Its true. I spent the first month of the year riding over 300 miles on a fixed gear bicycle. It was a splendid adventure, but I took time away from the woman I love.
The 12 hour was coming up and although I wanted to unleash the Fury that is Fixed on the Vortex, I also wanted to get the Warriors Princess bike out of Layaway and get her started into the pleasure that is 29er.
So the options were clear and present. Pay $50 bucks or so to race, plus gas, plus nutrition; OR pay off the 29er and give my wife a gift that keeps on giving. I think the choice is obvious, I got W.P. Rolling!
Friday Night I was driving home with haste, eager to get to the shop to pick up the new ride, then take it home and "fit" it to the bird. On my way to the house I get a text from the "P" saying that she was on the heading home. I didn't quite get it cause she was supposed to work till 8 or 9 pm, but regardless I was stoked. Now I could spend even more time with her and she could be a part of the process.
Got home, got saddled up, took the kids where they wanted to go and we hit the road heading towards the Bikeworks North store to pick up her new ride. Got the bike, took it out and let her take it for a spin. The ear to ear grin and exuberant laughter clearly indicated she had found the love for the 29 inches that I was giving to her(insert innuendo filled joke here).
After some saddle adjustments, a stem swap and brake adjustments the conversation quickly turned to my fixie. Broadus recommended shorter cranks.
"Shorter Cranks?", "Whats the Point?", "I am loving my climbing power and I dont want to lose any of it..."
Broadus explained that with a regular bike, leverage does aid in power, But since a Fixie's pedal stroke is all power, the shorter the distance to turn the cranks, the more power you get.
I was sold. That night we had a good dinner, went home. We got up & packed up early to meet Mucaro and Lima at the Travel Country Outdoor center for their annual chaos sale. Its extremely interesting how you can sense energy in the air. As we entered the store, the porch area was caught up in a state of pandemonium. We looked around to see if we could spot the pair, but we didnt, so we started browsing. That store is a bikepackers wet dream. I found some Titanium cookware, expected; and then we saw the five finger sandals that we had heard so much about, impulse.
Five Finger sandals are the same as toe socks in a wearable hard soled shoe. The philosophy behind this is to stimulate the bottom of your feet better which in turn gives you more total and overall physical health. Well, we bought a pair, only to discover hours later that they were not very comfortable. Felt like a razor was going to cut the webbing between my toes. Anyhow after a short test, we both agreed they had to go back and we needed a refund. So much for that as we were both very excited about the possible health benefits.
Regardless, part of the mission was to hit the Infamous Salvador Dali' museum in St. Petersburg Florida. I have been wanting to check it out ever since I knew it existed and the "P" had the same desire and intentions. I had never really been to an art museum but it turned out to be a very good experience. Without getting too deep into it, let's sum it up by saying that Dali' was clearly a Genius and a man way ahead of his time, If you are a person who appreciates Art, then you must go check this place out.
After, some R & R at the Mucaro house we headed out to have a good Thai Dinner. I wanted spicy food, and Thai tends to satisfy that craving. I wanted the hottest dish out there, and although it was delicious a definete 10 in quality taste and performance, it was not as spicy as I wanted. I have a habit of trying to score free desert and restaurants and I have a pretty good record in terms of attempts and success, and this night turned out to be another score as we got free desert. I will definetely go back to this place considering it did have some of the best Thai food I have ever had the pleasure of eating.
The evening was spent, wrenching on the bikes, installing shorter cranks, fitting the birds bike and talking and drinking. I really want to thank Mucaro and Lima for their hospitality, love them two people a whole bunch and I am thankful and happy to call them my friends.
The next day we had IHOP for breakfast and hit the dog park to watch the social and cultural interactions of the pack mentality. It was cool, we said our goodbyes, drove to Travel country, got our money back and then made it home to wrench and relax for the evening.
Overall a good weekend, and I rode exactly zero miles. Thats ok though. The number one mistake both seasoned and rookie riders make is ride WAY TOO MUCH. Resting is just as important as hammering when it comes to becoming an overall total and complete Athlete.
Enjoy,
Laters,
LOS
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
ThE FiXeD GeAr Of FuRy ChRoNiCLeS EpIsOdE FoUr: CrOOm
Croom almost didn't happen.
I got up late 615am to be exact and I live 120 something miles away from the place.
I didn't roll out with much haste. I knew that I would have time to get there and do the ride, and knew that I would most likely have to do it alone. I was mentally prepared.
I rolled in, parked, got ready and found Mike(blond afro) there hanging out. We had some good conversation and then Harvey rolled up. We chatted some more, got ready and headed out.
That first section of trail coming down Tucker Hill is fun. Real fun and real fast and takes a lot of control on the fixie. It didnt seem to slow me down any as we quickly caught up to a pit stopped Harvey and flew by him. He made the gap back fast and asked if we wanted to visit Skip.
Not being sure of exactly what he was talking about, we agreed and stopped at his Trail Side memorial. We looked at the pics and heard Harvey tell us more about who he was. We waited for Mike Nuccio to show up and then all rolled out again together.
I did my best to keep pace with Harvey, and I was doing fine, BUT, a fixie is not a bike where you wanna keep pace, its a bike where you wanna set pace. So I backed off, and eventually Mike came around, and that is the last I saw of Mike for the rest of the day. I Eventually passed Harvey while he was pit stopped at a rest stop and he half scared the crap out of me when he came up behind me again. That turned out to be the last time I saw Harvey, but Mike, I rode with for alittle bit before he missed a turn.
My pace was Fast on this ride, but without effort. I was not trying to go fast, I was just going. But when your constantly pedaling, you make good time. I stopped ate some of the food at the stops, they had good pastries and meatballs and fruits and cheese, all stuff that I like to eat. I stopped at the top of the big sugar mound and sat there reflecting and listening to the wind. The Fixie has definetely made me stronger after 300 miles of riding it. It has also, leaned out my legs and ass a little. Seems none of my bike shorts, except for my bibs, fit like they used too. O well.
First I want to stake my claim as the first person to do all the recreational early year fifties on a fixed gear bike. It is my title and I carry it proudly. Second I want to take a moment to offer some reviews. Felasco had the best singletrack set up in all the years that I have ridden it, simply a joy to ride. Ididaride, was the most fun I have had this year since I have ever done it. And Croom had a down home feel and the best food out of all of the rides. BTW, I judge the food options on how Primal the food selection is. For after dinner, Croom had pulled beef, pulled pork and beans, perfect recovery foods for a primal athlete like myself.
I had a blast this year, and I want to thank again all the people who helped make this Fixed Gear of Fury series a reality, Garry from Swamp, Sandpine, My new friend Steve and Broadus Bunch.
As always last but not least, big shout out to the Warrior Princess, cause without her sacrificing the time she could be spending with me, I would not be able to go out and unleash my fixed gear of fury.
Enjoy,
Laters,
LOS
I got up late 615am to be exact and I live 120 something miles away from the place.
I didn't roll out with much haste. I knew that I would have time to get there and do the ride, and knew that I would most likely have to do it alone. I was mentally prepared.
I rolled in, parked, got ready and found Mike(blond afro) there hanging out. We had some good conversation and then Harvey rolled up. We chatted some more, got ready and headed out.
That first section of trail coming down Tucker Hill is fun. Real fun and real fast and takes a lot of control on the fixie. It didnt seem to slow me down any as we quickly caught up to a pit stopped Harvey and flew by him. He made the gap back fast and asked if we wanted to visit Skip.
Not being sure of exactly what he was talking about, we agreed and stopped at his Trail Side memorial. We looked at the pics and heard Harvey tell us more about who he was. We waited for Mike Nuccio to show up and then all rolled out again together.
I did my best to keep pace with Harvey, and I was doing fine, BUT, a fixie is not a bike where you wanna keep pace, its a bike where you wanna set pace. So I backed off, and eventually Mike came around, and that is the last I saw of Mike for the rest of the day. I Eventually passed Harvey while he was pit stopped at a rest stop and he half scared the crap out of me when he came up behind me again. That turned out to be the last time I saw Harvey, but Mike, I rode with for alittle bit before he missed a turn.
My pace was Fast on this ride, but without effort. I was not trying to go fast, I was just going. But when your constantly pedaling, you make good time. I stopped ate some of the food at the stops, they had good pastries and meatballs and fruits and cheese, all stuff that I like to eat. I stopped at the top of the big sugar mound and sat there reflecting and listening to the wind. The Fixie has definetely made me stronger after 300 miles of riding it. It has also, leaned out my legs and ass a little. Seems none of my bike shorts, except for my bibs, fit like they used too. O well.
First I want to stake my claim as the first person to do all the recreational early year fifties on a fixed gear bike. It is my title and I carry it proudly. Second I want to take a moment to offer some reviews. Felasco had the best singletrack set up in all the years that I have ridden it, simply a joy to ride. Ididaride, was the most fun I have had this year since I have ever done it. And Croom had a down home feel and the best food out of all of the rides. BTW, I judge the food options on how Primal the food selection is. For after dinner, Croom had pulled beef, pulled pork and beans, perfect recovery foods for a primal athlete like myself.
I had a blast this year, and I want to thank again all the people who helped make this Fixed Gear of Fury series a reality, Garry from Swamp, Sandpine, My new friend Steve and Broadus Bunch.
As always last but not least, big shout out to the Warrior Princess, cause without her sacrificing the time she could be spending with me, I would not be able to go out and unleash my fixed gear of fury.
Enjoy,
Laters,
LOS
Friday, February 13, 2009
TwiLiGhT AdVeNTuRe: 26rs are 4 KiDs
Came home froggy from work, ready to leap. The boys ran out to meet me at my work truck. Love it when they do that.
Asked them if they wanted to ride to Acorn Lake.
They were IN. We got suited up and took off.
Riding to the actual lake is about a 3 mile ride through some backcountry dirt roads.
Man, they were Sandy, but the little troopers grinded it out and we made it to Acorn Lake threw rocks in the water and then rolled out.
I told them," lets get going, we got to watch out for the Jabberwockies". Kailan, My 9 year old, Responds, "What's a Jabberwocky?".
O' "just a Monster".
We were off and riding. I somehow talked them into taking the slight longer way home, and we pushed on. There was some hike a bikes, the sand was soft, but amazingly enough they rode through tons of stuff.
We didn't bring lights and it was pitch black, and both Kai and Gabe, were a little spooked. It made for a fun ride home.
We got back, finished strong and enjoyed the evening cooking burgers and reminiscing on our evening adventure.
I got some strong warriors on bicycles in my clan. They rode through soft sand that would make most grown men cry.
Check the vids, pretty funny!
Enjoy,
Laters,
LOS
Asked them if they wanted to ride to Acorn Lake.
They were IN. We got suited up and took off.
Riding to the actual lake is about a 3 mile ride through some backcountry dirt roads.
Man, they were Sandy, but the little troopers grinded it out and we made it to Acorn Lake threw rocks in the water and then rolled out.
I told them," lets get going, we got to watch out for the Jabberwockies". Kailan, My 9 year old, Responds, "What's a Jabberwocky?".
O' "just a Monster".
We were off and riding. I somehow talked them into taking the slight longer way home, and we pushed on. There was some hike a bikes, the sand was soft, but amazingly enough they rode through tons of stuff.
We didn't bring lights and it was pitch black, and both Kai and Gabe, were a little spooked. It made for a fun ride home.
We got back, finished strong and enjoyed the evening cooking burgers and reminiscing on our evening adventure.
I got some strong warriors on bicycles in my clan. They rode through soft sand that would make most grown men cry.
Check the vids, pretty funny!
Enjoy,
Laters,
LOS
OpErAtIoN FiXeD MaMaSiTa: UpDaTe part 2
It all hangs in the balance.
Rims in.
Spokes in.
HUB NOT IN.
C'mon Hub.
I got today and thats it.
Laters,
Enjoy,
LOS
Rims in.
Spokes in.
HUB NOT IN.
C'mon Hub.
I got today and thats it.
Laters,
Enjoy,
LOS
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
OpErAtIoN FiXeD MaMaSiTa: UpDaTe
Just got off the phone with Broadus, the wheel maker mechanic extraordinaire. We are lined up for a friday afternoon build.
The War Machine will be stripped down to a frame.
The Mamasita will be stripped of its gears components and built up into a fixed gear MONSTER.
Stay tuned for updates and pics.
This should be Good!!
Enjoy,
Laters,
LOS
The War Machine will be stripped down to a frame.
The Mamasita will be stripped of its gears components and built up into a fixed gear MONSTER.
Stay tuned for updates and pics.
This should be Good!!
Enjoy,
Laters,
LOS
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
VeRy InTeReStInG.....NOT!
I looked at the Calendar this Sunday. After I had abandoned yet another opportunity to go ride, and checked the date and it was no lie, the 12 hours of Vortex is 2 weeks away.
I feel outta shape, even though last weekend I had a stellar ride at the Ididaride, I still feel out of shape.
So that pretty much summed up what needed to be done. I need some saddle time. I need time to just go out and ride, day in and day out. I have no coach, and no real training program, I just try and get as much time on the bike as I can, and ride hard when I want too and go easy when I want too, I am the epitome of a 'perceived effort' type of rider.
I got everything set, grabbed all I needed and packed the bike into the work truck. I always dissect my commuting. I drive to work, leave the truck, then ride home, then ride back the next day, and then rinse and repeat till I get tired.
Well, I let my class go early, mainly so I could ride home in the sunlight. Was not too psyched about an evening ride. As I am riding home, I first stop at the auto store, then I stop at Natural Food store, and then I try to stop at the park and hang, but I didn't like the "scene", so I kept rolling.
One down side to using your phone as your music player is that a incoming text completely interrupts your listening experience. So I get a text, I have to stop, then roll 5 feet and get another, then roll 1/4 mile and get another. And I cant just ignore it, cause until I clear it, I cant continue the tunes. So I stop for my last time and look down and low and behold what do I find, a gold ring! Could possibly be diamonds in it, at the very least its cubic zirconium.
I pocket it, keep rolling, to get a flat not even 1/4 mile later. I tell myself, no big deal, this is party of cycling. I walk a little ways off the bridge I was on, pull out my tube to repair it, to discover that its a 29er tube and not a tube small enough to fit in this tiny road tire I got on my cross bike.
SO, I sit for a minute, stewing in my own lack of forethought. I formulate a plan to walk to ace hardware about 2 miles away. Grab a patch kit, and then ride home.
I walk, I make it, I patch the tire, I pump it up, I get rolling. Get 5 more miles down the road, when I have a Nascarish experience and the tire explodes.
SUCKS....
I start walking. I hate to get picked up, so at this point I have resolved to walk the remaining 6 miles home. Just so happens a Tech that I trained recently lived nearby and called and came and picked me up and spared me the walk. Embarrassing to say the least, but not so Embarrassing that I didn't publish it to the entire world wide web.
Get home and immediately rip the tires off the bike, I get Kailan and Gabriel involved, their in the garage with me, helping me wrench the bike, it was actually a very touching and bonding moment to all be working on the bike together.
I get my Armadillo's on the bike, I get it all pumped up, adjust the brakes, and lace it with lights for the 5am roll out to ride to work.
This morning I get up and ride my ride to work, and really enjoyed myself. It was so nice to just be out there pedaling. It sure felt like a long trip this morning but I also spent the whole time in deep thought.
My deep thoughts were centered around how lazy people are for coasting. How inefficient my pedal stroke feels on this geared freewheel contraption and How I wish I had a Fixed Road bike for commuting.
Needless to say, I spent the rest of the day pondering my options.
I dont want to take apart my cross, cause its good to have a geared cross in your quiver. Now that I got two wheelsets for it, I can easily take it out for road riding, or throw my fatties on there and do a dirty tour, or go ride the indian, or go single tracking. Its basically the perfect all around back up do anything machine.
So the only other option would be to buy a fixed gear bike or buy a single speed road bike and make it fixed. I am looking carefully at those options. Since I am a member of a team that has Grassroots sponsorship from specialized I could certainly get a good deal on a complete build, and tax money is just around the corner.
BUT, I have a strict, I will not own more than three bike rule. Decisions, decisions.
On top of this obsessinng on a fixed gear road bike, I got Operation Fixed Mamasita on the Horizon and then Initial "New sponsorship to be yet announced Frame bike coming for my pre GDR build complete with a special I am planning to climb 250,000 feet gear ratio" bike.
Just another sign that Spring is right around the corner folks as the creation drive in me is going overdrive. Seriously I cant stop thinking about this crap. I need help, a sedative, something.
Awful.
Anyhow.
Enjoy,
Laters,
LOS
I feel outta shape, even though last weekend I had a stellar ride at the Ididaride, I still feel out of shape.
So that pretty much summed up what needed to be done. I need some saddle time. I need time to just go out and ride, day in and day out. I have no coach, and no real training program, I just try and get as much time on the bike as I can, and ride hard when I want too and go easy when I want too, I am the epitome of a 'perceived effort' type of rider.
I got everything set, grabbed all I needed and packed the bike into the work truck. I always dissect my commuting. I drive to work, leave the truck, then ride home, then ride back the next day, and then rinse and repeat till I get tired.
Well, I let my class go early, mainly so I could ride home in the sunlight. Was not too psyched about an evening ride. As I am riding home, I first stop at the auto store, then I stop at Natural Food store, and then I try to stop at the park and hang, but I didn't like the "scene", so I kept rolling.
One down side to using your phone as your music player is that a incoming text completely interrupts your listening experience. So I get a text, I have to stop, then roll 5 feet and get another, then roll 1/4 mile and get another. And I cant just ignore it, cause until I clear it, I cant continue the tunes. So I stop for my last time and look down and low and behold what do I find, a gold ring! Could possibly be diamonds in it, at the very least its cubic zirconium.
I pocket it, keep rolling, to get a flat not even 1/4 mile later. I tell myself, no big deal, this is party of cycling. I walk a little ways off the bridge I was on, pull out my tube to repair it, to discover that its a 29er tube and not a tube small enough to fit in this tiny road tire I got on my cross bike.
SO, I sit for a minute, stewing in my own lack of forethought. I formulate a plan to walk to ace hardware about 2 miles away. Grab a patch kit, and then ride home.
I walk, I make it, I patch the tire, I pump it up, I get rolling. Get 5 more miles down the road, when I have a Nascarish experience and the tire explodes.
SUCKS....
I start walking. I hate to get picked up, so at this point I have resolved to walk the remaining 6 miles home. Just so happens a Tech that I trained recently lived nearby and called and came and picked me up and spared me the walk. Embarrassing to say the least, but not so Embarrassing that I didn't publish it to the entire world wide web.
Get home and immediately rip the tires off the bike, I get Kailan and Gabriel involved, their in the garage with me, helping me wrench the bike, it was actually a very touching and bonding moment to all be working on the bike together.
I get my Armadillo's on the bike, I get it all pumped up, adjust the brakes, and lace it with lights for the 5am roll out to ride to work.
This morning I get up and ride my ride to work, and really enjoyed myself. It was so nice to just be out there pedaling. It sure felt like a long trip this morning but I also spent the whole time in deep thought.
My deep thoughts were centered around how lazy people are for coasting. How inefficient my pedal stroke feels on this geared freewheel contraption and How I wish I had a Fixed Road bike for commuting.
Needless to say, I spent the rest of the day pondering my options.
I dont want to take apart my cross, cause its good to have a geared cross in your quiver. Now that I got two wheelsets for it, I can easily take it out for road riding, or throw my fatties on there and do a dirty tour, or go ride the indian, or go single tracking. Its basically the perfect all around back up do anything machine.
So the only other option would be to buy a fixed gear bike or buy a single speed road bike and make it fixed. I am looking carefully at those options. Since I am a member of a team that has Grassroots sponsorship from specialized I could certainly get a good deal on a complete build, and tax money is just around the corner.
BUT, I have a strict, I will not own more than three bike rule. Decisions, decisions.
On top of this obsessinng on a fixed gear road bike, I got Operation Fixed Mamasita on the Horizon and then Initial "New sponsorship to be yet announced Frame bike coming for my pre GDR build complete with a special I am planning to climb 250,000 feet gear ratio" bike.
Just another sign that Spring is right around the corner folks as the creation drive in me is going overdrive. Seriously I cant stop thinking about this crap. I need help, a sedative, something.
Awful.
Anyhow.
Enjoy,
Laters,
LOS
Saturday, February 07, 2009
OsPrEy DeUcE DeUcE: FieLd TeSt GrOcErY GeTTeR
All week, The War Machine was peeking at me with a loosened chain from my barbaric efforts at the Ididaride. All sloppy it was hanging knowing I had to tigthen that chain before I could ride again.
I got up this Saturday and knocked it out, the slightest microadjustment is all it took to return the chain to the appropriate tension. W.P. and Lil NI were both still in bed, Chubby Brown was at his Biological fathers house and Kai Tai was with Grandman. I figured I just fixed the chain, why dont I take this Machine of Fixed Fury for a spin down to the store, pick up some food, and surprise the clan with breakfast.
Since my weekends Bikepacking voyage had to be postponed I was anxious to test my new bag. I am trying to find more room in packs, without spending too much money and at the same time saving weight. Seemed like the Osprey was the approrpriate bag to test.
I like my Ergon packs, but for the room I need for the Great Divide Race, I would have to spend 200 dollars. This pack was on sale for 70 bucks. SOLD.
So here I got a pack to test and a much needed trip to the store. So I went for it, picked up all the food I needed and packed it all neatly and comfortably in the Osprey pack. If I expect this sucker to assist me in covering the length of the Unitest States, it definetely needs to be able to get me to the store and back and still deliver tons of room.
Deliver it did. Check the pics!
Breakfast was excellent by the way!
Enjoy,
Laters,
LOS
PS: Im searching for an even better set of single speed cranks, Contact me if you got something.
I got up this Saturday and knocked it out, the slightest microadjustment is all it took to return the chain to the appropriate tension. W.P. and Lil NI were both still in bed, Chubby Brown was at his Biological fathers house and Kai Tai was with Grandman. I figured I just fixed the chain, why dont I take this Machine of Fixed Fury for a spin down to the store, pick up some food, and surprise the clan with breakfast.
Since my weekends Bikepacking voyage had to be postponed I was anxious to test my new bag. I am trying to find more room in packs, without spending too much money and at the same time saving weight. Seemed like the Osprey was the approrpriate bag to test.
I like my Ergon packs, but for the room I need for the Great Divide Race, I would have to spend 200 dollars. This pack was on sale for 70 bucks. SOLD.
So here I got a pack to test and a much needed trip to the store. So I went for it, picked up all the food I needed and packed it all neatly and comfortably in the Osprey pack. If I expect this sucker to assist me in covering the length of the Unitest States, it definetely needs to be able to get me to the store and back and still deliver tons of room.
Deliver it did. Check the pics!
Breakfast was excellent by the way!
Enjoy,
Laters,
LOS
PS: Im searching for an even better set of single speed cranks, Contact me if you got something.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
OpErATiOn FiXeD MaMaSiTa
Ok, I am in full obsession mode. I want to get 100 miles of pure off road fixed gear vortex love at the 12 hour on the 21st.
So this past weekend I went ahead and switched some bits and pieces around to get my War Machine Super light.
Now my obsessive behavior is kicking into overdrive and I want to have an ENO White Industries Flip Flopped Hub Stans Arch Rear wheel built; to turn the Black Beauty into the lightest most powerful Fixed weapon of mass destruction.
Can I make it happen? My main wheel builder extraordinaire Broadus seems to think so, My finances are the only obstacle.
I cant wait to see what happens. The Fixed Black wont be ready for Croom, but I most certainly believe that come the 12 hours of Vortex I will be on a sub 20lb fixed machine!
Enjoy,
Laters,
LOS
So this past weekend I went ahead and switched some bits and pieces around to get my War Machine Super light.
Now my obsessive behavior is kicking into overdrive and I want to have an ENO White Industries Flip Flopped Hub Stans Arch Rear wheel built; to turn the Black Beauty into the lightest most powerful Fixed weapon of mass destruction.
Can I make it happen? My main wheel builder extraordinaire Broadus seems to think so, My finances are the only obstacle.
I cant wait to see what happens. The Fixed Black wont be ready for Croom, but I most certainly believe that come the 12 hours of Vortex I will be on a sub 20lb fixed machine!
Enjoy,
Laters,
LOS
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
ChAChAChAChAnGeS!!
Its time for some.
Time to add and take away some things from my blog.
For starters over the years I have acquired sponsors, people who have for many years supported my efforts and adventures. I plan to not only have links but figure out how to put up logos that go with links, so that will be a mission in itself.
As well I have a list of Blogs I read. Now I plan to continue to read these blogs, but at the same token, I kinda shout them out on my blog and I look on theirs and I dont get the favor returned. I realize that in there blogoverse I may not exist, but Ignorance is no excuse. Once the changes are made the only blogs I will offer free advertisement for are the ones that do the same for me. Bottom line you may see some links disappear and you may see some new links appear. As well if your out there and you do link to my blog, shoot me an email and NakedIndian99 at aol dot com and I will link you up. OR, link me up and stay on my list.
I would add gadgets, but I dont like them, and I would love to see my follower list increase, but I dont show it off anyhow. And for goodness sakes people how bout some comments from time to time, like hey nice job, or hey this post sucked, I dont care, let me know your out there.
That is all,
Enjoy,
Laters,
LOS
PS: I got some interesting news coming and some more daily posting going on for the next couple of days so keep checking back.
Time to add and take away some things from my blog.
For starters over the years I have acquired sponsors, people who have for many years supported my efforts and adventures. I plan to not only have links but figure out how to put up logos that go with links, so that will be a mission in itself.
As well I have a list of Blogs I read. Now I plan to continue to read these blogs, but at the same token, I kinda shout them out on my blog and I look on theirs and I dont get the favor returned. I realize that in there blogoverse I may not exist, but Ignorance is no excuse. Once the changes are made the only blogs I will offer free advertisement for are the ones that do the same for me. Bottom line you may see some links disappear and you may see some new links appear. As well if your out there and you do link to my blog, shoot me an email and NakedIndian99 at aol dot com and I will link you up. OR, link me up and stay on my list.
I would add gadgets, but I dont like them, and I would love to see my follower list increase, but I dont show it off anyhow. And for goodness sakes people how bout some comments from time to time, like hey nice job, or hey this post sucked, I dont care, let me know your out there.
That is all,
Enjoy,
Laters,
LOS
PS: I got some interesting news coming and some more daily posting going on for the next couple of days so keep checking back.
Monday, February 02, 2009
SoMe PiX aNd MuSiNgS FrOm tHe IdiDaRidE
Q, MT and Tread29 kept me entertained in the morning. Even though they abandoned me and started the ride without me, I still managed to return the favor and reel them back in. Why must we do this every ride!!
This shot was from EARLY Saturday Morning when the temperature was at its coldest. It didnt matter much to me, I was ignoring the cold and showing everyone just how the Naked Indian does it! 
We had Breakfast at this little joint across the street. I really found the sayings on the license plates amusing and decided I needed to share it with the world.
Hilarious, I have honestly never seen any African American Men riding Horses. Not only where they riding, but they were in full trot and the horses were not even spooked by the car at all.Musings from the ride:
I kept wishing I could ride fixed gear all the time, its a trip, mentally and physically to go back and forth.
At one point, I had just decided to keep riding straight through. Usually I bring my own food, but this time I just plain forgot and had to shop at the convenience store. The Almonds I ate, did me well, the planters trail mix with milk chocolate, not so much. I had a hard 4 miles after I ate that, but once my body got balanced I was good. I prolly consumed about 500 calories for the entire ride, but I felt fine and I rode what I thought was incredibly fast.
O future reference, LMAO, if someone helps you fix their chain, you should prolly wait for them and roll together at least for a minute. I helped the lady with her chain and looked up and she was GONE...
As well it was nice to meet some of the people who look and or read my blog. It never gets old to meet new people who read and continue to read my blog. If ever you see me out, dont be afraid to say hi. Sorry if I came off like a douche, the headphones made it very hard for me to hear.
thats it,
Enjoy,
Laters,
LOS
Sunday, February 01, 2009
ThE FiXeD GeAr Of FuRy ChRoNicLeS: EpiSoDe TwO ThE IdiDaRiDe
Before I bore You with anothet long diatribe on my recent tide I wanted to take a minute to mention some of my notable observations regarding my fixed gear experiences.
1. Although a fixed gear is just one fixed gear, I truly believe there is no stronger climbing gear. Both rides I climbed by riders who either didnt have the legs or the "right" gearie combo to make the climb. Because the gear has no dead spots when you get up on that gear There is nothing but power being delivered to those pedals.
2. For those of you seeking a more soulful and spiritual connection with your machine, the fixed gear gets you there. You have so much power and control over the bike its truly an uncanny mechanical conglomeration of man and machine that cannot be achieved on a plain single speed or a geared bike.
ok on to the story....
After my last dirty tour which I did on my geared bike, I spent the last two weeks caught up in life. No riding, I noticed that I spent the first couple of weekends of the year riding epics. Last weekend I relaxed and this past Saturday was my first time back on the bike in two weeks and a day.
As everyone knows the entire future of the fixed gear of fury chronicles was hanging in the balance since I didnt have a ticket. Well a ticket showed up but I was short on the money. Garry from Swamp club offered to help me out and sure enough with only days left I had officially made the ride.
A schedule was developing. I had the Ididaride coming up, then next weekend another dirty tour this time fixed, and then Croom and finally the 12 hour all fixed gear challenges. So I thought why not do all I can to lighten the War Machine.
I already had to take the fork off cause I sold my Reba. I was gonna get some new brakes from my new sponsor Avid, so I decided to take off the powerful front brake off my Black Beauty to move it over to my SS. Wow taking off that front brake was almost impossible. I had to cut my ergon grip to get it off. Apparently all that ultra endurance riding turns into lots of sweating turns into calcified salty bonded grips to the bars. Never seen anything like it.
After some effort and help from my Lovely wife, I had the war machine outfitted with a huge front hydraulic and an XTR Stans wheelset. The bike was noticeably lighter and I was excited about the challenge.
Met up with my new friend Steve in Gainesville, thanks to Robert B I was able to park at his house and make the last leg of the trip with My new friend Steve. I met Matt and we got loaded up and Rolled out. Everything went smooth and it wasnt long before we were at the KOA sitting around the fire eating food and talking. After some good times and a couple of beers we headed back to the hotel to get some rest.
We all knew that the morning was going to be cold. But I knew that it was going to warm up fast so in true warrior fashion I was out there shirtless. I enjoyed seeing the looks on peoples faces and I get a kick out of how bundled up they get, you would think they were in the frozen tundras of the artic circle. Seriously people were wearing Backlavas, c mon people its Florida.
In typical fashion they sent the group off and Im stuck looking around for everyone. I wait a couple of minutes and decide to roll out. Not even five minutes up the road I see a lady walking, I ask her whats wrong and she mentions that she broke her chain. I stop unload my Carousel Design Works custom rear pack and break out my tools and quick link and get her rolling again. I pack up start rolling feeling the dead legs and occassional kick in the ass when I would momentarily forget that I was fixed.
Got into the woods and stopped to assist another group. Decided since I was riding alone to break out the headphones, then had to stop again to tape them in my ears cause they kept slipping out.
Finally I start catching people, we hit town, hit the woods and finally single track, only to get stuck behind the slowest single track train ever. This happened several times in the day and in an effort to not appear to be some speed racing jerk I would wait for a mistake and make a move.
I eventually started seeing familiar faces, caught a couple of people. Rode some awesome terrain, rode some techy fresh cut, i was having fun. At lunch I must of caught up to the front of the group cause I was no longer just passing people I was experiencing a little pass you and you pass me type stuff.
I stayed steady, barely ate, bonked a little from the insulin spike induced by some milk chocolate but I stayed busy and it wasnt long beforee I was rolling through rest stop four. I kept hauling butt hit the gravel leading to the last road section and saw a rider ahead.
I decided, secretly, that I was gonna beat him to the end. I got into a roadie tuck and kept the speed quick. We hit the last downhill and he flies by me mashing his hardest gear combo. I put my feet up on the fork knowing that the last section was an uphill and if he went into it in that combo I would eat him alive on the final climb, and that is exactly what happened. I sprinted up the climb and sat down only when I was sure he could not close the gap.
The ride ended and I was ecstatic. Sat in front of the place chatted and met new people. Drank a couple of beers and had a good ole time. Talked to the guy I out sprinted turns out he wanted to beat me across the line just as bad as I wanted it, lol, its funny how riders think.
The after social and dinner were great. The fireside chat and beer and company and everything was spectacular. This indeed was the best Idiaride out of all the Ididarides I have done.
Thanks to my new friend Steve and Garry, you guys helped me immensly and I will not forget.
Cant wait to unleash the fixed gear on Croom!
Enjoy,
Laters,
LOS
1. Although a fixed gear is just one fixed gear, I truly believe there is no stronger climbing gear. Both rides I climbed by riders who either didnt have the legs or the "right" gearie combo to make the climb. Because the gear has no dead spots when you get up on that gear There is nothing but power being delivered to those pedals.
2. For those of you seeking a more soulful and spiritual connection with your machine, the fixed gear gets you there. You have so much power and control over the bike its truly an uncanny mechanical conglomeration of man and machine that cannot be achieved on a plain single speed or a geared bike.
ok on to the story....
After my last dirty tour which I did on my geared bike, I spent the last two weeks caught up in life. No riding, I noticed that I spent the first couple of weekends of the year riding epics. Last weekend I relaxed and this past Saturday was my first time back on the bike in two weeks and a day.
As everyone knows the entire future of the fixed gear of fury chronicles was hanging in the balance since I didnt have a ticket. Well a ticket showed up but I was short on the money. Garry from Swamp club offered to help me out and sure enough with only days left I had officially made the ride.
A schedule was developing. I had the Ididaride coming up, then next weekend another dirty tour this time fixed, and then Croom and finally the 12 hour all fixed gear challenges. So I thought why not do all I can to lighten the War Machine.
I already had to take the fork off cause I sold my Reba. I was gonna get some new brakes from my new sponsor Avid, so I decided to take off the powerful front brake off my Black Beauty to move it over to my SS. Wow taking off that front brake was almost impossible. I had to cut my ergon grip to get it off. Apparently all that ultra endurance riding turns into lots of sweating turns into calcified salty bonded grips to the bars. Never seen anything like it.
After some effort and help from my Lovely wife, I had the war machine outfitted with a huge front hydraulic and an XTR Stans wheelset. The bike was noticeably lighter and I was excited about the challenge.
Met up with my new friend Steve in Gainesville, thanks to Robert B I was able to park at his house and make the last leg of the trip with My new friend Steve. I met Matt and we got loaded up and Rolled out. Everything went smooth and it wasnt long before we were at the KOA sitting around the fire eating food and talking. After some good times and a couple of beers we headed back to the hotel to get some rest.
We all knew that the morning was going to be cold. But I knew that it was going to warm up fast so in true warrior fashion I was out there shirtless. I enjoyed seeing the looks on peoples faces and I get a kick out of how bundled up they get, you would think they were in the frozen tundras of the artic circle. Seriously people were wearing Backlavas, c mon people its Florida.
In typical fashion they sent the group off and Im stuck looking around for everyone. I wait a couple of minutes and decide to roll out. Not even five minutes up the road I see a lady walking, I ask her whats wrong and she mentions that she broke her chain. I stop unload my Carousel Design Works custom rear pack and break out my tools and quick link and get her rolling again. I pack up start rolling feeling the dead legs and occassional kick in the ass when I would momentarily forget that I was fixed.
Got into the woods and stopped to assist another group. Decided since I was riding alone to break out the headphones, then had to stop again to tape them in my ears cause they kept slipping out.
Finally I start catching people, we hit town, hit the woods and finally single track, only to get stuck behind the slowest single track train ever. This happened several times in the day and in an effort to not appear to be some speed racing jerk I would wait for a mistake and make a move.
I eventually started seeing familiar faces, caught a couple of people. Rode some awesome terrain, rode some techy fresh cut, i was having fun. At lunch I must of caught up to the front of the group cause I was no longer just passing people I was experiencing a little pass you and you pass me type stuff.
I stayed steady, barely ate, bonked a little from the insulin spike induced by some milk chocolate but I stayed busy and it wasnt long beforee I was rolling through rest stop four. I kept hauling butt hit the gravel leading to the last road section and saw a rider ahead.
I decided, secretly, that I was gonna beat him to the end. I got into a roadie tuck and kept the speed quick. We hit the last downhill and he flies by me mashing his hardest gear combo. I put my feet up on the fork knowing that the last section was an uphill and if he went into it in that combo I would eat him alive on the final climb, and that is exactly what happened. I sprinted up the climb and sat down only when I was sure he could not close the gap.
The ride ended and I was ecstatic. Sat in front of the place chatted and met new people. Drank a couple of beers and had a good ole time. Talked to the guy I out sprinted turns out he wanted to beat me across the line just as bad as I wanted it, lol, its funny how riders think.
The after social and dinner were great. The fireside chat and beer and company and everything was spectacular. This indeed was the best Idiaride out of all the Ididarides I have done.
Thanks to my new friend Steve and Garry, you guys helped me immensly and I will not forget.
Cant wait to unleash the fixed gear on Croom!
Enjoy,
Laters,
LOS
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