Saturday, December 17, 2005

Riding Update..

Finished up classes last week and since then its been a total mixture of the riding, visiting friends, and the RAO premiere. Look for a big update in a few days when I return back to Oregon.. Ohh and the Time Trial bike build should be starting soon..

Stay Tuned..

Kenneth

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Friday, December 09, 2005


I just received the following photo from the guys down at co-motion. Wow is the TT frame looking sweet.

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Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Building the Time Trial Frame!

At the conclusion of last years Northwest Time Trial Series, NWTTS, with a little talent and some luck I came away with the grand prize, a CO-Motion Espresso frame & fork. The guy's at Co-Motion were super cool and said that for the difference in cost, I could trade up to any other frame set. I looked really seriously at both the Espresso Co-Pilot, best single travel bike, and their TT Frame which is just amazing. In the end I decided that the TT frame would be both very special and a fitting prize for a time trial series.

The next step in the whole process was to take a trip down to Eugene, OR, home of both Co-Motion, and that other university. On arriving I was immediately introduced to the whole staff, given a tour of the facility, and taken step by step through the entire build process from raw tubing to a painted and finished bikes. These guys make those motorcycle guys on "TV" look like amateurs. One of the distinguishing factors of a Co-Motion frameset, is that they are entirely 100% made in Eugene, OR, which now has me wondering why on they don't carry them at "Made In Oregon".

One of the real pleasures in dealing with an artisan frame builder is instead of being forced to find an acceptable "stock" frame the frame is instead crafted and fitted especially for you, the way it should be.

Co-Motion starts each build with a questionnaire asking questions like:

  • What kind of rider are you?
  • What kind of bikes have you enjoyed in the past?
  • What are your goals going forward?

Then it’s on to the measurements where they put any tailor to shame. Finally instead of being limited to a stock color, you dictate the entire paint scheme. Want your name on the top tube, done, want the drop outs in your own favorite custom shade of neon-80's-lime-green, done, though they might suggest you consider an alterative color.

After all this expect to hear some suggestions. In my case they suggested I make a slight saddle adjustment and increase my crank arm length.

Flash forward a few weeks, and you can expect to see a glimpse of what will be your custom frame as a schematic in your email, in my case it looked something like this.


(Click To Enlarge)

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Sunday, December 04, 2005

Weekend Training

With finals just around the corner training this weekend has been some what abbreviated.

- Friday, core strength lifting 3 X ( 25 bar pull, 25 rows, 30 back extensions /w (10 lb weight), 50 sit-ups)
1.5 hrs on the power cranks. Thought I'd do just an hour, but it was just too good.

Saturday - Thought it would be all cold and rainy. But the rain held off at least somewhat. Beavers kicked it out through Kings Valley with a real mixture pace wise everything from high intensity to recovery pacing.

Sunday - Short ride 45 - 50 miles, just did Decker + a little, might lift a little tonight but I doubt it with a final tomorrow.

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Friday, December 02, 2005

Ripping the Rim

Ahh.. Bike Parts. They all fail some time. Some just don't seem to last as long as they should, my 10 mile vittoria clincher tire come to mind. This last week, for the third time, in about two years, I had catastrophic failure from my rear Velomax Orion II rear wheel. Before I go into my unlucky experiences, I would like to say, that I do really like how the wheels never go out of true and are fairly light. But then again maybe these great traits have contributed to my troubles.

First Failure: Snapped a spoke at the nipple a few months after purchasing them, sent back they fixed it no questions asked.

Second Failure: Spokes ripped the rim apart, faulty rim drilling, had caused the spokes to exert a force on the rim over time separating the rim, like a can-opener, fixed again totally brand new wheel hub and all no questions asked.

Third Failure: A couple of weeks ago I was on my rollers, when all of a sudden the bike started make a sound like a train zipping down tracks the way classic trains used to sound ka-thunk, ka-thunk, ka-thunk. Well, I looked down, and hollysmokes batman, the rim had separated at the seam! This third failure occurred approximately 1 year after the second failure. Yesterday, I got a phone call from them. The call went something like this..

Them: So, you ride a lot?
Me: Yeah, I guess you could say that..
Them: Well it looks like you wore through the breaking surface...
Me: You can do that in a year?
Them: Yeah, you can if you ride alot.

So, the crazy guys down at Easton are fixing my wheel for a third time. I hope the third times the charm.

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Goals..

Ok so this posting has been a some what long time in coming. After this last years break out season I've been left struggling somewhat to decide how best to progress this next season and what big goals to shoot for..

So here's the plan, and if you want to race against me, show up to these events.

Northwest Collegiate Cycling Conference - It's been a while since I focused at all on regular USCF style racing, and early in the spring this next year I'm really looking forward to helping the beavers lay some smack down.. Yes, Huskies, this dog's grown a tail that can go whack, so watch out. The big goal behind Collegiate racing isn't to score any big wins, its more to work on my top speed, help the team out, and increase my fitness for the more important events later in the year.

NWTTS (Northwest Time Trial Series) - I really dig the 40k TT, and I cant wait to see what George and Terri have planned for us this next year.

NWTTSR (Northwest Time Trial Stage Race) - Mopin in May Nuff Said..

Misc California doubles - Might do devil mountain again, put the hand back in the ring for T2

July, Race Across Oregon - 2 Man Team Tartan - Race the two man at RAO, kick it hard, very hard..

Sept, Ring of Fire 12hr Race - Race the 12 hr race, and then crew for my RAO crew cheif who's going to be kicking it all night long..

October - Solo at Furnace Creek, 508. The plan for the 508 is simple, its going to be a training race, when I'm there I'll of course give it everything, but the plan isn’t to PEAK for the 508 or target it for a win, because the 508 is the launching point, for the BIG SHOW in June of 2007..

June – 2007 – Solo RAAM - The goal for RAAM is to do very, very well. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

So there you have it, that’s my plan and I'm sticking to it..

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Training week..

Training this week has been a mish mash. Sunday was another power crank fest ~3hrs, and Monday ~2+ hrs. Then Tuesday I hit the gym for a few rounds of lifts. I did my semi-normal routine, three times through the following (25 reps over head bar pull, 25 reps of the row, 30 back extensions, and 50 sit-ups). I must be getting stronger again, after three trips through I still felt like I had something left, so what to do? Take a fourth trip upping the weights and decreasing the reps to 15. Then later in the evening it was on the power cranks for about 45 min.

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