ASRc Comes in Small Package

Friday I stop in to see the Bubster at Yeti and pick up my new Optic Nerve team glasses. After a couple of minutes of "cardboard alley" games, we stroll back through the racks of Yeti frames and stop at a single team turquoise ASRc hanging like a diamond necklace. "Any word on when my medium will be in? Nope.

I had previously solicited the team's bike fit guru Todd Carver to review my dimensions from the ARCx and Road Project data and make a size recommendation for the new '08 carbon racer. NO doubt , you need a medium. According to the Yeti height stats I was right at the top of the small and bottom of the medium chart.

Like an 8 year old on Christmas eve, I really was tired of waiting and made a quick call and plead to Todd to help me make the small frame fit. He agreed and Bubba started writing. Quick trip to the LBS for a 120mm stem and I was ready to get started.

Leaving an extra measure of cables, hoses and steerer length, I christened the beast Tuesday at Mt. Falcon complete with a waterbar dismount. The bike felt good going up and great coming down.

The next day Todd fine tuned the seatmast length by discarding the 10mm spacer, flipped the stem over, shuffled some fork tube spacers and rotated the bars and controls. A huge improvement in comfort, weight distribution and getting the legs squarely over the pedals.

I always have fun building a bike and try to capture the delightful task with a few funky photos. take a look at: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=8njcnx5.17nzziwh&x=0&y=-qkh1i5&localeid=en_US

Remove excuse #12 from the list.

Top 12 Reasons-Way More Than You Wanted To Know

Holly crap!! Moving to the expert class for the 2008 Winter Park Series, I did not expect to be doing the grip-and-grin podium photos with my little gold, silver or copper medallion.

But what I got Saturday was an old fashion "spanking" from the 50+ coot clan.

It's not my fault so I thought I'd list the top 12 reasons I placed 12th out of 12 racers.

#12-I'm still waiting on my ASRc uphill racer

#11- I didn't train at 11,000 ft. elevation enough (at all)

#10-They don't like cocky racers who have their names on their bikes.

#9-I thought since I'm on COMotion's 5X winning team I didn't have to really train

#8-Teresa left the lid off the margarita server Friday night

#7-Gas prices are too high to take Silverado and required 200 pounds of tools and extra bike parts

#6-I fell down Wednesday and went boom on the CX bike. Bruised my elbow. It kept making me veer left then I over-corrected. Actually logged 8.3 miles on the 5 mile course

#5-Tim Watkins threw sand my face at the start line

#4- I fell down Wednesday and went boom on the CX bike. Created bacon strips down my left leg and knee would not bend

#3- Train coming out of the Moffat Tunnel made too much noise to hear the start announcement and I started late

#2-Vicodin reacted with Starbucks caffeine and caused brain and muscle cramps.

#1- I fell down Wednesday and went boom on the CX bike. Boy was my hip slow and butt sore! Now, better start a new list for the next race.

Never Get Tired of THE ROCK

If you don't like crowds and wheel-suckers, don't bother with Colorado's largest organized ride -The Elephant Rock Cycling Festival in Castle Rock. This year's cap of 7,000 riders was met well before the event was held June 1st.

One of the first organized rides I ever attended was the Elephant Rock Ride back in 2000. I pedaled a Trek 7000 hardtail pulling an Adam's Trail-a-bike with granddaughter Tori in tow. She threw a screaming fit when I told her to get off and help push until we were at the top of the hill. We were attempting the 8 mile mountain bike family ride. Except for one year since, we've participated annually moving up to the century road ride in 2004.

Take the profile above and tilt it another 3% grade to account for the never silent winds that buffet the open prairies. Despite not having trained specifically for the 100 miler, I was pleased with a slightly under 6 hour ride time and an average speed of 16.1 mph.

Choice of weapon this year was the 2007 Yeti ARC-X cyclocross bike. A fresh set of Continental GP4000 S skins converted the newest member of the Yeti stable into a decent open road cruiser. True, a lot of the descents had me red-lining the CX gearing but the +110 rpm spinning sections serve well as an efficient lactic acid purge following big ring climbs.

Veterans of the game, we arrived early Saturday afternoon with the travel trailer and act dumb about the 3:00pm check-in time. Results are always a prime camping location on precious flat ground and a dawn Sunday morning view of the hordes of cyclist arriving like warriors from a scene in Braveheart.

The early season event serves as a good reality check for fitness and as a reminder that the race season is nearly here. Details of the event can be found at http://www.elephantrockride.com/.