Monday, June 27, 2005

My legs are shot!

Wow, yesterdays race really kicked my ass. My legs have not felt like this in a long time. I figure I'll take a day or two off the bike and just do some light spinning on my indoor trainer.

I found a few pics from the race...even ordered up a couple 8x10's. Here's one of me crossing the finish line...

Sunday, June 26, 2005

The 2005 Raccoon Rally


Thoughts
Wow, this race really kicked my ass. I'd been to the Raccoon Rally several times in the past and it's one of my favorite races. The 25+ mile course is not technical at all, but does have a TON of climbing and some real fast downhill sections. The goal this year was just to finish, especially since I had only been riding for a few months and not really putting a lot of mileage in.

The Sport class started in a grass field, then headed down a dirt/gravel road for about a 1/2 mile before entering the woods. The first climb was killer... somebody said it was about 4 miles long. It seemed every bit of that and just seemed to keep going and going and going.... to make things worse, much if it was out in the open, and with temps already above 90 degrees, the sun beating down on us didn't help matters. I made it up the climb and the course finally flattened out a bit, but there were a lot of rolling hills to keep things interesting. I settled into a good pace and the rest of the first lap went well. At the end of the lap, we headed down a bunch of switchbacks carved out of a ski hill... this was pretty nasty since I don't get to ride stuff like this much. By the time I got to the bottom and started lap #2, my hands were numb! Anyways, lap #2 was underway and the climbing started all over again... this time the main climb was a little shorter... somwhere around 3 miles. Damnit!! My legs were toast. The rest of the race was pretty uneventful, although during my last trip down the ski hill I almost lost it trying to stay ahead of the guys behind me. I finished just under 3 hours... 2:50:17 to be exact... good for mid to back of the pack in Sport class. I had a freagin blast. If you like to suffer, the Raccoon Rally is the place to be in late June. I will be back next year, and hopefully in a little better shape.

Race Details
Distance: 25.5 miles
Start Time: 10:35am
Temperature: 92 degrees!!
Class: Sport Male
Finish Time: 2:50:17

Race Day Food/Hyrdration
Pre-Race:
7:00am: Met-RX Big 100 Nutrition Bar w/16oz water
9:00am: Cytomax Pre-Formance Drink w/water
10:00am: Gatorade Endurance Formula (18oz water bottle)

During Race:
Water (Camelbak with about 60oz water)
Gatorade Endurance Formula drink (18oz water bottle)
GU (4 servings)

Post Race:
Endurox R4 (18oz bottle)
Clif Bar
Pringles (full can!)
Miscellaneous other stuff...

Bike Setup
Bike: Ibis Mojo
Front Tire: Kenda Nevegal (45 psi)
Rear Tire: Specialized Fast Trak Pro (45 psi)

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

The Bikes

The bike stable currently consists of six bikes...
- Ibis Mojo Hardtail
- Kona Cowan
- Eastern Night Train
- Raleigh XXIX 29er
- DK Dayton BMX bike
- Diamond Back Apex

My latest purchases are the Raleigh XXIX 29er and Eastern Night Train. I built the Kona Cowan and DK Dayton in 2006, and the Ibis Mojo back in early 2004 when I started getting back into riding. The Apex is actually the first mountain bike I ever owned... I bought it back around 1992.

The Mojo is my main training and race bike, while the Apex has been religated to my indoor training bike (mounted to a Kinetic Road Machine trainer). I use the Kona Cowan, Eastern Night Train, and DK Dayton to mess around on a pump track that I've been building over the last couple summers.

IBIS MOJO
FRAME: Ibis Mojo Steel Hardtail
FORK: Rock Shox Psylo
WHEELS: Custom built Mavic XC717 Disc Rims w/Hope XC hubs
BRAKES: Avid Mechanical Disc
CHAIN: SRAM
CASSETTE: SRAM
DEARAILLEURS: SRAM X.O rear, Shimano XT Front
SHIFTERS: SRAM GripShift
STEM: Thomson
HANDLEBAR: Titec Hellbent
SEATPOST: Thomson
SADDLE: WTB Laser V
CRANKSET: Shimano XT
PEDALS: Crank Brothers Egg Beater
GRIPS: Yeti
BARENDS: Profile
TIRES: Kenda Nevegal 2.1 front, Specialized Fast Trak 2.0 rear



KONA COWAN
* Frame: 2006 Kona Cowan
* Fork: Manitou Gold Series 2 w/20mm thru axle (80mm travel)
* Headset: FSA Pig Pro DH
* Cranks: TruVativ Hussefelt (small chainring removed)
* Chainring: Single E13 Components 32T
* Chainguide: E13 Components 32 Special
* B/B: TruVativ Giga Pipe Team DH ISIS (118mm spindle)
* Pedals: Eastern Plastic
* Chain: SRAM PG-991
* Freewheel: SRAM PG-990 (11-34t, 9-speed)
* Front Derailleur: None
* Rear Derailleur: SRAM X.7
* Shifters: SRAM X.7 Trigger (right side only)
* Handlebar: Deity Twenty14 31.8
* Stem: Deity Fantom 31.8
* Grips: ODI Oury Lock-on
* Saddle: Macneil SL
* Seatpost: Macneil Pivotal
* Seat clamp: Kona QR
* Brakes: Hayes HFX-9 w/ Hayes HFX-9 Levers
* Brake Rotors: Hayes 6” front, 6” rear
* Rims: Azonic Outlaw
* Front hub: Azonic Outlaw disc 20mm
* Rear hub: Azonic Outlaw disc
* Tires: Kenda SB8 26x2.3 front and Kenda Short Tracker 2.1 rear



EASTERN NIGHT TRAIN
* FRAME: 2007 Eastern Night Train in Black
* FRAME: Full Chromoly, Euro BB, Internal Headset
* SIZE: 22.5" T/T, 15.35" chainstay, 72 degree headangle
* FORK: Marzocchi Dirt Jumper III, 80mm travel, 20mm thru
* HEADSET: Internal Headset
* CRANK SET: Eastern Electron Tubular Chromo Cranks, 175MM
* CHAINWHEEL: Eastern 25T Medusa Sprocket
* BB-SET: Euro BB, sealed bearing, 37x20x10
* HANDLEBAR: Deity Twenty14 31.8
* STEM: Truvativ Hussefelt
* GRIP: Oury (ODI Lock Ons)
* HUB FRONT: Sealed Bearings 32H, with Disc Mount, 20MM axle
* HUB REAR: Eastern MTB single speed cassette hub, 14mm axle, 36H, 12t driver with disc hub mt.
* RIM: Sun MTX-S type, 26" 36H
* SPOKES: 2.0mm Stainless steel 14G UCP, black with brass nipples
* FRONT TIRE: K-RAD, K905, 26 x 2.30
* REAR TIRE: KNIPTION, K1016, 26 x 2.25
* FRONT BRAKE: None
* REAR BRAKE: Avid Juicy full hydraulic disc 6" rotor
* BRAKE LEVER: Avid Juicy
* Cassette: 12T, 6 paw
* CHAIN: KMC 510HX
* SADDLE: Pivotal Seat; Base 2
* SEAT POST: Pivotal Seatpost, 27.2MM
* SEAT POST CLAMP: Alloy
* PEGS: 1 pair steel pegs
* PEDALS: Animal Hamilton, White



DK DAYTON
* Frame: DK Dayton
* Forks: DK Chromoly
* Headset: FSA Integrated
* Stem: DK Trail
* Bars: Fit Flow Series
* Grips: ODI Rogue Lock On
* Bar Ends: Stolen Bikes
* Gyro: SST ORYG
* Brakes: Tektro U Brake
* Lever: Tektro FX-3
* Seat: MacNeil SL Kevlar
* Seat Post: MacNeil Pivotal
* Seat Clamp: DK
* Cranks: DK Chop Stix
* Bottom Bracket: DK Spanish
* Pedals: Animal Hamilton
* Sprocket: DK Iron Cross 33T
* Chain: KMC Z-510H
* Rear Hub: DK Sealed 48h
* Rear Rim: Sun Big City 48h
* Front Hub: DK Sealed 48h 14mm
* Front Rim: Sun City Lite 48h
* Tires: Kenda K-Rads



DIAMOND BACK APEX
FRAME: Diamond Back Apex Steel Hardtail (circa 1992!)
FORK: DB Rigid
WHEELS: Jenson USA built Sun w/XT hubs
BRAKES: Original Shimano Deore DX
CHAIN: Shimano XT
CASSETTE: Shimano XT
STEM: Thomson
HANDLEBAR: Titec Hellbent
SEATPOST: Thomson
SADDLE: WTB Laser V
CRANKSET: Original Shimano Deore DX
PEDALS: Crank Brothers Egg Beaters
GRIPS: Yeti
BARENDS: Profile
TIRES: Ritchey Speedmax Front and Rear

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Bike Blogs and Bicycle Blogs

BikeBlogs.com
Ride vicariously.