This is in response to Big Worm’s call out. I’m not sure what I’m doing going against Big Worm in the court of public opinion… everybody loves him! He’s like the Godfather, nobody disagrees with Big Worm. Except me I guess.
In a nutshell I believe a series championship rewards consistency while a one day championship rewards the fastest rider. Both admirable.
The only thing I’d say Big Worm is wrong on is that a rider who consistently finishes 18th or so in the world cups could win a world championship. Nobody wins a world championship without consistently finishing top 5 or 10 and probably even winning a world cup that same year. In the case of Absalon you win 5 world cups, win the series then go on and win the world champs. No world champs for him this year though. The idea that you can’t be fast while training for a peak is wrong. You may end up a little off the pace for a race or two during the year but for the most part you’re still fast just not super unstoppable fast. Absalon, Hermida, Schurter, Vogel, etc, etc have been fast all year but last saturday Schurter rode strong and tactically smart to beat Absalon by seconds. Great race. I still say that Absalon is the best mtb racer right now but you gotta bring your A game to the world champs cause everyone else is. Schurter is only 23 so this kid could be the next Absalon. He’s got serious skills and was gapping Absalon on the descent. Anyway… that’s another story. Race replay here.
As for Florida, I think it’s a shame that the fastest guy in Florida who goes out all summer chasing the dream at the ProXCT’s can’t come home and be state champ because he’s just plain tired of traveling. I don’t think anyone would dispute that he’s the fastest in the state. I believe with a one race championship it gives him the opportunity to back up all his work and gives everyone else a shot at him. Roadies included. If he’s not the fastest then we’ll find out who is. In Florida the series format just shows who went to the most races unless it’s a competitive class where all the top riders go to all the races.
Excitement! A one day championship is more exciting. Folks get pumped. Maybe more spectators? I think so. I think if Tallahassee hosted the state champs my mom might even come out. Cause it’s a big deal. Regular folks can relate to a championship race. I’d bring my spanish-english dictionary and drive down to Miami if it was hosting the state champs. That’s saying alot.
On the other hand a series just draws it out. Everyone I know is ready for it to be done and over by the time the 8th race rolls around. Usually well before that. “Ugh, I’m going to Ft Myers to race mtb’s…”
Obviously I’d love a one race championship. I like big fields with a lot of competition. The bigger the better. I think that’s what I like most the spectacle, excitement, butterflies in the belly. Different course every year. Bring the roadies, LET’S GET IT ON!! Now I’m all fired up just thinking about it! Woooooo!
I figured it was time to put on a new chain. The old one is a little stretched but not too bad. Put on the new chain and all is good EXCEPT the 23 cog. That mother trucker wants to skip all over the place when it’s in on the 23. All 8 of the other cogs are ok. This is new to me. The chain rides up a little on the teeth then skips forward one tooth and drops back down where it should be. So I guess I spend an inordinate amount of time in the 23.
I’m gonna keep riding this chain and see if there’s some kind of break in period cause if this 5 month old XTR cassette is toast imma be irritated if not downright angry. If it doesn’t get better I’ll try my older XTR cassette that came on the Anthem.
That KMC chain that came on the bike was ok at first but it didn’t last very long and it hasn’t been shifting too good for quite a while.
I’ve got some Stan’s wheels coming in from bikechain. I’m pretty excited about that. According to Stan’s wheel weight calculator they should come in at right about 1400grams. Wooo boy. That’s 280grams less than my old Crossmax SL’s. Should be feeling that.
Man all this rain is working the ole Poprad over. That’s what I got it for but dadgum she’s taking a beating. I even had to start using the heavy wet “cross country” lube on the chain.
This morning wasn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. Getting the boy out of bed at 6:30 was a little challenging but not too bad. He was ready and out the door to the bus stop right on time. Lil E seemed excited to go to school but once we got there she did not want to stay. I had to do the old hug, kiss, goodbye then turn and walk out paying no attention to the devastation I was leaving behind. I can’t wait til they get home and tell me about their first day.
In-laws were in town this weekend which always means I get to ride my bike a lot. Rode down and did Chaires ride with Big Tim then did an MTB ride with Cliff on Sunday. I wasn’t feeling the Munson Hills so much on Sunday. Cliff has a new mountain bike and I can’t blame him for wanting to ride it but…. some clay roads on Sunday would have been preeeeeeeemo. I know because the parts of the ride that were offroad were so-so and the parts that were on the road were NICE and cool and breezy. Anyway… crammed in 7.5 hours of bike riding over the weekend and that feels good.
Cliff did get this cool pic though.
I need to get back in the habit of carrying the camera on rides. I’ve missed out on some good pics.
Good thing, less heat and rain. Bad thing, less daylight. In the mornings I’ve started to feel and smell just a little bit of fall in the air. Kids start school next week. Truth be told I can’t wait to get them out of the house. They’re going crazy… that’s no joke. I really think they’re going crazy.
We’ve been cramming in a whole bunch of mini-vacations here at the end. Mostly the beach. I love the beach. I’d like to live somewhere that has white sandy beaches and mountains all around. I don’t think that exists. The closest thing is probably Southern California.
Found myself feeling a little bored with riding this summer but salvaged it with the Tuesday Night Crits. That ride broke up the mundane with good hard 60 minute efforts. I found that if I really wanted a solid 60 though I had to get in a break otherwise there was too much cat and mouse stuff early in the ride. Those roadies are funny, they’ll just sit up and stop pedaling whenever they feel like it. Messes up the flow.
I’ve got my eyes on the first three FSC mtb races. Gainesville, Fernandina Beach and Tallahassee. After that the races go south and I start doing the good long autumn mtb soul riding. Can’t wait for that. Last race of the year will be the state cyclocross champs here in Tallahassee Dec 5th I think. I’m gonna try and be in top 1 hour form this year. I’m also gonna bring a boom box out there and have a dance party on the sidelines during the other races. It’ll be sweet.
This is the weirdest crash I’ve ever seen. First thought is bike failure but I don’t see anything break. Looks like it was a bump in the road bounced the bars out of his hands. I had a big time oh snap moment out on the dirt roads once. Fast downhill, hands relaxed on the hoods and unexpected bump. I saved it with my forearms on the tops. Big time OH SNAP moment.
I’ve been running a 40 tooth big ring for about 3 months now. So much so I have to wonder why 44 is the default in the first place.
I used an FSA DH/SS ring with no ramps or pins and only 3mm thick. Definitely not ideal but it’s surprisingly hard to find a 40 tooth ring. I ended up having to use a 1mm spacer to get the shifting right since most geared rings are 4mm thick.
Two races and many hours on it and I’m convinced it’s gobs more useful than the stock 44 most cranksets come with. The only times I’ve gotten close to spinning it out is on long road downhills. For racing I’m thinking a 38 would be even more useful. To go even further, I think a 26/38 double ring setup could be the race ticket. The big test for me would be the steep climbs of the Thunderbolt course. I’m pretty sure a 26 would be low enough with an 11-34 cassette.
The bike JHK rode at Nationals has intrigued me. He ran a single 36 tooth chainring with the new sram XX 10 speed 11-36 cassette. Hmmmm.
Why not just ride? I’ve asked myself that question. I’m not totally sure why.
I just read “Talent vs. Training” by Molly Cameron. I can relate. Why train so hard? I don’t know…. I like a challenge. I want to find my limit. How fast? How far?
Don’t Die Wondering. I think that was a marketing slogan from Vision back in the 80’s. I still like it though.
I finally got a photo of the towel rider. I hadn’t seem him in at least a year. He rides a Cannnondale F-1000 down the middle of the road while sitting on a towel. I wonder what his logic is for riding the yellow line.
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