Silly Wednesday Ride

I went out for a planned 60 miler yesterday. When I headed out the door, it was 91.5 with 85% humidity. I was on the bike to a grand total of a two minutes before sweat began to beed on my chin. I scrapped the mid-sized ride for an uber-short 23.52 miles in 1:32 (avg 15.61).

It's only 79 right now with 83% humidity right now, so I might try to do the ride again (gotta start base training again for another long race sometime in the future :-P )

Nothing really interesting to report with all these slow days (and still not having a mountain bike), my posts ought to get interesting again soon. On a non-bike-related note, my house was over a hundred degrees yesterday, so I opted to go to the movies in the first time in 2 months. Saw that new Die Hard flick, Live Free or Die Hard. I was thoroughly entertained, only for the cheese value though. I wouldn't call it a "good" "film."

GDR Documentary

I was keeping a video log of my race experience during the Great Divide Race this year. Unfortunately, the video is extremely low quality and, because I did not finish, I didn't invest much in production value. You still may enjoy it, so I'll post it anyways:

GDR 2007 Photo Gallery

I'm still putting together a GDR recap. For now, you can look at photos and the comments.

GDR 2007 - Pre-race
GDR 2007 - Day 1
GDR 2007 - Day 2
GDR 2007 - Day 3
GDR 2007 - Day 4
GDR 2007 - Post-race

Back on a bike

I did my first post-GDR ride yesterday. I did a really short 40.83 miles in 2 hours, 45 minutes (incredibly slow, recovery pace at 14.91 mph).

It was really weird getting back on a road bike after doing almost 400 miles on a mountain bike covered in gear. My sense of balance on a bike was totally destroyed. I sat down on the bike and pedaled out the driveway onto Moody St. and the bike felt flaccid beneath me. I literally just about fell over. It took about 5 miles to start going in a straight line. By the end of the ride, it felt natural. Almost needless to say, I rode clear of busy roads.

Anyone who has been to Brandeis...

...will understand why this is funny.

I also have a VERY LARGE GDR write-up coming.



(Building found in Denver)

In Helena

I'm sitting in the library in Helena... not really sure how I can keep going. It's going to cost at least $1,000 dollars to leave town today. I just don't think I can swing it.

I could overnight a new shock, but that would cost $400 and I'd basically be DQ'ed from the race because I would not make it to Steamboat in 13 days. Shittttyyyy.

Interview for MTBcast

Side note - I did an interview with Joe for MTBcast. I'm guessing that will be online either tonight or tomorrow.

In Montana

I've been staying at the KOA between Whitefish and Kalispell with Joe Polk from MTBcast and Scott Hodge from Addictive Cycles in Georgia. There were at the airport trying to meet up with Ashley, who had just left, and decided to take me along.

The cabin we are staying in is beautitful and this place is basically a resort. Free breakfast (with eggs, etc), heated pool, laundry, showers, hot tubs... It's a great warm-up to the GDR.

I've been shooting video and the footage is coming out pretty good. I should be able to put up some solid video onto YouTube when I get home.

More details later. Maybe some pictures if I can find a USB cable.

To err is human; therefore, cows can do no wrong

A rancher told me that while on the GDR last year. Hopefully, this year will be equally full of memories.

GDR Bike Ready!

Note - Zip ties are not clipped because I'll be undoing them for shipping.



My cockpit is very cluttered



I cut a piece of wood to make a second handlebar for my lights and heart-rate monitor. Initial tests are positive--let's see if it survives the Great Divide!



I closeup of my second-handlebar.



My handlebar bag from Jeff at Carousel Design Works.



Two waterbottle cages I pipe-clamped to the fork. I'm going to need that water in New Mexico.



The Carousel Design Works saddle bag. This bag is really top-notch.



And, of course, where I'm going to plant my butt for the next 2,500 miles.

The Biggest Challenge of the GDR

The biggest difficulty of the Great Divide Race is deciding which 2 gigs of mp3s to put on my mp3 player for the next 20-something days...

The Point of this Blog

I've created OMG Bikes! out of the shell of my former "The Full Monty" blog, which has tragically been deleted from the internet. This will primarily be cycling, adventure, and outdoor oriented: not a whole lot of "personal" stuff here.

In the short while, I'll be posting about my adventures doing the Great Divide Race starting June 15th. I am also bringing some video equipment with me and I'll be posting some stuff on YouTube from the race and updating readers about it here. Be sure to subscribe to my RSS Feed if you want to stay up to date about my projects.

Aero Bars on a Mountain Bike

The Great Divide Race is coming.

(EDIT - Info on how I put aerobars on my Mountain Bike below the photos)

---

This post has been really popular for people looking for information about installing Aerobars on a mountain bike. What I did is rather simple. First, I traded in my riser bar for a old, cheap, aluminum flat bar. Typically, carbon mountain bike bars cannot handle bar ends, so I highly doubt they will be able to take aerobars.

I decided to use the Profile Designs t2+ Cobra because they were both light and compact. I didn't have to shim them at all, however using some old tubes probably couldn't hurt.