quad dipsea

(this is another entry about running, so you might want to skip it).

on saturday i ran the quadruple dipsea trail race; 28.2 miles and
9200' of climbing on a double out-and-back course (mill valley to
stinson beach and back, then turn around and do it over).

(i think i've mentioned before how much i like the dipsea trail, the
terrain is varied, the views are gorgeous, and the trails are a nice
mix of singletrack, fire roads, and stairs, LOTS of stairs. it's a
justifiably famous run).

the weather was perfect, very clear with a bit of a breeze on the
hilltops, and 242 people started the race at 8:00 sharp and headed up
the 676 steps for the first time.

and then i ran for 5:42:27 (58th), which is a long freakin' time to do
anything but sleep. it's the longest period of time that i've run for,
and by the time it was over i was completely trashed.

i hurt all over, my skeleton hurt, i was a little nauseaus, my
calves felt like they were going to explode, and i haven't been so
happy to stop doing something in a very long time.

i was hoping to finish in under 6 hours, so i'm pleased. next year i
wanna finish in under 5:30

and one more...

i've taken another step in my continuing quest to own more bikes than is reasonable for one person.

the newest addition is a cyclocross bike that i've been working on for about a month, and i just finished the last details.

so that makes 5 rideable bikes, and at least one (and possibly two) more on the way.

i may have a problem.

why don't we take a tour of the bikes? there are pictures! (and all sorts of mind-numbing technical details if that's your thing).



this is the cyclocross bike, and the most recent addition to the pile.

type: cyclocross
construction: welded aluminum, production
model: 2004 redline conquest pro
built by: me (means i bolted all the parts on, not that i built the frame)
notes: the front and rear brake levers are reversed (rear on the left, front on the right) to make it easier to brake while dismounting.

here comes the geeky stuff

tubeset: some kind of crazy-light aluminum stuff
wheels: shimano 600's laced 3x to mavic open pro cd's
tires: ritchey speedmax cross (700 x 32).
cranks: 172.5mm ultegra double, 53 - 39 (need to get a 46 to replace the 53)
cassette: ultegra 9-speed (12-27)
front mech: ultegra
rear mech: ultegra
shifters: ultegra
saddle: selle italia gel
seatpost: thomson
bars: salsa bell-lap
stem: no-name
brakes: rear: radius, front: oryx
pedals: shimano spd 959




the road bike

type: road
construction: welded steel, production
model: 2003 masi special premio
built by: some guy at the bike shop
notes: the masi brand is now owned by some giant asian bike conglomerate, and has nothing to do with the original masi family

here comes the geeky stuff

frame: steel, reynolds 853
forks: carbon, reynolds ouzo comp II (i have no idea what that means)
wheels: mavic cosmos
tires: vredestein fortezza se's
cranks: 172.5mm ultegra double, 53 - 39
cassette: ultegra 9-speed (12-25)
front mech: ultegra
rear mech: ultegra
shifters: ultegra
saddle: selle italia slr
seatpost: no clue, but it's carbon fiber, which freaks me out a little
bars: no clue
stem: daeda
brakes: ultegra
pedals: shimano spd-sl 6610





the fuji track

type: track
construction: lugged steel, hand made (this is a guess)
model: 1977 fuji sprint
built by: me
notes: this was the first track frame i bought, and it was a real find. it's in immaculate condition, fits me perfectly, and gets babied. i only ride it when it's nice out.

here comes the geeky stuff

frameset: steel, fuji 331 (proprietary butted tubeset)
wheels: 36h high-flange campagnolo super record pistas laced 3x to velocity aeroheads
tires: vredestein fortezza se's
cranks: 165mm sugino super-mighty, currently running a 47t chainring (vintage)
cassette: no cassette, 17t sugino track cog
front mech: n/a
rear mech: n/a
shifters: n/a
saddle: selle italia slr
seatpost: campy 26.8 2-bolt super record
bars: nitto b-123's, 38cm, njs
stem: nitto jaguar, 100mm, njs
brakes: n/a
pedals: pro-ace, njs




the levante track

type: track
construction: lugged steel, hand-made
model: 198? custom
notes: i got this on ebay, sort of on a whim. the description of the frame sucked, and i couldn't find any details on google, but once i got it and built it, it turned out to fit me perfectly, and have a really nice ride.
this is my foul-weather bike, the one that gets the fenders and all the lights, and rained on.

here comes the geeky stuff

frameset: steel, columbus multi-shape (a short-lived tubeset that columbus came up with for the track; it required special lugs as every tube has a different cross-section).
wheels: 36h high-flange phil woods laced 3x to mavic 33xp's
tires: vredestein fortezza se's
cranks: 167.5mm campagnolo stradas, modified for the track, 47t chainring (vintage)
cassette: no cassette, 17t phil wood track cog
front mech: n/a
rear mech: n/a
shifters: n/a
saddle: selle italia titanium flite
seatpost: campy 25mm 2-bolt super record
bars: chopped and flipped cinelli, 38cm
stem: cinelli 1A, 85mm
brakes: front: dia-compe rear: n/a
pedals: shimano spd 853





the peleton track

type: track
construction: lugged steel, hand-made
model: 1998 keirin
notes: this is my favorite bike right now; i got it from japan, and it rides like a dream.

here comes the geeky stuff

frameset: steel, no idea what kind.
wheels: 36h high-flange dura-ace laced 3x to saavedra featherweights
tires: vredestein fortezza se's
cranks: 165mm dura-ace, 45t chainring, njs
cassette: no cassette, 16t dura-ace track cog, njs
front mech: n/a
rear mech: n/a
shifters: saddle: mosquito five-gold, njs
seatpost: dura-ace, njs
bars: nitto 123aa, njs
stem: 110mm nitto jaguar, njs
brakes: n/a
pedals: mks custom nuevo, njs

and that's the lot, at least for now. all of the bikes get ridden on a regular basis, some more than others, but none of them are 'wall queens' and i like them all for different reasons.

moving up

i got 4th place in the race i ran on saturday, which is the best i've
ever finished.

it was only 20k, and i didn't push very hard because i'm tapering for
a big race on this coming saturday, so i'm pretty pleased with how i
did. (i'm especially pleased that i was 45 seconds per mile faster
than i was when i did the same race last year).

one of the most fun parts (other than the stunning views out over the
coast) was flying downhill on the pretty techicnical last few miles,
solidly in the groove, and only stumbling once.

colored bubbles

i know it's all over the web right now, but this is the coolest story i've read in a LONG time.

yes, i'm a dork.

bonus pics here (courtesy of bOingbOing)

chicago round-up

total number of races: 2
races busted by cops: 1
races not busted by cops: 1
people arrested: 1
people hit by cars: 2
bones broken: 2 (radius and ulna)
total number of racers: ~50
fastest time: ~1 hour, 10 minutes
slowest time: 3 hours, 40 minutes
number of red lights run: many
most flats by one rider in one day: 4
cans of old style consumed: many
rain: yes
wind: yes
flickr tag: bffgmng (pics are still being added)

bikes, beer, and mayhem

tomorrow i am heading to the 'city of wide shoulders' for this
http://bffg.absenter.org.

there are going to be somewhere between 50 and 70 people, from all
over the country, mostly drunk, racing bikes with no brakes all over
chicago.

if i don't die i think it'll be a lot of fun.

wish me luck.

remembering

i did something i NEVER do today; gave a sick junkie enough money to
get well, because, for a second, i remembered what it was like, and
how much it sucked.

then i went home, grabbed a tent and a sleeping pad i don't need, and
went back to give them to him.

of course he was gone, and i couldn't find him.

so, dan garibaldi, i have a tent and a pad i'd like to give you, and i
hope you're keeping warm tonight.

and now i'm a little bit sad.