Mohican 100

I just registered today and couldn't be more excited! LINK
It looks like I'll be taking a different approach to my race schedule for 2009. Funds are thin and I want to maximize my mile per dollar ratio by doing longer events and cutting out the CPS races from my schedule. The shorter USAC XC events that fill the calendar here in Michigan are great for conditioning and I hope to fill the void between the endurance events with a few of these events. My goal will be to complete at least 4 of the events of the NUE (National Ultra Endurance) calendar to place in the overall standings. I better start training...

Nutella Hazelnut spread

I have been yearning to try this product for a long time and finally took the plunge and regret not trying this stuff sooner. Nutella is wonderful! With it's roots in Europe, Nutella is a staple on the breakfast tables of professional cycling teams loading up for a long day in the saddle.

Description:

Too much is not enough, when it comes to this chocolate flavoured hazelnut spread. It can make anything taste good and the best things taste unbelievable. Bread, a rye cracker, fruit, a Parisian crepe, a teaspoon, or simply your very own finger - whatever is at hand, you'll be tempted to dip it into this pot of sinful creamy goo.

The brand is pretty significant too, because imitations don't always get the hazelnut side of the equation right. (Trader Joe's own brand chocolate hazelnut spread is no comparison, for example.)

Tour Down Under

Man alive, it 80+ degrees in Australia right now and the Tour Down Under had just kicked off with the Cancer Council Classic benefit on Sunday. Lance is back and Robbie McEwin takes the win. It's great to see bike racing again!

Hell Yes Sprints Feb. 9 + 23

Hell Yes! I love this site and look forward to checking out this event in Feb. I think I really want to go just to have a few of those $1.00 PBR's.
Jimmyrigged

Addison Oaks XC video.

I found this video from last Fall's Addison Oaks XC. Matt does a great job producing these and generally walks the race course while filming. This looks like the Sport class. I see a lot of teammates featuring the blue plaid of our team kits. I like the Led Zeppelin and enjoy seeing the green forest again.

Stella Artois commercial

Best commercial EVER!

Helpful technique videos

2008 Individual bike stats

2008 is a done deal so I thought I would break down the distribution of my 2008 miles among my bikes. I know, it's a bit much but I wanted to capture this information before the clock rolls to midnight tonight and resets the odometer.



2008 RedLine Monocog Flight
2008 Odometer: 702.3 miles
Lifetime Odometer: 702.3 miles


2007 KHS CX200
2008 Odometer: 3,877.0 miles
Lifetime Odometer: 5,747.8 miles




2006 Sette Reken
2008 Odometer: 183.3 miles
Lifetime Odometer: 1,659.8 miles





2005 Kona King Kikapu
2008 Odometer: 640.7 miles
Lifetime Odometer: 1,611.1 miles

2008 is a done deal.

As 2009 approaches it's safe to say 2008 was a fantastic year of cycling. I did my first 100 mile race, I broke into the realm of 29'er singlespeeding. I spent a great deal of time on my road bike increasing my distances and speed. Easily my best year yet. Click the image to enlarge. Best wishes to all for 2009!

2007 YTD Mileage totals:


2008 YTD mileage totals:

2008 Iceman Pro Teaser

Bike Art

I am enjoying my brief cycling hiatus while shuffling around the house this morning I glanced over at the wire bike sculpture propped up on the desk. A friend had given this to me several years back and I decided to learn more about it. It is a single 6 foot length of wire sculpted to resemble a mountain bike. It was created by Wired...by Morris.
Dub-dub-dub
Check out the detail.

09 Team Kits

2009 marks the third year for our team and we will be sporting a new look as well. Nice looking graphics.

Winter riding with a steel frame

I have been doing all my winter riding on my singlespeed which has worked out fine so far. No gears or suspension to mess with. My concern has been condensation building up on the inside of the frame when I bring the bike inside after a cold ride, creating rust inside. The solution was to Frame Saver my rig. I would recommend removing all components and be prepared to make a mess. This stuff resembles melted crayons and make sure to apply it liberally. Rotate the frame to move the product into all the nooks and crannies. Wipe off any excess from the bottom bracket threads and painted surfaces. From the product website:

Out of Sight, Out of Mind - Rust Never Sleeps
by Peter Weigle
Steel frames rust, that's all there is too it. They rust when scratched, chipped, or abraded in any way. Most people know this. What they don't know is that steel frames also rust from the inside out. That's why I am so amazed that manufacturers go through great pains to paint the outside of a frame but the completely ignore the inside surfaces of the steel tubes. The steel inside the frame is almost always left raw and unprotected. If a little moisture enters the frame, the environment within will resemble a terrarium. The humid air and water droplets will be attacking the steel and you won't even know it. Left untreated, the frame will be destroyed.

To help prevent rust inside steel tubes, Frame Saver® was developed. It is a product that was long overdue. It coats the inside of the steel tubes protecting them from the corrosive elements that find their way there.

True, bicycles have been around for 100 years and there are plenty of early examples of frames that have lasted lifetimes without rust, so why all the fuss now? Because in the last couple of decades there have been major changes in materials, equipment, and bike usage that have made internal frame protection even more important.

Today's high performance frames are being made with extremely thin walled tubing compared to frames of the past. There used to be a safety margin should the tubes rust. Not any more! There are a few construction details found in some frames that have trapped water and caused premature failures. Frame builders who do repair work, painters and mechanics, are seeing a higher incidence of rust-throughs these days, and it is only going to get worse, unless these frames are rustproofed on the inside. Most new bikes are equipped with sealed bearings, which mean fewer overhauls and fewer chances to look in the bottom bracket to see what is going on. After many carefree miles, many mechanics and owners are shocked when they pull the bottom bracket bearings and find rust-colored sludge, or flakes of rust, inside the shell. Hopefully, it's not too late to save a frame in this condition.

Mountain bikes are supposed to be used in extreme conditions. Stream crossings, fall, winter, and early spring rides all involve, among other things, water.

Even if you don't ride in the rain or cross raging rapids, moisture still finds its way into a frame. Take your bike out of a warm house on a cool, damp day, or on a hot day return your bike to a cool, damp basement for storage and what happens? As the warm air inside your frame cools and contracts, it pulls in the damp air past the seat post, threads, and vent holes. This may only be a minute amount, but do this many times over the course of the season and the cumulative effect can be devastating.

It would be misleading to suggest that every steel frame is a risk because there are many factors involved. It is impossible to tell from the outside, which frames are screaming for attention. Why take a chance? With the cost of bikes these days, think of it as cheap insurance. Prevention is easy. An application of Frame Saver® will add years to a frame's life and peace of mind to its owner. May you both ride happily into the next millennium and beyond.

Break the Cycle teaser video

Kewl Downhill video. Check it out.
Music credits: (in order of appearance - Artist/Track)
The Frames - In the deep shade
Joe Echo - Come get it wrong
Joe Echo - Where we wanna be


Break the Cycle Trailer from Andy Yoong on Vimeo.

Winter rides...

Well, the Fall weather in Michigan has quickly turned to winter weather and riding conditions have remained pretty good so far. I wear plenty of thin, insulating layers to keep me toasty warm. We have had some snow which is actually great to ride on (as long as it's not too deep), especially if it is crunchy and cold. Once it warms up a bit, the snow quickly becomes slick, sloppy and difficult. I have been riding the dirt roads of Macomb and Washtenaw counties on the single speed and the experience has been pretty good. The roads have dried up and I will be taking the cross bike out soon. The XC season may be over but conditions outside allow me to continue to ride while avoiding the gym until it's absolutely necessary.
Thanksgiving Day ride:

ICEMAN COMETH 08

Another Iceman has come and gone and the 2008 XC race season (for me at least) has ended with a bang. My training going into the weekend had been well balanced and I felt pretty good. I drove up Friday and met several families and friends at the "cabin", located high on a hill between Kalkaska and Traverse City, MI. This place is the "bomb-diggity".


After unloading our gear we went over to the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa to pick up our race packets and check out the EXPO. Like a kid in a candy store I had my eyes on the Gary Fisher Superfly single speed in addition to ton's of assorted bike bling displayed to entice bike-crazed people like me with zero self control.

After narrowly escaping the EXPO we ate in and made a huge dinner for the group. It was relaxing and enjoyable to catch up with old friends. I had a fitful night of sleep worrying about everything in the Universe and woke up early to help prepare the big breakfast (I had a few pancakes). Snow was in the forecast for Saturday but we only had a few spotty showers and conditions were windy and cold (as usual) with overcast skies. Each time I do this race I never get in a good warm-up and painfully re-think my clothing options over and over. Instead I warmed up in the car with the heater going full blast until it was time to line up for the start. I really wasn't sure about my gearing choice (32x15x29'er) which was a much taller gearing than anything I've ever run before. The 27.5 mile course from Kalkaska to Traverse City is mostly two-track through the woods with some single track sections thrown in. The field size is large and the start was fast so I settled in mid-pack trying to stay out of trouble. Things started to sort out quickly at the first sand pit about a mile in where I avoided several riders who bogged down, endoed and fragmented the group I was in. The big wheels floated through the sand instead of digging in and I was able to keep the pace going without too many riders slowing me down in the single track. As I suspected, my gearing was ideal for the first part of the course and allowed me to maintain a great pace up to the first road crossing. I knew this would mark the beginning of the hills and I was a little doubtful I would be able to clear them without having to do some run-ups. What I discovered was I could ride most of the hills but very, very slowly as I had to leverage myself to the top. It was hard but I kept reeling in other riders who I could latch on to, draft for a while and eventually go around. This continued to the end. As usual, the finish line was packed with spectators and I still had pretty good legs to make it to the line with a time of 1:59:51. I was very happy with my ride. I had no bobbles, pushed hard and made it under 2 hours, with only 1 gear. RESULTS.
We changed clothes and headed back to base camp to re-group, grabbed some beers and headed out to watch the Pros race.
Article HERE.
Afterwards, it was off to the awards banquet. Overall winner was TREK/VW rider Jeremiah Bishop seen here hoisting the carved ice trophy. Later that night , it was reported that Jeremiah was seen drinking Jaggermeister from the trophy. Mmmmmmm.

We went back to the Chateau and had pizza, beer and relaxed. Group shot.

I slept like a baby. Sunday morning we had snow and I was glad the race was held on Saturday.


I cannot wait for next year!

Fall rides

The Fall weather has been fantastic here in Michigan and the riding conditions have been ideal. We had some cold temps toward the end of October followed by wonderfully warm weather in the early part of November. I have been riding the back roads trying to stay in shape for the Iceman Cometh race, November 8.



As we approach the weekend as fate would have it, a storm is on the horizon for Saturday. Rain, sleet and 40 degree temps. It should be interesting.

Poto Singlespeed World Championship 2008

The race season here in Michigan has pretty much wrapped up (except Cyclocross) but the Fall riding has been fantastic. Conditions have been ideal and I have been working in 5+ hour MTB rides on the weekends and daily 2 hour road rides before work during the week. Next up, the Poto Singlespeed World Championships. The DNR enforces heavy burdens to the organizers if this were indeed a race. As you can see, it is not a race. It is not a race. I guess it is a Day of the Dead celebration as well..

Sunday SCABB ride

This Sunday was a perfect day for an epic adventure. Robert sent me a route to take me from my in-laws place to several nearby parks. He calls it the SCAB ride. Stoney Creek, Addison Oaks, Bald Mountain and throw in Bloomer Park for a little more fun. Here is the ROUTE.
I ended up riding several laps at each park and ended the day with 66 miles of dirt. What a blast.

Cereal Sprint

OK. The XC season in Michigan is pretty much a done deal except for that little race up North called Iceman. For now I'll have to forget about the Iceman and start training for the true test of endurance. Cereal eating. I love cereal, but...
Apparently our Team Captain has had an open dialog (smack talk) with the Howard brothers from Team Bissell(see hobbies) and now it's on like Donkey Kong!

Event Flyer HERE.

Register HERE.


"There is no spoon".