Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Sold

To the lucky bidders. It is amazing what people will buy, especially the folks in the cycle community. They always say one mans junk is another mans treasure. True in deed, as a cyclists with plenty of old parts lying around I know how frustrating it can be to work on a project bike and run out of spare parts. Especially if it needs that old school charm. Still have a Raleigh road frame for sale. Enough of the peddling pedal parts - Let's leave that there.

Racing of a different beast for me this past weekend - it's Nascar bo. E & I made the journey west to Hot Lanta for the 33rd stop in the Nextel Cup Series. This was my 2nd venture into the land of extremely high octane, speed & burning rubber. A great time to be had, just the amount of people and it's huge diversity amongst them all. The ultimate stop for unique people watching.

Nascar note to self on advertising for your sponsors. They have that trick nailed. Maybe for next season I'll polish myself to a tee and slap stickers all over for my few sponsors. To make other notice I'll also make loud noises and take left turns all day.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Ebay Bound

If interested I'm trying to thin out some cycling stuff.

* Campy Athena BB vintage late 80's still in the original box.
Item for an old school campy fans. SOLD

* Thompson Elite seatpost 28.6mm x 410mm SOLD

* Raleigh Prestige Road Frame 55cm. Aluminum / Carbon frame w/ Carbon fork,
Headset, F. Der Braze on clamp, Campy Athens seatpost included.

* A pair of Kenda Nevegal 26x2.10 Tires. Brand Spankin New. SOLD

* A box of Time Mag Eq road pedals - 3 sets SOLD

* A box of 1" quill road stems, Salsa Cromo 100mm some rise, ITM cromo 120mm,
Syncros Alum. 120mm SOLD

* Bontrager cranks 175mm taken from a single speed, could be used for 2 rings
useage. ISIS compatible SOLD

* Hayes HFX9 hydraulic Brakes Set SOLD

If interested make in any item me an offer, save me the time from ebay.

Thanks,
Toby

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Worlds Report

October 6-7, 2006
World 24hr Solo Championship
Conyers International Horse Park, Conyers Ga.


Lap 1: Lemans start was as uncomfortable as ever. Pacing started early for me, case in point the run, just trying to settle into my pace as quick as I could. Saddled up on my back–up bike (X-Caliber) looked up and one long line of riders all the way from solo pit row up to the start of the single track. This was going to be fight all the way around the first lap or two.
Constantly jockeying for a better position, this can really turn your screws early and waste valuable energy. So after settling into a pace I was somewhat comfy with, I notice some play in the cranks on my bike. Having had a loose crankarm before I knew this was going to be a fixer upper on the trail. Luckily I had some form a multi tool on me. Not the correct tool for the job but something that would work. So twice I had to stop and tighten the crankarm. Plus I took a digger in some soft sand and flopped around like a dead roach. With my pride stuffed back in my back pocket I continued back to my pit. Having lost at least 10min. on my main rivals would be more mental than physical to overcome.

Lap 2-6: What can I say? Plans change, with no real mechanical help for the race I had to access the damage on the X-Cal and decide quickly what to do. I had to go ahead and hop onto my primary bike early. Plans were to ride the X-Cal for at least 3-4 laps. This was an effort to make T-dog a bit more aggressive. Oh well onto the full suspension for the next 22hrs. Putting that fiasco behind me I settled into my own pace and started turning out consistent laps.
As always Erin was in charge of the pit with the help of her mother (Lynn). They kept me topped off Hammer Nutrition and moral support. Nutrition was spot on for the race, using a variety of Hammer Nutrition products (ex. Race Caps, Anti Fatigue, Endurolytes, HEED, Sustained Energy, Hammer Gel @ Hammer Bars) plus the occasional splash of Red Bull.
Around 6 pm concerned moments of mental stability. I came into the pit cross-eyed and bit confused. I couldn’t explain it I just wanted to go and lay down in the hotel across the street. “Suck it up and get, get on now, get up outta here” Erin. If you act like a dog you will be treated like a dog. After looking back on the race the six hour mark was a huge barrier for me to get over. Considering that was the longest ride I had completed since July. Other than that I have able to get about six hours a week. Yeah now I got 18 hours to go. Currently riding in 4th place about 30 minutes back on 2nd and 3rd.

Laps 7-12: This would put me out around midnight, the half way point. These laps went by fast. Pace was right where I wanted to see it. Lights had to be up and running around 7 p.m. The night laps are always a test in there own right. With the course conditions being very dry and dusty, made for difficult riding. The dust was so bad you could not see all the dips, rocks and roots that littered the trail. Let’s just call them hidden dangers. I’ve never experienced conditions like this, where the trail had a bright glow about it, almost like a glare. I’ve always banked on my abilities to ride well at night. Generally speaking this is I can usually make time on my rivals.

Laps 13-18: This would have run me through the graveyard shift, now just ticking the laps over. Game plan was to pit every other lap. This plan was to strike fear into my rivals. From a pit person’s perspective at 3am if a rider is turning out consistently fast laps they tend to get worried. This also worked well giving Erin a chance to sleep a bit. Temps were dropping all night long rumors of high 40’s. Uncomfortable for sitting in the pit waiting for your crazy ass husband to come around with some off the wall demands. So as Erin was sleeping I would rummage through the pit looking for any and everything to eat. So as for the race around sunrise when Erin awoke she gave me some info that I had moved from 4th to 2nd throughout the night. With the rhythm on and enthusiasm high I finally felt like Toby.

Laps 19-21: Sunrise was and always is a very welcome sight in a 24hr solo race. No more lights and time ticking down. With just under 6 hour of racing left I had to focus on finishing strong. Dreams of pancakes and eggs filled my thoughts as my stomach cried out for fuel. Pulled into the pit and what ya see but a plate of cold leftover breakfast someone hasn’t finished. “Hey ya gonna finish that, na I don’t need a fork I got fingers.” Oh yeah the race my pit crew all rested and excited informed me that I had ridden myself into 2nd place over the night. Yeah for me now can someone make a run to MickyD’s for more pancakes and eggs? Forget visions of sugar plums lets talk pancakes. Inspired that they will be waiting on the next lap I quickly busted out two hotish laps. So close to the finish with the win out of my grasp I just slipped into survival mode. With pancakes waiting I took my last break to scarf down breakfast and even teased The Stick with a floppy one.

Able to complete another lap or two I loose count. I crossed the line for the last time at 11:07 with 21 laps officially sitting in 2nd place in the 30-34 age group.

Mission accomplished I impressed my own self by not breaking down at the 6 hour mark. Completing 21 just 1 lap off my all time lap record set back in ’03. I would like extend a huge THANK YOU SO MUCH to my sponsors Harrell’s Bicycle World, Garmin Navigation Systems, Paul & Bryan for the lights. If it weren’t for great friends and loyal sponsors none of this would have been possible. Till Next Time.

Toby

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Another 2nd Place



Howdey Folks - Just wanted to post a quick recap of this past weekend's event. First things first another 2nd place in the Worlds 30-34 age group. Completing 21 laps in 23:07 @ 8mi a pop. So 168mi off road was not to shabby for someone who has been reduced to training about 6hrs a week. Thanks to my 6am cycle class for making me get up and attend classes. Surprisingly I'm not that badly damaged.

Somehow my body was spared from the rough course over in Georgia. Give me a couple days to get caught up and I'll get a full report out to ya. Till then

Toby

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Interesting Link

This could be an interesting link throughout the race if your interested or bored.

www.ride424.com/races

Down the Shoot

T minus 50hrs till the dreaded Lemans Sprint. This will start the 2006 24hr World Solo Championships in Conyers GA.

Packing & planning are in the works as we speak. Last minute upgardes and minor repairs are in the works. Thanks to Harrell's for the spare rocket. Now I will be aboard two 29er. One full suspension and a hardtail for a spare. This should be a good approach for opening up the race on the lighter hardtail and bit more aggresive. For this is the only way to weed through the lap traffic.

I will try my best to update this blog during the race. This will be the first race we are taking the laptop w/ wireless access, so stay tuned.

Toby