Nothing

Sorry about not being here.  Did you notice?  Probably not.  That’s okay.  I was busy. 

So the weather here has been shitty again.  I showed up early da udda night hoping to get in a few laps before our Tuesday social ride (for “training” purposes.)  I had plenty of time to do two, maybe three “hot laps” I thought.  I got dressed and ready to go, and suddenly the skies opened up.

My bike had to stay put.

I posted that the ride was cancelled, but some people didn’t see it in time and still showed up.  The storm passed but the trail was way too wet to ride (I checked.)  So, we stood around shooting the shit for a while.  At least I got the social part done anyway.  I went home, ate dinner, drank a couple of beers, and played my guitar. 

While these social rides are far from any kind of training, the laps I planned to do beforehand would’ve been nice.  My goal is to start now getting ready for next season (whatever that is), and sometimes I feel like I’m getting nowhere.  I had a massage last night, so no riding then either.  So, I have to resort to this:

Yeah, I guess running up and down the stairs at work is good enough since I can’t ride.  Luckily I work in a tall building with tons of stairs.  I can get away from my desk throughout the day to uh, “train”, so at least when I go home and do nothing I won’t feel like such a lazy asshole.  Hopefully “getting ready for next season” isn’t just running the stairs though.

In other “getting ready for next season news”, I rounding up stuff to help me.  I just got a big ol’ fat box of tires from Maxxis.

It’s nice to have their support, and it’s even nicer to have plenty of tires “just in case.”  There are a few Ardents in there (you probably can’t see them), which is a good thing since I’ve been wearing out the ones on The Executor (my Pisgah bike.)  I have lot of bikes, so I need lots of tires.  

I also got a care package from the fine folks at Honey Stinger:

More gel and energy chew because, well, I like them.  I still think the waffles are pretty rad, but this stuff is much easier to eat while I’m on the bike.  Plus, I actually have more waffles than the Waffle House.  Srsly.

Will this stuff make me better next season?  It’s hard to tell.  No amount of new shit will help if I can’t ride my bike though.

I’m trying, Ringo.  I’m trying real hard to be the shepherd.

Royale with cheese and all that.

Race Weekend

Saturday is the biggest event of the year:

After selling out in a matter of minutes, a lot of people were left out.  Not me.  I got in pretty quick, so it looks like this weekend I’ll be “racing” with over three hundred of my closest cycling friends.  Even if I didn’t feel like racing anymore, this would be the one event that I would keep doing.  It’s just that fun.  I’m never ready for it, but that doesn’t matter.  The trails are some of the most fun around for sure.  I get to ride around for six hours and suffer a little, have some socializing with good people, and walk away feeling like I did something sorta productive.

I can’t wait.  For realz.

In other news, I guess I could mention something about my supporters.  I’m back for a third season with Honey Stinger.  I dig their stuff for sure, and no doubt I’d be using it regardless of whether or not they supported me.  Since they do, I get to have yummy goodness sent right to my door.

That should get me through the 6 Hours of Warrior Creek.

Next up, is a brand new supporter.  I’ve been using their pedals for years, but now it’s official.

Pipe down, Dicky. 

Yeah, crankbrothers is on board with me this season.  Don’t ask me why, because I sure didn’t ask them.  I break a lot of shit, and I’ve seemed to break theirs a little less frequently than others.  Their customer service takes a bad rap, but I haven’t had an issue really.  Since I was already in the market for some new pedals, I had them send me some.

The Candy pedals went on the “race” bike, Darth  Maul:

And I figured since I had the opportunity I would try the Mallet pedals on my Enduro™ Bike, The Executor.

I haven’t ridden the Executor yet, but that will change next week.  I’m already familiar with the Candys, so it’s like nothing has changed.  Well, nothing except that they are shinier and newer.

I don’t know why they do it, but I’m thankful for my supporters. 

And yeah, this weekend is gonna be so rad.

I’ve Figured It Out

Next up is another race weekend.  While that may sound all fancy, it’s actually not a big deal.  I’ve relegated the Winter Series to just a setp in the right direction for my “training.”  Two races at a time for the five day series seems to be a good platform to jump off of for the rest of the season.  If I can build on it, I just might get somewhere this year.

As you know, in addition to my “normal” race in the Clydesdale category, I’ll be running with the one-geared animals in the fully stacked single speed class.  It hurts like hell, and sometimes I wonder how I even manage to finish.  I’ve upped the ante a little bit by throwing a rigid fork in the SS bike, and I’m really looking forward to it.  I’ll probably bust my ass several times while I learn to handle a bike without suspension, and actually I’m looking forward to that too.

This shit is supposed to hurt, right?

Trail building is also on the menu for the weekend.  We’re hoping to get back out on The Trail to flag a new section, and hopefully we won’t have to undo any shoddy work.  I’ll be sure to report back here if we have any “encounters.”

In other news, in an effort to take things a little more seriously, I’ve taken a look at my current road bike setup.  The size of my bike is spot on, but I’ve had some issues with the cockpit.  Too stretched out, not enough width on the bars, and a host of other fit-related issues.  It’s time I take care of this so I that I might actually enjoy riding on the road.

Don’t worry, I don’t plan to become a dirt roadie.  That’s just stupid.

Lastly, I forgot to mention that I’ve rustled up some nutritional support again this season.  Honey Stinger has thrown their love my way just like last year (even though I talked a little shit about the guy on the packages a couple of times.)  Honey Stinger worked pretty well for me last season, and I’m glad they’re down with me once again.

I have enough to last me for a little while.

Yeah, that will be gone by Monday. 

Don’t worry though, I’ll be back.

Now it’s time for me to make like horse shit and hit the trail.

Now I’ll Take It Easy

My cat knows how to take it easy.  He does it all the time.

While I didn’t mention anything at all about my recent bout with low back pain on yesterday's post, I can assure you that it is still there.  I didn’t have any issues during the race, but as soon as I finished I began to feel it again.  In fact, it got much worse throughout the day.  A smidgeon over two weeks of dealing with this shit, and I’m nowhere near 100%.

Luckily, I don’t race again for almost three weeks, so hopefully that will be enough time to recover completely.  It will be difficult for me to stay off the bike, but I really should.  I have a few good rides planned in the very near future, but over the next few days my plan is simple.

Rest.

Drink beer.

Rest more.

Drink more beer.

Sounds like a training plan for winners, eh?

I really have no choice.  I can’t risk this back nonsense turning into something really serious (maybe it already has), so I have to spend less time on the bike and walking around, and more time getting myself back to normal.  Maybe I should get a massage.

No, I will get a massage.  Hopefully that will help.

In other news, my nutritional needs have been taken care of again.  The folks at Honey Stinger sent me some more goodies to keep me going.

Since this stuff is used for my “on the bike” nutritional needs, it looks like I probably won’t touch it until I get back to racing next month.  I guess I’ll have to eat “normal” food until then.

Wait, I’m not taking three weeks off the bike. 

Hell no.

That would be much worse than having back pain.

In fact, I have quite a few bike rides planned for the next few days.  I’ll get into that tomorrow.

Like A New Pair Of Shoes

Who gives a shit, remember?


It’s time to stomp my way through the season, but this isn’t really about shoes. I recently acquired some new support for my racing efforts, in the form of a long-awaited nutritional sponsor. Being a big boy, I like to eat. Riding a bike like a big boy, I need to eat. It just so happens that my favorite nutritional company decided to help me out.



That’s right, the folks at Honey Stinger have jumped on the bandwagon of world domination here at B-43. Over the years I’ve tried pretty much every kind of cycling nutrition product, and I kept coming back to Honey Stinger. I never thought I would have a shot at their support, but I guess what I did kinda worked.

Here’s probably what happened:

I wrote them a letter about how awesome I am, they laughed their asses off, and probably decided to throw me some support because they felt sorry for me.


Maybe it had something to do with the “contest” I won a while back.


Whatever the case may be, I’m in.


After a welcome e-mail and some product selection, a package showed up on my doorstep.




It was chock full of Honey Stinger goodness of course.



That should last me about two days at the rate I consume stuff, although I don’t plan to eat the t-shirt. Maybe I can use it as a napkin to wipe the waffle crumbs off my face.


Big thanks to the folks at Honey Stinger for taking a chance with me. I bet they have no idea what they’re in for, though.


In other supporter news, I was checking out the Backcountry Research website, and I see that they have a shitload of deals going on right now.


You can get a three pack of the mount-anywhere Clutch straps for $22.

and…

Three of the Tülbags for $24.

and…

Three Awesome Strap Race for $24.

and…

The Whammer Deal Deluxe, which includes a Back Forty Revival, a Tülbag, and an Awesome Strap Race for $24.

and lastly,

You can get the Back Forty Whammer deal which is three for $24.


Why am I telling you this? Because you should be riding with an Awesome Strap. If you don’t, then well, you just plain suck.


Don’t make me out to be some kind of product whore. I actually use the things I talk about. You should too.


Did I forget to tell you about the weekend? Yeah. I don’t really have any plans. No race this weekend, so hopefully I can get on the trail and wear out my legs.


That’s something else you should be doing.

In the meantime, click on on those links up there to keep yourself busy.

I Finally Won Something

It has something to do with bikes, but nothing to do with racing them. Last week, there was a contest on Facebook from the folks at Honey Stinger. All you had to do was come up with your best Chuck Norris quote. I was one of the first to post mine up, and actually didn’t think it was so great.



“Chuck Norris doesn’t eat honey…he chews bees” was mine in case you don’t know who I am.


When I got home, I mentioned the contest to Lunchbox. When I told him what I posted, he laughed his ass off. He also proceeded to tell me all kinds of other Chuck Norris quotes that he had stored in his teenage brain (which was a lot.) Apparently Chuck Norris is quite popular with today’s youth. Anyway, my comment somehow got the most “likes”, but it was a close contest. I got an e-mail stating that I was the winner and that I could expect some waffley goodness coming my way. Awesome. I was pretty surprised since I don’t usually win shit.


A few days ago, I received my goodies.




I’ve used these waffles pretty regularly now (before the contest), and they are damn delicious. It was all I could do to keep from chowing down on the whole box right then and there. I put the box away so I wouldn’t be tempted, but I will definitely grab a few on my next ride.


Are the Honey Stinger people gonna be on board with me and my cycling adventures next season? Sadly, no. This was a one time thing, but I hear that they are accepting sponsorship applications. Maybe I should throw my hat in the ring because, you know, I have nothing better to do. I’ve been lacking a nutrition sponsor around here, so this could be the ticket. I guess the worst they could say is “Get the hell off my lawn!”


In other news, I have no set plans for the upcoming weekend (again.) I have some trailwork to complete on Captain Jim Bob’s Space Adventure, and I also need to actually get some riding in. The problem though, is that I am on call for work. If the work people will leave me alone, then I can get some “personal” stuff done. If not, then next week could be pretty boring for you around here. We shall see.