An "A" for Effort!

Adelae participated in a school talent show last night. We were SO proud of our little rock star. She really put her heart and soul into this one!

Sympathy weight...

Ugh... my wife is pregnanct and I am not riding nearly as much these days. I need to get back on the horse before I become a horse.

Kona, HI

Coming home from somewhere as beautiful as Hawaii suks, but at least it's SoCal! :-)

Pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/67371706@N00/sets/72157616494595252/

D 

Oh, how times change

I'm very grateful that this is not my situation right now... It's funny, seeing things from the other side of the coin.

YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XGJq8wrw5I

Wow... I feel stupid.

The Tour of California came to Escondido today - yep, that's where I live. Holy !@#$%& - I feel like a little girl at a Hannah Montana concert. Seriously, I feel stupid. Why do I care so much? Why am I so hyper about seeing these guys up close and getting their autographs? I have no clue, but I'll sure look at things differently when my kids go berzerk over stars as they get older.

Toady I went to the finish line of the Tour of California and hung out by the 500M mark on the final stretch. It was the first time I have ever been to a bike race and it was SO COOL! It was such a mad-house downtown today; there must have been 30,000 to 40,000 people there. Christina and I rode our bikes to the event with the kids in-tow in the Burly trailer. We set up and watched the riders whizz by and just enjoyed the excitement of the moment. Later, after taking the fam home, I ran over to Chipotle to grab a burrito and a few sigs from the Garmin/Chipotle team... I thought that would be the highlight of the night - I was wrong! You see... I live 2mi from Stone Brewery and I'm on a first-name basis with many of the bartenders there (they yell "Norm!" when I walk in... know what I'm sayin'!?) I found out that a few of the riders would be heading to Stone after the race. HOLY !@#$% again! This is like the Perfect Storm or something! Seriously... it's like the intersection of passions! Ughhhh! (Ok, school girl... chill...)

So, 8pm and I head over to Stone. I was under the impression that team Garmin/Chipotle would be there, nothing else. Man was I wrong! I get there and find out that ALL of the Garmin team was there plus former US Postal riders as well as Phil Ligget, Paul Sherwin and Bob Roll (the three guys that announce the Tour de France on TV every year) and even FLOYD LANDIS (2006 Tour de France winner... for a week anyway). I walked right by him... he's just sitting there eating dinner and chatting with team OUCH. I'm beside myself. I have never been the kind of person to get star-crazed and I always looked down on 'those people,' but this time it was me - I didn't know what came over me.

So the day turned out to be a highlight I'll never forget. It was seriously something that I'll remember for a LONG time. Man... I want to be in the industry. Ughhh. :-)

My little girl likes to clean now - or does she...?

Tires, tires, tires...

I'm a huge fan of Maxxis tires... I have used the Ignitors, the High Rollers and now the CrossMark. (All UST and about 2.1 - 2.3.) Recently I tried the Schwalbe Racing Ralphs and noticed a HUGE improvement in rolling resistance from the High Rollers (duh!) but never got comfortable with the way they cornered. I tried several different PSI settings to see if that was it, but invariably I always felt like the front would lose traction in the turns unless there was either a) a bank to the turn or b) the trail was just a tad damp or at least hardpack. Riding in SoCal is often on decomposed granite or semi sandy, loose-over-hard and rarely that sweet, packed down, just a touch moist singletrack. I think the tires are designed for the latter because I never had any confidence on them. In their defense, no tire I've ever ridden has as little rolling resistance, weighs as little or feels as supple. But if you can't corner or don't have confidence,  none of it matters because you're not as fast and the ride isn't as much fun.

Enter the Maxxis CrossMark UST 2.25 - holy @#$^!! What can I say but "exactly what I was looking for!" The CrossMark are perfect for the SoCal trail conditions. They have a single enter ridge for rolling fast and aggressive nobbies on the edges for cornering like you're on rails. They're a little heavier at 850gr each, but the fact that I can scream up and down the mountain with confidence more than makes up for the weight savings of the Racing Ralphs. I think they have a tad more rolling resistance than the RR and they're not quite as supple, but you really don't miss it. Honestly, I feel as though I have the best parts of the High Roller without the weight or rolling resistance penalties. And as for the Ignitors, I think the CrossMark corner better, climb better and roll easier.

So, hats off to Maxxis for my new favorite tire!!