MMR at the end of the rainbow

Ponca Ride 2009

The weekend has left me a bit haggard, so the post is gonna be short for now. The Cliff's Notes version of the Ponca Ride....Friday 4 AM start postponed to 7 AM due to rain/thunderstorms. Seven of us took off from D Street and rode soft gravel for less than 10 miles before deciding to hit the shoulder of the Hwy 79. Made it to North Bend for a late breakfast and continued on highways for the majority of the day. We got hit by rain and had soagy chamois for several hours of the day. We were fortunate to hit 15 to 20 miles of the best gravel sections while barely escaping another rain storm. Four of us made it to Ponca.

No one rode back this year due to incessant rain. Maybe we'll give it another shot later this year.

Ponca Ride 2009 - Forecast = Craptastic

Departure time of 4 AM has been pushed back to 5 and now 6 AM due to inclement weather. The forecast really looks bad, but is improving. During our wait we watched Iran's Supreme Leader call for "Death to America", drank a few pots of coffee, and chatted about the meaning of life. We've also discussed our options for the Ponca ride. There's been talk of abandoning the ride completely and moving it back to a later date, starting late around 8 or 9 AM, heading South to Indian Caves, or continuing to just watch bad infomercials and drink coffee all day. I think we're just gonna give it a go around 6 AM and hope for the best.

Wow, I really want to do this event someday

The Tour Divide started a couple of days ago and is already shaping up to be epic. 2,745 miles of self-supported mountain biking across the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. And yes, it is a race.

Riders will cross some of the most beautiful back country trails on the continent. If they're able to finish (most finishers take 21 plus days), they'll have climbed close to 200,000 vertical feet! Un-frickin'-real! This event is for some real salty dawgs.

Joe Meiser of Salsa and Trans Iowa V5 winner is among the competitors. Riders are carrying a Spot Tracker which allows folks at home to keep tabs on their favorite rider. Joe is currently in second place! Go Joe go!

Saturday!

MG having fun on his Fargo.

Wills, MG and I hit some gravel Northeast of town and eventually rolled into Palmyra, Nebraska to discover the Old Settler's Picnic. Tractors, fun house, carnival games, flea market, softball tournament, parade, tractor pull, donkey polo, and funnel cakes. Slice of Americana.

A concrete Lancaster County sign that has probably stood for 100 years at the Otoe/Lancaster County border finally toppled over. The last time I passed this sign during the winter is was standing. Vandals? Wind? Or just plain ole deterioration? Whatever the case, it should be resurrected. I tried lifting it...no way.

Got some bad news from my doc the other day. I need to get in contact with a surgeon to get my issue resolved. I plan on trying to gut it out the rest of the year and have the surgery this winter. Hopefully that'll work.

Since the Psycowpath race for tomorrow has been postponed, the Bacon Ride is on the docket! Mopac Trailhead tomorrow morning at 6 AM. Probably try to get to Platte early enough to ride a lap or two. I gotta try out the new wheels!

White is the new black

My new Bontrager wheelset came in recently. The previous set (2008 Race X lite) were warrantied due to a cracking islet issue. Truth be told, I'm not a big fan of machine built wheels, but have never been disappointed with a Bontrager wheelset. I've owned several pairs of Bonty mountain bike wheels and this was the first time I've encountered a problem. Anyways, Trek warrantied the wheels in less than a week. I was stoked to see the new Race X Lite wheels when I opened the box. White spokes! No way Jose! The IF Deluxe was getting another upgrade!

The first upgrade this year was a new fork. The first generation Reba was still working, but had run it's course. It was time for a new fork. So when I started looking around at my options I was a bit bummed when I realized that the Fox fork only came in white. My frame was designed around the first generation Rock Shox Reba (38 mm offset I think), so I had to go with the Fox with the smaller offset (42 mm). The new Rock Shox Reba were boasting a crazy offset of around 48 mm or somewhere near there. So I reluctantly ordered the Fox and even considered painting the it black once it was installed. Being lazy and all, I left it. Now the new wheels match the fork. Hooray for laziness!

Since the new wheels were center lock and my old wheels were 6 bolt, I had to order new rotors. XTR of course! Why? Why not. Unfortunately, once installed, the rotor spider would smack the brake pad on my Avid BB7's. So that took some finagling to fix. Has anyone else had that problem? I suppose Shimano's answer would be to order some XTR calipers and levers.

Seems like white is getting to be a very popular color for bicycles and accessories. I love the simplicity. Black is soooo early 21st Century. Hmmm....maybe it's time for some white cages and grips or maybe a white Silverado saddle. Nah, I'm cheap and lazy.

Back on the bike...well, kinda

The body is beginning to heal. After a week off the bike I was able to get out for a few miles this past weekend and also rode to work Monday and Tuesday. It's amazing how much better I feel after getting out for a few rides. Taking a week off was a real bummer. Especially after a big event like Dirty Kanza. Going from big weekly miles to no miles is not ideal this time of year. The Ponca Ride is just around the corner and I really want to ride up and back again this year.

Things are progressing nicely, but I'm still a bit tender to say the least. Probably will need to have something done this winter to fix the issue. Until then I'll just put up with it. So if you see me wincing occasionally or fidgeting on the saddle trying to find a sweet spot, you'll know why.

Maybe I could just double chamois it the rest of the year. Or how about a triple chamois. Has anyone tried that? Or maybe a nice big fluffy layer of Charmin. Yay Charmin!

Forced time off

Well, I've been forced to take some time off the bike for reasons out of my control. I could elaborate, but it's a bit embarrassing and kinda gross. Let's just say that 200 plus miles on the bike last Saturday (DK200) was a bit hard on my body, specifically my backside. I may need to go under the knife to get the problem corrected. Not fun.

So now I'm very frustrated because I can't ride during the middle of the year. It's been a beautiful week and I haven't been able to get out and enjoy it on a bike. My last time on a bike was at Dirty Kanza. I tried to throw a leg over a bike the other day and nearly hurt myself trying to get off because the pain was too much. The Bike Gods have frowned upon me!

This is the second time this year I've been forced to take some time off due to a medical reason. Most folks that I talk to say I could probably use the recovery, but screw that! I wanna go out for a gravel century Saturday and Sunday!

Maybe I could just stand the whole entire time....