by george, i think i've got it!

It's been a long road of struggling to get this Salsa Fargo to fit me right. However, good things come to those who wait. I think I have found just the right handlebar to fit me just right. I need to swap out the brake levers and shifters back to the Shimano Xl dual control set-up and get a couple rides to know for sure. I zip-tied the drop bar to part of this new bar and rode around the driveway and down the gravel road just a bit and so far I think it will be just right. Finally! One problem I can see is that I will be so comfortable on this bar that all of my bikes might need the same bar. That will have to wait a while cause these bars ain't cheap!

Captain.

boring week.

not much to say. it's been a boring week on the bike. not much action. too busy at home and WAY to busy at work.

Captain

2010 IORCA schedule

The calendar is out. I plan to do a few of these events but not sure which ones yet. Send me a note if anyone wants to join in with me.

Captain

2010 IORCA schedule

The 2010 Iowa Mountain Biking Championship Series schedule:

IMBCS #1 - April 11 - Sylvan Island, Moline, IL
IMBCS #2 - April 25 - Decorah, IA
IMBCS #3 - May 9 - Camp Ingawanis, Waverly, IA *****
IMBCS #4 - May 23 - Banner Lakes, Indianola, IA
IMBCS #5 - June 6 - Morehead Pioneer Park, Ida Grove, IA
IMBCS #6 - July 17 - Scott County Park, Eldridge, IA
IMBCS #7 - July 25 - Seven Oaks Ski Area, Boone, IA
IMBCS #8 - August 15 - Lake Ahquabi State Park, Indianola, IA
IMBCS #9 - August 29 - Sugarbottom Rec Area, North Liberty, IA
IMBCS #10 - September 25 - Lake Manawa State Park, Council Bluffs, IA
IMBCS #11 - October 3 - Sycamore Trail, Des Moines, IA



Other non-IMBCS races:

Iowa Games MTB Race, Peterson Pits, Ames, IA - TBD
24 Hours of Iowa, Seven Oaks Recreation Area, Boone, IA - September 4 & 5
4th Annual Women's MTB Clinic, Des Moines, IA - TBD
5th Annual Des Moines Dirty Duathlon, Des Moines, IA - TBD

running a little late........

Headed over to the shop Tuesday during my lunch hour and picked up a new chain for the Selma. An 8sp chain this time. Great suggestion G-Ted. Thanks! It's much beefier than the one I just broke.

Mounted that up Tuesday night in hopes that I could get ready quickly Wed after work and get in a short ride before sundown. Well, I did get in the ride but didn't make it home before dark. It was a good ride. My fitness is coming along nicely but I have a long ways to go. Recovery after a climb is lacking a bit but that will come soon.

I hope to get a good long ride in Saturday. Maybe a three hour ride. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Captain

frosty morning....

Don't you just love the damp winter evenings......No! Unless, they bring us a beautiful morning like Saturday!

I decided it was too nice out to be inside. So, the girls and I bundled up and headed out for some play time. I didn't take many shots but here are a few I like.

After shooting I pulled the girls around on their sled for a while. They had a great time and so did I. While they finished up playing I prepared my Selma for an afternoon ride. My mother hosted a candle party in Waterloo so the girls and I stopped in for a visit. The place sure smelled good. Pam's aunt had an afternoon planned for my kids which meant I was off the clock for a few hours.

I geared up and headed out. I was hoping for two hours of ride time and accomplished that. However, the last two miles of my ride were all about me hiking with my bike. Yep! Broke another chain. That's two chains in the last 6 months. I think it's time to just by some new chains. Maybe a stronger one this time.

It was good to get out. So, if you haven't rode this weekend......just do it now!

Captain

Photo Friday

Thought I would give photo Friday a shot this week. Before I left the house this morning I knew something dramatic would unfold from the sky. So, I packed my little old Fuji p&s camera. It doesn't do low light so well but any picture is better than no picture at all. My window of the Cube was frozen shut so I had to get out of the car for this shot. I took two more shots before this one but neither of those two had the color in the clouds yet. It's crazy how fast the sun rises and sets.

No kidding here, I shot each of these frames less than 2 minutes apart. I drove 1 mile and then stopped to take another shot....then another mile and then another. I like the 3rd shot best. I was able to use the car door for stability.

I was a bit disappointed when the sun actually crested the horizon because all of the color pretty much disappeared. Oh well, I think almost getting hit by a school bus once was enough.

Have a great Friday and don't forget to look to the sun for some warm photo inspiration.

Captain

grass track racing?

What is this you say? I was lost in the internet over the weekend and stumbled across grass track racing. Seems like this use to be a pretty popular form of bike racing. I have never heard of it. It seems that across the pond it's picking up popularity again. Not sure if we'll see much of this in our neck of the woods but without a local Velodrome I could see this stirring up some interest. Maybe not, unless you like suffering, and like left turns only or no technical terrain to tackle. I guess if you like everything mentioned in the previous sentence you might just enjoy cyclocross racing.

In any regards, I guess it would be very spectator friendly, just like cross racing. I don't know. I guess it's just something to post. After all, I gotta keep this ole blog updated.

Captain

Too funny!

Ok. Not bike related but oh so funny! Click the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rsEnwKrsvc

fun fun Sunday....

I have mixed emotions about today. We just didn't make it to Sunday School or Church. We were starting to get ready and decided to not go. It was a tough decision but with my head cold I knew I didn't need to be there. We have a lot of elderly folk there and sit pretty close to each other. Also, my little girl has been battling a bumb leg. She apparently injured herself Wednesday evening at gymnastics. She has some bad pain just above her ankle on the inside of her leg. It seems like the same spot where I get shin splints but I know that's not what it is. Ella has also been having a lot of growing pains. So, went to the Dr on Saturday morning and he didn't think anything was wrong. We decided to save her from radiation and will wait to do an x-ray until Monday, if it still hurts her. She does seem to be getting a little better so we'll see. With ss being upstairs and with part of the morning sermon for the kids being in the basement we decided to just skip today. My in-laws made a trip over for lunch today and we all had a nice time. Good food. The kids were a little stir crazy and I decided I needed to get some fresh air. So, we bundled up and headed out for some sledding around the yard. With all the melting as of late It made it too slippery for me to get any traction to pull the sled. So, I fired up the old lawn mower and pulled them around for a while. As you can see the girls had a pretty good time. I did too and the cold air didn't see bother me too much until I topped out the mower which goes 7 mph. Pretty fast for a mower and fast enough for the win to get into my ears. I am paying for it now. I can feel the darn ears filling up with fluid. I better take it easy for a few days in hopes that I will be ready to get back outside for a ride soon.

Super Bowl? Yeah, I watched it. Good game. I didn't have a favorite team when the game started but I ended up pulling for the Saints by halftime. They seemed to want it just a bit more than the Colts. Good game though.

Captain.

I'm in!

I think the roster filled up in 10 hours or something like that. Facebook was haunting me last night after receiving the word that there was a new race headed to the Northwoods. I raced up in Chequamegon a couple of times and decided if I went back it wouldn't be for the Cheq festival. However, i never expected to try something as crazy as the Cheq 100. You can see more details here.

So, now I need to get my fitness ready and figure out what bike and set up I plan to use. That will be more difficult I believe since I mainly have single speed rigid bikes. I will have to decide soon so I can get comfortable with the bike cause that's going to be a lot of miles!!

Captain

fargone fargo

I've been having a really hard time lately with my Salsa Fargo. During the summer I had her built up with a Mary type bar upside down. It was comfortable enough for gravel and paved roads but anything off road was certainly a challenge. the front tire did nothing but wash out at every turn which caused a ton of braking. I even toasted an entire set of pads during one of Gnat's Fargo rides. I was also running a 120mm stem to get the bar out where I needed it (and anyone that knows 29ers will tell you that you shouldn't have to run a stem that long). The top tube of the Fargo was sized for being run with a drop bar which gives you the extra distance.

So, I bought the new Salsa Woodchipper. It's what most would call the perfect dirt drop bar. I think they are right too. However, I can seem to get quite comfortable. I have tried running it low and also high. Yeah, even in the middle too. The first and foremost problem I have is the palm and wrist on my left arm. I am still suffering the effects from the broken elbow. I am not sure how long this will persist. I know for sure that the drop section of the bar puts pressure in the wrong spot of my palm. It's the same spot that the steering wheel of the car presses on too.

So, I guess I am a crossroads with this bike. I think it would be a better fit for me if I owned an Xl frame size intead of the L my current set up would be perfect. Problem is the standover height is WAY too tall for me on the XL. I don't think I should make any drastic decisions until the weather is better and I can get some more normal rides in with the Woodchipper. I did have bar tape on the drops section of the chippers and it was wrapped pretty fat. Still not right. If if I raise the bars too high, which would help the drops, then the hoods and flat part is worthless to me.

All I know is that with the Mary bar set up and Ergon grips I can ride all day and be comfortable. Well, other than the sketchy off road parts.

Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance to the three people reading this blog. Man, I never should have taken so many months off from blogging. :-)

Captain