guitar ted's death ride invitational 2008

guitar ted is the head promoter of the transiowa race. that race is held in early spring and consists of 300+ miles of gravel roads navagated by a series of 'cue sheets'. he is assisted by a serious right hand man and a series of volunteers when the event draws near. he loves gravel and so do i. the TI will be in it's 5th year if it goes off again this spring. mother nature willing. i've attempted but not finished V2 and V4. i completed V3 in 2007, 340 miles in 33 hrs, pink sean crafted single speed flat bar nanoraptors camelback tights and long sleeve LED light.

g-ted puts on a ride as well about this time of year. just a ride. he puts together a route and we all stick together. gravel roads. small towns. rolling hills. peace and quiet. 100 miles or so. two years ago it was 152. depends on the route and the fitness of g-ted. it was fun. photo by guitar ted.

Downieville

Stinkbomb
Monday, July 21, 2008

Escaping on a Thursday, chauffeuring my dentist and a doctor, we made our way to Downieville to suck some smoke. Despite the air quality, Friday's pre - race run was flattening. Wrong tire choice.Used tires of mysterious origin.Too thin skinned.Beer resulted in salvation. Next concern was morning deposits. As our campsite was a complete poach we had to scout blue rooms and wait for neighbors to mosey on to other adventures. Thank you fox forks. The Frenchman arrived with buckets of food and promises of buying my old bike. Early Saturday morning, the usual dawn scury/furry/ hurry for breakfast, deposits, bike preping, loading, etc.Off to Sierra City for the start. A mob of faces old and new in a sold out show. Larry Hibberd parted the waters, helping my start go smoothly in an otherwise cluster*uc*. 3000 feet up no conversations. Cresting the hill never felt so good. Rarely have I ever had the opportunity to watch such down hill talent, inspiring me to ride beyond my tires capacity.They lasted two-thirds of the way down the hill before the rear gave it up.In the mean time I caught Mr. Hibberd on the down hill, staying with him over the crest to third divide where he allowed the pass. 5 minutes later I flatted.Many went by (including Mr. Hibberd).Rolling again, regaining the groove, not long before spotting Larry with similar tire issues I went by and flatted again one minute later. To close to the finnish to bother with any repairs period. No supplies left anyway. I rode the flat tire out of the woods to the pavement where it finally became unridable. Fan on sideline with sharp knife sliced off tire and tube and sent me onto Master's Glory. Too bad about the rim. Drank many pain killers.Received fat crome bag of swag.Edibles,Wearables and Inspirationals via SOULCRAFT are huge and appreciated. Thanks for keeping it real. - George
Posted by stinkbomb at 8:01

Flagstaff Kids Camp

Last weekend I had the opportunity to run a kids MTB camp sponsored by Nova Youth Cycling. I had 7 kids, mostly from Phoenix, who were the top finishers in their age groups in the state series. It was so cool to see kids who are super-competent riders, have good trail manners, and are so eager to learn new skills.

We're lucky to live in places where kids have opportunities to ride bikes at such young ages...can you imagine how fast we all could be if we started at age 8?

The highlight of the whole clinic for me was getting these tiny little 10-year-old twin girls to do a monster log ride. We spotted them the whole time, and they rode the whole thing! That was pretty awesome.

I'm Baaack!

It's been ten years since I was laid up in a hospital bed…

I’m lucky to be alive, let alone walking, and now riding (“racing” – ha!) bicycles again. Once the doctor rebuilt my busted spine with some custom ti bits I was rolling on the road to recovery and what I hoped would be a return to normal life.

“Normal life” being able to get out of/into bed, walk, go to the bathroom, and eventually, ride a bike without help from anyone else.

It’s been a tough journey, but thanks to my wife, family and friends, I have blown away any limited recovery apprehension my doctor and myself might have had.

Having completed the Skyline single speed ‘ride’ in July proved to me anything is possible as that was the first real (paid entry) event I have done since I was nearly broken in half. I admit I was a little hesitant at the start, but I put all negativity out of my head and went for it. Having my trusty Holy Roller under me helped boost my confidence - just ride as best I could and go.

I now have no doubt that I can do anything thanks to all the support from my family and inspirational friends like you!

2008 Summit Center Classic

Last week was the annual Summit Center Classic stage race here in Flag. Since it was just out my doorstep (I rode to the start line from home), I figured what the hell, I'll go try and race some Cat 4 roadies. Now, this is my first road race...I had no fricken clue what to do. The first stage was a hill climb of 8 miles and 2500 feet, ending around 10,000 feet. That went pretty well since I could just ride it like an mtb race-pin it from the line. I took home the win on that one, and got to wear the sweet purple leaders jersey for the road

race at Lake Mary the next day.

View from the racecourse

Yep, thats a bullseye on my back.

We took off from the start goin about 10 miles an hour, and I guess I didn't realize that was a race tactic...I just thought they were slow. I went away over the first sprint prime hill, and worked with a masters lady for awhile. Then, since I had 'cross gearing on my bike, she blew me away on a downhill and I never got back with her. So I suffered in the wind for about 35 miles, then apparently that bullseye on my jersey worked for some other girls, since I got chased down with 5 to go. We rode together (man, it's easier than being by yourself!) til the final turn onto the 1.5 mile climb to the finish. I attacked around that corner and got a good gap, but with about 30 yards to go I blew up. It was ugly. A girl snaked me right at the line, but fortunately I had enough points to win the omnium! Woohoo!

I'll never again say roadies are soft, it was so bloody hard...

Skyline SSWC warm-up

It’s been a few years since I did an organized & legit mountain bike race of any significance. Looking back on the Skyline event yesterday had me really thinking about the mindset of racing versus riding. The Skyline course was brutal, especially for an obese 40 year old on a one speed. There were sections of ridiculous climbs that no one could climb and those that only the truly strong could handle all over the track. The funny thing is that had I ridden that casually with a bunch of friends, I’d have been grousing and miserable about all the walking. As a race, its part of the game, buck up and deal with it, right? Why does my mind suddenly switch to this weird pain ignorant position once I put a number plate on the bike and pay money to hurt??? Anyway, I guess I need to do more races because that race brain mode feels good and seeing all my friends is even better. Look out, the big man’s thinking about a comeback. Race promoters beware, your support staff will be out on course a little longer than normal!

Oh, and Ario...thanks for the shove. Thankfully the cliff wasn't too big.

long over due update

I haven't been doing as much racing in the last few months as I would like, but have been consistent with the boulder short track series. I have been placing consistent top ten finishes with a 7th place last week. Super fast racers have been showing up every week, even an appearance from JHK two weeks ago. This summer I have been living the life with no school or a traditional job. Training on the bike and rock climbing are my main activities every day. In my off time I also have been doing bicycle frame graphics check it out http://devotiondesign.blogspot.com/. My goals are to make it to the rest of the msc races and gear up for single speed worlds, then collegiate mountain season and cross. Hope all is well in sonoma county be back in august for the race.

He's my Dad....

He's 65, he wears whitey tighties under his chamois, and he adores his handlebar rear-view mirror, but the guy can ride farther than you: he's my dad. It was exactly this guy who invited me to join him in riding the Tour of Colorado this summer,which boasts over 30,000 feet of overall elevation gain in some of the most spectacular country in America. So, I bought the largest rear cluster I could find and slapped it on my pink Soulcraft road bike, lubed the chain and hoped for the best. The Tour of Colorado turned out to provide some of the most epic high altitude road riding I have ever done, and of course, the time with my dad one of the highlights of my life. In the sea of generic, mass-produced, overly gadgetized titanium and carbon fiber bikes, my steel bike was quite the anomaly. In fact, maybe it was the moment when I crested the top of my third 10,000 foot summit of the day and was greeted by a random cyclist with, "I love you woman of steel" that I realized how lucky I am to ride such a unique and beautifully crafted bike in a world where most bikes are stamped out in a factory overseas.