Cobb Job

There has been a eureka moment in my quest for the ideal pedal. After trying SPD style pedals, which i was happy with in every way but weight, i decided to give the beaters another go, somewhat by chance, as Andrew had just received some egg beater candy pedals back from warranty and was up for a trade. In years past, i had passed off the candy line as a 'rookie' pedal, for people who couldn't clip in easily. But after seeing Fuglsang win on them at worlds, and wanting a more stable pedal, i decided to give them a try.

I am very pleased so far. I modified my Lake race shoes with old grips to provide more stability against the Candy's platform and rode them indoors. Superb. Not only do the new pedals rival the SPD in tightness, but the pedal's stability is outstanding. The real test will be when the snow melts in 3-4 days (fingers crossed) and i can try them whilst mountain biking. They are tight to get into, but not super hard, and i can always trim them down a bit to loosen things a bit, but looking good so far. With my new found skills as a shoe modder, i may be riding the Look pedals, as they have a small platform that could be taken advantage of, but their weights have gone up a bit, i doubt the durability of a plastic pedal, and the egg beaters are lighter, have a bigger platform and outstanding customer service. These guys will most likely be the race day pedal of choice.


As for my shoes, some pictures of the MODZ

Talking a little about shoes last night made me think of how these Lake shoes are compared to my now gone SIDIs. Well, no shoe, bike or otherwise, fit like those Sidis. They breathed well, fit like a glove, and were pretty comfortable. The downsides were the soles were not stiff, the buckle broke (after 3 years) the lugs were hard and didn't offer much traction, and managed to rip off of the bottom frequently. The customer service was good when i could get ahold of them, and they sent me a used mismatch buckle when i called them, but it was free even though the shoes were old, and they sent me lugs for free!

The Lakes i bought because they were cheap for a carbon shoe, were custom put in your oven fut, and made of kangaroos. I always wanted a kangaroo. I had good luck with Lakes in the past, my first shoes were Lakes, and i simply outgrew them, and my winter shoes are Lake, and quite gnarly.

My first impression of the Lakes was how stiff they were. Way stiffer than any shoe i had ever tried, and i have tried some nice road shoes. They fit well, if not as well as the SIDIs, but not bad. They hug your heel if you mold them to do so (i did) and they are very light. The downside to the Lakes became apparent after the first few races on them. A few hike a bikes through rock gardens, and some bashing had ripped part of the tread loose, and scuffed up the fragile and oh so supple kangaroo uppers. Feeling bad that a kangaroo had died so that i could thrash it's skin on rocks over two weeks made me feel a bit guilty i must admit.

Taking the shoes to the local shoe guy, he glued the tread back on with super glue, and made everything right again for $12. Since then, the shoes have been good. The stock glue must have been of poor hold, and the scuffs on the leather are just cosmetic. No tears, and the Boa adjustment is so convenient.

If you can afford these or these, by all means get them. But spending a bit less on the Lakes is not a bad move. Just be prepared to go to the cobbler when the tread comes loose.

Nostalgia

Over the past week, which was a low hour week, i started thinking about how i got started in this sport, and my long term goals. Without writing my biography....

I never played sports in school. I played soccer when i was younger, but didn't really like it. At 13, i bought a bike from paper route money saved up for about 6 months. A GT Idrive 2.0. Yeah it was hot for the day. Started racing in the summer of 2001, and gained momentum from there.

Allegheny State Park circa spring 2001.

Gow school MTB race. They held this race in the fall on a nice little loop they have, and i always managed not to win, until the final year they had it. I had some nasty cold during this one, and came in second.

2003 was the year i started to race expert. I had never won overall in the sport class, but i wanted to ride further and get more for my money!



Team Park tool.


Tamarack was a popular race back in the day, the course offered little to no rest, and had plenty of everything. This particular race was in the fall, and local legend Pat Wallace kept the pace for me. It was 5 muddy laps that day, but he kept the speed down for me, and we finished 1,2 with 20 minutes on the next rider. it was soooo muddy, up that climb my back tire was spinning sitting down. My best result ever at that point, i was stoked.


Lake to Lake in June of that year was crazy for me. i had never been to a race with so many (1000) people. This is the race where i was recruited to park tool afterwards, as i placed 38th, above and beyond my expectations (still a sport class rider) and OK for a 15 year old.
Napoleon Dynamite-like pose before lake to lake 2003. They must have had high hopes for me with that number.

After a muddy-as-hell race.

Looking back at this all is nice, and it even cooler to know i like it now more than ever. My short term goal is really just to upgrade to pro class. Short term goals should be reasonable, and i think that is a reasonable goal. Long term goals can afford to be a bit more aggressive, and my long term goals include cracking the top 10 consistently at national races, getting a spot on a decent team, and racing the world cup circuit. By the end of my career, i would like to try UCI road racing, and place top 5 at a national style event.

There. I have laid it out. no excuses or cop outs now!

Good times ;)

City Lights.

Most people are either in bed at midnight, or out having a good time with friends. Friday night i did neither of those things, but i did go for a ride. The day had left me short on time between school and work, so i decided i would go for a ride after work. It was 15 out so i grabbed every piece of clothing i could find, put it on and fastened the blinky to the bike. It was going to be cold, and i lack sufficient headlighting for extended country rides. This left me to the city. Riding out of suburbia the landscape gradually changed from cape houses and trim front yards, to abandoned warehouses and subsidized housing. until i reached downtown buffalo. Stopped at the new canal/waterfront setup and took a look around. besides the hum of cars above me on the skyway it was very quiet.


Groovy Metro Rail.

I think this is the factory where those peaches they were singing about came from.



Ok, this deserves explanation. This was in the middle of two run down/abandoned houses in the city. It appears to be some sort of shrine measuring about 8 ft wide and deep, 20 ft tall, and is just standing by itself in an empty lot. It has a virgin Mary in it, and a mail slot?! The first time i took a picture of it, it turned out all ghostly. I think it was just condensation on the lens, but i had to post it up for you superstitious people out there. If anyone knows what this is, let me know please!



New Canal setup.




Other than that, things have been pretty good around here. Feeling good, trying to avoid getting sick, and getting anxious for mountain biking!



Went out for a road ride with Dan and Brian on Sunday, it was raining the whole time, and Dan took a spill on some black ice in a valley. He was a bit brush burned but ok, and Brian then went down shortly after unbeknownst to us. He was fine. On the was home i put in a good TT effort with a tailwind for part of the 8 mile ride back from Eden, smashed my FTP by 20 watts after 3 hours of riding, and got home in 18 minutes.


Now for some President's Day relaxation.





Later!

Blizzard, MTB riding

Couldn't bear riding inside today, so i went to the ridge for some mtb action. It was like riding on sand for two hours but wayyy better than riding inside anyway.



Between that, school, and work i have become an internet junkie. I justify it by telling myself "i'm staying off my feet."



Youtube provides insiration.

this guy makes the best guys look like cat 5s...


http://youtube.com/watch?v=A6DmNMGEuI0&feature=related


Pictures soon, i promise!

Climbing!

There was a break in the weather on saturday, Dan and i took full advantage of it. It was 40+ out. We rode about 55 miles in 4 hours, not going at any crazy pace mind you, but we went up every hill we could hit. By the time i reached my door, i had done 4600+ feet of climbing.

unfortunately, i didn't bring the camera, but i can assure everyone that is was pretty out. There was also rain, freezing rain, snow, sun, and clouds.

Here is some data, as it seems to be all the rage.

Using the power meter is fun, and, dare i say, easier to train with? Before with heart rate, i would go moderate, only to not be able to reach my goals in the days folowing. With power, i can reach my zones with ease, and it is so much less of a chore to hold a given pace. This (hopefully) will result in what the masters claim; more efficient training. It is easy to see even now, in the dead of winter, results when threshold work hasn't even begun yet. My power in all zones is creeping up, and my heart rate is going down at any given power!

The more i think about my goals this year, the more i think about doing the Shenendoh 100 mile mountain bike race. Researching places to move in the past year, looking at bike friendly, and all around cool places to go, Harrisonburg looks pretty cool. Doing the SH100 is a chance to check it out, and get some local street cred all in one day. I am all about mad street cred.

We'll see.....