The more things change the more they stay the same

I found this video on MTBR and loved it. Some of you may have seen the video or at least vids of similar old klunker dudes shredding, but I just wanted to share with those that are unfamiliar with the history of mountain bikes.

This is just a short video documenting a bike ride from Crested Butte to Aspen Colorado. Its 1980 and everybody is on a klunker of some sort. There are even some kids on what looks like 20'' bmx bikes. By way of fire roads, off road trails, and some pavement the pack makes it to 12,000 ft and then a nice "rocky" ride down Pearl Pass finishing a long fast pavement section to Aspen. All to "Just show the Aspen folk what it means to bar hop in Crested Butte style".  Talk about a 1up, ha!

There is so many little deets that  could be so easily overlooked that I simply love. From the mustaches to the music they have playing. To how psyched and nervous everybody is, and the bikes!

The best display of doing something epic, but making it the most fun thing. Also reminding us of what we may think is "epic" groups of rad peeps were already doing 36 years ago on bikes with just a fraction of the technology.  I could say more but just advise to watch the videos.



video 1 and 2

Did you notice the wide bars and slack head tube angles, somethings never change.

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OT 100 2014 some old pics

I never did a blorg post on this race because I wasn't blorging yet. Sept 6, 2014 was a great day. OT 100 was one of those days that on hindsight blows my mind that I finished, and as well as I did because my body was WRECKED OUT. My apologies if it reads like I'm tootin my own horn, but earlier in the year was when I broke my femur. With no real or lets say proper recovery I then went and raced a ton. The weekend before OT 100 Dwayne and I were in the Shenandoah Valley racing Shenandoah Mountain 100 and then the following weekend after OT was Fools Gold 100 down in Georgia. 3 hondos in 3 weeks, yeesh! Thats besides the point.

Well now I'm house /slash/ puppy sitting for my brother and his lady. They are heading out to Moab to ride O.R.B.'s right now and before they left Laura insisted that I check out the photos from the OT100 they had on the computer. They played sag support for Dwayne and I, and during the day snapped some photos. What better opportunity than now to do a  mini picture post of the day.

Thanks Will and Laura for being there that day. Much love to the bofayou's. And to Jim and Wendy Davis and OTA and all the aid station sponsors! It was a real turff as nails day with no regerts :).

My bro getting bottles for me

sad Seamus

Laura's foot

A huge bowl of spag n meatballs I'm scarfing down.

Dwayne Goscinski winning OT100

Only a few of the hand gestures, haha

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Death By Hills and other news

Sunday was Team Seagals annual Death by Hills. As usual it was a blast and one hell of a turff ride! Here is the Gramin link. The last two years I have been unable to attend. Two years ago I was out of commission with a little "stubbed toe" we will say, and last year I went all cards in and made the hustle out to Utah for True Grit.

So this year I decided to make it worth my time and do the old commute on my purple All City Nature Boi SS from my house 20miles out to the DBH start finish parking lot. This was the biggest ride of the year so far for me and the only other big ride I've done was a very windy hundo a few weeks ago on my late 90's dumpster find Litespeed road bike. Yes it is a geared bike and yes it was truly saved out of a dumpster, or recycle bin actually. I've been skateboarding at the park up the street and O.R.B.ing lately too, but riding trails and skating I feel doesn't really compare to a crazy long day in the saddle.

Moving on to some highlights, I caught up to the group of about 80peeps at Strove Frodeman's neighborhood about 10 miles into their ride and 30miles into mine. When I got to the Mceedeez gas station out by the Six Flags I remembered that b-fast was served all day and having the appetite of a 1920's body builder I went for the Sausage Eggee and Chz McMuffin meal with fountain soda. The kinda meal I only eat if I have 80+miles to go of relentless hills. Long story short some nice lady gave me $5 and insisted on paying for my meal. No clue why! I only had a short conversation with her and family in line about my blowed out Bonty shoes. As being not a man of money I gladly accepted and gave hi5's and many a thank you's.

Got going again and then found a unopened gel pack on the road halfway up Allenton Rd. Another SCORE!

Blah blah blah blah I finally catch up to my gal Cassie. She's riding her new purple Nature Boi, too, however she calls it Durst Burnny(think dust bunny). She tells me shes having a great time and riding ss was mosdef the way to go! Back story is she's been torn between her geared and ss bikes, but decided at the end of the day she had way more fun on the 1speed. We rode for a good while until we had to part cuz I was still planning on a return bike ride back to the city.

At mile 77ish I made a stop at the BP to eat salty chips and top off the bottles. D-Rock and Matt Hayes showed up and I finished the remaining 16miles with 'em to the parking lot. Where Cassie was hanging out. We chatted and decided upon pizza and beer for dinner, and beeing the sweet gal that she is let me ride home to get my last 20 miles.

With 14miles to go I was bonking hard and needed sustenance. So I stopped at the Shell station and found the golden ticket. A 69cent iced cinnamon roll with !!!500!!! calories. I rejoiced giving the the kid the last of my change and exchanging silly comments about the saturated fat content. Homeward bound I truly was, and though I can't really say I was as happy as a clam I was in much better spirits after that 69cent packaged saving grace.  

The day ended with 125 hilly ss road miles on the Purple Nature Boi, pizza, cold beer, and the Kuddle Krew. My hip was pretty blown out feeling and my knee on my lerft leg has been givin' me guff lately, but all in all I was surprised with my self for kicking the miles out. The last few months I haven't really been kicking out the miles like in previous years. I definitely was also leaving the option open for a ride home, but the motivation of not letting D-Rock 1up me help push me thru, wink wink.

In other news! speaking of my hip. I made a appointment today to get the hardware taken out of my leg. I did as the Doc said and gave it a year, and then a 2nd. To no avail the pain in my hip just keeps getting worse. I was always given the option of hardware removal after 1 year and was told it affects some peeps and others have no ish. Me, I've got issues and think the shit in my leg hurts and is only holding me back.

My leg is pivoted out. Like a frogs leg.

Straight on view.

      

 These are the xrays taken just last Thursday. Yeah, imagine all that shit rubbing around inside your skin every pedal stroke. It totally surks!  In less than a month though I get it taken out, which will be rad. It will be 6 weeks of "doing nothing risky", and the first week of just taking it easy. Its also a out patient procedure so I will be in and out that day.  During the hangout sesh with Dr Jim he said it looks like the screw down at the bottom is backing out. Guess that means my body doesn't like it? 

Anyways, that and me skateboarding a whole bunch is about the only new news I got. I'm still on the fence with what I want to do with racin' this year. I'm really lovin' skating right now, and I also want to get the muscle in my bum leg built up to equal my good leg before I race the bike again. Yeah, my lerft leg is significantly smaller than my right. Its kinda funny, but sucks for needing that strength for racing the big races. What-evs, I have faith that things will work themselves out and then I will be stronger than ever. Hell, last year was probably my best year ever, and that came with a lot of pain. I'm curious to see what happens when that hardware is sitting on the shelf instead of inside my body?

Insert stupid saying here "Only time will tell?"

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Peats Hip Ride and Team Noah Trivia Night

The last couple years we have been doing Peats Hip Ride, and its been super rad. This year it will be the last weekend of Feb. Sunday Feb 28th to be exact. Meeting at 11 am, ride at 12.

Come spend the day getting RAD! with your friend ME and the rest of the Team Noah Gang for a stroll through St. Charles wine country, stopping for refreshments at Augusta Brewery and/or one of the biker bars in Defiance. 
This route mostly traces the Femme Osage multi surface ride found on Gorc's website http://gorctrails.com/trails/femme-osage 
But features a big finishing climb by going up Terry Rd to Matson Hill and back to the Katy in Defiance. 

The hip ride isn't exactly a fundraiser, but more of a reason to get out and ride with a bunch of cool peeps. And or a great way to see if your winter fitness program has held tough or not next to everybody else's, hehe. Team Noah will be accepting donations from those that feel so inclined. Donations are always greatly greatly greatly appreciated as the money always goes to helping out little chil'ns with heart conditions or to help their families. We will also have hats, t-shirts, hoodies, and socks for sale for anybody who's interested. 

Second, Team Noah is doing a trivia night  Friday Mar 18th at the Holiday Inn at South County Center. All are welcome as its not just a bike riders event. So if you know some good trivia folk I recommend saving a table and putting a team together for a fun evening. I encourage all to come.

Check out the Facebook event for more info on the Team Noah Trivia Night.


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A late, but hopefully not too late thank you to all that helped me out in 2015

As I've mentioned before, getting interweb access for me to make blorg posts is difficult. So that being said this thank you post was meant for the end of the year, but since buiz is slow(or non existent) at the bike shop I haven't been there to use the computer and keep my bloggitty blog updated. Excuses excuses. Better late than never, I do want to thank a handful of peeps that helped me out either big time this year or just a little itty bitty bit by being tots stoked on me doing the stuff that I do.

Here we go in no particular order

*Dwayne Goscinski- Dude thanks for everything. Too much to list, but if anything the confidence and inspiration you give.

*Sue Welde- Hey sis, for all the snacks and food and tips for working on your bike so conveniently given before leaving to go outta town to big races. And all the love and support and being a superfan.

*Rich and Sue Pierce- Just for being awesome and the love and support.

*Kate Wilson- For being super rad and putting up with my shit. You know what I'm talking 'bout. Also for being a monumental part of my life. I learned a lot from you lady, and you help keep me motivated.

*Mark Stika- Well, you know man. The confidence and support you have in me weighs more than the concrete you pour. That means a lot!

*Christine Edwards- For "Getting it" , along with the support and understanding how its dumb not to do things that you love.

*Struckmans- For spotting me, even though I earned that shit :)

*Super Kate- The luck you have wished me is now stockpiled in my basement. I couldn't use all of it last year.

*Melisa "Mellie" Lemus- Your always psyched for me and thinking I'm the beezkneez. It warms my lil' heart.

*Mike Best- Next to Dwayne you were one of the first to want to help me out, and saw something rad in me. Thanks so much for the BOCOMO that has kept me racing! BIG TIME THANKS!

*Gary Beasely- Yer a super fan and always have my back at work. Along with being crazy stoked when you find out I smash a race up, but think I deserve moar than a pair of socks. Oh, and all the 2 for 1 donuts from the gas station.

*John Merli- Dude, for all the support/kits/beer and food, and great hang out seshes. Big thanks man.

*George West- Thanks for being patient with me at work during all my ups and downs and absences from wark to go racin'.

*Rafal Doloto- Dude, Brahhhhg! All I'm sayin' :)

*Bob Jenkins- For having those eyes you can trust, and putting on one hell of a great race known as Cedarcross

*Nick, Jess, and Wyatt Smith- For always opening your house to me to crash at and being so generous, rad and kind hearted.

*John Lofton- Dude sorry if I give you a hard time at wark sometimes. I think your a hella rad dude and you keep me fed when I'm always broke from racing my bike with your families leftovers. Big thanks man!

*Cassie Jones- For stumbling into my life and always cracking my shit up. Being there to talk me down off the ledge(figuratively speaking) when I was crazy down. Along with being crazy stoked on me!

*Steph Seligman- For being stoked for me when you find out I won a big race, and for giving me a cheap place to live while I see what potential doors racing my bike will open. And for putting up with my shit.

*Rob Bell- Dude, your such a great friend, and you crack my shit up :).

*Ryan Odell- I'll be honest with you Ryan, I kinda have mixed feelings on you sometimes. So I certainly don't want to stroke your ego, but I have to remind myself though that you do put on a killer 100 mile race series that I know takes a lot of work and is unsanctioned by usac. Which is pretty rad and has given me the opportunity to go bigger than I ever imagined.

*Jason Zoll- Being a great friend and helping me out when I need a travel buddy to a race.

*Jenn Derose- For being prolly one of my best friends eva and thinking I'm a superhero all the time. You be silly.

*Mike Bobelak- For just being around and helping me with some of the little shit, and for having some really kindhearted kids Rose, Mikey, and Dee.

*Matt "Coach" Grothoff- Man, I always feel like your one of the few that get it, and help set me straight when I need it. Your sense of humor and insight also helps gets me through!

*Mike Weiss of Big Shark- To a man who I presume doesn't sleep. Thanks for putting on the races year after year and supporting everything bike, and always giving me the opportunity to work some of the races to make some extra cashola.

*Brian and White Mike of SSKC- Dudes, SSKC was one of the best days of my life and you guys put the race on. Super rad!

*Jake n' Scott of BT Epic- Another great day of my life, and a killer race to boot! Thanks for letting me in so close to the race.

*Kuddle Krew- You know your roll and you know why :).

*AJ Linnell- For climbing mountains and doing big shit both in your life and for the community. Your a inspiration, RIP man.

*To everybody else whether you be a race promoter of any of the 30 something races I did this year, or my competition pushing me past my threshold, or super fans that I either do or don't know about that wish me luck,or just plain anybody that I missed that deserves it. 2015 was a crazy big year for me, and a lot happened. The ol' memory box just ain't what it used to be.

Peace out and have a smashingly great 2016 peeps. Much love to ya all, xoxo.



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Team Virtus MLK Day weekend Berryman Trail ride or The day Luke felt like death

Today is Martin Luther Kings day. On Saturday Team Virtus who are a bunch of stinker adventure racer and orb folk organized a big ol' group ride on the ol' Berryman Trail down in Steelville, MO in celebration of Dr MLK. I showed up wicked early so that I could potentially ride a double BT, given if I was feeling up to riding a second  lap after the first loop of 27miles of single track. I've only touched my orb twice since BT Epic in late October. Once to put some new wide bars on and then second to try wide bars and ride a loop of BT a month ago. Btw, I'm 100% not sold on wide bars, just sayin'.

Get outta the van and pedal over and peruse the campsite and find all the Team V folk and associates are still nestled away in there tents and sleeping bags sleeping away out of their drunkenness and into their hangovers. There was one of the biggest empty bottles of Fireball laying on the ground next to a smoldering fire pit. I let them all be and returned to the van to get ready to ride.

I hit the trail at 7:45, and only saw some hikers the whole first loop and finished in 2:40. Not bad.

Finishing the first loop I was feeling wrecked and was already debating a second. Funny how just a quick hang out sesh at the van shoving some food in your face will help you forget the pain. So I headed out for el' numero dos. 10 miles out I was committed with cold wet fingers and ice still in my beard. Yes it was still cold enough for ice in my beard and I was told so by Rogo-A-Gogo who I coincidentally bumped into on trail just one moment after I washed my bike out on a uphill leafy switchback. Rogo didn't see my fall :(.

Shortly down the trail I  began running into moar riders from the big group. Hello's and courtesies were exchanged. By the time i was passing by Brazil Creek campground I came up behind the famed Super Kate. Kate, the pleasure was all mine friend. We rode together to the road where there was a big ol group of folk straight chillin. Mini bottles of spiced whiskey and sweet tequila were shared and then we all got a move on. The Mitch and I had some chit chat and I slowly rode away from him on a climb. He had his granny gears that he was all the moar willing and able to use, ain't no shame in that! However, shortly down the trail I went into a crazy bonk only 10 miles out from done,  and had to stop, shove a berry pomegranate chia cliff bar down and take a nature break. The Mitch passed me and I gave a good pre digested still bonked push to catch  back up to him.  Poor dude though, his granny gears turned against him and sucked his chain into the spokes. I caught him on a switchback where we tag teamed that lodged chain and came out victorious with a bike that was ridable out of the woods!

Four miles out I ran into some moar folk who were taking a breather and "Shoot shoot shootin a GU!" as I was told. It was here that I accidentally gave this girl Stephanie wrong mileage to the end. I said 2 miles when it was 4. OOOPS, sorry.

My arms were starting to blow out and legs loosing power. Less than a mile from BT campground I had another really dumb fall were the front tire just slid off the trail and I landed on my right hip. It was a ouch for sure man, but only a bruise. I limped back into BTCG were I ride straight over to Team V's site finishing the second lap in about 3hrs. I promptly sit my lil' buns down next to the fire and hang with Bob Jenkins and Anatoly. Shit was shot and then I went to change out. Came back over and chilled for a bit longer and then boogied on out of that place making my goodbyes.  It was a great day at the end.

On my way home I was once again obsessed with the thought of how amazing the body is and what it is capable of. I know I always bring this up, but it still blows my mind every single time! Don't get me wrong, pulling a double Berryman was not easy at all. The body was really wrecked out afterwards and Sunday. The fact that I was still able to kick it out is what still surprises me. Even though I do a bunch of big stuff, it all still knocks me off my rocker . I guess I  still don't believe what I'm capable of, or maybe just have a short term memory problem?

Anywho, I'm doing well if anybody was wondering. Also, if anybody has any great photos from Saturday email em to me and I will post 'em.    freeawesome3@gmail.com

I almost forgot! So Luke was really hung over to the point that it was incapacitating. Poor guy "Never again!" I heard him say. My heart went out to him because I've had two really bad hangovers pretty recently. Lucky for Luke he had Super Kates cookies to nurse him back to life!


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