BIKES BEANS AND BLUEGRASS

2011-12-05T17:29:00.000-08:00

Milledgeville Ride

2010-12-31T13:04:00.000-08:00

2010-09-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

Todays Dauset ride.

Check out my Garmin info here.

3.5 Hours

2010-08-30T05:46:00.000-07:00

Motivation at 6am

In Knoxville...Rolling to Roberta ride

Cross stuff

2010-08-25T14:25:00.000-07:00

Cyclo-cross equipment is showing up!

Challenge Grifo Open:
HAND MADE!

These bad boys will be put on Bontrager RXL wheels and my back up RXL wheels.

Bontrager RL cross fork:
My favorite tire by far. What is everyon else using?

2010-08-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

My fruit consumption has doubled. I have the flu. It sucks! Riding has taken the back seat.

4 hours

2010-08-20T05:53:00.001-07:00

2010-08-17T18:39:00.000-07:00

Well I finished 5th overall in the GSC SS series. The only problem is they didn't give me any points for the last race. So I might have been 4th or even 3rd. Who knows, the only problem is I would have to have done 6 of the 8 eight races to qualify for a series overall. If you think about it, it sounds like they are all about the money. Should a person who only does 4 of the 8 and still finishes top 3 get a prize? I think so. Just a question. I don't care about prizes, I have enough of those I just think its only fair to give credit where credit is do....my two cents.

Next on the calendar, the 6 Hours of Dauset. Sept 18. Solo. Bike details and set up will follow. I have some stuff on the way, here's a clue.

2010-08-04T15:43:00.000-07:00

On tap Sunday

2010-07-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

Bike Ride Pictures

2010-07-28T19:58:00.000-07:00

2010-05-31T11:05:00.000-07:00

First win of the season!

Bike of choice: Fisher Superfly SS
Wheels: Bontrager Duster SS
Tires: Bontrager Mud X
Nutrition: Hammer Nutrition

It all worked!

2010-05-26T15:29:00.001-07:00

Travis Brown is trying out a new Fisher at the Growler! Check it out here.

2010-05-26T12:10:00.000-07:00

I think so much about hydration that for Sundays long ride I installed the Bontrager Race X Lite Rear Cage Holder. What amazes me is that the majority of people I ride with don't hydrate as much as they should. 16-24oz an hour depending on the rider.

Everyone that rides with me knows that I am a huge Hammer Nutrition guy but for recovery I love to eat the PowerBar Recovery Bar.

I have put in over 6 hours in the last three days. Might not be alot to some but for me it is. My fitness is coming around.

Today we were on the news here and here about the bike signs the city put on the roads. Thanks to the College Hill Corridor in Macon.

2010-05-22T12:49:00.000-07:00

HEAT TRAINING

2010-05-18T13:07:00.000-07:00

It has been hot. Lots of good training going into the legs. Another hot one for the group ride.

Busy race schedule for me coming up:

GSC #4, West Poing, Ga May 30
Bump and Grind, Alabama June 5-6
GSC #5/SERC, Dauset, June 13

Bonk Breakers!, if you havent tried them you should.

2010-05-14T09:14:00.000-07:00

I have been putting in alot of miles on the road but on the MTB, group rides and all. I am just trying to get used to that position. I am hoping by doing this it will help my racing. One, because riding with the road group with knobbies and all makes me work harder and two, just being in the same position in training and racing. Especially with having the Dauset race coming in Sept, 6hr or 12hr, I haven't decided.

A few things I have decided on is the Bontrager RXL bib shorts are the best and Bonk Breaker bars taste great, one of the best in the food category.

2010-05-03T12:55:00.000-07:00

My last MTB race was in Winder, GA, part of the GSC and SERC series. It was probably the worst race I have ever had. No power and a big crash on a bridge. Front wheel went out from underneath me. Besides the race, hanging out with everyone was cool. I ended up riding the RIG instead of the Superfly SS due to the trail conditions.

Some people have asked why I was building up a RIP 9 from Niner instead of a GF Hifi and the answer because the HiFi's are all out of stock until August and September. I am patiently waiting....

NINER RIP 9 PROJECT

2010-04-14T15:46:00.000-07:00

Just came in today. I am starting to train for the 12 Hours of Dauset and this is what I will be using.

Majority of my stuff will be in tomorrow.
Sram X0 shifters and read derailleur
xt front derailleur
Bontrager Rythym Elite wheels
LH Thomson stem and seatpost
Bontrager tires
XT cranks
Fox RP23 rear shock
Fox Fit Rl front shock with 15mm thru axle
XT cassette
Sram chain

2010-02-07T09:33:00.000-08:00

It's amazing how a 5 mile run can make a day so much better. My family had a rough night. My son came down with a stomach virus late yesterday evening. My wife and I took turns watching over him during the night. He was feeling better this morning so I got out for a quick run. I had a mtb ride planned but things come up and you have to adapt and overcome.

Its funny how many different things you see on the side of the road while running. Golf balls (lots of them today). My guess would be a bunch of young guys from an apartment complex on my route decided to hit some balls the night prior. I might take my bike out there and gather them up for one of my customers at the shop. I also saw several prescription bottles as well, not good given the close proximity to neighborhoods with young children. Another thing that simply amazes me is how many alcoholic beverage containers our on the side the road as well. I guess some people will never learn.

Back to the run, it was extremely nice out since we have had rain and cloud cover for most of the week. I was getting cabin fever. My legs felt good and I just took it extremely easy taking in the run as much as possible. I did use my Thermal Quickdraw from Nathan Sports filled with NUUN.

My shoe of choice was the Salomon XT Wings GTX. First run in them. No complaints for the first run. I am a big Brooks fan but I don't mind trying new things. More reports to come once I get some good trail runs in them.

Thanks for reading!

2010-02-04T12:18:00.000-08:00

Lots of rides lately. I have been riding the GF Superfly but today I borrowed Ethan's Gary Fisher Ferrous 29er he just got and rocked that at LH Thomson. I did not use my normal Mud X tires like I usually do with these conditions. I used the Bontrager XR 1 instead. Not the best choice for today but I had fun with them. They are super fast and corner well.

I have the Bontrager 29-3 tires coming in today along with an XTR crankset to put on my Superfly. I will use my current XT crankset on the Rig. After todays ride I am debating on getting the Ferrous 29er.

I will have some pics of the new tires in the next day or so.

2010-01-20T14:42:00.000-08:00

Check out this. This guy is awesome.

2010-01-20T13:50:00.000-08:00

Thoughts of cycling and drinking coffee have consumed my free time. I am stoked that pro cycling is underway for 2010. I have actually been getting in some quality ride time on the SS. Went out on the road bike during lunch yesterday. What a day, all sun, hardly any wind and no warmers. One of the best lunches I have had in awhile.

2010-01-16T13:17:00.000-08:00

Rocking the Gary Fisher Superfly SS at LH Thomson.

2009-12-17T11:38:00.000-08:00

It's pretty much official, it looks like I will be flying the colors of the 29er crew for 2010. I am super excited. I have been wearing the shop's kit since 2004 so it will be something different. From the looks of it I will be racing in the SS category in the Georgia MTB series. If I don't do that for some reason I will be Expert 30-39. Yep, you read it right, 30-39, I will be 30 next year, kind of weird.

Since I mentioned Fisher check this out from Cycling News.

I guess I better start my winter training. I am going to throw in alot of running this year because I miss it. Hopefully it will help alittle. As well as doing a ton of core exercises.

2009-12-09T07:34:00.000-08:00

Photos courtesy of Chris Lewis Photography and Beth.

Well, the season is over. I had a blast! It was a great series that at great venues, good people, and great volunteers. After not really racing much the last couple of years I forgot how much a little 2 month series racing almost every weekend can take out of you. I am physically and mentally exhausted. I will have to move up to the Men's A class now. Even though I am tired I did register for the Dirty Duathlon put on by OMBA this upcoming weekend. I believe it is a run/bike/run format all on trail. They are not releasing details until the day of which makes it fun I guess. I haven't been running much but have good legs for the bike portion. I am not looking for any good results, just to have fun. If I get a good result that will be a bonus. They only thing I am having a problem with is which bike to use, the SS #1 or SS #2 or geared and this nagging chest cold that I can't get rid of.

The shoe of choice for the Dirty Duathlon will be the Brooks Cascadia 4. My fuel of choice will be Hammer Nutrition. Based on the weather forecast my tire choice will be the Mud X and more than likely I will go with SS #1.

2009-11-25T12:08:00.000-08:00

Well I haven't posted in awhile. After the last race I took most of the week taking it easy. My legs were cooked and mentally I was tired. I have been doing some rides during the last couple of weeks. I skipped last weekends race. (they drop the lowest) but I will be competing the last two races, this weekend and next weekend and the cross season is over.

I went out today with Tyler, Mike and James. We did just over 34 miles avg. 17.6. It was a nice ride. We ended up riding out to Perry and doing the Perry Roubaix course. Good times.

2009-11-15T18:46:00.000-08:00

It was beautiful day in Dallas, Ga. Daryl Sawyer and gang put on an excellent race. Plenty of sand and mud. Grant, Ethan, and Mark made the journey, good group of guys. I had a great start, sucked in the middle, and held my own at the end outsprinting a guy for 3rd overall. Josh Stinger had some bad luck, he has won the last two races and I believe on the last lap he had a flat. That's why I was 3rd. As much as I like 3rd it sucks that I benefited by someones misfortune, he's a cool guy.

Ethan was 3rd in the C class, Mark and Grant finished in the low 20's, but don't qoute me on theirs.

Here are some photos taken by Mark.

On a different note, I switched from my SRAM components on the cross bike to Shimano Dura Ace 7800. I love SRAM components but for me the older hoods on the DA stuff is great for cross and I find it less effort to shift it during a cross race.

2009-11-14T10:16:00.000-08:00

I got fouth in Savannah last weekend. I wasn't to happy with the outcome. I should have done better but thats racing. It did move me up to second overall in the men's B.

I am looking forward to tomorrow. We are headed to Dallas, GA. I heard on the forum that the lower part of the course will be extremely muddy. It shall be fun.

For your viewing enjoyment check out www.bartape.net. It follows the Cervelo Test Team. Pretty cool.

2009-11-04T15:36:00.000-08:00

Video found here.

I think I am officially obsessed with cyclo-cross.

Gran Prix of Gloucester - A Cyclocross Film from Benjamin Eckstein on Vimeo.

2009-11-03T18:56:00.000-08:00

I started off today with a nice 1 hour cruise to get the legs ready for this weekends punishment in Savannah. The state championship cross race is this weekend. Two weekends ago I placed 3rd. I had amazing legs but with this last weekend off I am interested to see how my legs respond to some hard efforts later this week. Ft Yargos race was canceled last weekend which was nice because that was going to be my dropped race. I had family things going on which were more important.

Tomorrow mornings ride will be mainly a cruise but with some short hard efforts thrown in. Thursday will be a nice 45min-1hr cross workout followed by some stretching. Hydration is always on my mind especially leading up to a big event.

We should have at least 6 guys going from the shop. I have to figure out all the logistics, drive time, eating, packing everything in the least amount of space, etc., stuff I like to do.

31 oct 09

2009-10-31T08:34:00.001-07:00

New bike lane on Houston Lake Rd heading towards Perry. It seems alittle narrow in places but I am definetly not complaining.

Augusta Cross Race

2009-10-25T18:55:00.001-07:00

The Augusta cross race was today. It was the 3rd race on 8 for the Georgia series. Greg and Ethan joined my on the 3 hour trip. I told myself after last week to start at the front and stay there as long as possible. I did just that, allowing myself to stay in the top 3 all day. We actually had 6 hanging on the first couple of laps but it finally dwindled down to 3 with 4th about 10 seconds back. There was a climb every lap that people ran, I found the sweet spot and rode it every lap. I would make a few seconds up there each time but was stupid and didn't lay the hammer down at the top, trying to conserve for the remainder of each lap. Because of the strength of the two with me it probably would have been wasted energy trying to attack after each climb. But I should of tried, lesson learned. That's the beauty of cross I guess, you only have 45 minutes and if you make small mistakes they can come back and haunt you. I wasn't to happy with the person who placed 2nd. He didn't do any work. He has won the opening two races so maybe he thought he didn't have to. Oh well, he still beat me.....maybe next time. All in all I felt extremely confident and strong throughout the race. I have a break next week since the race was cancelled. That will give me two weeks to prepare for the state champs in Savannah. Motor pacing is on the agenda at least twice.

Ethan and Greg both had strong showings during the C race. Greg's bike seemed to not want to cooperate initially with two punctures during warm-up. At least they were not during the race. Ethan placed 7th overall and Greg was 14th. That was Greg's first race back since winning the overall GSC series. I was stoked for him. I was extremely happy to see Ethan have such a strong race after not getting to ride much the last 3 weeks.

Here are a few photos from today.

Blackbird coffee was on the agenda coming back into Milledgeville on the way home. If it wasn't for having such an awesome job I would definitely move back. Stephanie and I both graduated from GC&SU located there.

My Honda Accord loaded down.

The podium. 3rd place overall today.

2009-10-24T10:43:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to this....damn, out of The Bike Store coffee.

But luckily my wife picked up Publix coffee for a penny the other day. Crappy coffee saved my morning. It sucked but gave me a jolt.

This mornings group ride that left the shop at 10am. I used this as an easy ride to get ready for tomorrows assault on Augusta, the next cross race.

My legs feel good so I hope it carries over to tomorrow.

2009-10-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

I went out for an easy spin this morning. I wasn't able to ride Monday or Tuesday so I figured I would just spin the legs out today to get ready for tomorrow's cross practice. I have a good loop on dirt,sand, and pine straw that I do for my practices. It's perfect for anaerobic training. It has helped.

I checked the Georgia Cross overall standings after two races and I am sitting in4th overall. I am extremely satisfied. Augusta is this Sunday and I am looking forward to it.

I rode the Niner Air 9 this morning to cut down on wind chill.

Multiple layers were needed.

Ergon GX2 carbon cut down for the X0 grip shift.

By the way Race Across The Sky plays nationwide tomorrow night. Who's going? We are heading to Morrow.

Georgia-Cross Race 2

2009-10-18T18:52:00.000-07:00

The second cross race of the series was held in Dahlonega today. Good weather, good course, good beer, what more could you ask for. Steph and I made the 3 hour trip up this morning. I was nervous not knowing what to expect of the course. I got there, checked in and pre-rode the course. My initial reaction of the course was that it was really rough. Once I lined up they started calling the top 10 up and luckily I was 7th last week so I got a front row spot. Once we started I faded back a bit but decided not to kill myself. I started picking riders off one by one. I think I passed 3 or 4 riders that either missed a turn due to too much speed or them falling over in the slick corners. The course was all the way down and all the way up. I don't think there was a flat spot on the course. If it seemed flat it was a false one or it was really off camber. The run up each lap to the start/finish was steep. After a few laps I figured out the best lines and just stayed the course for the remainder. I didn't even get into my big ring today. There was a good down hill but by the time you really picked up speed you had a sharp right hand off camber turn coming up. I ended up placing 5th overall. I am extremely happy with my performance.

I am taking tomorrow off and starting Tuesday getting ready for the Augusta venue.

Here are some pictures.

2009-10-15T12:48:00.000-07:00

I had a few things to do today to catch up on everything.

The first thing was to get my tickets for Race Across The Sky which will play nationwide next Thursday. If you haven't got one, get one. I will be going to the theater in Morrow, south of Atlanta. Who's going?

The second thing was to clean my cross bike. I had a creak coming from it this week. I thought it was the bb but after cleaning it top to bottom I noticed the rear derailleur hanger was very loose. I am glad I spotted it today and not half way through the race when it broke.

I love this tire.

I got this ring from Cyclocross World. 44T 130BCD

For the race this weekend I decided to throw on the Bontrager Race X Lite wheels. In the Macon cross race I ran the Bontrager Classic wheels. I figured since the next race in Dahlonega might include some good climbing I threw on the lighter hoops. I should be receiving my new Egg Beater 4ti pedals tomorrow which will knock some more weight of the bike. I have been using these. They were at 308g. The 4ti are 167g per pair.

The third thing I had to do was my bike laundry.

The last thing I had to do was call Stan at No Tubes to make sure my buddy Jim's wheels would be here tomorrow. They never let me down.

2009-10-14T12:48:00.000-07:00

I am stuck in the Macon store today. Weather sucks, watching it rain and no customers. I wish I was riding.

I had a great ride with the Tuesday group last night. I ended the ride with 35 miles. Beautiful evening, temp was perfect with no wind which is odd for this area.

I ordered my new pack for those long winter training rides on the Niner. I should see it tomorrow. As Jeff Kerkove said "enough room for the kitchen sink". It should work for everything including my hiking and traveling.

The Dahlonega cross race is this weekend. My wife and I are heading up to it. I am hopping to improve on my 7th place finish from the last race. It sounds like the course suites me, lots of running and climbing.

Just to remind everyone there will be a clinic that I will be having at the Warner Robins shop on layering for year round comfortable riding. Let me know if you want to attend.

Just a hint of what I have been up to.

Long time no blog

2009-10-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

Mike Stanley, the Niner rep who also is the manager of the Terrapin team brought us to my favorite beer company in Athens.

Tyler helping me get rid of the course tape from the first georgia cross race which I helped promote with Grant and Dave from LH Thomson. That was a busy weekend. I helped promote and still found time to race and place 7th in the B's. I felt really good with that result. No more focus on the promoting, just racing.

I have my bikes of choice for next years assualt on the mountain bike series. I know what most people are thinking, "you are a fisher guy." I still love the fisher bikes but its time to try something new for awhile. I really enjoy riding 29ers. I still have my Rig and Superfly SS which I might break out for some muddy races but overall I will be on the Niner Air 9. Its a fanatastic ride by the way.

Once I finalize some part specs I will give you a rundown on what I will be on for the winter.

2009-08-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

Gary Fisher on the road, thanks to Velo News.

Check it out here.

2009-08-13T10:49:00.001-07:00

Lance Armstrongs Trek Top Fuel for the Leadville 100. Check out all the info here.

I Love My Bike

2009-07-03T18:58:00.000-07:00

I decided to celebrate the Tour De France this year by throwing some love on my bike:

BEFORE

AFTER

Choices, choices.

I have decided to make a challenge for myself. One of my friends Matt, from the riding group did this last year. I want to ride every day that the riders in the TDF ride. I know it doesnt sound hard to some people, believe me I wouldn't have had a problem in college but with an awesome wife and an awesome son I don't have as much time as I used to.

I tried to figure out ways of doing it, maybe a percentage of the day. I figured based on my many time constraints I will ride a minimum of an hour. If I have time to do more I definetly will! I think that is reasonable. I can also use it as a small three week training camp. I will try to copy some of the terrain but it depends on traffic flow since many of the miles will be put in early in the morning.

Of course if something comes up such as sickness, family issues, etc., then of course I will not ride. Life happens you know. I am going to try and keep a day to day post with all my Garmin Edge 705 info.

People often ask me why I like my Trek Madone so much. I guess its because Lance
Armstrong is one of the main reasons why I got into cycling. For me he just adds that excitement to the bike race. I remember wanting a Trek carbon road bike since I first laid eyes on one in Bicycling magazine back in 1999. While I was at Georgia Military College that was one of the few posters I could have on the wall. I guess thats why I love my Madone so much. It was built on my birthday, the color rocks and I have rode alot of bikes, aluminum, carbon, titanium, steel, and its my favorite. What can I say, I love my bike.

Madone 6 Series

2009-07-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/trek_life/news/article/1606/2009/07/02/trek_unveils_all_new_6_series_madone/

Just read it and you will see why Trek Bicycles make the best road bikes in the world.

Just my opinion of course.

2009-06-29T16:14:00.000-07:00

Cruising on the RIG.

SUPERFLY SS (4TH in the geared category at Dauset)

Cruising with Derek.

2009-06-18T19:58:00.000-07:00

I wanted to ride the Thursday Night Worlds tonight. Scheduling seemed to fall into place so I took advantage of it. I wanted to take it easy knowing that Sunday I will be entering the pain cave with a SERC/GSC race. I have not done one of their races since last summer. With cross coming up I realized I needed to hurt.

I did keep it easy for the first 18 or so miles and then my legs warmed up. I went through 3 bottles of HEED and then ended the ride with Muscle Milk. My legs felt surprisingly good. Hopefully I didn't burn the candle from both ends for Sunday. Only race day will tell.

The Bike Store gang should be in full force..... Green and Black everywhere. Who's going?

2009-06-08T16:02:00.000-07:00

The 29er was dirty from 3 hours of riding at Dauset Sunday.

Always hydrate!

2009-06-06T11:44:00.000-07:00

What a good way to start the day!

I decided to wear the Bontrager Race Lite shoes in doo doo brown.

Early ride this morning with Chad and Chris.

2009-06-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

Here I am rocking the new Bontrager Race X Lite MTB shoes. Super nice.

Greg adjusting the gears before some night crit action.

My Trek Madone waiting patiently.

The Rig enjoying the car ride up to the Macon shop this morning.

I have the Rig hovering around 22.4lbs. I love the way it rides. I am thinking Dauset this weekend. Early...... probably O'Dark 30. Anyone? Chris perhaps.

2009-05-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

For today's ride I decided to take the cross bike out equiped with SRAM FORCE and the Bontrager Classic wheels. I didn't know what the weather would do so I didn't want to take the Madone out. It's kind of nice to have a "bad weather bike."

The group just chatting along during the ride. The ride objective was simple, keep the pace nice and steady to get ready for next weeks century leaving from the shop.

Ethan points out Chips secret weapon, some sort of tobacco product. Only in Georgia.

Probably the most gay self picture.

My legs felt like crap today. I had no extra push at all. Hopefully the legs will get out of the slump before next weekend.

Thanks for reading!

2009-05-15T06:34:00.000-07:00

Caden and Steph hanging out at the shop.

Two new toys. The Garmin Edge 705 and the Madone.

After the second sprint on the Tuesday ride.

I Have Been Riding

2009-04-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

I also have decided to sign up for the Stumpjump 50K again once registration is open.

I want to beat my time of 6:42 from last year by an hour.

I also recieved my new Brooks Cascadia 4 from Run Fit Sports.

LANCE AND GARY

2009-02-14T16:14:00.000-08:00

From Lance's twitter.

2009-01-30T20:00:00.000-08:00

Katie Compton bike article from cyclingnews.com.

Another write up.

This was a good write up on Katie Compton's bike. I think its cool that she is riding the same frames from last year. She sticks with what works and doesn't have to change her frame every year. I also like the mix of components on the bike as well. I think its crazy that the fact the she had to buy her own Shimano drivetrain. She is national champion but yet she has to purchase her own groupo.

2009-01-29T09:13:00.001-08:00

Its good to see some sponsors are still backing some great individuals.

Check it out here.

I took last night off. I realized that I have been doing so much riding at night and in the morning that last Saturday was my first ride during normal daylight hours. The streak continues. I hope I can hit up some singletrack today during daylight but I highly doubt it. We will see.

Check out Sven Nys' bike.

Don't forget about the cyclo-cross world championships this weekend. Cyclocrossworld.com will be having great coverage starting at 5:30am Saturday morning I believe. Cycling.tv will have live coverage from the race as well. You just have to pay for cycling.tv.

I will leave you with some bike porn. Enjoy.

2009-01-26T07:16:00.000-08:00

I was alittle tired here.

At the top of the last climb my legs were muddy. By the time I got done it was completely dried to my legs and knee warmers.

Top 3 guys, they were fast.

More pics over at SORBA.

More info and links over at Namrita's site.

SOUTHERN CROSS REPORT

2009-01-25T13:34:00.000-08:00

Well, for some reason my camera doesn't want to work so no photos right now. Yesterday morning Greg, Rick, and I left early to head up to Mulberry Gap right outside of Elijay. It rained the whole way up. Once we hit Atlanta it was about 50 degrees but once we arrived in Elijay it was about 38 degrees and raining. We registered, got our gear together and headed over to the pre-race briefing. Eddie and Namrita did an excellent job registering us and giving us all the details of the course.

The course was hard. It started out with a true cross course with a few dismounts and running sections and then ventured outside the parking lot and onto the gravel roads. Once we started the clouds cleared and the sun actually popped out. The roads werent to bad. After a few miles on the gravel we made a turn onto the only paved part of the course. After a few rollers we hit the gravel roads again which were in good condition. We eventually headed the 12 mile climb, what a bitch. It started out gradually and got steeper as it went. About 7 or so miles up we hit the aid station where a volunteer helped me swap bottles and gave me some Hammer Gels and a Hammer Bar. What was funny about the aid station was they said as soon as you head over the climb in front of you(it was steep after the aid station) its all down hill. I thought as I was going up, Eddie said it was twelve miles long not 7. Obviously the volunteer that it was funny to joke around about that. It just kept going up. For me I ended up walking alot of it. One, as we went higher up the mountain it kept getting colder and colder and the once was ice area was now turning to mud. It was like peanut butter, just soaking up all the energy you put forth. A couple of times I thought to myself,man our my brakes rubbing. And two, my legs went through a spell of being alittle tired. I ran into Rick about half way up and we continued together walking and riding where we could. It was pretty cool to notice the temperature change as we went up. At one point you could see the cloud moving right in front of you. Ice and snow were noticed on the weigh up as well. It was great. A couple sections of the climb would go down abit, a teaser of sorts, and then a steep climb would follow. My thought was, just keep moving. The descent down was 7 miles of fast switchbacks and mix of mud, water, and lots of gravel and dirt. On the way down you could notice yourself getting warmer as the temps warmed. It was actually pretty cool. I had 4 miles left after the descent and my legs felt pretty good. Once we got back to Mulberry Gap we hit the most grueling cross course that I have encountered b/c of one steep uphill. A eventually finished. I actually felt good afterwards.

I think my ride time was around 3:49 and my mileage was around 37 miles. I know it seems slow but I haven't quite got my race legs back. I only did one mtb race last year so its going to take alittle time to get them back. My excitement about riding a bike is definitely back.

My bike setup was the Gary Fisher Rig single speed. Gearing was 32/18. I was spun out on the descents but it was good for rhythm climbing. There was some trade-offs. I have alot to learn about single speeds both in riding and gear selections, remember momentum is your friend. Tire choice was the Bontrager XDX and the handled very well. My proto-type LH Thomson seatpost clamp worked flawlessly.

Eddie and Namrita put on a flawless event in my eyes. I hope there will be more slots for next year so more people can enjoy this awesome race. Good course, good people and good schwag.

2009-01-22T20:17:00.000-08:00

Well, I think I am ready for Southern Cross this weekend. I am not considering it a race for me but a long fast training ride. I will be surprised no matter what happens. I don't have a ton of miles underneath me currently because of all the running I had been doing to gear up for the half. Cardio is great, its just getting the legs to turnover those teeth on the cog and chainring over and over until the finish. This will be longest mountain bike ride since sometime last year in the fall or late summer. I am very excited. Hopefully I will not finish last.

My new ride is built and ready to go for the event. The Gary Fisher Rig. It's a single speed twenty niner. I went out for a ride earlier with Chad and Ethan and really enjoyed it. I know it stupid to ride a new bike for an event but it should be fun.

I made a few changes to the bike from stock. I added a Thomson stem and seatpost, a Ritchey WCS flat handlebar, Ergon grips, a Bontrager Inform saddle (146mm), Crank Bros. egg beaters, and the Avid Juicy 5 brakes. I currently have the stock Bontrager XDX tires on the wheels but I might switch them out for the Bontrager Mud X, my personal favorite.

The weather at Mulberry Gap, where Southern Cross will start and finish is calling for a 30% chance of rain in the morning so the Mud X tires sound the best.

Namrita is picking her favorites for the event, Mark Hekman for the men, and Cary Lowery for the women.

Tonight makes the third time this week when I have rode at night after the family goes to bed. I can't wait to see daylight while pedaling.

Pics from the Half Marathon

2009-01-18T11:20:00.000-08:00

Half Marathon Results

2009-01-18T06:02:00.000-08:00

The half marathon results are up. Check it out here.

My official chip time was 1:30.18. That's 6:54 per mile. I am very excited to run that fast.

My brother, Derek ran 1:34.49. Last year he ran a 1:46, thats 12 minutes faster. That just shows how much work he has put in in the past year.

I will post some pictures up as soon as my wife gets back with the memory card. I just thought I would let everyone know.

Thanks for reading!

Pre Half Marathon

2009-01-16T19:30:00.000-08:00

Well the bag is packed for the half marathon run tomorrow morning. It is going to be cold.

The Craft gear is the number one choice for baselayers and headwear for myself.

Hammer Nutrition will be keeping me topped off on my energy stores before, during, and after.

My shoes of choice for the run will be the Brooks Cascadia 3. I know its a trail shoe but through countless miles I have found that this shoe is the right choice. I guess its kind of like riding a cyclo-cross bike on the road. It just fits for me.

My socks of choice will be the Trek Oslo extreme weather sock.
When you've got to ride no matter how cold or wet the weather is, slip on the Oslos. These Nordic beauties boast wicking SST polypropylene uppers for warmth and extra-high cuffs that fit perfectly under leg warmers and tights. The CoolMax padding at the toes, heels and footbeds keeps out the cold and keeps in the dry comfort. Plus, there's heavy-duty elastic ribbing for support and padding at the heels for comfort and protection.

I will let everyone know with my results tomorrow afternoon.

Pics of Sunday Monring

2009-01-13T14:07:00.001-08:00

WAR OF THE WORLDS

2009-01-07T18:36:00.000-08:00

Pick up your velonews.

I have a run scheduled for tomorrow since I will not have time for anything during the day. I am looking to do around 5 miles. My half marathon is two weekends away and I feel ready enough to run at least 1:35. Anything faster would be a surprise, any slower....what can I do. That works out to around 7:14 per mile. My goal is to start around 7:45 and run negative splits every mile. My HR should start in the 150s range and I should finish in the high 170s based on my training. I can stay in the mid to upper 170s for most of the run. I have been training to be able to hold that comfortably.

I have stepped into the 21st century and recieved an Ipod from my brother. I have made a couple of playlist for the half marathon. When I run with music it always seems to help.

2009-01-06T07:26:00.000-08:00

I rode with my brother this morning. Alittle windy but temps were perfect.

I am almost done adjusting everything for Southern Cross

I had some questions about the Southern Cross race and Namrita hooked me up. Here is the map for the 36 miles of gravel. The actual cross course is not determined but it will be on Mulberry Gap's land.

2009-01-05T16:01:00.000-08:00

Another pic from Mark from New Years!

7th Annual New Years Day Ride

2009-01-02T09:14:00.000-08:00

A good way to start off the new year.....Venti Caramel Machiatto

The 7th Annual New Years Day ride. We had a great turnout. Thanks to everyone for showing up and making it a good ride. We just cruised to keep everyone together.

2008-12-30T16:12:00.000-08:00

The roads were abit dirty on Sundays ride. I left the house and it was really wet but as soon as I arrived at the shop to meet the "group," Marshall and Greg the sun was out. No more wet roads, just windy in some places. Great ride. I wish more people would have showed up.

2008-12-22T07:06:00.000-08:00

The BOB is ready. I love this jogger. It folds up quick and tracks really well.

Caden loves it!

Steph road her bike while we ran. It was alittle windy out so she headed back early and we kept going.

French press is the way to go. My Jittery Joes Wake n bake was perfect this morning.

It was pretty windy yesterday but it turned into a good run. My Brooks that I won from Run Fit Sports at their Warner Robins location are working out great.

We will be running a little coupon on our website for those that are interested. It will be up later today.

2008-12-19T12:29:00.000-08:00

Adding some Bling Bling to my cross bike. I didn't get to race cross this year so this is my way of getting through the pain.

I had a couple of people join me for the Wednesday night crit. James going through the last corner before he fell.

Then we had a blow out and James went down on his head. No pic of the helmet but he needs a new one. I had a Bell helmet laying around that I gave him. We are glad he is okay.

Went out for a ride yesterday and the temps were unbelievable. I think it hit 81 outside with some light winds. We had five people show up. My objective for the ride was to ride tempo all day. I accomplished that but through in some speed the last couple of miles. My legs were abit tired in the middle of the ride but seemed to wake up towards the end. I was surprised.

Chad has the Peach Peleton rides posted for the holidays.

2008-12-08T10:32:00.000-08:00

I went to Athens yesterday to ride and hang out with my brother. I had a 50 miler planned but after the 34 miles of battling some of the winds my brother and I were pretty much fried. In the past it wouldn't have bothered me but I just started my base after pretty much a year off the bike.

I layered pretty well but I think I was bundled up to much. I started to sweat abit when we had a tail wind but when the wind hit us I could really feel it. I ended up using my Craft wind blocker top and bottom. Along with The Bike Store kit, Pearl Izumi arm/leg warmers, PI amfib shoe covers, with PI lobster mits (my hands get really cold). My socks were the Trek Oslo Extreme weather. Craft head cover and a wind vest. Lots of thin layers is the way i like to do it.

I have been trying out some new equipment:
Vredstein Fortezza SE (training tire)
Shimano Ultegra SL pedals
Shimano R131 shoes (2008 version)
Sigma Rox 9.0 computer (only one ride)

I will have some more info as i put more miles on everything.

My Storck CD 1.0 is kicking butt. It is so smooth especially with the Bontrager Classics wheelset.....very smooth. Speaking of Storck,

More about Vanderkitten here and here.

2008-12-01T14:03:00.000-08:00

Craft clothing, only the best.

I got up 30 minutes late this morning. I scheduled a 1.5hr ride to kick off the season training. I was only able to get 1 hour in. That is better than nothing I guess. I headed out on my CX bike with the knobbies on it. I didn't know how the roads would be after raining all day yesterday. I strapped on my Princeton Tech Switchback 1.0 and 2.0 and headed out the door. It was abit windy this morning. The cold didn't effect me until 40 minutes in but only in my feet. I didnt wear any shoe covers, that was stupid.

I cleaned up my Storck the other day when I installed the Powertap but have not got to ride it.

Chris and I both had kitchen passes to ride long on Sunday but of course we got rained out. We were going to head up to Dauset and do 2 17 mile loops. We were stoked to head up there but of course the weather didn't let us.

I have decided to go for the Rock and Roll Man Triathlon. I have been going back and forth in my head trying to figure out what to focus on, running or riding. I decided why not do both and add something. I need to register fairly quickly in order to really focus on it. This will allow me to ride some TT's, mtb races, road races, running races, etc. in order to gear up. I will be using Joe Friels Triathlon Training Bible to help guide me. I am still trying to figure out some other small details about next year.

2008-11-29T07:07:00.000-08:00

I finally hooked up my Saris Powertap. My version is wired. That is the only thing I don't like about it. I just feel lucky having a training tool like this. I have had it for over 1.5 years and never really used it b/c of all the wires. I like a nice clean look and the wires dirty up the bike.

Caden working on his Trek Mod.

2008-11-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

Anyone that reads knows that I love coffee. Dunkin vs. Starbucks. Each company offers so many good things. I like how Howard Schultz runs Starbucks. I love their speciality drinks but I love Dunkins coffee. Starbucks has the best hot chocolate. I could go on and on but you check it out.

Check out Dunkin Donuts new site. You decide.

On another non bike thing, if you have not seen Fireproof you should go. It was probably one of the best movies that I have seen. Any couple should see it regardless if they are going through hard times or not.

I entered a drawing at Run Fit Sports here in Warner Robins just a couple of doors down to win a free pair of shoes, I won! I went with the Brooks Defyance. I added my Superfeet insoles and went for an hour run yesterday and they felt great. Run Fit will take care of your running needs.

Knock out two birds with one stone by coming by the plaza and visiting the shop and Run Fit.

2008-11-03T15:26:00.000-08:00

POSSIBLE 2009 SCHEDULE

JAN 17- MUSEUM OF AVIATION HALF MARATHON (ROAD)
FOR A FUN FAST RUN.

FEB 28- MOUNT CHEAHA 50K
MAR 21- OAK MOUNTAIN 50K

RIGHT NOW I CAN'T DECIDE ON WHICH OF THE TWO ABOVE.

JUNE 19-21- ROCK CREEK STAGE RACE

OCT 3- ROCK CREEK STUMPJUMP 50K

DEC- ROCKCREEK 100K (I DOUBT IT, BUT WE WILL SEE)

Obviously this is just wish list. I am planning on really focusing on the ultra running thing for 2009. I am currently riding about 2-3 times per week for the fun of it. My running miles will start to increase over the next month to gear up for the Mount Cheeha race. I really think if I give this ultra thing a true go I could do well. But, this is coming from someone who has only done one.

Random Blog On

2008-10-29T07:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos taken before the 50K race I did back on the 4 Oct.

Here are some photos of a run I did in Helen when I went up there with the family week ago.

I still haven't decided what I want to do for next year. I have put in some good rides and runs this last week or so. I am just enjoying doing whatever as of now. One of the events I am possibly thinking about doing is the Rock and Roll man. I am 100% sure I will be doing the Stumjump again. They already have the date set. It is going to be on my calendar.
I might even consider doing the road half marathon at the base. Just to get a good fast run in to start off the year.
I also migh throw in one, maybe two Snake Creek TT's in just for fun. I did one last year and had a blast.

As you can tell it seems alittle scattered but that is the joy of this time of year. You can throw around a ton of ideas in your head and you have some time to figure them out. If I decide to do the half ironman distance I know I got some training ahead of me.

Thanks for reading!

2008-10-25T13:35:00.000-07:00

Went to Thomson this morning with Ethan. It was more of a trail maintenance ride than a spin. We were able to remove 3 of the 6 trees that had fallen over the trail. I had to pull out some winter stuff including my favorite baselayer from craft.

I am still unsure what my main event will be for next year. Will it be a series or just one big one.

I have been slacking with my blog posts so I promise to keep up.

2008-10-06T07:38:00.000-07:00

My first 50K result!

70th place out of 198 finishers

Time: 6:42:37:84

You can check all the results here.

I will give a more detailed description later. I have a ton of stuff going on at work.

I will say this, if you are thinking about doing a 50K choose the Stumpjump. Rock/Creek does an incredible job at everything from pre-registration to finishing.

Mark your calendar for the 2009 race taking place on October 3, 2009. I will register the day it opens.

2008-10-03T12:03:00.001-07:00

I am up here in Chattanooga with Greg and Chad. We just checked in at Rock/Creek Outfitters. The dinner is a 6pm. We recieved a ton of stuff just for registering. See you guys later. I will post details later.

2008-09-30T15:40:00.000-07:00

I had my appointment for my knee at Houston Orthopaedic here in Warner Robins. They did a great job and Dr. Wiley was really helpful.

Basically my IT Band is getting overworked and putting stress on my other tendons surrounding my knee. I can run through it but I will need a short break followed by alot of stretching. That means I can keep the 40 miler on the schedule for December.

Check out the topo for the my race this weekend. I am getting pretty pumped.

I haven't decided if I will bring a camera for actual race. I will bring it for the pre and post activities. I have an older/heavier camera. I want to though.

2008-09-23T07:15:00.000-07:00

As I sit in the store my mind goes back to trek world and the perfect weather and trail conditions we had.

11 days and counting before the 50K. My knee feels better today. Today will make it 3 rest days so tomorrow we will give it a go on some nice soft surfaces and test it out.

I am enjoying a nice Grande Caramel Macchiato
and this scene popped into my head from Youve Got Mail. Yeah I know I am a dork.

Have a good one!

2008-09-22T07:20:00.000-07:00

I went out for my 20 miler early Saturday and the temperature outside was amazing. The first 45 minutes into the run was good until my right knee started to hurt. It eventually locked up and I had to walk. I kept walking until it loosened up and started to run again. I was able to get in 18 miles. It didn't hurt it was just tight afterwards. I haven't had any problems leading up to this. I have been training since march and exactly two weeks before my event is here I have a problem. I called to schedule an appointment to get things looked at but they have not called me back. I have been stretching a ton and icing it. It doesn't hurt right now but I can feel some soreness. We will see. My attitude is, I am going regardless even if I have to walk. The race is on the 4 oct.

2008-09-17T14:13:00.000-07:00

Hammer Nutrition hooked me up for the 4 Hour again this year. Thanks a ton I wouldn't have done it with out you.

I need to get more organized.

The bike I wish I could ride more often.

I went out an ran 8.5 miles yesterday and felt good. My 50K is coming up quick. Only a couple of more weeks.

I have been using this shoe and this shoe. Both are working very nice.

4 Hours of Pig

2008-09-16T11:31:00.000-07:00

The 2nd annual 4 Hours of Pig was a success. Check out the site for all the results. Please comment and let me know what you thought of the race.

Thanks for all the participants and all the volunteers. I plan on keeping this thing going year after year. My goal is to give the volunteers and participants everything I can for as little money as possible. Next year is going to be even better!

I hope everyone enjoyed it.

Read what people said:
Here
Here
Here

Thanks so much!

2008-09-08T15:51:00.000-07:00

My event is almost here, the 4 Hours of Pig.

http://4hoursofpig.blogspot.com

Sunday 14 Sept 2008

9am - 1pm

Registration opens at 7am and closes at 8:30am

Race meeting at 8:45am

2008-09-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

I have a ton of pictures from Wisconsin but here are a few.

2008-08-11T06:51:00.000-07:00

Hello from Madison, WI. Jesse and I are sitting here in the hotel waiting for our bus to leave for Waterloo. Today we will be spending most of the day learning about the new 2009 Madones and some other newbies that will be on the lineup. I am pretty stoked to hit the roads and put in some needed miles.

We started yesterday early by flying first class into Milwaukee and then taking our rented VW (thanks Enterprise) to Madison. We hit the town and went by one of the local shops. It was absolutely packed. We pretty much just chilled all day. We ran into Shawn (our outside rep) and Matt (our inside rep) last night and talked over a couple of brews.

Sorry for no pictures. They should be posted by this afternoon.

Random

2008-08-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

Random Blog Mode On:

It looks like Stumjump is getting more people. It shows over 170 registered runners here.

More sponsors have been added to my 4 hour mtb race. Check here for all the details.

My morning run felt pretty good. The body is finally getting used to this humidity. It feels like I am always re-hydrating. I don't think I can get ahead. NUUN has been a big help.

I have a 10k Saturday morning. My plan is to actually run there and then "compete". The run will be around 12-13 miles total depending on the way I get to the course. I figure it will give me some much needed motivation to run faster on the latter half.

Sunday I am flying out to Milwaukee, WI with Jesse and then renting a car to drive to Madison, WI for the Trek World Backstage event. My schedule so far looks like this:
Monday: road riding on the Madones all day and then a John Burke welcome.
Tuesday: MTB riding all day out in Waterloo, WI with some classes on WSD/Fit/Pavement, some outdoor booths, etc.
Wednesday: Customer Service, Trek Road, Bontrager clothing, etc.
Thursday: departing back to Ga.

You can bet this will be in a cold glass every evening I am in Wisconsin.

Random Blog Mode Off.

WHERE'S KARL MELTZER?

2008-08-05T06:46:00.000-07:00

WHERE'S KARL?
Karl Meltzer's attempt at "the long green tunnel" record started today. Check here for all the details and updates.

As most people can tell I am really getting into this ultra running stuff and I have not even attempted my first ultra. The training is addicting. I can't get enough of the trail running thing.

Sunday Ride Pictures

2008-08-05T06:41:00.001-07:00

New Ride

2008-08-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

My new ride has arrived, the Storck Scenario 1.0.

For information regarding their tour check the blog out here. The Bike Store will be hosting the tour stop this Tuesday, August 5 from 3:00 to 8:00. Call to reserve your bike today.

I did a short 8 miler today and my legs still feel heavy. I guess that is to be expected after doing a 24 miler less than a week ago. I will doing a casual 30-40 mile ride tomorrow with some friends. We will be heading out right at sunrise.

This might be in the works for next year.

Pine Mountain Adventure

2008-07-29T18:42:00.000-07:00

Greg and I met at The Bike Store at 4am loaded the Honda and headed to the Waffle House to carb up on some good ole waffles. Once we finished there we jumped on the road and headed west to the Pine Mountain Trail.

Once we arrived on the east side of the trail we drove up the road to our first scheduled water/food stop dropped our bags and headed up the road to drop off our bags for which would be our out and back stop. Once we pulled we decided and nature break was needed before sunrise. Once I went to shut the car off the radiator house decided to burst. There was nothing we could do about it so once we jumped in the car we headed down the road with my car almost over heating and parked at the east end of the trail. I figured we might as well not worry about the car until we finish the run, we were already there, might as well. Curtis was waiting for us, he could only do a small portion of the run b/c he had to head south for business later in the day.

We started nice and easy. The weather was pretty much perfect. Great cloud cover, misting half way through the run. The sun only came out the last hour or so. We covered over 24 miles on this out and back adventure and we only 7 people and that was in the last 6 miles.

I will admit I totally underestimated "true" trail running. It is a whole different ball game when you incorporate roots, rocks, creek crossing, off camber sections, really long technical down hills, really long not so technical and very technical uphills. I did alot of speed walking.

I decided to try some different things on this run to really dial in what I want to use at the Stumpjump 50K. I used Nuun for 99% of my hydration needs with some watered down orange gatorade for the last 1.5hr. The only energy packets I used were Gu, which is new for me. I used there Roctane to get me through the last hour. I took a Gu every 30-45 minutes and drank appx. 16-20ounce of fluid an hour. I started to feel some cramps coming on the last 5 miles but it was very humid and no air flow for most of the run.

At the first stop (5 miles in) I filled up another bottle of Nuun and ate half a Clif Bar just to ease stomach. At the turn around point (12 miles in), we actually stopped and I had a peanut butter and bannana sandwich, some pistachios, and some fluid. The only problem I had with the sandwich was the first couple of minutes of running after stopping was a little of indigestion but it went away pretty quick.

With about 2 miles to go we stopped at Slippery Rock Falls for a nice relax soak. Here is a picture from the Pine Mountain website.

The gear I used for this run was:
Fuel Belt Trail Runner
Nathan Quick Draw Plus
Insport shorts
The Bike Store Champion Sytems Running Singlet
Sock Guy Dopers Suck Socks
Pearl Izumi UltraSensor Race Visor
Polar S625X Heartrate monitor
Asics Kahan Trail Shoes

I had no problem with any of these products. Minus cold/bad weather this is exactly what I will use for the Stumjump 50K.

About the car, to make a long story short we barely it made it to a very small gas station in Shilo, Ga and used product that clogs holes in radiotors or hoses and we made it home. What an adventure.

I have had so much fun training for this so far I might just add the Pine Mountain 40 miler put on by these guys and gals in December.

2008-07-17T19:36:00.000-07:00

Caden, Steph and I went for a ride the other day. We rode around 5 or so miles before Caden decided we should head back.

This is just two shots of some of the trails we have put together over at Central Baptist Church. (no complete loop yet, we will eventually get there) (thanks a ton to Greg and Brandon and anyone else that has helped so far)

This Trek 7.2FX is Steph's new commuter. 1 World 2 Wheels!

On to other notes, one of my favorite sites that I have been visiting lately is Groovy Green. Check it out!

2008-07-17T10:39:00.001-07:00

I had a great ride this morning. I left the house a little before 8. I put in 2 hours on the bike. It took a couple of miles to get comfortable but about8 or so miles in my legs felt good.

I hydrated with NUUN tablets in both Polar bottles. I did have one Hammer Gel to get me going this morning since no coffee was ready this morning before I left.

I am planning on running tomorrow (5 or so miles), taking off on Saturday (commuting into work) and running 10-13 miles on sunday.

In coffee news this was funny.

My big run is coming next Sunday.

2008-07-12T12:01:00.000-07:00

This is the coolest thing. Check out more info here.

2008-07-10T13:31:00.000-07:00

RANDOM BLOG MODE ON:

I am currently high on caffeine thanks to Starbucks!

I am counting the days until Trek World Backstage. As I have been thinking about the trip I have also had coffee on the mind. I always have coffee on the mind but I am going to hit up this one place once we get settled in Madison.

I started yesterday off really good with a 9 miler but I under-estimated the humidity and I got really dehydrated.(I should have been drinking this during the run) I was brought to a walk on three separate occasions. I didn't think I needed my bottles but I screwed that up. Towards the end of the run I felt little nauseous.

I want to get in at least an hour on the bike but currently the weather is not cooperating. But we will see. We did need the rain.

One of my new favorite websites.

2008-07-08T19:24:00.000-07:00

Well, as of June 9 we have 82 participants for the Stumpjump 50K. Check here for the list. I am pretty stoked to see such a large turnout on the list this early.

My schedule for this month long run wise is:
Saturday 12 July- 15-20 mile run at LH Thomson
Sunday 27 July- Me and a few friends are heading to Pine Mountain to run point to point. I believe it is 23 miles point to point. This will be a big test for me. I will not be used to the terrain but I heard that it closely resembles what I should expect at Stumjump.

During the week I will be filling it up with plenty of 4-12 mile runs on the road and some light off road. I am still riding but only for cross training and maybe twice a week if I can find time.

In august I plan on hitting up Pine Mountain one more time and get 2 good runs in at Dauset.

I finally found the right shoes for me. I have went through Pearl Izumi and Adidas on the trail side of the house. I went back to Asics and chose the Kahana 2.

On the cycling side of the house I am going to pick my Tour De France pick: Cadel Evans is the man to beat. I believe he has some tricks up his sleeve. I love his consistency. Great bike handler, he came from the mtb world. Good all-arounder.

My site of the week is Krissy Moehl's site. Click here.

I am going to Trek World Backstage in August. I am looking forward to it. Have you checked out the new Trek commercial.

OLYMPIC TRIALS

2008-06-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

Go to www.eugene08.com for up to date stuff on the Olympic trials.

The events that I am most interested in is:
Women's 10,000m Final on Friday, June 27, 2008
800m Final on Monday, June 30, 2008
5000m Final on Monday, June 30, 2008
10,000m Final on Friday, July 4, 2008
Women's 5000m Final on Friday, July 4, 2008
3000m Steeplechase Final on Saturday, July 5, 2008
1500m Final on Sunday, July 6, 2008

I am paying attention to the qualifying heats but my main concern is the finals. So far it seems everything is going really smooth over in Eugene, Oregon.

On the ultra running side it sucks that Western States didn't happen this year. I was really interested in seeing how Anton would do. I am glad to see the race organization is keeping the health of the athletes in mind.

GRAVEL GRINDER

2008-06-23T16:06:00.000-07:00

2008-06-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I survived yesterday's early start at 5:15am. I left from my parents house so that way once I did the big loop I could stop at my vehicle for any last minute changes before the last 4 miles or so. I left their neighborhood and the temps were nice. I settled into an 8 minute pace and just put it on cruise control. The route has one hill and that was the only place my HR went up. My legs felt suprisingly good after some good rides this week on the bike. The only time my legs started to ache was around mile 10, just b/c my legs were not used to the pounding on asphalt that long. But I got through that little spell and finished the last 2 miles.

Once I got back I cooled down and went inside and took a cold shower and then enjoyed a nice Cytomax Recovery drink. As for recovery, I have tried the Hammer Nutrition Recoverite and it worked great but the taste wasn't the greatest for me. Cytomax always seems to upset my stomach a little bit. Now, Hammer has got a new flavor out for Recoverite, Strawberry. I am hoping to get some later this week to give a try. Out of all companies I think Hammer Nutrition as a whole is the best, for me.

The gear that I used worked good. The Nathan bottle worked great. I filled it with Perpetuem from Hammer Nutrition and followed Hammers orders, sipping every 15-20 minutes and then using the two 8oz bottles I carried on my fuel belt to sip plain water from a seperate source. The only time I used my hammer flask full of espresso gel was at the vehicle before the last 4 miles.

The shorts I have been using are from Pearl Izumi, the infinty short. The first couple of runs I used them I was not impressed, mainly b/c of the waist area but now since I have been using them more I am really beginning to like them.

As for today, my legs are bit sore and stiff from the pounding but I seemed to recover well. I am going to do some walking and light stretching throughout the day.

On the bike side, my new cyclocross frameset for the upcoming season has arrived. The Trek XO-2.
I do know that it will have Sram Rival components and avid brakes but everything else is up in the air. More details to come.

This week my family and I are going to St. Simons. We will be leaving late Wednesday night and we will come back home on Sunday. So as for training it will be the bike on Tuesday and Wednesday and then running on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. I am going to put in some good runs while we are there. Thats the plan anyway.

2008-06-06T19:50:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update before lights out. Legs feel okay after yesterdays heatwave.

I am all ready to go for my 10-13 miler. I drove a course today, it is around 11.7 miles or so. It is going to be hot so I am leaving the house at 5am to beat the heat and get done before sun up. I plan on running 8 to 8:30 pace. If the temps get to me I will slow it down. Not a problem. To help me out I am using a:
Fuel Belt Trail Runner Belt
Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem
Hammer Nutrition Gel (espresso)
Nathan Hydration bottle

I should be okay with everything. I might be overdoing it but its better than not having enough.

Cytomax Recovery will be setting at home once I get done.

I will let everyone know sometime tomorrow evening after work.

HOT

2008-06-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

THESE TWO PHOTOS BELOW ARE FROM WEDNESDAY NIGHTS RIDE. I JUST GOT IN 1:15 ON THE BIKE. I KEPT THE CADENCE HIGH. LEGS FELT GOOD.

THIS IS FROM TODAY (THURSDAY). ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS HOT. I WENT THROUGH 4 BOTTLES OF LIQUID IN A 50K RIDE TODAY. I WANTED TO RIDE MORE BUT I HAD TO GET MY SON FROM MY MOM AND GET SOME STUFF DONE. I WAS JUST PLEASED ON GETTING OUT THERE AND RIDING. ONCE AGAIN I JUST FOCUSED ON A HIGH CADENCE AND KEEPING THE HEART RATE IN ZONES 1 AND 2.

I WAS WORRIED HOW MY LEGS WOULD REACT ONCE I STARTED GETTING MORE HOURS IN ON THE BIKE AS WELL AS UP MY MILEAGE FOR RUNNING BUT SO FAR SO GOOD. I REALLY AM FOCUSING ON THE RECOVERY IN ORDER TO GET TO THE NEXT TRAINING BLOCK. I HAVE BEEN USING THE CYTOMAX RECOVERY DRINK, MOUNTAIN MOCHA FLAVOR. I HAVE TRIED ALOT OF THINGS AND THIS JUST ALWAYS SEEMS TO WORK. I LOVE THE TASTE SO I DON'T MIND DRINKING IT.

I HAVE A 10-13 MILE RUN PLANNED THIS WEEKEND. I THINK I WILL DO IT EARLY ON SUNDAY. I WOULD LIKE TO LEAVE THE HOUSE AROUND 5:30AM TO BEAT THE HEAT. SPEAKING OF HEAT, I HAVE BEEN USING THE ENDUROLYTES AS I STATED IN A PREVIOUS POST AND I HAVE HAD SOME GOOD OUTCOMES. HAMMER MAKES A GREAT PRODUCT. THIS SUNDAY WILL BE AN OFF DAY COMPLETELY. I WILL USE THIS TIME TO SPEND WITH THE FAMILY AND NOT WORRY ABOUT TRAINING. I THINK WE ARE HEADED TO CHURCH. THE NEXT WEEKEND (THURS-SUNDAY) THE FAMILY WILL BE AT ST. SIMONS SO I WILL BE ONLY RUNNING THERE.

ONE LAST THING, THE INFORM SADDLE FROM BONTRAGER KICKS ASS. WITH THEIR COMFORT GUARANTEE YOU CAN'T GO WRONG. CHECK IT OUT HERE.