Where to start this post, a lot has been going on in my life but nothing all to exciting to anyone but me. I guess I'll try to narrow my topics to what I think a reader of this blog may find interesting, which will most likely turn out to be completely mundane and lame to even those closest to me.

Here I go.

The weekend turned into a total no-go on the riding front. Saturday was spent at the bike shop and then cooking dinner while enjoying a few brews. The weather was awesome, all together it wasn't a bad day. Sunday was supposed to be a killer loop with some friends and co-workers from the shop. I didn't sleep well the night before and woke feeling less than stellar so I pussed on the ride. It turned out to be a good decision. I took a good look at the state of my lawn and landscape and decided the day would be best spent on yard work. Most people hate yardwork, I love it. I worked as a landscaper for most of my career, sometime I miss the physical labor. I put in a solid 8+ hours of mowing, edging, raking, weed pulling, hedge trimming, burning limbs, tree trimming, mulching, etc. I was shelled by the end of the day, really worn out. I used to do this same work five days a week, week in and week out. Man, I am getting soft. I got tons of work done, however it is a bit discouraging to know that I could work like that every week and still have projects to do around the house. The backyard still resembles a jungle despite my best efforts.

One other exciting event this past week is my new road frame and fork. I got a killer deal on a blem from Specialized. The website read: A great condition, 95% of original condition, 09 Roubaix Pro frame, fork, and seatpost. The price was to good to pass up and I have been wanting to upgrade my road bike, as it is the only style of riding I have been doing lately. I was a little worried about the condition of the frame, the price was reduced but I was still spending a good bit of change for a frame. The frame arrived today with a huge hole poked through the side of the box, I got worried. I quickly unwrapped the frame for inspection, fearing the worst. To my surprise and relief the frame was in pristine condition, I couldn't tell that the frame had even been built up. The frame looked brand new. The guys at the shop that have been around for a while told me that when Specialized puts up a blem and says it is in near new condition, it really is in near new condition. It took me all of two hours to transfer parts from the Allez(LC's new frame) to the Roubaix. I did get to ride the 2.5 miles home from the shop, it felt super smooth. This is my first full carbon road bike and I could tell a difference. This bike is going to kick ass in rides of 4+ hrs. Going to try for a ride tomorrow, have to go by the bike shop to get all the hardware torqued to the correct specs.

Building Art

On my ride home from work heading to the bike shop I pass two buildings with cycling art. These buildings are about 40 feet from each other and now have nothing to do with cycling, one is a barber shop and the other is a woman's clothing store. I always wonder what they used to be, I assume that once upon a time they were both bike shops.

The barber shop. Specialized and Bianchi are listed.

The woman's boutique. My favorite of the two.

My Next Adventure

I've always wanted to do a multiple day trip on the road bike, bringing a bare minimum of clothes and supplies, staying in hotels along the way. I have the perfect opportunity coming in the last week in September. I originally asked off from work to attend Xterra Nationals, obviously the race is not going to happen for me. So, what do I do for that week? Working is out of the question, how about ride my bike? The guys I work with at Highroller are planning to be in Little Rock on Sat. the 26th of Sept. for the Big Dam Bridge 100. Perfect, I can spend a few days riding down to LR and join them for the century on Sat. I mapped out the route the other day and it doesn't look as bad as I thought it would. At just over 200 miles to the outer city limits of LR, I will do 60 miles the first two days, 80 for the final push into LR. The final 80 miles are incredibly flat, actually I was surprised at how little climbing there is on the entire route. See it here. No doubt it will be the hardest week of riding I have ever done, should be just about 340 miles for the week. That's a lot of miles for me. I'm excited about my new adventure. Many road miles to come in preperation.

I haven't been on my mountain bike in over two weeks, I just haven't had any motivation to get out in the woods amongst the poison ivy, ticks, and chiggers. Actually, I recently put my mountain bike up for sale, if you need a 17" Stumpy 29er I'm your man. The bike has been up for sale for almost a week and I haven't received one single response. The only reason I am selling is to fund a road bike project, I want a new frame(read carbon).

I had a great ride today. I met up with some friends at Highroller this morning at 830a. Last week it was only Chris and me, this week I was pleasantly surprised to have six other riders show for the ride. The pace was under control, punctuated by city limit sprints and a few rapid hill climbs. My legs felt really good, most likely due to having a low mileage week. The total time was 4hrs and a total distance of 60 miles. Overall a great day in the saddle, I can't wait to do it again.

Not Gonna Make It

A shift in focus for this year, looks like I will not be at Xterra Nationals. Kind of hard to qualify if you don't compete in a single Xterra event. Health problems and lack of monetary funds have kept me from lining up on the starting line. I'm a bit bummed, but next year will be better in the financial category and the health issues are under control. There are still several mountain bike races that are local and one tri just 30 minutes north of Fayetteville, I plan to compete in as many as I can.

The Fourth of July weekend was superb. My parents came up from LA and rented a cabin just outside of Jasper. Like I have said befoere, Newton County is by far my favorite place to visit in Arkansas. I managed to squeeze in a solid ride into the cabin, the route passes over two substantial climbs and is the hardest 35 mile ride i've ever done. The first climb starts about seven miles in, it climbs up steep for a 1/4 mile and then levels off for about a 1/2 mile. Next is a ball buster, not sure of the grade or length but I can assure you it is not comfortable and lasts for way to long. The climb is straight up, no switchbacks here just an out of the saddle, legs burning kick in the junk. The rest of the ride is not that bad, there is a climb out of Boxley Valley but it isn't as gruesome. However, the road does pitch quite steep just outside Low Gap, but it is the last climb into Jasper so getting to the top seems like such a reward.

Most training lately has been on the road bike. I have the parts to fix my mountain bike, but I haven't gotten around to actually fixing the problem. 100+ mile weeks on the road bike are the norm, not much running or swimming and about one mountain bike a week is how my training is going now. The next four weeks have much more time spent running and swimming. Come November I plan to be under the guidance of Trevor Glavin.

Pictures!

I Learn Something New Everyday

I took my busted derailleur into the shop today to get some insight on why this expensive piece of equipment broke. Jonathon, one of the full time mechanics, had a quick look at it and told me that this failure was a good thing. Turns out that the screw/bolt is replaceable, I had to take off a snap ring and the damaged part slid right out. I was lucky to find a replacement part at work for no charge. Working at a bike shop definitely has some privileges, not only do I get a price break on parts but also a lot of general bike knowledge is being bestowed upon me. I swear I learn something new everyday I work in that shop.
Just starting a new block of training to get ready for the Xterra in Jonesboro. Next couple of weeks will be spent on the road bike logging some longer rides. I still have a couple runs planned per week as well as 3 weight training sessions a week. After these two weeks I will start bike/run workouts with a focus on intensity. I'm excited and looking forward to the next 6 weeks.

That's Not Supposed To Happen...

All of this could have been avoided, but I wanted to sleep in this morning. It will end up costing me at least 70 bucks. Here's the story. My friends were getting together for a road ride this morning and in order to beat the heat, they were leaving from the bike shop at 830a. That is not early by any means but it meant that I would have to get up at my normal 6a wake up time. You see, Sunday is the only day of the week that I don't work, hence my only opportunity to catch some extra Z's. I relish my Sunday morning sleep in, I look forward to it. I got my friends text about the start time for the ride as my sister and I were getting ready to head down to Dickson st. for a couple of beers. After a couple of beers, I knew sleeping in Sunday morning was in order.
I woke up this morning to absolutely gorgeous weather at 830a. I knew my friends were going to have a killer ride given the down right nasty heat we have been expierencing lately. I was happy for them but I knew I had made the right descion for me. I got the dog out for a walk, a long one of about an hour. She was happy. Next up for the day was a movie, War Eagle. This movie was shot in NWA and I recognized several locations in the film, it was good. I recomend this film, go see it.
Now comes the ride. I decided to head out to Hobb's for a mountain bike ride. My plan was to put in three 9.5 mile loops at 80-90% race pace. Like I mentioned earlier the weather was brilliant. mid 80's and very low humidity. My first lap was great, lots of bikers out. I thought some guy was going to catch and pass me, but I lost him at the first climb and never saw him again. Pulled the first lap at 51 min. I stopped for about a minute for a gel and then it was off for the second lap. I was feeling great, the cool temps had me feeling extra strong. Then it happened. About a mile to finish the second lap, I felt something get sucked up by my back tire. I heard a slight rub so I stopped pedaling and was slowing to a stop. I guess I didn't come to a stop soon enough as I heard a very distinct snap. I slammed on the brakes, came to a stop, only to find my derailuer helplessly dangling off the hanger. What? The hanger is fine, the derailuer is not. That is not supposed to happen, right? The bolt coming from the d. was snapped, half was still in the hanger, the other half on the d. I thought the hanger was designed to break first, as a hanger is a lot less expensive to replace. Anyway, if I had just gone on the road ride, I would have saved some money. I made it to the road after about a half mile hike, I did the one legged scooter push/coast back to the car for the final mile. I was lucky the incident happened so close to the end of the trail, the silver lining I guess.

Upcoming Road Rides

I have a couple stellar road rides coming up next week, Thursday and Sunday around the Fourth of July weekend.

Here are the routes...

The long route for Sunday
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ar/fayetteville/884124598395679571


The ride in to Jasper
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ar/-fayetteville/103123958271418729

Should be an outstanding weekend