay at the front.

shawn tells me it may work if i attack from the last corner, which is funny as i was thinking the same thing - but the last corner is waaaaaaaaaaay out.

i attacked, had the huge gap and it probably would of worked but my legs turned dead after 30 hours of riding for the week just in sight of the line and the pack caught me just as it was about to start heading downhill. so, my attack plan for this weekend will have a slight twist to it. stay tuned.

next up, double local yocal race weekend. saturday crit and sunday circuit race -- weather permitting.

sologoat out

lack of communication

040210_combo_solar, originally uploaded by solo_goat.

sorry for the lack o' posts lately, been quite a busy few months of work for me as i am working with a local client to get their accounting system up to speed.

inter-company accounting, multi-currency, SRS reports, and over 50+ line of business's. very complex, very challenging.

training is also picking up again, legs are feeling awesome and the power is starting to increase. last weeks hill ride with phatty was a good one as we put the screws to each other. will be seeing him soon as it's getting time to get wobblenaughted.

i9's are all nice and pretty with new rims and rebuilds and are about to get sent over from the shop with some other fun toys like my easton e90 stupid light bars..

also picking up a set or two of the eggbeater candy's - i will always race the standard pedals but i thought i'd try the candy's out as everybody talks about them all the time (especially for cross) because of the bigger platform. with the sweet limited edition colors and anodized springs from the 'goat, got to get a set. just a theory, but anodized stuff has and always will remain cool.

that's it - gotta roll. sneaking in a bonus ride today - it is 60 degrees at 6am and i am itching for a ride.

sologoat out