Shooting Myself in the Foot: Corporate Q's

[Len]

Today I was ten miles from the house and the boss called and said "can we leave in an hour and a half?" I said yeah no problem! I was at lactate threshold all the way home. I got home, showered, and preflight at the airport before he even got there.

25 miles on my trusty Cervelo Soloist Carbon and 2.7hrs in my trusty Baron. Home before 3pm. Life is good!

 

[BushwickBill]

Today I was ten miles from the house and the boss called and said "can we leave in an hour and a half?" I said yeah no problem! I was at lactate threshold all the way home. I got home, showered, and preflight at the airport before he even got there.

25 miles on my trusty Cervelo Soloist Carbon and 2.7hrs in my trusty Baron. Home before 3pm. Life is good!

So far I'm voting this as the coolest thread of FI so far. Lets keep it going -publish your riding/flying stories here. Bike Geeks Dominate!

 

[Corona]

So far I'm voting this as the coolest thread of FI so far. Lets keep it going -publish your riding/flying stories here. Bike Geeks Dominate!

Who cares about flying?

When I lived in AK, I did a 50-mile+ mountain bike ride in & out of Denali (Mt. McKinley) National Park on the gravel road. It was early fall, and the scenery was incredible. Come to think of it, all the mountain bike riding in AK was awesome. I still have that bike frame (20 yr-old triple-butted cromoly Univega), but it's waiting in the garage for new parts when I get extra cashola.
The only thing that sucked in AK was I couldn't ride in winter (military wouldn't allow 2-whl vehicles on base during that loooong season). I'd have killed for a modern Hase trike or something to git me around instead of driving my car.

Good memories (& good thread)!

C

 

[Goose Egg]

I've been having some fun messing around with my old Specialized Hardrock. Last night I took off the crankset, front deraileur, and the front shifter. Stripped down the crankset and then rebuilt it using only one chainring (the biggest) and put the spacers on the opposite side to keep the chain from falling off when I shifted to the highest cog in the rear. It was fun! I now have a partial single-speed.

Anyway, these folks here in the Northeast think that they go mountain biking, but they really just ride through the woods. I grew up in the West though. That was some real mountain biking. I could have gotten to Moab in about 3 hours of driving, but honestly I never bothered because the stuff that was 20 minutes from my house was SO good. I was there almost daily. I miss that. I'm glad I discovered road, wrenching, and CX, otherwise my cycling universe would have collapsed on itself, but those were good times. My typical day was: Get up, go to school/fly, eat, bike/golf, watch Simpsons, eat, and go to bed. Oh yeah, I guess I would do a little working in there too There was some prime single-track, no doubt about it, but I think what I relished was the climbs... oh the climbs. Fire roads ascending into the sky, like some sort of washboard staircase. I MISS that! Some guys love to bomb, I love to climb. (Which I guess is a bit ironic because I have the build of a sprinter.)

...and the thing was that I was having the time of my life on a mountain bike that cost $600 new. (that Specialized Hard Rock that I was talking about earlier) I just threw on some bar-ends and clipless pedals and went for it. Good times.... Great times!

Which is not to say that there isn't good mountain biking here in the east... there definitely is, it's just that you have to drive a lot further, and you have to share it with a lot more people when you get there.

And to think I got into mountain biking because I was reacting to some stupid girl who broke up with me... all things considered, I think I got the better end of the deal.



-Goose

 

[BushwickBill]

Who cares about flying?

The only thing that sucked in AK was I couldn't ride in winter (military wouldn't allow 2-whl vehicles on base during that loooong season). I'd have killed for a modern Hase trike or something to git me around instead of driving my car.

Good memories (& good thread)!

C

Hey do you have a link for one of these trikes? The riding in AK sounds epic. I just finished putting a new chain on my MTB. Gearing up for the Turkey day ride. It starts in Fairfax (the self proclaimed birthplace of the mountain bike). Last year they stopped counting riders at about 750. The weather here has been all time. Surfed at Ocean Beach this weekend and there are quite a few good rides on the menu for next week. Stoked the Captain is at recurrency.

Life is good.

 

[AA717driver]

double post

 

[AA717driver]

I just got into MTB'ing (the roadie thing just didn't do it for me...) because it's something that always interested me and I'd been riding the hills around my house and wanted more. (AND...I'm 48 and my weight was up to 225 @ 5'11" and that was bull! I've dropped 27 lbs. and still going.)

I'm doing trail running now and have slacked off the riding because I dinged the tendon in my elbow and can't pull up the steep hills or off the logs without reinjuring it. I'll be back in the spring.

Another guy in the department started riding about the same time. He got a GF Hi-Fi. Great ride--weighs about half what my 'Horse comes in at. Talking carbon fiber, there was a guy out in PHX who wrote a report on ridemonkey a while back. He broke three or four carbon stumpy frames and had pics of the frames and where he was riding--no huge drops. Specialized replaced them all and finally gave him his money back.

I just don't think carbon is the answer.

What we need to know is where to rent mtb's in LAX? There are some awsome trails on the ocean-side of Palos Verde just south of the Torrence airport. Any suggestions? We thought about throwing the bikes in the back but we airline a lot.

Good topic! Keep it coming. TC

 

[Goose Egg]

Carbon on an MTB is nothing but a misapplication of a good thing. When I first heard that they were making mountain frames out of carbon, it even caught me by surprise then. I certainly wouldn't buy a carbon MTB (although the point is somewhat moot because it's more of an economic barrier right now ) Besides, the advantage due to weight difference would be negligable to anyone but the elite mountain biker. That's just what I think though...

-Goose

 

[Bank-n-Yank]

AA717Driver,
May I suggest building up a bike with S&S Couplings ( www.sandsmachine.com )? You can bring your current bike to any local frame shop or quality local bike shop and have them installed. Also on the website, scroll two-thirds down the site and you'll see a hard shell carrying case that is 26"x26"x10". It truly makes the whole bike really portable and does away with oversize airline fees.

I'm in the process right now of working with a local frame builder so that I can bring a road bike with me in the Beechjet. So what if the pax's have five sets of golf clubs..... my bike is staying with the plane. Ha.

Anyways, congrats on the weight loss. Cycling is an excellent way to get some fresh air and maintain that 1st class medical.

Happy trails.

 

[Len]

I'm not sure I would ever ride a carbon MTB. I would consider it dangerous. Maybe I'm just uneducated on the subject but thats my opinion. Who makes them anyway?

Road bikes are different though. I used to be a 'steel is real' guy with my 853 steel Lemond w/ Ultegra. Let me tell you, I don't care how fat you are, I was too. Carbon in a road bike is it. You CAN tell the difference. I am a true believer. Expensive wheels? You CAN tell the difference. Next I'm gonna try a bottom bracket w/ ceramic bearings. They're not that expensive. We'll see.

Goose. Good luck on your employment!

 

[AA717driver]

For a road bike, yes, carbon is great. Start doing 1', 2' or bigger drops and I think it's just too much.

Bank-n-yank--I'll check that out. Thanks.TC

 

[horseface]

rental locations

What we need to know is where to rent mtb's in LAX? There are some awsome trails on the ocean-side of Palos Verde just south of the Torrence airport. Any suggestions?

I have rented in the LA area at Rock n Road. They usually have a large rental fleet of specialized's in good shape. The San Juan trail is worth the drive (near san juan capistrano)

In Vegas there is some good riding: west side of town, is Blue Diamond or the Cowboy Trails (my home base) which are both very good. For those two try Las Vegas Cyclery They have bikes, maps, everything. Or on the east side of town go to All Mountain Cyclery and then hit boulder city (you can ride from the shop).

In PHX, obviously ride south mountain and there is a shop w/rentals basically at the trailhead (Jamis XLTs available). The best kept secret in the area though, is that Titus has a demo fleet available at their production facility in Tempe. Good excuse to go to Tempe for lunch (extremely high concentration of hotties), go by Titus and pick up a demo worth $5k plus, and then ride South Mountain...

If you ever find yourself in or around Park City in the summer, Cole Sport has some good rides for rent and you can catch a lift (or ride preferably) up to the mid mountain trail. Excellent ride.

There are others, but those I frequent.

If anyone is ever in Vegas and wants to do some mountain biking, I know the trails, and where to rent good rides. If interested, shoot me a PM

 

[Corona]

Hey do you have a link for one of these trikes? The riding in AK sounds epic.

One cannot say one has mountain biked until the tires have done Alaska & the redrock in the Southwest. (& I live in the mighty Northwest!)

Here's the link to the aluminum versions of the Hase trike. They've got at least one new delta trike model (they're all based on the "Kettweisel" frame), and have a kind of offroad version too:

http://www.hasebikes.com/ens/kettwieselal/index.php

If you do a search you can find a company, I believe in Australia, that makes a four-wheel bicycle, but it runs about $8K ; too rich for my blood!

Bike on!

C

 

[BushwickBill]

Epic Turkey day ride stories

Be sure to jot down your Epic Turkey day ride tale before family time. I'm starting the Turkey day ride in Fairfax this year 745am show. Pine mountain loop and Kegs at the finish. We're going early to hit up the kegs. I'll be posting tommorow.

Pre turkey day ride tale. Got home from a flight late last night. Out early hit up the local trails. About a 30 min grinder to the top of a fire road connects to a sweet trail with a bench and a nice view of mount tam. Then a short paved section (there used to be an old Nike missle site where I ride). After that about 1.5 hours of pure singletrack bliss. Found a new trail too. Doesn't happen every day. At about 10am I'm home and working on laundry and Jepp revisons.

I just finished packing my backpack for a 3 day surf trip. 8 mile hike to a secret point break. Life is good!

 

[Bank-n-Yank]

Well this is my first time being home for Thanksgiving in the past five years. I celebrated this with a group CX ride last night and I'm just getting the touring bike ready (fenders, pannier bags and lights) to go ride around town and grab some last minute food items for the big feast today. Perhaps I'll throw in a few intervals between the stop lights on my ride over to the in-laws.

Have a great Turkey day !!

 

[Len]

Afternoon ride yesterday canceled due to aircraft issues. (no big deal, 200+ miles in the last 7 days) Today off unless I can't stand it. Tomorrow begins a mini training camp with some buds. 3-4 hours each day fri, sat, and sun. May skip sunday for church and ride in the afternoon. This has been a fun thread. I'm glad we kept it going. What about the PC12 gig? Who cares!

 

[Goose Egg]

PC what now?

Tomorrow I am starting my training for next year's CX season. No particular reason except I can still eat a bunch of really unhealthy food today, and I thought there's no better day to start a training program than one called "Black Friday." It will start off with mostly running though (about 12 weeks, actually), with a few easy road spins for "off" days. Next spring/summer will come the intervals on the bike.

Speaking of which, I sold my old road ride and my new MTB ride on ebay, and picked up a Cannondale CAAD8 which I will put many training miles on (I never have intended to race road.) Meanwhile, I will save my pennies to get the components to complete my CX ride in time. We'll see if it happens. If worst comes to worse, I could race my old MTB in CX for the first year--it's pretty heavy though.

Oh yeah, speaking of CX, anyone planning on going to CX nationals in PVD? I'm going to go Saturday (the 15th) and watch.

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

-Goose

P.S. Bank-n-Yank, Cool avatar.

 

[Bank-n-Yank]

I'll be in PVD racing the Mens C category. The CX ride is down for repairs, so be looking for a my backup ride, a blue mid 90's Stumpjumper.

There is also another excellent race this Sat in Sterling, MA. Take I-290 south to Rt. 12 South. Go through the center of Sterling. About 1.5 miles past the town center take a right onto Bean Rd. Go .2 miles. Turn right onto Boutelle Road. .2 miles to Chocksett school. More info on www.bikereg.com

Hope to see you there Goose Egg.

 

[BushwickBill]

Epic turkey day ride. I'm guessing the vis at 60. You could see Tomales Point from Pine Mountain loop maybe all the way to kings ridge. Great views caught up with loads of friends. Usually I'm too busy to do these kinds of things. This was all happening under the golden gate 4 arrival to SFO. A little NE of PYE. Just to add some dorky pilot talk. BIKE NERDS FOREVER!

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=1194164636&n=2

 

[Goose Egg]

Ahh Sterling. Been there many times, both flying and driving--did some of my first grass takeoffs/landings there.

Anyway, if the weather is anything like today, I'll be out on my new road ride trying it out. (I was out late last night, and I'm going to VT (near LEB) for a tree-lighting tonight--probably going to be back late again. So I'm going to sleep in. Best of luck in the race though. I'm definitely planning on Nationals. Any other CX races between now and then?

Took my trusty Specialized Hard Rock (now) 8-speed on some trails here in ASH as sort of a warm-up before I really start running. Rode for an hour at ~150 BPM. I just love that bike. I'm not sure what it is, but it is just a great bike. I have all sorts of "plans" for how I can upgrade it. Just looked at the TAF... tomorrow road... and maybe some golf!

-Goose

I'll be in PVD racing the Mens C category. The CX ride is down for repairs, so be looking for a my backup ride, a blue mid 90's Stumpjumper.

There is also another excellent race this Sat in Sterling, MA. Take I-290 south to Rt. 12 South. Go through the center of Sterling. About 1.5 miles past the town center take a right onto Bean Rd. Go .2 miles. Turn right onto Boutelle Road. .2 miles to Chocksett school. More info on www.bikereg.com

Hope to see you there Goose Egg.