Going Long and Hard.
- Thread starter Steve Vai
- Start date
Steve Vai
Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Thursday.
Commute up to the shop. You know, that 'ole chestnut.
http://www.strava.com/activities/221558156
Gears.
I've now mentally prepared myself to install gears on my bike. I had a good talk with Charly, (who won Tuscobia last year) and given the variable conditions, gears would be a good idea. It took him over 20 hours, riding in his lowest gear, with his tires deflated to 2 psi. Second place finished 6 hours behind him. While I'd love to pull the macho card and say I'll be fine on the SS, 80% of the field DNF'd last year before the turn-around. I don't want to be one of those guys. So, gears.
D&L.
We are making good progress on our race. We spent a bunch of time cleaning, de-rusting, and clear coating the finishers' awards.
They came out pretty cool. Now we have to write something on them.
Selene gave us a little shout out in Bicycling, which is awesome!!
"I have this beautiful blue bomber from Felt to test out as I train for what might be the dumbest thing I’ve ever done (and I’ve done some dumb things): The D&L Fat Epic. It’s a 125-mile race along tow and canal paths next month. I’ve done this route on a road bike with 23C tires. But for this (mis)adventure, only fat bikes are allowed because, well, fat bikes!"
-Jim.
Commute up to the shop. You know, that 'ole chestnut.
http://www.strava.com/activities/221558156
Gears.
I've now mentally prepared myself to install gears on my bike. I had a good talk with Charly, (who won Tuscobia last year) and given the variable conditions, gears would be a good idea. It took him over 20 hours, riding in his lowest gear, with his tires deflated to 2 psi. Second place finished 6 hours behind him. While I'd love to pull the macho card and say I'll be fine on the SS, 80% of the field DNF'd last year before the turn-around. I don't want to be one of those guys. So, gears.
D&L.
We are making good progress on our race. We spent a bunch of time cleaning, de-rusting, and clear coating the finishers' awards.
They came out pretty cool. Now we have to write something on them.
Selene gave us a little shout out in Bicycling, which is awesome!!
"I have this beautiful blue bomber from Felt to test out as I train for what might be the dumbest thing I’ve ever done (and I’ve done some dumb things): The D&L Fat Epic. It’s a 125-mile race along tow and canal paths next month. I’ve done this route on a road bike with 23C tires. But for this (mis)adventure, only fat bikes are allowed because, well, fat bikes!"
-Jim.
I have this vision of Jim awarding railroad spikes to the finishers and it reminded me of a stupid movie reference.
"if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball"
"if you can ride a bike, you can catch a spike"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMWdnkSMPGM
"if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball"
"if you can ride a bike, you can catch a spike"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMWdnkSMPGM
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Johnny Utah
Well-Known Member
Are you suggesting Jim change his name to Patches O'Houlihan?
rick81721
Lothar
Pardon my ignorance but I've never been a hobo or rode along rail tracks. Are spikes just lying around like that or are you yanking them off the rails??
Mountain Bike Mike
Well-Known Member
Yes - but wouldn't it make for a interesting story if Jim went around taking apart train tracks to support his event trophies?
The traisl IO use to maintain were right by railroad tracks. You may not believe the amount of crap laying around. There would be piles of these spikes and ton that have popped out. I can speak for Jim, but i doubt he is pulling them out.
Steve Vai
Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
No. I actually pull them out. The train that goes behind my house is one of those cargo ones that blows the horn for 20 minutes straight at 3am. I want it to derail and for everyone on board to die.
(not really)
(well, not the pulling the spikes out, I just find them on the side)
(I do want them all to die)
Andy, it's impossible to predict that sort of thing. There are too many variables in a race like this and as prepared as I may be, the chances of nothing going to plan are very high. That being said, I definitely hope I win. First place is a $1,200 entry into Iditabike. Our budget is super tight this year so that will go a long way...My son was accepted into the People to People study abroad program and most of our funds will be going to that, putting me in a position to skip racing for 2015 and train specifically for Iditabike 2016.
-Jim.
(not really)
(well, not the pulling the spikes out, I just find them on the side)
(I do want them all to die)
Andy, it's impossible to predict that sort of thing. There are too many variables in a race like this and as prepared as I may be, the chances of nothing going to plan are very high. That being said, I definitely hope I win. First place is a $1,200 entry into Iditabike. Our budget is super tight this year so that will go a long way...My son was accepted into the People to People study abroad program and most of our funds will be going to that, putting me in a position to skip racing for 2015 and train specifically for Iditabike 2016.
-Jim.
Congrats on the cool kid accomplishment, guess we should kudos the wife 😀
I don't think putting a budget together for presentations and collecting a few sponsors and friendly funds is beyond reality. i don't know how it works beyond the basics (i know a few golfers, and their trade-off)
guess we should get through the race first....
I don't think putting a budget together for presentations and collecting a few sponsors and friendly funds is beyond reality. i don't know how it works beyond the basics (i know a few golfers, and their trade-off)
guess we should get through the race first....
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walter
Fourth Party
Kudos, this is awesome.
Steve Vai
Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Thanks, I'm excited for him. He's a really smart and talented kid. Of course I'm biased because I had a part in making him, but he seriously is above the curve.
I do have some sponsors that I can lean into a little bit, but I honestly don't like doing it. Being where I work I do get a good amount of tips so that's all been going into a pile. At this point I'm fine with "Plan B".
And thanks for the support folks, it means a lot. For realz.
-Jim.
Steve Vai
Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Saturday.
Short ride today? Well, at least compared to the past few Saturdays. 6 and change hours consisting of train tracks, Sourlands, some more train tracks, some road, a visit from jDog, the D&R, 6-Mile Run, a broken Garmin, some more D&R, some more train tracks, and that's pretty much it. 😀
Coming out of Sourlands I found this abandoned rail line and decided to follow it. It eventually connects back to almost where I got off the tracks. I think I could skip a little more road next time by hitting this section and coming into Sourlands from the other side. Good find.
After 6-Mile I ran into my friend David and had some company on the D&R back to home. He was finishing up a 70-mile day himself.
http://www.strava.com/activities/222046368/segments/5249647160
My Garmin shut off and then wouldn't find any satellites so there's about 4oish minutes missing from this file.
-Jim.
Short ride today? Well, at least compared to the past few Saturdays. 6 and change hours consisting of train tracks, Sourlands, some more train tracks, some road, a visit from jDog, the D&R, 6-Mile Run, a broken Garmin, some more D&R, some more train tracks, and that's pretty much it. 😀
Coming out of Sourlands I found this abandoned rail line and decided to follow it. It eventually connects back to almost where I got off the tracks. I think I could skip a little more road next time by hitting this section and coming into Sourlands from the other side. Good find.
After 6-Mile I ran into my friend David and had some company on the D&R back to home. He was finishing up a 70-mile day himself.
http://www.strava.com/activities/222046368/segments/5249647160
My Garmin shut off and then wouldn't find any satellites so there's about 4oish minutes missing from this file.
-Jim.
where you initially cross 206, there are tracks into the belle mead depot. hopefully ridable in a few years with off-road connection to SMP, and out the northwest side to the old CNJ railbed - the pipeline has some fieldside trails up to the base of SMP from mountain view rd.
awesome ride today. nice work.
awesome ride today. nice work.
Steve Vai
Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
I think I caught most of what you said. Those second tracks are west of Rt206 and turn north aimed at SMP. It looks like a straight shot across Belle Mead Rd and then over East Mountain into the westernmost portion of SMP. Have you ever done that?
I actually had to be home today so I didn't have time to explore it as much as I would've liked to.
-Jim.
I actually had to be home today so I didn't have time to explore it as much as I would've liked to.
-Jim.