07.11.06 - getting ready for the breck

so, i have started the slow process of packing up for another trip out west. this time, out to colorado.

haven't been out there for years - last time was when i was living in boulder when i was right out of college. went out to live the biker lifestyle. riding was awesome and i was making ends meet with temp accounting jobs as i had very little work experience at the time and i didn't want anything permanent.

i was out there for roughly 6 months, then i got a job back home, so i had to leave. my first real accounting job was calling my name.

so, 8 years later, i now return. i left colorado a category 3 road racer and expert mountain biker, and return a cat 1 cross/cat 2 road and pro mountain biker.



funny how life works out sometimes.

with that, gots to pack up and get some riding in before my thursday departure.

sologoat out.

07.10.06 - update from the goat

well, my new webpage is very slowly being developed. super slowly, that is. since i have been super busy, haven't had a whole lot of time to devote to it.

you can check it out here

the blog will stay up as blogger has some nice features, but the above website will have some additional content like photos, additional write-ups, reviews, etc. if anybody has some thoughts as to what to include, i am open ears.

next race - breckenridge 100.

been years since i have been in colorado, so it should be a good trip. 3 loops, each about 30 miles'ish. tons of climbing and lots of green stuff to look at.

few weeks later, then off to 24 hour nationals. don't know how big the field will get, but it's going to be stacked.

with that, gotz to run. stay tuned for breck updates and photos.

sologoat out.

07.09.06 - back in ohio

and back to the joby job tomorrow.

sea food and rest did me some good as i will need it for the upcoming 24 hour nationals and next weeks adventure.

givin' a shout out to those up in NY who did the 6 Hours of Power - is one of my favorite local races to do, but due to the fact i would of have one helluva drive to get up there from where i was at, i bagged it. if anybody knows who the top three was, send it my way.

with that, gotta run. will be heading out thursday this week to the next race and all i will say for now about my next race is... head west young man..

sologoat out.

07.06.06 - testing the new asylum prototype

looks almost like a beach cruiser, eh?

a few more days or r and r, then back to the real world and off to the next race a few days after that.

with that in mind, and time a wastin', gotta run..

sologoat out

07.02.06 - flat

is what i rode today - lots of it at heat. it's a little odd riding down a road and you can see something and you think it is right up the road, but after riding for 45 minutes, you are still not there.

so, got the surly single speed with me - used to ride the single speed a ton years back during the cross season, but once i started doing decent at them, i wanted to try and win a few cross races so i switched to geared bikes.

speaking of which, the soma project is slowly gaining speed - but i can't decide to go geared or single speed. got a sneak peak at the new salsa 29er single speeds at the goat the other day and the got the bug to build it up with one gear. they got it built up with a standard wheelset and a super clean single speed kit. looks super sweet and clean.

well, gots to run - and catch some rays.

sologoat out.

06.30.06 - TDF - WTF?

what the hell is going on? riders have been accused of doping and are getting dropped from the tour - most noteably, basso and ullrich.

you can read about it at cyclingnews.com

and a little blurb at SPEEDGOAT.COM on their blog. (and note the picture on the front page!)

pretty disappointing to see the names getting named, to see how widespread it is and to see riders literally go from racing to retirement within days.

on the good side, though, it looks like at least to this point, the US riders are clean. look for the discovery team to be up there, landis, etc. should be a good show for the US crowd.

and for us mountain riders - should be interesting to see how cadel evans and rasumussen do this year.

so, with the tour coming up this weekend, i may be taking some time off from the blog for a little "r and r". when i get back, look out for some pics, some reviews and plans for nationals and the likes.

with that - sologoat out.

06.28.06 - i'm getting hammered

with work. coupled with travel and riding, updating to the blog is when time is available -- so, posts will be done when i can.

so with june fast approaching it's end, next month's racing is in my headlights - as well as others.

most noteably, is 24 hour nationals. totally pumped up for this race which i hear is supposed to be hella fast due to the fact that there is very little technical and is on wide open trails. passing shouldn't be an issue.

but - there is a direct conflict with one of the ultramtb series races - the wilderness 101. all you folks that are serious in that series would be silly not to hit it up as most of the big guns who were there last year will probably be at nationals. but - i bet harlan price will be there and he is riding really well right now and has the lead in the series.

and for you guys who noticed my pic on the hammer gel flyers/promo's - that picture was taken at big bear in 2005 - by harlan himself.

so, wrapping up 4 days in columbus - training on the local yocal trails which are super tight, twisty, fast and fun. i always manage to crash at least once on these trails during a visit - yesterday was my crash day. nothing major.

today was pretty cool - nothing like a little bit of rain and thunder to make your last loop adrenaline pump a little faster.

with that - gots to run. a few emails to send out before i crash out.

sologoat out.

06.25.06 - word up

hey all - sorry for the lack of posts lately, been getting slammed at work lately as i have another client going live in a few weeks, right around the time i am taking a few days off for a little break. exciting stuff.

this company works with slate roofs - mostly dealing with churches, but they also work on residences as well. very cool stuff. these guys will actually sometimes drive out to a location just to take off tile - and they will pay you for it. there is even such a demand for it, that when old tile is taken off and it is in good shape, people will stockpile it and then these tile brokers come in and sell it for you. big business.

anyhoo, back to bike stuff.

lots o' wheels came back with me from my trip out to speedgoat this past saturday - got my king road wheels rebuilt with some sweet black spokes and mavic open pros, got my paul single speeds hubs rebuilt to my old blue anodized open pros (very kewl) and then the wheel i was dying to get built -- a surly flip flop.

yep, the karate monkey is going to go fixed as the new soma is going to be my new bad weather bike.

well, gots to run. timesheets to enter, emails to send... for most people, mondays actually start on monday... mine starts on sunday.

figure that one out.

sologoat out.

06.21.06 - a pic and an update

hey guys - quick update at ya.

i am beat down from the past two weekends, trying to actively recover.

so, this week - down in the columbus area. riding some of the local trails here and i am pretty surprised to see that either the local trail builders or IMBA has come in and done some really nice work on the trails in the past year or so. the trail is much better then what i remember of it last year.

lumberjack 100 - i see only about 60 people out of 180 finished the race. that heat was a major factor even though most of the course was in the shade. i will have to say, the course layout was ideal, location was really sweet. very well run overall, and defintely worth the trip. needless to say, i'll be back next year.

with that - gotta run.

sologoat out.

06.18.06 - lumberjack recap

to be short - that race hurt. a lot.

race started on the road, and then made a sharp right into the parking lot entrance, which was way fun as you hit a sand road at 30mph. i was roughly the 10th one into the woods and chris was leading, with harlan price right on him.

pace was not that fast, but fast enough. within 40 minutes, my heart rate was screaming and i had to back it off. time to do my own race.

so, i did my own pace, keeping my spot for the next 60 miles or so. then, with the heat hitting in the 90's, the efforts at big bear and conyers set in. i felt like crud and had to stop what seemed like several hundred times.

my heart rate was screaming, at one time it jumped well over 220 beats.

i lost about 5 places (at least) on that last lap, a lap that seemed to last forever.

i came in at 15th place overall - chris e won, and harlan got second. great job guys.

back to back enduro races was something that i knew was going to be difficult - espeically when they were so both after conyers. why do this?

prep for 24 Hour Nationals.

all in all - it was a great race. nice small venue, lots of cool people around, and i got to catch up with some friends that i haven't seen in awhile.

and - gotz to check out the prototype trek with the prototype xtr that chris was running. that stuff is hella sweet - pretty funny moment came when i tried to work his shift levers and i couldn't figure them out. i have been running SRAM for so long, that i kind of forgot of shimano's new lever shifter thingy. i guess they are still working out the bugs, but chris said it works really well - and that middle ring that has carbon/titanium looks pretty cool.

so today, as you guessed it, is a recovery day. need my rest.

sorry for the lack of photo's and updates - no computer hookups anywhere and my phone decided not to work so i couldn't get audio updates out.

with that - gotta run. or should say, gotta unpack.

sologoat out.

06.15.06 - next up on the plate....

the lumberjack 100.

heading out tomorrow, and it looks like it is going to be a pretty decent field. cycling news had the numbers up 70% compared to last year, with the total at around 170'ish, including chris e, steve s, myself, garth p, etc.

it's a little different format too - no out and back 100 miler. 4 laps of a 25 mile circuit - so, pits are and will be a factor.

so, look for some audio updates as the cabin i am staying in is going to be by my guess, very low on modern technology. which is cool as i need the break.

in addition, i'll be hanging out for an AM ride on sunday. i'll hit the trails early, so if anybody wants to head out with me for an easy to moderate ride, i'll be going out around 8:30'ish. if you bring coffee, this is your invite.

just joking - all are welcome.

gots to run. see you on the trails,

sologoat out.

06.12.02 - 24 hours of big bear recap

here is a little bit of a different recap format - this time with pictures.



10am'ish - arrive at my pit tent to get ready. my entire posse is there waiting for me which included my entire family and dan the man. in the picture, i am talking with brett davis and steve schwarz about the upcoming race year, the course, etc.



11'ish - shot of pit row. we would be running down this later. race participation was up 15% this year compared to last. i think it has a lot to do with the course, venue, etc.



11:30'ish - shot of me trying to warm up. highs would hit the mid 60's and lows at night hit the high 30's. tempertures seem to hit us all pretty hard - with the exception of steve.



12:00:01 - the start of the race. i think i was hit by at least 5 flying elbows and pushed hard about a half dozen times.



12:01 - shot of the "new" race format. the start included a run, then followed by a mini-lap (on the bike) of the same area we ran.

12:01:10 - exiting the pit after the pre-lap, i hit my pedal right pedal off a rock at full speed. it didn't crash me, but it snapped the pedal off, leaving only the pedal spindle. i rode a few hundred yards to my pit and had to replace my pedal, which was not an easy feat to accomplish when my heart rate was screaming and the solo field was passing me by.

i got back on the bike, and proceeded to chase down all of the solo guys in front of me with the exception of rob. i was going hard, taking risks and ended up flatting about a mile out from the start/finish. i rode the flat in, logged my lap and rode to the pit tent to get a new bike.

my only two technicals happened on the first lap.



a few laps later, i catch rob and we ride together taking turns at the front, but i don't feel 100%. i can turn the pedals over, but i am not feeling like i have my power.

as the hours pass and with tempertures dropping, i hope my legs hold out. steve catches up to me just as rob dropped me.

i am feeling sick. my stomach is not feeling great and my legs are feeling heavy.

midnight - i pedal on, steve and rob are now riding together and i feel majorly sick. i water down my intake on my fuel and keep pedaling.

3am'ish - at this point, i am literally so tired i am falling asleep on the bike and start to fear that i am going to hurt myself if i continue riding. i don't want to stop, but i am bouncing off trees and loosing time. i've never really had fatigue hit me this bad - and i think i was paying my dues for my effort down in georgia a few weeks ago.

3:30'ish - my main light burns out, but thanks to my backup light, i have no issues getting in to my pit tent.

i wrap up in a sleeping bag and doze off for 1/2 hour. i later found out that most of the solo field had stopped too, but for a much longer time. this allowed me to get a few laps up on everybody.



noon - riding over the ramp for the last time with steve. steve finished 2nd to me last year at this event.

he has picked up some new sponsors for this year which includes titus and hammer gel.

also, the battle was tight for third and brett davis squeaked out rob lichtenwalner for third.



signing out with steve at a little past noon.



podium shot of the 2006 24 hour of big bear.



analyze time - lap times by our friends at granny gear. lap times were awesome until about the 9th lap, where you can see my lap times go increasingly up. that is when i started feeling sick.

the lap time you see around 2 1/2 hours was when i took a nap, and then i was in cruise control until the end of the race.

thanks -
to my family for helping out and dan the man for wrenching.

and thanks to all the sponsors -
asylum cycles, speedgoat.com, hammer gel/e-caps, schwalbe tires, tifosi optics, light & motion, wobblenaught, & crank brothers.

and thanks for all the shout outs -
got a ton of comments about the blog, asylum, wobblenaught. thanks for the support!

06.11.06 - quicko update

quick update as i am tired as hell - long version/pics in the next day or two.

temps were cold (hit 38 degrees during the night), course was in super great shape.

had tire/pedal issues on the first lap, one night lap my main battery went out.

had stomach issues starting around my 9th lap, at that time steve schwarz picked up his pace and rode right by me and rob.

lots pulled out and/or slept - i think the temperture hit us all pretty hard, with the exception of steve.

congrats to steve (sponsored by titus/hammer gel -- steve, correct me if i am wrong) who rode super consistant lap and looked to be turning the pedals over pretty easily. good job steve.

with that - pics/long post hopefully up tomorrow.

sologoat out.

06.09.06 - big bear update #3

cyclingnews.com got a new update on big bear and the mohican 100.

check it out HERE

looks like the weather is holding up - but it may be a slight chilly. like 44 degrees. reminds me of the year at snowshow where i thought i seeing bugs flying around me late at night and i thought it was too cold for bugs to be out.

it was - it was snow.

with that - gotta run.

sologoat out.

06.09.06 - big bear update #2

big bear update - well, it looks like we are now up to 14 riders, so it looks like we have a pretty good sized field. i find it a little "easier" to ride when there is others around, so i am pumped up for that. and, the granny gear WV event is always what i have considered my "home" 24 hour course - i have always loved the courses down here.



pre-rode again this AM and it looks like we got a little rain last night - some slight mud in some sections, but nothing major. weather forecast has possible showers hitting today and hopefully holding off for tomorrow night. after solo worlds last year, if i get to race in at least 2 hours of it NOT raining, the event seemed heavenly.

granny gear has done some more work on the course, so look for some fast lap times. undoubtedly, it is going to be faster then last year. dryer conditions and great work on the course will add up to faster and more laps.



and here is a better shot of the "souped" up golf carts around here - you guys would dig these. a couple of "add on" features - blue running neon running lights (oh yes) and rain covers for the carts so you can drive around in the rain.

fun, fun.

with that, i am out. gotta rest up - recaps and pictures will be up as soon as i can, either later sunday or monday.

with that, wish me good legs, big heart and fast laps.

sologoat out.

06.08.06 - big bear update #1

word up from bruceton mills, west virginia - home of the 24 hours of west virginia - where there is plenty of beer and souped up golf carts with huge off road wheels and paint jobs that include flames. sweet.

course is dry and i am amazed at the amount of work granny gear has done. spots that were wet last year are now dry. pretty nice.

the course is the same as it was last year - no surprises. just a lot of hard work has made the trail almost 100% rideable.

ran into cameron - mr. current national 24 NORBA champ. this is going to be his first 24 hour of the year and he will be running a slim pit crew of only two people. he's been having some good results out west, so it is defintely going to be a fast weekend.

weather - starting to look interesting. looks like possible rain saturday night, and looks like the temps are going way down. like 44 degrees. what the heck?

13 solos as of today - stay tuned for more updates, etc. hope to have some pics up later tomorrow.

gots to rest up.

sologoat out.

06.06.06 - granny gear 2006 big bear flyer

06.05.06 - getting ready

last weekend had me testing out the asylums in some dirt. we made some swap out of parts on the bikes and things are working good.

mohican was last weekend, part of the ultra series. results are not up yet, but the word around town was that skip brown of seven cycles showed up with a geared bike. that dude is hella fast on a single speed. it was the first in the 6 race series, 5 more to go. next race is the lumberjack, up in the michigan, weekend after next. looks to be a nice format - 4 laps of a 25 mile circuit. should be a good format - long enough lap so you won't get dizzy.

this week - i'll be hitting up another race. field is going to be a lot bigger then georgia and it is one of my favorite courses out there. should be a good time.

and - i'll have a massive pit crew, so live updates may be possible this time.

so, look for audio and picture updates later this week.

with that, gotta roll

sologoat out

06.01.06 - prep for the next race

sorry, not mucho going on these days - so this post is going to be somewhat random...

been riding the old 26 inch moots ybb lately as the asylums are at the shop - they will be back in my grubby hands this weekend where i'll try out some new parts. we swapped some parts from last year, now they are being replaced. don't ever want to take a chance.

but - that has give me a chance to hone in some new "home work" that was given to me by my coach via tom at wobblenaught. should be interesting to see the results. i'll go into it more in the upcoming weeks....

i see kelly bicycles are going out of business - they are selling off everything and had an ebay auction today for their last frame. winner got to pick his frame, color, etc. last i saw it, bids were at $3500. all i can say, from what i have seen of "collector" bikes being sold on ebay - the winner of the auction would be stupid to ever ride that thing. if fat chance box crown forks go for over $350 dollars 10 years later, i can't imagine what that frame would go for.... jeez....

that's it - gotta run.

sologoat out.

05.28.06 - weekend update

hey gang - just getting caught up with house and life stuff this past week.

stopped out at the shop on saturday - bikes are getting some TLC from dan the man this week before my next race adventure. hmmm... which race will it be?

hmmm.... i'll keep it exciting and NOT tell you... (insert evil laugh here...)

at the shop, they got some new stuff in..

they are now a ARGON18 dealer, so if you like carbon, this stuff looks pretty sweet. mostly road/tri/time trail bikes, they also have a pretty nice looking cross bike.

and, they also got a full range of the BMC frames - mountain, road, you name it. did get a chance to hold up their high end full carbon frame/fork and it got my "silly light" seal of approval, odd top tube shape and all (looks like a tube in the shape of the letter "T"..)

and... there is also some stuff going on with asylum, though things are still in the very rough stages at this point. details won't be out until later this year.

and in ernesto bike news, i just picked up a SOMA 29er to replace my surly as my winter/bad weather bike. the surly is OK, but i find that the bottom bracket is too flexy. when in a big gear, i can get it to jump off the big ring under a lot of force. not a big deal when seated (other then being really annoying), but when standing - i swear, i have nearly died about a dozen times on that bike. i think the frame would be fine as a single speed, but as a geared bike... i would watch it.

so, i have a surly fixed rear wheel built up. i may keep the surly and set it up as a fixed 29er.. or i may sell it...

oh - and the cool thing about the SOMA - i got one of their first runs on the 29er frame. comes in black with no canti/v-brake mounts - which the new ones have them installed. very clean looking.

and in sponsorship news...

yes, believe it or not, i in the works for sponsors for next year, and possibly.... the rest of this year. talked to the rep just saturday, stayed tuned for updates. not saying a word on the sponsor names as i am a firm believer in jinkxing.

that's it - gotta roll.

gonna' love tomorrow - no work! hells ya!

sologoat out.

05.24.06 - Granny Gear 24 Hours of Conyers write up

5.20.06

8am
Wake up and grab breakfast at the local IHOP. Before leaving the hotel, I make sure to slam the door extra hard for an early morning wake up call for our hotel neighbors. Apparently, screaming out the door to each other and slamming the hotel room door randomly over the course of a half hour period is appropriate behavior at midnight.

9am
Arrive back at hotel. Pit crew packs up and heads over to the venue. Fearing the heat, I decide to stay out of it as long as I can as to not dehydrate.

11am
Arrive at the venue and sign in. 2 other men have signed up for the race, bringing the total up to 7.

12am
Race starts. The run is long enough to stretch things out. Heather Mosley actually finishes the run in front of me, but by the time we get into the woods, I am leading the pack which is stretched out single file behind me.

12:42am
The heat is blazing, and so is the speed as we click off the first lap. I am in hot pursuit of a rider #20 who is 1 minute ahead of me. Not knowing who he is, I try to chase him down. (Incidentally, his 42 minute and my 43 minute laps are the fastest laps of the day).

1pm
I have caught #20 on the second loop of the second lap on the very first climb. The climb is rough over a huge rocky mountainside and the heat is radiating off it, making it seem hotter then it actually is.

#20 is having a difficult time – he is riding a hard tail and I quickly drop him, keeping the same fast pace we have been setting.

1:26pm (approximate)
I just ticked off our second lap. The temperature is rising. I later find out that it hit an approximate high of 94 degrees.

3pm
#20 has now dropped back due to some issues with a loose cleat and Eddie O is roughly 2 minutes down on me. I can see him in some sections. (Also note, apparently Eddie had a flat on the very first lap or else he would have more then likely been right with me for the opening laps).

6pm
Finally, the temperature is getting cooler. I pick up the pace, and slowly my lead grows.

Midnight
Towards the end of one of my night laps with about a mile to go on the lap, I catch Eddie and we ride together for awhile. This is actually the first extended conversation with him I have ever had. We talk briefly about the Wobblenaught fit system.

We would ride in together to the lap tent, I refuel quickly and head out.

3am
Temperatures have cooled due to the night so I pick up the pace, and tick off three 50 minute’ish laps in a row. I was sometimes riding faster laps during the night then I was during the day.

5am’ish
I have now lapped the entire field at least twice by this time. I stop for my last battery exchange and some tastey Campbell’s chicken soup.

9am
I ride in for what I am thinking is my next to last lap, but it ends up being my last. Eddie is waiting for me in the pits, now making me 3 laps up on him. Third place is three laps down on Eddie. All we have to do is ride one more lap as the word from the third place rider is that he is content with his placing.

We ride together for the last lap, logging about a one hour lap. We talked a lot about the race season, the Conyers course in general, the ultra series, Wobblenaught, etc.

We both log out at the end of the lap which was around 10AM – we are done for the day.

Interesting point of the day – I was actually leading the race OVERALL (for both teams and solo’s) until about 8AM Sunday morning, and would of finished 2nd OVERALL for the race had I logged two more one hour laps.

Thanks
For all my sponsors (Asylum Cycles, Speedgoat.com, Schwalbe Tires, Hammer Gel, Tifosi Optics, Light & Motion, Wobblenaught, Crank Brothers), my pit crew (Dan the Man, Ernesto Sr, and Drew), and for all those fans who gave a shout out at the race.

05.24.06 - more race pics from conyers

the sologoat pit tent. stacked with extra clothing, food, ice, lights, etc.



start of the race. jumped on the bike cyclocross style for maximum speed and kewlness points.



end of the race. riding in with eddie o.



thumbs up to my pit crew of dan the man (wrenching), dad (food and general trouble maker) and drew (techno wizzard/weather man/everything else). job well done - couldn't of done it without them.



the iron crank award was given to the first ever solo man john stampsted. he pretty much invented the event. this is a replica of the original which lists every single granny gear 24 hour solo men winner.



this shows one side of the trophy - for event winners in 2004. tinker, ernesto and nat. pretty awesome company to have, indeed.



the podium at the 24 hours of conyers.



ernesto and the iron crank.

photo credit goes out to dad.

gotta run - race update later tonight....

sologoat out.

05.23.06 - pics from georgia - set 01

these pics are coming at you from sologoat fan thomas n.

these were all taken on the first lap of the race.



i believe this was taken right before the first section of singletrack.



this picture was taken on the first loop, right behind my pit tent area.



this one was taken in the same spot.

thanks thomas for sending the pics - if anybody else has others, please forward them to me and i'll post them as soon as i can.

stayed tuned - more race pics from eddie o, ernesto sr and sologoat himself.... in addition to the full race recap.

and, you may want to check out the wobblenaught site... word travels fast...

gots to run-
sologoat out

05.21.06 - victory at conyers

quick update - longer post with pics to come tuesday sometime.

field of 7 solo's started in 94'ish degrees. fast pace at the start, had to back it down for fear that i would not finish if i kept the opening lap pace. heat was getting to me.

eddie o was close behind for the first 12 hours and i lapped him around midnight.

third place ended up 6 laps behind me by the race end.

eddie came in second, 3 laps behind. we ended up riding most of the last lap together.

that's it - gotta run. still completely wired from the past 24 hours. hands are a little sore, my big toes are a little numb.

for all those who said hi to me during the event - thanks for the shout outs.

pics/updates will be posted tuesday.

sologoat out.

05.18.06 - update from conyers

sitting at the atlanta airport. once again, in akron, i was bleeding in my ears after hearing the life story of a passenger in the two minutes it took me to get my ipod going.



got busted at the venue. aparantly, my asylums are really fast and the "five - o" found out about it.



ah, the new asylum kits (or "outfits" as jennifer calls them) have arrived.



trail is dry, temps are humid and hot. weather for the weekend looking like possible wet stuff.

right now, the trails are dry and fast.

that's it - gotta run.

more later.

sologoat out

05.18.06 - off to GA

'bout to head down to atlanta where i will be meeting up with my posse - dan the man, dad and my brother in law drew.

we are going drinking heavily tonight, more tomorrow night, and will drink shots of vodka to celebrate my first 24 hour of the year two minutes before start time.

NOT

looks like we may be getting a slight heat wave down there - up to 87 degrees on saturday with some possible showers coming to cool us off sometime on sunday. it's going to be hot, hot, hot.

with that - gotta run.

but stayed tuned - audio updates from my pit crew to come during the race, with some possible text updates too via laptop and a dial up card via drews laptop from the pits. very high tech.

sologoat out.

05.17.06 - i got wobblenaughted

yesterday, i got my last adjustments to my race bikes for my next race which is...

the granny gear 24 hours of conyers

field is looking to be super small - under 20 teams (including solo's!) - should provide to be a pretty low key event as number of total participants go.



will have 3 members in my conyers posse for this race - my father helping out with the food/clothing, dan the man wrenching and my brother in law helping to fill in the gaps. should be good times.

weather - looking to be OK for saturday, maybe some early evening rain on sunday, but it keeps switching back and forth. not holding my breathe on anything, but it looks at least the temperture will be fine - somewhere between 82 and 58. not bad.

and..

2006 new asylum clothing is in and from what i hear, looks really good. i will be wearing my new stuff this weekend. would show you pics, but i haven't seen the clothing myself (other than a pdf which i cannot find).

for this weekend, granny gear should have good postings up during the race. please check out the results section as they should have hourly updates.

and - starting tomorrow, i should have some pics/updates posted of the course, venue, airport, etc. i should be landing sometime around 11'ish at atlanta tomorrow.

for the fans that will be waiting for me there - please have a latte waiting for me.

just joking.

that's it - gotta sneak in a ride.

sologoat out

05.15.06 - starting to pack

for my first 24 hour of the year.

i'll have one more hand of support for this event - i'll have my father, dan the man, and my brother in law. should make things a little easier.

this weekend, skipped the last of the local yocal criteriums. every race has had a crash when the course was dry, so when i woke up and it had been raining all night and there was a light spray of rain in the air, i opted to skip the race. not what i really wanted to do, but i just didn't want to take a chance.

updates to the sponsors just went out - need to keep everybody in loop as far as my schedule goes and how products/bikes have been working out so far.

as far as schedule goes, man... NORBA changed the marathon race around for nationals, and the website has conflicting dates on it. the web site list of events has the marathon on thursday, the web site for the registration has it for sunday. hmmmmmm.

that would make booking a flight at this exact moment pretty impossible. hoping they have this resolved by the end of the day.

that's it - just a quickie update today as i needs to get things organized.

sologoat out

05.12.06 - tgif

long week coming to an end...

and i am still trying to figure out some type of racing schedule - seems that this year there is so many races to do and they all fall on the same dates. very frustrating - i swear i need a team manager. or call that, ernesto manager.

the ultramtb series, the NORBA series, the east coast UCI race in Sainte Anne, Granny Gear, Adrenaline - seems like you can't pick a race without missing the other.

And then, late changes to race dates - NORBA just switched the NORBA nationals to the Sonoma location in July. Makes the race more "do-able" for those wanting to hit up both the Marathon and 24 Hour National, but you'll have to miss out on one of the ultra MTB series race.

very, very frustrating.

new dirt rag came out the other day - got the new "ernesto" asylum ad, an ad for the salsa 29er hardtail and an article on enduro racer rob l. you may remember rob from my conyers write up last year - i rode the last two laps with him. rob did the event solo (no support), came in second, is vegan/straight edge and all around good guy. pick up the issue - it's sure to be a good read.

gots to - good luck to all those racing this weekend. see jeff k is hitting up his first major enduro of the year - check out his blog for updates.

as for me - one more crit this weekend if it doesn't rain (dang roadies fall too much in that stuff) and then weekend after next...

my first 24 hour of the year.

stay tuned.

sologoat out.

05.10.06 - late weekend update

suuuuuuuuuuuuper busy with domestic stuff lately, sorry for the lack of updates.

with rising fuel costs and a certain sense of taking some responsibility for the environment, i "stuck it to the man" and bought a electric lawn mower. kind of a pain with the cord, but i got a small yard. cord shouldn't be an issue as i got sockets all over the house on the outside. big thing is where you start cutting an how you lay out the cord.

anyhoo... back to racing stuff.

last saturday was the 3rd of 4 local yocal crits. as usuall, three quarters of the field are either cat 1 or cat 2's (some of the cat 1's are former national champs and/or pro's) so it was going to be a blistering pace.

with hopes of my off the start line attack sticking a little longer then usuall, i threw down my attack as planned off the gun and went extra hard this time because i was hoping to last 3 laps. (there is lots of cameras around, so i was trying to get some press for asylum.. ha,ha...) with a huge tailwind going up the climb, i gained a good margin on the field very quickly. going up the climb the second time, i looked back and saw the field chasing at a very high rate of speed.

as the story goes (heard this from a buddy who was in the field), the ambercrombie guys were taking pulls at 32mph to chase me back. the field was strung out. then, paul martin (former national champ on the road, former navigator/go-mart pro and current super freakin' fear me strong) attacked off the front. yep, attacked off the front at 32mph.

attacked off the front at 32mph.

blows my mind when i think of that. well, i guess it also blew apart the field as well. from the accounts i heard, we dropped at least 10 guys within 3 laps as a direct result of my initial attack and the paul martin response attack. very impressive to watch him race - even if you are racing against him.

the rest of the race was business as usual - slow down to 25, then up to 35. repeat again and again. loose a few more guys in the process. in the end, i think we lost about 1/2 of the field as when it came down to the sprint, i sat up and turned around and saw only a few riders. if i am nowhere near the top 10, i don't even try to sprint in these races - way too risky for me. and although i can corner with the best of them, i can't sprint all that well - so if i don't have a good gap in the last corner, i usually don't stand a chance.

i see these as mostly training races. my main races - are coming up very, very soon.

with that - gotta run. lots of updates this week and next as i get prepped for my second major enduro of the year.

sologoat out.

05.05.06 - 4 dayz of daziness

hey folks - back from my go live client in cinci. things were hectic, we did some remote training today via a net meeting and will do so again monday and tuesday.

this internet, cell phone, lap top stuff is crazy when you think about it - you can work all day if you want to from any where in the world.

or..

you can stop and go ride your bike.

like tomorrow. another crazy fast criterium at the local venue near kent ohio. sure to be fun... and hopefully not dangerous.

last week, i did my classic attack off the front at the start of the race. two laps and a half laps later, they chase me down. at least i lasted a half lap more - tomorrow, will i get three? hmmmm. about 8 laps to go, a little group escapes. they are within reach, about 5 seconds up on us. then it happened.

going into the last turn, there is a slight "s" turn. imagine starting at the bottom of the s, making your way through the slight turns at around 25'ish miles an hour. at the end of the s, you make a super hard 90 degree slightly off camber turn that can fit a max of two riders (and only when you tell the outside rider "inside" because the turn is so sharp that the rider often can't see you).

i come into the corner fast, tell the outside rider "inside" to let him know i am there, and at the split second before we hit the corner i see a rider coming up between us. we are going well over 25mph, and all i can think is that he is going to take somebody out but it probably won't be me because i am on the inside.

i feel his hand brush my hip. i hear his front skewer hit the spokes on my rear wheel. i hear him skid. i hear his tire pop. i hear bikes crashing.

i come out of the corner OK, and turn around to see the carnage of 3 riders crashed and about 10-15 riders held up behind them. luckily, all riders we not seriously hurt, but man, that was close.

so with that, just a shout out to race safe this weekend.

in other news - NORBA nationals to switch venues but not dates? hmmm.... shall we pray for snowshoe, oh yes... maybe seven springs? yes, that too... how about a switch to the east coast?

and don't know if i gave a shout out to nat ross last week or not - he must of had wings at the first granny gear of the year as he beat second place by a crazy margin of something like 6 laps. he could of quit riding at 18 hours and still won.

with that - gotta run.

sologoat out.

05.02.06 - ernesto cycling news interview up

thanks to stever over at cycling news - interview is up.

check it out here: ernesto marenchin cycling news interviw

check it out - steve did a really good interview. we talked a lot about the upcoming ultra mtb series, endurance cycling, training and racing as a pro.

i think he has done a few interviews in his day.

he also did some good write ups on sea otter. if you haven't seen the page, it really does a nice job of coverage for cycling of all types - road, track, mtb, cross. and nice tech areas too - stuff that even the guys over at speedgoat hasn't seen.

CYCLING NEWS.COM

gotta run - my "go live" client is gonna' kill me if i don't get this stuff done!

sologoat out

05.01.06 - busy

hey - sorry for the "no post" stuff going on this last week - have a client going live with their accounting system tomorrow and i am in a rush to get it all done on time.

got some updates for ya - but, i gots to run.

races coming up and maybe a rest day for these tired legs.

and - sorry to hear about the bad weather at trans iowa 2 for all those who attended and for jeff who put it on.

gotta go -
sologoat out

04.28.06 - random quick stuff

hey all.. busy as hell this week, so i needs to be quick.

SPEEDGOAT.COM
has a ton o' ernesto links..SPEEDGOAT.COM ERNESTO INTERVIEW and the upcoming "talk to ernesto day" link can be seen HERE. the talk to ernesto day will be part of the giant demo ride happening early in the day. if you are going to stop out, please call the shop and the shop and let them know you are coming.

also, if you did see the interview earlier when i posted it, you may want to check it out again - looks like michael at the shop has added some pictures to it including me catching big air at rays indoor mtb park in cleveland.

have a couple other things going on that's pretty cool - have to be secretive at this point, but i'll let the cat out of the bag within the next few days.

nat ross had a stellar day at the first granny gear race - he beat 2nd place by something like 6 laps? cyclingnews.com has an article on it - including some detail about an eye operation that he had recently.

and chris eatough is going for number 7 at solo worlds this year. adrenaline sent out an email earlier this week with some quotes for him.

oh - and also check out the blog/site at speedgoat.com. they got the new pink bike project going (got to see the sweet pink anodized parts) and you need to see the new 15 pound road bike they just built.

yes, 15 pounds. and because of the lightness, it gets offically called "stupid light." carbon, carbon everywhere, not a drop to drink.

or something like that.

gotta run -
sologoat out

04.24.06 - weekend update

whew.

first crit of the year for me was last saturday and it was at a blistering pace. 35 signed up for the local yocal RATL races. these races are usually stacked - i would say conservatively speaking, there was 5 category 1 riders, and at least 10-15 category 2 riders.

so, looking at the start line, it was going to be pretty fast. i second thought my classic take off from the gun approach, thinking that these guys might try to chase me down really quick.

gun went off and i took off. went like hell on the first lap, then backed it down to 75% on the second and they caught me going through on the 3 of 21 laps. it was then just crazy fast after that.

i stuck to the front, stayed out of trouble. a little group escaped with 2 to go, we chased them back on the last lap but the guy in front of me opened a gap just when we were bridging. when i looked up, the gap to the guys in front of us was about 30 feet. hmmm.

a quarter mile to go in the race, we are pegged at 30+ mph and i quickly do the math...

30 foot gap to 10th place rider + race is only paying 8 deep + one sharp 90 degree last corner + i cant sprint to save my life + 30+ mph speed + somebody may take me out sprinting for 13th place = NO CHANCE IN HELL

so, with that, i backed off and cruised into the finish line. you have to pick your battles - and assess your risks. honestly, i feel safer screaming down a hill at 30mph at 2am then i do screaming into a corner at 30mph at 2pm with 20 guys behind me.

in other news...

will be heading back out to the shop in a few weeks for a giant bicycles demo day - after the AM ride will be a special guest appearance by myself where i will be talking 'bout nutrition on the bike. this is going to be geared for new riders and poeple who signed up for the AM ride - i am going to keep it basic. more info on this later - stay posted to the site for updates, or check on SPEEDGOAT's website for details.

that's it, gotta run.

sologoat out.

04.20.06 - asylum/ernesto web ad on spokejunkies

SPOKE JUNKIES got a new web ad for the asylum frames up on their reviews web page. check 'em out.

nada mucho going on these dayz - getting hammered at work. i have a client "going live" in a few weeks down in cinci so things are getting hectic.

i consult on an accounting software produced by microsoft called great plains - my specialty field is construction and service. what happens in a "go live" situatation for a client is when you cut over from one accounting system to the other.

which means, all that data that is in the old system, now has to be in the new. so imagine a companys data - employee records, customer records, vendors, bank accounts, general ledger, jobs, service contracts, etc -- all that data has to tie out and balance to each other.

and all the settings have to be reviewed and checked, reports have to be created, employees need to be taught how to learn the system, you need to know their business inside and out, including their old system and the way they entered data.

you need to know accounting, you need to know the industry, you need to know great plains, you need to know SQL databases, you need to know how to extract/manipulate/reimport data.

that's my day job...

my bike "job" is waaaaaaaaay more fun..

gotta run.

sologoat out

04.18.06 - pics from todays ride

i had this massive tailwind today so i got huge amount of mileage.

sologoat out

04.16.06 - things u see on a ride

never surprises me the nutty stuff one can see on a ride. from huge bunnies...



to an offer for free manure.



sweet. just what i needed.

not much to update yin's on (that pittsburgh talk).

just been riding, working, eating, riding more, eating again, sleeping.

got in the first few rides on the new asylums - must say the nokons dan put on are shifting awesomely. been very happy with these cables - been running them now for over 3 years. very nice system.

that's it tonight - cinci is calling me yet again. which, has been working out well for my training, but not for my tires on my moots. i have cut tires so bad on that trail that i have had to replace two of them - and i have only done about 6 rides on the trail with my road bike.

and - i must say, the compact moots frame is working out really nice for me. very quick handling and responsive - reminds me a lot of the compact giant i used to have years back.

sologoat out.

04.14.06 - asylum #2 pics

just got asylum #2 from my pals over at ASYLUM CYCLES where dan the man at SPEEDGOAT.COM has yet again constructed another masterpiece.



ah, the pretty in pink chris king disc hubs with the new high end SRAM cassette and chain. those are the sweet SCHWALBE little alberts on those bontrager rims.

NORTHWAVES are my shoe of choice. am i sponsored by them? no. why do do i run them? 'cause they are stiff, i have been running them for over 5 years and everything italian kicks ass. well, most everything.



side shot showing of the "pre sponsor sticker session" view. logo's have been changed for 2006 - update your pre-2006 frame with new stickers HERE.



front shot showing off the new head badge sticker. also, the new stem/bar combo of choice for 2006 - a ritchey wcs stem and the easton monkey light sl carbon bars make for a hella cool and hella light setup.

oh... and notice those sweet nokon anodized black sealed cables all around, yo.

gots to go. sologoat out.