Big News Announcement!!!!!!!!!!

Remember my post from a few days ago? Well I can officially reveal the big news!!

Myself, along with Mark Hartman and his wife Suzanne, are now part of the Gary Fisher 29er Crew!!!

Super pumped to be rocking a Fisher 29er again for the 2008 season!! Which bike will I be pimping?? Right now I'm leaning towards a Superfly, but could be swayed to roll on a Hi-Fi, time (and availability) will tell.

I did manage to get out yesterday for a quick road ride. I put in just over an hour during my lunch break. Quick but intense ride with some short but hard Vo2 max efforts. I can tell I worked hard the past few days, because I'm eating everything in sight. Of course, I'll use today as a rest day and it's 45 or so out, but I'd rather be cold and dry then wet and slightly warm anytime.


Currently playing in iTunes: Return The Favour by The Hives

Full Weekend

Managed to put in some decent time this weekend. Not as much as I would've liked, but I'll take anything right now as the temps are getting slightly better.

Saturday I took Lizzy out and headed over to Dryer Rd. Put in just over 2 hours in the snow and dirt. There was a light covering of snow on the ground making it a bit sketchy in a few parts, but there had been a few riders out and after some laps I had it packed in real nice. It was fun to get out there and just hammer a bit. I went out and just pushed it as hard as I could for 2 full hours and was pretty whipped by the end.

Sunday, was nice enough to get out and hit the roads. Light winds out of the south and low 30 degree temps and clear roads means pull out the road bike. It was a nice ride on a lightly rolling route. I was having fun and staying warm but around the 2:15 mark or so I flatted after a good stint on some back dirt/stone roads. I changed the flat with my 4inch mini pump (aka 400 strokes), but by the time I got back going again the gloves were cold and wet from sweating so I just finished my ride up and headed back home. I kept it mostly light tempo, with a few efforts here and there. I'm feeling really good putting in the hours and laying down the tempo, I just lack my climbing legs. They will come in due time though as I usually purposefully hold myself back on the climbs this time of the year. Mid to late next month I'll start adding some longer climbs to bring up the intensity. I'll add a few race efforts at the Giro's in the spring for sure.

Today, I'm gonna sneak out of work here in a few hours and see if I can't "raise the roof" with a few vo2 max efforts, and test how the legs are after 2 days of good rides.







This video is great! Found it over on Drunk Cyclist

Another Cold Day this time at the Hollow

Yesterday was cold; 10 degrees F and 30 mph winds. Headed down to the Hollow to hit the trails, managed around 2 hours of ride time. Loads of fun with everyone. All fingers and toes are accounted for.

Loads of pics in the slideshow below:

Frozen toes

Hit up the Geneva Bicycle Center for the Winter sale this past morning. Picked up a few essential supplies. Usual tubes, lube and food, etc.

After that grabbed lizzy and headed over to Dryer Rd in Victor for some riding on the Supercaliber. Ground was nice and firm as it was brutally cold with a nasty wind. Still some snow out there on the trails, but for the most part was dirt. Managed an hour before I couldn't feel my toes anymore. My core and hands were plenty warm, but the toes just weren't staying nice and toasty.

Ergomo doesn't lie

Lizzy Surveys the scene

Climbing up thru Moon Valley

Hope no one was sitting there!!

Big news coming soon and Friends

Some Huge News to Announce coming very soon, what will it be??

I figured I'd run a little blog roll of my friends and others I read here and someday when I'm not so lazy I'll add them to my side bar

Mark Hartman

Brandon Furber

Chris Michaels

Matt Spak

Andrew Brautigam

Last of the decent weather days

Got out for plenty of ride time this past weekend. Weather was fairly decent here these past two days, so I had to take advantage of it. Unfortunately, it's not sticking around and snow and colder temps are due to return. Maybe I'll pull out the mountain bike if the trails freeze up.

Yesterday, I put in a few hours. I rode the same route as this past tuesday. I was quite amazed at the power file after I reviewed them both. Time, TSS, and avg power were nearly identical, the major difference was that my hr was quite a bit lower than the Tuesday ride. I was pretty psyched about that as lower hr over the same power is a good indicator of improvement in fitness.

Today I headed south down to Penn Yan get some rolling hills in. Ended up with just over 4 hours total time. I'm not climbing as I'd like to yet, but there plenty of room for improvement. On my way home I noticed that my front tire was getting soft, I pulled out my spare and realized it was no good, doh! I emptied my co2 into the slow leaking tube and it held up.

Good news is I put a pretty good bump in my CTL this week!

Currently playing in iTunes: Intervention by The Arcade Fire

Early Morning Ride

Another Beautiful day yesterday. Meant another opportunity to get out on the road and put some more miles in. Got out early am with Mark and Suzanne, enjoyed the warm weather and a nice sunrise.



Beautiful early morning skies




Sunrise, Sunrise...



Rolling Along enjoying the Winter Warmth



Mark descends Earl's Hill

Rare sighting of cyclist captured!

Ok, so It's been a little bit since I've been on my blog. What can I say, the holidaze were here and basically I was not in a position to type up anything, plus I went to Ohio a few times for work.

But, the weather has broke the past few days and is going to be great here for the next few


I got out to glenwood saturday am with lizzy while the ground and trails were still frozen. I didn't feel all that bad, and technically I'm still really strong at that aspect. Yesterday, I hit the road for a few hours.

Today, I sneaked out of work for an extended lunch and put some time in. But don't tell my boss!!

Rolling along on the wheelman route

It was crazy warm though and I peeled the layers off as the ride went on




Still some snow out in the country though...

Hoping to get out tomorrow am for a few hours before work


Currently playing in iTunes: Today Is The Day by Apollo Sunshine

Bustin out the XC Skis

Snow is coming down outside just a little bit ;) 5-9 inches or more expected, with the possibility of a Nor'easter this weekend!

I did manage to get out on the bike on monday for some night riding at glenwood. I rushed home and put the supercaliber back together and headed over to the trails with Mark and the dogs. Temps were hovering right around freezing, but it was warm during the day. This meant that the exposed parts of the trail were nothing more than mud and muck. I managed to get close to an hour in then we called it quits.

So it's snowing out pretty good today. Looking like it's going to be a good night for some xc skiing. Road conditions are probably going to be too poor to head anywhere, so most likely going to end up over at glenwood. Lay some tracks down and can most likely get it worked in for the bikes possibly over the weekend.


View outside my car at lunchtime today!

Currently playing in iTunes: Velvet Snow by Kings Of Leon

Glenwood Snow Riding

Hit up glenwood yesterday with Mark, Burt, Cadence and Lizzy. It was great to get out on the trails and ride around on the snow. Decided to pull out the camera and take a little video. Edited it up just now and posted it here for you. Yes, the whole video was taken with me riding 1 handed!! on my Paragon!!... Not an easy task, there are quite a few logs that took me out and you'll notice me hitting the snow/dirt near the end of the video as I tried to navigate a v-ditch.

On a side note, I'm now a Sergeant Grade 1 in Halo 3!! Umm, yah I still suck as my kill to death ratio is .69 (but hey it was .13!!)

Currently playing in iTunes: Down Boy by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Snow

Mark, Suzanne, myself and the pups made an attempt to ride over at Glenwood this morning. We got a few inches of snow last night and figured we'd head out and pack in the trails, and run the pups a little bit. Unfortunately, the snow was a little deeper than we thought making for a tough romp through the trails. We made it down one trail and after a bit of sliding, crashing and walking (well, Mark had no issues as usual) we decided to head home and just pull out the skis. On the way home the rain came down and we had to bail because the snow sucked. So basically we were out and just decided to stick home for the day and chill.

Oh well, try again tomorrow.

Loving your bike a little too much?

Bike sex case sparks privacy debate. Yes, as in sex with a bike (NSFW) - AutoblogGreen: "Robert Stewart was having sex with a bike in his locked hostel room. Robert said he was drunk and his actions misunderstood but when cleaners knocked and there was no response, they opened the door with a key and saw Robert having sex with a bike. The cleaners called the police, Robert got three years probation and is on the sex offenders list. The BBC website says their report on the story has over a million views and there is a legal debate.

John Scott, human rights expert says 'the man involved in this case pleaded guilty to a breach of the peace so these issues of privacy weren't considered by the court. ... This case should not prevent people who want to engage in this sort of activity doing so.' So, it's still legal to have sex with your bike in the privacy of a room. Just make sure to do it in a locked room, where the locks have no duplicate keys and you are able to hear a knock. "

(Via Digg.)

Hmm. I enjoy riding my bike, but in a different way than this guy!

Ya, I've been neglecting my blog lately. What can I say, the weather is crappy and I'm feeling like crawling under the covers and doing pretty much nothing. I'm also back to single again. I know in the long run this is the right choice, but right now; in a way, I wish I could have back what I had. It's my fault though, so I'll accept the blame. I think everyone fears change in some kind of way and perhaps that's why I'm still holding on. With time I'll be ready to move forward, right now though I'll be focusing my energy on myself and improving me.

Currently playing in iTunes: True Love Way by Kings Of Leon

My brother's wife is expecting!!!

Huge news on the home-front. I'm gonna be an Uncle soon!!! My brother and his wife Becky are expecting. They just received the official confirmation from the doc yesterday. So far she is about 5-6 weeks along and is due sometime in early July. This is awesome!! I'm so happy for them. Do you think it's to early to go get the kid a bike? Gotta get 'it' (I refer to babies as it until they can speak) ready and prepped for the big show!! I'm thinking 'it' is gonna have the chance to get an early jump start on everyone else...

On the flipside, I just picked myself up a shiny new macbook. It's pretty slick. Loving having the ability to run XP right alongside Leopard (Vista just plain sucks, so no chance of running that). So far Leopard is pretty slick, but I need to get some more RAM for it to really purr. Took me a few days to get all my info in here all proper, but I'm psyched.

Riding/Training wise; yah been slacking but it's due time. Gonna go get me a gym membership and get started on the whole adaptation process of the weights. Probably gonna have to dust off the trainer and get that setup and working.


~Uncle Jason
(Like the ring to that :)

Halloween at the Hollow

He-Man and She-Ra were the choice for Lindsey and I. Our Costumes are almost entirely made out of duck tape. Loads of fun!

Night Riding and A Muffin Tragedy

Last night got out with the GBC gang and hit up the local trails at Glenwood. I haven't really been on the bike as this is pretty much my rest period before I undertake the full-on training plan that starts up next month. However, the weather was great and it was time to saddle up. I pulled out the paragon and just ripped it up. I still love that bike and it rips around in tighter more tech trails more so than the supercaliber.

We had quite a large group (7 of us) so it was a pretty good turnout. I had hit the road for a short ride prior with Lindsey so the legs were ready to go. (I still gotta work on getting her up for some night riding ;) My overall fitness has dropped of a bit, but my head is crisp and clear so I think that more than makes up for it.

The Muffin Tragedy

Tragedy uncovered at the Alpine Bakery early this morning.

So I went to get my usual cup of coffee and blueberry-yogurt muffin this morning and it was awful. Apparently the cooler was mistakenly unplugged and the muffins *gasp* had gone bad! Man was I bummed. I hat to take a only slightly less delicious chocolate chip (which was supposed to be ginger, so you can imagine my suprise). Hopefully tomorrow everything will be back in order and I can resume fulfilling my cravings.

2008 National Mountain Bike Series Schedule (Unofficial)

Here's what I've come across. A race in NY!! that's huge news!! It's about time they brought a race here. And with the Nationals going off at Mt. Snow (I'm guessing the following weekend) that will be 2 weeks of great racing in the Northeast!!


March 29 - March 30, 2008 Fontana National - UCI XCO C1

Southridge Park

Fontana, California

XC/DH/ST/4X/Super D



April 5 - April 6, 2008 NOVA National - UCI XCO C1

McDowell Mountain Regional Park

Fountain Hills, Arizona

XC/ST/Super D


May 17- May 18, 2008 Firestone National – UCI XCO C2

Ted Chamberlin Ranch

Los Olivos, California

XC/DH/DS/ST/Super D


June 28 - June 29, 2008 Deer Valley National - UCI XCO C1

Deer Valley Resort

Park City, Utah

XC/DH/DS/ST/Super D


July 5- July 6, 2008 Showdown at Sugar National

Sugar Mountain Resort

Village of Sugar Mountain, North Carolina

XC/DH/DS/ST/Super D


July 12 – July 13, 2008 East Coast National

Windham Resort

Windham, New York

XC/DH/DS/ST/Super D

August 16-August 17, 2008 Snowmass National

Town of Snowmass Village, Colorado

XC/DH/ST/4X/Super D


August 30-September 1, 2008 National Mountain Bike Series Finals – UCI XCO C2

Tamarack Resort

McCall, Idaho

XC/DH/4Xor DS/ST/Super D

Randomness

I ate meat yesterday for the first time in 2 months, ever since watching Fast Food Nation just haven't been able to stomach it. But I was hungry for a burger.

I rode this morning at Glenwood, rolled my tire coming over a log and crashed. Cracked my co2 and it blew out everywhere, I limped the bike home as I rode to the trails. To top it all off, for some reason my iPod quit just as I got the flat...

I bought Halo 3 for the 360 the other day, I've played it for maybe 30 minutes. How the hell are those people playing it all day and night? Maybe when the weather gets shitty I'll play it some more

The Bears, WTF?? They better pull something out of their ass soon or they can say goodbye to going back to the Superbowl.

Blackwater; just coming to light now? I went to a seminar at Hobart on this in the spring and everyone who I talked to about it (that wasn't there) said I was a little crazy

My iPhone now has the wireless iTunes store. Its like crack. If I need a new song, I just look it up and download it.

Currently playing in iTunes: Some Crap About the Future by Electric President

130.7 MPH on a mountain bike!?

EDIT: NOW HAVE THE VIDEOWired Blogs: Gadget Lab: "33 year old Austrian Markus Stoeckl has smashed the World Speed Record for series mountain bikes. Stoeckl, nicknamed "Hercules" because of his 6'4", 220 lbs. frame, broke the 8 year old record by 14 mph on a 2000 meter, 45 degree run in the Chilean Alps. Because of the extreme cold, Hercules had to hold his breath for the 40 second duration so his helmet didn't fog up."

Think you're ready for the winter season? Maybe we should hop on board this guys training plan!! You'll be fast that's for sure!!

Panel: Landis guilty of doping - Yahoo! News

Panel: Landis guilty of doping - Yahoo! News: "Floyd Landis lost his expensive and explosive doping case Thursday when the arbitrators upheld the results of a test that showed the 2006 Tour de France champion used synthetic testosterone to fuel his spectacular comeback victory, The Associated Press has learned."

Dopers Suck!

What to do now?

Well, The Horrible 100 is done and over with. Season is winding down and my original plan was to hit up the Roots, Rocks and Ridges race in Ellicottville on 9/30. That plan has gone down the tubes lately. Last week I had to go away to Philly for work and as a result, no training and some fitness decline.

Now, it's Thursday and I still have the same illness I've had since Saturday evening. I've had a fever and pretty bad sore throat all week. A few times I've either come to work late or left early cause I can't even hold my head up. Shivering in bed with 3 blankets on while it's 75-85 outside is definitely not how I pictured spending the past few days. Yesterday I headed to the doc and picked up some antibiotics. Hopefully those will help a bit.

I haven't ridden since the H100, and there's no chance of a proper recovery for the R,R & R race; this is my official end of season declaration. I'm not hanging the bike up, but I'm not going riding with any purpose other than to have fun and look forward to the next ride. I have some thoughts about hitting a cross' race but I really don't feel like doing any intensity training right now (specially as I'm still feeling like crap). I'll probably wind it right back up though sometime around the start of November.

Don't worry I won't leave you hanging, I'll still keep posting ;)

Currently playing in iTunes: Challengers by The New Pornographers