Fat 55 Mountain Bike Race, Oakridge Oregon

Dust.

Good. 

Figured that would happen. 

I'm 24 miles into a 45 mile race and the dust that hangs in the air is surely from one (or both) of the guys that had "put the hurt on" on the previous 3 miles of rolling pavement. Currently, I'm in 5th place.

Rewinding an hour and a half to the start of the race is typical of most other races with lots of suffering as riders jockey for position on a fireroad climb before hitting the first section of singletrack. I've done this enough times to know that I'm pushing way too hard way too early. My view of the seven riders up the road ahead of me is akin to watching the Tour De France race on TV. Tall, skinny riders in matching team "kits" turning the pedals in perfect circles with astonishing authority. As I look to my left, I see Karl Decker (pro Giant Factory rider) and realize that if I'm going to have any chance at a decent result, let alone finish this damn thing, I'd better back off my rapidly diminishing power supply. 

Back at the 24 mile mark, with dust hanging in the air.... I'm psyched to be off the pavement and back on trail. Although I haven't ridden his trail in a number of years, I do know that my last trip down the Middle Fork Willamette trail was nothing but fun with its tight, twisty, rolling tread. With 20 miles of racing left on the day, I've got myself into a nice solid tempo that I figured I could hold for the remainder of the race. 

Moments later, I'd learn that the dust hanging in the air was from not one, but two riders. SCORE!! As I topped out on one of the many rollers on the trail, I was stopped by the two guys, one of whom was perched precariously off the side of the trail on a VERY steep hill side sandwiched between his bike and the thick manzanita bushes that were keeping him from a 30ft fall down to the river. After helping out the guy who's name turned out to be Jeff (from Reno) we were off again. The guys let me go ahead of them (tanx guys!) and I got back to the business of getting back to business. 

I'd chase hard for the next hour and a half, but to no avail.... I wasn't going to catch the two guys in front of me without one of them having some sort of problem. 

So, at 3 hours and 26 minutes I crossed the finish line. About 4 minutes off the winner and a minute and a half from second place. 

Good times man.....good times. 

The "I can't help you" calendar

Wow. Been lagging on the bloggity thing. No time to write. Only time to fix bikes. And if I'm lucky, I can actually get out and ride the damn things every once in a while.

One sure fire way of guaranteeing that I get to ride my bike is leaving town w/ my favorite steed loaded up and ready to ride.

And that's exactly what I'm going to do in the upcoming month/months. With that being the case, I'll get on w/ my "I can't help you" calendar. 

Sept 10-15. You can call me, but I won't be around. I'll be in Oakridge Oregon racing the Fat55. This race will definitely push the envelope of strength, bike handling and just how good chamois butter protects my nether regions. 

Sept 23-Oct 6th. I'll be heading back to the great state of Pennsylvania to visit friends and family. Also while I'm there, I'll be doing a "bonus" race in the way of the Terror of Teaberry. My friend Buck recommended this race to me. And Buck's never wrong. Ain't that right Buck.....

Ok. So maybe Buck occasionally makes some poor choices in terms of garment selection, but the dude is usually spot on when it comes to fun places to ride the bike. 

Closings and such

News you can use:

Although I'm typically only closed Sundays, the next two weekends will see Mighty Mobile NOT answering the phones or spinning the wrenches on Saturdays as well.

First off, May 9th is the Battle Born Enduro in Reno where I'll be zip tying a plate containing numbers and timing chip to my bike for race #1 of 2 of my race "season". I did this race last year and the event is awesome. The promoters are on top of their game and the entire day ran without a hitch.... until I drank too much water which depleted my body of all nutrients and I spent the entire evening puking my guts out. Guess I'll stick to beer this time.

Next, Saturday May 16th is the Hangtown Motocross Classic. This is the first of 12 rounds of the AMA pro motocross series. If you're a moto fan, this is your best/easiest chance to see some of the best riders in the world battling it out. Going to this race is great. It's one part sports spectacular and another part classic people watching. Nothing brings out a "mixed bag" of spectators like a motocross.

Otherwise, average scheduling times for service are running between 3 and 5 days out.

No.... Hole in The Ground is NOT open yet.

obsolescence and other stuff you should know about

April 16th. Mark your calenders. It's Sea Otter Classic time again.
To some, Sea Otter means bike racing. To others, it's the time to see just what's new in the cycling industry as many companies use Sea Otter to unveil new product. So.... that shiny new 2015 cutting edge 27.5 enduro rig you just ponied up two pocket fulls of hard earned cash for last October..... yup.... after April 16th you'll learn that it's 17% less stiff, 13.5% less efficient, 10% heavier and the spring rate curve won't be near as effective as what's going to be available in 2016. That's what they'll tell you anyway.
I wonder at what point bikes will surpass the computer industry in regards to how fast something becomes "outdated" or "old" making it's value instantaneously drop like a bag of wet rocks? Re-dic-u-lous.

In other news that actually effects us, it's time to remind ya'll once again about broken rear derailleur cables. Without trying to sound too much like your mom harping on you to "clean your room", I will say that I've seen three cables broken this week and the five seconds it takes to have a quick look at your cable will save you from a potential "bummer situation" on your next ride. Instead of re-spewing pics and info again, you can just have a look at this post I did a while back to get an idea of what to look for.

Also of note: Mighty Mobile will be closed this Saturday and Sunday. We're always closed Sundays.

A Day In The Life

"What's a typical day of work like for you"? I often get the question. So.... here goes.

It's early season, so there's plenty on the schedule. Before any actual work on bikes takes place, there's the ritual of prepping "Steve" (the van). Prepping Steve entails emptying the trash, restocking supplies, plugging in the compressor and loading the dashboard storage area w/ cookies.

Work has me in Tahoe City. On the drive out, I catch up on some news while driving along the Truckee River and ponder things such as; at what temperature does something become "damn hot" and what is the hokey poky all about? A glance in the mirror reveals the driver of the Lexus is tailgating me (my pet peeve) while simultaneously digging deep into the left nasal cavity with her finger buried to the 3rd knuckle. Awesome.

9:30am. Arrival at first job. The 5 bike tunes turn out to be a little closer to 8. Hmm. The estimating begins. Pretty normal stuff. Air in the tires. Lots of lube. A couple of cables and housings. Some misc parts swapping between bikes. I save the most complex jobs for last. One of which involves overhauling a coasterbrake hub on an ancient tandem that pushes the weight limits of my workstand. It's now 1:30 in the afternoon and my stomach has been demanding a burrito for the past two hours. I pack up and head to town for lunch.

2:30pm. Next. I'm two hours late for this appointment. Two bikes on the schedule turns out to be just one. The wife's out riding the other bike....good for me. Fork and shock service. Front shift cable. Loctite some pivot bolts. Straighten brake rotors. Measure chain (bad). Top off tire sealant. Sag suspension for customer. Re-schedule the other bike. Pack up,. high five and I'm out.

4:30pm. Next. RockShox Reverb install. Sag suspension. Couple of minor adjustments to brakes to eliminate rubbing. Clean up the drivetrain. Lube chain. Customer adds kids bike that involves replacing shift cables and housing front and rear. It's 6:00. I've managed to get myself almost back on track for scheduling.

6:15pm. Next. I stop by a customers house that I'm shipping a bike for. The job's all done. Just need paid. I could've just had him mail a check, but the guy's super cool and I want to stop for a quick visit before he heads off to Hawaii for the summer. I'd say he's a lucky bastard... which he probably is. But we do have it pretty good here in Tahoe during the summer. At least I think so.

6:30pm. I need to stop by the first job again. Customers have decided to reward my efforts w/ beer and cookies. I like both and I'm close by so I stop. An assortment of IPA's and chocolate chip goodness await my arrival. This was a good move on my part.

7:15pm. Arrival back at Mighty Mobile headquarters. It's time to drag myself in the house and wash off the work w/ a nice long, hot shower. Then get some sleep.... 'cause we're gonna do the same thing all over again tomorrow.