uriahpalooza

New to the 802

2011-08-23T23:25:00.000-04:00

So now that I live in Burlington, I have tasked myself with finding unique, fun and otherwise interesting attractions in the area. While far from a native, I feel like I've done most of the touristy things in Vermont. I've been skiing, mountain biking, leaf peeping, apple cider drinking, maple syrup eating, cheese making, sausage smoking, beer brewing and yes, I have even visited the Ben & Jerry's factory.
Still, there are many things on my to-do list. Burlington is chock-full of restaurants, boutiques, coffee shops, and other places that are just waiting to put my wallet in a choke hold. And greater Vermont holds countless other treasures.

I would like to explore this place and write all about it, but, in truth, I cannot devote time to scribing even the gist of each amazing experience, as there will doubtlessly be too many. But I have promised myself that I will return to keep an exquisite record of the true gems. So if you come back from time to time, you will find written here some heady new adventures, each pulsating with all the drama, intrigue and excitement you would expect of a twenty-something with a twelve-gauge personality. I do take a long time to reload, but the bang is worth the wait.

More about the NuVinci CVPT hub

2010-09-17T17:48:00.000-04:00

My last post about the NuVinci was skeptical. The label of "planetary transmission" can be misleading because traditional planetary systems are not continuous. With a little more research, I have discovered that the NuVinci is indeed continuously variable, and it is also pretty clever in design.

It it still difficult to see how the NuVinci works, even after watching the tech demo video on the Fallbrook Technologies website. I'd really like to get a model of it, one of those models with the cutaway to the inside, so you can see the parts moving and how it works. Sort of like those cut-in-half engines at an auto museam. Or maybe a working Lego model, or something. You can see the videos here.

I also found a whitepaper on the NuVinci with a good picture that might help you understand what is going on inside the hub.

This diagram shows the "idler" or the central channel that moves the ring of balls left and right, varying the contact point with the output disc. Through a special oil, the balls apply friction on the output ring, transferring torque from the rotation of the planets to the output disc, which gives motion to your wheel. This is an overly simplistic view on the technology, but it gives you the general idea of what is going on.

You twist your grip shift
The shaft of the hub moves the idler
The idler changes the contact point on the output disc
And you upshift or downshift, depending on how that contact point changes

Rather than touting the fun and simplicity of the NuVinci, I would like to point at how incredibly efficient the CVPT is. Not only can you shift under load and without pedaling, but there is infinity gear choices, withabsolutely no redundancy in gear ratios. Fallbrook claims that this system has a 360% gear range. I don't really know exactly what that means (except that it refers to the percentage of range from the lowest to highest gears, as measured in gear-inches), but I'll provide their very handy infographic for comparison.

To call the NuVinci a "planetary transmission" is a stretch of the term because it is barely recognizable as such. But it is still a planetary system because it has all the right components, from planets to the sun and a shaft that moves back and forth changing the gear ratios from input to output. There are plenty of testimonials online about the simple joy of using the NuVinci (which I sometimes mistakenly refer to as the NuvaRing, a very, very different product). I like the concept, it appeals to almost every single aspect of my tech-headedness, and I can't wait to combine the NuVinci with a belt drive on my mountain bike (for more belt drive NuvaRing insanity, please see the options for the Ellsworth Enlightenment).

The Boa Lacing System for bike shoes

2010-09-14T17:46:00.000-04:00

I've been riding in the same MTB shoes for the past three years. They're Specialized something-or-other with three Velcro straps and they're not bad for how much I paid, and they've been quite comfy in road rides, mountain rides and even some nice long hikes when I taco my wheels and do the walk of shame back to the car. My old shoes are the predecessor to the current Specialized Sport MTB shoe:

But after three years and several thousand miles of rain, dirt, sweat, muck and the occasional dribble of pee, I have decided to move away from the old tech and on to something new. I have no gripes with the plastic shell and Velcro straps, and the rubber toe piece held up fine too. But after fiddling with my straps every 10 miles during the 100-mile ARFL, I realized that I might have more appreciation for a higher-end shoe, a shoe that embraces new forms of technology for comfort, speed and convenience. I'm not talking about carbon fiber mid soles and ratcheting straps, which are perfectly awesome as they are. I'm talking about the Boa Lacing System, the simplest, fastest, lightest and most adjustable shoe lace ever.

Here's a closeup of the Boa on a Scott cycling shoe:

As you can see, the one knob evenly tightens up the entire upper half of the shoe, making it quick and easy to put on, tighten up, readjust and hit the trail.

You may have seen this type of thing before. Since 1997, Boa has made tremendous product leaps into footwear for snow sports, running, cycling and hiking. Since the technology is so awesome (and who doesn't need an awesome lace for something?), Boa also makes lace tensioning systems for medical products, MotoGP protective wear, tents, helmets, backpacks, belts, and even boots for horses. Wicked. I don't need anything crazy, however, I just want some cycling shoes.

My main problem with most shoe laces, including buckles, straps and ratcheting straps, is that it is difficult to achieve the proper amount of pressure or tension over the top of your foot. If you're like me, and like a loose toe box, but tight mid-foot and loose ankle space, laces just don't work at all. The three strap or buckle system gets closer, but actuating the perfect tension can be really difficult, especially because the straps don't distribute pressure over a very large area. Straps and buckles are kaput.

As far as the pressure on your foot goes, this is where Boa makes the money shot with their super-duper, micro-adjustable tension that provides a "glove-like fit." I'm sort of balling up all of the pros of the Boa tech, but suffice it to say this shoe lace rocks. And it has to be pretty awesome if I'm getting excited about it.

I've tried the Boa laces on shoes in the store and I have firmly decided that my next pairs of running sneakers, ski boots, and cycling shoes will all have the Boa Lacing System. It took me about three seconds to decide that this is the wave of the future, and I'm going to ride the crap out of it.

My dream shoe would be the S-Works MTB shoe with dual Boas across the mid-foot and top-foot, with a small velcro strap at the toe box:

This shoe is meant not for weekend warriors, but for Tier 1 professional athletes. It's meant for people who have the greatest demand for performance. It's meant for people who are willing to shell out 350 clams for a pair of freakin' bike shoes. It's not meant for me, so I don't think I'll be buying it any time soon.

Still, I will be watching the market very closely over the winter, waiting for the bike shoe with Boa tech that is perfect for me and my rapidly shrinking bank account. At a mere $150, the Lake MX170 seems to be closer to the realm of possibility, though it doesn't come with as many bells and whistles.

The 2010 AIDS Ride for Life

2010-09-11T17:49:00.002-04:00

Fall mornings are my favorite. I love the refreshing feeling of waking up to crisp air and a red crescent of light peeking over the horizon. I ache my way out of bed, tip toeing across the bedroom, hopscotching my way over the icy bathroom floor, my toes burning cold while I shiver my way through a steamy, two-minute morning piss. I would have preferred this type of morning today. But I was not so lucky.

It was a long night. I went to bed excited, pumped about the epic ride at 7am. By midnight, my excitement had turned into restlessness. A few hours later, my restlessness turned into apprehension. And by 4:45am, my apprehension turned into no less than three episodes of nervous diarrhea. There I sat, frozen on the john, bathed in pale starlight, looking something like a big, naked blob of pizza dough, with my intestines unravelling like yarn into the toilet below. But aside from the complete lack of sleep and less-than-ideal poopage, I was in surprisingly high spirits.

I warmed myself up with a hot cup of steel-cut oatmeal, spiked with cinnamon and New York maple syrup. At 5:50, when my stomach was settled, I got dressed, packed up my gear and launched myself into the chilly dawn that would begin my 100-mile AIDS Ride For Life.

We congregated for the opening ceremony at 6:45am and were flagged for departure around 7am. I made the smart choice of being in the first group, a speedy throng of fifteen cyclists who would blaze out of the park and up the hill around 17 miles-per-hour. I held on with alpha group for the first hour, burning my way up a twenty mile ascent to the first aid station. Being fully loaded, I decided to pass and zoomed forth into the wind. I rode solo from miles twenty five through forty, seeing no one ahead of me and no one behind. It was a cool, breezy descent down from King Ferry to Union Springs, which is almost at the top of the lake. Things began to heat up around mile 40, as my chamois cream dwindled and dried and my ass began to chafe something awful.

I stopped at one aid station to refill my hydration pack, but other than that, I pedaled all the way to Seneca Falls for lunch, which was at about 60 miles into the ride. As I passed the 50-mile mark, I remembered thinking that this was the longest ride I had ever done, and that anything more would be uncharted territory. Among the few, unpredictable outcomes, I had considered the idea that I might bonk and not be able to finish. I also might get super pumped and dance my way to the endzone like Deon Sanders. But nothing really changed. I ate a light lunch and continued on. There were many more miles to go.

I left Seneca Falls feeling weary and strange, almost as if I were intoxicated with fatigue. I was meandering along the busy road, giving high fives to spectators, posing for photos, and otherwise making a fool of myself in my wet and form-fitting jersey, which did a great job of showing off my tits in pictures. When I left the crowds of supporters, I was alone again on the highway, heading home with just 35 miles to go. One thing I hadn't really noticed until this point was how boring road riding is. I have seen this part of the country a bazillion times. The corn fields and wineries all look the same to me. And over time, The loud and blustery wind scraped away all sense of reality, and I had to consciously day dream just to keep myself busy. I spent lots of time rehearsing my Medal of Honor acceptance speech.

With 25 miles to go, I was on the edge of failure, suddenly overcome with the immense desire to quit and curl up under a shady tree and sleep for the rest of the weekend. I was riding into the sun, into a head wind, and up some really annoying false-flats. At this moment, I knew it was time for my secret weapon. Disregarding the strict rules of the AIDS Ride, with no regard to my own safety, I busted out my headphones and pumped Tool's Lateralus for the next hour.

My last effort, aided by the loudness and intensity of the music, brought me within eight miles of the finish line. The road got really narrow here so I decided to ditch the headphones and grind my way in, relying on my ego to carry me to the end. Then there were just five miles to go. Then there were just three miles left. I was almost heartbroken when I hit the last hill, a gruesome half-mile-long climb up about 500 feet. I summoned my last bit of strength and intestinal fortitude, just barely making it to the top. This was pretty much the finish line for me, because the last two miles of the ride brought me back down to the lake level and into the park where the massage therapists were waiting patiently for me. I crossed the finish line with a time of 7:26 and then promptly collapsed in a tangle, unable to speak or walk for the next ten minutes. When I finally got moving again, I got a fifteen minute massage then called the team car to bring me home for some much needed sleep.

I finished the day feeling rewarded by two things, that I completed a 100-miler (much of which is still throbbing under my gently raspberried ass cheeks) and that I was able to raise over 1000 dollars for an important cause. Many thanks to everyone that supported me in donations (especially you, mom), training and much needed motivation throughout the duration of the ride. My fellow riders were friendly, the volunteers were dedicated and gracious, and the spectators were instrumental at keeping me focused during my lowest moments. At the opening ceremony this morning, we were reminded to think of the "shoulders we stand on, and who stands on ours." I think the AIDS Ride, more than anything lately, has reminded me that the community has the power to help itself, as long as we keep letting people stand on our shoulders.

Read more about the AIDS Ride for Life here.

See my GPS stats for my ride here.

The Hardcore 24

2010-07-26T17:50:00.001-04:00

The Hardcore 24 was certainly true to its name. I rode laps in blistering heat, torrential rains and cloud-like fog, all the while suffering the physical pains of an amateur on my first mountain bike race ever.

The race took place at Ontario County Park in Naples, New York, which is a 400 parcel of heaven, chock-full of rocks, roots, hills and, most importantly, mountain bike trails. The race course itself was a little over 7 miles with 850 plus feet of climbing, ranging from steep, small-ring climbs to windy rollers and had some grassy climbs through some open fields as well. The course was almost entirely 12”-18” singletrack, the very best type of trail for a real cross-country bike race.

As a newbie to the racing scene, I was a little worried about sticking with the pack, making good numbers and trying not to get in the way. So to be the most competitive, I chose to ride as part of a two-man team, which typically doesn’t garner as many pros as the solo or 4-person team categories.

We came prepared, with a big Eureka camping dome and a 14-foot canvas marquis tent that looked like it was straight out of the Middle Ages. We had folding chairs, tables, and enough food and drink to feed a small army for a week. Among the various foods, there were: bagels, bialys, three different cheeses, crackers, bananas, apples, peaches, grapes, cherries, two different fruit breads, sliced deli meats, juices, trail mixes, and plenty of sport drinks from Gatorade, Hammer Nutrition and First Endurance. If anything, we had too much food. I also brought lots of clothing, lighting, tools and spare parts for the bike. In terms of supplies, we were missing only the kitchen sink, but that’s was it.

The race began at noon on Saturday the 24^th, and my teammate took the first lap. I rested, tuned my bike, buttered up my unmentionables and otherwise prepped my gear for the race. When my first lap kicked off at 1:15pm, the trail was dry and fast. My first two miles was fraught with nervous energy as I sped quickly and dangerously down some perilous hills, braking too hard, taking corners too fast and otherwise banging up and down hills like a fool. But as I settled into a good pace, I was able to spin and grin my way through the rest of the lap without seeing any other riders along the way. I took that as a sign that I was putting out a respectable lap time. I came in feeling good at a very solid 1:18.

Click here to view some GPS stats for my first lap.

I began my second lap with a snapped chain right off the line. I’m not sure what happened here, but I somehow sheared a pin with my massive weight. Shimano might be making some kind of fat joke with their wimpy 9-speed chains, but I ignored that and used my spare replacement pin in my bag, and got going after a few minutes in the pit. The weather was cooling off, drawing in some refreshing breezes at the top of the hill. Unfortunately, I ran out of water around halfway and started to overheat, so I took it slow to the finish. My second lap was completed in 1:38.

Around 6:45pm, as I prepared for my third lap, a dark and ominous storm approached. The minutes preceding my start were chimed like clockwork with lightning that boomed like mortar strikes through the surrounding valleys. And then the sky cracked open and the all the rain poured out. The water roared down in waves, making it difficult to see, hear and do just about anything. I left the starting pavilion and was completely soaked in about five seconds. My glasses were useless, so I crammed them in my pocket. The water was gushing down off my head, stinging my eyes with sweat and particulate matter that was coming down from the trees above, which creaked and groaned in the high winds. With the rain and clouds, the forest was so dark that I could hardly see the ground three feet in front of me. Luckily I had just set up the NiteRider Pro 1200 as my headlight to beam me through the muck for the rest of the lap. I finished the third lap in 1:47, covered head to toe in mud. I like how things don’t have to be fun to have fun. This was my favorite lap.

The storm passed and things dried out over the next few hours. I began my fourth lap around 10pm under a thick blanket of fog over the majority of the forest. The fog made everything quiet and reduced visibility to about thirty feet, making it difficult to anticipate power climbs, hairpin turns and other unusual deviations in the trail. I had the Pro 1200 beaming in high mode, with both LED clusters visibly illuminated in the fog like giant Hollywood spotlights. If it were any brighter I could’ve thrown a shadow puppet and called Batman to come rescue me. The fourth lap was long. I was dead tired, losing focus and riding sloppy lines through the slippery rocks and roots. But my trusty bike guided me through the night like stallion carries a wounded cowboy home at the end of a sad western. It wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done…almost.

I crashed somewhere near the fifth mile marker, when my bike suddenly dropped like a dead horse. I flew forward feet first, as if I were pencil-diving horizontally into a cliff wall, and crashed into a combination of trees, rocks, leaves and other stumpy objects. Running on ego, adrenaline and the last few ounces of Gatorade, I was able to walk it off and make my way toward the finish. I then blew out my rear tire about a half-mile from the finish, which made for an anti-climactic grind toward the end, which I rode slowly and jogged into the finish line, trying not to mess up my wheel or tire any further. This lap clocked in at 2:08, ending sometime after midnight.

Though I still had some gas in the tank, my left ankle was hurting and slowly ballooning with fluid. I iced and elevated my foot, but I just couldn’t ride on it, so at 2 or 3am, I decided to call it quits and my teammate was left to carry us to the finish. By 12pm on Sunday, I had finished 4 laps, and my teammate had finished 7, putting us just one lap behind third place for our category. Though some would argue differently, I believe that I walked away victorious, feeling good that I competed and walked away without any broken bones.

The Hardcore 24 was a fantastic event. The race organizers, supporters and racers were positive, enthusiastic and always helpful on the trail, offering kudos and motivational words to each other throughout the night. The race had prizes, raffles, live music, food, drinks and tons of friendly people adding to the good vibe.

After a hot shower and a chance to recover for a few days, I’ve decided that I like the 24-hour format because it tests much more than a rider’s ability to go fast to the finish. To succeed in a 24-hour race you need to endure the elements, stick to an effective nutrition plan, and you need the intestinal fortitude to deal with the pain and fatigue and to push your body past the limits of your mind. I wasn’t able to deliver on all of these points over the weekend, but if there’s another good opportunity in the future, I would definitely like to try again.

Thanks again to NiteRider Technical Lighting Systems and Tommy B. for the hookup with the goods and support throughout the race.

T.H.E. Flight System Review

2010-04-22T17:56:00.001-04:00

The T.H.E. Industries Flight System Carbon Handlebar Stem Combo, while no longer in production, has been floating around various internet bargain sites since 2008. The Flight System was tauted as the "world's first fully carbon handlebar stem combo." Now that I think about it, I haven't seen anything like it, and for good reason. The Flight System has an MSRP of $399.99, which is outrageously high considering that the thing isn't even that light. It is, however, very slick in aesthetic and feels good in your hands when you're pounding down the trail.

The Flight System comes in two varieties, the flat bar and riser, both sharing the same 26 inch width, 9 degree upsweep and 6 degree backsweep and 130mm stem. The riser bar, which I have installed on my bike, comes up about 38 mm, or about 16 degrees. My unit weighed in at 314.8 grams.

This handlebar is as about as sweet as they come. With a raw carbon weave under a clear coat and an aggressive wing shape, the Flight System looks like it will cut through the air like a Mad Max boomerang of death. Or maybe a little bit like a top-secret spy plane, which is probably what the designers were going for.

In terms of construction, the thing is sturdy. As a heavier rider I was a little nervous about getting this set up for trail use. After all, I am rather attached to my dental work. The Flight System mounts like any other regular XC stem, with a two bolt clamp around the fork. The stem itself is not fully carbon, rather, the carbon handlebar piece fades back and wraps around an aluminum stem clamp. This technique allows the handlebar to retain the full strength of an aluminum XC stem and make sure you don't have to fiddle with aluminum inserts and threading for the bolts.

You can see that the carbon weaved handlebar is wrapped around the stem that fades back to aluminum at the end. The yellowish nubs are from the excess carbon-epoxy resin that acts as a glue between the extension of the handlebar and nub of the stem.

Carbon fiber products, as any materials nerd will tell you, have an incredible amount of natural flexibility. In fact, single carbon fibers, which can be as small as 5 microns in diameter, can bend nearly ninety degrees millions of times without showing any fatigue. Weaves of carbon fibers have incredible strength to weight ratios, so products with carbon weaves typically demonstrate high strength, low weight and a great ability to absorb impact. In a carbon handlebar, frame or fork this is often called "vibration dampening." I'll throw out a popular suspension buzzword right now and say that in my own tests, the Flight System demonstrated an amazing amount of "small bump compliance."

On the trail, this unique handlebar performed like a champion. But how do you measure performance of a handlebar? There are really only a few things to look for: resilience to impact and overall stiffness when turning. The Flight System certainly had both of these, but it added one more thing to the equation: vertical compliance. In terms of handling, riders of bikes with front suspensions rarely want anything but the front shock to be absorbing impact from bumps. However, riders like myself look for every opportunity to take the edge off the bone jarring ride that comes with riding rigid - this is where the Flight System works its magic. Under my full weight, the end of the handlebar on each side dips about a centimeter. This small amount of flexibility was enough to cut down on the feeling of small rocks, roots and drops on the trail.

Altogether, this is a great product for rigid riders or riders with shorter travel suspension rigs. If you're looking for a thin and light carbon handlebar that looks great and cuts down on the chatter in your hands, arms and shoulders then the Flight System is the handlebar for you. FYI, you should be able to find this product online for less than $100.

Raw Stats Summary:

Weight: 314.9 grams (compare to Easton Monkeylite SL at 135g and EA90 stem at 135g for a total of 270g @ ~$180)
Width: 26 inches
Upsweep: 9 degree
Backsweep: 6 degree
Stem Rise: 1.5 inches
Stem Length: 130mm

New DOT Policy Puts more Importance on Cycling

2010-04-15T17:57:00.000-04:00

A new Department of Transportation memo is stirring up the cycling community. According to an article on the Huffington Post, "the government is going to give bicycling – and walking, too – the same importance as automobiles in transportation planning and the selection of projects for federal money."The new policy toward cycling is also being cited as "an extension of Obama's livability initiative" which places emphasis on alternative forms of transportation like buses, trains, walking, etc.

The policy, located here, is not so much an act of law as it is a Jerry-Maguire-style mission statement. It encourages agencies to go above "minimum design standards" and lists all the reasons why cycling (and pedestrian travel) is great. It kind of comes off like a high-school persuasion essay.

The policy does little more than state the obvious, but it a small step in the right direction. Kudos to whoever leads this movement. But, as stated near the bottom of the memo, "success will ultimately depend on transportation agencies across the country embracing and implementing this policy." If the DOT doesn't have the power to direct the actions of other transportation agencies, just what the hell do they do?

The details of DOT power are slipped secretly into the appendix. The DOT federally mandates a few details of the transportation and metropolitan planning process such as "non-motorists have to be involved" and all projects have to include "multimodal and inter-modal" facilities. Basically, all new plans have to have multi-use paths in conjunction with streets and highways. The real DOT power lies with the Secretary of Transportation who "has the authority to withhold approval for projects that would negatively impact pedestrians and cyclists under certain circumstances." For some reason, I am imagining the DOT Secretary as Zeus with a giant lightning bolt, ready to strike down all indecent proposals. Awesome.

What does this new policy mean for me? It means very little. Big bike-friendly cities are already improving their cycling infrastructure by adding paths, bridges and locking facilities. The next ten years will be no different. The policy does, however, have implications for long term plans in smaller, fast-growing towns and cities around the country. Perhaps Ithaca will be in the mix.

The few benefits of solitude

2010-02-12T11:04:00.001-05:00

In the absence of my girlfriend I exhibit many behaviors of a grosser, more caveman-like, and probably single man.

I eat less vegetables and I eat more often with just my fingers.
When I eat messily, instead of a napkin I use my shirt. I continue to wear the shirt throughout the day.
I extend the "three second rule" into new frontiers of the kitchen floor.
I don't change the sheets on the bed.
I leave my beard trimmings all over the bathroom counter, even more so than usual.
I sit around in my underwear and robe (OK, this one is not new).
I can drink a six-pack in one evening without sharing or feeling guilty.
I shower less frequently.

The only benefit to her being gone is that I get much more sleep. But if she doesn't come back soon, I am likely to die in a pile of my own drunken filth.

Daily dose of Niner porn

2010-02-04T01:00:00.000-05:00

I may not have the Air 9 Carbon frame, but I almost want to make my bike a singlespeed just for the slick aesthetic. I imagine this is a pretty light rig. It's no Ron Jeremy, but it sure is one hell of a sexy unit.

My bike, converted to a SS would look something like this sexy beast over at Five Hills Bikes:

I have about Niner inches of envy growing in my pants.

My new ski boots

2010-02-03T23:44:00.000-05:00

Are awesome.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Free at last, free at last! Thank God Almighty, gluten free at last!

2010-02-03T20:54:00.000-05:00

I've been gluten free for about a week now (I cheated once with a whole-wheat fig bar). No significant results yet. I can say that I'm pretty low on carbs though, and it makes me really tired. I picked up these dry, crumbly and surprisingly delicious cookies today.

Finding your soul

2010-02-01T21:42:00.000-05:00

My newfound infatuation with skiing has me pirating hundreds of gigabytes of high-definition ski movies. The most recent that I watched was called "In Deep" by Matchstick Productions (imagine searching for that on The Pirate Bay). I try to avoid Warren Miller movies because they seem less like compilations of sick runs and more like ninety-minute religious recruiting videos for some snow-centric cult.

I watched a few minutes of "Children of Winter," a 2008 Warren Miller film. The movie seemed pretty good, but the frequent narratives of skiers and snowboarders over epic footage came off a little preachy. Every single one of these extreme athletes seemed to feel the need to legitimize their job by mentioning their "passion" and the "soulfulness" of "pow sessions" and the importance "living in the moment."

I'm okay with all of this, and I can relate some of those feelings to mountain biking, but the elitist writing between the lines seems to say "you are a pansy-ass douchebag, your job sucks and you will never know yourself until you're sponsored by Red Bull to take hundred-thousand dollar, high-definition heli-skiing journey into the soulful and inspirational Alaskan wilderness." Or maybe that's just my jealousy talking.

I'm afraid my job doesn't have the everyday wow or the adrenaline-rushing flair of an adventure skier's run down a powder-filled chute. The thrill of dusting off ancient audio/video systems doesn't exactly compare to eighty-foot cliff jumps at seventy miles per hour. I'm not saying that I want to be a freeskier, but I wouldn't mind a little bit of passion for my job. Is it too much...to ask for a little bit of soul?

New skis arrive

2010-02-01T12:00:00.000-05:00

Fresh from the internet, I present my new High Society FR 179s.

The top colors are fairly innocuous and unfortunately the graphic does not feature girls in bikinis. The sidewalls are bright red. These skis have a poplar core, resin and fiberglass-wrapped wood, rubber dampening system, and a carbon fiber stringer, and blah blah blah some other features too. Dimensions are as follows: [179cm] 124 / 92 / 114mm. That's 179cm long, 124mm wide at the tip, 92mm waist, and 114mm tail. Turn radius of 21.7m (this doesn't mean it takes a 21m turn, but rather that the radius used to shape the ski was 21m...right?)

My boots should get here tomorrow, and hopefully I can get bindings at the ski shop sometime this week so I can hit the slopes on Friday.

Carbocide king

2010-01-31T23:12:00.000-05:00

I've been juggling a couple of paranoid theories. Pakistani Al Qaeda spies are hunting me for war crimes, the FDA is secretly poisoning me with soy products, and I'm the unknowing host of an alien super-virus. Also, I may be allergic to gluten.

Personal reform is a painful and arduous process. Dieting is a cruel bitch. This month, I've axed wheat products from the menu. This decision doesn't translate easily to my grocery list. Shopping in the "Gluten Free" section at Tops Friendly Markets is a depressing task. The labels seem to read: "Gluten free, fat free, sugar free, hormone free". What the labels fail to mention is that most of these goods are also taste free. I tried some gluten free crackers that tasted like crispy, burnt circles of wax paper, covered in tiny, granular pieces of asphalt.

Not eating wheat is pretty easy. I steer clear of bread, crackers, pasta and baked goods. I went all last week without eating a single carb. But I committed carbocide this afternoon, with a twelve ounce box of rice pasta. My poor stomach ached and swelled like the dark and unruly currents of the Bering Sea. I'm still digesting now, almost seven hours later. As with any self-inflicted injury (like when I punched the door-frame and sprained my middle knuckle), I've been silently cursing myself all evening.

Exactly what pathetic circumstance forces me into excess? Out of boredom people often do silly, ridiculous things. Or they do something that is just batsh*t crazy. I suppose carbocide is less dangerous than any of those. Next time I really want to threaten my life, I'll eat a pound of pasta while wingsuit base jumping.

The Carbon Complex Branches Out

2010-01-24T23:05:00.000-05:00

I have an unusually low resistance to materials science jargon. Glossary-worthy words like "dampening" and "deflection" or "ductility" make me swoon. In effect, I tend to be an early adopter of fancy new gadgety parts on my bike.

Unfortunately, this winter I've gotten pretty into skiing - enough so that I'm now considering buying a high-tech set of skis with poplar-carbon cores, magnesium nanotube sidewalls and super unbreakium mounting platforms. Just today I bought a pair of discounted Lange WC 100 ski boots on geartrade.com. The story behind the boots, which supposedly retailed for $600 and usually sell online for about $300, says that backcountry.com couldn't sell them on their normal site because the box was all torn up. I got them for a mere $146! They better be worth it.

It was an impulse buy. In addition to my jargon hard-on, I'm also a sucker for discount percentages. I will almost buy anything that has a "75% off" sticker on it. Don't laugh! It's a disease.

So now I have to buy skis, mounts, poles, a helmet, locks, tools and all the accouterments that work with my fancy new boots. The burning desire to invest in awesome new techie parts is hard to defy. This is almost as difficult as buying a new bike! It's also pretty hard on my wallet.

There's not much time left in the skiing season here. There may be a few more good winter storms, but temperatures will only stay freezing for another forty days. The big question on the table is: can I get enough stuff together to ski on my own equipment this winter? Time will tell.

Mo sno fo sho

2010-01-08T11:30:00.001-05:00

It has been a busy new year and I haven't found much time for blogging since the semester ended (that doesn't make much sense).

It is too cold and snowy to bike, but the conditions are great for skiing. Hitting the slopes tonight.

The backside of the quad from my office window.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My new nickname is "The Status Quo"

2009-12-15T22:08:00.000-05:00

The best things in life really are free. So are some of the terrible things. The most recent atrocity comes, of course, from MTV (goddamn kids with their hair-dos, muzak and drugs!). The show is about the guidinest of Guids living and working together in a house somewhere on the Jersey Shore.

One character on the show calls himself "The Situation". Why, you ask? Because his abs are redonkulous. So he can say "Hey ladiez, let me show you the situation" and then he can lift up his shirt, flex hard and watch them jizz in their pants. Or whatever chicks do that is equivalent to jizzing. In the spirit of hot, tan, juiced guidos everywhere, my buddy Eric has deemed himself "The Predicament" and I will now refer to myself as "The Status Quo".

So let me tell you about the state of my abs. In anticipation of the high-calorie holiday season, I have re-opened Courage Corner to the general public. Unfortunately, the general public is not nearly as excited as my close friends, who have been the only people to attend the "hugeness" sessions that take place Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays for the next few weeks. Great things are happening there and most of them involve short shorts and a whole lot of "dude sweat". By January 1st I plan to be grating cheese, crushing walnuts and hand-washing underwear on my rippling abs. In fact, I can already see the seedling baby-heads poking up through my belly like Kuato from Total Recall.

Yeah. My stomach could look like that! Awesome.

Here are a few things coming down the pipe in my bike life:

An amazing Christmas present for my girlfriend (think pink)
Fuji Gran Tourer paint job and SS rebuild (can you guess the color?)
Road wheels for the rollers

First winter ride at Hammond Hill

2009-12-09T14:42:00.000-05:00

Ride in the rain, ride in the snow, ride through the hurt, get up after a nasty crash and ride some more. Cyclists tend to be gluttons for punishment. In the spirit of "embracing the suck" E, C and I went for our first winter ride.

It was a balmy twenty-six degrees on Saturday, with a slight breeze. Perfect conditions for biking. I got all decked out in my EMS Gore-tex coat, my Under Armor Cold Gear pants, my do-rag, skiing head band and motocross gloves and headed out to Hammond Hill for a quickie.

The trails looked so different in the winter. I seemed to lose all concept of distance and direction because I could see much further through the woods. Deeper into the conservation area, there was no wind, and snow began to fall. It was very peaceful.

The Niner performed beautifully. All reservations I had about XC riding on a rigid system are now gone. I ride at much lower pressure and definitely have to choose my lines more carefully, but my Niner Carbon Fork rocked the gnarly trail like a pro. And it's pretty good looking too.

Attack of the Hipsters

2009-12-07T15:29:00.001-05:00

I have mentioned before that hipsters have invaded Ithaca. You cant walk ten feet without bumping into someone studying 'New Media' and showing off their web designs, Polaroid art, Chrome bags, head bands, vintage bikes, thick framed glasses, flannel shirts, [insert more hipster fashion vomit here], etc.

I found a good profile of several different kind of hipsters here:
http://digital.pastemagazine.com/publication/?i=26727&p=29

Currently, I think I'm falling a bit between the Mountain Man and the Twee.

The Twelve Days of Detox

2009-12-02T21:54:00.001-05:00

My Thanksgiving weekend started out as an innocent beer binge at the Chapter House (watch out for malware, their webmaster sucks ass). The next three days were spent in a dizzying haze of fine spirits and even finer food. Nineteen pounds of Rugelach and forty-five thousand calories later I arrived home feeling terribly fat and praying for a satisfying BM.

Since Sunday I've spent about 100 minutes on my new-used Minoura Mag Rollers that I scored off C-list for a cool seventy five bucks. I think that's a little high, considering that I can get the same thing brand new for 125 plus shipping. I did, however, convince the seller to deliver directly to my front door.

There are lots of good youtube videos showing exactly how to ride these types of things and all of them make it look pretty easy. The basic beginners technique is to start off near a wall so you have something to hang on to while you try not to break your face open. The first ten minutes or so were pretty tough. I took a couple of good tumbles onto the floor (and almost kicked a hole in my kitchen wall), but I picked up on it after a while and can now ride without hanging on to the door frame.

Unfortunately, I still have my mountain tires on, making the rollers sounds like a 120dB jet engine. I'm going to try to find some smooth tires until I can get my Fuji Gran Tourer back together. In the mean time, I'll just sip on my low sodium V8 and loudly grind the Thanskgiving out of my upper thighs.

Safety First

2009-11-28T23:47:00.000-05:00

This is how you ball on the L train.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sighting - 11/27

2009-11-27T21:22:00.001-05:00

Went into the city today. Most bikes were spray painted or covered with electrical tape.

The only SS I saw today was in the Levi store on Lexington.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Happy T Day!!

2009-11-26T18:20:00.000-05:00

From the 23rd floor in Forest Hills

Setting the table

Cooking yummiez

And here's the bird

AFK eating!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sweat Sesh: Pushup Poker

2009-11-22T02:00:00.002-05:00

The rules of Pushup Poker are simple.

1. Each player starts with 100 in chips.
2. You do pushups for each chip you lose at the end of each hand.
3. If you win the hand, you don't do any pushups.
4. You can do 50 pushups to buy back in for another 100 chips.

Biff, Eric, Douglas, Dan, Phil and I played this at the Cornelius household for about two hours. The game began on a whim. None of us had any money. We weren't drinking. And we didn't have anything else to do on a Saturday night.

With fresh arms everyone played pretty sloppy. I lost a few big hands and ended up doing a few sets of 30 and 40+ pushups. Things started to move along after the first hour. Biff took the chip lead early and used his power to buy out a few big hands, eventually knocking Eric and Dan out of the game. Later, Eric would buy back in, Douglas made a small comeback and I was on the brink of destruction.

We raised the blinds to increase the pace of the game and pressure everyone into making big moves. I started to come back, winning a few decent hands and watching as my opponents paid for it. Part of being the winner of the hand is standing over all the losers, counting their pushups and critiquing their form.

"Keep your back straight!"
"Lock out those arms!"
"Break the plane!!"

Next was an epic showdown between Biff and I, where he went all in for 87 pushups. I called. We flipped our cards. I had pocket aces and Biff had a Queen, Nine off-suited. On the flop, Biff drew a pair of nines and the option for a straight. But the last card fell and I won!

The evening ended with Biff struggling through 90 consecutive pushups, without rest. We had to quit at this point because we were all smoked. I think I probably did around 400 pushups total. I'm going to be sore tomorrow.

The next step is to add shots of beer in with each hand!

Sighting - 11/21 - Bike polo @ Ithaca Skate Park

2009-11-21T16:51:00.002-05:00

Ithaca is a hot spot for bike polo. According to Main Street Bikes in Burdett, there is bike polo here every Monday at 6pm. I've seen some students playing bike polo on campus before, but it didn't look as elegant or organized as this group. I might like to try this sometime. Looks fun.

http://www.quistilton.com/open/110505_bikepolo/index.htm

All You Haters (Suck My Balls)

2009-11-21T03:09:00.002-05:00

I've been reading enough blogs about fixed-gear/urban/hipster cycling culture to find this video funny. It's really funny. And kind of awesome. I give it about 9 hours 'till Bike Snob NYC picks it apart with snarky commentary.

All You Haters (Suck My Balls) from nixbros on Vimeo.

Note the Chrome messenger bag, neon sunglasses, alternative haircuts and, of course, the PBR!

What the hell is this thing?

2009-11-20T14:43:00.002-05:00

Booze Tues. - Wells Banana Bread Beer, Ergon GX1 grips

2009-11-17T23:30:00.004-05:00

Tough day at the office. I was on the phone almost all afternoon with hostmysite.com trying to figure out how they f-ed up something trivial in my CF administrator account. Then, I arrive home to see that the postal carrier dropped a load of my mail in the mud puddle by the driveway. Furthermore, I realize that I forgot to start the dishwasher before I left this morning so I had to manually wash some dishes before dinner. Drag.

To relax this evening, I poured myself a tall glass of Wells Banana Bread Beer.

This disgusting "malt beverage" is allegedly an ale brewed with bananas and banana flavor added. The fact that Wells & Young's Brewing Co. has to call this beverage a "premium flavored ale" makes me wonder if it is actually a beer. Even 40's can be called "premium". I did my best to choke it down while I did some maintenance on the Air9.

Besides the normal cleaning and obsessive polishing routine (I even broke out the Goo-Gone pen to get at some sticky stuff), I put on my new Ergon GX1 grips. But first, I had to take off these sons-of-bitches:

Removing these old rubbery Bonty grips is no easy task. I've done it thrice before and after each time I swear to myself that I will never go through it again, but I still haven't been able to throw them away. The very last pair that I took off my Bonty Crowbar, I got so frustrated that I grabbed my razor knife and cut them into shreds, gouging long streaks into the aluminum in a Wolverine frenzy. I didn't want to do that to my new handlebars, so I did it the hard way and almost snapped my medial deltoid in the process.

These grips are a comfy change from my T.H.E. XC grips. They are soft, rubbery and have a small platform for the edge of my hand. They're nice enough to use without gloves. I don't know that I can say anything substantial about these grips that you can't read elsewhere. So I'll just sum it up by saying that the GX1 grips rock the shit. End of story.

Happy V day!

2009-11-11T23:05:00.000-05:00

Veteran's Day is an important holiday for me. It is a time to sit around and morosely pore over the history of my life, the meaning of becoming a man in the midst of a war, and the value of federal service to the people of America. Then I get on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox) and blow shit up with UAV strikes.

Most people in the Northeast seem generally ignorant of the holiday, except that some of them get a day off work. Lance Armstrong was the first to personally thank me for my service:

That was obviously directed to me. My mom, Jake's mom and my dear girlfriend also mentioned something to me, which speaks largely to the motherific nature of remembrance.

Despite the continual cry for attention on my blog and the occasional braggadocio about my own awesomeness, I don't want a personal "thank you" for my service. I also do not expect people to be lining the streets, cheering my name and waving tiny American flags as I roll into the parking garage at work - though complementary valet service once a year would be nice.

There is something like 25 million living veterans in the United States right now. That's one eighth of the population that has served or is serving in the military. Veterans are all over the place! There are many ways to thank them. Look at pictures of the Korean War Memorial. Eat hot dogs and drink light beer. Sip whiskey and watch Band of Brothers. Mow your lawn. Hammer vodka and bench press while you're listening to Metallica. For some reason veterans usually appreciate anything that has to do with drinking.

Ithaca is not the best place for being a veteran. After my first deployment in Iraq I returned to Ithaca in my dress uniform only to be spit on by "hippies" in the Ithaca Commons. Fortunately the loogie beaded on my super futuristic polyester dress coat and dripped off like rain does when it hits a giant jungle leaf. This would be the first of many incidents concerning my uniform in the Ithaca area, and it wasn't long before I started changing out of my uniform before I drove through town.

I don't often speak of my time in the Army, and rarely do I consider myself a veteran. My service was in the Military Intelligence corps, so most of my stories were secret to begin with. Either way it is something I don't advertise. But on Veteran's Day I'm proud to call myself a high-speed, low drag, airborne member of team green, repping the 82nd all the way! I call and email all of my buddies still in the war. Not because I want to thank them, but because they need to know that I'm still around, that I support them and that they are not forgotten.

City Bike by jruiter

2009-11-09T16:17:00.000-05:00

It has that whole awkwardly cool design, though I'm sure it isn't big enough for a real full grown man. Would you ride this?

http://www.jruiter.com/jruiter/conceptsLatest.php

40k Saturday

2009-11-07T22:22:00.003-05:00

I left the Slaterville 100 feeling fat and defeated so today my dad and I decided to attempt the second half that I never rode. We slightly modified the route so we could leave right from home without riding on Rt. 79 which has a lot of traffic. I think the route we took was even harder than the planned path because we added another huge climb right from the get-go.

Early this morning I went to the store and picked up some Under Armour Cold Gear bottoms. They're basically warm spandex pants. When I first put them on, I had the sudden realization that my thunder thighs look amazing in tights. I donned my snazzy head band, my fleece and wool socks and we hit the road around 2pm.

I felt good going into the ride. In the past few weeks I've been focusing on my pedaling technique and riding position. Instead of furiously attacking the giant climbs, I've been downshifting and getting into a high but manageable pedaling cadence that doesn't burn out my legs too quickly. Controlling my breathing and keeping a steady pace kept me fresh up the hills and left my dad in the dust.

The new fork and stem have put my handlebars out and down about an inch, so I find myself leaning down farther toward the wheel. The aggressive riding position seemed to pull more muscles into my pedal stroke, gathering power from my gluts, hips and hamstrings more effectively.

I was surprised to see so many unfamiliar trails through Shindagin and Potato Hill. I love pre-formatted rides like this because they get me off the usual paths and places I ride so often. Today's ride was mostly dirt roads.

Everything was going fine until mile 16, when my stupid Bontrager grips started digging painfully into my palms, my socks started bunching and my toes went cold and numb. We got to a big climb on Level Green Rd. and we began to feel run down. We ate all the Ritz-Bitz, gummy Lifesavers and polished off all the water with still about 13 miles to go. Whoops. Around mile 18, while oozing slowly up the hills through Potato Hill State Forest, I grew more weary and uncomfortable. My Under Armour fancy pants were not helping.

Since these pants were not really designed for cycling, the waist band and seams were all totally terrible. The ass-chapping center seam felt less like a line of cloth and more like the San Andreas fault grinding its way up into my ball sack. Even worse, the seismic waves then reverberated up into my colon, heavily agitating the pot roast I ate on Friday night. Do you know how hard it is to fart while you're pedaling?

And so we soldiered on into the setting sun, truculently bearing the weight of our spare tires up the next few hills. At 5:30pm and mile 25 we were completely in the dark. It got cold, real cold. Neither of us had reflectors or lights so we decided to call in a medivac. I picked up the iPhone to call mom and of course "Call Failed", then "No Service" flashed across the screen. It was pitch-black, ice-cold and there was not a house in sight. Great.

I rode ahead of the old man for a bit until I found a house with a light on. The owner let me use the phone and mom luckily picked up her cell. Twenty minutes later we were warm in the van en route to the homestead. Home made chili and a spinach salad were waiting on the table when we got there. Great to ride, but even greater to be home.

Specialized Trail Crew Blog Site

2009-11-07T01:21:00.003-05:00

It's been some time since I was rejected from the Specialized Trail Crew. Apparently my writing, silly antics and shameless self-promotion skills were not good enough to advertise the new 2010 S-Works Stumpjumper FSR Carbon.

http://www.specialized.com/zz/en/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?sid=10SJFSR&eid=4950&menuItemId=9248

I have been reluctantly reading the Trail Crew blog. Seeing pictures of these lucky motherf-ers with their smug smiles unwrapping their $7000 dream bikes makes me want to vomit. I'm more than a little bitter. It's okay though, I don't know that I would even know how to ride a seven-thousand dollar bike.

Admittedly, I really like reading their blog. Right now I think the Trail Crew riders still have honeymoon syndrome. They're opening the boxes, donning fresh, rubber-smelling gear, and breaking in their suspensions for the first time. Most of them look like they're about to jizz in their pants.

These guys haven't shown that they're worthy of the privilege they've been granted. Right now the blog is kind of boring. Blah blah, I love to bike, S-works Stumpy rocks, blah blah (this must be what I sound like). But where are the serious critiques? Where are the detailed chronicles of their epic journeys? When can I expect well-developed, thoughtful and riveting commentaries that encourage me to think differently about mountain biking and the quality of the bike I'm riding? When will they convince me to buy an S-Works?

Maybe they don't want to blow their wad just yet. They're generating steady content with pictorials and opinions of the bike, but I have yet to see any really interesting stories. Maybe my expectations are just too high, but I'm not yet convinced that these are the best guys for the job they've been given. With great power comes great responsibility. Better step it up, fellas.

http://trailcrew.specialized.com/
http://trailcrew.specialized.com/matthew-h/2009/11/the-first-date/

MonaVie super juice

2009-11-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

My co-worker Hal is an independent distributor of MonaVie, an açaí berry based juice marketed toward endurance athletes. I've been treating my body pretty poorly so I asked him to get a case of it for me, hoping that this antioxidant and phytonutrient super-fruit cocktail would improve my energy levels and overall health.

There are several flavors of MonaVie. I chose the 'Active' blend. I pulled this blurb off the website:

Offering peak levels of antioxidants and phytonutrients, MonaVie Active features a synergistic blend that supports joint health.

Açai, white grape, apple, acerola, aronia, purple grape, cranberry, passion fruit, prune, kiwi, blueberry, bilberry, wolfberry, pomegranate, lychee fruit, camu camu, pear, banana, and cupuaçu.

Each bottle is about 25 oz. and Hal said I should be taking two 2 oz. shots per day. I'm okay with that for the first case, but this thing could get pricey real quick. At 4 oz. a day I'm going through a bottle a week, which is almost thirty bucks. Until my race winnings can pay for a monthly installment, I think I'll just be drinking this for fun. Do you think a month's worth of MonaVie will really improve any aspect of my health? The studies listed online cite the results of 12-week studies, so 4-weeks might be a tight time-line. I'm a little worried that I forked out thirty bucks a bottle for snake oil and placebo effect, but it's too early to tell. Then again...anything is possible if you believe!

MonaVie Active in the glass is thick, pulpy and kind of looks like curdling day-old blood. The taste is intense, and is reminiscent of Jolly Ranchers, Gobstoppers and other sweet candies - except ten times stronger. The juice is unfortunately growing on me. I hope it isn't addictive.

Drinking anything in the category of "superfood" feels a little bit crazy and makes me think of our old friend, Goji-berry guy (watch entire video for full effect):

Perhaps MonaVie will make me feel incredible. Unbelievable.

Sweat Sesh: Courage Corner 10/4

2009-11-04T22:41:00.002-05:00

Yesterday Eric and I quickly donned our gear and hit the chilly neighborhood loop before dark. It was a cold and windy ride up Hanshaw Rd. to Freese Rd. then back behind the horse track, through North campus across Triphammer and back on The Parkway. We whipped it pretty hard, and riding the Niner is amazing, but I didn't get that much of a workout before we rode home.

So tonight I made a visit to Courage Corner. It is a place where boys become men and men become even manlier men. It is a place that reeks of punishment, smelling like a decade of fermenting muscle toxins, tortuously purged from the body through every orifice.

In Courage Corner we have the following equipment:

pullup and dip tower
full sized bench, bar with ~300lb of plates
dumb bells 5,10,15,20,45,30,35,40 lbs
curling bar
45 lb kettlebell
multi-use bench
3 jump ropes
punching bag, hand wraps, gloves(in the extension center)
exercise mats

In Courage Corner, no gloves or shoes are allowed. Your tender, rust-colored callouses will fester a cesspool of blood plasma on every piece of equipment, but it's okay because there everyone is harder than steel, and thus immune to diseases. Instead of bandages there is tape, and instead of water there is vodka. The dim, flickering fluorescent lights mask the grotesque and sometimes nauseating imagery that covers the walls, together acting as exercise for your senses. The scale measures your weight in stones and next to that is a fifty-gallon spittoon for your phlegm and vomit. It is usually half-full. There is only one way to survive a workout session in Courage Corner. You have to dig deep.

Today's solo session was a grueling circuit of jump-rope, various calisthenics, and an array of dumbbell supersets. I did pushups, dips, crunches, squats, hammer curls, planks, thrusters and more. Halfway in my sister brought me a mustard based tuna melt on pumpernickel, which I almost threw up after the second bite. With my arms shaking, I finished the workout in about sixty minutes, and just in time to watch Charlie Sheen in Two and a Half Men (very funny) while I stretched and cooled down.

At some point this winter I intend to get some rollers for my bike so I can bring Silverado to Courage Corner for warm-ups, cool downs and endurance sessions. I was thinking something like this.

Tomorrow, I'm going to head back to the Courage Corner Extension Center (aka the barn man-cave) for an even more hard-core workout.

Booze Tues. - IBC Eleven

2009-11-03T20:29:00.000-05:00

This fine beverage from the Ithaca Beer Company is from the limited, elite series of specialty beers called "Excelsior!" It was $12.99 at Wegmans in the Northeast U.S. microbrewery section.

The label reads "Malt Beverage with Coffee Added" and on the back in small print "Beverage contains lactose." Before I opened it I imagined the absolute worst, something along the lines of coffee flavored MD 20/20.

Despite the terrible description on the label, the Eleven is very much a beer. The Eleven is brewed with a medley of European malts, strong American hops and milk sugar (the lactose). Instead of adding coffee extract, the beer is aged in a giant vat full of Sumatran coffee beans roasted locally at the Gimme! Coffee roastery.

The taste was reminiscent of black coffee, medium roast. It wasn't thick and while it was smooth it wasn't exactly creamy. It was dark, thin, acidic and had a light aroma and flavor of hoppiness, so I'd say that this beer falls into the category of American porter. The rich and creamy caramel flavor left a filmy and meaty after taste making this brew seem perfectly seasonal for the cold weather and coming holidays.

Planning for the worst has its benefits. If you are right, you can take solace in the fact that you are a brilliant, predictive genius. If you are wrong then you are always pleasantly surprised. This is the pessimists creed and I abide by it carefully. For this beer I was indeed pleasantly surprised. The flavor was solid without being overpowering, though I did get a little messed up after just 750ml. I don't know that I will buy this again, but for a first taste I am more than satisfied with my investment.

Afternoon Delight - Niner Carbon Fork test ride

2009-11-02T18:25:00.001-05:00

I came home this afternoon to a giant manila envelope postmarked from North Hollywood, CA. As promised, the guys over at Niner send me a replacement bolt for my compression adjustment plug. They also sent me an load of stickers, further solidifying their status as having the rockinest customer service ever.

After re-installing the fork, I put on my winter head-band and hit the road. I left at 4:45pm and having only an hour before dark (daylight savings, my ass), I decided to take the short gravel road from Hanshaw over to the horse barn behind the golf course. I made an extra effort to hit the really gnarly parts of the road. Compared to the last time I hit this road, the Niner Carbon Fork feels different. Really different. And I've had a hard time identifying how or why.

First off, I had to acknowledge the differences between this fork and the last fork, a six-pound Rockshox Tora 318 29er. The Niner Carbon Fork is 1/5th the weight, and falls into the category of high-performance parts, whereas the Tora 318 was of mid-grade quality.

The rigidity of the Niner fork was new and refreshing. I've never felt so solidly connected to the ground. On large bumps, the amount of travel felt in my arms and hands was obviously greater than on the Tora. What surprised me, though, was that on small bumps the Niner fork felt way better than the Tora . Rolling over rocks, branches, berms of dirt and clumps of weeds was faster and smoother than ever before. I'll go ahead and drop a buzz-word here and just say "small bump compliance." It was super compliant! I shot down the gravel road like a rocket.

The stiffness and sensitivity of the Niner fork was overwhelmingly excellent. Because it is lighter, stiffer and just a single piece, there was absolutely no play in the fork. So every tap on my handlebars translated instantly into direction change on the ground. Up a short steep hill behind the golf course, I jumped out of the saddle and instantly took off. Again, because the Niner fork is a strong piece of bonded carbon, there is no play and every minute bit of energy transfers directly into forward motion. In fact, the front end of my bike is so light now, that I almost popped a wheelie on the first pedal. Gotta be careful with this fork...my bike wants to take off.

I have yet to give the fork a more thorough trail test, but for now I am very impressed with it's performance. The geometry feels comfortable and appropriate for my proportions and style of riding. Furthermore, the incredible quality of this fork means that it sucks up small bumps like a short travel suspension fork, but at the same time the stiffness and rigidity of the carbon make sure that all your energy is moving you forward. The Niner Carbon fork is a piece of art and rides smooth as butter. Simply amazing.

T.H.E. Flight System exposed

2009-11-01T01:28:00.000-05:00

I'm waiting on a small part for the new fork, so while the Air9 is up on blocks, I thought I'd do an in-depth exposé on another new part, the T.H.E. Flight System carbon handlebar/stem combo.

I got this piece from Cambria Bike for a cool hundred bucks. From what I saw online, this unit was originally priced at $399.95 which is astronomically high, but was in the same ballpark as many of the other carbon stem/bar combos. I've been pricing carbon bars for a while now and for 100 bucks this seemed like a reasonable investment considering the built-in stem. Here are the raw stats:

Weight: 314.9 grams (compare to Easton Monkeylite SL at 135g and EA90 stem at 135g for a total of 270g @ ~$180)
Width: 26 inches
Upsweep: 9 degree
Backsweep: 6 degree
Stem Rise: 1.5 inches
Stem Length: 130mm
Performance: TBD

Steel inserts to reinforce the tube ends for grip clamps

Machined aluminum stem clamp

Very cool design where the stem meets the handlebar, bottom side

The handlebar has a sexy wing-like front end. This aerodynamic shape must be some sort of reverse spoiler - instead of reducing axle lift, it increases it! This will hopefully negate some of my weight. And if I get going fast enough, there is a real chance that I could take off like any other bikeplane.

This cannot end well.

No, no, the Flight System is probably going to be like any other carbon part. Carbon fibers have an incredible amount of natural flexibility. In fact, single carbon fibers, which can be as small as 5 microns in diameter, can bend nearly ninety degrees millions of times without showing any fatigue. Weaves of carbon fibers have incredible strength to weight ratios, so products with carbon weaves typically demonstrate high strength, low weight and a great ability to absorb impact. In a carbon handlebar or fork this is often called "vibration dampening".

I was hoping to find some information on just how well the Flight System was supposed to perform. The unit arrived in a pretty standard box. It was well packed in bubble wrap but I thought it odd that the handlebar came with no tags, stickers, user manual, product guide, warning label or any propaganda whatsoever. Within minutes of opening the box, I was online searching for the manufacturers website, or anyplace that had information on the handlebar. I found nothing. T.H.E. as part of any search query yields very few related results. I tried about fifty different permutations of the search, I even tried searching for the part numbers as listed on the box "TMSR-05". Still nothing.

I decided that T.H.E.was a front company for an international crime organization. Thinking that the handlebar might be used as a smuggling tool, I snaked a giant pipe cleaner through the bars and stem. Nothing hidden. I then roped the family drug dogs into a smell test, but no flags were thrown. Even under a magnifying glass there were no traces of any heroin and no fingerprints but my own.

I am left to believe that T.H.E. is a secret part of a government organization, most likely Darpa trying to recoup some cash from its wilder research expenditures. The LMPB (Lizard Man Plasma Beam) concept failed so they decided to cut their losses and make high-tech bike parts.

I realized later that "T.H.E." is not treated as an acronym in most search engines so really I was just searching for "the bike parts", "the flight system", "the carbon handle bars" etc. Not the best way to find what I was looking for. Whoops. The real company name is T.H.E. Industries which is a brand of VSI Products out of California. Mystery solved! I have still not found any documentation for the Flight System.

Who cares what the manufacturer says, the real test is on the trail and I expect to be doing that shortly.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T20:44:00.000-04:00

This afternoon I dressed up in all my old Army gear to shovel five tonnes of gravel into the driveway. That pretty much sums up the excitement of my Halloween holiday.

My parent's decided to hit up some parties, my mom as a vampire and my dad as a William "Lawless".

"They may take our lives, but they'll never take our dignity! We gave that up for free."

That saying also applies to me, as I squeezed gracelessly into a toddler's sized pumpkin suit:

Oh why do I degrade myself? On a separate note, the pumpkin suit had a built-in brassiere for comfortable all-day support.

I went down to Wegmans earlier and picked up some candy, so in the rare event that I see a trick-or-treater I will be prepared with an array of bountiful treats. I saw the greatest costumed couple ever and I was about to complement them, but I looked closer and they turned out to be a pair of real-life conjoined teenage twins. I proceeded to the candy department and came back with this:

Plenty of goodies in here, as you can see.

The doorbell hasn't rang yet, but I am hopeful. Happy Halloween everyone!

Disaster strikes the Niner fork

2009-10-31T01:57:00.004-04:00

It was a lazy Wednesday evening, and I was enjoying it like any man would; puffing gently on a fine tobacco out of my Alfred Dunhill pipe, sitting on the porch in a tan wicker rocking chair, tapping my foot and listening to Danny Kaye and the Andrews Sisters while slowly whittling a whistle out of a foot-long piece of hard ash.

The smell of fermenting leaves wafted in on a cool breeze and I began to reminisce of glorious autumn moments. With memories of the Slaterville 100 racing across my brain, I was struck with the notion to drop my whittling knife and give my bike a tune-up.

I had installed the Niner Carbon Fork early Wednesday afternoon, and did a damn good job if you ask me. Everything I had put together was practically perfect but since my cut was kind of a hack-job, I needed to add another 1mm spacer to give proper clearance above the top of the steerer. I also borrowed a torque wrench so I could properly adjust the compression adjustment plug and the stem bolts to the manufacturers specs.

When I had made the changes, I began to put the fork and parts back together. Before I put the stem back on, I began to tighten down the compression plug. According to the manual, the plug was supposed to be tightened to 7 nm or ~60 lb-in. I used to be nervous doing this kind of thing because I've stripped quite a few bolts in my time, but with torque wrench in hand I cranked away.

A second later I heard a deafening crack, as if a bolt of lightening had come down from the heavens and struck the fork somewhere near the top. A bitter puff of smoke seemed to smolder out of the steering tube. Imagining the worst, I let out a terrific scream and began to hyperventilate and my eyeballs began to sweat.

As the dust in my tiny kitchen-workshop settled, I peered warily into the abyss. I dissected the compression adjustment plug and was relieved to see my fork in pristine condition. The internal bolt was meant to be adjusted to 60 lb-in, but I had snapped it off at just 45 lb-in.

Fortunately, there was no damage to the fork or the compression adjustment plug, so replacement would be easy. Accidents like this happen and there is bound to be at least one faulty bolt in a batch of ten thousand so this should certainly not reflect poorly on Niner. In fact, the guys over at Niner said they had never heard anything like it, and they had a replacement part in the mail less than twelve hours later.

This story has a happy ending. Thanks to the customer service folks at Niner, I'll get my new part in a few days and everything will be back to normal. The moral of the story comes twofold. Treat your bits and pieces well. And if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Sighting - 10/30

2009-10-30T15:19:00.000-04:00

This SS has clearly seen better days. Now it lives like a vagabond under the overhang on the south side of the library. I'm loving the gross fuzzy carpet seat!

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Trail Review: Perry Hill, Waterbury VT

2009-10-30T10:01:00.006-04:00

This is an old story from my trip to Stowebury on 10/4.

Description: network of trails (~15 total miles) in the Perry Hill block of Putnam State Forest in Waterbury, VT.

Location: the trailhead is on River Rd. just outside of the Waterbury town center. The trail goes through a tunnel, under I-89 and then up a humongous hill into the block of state land.

Conditions: we attempted this network of trails under the worst possible circumstances, three days of rain and forty degree weather. The trails were pretty wet, with standing water, plenty of slippery mud and sand along the way.

GPS Details: click here to view the route on Garmin Connect

The Ride: When we asked about bike trails, the kind gents at iRide directed us to Five Hills Bikes in Waterbury. Upon arrival in this quaint little town, I immediately recognized the shop from the bike29 blog that I had been reading for about six months. It's funny how all the people and places pictured on the internet can magically come to life when you get out of your computer chair and explore the world. We explored the shop for awhile and talked to some of the guys there about Niners, Fishers and other exciting developments coming down the line. I picked up some standard souvenirs and went just down the road to Perry Hill.

There are three main trails in Perry Hill, Joe's, Rastaman and Burning Spear, and each corresponds to a color, yellow, blue or red, though I don't know which was which. Even though it was a crappy day, and the rain was sprinkling down, we saw several bikers doing dirt jumps in a small exhibition area next to the nearly full parking area for the trail head.

We crossed the train tracks and went through a dark and ominous tunnel directly under the overpass for I-89. We found some signs here, but the trails wouldn't split for another good bit. Then we began to climb. Under the circumstances this wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world. I unfortunately was cocooned in my full gore-tex to protect from the rain, and I was hauling an extra twenty pounds of gear in my douche-bag (read: hydration pack), so the ascent up the wide, steep and sandy slope was a little perilous. I got locked into to the great-granniest of gears and spun away for what seemed like an eternity. A couple of bikers dangerously bombed around the corners without a smile or so much as a nod, making me wonder if it was obvious that we were completely out of our league. I made it to what seemed like the top of the hill and I waited for Chrysalis who came up behind me panting with frustration. She was pretty pissed at the hill. And even more pissed at me for making her ride up it.

We took a quick drink, shed some layers of clothing, all of which got added to my douche-bag) and continued on. I think we had only come about a half a mile at this point, but we were already tired and the hill kept going up. Eventually we ascended into the cloud where the trails split.

Around this time the rain and wind had picked up, the roots and rocks were getting especially slippery and we were growing less confident so we decided to take the Yellow trail. The yellow trail was described as a tight, winding and rolling easy trail back to the start and that is exactly what we encountered.

We were grinding along and found lots of nice little obstacles, rock bridges, up-and-overs, boardwalks, skinnies, and more were approachable but still challenging for a beginner like me. By then, the rain had defeated my poor camera, so there are unfortunately no decent pictures to see.

The further we went along the faster and thinner the trail got. Tight spots between trees almost got me two or three times as we cruised down the hill. I was rolling the Niner like a monster truck and consistently left Chrysalis in the dust as we rolled down, so I had to stop a few points to let her catch up. "I finally understand why they call it singletrack" she said to me as we rounded a 10 foot bank on the edge of a ravine. I'd have to agree that the alpine singletrack here was world-class and I only saw about two miles of it before we headed back to the car.

Like the atypically unfriendly pair of bikers before us, we bombed down the hill back through the tunnel to the parking lot. When we got back there was a large group of people who had just finished. I gave them a some Niner love for an M.C.R. and an E.M.D. and noticed that almost all of them were wearing the signature bike29 sock from Five Hills. It looked like everyone was taking cover from the rain that was now pounding down on us, so we took a hint and decided to hit the Ben & Jerry's factory on the way back to Stowe.

Summary: This very short ride is certainly in my top 5 best biking experiences. The ten-minute winding descent down Perry Hill was like a moment in heaven - or a quick cycling-induced high (I even got the munchies after). The trails were well designed, maintained and held up despite a week of terrible weather. I liked how these trails were designed specifically for mountain biking, so they could be thin, challenging and most importantly one-way. Unfortunately, Perry Hill will be just another spot where I didn't get enough time on the trail, because there was plenty more room to explore. From the look of the map, I can tell that the Red and Blue trails added another ten plus miles even further up the hill and are likely to be more fun and challenging. If I find myself gravitating back to Stowe/Waterbury in the future, Perry Hill will be at the top of my agenda. Also, shout out to Five Hills Bikes and bike29.com for friendly, cool and helpful in our search for a killer ride.

Further Reading: http://btrails.com/trails/perry-hill-waterbury-vermont#/

Niner Carbon Fork Installation - vanity pics, full album

2009-10-29T21:59:00.004-04:00

More to come.

Niner Carbon Fork - Installation and Awesome

2009-10-28T21:33:00.001-04:00

I got my new T.H.E. Flight System stem/handlebar combo yesterday so I took this evening off from homework and other shenanigans to install my brand new Niner Carbon Fork. It would be an important moment for me, so I took all my tools and parts out to my parent's house to use Dad's Man Cavern. I call it that because if Snoop Dogg's 12x12 shed is a cave, my Dad's 40x30 pole barn is a cavern. It has everything a man's man would ever want in a cave: a wall full of tools next to a very reputable work bench, a gas grill, a heated bathroom with plenty of reading materials, incredible amounts of storage, a small basketball court, a punching bag and a kick-ass stereo system. It would be the perfect place for everything, except that there are bats and the floors are cold.

I began my venture with a test build of the fork. I wanted 40mm of spacers between the top of the headset and the bottom of the stem so I put all the pieces together so I could measure the fork steerer and find out exactly where it needed to be cut for my setup.

I then marked the steerer with the crappiest pencil ever. The crappiest pencil ever. It was at this time I recalled the much ridiculed design convention "measure with a caliper, mark it with chalk, cut it with an axe", and I began to worry that I was going to mess this up. Well, either way I made a crude mark with this terrible writing instrument and disassembled the fork.

This mark was at the top of the stem, but in practice we want the fork steerer to be slightly shorter so we can use the fork cap to pre-load the bearings in the headset. So according to the Niner instructions, I was supposed to cut 5mm below the initial mark. I puttered around the cavern looking for a measurement instrument of some sort. Despite being educated in the early seventies, my parents are not fans of the metric system. Like a frustrated child I ran inside the house and screamed down the stairs at my mom "MA, I NEED A FREAKIN' RULER!"

"What kind?" she replied back.

"ONE THAT DOESN'T SUCK ASS" I screamed down again.

God bless my mother who indeed came up from the basement to help me look for one. "I feel like I'm living in the stone-ages", I muttered, imagining myself measuring something with a giant bird's beak like in the Flintstones. We did not find anything, so I made a gutsy move and eye-balled it. 5mm is about 2/10ths of an inch, or about the length of half my pinky fingernail. Fortune favors the bold! I began to cut.

I used a mini hacksaw, with a 32 tooth-per-inch blade made specifically for cutting carbon and ferrous metals. It was smooth as butter and despite my measurement hackjob, the cut was practically perfect.

I used some sandpaper to smooth out the top and edges of the tube, then I put it back together.

Before finalizing the assembly, I had to install the Niner tube plug that is meant to reinforce the area that is hugged by the stem.

Installed the carbon compound, which is a super juice that increases friction between the carbon pieces allowing for less torque on all the bolts.

And finally I got everything assembled!

The fork is the bomb. It is light, responsive and sexy as hell. I have yet to put a mile on it, but in the quick test on the driveway the bike rolls around smoother than goat cheese. More tests to come, but I think this is going to rock harder than the Thing on a triple dose of Viagra.

The growing popularity of off-road blogs

2009-10-28T10:30:00.003-04:00

I found this unsavory nugget of wisdom in the back of the November issue of Mountain Bike Magazine. In the MB rankings grid, this quip was nestled in the third quadrant, indicating that the idea was high on the "Boy-Scout" scale and over the axis, halfway into "Nausea-Inducing" territory (which is opposite of "Awe-Inspiring").

I suppose that Uriahpalooza falls into this category of amateur, day-to-day diaries that are personally important by many authors, but read by very few other people. From an industry standpoint, perhaps MB magazine is right. We small time bloggers don't generate many hits, so our artistic impressions of cycling and our myriads of free advertising aren't worth much to sales people. But I'm certain someone cares...at the very least my mom and grandma care!

So could the ever floundering magazine business jealous? Chances are, no. They're still making millions and definitely not jealous. Hell, I've been reading three different mountain bike magazines each month for the last year. This nonchalant stab at bloggers is probably from a single writer or editor that doesn't have a clue, or perhaps the slander was in jest and I misunderstood. Either way, not cool, man. Have some class.

I'm new to this bunch, but cyclist bloggers have proven to be a tight and inspired community. Every day I read about epic rides, breathtaking vistas, insane stunts, gear reviews, mechanical experiments, and the simple joy of riders helping other riders. It takes an enthusiastic group of people to help spread the love of cycling, and nobody seems to do this better than off-road bloggers. If anything, the magazine companies should be thankful for this kind of stimulation in the industry.

It wouldn't make sense for magazines to encourage bloggers outside of their own organizations because we'd be stealing their business. But jeez, they don't have to bash us.

Booze Tues. - Moo Thunder Stout

2009-10-27T19:24:00.000-04:00

All true mountain bikers love beer. But 29er riders take it to the next level with thoughtful editorials of brews from around the world. Mark over at Cyclesnack has "Thirsty Thursdays", so I thought I might document my exploratory beer ventures with "Booze Tues".

Today's selection is the Moo Thunder Stout, by Butternuts Beer & Ale in Garrattsville, NY.

I poured this one in a tall pils glass, and an inch of smooth head formed evenly across the top. The beer is dark and rich like most stouts, but was unusually thin. That's not to say it wasn't filling, but it wasn't as heavy as Guiness or some of my favorite oatmeal stouts.

At 4.9% APV, this was one of those 'sessionable' beers, which isn't something that you can say about stouts very often. The Moo Thunder was also creamier or milkier than some other stouts I've had. On the Butternuts website, I discovered that they add lactose sugar to the beer instead of regular sugar, so the beer has a silkier feel on your tongue.

I could pretty easily drink a six-pack of Moo Thunder because it wasn't too strong, and it's flavor wasn't overpowering. Those could be good things or bad things, but at a dollar a can, this local micro-brew was a damn good investment.

Niner Carbon Fork - Hot Tamale!

2009-10-26T22:04:00.001-04:00

Last week I took a plunge into my wallet and ordered my first carbon part ever, the Niner Carbon Fork in Hot Tamale red. I picked it up about five hours ago and I'm still struggling to contain my excitement. Down at my new favorite spot, Cayuga Ski and Cyclery (shameless plug #3), the long red box floated down from a cloud, in a beam of warm, golden sunlight straight into my loving arms. At that moment I got all hot and sweaty, my glasses fogged up and I tried to hide the coming erection. They don't call it a Niner for nothing. Zing!

I raced home to open the box. I was not disappointed. It was everything I wanted and more. While I've never had a part like this on my bike, I'm no stranger to carbon. The fork has the recognizable carbon weave mixed in with the colorful graphics which are all safe under a thick clear-coat. Immediately, I noticed the incredible craftsmanship and quality of the piece - nothing short of a priceless work of art.

By accident, I banged the fork on my desk chair and heard an audible hum. The carbon fork, a solid piece of bonded carbon weave, apparently emits noise upon impact, like any tuning fork. I whipped out my guitar tuner to check and see where it fell on the sound spectrum.

Niner Carbon Tuning Fork from Steve Miller on Vimeo.

You may not be able to hear it very well in the video, but the tuner indicates that the Niner Carbon [Tuning] Fork produces a low A-sharp, in the 5th pitch class (A5#).

The fork weighed in at 549g (1.21 lbs) which is a feather compared to my Tora 318 that weighs 2902g (6.4 lbs). I'm waiting on my new handlebar/stem combo before I put the fork on my bike so no results yet on installation, performance or gorgeous good looks. Until I put this thing together, I will have a nice long week shacked up with my Hot Tamale, obsessively stroking her soft paint, caressing her smooth carbon curves and sensually massaging her dropouts by aromatherapy candlelight while we listen to world music and feed each other small fruits. See the following short video for a montage of pictures taken when I opened the box.

Happy Together from Steve Miller on Vimeo.

And since I know you want to make that last pic your new desktop background, here's a link to the full sized version:

Slaterville 100

2009-10-25T19:58:00.002-04:00

The Slaterville 100 (k) was an ambitious effort. For my part, perhaps it was too ambitious.

It began this morning around 10am. Eric and I parked at my parent's house in Brooktondale, prepped our bikes, packed loads of energy gels, gummies, Power Bars and Gatorade and headed down to the Brookton Market at 9:45am for the kick-off.

We arrived a bit early and got to see everyone show up on their kajillion dollar rides. Almost everyone was riding 'cross bikes, with only a handful of exceptions (myself and Eric included in the latter bunch). We saw a few Fujis, Surlys, Felts, and even an electrically assisted Trek e-bike. Among the mountain bikes, there were a few Cannondales, a KHS, a Giant XTC 29ER1, a few Fishers and two or three unmarked singlespeeds. Altogether, I think around twenty riders showed up.

While we were hanging out before the start, we were privy to some conversation about the Leadville 100. Apparently, Max Taam, a pro cyclist and Ithaca native, finished 6th overall in the Leadville 100!!! Max showed up today at the ride, but after remembering seeing him beasting Leadville in the Race Across the Sky movie, I was too scared to talk to him. Also, his rippling buns of steel were more than a little intimidating. But it was very cool to have a local celeb on the ride with us today, if even for just a short while before he left us in the dust! I think I went to high school with him too, maybe. Anyway, it is really inspiring to see someone from Ithaca so successful on in the professional XC race scene, and gives me hope that maybe I'll have a chance someday.

We left Brookton Market around 10:25am at a pretty leisurely pace. We were lucky enough to have some gorgeous weather with bright sun and a cool breeze. The leaves were still red and yellow so it was a very scenic and picturesque ride (when I wasn't struggling to suck O2 on each and every hill).

Until somewhere around mile 13 in Robinson Hollow State Forest, we had been riding on nicely paved country roads. We stuck together with the bulk of the pack 'till that point, and then I had to stop to relieve myself a few times and we tried to fix Eric's front derailleur because it was on the fritz and he couldn't shift into his big and small rings. After a few minutes of troubleshooting, recuperating and some sweet, sweet urination, we chased the pack up the humongous hill, all the while riding in the mud of their ruts.

Near the top of the hill, we caught up to one poor guy who had stripped the lock ring on his cassette and was officially out for the count. His Specialized Tri Cross was no match for the Niner or Fisher. We couldn't do much to help so we made sure he had a phone to call for help then continued on our way.

The course was set up by Jeff at Cayuga Ski and Cyclery. We were given a printed out color map with a turn-by-turn queue sheet for directions. At every turn, a pie-plate with a directional arrow had been zip-tied to a road sign so riding without the map was pretty easy. Also, Jeff was kind enough to provide four or five aid stations complete with water, candybars, energy bars and gels! It sounded like a lot of time and effort went into planning and organizing this ride, so props to Jeff for all the hard work.

We cruised down the other side of Robinson Hollow into Dryden, where we took the old railroad bed trail past the lake to the next road. Actually, Eric and I missed the turn marker for part of the railroad bed and accidentally tacked on a few miles in the wrong direction, but we were able to figure it out after a little bit. The next hill we approached was out-of-this-world ridiculous.

I've spoken about the triad of hills at Hammond Hill. There is OMG Hill, WTF Hill and OMFG Hill. The hill on Dug Road makes all of those seem like a walk in the park and I'm tempted to call this new one, J.F.C.-Batsh*t-Insane Hill.

So what you may notice about this 'hill' is that it rises 800+ feet in just over a mile. An extraordinary 25% grade and at points I believe it was even greater. I don't know how many people rode up this entire thing, but it was very difficult given the steepness and condition of the seasonal road. I have to admit, we played hike-a-bike up a portion of this.

After the quick descent from Everest, the next hill we would next climb Hammond Hill and follow Hammond Hill Rd, which is a seasonal road almost the entire stretch, all the way back to Slaterville. The best part about Hammond after a rainy summer is that there is a long chain of small lakes conveniently located in the middle of the road for a three mile stretch at the top of the hill. We carefully picked our way along the road, doing our best to avoid the deep, smelly mud pits.

The sun gloriously beamed down as we came down Hammond Hill into Slaterville. At this point, we had come about 30 miles and climbed over 4000 feet. Eric and I were totally cooked. We decided that 50/100k was an achievement for amateurs like us, and we weren't looking to injure ourselves on account of pride. Instead of taking the next humongous hill like pros, we took the long, smooth highway back to my parent's house and called it a day. Based on the state of my back muscles, my aching knee and wobbly ankles, this was a good choice.

Like I said, riding 62 miles may have been overly ambitious. But in the end I was happy to have gotten out and given it my best shot. With more preparation and training, another ride may yield different (and hopefully better) results. It was a good ride this afternoon, but next year I will crush it.

Random Stats and Info:

1. I weighed in at 235 before the ride, 228 after.
2. GPS data on Garmin Connect
3. The Air9 was spectacular, though a bit over-the-top for the back roads
4. Eric and I are a bunch of whiners.
5. Every part of my body hurts.

And now for a vanity shot of Silverado:

Early morning prep

2009-10-25T04:27:00.001-04:00

Getting ready for the Slaterville 100!!!

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Nutflix - new releases in Hardcore Action Adventures

2009-10-24T16:00:00.001-04:00

This was in my netflix home page today. Awesome!

If you don't know what this is, I highly suggest googling to find the trailer.

I'm off

2009-10-24T06:40:00.000-04:00

It's official. My internal clock, my diet, my routine is all f'ed up. You may now be asking yourself why I'm up at 6am on a Saturday. Truth is, I had a soda around 11pm and I haven't slept yet. I guess 100mg of caffiene and 60g of sugar goes a long way for a guy that hasn't had a Coke in three years.

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Sighting - 10/23

2009-10-23T16:00:00.001-04:00

I don't see very many Felt MTBs around here. Spotted this nice ride outside of Kimball.

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Race Across the Sky movie & the Slaterville 100

2009-10-22T22:50:00.001-04:00

Race Across the Sky - Leadville 100 movie intro from Steve Miller on Vimeo.

Eric and I dropped by the movie theatre tonight at 8pm to see Race Across the Sky, a documentary about this year's Leadville 100 mountain bike race. We already knew the outcome of the race, but it was awesome to see the community of cycling culture surrounding this famous race.

The Leadville 100 is a 100 mile mountain bike race in Leadville, Colorado. It has over 14,000 feet of climbing and is all above 9,000 feet altitude. From what we saw in the movie, the trail is absolutely gruesome. It was mostly on dirt roads, with some small single and doubletrack sections. Huge climbs and dangerously steep descents. Mud, rain, sleet, snow, altitude sickness and hypothermia awaited the 1400 athletes in this year's race, but all of them came out better for it.

I love movies like this because they inspire me to compete no matter what the outcome is. In this cyclists opinion, you are a better person just for having tried. It seemed like a one-time screening, but it's a good movie, so if there's a torrent out there I'd suggest downloading it.

UPDATE: see Singletracks.com report on the movie

In honor of the Leadville 100, Jeff from Cayuga Ski and Cyclery has organized the Slaterville 100 which will be a 100 k (not mile) fun ride around the Ithaca area.

The Slaterville 100 (k) will be 62 miles and 7000+ feet of climbing on mostly dirt roads with some pavement thrown in there. The ride begins at 10am this Sunday, and starts at the Brookton Market in Brooktondale. Posted below are the map and directions (click to enlarge) for this ride.

I'm hesitant to go on a this long of a ride. But after seeing the movie tonight, I couldn't be more excited. I know it will suck, but that's part of what makes a race like this an achievement. No doubt I'm going to bitch and moan the whole way, but that's part of the whole atonement through pain process. I'll break out the GPS and heartrate monitor

Cyclocross Video - UCI World Cup & World Championship

2009-10-22T22:49:00.000-04:00

I'm still trying to fully illustrate the awesomeness of cyclocross to my family and friends. So here's a video that should give you a better impression:

I can't wait to stop by Red Cross this weekend! I may not be racing, but it should be cool to go and watch.

http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=9213

Sighting - 10/22

2009-10-22T16:40:00.000-04:00

Looks like a vintage SS cruiser, though without the chain it's more of a Flintstones foot-powered cruiser. It also looks like it doesn't have a home. Should I call campus police and have them take it to the Battered Cycle's Shelter?

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Duffield in the morning

2009-10-22T06:39:00.000-04:00

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Changes to the blog

2009-10-22T05:27:00.000-04:00

If you're not getting this via google reader, you may have noticed that the blog looks a little different. I'm experimenting with some templates to see what I can do. I don't think I'm happy with this one, but I'll keep working on it when I get a chance.

Newest member of the family - Fuji Gran Tourer

2009-10-20T22:12:00.002-04:00

I got this diamond in the rough bike on craigslist for fifty dollars. Fifty dollars!

The 27" silver Fuji Gran Tourer is going to be my next SS commuter bike, a better sized replacement for Black Beauty that I sold a few months ago.

I peered through the heavily oxidized stock Dia-Compe brakes and saw a giant black brake pad. I took a look up at the shiny, black, un-cracked seat and realized that this bike has probably never been ridden. I fell in love the first moment I laid eyes on this classic ride, for just fifty dollars!

I love the style of the hi-ten 661 steel frame. It's got that sexy 80's curve to the front fork that I just can't get enough of. The components are mostly Suntour, with a AR front derailleur and a 7-GT in the rear. I feel like I just scored one of those old lady church-driven only cars. Amazing! Did I mention I got it for just fifty bucks?

I'm not exactly sure what to do for the conversion. I've seen a few articles online of guys doing this. Here is an artists impression of this bike's potential. I'm pretty psyched.

Upper Treman - now with more perspective!

2009-10-20T17:47:00.002-04:00

My last few years in the military were sad and lonely. The G.I. training strategy is to break you down and make you feel like part of a team. Unfortunately, that kind of environment can diffuse accountability, making your contributions seem small, insignificant and worthless. I left the DoD feeling discouraged and I had low self-esteem. I've spent much time since then rebuilding my sense of self and developing a healthy ego.

I stopped by Treman State Park this evening after running some errands and began to lose that comfortable sense of self.

There's something about nature that humbles me into indifference. Looking up at the towering cliffs today, I began to remember what it was like to feel small and meaningless. A rock could come plummeting down now and crush me and it would hardly matter, in the greater sense of things.

I found a kindred camera nerd like me there, lost in the giant still life. We took pictures of eachother and went our separate ways, fading away into the gorge. Look hard at that picture. Can you even see me? Sometimes it's good to get lost.

My introspective rants are far and few between, so soak it up.

Sighting - 10/20

2009-10-20T16:26:00.004-04:00

This SS spotted outside Upson Hall in the alley way by Kimball Hall on the Engineering quad. I like the brown and grey look. I can't tell the brand of the frame, but it has a small green number 8 in several places. Nice ride.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Trail Review: Town Loops, Stowe VT

2009-10-20T00:01:00.001-04:00

Description: the Town Loops trail network behind iRide bike shop in Stowe, VT.

Location: 409 Mountain Rd, Stowe, VT 05672 - then go to the back of the parking lot behind the bike shop.

Conditions: The weather had cleared up some at this point, but it had rained hard all night so the ground was soaked. The trail was covered in wet leaves, and the roots and rocks were very slippery.

The Ride: The beginning of the Town Loops trails were well marked. From the trail head, there was a mix of different types of trails. There were snow shoeing trails, hiking trails, biking trails and XC ski trails, but most trails were some mix of multi-use. The signage system was consistent with what we saw in Waterbury as well, probably an initiative of the VMBA. The trails were sorted into three types; yellow being the easiest, blue of medium difficulty and red for more challenging terrain. The signs were and rectangular and about the size of my hand, with a chainring symbol and a directional arrow.

Following these signs in the Town Loops became difficult after the first mile. Typically, I have pretty good trail sense, and Silverado has a built in divining rod, which helps. But the trails were covered with leaves and pine needles and there were so many good lines through the forest that it was tough to distinguish what was a trail and what was nothing at all.

Tight singletrack

Chrysalis and I took whatever trail looked the most ridden and continued on deeper into the woods. Several times we passed junctions of five or more trails and we began to wonder just where the hell we were. I wasn't too worried about getting lost because the area is only about ten square miles and was boxed in by roads.

In terms of difficulty, this was not an "easy" ride. I'm not sure if we were on the red, yellow or blue trail, but with the wet and slippery conditions - not to mention the extreme technical rootyness of this particular patch of land - I had a tough time staying upright on steep ascents and perilous drops. The trail was quite technical in some areas. More than a few times my front wheel hit a patch of wet loam and slipped out from under me. I think I sprained two fingers in my left hand while saving my meaty ribs from being punctured on a downed pine tree.

Now THOSE are babyheads!

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I did live through an epic crash. I was casually barreling down one of those slippery and root covered hills and suddenly something happened. I'm not exactly sure how, but my bike stopped moving. I, however, did not stop moving. As I flew through the air, grasping desperately for something to hang on to, I began to wonder if it was a good idea to go biking so soon after my health insurance expired. Thirty seconds later, while still flying through the air, I imagined myself in the hospital under a spotlight, like Nicholas Cage in Face Off, racking up millions of dollars in medical bills. I'll have to sell my body for at least a year to pay this off, I thought to myself. I woke up from my terrible daydream when I hit a small group of dead trees, which were surprisingly giving. I knocked two of them down as I landed and was thankfully able to get up without too much pain. No gore shots, sorry! I have produced some nasty looking bruises on my back and thigh though. My front wheel was F'ed so we carefully headed back toward the trailhead.

Summary: I would really like to explore more of the trails in the Town Loops. I think we only saw about 1/5th of the trail miles here, so I imagine we could spend another 75+ minutes of riding if the conditions were nice. My critique of the conditions and trail markings should certainly not dissuade anyone from riding there. The trails were tight, challenging and fun, much like the terrain up at here at Shindagin Hollow in Central NY - except more giant rocks and ferns :-)

Check out my GPS data for this ride!

Good times

Race Across the Sky - Leadville 100 movie

2009-10-19T20:49:00.000-04:00

Looks f'ing awesome. Party starts at Regal Cinema Thursday at 7:45pm! BYOB.

Don't steal bikes, bro - old news

2009-10-19T17:08:00.000-04:00

Bike Thief vs Street Justis from triple on Vimeo.

Bike thieves are just as bad as horse thieves. In hipster areas, thieves get beat up pretty bad. Frankly, I think this guy had it easy. I heard that last month, a bike thief was hung by a cable lock from the bottom of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Sighting 10/19

2009-10-19T15:42:00.002-04:00

I spotted this Redline outside of Duffield Hall this afternoon. This is the first monstercross bike I've seen in Ithaca and it's pretty damn beastly, if you ask me. Note the beefy tires, front suspension and drop handlebars.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tried and true

2009-10-19T12:23:00.000-04:00

Just got my wheel back from Cayuga Ski and Cyclery. They were able to true it almost back to normal. There is still a very small hop to it, about 1mm, but left to right it looks perfect.

If I have time tonight, I may get the bike back together and get out for a short ride in this gorgeous weather.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Back from fall break, to infinity and beyond!

2009-10-19T02:23:00.000-04:00

As my loyal readers have probably noticed, the staff here at Uriahpalooza has taken a short hiatus from live blogging the party that is my life. Everyone was pretty burned out since the start of the semester, so a mental health holiday was in order. Have no fear, some big things are at work, and we have returned in force to resume full coverage of Uriah's amazing day-to-day life. There are a few announcements in order.

First off, I'm going to be eating well. My plan to slowly grate the fat off my thighs failed and instead of five pounds of fat, I ended up with a god-awful soup of blood, skin shavings and leg hair. I'm beginning to think that diet and exercise is the only way to lose weight. From now on, expect to see regular updates of my incredibly mundane (healthy) meals. Whats for breakfast, Uriah? Granola. How about tomorrow? Grapenuts. The day after that? A banana. What next? Well, I don't want to ruin the excitement for you, so you'll just have to see on Thursday.

Secondly, I have just recovered from another sinus infection and a short academic crisis, but I am happy to announce that I am now back in the saddle. Sadly, I must disclose that I have withdrawn from all forthcoming races this year to train and keep my grades up. No worries though, I will spend time this winter watching a collection of bad-ass training montages on TV, that way I will be super prepared for the 2010 race season.

Finally, there will be some adjustments to my bikes. Silverado has been dropping hints all week that he would like to be a rigid monstercross bike. I finally caved and have a mostly-finished parts plan for winter upgrades. My Gary Fisher Cobia, Old Blue, will be built back up into an XC trail rig for my tiny girlfriend. At all of 5'2" and 105lbs, I'm not quite sure she will be able to handle the white-knuckle, spine-shattering, face-melting, nerdgasming power of a 29er. But the frame is pretty small and I think I can cut the fork and make some geometry adjustments work for her size. This will be her first "real" mountain bike so I'm pretty stoked to get it up and running for some winter rides. What a good boyfriend I am!

If Silverado, in all his sexy and majestic Air 9er glory, wants to be a MCXer, what will I be riding next spring when the clouds magically part and the sun peeps out? That is the million dollar question. Well, hopefully it will cost much less to get a new bike! Yep, I'm officially in the market for a full-susser, all-mountain 29er. My, it feels so great to say that! I am heavily biased towards Niners now, but I've got some time and I don't necessarily want to stick to the brand while I'm shopping. As with the Air 9, I will build this next rig up from the frame, so I suppose shopping will start there. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

I've been busy busy busy, but those trail reviews from Vermont are coming super soon. I will make a tentative promise that it could happen as early as tomorrow.

New gear - Danner Mountain Lite II

2009-10-10T18:21:00.002-04:00

Check out my awesome new boots!

These have a one piece leather upper and are Gore-Tex lined. My last pair of Danners lasted me four years and about thirty thousand miles. These will get much less usage so I expect them to last longer, which is good because they cost a small fortune.

Time to go break them in!!

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Trail Review: Stowe Recreation Trail, Stowe VT

2009-10-07T18:33:00.005-04:00

Description: a 5.5 mile paved multi-use trail that runs down Rt. 108 (Mountain Road) into the Stowe Village Center.

Conditions: the morning of our ride was a cool 43F, with a slight drizzle. Cold and crappy enough that we had to stop to buy some gear to keep us warm for the ride back.

The Ride: the Stowe Recreation Trail is about six feet wide and is smooth paved with blacktop. The trail starts halfway between Mt. Mansfield and Stowe and has several small bridges that cut back and forth across the scenic and bubbling river. The trail was extremely flat and a very easy ride. About every 1.5 miles there was a "Trail Access Area" where cars could park so people could get on the trail in more than one location. Also, the trail came along the back side of several restaurant and shopping centers so riders could park their bikes and buy some snivel gear - or hit the tavern!

Chrysalis and some trees

One of ten(?) bridges that cross the little river

I made a friend!

You can't really see it, but I'm throwing a gang sign here

Summary: this trail seemed to be popular among joggers, walkers, runners, leaf peepers and cyclists, but most of all, because the trail is so nice and safe, it catered well to families. The trail runs over the bridges, through the trees, past some farms with baby cows and horses, past a corn maze, and all sorts of little sitting areas. It's not exactly mountain biking, but the trail was very picturesque and was a great way to get from our inn to Stowe without riding on the roads.

See my GPS data for this trail here!

Mountain Biking in Stowe, VT - day 3 and the trip home

2009-10-04T22:42:00.002-04:00

Today began with a little less zeal than I had hoped. I rolled out of bed at the crack of noon having missed breakfast and began to panic over the wasted day. Chrysalis and I quickly checked out of the inn and headed down to iRide to park and ride the Town Loops. We unloaded the bikes and explored for about an hour and a half before I crashed hard coming down a rooty hill - flying over my handlebars and face first into two dead trees which came down with me.

I was surprisingly unscathed by the nasty fall. Silverado, however, did not make it out in good shape. My front wheel was totally F'ed.

Wheel is F'ed from Steve Miller on Vimeo.

I did what I could with the spokes to tighten and true, but nothing seemed to help, and there was nothing much I could do out there in the wilderness to fix it. At that point we had been riding for awhile with no clear path in mind and just decided to head back. We rode back, had a snack and sadly went our separate ways.

Of course, the moment I began the seven hour drive back to Ithaca, the skies immediately cleared and the sun peeked out for a gorgeous afternoon.

My trail riding weekend in Stowe and the surrounding areas was totally badass. The weather was crappy all weekend, but the area had such a great vibe, the people were cool and the trails were so awesome that nothing could keep us from having a good time. Two days was not enough to really get the deep and expansive riding experience I was hoping for, so I will call this trip a primer for a more comprehensive mountain bike safari in the future.

We ended up riding the Stowe Recreation Trail, the Stowe Mountain Bike Park, Stowe's Town Loops network and the Perry Hill network in Waterbury, and in the latter two we only scratched the surface. I have a feeling you could ride for a week or two in the Stowe/Waterbury area and not see the same tree twice. This weekend was just the tip of the iceberg.

Writeups for the trails with GPS data, maps, and pics will come tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll be getting some sweet, sweet recovery sleep.

Mountain Biking in Stowe, VT - day 2

2009-10-03T22:23:00.002-04:00

Let me first say that I am absolutely beat. Today was a long day. As I mentioned yesterday, the trail reviews with proper pictures and GPS data will have to wait till Monday, but for now I can give you an overview of our activities.

We started at 8:30am with a hearty "Bud" breakfast of blueberry pancakes, eggs, bacon, coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice. Our cohorts in the Fiddler's Green Inn were from all around North America; British Columbia, Delaware, Ottawa, Connecticut. We chatted for awhile and discussed the goings-on in Stowe, laying out small itineraries for the day.

Our day started off with a 9am ride into the main village part of Stowe to visit some of the bike shops I read about online. We traveled down the Stowe Recreation Path, a five and a half mile paved trail that snakes back and forth across the beautiful and ever-babbling Little River all the way from our B&B to the main junction in Stowe's center. The trail was mostly flat and was a very pleasant and scenic ride through the valley. Along the way we saw baby cows, whole families on bikes, several walkers, runners and leaf peepers toting armloads of tripods, lenses and miscellaneous other camera gear.

The first stop we made was at Skier Shop to get some ear protection in the cold wind. Three hours later, when Chrysalis had finally chosen the perfect socks, gloves, hat, and head band to match, we finished the end of the trail and moved on.

We then stopped at iRide, the definitive bike shop in Stowe. Everyone there seemed really great. One of the owners, Ron, was able to replace the crankbolt I stripped and even weighed my bike for me, just for fun. The Niner Air 9, lovingly deemed Silverado, weighed in at a very appropriate 29.05 lbs!

The weather had been pretty gloomy for the past day and we were seeking the driest trails possible. Ron directed us to down the Five Hills Bikes in Waterbury. I've been reading George's blog on bike29.com for the last six months, so it was funny to finally drop by and see the shop. The shop was great, and it was fantastic to see so many niners in one place. Everyone was friendly and helpful in pointing us to the finest trails in the area, and certainly some of the tightest, windiest and fastest singletrack I have ever ridden. Even though we got some heavy rain and had to call it quits after an hour, it was a gnarly track and is without a doubt the best ride in recent memory.

On our way back to Stowe around 3pm, we stopped at the Ben and Jerry's Factory! Right between Waterbury and Stowe is the heart of all frozen goodness - and the place was absolutely packed. It seemed as if everyone in the northeast had made the same pilgrimage to the Mecca of the ice cream world. Battling hoards of friendly, geriatric touring groups, we elbowed our way into the gift shop to pick of some essential souvenirs. We thought about going on the tour, which is the real reason to stop, but the next tour was at 4pm and was going to take another 30 minutes. Instead of staying we headed down the road another couple of miles to the Cold Hollow Cider Mill for some apple cider doughnuts, maple syrup candies, smoke sausages, peanut brittle and of course, hot apple cider.

Driving home and examining the area map, we saw identified a cartoon character that looked like he was riding a bike into the wilderness. I had heard about the town owned Stowe Mountain Bike Park, but it wasn't clearly identified on the map, and nobody in town had mentioned it to us when asking about trails. We decided to investigate.

The park is located on the out-skirts of the village and was not clearly marked. It took a bit of trouble, but we finally found it. The park itself was huge track of giant dirt jumps, small tabletops, sweeping bank turns and a small, symmetrical pump track.

Needless to say, the park was a little out of our league, but it was still cool to try out. There were also some skill-building areas with obstacles composed of various arrangements of rocks, logs and boardwalk drops. Chrysalis and I cruised around for awhile and rode some of the paths without getting too extreme. I had some fun on the smaller tabletop jumps, but I forgot my multitool and couldn't adjust my seat height so it was difficult to get the air I was hoping for. Freeride isn't really my style, but it was really fun to poke around and see what people are riding. I'd even like to come back sometime with a different setup to see if I catch some sick air and make some of those sweet transfers.

We got home, cleaned up and went to dinner at Pie-Casso, a pizza and pasta restaurant right next door to the Shed. I was surprised to find that they didn't serve Shed beers from the business next door. Not very neighborly. I didn't make too much of a fuss, and opted to try the Unearthly Imperial IPA by Southern Tier Brewery. Most of my friends bitch about hoppy beers but I absolutely love them. There's nothing quite like being punched in the mouth with an explosive flavor and that's exactly what this beer does. The giant bottle, 1pt, 6.2 oz, came in at 13 dollars and 11% apv. It was one tough mother. The rest of the meal was good, though not nearly as wowing. We had an order of wings (almost identical to the Shed's wings, though the Shed's were better), a small pesto pizza and a tasty gnocci pasta dish. I was well served and quite satisfied.

Hitting the sack early tonight. Tomorrow is supposed to be partly sunny, so breakfast again at 8am then off to further explore Stowe's own Town Loops trail network which, based on what I saw yesterday, will be totally bad-ass. I'm planning three hours to explore the Town Loops before lunch, then I'd like to bike some of the local XC ski touring trails right out the back door of the inn. After lunch and beyond that, we might head back to Waterbury to get another taste of their network, or Montpelier for some tracks town there, or even the private Millstone Trails network in Websterville. Sky's the limit!

Mountain Biking in Stowe, VT - day 1

2009-10-02T22:57:00.003-04:00

The seven hour drive from Ithaca to Stowe was thoroughly scenic. In fact, the stunning beauty of the multicolored mountains was incredibly distracting, making it difficult to safely travel the speed limit. More than a few times I slowed down, flirting with the temptation to stop and break out the bike to explore seasonal roads that meandered up through the jagged peaks.

The Vermont backcountry is freckled with cutsie little tourist towns, most of which were obnoxiously picturesque. Every home in the area seemed to have some kind of provincial punctuation, a testimonial to it's part of small town USA. It was obvious that the statewide homeowners association required every home to have either a John Deere tractor, a pumpkin patch, an American flag or a small cluster of baby farm animals in front and slightly to the right of the home's front porch. This, I suppose, adheres to the visual identity of Vermont. Also, every radio station plays non-stop bluegrass.

I arrived around 5pm, taking my sweet time exploring the small town of Stowe before checking into our B&B, the Fiddler's Green Inn on Mountain Rd, about 4 miles up from the town center. Our kind and eccentric host, Bud, recommended The Shed Restaurant and Brewery for dinner.

The Shed burned down in 1994 and was immediately rebuilt. During the building phase, the owners had a group epiphany and decided to expand the building to fit their own microbrewery. Thus dawned the age of Shed Ale. Our friendly bar keep, to the left, set Chrysalis and I up with a sampler of all the Shed beers. We tried the Golden Ale, Amber Ale, Imperial IPA, Smoked Porter, Mountain Ale, and two seasonal beers, the Leafpeeper and Substance D.

All of the beers were good, but the Amber and Mountain Ales were my favorite. The Amber Ale was a sessionable and particularly well balanced beer, and was the best with the fatty tastes from my meal. The Mountain Ale was dark and bursting with flavor, but not nearly as filling as the porters or stouts, leaving plenty of room for the teriyaki wing special.

In addition to the wings and the tasty array of beverages, I ordered the staple Shed Burger, a 6 oz. marinated ground chuck burger served with a slab of cheddar on a toasted English muffin. It was absolutely awesome. The flavor of the meat was superb, and the burger was so moist that it dripped juice every time I picked it up as if I were squeezing out a sponge - a delicious and perfectly cooked, medium-rare sponge filled with beef juice. Chrysalis had a Shepards pie, which was literally a small crock pot filled with beef, corn, potatoes and topped with Vermont cheddar. Altogether, the meal was fantastic and we were served for less than $45 bucks. I highly recommend the Shed Restaurant and Brewery.

Earlier in the day, I took a short, exploratory ride in the Town Loops trail network behind the iRide bike shop. I was a little worried about getting lost in the dark, so I only rode a mile before turning around. Tomorrow, Chrysalis and I are going to visit a few of the bike shops to check out the scene before hitting the area trails hard in the afternoon.

Unfortunately, no more pictures of the excitement or GPS data of the trails will be posted until we get back. But I'll keep the updates coming. Stay tuned!

Five Guys - burgers and fries

2009-09-30T22:09:00.004-04:00

This evening, H-man and I stopped down to Ithaca's newest burger joint Five Guys which is in the Northside Plaza on Elmira Rd. across from Kmart. Five Guys is strictly a burgers and fries type place and falls into the 'quick food' style of restaurant.

Walking in, you are corralled through walls of Idaho potatoes and giant barrels of peanuts. The peanuts are self-serve, and it appeared as though the peanut shells were supposed to be tossed on the floor for decoration or perhaps traction in the coming winter months. The restaurant opened up recently and was busy as hell around 6pm, the line stayed strong for over an hour trailing from the front counter all the way to the door.

The menu was simple. There were burgers, cheese burgers, bacon cheeseburger, hot dogs and fries - all build your own burger and dog format. Among the sides were mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, grilled onions, jalapenos, and more.

I ordered a bacon cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato and onions and an order of regular fries (meant to serve two people). Standard, but good. This was burger rang in at $5.19 the fries I think were $2.49, which was a bit much but the quantity was ginormous.

The service wasn't that fast, and I'm damn sure there were more than five guys at the grill (I think they had a staff of nine this evening). But there was a small mix-up in my favor - I received an extra burger! Oh well, guess I'll have to eat it!

Here's what I thought of the burger. Five guys divides each burger patty in half. The halves looked small on the grill, but when you slip a piece of cheese in between them and stack them together, add some fixins and a bun, the sandwich became quite sizable.

The meat was decent, and I ate the burger plain without mayo, ketchup or BBQ sauce. It was deliciously fresh and gave me a non-greasy au natural feeling of contentment. The meat had the slightest flavor of onion powder, the cheese was plain yellow American, but what really struck me as amazing was the bun. The bun seemed so fresh and authentically bready and completely different from the greasy flame-broiled sponges you get anywhere else.

Presentation: 6

Taste: 7

Altogether this was a good meal. The 5-dollar burger plus an order of fries and a drink came out to 10 bucks which is not too much to pay for the enormous quantity of food provided. The extraordinary amount of improbable reviews awoke the unusual awareness and skepticism of the burger lover inside me. Powerful slogans like "Five Guys Nobel Prize nominated for Food of the Century" and "United Nation's Best Burger in the World 1999-2008" were enough to make me question myself. I began to wonder, have I had a better five dollar burger? The answer was clear from the second bite.

The meal was solid, but the burger did not live up to the hype. The flavor, the quantity of bacon, and the ability to customize the rareness of my burger left me kind of underwhelmed. From four to six dollars, the Pinesburger at the Glenwood Pines, or the Perfect Burger at the Ale House are far superior to the Five Guys burger (not to mention several beers on tap). That said, I appreciated the atmosphere of Five Guys and their focus on the purity of the quick burger industry. They deliver a solid meal quickly and at a reasonable price. And if I'm on the south side of town with an insatiable hunger for burgers, Five Guys will be the place to go.

New gear

2009-09-28T17:44:00.001-04:00

There's something about timed sales that really appeal to me. It's kind of like a race! And since all of my readers really want to know about my new cycling paraphernalia, I will show you what I got. Courtesy of the conglomerate that runs Chainlove.com and Bonktown.com , I have recently received a new jersey and cable lock.

The package arrived looking like it got mauled by a kodiak bear (thanks UPS!) but nothing was harmed during the trip from Alaska. While the "Cutter Cable Lock" doesn't have a very reassuring name, the form factor is quite solid. It weighs about five pounds, and could easily double as a medieval flail if I get into a street fight. As you can see from the pics below, it's pretty beastly.

Some serious girth!

I also bought a Royal Trac Attire Jersey. This is the first jersey where the XL size is just right. It doesn't show off my man-boobs, and it doesn't make me look like I'm wearing a multicolored garbage bag. It does, however, make me look like I am part of a hipster graffiti project at a snobby art school. Seriously though, no diss to the designer, I really do like the shirt.

Hog's Back BBQ and the Ithaca Apple Festival

2009-09-26T18:49:00.003-04:00

Ithaca has gone a long time without a solid BBQ restaurant. After my first meal at Hog's Back BBQ, I am now happy to say that I am at peace with myself, and can die a happy man. Hog's Back BBQ has been doing catering for the last few years in the area, and only just moved to a restaurant quality spot when Pangea on Third St. closed early this year.

The building looks like kind of a dive, but it seemed true to bare-bones BBQ culture. Inside the ancient doors and cracked windows is a warm and dimly lit seating area with smooth smokey views of the kitchen. The atmosphere won't wow you but it will keep you on the edge of your seat while waiting for your food. On the menu are the normal things like ribs, brisket, wings, pulled pork and chicken, smoked sausage, and the regular sides like collards, cornbread, slaw, potatoes, grilled veggies, beans and rice, pickled peppers and more.

I was pretty hungry so I ordered the Wild Hog's Plate which consists of a little of all the meats and comes with two sides. I chose collard greens and grilled zucchini.

Wild Hog's Plate

My side dishes

Another perspective on the spread

The meal was decent, though as you can see above, it was a huge amount of food and next time I would probably elect to skip the sides and just suck down all the meat (that's what she said). I have eaten BBQ all around the world so my standards on what is the 'best' are pretty high. I can say that it has been a long time since I have eaten BBQ this good in the Ithaca area. The brisket was tender and flavorful, the pulled pork and chicken were juicy and perfect form, the smoked sausage was out of this world, and the ribs were meaty-delicious.

After dinner, the family and I walked down to the Commons to the 27th Annual Downtown Ithaca Apple Harvest Festival. Even though the Commons is packed full of people making it hard to get anywhere and it always seems to rain during festivals, there are three distinct reasons to show up:

Hot spiced apple cider
Pumpkin funnel cake
Fresh kettle corn

I am trying to stick to my diet, so instead of partaking in these delicacies, I stopped by the Ithaca Running & Triathalon Co. to pick up some chamois lube. As you all know, sweat softens the skin and repeated motion causes chafing. Mix those two together for several hours and you have a huge WMD forming in your pants (that's what he said). At the running co, I bought a bottle of Chamois Butt'r that should protect all things related to my ass and crotchal region.

A chamois butter is generally applied to any skin area is exposed to moisture or any skin that rubs together and comes in contact with athletic clothing like shorts, jerseys, shoes, etc. This greasy boy-butter should lube up all my bits and pieces so I'm not all sore and rashy after my three-hour weekend rides. I'll report back with a review on this shortly.

Sighting - 9/25

2009-09-26T11:02:00.000-04:00

I spotted this Dawes SST locked up by the parking garage on the east end of Grumman Hall. It's an affordable bike, offered through Bikes Direct at a cool 320 bucks. I really like the handlebars and the simple Tektro brakes provided here. This bike reminds me of Black Beauty, my singlespeed that sold to a Cornell student about a month ago, who I occasionally see in the computer lab looking smug and bragging to all his friends about his spectacular ride.

Majorly Gifted

2009-09-25T05:45:00.014-04:00

From the highest peaks of the Pamir mountains to the lowest valleys in Tompkins county, my level of spirituality has been in a direct relationship with elevation. I have witnessed both godless chaos and divine intervention in the same battles, battles after which I held myself gently and rocked myself to sleep in a warm pool of my own rancid piss. We wander through the world searching for meaning, finding it in the most unlikely places. But no matter how I've looked, only one thing in life absolutely proves the presence of a higher power.

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day He took a break, kicked back and had Himself a cool beer. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy and, while drinking the sweet, sweet nectar of the Earth, He rested and recovered from his week-long, hardcore, creationist workout.

Genesis 2:2, The Bible (International version)

You'll just have to pardon all the ridiculous sacrilege while I enjoy my Troeg's Troegenator Dopplebock.

Troeg's Brewing Co. is a microbrewery out of Harrisburg, PA producing nine distinct beers. The Troegenator Dopplebock is my favorite of the Troegs selection, which is funny because one of my other favorite beers is the Calvinator Dopplebock from Ram's Head Tavern in Savage/Annapolis, Maryland.

So here's tonight's Jerry Springer "final thought." If there is a higher power, I suppose that hops, wheat, barley, and oats were all intentionally hand-placed here on Earth for the greatest beverage of all time, beer. I am lucky to be surrounded with a tasteful variety of flavors and I am blessed with the means to consume such a divine drink at my own free will. Until next time, America, be safe...[dramatic pause]...and drink beer.

Happy Birthday J!

Cycle killer, qu'est-ce que c'est??

2009-09-24T12:38:00.003-04:00

Unlike Snobby, I don't truly have enough insight, experience or sarcasm to write a thoughtful critique of bike culture today. Regardless, I'd like to contribute to the general awareness of cycling influences. Today I'd like to discuss a great pioneer and an eccentric inspiration in my life, Mr. David Byrne.

Last year I read an poignant essay by Byrne on the pros and cons of using PowerPoint. A sample of Byrne's PowerPoint art included an artistic array of diverging lines overlaid on a grainy picture of Patrick Stewart's bald, freckled head. That's kind of disturbing. Another picture involved a beige silhouette of Ronald Reagans's head projected smaller and smaller into infinity. Needless to say, Byrne is something of an innovator, and kind of crazy too.

This morning on the radio I heard a song by the Dirty Projectors, whose new album features Byrne on a few tracks. Just after the song, the DJ announced that Byrne was a cycling enthusiast but provided very few details beyond that. I became intrigued.

Apparently, being a music artist and PowerPoint genius wasn't enough, so David began to "Byrnefy" public bike racks. This might be old news to you, but I thought it was kind of cool.

For further reading check out: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/09/arts/design/09bike.html?_r=1

Back in training, upcoming trip to Stowe

2009-09-23T18:27:00.002-04:00

I've taken a few days off since the last race. During this time I focused on recovering, identifying weaknesses and planning a training regime that will improve my performance in the future.

Today's workout was a little more pathetic than I had intended. It started out as a lunchtime run across town and slowly morphed into a lunch time jog around the block. I had a backpack full of gear including my camera, my Edge 305, my mp3 player, a water bottle and a snack pack of fig bars - none of which helped me run any faster.

According to the Edge, I clocked in 2.75 miles in about twenty two minutes. Not bad for a guy that never runs. But still, as I chugged my way up Comstock Rd. just a block before my driveway, I thought I was going to die.

Now, I'm not opposed to "working for the butcher." Hauling man-meat around town is my specialty and it doesn't bother me at all. But in terms of speed, my biggest enemy is my weight. I'm reconsidering my planned upgrades to Silverado now because shaving 200g off my handlebars probably isn't much compared to burning a pound off my voluptuous hips.

I think my ideal race weight is around 190lb - thin but muscular. This is still extraordinarily heavy compared to the competition. Joe Friel, a renowned coach and author of the bestselling "Cyclists Training Bible," says that most world class climbers weight less than 2 lbs/inch of height. So at 73.75 inches, I should weigh less than 150 lbs. For professional cyclists, Joe might be right, but I'd have to develop an eating disorder to drop that low. For now, I'll just focus on getting into better cardio shape, and hopefully my legs will do the rest.

In other news, Chrysalis and I are taking a trip to Stowe, VT next weekend. Just a few weeks ago, another MTBer at Letchworth said we should check out Stowe. This month's Bike Magazine has a short article on trails in and around Stowe, so we decided to check it out during the "peak foliage" season. I imagine we should get about 18 hours worth of trail riding in, crushing the singletrack and splattering mud on the hoards of slow and immobile leaf gawkers. It should be a great trip. Will report back on 10/4 with the details. Stay tuned!

Want it

2009-09-22T22:52:00.000-04:00

The Battle at Critz Farms, Part Deux - hooked on a feelin'

2009-09-22T01:43:00.002-04:00

The weight of defeat has a direct relationship to the investment in the competition. As your invested time increases, so does the impact of the win - or the loss. In the wake of any epic loss, the only thing left to do but train harder. Become stronger. Then suddenly the Daft Punk kicks in at -15dB, you have seen the bottom of five beers, and you are still up at 1 AM wearing your Biore pore cleaning strips, lifting weights and jump-roping in your tiny basement apartment despite the ridiculously low ceiling.

The memory of the Battle at Critz Farms hangs over me like a gloomy cloud. Most of the riders zooming past me, mumbling curses at the fresh meat on the track, were about twenty years older than me. I now balk at the notion that 25 is the "prime of my life."

The sight of rippling buns and the smell of raw testosterone from the passing racers has left me in a great deficit. This vast canyon of emptiness is bigger than Kanye's ego, and can be filled only by hard work, gold medals, video music awards and inordinate amounts of public attention. The Great Defeat of 2009 has made sure that I "want it" more than ever.

Red Cross - CX 10/24 Broome Tioga Sports Center

2009-09-20T13:22:00.002-04:00

Cornell Cycling is hosting a Cyclocross event in the Ithaca area. Looks like the standard race format, and based on the pics, the track looks pretty fun.

http://cornellcross.blogspot.com/

https://www.usacycling.org/events/getflyer.php?permit=2009-2461

I'll be there!

Critz Farms Kermis - Seasonal Cyclocross

2009-09-19T15:37:00.007-04:00

Start this video before you read about my race!

At 6:24 this morning, I awoke to a 33 degree gust of wind directly into my face. Today's race, the Critz Farms Kermis [for GPS data click here] in Cazenovia NY starting at 10, would be a ninety minute drive so I left early around 7:30. I got lost on the way there, somewhere out in the country, so I followed the very first car with a bike rack directly to the farm.

When I signed up, I had no idea that this was going to be a CX race. Cyclocross is an off-road racing type that is generally ridden on huskified road-bikes with knobby tires. CX races are quite different from XC races not only because of the bikes ridden, but that the courses are shorter and have less "technical" trail types and often contain sets of non-ride-able obstacles designed to get you off your bike. The race today had no obstacles, but was about 2.3 miles long mostly on dirt roads (seasonal road, fire road, access road, etc.) and grassy field lanes. The format of today's race was to ride the loop for 40 minutes, then finish your lap after the bell rang.

I arrived an hour before the starting gun. I grew nervous as the competition rolled in. Seeing their sinewy spandex covered bodies, sponsored team jerseys and decked out bikes, I realized that I was completely unprepared for the upcoming Suck.

Although only three had preregistered online, myself included, almost fifty riders showed up by 9:45, making the starting line pretty crowded. Being that this is my first race, I went into it with a positive attitude, planning only to have fun and see what racing was all about. I planned my satisfaction on the following criteria:

Finish the race with no technical problems
Never stop pedaling
Not come in dead last overall

However, with the side goal of winning in mind, I spent some time this week visualizing the race, and devising a strategy.

I got placed in a starting position near the very back, but when the starting gun went off, I exploded from the group, passing almost everyone and settling in a good 4th position. Considering this an XC race, my strategy was to take a lead early off and hold that position by dominating the track. This technique failed. After the initial sprint, my energy began to wane, the roads were just too wide to stay in front of everyone, and by the end of the first lap, I had fallen back halfway in the line.

As I steadily adjusted my pace, I realized that I was just a bit slower than almost all of the riders. To make up for my lack of experience, I tried to capitalize on my strengths and maximize the use of Silverado's off-road abilities.

There were a few sections that I really dominated. I cornered sharp and fast, I floated over humongous mud pits, and downhill I was a complete monster. There were only a few small sections like this, but I dove into them harder than ever, overtaking riders left and right. Unfortunately, after the zig-zags, ruts and steep drops, my lack of conditioning was exposed, leaving me easily passable on uphills and straightaways.

But with the steady encouragement of spectators and racers alike, I finished the race. I blasted across the finish line at 45:08 having finished four grueling laps, looking like hell on wheels. I got gored in the upper thigh with a small Christmas tree, slapped the face with hanging branches, attacked by clouds of pollen and dust, and by the end of the fourth lap, blood was freely pouring down my face. My jersey, already soaked with sweat and blood, was also covered with tears, strings of snot and clumps of mud. Nobody seemed to notice, however. I get the impression that Cyclocross racers are a tough bunch.

I came in last in the Open Men's category, finishing 10th and a lap behind the leader (he finished his 4th lap just before the 40 minute bell). I didn't come in dead last overall, which was nice, and I left the race feeling happy with my performance and excited for the next chance to compete.

After today, I wonder about competition and why I want it so badly. Perhaps, it's what we live for. It's swimming in our blood, our jobs, and our family Monopoly nights. And when competition strikes, it puts us into overdrive. Weight lifters lift thirty-percent more in front of their peers, even if it is dangerously uncomfortable. Distance runners run themselves into exhaustion and stroke, even to death, rather than quit the race. And for myself, I stayed in my maximum heart rate zone (avg. 179 bpm) for almost an hour today. Why does competition push us to such extreme limits? Or rather, why do we push ourselves for the sport of it?

Sometimes I'm riding in the Tour, defending my position against Contador, and then I'm suddenly riding a purple-striped, twelve foot hyena that gobbles up all of Team Astana just before I cross the finish line of the final stage, leaving me free to clinch the win. As I approach the podium, ready to accept the yellow jersey, bouquets of flowers and an alternating sequence of wet kisses by two gorgeous babes wearing fire truck red lipstick, I realize that even my dreams are about competition - and accepting the spoils of victory.

Victory today included a bottle of Ommegang Abbey Ale, two water bottles, a set of cycling socks and the prestige of the win. For the Open Men's category, these prizes were claimed by a 35-year old "kid" who weighed 130 lbs. I think he had an unfair advantage, but maybe that's just me. I chatted with a few guys after the race who told me that the overall winner, Mr. Tiny, raced all year and that he trained almost thirty hours a week. Most of us didn't have a chance.

I used to play a lot of video games in local tournaments, I started a competitive speed-cubing team in Maryland, and once I was on a competitive robotics club, but I've never really been much of a competitive athlete per se. So winning any race in my current condition is probably not a serious possibility.

Honestly, I was hoping for a climactic finish, where I would make an epic, slow-motion comeback to the melodic power jam “Separate Ways" by Journey in the last half mile, surprisingly overtaking the much favored, seven-time champion. While it didn't turn out like I had hoped, I'm just happy I had the guts to challenge myself. For amateurs like us, walking away with a medal isn't important. I don't race for a living and I don't need wins to pay the bills. Mountain biking might be life, but losing a race doesn't mean death, does it?

According to some, death may be better in some circumstances. The way an athlete faces competition is, in many ways, more serious than a soldier. Marching truculently into battle, to what may be regarded as certain death, professional soldiers rarely experience nerves and pressure that even the most veteran athletes have every day. War induces a general anesthetic, nihilism, which wards off butterflies and pressure of performance because a soldier only has to endure defeat for an instant – from the moment he accepts that fateful bullet to the moment he fades away – and then nothing really matters. For an athlete, or any living person for that matter, the burden of a shameful defeat can be carried for a lifetime. Though the stakes may be higher, a soldier wins just by living through the conflict.

If living through the war is a win, I have received the biggest medal of all. But this is one of the few wins that I don't really feel like I earned. So I compete now in a completely different arena, because I like the sport and I enjoy the novelty of a challenge. I like to explore the "what if?" and search deep within myself for the answer. And if I’m not too afraid, I will take something that inspires me, train hard, put my pride on the line and give it a shot. I may not ever win a race, but that’s okay because getting a spot on the podium is not the true goal. The goal is to feel like a champion and be richer for the experience of trying. "Livin' the Dream" is having a chance to compete, and that is something all of us have earned.

Iphone bike fitting app

2009-09-18T00:27:00.000-04:00

http://www.interbiketimes.com/2009/08/26/iphone-bike-fitting-app/
http://www.wildlab.com/testrides/

Looks kinda cool.

Looking back - enjoy these tasty nuggets of wisdom

2009-09-17T18:30:00.009-04:00

Most of my friends have already finished their college educations and can look back on those times now with a distinct fondness. Reflecting upon on my own 'college years', I begin to miss the good times that were peppered disparately among the challenging course of my military tenure. Special moments like pulling ticks and fleas out of my comrades naked bodies, taking shelter from powerful sandstorms with Dulaim Bedouin, general jackassery in the barracks, and of course, riding dirt bikes, jetskis and test riding a prototype military mountain bike with the 5th SFG.

I don't often talk about my experience overseas because the actualities of my participation are still mostly classified (really). Regardless of the details, I learned to love 'the Suck'. The Suck teaches you many things that you can't learn in the U.S., and is experienced by travelers, students, and pretty much everyone else outside the first world.

The Suck cracked me open like an egg, building character and helping me develop an understanding of myself, spilling my yolk in six continents. As jaded as I seem about the whole experience, I'd like to share a few things I learned along the way

Know who your real friends are. The fraternal nature of a squad, platoon or company breeds a feeling of safety for every soldier. This, however, doesn't stop theft, fratricide, fist fights and cruelly intentioned 'pranks'. It is crucial to know who will pull you out of the way of a homemade rocket, and who will let you stand there like an idiot while mortars rain down from above. Ideally, your friends will be helping you in more everyday scenarios, but the point is that you cant trust all of them to do so when it really counts.
Stay on the bounce. Never stop your education, never stop your training and most of all never stop moving. Stagnation is the enemy of all good things. Stagnant water grows mosquitoes, stagnant life spawns boredom and stagnant soldiers get killed. This isn't to say that you can't hunker down and weather the storm, but you always have to be ready for the next move. Have a plan, and move forward. Take action when there is none. Bounce.
Competition improves performance - more about this on Saturday.
Drink water.
Earn everything. There's nothing less rewarding than an achievement that wasn't earned. Surmounting obstacles with hard work is the greatest feeling in the world. Climb a mountain, ace an exam, win a race or finally get that big promotion you were hoping for? The elation from those wins would not be half as great if you weren't challenged along the way. Perhaps this is why I kind of hate gifts...
Understand the inevitabilites. You're going to die. You can accept this now or learn it the hard way.
Take care of your feet. As a mobile human, your feet are the most important part of your body. Without hands and eyes, your feet will help you survive. When a grenade or homemade bomb drops gently into your area and someone shouts "12 'o clock, cover", you fall flat on your face with your head pointing toward the explosive, hands tucked gently over your ears with your fingers in your helmet. Why? To protect your precious feet from white-hot rocks, metal and most other particulate shrapnel varieties. Take care of your rifle too, if you get my drift.

On Fat (Cyclists) 2

2009-09-17T15:01:00.002-04:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/fashion/13POTBELLY.html?_r=2&ref=fashion

Courtesy of Bike Snob NYC

If you read Snobby's post, note the "bukkake" themed bike.

Exploring Ithaca Watershed, Black Diamond Trail

2009-09-16T20:54:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I stopped by the Ithaca Watershed Natural Area, which is part of Six Mile Creek, just upstream of the Mulholland Wildflower Preserve. This watershed contains three reservoirs that hold water for the City of Ithaca.

There is an access trail off Giles Street located here that takes you upstream on a wide gravely access path all the way to the Second and Third Dam. The First Dam is located further down the stream.This is what the trail looks like near the road, though it whittles down a bit narrower and has less gravel as you go further into the natural area.

This trail is not legally ride-able for cyclists, though I know that many MTBers cruise the side of this hill. The trail has some very technical descents and cliff edges making it great for epic free rides.

Today, Hannah and I explored the Black Diamond Trail while we searched for ancient bricks (don't ask). The Black Diamond Trail is a work in progress, and just received $290K in funding to rebuild essential bridges that will make the trail accessible. While fifteen miles of railroad bed may not sound like very interesting terrain, this trail will run down hill from Trumansburg to Ithaca, providing a nice off-road path for pedestrians and cyclists.

Chrysalis and I have explored this trail before when we were houses sitting near T-burg. It was more than a little hairy in some places. But then again, it as a little rough in the spots I saw today:

I think you're supposed to jump this one...
-

To read more about the Ithaca Trumansburg Black Diamond Trail, go to http://blackdiamondtrail.org/

Sightings - 9/16

2009-09-16T17:03:00.004-04:00

Singlespeed Specialized Allez @ Duffield

Singlespeed Mystery Bike @ Duffield
-

I also saw a nice looking Jekyll outside of Carpenter Hall, but I was in a hurry so I didn't get a pic.

FYI - Pisgah Mountain Bike Stage Race

2009-09-16T15:28:00.000-04:00

Scroll down the page and check out the video.

http://www.blueridgeadventures.net/stage/main.html

Looks like some pretty gnarly singletrack.

Registration is a bit out of my price range at this time:

http://www.active.com/page/Event_Details.htm?event_id=1743860

Maybe next year!

A short comment on fashion

2009-09-15T18:00:00.003-04:00

Today, my calculus instructor called TC3 the "Tompkins Cortland Cleavage College". We have no women in our class, so this was received with immediate hilarity that prompted a longer discussion of the topic. Instead of continuing our lecture on Taylor series polynomials, we discussed the return of miniskirts. Our professor then went off on how much he missed the 70's and that we didn't know what we were missing. Hopefully, the fashion trends will point us back in that direction so I can experience first hand what he is talking about.

I'd have to say that his observation on miniskirts and increasing skin quantity in general has been true. Today the Cornell Job Fair kicked off in Barton Hall, so people were dressed up in their finest all over campus. The computer lab classrooms across the hall from me are filled with men in three piece suits. The women, with very few exceptions, seem to be wearing all sorts of jangly jewelry and are dressed in their thinnest, shortest and most revealing skank dresses. Imagining that they're searching for jobs in big corporations in these outfits is a little disconcerting - but I'm definitely not complaining. Admittedly, if it were absolutely necessary, I wouldn't mind [redacted] with any of them.

Except for my mom, ladies should wear whatever they like, no matter how inappropriate! I, however, am perfectly happy to walk around looking like the bottom end of a burlap sack of potatoes.

Ticket To Ride

2009-09-15T13:00:00.004-04:00

I received my USAC cycling license in the mail today! This identification card authorizes me to ride in Category 3 cross country, downhill, mountain cross or observed trials. Category three is generally reserved for entry-level riders and children so they can see what racing is all about. It's mostly a fun category, and as far as I know, isn't supposed to be cut-throat competitive. Basically, it's for newbies like me. I'm pumped!

CHES Playground Session

2009-09-14T20:13:00.001-04:00

If I didn't have a wily, mad-scientist hair-do and a gorgeous red beard, I would look like kind of creepy hanging solo around a playground. My friendly, lovable smile and bodacious bod usually keep people from calling the cops, so today I ran down the hill a half a mile to do a quickie circuit workout on the Cayuga Heights Elementary School Playground.

I warmed up with about five minutes of jump rope then jogged to the school. The playground is small, but is the closest spot with pull-up and/or monkey bars. I considered going to Northeast, but that is mostly up hill and over a mile away.

When I got there, my neighbor's kid and her suburban bicycle gang were all sitting on the structure. Looking mean, giving me glares, and even though they're all between the ages of 8 and 12 and wear pink bedazzled jean shorts, they looked as if they might be dealing pot or organizing a robbery.

Ignoring their intimidating scowls, I did circuits of pull-ups, elevated push-ups, sprints, sit-ups and lunges. An older guy, walking his black lab, stopped to do some pull-ups with me. I asked him if he wanted to do some sprints too, but he declined saying he had to go home for dinner. He leaned down and kissed one of those hooligan girls on the forehead before he left. Must've been her pimp.

I sweat balls for about an hour there. I then downed a liter of water and headed home just before dark to make some dinner of my own. Tonight, cajun seafood salad, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, and some chicken slathered in Dinosaur BBQ sauce. Yum.

Mount Unpleasant - a view from atop

2009-09-13T19:49:00.002-04:00

I have driven up Mt. Pleasant Rd. just once, on my way to the Cornell Ropes Course for an 'offsite' training day. I thought this would be a good opportunity to train and get huge for next Saturday's race, so I took the afternoon off from schoolwork and decided to rock it. I expected this to be a good ride, but instead...it turned out to be great [click here for GPS data].

I left around 5:00pm, imagining that it would take me three hours to ride this hill, leaving me just enough time to get back before dark.

I rode a few miles through the hood, cut down Freese Rd. to Varna, and the beginning of Mount Doom. After crossing Rt. 366, I felt pretty good, gnawing the first leg of the hill just before crossing Turkey Hill Rd. At that point, looking up the humongous hill in front of me, I began to wonder if I had it in me. I realized then, that this was a route may have been a bad choice, that I had only eaten a banana and a handful of barbeque Fritos all day, and that I was basically running on empty.

Regardless of my deepest fears, I valiantly dropped into granny gear and began the ascent. As I oozed my way slowly up the hill, I wondered how many other people have ridden up here. As I was looking for any sign of bleached bones in the ditch, the sun beating down on my poorly chosen all black outfit, my energy started to dwindle and I prayed for a second wind, or at least a cool breeze.

I chose a point near the top of the hill, or so I thought, to cycle to before I would allow myself to collapse. It was a shiny mailbox, reflecting brightly in the sun. Too bright, in fact, I could not look at it for long. So as I leaned into the hill, the "pedal, damn it" reminder on my top tube inspired me to hang in there. Sage advice for a cyclist.

Slowly I percolated up this first hill until I had reached the crest. An awe inspiring sight lay before me, a cool rolling plane that stretched for a good mile, allowing for a short cool down and some time to regroup before the next hill.

As I dug into the next hill, several cars passed. None of them provided inspirational horn honking, as I would in their situation. "DON'T YOU ADMIRE MY UNWAVERING PERSEVERANCE?!??!" I screamed at them, hoping for some small acknowledgment of the battle I was fighting. I didn't really say that because I was too out of breath. But I wanted to.

I made it to the top, and although it wasn't as climactic or epic as I had hoped, it felt great to have finally conquered this small mountain.

Here are some statistics for you, as recorded by my Edge 305. I climbed 830 feet over 2.9 miles, much of which was 20+% grade. My average heart rate was 151. Max speed of 37mph, coasting on 2.5 inch tires! That's pretty damn fast if you as me.

Treman Marina Memorial Ride

2009-09-12T18:55:00.000-04:00

I took a trip down to Cayuga Ski and Cyclery today to pick up some tools, magazines and whatever else it took to blow eighteen bucks on bike stuff [click here for GPS details]. I ended up buying a 'cleaning brush' set. I kinda feel ripped off now that I spent fifteen bucks on it because the brushes are kind of cheapo, but it should help me out when I'm trying to get my frame back to it's spit-shine prime.

The five unit Pedros Pro Brush Kit includes a twisted wire brush, a giant cassette toothbrush, a cone brush, frame/wheel brush and a tire brush. The packaging was wrong on this item, because the tire brush was not included. Instead, there is another brush that looks like an archaeology tool or a BBQ basting brush. Still cool, but not what I had expected.

I took a detour on the way back down the fitness trail to Treman Marina. As I rode down the path toward the end of the lake, I noticed that they turned my favorite frisbee spot into a dog park. I guess I haven't been down that way in awhile. As I continued on the path, I started riding through clouds of pollen. I realized suddenly that this was section of the ride was a poor choice given my recent sinusitis crisis.

I passed several riders in the Aids Ride for Life coming back 89 toward town, about 100 meters from the finish line. They weren't going very fast, but then again they had been riding for the last six hours, so maybe they were tired.

The ride back was brisk, except for the exhausting climb up Klein Rd., which I now discovered is a 400+ foot vertical climb over a crucial 20% grade. The road is only about a quarter mile long, but it is a windy, grueling, leg-numbing, perilously narrow hill that is just begging to be splattered with your vomit.

This Treman Marina Memorial Ride was in honor of Black Beauty Jr. (BB Sr. is my Civic), which was sold today to a Cornell student looking for a nice fixie commuter. He tried to lowball me but I raised him up a bit, just shy of asking price, the price that BB Jr. deserved.

Farewell, Black Beauty Jr., you were just a bit too small for me. Hopefully your new owner will treat you well, and maybe I'll see you around campus.

When we're not biking - deep, sickly thoughts

2009-09-10T18:30:00.027-04:00

Critics of Ithaca and Ithacans are right, we're a little isolated and sometimes fail to keep in touch with reality. The weather is not great here. This is not beautiful southern California where the serene blue skies occasionally change from extremely pleasant all the way to, well, slightly less pleasant. We experience about seven different seasons here in I-town, and they're not always...pleasant. When there's ten inches of snow, ice or just some good rain, I rarely volunteer for anything outside. Needless to say, we cannot always be biking.

Being a full-time student is tough enough for my schedule, but I'm also an IT guy for another twenty (yeah, right) hours a week. Between school, job, and all my extracurricular crap, I'm approaching the busyness of an executive, the kind of executive that has trouble managing time effectively, the kind of executive that looks for ways to do things faster. The kind of guy that buys a fifteen thousand dollar ROM machine. So if it gives me extra time, taking a break from biking is not a bad thing.

What do I do during rainy days, during blizzards and at night (I don't have a lighting system)? For starters, I work, eat and sleep a lot. When I have the time, I obsessively and meticulously clean my bike in a meager attempt to restore it back to its afterbirth-fresh finish. I also watch a lot of Family Guy and criticize Bike Snob NYC to myself. [Okay, okay, people are "nonplussed" by you and your camera! We get it, pal. Now hows about you shut up already.]

I get sick about three times a year, usually with a bad sinus infection. When I'm sick and take days off, I usually sit around feeling gross, making audible groans and sighs every time I move, promising myself that I'll appreciate my health in the future. Today happens to be one of those days. Picture to the left is of a real pigs head on a stake in the Arts Quad at Cornell. The sign reads "Maybe its the beast, maybe its just us..." Courtesy of the Cornell Daily Sun.

As I tenderly nurture my aching body back to health, breathing heavily through one half-clogged nostril, I browse Dirt Rag and Mountain Bike Action (thanks, Eric!). I shut all the blinds in my room to keep out the gorgeous sun and the temptation of an afternoon ride while I'm playing hooky (allegedly recovering from Swine Flu).

Now, I'm typically the jaded type. I've been around the world, done more in a few years than I had ever dreamed of doing in a lifetime, and now that I'm back sometimes things just don't seem to matter in the "big picture". But when I flip through pages and pictures of epic rides in these magazines I come to realize that biking still has that fresh feeling. It's something I can't seem to get enough of and certainly one of the few things I enjoy enough to feel passionate about.

Every time I roll home from the trails, I start dusting off my brakes and thinking about the next ride. This doesn't necessarily mean that it's a career or that it's my life's calling or even that it will stay with me forever. But it does mean that I'm going to encourage my friends and family to enjoy the sport with me. I'm going to share my enthusiasm with my peers in the community. And I'm going to ride every chance I get.

Why mountain biking is awesome in Ithaca

2009-09-08T18:45:00.002-04:00

Mountain biking, for many reasons, happens to be exceptional in the Ithaca area. Area residents often refer to this article: "America's Five Best Mountain Biking Towns" Bike Magazine, June 2002. But that is hardly definitive. I have a few reasons of my own.

While we don't have so many epic mountains or breathtaking vistas, we had lots of hills and places like Shindagin Hollow, whose windy trails give it a global rank of 80 on singletracks.com out of 700+ biking areas. Furthermore, Ithaca's proximity to Hammond Hill, Robinson Hollow, Conneticut Hill, Fingerlakes National Forest, Letchworth, the Adirondacks, Catskills, several mountain bike parks and tons of other areas make it central to all the happening bike spots in the northeast. Face it, this place is ripe with trails to shred - not to mention several active organizations like the Fingerlakes Cycling Club, Cornell Cycling Club, WNYMBA and Cycle-CNY who keep the community active by scheduling rides, trail maintenance days, races and more.

Now here's where I bust out with the sales data. Amongst these cycling fanatics, singletrack gurus, amateur shredders and casual mountain bikers is a huge market, not just with the avid mountain bikers either. The fifty thousand plus college students (Cornell U, Ithaca College) in Ithaca alone, many of whom bike around town, back and forth to classes and out to the trails on the weekends, are just dying to be sold a Specialized bike. Add to that the thousands of what I call 'outdoorsy' people who are searching for their next big buy. Perhaps its a kayak, perhaps its an S-Works. You don't need to be a marketing specialist to realize that advertising exposure to this range of demographics is just plain redonkulous. But wait, there's more!

Ithaca has me. If Specialized adopts me into their Trail Crew, they will have an edge like no other. For starters, I am hillllarious. I'm 25. My blog is awesome. I've got an amazing beard. I have tens and tens of followers on twitter. I pretty much speak for the entire generation of amateur mountain bikers. I've got my finger on the pulse of the nation.

What more could they be looking for?

Q&A with Uriahpalooza

2009-09-08T13:00:00.001-04:00

Q: Dear Sick Uriah, being a semi-pro athlete, how do you go from being perfectly fine and healthy one hour, to deathly ill the next? My bookie is a little worried about my wager on your upcoming race.

Sincerely, Curious in Colorado

A: Dear Curious, thank you for your inquiry about my health. To answer your question, I am blessed with a very sensitive nasal cavity. Any sort of lint, dust, dirt or mold that gets in there seems to grow a colony of infectious bacteria within minutes. This usually happens at the worst times, like on Monday evening right before an 8am class the next morning. Your concern for my race is noted. I assure you I will be in top performance shape come race day. -Uriah

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Q: Dear Uriahpalooza, now that you're a star athlete, do you think you will still have time to do your weekly show on CAMWHORES.COM??

Yours Truly, Hopeful in New Hampshire

A: Dear Hopeful, I know I can count on my fans like you to support me in this tough economic climate. Your continued donations to my cause will ensure that the regular shows go on sexy and sweaty as usual. Next week, you can expect to see me grease my crankset, repack my bottom bracket and use a bottlebrush to clean my rimholes. Stay tuned for more sexy bike repair! -Uriah

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Q: Dear Uriah, you've worked for the military, government, organic vegetable farms, pastry shops, universities, and now you're branching out into XC racing...what's next?

Married Martha from Massachusetts

A: Dear Married, every day is a challenge when your life is as ridiculously exciting as mine. Like my idol, the famous super-athlete Jake Cornelius of www.rowjakerow.com, I am living the dream with no end in sight - but here are a few things on my to-do list:

Re-engineer the trunk mounted bike rack
Start and live on a "sustainable" farm community
Attend my initial acupuncture session
Recreate the Pizza Crepe Taco Pancake Chili Bag from Taco Town
Go flyingsquirrelman sky diving
Get an officially recognized education that is not in some top secret bullsh[redacted]

Regards, Uriah

Labor Day Ride - Hammond Hill Redux

2009-09-07T12:40:00.009-04:00

Dad and I hit the trails this morning for yet another variation on the network of Hammond Hill trails. Today we started out down the snowmobile trail and tracked up WTF Hill (aka "Red Man Run" because at the top you are bright red). We tried the R2 -> R1 loop which I liked better than R1 -> R2 because R1 is a fast and windy gradual downhill. We bombed down this then took Y4 to the road, Y2 -> Y1 all the way back to the car. This trip combined a lot of fun downhill sections with (in my opinion) the easiest uphills. The pic above and to the left shows you a map of my names of the hills.

When we parked we saw three horse trailers in the lot, but never found them on the trail. We did, however, find lots of horse poop. Based on the frequency of my poop-dodging, I'm pretty sure they were directly in front of us for more than an hour.

We passed two hikers on our way up Y4 to the road who mentioned a tractor trailer on a sharp turn in the road. Something like this would not seem unusual on a highway, but out here in the woods it was pretty strange. We found it about 100 yards ahead, plopped gently in a drainage ditch next to the road. It was a refrigerated trailer and its cooling unit was still running. On the turn, it looked like the driver had spent some serious time reinforcing the ditch with rocks just to get the truck part around the curve. I don't know how they plan to get this baby out of there, but I hope they do it before all the ice cream will melts!

The next strange encounter was with the "Hammond Hill Slasher", as I have come to call her. This woman we have run into before, last week twice, and perhaps before that a few more times over the summer. Decorated with small American flags, her blue tent is located near the top of Canaan Hill Rd.

Last Thursday she surprised us, eerily peering out of her tent hole with a neon orange hat and an flag wrapped around her face like a bandanna. Since she was staring at me, I greeted her like a normal human being. "Hello!", I said. No response. Corie was hypnotized by the Slasher's cat, who came meowing frantically out of the woods. I think at this point, the Slasher started calling her cat, and when we were a good bit past her tent, she climbed out and emitted a terrible yodeling scream, as if she were was declaring war and calling for an ambush. Frightened, we pedaled quickly back go the car and drove straight home.

Today, our encounter was less terrifying, but just as strange. Dad and I were coming down the Y1 trail, after having crossed Stanton Hill Rd. As I rounded a shallow turn up a short hill, I saw a person walking a bike. I approached her pretty quickly on my monster truck Air 9, crushing rocks and logs in my path, so I assumed she would hear me coming up behind her.

She did not turn around so I shouted "Hello!" (again). I must have startled her because she screamed and jumped out of the way. When she realized I was not a monster, she said "Hi" back. As I rode by, I stupidly and not-so-hilariously commented "Woah, is that a twenty-niner?"
"No," she said, curtly, "it's a 26er, fifteen speed."

Seeing her tiny American flags pinned to her handlebars, realizing now that she was the Slasher, I sped forward leaving Dad in the dust to get murdered. Good luck, Dad, you've lived a good life.
Dad survived, however, telling me later that the woman told him that she just saw a giant spaceship with her own eyes. Unfortunately, we could not verify the UFO sighting.

We made it back to the car safe, and finally found the horses. I met a small horse named Jabba who didn't want to get on the truck. I whispered to him until he felt more agreeable and climbed in the trailer.

It was a good ride, about eight miles. Hammond Hill may be technically easier than Shindagin Hollow, but it's network of trails seem to flow more naturally. The trails are obviously wider and better maintained, but they are really approachable and rarely dangerous. Perhaps I just need more experience at Shindagin Hollow (which I will be getting later this week), but for now HH is my favorite spot.

For my millions and millions of blog readers, let me just plug the Specialized Trail Crew again, since they will soon be adopting me as a rider (right, guys?!). To this crew of elite riders, Specialized will lend a 2010 S-Works Stumpjumper FSR and some bad-ass swag to go with it. I'd have to say, I've hit my fair share of bumps this week, so a sick full-susser S-Works could really ameliorate my back situation (and help me grab some fat air).

Why they should choose me? Well, I just got super into XC riding and I'm not terribly experienced. I closely represent the average, entry-level rider who is on the cusp of investing in a pro-level bike. Specialized has more to gain by convincing me that their bike is bad-ass because I am not a die hard fan already. Plus, I could park it out in front of the Engineering library and bitchslap whoever is riding that Titus El Guapo.

Suck Hill: The Return

2009-09-05T13:16:00.006-04:00

Eric, Chrysalis and I went to Hammond Hill this morning around 8am (click here to see the GPS stats from my new Garmin Edge 305!) . We had planned this ride early so that we have time to come home and recover before Brew Fest this afternoon, down at Stewart Park. Brew Fest!

After a few quick stops on our way, we hit the trail around 830. The weather has been nice for the past few days so the trails were pretty dry. Any spot that used to be standing water or mud was now just really mushy dirt. That didn't stop us from getting muddy, though, as we did find a few small lakes at the top of the hill on an access road. We took a similar route to the one Eric and I did a few weeks back.

We started up what I now call "Suck Hill". Here is a picture:As you can see, the first good bit was fun. The stats from Garmin Training Center (PC program) and Garmin Connect (the online one), have been pretty bad-ass. Seeing my heart rate, cadence, speed, elevation, is really cool. Then add to that plotting on Google Maps, Google Earth or any of a dozen other GPS mapping services is enough to give me a serious nerdgasm.

If you click the link at the top, you will see that the rest of the ride after Suck Hill wasn't all that bad. At least we didn't ride up "OMFG Hill" from Thursday, so Eric was pretty happy. And after burning over 1000 calories (awesome??), I definitely feel like I have earned this afternoon's trip to Brew Fest.

Saturday Ride - Neighborhood Loop

2009-08-30T12:23:00.002-04:00

Rained a bunch Friday, so we hit the neighborhood roads Saturday afternoon. Got to use the Garmin for more than a mile which was great. Also, after some adjustment, I finally got the cadence sensor working.

Take a look at our ride here.

Update: I think I crashed Garmin's website just now, but check back later to see if the link works.

Edge 305 Test

2009-08-29T12:12:00.009-04:00

I finally hooked up the Garmin Edge 305 on my bike Thursday evening. Installation was fairly easy, though I haven't gotten the cadence sensor working yet. The instruction manual said that the cadence and wheel magnets have to be within 5mm of the sensor that sits on the chainstay. I have a feeling that I won't be able to get this correctly configured on my Air 9 because the shell width on the bottom bracket is 73mm instead of the standard 68mm, which places the crank further away from the frame, and also the chainstays are not completely round, which makes adjustment of the sensor difficult. So for now, until I figure out if there is a workaround, I'm going to put the wheel and cadence kit on my singlespeed for road rides.

Using the Edge is super easy. After a few setup screens, starting your recorded route was simple as pressing the start/stop button. And though I didn't get the cadence sensor working, the wireless heart rate sensor connected instantly and worked like a charm.

The Garmin package came with Garmin Training Center software, which can track your routes and workouts and stuff like that. Screenshot to the right.

But I was more attracted to Garmin Connect, a free online tool that lets you upload and track all your GPS data. Seeing my route on Google Maps was wicked cool, and it even let me export a KML file for viewing in Google Earth. I haven't really explored all the different services for mapping your GPS data, but these free ones seem like a good start.