Cross Tire clincher Pressure??

What tire pressure would be best in Ritchey Speed Max Cross clinchers for Cross wheels in Sunday's race? Sidewall says 90. I'm thinking 60? Most important criteria is no flats, maximum bump absorption would be second....

I haven't ridden this bike with cross tires yet, will be doing that before the race....have been riding it on the road with road tires. I have been enjoying riding it on the road so much I don't want to switch it over to cross.....

Landis Appeal

Just heard on the radio about the Landis decision. He lost his appeal. Apparently he also was stripped of his Tour de France title. Then I went to Velo-News and Cycling News to get the scoop. I'm sure there will be more stories up first thing in the morning.

More Chequamegon (Trek-amegon)

Gary Fisher was entertaining. Those warm black coveralls must have come in handy later at the chilly outdoor bonfire party after the awards. He hit it off with T and Wendy. He had some interesting observations about body work (massage, chiropractic, etc.) as we were talking about our bike-related aches and pains. Later, at the party, among other things, we talked about his bike building history as well as the movie Klunkerz, which he thinks will be a classic. The kind that stays around for 20 years. He's in the movie, and he made his first mt bike in 1974 (I asked).

Red Trek hats were a hot item. Maybe we should call Chequamegon Trekamegon?

Chillin'.

Tristan, Brian and Doug (eating dinner) waiting in the hall outside the awards. It was so hot and crowded in the awards room that people were sitting in the halls waiting to get called up. Brian looks happy about his 2nd place overall.

Sram and Trek continued the tradition of the Hayes bonfire party. At times the fire was, uh, really bright, thanks to our Hayes friends.

Some of the Alberto's crew.

T got a chance to catch up with Ross Schnell, who was with his teammates (Sue Haywood, Lea Davision, etc.) at the Trek trailer.

Hey, what's that blogger guy doing back there?

This "Blonde Fabrications" bike with giant wheels attracted alot of attention. The tall guy actually rode it in the race!

Gary Fisher got his speedy singlespeed crew to pose with their rigs for a pic. I love those brown Fisher sweaters. I want one!

Sunday Cable Criterium:

They changed the course this year.

Fast guy Doug rounding the sharp corner.

Another fast guy Tristan chasing.

Doug won the crit for the fifth (I think) time! Tristan got 3rd.

T won the women's Limbo Contest on Sunday. The pics are crazy, but they are unfortunately not in my camera. Hope she sends them soon, they are the best pics of all! Ex-teammate Tony won the men's Limbo contest. I think he really wanted to win the Log Pull, but he was pretty happy about winning the Limbo. Lower and flip your stem, let the air out of your shock, some air out of the tires, and turn your helmet backwards....and see how low you can go!

I never did see Greg LeMond and his son come in at the finish of the 40. His son goes to Northwestern, so I have probably passed him on Sheridan road, but I wouldn't recognize him.

Chequamegon 25th Anniversary

Thanks to Gary Crandall, his crew, and the event sponsors for throwing a great 25th anniversary Fat Tire Fest. It was fantastic.


Yes, that's frost you see out there in the field above. Brrrr! Coldest Chequamegon morning I can ever remember....

The moments after the first singlespeed rider ever to win Chequamegon crossed the line:













It was great to catch up with Travis, who says he's been super busy traveling for Trek. Unfortunately Mary was busy with a Trails 2000 project, so she and Zara didn't come along. We also had a chance to talk about 69'ers. Someone my size is selling a custom Ericksen with a Maverick rear and front end.

The Short and Smart:










Christine found her lung on her sleeve after the race.




Short and Fat race female winner Corie Berrigan.

I need some sleep now. Lots more pics and maybe some commentary to come.

Iola or Jackson Park, Sheboygan or Wedding?

I hope to get Chequamegon photos up soon. What a great weekend. The 25th anniversary of Fat Tire Fun did indeed feel special. And history was made. I think it was extra special for WORS people, seeing one of our own win AND make history.

A friend has been over using my computer late the last two nights at the time I would otherwise have posted my pics. Her computer died and she had to invoice all her patients before she leaves the country today to be a guide on a kayak trip in Greece. Last night I think it was 2 or 3 before she finished....

Iola or Jackson Park Cross?

IOLA:
Pros:
have done every WORS so far this year, one more step towards WORShead for this year.
love the course, it's a good course for me.
get points for myself and for the team competition.
see all the WORS folks another time before the season ends.

Cons:
very long drive, w/ an overnight stay. (4.5 to 5 hours)
am suppposed to be taking some time off the mt bike.
there is another race a half hour away.

JACKSON PARK:
Pros:
so close to home.
is part of a series.
need to do every race in the series to have any hope of placing overall in the series.
fun fast course on the lakefront.
see the local folks I haven't seen all summer due to being gone every weekend.

Cons:
haven't done any cross practice.
might actually be harder on my back than mt biking due to no suspension and the dismounts/remounts?
have to get bike ready before Sunday. (and possibly a trip to the shop for tweaks)
will miss getting WORS points

The above would be easier if I could make an even tougher choice:

Sheboygan or Wedding in Colorado?

I really hate to miss Sheboygan, it's probably the most fun race in the series from an overall perspective, and is the last chance to see everyone. It's a race I really look forward to. And missing it means no WORS head. But I feel like I should support my friend by going to her wedding. She is a long-time friend from back in the days when we both worked at a local bike shop. Then I would also go for a few days to Boulder to see other friends.

Sheboygan vs. Wedding, what to do?

This is taking up too much brain space.

Protecting yourself on the Road

This article in Velo-news is very long and well, legal, but it's worth reading if you regularly ride in a group on the road or alone in traffic where you might have an encounter with a driver. Food for thought.

Sadness

My condolences to my XXXracing neighbors and their team on the death of their teammate Tuesday at the Tuesday night crit. They must all be in such pain, losing two teammates in a short period of time to such sudden, tragic, circumstances.

making a statement

I guess it was only a matter of time until someone came up with this for unattached riders.

Sunburst

Some assorted pics, I didn't take too many today. Some pics weren't orienting correctly when I posted them, I'll have to try those again later. The ones that were vertical shots download sideways to Blogger, even though my printer's download software downloads and displays them correctly when I put the card into the printer to download. Blogger thinks they are still turned sideways for some reason. I have to figure out how to fix this....


Apparently I have a new teammate, Molly (see podium). I am not sure what category she got her medal in, but I am going to guess it's the citizen Barksdale category. Being a new racer and all. Congrats to John for winning his age group and to his daughters for their strong rides at Sunburst.


Wishing a speedy recovery to Mr. Fat-tires-n-Beer! He just had shoulder surgery on Friday. He had an ice pump contraption which circulated ice water around his shoulder. He says he is making some changes to the Sheboygan course to keep it interesting for everyone this year...


These guys were waiting for Sport awards. Wendy, Dan, and Nate all placed in their age groups and/or singlespeed categories, I think. Congrats to Wendy for toughing it out on her singlespeed and finishing (and winning), even though the bike was misbehaving. I think they were discussing how to keep bees from flying into your drink can. There were plenty of bees around, as well as enough skeeters to keep everyone scratching for a week.


I noticed these growing next to the ski lodge as I was about to leave. It makes sense that a place called Sunburst would have flowers like this.

We Just Work Here

I just read about the documentary "We just work here" about the employees at the Santa Cruz frame factory. It was done by director Brian Vernor, who did the cross flick "Pure Sweet Hell". Some of you may have seen Pure Sweet Hell when Brian and Katie Compton came to town for a benefit a couple of years ago. I hadn't heard of this new one before.

The article said I could buy it on the Santa Cruz website but I couldn't find it. Maybe it's not for sale yet? I did find a trailer though. You Tube has slowed to a crawl - it's 2 a.m. Friday night/Sat morning and I guess everyone on the West Coast is watching videos.... there are all these other kinda tempting mt bike videos but they don't want to open....ahhh, now they are working.....

And here is the same trailer on another site.

Digging a little deeper on Google, I found out I could have seen it at the Chicago Bicycle Film Festival, along with Klunkerz, another movie I really, really want to see. Klunkerz is supposed to be the history of the mountain bike. Joe Breeze, one of the dudes in the movie, used to show up at Chequamegon now and then. Maybe some of the others did too. Where was I that mid-August weekend of the festival when those movies were showing? Slipping and sliding in the mud at the WORS Cup, I think.

Beach and BBQ

This weekend I realized September has rolled around and I haven't used my beach token even once. This seems to happen most years! It seems like I have either been packing for a race, driving to a race, racing, or being a blob after a race, on weekends. And it's so close! So I went to the beach today, for just a short visit, like an hour. It was late enough in the day that it wasn't crowded, except for the south end that was hosting a large gathering of seagulls. There were some really noisy families picnicking in the grassy area, but the beach itself was pretty quiet. The weather was perfect!!

This side of the beach had really emptied out, most of the people were behind me. The shadows from the trees were starting to make people move, as well.

For some reason there was an orange helicopter chasing a boat. That's what the people are looking at in the distance.

My ride was fine, I got a little over two hours in. In some ways it was kind of weird. I noticed roadkill everywhere, much more than usual. And all of them were squashed flat, just like in the cartoons, although they were missing the cartoon tire tracks. Then, at LakeCook, right before I was going to cross the tracks, the Metra train gates went down. The train came along and sat on the tracks, while a line of cars was piling up, waiting. And waiting. And waiting. People from the train started picking their way across the rocky railroad bed and tracks behind the train. I asked someone if something was wrong with the train and she said it was dead. So there was the dead train, not even all the way into the station, blocking Lake Cook Road between Sheridan and Green Bay. I picked my way through the rocks and over the tracks, feeling vaguely like I was doing something I wasn't supposed to, since the signals were still dinging. When I got to the other side at least there was an even longer line of cars. I was able to tell some of them to turn around. I wonder if that happens often to Metra trains?

Last night I went to a BBQ on the lakefront, in a park near the beach I went to today. I haven't seen my group of local friends all in one place all summer!! It was great to hang out and catch up. We missed Craig, Kristine and Lee, who all moved away in May/June, making the group feel a lot smaller. Wish they could have been there. Also joining the BBQ was Wendy's brand new roommate, who just came here from France to teach in a French school here. She brought some of her French coworkers, as well. I think the guys were captivated by them! Aside from the mosquitoes being too friendly, it was a really nice night out.

Both FS mountain bikes, the race bike and the back up bike are now in the shop. I know one will absolutely not be ready by this weekend, but I am hoping the other one is. I think I need a back up to the back up!!

What if the TdF gave a "clean rider" jersey?

Tristan posted a very funny (or sad, depending on how you look at it) Onion article on his blog about the TdF. Check it out, if you haven't yet!

Stump Farm

Stump Farm = FUN!

Thanks to Bill and Susie for putting on a great race and for setting up a great course!

More later, I need to get a ride in this afternoon then go to a BBQ tonight. Hung out some after the race and ending up getting home pretty late.

I got to catch up on sleep a little this morning, but I am really feeling the effects of the bumpy trail and the long drive both ways yesterday. I kept waking up and going back to sleep. The trail was SO much fun, but it was also bumpy. Muscles seem to be ok, the back stuff is not so good and the sore shoulder from the crash at Rhinelander is just a little tender. I'll find out for sure when I go riding in a few minutes! I'm wishing I could go ride off-road (Kettle?) tomorrow but I should probably take it easy and stick to the road.

Hope everyone is having a good holiday weekend!

What to do if your phone takes a swim

This article titled My Phone took a Swim from CNET could be useful if you are out riding and you unexpectedly get caught in the rain with an unprotected cell phone.

A friend of mine recently found her lost cell phone under the hood of her car (!!!) and it had gotten very wet. She let it dry out for a couple of weeks, then she turned it on this week and it worked! She had borrowed another phone as a replacement. Obviously most people don't have a couple of weeks to wait while it dries - but a couple of days, and no hair dryer, makes a difference, apparently.

The dark clouds will roll on past....

Today's horoscope for me, from the Tribune:

"Today is a 7. Conditions are changing. Soon, all will be sweetness and light. The dark clouds will roll on past and you can get back to your fun and games."

Now that sounds good to me!

In the bike arena, I hope that means I will feel better enough to do Stump Farm and the other races coming up. After my body's reaction to Sunday's painful, horribly bumpy race (and to crashing in the race), I have been thinking that maybe my body is telling me to quit racing for a while and just be a spectator for now.... Bring on the sweetness and light!!

Here was LAST Thursday's horoscope, which I never got around to posting:

"Today is an 8. Money seems to be flowing into your pockets. It's more likely because of something you've already done."

I'm still waiting....... the pockets are ready.....

After the Lunar Eclipse

Both Rachael and Brittany mentioned being in a funk in their most recent posts. That got me thinking about the astrology emails I have received this week regarding the lunar eclipse, wondering if the emails might offer an astrological explanation for their funk. After reading them, I realized that they were too long and didn't really offer much specific explanation. But I am going to post the shortest one, anyway, since there is some interesting info in there.

> The full moon is Tuesday August 28 at 4:35 AM Mountain Standard Time (one hour later for Tucson time and Pacific time).

> A total Lunar Eclipse peaks at 3:53 AM Mountain Standard Time (one hour later for Tucson time and Pacific time).

> This is a very powerful time of change and decisions. If you are anchoring new roots into a new direction, this is a good time to honor that in some way. If you are committed to eradicating something that no longer serves you, this is also an excellent time to recommit to that process. If you are caught in the throes of ambivalence, this is a good time to make a decision, any decision to get the momentum going.

> Take the time leading up to the full moon/eclipse for positioning yourself through these choices and commitments. The influences prior to the eclipse are unraveled, a bit chaotic and unpredictable and therefore supportive to change. Once the full moon time has passed, you will be in the "trough" with tremendous energy and force behind what you have set for yourself, a bit like a large volume of water channeled into a narrow channel.

I actually made a list the night of the lunar eclipse of things I wanted to change, just in case the above info was true. Now I guess I am supposed to be doing something about it. Only time will tell!

Summer's Clock is ticking....

Get Well wishes to Barry S..

I was sorry to hear about his road riding accident, via the local grapevine. He was downed on Tower Road by one of the many sticks left over from the storms last week. Apparently the stick sent him flying over the bars. He broke one of his cervical vertebrae and also needed many stitches. I am told he will be in a brace until the vertebra heals. Get well soon, Barry.

I wanted so badly to ride yesterday (Monday - I am writing this late Tuesday night) but I was too beat up from Sunday's race to go. Unusual for me to skip a ride. But that race took me to a new level of pain, numbness, misery and frustration. More on that another post.

I want to take advantage of every moment left of summer! As for today (Tuesday) - long ago I signed up to go to a lecture and video presentation on Robbie Ventura's experiences as a commentator for Vs. at the Tour. I had no idea then that today would be one of the most perfect riding days (for me) we've had. Do I skip the lecture so I can do a two hour ride? what to do? I did a 1.5 hour ride (still hurting from Sunday's race and crash) and got to the lecture very late. It was the right choice, the ride was good. The part of Robbie's presentation that I caught was very amusing. Being in the very back, I couldn't hear everything, so I paid the price for being late. Funny stories and videos about Bob Roll and the other announcers, stories about trying to find their way driving around France, getting tickets for driving like maniacs to the next stage, dealing with crazy fans, trying to get interviews with tired racers and Lance, and so on.

At the Q& A one of my questions was, "What did Floyd have to say about the Leadville 100?" Robbie is Floyd's coach, and Floyd came in second to Dave Wiens by a minute or so a couple of weeks ago. (Dave set a course record, no doubt due to Floyd breathing down his neck!) He said Floyd thought it was the hardest one day race he's ever done!!

Sooo, I know many (most?) people will disagree, but I loved today for riding! It was a little too windy and a little too humid, but otherwise, for me, the 89-91 temperature by the lakefront was perfect for road riding. Two friends that I talked to thought so too. I know some would wither and die at that temp, but this is what I wait for all year long, in terms of riding.... It also would have been a good night to go eat outside at a restaurant with outside sidewalk tables. I haven't gotten to do that yet this summer, with racing and riding and rain. The one time we tried, the outside tables were full. Hopefully this weekend, before it's too late.

Fashion Update: I read that fanny packs are back, for those who care about such things. The designer labels are making super expensive versions, and calling them by other names such as "bum bags".

Tour of Elk Grove TV Coverage: 4:30 pm Wed on Comcast Sports Network (37 locally). Rebroadcast Sunday afternoon, along with Downer's Grove coverage.

Congrats to Scott McCl., who was pretty happy about getting 1st in his age group in Comp at the Rhinelander WORS race. And to everyone else who survived the course!

Aftermath of the Storm

Last night's ride was strange, sad, and interesting. My friend had called me to warn me either not to ride up north on Sheridan or to at least ride my mountain bike. She had driven up there in the morning and said there were trees down everywhere, and lots of sticks and branches in the road. Then she called again later to tell me that it was getting cleaned up but that were ComEd and forestry trucks parked all over the road (usually no parking on that road). After the sun came out at the end of the day I felt compelled to go for an early evening ride.

The devastation could be seen everywhere. Majestic old trees that have been here for centuries were down. You could tell that many had been thick and sturdy, and very tall, but perhaps their very size made them vulnerable to the 70+ mph winds next to the lake. Some were split, some had cracked in half, and many had been torn right out of the ground. You could see the roots with a big clump of dirt clinging to them. My friend is sensitive to energy fields, and she told me that she could feel the pain and devastation of the trees as she was driving along. Yard after yard had big piles of sawed up logs next to the street waiting to be picked up. The tree guys had obviously been hard at work all day.

I read that a very special old "Indian Trail" tree in someone's yard in Kenilworth blew down. A 80- foot white oak, the Tribune called it "an increasingly rare historic landmark that American Indians had used nearly two centuries ago as a guide for safe passage as they traversed the land. Now that piece of history is forever lost."

As I left home I saw a cyclist down the street, but couldn't see the jersey. Turns out it was Scott M., who I haven't seen in a month or so. It was great to catch up with him. He's been traveling a lot for work. He was on a schedule, so after 25 minutes or so he went on ahead. On the way back I ran into Bob D., former Active Endeavors owner and sponsor, and found that he was moving to Portland in a week. He'll be working for Horny Toad out there. Good Luck to Bob and his family! I'm sorry that he's moving away, but it sounds like he and his family are really excited about it. I am going to guess that he has lived here for 25 or so years?!! Another revolution of the revolving door that is E-town....

I am almost ready to leave for Rhinelander. The one thing that is bothering me is that my front brake wasn't working right after the mud race last weekend, and the shop wasn't able to get all the way it back to normal. I found this out yesterday afternoon when I went to pick it up. My fault for not checking things out the minute I got home from the race. Not that it would have been ready for the weekend either way. They don't bleed this type of brake, I just found out, so they'll have to send it in next week. I'd prefer to take this bike, but I don't know if it's going to be ok for this race. Might have to get the other one ready to go.

I hope everyone's basement, yard, and whatever else got damaged, has recovered from the storms!!

Useless Information

Ever wonder where all the cabs go at night? I didn't think so. But I read that Skokie just passed a law that cabs can't park on the streets at night anymore. Which made me more likely to notice that there are a LOT of cabs parked on Sheridan Road in Rogers Park late at night. I really noticed them the other night, when I was driving there late at night. Last night when I was driving there late again, I decided to actually count (in the rain, of course). I counted 65 cabs in about a mile or so stretch, from the Loyola El station to just south of Howard. One block had nothing but cabs on one side. I guess the cabbies all live in the buildings on Sheridan? Or maybe commercial vehicles are allowed on Sheridan but not on the side streets in Chicago. One of those things you never think about until something brings it to your attention.

Rain rain go away

Great, the news is saying our heaviest rains are due tomorrow night. As if tonight's weren't enough? He said that tomorrow night could be as bad or worse than tonight! It was quite a show though. No riding for me today.

The Edens expressway was flooded and closed, and is finally reopening. I guess the power was out so the pumps weren't working to drain the water. They interviewed a guy who was digging leaves out of the storm drain in the street near his house in Wilmette with his hands, which enabled the water in his street to drain. And the other suburbs have it much worse than that. 70 mph winds! Overflowing rivers. Sandbagging around a school in Gurnee. And it doesn't look like you guys in southeastern Wisconsin are having such a great time, either. Nightline is featuring Kenosha county. They just showed a couple in Racine who had to throw everything in their house (that they had just bought) away. They are now telling us that rivers could keep rising for as long as the next week.

I went to the grocery store after the rain stopped. The entire parking lot was a big lake. I parked on the street. I feel sorry for the employees who will have to wade (swim?) to their cars after closing time. I feel even sorrier for all the people whose houses are flooded.