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.

scheduling and riding

are about the only things i am doing right now.

enduro races wrapping up - one this weekend and a few more to go. scheduling conflicts have been the story for me this year as i seemed to have missed out on some of the smaller races i have hit up in years past. with a lot going on this year in my personal life, turning pro, etc - i tried to concentrate on the bigger races. the debate with going to smaller races is that you chance getting hurt and a big effort that is not properly scheduled can hurt your efforts for your major events. rest plays an important factor during all of this, so you have to take that into consideration too. hopefully, the enduro calander next year will not have so many conflicts.

so - i am heading out this weekend for the last of the ultra series races - the shenandoah 100. rumor is around town that all the trek boyz will be there, and of course, harlan price will be there to collect his series win. and - gripped films will also be out there shooting footage for the eatough documentary as they are local to the area. so wear your best riding clothes and smile nice for the camera.

local series info has been posted for most of the ohio cyclocross season, with details on nationals not yet posted. scheduling conflicts most times are not an issue as it looks like i am going to hit up quite a few races this year (at least a dozen cross races) including a few UCI events, Ohio state champs and Cross Nationals in Rhode Island in mid December.

i'll have links up for the races along with my cross schedule (i'm not so secretive about that schedule!) by next week.

in the meantime, the weather for the shenandoah 100 seems to be a toss up right now. will ernesto (the hurricane) and ernesto (myself) have to face each other this weekend? needless to say, the weather will sure be an intersting opponent this weekend.

with that - gotta eat and figure out a cross wheelset for this year... decisions, decisions...

sologoat out

hurricane ernesto has arrived

i took some time off this week to head south for some training on the beach. the locals saw me and came up with a nickname for me, calling me "hurricane ernesto" because i was kicking up so much sand from my rear wheel from my mad power.

in other news...

next enduro race coming up soon. stay tuned.

sologoat out.

the goat speaks out

had some questions/comments the last few days that i thought was worth mentioning....

regarding wattage:
looks like for us off road disc users, there are not too many options. there is an option for the ergometer system, but the issue with that is their system uses an isis bb to measure wattage. and i guess the bottom brackets are not the best of quality and if they need to be sent back, they are going overseas to get fixed.

and as far as the powertap goes, there are no disc specific hubs, only hubs that are 135mm. the only option i could possibly think of here is running only a front brake and maybe putting a shim on the rear brake so you don't accidentally squeeze your hydrolic brake. and, i probably would only do this during training rides on the local yocal bike path - and i wouldn't be bombing down some crazy downhill.

otherwise, you would need to go super high end with something like the SRM power meters - which, with two bikes, is not really an option.

offhand, though i did not check, sometimes the guys at problem solvers make some products that could be useful - maybe this is one area where they should start looking.

regarding cross crank setup:
the crank i pictured the other day will have both the ring and the gaurd on the outer ring - the gaurd will be spaced out.

this setup is required as my frame runs 135mm rear spacing (normally, moots cross frames run 130mm - this was custom for me) and because of such, the bottom tubes on the rear triangle flare out a little bit more then usual and i could not run the ring in the middle and the gaurd on the outside.

i have two moots cross frames - both have 135mm rear spacing. my original bike can run the ring on the middle and the gaurd on the outside when i run a 135. but - i ran a old ti race face bb and just moved out the bb a little on the drive train side.

other option is to run a little bit bigger bb spindle length to space it out a little more. but, options are really dependent upon the frame, what ring you are going to run and also what crank.

also - other thing to watch on the crank. some cranks run one of the ring bolts on the actual arm of the crank. if this be the case (campy and ritchey cranks) then spacing out the gaurd on the big ring may not work.

best bet - ask dan the man at speedgoat or chris - they worked out all the details for me and actually weighed out everything as well.

with that all that talk - now it's time to ride.

sologoat out.

08.24 - you want me

on your cross bike...

here's the newest addition to my main moots cross bike - a 2006 dura ace crank with a 42 ring and a salsa chaingaurd. dan and i ran the numbers pretty much a thousand different ways and this was pretty much the way to go light and strong without going carbon.

i'll run this crank with a third eye catch and no front derailler.

while it is light, i run this setup mainly because i have found that i rarely shift into a bigger ring during cross races and when i did have two rings, it seemed not shift that great because of the mud build up and the fact that you usually have a ton of tension on the chain and that i was loosing time having to ease up to upshift and downshift on the front ring.

also, on those random times when the chain did drop, i seemed to have a difficult time getting the chain back on in the heat of battle.

though, it's mainly preference as to why i do it.

also, out of preference, i had my last moots cross bike made without water bottle mounts as i normally don't run water bottles during a one hour cross race. if you have to really run one to go out on a ride, then there is an option. twofish actually makes a water bottle mount that comes with a velcro mount. not the prettiest thing in the world, but if you hate taking on/off water bottle cages on your cross bike for races, it is an option.

more pics and posts on cross setup later - possibly even a youtube video instructional on dismounts/remounts. exciting stuff.

sologoat out.

08.23 - tifosi review

is now posted at the SPEEDGOAT.COM BLOG. i did a write up on the Q3, quam 1.5 and the backlash. check it out.

also, a work in process has started on my new page ERNESTOMARENCHIN.COM. it's going to be a slow process as a buddy is helping me with it in his spare time. the second set of revisions should be up sometime this week, with hopefully the last update some time next week to finialize everything.

in the meantime, this site will stay up as i like some of the features and it is pretty easy to use.

in other news...

cranks have been ordered for my main moots cross bike. after hours of looking at weights, price, carbon vs. aluminum, etc - what we came down with for the best weight option without going the carbon way was the 2 piece dura ace with a 42 middle ring and salsa chain gaurd on the outside. just didn't want to go the carbon route.

and - looks like no interbike for me this year. vacation days are whittling down to negative and it is basically looking like i could either do a race or go to interbike. so.... this year, i am passing. though, if you have never been there and get the opportunity to go, i think it is defintely worth the trip just to see the spectacle of it all. bikes, bike geeks and pretty girls as far as the eye can see.

with that, gotta run.

sologoat out

08.22.06 - random updates

CYCLING NEWS has updates from criterium championships that were held last week. congrats go out to local A&F team for two in the top ten and paul martin who came in the top 20.

and, WOBBLENAUGHT fit guru Jim Baldasare has a pretty kewl pic up on the cycling news site during the cat 1 race. you can check him out here. he's got the field strung out big time in this pic.

to note, jim has won this race in years past with the GOMART team. the year he won, paul martin led him out at some unbelievable speed and everybody was holding on for dear life. paul led the field out so fast that he actually opened up a gap on a flat section of road. when paul is on, paul is flying.

not mucho going on these days, just laying low trying to stay healthy and rest up for the last enduro races of the year. preliminary on the cateye heart rate monitor is that it seems to be working really well. nice options, nice price, etc. i think it is the next best alternative to sigma in the lower end heart rate monitors. sometimes i think that the higher end monitors just has too many buttons - they are nice to play with during a training ride, but when you are in the heat of the battle in a race and all you want is to see your heart rate and time, it can be a hassle to go through all the buttons just to see what your heart rate is without running into a tree.

that's just my 2 cents.

schwalbe has some nice cross tires called the CX PRO that are avaialable in both foldable and wire bead. tread looks very similar to the TUFO design and comes in at just a tad under 300 grams a tire for the foldables. they'll be on my next order along with a set of STELVIO for the road bike to finish out the season. why the stelvio? dual compound for longer wear pattern, light, puncture resistant.... and they have multiple color options including pink. heck ya.

that's it - gotta ride.

sologoat out

08.19 - fancy shorts

so, last thursday was a local yocal low key 10 mile out and back two man time trail. the locals get their 1000 dollar bikes with their 2500 dollar wheelsets and go like hell for 10 miles.

so, i converted my asylum into time trail mode (pumped the tires up to 65 pounds and locked out the front shock) and headed on down to the race start.

and it was the perfect opportunity to try out some plaid shorts beth at speedgoat gave me awhile back.

race went pretty well - i think the top guys did the 10 miles on the high side of 22 minutes and we came in around 25 minutes. good change of pace.

today - just a long tempo ride in the rain. the moots compact has been riding really well so i have been sticking to that bike a lot as it rides really nice. didn't get it tricked out with the SL tubes as i don't do enough road racing to warrant me getting it. i will say hands down, as far as cross and road frames go, moots has to be my favorite.

well, gotta run - domestic stuff to do today. which, honestly, is hard for me as i pretty much have to write my house projects down in training schedule to make time for it.

later - sologoat out.

08.17 - i can throw a pigskin a quarter mile

well, maybe not. but i can throw a football over that mountain...

ahhhh.... sorry - enough with the movie quotes.

late nighter last night as ernesto had to work super late. makes a long day seem even longer but with the local hike/bike path super busy as of late, it was nice to get on the trail where the only thing i had to deal with was dive bombing bats going in for "bug kills."

heart rate monitors are in - will be testing them out on today's local yocal two man time trail where i will be riding my time trail asylum complete with my super low profile non-aero everything. i'll be racing it with a buddy of mine - which i may be a hinderance since he is riding his mountain bike with 26 inch wheels which everybody knows by now is just silly to be doing.

just joking... still have a few 26 inch wheeled mountain bikes around...

powertap stuff is in - but, there was a slight mix up and i got a regular powertap and not the powertap pro as i ordered. so, no crazy wattage screen shots to look at yet.

local ohio cross events are coming up - stayed tuned as i post the info in a few days or so.

and - that's about it. just trying to stay fit, keep the weight off and get prepped for my last races.

with that... sologoat out.

08.15.06 - gearing up for cross

is what's been going down the last few days or so...

with the end of the enduro season coming up soon, my full cross season pretty much starts about 6 days after with my first races of the year. i'll possibly hit a few up before my last enduro race, but my concentration will be on enduro's until they are over for the year.

so right now, cross freaks around the US are gearing up - what tires to run, what wheelsets to use, so i run a single or a double up front? decisions, decisions...

thankfully, my two bikes are pretty much set with a few exceptions. need to figure out a crank for my main bike as i want to go light, but need to consider that my moots cross bikes have 135 rear spacing - which causes some issues with what chainring i can run up front as the ring may hit the frame.

and the other setup decision is regarding wheelsets. tubular carbon with TUFO cross tubulars are super light and super cool. unfortunately, they are also super expensive.

this year i have plans on hitting up both the Ohio State Cross Championship race and then Cross Nationals as well. both are a week apart about mid-way through december. i have always wanted to do cross nationals, and since it is on the east coast this year, and my motivation for the cross seasonn is at an all time high, it wiil be a nice way to end out the racing season.

so, i gotta get all setup for cross now or it will be too late in october to do any work on the bikes as far as setup goes.

asylums are getting a nice little workover before the end of season as well - new drive trains and fresh schwalbe tires. everything else is working great, so nothing else needs switching out.

hammer gel order about to go down - ordering up my last major order for the year in the next day or so. endurolytes, premium insurance, anti fatigues, race caps, and gels are just a few things on order. i have to give a shout out to these guys - their products are second to none. very helpful staff, user groups. if you haven't checked out their "guide to success" PDF, do so now.

with that - gotta run. tifosi review up in the next couple of days along with some possible write ups on my powertap that is coming from the 'goat!

stayed tuned - same goat time, same goat channel....

sologoat out.

08.11.06 - update on my heart

rate monitor status.

well, it seems like a few others have had issues with the sigma monitors. overall, i would say that they are an OK product but they seem to come with a battery that is just a tiny bit smaller then the standard US battery. this causes the back plate of the watch to sit up a little higher then ususual, thus causing the ever so important seals of the watch to "not" seal.

if i were to use them again, i would recomend getting replacement batteries from sigma direct for the battery for the monitor. the transmitter seems to work OK with the batteries from the local yocal target store.

so, i just ordered the same cateye heart monitors that MR. KERKOVE uses. these will be used on the mountain/cross bikes and sometimes on the road when i am going "old school" low-tech like and not running the newly ordered powertap schtuff.

should be interesting to see the results of the data - work has forced me to be a database kind of tech geek, so i have this mindset now that information is knowledge and the more i can get, the better.

hmm... sounds like i am selling something...

in other news... some interesting reads out there in cyberspace....

NAT ROSS CYLCING NEWS UPDATE
is now posted. read about his write up on 24 hour nationals. and dare i say, his second place is coming off of his RAAM ride, then his race at marathon nationals. nat is riding really well this year...

SPEEGOAT BLOG UPDATE ON SRAM ROAD KIT
click the link to the blog section and check out chris's update on the SRAM kit. latest posts are regarding the front shifter and the kewl carbon crank.

LIGHT & MOTION PRESS RELEASE
is out regarding 24 hour nationals. seems that 4 out of the top 5 riders were running light & motion lighting systems. hmmmm.... would the words lightweight, reliable, and long burn times seem super awesome to you? heck ya - that's why i made the switch over to their lighting systems a few years back.

with that, gotta run - have a good weeekend, keep the rubber side down.

now, time to drink some more coffee...

sologoat out.

08.09.06 - heart rate failure

or should i say, heart rate monitor failure. my heart rate monitor to me has become an everyday indicator of how the body is feeling.

when my heart rate monitor is not working, i become confused, ticked off and tend to become a jerk.

so, i think i am pitching all my sigma monitors and making the switch to another brand. they go through batteries like crazy and the "little" rain storm at nationals fried out my last heart rate monitor.

considering going with the lower end cateye heart rate monitors for everyday use and off road, and then go full bore with a cycle-ops powertap unit and wheel. going from nothing to data overload in about a week.

catch with most of these systems that can also track cadence and wattage is that it relies on some costly part to gauge wattage. the drawback to the powertap unit is the hub - not only because the hub is heavy unless you go super high end, but also the hub does not come with an option for disc.

what up with that?

so, stay tuned. bars and charts to come at ya in the near future.

not mucho going on, other then training and getting prepped for the next race coming up in a few weeks. will be my first time at this venue and it is supposidly a super kewl course.

with that, gotta run. oh - and watch out for a tifosi optic review of the quam and a few other of thier models coming out this week.

sologoat out.

08.05.06 - the ernesto chronicles

GRIPPED FILMS who made the "off road to athens" documentary, is currently in production of their next project. This project will highlight Chris Eatough going for his 7th consectutive 24 Hour Worlds win. Ken Bell (pictured) and Jason Perry will be working on the project which is sponsored by Trek Bicycles.



this was the first interview i have done with them, and there will probably be a few more. other riders that will be interviewed will include Nat Ross, Cameron Chambers and Mark Hendershot - to name a few.



questions ranged from how did i get involved in 24 hour racing, current sponsors and what would it take to beat chris at worlds.

if you haven't heard about either documentary, you should at least check out their site.

the film is going to give the enduro world some good press, so watch for it's release in early 2007.

sologoat out.

08.03.06 - randomness & figuring things out

still trying to recover from last weeks adventure...

and it looks like CYCLING NEWS has updates in the mountian bike world posted. check out the write up on 24 hours nats and the wilderness 101. great ride shout out to harlan who just about sealed up the ultra series by winning the 101. he just needs to finish the virginia race and that's it. great job.

also - WOBBLENAUGHT has a write up on 24 hour nationals posted. is it by chance that 3 out of the top 5 riders at the race were "wobblenaughted"? hmm.. i think not.

also got a shout out about how many 29ers were at nationals - honestly, i would have to say that i notice more of the top guys riding the 29ers percentage wise, but for single speeds - jeez, i would have to say the majority (if not most of them) were riding 29ers. i've said it before and i'll say it again - if you are going single speed, 29ers make so much sense as they carry the speed so much better.

so the ultra series is wrapping up, end of the enduro season is in the headlights and cross season is coming up fast.

time to rethink, schedule, plan.

before i started racing seriously, i never planned anything out. i rode hard this day, even harder the next and went with how i was feeling today and didn't think about tomorrow.

you want to race enduro? gots to plan it all out.

so, i have just spent the last approximate 30 minutes disucssing race plans and training schedules through october with Jim Baldesare who has been my coach since day 1 and who is also a WOBBLENAUGHT fit guru. diet, training, resting, racing were all topics of today. i felt a need to get refocused on the rest of the year, so he's always the first guy i turn to.

so we made some slight adjustments, refocused and i think i am mentally set for the rest of the year. and now, as my father says, "all you have to do is ride the bike"...

speaking of which, watch out for a blog entry of race quotes from my father. i guess he has come up with some good ones when i was out on the race course, so i am coming up with a list... stay tuned to laugh your wheels off.

with that, gots to run.

stay calm, breathe deep, focus, think happy thoughts. and race your brains out.

sologoat out.

08.02.06 - 24 hour nat write ups

here's a list o links regarding 24 hour nats..

TREK BIKES
write up on the trek home page. chris was riding 2007 trek bikes and the 2007 XTR.

CYCLING NEWS
brief write up from steve medcroft, more to come.

24-9
write up from the race organizer. where is the 2007 24 hour nats at? same venue - sharpen up your skillz and do your anti-rain dance.

RIDE WITH NICK MARTIN
Jon "Poz" Posner write up and audio posts.


with that, i am still bummed out by how the race ended because i felt like i was coming on strong, but it was probably the most fair thing for the results.

i just hope that the race organizers take what happened with the weather into consideration for next year.

overall, i would say that the event was very well run and from the standpoint of my pit crew, it had great facilities and everything was freshly stocked and cleaned. which is saying a lot - especially when we can all think of some of the nightmare conditions of other races that we all have been at in the past.

with that, i set my eyes to the rest of the season. a few more enduro's and holy smokes...

cross sesason starts next month?!

with that - gots to run.

sologoat out.

08.01.06 - 24 hour national pictures

start of the race - typical le mans style run out to the bikes. didn't have too awesome of a run as it was somewhat hampered by the way the start/finish was marked up.

had to run through a gate setup that was wide enough for one rider - that bottle necked and i ended up getting on my bike somewhere around 25th place.



fueling up. hammer gel caps were downed with a flask full of coca cola. used to drink red bull. why the switch?

red bull - 4 cans at 8 bucks. coca cola - 24 cans for 8 bucks.



off for another lap. i try to keep pits super short.



kewl night shot before all hell broke loose with the weather.



podium shot. there were about 25'ish guys in our field. congrats to everybody racing and thanks for all the support from all the sologoat fans out there.

07.30.06 - NORBA 24 race update

5th place. tough day that was called short due to tornado warnings. rain/thunder hit around 6am'ish and was a complete downpour, crazy ass winds and lighting.

got to the safety of a water station only to find 60 of my 24 hour friends underneath. we hudled together for warmth, like a bunch of penguins.

JEFF KERKOVE has a more in depth write up - check out the link.

race was a tough one, the heat and humidity and the begining hit me pretty hard. had dehydration head aches pretty early in the day and then decided the night would be my time to make up time.

night came, i was feeling a lot better and i was making up time. i was feeling a lot better then i was durning the day - but i think it was the same for the others as well.

one clothing change brough sloane past me, then i caught him by the end of the lap. little did i know that the check out time on that lap would be the last one that counted.

went out around 5:30'ish and it looked like hell. i could see huge storms and the lighting lite the sky, but we were not getting rain, it was windy as hell and i couldn't hear no thunder.

15 minutes later, all hell broke loose. it was raining so hard i could only see 10 feet in front of me and i went as hard as i could because i feared getting hypotherrmia.

by the time i made it to the second check point, i was relieved. but not really. eddie was there, and eventually, nat, sloane and chris e all came in.

when they started the race back up, they said to go out in the order we came in. ya, right. we took off, i got to the front and eddie quickly passed me. he had a 9 minute gap on me at that time, so i let him go as i figured it was only fair.

that lap finished up, but i wanted to get back out. conditions on the trail were super crappy, sloppy, wet, slick. it was whistler 2005 all over again and i was loving it.

i passed eddie in the pits, and i made it to the end of the lap without him catching me. i had made it into the fourth spot.

then i find out the race orgaizers ended the race and that basically your lap out time at 5:30 was your finish time. not so great, because i felt like i was really coming on and that i race really well when the weather gets cruddy, but it was probably the most fairest thing they could of done at that point.

and hats off to eddie o who had a great race.

top 5 solo -
1. chris e
2. nat ross
3. mark hendershot
4. eddie o
5. ernesto

that's it - about to post some pics.

also, want to thank everybody who said hello or who cheered me on during this event. seemed like i had a lot of fans out there - thanks for the support.

sologoat out.

07.30.06 - pit crew update 3

07.29.06 - pit crew update 2

07.28.06 - last update before 24 hour nats

course still bone dry - possible chance of showers later tomorrow. with the trail as hard packed as it is, looks like the course could get slippy as hell if it gets wet.

hendershot is here, and it looks like both cameron and nat ross are here as the subauru gary fisher cars are both here. eddie o is here and jeff k is around, but i didn't see him at all.

trek and chris are all setup - didn't see him out today but you can't miss that huge trek monster trailer.

gripped films are out here doing a documentary on chris as he goes for his 7th win at worlds this year - both hendershot and i did an interview, nat and cameron were going to be interview later today. (these guys shot the "off road to athens" documentary). the film will be later released at sea otter.

that's it - the last update until after the race.

for my fellow racers this weekend - keep the rubber down and have a safe race.

sologoat out

07.28.06 - pics from nats

some of the single track - course is fast and smooth. twisty, turny, got to watch those corners.



more single track - there is not a single climb on the entire course.



when it's not single track, it's jeep trail.



some of the rocks - sections of rock are here and there, very short that you can get through in about minute or so.

overall, the course is fast with very little if no climbing. lap times are going to be fast, so watch out for some hour/sub hour lap times.

heat looks like it may be a factor, but it wasn't yesterday. was a little warm for those sitting around, but it was actually not too bad in the woods.

with that, gotta run - getting some breakfast, picking up dan the man and doing another lap.

sologoat out.

07.26.06 - pit crew update 1

07.26.06 - ernesto audio update 1

07.26.06 - packing for nationals

is what has been going down. lights charged, pit crew came (dad/drew/my sister) and picked up the majority of my stuff, and now i am getting last minute stuff ready like...

1. new batteries for heart rate monitors
seems my sigma heart rate monitors go through a ton of batteries - as soon as they get a little weak, they stop working. i'm thinking of switching out to polar as it has some options for wattage, which i don't know if the wattage numbers are accurate. anybody that can give me some feedback in this area? ideally, it would need to work with both my road and mountain bike.

2. loading up the ipod
getting some new tunes on the nano - considering riding with it during the night, but we'll see.

3. reading material for the flight
i am now on a mission to read "a scanner darkly" by philip k. dick before i see it in the theatres. if you haven't seen the trailer for it, check it out. very cool filming. and for you NPR freaks, you may want to see if there are any podcasts out there - they had 45 minutes of interviews yesterday regarding the film. incidentally, this same authors writing's can easily be seen to have an influence on films like total recall and the matrix series. and - blade runner is also another movie that was based on his book "do androids dream of electric sheep"... food for thought.

4. setting up audio updates for the pit crew:
now completed and tested. possible text updates as well.


random updates:

1. another ernesto interview
happening this friday. can't let the secret out of the bag yet, but stayed tuned for more details.

2. SRAM is in the 'goat house.
that is, speedgoat. chris at the shop has the new SRAM road stuff in and installed and once again, he has a blog entry with crazy detail.

read the entry at the speedgoat blog called LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP

that's it - gotta run. my offical "freaking out time" before a 24 hour race has now started and is in full effect, so please excuse my randomness of the upcoming week.

stay tuned...

sologoat

07.24.06 - random pre NORBA 24 updates

ah, short ride to spin out the legs tonight. been working on some new pedal technique that i'll go into after i get back from nationals. wobblenaught came up with up it and i have been trying to incorporate it for the past couple of months. very interesting stuff - nat ross has been using it this year, along with the UCI ranked #1 woman.

thanks to celeste out at schwalbe for sending me some of their little alberts - been running these tires for the past two seasons with great results. very good hook up in all conditions. been generally running them around 40-42 pounds, around 35'ish when the conditions get wet. very good either out west in the sand or in the peanut butter mud out here in the east. awesome all around tire.

looking like moderate tempertures for this weeekend, but it looks like it is getting some rain out there.

new helmet for me (see the pic above silly). some super genius (myself) decided that black was a great helmet color as it would look good with my kit and hide the dirt. hmm.....

well, at some time during the first hours of the 24 hours of conyers when the 94 degree heat was beating down on my black helmet, i decided that maybe a lighter colored helmet may be better.

that's it - gots to make some calls and plan my departure for thursday.

sologoat out.

07.23.06 - 6 days to go

until 24 hour nationals. should be a "who's who" of solo 24 hour racing as there seems to be no conflicts with other races.

i'll be heading out to the big show on thursday morning where i'll meet up with 3/4's of my pit crew (dad, sister and brother in law) and then the next day, dan the man comes in.

speedgoat trip was a success on saturday - picked up the soma project bike that has been a work in process for months, and probably will be for another few weeks. too much stuff to do, and it's a winter bike...

extra light came in from lights in motion, schwalbe tires should come tomorrow, hammer gel nutrition stuff is in stock at my casa. all is good.

brother in law has the lap top with the super duper wireless dial up card and i'll hook him up with the login for the blog, so stayed tuned. i promised updates for other races, i'm hoping to get it for this one as it looks like they may not update their site that often for the national race...

and - if anybody knows how the solo race for killington went, please pass it on. was wondering how rob l did...

with that - gots to run....

sologoat out

07.21.06 - hammer gel product review

ah, product reviews. something i have not done a lot of this year, so it is time to play catch up.

first on the plate of reviews - hammer gel.

i have been using hammer gel products for over 4 years now, and it started on a quest to find something that didn't update my stomach during my enduro races. those first races were painful enough, and when i had to deal with digestive issues and not getting enought calories in me, it really made those first races difficult.

i picked up hammer gel last year as a sponsor - not only did they solve my issue of having stomach issues with fuel intake, but they also came to the rescue in providing supplements as well. i saved time not shopping around, as well as money with the shipping.



one of the first changes i made to my supplements this year was with premium insurance caps.

i have been taking multi-vitamins on and off for years, so this seemed like a logical choice. it's a good choice so far, and i have always liked the fact that their products are high quality and doesn't cause conflicts with any of their other products.



and the other addition to my intake has been with race day boost, which is very similar to their race caps supreme, only in powder form.

the powder is a cheaper alternative to the caps (which i use during races and longer training rides) or in addition to the caps, as i have been doing this year. if you haven't used any of the hammer lactic acid buffer products, the caps and the powder is the products to use. who wouldn't like these benefits?

- Prolong endurance
- Increase performance time at anaerobic threshold
- Provide unsurpassed lactic acid buffering

only suggestion on the powder is to make sure the cup you are pouring it into is dry or else the powder may clump on the bottom. and also, i would suggest putting the powder into the cup first, then mixing the powder as you pour your OJ (or whatever else) into the mix.

drink up.

and - two other suggestions on hammer products.

suggestion #1-ATHLETES GUIDE TO SUCCESS
read it. read it again. then read it a third time. why? a lot of the mistakes i made during my first eduro events probably could of been avoided as most of them were mentioned in the guide. if you do any type of enduro event, this would have to be a "must read" guide.

suggestion #2-
after reading the guide, you need to take into consideration that every body is different, and that people are going to react differently to fuel intake and supplements during race day.

test your intake well in advance - don't let your race be your testing ground for what fuel your stomach can take and what it can't. better to find it out during a test ride then at an event where it has cost you a lot of time, money and effort to get to.

with that said - hammer on you enduro freak.

sologoat out.

07.17.06 - post breck update

hey all actionphotographic has pics from the breck up. got some good shots - the pic above is at the top of the first climb. (for those searching, my # was 108).

on the topic of races this weekend, i see that the NORBA marathon national had somewhat of a lame-o course and mr travis brown won. too bad on the course. i really wish the format would somewhat change on the marathons to be at the 6 or 8 hour type of event as i think sometimes the events are too short.

with that, not mucho to update you all on, other than i making a trip out to the goat this weekend to work on the asylums and pick up the soma winter bike project that has been going on for months.

and - i gots some plans to start doing some product reviews, so look out for those. they'll be on the products i use everyday, most from sponsors, some not - so, stay tuned, yo.

sologoat out.

07.16.06 - a crash, 2 flats, and a upset tummy

hey all, update for ya.. don't have a complete list of the top ten, but i'll do my best...

friday's pre-race banquet was pretty good, but slowly turned to confusion as the race organizers tried to explain (in great detail) trails that most people in the room had no idea what he was talking about. at first, what seemed like a normal race suddenly had a lot of people in a panic about the route.

(i will note - that however scarce some of the markings were, they were pretty well done considering the length of the course. i didn't have any major issues with the markings, but you had to be paying attention at all times.)

gun went off at the 6am start, and it was a bit chilly. rough numbers for the 100 miler were about 100. most riders were wearing arm warmers but slowly the temps would creep up to what felt like the high 80's, low 90's.

first climb went up and up and up, and then up some more. the field slowly strung out and i found myself somewhere in the top 15'ish at the end of the first climb which took roughly 1 hour to climb the 12500 foot peak and included a snow crossing.

i started the decent down. it was slippy and filled with deep ruts and big rocks. i made my way down carefully, but not carefully enough. in one of the deep ruts, my rear wheel hit a rock and it threw me off my bike. my head immediately hit the ground knocking me very silly. silly enough i couldn't stand up for a second and had to sit down for a second or two - then i gathered up the yard sale of a crash as i picked up my bike here, my bottle there, and my glasses over here.

i continued on.

i made it down the rest of the way safely, got on the bike path section and started hauling down the trail. got into the next section of trail that had some single track and then...

flat...

dang. so i fixed it as fast as i could. 5 minutes lost.

cool. start pedaling. 20 feet later...

dang...

bad tube. another flat.

fix it. now 10 mintues lost.

i slowly make up the places i lost, and by the time i get back to the spot i was in before i flated, i finish off the first lap.

i go out for my second lap, and i am flying. i climb into the top ten as i pass at least 6 riders. the climbing on this section is very tough, and it seemed like most of it was well over 11000 feet.

then, i start to not feel well. i push on.

about 20 miles into the second lap, i stop - i was about to throw up and felt really light headed. the feeling passes, then i push on again. but i only make it about 15 feet before it comes back again. i go on, but i drink no more liquid/food until the aid station where i get some water in me.

i push on to finish my second lap, but i am not feeling good. my stomach is upset and i am feeling drained from the altitude. with nationals two weeks out, i did not want to put myself in a deep hole that i couldn't get out of before nationals.

i dnf'd - along with about 70 others in the solo class.

from what i heard from most of the east coasters, they all went through something similar to what i felt, sometimes with difficulty breathing.

winner was a local who won it last year (rides for giant), 2nd place was harlan, some local on a single speed was 3rd who was hella fast (updated as of 5pm - "some local guy on a single speed" true name is Tim G!), kip (sorry - don't know last name) was 4th, and i guess garth p was around 5th at the end of the 2nd lap, but ended up around 10th.

(results may be off - look to offical website for results)

that's it - will i be back next year? yep - and i think more time to acclimate is in order....

overall, the course was spectacular - the kind of course that out of the corner of your eye you could see this amazing scenery, but you dared not took your eye off the single track in front of you so you wouldn't go sliding down the hill a quarter mile.

with that, i depart, with visions of nationals in my head. time to rest up, work on the bikes and charge up some batteries.

sologoat out.

07.14.06 - update on the breck

just gots done ridding some of the breck course. looking like it is super dry and the first climb is a tough one. jeep trail with loose rocks. it's a pretty long climb, elevation goes up fast and soon you are passing up snow.

didn't go too far up, but from what i can tell, the course will be really dry.

also, the heat is shooting up - hit around 90 today, so hopefully the possible rain coming in will cool it down. tomorrow will have a chance of scattered showers, so that may cool it down additionally.

town is really cool, but expensive. overall, the scenery is beautiful and the riding (i am sure) will be epic tomorrow.

not sure when i can update again, stay tuned. hope to have updates up by late sunday.



with that, greetings from colorado. wish me big lungs tomorrow when i am 12500 feet.

sologoat out.

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.