Can't Ride, Might as Well Hike

Awesome time today spent with my 3 year old son as we hiked around the woods at Alum Creek today.  Since it is to wet to ride, and I am still nursing back a damaged bike, I took the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful day exploring nature.  Our goal was to find a few animals, maybe take a few cool pics, and simply enjoy a nice day together.  I am sorry to report that we didn't see any animals, but we sure did have a good time.  As my son put it, "we walk woods, mommy!", and that was enough for me.  I also got to show D some of the places that I ride.  I know someday soon he will be right out there with me, passing me on the downhills.  Why not, everyone else does!

Look dad, a bridge

This looks like a good place to rest

I love ice and water

I love this lake

Future fishing spot

Gonna jump and see what happens

15 feet down, i better grab him

P1- Alum Creek State Park

For Some Reason, this makes me laugh

FoxNews.com - Woman Who Thought She Won Lottery Sues TV Station for Airing Wrong Numbers
Quick article over at Fox News about a women who is suing a TV station for airing the wrong numbers. I don't know why, maybe it is my twisted brain, but I actually think this is funny! I mean think about it, your numbers were 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 to begin with, and then you didn't double check or validate that these were the actual winner numbers through an independent source. According to the suit the station went "beyond all possible bounds of decency" and was "atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community."I guess I am just not sure that this was atrocious and beyond the bounds of decency. Killing someone to me is atrocious; public flashing is beyond bounds of decency.  Hurting children is intolerable in a civilized community.  This was just a mistake.  Get over it whack job!  You Lost!

Men and their Beer

I like to fish.....

and you wonder why I ride- Rule 5

Finished riding the other day, and this is what I thought I saw.....

After I got done recovering from my surprise and the long ass ride, this is what I really saw...

Sorry guys, I guess it wasn't meant to be!

The Big Race...Warrior Dash

So many of you know about my recent decision to run the great "Warrior Dash" coming up this summer. If you don't know what it is, please check the link in this post, or the link below to check it out. Basically, it is a 3 mile run, with a twist. During the run, the warriors will be challenged with a series of obstacles to test our manhood, stamina, strength, agility, stupidity, and alcohol tolerance! I can't wait. I am especially looking forward to the barb wire crawl, the mud swim and the fire jump. Ok, I lied a little. I am really looking forward to the beer drinking that we will be doing after words. The race is in June, so I have some time to train. I thought I would start first with a six pack a day every other day, then up to daily. Then I realized, I would probably be cutting back, so I decided not to train, and just be me!(gulp) (makers mark) Ok, back o the post....


 If you happen to be near Columbus Ohio in early June, stop on by and see us run. I am sure you will have the "best freakin' day of your life" or so they claim. To be honest, I don't know what the hell I am doing this for, but why not. It will be something different. Since we are in the 8 am time slot, I think we may go throw down 15 miles loop at Lake Hope afterwards, then come back and throw a few beers down with the rest of our warrior buddies. Anyone looking for double the pleasure, let us know!

Question of the Day?

Cross Country Bike or All Mountain Bike?   Pros, Cons?   What do you have?  Why?  Is there any difference any more?


Let me know your thoughts.   I need help!

In case u missed it...Blake soaring Saturday night!

Blake Griffin pulled out all the stops at the all star game Saturday night and actually added a little something something back into a contest that had become extremely stale over the last decade! Although in my mind, this can still not top one of Jordan's dunks, this is pretty cool! (does drag on a bit before good part)

Next Bike?

As I continue my search for my next mountain bike, I was directed toward this beauty by a good friend of mind. This is a Fezzari Alta Peak (2010 model) available for about $1500 on the web.  For those of you unfamiliar with the Fezzari, it is sweet bike made in Utah and primarily available on line only, unless you live in Utah!  I thought I would share the specs and get some feedback as to whether I should purchase or not. This particular model is not the highest quality of the Fezzari line, but it is one of the top 3.  Any feedback would be awesome.

FRAMESET
Frame	Fezzari Racing Design Technology F6A 150mm Travel, sealed cartridge bearings on all pivots, replaceable derailleur hanger, water bottle bosses
Fork	RockShox Recon 335 Solo Air, 130 mm travel. 3-way adjustable with Preload Adjust, Rebound Adjust and Lockout
Rear Shock	RockShox Ario 3.2 air shock. 3-way adjustable with Preload Adjust, Rebound Adjust and Lockout
Sizes	S, M, L, XL (15", 17", 19", 21")
Headset	FSA, Integrated Aheadset, oversize bearings
DRIVETRAIN
Shifters	Shimano M-530 Deore Mega 9 STI Lever Set
Front Derailleur	Shimano Deore M-591, 34.9mm clamp
Rear Derailleur	Shimano XT M771-SGS
Cassette	SRAM Powerglide II PG-950 upgrade 11-34T, chrome plated
Crank	Truvativ FireX 3.0 GXP, all-mountain
Chainrings	44Ax32Sx22S, 4-bolt 104/64mm pattern, replaceable chainrings
Bottom Bracket	Truvativ GXP with external sealed cartridge bearings
Chain	KMC Z9000 9-speed
COCKPIT
Handlebars	Fezzari Racing Design Alloy, 31.8mm x 670 mm (customized sizing through 23-Point Custom Setup)
Stem	Fezzari 3D forged 31.8mm alloy, 7 degree, 4-bolt bar clamp (customized sizing through 23-Point Custom Setup)
Tape/Grips	Velo MTB grip, black, double density Kraton
Saddle	WTB Rocket V performance saddle
Seatpost	Alloy, blast black, 31.6 x 350-400 (customized sizing through 23-Point Custom Setup)
Pedals	Wellgo Ultra Narrow, CNC spindle, BMX-Style with Ultra-Grip Pattern
WHEELS
Rims	Mavic XM117 Disc. 15Gx32H alloy, diamond-shaped doublewall, black anodized
Hubs	Front Hub: disc, 32 hole, high-grade loose ball bearings, alloy Quick Release. Rear Hub: Shimano® M-475 disc, 32 hole, loose ball bearings, alloy Quick Release
Spokes	1.8mm (15g) black stainless, brass nipples
Tires	Maxxis Larsen TT 2.35 World Championship Tires
Tubes	Fezzari All-Mountain
BRAKES
Brakes	Avid Juicy 3 hydraulic discs, 160mm rotor
Brake Levers	Avid Juicy 3 with adjustable reach

Mohican National Park

Timeline of an awesome ride today!

9:00 am:   Bikes loaded up in two trucks; time for a quick snack  (PB and J’s which never made it to the hill)

9:10 am:  Oh shit, need to get gas..Hour drive and no gas, not a good thing

10:30 am: Dropped off truck number one at shuttle location, time for dog to get a quick puke on!  good thing not my truck!

10:45 am:  Gear on, packs loaded, gloves, helmets, music (note to self, need a new playlist), camera, phone.  Let’s Roll

10:55 am:  Still on my bike, so far so good, unfortunately it is early, and trail is only going to get rougher.

11:00 am:  First mechanical issues kick in; gear challenges can make for a long day!

11:15 am:  Did he just actually spit up blood?  wtf

11:30 am:  Realize, what the hell am I doing out here.  It’s wet, it’s icy, and I am freaking out of shape

12:00 am: Still holding on, still bringing up the rear, but still having fun!

1:00 pm:  Pain starting to kick in with my legs.  Clips are helping, but the climbs are tough with the wet ground and snow.

1:30 pm:  Crash 1,

1:31 pm:  Crash 2, Ice takes out two of us

1:35 pm:  Realize front rim is toast; push bike next quarter mile across icy hillside

1:40 pm:  Limp bike back to truck, rider 1 sitting in back laughing at how long it took us to catch up!

2:45 pm: After long drive through farm country; time for some cold ones

Can’t wait to do it again!

Upcoming Rides

Looking to complete a few rides early this year.  Line up looking like this.

Mohican, Ohio 2/19/11

Dillon State Park, Ohio

Lake Hope, Ohio

North Park, Pa

Kennerdell, Pa

Moraine, Pa

Somewhere awesome in WV!

Any advice or local guides?

The Itch

Well it has officially started.  The itch to get back on the saddle and ride the trails hard.  Although I have ridden sporadically over the winter, it just isn’t the same.  Riding on ice and snow can be fun; however it is a lot of work and the falls hurt(and occur often)!  When you have a nickname like endo, you can imagine how those rides went!

Today was in the 40′s and was the perfect day to get back out there.  I even got up early and thru down a quick 20 minute warm up through neighborhood, followed by a tune up.  Got some air back in the tires after some low pressure winter riding, lubed the chain, adjusted the breaks, and tweaked the rearderailleur (annoying task).  Next step was to load the old death trap up and head over to the trails.

Problem was, decided to do a little lunch and shopping with the wife, and you guessed it, never made it back in time to ride!  I didn’t get the itch scratched!  I think I only made it worse because now I have to wait until next weekend to give it a shot again!  Oh well, it will feel all the more better when I finally get er done!