tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12792213187074331682024-03-13T03:18:35.470-07:00EricErichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02581214921397211283noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279221318707433168.post-85763233334669294512008-06-17T14:11:00.000-07:002008-06-17T20:51:37.931-07:00Buying speedYesterday, I got my new wheels that I've been waiting about 3 days for. They're pretty much your run of the mill aluminum clincher wheelset, but for me they're a pretty significant upgrade because I seemingly try to find the shittiest, most bombed out wheels I can find to put on my bike. Witness the last two sets I've been racing on, in reverse chronological order:<br /><br />1. Bontrager Race wheels (~$250 retail) with tires so thick and puncture resistant that you really only need to pump them up to about 20 psi to ride on them...<br /><br />...which are a lot nicer than...<br /><br />2. Rear 8 speed 105 hub, front mid 90s (that's 1990s) Deore XT hub with slotted out spoke holes, laced 3x to $40 rims with bladed spokes cut out from a warranteed wheel from work, which I rode for the longest time with a broken axle even though I just thought the front QR was bent which was why it was so hard to get it into the wheel. <br /><br />There's a pretty big discussion about irony over on bikeportland.org and bikesnobnyc, so I guess I'm liking the idea of being ironic by putting crappy wheels on nice carbon bikes (I should point out that we're talking about Alanis-Morrisette-irony, not Ethan-Hawke-Reality-Bites-irony). <br /><br />Along with my new wheels, I got something I'm even more excited about: a Dura Ace 10 speed 12-21 straight block cassette. Yeah, that's right, that's 12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-20- and 21. I really like how it looks. And since I choose my gearing for the day depending on my mood, I now have proper gearing for both "happy" and "morning mist".<br /><br />Ok, that's a lot of talk about bikes. I'm also excited to read this book I got today, the Commons by Jonathon Franzen. Mostly because I like the Simpsons episode where Moe goes to a literature conference. Franzoooooooooooooone!Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02581214921397211283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279221318707433168.post-55601579559351958292008-06-16T12:44:00.000-07:002008-06-16T12:52:03.239-07:00Bloggers winLet's look at some of the results from this past weekend:<br />Cirque du Cycling<br />1. www.supersteveo.com<br />2. pgroblewski.blogspot.com<br />3. ???<br />4. ???<br />5. raceoregon.blogspot.com (not updated in a really long time)<br /><br />Oregon state champs<br />1. ryantrebon.blog.com<br /><br />See what I mean?<br /><br />My performance on Saturday was pretty much what I expected for only having done one entry. After a few more weeks of writing (I mean riding) I promise I'll start showing up on the second page of results.<br /><br />Lunch.<br /><br />Who's excited for summer?Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02581214921397211283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1279221318707433168.post-90196076697454844012008-06-14T09:41:00.000-07:002008-06-14T09:49:12.184-07:00First!I'll do anything these days to procrastinate the ride. Like starting a blog.<br /><br />Some people may know that I work with Shannon Skerritt, and he had a blog, and he is fast. The secret's out: I did all the writing on his blog. Yeah, sure, I got some ideas from him, but there wasn't a single word on there that he wrote. I was hoping that fake blogging would eventually lead to a job in fake news reporting, but it hasn't yet. Perhaps there's the intermediate step of real blogging? Also, it seems like a lot of fast bike riders out there have blogs. Is that the secret to being a good bike racer? I guess we'll find out. <br /><br />Today's plan includes a ride (but first I have to fix my bike), then lounging around and hydrating until the Mississippi crit this evening. Then probably some dehydrating after that. The last race I did was on Mt. Tabor this past Wednesday. I only made it halfway through the race before I dropped out. But I didn't have a blog then, so if I make it through more than half the race tonight I'm chalking it up to the blog.Erichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02581214921397211283noreply@blogger.com0