Bike for sale.

Hate to do this but here it is. Craigslist ad.

Alright, time to pay taxes. Someone buy this bike. It is an 18" frame (geometry charts can be found at www.on-one.co.uk). I was a mechanic for Cahaba Cycles for 4 years and this bike has been maintained very well although it does have some cable rub and whatnot. No dents or other big problems on it. It was treated with Frame Saver when built. It has been a great bike but I need the money. Parts spec is listed below but I have boxes of parts around the house and can build it to your needs. Will fit riders from 5 7 to 6 feet or so, very flexible geometry with tons of standover clearance.

On One Inbred 29er 18" frame. Steel, 68mm BB shell, 1 1/8 head tube, 27.2 post...all the standard stuff. Horizontal drops with a der. hanger (fits 1x9, 3x9, singlespeed whatever you wish)
On One Carbon Superlight 29er fork
Cane Creek S3 headset
Hope Pro2/ Bontrager Duster tubeless ready wheelset
Tires: You choose-Panaracer Rampage, Maxxis Crossmark, Maxxis Aspen
Avid BB7 brakes and FR5 levers-new cable and housing
Shimano LX Hollowtech crank/BB with Surly 32T ring and bash guard. These are brand new. Can also do Middleburn RS7 crank w/ SKF BB for some extra dough.
Either 1x9 SRAM X.7 or Surly singlespeed cog. N Gear jump stop included w/ 1x9.
Ritchey WCS stem and Bontrager Race Lite bar- Also have On One Mary or Fleegle bar if you wish.
Ergon GX1 or GA1 or GE1 grips
Bontrager Race seatpost with Fizik Gobi XM saddle

Call John at 205 427 9869 or email if interested. Local buyer preferred. Cash or money order.

Bling blang

If I can scrape together the money in the next few months, I will have some new mountain bike wheels.

Just got an email from Industry Nine accepting me into their grassroots program! This is pretty cool, I applied last year and didn't hear a thing and figured the same would happen this year.

Probably going with the XC 29er version which are their straight pull hubs laced to Stan's Arch rims. I'm sure I am light enough to go with the 355 or Crest rim but I have dented enough rims from running low pressure to err on the more durable side.

Oh yeah, I still ride bikes in addition to geeking out over parts I don't own. After being knocked out with the common cold for close to 2 weeks I did my first hard ride in the same amount of time this Sunday. Went with the gang from around here that will be headed to Southern Cross to get in some gravel miles. My legs are getting back some snap and my sinuses no longer feel like they are ready to explode. Amazing what some rest will do when it is really needed.

Goal update.

I have been sick the past eight or so days now and ridden a total of one hour this week.

Goals for the weekend:

Headed to ATL for a couple days, hopefully there will be some of the released this week Bell's Brewery Hopslam (ridiculous, so amazing) to be found over that way.

Back to the bike next week, it's shoppin' time.

Resolution Dissolution!

That title makes little sense, but so do many other things I have done in the past year but I'm going forth with it anyway because it so succinctly sums up how I feel about New Year resolutions. They just seem like a lame excuse to put off a bunch of shit until you are drunk enough to blindly commit to all of it at once. Once the champagne hangover is gone, the list of things that you Resolved to do becomes less appealing. While I have no resolutions per se there are some goals I have for 2011 but I will get to that in a minute.

2009
Before acknowledging 2011 and 2010 I think the long gone 2009 deserves to be payed some respect. 2009 was the first year I was tempted into doing endurance races. I liked riding my bike all day pretty well and obsessing over bike stuff never gets old - longer races seemed like the ticket to fulfilling both desires. Mostly I was over the drive for three hours to race for two at 180 BPM deal. One screw up in a short race and you are done. THEN it is time for the sulky three hour drive back home. I threw my hat in the ring with a 6 Hour Solo at Heritage Park, GA. I slid through the mud for six hours, got a decent upper mid pack finish in the Singlespeed cat, and bought some wonderful beer. I was hooked. This was also the first road trip/bike race Melissa came to me with. I realized after a grand total of zero fights on the trip she might stick around (fortunately she did). This was followed up by the muddy disaster that was DSG 2009. What a clusterfuck....100 pound mud caked bikes and a destroyed trail system led to first of two DNFs this year (still had a 4th place finish which was odd).

Lap 1 at DSG 2009-still clean

Next was my 12 Hour solo debut at another Dirty Spokes race in Tribble Mill, GA. DNF at the 9 hour mark due to elbow pain. Knowing what I know now I would have gulped Advil like they were M and Ms and gone on my merry way for three more hours. Woulda coulda whatever, I bitched out and decided to start riding more. This worked. I entered another 12 Hour in beautiful Helen, GA and actually had a solid race with a 3rd place podium spot and few regrets. Never satisfied, I immediately plotted a 24 Solo for 2010. Part of the fun, I was realizing, was wondering if I could survive or not.

2010
2010 sucked way less than 2009. I rode all winter in hopes of finding my groove for the 2010 season. The year went pretty well and I am happy with it. I started the wagon wheels racing blog in 2010...having a blog seems crucial to getting sponsors. It has also eliminated any temptation to write on bathroom stalls or overpasses.

What had happened was...

• 2nd place at first race of the year-thought it was a fluke
• Won a 12 Hour a couple months later -rode the last 3 hours in a panic
• First 24 solo-Ouch. Hard. Will do again
• Hot as hell summer riding- Think I had some weird form of solar depression
• Fool's Gold 100-Really fun for a race ruined by 8 inches of rain in 12 hours
• Cross season- Riding for 30 minutes isn't bad but add the running and watch out!
• Powertap for the road bike- sorta lame but road rides rarely get boring now.
• Moved for the 7th time in 6 years-hopefully in this place for a few years.

Ft Yargo 12 Hour-1st place, 16k ft climbing

What was different this year? I tried. I made an actual effort to improve and it worked. Who woulda thought.

2011

There are things I want to do this year and things I can do. The want list includes Trans Iowa, Colorado Trail Race, and the Transylvania Mountain Bike Epic Stage Race. All of these involve a ridiculous time commitment and money outlay which I really cannot justify.

The can do list includes everything in the 2011 Happenings column over on the right side of the page. Something that is not on that list is doing the Cheaha Challenge on a fixed gear. This is a terrible idea. The climbs are too steep and the descents too dangerous. I have told other people I would never too it. 100 miles and a good portion of steep climbing on my 1984 Trek. I have done it before but never to this extent. This one would be on the mayyyybe list if there was such a thing.

Oh yeah, Happy New Year and thanks to anyone who has been kind enough to give me product or discounts on gear this year.

A Christmas Story from Snoop Dogg

Cold weather stuff review

1) Moose Mitts

These things have been pretty amazing so far. Hardest part was actually getting them due to the handmadeness of them. I ordered them around mid November and got them one week ago after a USPS slip up. Trails Edge in Michigan makes these all by hand and it shows, high quality stuff.

Cost was $60-about the same as some piece of shit Gore "Windstopper" gloves I bought last year. Quotes mean they did not work well. But yeah, Moose Mitts. I am able to wear them from 35-40 degrees with no gloves. Add a thin XC glove down to 25 or 30. Rode this morning in 14 degrees with a very thin fleece running glove and was fine. Get some.

2) RBH Designs VaprThrm socks

I have only ridden in these twice but they do what they say. The whole vapor barrier idea is to contain sweat to keep insulation dry. The socks were 35 or 40 bucks and made with three layers laminated together to eliminate the plastic bag in the shoe feeling. One thing with them is they take up some extra room in cycling shoes so they would NOT work in a tight fitting pair. I have used them in my Shimano winter boots and my summer mesh shoes (this morning, super cold) and they work great. Feet are sweaty and warm. I'll take that over cold any day. I think with some Grabber toe warmers I have will have the cold feet deal pretty much managed. Available direct here.

In other news, I have been looking at SS cross bikes way too much. I want one for next year. Something about 16 pounds would be sweet. I am going to just patiently wait and watch ebay for 9 months or so. Maybe something will fall in my lap (besides a beagle with static) soon.

OMG...what to wear???!!!

Sorry. Could not help myself. It's just cold. That's it and it sucks.

This is the time of year I tend to try and convince myself that other activities will help me get in shape for riding next season.

Running
I'm jealous of runners for about four months of the year. They stay warm. They get to run on sidewalks and tracks. They don't have to wear lights. It is over with quickly. Makes my knees hurt...no go.
Lifting
Weight lifting for the winter is also an option. It seems intuitive-legs get stronger and stronger legs make bikes go fast. Seems is the key there, the year I lifted I was still small and weak but also slow come March. I can do without all the Bros and Cougs at the gyms anyway.
Hike
This is actually pretty fun but Melissa's entry into grad school has curtailed four hour hikes this year. Fun and I miss doing it. Dog walking is a good substitute.
Riding
Cold. Traffic. Dark. Traffic. Really cold. Time consuming. Perfecto.



Have been perfecting the winter clothing system for road bikes for years and still don't have it down (mountain biking is easier to dress for-less wind). Here is what I have found to work. I want to get this written down somewhere I won't lose it.
Head
Helmet only til it drops below 40 then add a scarf. Hat or earband thing below 30.

Torso
Arm warmers at 55. Make it a long sleeve wool jersey at 50. Add another wool jersey below 40. See a theme here? Below 30 add a vest. Easy.

Legs
Knee warmers below 60. Thin tights and baggies below 45. Thick fleece tights below 35 with the baggies.

Hands and feet
This part really sucks. Have not found a good cycling specific cold weather glove and refuse to buy more this year. Got Moose Mitts instead. They came today and are warm and should keep the sweat from building up. Stoked. Feet are the toughest part. While the rest of your body works hard the feet dangle like icicles ready to sweat then freeze as soon as they can. I have some Shimano MW80 winter SPD boots which are good BUT once they are sweaty get cold. This can be solved with a vapor barrier system. The goal of a VBL is to keep your insulation dry so it, er, insulates. I did a ghetto version yesterday with a thin sock, grocery bag, wool sock, then shoes on. Warm feet at 35 degrees on a road bike. Awesome. Went ahead and sprung for an actual VBL sock from RBH Designs last night. High hopes and all.

Important points:
Sweat is the enemy, start out cold the first 20 minutes and the rest will be better.
I don't like Windstopper stuff, it just makes me trap sweat. Wool rules.
Layer, layer, layer. Champion sells good baselayers at Target. Skip the fancy shit.
Chemical heat packs do well.
Get off and walk to unfreeze feet.
Bring extra gloves. They will get wet at some point.