Utah Cyclocross #1, 2012

This is the one I missed.  My mountain bike was down.  Really, I wish I would have been there.  I think I would have been just fine on the cross bike in the mountians.  Nice work Adam!


UTCX 1 - Snowbird from Grizzly Adam on Vimeo.

This Week

I should be open Wednesday through Friday in the afternoons.  I'll try to get back from the 'cross race in time to open on Saturday.

I've had a good week of training so far.  I rode Green Canyon easy on Sunday, rode hot laps and ran the steps 10 times on Monday, and did hot laps again last night.  I will do one lap efforts tonight, ride easy on Friday, and tear the pedals off on Saturday.

6AM alarm
No desire to drive or race
Slept for two more hours

I'm disappointed
Mentally kicking myself
Sitting on the couch

Today I'll go ride
Can't make up for a missed race
But, It's a great day

The sky is bright blue
The trees are crimson and gold
Baxter Hollow calls

This Week Is Last Week's Next Week

The shop is open this week in the afternoons, usually 1-5.  Come buy and see me.  I'll be putting the double-decker bike rack back up in the front of the store, the same rack that was there two years ago.  It's been at a shop down in SLC.  I'm glad to have it back.  I'm still trying to get ready for cyclocross season:  removing old tubular glue, applying fresh glue and tubbies, and building a tubeless wheelset.  The first race is Saturday.  The shop will be open on Saturday just as soon as I get back from the race, probably around 2.

Speaking of building wheels, here is my post from March 23, 2007 with baiku included:

Building a bicycle wheel is truly therapeutic. It starts with only a hub, a rim, and a big handful of spokes and nipples. The finished product is a work of art. It's also a form of healing, wholeness, strength, and fullness. Round, symmetrical, and rhythmic, it comes full circle. Right two and in, right two and in, left five, over under and in, left five, over under and in. Groups of 4, repeat the pattern, eight more groups of four to go, three-cross, 36 hole, and your done. The circle is complete. Strength in numbers. A hoop under tension.

Weaving spokes, hub, rim
Symmetry, form, and function
An endless circle

I am back in Utah, back into the swing of things.  The shop is open in the afternoons this week.

I'm trying to get ready for cyclocross season but there have been a few hurdles.  It was too smoky to train much up in Montana, and now I've picked up a sinus infection.  I went to the fairgrounds yesterday to do some race-pace laps and my handlebar broke.  Five years of heavy use will do that to aluminum.  Like I've always said, steel is usually a better choice than aluminum for bicycle frames and parts when it come to fatigue strength.  Aluminum will always fail.  Here is the Wikipedia explanation:

Ferrous alloys and titanium alloys^[2] have a distinct limit, an amplitude below which there appears to be no number of cycles that will cause failure. Other structural metals such as aluminium and copper, do not have a distinct limit and will eventually fail even from small stress amplitudes.

Still In Montana

I will be here for two more days, hanging out with lions and bears.  A bear, blind in one eye, can still find the apples.  I know for sure this bear was eating apples, because I stepped in it.  I think it is eating plenty of other things too, fat and happy, getting ready for a good long nap.  It is definitely not getting ready for cyclocross season, trying to loose weight.  Yes, it is cold up here; there was frost on the ground yesterday.

The air up here is bad.  There is a big fire on the mountain just outside of Hamilton.  Here is an air quality graph, because I'm a scientist.  I love graphs.

How Big Is A Mountain Lion?

House Cat

Strage Cat

Big Cat

Dry Lab

I am back up in the Bitterroot Valley for at least a week.  Robert Hamlin Bicycles will be closed until Friday, or, perhaps Saturday.  I have quite a bit of field-work to do:  vegetation plots at all of the wildlife crossing structures, changing batteries, and copying pictures.  Each structure gets 60 plots, all on a 25 meter grid.  You have to get to each plot, even if there is a sheer slope, black bear, jungle, or billabong in the way.  Today it was a billabong, a deep-dark-slimy-beaver-infested-gooey side channel of the Bitterroot River.  I knew it was deep so I took off my shirt and left it on the bank with my phone, keys, hat, wallet, and glasses.  I had to swim sidestroke with one hand holding my field notebook and pen in the air to keep them dry.  I put in the remaining 15 plots on a cottonwood island, and then swam back across.  You can't dry lab the data if you are cold and wet.  No, I never saw the bear, but he was there about 9 hours before I was.

The dry and brave biologist goes to get the data.

 

 

Soggy bottom boy.

 



 

For Lynn

The aspen grow tired

Yellow around the margins

See my reflection

Micanopy Gold

On Sushi?  You bet.

Keeping Secrets

I did not train tonight; and I did nothing special last night either.  I'm keeping my Tebow Package under wraps until game day, September 29.

The Steps

One hundred and six
Sprinting up, facing the east
The steps, eight repeats

No desire to go
I wanted to go to bed
Another loser

Feel the deep anger
The fight, the strength, the purpose
And just hit the steps

So I gave it all
No backing off at the top
One hundred percent

Things Going On

Where do I start?  It was a long day in the shop.  Caroline has a new road bike.  Annora has a new cross bike.  I rode for 4.5 hours this morning from town up Jardine, up Cowley, and back home.  I did Tabata intervals last night; I could only do 2 sets.  Tabata is Japanese for puke.  I did 6 hot laps at the fairgrounds on Thursday and went to Porqupine with Tim S. via Paradise on Wednesday.  It's always good to go through Paradise.  On Tuesday I did short hill repeats.  I may just be ready for cross season.  Here is the UTCX schedule, first race is September 29:

http://utcx.net/schedule

Before UTCX there is race in Montpeiller, ID that I am looking forward to, 90 miles of dirt road.

And last but not least, here is Greg's new 29er:

DBT

"I used to hate the fool in me, but only in the morning.  Now I tolerate him all day long."

What Do You Think Of This?

Beirdneau

Last week I finally did the Beirdneau loop.  I went up Green Canyon to the wilderness boundary and strapped my bicycle to a set of shoulder straps from a military field pack, and hiked up through the wilderness to the ridge-line that separates Green Canyon and Logan Canyon.  I have looked at that ridge for years, and studied it on the topo maps, saying, "that ridge is not wilderness, and I bet it's a great trail to ride."  Well, no, it's not great to ride, unless you are on a trials or freeride bike.  The trail is pretty rough.  And yes, I did it on the fixed gear cross bike.  The hike up Green to the ridge is more than 5 miles and took several hours.  Once on the ridge and out of the wilderness,  I hiked about half of the 12 miles back to the saddle above Wind Cave.  Total ride/hike time was nearly 6 hours.  I also made substantial forward progress on half-a-dozen occasions by flying through the air over the bars, which was actually much faster than walking.  The trail was hard to follow and disappeared several times.  It was strange to stand at 9000 feet looking at Green Canyon on my right, Logan Canyon on my left, town straight ahead, and actually feel a little lost.  While side-hilling it on the steep slopes of Beirdneau, carrying the bicycle through sagebrush with bloody shins, I could not find the missing trail for the life of me.  It was, however, an incredibly beautiful place.  I had always wanted to hike up to the top of Green Canyon to the base of Mt. Elmer and bag Beirdneau Peak.  It has everything you would expect from high country wilderness in mid August:  lupine and paintbrush in bloom, complete solitude, sub-alpine fir, hawks, and wind-sculpted limber pine.  No, I did not take a camera.

La Cadena Se Tuerce

A young man walked into the shop on Saturday with his mountain bike.  "I need one of these," he said as he pointed to his cassette.  "How much?"  It was obvious another bike shop had told him such a thing.  I told him perhaps not, and asked him what the problem was.  His Spanish was much better than his English, and the converse is true for me.  He moved his arms in a circle and then did a fast half circle and made a clunk sound.  A look of enlightenment came over my face.  I put his bike on the stand.  I put the chain checker on the chain.  "It looks good," I said.  "Buena," he said.  "Cadena," I said, pointing to the chain, and he confirmed the translation.  I pointed to the cassette.  Nuevo?  Si.  I spun the cranks and shifted.  Two turns of the adjusting barrel on the rear derailleur and the bicycle shifted like butter.  Fixed I said, and away he went out the door.

Four minutes later he was back, spinning his arms and making the clunk sound.  I put the bike back on the stand.  He had been in the big ring and smallest cog.  Hmm.  I spun the cranks backwards and carefully watched the chain move over the smallest cog, and there it was, a slight twist in a single link.  "No my friend, you do not need a new cassette or a new chain.  La cadena se tuerce."  I grabbed the chain tool, removed the link, put the chain back together, and out the door he went.  He never came back.

My 8 Week Program

It has begun.  Last night I hit the stairs.  Last Tuesday I did 4.5 hours up Card and down Spring.  Saturday I rode up both Birch and Smithfield Canyons.  Cyclocross season may go well after all.

Only 6 repeats
Sprinting up Old Main Hill stairs
But, 10 is the goal

I will try to ride again today, some moderate base miles.  Then on Thursday I'll set up a course for hot laps.  Anyone want to join me?

I Almost Forgot The Shop News

Robert Hamlin Bicycles will be open this week, Wednesday through Saturday afternoons.  The 2012 Redline Conquests are here.  I have a size run, 52 through 58 to fit most (5'3" to 6'2").  Forget the $1399 msrp.  How does $1099 sound?  That's $300 in your pocket and a fine machine between your legs.  These are really great off-the-shelf bicycles.  They can do anything and have a ton of utility.  You can do a cross race, tour, commute, or put on some road tires and fly.

Back In Utah

I know.  I never post.  When I do, they're boring and sad.  I don't ride much of late (it has been two weeks) and I don't have any good shop stories.  I've been on the road so much I have motion sickness.  It seems I have too many jobs.  I've been in Montana and I'm going back on Sunday.  I usually start training for cyclocross season about now, but that may be on the back burner for a while.  I am going to ride today at some point.  I also need to assemble a bicycle or two.  My Montana report was due July 31.  I need to look at 50,000 more pictures.  And enter expenses from two businesses.  And wash the dishes and cook a meal.  And water the trees.  And...