Over the weekend, I finally installed the Sturmey-Archer 3 speed wheel on the Surly (this particular AW is a 1972 vintage). Yes, yes, fixed gears are great, except when you haul 15 pounds of stuff back and forth to work everyday, or drag 60+ pounds of children in a trailer behind you. I fantasized briefly […]
Posted on July 9th, 2008 by admin
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28 racers. Warm. Humid. Kinda windy. The pace was mostly pretty reasonable, and there were lots of attacks. Nothing stuck, though, due in part to the group chasing the moves down and in part to the winds, which discouraged solo efforts. I mostly stayed in the group. The few times I thought I could cover […]
Posted on July 8th, 2008 by admin
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Middle-Bairdford-Saxonburg 35 miles. I had forgotten how pleasant Middle Road Extension is. My goal for the rest of the season will be to explore the roads to the north without a map, just to see what happens. An epic rain storm moved in during the last five or six miles–pounding rain, a bit of hail, […]
Posted on July 6th, 2008 by admin
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Miller’s Run This was my trip south of the city, and it was worth it. I’m spoiled by quick access to farm roads north of the city, and always put off a bit by the West End Circle, but the circle isn’t bad at all, especially when approached via Carson Street. There is actually very […]
Posted on July 6th, 2008 by admin
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As of today, I have backed out of doing the 101. I could enumerate my reasons, but I won’t. Mostly, I fear I won’t be in shape (zooming around the Oval is all well and good, but I’m not sure it’s the best training for a 100 mile MTB race with 11,000 feet of climbing), […]
Posted on July 1st, 2008 by admin
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Apparently at some point today this blog fell prey to a WordPress cookie hijacking vulnerability, and there was a spam posted. This was actually heartwarming in a way, as six different people alerted me, which is, I think, five more people than I though actually read this blog. Part of the issue is likely that […]
Posted on July 1st, 2008 by admin
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It was ACA picnic night, meaning everybody raced, and the Cs raced in the dark, mostly. Good thing I wore my navy blue jersey. And forgot my lights for the ride home. The pace was really fast from the start, thanks in part to some B race regulars making an appearance as well as a […]
Posted on July 1st, 2008 by admin
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There was a small-ish group for Tuesday’s race–only 21–and quite a few first time racers. A handful of riders promoted themselves to the B race, but a few of the fast guys were still around. I suspected that the quick Roomful Express rider, who is usually in the thick of things, would just go ahead […]
Posted on June 25th, 2008 by admin
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“I was in the pain cave and I had dropped the flashlight, so it was pretty dark at that point.” Mike Friedman, describing his effort in the 2008 Het Volk.* The skinny on the race: 20 laps of a .8 mile on-street course in Oakmont for a total of a whopping 16 miles. Six corners, […]
Posted on June 21st, 2008 by admin
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Fox Chapel Loop I snuck out at 8:00 PM, after the rain passed, for a short ride through the hills above Fox Chapel. Through Sharpsburg, I made my usual navigational error of climbing to Sharps Hill instead of Dorseyville, meaning a bit of meandering through the neighborhood before I (re-)discovered the correct sequence of roads […]
Posted on June 20th, 2008 by admin
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