Can I Borrow $200 dollars (Not for the kids)

So its VeloNews time! Is my wife looking...

I read VeloNews for the articles not the back cover advertising!

Quiz time - Which one is real

Option A

Option B


Answer B - My burger looked like shit compared to Burger A

Let's try again:

Option A

Option B


Duh... Option A - Women's Pearl Izumi P.R.O. Octane Jersey $200

For that price I better get option A Jersey plus the burger!

Jack Frost Bend Over - The Hub Crawl Cometh

Yes you can say it. 8 inches of snow, alcohol and biking go hand in hand - the winter snow Hub Crawl of 09. We left the shop and did an urban mountain bike ride around Webster stopping at fine establishments like Hiene's Speakeasy:

Weber's Front Row and Cousin Hugo's. Riding in that amount of snow was intense! Part riding and part ice skating, all the while being pelted in the face with snow and freezing rain. The words "Rider Down" was common and comical - with Ron Clipp leading the crash parade in his effort to knock the rest of us down. "No touch" became "touch."

Highlights from the evening:
Waiting outside Kevin's house for twelve hours - making a snowball fight necessary. Riding through Blackburn park, seeing a Sherman tank riding down Lockwood (no Shit), and of course showing those stoned Webster bitches on "Suicide Hill" who has the big balls. There must have been about 150 plus people and a huge bonfire on top of Suicide Hill watching snowboarding shits slide down the hill thinking they were crazy. And then The Hub Racers showed up. Without a pause, down the hill one by one. The crowd freaked out (either because of us or they ran out of pot). Kevin took a nasty fall that had the crowd on their feet - and tore up his!

On my second run this kid popped out on the side by the woods and I moved into the middle of the hill where there were jumps - no good as I bit snow - which drew the loudest applause from the stoners on top. By the end - the stoners bowed to The Hub and our fifth of Jaegermeister! The biggest props go out to Ryan Hiene for not only riding down Suicide Hill with the Jaegermeister but on a fixed gear cyclocross bike! That was Master Says Faster balls out dope. The night ended like any good Hub Crawl (no I didn't puke) feeling good and tired.

Crossbike pimp out update: The cross bike took a huge step to being tricked out. With the help of my good Jewish friend Michael Rawitscher and a snow day, we put on the handlebars, stem and Spooky brakes.

For the help and use of the tools what do I get this bike racer who has everything including a custom Seven race bike... Hebrew!

Today I put on new brake cables, housing and bar tape. The bike weighed in a 19.12 pounds - with the heavy ass seat! Once I get the new seat and post - I think I will get this bad boy under 19 pounds - Hear that Rock! The cross bike is close to the end.

spin and swap

The weekend of biking - sort of. Saturday was indoor because the temp was 16. Hats off the my -Runner Up - wife for riding Team -Runner Up- Rev Frostbike - pretty Runnrrrrr down... tough stuff... The good news is she now has a nice new coat from the Swap Sale to keep her warm and toasty.

The Swap Sale was pretty good this year. I had fun. Just for shits and grins, ask Andy what color hell is. His answer, "Celeste Green"

I did some damage to my wallet - but it was worth it as I am almost to the end of the cross bike pimp-out. Soon Xibit will me able to say "Your bike has been pimped." I sold some of my old stuff to help recoup some cash. Here is my old stuff being sold by the boys of The Hub:

So - the big question - what did I get? The answer:

Ok here we go: On Saturday my Spooky brakes with Chris Malhausen brake shoes arrived in the mail. I know you are jealous! We forgot about the mail until we were leaving for the swap on Sunday and Judy looked and was like - what are these? It was like Christmas for me. These things are cherry! Some dude is selling a set on Ebay for more money and not as nice - I did well. At the swap I bought a WCS handlebar and a WCS carbon stem for my cross bike. They are in great shape and I saved a bunch of money from what I would have spent on Ebay. Once again, score. I also bought a new set of Craft gloves for next season and - for the hell of it - a new, in the box, ZIPP 145 stem for my racing bike. OH YEAH! Aside from the cross bike - I have been looking for a new rode stem and man did I get one. Afterward Judy and I stopped by a mall and went to Fredericks of Hollywood... but I will not discuss anything about that - this is a cycling blog - keep your mind on the road! I want to spin tonight but I have way to much work to do - hence the title of the blog! Oh well - tomorrow.

Beer, Sun and Biking! Oh My! (say it like Dorothy, dammit)

Last two days = good stuff. Wed night Fixie ride - on which I rode my cross bike - which I will discuss why later - yeah it's getting more pimped out by the day - we had five riders brave the cold air. The Rock, Bergermeister, myself and my good friend on his new Giant - Frank Aufmuth (say his last name like you are sneezing). A Master Says Faster shout out goes to Frank! And finally some guy showed up by the name of Adam Eaton - The Prodigal Son has returned - drink the fatted beer! Yes he deserves shit - and we gave it to him! Here is a crappy picture of Andy drinking the fatted beer!

We ended up at The Roadhouse where we missed Kevin play - but we drank beer, ate chips and were merry - and giving the finger

Today was amazing - 65 degrees, sunny and awesome. Went riding 20 miles after work - a ball buster. Michael R, Jeff L and Brian Sauter showed up for the ride. A strong-superfast ride for Jan. I guess we had a lot of pent up energy. Since the weather will be in the 20's through the weekend and beyond with the forecast of snow - we had to take advantage.

Finally, The Jake the Snake - fitted with my "new" fork - Reynolds Ouzo Pro Cross Fork!

Man was it awesome. Now many of you are like - you can do better - like some Spooky Brakes... HMMM...

So last night was pretty bad ass cold - mid 20's - yet we rode our Monday night route - Here is a crappy picture of Andy

We increased our numbers with me, Andy, Rock and the return of Bad Ass El Cavano. Although the wind was something fierce - It was a fun ride - we did see a lot deer on the path and I tried to take their picture but had no luck. Here is a picture of us

Tonight was spinning at The Hub.
The place was packed with all the local favorites. New additions included Stephanie (blog follower!) - so a shout out to her! Here is a picture of us in Hub spin mode

A few major things happened tonight:
First - Andy knocked me off my rollers - More me than him because he was getting me water - but I'm still going to call him a dick. Second Kevin Wayman got a kick ass set of Velocity Deep V's with skulls all over the wheels. When he lines up at the track with these bitchin' wheels cats will give him a couple of lengths - out of pure f*ing fear. Third - we have picked a tentative date for the next HUBCRAWL - the first week in March - an early Ides of March Crawl -- ET TU BRUTE! (and you Brutus) For all of you losers not familiar with the HUBCRAWL - lets just say the the "beer before fucking ride" ended up with me not remembering how I got home, me crashing, and me throwing up most of the next day - yes, it was that cool. This ride will have spoke cards - my promise!
Tomorrow night fixie fide is being pushed up to 8:00 pm and we will catch the David's Guitar Loft at the Roadhouse.

I've ridden very little over the week - not enough to make me happy. Except a few times inside my home and yesterday at The Hub. I had to bolt right afterwards to go to a funeral. The only thing that is keeping my cycling sanity is my desire to pimp out my cyclocross bike! That has become my agenda. Not only did I dig Cross this season - but I have really enjoyed riding my cross bike as a winter bike. So the plans are being laid. I do not have enough money to buy new stuff so I am looking for "gently used" ebay stuff. Being new would be the best - but I lack the grip!

So the plan: First the Bike - a 2006 Kona Jake the Snake - Neon Orange. I love this frame. Here is a kick ass Kona photo:

Here is me on the bike at Bubba Susan in the pain cave!


My planed upgrades: Reynolds Ouzo Pro Cross fork (OH Yeah and already bought) Spooky brakes (Dope) Paul cross levers (I've been debating about scraping the levers - however, I think I like them) WCS bars - (I'm debating on carbon or Alum.) WCS Alum. Stem and seatpost. I have my eye on some used WCS tubular wheels too! Yeah - some bucks but I think it will worth it - if anything in the pimp factor. The rest of the bike has 105 and my old Ultegra cranks. I'm OK with the components. I will keep up with the upgrade progress!

Question answered - the temp is zero and I Suck-Ass (hence the title) - no riding outside for me! I wished I had made plans to do the indoor computrainer ride at the Urban Cowboy - Sounds cool - maybe next round.

Went riding last night with Andy and Rock. Here is a crappy picture of Andy.

Had a great ride. The temp was 45 when we started and 45 when we finished! The best part was the schwag I found on the trail. Riding down the trail I found a scarf in the middle of the path. Rock and Andy road past it and I snagged it up. When I got to some light the Scarf was a Burberry cashmere scarf in perfect condition.

I looked it up online and it retails for $350.00 No shit! Should I sell it or keep it - that is the question.

Tonight, I went spinning at The Hub. Good times. The weather is supposed to dip to 2 degrees tomorrow night. The question - should we ride at night? Will have to wait and see!

END OF WEEK UPDATE

Wed. night Andy and I had to cancel our night ride due to snow. Rode Thursday after school for 18 miles. Good ride out the outer road and back Ladue over the hills. That guy at work bought a new Trek Madone - pretty cool bike. It got me thinking about my first race bike in high school which was a Trek with index shifting and a Shimano Bio=pace crank-set. It was really cool - red and yellow - and I had some matching yellow SIDI shoes. Unfortunately I sold it for $100 - I wish I still had it - maybe I'll track it down. My fixie bike right now is my first real bike - a 1983 Schwinn Super LeTour - I rode that bike in tons of centuries with my dad including a 500 mile cross state ride and my first double century in Litchfield, IL. Every time I think of this bike I think of my dad!

Dude - some Jack-off is trying to sell a 1985 frame on Ebay for $250 bucks

Or - you can buy this one for $28

Back to cycling - On Friday - the weather was awesome - A few Hub guys went on a long ride - but before I got off work - so no go for me. I went out on my own - My work buddy, Michael, was supposed to go but had to back out. It was a great ride. I went out for about an hour and then rode down to the city a met Judy who commuted. We then rode home together - It was fun.

On Saturday the weather was horrible and I overslept and missed spinning. Judy still went out and did the Team Revolution frost-bite ride. This weekend was shitty as far as riding went. This week is going to f'ing freezing! The big question - where the hell is my new saddle!

Monday night ride was COLD! Just me and Andy. Here is a crappy picture of Andy.

Nothing memorable from this ride, however, last Monday we were going through the woods and there was a group of high school age kids with two cases of Natural Light (had to be high school for who else would drink that crap!) with a bonfire in the middle of the trail. When we came down the trail, this one kid yells "The Cops, Run!" and all the kids ran like crazy into the woods - freaking hilarious. As we went around the fire, I thought about steeling a beer - but it was Natural Light, so I passed. The best was Andy. While we went around the fire, Andy wiped out - Out of dark this one girl was yelling - We're sorry, sir - are you OK - Are you OK. Freaking hilarious.

So far the total from the Monday/Wednesday Night ride: 4 crashes (Devin and German in their love crash, Mike P. riding into the woods, and now ANDY!) one hospitalization (Ger), one "coitouis interuptus", and now, one party crashing!

Today was really nasty outside- ice- so I did not ride after school. That totally sucked. I had my bike and everything. I did spin at The Hub, which was cool. I hate Chris Charmichael's tapes - They just freaking annoy me - so I just jam for an hour with my ipod on my rollers. I am getting pretty good at taking drinks and riding on the rollers - so all went well. A lot showed up which was cool. Drinking afterward is always a plus!

Parting words - I am jealous of this cat I work with who is looking to buy a new bike. Always wish I could buy a new bike, just because it rocks to have a new one. Necessary - No--- Worthy - Yes. From The Hub I here he wants a 2009 Scott Addict 4 - Nice bike. I like the compact Giant frames better - but am Addict is cool. Oh well - I'm getting a new saddle! This will suffice.

Saturday hub ride - 35 miles and cold. The temp actually dropped during the ride - so much for high 40's! Rode really slow after Friday's buster. We rode so fast on Friday I kind of hurt my gastrocnemis muscle from not properly stretching it out. It was a nice ride with Andy, Kate, Matthew on his fixed, and Devin. Kate and I set up the small sprint to the end with victory.

Props go out to Bill H - right from the start he has a flat - I'm immediately thinking he is wishing we would ride on after Friday! Then he has a second flat - once again I'm thinking he wants out - but then he turns on the jets and stays with the main group pulling some pretty high speed for Jan. - good job - beyond me.

The big bummer goes to missing Cross-Ocalypse today because my kids had church - Feast of the three kings. It seemed like it would have been a great cross event. From what I know about Rich Pierce is he can really set up good cross courses - Oh well. Cross season is officially finished for me. I plan on knocking my cross bike down and using it as my rode bike for the winter.

Speaking of cross bikes - I ordered this completely dope saddle for my cross bike. It was kind-of a late CXmas present.

Man did I love cross season. I am so looking forward to it next year!

Now for somethng I'm not getting. I saw this in Velonews and man do I want this:

But hey - who has $4500 just for the frameset - rich bastards!

Not much has gone on over break - not much riding to speak. Some kid, right before winter break went into the courtyard and, without leaving a footprint, shuffled his feet creating a giant penis.

This pretty much sums up my riding over the break.

Bicycle gifts for Christmas included: Oakley shades in team colors - When I get my ass dropped - man will I look cool doing it, a Rock cycling t-shirt - not a die hard fan of the team but I am of the t-shirt!

Finally got on the bike today - a baptism by fire. 60 miles up to Hillsboro then Jim Weber Hill and then Franks! God was that painful. For those who don't know Franks - ride the damn thing and you will never forget. Rode with BillH, Bryan, and Joe. I must say that due to my hibernation and fattening up, this ride was painful. No photos because I forgot my phone - however I missed I golden opportunity. At the top of Weber Hill was half a deer carcass - the back legs and the spine - that was it. Imagine climbing a deadly hill (easily way over 10% grade) at 2-3 mph and getting to the top and seeing this sight - cool but no pics - If we saw the front it would look like this!

Props to my wife for commuting to work today - go Jude!

December 22, 2008

CXMAS - what a way to start the blog and end cross season!


What can I say - Temp was a balmy 9 degrees, PBR was flowing, a kick ass spoke card and The Hub was well represented. Imagine Chuck Norris being impaled with a Judo punch from Steven Seagal right to the nuts and actually seeing his testicles fly from mouth and caught mid-air by Seagal, which he proceeds to mash and spread on Italian garlic toast and then force feeds Chuck Norris. That was how cool CXMAS was!

Devin tied for first but lost in the Huffy bike toss (Devin - good rider, shitty bike tosser). I had a great ride with Andy - we finished 15 and 16th - The place did not matter - surviving the cold was the challenge - many did not pass this test.


Memorable moment - my bottle cage cracking in half due to the wait of the frozen bottle! - Oh and drinking semi-frozen beer

Props go out to Devin, Heine, Berger-meister, Rock, BT, my good non-Hub firend Michael and of course myself. Special props for Team Seagal and Sandbox for the event!