Sunny Day in The Bitterroot

Headed on down the Bitterroot to Stevensville yesterday. Pedaled about for a bunch of hours in the sunshine, cars gave me plenty of room while passing, never felt cold, and all the other stuff that make a winter ride great. The legs feel sore, and the mind is clear, both good things. Not sure what a proper coach or anyone else who knows what they are talking about would say about long rides outside during January, but all I know is that it works for me.

Add that little reminder to the stem, I will know it will have worked when the writing can no longer be seen due to the layers of dried sweat that have accumulated on top of it.

Snapped this one of my ugly mug just south of Lolo, for someone who was totally happy when the picture was taken I don't look to happy. Next time I'll try to perfect my "Le Tigre" face.

Finally, I couldnt help but laugh when after crossing back over the Bitterroot River, and I saw this gal out blading. I guess some people are just stuck in 1993, which would be much funnier if it weren't coming from a guy who owns as much spandex as I do. Oh well, I laughed, and the story helped to cheer up my stressed out sister. Not sure if I will go off and torture myself at the OSCR tomorrow, sure I've had worse ideas, but I've also had better. Either way the weekend will be good, enjoy the link dump.

Doping is as doping does

Dirty Benjamin - this looks like fun

Rookie Mistake

These three guys are tools

Heading off into the sunset

Damn it feels good to be a gangsta

Trans Andes

Though there isn't much available as far as reporting goes, I'm getting sucked in by the Trans Andes. I dig the concept of MTB stage racing (and would love to try on in the future). Good to see that the Kenda/No Tubes duo of Mike and Mary are busy putting the hurt down in South America. There ya go, take a look, enjoy the pictures, and dream of having the finances and abilities to be able to do these kinds of races. I know I am.

On a more personal level getting ready to head down to the desert for some riding. Pretty much got everything lined up, just hoping that the weather isnt rough for the trip down. Maybe I'll go for a pedal down the Bitterroot today...

Titus Oddvertising

This story is hot off the presses from the folks over at singletrack.com (which if I might add, has helped me to loathe Velonews less). Apparently the fine folks over at Titus are taking ideas as to just how far people are willing to go to get a free ride. And acting as "the cherry on top of the sundae" for this entire idea is the fact that everything is taking place through Facebook. Not to get too off topic or seem like a bitter angry old man, but in my humble opinion when people look back on the years 2000 to 2010 they will not say that we took a turn for the worse with the first "election" of Dubya, but rather when Facebook became such a huge aspect of people's lives. Facebook is stupid.

So far there are two options, the first being, you present a tattoo design, and location on your body, and whoever gets the most votes (and goes through with the tattoo), gets a free bike from Titus valued at over 5 grand. Above is one of the submitted ideas, and below is the bike the winner gets to take home. I'm all for people doing odd/borderline stupid things for free things (God knows I've done my fair share), but tattoos can be removed. I think it should be a branding instead of a tattoo, cause there isnt a laser treatment around to get rid of a brand. Also, it seems like everyone has a tattoo these days, few have brands, aside from guys who are dumb enough to join a fraternity that requires brands as part of their pledging process.

The second aspect of the contest is getting a pair of X Carbon mountain bikes if you decide to get married in a Titus kit. Since divorces are becoming as popular and common as tattoos, I think the contest should state that if the couple winds up getting a divorce, Titus gets a stake in the couples assets worth the value of the two bikes. Additionally, everything is about dressing down these days (casual Friday, no-pants hump day, etc etc), so finding two people who like to ride bikes, are getting married, dont mind saving money on a dress and tux should be too hard. I wonder if Titus would give bikes to all the groomsmen and bridesmaids if they too wore Titus kits?

X-Carbon bike up for grabs

Motivation

Sister Claus hooked me up with a YAWYD top cap this past December. Lucky for me one of my favorite breweries has a great name to motivate anyone to ride hard. Now whenever I look down at my headset I will see the "victory" and a giant V.

News

Looks like Germany will finally fall in line and allow folks to race on the proper wheel size. I'm not sure why Germany were being such huge 29 haters, but better late than never.

The 2010 American Mountain Bike Challenge calender just got released. The Barking Spider down in BoyZee got added to the list. Dolla Bill and self went down and represented the Big Sky at this race last year. Looks like I might have to save some money to head on down there, and put Wild Rockies Toby in his place.

Screw Interbike, for the regular joes there is now Outerbike. Head down to the desert at the beginning of October to try out a bunch of bikes, if you can't get to Sin City. I'm surprised that the dates don't match up closer with the 24 Hours of Moab.

Looks like some up and coming pop star killed a cyclist, and didn't believe it when the cops told him. I'd write more, but I'd just get pissed off, check out the articles, and wait for your blood to boil. This guy is a top notch ass clown, I hope he gets a stiff punishment.

All for now, time to ride, enjoy the picture below from a time when roadies didnt care about power meters, keeping a steady cadance, wine was the preferred drink of choice, and wool was the norm.

New CX rules from USA Cycling, I may never race CX again

USA Cycling, who rank in the top three of organizations I hate to give money to, is doing all that they can to ruin my cyclocross experience. While I applaud the fact that the new changes for 2010 involved a stars and bars jersey given to the winner of the SS Marathon Nationals, the new cyclocross rules mean that I may never be able to race a cyclocross race again. See new rules below.

Just how will I quench my thirst/be able to make up an excuse for my DFL? What's next, no more ass crack primes? Times they are a changing.

Winter Reading

Winter can be cold and dark, and since I have moved to MT has meant that I typically read more. Just finished reading "Where Men Win Glory" by John Krakauer, and it made the grade for me. Unlike his two other books I have read (Into the Wild and Under the Banner of Heavan), Krakauer didn't jump around too much from year to year or story to story. Everything seemed to flow in a fairly linear path. While I was expecting him to take several opportunities to go out of his way to slam the Bush Administration for their role in the Iraq War, Afghanistan War, and the cover up of the circumstances surrounding Tillman's death, that never happened. With that if you have the free time, and are looking for something to read, check it out.

The other book I have read in the past three weeks has been "Among the Thugs" by Bill Buford. It is a glimpse inside the world of English soccer Hooligans (if you have ever seen Eurotrip, you got a glimpse of what this may be), and after reading the first section detailing a riot in Europe I was in shock. Buford writes the book Hunter S. Thompson style, except not in the "im all hopped up on Scotch and cocaine" style of Thompson. This book made me realize that the post rugby match tomfoolery I was a part of in college is nothing compared to these guys. Next up for me is about the OG of badass geologists, John Welsey Powell. I'm also hoping that sooner rather than later the Riding The Spine boys write a book, but hopefully they will clean their feet first.

Insert Title

Got nothing ramble on about, but I figure I'll post a link dump of sorts. I just wish I had better luck of finding jobs as I did with coming across interest bike stuff.

Save The Singletrack: This is serious up here in the Big Sky, let Rehberg, Tester, and Baucus know what you think.

Joe Papp talks about racing in Latin America: this dude was doped to the gills, and tried to blow the whistle on everyone.

Ritte: American team that is all about Belgium, I can dig it.

Bike Shorts: One of the funnier cartoons I've seen in a while.

Bike Polo is Not a Crime: Plain old bullshit

Those Canadians are Thinkers

Looks like the folks who put on the Intermontane Challenge are setting up a SS specific class. That is great news, I just hope there is enough interest from racers to make it a competitive class. Also hoping that some of the mistakes I heard were made last year get sorted out. I'm sure that temperatures not in the 90s and 100s would help too. Stage racing seems like the next big thing, like what 24 Hour races were in the late 90s and 100 milers a few years back. If I had the money and the strength, I would try to race the one of the solo stage races (Breck or Intermontane) and something with a teammate like BC Bike Race or Cape Epic. Wonder if anyone would be crazy enough to put on a MTB stage race here in Montana?

Race Across The Sky is Coming to Missoula

Last year a documentary was made about the Leadville 100 race, and the resulting beatdown that Lance Armstrong threw down on the field. Back in October, the movie was released in a bunch of cities, but Missoula wasn't on the list (I bitched about this on a previous post). Turns out that Rebecca Rusch (above in the process of winning this years 24 Hours of Moab) also felt that there were a few spots in the Mountain West that needed to show the film. This spring with the help of her sponsors, she is taking the movie to the masses. Save the date March 11, and I guess that the venue will be the Wilma, and plan to watch a sweet film. Big thanks to Rebecca and her sponsors for making this happen.

In The News

Things are kind of boring, so why waste time trying to figure odd/entertaining ways to fill the SSMT void. In between trying to find work, trying to sell socks, trying to figure out what grad school program might be better than the next (even before knowing of either acceptance or rejection), dreaming of SSUSA, and trying to keep thin and trim, I like to pick up news bits here and there.

Looks like NPS is trying to gauge the publics interest and ideas about allowing mountain biking at the New River Gorge. Found this one over at the Dirt Rag, they got the link where you can let the NPS know what you think. I'm all in favor of it, I think the fact that the local mountain bikers would be so giddy to make that work, they will volunteer a ton of time, and follow all the rules for both 1.) setting a foundation for more trail opportunities on NPS lands, and 2.) absolute fear of losing the privelage.

On a sad note, the founder of the Arizona Trail passed away from cancer earlier this week. I never met the guy, but rode and work on the trail he concieved. Few states have the diverse mountain biking landscape like Arizona, and the AZ Trail is over 800 miles of greatness. So, Dale hopefully now you are enjoying the great trails in the sky, thanks for your idea and dedication to something that has brought me fiendship and happiness.

Get ready for the biggest news shocker of the decade, Mark McGwire used sterioids. Thats about as shocking as finding out that the majority of college students illegally drink while underage. Years of following cycling has made me numb to athletes admitting to steroid use, another day another doper, all I do is yawn. The real shocking thing is that Jose Canseco is turning out to be the only honest athlete in this whole steroid era. He should just write another book titled, "Told You So."

More news from the DC front, they picked up a new contributer. Still cant wrap my head around the whole triathalete thing, but it will be nice to get some female input over there. Judi thinks that Wellington will "chick" Lance at Kona in 2011. I would love to see that, especially if it involved her passing Lance on the run while whispering, "pussy" in his ear.

The Question I Ask Myself Everyday

Ponder that one for the day.

Football Woes

I guess the reason some the of the ice in Missoula is starting to melt is because more ice is needed to help Hell freeze over. Tony Romo, Wade Phillips, and the rest of the crew of flunkies referred to as the Dallas Cowboys won a playoff game, so yes Hell as frozen over, and nothing in the universe seems right. I was expecting to wake up this morning and see nothing but darkness, but alas, that is not the case. Just take a look at the thought of Big Juan, and you can see that those Philly fans were ready to jump off the Betsy Ross bridge. Few things in life suck more than fans of Texas teams have a legitimate reason to be happy. I watched the second half in complete awe with an buddy of mine who is an eagles fan, and had the bar been serving pints of oven cleaner, he would have been sucking it down to numb the pain. It's pathetic when all you are doing is rooting for injuries, and thats what we were doing.

Dad and I already had a quick chat about the Jets winning today, and despite the fact that he lives 25 minutes away from the Meadowlands, a town away from the Jets head coach said, "I was hoping they would lose because, I really dont care about the Jets". Yeah I'm in that boat two, the football season ended two weeks ago for me, when the Giants stopped playing with an ounce of heart, and the Jets became the first tier team in the New Jersey area. It Arizona gets trounced today, it will prove the point, that if you lie down the last week of the season, you are fucked for the playoffs. Right now I'll support the Vikings, because they play the Cowboys (who I hate), and someone I know stands to make a substantial amount of money if they win the Super Bowl.

In some bike news, it looks like on of Missoula's finest MTB'ers will be racing next year on Felt Bikes. The Kenda/Tomac/Hayes team of Andy Schultz is now Kenda/Felt, and has a slimmed down roster. Seeing this bummed me out because two fine gals, Holmes and Zephanie, got left off the squad. They are quality riders, and I have no idea what factors went into the roster decisions, so I wont pretend to offer an idea. The team still does have Andy, Amanda, Colin, and recently added Judy Freeman, all of whom are good eggs, so they got my support. If Rebecca Rusch doesnt show up, I'd bet money on Amanda at Leadville, and if she included it in her race schedule, she could probably take a couple of NUE races.

Sweet Justice

Looks like the dipshit doctor out in LA will be rocking an orange jumpsuit for five years. More than anything I hope this leads a better future for the motorist-cyclist relationship, whether it be wider shoulders on roads, better education of the laws that do exist, or fewer middle fingers and honking of car horns. Either way, this dude got what was coming to him, plain and simple. While it wasn't mentioned I wonder, if the doc will be able to keep his driver's license when he gets out of the slammer? Regardless, if you got the free moment tonight hoist a point for the three cyclists involved in the accident, and the fact that they will recover from their injuries. Then hoist that pint back up for the cyclist who won't recover from their accidents, cause that's a damn shame. Happy Friday, enjoy the weekend.

Stijn Devolder = Tough

Saw this over at the cyclingsnooze today, and it put a smile on my face. No wonder this guy has been spanking everyone at der Ronde for the past two years, he's one tough dude. Covering 100 miles during a 5 hour ride during a Belgian Winter is f'ing tough. The only thing missing from the article was Devolder stating that for breakfast he eats bowl of nails and broken glass. I especially enjoy the line of, "it is not so cold that you freeze onto your bike." I do wonder at what exact temperature a person would actually freeze to their bike, maybe Hurl and his CRC crew could try to figure that out the next time an arctic blast travels across Minnesota.

I also enjoyed how Devolder kinda threw "Columbian Marching Powder" Boonen under the bus because he opted to train indoors, and escape to Spain, rather than tough it out in Belgium. Granted you can't call a three time winner of Paris- Roubaix a pussy, but if anyone can do it, its the two time defending Tour of Flanders champ, who sees no point in flying to Spain for warm weather training. Who the hell knows I am rambling, and thinking way too much about this, probably because this is the time of year that I curse myself for moving from Tucson to Missoula. For those of you who might have need some motivation to get out and ride/ski in the cold weather, check this read out, odds are whatever weather you are experiencing, isn't as bad as what Jill dealt with.

Hello 2010, my name is Andrew

2010 is upon us, a new year, a new decade, you get the picture. Times to set some new goals, both for bikes, and for life. Snake had a great take on how to approach the new year (as well as some interesting reflection), simply put he summed it up with three words, "do it better". While this appear to be a cliche, Snake has provided me with some great advice such as, "ride hard", "you rode that course with a 16 tooth? thats fucking stupid", and "every ride should either start or finish with a ride through the U of A to look at chicks." So yeah, I'll listen to him again, just try to do things better than I did them before, whether bikes or life.

More good stuff from the New Year, go take a glance at the most recent issue of VeloNews. On page 26 (or around there), there is a nice interview with everyone's favorite Amish looking guy, Fuzzy John. I will say that any press Fuzzy gets he has earned, the hard way, by spanking the competition in whatever race he toes the line at. While in Missoula, Fuzzy enjoys meals at Hob Nob, cookies from Bearnice's, and singlespeeding up Deer Creek Road while towing his son behind him. Good on ya Fuzzy, I'm hoping to bump into you at SSUSA.

That's all thats doing for now, comfortable riding is still a long way off here in Missoula, time to enjoy some nordic, and maybe even try this running thing. Who the hell knows, at least the days are getting longer, which helps my brain forget that its Winter. Welcome to 2010, try to do it better.