Monday 15 December 2008

Authentic Frontier Gibberish

We're getting our acts back together at the hotel. It's taken some big effort to right the ship, so to speak, after enough water to fill a large lap pool cascaded down from the top floor of the building. $1.50 fitting fails and causes $500k worth of damage - details at 11.

Fortunately, my top quality Cycleops Magneto trainer has been more than willing to serve me Coke Zero while all this has been going on. I'm getting a little sick of Coke Zero, but whatever. You gotta rot your teeth somehow.

Speaking of my top quality Cycleops Magneto, some fine fellow (or maybe lady) from Cycleops was good enough to come onboard the wagon and correct my statement that the Magneto had been discontinued for '09. It has not - so go out and get yourself one.

There's been mad talk about the 10am ride lately, and since I thrive on variety I convinced some friends to join me for Sunday's 10am. So there I was, freezing my stuff off with two other guys, waiting for these donkeys. One was stuck in a coyote type of a situation and wasn't finished gnawing through his arm by the critical hour, the other apparently fears change and went on the club ride. Thanks for the heads up. But where was everyone else? I was hoping for some good "hang on by your fingernails and feel your eyeballs getting pressed back into your skull" type of beat down, but no such was on offer. Three dudes. A great ride with a good pace and some shenanigans on the Glen Road rollers that whittled us down to two (I felt like kind of a cock that we didn't wait but what's the etiquette on that - by the time I knew he was gone he was out of sight gone) but missing that extra pucker factor that I'd been looking forward to. Really wanted to get the screw turned on me.

Mini review of the best cycling gear that's not cycling gear. Two items in today's section. Neoprene scuba fin socks are incredibly effective shoe covers. Easy to put on, cheap (under $15), durable and really warm. XL fits over my size 44 feet with stretch left to give. It's like a more full bodied version of those Toe-ster things. But where will I find a scuba shop around here? you ask. On Wisconsin in Tenley. Right next to that wicked cool furniture store called Good Eye. The other item is the best pair of cycling gloves you'll ever have, which are sailing gloves made by Musto. Actually just about every sailing gear manufacturer has knocked off the Musto original by now, so pick your brand. These are neoprene on the back side and amara leather on the palm side. Rather warm, will last longer than you could ever imagine and pretty dirt cheap (about $30 - or full price for regular short finger gloves). Because they are neoprene, they remain thermally effective when wet, as do the fin socks. The Musto ones I have even come in a perfect kit-matching shade of red. Best part is that I used to be sponsored by them so they were free. Only downside is that there's no fleecy soft snot wiper deal near the thumb. Here are some nice sailing gloves and it's a good shop. The Gill Three Season Gloves are the most similar to what I have.

I've become a technodork, but that's a story for another day. Another story for another day is how nicely the Lost River race is progressing. Big milestone events happening this weekend, of which I will have an appropriate photographic record in part thanks to my newfound technodorkness.

1 comment:

chris said...

well i am apologetic bout not putting the screw ...in motion or as i say not putting the hurtin' on ya but not in shape like i want and also it is dec. so i am just glad to be out. but all seriousness aside the losin who was out there with us was probably intentional on mr Wagners part and if not he is a grown man and so on..it was a good 10 oclock though small and there will be more opportunities to get punished or do the punishing. When one loses some of the season one tends to have strong legs in a time like now just to satiate the jones.(hope i spelled that word correctly) those two points might be gained in the first race in 09' Than voila into the 123 field where the end will be a little tougher.