Time has new Pro Tour Team

Crazy, Sad, Interesting, Vivid and Long

Synthetic its Good

The car has been burning oil lately so I've spent some time looking into possible solutions.  It occurred to me that the viscosity of the Mobil 1 might be a good lube for the Pugsley. Based on what it was looking like in the freezing conditions I thought why not.  So far it's been great and it may even become the summer lube.  Bonus: It's only $6 for 32 ounces.  That will fill plenty of my empty Finish Line bottles.

Pay it Forward (or Backward)

I was in the drive through and I had just ordered my gourmet meal on the go and when I pulled forward to pay and pick up my food, the window worker said my food was paid for.  I said what?  The worker said the guy who just drove off paid for your meal.  Wow.  Thanks.  Did some Christmas shopping or maybe it was Holiday shopping.  I played the Microsoft Kinetic it was cool, no remotes, just a sensor that picks up your movement.  I ran track and field and after a few events I thought I was going to need a locker room to get showered and changed.  It's good to see these games are getting people up and moving.  Some random dude offered his all day  Nickolodeon ride pass upon his departure so Abby was able to get some rides in.

Snowmobile Trail Riding

4 days after 20 inches of snow.  Didn't know what to expect. The snow machines do a great job of packing the trail, but it was still soft.  I found out how important low pressure is to traction in this stuff.  I found out about half way in to the ride, probably around 1 hour and 15 minutes.  I guess I'm a slow learner or maybe just scared to run such low pressure since my mechanical mishap 2 weeks ago with the chain breaking.  Running from Fort Snelling to Cedar Ave in Eagan can make a person re-think any risky bike set-up and I chose to run on the safe side with tire pressure.  At the half way point of our out and back ride I lowered the pressure to what seemed soft but still firmer than most.  It made a world of difference only that I had cooked myself on the first part using tremendous effort to maintain forward momentum.  It was much easier on the way back with low pressure to keep the bike moving in the right direction and to pedal with a somewhat normal cadence, but I was cross-eyed and cooked.  One of the hardest rides I can think of in a long time.  Hard to believe that many years ago we were doing this ride weekly on 2 inch tires.

Chernobyl: Nothing to Do with Bikes

Found this to be an interesting read.  A girl who rides her motorcycle through Chernobyl documenting the destruction.  Kid of Speed: Chernobyl

Arizona has nothing on Mn riding

Cyclocross season is over, but bike season is not.  The Pugsley is a blast, in years past I've ridden 2" mountain bike tires on the snow covered trails.  The 2" tires on snow are a struggle not only because snow ridding requires a ton of effort, but it also requires a great deal of balance and finesse to keep moving forward with momentum. The 3.8" Larry's still require a bunch of force, but it's easier to keep balance and momentum.

The trails were in excellent shape prior to the 16 or so inches we just got.  The bike trail (road) from 101 was plowed with a truck up to 169 and then where the trail gets skinny someone had used a snowblower to keep it open to bike commuting.  It's going to be awhile before this is open again.

Red Barn Classic

Thanks for the photos Skinny Ski

Linda or was it Larry?

First time racing the new singlespeed.  I like it.  It is a bit different not having gears to bail you out when the going gets tough, but that just makes you work harder and ride smarter.  My singlespeed competition had some experience under their belt, I did not. I pulled a good couple of laps early in the race and was temporarily leading the singlespeed race.  Then Stresse passed me and then after another lap or two Alme came by.  Alme eventually won the singlespeed race and had a good overall finish.  I don't know if I lost speed over the duration or if they gained speed.  I'm thinking a combination of both.  I had fun and the bike works sweet. 

Cyclo Cross at Hudson YMCA

The Big Ring Flyers over in Hudson put on a great race.  The course was okay, but the event was great.  They had a nice venue with the YMCA providing showers and pool if needed.  Food was on the grill, a little hammer gel schwag, and music.  The course featured a lot of off camber sections and lots and lots of 180's.  The 180's are not my favorite since it involves a short acceleration with a rapid deceleration, so lots of hard braking and with my Brett Favre elbow acting up it puts the elbow through the ringer.  A couple of sections that were long where you could get up to speed and lots of bumpy terrain.  I had a decent start, in that I didn't go too hard and blow, but hard enough to have a good position to work from.  I should of dug a bit deeper to hold off Bell.  Fred and I had a rematch from last weeks Dakota Tech duking it out for the duration.  I held my speed til the end and Fred faded.  Next up is Saturday's race in Andy's crazy commune in St. Croix.

Cyclo Cross begins

Tuesday night series is a blast.  Good course, reasonable price.  I don't have cross fitness yet, but it'll come.  Some pictures from cycleture.