My lady and I are almost free! We're going to head up to Winter Park, MTB Capital of the World (or whatever the slogan is), and rip it together...alone....no kids...on our fat tires. So, in exchange of talking about Handy Manny, arbitrating border disputes over who's Transformer is whose and like 'stimulating' topics, we get to hang, drink some beers and rip it together. Invariably we'll fall into talking about our boys a huge proportion of the time. Such is life.

Got out today on the 'cross bike boys and girls. What did you do? I repeated 'weak side' remounts until I was dizzy. Nice and slow. Just dialing it all in. When's the last time you practiced getting back on the bike via the side that makes you look like a retard? Gotta practice! It's like eating peas. Ya just have to do it.

Slow steps next to the bike. Leg raising, wrapping over the seat. Sliding into it. Foot finding pedal. Other leg following and finding as the cranks come up to greet it. All in one motion. Dialing. Dialing again and all at super slow speeds. The self clinics have already started. It's like blue balls. Gotta get some relief. Can't take not doing it any more. Dialing in the technique over and over. I want to have 1,000 cycles in before my first race. I will not lose because of technique (...it will be because of engine! ha!).

The clinics will start, people. August. I'll be emailing. Bring friends. It'll be a hoot. I've got this plan that is part Ben Turner, part Jan Wiejak and by extension part Joe Ball and part me from shit loads of trial and error. Focuses in on basics that smooth you. No ugly American syndrome.

See ya out there!

Brandon expose dme to this today. Same guy who did Transitions. Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

Radio Freddy, you are my kindred soul blog but Beer Frites and Waffles is my evil twin blog. Good stuff. I'd give it an 8 of 10 for solid time wasting. Any human that could...

a) find a picture of Bart Wellens on a pair of panties
b) appreciate the fact he found or was part of the picture taking exercise of Bart on a pair of panties
c) is possibly the person in this picture NEAR the pair of panties with Bart Wellens on them being worn on the outside of an invariably drunk woman's pants

...is a sick kindred soul/evil twin of mine any day.

Friggin good.

'Cross on.

Colavita's Davide Frattini is staying at my hombre's Bobby's casa while training here in Boulder. Bobby just does stuff like this. You need something: Bobby offers. Unconditional. The universe gives you a big wet kiss, Bobby.

OK, so big deal. If you fart in this town, chances are a pro's gonna smell it there's so many here getting their training on. But what is so special about Mr. Frattini? Cross, baby. He's goin' Enrico Franzoi on us and waving the Italian flag at cross WK's and WC's. You go Davide. Homie pulled of a UCI win here in the states last year at the Verge in Beacon. Good times.

Do like Davide...and Not This.

Davide's got himself a bloggy blog as well. You go Davide. Welcome to zee Republic, Davide.

7 months until Mol. Preparations are forming. Smiles happening. Gotta get the double bike case carrier, UCI license, jet tix to Brussels, and so on, etc. Can not wait. Filtering through files, I found some old photos and got all nostalgic an such. Surf City. I remember racing for the first time in 97 when I moved to CA. I literally got sick in my chamois. Even with that shellacking, the bug was there though from that day and still is.

The Surf City and Central Coast races were epic. Beautiful scenery and the race organizations were spectacular. Racing every weekend with the level of riders being faced taught me lots. Moving to CO was like an "11" if the Bay Area was like a "10" in terms of retardedly fast speed of the competitors but it prepared me well. The Republic is a fish bowl you know. Now I am going to go to Belgium and get the snot kicked out of me but I swear to you I will fight until I grind the teeth out of my head.

If'n you get the chance, check out this old homie's site, Hans Kellner. Old Sycip rider, friend and mad videographer. He's actually got video of the race above. You have to CLICK HERE to access this vid though (the thing to the right is only a screen capture). Check out the vids of the DFL races as well. They were EPIC. You raced for free if you wore a dress. (yes that's me in the pretty green one).

If I get the chance, I want to head back and do some racing out West this season. We'll see. The scene was great and I miss it occasionally. The old bros are there and it would be fun.

7 months. Looking forward to jumping over barriers.

So Miguel and I are having a debate over this topic. I am fairly strongly opinionated and as he is designing his new CX frame, this topic is rearing its head again. I figured I's reach out to y'alls: the officianados.

Q: How do you, crossers, prefer your cables for the front dérailleur to be routed?

A: Across the top of the top tube! (or so is my heavy opinion).

Where this gets into all kinds of hairy debate revolves around the need for a pulley as most (if not all) road dérailleurs are bottom-pull-actuated. So to circumvent this (unless you are using an MTB dérailleurs if it can provide enough clearance for your cross needs to the rear tire) frame designers have long worked up a system that routes the cable over the top tube, down the seat stay (a la MTB's) and around this pulley which is affixed to the seat tube sending the cable back up to the front dérailleur. Just like you see on this Sycip below:You can see this on the Ridley image I posted to the right as well. I think Sven's Colnago is the same but I have no solid pictures.

The problem is, you guessed it, mud.

The routing debate relates to lots of things but primarily is is rider feel believe it or not in addition to humping the geometry by needing to lengthen the wheelbase too much for that precious extra clearance if you need a pulley and need it to clear mud. I've ridden Felt's, Scott's and Kelly's with cable routing which sent the front dérailleur (and rear in some cases! (see Kona pic below) down the down tube and when grabbing the down tube (which is the style I use versus top tube unless its REALLY muddy) to shoulder/port, it always felt shitty. Often, you get your gloves caught between the cable and the frame and it just doesn't feel right.

When I switched a couple-a years ago to a single 42 or 44 up front, this all changed and I am cable-less on all my down tubes (so it moots the debate), but I have been considering going back to double rings because of the non technical/roadie courses out here. So I am stuck in this debate....and trying to help out my bro.

Thoughts on this? Any builders out there? Any photos of Sven's set up? Sacha goes down tube, Jeremy and Jay go top/pully.

Anywhoo, opinions would be great and help Mike out.

Our sport is art. As much as it is getting on a bike, pedaling, getting off occasionally and finding yourself in the pain cave every Sunday morning, the sport is art. And art is life.

We sold our business today. Private Equity. Many many months of work to prepare, push and close. Ironically, there's tons more work to do as while you sell, you still work and push on. Remember, it's an investment now.

Read backwards in this blog and you'll see themes of stress, grief....OK, I give in: lots of cry-babying on my part. Lots rooted in the woe-is-me patheticness trying to figure it all out. The dad part, the husband part, the athlete part. But mo-fos, I punched a hole in life these last 2 months. Threw the three part tee-totter at it and am making it work. It is so easy to let it spiral and get venomous.

Today, I dipped into the art to help the head. I went to the silent park. Man it's been too long. Meditative. A mental laxative to let the stress drain out of my ears. Perfect. Overcast. No heat. Cool in fact. And just practiced the art. Unclick. Wrap the foot around and through. Glide. Hands in place. One on the hood, one on top tube. Un click. Dance. Wrap back on the bike. On. Clip in, go again. And again. No difference in speed. Blurry to the spectator if done right. No spectators today. Just the art and the cool and the laxative.

Three months until cross and my blood is already boiling for it.

I began some dialog with the ACA on the subject of the Best All Around Cyclocross Rider or "BCR". Basically, in a very abstract fashion it boils down to this (and I am absolutely soliciting feedback here local ACA riders!).

Call ups are a common practice for race series’ around the US namely CCCX, Pilarcitos and their sister race series’ on the West Coast in Portland and Seattle. What would be required in general is this:

a) The first race of the BCR series is raced. No call ups on this date as there have been no points awarded. We could consider taking last year's Top 10 and line them up but this is negotiable.

b) At the 2nd BCR race, and all subsequent BCR races of the series, the Top 10 series leaders will be announced by the appointed race official before each BCR-enabled category.

c) Per b) above, this will require that each official and/or race promoter will have either the list prepared and distributed to them by ACA weekly or as part of their acceptance of taking on a BCR race, the promoter will manually do this in advance for all categories to prepare for the upcoming race. (this needs to be socialized with the race promoters signed up for BCR)

d) With respect to ‘game day’ rules, only the Top 10 will be allowed to represent the front line when called up on race day. In other words, if 3 of the Top 10 are not present on race day, only the 7 present BCR leaders will be allowed to formulate the front row of the race. The ACA official or race promoter will not be responsible to go past the Top 10 (This is debatable. Some series do allow for this to fill out the top 10 with ‘next on the list….although this becomes a management problem.)

e) BCT (team) has no concept here and will remain the same…e.g. as an aggregate points collection collected by ACA and will not be factored into the call up).

So with this initial stub of an idea known, would you want to see this implemented? Vote:

So, the RM squadra had a good showing out there at the Short Track tonight. All categories represented from beginner to pro. Me, Longman, Bobby Mounts and The WB rocked the pro mens race at 7 bells. It had cooled off considerably by then. The course was rad and is used for 'cross as well. It's total jungle 'cross but fun. Fast and technical but SUPER DUSTY. As I type this, I am hacking. The whole course was a huge dusty haze.

There was a super big field tonight. Probably lined up 5 rows deep. Not sure how many though. I had a great start from the 2nd row and made it into the top 5 or 6 for 1 to 1.5 laps. The WB came by with Colby P on lap 2 and Colby punched it and I just could not cover that. Lap 2 or 3 Jon Baker on his cross bike (of course!) had a wash outright in front of me and I got jumped by a few more dudes in the mele. I put together all I have at this stage of my training and can feel the progress. I held my own and all said and done probably finished in top 20. I faded at the end but I am satisfied given the competition. I am making progress. The WB had a strong top 10 ride and he's primed for the MSC in Crested Butte this weekend. Good luck The WB!!

Some post race pics.

Longman, WB, me, Bobby, Freeride Zach and Boups.

Boups and moi.

The WB and Freeride.