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Thursday, April 29, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Racing Recap - MSC #1 - Rabbit Valley Rampage
This past weekend saw the opening stop on the Mountain States Cup series - Rabbit Valley Rampage.
Talk about middle of nowhere. The location is only two miles from the Utah/Colorado border, and the only semblance of civilization was the tents and structures brought in for the race.
That, and the huge cellular tower that's about half a mile away from the parking lot...which means 3G coverage is darn near perfect. Strange.
Anyways, Saturday was the "Prologue" time trial - a quasi-technical 5 mile loop of singletrack. I felt pretty good throughout the entire run...my goal was sub-19 minutes. Finished in around 18:40, which I felt was a solid effort for me. Could have probably went as low as 18:20 if everything went perfect. Finished 5th in the time trial. Since I didn't want to waste an entire afternoon in Grand Junction, I decided to drive back home and sleep in my own bed that night for the XC race on Sunday.
Tyler Eaton and I headed back to Rabbit Valley for the XC race on Sunday morning. Got to the spot at about 10:30, which was perfect for a 12:15 start. I get into my usual routine of pre-race fueling and warming up, and at about 11:50, the starter announces that the race was being pushed back to 12:45.
This totally sucks because, as a racer, I'm just looking for consistency. I have my pre-race routine, which I start about an hour before the actual race. When the start gets moved, it throws the whole schedule out of whack. Not to mention that food is a big deal, and at 12:15, I was alright not eating a whole lot after breakfast. With the extra half hour to kill, I really needed something more to eat; I didn't bring anything with me, though.
We finally get all lined up and ready to go. I've never been out on the majority of this course before, so I was totally flying blind. AND I forgot my bike computer, so I was going to have no idea mileage-wise where we were in the overall scheme of the race.
Start goes off, and we proceed out onto a 4 or 5-mile long sandy dirt road, which is part of the Kokopelli Trail. With this kind of terrain, tactics are pretty important. I just sat in the pack and tried to stay out of the wind; I felt like I had a great start. There was one decent acceleration after about 10 minutes, which I stayed on top of, but the group shook about 4 or 5 loose off the back.
About 18 minutes into the race, the dirt road has a little incline. I shifted to compensate, and my chain suddenly breaks. Crap. Everyone's still packed up, so I'm there fixing my chain with my entire group moving away from me at a pretty rapid pace. Coming off the bike with my heart rate at 180bpm, my hands were just shaking...especially because I knew the race was more or less over for me at that point. After five minutes (!) of trying to get my chain back together, I finally get my shit straight to get back in behind the top 3 singlespeeders, the group that started 3 minutes behind us.
For the next 40 minutes, I absolutely pegged it, running the big ring to try and find someone on the back of our group to team up with. Ran by Elgee out apparently basking in the sun (pic right). I eventually caught up with Tyler right at the bottom of the biggest climb on the course on Westwater Mesa - a quarter mile or better of 25%+ grade. It was easily rideable, but I came off the bike because of the effort I just put in to get there. At the top, I finally kicked it into gear, picked up a new bottle at the aid station (managed to rattle one loose somewhere - again - the bottle that had my EFS in it), and started to hammer.
Before long, though, I was into the Overlook Trail - a 10 mile long singletrack that was either whoopty-doos from motos, or massive rough rock slabs. Either case doesn't allow you to put much consistent effort into the pedals. Unfortunately, consistent effort into the pedals is really what my body is geared for right now. This section was like volunteering for torture on my lower back - my back muscles probably won't be kosher for several days. I was racing the Stumpy today, so the hardtail didn't help on the rock sections. I don't know that the Intense's full-suspension would have really helped that much, though. It was just a massive amount of hurt for me.
Throughout the entire race, people were passing me from behind, I was catching up to people, so I really had no clue where I was with relationship to other racers in my group...or with relationship to the overall course length.
After coming off the Overlook Trail, the race started to return on the Western Rim trail (pic left). This fun singletrack contoured along the edge of a massive cliff out there, with lots of sandstone and smooth dirt. Along with the fun riding was also about a half dozen "hike-a-bikes", where the terrain is steep and rocky and only the best mountain bikers can actually ride it. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm not one of them.
At about 2 hours into the race, I completely cracked because of the inability to eat or drink effectively across the Overlook Trail. My mind started wandering, I simply couldn't put any effort into the pedals, and I just wanted to be done. This is where not having my computer really hurt, simply because I didn't know how much farther the race was. The open desert is a pretty desolate place to be when you're in that spot. Somewhere along that stretch, I hit a rock and fat-assed my saddle, so I had to get off the bike, whip the multi-tool out again, and get that straightened out. Which took two tries, because I over compensated the first time, and my butt was sliding forward on the saddle.
Got it fixed, rode for another 10 minutes or so, then had to make a last ditch effort to finish up. I stopped, ate both the remaining gels I had, and drank all of my water, to snap my body out of the funk I was in. It worked, because about a minute later, I was back on the Kokopelli Trail / Trail #2, heading back to the start/finish area. Strangely, I started feeling really good, and was passing people left and right while I hammered this slight grade climb in my big ring most of the way.
I don't mean to make light of others' misfortunes, but damn it was good for my psyche seeing all these other racers coming apart as well. The more I passed, the better I felt.
So one last grunt up the climbs to the finishing straight, and went as hard as I could to cross the line in case someone was following me. Ended up finishing in 12th, at 2h47min.
Everything considered, that was a pretty good result for me. Tyler caught me when I was fixing my saddle, and ended up taking 10th, about seven minutes in front of me. Jake White, another Vail local, must have came apart in the latter stages of the race, finishing 11th, about three minutes ahead. So riding the same ballpark as those guys, for my second Cat 1 race ever, made me feel pretty good. I know I could have been 15-20 minutes faster if everything had gone right. And if I would have had the pack to ride with up top, who knows. Maybe even faster than that; a 2:20 may have been doable. But that's why they run the races; not everything is going to be perfect every time.
And tonight? I'm buying a new chain. And probably new bottle cages...I'm getting really sick of not having a full tank of fluid out there.
Talk about middle of nowhere. The location is only two miles from the Utah/Colorado border, and the only semblance of civilization was the tents and structures brought in for the race.
That, and the huge cellular tower that's about half a mile away from the parking lot...which means 3G coverage is darn near perfect. Strange.
Tyler Eaton and I headed back to Rabbit Valley for the XC race on Sunday morning. Got to the spot at about 10:30, which was perfect for a 12:15 start. I get into my usual routine of pre-race fueling and warming up, and at about 11:50, the starter announces that the race was being pushed back to 12:45.
This totally sucks because, as a racer, I'm just looking for consistency. I have my pre-race routine, which I start about an hour before the actual race. When the start gets moved, it throws the whole schedule out of whack. Not to mention that food is a big deal, and at 12:15, I was alright not eating a whole lot after breakfast. With the extra half hour to kill, I really needed something more to eat; I didn't bring anything with me, though.
We finally get all lined up and ready to go. I've never been out on the majority of this course before, so I was totally flying blind. AND I forgot my bike computer, so I was going to have no idea mileage-wise where we were in the overall scheme of the race.
Start goes off, and we proceed out onto a 4 or 5-mile long sandy dirt road, which is part of the Kokopelli Trail. With this kind of terrain, tactics are pretty important. I just sat in the pack and tried to stay out of the wind; I felt like I had a great start. There was one decent acceleration after about 10 minutes, which I stayed on top of, but the group shook about 4 or 5 loose off the back.
About 18 minutes into the race, the dirt road has a little incline. I shifted to compensate, and my chain suddenly breaks. Crap. Everyone's still packed up, so I'm there fixing my chain with my entire group moving away from me at a pretty rapid pace. Coming off the bike with my heart rate at 180bpm, my hands were just shaking...especially because I knew the race was more or less over for me at that point. After five minutes (!) of trying to get my chain back together, I finally get my shit straight to get back in behind the top 3 singlespeeders, the group that started 3 minutes behind us.
Before long, though, I was into the Overlook Trail - a 10 mile long singletrack that was either whoopty-doos from motos, or massive rough rock slabs. Either case doesn't allow you to put much consistent effort into the pedals. Unfortunately, consistent effort into the pedals is really what my body is geared for right now. This section was like volunteering for torture on my lower back - my back muscles probably won't be kosher for several days. I was racing the Stumpy today, so the hardtail didn't help on the rock sections. I don't know that the Intense's full-suspension would have really helped that much, though. It was just a massive amount of hurt for me.
Throughout the entire race, people were passing me from behind, I was catching up to people, so I really had no clue where I was with relationship to other racers in my group...or with relationship to the overall course length.
At about 2 hours into the race, I completely cracked because of the inability to eat or drink effectively across the Overlook Trail. My mind started wandering, I simply couldn't put any effort into the pedals, and I just wanted to be done. This is where not having my computer really hurt, simply because I didn't know how much farther the race was. The open desert is a pretty desolate place to be when you're in that spot. Somewhere along that stretch, I hit a rock and fat-assed my saddle, so I had to get off the bike, whip the multi-tool out again, and get that straightened out. Which took two tries, because I over compensated the first time, and my butt was sliding forward on the saddle.
Got it fixed, rode for another 10 minutes or so, then had to make a last ditch effort to finish up. I stopped, ate both the remaining gels I had, and drank all of my water, to snap my body out of the funk I was in. It worked, because about a minute later, I was back on the Kokopelli Trail / Trail #2, heading back to the start/finish area. Strangely, I started feeling really good, and was passing people left and right while I hammered this slight grade climb in my big ring most of the way.
I don't mean to make light of others' misfortunes, but damn it was good for my psyche seeing all these other racers coming apart as well. The more I passed, the better I felt.
So one last grunt up the climbs to the finishing straight, and went as hard as I could to cross the line in case someone was following me. Ended up finishing in 12th, at 2h47min.
Everything considered, that was a pretty good result for me. Tyler caught me when I was fixing my saddle, and ended up taking 10th, about seven minutes in front of me. Jake White, another Vail local, must have came apart in the latter stages of the race, finishing 11th, about three minutes ahead. So riding the same ballpark as those guys, for my second Cat 1 race ever, made me feel pretty good. I know I could have been 15-20 minutes faster if everything had gone right. And if I would have had the pack to ride with up top, who knows. Maybe even faster than that; a 2:20 may have been doable. But that's why they run the races; not everything is going to be perfect every time.
And tonight? I'm buying a new chain. And probably new bottle cages...I'm getting really sick of not having a full tank of fluid out there.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
MSC #1 - Rabbit Valley Rampage
Colorado MTB race season officially starts this weekend, with the first venue of the Mountain States Cup series - Rabbit Valley Rampage.
For those of you that don't know, Rabbit Valley is a location full of trails just west of Fruita, and is quickly gaining popularity among mountain bikers. Starting very near Exit #2 on I-70, many of the trails traverse well into Utah before circumnavigating back to Colorado.
Saturday has a 5-mile time trial 'prologue', which should take in the ballpark of 20 minutes to complete, with Cat 1/19-29 time slots starting at 11:45am. Sunday has a full gamut of XC racing, with the Cat 1 waves starting around 12:15pm.
The XC course starts on the Kokopelli Trail at Exit 2, then heads west onto the Westwater Mesa trail. From there, we move onto the Western Rim trail, then high-tail it back to the finish along the Kokopelli to the starting area. Follow the blue line on the map to the right.
Total course length is in the ballpark of 31 miles, and the organizers are guessing the PROs will be finishing in 2h00m to 2h15m. I'm thinking it'll probably be in the neighborhood of 2h45m for myself.
Time to build on the experience from Sea Otter, and go put a good race together.
Saturday has a 5-mile time trial 'prologue', which should take in the ballpark of 20 minutes to complete, with Cat 1/19-29 time slots starting at 11:45am. Sunday has a full gamut of XC racing, with the Cat 1 waves starting around 12:15pm.
The XC course starts on the Kokopelli Trail at Exit 2, then heads west onto the Westwater Mesa trail. From there, we move onto the Western Rim trail, then high-tail it back to the finish along the Kokopelli to the starting area. Follow the blue line on the map to the right.
Total course length is in the ballpark of 31 miles, and the organizers are guessing the PROs will be finishing in 2h00m to 2h15m. I'm thinking it'll probably be in the neighborhood of 2h45m for myself.
Time to build on the experience from Sea Otter, and go put a good race together.
Next Stop - USAC National MTB Championships
Well, not really next stop, but you get the idea. Have a few more races between now and the middle of July.
Fortune has smiled upon me, and the folks at USA Cycling have apparently decided I did well enough at Sea Otter to qualify me for the National Championship XC race, which will be held at Sol Vista Resort in Granby, CO. Raced the National Competition XC race last year in Cat 2...it's a brutal course. You climb up the mountain, then you climb all the way down. The only recovery areas were climbs. No kidding.
Anyway, now that I have my qualification for Nationals set, I can relax and just concentrate on racing...
Anyway, now that I have my qualification for Nationals set, I can relax and just concentrate on racing...
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Sea Otter Classic - Day 4
My last day at Sea Otter consisted of watching the Cat 2 XC race (cheering Tim on), expo-ing or festival-ing all day, watching the PRO Short Track XC races, catching a couple runs of the PRO Dual Slalom finals, and catching the end of the PRO/1/2 Road Race.
Tim started off on his journey around the 19-mile XC course at about 8:00am...many more entrants for the Cat 2 races. Looked like about 35 or so in Tim's age group. He wrapped up the race in about 1h50min, coming in around 20th or so. Good result for him.
Ran into a friend from K-State - Aaron Elwell - who was racing PRO out here this weekend. He was lined up for short track that afternoon, and the XC race on Sunday. We checked out the expo booths the rest of the morning.
Stopped by the Native Eyewear booth for a chat...pretty sweet glasses. Check 'em out. Scored a set of the Grind shades, which I wore for the rest of the day instead of the Oakleys. Very glad I had them...the larger format and polarized lenses were much needed being in the sun all day.
Specialized booth had a SHIV time trial bike there for everyone to see. Man, that bike's doing 40mph standing still. Also stopped by their mechanic pit - bikes for Lene Byberg, Conrad Stoltz, Todd Wells, Christoph Sauser, and Burry Stander were all hanging there, getting worked on. Pretty sweet to see the tools of the pros. Also stopped by their mountain bike booth, and chatted with their western region director of somethin' or other. He suggested I pick up an Easton EC90 seatpost for my Stumpy - he said their freeride guys are riding it (so its plenty strong), and it take a lot of the bite out of the trail on a hardtail. I'll take him up on it...
Also stopped by Turner Bicycles booth - Dave Turner had his Fluxes, 5.Spots, and Sultans out there for test rides. In all sorts of colors. You want a custom bike that isn't truly a 'one-off'? Give Turner a call.Other fun things I saw:
Crank Brothers was doing full pedal rebuilds - for FREE - but they were returning Saturday's pedals on Sunday, so no good for me.
Yeti Bikes debuted their new 29er hardtail. Sweet looking ride...one that a lot of people have been clamoring about. So did Orbea and Cannondale, for that matter.
Lizard Skins had their etching/engraving equipment on-site to customize lock-on grip rings. Purely Custom did as well...that's all they do. Custom headset caps, spacers, lock-on rings, etc.
Mafia Racing had the Pabst tent set up. Yay.
Cytomax had a "refreshment station" set up - with all the Muscle Milk protein shakes or Cytomax ready-to-drink you could stand. Ice cold. Yum...stopped by there probably half a dozen times.
Pedro's was sponsoring the bike wash station - which I took advantage of - by stocking the place with Green Fizz bike wash, Oranj Peelz degreaser, and GO! lube.
On to the PRO XC races: I figured I'd watch Aaron race in the men's short track, as well as catch the women's short track beforehand.
Wow - these guys and gals are FAST.
Women's race saw a split of four off the front, with Georgia Gould putting it to the other three with four laps to go, soloing away for the win.
Got to see Brian Lopes rip down the dual slalom course...let me tell you, he don't suck. Also saw the Bissell road team dominate the Elite Road Race, with Paul Mach winning in a solo effort. There were some bunch sprints...talk about uncorking a sprint. 40 miles an hour on a flat is pretty impressive.
Also got to check out a few other riding events - dirt pump track, dual trials, and the like. Got completely fried - my scalp is sunburnt for crying out loud - and went back to the hotel to pack up the bike and get ready to head home.
Fun weekend. Great venue, great weather, great time. Would I do it again? Sure. Next year?
Training starts tomorrow...:)
Sea Otter Classic - Day 3 (Race Report)
Race Day.
Took it easy throughout the morning, waking up around 8am, grabbing a decent breakfast, and getting ready. Race started staging at 1:50pm for a 2:15 start. Got a great warmup in – felt ready to go. At least as ready as I was going to be anyway. First Cat 1 / Pro Singlespeed, then 15-16 C1, followed by 17-18 C1, and then 19-24 C1. Finally, our group (25-29 Cat 1) toes the line. 25 of us at the start. While we’re waiting through our 5-minute wave separation, the announcer was friendly enough to announce that the defending Cat 1 XC Nat’l Champ was at the start line.
Wonderful. As if picking Sea Otter for my first Cat 1 XC race was enough, now I’ve got the best of the best in the category lining it up with me. No time like the present to see where I stand, I guess.
I honestly entered this race with the goal to not get absolutely shellacked…don’t get me wrong – a podium would be nice – but if I just finished ahead of a couple of people, I’d be happy.
Whistle sounds, and we take off in a pack for a nice little cruise around Laguna Seca Raceway, backwards to just shy of the Corkscrew. We’re all packed up, I’m somewhere around a third of the way back, when we dump off the tarmac and shoot through a two-wide gate and out onto the first section of dirt. Big selection up this first climb, where the group of 25 suddenly became a group of 12-14 and the rest splintered off the back. Turned off the road and hit the first section of singletrack – snaking through the trees. Great trail – too bad I was too concentrated on not getting dropped through here to enjoy it. Hanging on for dear life through the next couple sections of singletrack – one a slight but long sandy climb, and a long descent with deep sand. We come up to the second climb – a steep singletrack section that lasts 5-6 minutes (about 30 minutes into the race), and I finally come off the back of the group. When I say “group”, I mean racers that were in relative contact with each other…I was probably 2 minutes off the pace already at this point. Lost contact with those guys, but kept the pace I could muster for as long as I could.
At about 10 miles into the race, the course turned very sandy. Took a spill on a downhill section (front wheel washed out in 12″ deep sand – all of a sudden it hooked up, shot straight right into a bush, and up over the handlebars I went)…and in the process, lost a water bottle. All of a sudden, I’m down to 1/2 of a bottle with about 8 miles to the lap area, where my reload was sitting; I got passed by two guys in the immediate aftermath that I never caught again, and I have sand in places it took two showers to get cleaned out. Just glad nothing broke and I wasn’t hurt.
The course finally start working back toward the main venue, when you hop out on a doubletrack that is out in the open. Wildflowers everywhere, green grass covers the hillsides like carpet. Quite striking when you’re used to brown grass and/or snow like I have been staring at for many weeks now in Colorado. Anyways, I was at a point in the race where I was just riding to have fun. I’d completely lost contact with anyone in front of me, so I was officially “riding” instead of racing now. Still pumping out as much of a pace as I could, but it was essentially a time trial for me from here on – for the next 25 miles. Anyways – back to the open hillsides…you crest this particular hill, and you can see the doubletrack climb, and climb, and climb. You can see the top of the course. You look at your computer, and it dawns on you – that top is 4 miles away. It looks so close…
I loop through in about 1h25min, which was pretty respectable for me. If I was only racing one lap (i.e. still in Cat 2), I probably would have been in contention for the win. But we were doing two laps, so I left some gas in the tank. I came through the lap area, grabbed my reload bottle (which was my only fluid at this point…uh-oh), and started heading back out for lap two. I remember thinking to myself, “I have to do this again?” I sat in with one other guy in my race, but about halfway through the first singletrack section, he took a bobble and I passed him, never to see him again. I was getting passed up by guys in the age groups behind me, so I would suck a wheel as long as I could, and eventually they’d get away from me. About an hour into the second lap (about 2h30min), I was running low on the bottle I had, and had one gel left. And still had a number of miles to go. The last hour of the race more or less turned from “riding” to “wanting to finish”. When you’re 5 minutes behind the person in front of you, and 5 minutes ahead of the person behind you, and you’re cracked, starting to cramp, and out of fluid – the bike becomes a pretty lonely and desolate place to be.
Regardless, I soldiered on, turning the cranks over yet one more time, until I finally crossed the finish line. Finished in 16th place, in 3h23min. I was waaaay dehydrated, hungry, and blown up.
So, at the end of the day, it was much more positive than negative, regardless of how I finished. I couldn’t have possibly ridden any faster across the course, everything (including myself) stayed in working order the whole race, and I still had fun. I learned that I have a lot of work to do, but being among the top at this level isn’t out of the question. Just give me a couple of races (...or years).
Wonderful. As if picking Sea Otter for my first Cat 1 XC race was enough, now I’ve got the best of the best in the category lining it up with me. No time like the present to see where I stand, I guess.I honestly entered this race with the goal to not get absolutely shellacked…don’t get me wrong – a podium would be nice – but if I just finished ahead of a couple of people, I’d be happy.
Whistle sounds, and we take off in a pack for a nice little cruise around Laguna Seca Raceway, backwards to just shy of the Corkscrew. We’re all packed up, I’m somewhere around a third of the way back, when we dump off the tarmac and shoot through a two-wide gate and out onto the first section of dirt. Big selection up this first climb, where the group of 25 suddenly became a group of 12-14 and the rest splintered off the back. Turned off the road and hit the first section of singletrack – snaking through the trees. Great trail – too bad I was too concentrated on not getting dropped through here to enjoy it. Hanging on for dear life through the next couple sections of singletrack – one a slight but long sandy climb, and a long descent with deep sand. We come up to the second climb – a steep singletrack section that lasts 5-6 minutes (about 30 minutes into the race), and I finally come off the back of the group. When I say “group”, I mean racers that were in relative contact with each other…I was probably 2 minutes off the pace already at this point. Lost contact with those guys, but kept the pace I could muster for as long as I could.
At about 10 miles into the race, the course turned very sandy. Took a spill on a downhill section (front wheel washed out in 12″ deep sand – all of a sudden it hooked up, shot straight right into a bush, and up over the handlebars I went)…and in the process, lost a water bottle. All of a sudden, I’m down to 1/2 of a bottle with about 8 miles to the lap area, where my reload was sitting; I got passed by two guys in the immediate aftermath that I never caught again, and I have sand in places it took two showers to get cleaned out. Just glad nothing broke and I wasn’t hurt.
The course finally start working back toward the main venue, when you hop out on a doubletrack that is out in the open. Wildflowers everywhere, green grass covers the hillsides like carpet. Quite striking when you’re used to brown grass and/or snow like I have been staring at for many weeks now in Colorado. Anyways, I was at a point in the race where I was just riding to have fun. I’d completely lost contact with anyone in front of me, so I was officially “riding” instead of racing now. Still pumping out as much of a pace as I could, but it was essentially a time trial for me from here on – for the next 25 miles. Anyways – back to the open hillsides…you crest this particular hill, and you can see the doubletrack climb, and climb, and climb. You can see the top of the course. You look at your computer, and it dawns on you – that top is 4 miles away. It looks so close…
Regardless, I soldiered on, turning the cranks over yet one more time, until I finally crossed the finish line. Finished in 16th place, in 3h23min. I was waaaay dehydrated, hungry, and blown up.
So, at the end of the day, it was much more positive than negative, regardless of how I finished. I couldn’t have possibly ridden any faster across the course, everything (including myself) stayed in working order the whole race, and I still had fun. I learned that I have a lot of work to do, but being among the top at this level isn’t out of the question. Just give me a couple of races (...or years).
Sunday, April 18, 2010
New Eyewear
Rockin' the Grind shades. Super nice quality, lots of great features.
Full review coming soon.
Rant Of The Day - iPad Shenanigans
Here's why the iPad won't last:
I'm sitting in San Jose International Airport, blogging and waiting for my flight back to Denver. Lo and behold, a more elderly (in their early 60s) couple next to me are on iPads. Both of them.
I creepily watched over their shoulder like I was trying to grab a credit card number or something. Really, I was just watching them use the iPad, see how easy it was to use, what they were using it for, etc. I'm not a total nut job.
Anyway, after about 5 minutes of it, the gentleman turns the iPad off, and pulls out a MacBook. Surfs the internet for a while, obviously doing the same as I - just wasting time.
Then he pulls out a cell phone. Not making calls on it - at least not that I noticed. But his cell is out, his laptop is on, and the iPad is off and back in the briefcase.
Which brings me to my point: the iPad doesn't replace anything. The iPhone was a huge hit because it was so influential. It is a cell phone, it's a camera. It's a digital music player, it's a video game device. It's a planner, it's a GPS. It does everything. A single iPhone replaces almost every other electronic device you need to carry.
The only thing an iPad replaces is a laptop...and even that premise is questionable. I carry my laptop because of the software I have on it...stuff the iPad can't operate. So from a business perspective - many of us already have laptops (so it doesn't necessarily make financial sense to replace with iPad), and a number of us can't really get rid of the laptop, either. For vacationers or recreational users, again, many of us already have laptops. If you don't have a laptop, well, and iPad is adding to what you would carry, not subtracting. It just doesn't make sense to me. I would never ever ever carry an cell phone, a laptop, and an iPad. Doesn't make sense. The iPad is superfluous.
Well, what if you don't have an iPhone or a laptop? Buy the iPhone. Yes, I know you have to switch to AT&T if you're not already on their network. But it makes more sense...the iPhone does everything the iPad does, plus makes phone calls, takes pictures, takes movies (3GS version), and operates as a turn-by-turn GPS nav unit.
So, I've come to the conclusion that the iPad is a luxury device for people that either enjoy taking it in the behind from Steve Jobs and have become an absolute Apple-Zombie, or just have too damn much money. It's a waste of space. It serves no real purpose. And if you have too much money; toss some my way - I can help you with your problem. I'll go buy bike parts with it.
I creepily watched over their shoulder like I was trying to grab a credit card number or something. Really, I was just watching them use the iPad, see how easy it was to use, what they were using it for, etc. I'm not a total nut job.
Anyway, after about 5 minutes of it, the gentleman turns the iPad off, and pulls out a MacBook. Surfs the internet for a while, obviously doing the same as I - just wasting time.
Then he pulls out a cell phone. Not making calls on it - at least not that I noticed. But his cell is out, his laptop is on, and the iPad is off and back in the briefcase.
Which brings me to my point: the iPad doesn't replace anything. The iPhone was a huge hit because it was so influential. It is a cell phone, it's a camera. It's a digital music player, it's a video game device. It's a planner, it's a GPS. It does everything. A single iPhone replaces almost every other electronic device you need to carry.
The only thing an iPad replaces is a laptop...and even that premise is questionable. I carry my laptop because of the software I have on it...stuff the iPad can't operate. So from a business perspective - many of us already have laptops (so it doesn't necessarily make financial sense to replace with iPad), and a number of us can't really get rid of the laptop, either. For vacationers or recreational users, again, many of us already have laptops. If you don't have a laptop, well, and iPad is adding to what you would carry, not subtracting. It just doesn't make sense to me. I would never ever ever carry an cell phone, a laptop, and an iPad. Doesn't make sense. The iPad is superfluous.
Well, what if you don't have an iPhone or a laptop? Buy the iPhone. Yes, I know you have to switch to AT&T if you're not already on their network. But it makes more sense...the iPhone does everything the iPad does, plus makes phone calls, takes pictures, takes movies (3GS version), and operates as a turn-by-turn GPS nav unit.
So, I've come to the conclusion that the iPad is a luxury device for people that either enjoy taking it in the behind from Steve Jobs and have become an absolute Apple-Zombie, or just have too damn much money. It's a waste of space. It serves no real purpose. And if you have too much money; toss some my way - I can help you with your problem. I'll go buy bike parts with it.
Sea Otter Classic - Day 2 (Course Preview)
Course description: The race course starts on Laguna Seca Raceway (right before turn 4, for you racing buffs out there), circumnavigating backward to nearly the Corkscrew descent. From there it splits off the track, and heads out on a rolling doubletrack across a hillside ridge. Dives into a twisty-but-fast singletrack through the trees (pic right), where every corner is loose sand, and the trail is flanked on both sides with thick, lush vegetation. Cross a road, start climbing on the same singletrack, where it goes from dense treese and underbrush to a sandy, sunny, desert-like climb. Some very gravelly and rolling jeep road, into the first "technical descent" of the day.
Note: When I see a sign that says "CAUTION: TECHNICAL DESCENT AHEAD", big rocks, drops, etc. come to mind. Pick a line or pick a gravestone type stuff. I do live in Colorado, after all. Not here. Technical descent, and there were three such marked, means a 200-meter long sandbox at 12% grade. Very ridable on the 29er, but still squirmy. Brakes are no good through these...they're a one-way ticket to Screwed City. Messing up one of these sections is a severe time penalty, not a health penalty.
Wrapping around that area, we start heading back toward the venue (we're at about mile 10 on the lap now). More singletrack through what seemed to be a frequent of cattle and/or sheep. Big mud puddles, some of which were pretty tricky to get through. Singletrack wound around for a little, finally meeting up with another dirt road. A lot of the terrain from miles 11 to 16 was very repeating...a mix of singletrack and dirt road across open fields, with the exception of a pretty steep pavement climb a half mile long in the middle of it.
Wow. I got tired just typing that.
So, Tim and I rode miles 1 through 8 and 15-19, thereby cutting out the most difficult sections of the course and saving the legs.
Corkscrew descent (pic left) on the raceway - one of the most famous raceway features in the world. The picture doesn't do it justice. It is DOWN. You're dropping 100 feet at probably 30% grade, while performing a hard left-to-right s-turn, coming into it at full throttle. If someone would have said I could trade my race registration in for a day racing a Mazda 'round the course, I would have done it in a heartbeat.
Back to the hotel for a nap and a shower, then off to Monterey for a decent dinner. Hit up this bayside pasta and pizza joint that wasn't half bad. Wasn't worth the price, though. It was good, but on a scale of 'picking out of the garbage' to 'exquisite dining', it was 'meh'. Picture right from the boardwalk at the restaurant...Japan is somewhere off that general direction.
We Need One Of These In Eagle
Alright - before I get back to the download of my trip to Sea Otter, let me digress for one minute.While in Salinas, after my racing was done and all, I took the opportunity to hit up In-N-Out Burger. I've heard a number of good things about this famed fast-food restaurant, mostly coming from the man himself, Elgee. Kind of an unassuming building, in an unassuming location. But there was lots of parking, and nearly all of it was full. There was also a tremendous drivethru line, backed up nearly to the road.
You just need to know the following:
- How many patties do you want?
- Do you want cheese?
- How thirsty are you?
- Do you want a shake?
Food: Was good. Pretty darned good, actually. I had the Double Double, with fries and an extra-large iced tea. I would rank the burger as my second all-time favorite fast-food burger, behind the one-and-only Larkburger. It was good enough that I really really wanted a second one. Even if I had to take it back to the hotel with me. Fries were...clean. I know that sounds weird to hear, but that's the best way I can describe them. Fries at Burger King, or Sonic, or even McDonalds taste fatty. These just tasted, well, fried. I really don't know how to describe them other than that. You could eat a ton of these things and not necessarily feel bad about it.
We totally need an In-N-Out Burger in Eagle.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Sea Otter Classic - Day 1
First day for the 2010 Sea Otter Classic was pretty uneventful. Out the do' at 5AM, flight out of DIA at 8:30 to San Jose.
Tim had my packed up bike on Monday, and was already half way there, in Las Vegas.
On my trip to Denver, it dawned on me at about Morrison that I was running a half-hour behind schedule. I thought about it for a moment, and realized I gave myself two hours to get to DIA. Which is normal -from Avon. I left straight from my house, which normally takes an hour and a half. Whoops.
I thought no big deal. As long as I got to the airport and parked with an hour to spare, which was doable, I was still good. Then cruising through Denver, I get to the I-25/I-70 interchange. Traffic stopped. Nervous.
Thankfully, traffic started releasing as soon as I had to come to a complete stop, so on my way I went. What transpired next was amazing - I somehow made it from the interchange to DIA, parked, checked a bag, and through security in 33 minutes. 7:15am at I-25, 7:48am when I put my watch back on after security on the 'A' Concourse. I don't know if I'll ever hit that kind of efficiency in an airport again.
Had the pleasure of sitting next to the Director of Marketing for Native Eyewear on the fligh out here. Pretty sweet, solid glasses and goggles. Killer 'lifestyle' glasses, and all their more athletics-oriented glasses gome standard with interchangeable lenses, polarized optics, venting, cam-action temple hinges, and mechanism to prevent lenses from coming toward your eyes (they can only be popped outward). Nice. Chatted about the possibility of sponsorship - we'll see. I'm going to test out a pair on Saturday this weekend, after the race. Who knows; maybe something will come out of it.
Got to San Jose (picture of the SJ Airport, right) around 10:20am local, and nearly 11:15 by the time I got my rental car. Ford Focus. Without cruise control (WTF?). This is the most beat-up rental car I've ever seen. Scratched to the holy living bejeezus. There isn't a body panel on this car that didn't have massive amounts of paint blemishes. Whatever - still drives just fine, and at least the interior was clean. 50 mile drive to Salinas, where the hotel is at.
Radio around SJ sucks. SUCKS. A couple of decent jazz stations, if you could get them to come in clearly. Wasn't crap for other stations...a couple of Hispanic programming, a country station, and a couple of Top 40-type stations. And you could only get them for 10 miles at a time, before they faded out and were replaced by some other waste of brain function.
I notice the car has an AUX IN port, and luckily, I brought my cable to plug my iPhone in. Unluckily, though, I was down to about 25% battery on the phone, so I nixed the idea of listening to it, and rolled the windows down, turned the radio off, and enjoyed the scenery. Picture of Hwy 101, left. Notice how green everything is? Reminded me of The Shire in Lord Of The Rings. Seriously.
Get to the hotel at 12:30 or so, and find out check-in wasn't until 3pm. What's a bored guy on vacation to do? Hopped back in the car, and drove on to Laguna Seca Raceway to pick up my registration packet and whatnot.
Clusterfuck when I got there. No one could tell you where to park except the guy manning the parking lot. Apparently, the staffers don't need to know general and important information such as "Where do I park?" Not signed at all. Couldn't find the guy manning the parking lot (obviously, I would have found the parking lot at that point, too). Drove around for nearly 30 minutes trying to find the damn thing. Found it, checked in, done. Pretty low-key scene on Wednesday...not too many people there. A couple of roadies spinning, a couple of gravity dudes. Most of the staffers were still getting things set up. So that was good - no crowds, no stress, just hangin out. Pretty cool vantage point from the registration building - Laguna Seca Raceway has always been one of my favorite race courses ever. It's a true test of how solid of a driver you are. Picture of the Start/Finish Line, at the Mazda Bridge, right.
Honestly, if someone said to me, "You can trade in your MTB race registration for a one-day clinic at Skip Barber Driving School and race these Miatas around the circuit," I'd probably do it.
Nope. I'd definitely do it.
BTW - the swag bag sucked. A spare tube, a water bottle, and a couple of trial samples of CytoMax, Clif Bar, and Chamois Butter. But it came in a pretty cool Specialized 'grocery bag'. Still, have you seen the swag bag that Teva Mountain Games does?!?
Anyways, thought at this point I'd grab some lunch. It was nearly 2:30, and I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. Plowed through the couple of granola bars I had in my backpack. Very indecisive about what to eat, so I eventually made my way to the PCH and hit up a McDonalds for a quick bite. Thankfully, I found a table with an outlet next to it, cuz the iPhone was on its last couple of breaths.
Charged it for 20 minutes, then I was on my way back to Salinas to kick the legs up for the rest of the day. On the way back, I noticed "SAT" on the radio. Pushed it - Sirius came on. DAMMIT! Why didn't I see that before? Backspin, Boneyard or Faction would have been sooooooooo much better than the lack of music I had on the way down here!
Tim and his wife Danielle came rolling in around 8:30pm. Got a good nap in that afternoon, helped them unpack, and went out to grab a bite to eat for dinner. Called it a day after that.
Tim had my packed up bike on Monday, and was already half way there, in Las Vegas.
On my trip to Denver, it dawned on me at about Morrison that I was running a half-hour behind schedule. I thought about it for a moment, and realized I gave myself two hours to get to DIA. Which is normal -from Avon. I left straight from my house, which normally takes an hour and a half. Whoops.
I thought no big deal. As long as I got to the airport and parked with an hour to spare, which was doable, I was still good. Then cruising through Denver, I get to the I-25/I-70 interchange. Traffic stopped. Nervous.
Thankfully, traffic started releasing as soon as I had to come to a complete stop, so on my way I went. What transpired next was amazing - I somehow made it from the interchange to DIA, parked, checked a bag, and through security in 33 minutes. 7:15am at I-25, 7:48am when I put my watch back on after security on the 'A' Concourse. I don't know if I'll ever hit that kind of efficiency in an airport again.
Had the pleasure of sitting next to the Director of Marketing for Native Eyewear on the fligh out here. Pretty sweet, solid glasses and goggles. Killer 'lifestyle' glasses, and all their more athletics-oriented glasses gome standard with interchangeable lenses, polarized optics, venting, cam-action temple hinges, and mechanism to prevent lenses from coming toward your eyes (they can only be popped outward). Nice. Chatted about the possibility of sponsorship - we'll see. I'm going to test out a pair on Saturday this weekend, after the race. Who knows; maybe something will come out of it.Got to San Jose (picture of the SJ Airport, right) around 10:20am local, and nearly 11:15 by the time I got my rental car. Ford Focus. Without cruise control (WTF?). This is the most beat-up rental car I've ever seen. Scratched to the holy living bejeezus. There isn't a body panel on this car that didn't have massive amounts of paint blemishes. Whatever - still drives just fine, and at least the interior was clean. 50 mile drive to Salinas, where the hotel is at.
Radio around SJ sucks. SUCKS. A couple of decent jazz stations, if you could get them to come in clearly. Wasn't crap for other stations...a couple of Hispanic programming, a country station, and a couple of Top 40-type stations. And you could only get them for 10 miles at a time, before they faded out and were replaced by some other waste of brain function.
Get to the hotel at 12:30 or so, and find out check-in wasn't until 3pm. What's a bored guy on vacation to do? Hopped back in the car, and drove on to Laguna Seca Raceway to pick up my registration packet and whatnot.
Clusterfuck when I got there. No one could tell you where to park except the guy manning the parking lot. Apparently, the staffers don't need to know general and important information such as "Where do I park?" Not signed at all. Couldn't find the guy manning the parking lot (obviously, I would have found the parking lot at that point, too). Drove around for nearly 30 minutes trying to find the damn thing. Found it, checked in, done. Pretty low-key scene on Wednesday...not too many people there. A couple of roadies spinning, a couple of gravity dudes. Most of the staffers were still getting things set up. So that was good - no crowds, no stress, just hangin out. Pretty cool vantage point from the registration building - Laguna Seca Raceway has always been one of my favorite race courses ever. It's a true test of how solid of a driver you are. Picture of the Start/Finish Line, at the Mazda Bridge, right.
Honestly, if someone said to me, "You can trade in your MTB race registration for a one-day clinic at Skip Barber Driving School and race these Miatas around the circuit," I'd probably do it.
Nope. I'd definitely do it.
BTW - the swag bag sucked. A spare tube, a water bottle, and a couple of trial samples of CytoMax, Clif Bar, and Chamois Butter. But it came in a pretty cool Specialized 'grocery bag'. Still, have you seen the swag bag that Teva Mountain Games does?!?
Anyways, thought at this point I'd grab some lunch. It was nearly 2:30, and I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. Plowed through the couple of granola bars I had in my backpack. Very indecisive about what to eat, so I eventually made my way to the PCH and hit up a McDonalds for a quick bite. Thankfully, I found a table with an outlet next to it, cuz the iPhone was on its last couple of breaths.
Charged it for 20 minutes, then I was on my way back to Salinas to kick the legs up for the rest of the day. On the way back, I noticed "SAT" on the radio. Pushed it - Sirius came on. DAMMIT! Why didn't I see that before? Backspin, Boneyard or Faction would have been sooooooooo much better than the lack of music I had on the way down here!
Tim and his wife Danielle came rolling in around 8:30pm. Got a good nap in that afternoon, helped them unpack, and went out to grab a bite to eat for dinner. Called it a day after that.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
That's Why You Have A Dollar Bill
Out riding the road bike this afternoon, and I blew the sidewall on my rear tire. But I didn't realize it. So I stuck my spare tube in, popped the CO2, and BLAM! Blew the spare. Had to ET PHONE HOME to get a ride back to Eagle.
Oh well, the scenery coulda been worse...and the weather too. 65F and sunny today in the Rocky Outcroppings.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Oh well, the scenery coulda been worse...and the weather too. 65F and sunny today in the Rocky Outcroppings.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Cult Cross 2010 - Race Report
Cult Cross.Suffer in the Spring as you do in the Fall.
Running to the grave, one barrier at a time.
Yup, let's do it.
As many of you know, I'm deep in preparation for my trip to race at Sea Otter Classic in two weeks' time. Decided that, of all things, a cyclocross race would be a good way to get some work on sprinting, technical handling, and race tactics before I make the trek.
You see, 'cross is typically a fall sport. Origins based on road cyclists in Europe wanting to continue their racing throughout the mucky winter in places such as Belgium and Germany. But Cult Cross founder and promoter Larry Grossman figured that spring in Colorado would be a great time to host a cyclocross race.
Rabid enthusiasts? Check.
Unpredictable weather? Check.
Heavy doses of suffering? Check.
Weather leading up to the race was dry enough to eliminate a lot of the mud from the course - what was left behind was a super fast, super tacky, and brilliantly designed 'cross course to have fun on. Very 'mountain bikey' - lots of rough off-camber sections, lots of fast bumpy sections, and a pretty steep gnarly singletrack to boot. The loop's main run-up with barriers? Right at the finish line.
Raced in the B flite - up against typical Cat 3-level racers. A step up for me, as I have lined up against Category 4 riders previously. I was very apprehensive leading up to the race. I knew I had put in a yeoman's effort so far this year with the training program. A recent trip to Fruita proved I was in good mountain bike shape; but I was a little skeptical what would happen in a race atmosphere.About 20 of us took off from the start - a long straightaway into a 180 bend on a gravel parking lot, then into a steep long run-up. At the top of the run up, I notice I'm in third place. At the end of the first lap, still in 3rd, I remember thinking to myself, "I'm not just up here, but I have the gas to keep it..." Let me tell you - that's an unusual feeling for me.
All in all, it was a great ride and great race. I felt really solid all the way through, and felt like I could have raced for another hour, to be honest. I think I'm about ready for Sea Otter.
It's A Good Blog Day
And the hits just keep on comin'...
Poached from Joystiq's PlayStation3 blog:
OK - I like playing video games. A lot. I'm 40 hours in to Final Fantasy XIII for my PS3, and it came out less than a month ago. Yeah, that's more than 10 hours a week - hard to believe I have time after you throw in a full work week, March Madness NCAA basketball, and a 500 hr/year MTB training plan.
But a tattoo (like the one above - Red Dead Redemption)? Someone OBVIOUSLY doesn't have a "better half"...
Poached from Joystiq's PlayStation3 blog:
But a tattoo (like the one above - Red Dead Redemption)? Someone OBVIOUSLY doesn't have a "better half"...
Sunday's Rant Of The Day
Two, actually.
First, I know there are a lot of fans of the rock group 'Daughtry' out there. Don't know a whole lot about them, other than they play rock music, and call themselves 'Daughtry'. I had a chance yesterday to see them play a song live. Never heard of the song, never seen the band play before. All I have to say is...
C'mon, really?
Why in the world does anyone, besides the group's mothers and maybe their girlfriends (if they can even score one), like this band, especially enough to SPEND MONEY on the seeing them play?
In seeing them play, I had two gut reactions...and typically they're not that far off base. Here's what I thought:
1) Wow. Uhh, generic? No, generic is too 'generic' of a term. How 'bout no-talent ass clowns?
2) Incubus ripoff. (Erin later said she thinks they're a Nickelback ripoff, which I can't necessarily argue with. Maybe they're a mashup of the two.)
Finally, my thoughts on a mohawk hairdo: If you have a mohawk, and you aren't in a punk band or can't blister someone's face with your guitar solos, you're making up for something. Maybe you're making up for the fact you suck?
Now don't get me wrong - i listen to some music that many people deem as 'questionable'. I like bands like Slipknot, Tool, and the Gorillaz. But you know something that each of these bands has that Daughtry, on any level, doesn't?
They're unique.
OK - Topic 2: Outlines of Mexico principalities, or states, or whatever they call them, plastered to the back of your truck, car, whatever.
If you love Chihuahua, Mexico enough to have a fucking massive sticker outline of it on the back of your car, MOVE BACK THERE. No one will miss you. Except maybe Obama - he'd love your vote. You're in America now (whether legally or not) - love it, respect it, or get the fuck out. Chihuahua must not have been that great - because your my neighbor now. I'll grant you the ability to put an American Flag on your rear window if that satiates your need to faggot your car up with stickers like a 12-year-old girl's notebook.
Hell, I'll help you pack your fucking car up for the trip, jus' give me a holler.
I don't have a Schwinn logo on my car, just because they make 'OK' bikes and it was the first one I ever had. Nope, I'd have a Specialized 'S' logo on my car, because they're my favorite, they kick ass, and I ride them day in and day out. But I don't, because I'm not a damn billboard.
I like Kansas, reminds me of, well, home. My wife likes Nebraska. But you don't see either of us rocking a huge silhouette of either of these states on our rear windshields. You know why? Because we'd look like FUCKING RETARDS. They don't make outlines of US States. They only show up as Mexican principalities. That should tell you something.
Now don't take this to be some racist bang on Mexicans. I live in one of the highest Hispanic-populated areas in the country. I have a number of Hispanic friends and acquaintences. Hard not to out here. So the same goes for those rednecks that have huge Chevy Bowties or Ford Ovals on the back of their car. No shit its a Chevy. I can see that from the emblem the car manufacturer already put on it. Putting an outline of the Audi rings on my car would turn it from a luxury sedan/sportscar to an Olympic Flag.
Here's an enigma, though - windshield visor stickers. One that says "ECLIPSE" in really big letters - not cool. Another that says (in upside down text) "IF YOU CAN READ THIS, ROLL ME BACK OVER" - very cool.
I'm not saying window stickers can't be cool. I have a K-State Powercat at the top center of my rear window. But it's all of 3" x 4". Large enough for people to see, small enough to keep me from looking like a total dumbass. It's OK to put decals on your window to show your support (or displeasure) of whatever. I believe they used to call them bumper stickers. Calvin peeing on a Dodge Ram? Great. A euro-style oval with "FU" (for Fruita, USA)? Perfect. As long as they're small enough to NOT draw attention to them.
The point of the window sticker is to show support for something, not be a damn billboard.
First, I know there are a lot of fans of the rock group 'Daughtry' out there. Don't know a whole lot about them, other than they play rock music, and call themselves 'Daughtry'. I had a chance yesterday to see them play a song live. Never heard of the song, never seen the band play before. All I have to say is...
C'mon, really?
Why in the world does anyone, besides the group's mothers and maybe their girlfriends (if they can even score one), like this band, especially enough to SPEND MONEY on the seeing them play?
In seeing them play, I had two gut reactions...and typically they're not that far off base. Here's what I thought:
1) Wow. Uhh, generic? No, generic is too 'generic' of a term. How 'bout no-talent ass clowns?
2) Incubus ripoff. (Erin later said she thinks they're a Nickelback ripoff, which I can't necessarily argue with. Maybe they're a mashup of the two.)
Finally, my thoughts on a mohawk hairdo: If you have a mohawk, and you aren't in a punk band or can't blister someone's face with your guitar solos, you're making up for something. Maybe you're making up for the fact you suck?
Now don't get me wrong - i listen to some music that many people deem as 'questionable'. I like bands like Slipknot, Tool, and the Gorillaz. But you know something that each of these bands has that Daughtry, on any level, doesn't?
They're unique.
OK - Topic 2: Outlines of Mexico principalities, or states, or whatever they call them, plastered to the back of your truck, car, whatever.
If you love Chihuahua, Mexico enough to have a fucking massive sticker outline of it on the back of your car, MOVE BACK THERE. No one will miss you. Except maybe Obama - he'd love your vote. You're in America now (whether legally or not) - love it, respect it, or get the fuck out. Chihuahua must not have been that great - because your my neighbor now. I'll grant you the ability to put an American Flag on your rear window if that satiates your need to faggot your car up with stickers like a 12-year-old girl's notebook.
Hell, I'll help you pack your fucking car up for the trip, jus' give me a holler.
I don't have a Schwinn logo on my car, just because they make 'OK' bikes and it was the first one I ever had. Nope, I'd have a Specialized 'S' logo on my car, because they're my favorite, they kick ass, and I ride them day in and day out. But I don't, because I'm not a damn billboard.
I like Kansas, reminds me of, well, home. My wife likes Nebraska. But you don't see either of us rocking a huge silhouette of either of these states on our rear windshields. You know why? Because we'd look like FUCKING RETARDS. They don't make outlines of US States. They only show up as Mexican principalities. That should tell you something.
Now don't take this to be some racist bang on Mexicans. I live in one of the highest Hispanic-populated areas in the country. I have a number of Hispanic friends and acquaintences. Hard not to out here. So the same goes for those rednecks that have huge Chevy Bowties or Ford Ovals on the back of their car. No shit its a Chevy. I can see that from the emblem the car manufacturer already put on it. Putting an outline of the Audi rings on my car would turn it from a luxury sedan/sportscar to an Olympic Flag.
Here's an enigma, though - windshield visor stickers. One that says "ECLIPSE" in really big letters - not cool. Another that says (in upside down text) "IF YOU CAN READ THIS, ROLL ME BACK OVER" - very cool.
I'm not saying window stickers can't be cool. I have a K-State Powercat at the top center of my rear window. But it's all of 3" x 4". Large enough for people to see, small enough to keep me from looking like a total dumbass. It's OK to put decals on your window to show your support (or displeasure) of whatever. I believe they used to call them bumper stickers. Calvin peeing on a Dodge Ram? Great. A euro-style oval with "FU" (for Fruita, USA)? Perfect. As long as they're small enough to NOT draw attention to them.
The point of the window sticker is to show support for something, not be a damn billboard.
The Aftermath
Muddy cross bike...the aftermath of Cult Cross 2010.
Race report coming later today.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Race report coming later today.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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