I woke this morning with fresh legs even though I have put in some good miles/climbing all week. With Vision Quest looming over me I was curious how long it would take me to get to the peak from the bottom of the Motorway (the biggest climbing section of the event). I was aiming for the 2 hour mark and headed out.
Today was one of the most beautiful days I have seen in SoCal in some time. Perfect temps, deep blue skies, a few puffy clouds and fresh tacky singletrack to be had by me. Took a trip over to Santiago Truck Trail, up to Old Camp and descending down the Luge.
This is not a day to be indoors…
Chris, Craig and I headed up Holy Jim today so Chris could video tape the ride down with his Go Pro HD. I hadn’t been on HJ since the Counting Coup last March. I forgot how amazing this trail is. There is something for everyone on HJ, stream crossings, big rocks, small rocks, flowing singletrack, steep climbs, steep downs, you name it. One of the best OC has to offer.
Before we passed the trail head, Chris’ lame Kenda Small Block 8 tire was spitting Stan’s fluid all over him. This tire is his nemesis. The only reason he was running another one is because he won the tire in a raffle. As he said today, “This is the last SM8 I will ever run.”
Craig and I making our way through some of the hike-a-bike sections. Chris walked this too. ha!
This weekend started off with what was suppose to be a nice easy pace road ride with some friends. NOT. Why? Chris! Mr. Hammer Down decided to lead the road group at a blistering 26MPH pace most of the day! I have to admit though I was having a blast staying up front with the leaders all day hehe. My planned ride for Saturday was going to be riding the couch and relaxing, 34 miles later I guess that didn’t work out. I’m glad I went though because I got to spend time with some of my favorite people and it’s always good to see my friend Erik back out there after going through so much.
Well, I guess it’s official. I am a ROADIE. Funny how that word used to make me cringe and now and I fully ready to embrace it. I am a bike rider, in every sense of the meaning. Today, I headed on down to Surf City Cyclery and picked up their last pair of 2009 Specialized S-Works road shoes (okay there may be another pair hiding). These babies are sweet! I don’t know what Specialized was thinking adding patent leather to the 2010 model. Patent leather? Really guys? Anyway, to match up with the new shoes I picked up some Speedplay Zero pedals. After talking to a few people I came to the conclusion that the Speedplay pedal should feel much like the Crank Bros. Candy pedals I use on the mtb.
I am heading back to Mike McKovich at Max Performance Bike Fit on Monday to get fit to my Roubaix. I transfered the measurments from the fit I received on the Allez, but the new bike has a different geometry so getting fit again is a good idea. Going to have him setup the cleats for me so I am dialed in perfect. Can’t wait to feel the difference!
I was finally able to track down some grey/black Fizik bar tape for my Roubaix! Been trying to hunt this stuff down for a few months, apparently it’s a hot seller. Not much to report today just a couple pics of the bike. Oh, I haven’t been riding with a saddle bag lately so I opted to fill a water bottle with my tube, lever and tool. Need to get some small CO2 cartridges soon to go in there as well. When I don’t need two bottles of water this seems like it will be a good option.
Tonight while sitting at the computer NOT sleeping I ran into a wonderful website, VeloDramatic. Some of the best road cycling photography I have seen to date. He captures the passion of the sport better than most of us photogs. I spent about an hour navigating, reading and reviewing nearly his entire blog discovering incredible photos and in depth stories along the way. A few of his images of the Tour of California really captivated as did reading about his personal stories shooting the Tour de France. I pulled a few images from his site to share with you in hopes it will drive you to click HERE and visit his site. His site is definitely going on my links page. Enjoy…
Surf City Cyclery has just opened their new store in Costa Mesa off 17th street. Chris, Jay and I headed over today on our lunch break to check out the new dig. Good friend John Biting is also now working there! The shop is loaded with a ton of Specialized goods and more. This should prove to be a successful location for Sean Flynn (Owner) with no other “worthy” bike shops in the area. Check out some pics.
That kicks ass
The bookshelf in my home. Some of my old camera collection on display as well as all the magazines I read monthly.
When fortune smiles on something as violent and ugly as revenge, it seems proof like no other, that not only does God exist, you’re doing His will.
Want
Want
