The Ride Kicked My Ass

My homeboy Jermey and I braved Ice Storm 2007 and headed down to Barton Springs. Took a cool route heading down and into Pease Park. Took Jeremy in on the section that just opened in the fall. First time he had ever been on it. Pretty cool to take him on a new route when the dude is the source for sweet biking routes in Austin. Road at least and here we were on Dirt. Super muddy and wet. Stopped for a beer at a creek crossing below 5th and decided not to cross the creek. Started getting cold, but warmed up for a bit on the way to the springs. Long way around Zilker Park, under MoPac. More puddles, slush, and mud. Layer of ice added noticable weight to the bike.

Another beer. Got colder. Springs were drained and the fence removed at the spillway, I guess in anticipation of the storm and the water flushing down Barton Creek.

Took the first spill on the way back. Hike and bike trail, front tire got stuck in a rut and spilled when over taking a runner. Dumb ass. Put a hole in the knee of the fleece pants. Bummer.

Second spill was going down the ramp on the north side of Pfluger Bridge. Black ice, Jeremy went down and I followed. Discovered I bruised a part of my shin in the first crash. Thoughts of friends who have recently broken bones. Knew I didn't. Lucky.

Got a little hot snack on a climb on the way home. Not so nice. Felt like puking a few other times. Jeremy was trying to get me to stop for a beer multiple times, but I knew if I stopped that was the end. I had to get home and I had to get home as fast as possible.

With a wash bucket between my legs, I stripped out of the wet clothes. Feeling like puking was imenent managed to hold it in and make it to the tub. Warmed up a bit and drank some oj, soda, and emergen-c Tara gave me. Felt better and finished with a shower.

Then I tried to eat some soup. While taking my first bite I puked in the bowl. Luckily it was only the begining and small. Puked once more on my way to the bathroom and held it in cause my bowl was full. Then it was on to 4 full on projectile vommiting into the bottom of the tiolet!

I was done. An easy afternoon ride really kicked my ass! Pretty sweet a day on the bike can do that to you. Now I gotta rest.

Ice Storm 2007

Actually not that big of a deal, but down here it shuts everything down. Everyone from my office is staying home. The roads are not too bad, but the way people drive down here you gotta be careful of the other drivers. Gonna hit the roads later today for a ride and to check everything out.

Webberville Cyclo-X

Some real cross conditions finally in Texas, but the weather likely kept the numbers slow. No juniors showed up to race. Small B/C field, under 20. Great course though, probably one of the better ones I've been on this season. Some of the sections at the States were more fun and the Camp Eagle had that awesome downhill, but this one had some good length, which kept people from getting lapped left and right.

My man Stuart Stafford, who is scary fast got talked into racing the B/C's before racing in A's. He went out fast and I jumped on his wheel. Put a bit of a gap on the rest of the field pretty early. At that point I decided to let Stuart go because I would have exploded trying to stay on that wheel. Kept my lead off the rest of the field for a majority of the race despite having to run one hill because I couldn't keep traction. Two guys from the Peddle Masher team on mtn bikes were giving me pursuit. With 2 laps to go one overtook me. I was cramping pretty bad at that point. Geared the bike easier, 39x17 instead of 39x16. Due to the soft, wet conditions, that was still a pretty damn hard gear to push. Felt pretty good for last lap, and started to close in on the guy who passed me, but couldn't do it. I'll take a 3rd place finish though. My homeboy, Rey had some bad luck. Tried to take a fresh line and got a stick caught in the rear der. Wrecked the der and bent the hell out of the hanger. Pretty shitty. Its steel though and probably can be replaced. Bent it bad enought that it opened up the space for the axle.

Should've lined up for the A's. Only 4 lined up and only 2 finished. Some pro from Canada who was flying (in the pink) and my man Stuart (other dude in the photos).
the money was 5 deep so I guess if i finished I would have pocketed some cash.

The Collegiate Championships were being held. It was kinda of funny. The place had the atmosphere of a frat/sorority mixer. Prior to the race, no one was warming up. All the racers were just hanging out in their team gear chatting in the pavilion. Strange? Saw the start of the B/C's. Not too impressive. Not one cross bike in the Mens and people were walking the run ups on the first lap. We decided to bounce rather than suffer watching that in the rain.

Good job Violet Crown on putting on a good race. Too bad the weather probably kept some people from showing.

Fresh veggies

Had some good friends over Saturday night for some bbq and good times. Fueling up for the Webberville Cyclo-X race sunday. Freeze coming in so I decided to harvest some goodies from the garden a bit early. We've been having fresh arugula, spinach, swiss chard, mustard greens, and collards all winter.

Our friends, Yvette and Phillip gave us a late Christmas preasant. Texas Organic Vegetable Gardening. Pretty sweet book. Most people I know would probably never suspect me of being a gardener, but I love it. I spent a whole weekend just digging out our garden bed, removing a limestone/caliche layer. Removed enough rock to fill about 20 gallons worth of buckets. Makes for some good veggies.

New Wheels and Brooks

Got the new Brooks Swift. Crazy expensive, even with my discount at Ozone. I think it worth it though, ti rails, and if its going to be anything like my B-17, super comfy once broken in.

New Paul hubs came in. My man, Todd over at Ozone built them up for me. He built my new rear cross wheel, old surly hub with a mavic open pro rim. I've already put it through a ton of abuse and the spokes haven't even needed to be retensioned or the wheel re-trued. If you need some good wheels go to Ozone and have Todd build you up some. They be good.

Rain

The rain came in for Saturday and came in hard. Our back yard experienced some flooding. One of my friends I heard woke up to his living room being flooded. He is in the process of moving so all his pictures were floating. Bummer.

Gettin' spanked and Webberville Cross

The Tuesday night Dirt Derby's started back up last night. got a good start and was up there. Body was feeling a bit tired from the previous weekend, but felt like I might be able to hang, till my chain popped off on the first lap and then again at the start of the second lap. Damn. Was starting to get back into it after the first time but was way off the back after the second. Went hard and tried to get back into it, but ended up hurting super bad. body is still worked from this past weekend. My man Stew Stafford just crushed everybody. After the first lap he was so far ahead of everyone. Gotta throw the bike in the stand tonight. I think what is causing this is a bent chainring. It was not popping all the way off and would actually be "stuck" to 3 teeth when it did come off. Been happening when my chainline is off just so slightly and I really mash on the pedals.

Webberville Cross this weekend. Gotta get everything fixed up before then. And rest the body. 3rd race in a week gonna take its toll. Plan is to stay off the bike till then. Maybe an easy spin Friday or Saturday.

http://www.txbra.org/db/events/raceflyer.pdf

Talon Trails Excrutiation Exam

Formerly known as the Warda Torture Test and it lived up to its name this year. Lots of rain in the previous week and some light rain the day of and cold temperatures made for some cold, wet riding. All the trails were real slick and muddy. The dirt was hard enough where the trails weren't getting tore up, but traction was a problem.

Race started out as a run. I decided to go out pretty slow and went out near the back of the pack. Probably not the best idea cause I was behind some slow people for the first 7 miles of singletrack. I wanted to start out slow, but not so slow as to make it hard to push my gear. Passed a few people, people were real cool about letting you pass and headed out of the single track onto the roads and dirt roads to Smithville. Made a wrong turn going out of Bluff Creek Ranch. Got yelled at by all the people I'd just passed, so turned around and caught back up. Rode the 25 or so miles to Rocky Hill Ranch at Smithville mostly by myself. Only time I rode with anyone else was briefly when passing or being passed. Also managed to piss while riding and not get it all over myself. Thought that was pretty cool.

Was still feeling pretty good by the time I got to Rocky Hill Ranch for 22 miles of singletrack. That is when things got brutal. Geared pretty steep with a 34x17 and a 29er tire was great for the road, but hard on soft, wet, singletrack. The sketchiness factor was increased by the wetness and the disk breaks on the new unit decided to strech so I was pretty brakeless. Was able to get a little bit of brakes by adjusting the barrels on the levers, but I really didn't want to stop and really adjust. Cross definately paid off because my technique was to dismount and run a lot of hills instead of trying to mash the peddles up just to spin out. My lower back was already pretty sore from the steep gear and running seemed easier in a lot of sections.

About 5 miles left of singletrack a woman named Shontelle from Bicycle Sport Shop caught up to me. Offered to let her pass, but she opted to sit on my rear wheel, which she did till the end of the singletrack. We split up at the pits at Rocky Hills enteracne, but I caught up to her on the road. I was trying to hammer because there was a large climb out of Rocky Hill Ranch and I wanted to get up it with the highest cadence possible. Put some distance on Shontelle and I was kind of bummed cause I wanted to ride with someone. I guess a guy we passed earlier caught up to her and she was able to jump on his wheel. We all rode together and then he broke off. So Shontelle and I rode the 20+ miles back to Bluff Creek Ranch together, with me pulling most of the way. I was pretty stoked to ride with someone. At this point talking was much better than being left alone in my thoughts. Turns out Shontelle jsut got signed on by a pro Canadian road team. Pulling a professional roadie while on a singlespeed at the end of a 80 mile mtn bike race was pretty awesome.

Ended up 3rd in the Open 19-29 yrs and 19th overall with I believe they said over 80 starters. Felt pretty good about that finish. Was one of two singlespeeders out there and I have no idea how the other guy did. Was an older guy and I passed him in hte first 7 miles of singletrack

https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2007-13

New Ride

Just in time. Pretty sweet deal, the whole bro deal thing. Kona also hooked me up with a couple pairs of socks and a pair of team shorts to make the Ozone kit look a bit better. Still am waiting for a Swift saddle and the paul hubs and delgado rims. I already threw on a pewter king headset, which looks pretty damn cool next to the purple , and swapped out the jones bar and stem from the 1x1. The stem ain't anything special, but it isn't oversized and it fits the jones bar. Other than that, its all stock. Pretty sweet.

Put some miles on it already. Rained a bunch this past week. Could be bad for riding, but not in Austin. I am sure Walnut Creek was pretty bad. Clayey soil and there actually is soil. Greenbelt sure doesn't hold the water. Rained the day before and in the morning, that afternoon was out riding there and not leaving any ruts or tracks even. Sure, there were some puddles, but rode threw 'em and no evidence I was there. All the creeks were flowing too, which made for some fun crossings. Rode travis country yesterday and it kicked my ass. Just too technical for it being that wet and having to cross creeks with over bottom bracket water, made climbing out of the creeks pretty damn hard.

Should be pretty sweet for racing this weekend. Warda Torture Test. I believe its about 87 miles, about half over singletrack. Should be sweet. My plan is to just ride it and if I still feel good halfway through, try peddling harder.

New Bike on the Way

So decided to get myself a Unit 29er for Christmas. Figure I got a few long distance races I want to do and I can't beat the deal. So I am going to get a complete bike and swap out a few parts. Trade over the jones bar from the 1x1, King Headset, brooks saddle (swift, professional, or i might just pick up a brow b17 special at my buddy's shop to help him move it), longer stem, seatpost?, and new wheels.


So anyone want to throw me their opinions on wheels it'd be sweet. Thinking Salsa Delgado rims, and not sure about the hubs. Maybe Phil or Paul if the price isn't going to be more than the bike, white, simano, I don't know. Anyone, ideas?

Cross Nationals

Corgratulations Will Black and Brian Fawley! Will in 2nd in the Masters 40-44 and Brian 10th in the under 23! Go Texas!

http://www.velocityresults.net/results/72/test

http://www.velocityresults.net/results/71/usa-cycling-cyclocross-national-championships-day-1-providence-ri

Texas State 'Cross Championships

The above photo was ripped of the Texas Bicycle Racing Association website,

http://www.txbra.org/home/index.asp

Photo is of Will Black (Moots) and Bryan Fawley, shot by Richard Bonner during the Texas State Cross Championship Men's A race. Will tore the field up and lapped the fourth place rider, Craig Virr. I race with Craig out at the Dirt Dirby and he's hella fast. From what I've been told, Will came in 3rd in the Cyclocross Worlds a few years back in the Master's Division. It was a treat watching him race. Look at that form, absolutely textbook.

Raced the B's myself on a cross check, outfitted with a freewheel and rear brake. Decided to go for the single speed cause I just think I am faster on it. Don't have to think about my cadence, which I suck at, and the bike just fits me a lot better. My dismounts and mounts are a lot smoother on the surly over the jake, too. The setup is a little more stretched out which makes it easier to do the flying mount. Nice having the jake in the pit in case of a mechanical though.

Got a good start and was near the front. It was a wierd start cause the official was explaining some rules and then all the sudden blew the wistle. Although the course was a bit on the short side, it was a fun loop. Had a good battle with a few guys. They would pass me on the pavement section and then I would make up some time through the first double barrier which had a quick little downhill to a barrier and runup. Was nailiing that section and usually putting a few seconds on the guys I was battling with. After that it went into a downhill through some wooded double track. This is were I would usually retake the lead from the guys I was duking it out with. The b's were the on the course second after the jrs so the wooded section had a lot of leaves and there was no clear trail. This caused a lot of riders to take the downhill cautiously, whereas I would hammer it, no brakes. It was sweet. Finished in 7th place which I thought was pretty cool.

http://www.txbra.org/results07/

Another race on Saturday out at Moya Park. The above Mr. Black, dominated the Master's riding a Kona Paddy Wagon set up as a freewheeled singlespeed. He also took the A's lapping a good portion of riders.

Raced the B's again, which had us starting off with the women A's and B's. Kinda lame cause there was no staggered start. I showed up to the line a little late and was forced to be in the back. At the first double barriers there was a bit of a pile up. Caused in part by the woman who dominated the A's in the State Championship. She is fast as hell and was off the front. When she got to the barrier she actually stopped, lifted her bike over the first barrier, stepped over the barrier, trotted to the second, and did the same thing! Kind of amusing, but it didn't help that I was stuck behind her and my field was taking off. There was this awesome off camber section with a big root that about half the master's field was dismounting for. Had it pretty dialed during my pre-ride, so I knew it wasn't going to be a problem. Well on the first lap, being at the back some dude went down right in front of me. No problem, quick dismount and remount. Shit, my front wheel wont turn. My front canti got pushed under the rim. So while I fixed that the field again left me and I was dead last. Didn't stress, felt really good about my result the day before so I just hopped back on the bike and rode. Well, rode pretty well because in a couple laps worked myself into 6th place position. Started battling it out with this guy Rob Sisk from Houston. He'd pass me on the end of a lap where it got flat and allowed for a big gear. I would then usually pass him through the double barriers or right after and maintain a lead through the off camber section, run-up, and then an off camber, switchback climb. He'd then pass me on the flats after. We passed a rider from San Antonio and battled it out for 4th and 5th lap after lap. Not really making anytime on the leaders, but not loosing any either. With 2 or 3 to go he pulled ahead and I couldn't catch his wheel. Was starting to feel some pain and cramps. Got strong on the bell lap and started to close, but he was still a few hundered feet ahead at the line. He was far enough at the final sprint it looked like he was riding easy where I was giving it everything I got. 5th place in the B's on a single speed. Not bad considering down here B's are Cat 3/4 roadies. Cross is sweet!

Wonder how I would have done if I'd been able to get out with that lead group cause once I got back into the race they never really put more distance on me.

More cross in Houston this weekend, but I am going to sit them out. Gotta keep the wife happy and spend some time with her. Also got to get the house further dialed in after all the remodeling we've been doing lately for family visits during the Holidays.

ride

Nice ride to work this moring on the Jake. Need to get more used to the frame fit and most importanlty the gears, like which gear i should be in when and the anticipation of the shift.

Pretty sweet riding a geared bike in. There are some small hills going in and out of drainages, so being able to shift up and down helps. made a bit of better time coming in than usual.

Wurst ride tomorrow. Going to try and jump on and ride it with my buddy Rey. Probably won't do the whole 65 miles to New Braunfels since we will need to ride back. After beers and brats turing around and riding 65 more miles might not be what we want to do. Think we'll do about 50 or so and then turn around, both want to get a century in. Wanted to do it on the fixxie, but figure it might be a real good ride to get more comfortable on the Jake.

Len

Humility

Damn, dude.

Ass kicker, dropped chain on the run-up first lap, dropped chain on the barrier second lap, foot didn't come unclipped on the run-up, crashed, third lap, rode slow the rest of the race.

In a wierd sort of way, it was still fun as hell though!

More cross racin'!

Seem to be getting pretty into this cross thing. Don't know why I like it so much, maybe its the pain, maybe that its short, maybe that beer tastes a hell of a lot better afterwards, not that beer needs to taste any better. Having a good time and learning everytime.

Raced two Sundays ago out in the Hill Country at a place called Camp Eagle. Super fun course, rocky, a nice uphill and downhill section, downhill complete with rollers and a burm at the bottom, and a sand section. Lesson learned, fixed gear ain't so sweet for cross.

Almost forgot. Gotta give credit to the photo to a lady named sssaaa

Race was going well for the A/B's. My buddy Rey and I figured that it was one catagory since they were racing together, but it wasn't. They put us in the A's, super sweet seeing there were a handfull of riders there that sponsors actually pay them. Not a big race, only about 15 or so racers. Testing out the Jake the Snake. Doing pretty well, but wasn't use to the narrow bar. Got a great start, just behind the super fast guys and was falling into a good position, riding by myself with a good gap behind me. After the first few laps I beleive I was leading the B's and wasn't in last place of the A's. All going well till a mishift on the uphill climb and a broken chain! Had to run about a 1/4 of the course to grab the fixxie, whereby I was passed by the guy who won the B's. Back on the fixxie things felt good. Getting back into position and looking as though I'd be able to catch the dude who passed me while I was running. With 3 or 4 laps to go I proceeded to get lapped by the 1st and 2nd guy right before the downhill, where I could have passed them, but figured that would be a lame move since they had lapped me. Well after that boost of confidence and wanting to catch the B leader I decided to really go for it on the hill the next lap. Bad idea on a fixxie. Lost control prehopping the third roller and somehow ended in the air, backwards, above my bike. Landed hard and it felt like my dick had become a snake tounge. Sat on the side for a while considering dropping out, till my buddy Rey, who had an earlier flat when my chain broke. He came through the pit after I dropped off the Jake and he snaked the rear wheel so he could keep going. When Rey caught up I jumped back on and eventually passed him, finishing 6th (2nd to last) in the A's. Not sure how we would have done in the B's but I think we would have come in 3rd and 4th (3rd and 2nd to last). Well, the cross check now has a rear break and an the option of a freewheel. Both of us were just stoked to be able to finish this hour long race as the Tuesday nighters are only 30 minutes.

Two days later we had the Tuesday nighter. Still a bit run down and with a cold coming on I was nervous, but feeling more confident after having now raced twice. Got a great start (not too hard when there are about 18 riders)and was about 3rd for the first 1/4 lap where the track heads into a hard 90 degree turn before a table top. Have this turn wired so take the furthest inside line which puts me out front and instead of trying to chill and let someone pass me I hammer. Bad idea! I manage to lead the rest of the first lap and am second for lap 2 and 3 with Rey right behind me. There was no way to keep up the pace and some riders started to pass. Was dying the rest of the race. Rey and I pretty much rode together, me pulling most of the way, some reason I couldn't just suck his wheel. My legs and back were just aching. Then about 2 laps to go Rey pulled ahead on a runup he was nailing and that was killing me. Had a little left for the bell lap and gave chase. Got pretty close to catching Rey and another guy he was passing on the runup with about 200 yards to go. That is where Rey solidified his lead over me and the other guy furthered that gap on me. He was weak on the downhill though cause its sketchy and there is another uneven turn right at the finish table top, that I new I had dialed. Got on that dude's wheel and the right into the last turn passed him on the inside and sailed up the table top. Rey finished 5th and me 6th, his best finish in the Tuesday night and by far his strongest ride yet. It was sweet. He's in 5th in the point series and me 6th which is pretty good considering I've only done 2 of the 4 races.

Lesson 2: Don't attack within the first 1/4 of the first lap and if you have some sweet time saving lines or tactics, don't show 'em off to everybody at the start of the race.

Cross is fun. Get out and vote today! Its another Tuesday nighter tonight.


http://www.dirtderby.com/

Photo credit to a lady who posts as sssaaarrraah

Jake the Snake

Picked up the demo bike from Ozone last night and have already taken it for a couple of rides. Yesterday took it around town in the rain and through the mud. This morning headed to the hills for some practice shifting. Been a while since I haven't had to keep up with my peddles on a long road downhill. Pretty fun being able to go as fast as you want downhill. Oh, and gears are fun, too!

CBO Dirt Dirby

Welll, raining pretty good here today. Should make for some fun cross racing tonight. Hopefully it still happens. We'll see.

Ridng for Ozone now. Vitus hooked me up with a shop jersey the other day and the Jon, the other owner gave me a pair of socks yesterday. Pretty sweet. Sounds like one of the benefits is the same deals shop employees get. Also they might let me ride a Jake the Snake demo for the season. That would be sweet, although I suspect it'll take a little while to get shifting down again.

Little cruise up Mt. Bonnell last night with my gb Jeremey and the owner of the Peddler, AJ. AJ decided to take out a Redline Conquest he's been having trouble selling. From vert ramps to the cross course. Sweet!

Tuesday Night Cross

Cut my teeth last night on some cross racing. Must say I am hooked. Just super fun feeling like you're going to puke while riding.

The Tuesday races are held out at the Austin Del Valle Motocross track. Decided to ride out there even though its about 20 miles from my house. Pretty cool ride and just took it nice and slow. Ended up getting lost on the way, but finally figured it out. Was afraid I was going to miss it for a while.

Probably just under 20 people in the A/B race. Lots of loose dirt in the turns and one log crossing before a sandy burm and a mandatory run up on a steep table top. Was really suprised at how smooth my dismounts and mounts were since I haven't spent too much time practicing them. The log one was cool and I was actually mounting on the top of the burm or at least the on the backside. Since you were above the bike seemed like it made it easy to remount.

Figuring it was my first race and i was running a fixed gear feel like 5th place wasn't too bad. Had 2 crashes, one in a turn when my peddle struck the ground and the second on the runup when one of my feet didn't come unclipped and started going up behind my back. The field was pretty wide open. the 1st place was on a mtn bike and just hammered. due to the loose conditions a mtn bike was probably ideal and allowed for faster cornering. he also was cheating since he rode the runup and at the start of the race the riders decided it should be a mandatory runup. The guy was super fast, a collegiate race, and it probably didn't matter, but why cheat in this little local race? Sounds like we are going to have some real barriers next week and some barriers placed in succession. He was so fast and lapped me in the last 100 yards and almost lapped 4th and 3rd place. 3rd and 4th finished a bit ahead of me and there was another gap between 3rd and 2nd. There was also a pretty sizable gap between me and 6th. Anyway definately stoked on how it turned out. Also didn't hear their pussy little bell to signal last lap. My last three laps I eased up a bit because I wasn't worried about the gap between me and those behind, but didn't want to blow up before the last lap. So my last lap was actually a bit easy. Not saying I would have been able to catch the 4th guy, but at least I would have been trying to instead of just maintaining my position. I also might have been able to keep from getting lapped too. So after the 1st race i have some points for the series, which is cool, but i probably won't be able to race the entire series due to work demands.

Rey had a great showing too. Some chain problems, but likely finished 7th or 8th even though they had him at 11th. Looked like they missed him on one of the laps since they had him doing one less than me, which is bullshit since I never lapped him. took it well though with a who cares attitude.

Our women were out to chear us on. Definatley picked me up when I passed them each lap. The dogs were stoked on the racing, too. Rango was just wondering why he couldn't race.

Sativa Rollers Sunday Ride

After a little breakfast and coffee at Jeremy's house, Jeremey, Fred, and I went for a Sunday ride out to Mansfield Dam on Lake Travis. A good headwind and hills on the way out. Made for some hammering on the one gears. Stopped off in Bee Caves and picked up some Tecate Tall boys to have at the dam. For some reason Jeremy took pictures of Fred's and my rides, but not his TURD (tactical urban recreational device). Fred showed us this nice trail down to the dams spillway, sweet downhill. Figure it might of been an old haul road for the dam. Took a dip and drank our beers. Nice and cold water since its a bottom spilled dam.

Some good climbing to get out of the spillway. Stopped to get another tall boy at the FM 2222 intersection, drank some at the store and then filled the waterbottles for a carb boost back in town.

Rode through a swanky neighborhood by a country club. Nice chill winding streets, then hit a bithc of a headwind on Jollyville Road. Stopped for more tallboys. Yum. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday, 60 miles of peddling on a fix. Sweet.

Cyclocross

Fucking stoked and ready to get my ass kicked. The Tuesday night CBO cyclocross series starts tonight. Its going to be a blast. Regeared the fixxie last night to make it a little easier to peddle. Down from a 42x16 (71.3 gear inches) to 39x16 (66.2 gear inches). And why the hell doesn't anyone make a 130mm stainless chainring?

Can't wait. Mexican steak and potatoes last night for dinner, pesto and pasta for lunch today. Tara and the mutts coming out for some support.

Should be sweet. Can't wait to see what its like trying to dismount/mount in a pack. Especially since I havn't really practiced it too much.

Should be some photos of the Sativa Rollers sunday dam ride from this past Sunday and some then some race photos that TAra takes.