The wait is over........I am back!

Sorry for the lack of posting. I figure that if I can't take the time to put up a good post...why even try. So, after a long break I am ready to post again. Thanks for hanging in there.

First, thank you to all that gave me support and encouragement in the Chequamegon prep. What a great time with friends I had. Thank you folks for the birthday card. It meant a lot especially due to me being away from my lovely wife and two little girls. Thanks!

The race. Wow! What a race. I may have only done the short and fat but what a hoot it was. My best time and placing yet to boot. 1 hour 2 min and some changte. That put me in 43 place out of 858 (I think). 8th in my division out of maybe 74. Sweet! The rest of my racing clan did a little better.

The bike.....Salsa Mamasita. Wonderful! Flawless! Perfect! And oh so fast, lively and quick. Not me, the bike. 29ers rock! Nuf said.

Thank you all that attended the festival for a great time. I can't make it back next year and maybe not the year after but I will be back, someday.

Okay. Back to the bike. I received a comment from this fella who I have inspired. I do not think I have ever inspired anyone before. This is cool. Here is what was written.

mark dunn said...
Captain Bob,RE: Mamasita sizingYou have inspired me to pick one of these up. The question is which size as per the Salsa spec chart - they have the small-Medium and medium-large thing going. Also what length stem are you running?I am 5.8 1/2" tall with 31 1/2 inseam with no shoes. Your thoughts on sizing will be appreciated also taking into considering the 29 wheels as well. I usually run a 18" fram with a 23" top tube and a 120MM stem in good old 26" size wheelsThanks

My response: Here is the sizing chart taken directly off of Salsa's website. Scroll to the bottom of the page. My size is the medium. I am 5'11" and my inseam is around 33in. That is my pants length. It's a near perfect fit for me but it took some tweaking as I am on the tall end of the bike. Which means a size large would probably fit me better. I am running a 110mm stem but did run a 100mm for a while. It was a bit cramped with the 100mm but the bike steered better. A large for me with a 90mm stem would be perfect. One thing you will notice with 29ers is you will want to run a shorter stem than with a 26er. I think. I was riding a smaller than normal 18in frame in a 26er and did also run a 120mm stem. The medium Mamasita with a 100mm stem steered better than my 26er with the longer stem. I think the medium would be a perfect fit for you Mark. I would bet a 90mm (0 degree or -3 or -6 degree) would be perfect for you. I also had to swap out my Thompson seatpost for something with more layback. The Salsa Shaft seatpost works perfect for me and is much stiffer than the Thompson. Your size would be great with the normal seatpost though.

Do you live anywhere near Waterloo/Cedar Falls Iowa? You are welcome to ride mine. You will be delighted with the ride. It feels alive underneath you man!

Thanks for reaching out to me for info. Good luck in your decision and feel free to keep in touch.

Have a good night folks.

Captain!