Thursday, December 31, 2009

Monday, December 28, 2009

Tent Aquired

I used a bivy in 09 which was light and fine, but worried me when it rained. Also it didn't breath real well. Around 7am my down bag would be wet from my own sweat, which makes breaking camp easy, but uncomfortable. The fancy Laser Competition is too much tent and too much money. I needed a good compromise between ease of setup and protection(from myself).
Enter the Nemo Gogo.
Almost perfect; just a little on the heavy side.
I heard about it from Gnat Likes
Fortunatly Nemo is having a garage sale and I snagged the last 09 model from 125. I can't beat that.
I know it's a little heavy, and I'm trying to lighten up for 2010, but it's all about compromises. If it's easy to setup and provides adequate shelter then I will be encouraged to sleep outside more. That should translate to riding longer each day(not to mention saving money).

It's nice and snowy today. Hopefully the ground will freeze over and I can go biking tomorrow.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

TD 2010 etc

I think I'm caught up on the whole blog thing.
TD 09 journal is finished.
Now I'm thinking of TD '10.
I have a leave of absence plus two weeks vacation lined up.
I'm saving eveything I can. I'd love to have a new bike, like a Siren Song 29er or a Salsa Dos Niner. I don't think I can quite afford that though.
So I'll use the Ziggurat, but I'll splurge on a Rohloff, and a Nemo Gogo tent.
New Crank and BB and then new tires. That will save me some cash. Oh and a Brooks saddle.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

12hrs of the Hill of Truth






11th annual 12hrs of the Hill of Truth at Haw Ridge.
It was great being back at Haw Ridge, but the rain had mucked up the trail pretty bad. After the third lap it stopped being fun and just became a pain. Warm/dry clothes were more tempting. Needless to say I only completed 4 laps, but they were in a row so that's good right?

Tweed Ride





Bike Newport's Tweed Ride
Little warm for wool though.
More photos here.

OVCX race





I competed in two of the three races in Cincinnati, part of the Ohio Valley Cyclocross series. They were UCI races too. Serious professionals were there.

It was a great race. Rode with Butch on the second race at Harbin. Sand traps at both races. My fat tires came in handy for that, but it was not easy. Super fun though.

More photos here.

Morning Commute








I have a nice little commute into downtown.
I get to ride through Eden Park, and upon leaving it I have a nice view of the city.
Photos are from the summer and fall.
More photos here.

Friday, December 25, 2009

2010 Tourdivde

Sweet I'm number 1.

http://tourdivide.org/2010_start_list

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Day 24 - 25 Abiquiu to Albuquerque


I woke up at 4 am and threw up. Then back to sleep for a few hours. We had breakfast and I barely ate my pancakes. We rode(an agonizing mile) to the general store. I wandered around in a daze and then threw up again. It was Sunday, the store owner said he could take care of me if it was a big deal. I thanked him and said I would just stay in the hotel another night(spensive).

We said out goodbye's, and good lucks, and parted ways.
I pretty much knew that was it.
I went back and tried to rest and ice my knee but could really do that. I tried to eat crackers and Gatorade, but I couldn't keep that down. I couldn't even keep down water. So I tossed and turned and watched Ice Road Truckers. Truly mind numbing.

I woke up on Monday and rode up to the store and a guy gave me a ride to Alburquerque. Nice guy.

I wasn't sad or made or upset. I was quite impressed with myself that I made it that far. Maybe in 2010?.....