We Are Men, men in tights

So, it has been quite a while since I last updated the old blogosphere, but here I am better late than never.  Since I know you guys are so desperate and hanging on pins and needles to here of my latest exploits.  Well, I'll fast forward you guys to Monday.  I've got a new job working for Ninerbikes.com and I have been also doing some sweet stuff with the DECLINE magazine guys as well.  Can't get into it too much cuz it's top secret stuff you wouldn't wanna know... On top of that, I've been fortunate enough to be talking with Andreas Hestler for the last couple weeks now and we have finalized my arrangements for attending the BC bike race again this year.  However the crew has decided 7 days wasn't enough and this year they've bumped it up to 8! Lovely.  I'll be long gone again spending most of my free time away from work in the saddle, anybody who wants to join me I would love the company and motivation.  Ok then, that puts us up to this weekend.  Sammy (who I wont mention in the story got picked up at Neptune's Net cuz he couldn't finish the ride) Hatae, stormin Norm, Aaron (radio) as he's affectionately called, and myself made a commitment Friday night at Dago's birthday dinner.  Our pact was... RIDE, rain or shine.  We were going to be European and spend a good majority of the day riding and puttin down the miles.

  I've ridden in rain before, but nothing like this. After making a couple stops at the local bike shops to get Radio and Norm some rain gear, we hit the road.  By the time we climbed into Newbury Park the pouring rain turned to stinging hale.  The thunder and lightning were so close that I could almost feel the road shake under my wheels.  After questioning what the hell we were doing, we proceeded slowly down Potrero.  By the time we reached the old mental hospital the sun had momentarily come out so we decided to roll inside and eat while we took our shoes and socks off to let em dry some.  After a brief rest we headed back out through Camarillo and ended up on PCH by Pt. Mugu, and yes by that time is was pooring rain on us again, and I mean buckets!  We made it to Neptune's for a break and thats where our wolfpack of 4 lost one wolf and we became 3...  After some hot chocolate and standing under the heater the road taunted us, waiting for us to challenge the elements and mountains some more.  So, being the manly men that we are, we set out to finish the task we had started some 3 hours before.  And another hour and change later, we did.  Painfully and frigidly. Enough of that, here's some pics, couldn't get much more since no one had a waterproof camera.

     

See, I'm not always a downer

Today kicked ass!!  Got out with Mark and Scott from DECLINE mag and did some testing on new products and got to ride a sick trail in I would say, damn near perfect conditions.  Got to see RC down at the bottom doin a test for another mag in between runs which was pretty sweet...  Living in so cal we don't get much opportunity to ride in different conditions, today was an exception, and an exceptional exception to be exact!  Big slabs of rock covered in water, puddles, mud, (not the horrible band, though I would enjoy running them over, probably more so in my van) anyways, top speed was a bit lower than usual however that did not spare us from several near close calls and OH $#it$ as slick conditions forced us into less than desirable line choices and riding in more of a reflexive manner.  Lots of screaming today!  Well, unfortunately I was unable to get any pics of the days events due to our racing the rain, however I am able to share with you a rather entertaining video clip of me stepping off the bike on Suicide a few months ago, which led to me wearing that nice 14 inch bracelet around my wrist for 4-6 weeks, you may remember, it was that time period when I was very grumpy and couldn't ride my bike?

Anyways, enjoy and keep on truckin!!

BLAAAAHHH

   
   

Well, first off I'm gonna start by getting it out in the open, today was garbage and I have officially been pissed since about 11:30 A.M.  Today was my 2nd attempt at "racing" Fontana and what a pile it was!  My pedaling (or lack thereof) seriously had me questioning if there was something physically wrong with me! No shit, half way through the wall, rather than pedaling my mind began thinking of what possible disease I have which is what causes my legs to feel like they are pumping liquid hot battery acid and wont even support my body weight.  I'm sure it has nothing to do with not training at all and being a total pu$$?... Gotta be a medical problem I'm sure of it. Anyways,  even though I haven't been keeping up last couple weeks doesn't mean I haven't been up to anything.  Quite the contrary, the last few weeks have been some of the most exciting I've had in a while.  Lots of new things on the horizon that I'm very stoked about and I'll get into later.  At the moment I am quite tired from getting only a few hours sleep this weekend in the back of my van in FONTANA! Let me tell you, that place is a real gem if you're a people watcher. Pretty much the best thing you could own out there, aside from a concealed weapons permit, is a lawn chair! Park that shit anywhere and you will be thoroughly entertained and happy to kick back and watch the fine specimens of life cruisin around this lovely desert rose of a town.  I digress, so, weekend was fun, killer track, top section anyway, and good stuff going on.  

  I will say this, I will once again be doing the BC bike race, this time with some more support and documenting it for http://declinemagazine.com/ , so, I will most likely be asking my friends to support me and check their site often and let me and them know what you think of the trip and training leading up to my departure.  So, along with making some updates here I will be uploading stories, videos, etc up there until the event is finished and an article will be printed, which I will also beg you all to buy a copy of!! PLEASE.  Well, before my rambling goes off too much more and getting into things that have no reason being here I'll share some pics from an XC ride I went on last week and a couple fuzzy garbage shots from F-town.  Quality of the shots should summarize my state of mind after my race run... Oh, and I'm still pissed about it too.

  

Patience is a Virtue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAaetr8a51U&feature=player_embedded

Wet n Wild

  I know my order is reversed here, but this ride was too fun to not share.  The day before the New Years ride Jen, Stef, and myself went out for a cold ride off the 14 in beautiul Santa Clarita.  The weather was an ominous foe turned friend on this ride.  The drive to the trailhead was marked full of doubt and fear, afraid that this new ride I was going on was gonna be cancelled due to muddy conditions.  Anger, how does it only rain on my days off! Anyways, enough about my inner turmoil. I got to the trail and although the rain had slowed to a drizzle, the wind was still howling through the canyon, taunting us to gear up and pedal into the fog soaked mountains.  Needless to say, we ain't skeered.  Helmets on, CamelBak's over our jackets, and up we went.  After a long grind up the fire roads and passed Viper, we got to the top of Nature Center, my first time on what had been described as a fast flowy singletrack, full of sweepers and walled out turns.  Who could resist?  As we dropped off the fire road and into the trees all I could think was if, Cradle of Filth were to make a music video about mountain biking, this would be it!  Skeletons of trees, fog so thick you couldn't see the next turn 'til you were half way in it and an eerie silence only broken by the wind rushing through the trees, or me yelling YEEHAW...  Well, after all is said and done, this trail kicked ass and I highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind a bit of a climb.  Take it easy and keep the rubber down!

    

1st. Annual New Years Eve Day Ride

  
   Well, it is now 2010 and I am still working on collecting all the pictures from the attendees.  However I will say, and I think everyone will agree, this ride was a huge success and everyone had an incredible time!   Well, the saying goes a picture is worth a thousand words, and hopefully I'll have a lot more pictures coming soon, so why bother trying to compete... Enjoy and check back soon for more pics to come.

  

     

 

  

 

                                                                                                             

Suicide Saturday

Well, Saturday was a cold yet beautiful morning and there's no cup of coffee no matter the size that can wake you up like a nice ride down Sui!  What more could a guy ask for than a beautiful crisp morning nice tacky dirt and a gang of guys ready to have some fun... Unfortunately I was a bit short on time since I get the wonderful responsibility of working weekends.(lame)  Alright, so unfortunately I didnt get many action shots since I was rushed but hopefully soon I'll get to see some of the video that was shot from that day and put it up.  Hope to see you guys new years eve day, 31st for the folks who aren't so word wise, for a kick ass XC ride.

FTW

  

Merry Christmas Malibu

What a day!! Hard to believe another Christmas has come and gone.  Today I mixed it up some and broke my Christmas tradition of all day shuttle runs for a killer road ride.  At the moment I am still too hungry and whooped to get into all the events of the ride, (i.e. my blowout, helping weird hippy raw food lady, and penis flashing to name a few)  I hope to get some more energy after a glutenous Christmas dinner, however that may really do me in.  At any rate, after a quick lap around town with the old man, I met up with Colby and Aaron and we hit the tarmac, destination, PCH.  After headed down Mulholland a while we climbed up Old Topanga and had a killer descent down to PCH, cruised the highway and after some persuasion, made Aaron join us for the climb up Latigo canyon. He loved it!  Thats about all I got for now, enjoy the pics and stay tuned...

 

God, Guts, and Guns!

Are what made America great!
http://www.the-backup.com/

It Aint Nothin Fancy

So, after the last few weeks of doin rides outside the bubble here, Colby talked me into doin 3rd tunnel of Kanan.  He told me there wasn't much climbing, which was important since I had done a shitload the day before!  HE LIED, weird.  Long story short, we rode, trails were a bit sticky, nice dirt up high under the trees, more creek crossings, pinch flat, and all around good times!  I'm tired please forgive my brevity. 

FTW