Thursday, October 14, 2004

My flatting technique is unstoppable

Well the first cross racing w/e is done and over with. And if this one is any indicator, it will be a long season indeed. I'd better get used to bike changes and changing tyres.

Good thing I got my single-speed in the pits. But I'd probably do a bit better if my other cross bike was there too. Yeah, I'll get right on that.

Quick recap-
Maggie-Moo's Barnyard Dash- Very hard ground, very bumpy, very fast, very slick gravel corners, two bales of hay to hurdle over. My race is on, then I'm on the saddle doing a superman after the haybales, so I'm off, then I'm back on, then a complete flat with about 2/3 of the lap to go. I think it had been going soft for a while. Get third behind my buddy from Alan whose name is Jed Snyder, and Phil Noble. It was good, I got lots of organic fruits after the race, got to see some old OH folks that I hadn't seen in over 10 years.

United Dairy Farmers UCI- Lots more people. More diversity in the course. Down right dusty in sections. Not really easy picking for UCI points, but not hopeless either. Betsy and I share one jersey.
Race is on and I'm off, but just for a moment, move up to the mid single
digits, then flat with 1/3 lap to go on the first lap. Grab the single-speed and off I'm going. Glad I have it, but boy is that front tyre sketchy. And the angles are great for my training, but a bit much for full on UCI racing.
And it's only got one gear!
So I fade to 17th I'm told, grab the fixed other bike and start my march back up
to somewhere. Each lap I grab another, until I'm up to 11th. The
little group of 8-9-10 is up a bit farther and I have three laps left.
Haven't been able to do the 20-20-20 thing, as it's been all out run down folks as I go. Making up ground, but my time is running out.
Close to the last lap and I start fading and making mistakes, and this is not the course to be making mistakes, lots of corners to keep one honest. Guy passes me back so now I'm in 12th again. Betsy shows her encouragement "Come on gunnar, you can get him!" to which I reply "He just got me." Opps. So that's where I end up. $63 for the effort, dusty everything, lots of Red Bull to load up on, more strange followers, and another dead tyre.

Betsy's race is better, cracking the legs of the womyn behind her, but a loose cleat keeps her from challenging the MI grrl for the win. Least she didn't flat, and she's didn't sweat too much or crash, so the jersey is in decent shape for my stint.

The bikes will be easy to clean, but the others still need to be put together.

Also get to check all my cross tyres. And boy do I have a few!
Thumbs will now be sore for a couple days to come.

Wednesday, October 06, 2004

off, on, off, on, ...?

Did your folks every bark at you for turning the light switch off and on, repeatedly?
Well that's what was going on yesterday. Only there wasn't no folks here.
My race is on!This is going to be great, everything's clicking, filing technique is working out awesome, so serious butt-kicking will be in order soon.

Oh crap.That didn't work out so hot (insert Sad Bazook noise). I got cables strewn all other this place, what a mess.
This road shoe to cross-killing-shoe conversion is going to be better than anyone else was able to do for the last 14 years!
My new modding techinique is definitely unstoppable now.
Well now I can see that it's going to need loads more fiddling and lots more spares.
I need more old crap!!Then I will be ready.

Holy crap, it's cold out. My feet are getting numb all ready, this isn't how it's supposed to be, I don't feel like doing much now, sniff, sniff.

And so on, ad nauseum.

___
Sent with fiendFoneVI

Friday, October 01, 2004

Convert lines crap.

So I had to change a setting so's I could more efficiently and properly have the hard and soft line-breaks converted from the email client to blog.
Just like that.
Gotta go back to filing, watching the spider that lives in the shell, and running after dairyDog.

My day couldn't be much better, it's the w/e and Betsy's coming down
soon
___
Sent with fiendFoneVI

My Filing Technique Sucks.

Alphabetical and by part-type are just not cutting it.
Whoever came up with that idea owes me the last day and a half of my life...
Until I come up with a new scheme the part, pieces, and boxes are just going to have to hang out on the basement floor and on top of old dead Clyde's dog house.

Once the proper filing technique is implemented winning can be certainly assured. There can be no doubt about this, it is fact.

Late last night my race was not feeling even close to being on, in fact it felt as if it was completely off.
But with renewed enthusiasm and mindful of the certainity to which a new filing technique will most certainly make, I feel my cross-killing-season is about to commence.
Let loose the onslaught!
___
Sent with fiendFoneVI

Thursday, September 30, 2004

Fergie's got too much race on.

And you didn't think it was possible.
Talked to the blockhead last night, he's either racing to beat all bejesus, or shipping out and recieving crates of gardening tools. He says his hoes are the sharpest!

But his knee is aching from no easy-living rides. Look for the smoke coming out of his ears at a race near you...

So the UCI has plans to change the face of Mountain Bike racing.
Ferg tells me that they are going to allow support and assistance for next years races.
So now there will be mechanics and pit people racing up and down the hills on little mini-bikes or SUV's, just because they can.
We'll just have to see how this floats over here in the States, cause we invented the darn things you know!
I for one, have no problem with riders helping out each other, be they teammates or not-
* At the 1992 24 Hours of Canaan, a young Kevin Simmons gave me a pump at the base of Brown's Mtn at 3am. Had he not, his team would have won and we would have not. But it's what we did back then, or down there, or something.
* In 1991/2/3 or somewhere there abouts, at Park City UT, Joey Irwin gave his teammate John Tomac his wheel after John flatted or broke yet another of those king-crappy Tioga disk wheels. I took note of this as I rode passed them switching everything, young Joey was supposed to be
the next Johnny T. but I think he was too hairy. Later in the day both were disqualified.
* In 1989/90 or sometime, Jan Wiejak was coming in for the win, at the National Champs in Mt. Snow VT, but he did a bike swap right before the finish line (to look good for his sponsors) and was DQed.
So how knows?

I know I'll huck my bike on someone if they get in my way!

Fergie also says that no one cares about the Mountain bike scene at the national and above level.
The publications are only listing 5 places for the races, which means that the same five mutants get all the press and everyone else is chewing on shoelaces trying to get money together for the next race.

But that doesn't matter cause Cross season is upon us and we mere mortals get transformed into Cross-Killing-racing-machines for the rest of the community to worship!
Then it's back to the day joerb.

"I'm tough as dirt, I'm mean as blood.
Where I blow out comes spiders, where I step a weed dies.
No smokes with diapers for Pete, King of All Detectives
Fall down on your knees, fall down and worship King Dick."

and what 'cha gonna do about it R y an?

My New Racing Technique is Nearly Unstoppable!

gunnar.
fiendracer.
dog.

training?

Training is for those that don't race enough.

Those that train often and with too much attention to detail will soon witness the power of my nearly unstoppable racing technique!
They will go home with their hands down to the knees.
Such is the power!

Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Time to move y'all!

Especially me.

Spending all night fiddling w/ computers when I should be tightening spikes and sharpening pedals.

Now out of my way, and check out my backside!