Caption this - Special day early Spudman edition.

Since I'm going to be out of town for the weekend racing Spudman, and going to my nieces wedding reception.  And, since I don't have any posts ready to load up for a "timed release" over the weekend, I give you this parting shot...

See you on the flip side!

Tuesday randomness.

Kind of a hodge-podge of stuff today.

Yesterday I had my first commute in the rain. It wasn't too bad, except for the fact that since I don't have fenders on my bike, I walked into the house completely drenched. At least it wasn't a cold rain.

Saturday is the Spudman Triathlon. I'm both completely excited and very nervous. I've never done an open-water swim, and the only time I have ever put on a wetsuit was when I went to rent one from PowerTri for the event. I've also never ran a 10k before in a race setting. I did run 10k last October, but I was by myself, and wasn't too concerned about the time.

Speaking of time, my goal for this triathlon is to finish in the top 99% of my age group.

The weather forecast for Burley, ID for this Saturday. Yes! A perfect day to race.

Here's a list of things I need to do before Friday, and Spudman.

• clean, adjust, air, and lube the bike.
• wash the tri kit.
• shave the legs
• pick up the wetsuit rental from PowerTri. (delegate the wife to do that one)
• pack everything I'll need for the Spudman
• double-check everything I'll need for Spudman
• pack a suit (I have my niece's wedding reception Saturday evening. It's going to be a busy weekend)
• help the family pack.
• check again to make sure that I have everything for Spudman
• find my friend who is also racing (and is in my age group coincidentally) once I get up to Burley.

I did mention that my niece is also getting married on Saturday.  Fortunately they live in Burley, so my family will be able to both watch me fail to complete my first olympic-distance triathlon, and go to the reception that evening.

Completely off topic, but I had an email at work this morning. It said

Team,


We are sorry to let you know that 'blank' passed away the afternoon of July 26th. We do not have details for the arrangements but will share these when they become available.


We will miss 'blank' – she was a giving, dedicated, loyal person who built many warm friendships during her 45+ with us.


name withheld.

'blank' is my boss' name. I was wondering if I missed something yesterday. I was in the process of asking another of my co-workers when 'blank' walked in. It turns out that there is (was) another person with the same name in the company in another state who apparently just passed on. My work group was emailed accidentally. Slight confusion for just a moment.

Have a great Tuesday!

What have I done.

I am a cyclist.  If anyone asks me what sport I most identify with, I say cycling. 

Then how do you explain what I just did. 

I have always said that I dislike running.  No, I would say that I hate running.  So, why did I just register for the Dirty Dash? 

The Dirty Dash is a run.  More than that, it's a 10k run.  A 10k run through mud and obstacles.  I honestly don't know what I was thinking. 

Runners struggle through the mud finish during a media preview for The Dirty Dash, a muddy, cross-country race around Soldier Hollow. (Jason Olson, Deseret News) Deseret News Articles are here and here.

I have to say that playing in mud does appeal to the inner child in me. 

I am actually excited about this run.  And, I've noticed that the more I run in training for my triathlons, the more I am enjoying running.

I'm still a cyclist, but do like to run.

Sunday funnies

Over the Hedge

Food Friday: Element Bars pre-review.

This week's Food Friday is more of a pre-review.

Earlier this week, I recieved a package from Element Bars. Element Bars is a new bar company that has an interesting premise, they let you create your own bars. You choose from a core, add fruits, nuts, sweetners, and boosts (such as protien mix) by dragging your selection to the ingredient pane of the window. Several of the ingredients are organic, or have organic options available.

One of the really cool features is while you are creating your masterpiece in bar form, there is a nutrition label that shows you exactly how much calories, fat, protein, etc... you are putting into your bar, and that nutrition label will be on the back of your bar.

The nutrition label will change depending on what you add or remove from the ingredient pane.

There are two different types of bar you can create. The standard element bar, and the Element Endurance energy bar, which has a higher amount of protein.

*Not necessarily a word of warning, but the Endurance bars use whey protein in the core mix, so they aren't vegan. The standard bars can be made completely vegan, and have soy protein available as one of the boosts.

Once you have the perfect bar created, you click on Checkout to go to the ordering page. If there is something that won't work well together (such as the datey core and any additional sweetners), it will let you know then so you can correct it. You can also personalize your bars by naming them.

I'll be running the bars I recievd past my highly trained panel of testers (my wife and kids) this weekend, and will post their opinions of them in next Friday's post.

I'll also have a surprise in next weeks post, so stay tuned!

Yee-haw!

Robbie McEwen crossing the finish line at the top of the Tourmalet today.  If you can't cross first, at least cross with style. 

Jens Voigt is tougher than you!

Yes, Jens Voigt is tougher than you. It's a given, just accept it.

After crashing and destroying his bike 2 km into the decent down Peyresourde Pass due to a front tire blowout in yesterday's stage he was looking at possibly being forced out of the tour due to crashing for the second year in a row.

The team car was up behind Andy Shleck, which left him with no bike.

So then the broom wagon pulled up and was like, “Do you want to just get in?” And I said, “Oh no, I don’t need YOU!” But there I am with blood spurting out my left elbow and no bike. Finally, the race organizers got me a bike, but it was this little yellow junior bike. It was way too small for me and even had old-fashioned toe-clip pedals. But that is the only way I could get down the mountain, so I had to ride it for like 15-20 kilometers until I finally got to a team car with my bike.

Jens Voigt descends the Peyresourde Pass on a loaner bike after a crash shattered his own (Robin Wilmott)

I just thought, “Oh no, I’m going to Paris this year, I’m going to Paris. There’s just no way you are going to get me out of this race for the second year in a row!”

This is the reason Jens Voigt is one of the HARDmen of the peleton. Go Jens!

From Bicycling Magazine

We are traffic too! - another commuting story

I had an interesting experience on the commute home last night.

I was actually riding to my mom's house where I was going to meet my family and go out to Macaroni Grill for my wife's birthday dinner. I was riding on the side of the road - like a good cyclist, and was approaching a red light. A car pulled up right next to me, put on her blinker to turn right, then proceeded to be frustrated at me because I did not immediately move out of her way and let her get into the turning lane. She had several words for me, which I was completely unable to hear or comprehend because I do not read lips, and she did not roll down her passenger side window before trying to tell me how I was in her way and how dare I impede her travel on my lowly bike while she was in a far superior car. (I'm guessing at her rambling, because as I mentioned, I couldn't hear her.)

I calmly explained (without the use of fingers or expletives, mind you), my position. I'm sure my side of the debate fell on equally deaf ears - again because of the glass between us.

People in cars, we are traffic too! Just like you wouldn't expect another car to get up on the sidewalk and give you unimpeded right of way (unless you have a siren and flashing lights) please don't expect the same from us cyclists. What would have she done if I would have been in a car? She would have waited until I was past her, and then moved over into the turn lane. Why did she think it was okay to expect me to yield? Because I am smaller?

She ended up driving straight down to the next intersection to make her right turn, gesturing and uttering more insults against me, my linage, and all cyclists in general (again, guessing) as she drove past me. I waved and told her to have a nice day.

If she would have just treated me like any other user of the road, instead of an annoyance or someone who didn't belong in her way, she would have been on her merry with only a few seconds of inconvenience.

Please be considerate of us when we are out on the roads. We are slower, and smaller, but if you are patient, we will be out of your way in a few seconds.

Sunday funnies

Caption this - Today's Big Fail!

Today's Big Fail is a great source of inspiration - for what not to do.  Occasionally they'll have a video of someone doing something stupid on a bicycle.  In most cases, I'll post them here.

Food Friday: Hummus

I love hummus. It's one of those foods that when I make it, there's a very slim chance that it will survive to see another day. It's also super easy to make. 7 minutes with a food processor and you can be enjoying your own bowl of hummus. I'll eat it spread on a wheat tortilla, with chips or crackers, scooped up on veggies, or in a sandwich.

A little nutritonal information:  Hummus is high in iron and vitamin C, and also has significant amounts of folate and vitamin B6. The chickpeas make it a good source of protein and dietary fiber; the tahini consists mostly of sesame seeds, which are an excellent source of the amino acid methionine, complementing the proteins in the chickpeas.

There are several varities of hummus that you can purchase in the store, but I prefer to make my own. Here is my favorite recipe.

Hummus recipe

1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans
1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth.

Garnish with paprika or cayenne pepper.

Bike commuting update

Just a quick update on my bike commuting.

It's been almost two weeks since I "ditched the car" and started biking and riding the bus to work.

It couldn't be easier! I don't know why I didn't do this sooner. Oh yeah, inflexible work schedue thing.

I do have to leave the house a little earlier than I normally would, so I usually fix my lunch the night before so I don't have to rush in the morning. I have a nice, mostly traffic free ride (shared-use path most of the way) to the bus stop, and then a peaceful bus ride downtown.

The trip back is almost a repeat of the trip in.

In case there was any doubt. Yes, I do live in the boonies

Seriously, I don't know why more people don't do this! One tip, leave a pair of shoes at your office.  That way you don't have to carry the extra weight, and you aren't clomping around in your cycling shoes (this only applies if you have clipless pedals - like my bike does)

On a somewhat related note, the state of Utah is running their "Clear the Air Challenge" during the month of July. You register and log the individual car-trips you saved daily by choosing an alternate method of transportation - such as biking, carpooling, mass transit, or telecommuting. You can see how much co2 you prevented from being dumped in the atmosphere by making alternate traveling decisions, and you also have a chance of winning prizes. Go to http://www.cleartheairchallenge.org/ to register and find more information.

Two contests to help fight Cancer

My oldest brother passed away last July after a short, intense fight with renal cancer.

I'm not bringing this up to memorialize him, but to say that cancer sucks, and all of us can say that our lives have been touched in one way or another by this horrible, nasty disease.

A friend of mine is doing something cool to help raise money for the LIVESTRONG foundation - in fact he's doing two somethings.

He has committed to riding the 100 mile route at the LIVESTRONG challenge in Philadelphia, and has two contests up to help raise money towards his goal.

He is giving away an original 12x24 painting (his own work), or a 2008 US Road Champion jersey autographed by Levi Leipheimer.

Just a sample of his work. If you win the contest, he will create an original piece of art for you.

the real jersey will not be this blurry.

For each bid of $5, you get one entry to whichever contest you choose. Both prizes are truly unique.

Go to his sites http://www.thelamesauce.com/, and http://www.districtcycling.com/ for more information and to donate. (you can't miss the donate button)

Share some love, and help a good friend fight cancer. The Donation/Giveaway ends on August 18, 2010

Product review: Feedback Sports Digital Scale

This is something that I received from a contest. 

How many of us have tried to weigh our bicycles by either by balancing it on the bathroom scale, or by weighing yourself, and then weighing yourself holding the bicycle. 

The Alpine Digital Scale from Feedback Sports will definitely help.

The Alpine Digital Scale was designed to weigh bicycles, wheels, and other sports equipment.  It is designed to either be hung from a hook, or mounted in a repair stand.

The scale will display the weight in either kilograms, pounds, or ounces.  It also has a zero/tare button so you can add something like a bag, or bucket to weigh small parts

I don't have a workstand (but I would be willing to review one...), so I hung my scale from a hook in the ceiling.  With three buttons, it's easy to use: turn it on, wait until it zeroes out, and then hang whatever you need to weigh from the hook.

Yeah, I'm going to blame my lack of speed on my bike's weight.

one of the wheels from my ongoing fixed gear bicycle project...

It's also good for weighing other things...

It's important to know how much your bagel weighs, trust me.

The Alpine Digital Scale is a handy tool to have.  It's small enough to throw in your toolbox and take with you, and it will weigh almost everything you need to know the weight of.  It does have a 55 pound limit, so it won't be able to weigh the bike you purchased at Wal*Mart (kidding). 

More information, and locations that you can get the scale from can be found at http://www.feedbacksports.com/

Exciting news for the Tour of Utah

I found some exciting news from the Tour of Utah in my inbox this morning:

The 2010 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah presented by Zions Bank is pleased to announce that the BMC Racing Team will participate in next month's race with a squad of five-riders.

The squad will include three-time National Road Champion George Hincapie, Salt Lake City native and 2008 Tour of Utah winner Jeff Louder, and fellow Americans Chris Barton, Chris Butler and Swiss national Simon Zahner.

(Photo credit: Tim de Waele).

Hincapie went pro in 1994 and is recognized for riding on the team of eight Tour de France champions and for being the only rider to join Lance Armstrong in all seven of his victories from 1999-2005.

"I'm excited to be able to do another race in the U.S.," said Hincapie. "From what Jeff and other racers have told me, The Tour of Utah is well organized and very demanding."

Louder has been a pro-cyclist since 2000 and lives in Salt Lake City when he's not racing overseas. Besides his win at the 2008 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, he also finished third overall at last year's race, and has finished on the podium in several international races including the Tour de Beauce and the Tour of Qinghai Lake.

"I am very happy to be racing the Tour of Utah with BMC Racing," said Louder. "As a Utah native, I am particularly motivated to do well and we are bringing a team that will be competing for the win."

The Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah is a six-day, 300-mile plus professional bicycle road race along the Rocky Mountain's Wasatch Range through some of Utah's most beautiful and challenging terrain. Scheduled to take place next month, August 17-22, 2010, the Tour of Utah will attract 18 professional cycling teams totaling 144 cyclists competing for a cash/prize purse of $45,000.

More than 30,000 spectators are expected to line the racecourse and attend the festivals in Ogden, Park City, Provo, Salt Lake City and Tooele.

For more information about the BMC Racing Team, please visit www.bmcracingteam.com. For more information on the Tour of Utah, please visit www.tourofutah.com

With just over a month until the start of the Tour of Utah, we should start seeing more team rosters finalized and posted.  I'll be sure to pass along any additional notable inclusions to this year's race.  It is going to be very cool to have the Current US National Road champion riding in the 2010 Tour of Utah

Sunday funnies

Over the Hedge

Caption this!

You'll never confuse cyclists for boxers...

Distracted cycling

The other day, A cyclist was killed because he rode in front of an oncomming commuter train. He wasn't paying attention, and didn't hear the train repeatedly blow it's horn because he had headphones on and was listening to an iPod, or something like that.

As tragic as this accident is, you can't blame the train. The driver applied his brakes, and sounded his warning horn several times. Also, it's not like a train can all of a sudden change lanes into you, or right-hook you around a corner.

It's staggering how many cyclists I see riding around with earphones in. Seriously people! You are taking away one of the senses you absolutely require while out riding on the roads. I don't care what the law says, and I don't care if you "only use one earphone", you are still being distracted by the noise coming out of your earphone, and may not be aware of the vehicle coming rapidly behind you, or down a cross street.

Save the music for the trainer in your basement. Listen to your environment while out riding.

www.frazz.com

Bike MS Utah ride report

As promised, although a little later than I planned, here is the ride report from the Bike MS ride.

The weather couldn't have been better.  Temperatures were in the mid 80's for the entire weekend.  I drove up to Logan after work on Friday so I could get registered and find a spot to set up camp - I decided to camp in the back of my van to cut down on costs, and because I thought it might be fun.  Even after checking my bike over thuroughly before leaving Friday morning, I still somehow found my rear tire flat half way between Salt Lake and Logan.  Fortunately, there was a bike shop right off the freeway not too far from where I made my discovery.  I was in a hurry since I was meeting the rest of my team at a local restaurant for a pre-ride dinner, so I ran into the shop, asked for 2 tubes, paid and left.  This will come back to haunt me later.

After a great dinner, I headed back to the fairpark where the ride was starting from to claim a spot, and change my tire before going to sleep for the night.  It's at that time that I discovered that I didn't have one flat, but two!  It was fortunate that I bought two tubes earlier.

Here's where my haste in getting back on the road earlier comes back to bite me in the butt.  I finally looked at the tubes I bought, and the girl at the bike shop gave me tubes with a 36mm tall presta valve.  With my rims, I can't use anything shorter than a 48mm!  With two flat tubes (one had a hole at the bottom of the valve stem - unrepairable) and two tubes that wouldn't work with my wheels, I was feeling a little anxious.  Fortunately there was someone at the support tent still that evening, and I was able to trade them for some 48mm presta tubes.

Saturday morning came, and we rolled out for a beautiful 100 mile ride.  I'll tell the rest of the story with pictures.  Unless specified, the photos were taken with my cell phone, hence the stellar quality.

Home sweet home

Found my name (photo by Donna Bernstein)

Casey, Meghan, Emily, and David pointing out our team name on the board.

Breakfast line, Saturday morning.

David and Donna. This was Donna's first century

Waiting for the start...

Team FredCast ready to roll! L-R Me, David, Donna, Emily, Meghan, Casey.(Donna Bernstein)

David, Donna, and I split off from the kids - who did the 40 mile route.  Like I said, the weather couldn't have been nicer.

David and me (Donna Bernstein)

Group shot! (so surprised this turned out as good as it did, since I was holding my phone at arm's length to take it.)

If rolling hills and green fields are your thing, then you would enjoy this ride.

The northenmost part of the ride took us into Idaho.  Here we are coming back into Utah. If you look at the road ahead of David, you can see the state line.  The roads in Utah were so much better than Idaho's

cool old bridge.

100 miles done!  Like I said earlier, this was Donna's first century.

A well-deserved dinner Saturday Night (Donna Bernstein)

Sunday was the last day, and had options for 45 or 75 miles.  The 75 mile route included a climb up Blacksmith Fork Canyon to Hardware ranch.  David and I decided to tackle the 75 mile route, while the rest of the team did the 45 mile route.  Blacksmith Fork Canyon was absolutely beautiful.  And thanks to team Saddle Soar, who let us latch on to their paceline, we flew up the canyon. 

The paceline that hauled my sorry butt up Blacksmith Fork canyon.

Finally made it to the top (David Bernstein)

Going back down the canyon.  Yet another beautiful day to ride!

100 miles Saturday, 75 miles Sunday. Fighting to stop MS! (Donna Bernstein)

What do two social media geeks do when they're done with 175 miles?  Tweet about it, of course! (Donna Bernstein)

Yes, thank you to everyone who contributed to our fundraising efforts. Without YOU! none of this would be possible! (Donna Bernstein)

I had such a great time riding with Team FredCast! You can be assured that I'll be participating in this ride next year!

Another small town/cycling story...

Sorry, I have yet another story about a small town and bicycles.

This one is a little different.

Twin Bridges, Montana (pop 400)  doesn't have a problem with cyclists, in fact they love cyclists so much that they have built a dedicated cycle-camp, Twin Bridges Cycle Camp to cater to the cyclsts that are traveling through their small town that lies along 3 popular cycling routes, including the Adventure Cycling Association's Lewis & Clark Trail and the Trans-America Trail The Cycle Camp was started back in 2008 when several of the residents of Twin Bridges spent $8500 to build an enclosed gazebo . In June 2009, the Cycle Camp opened. They offer various amenities to cyclists passing through such as

• Swimming – The campground is located on the Beaverhead River.
• Fishing – Onsite with Guided trips available
• Canoeing – Canoe rental available for 14 mile float down the Beaverhead and Jefferson Rivers and shuttle back to the Bike Camp
• Family fun –– Located next to the fairgrounds there are baseball fields, walking paths, and a gazebo.
• Indoor restrooms and hot shower
• Several restaurants within a couple of blocks
• Laundry facilities located in town.
• General store
• Espresso shop
• Large grassy camping area with insect resistant shade shelter and tables.
• Tent camping
• Free local attractions guide and list of area events'
• Pump and repair stand for public use.

Bill White of Twin Bridges said: "I have met dozens of cyclists passing through and they were some of the nicest people I ever have met."

The boneheads in Black Hawk, Colorado need to visit Twin Bridges to see how they should be treating cyclists instead of fining them for riding through their town. Black Hawk also sits smack in the middle of a popular cycling route, the Pikes Peak Secnic Byway route.

My thoughts on bike commuting so far.

It has been 2 days since I started commuting by bike/public transit (Monday was considered a holiday, and bus service wasn't operating so I was forced to drive to work.)

What I've noticed so far...

• I have a really easy commute. 5.1 miles to the bus stop on a shared-use path (the road has no shoulder, and I don't feel like playing dogdge-em with cars at 5:30 AM) with a small hill.
• There aren't very many people to share the path with at 5:30 AM.
• I do have to leave my house a little earlier than I would if I was driving.
• The hour I spend on the bus gives me plenty of time to catch up on my podcasts. Listened to the Velocast podcast this morning.
• The bus drops me off .7 miles from my office.

I haven't made the return trip yet. Friday - my first day of commuting by bike - I rode from my office to my Mom's house where we were staying for the holiday weekend. Only thing I am concerned about is if there are other commuters who ride their bike to the bus stop. There aren't any other bikes on my bus in the morning, but there is a later bus in the morning.  Each bus can carry two bikes.  I'd hate to be bike #3 seeing as there is no later bus heading homeward. We'll have to see.

Sunday Funnies - TdF edition