evilsushi

Here's my latest project bike. It's an early 80's KHS turbo. Seems pretty decent so far, i'll probably convert it to a day to day slow ridding bike.

Check out this piece of butt luggage I just bought. It's Fabric Horses' 59 Fanny and it's going to be my carry all for those longer rides. Seems pretty durable so far, but when I took it out for a test spin, the load seem to shift around quite a bit. Maybe I need a bigger belly. $55 from fabrichorse.com

WITH MY PET BEAR!

With the amount of preparation and caution the park rangers in Yosemite put on bear safety, one would think that bear-human interactions would be quite frequent. Conversations like "here is your grande-soy-latte, mind the bear" or "sorry I'm late, there was a bear" should be quite casual and not at all outrageous.

But after all the years of going to Yosemite I had never witnessed a bear with my own eyes. I had heard people say that they saw a bear or that they knew someone who saw a bear, but in my mind, their actual existence was relegated to somewhere between unicorns and a 300 game in bowling.

The second annual Wolfpack Hustle All City Team Race happened this past Sunday. This alleycat consists of teams of five making their own route from Tang's Dounts in Silver Lake to Dockweiler Beach in Playa Del Ray. First team to have all five members across the finish line wins. Sounds simple and straight forward but this was hardly the case.

via the Associated Press

A middle school teacher suffered some bruising and a big scratch on his back after he struck a bear while riding his bicycle to school. Jim Litz said he was traveling about 25 mph Monday morning when he came upon a rise and spotted a black bear about 10 feet in front of him. He didn't have time to stop and T-boned the bruin.

I finished my new fixed gear a couple months back using the Scattante SSR frame. And have put close to two thousand miles on it now. The frame feels a little more compact than I would like it to be, but overall the ride is as smooth as any 4130 steel frame. I'm still not completely used to using a strap/cage combo yet. Overall, not too bad for a throw around bike. The component list is after the jump if you're curious

... please check your mirrors before you exit your car. I wouldn't want your nice clean door to get all covered with my blood. For more info, check out anti-dooring.org

I bought this 2007 Giant TCR C2 from Jonny at Buy My Bikes. Ultegra brifters, derailleurs, 105 brakes, Raceface crank. Up next? Gold medals

photo from Wolfy <3 Safety's "This Will Hurt" race

Be mindful of cars, people, and other cyclists. And always wear your helmet.

500 miles on the saddle. I've been out of riding shape ever since I came back from my Asia trip and need to set some tangible goals. While 500 miles isn't a lot for an entire month (Tour of California was 780 miles in nine days), I think it'll be a steady challenge for myself given my workload during tax season. I'll be posting updates if anyone cares to ride along and to keep myself accountable.

photo by gordonr

I took the road bike into the shop to get shorter cranks. It came with 175mm Race Face cranks, which is way too long. The backs of my knees started to hurt on longer rides and my knees hit my chest when I go into a full aero tuck.

So with no road bike to rack up miles on, I went to ADT Velodrome to ride around in circles. I was a little intimidated because the last time I was there was when I took the training session. During that session I didn't go fast enough, slid down the embankment, ruining a new pair of shorts in the process. But Huphtur was there giving me some pointers and answering my stupid questions. "What's that? Who's he? I wanna go clockwise!" Anyways, It was good riding the Scattante again, she fits just right.

Rode out to Pepperdine University on Friday night, when I got there I saw Malibu Canyon Road and thought "hmmm... I'm feeling good, let's see where this goes". Turns out, it goes in to a cold ass canyon, and then spits you out into Calabasas where you have to ride another 20 miles back to West LA. Sunday was a little better, road with Team Huphdetang. Windy, but fun.

At this point, I'm about half way done with my miles and have half a month to finish them up. It's defiantly do able, but I feel as if I'm straining myself; especially after Friday night's ride. I've been stretching my legs out and taking in more potassium for muscle soreness, but as soon as I get on the saddle, I feel as if I'm already tired.

Here's some stats from my progress so far.

Miles Ridden: 304mi
Vertical Miles Climbed: 1.5mi
Dollars saved on gas: $44
Dollars spent on bike parts: $300
Calories Burned: 15,000kcal
Pounds lost: 2lbs
Fluid ounces of sports drinks consumed: 118oz
Fluid ounces of water: 108oz
Fluid ounces of beer as a "recovery" drink: a lot
Number of close calls with cars: 3
Number of accidents I've witnessed: 2
Number of people on the street who have cheered: 1
Number of miles to go: 196 miles
Number of days left: 14 days

I'm pretty sure it was straight when I started the ride and I'm pretty sure I tightened it down. But at the end of 75 miles, I had managed to shift the saddle several degrees to the right. I guess this goes along with my recent revelation that my right leg is slightly longer than my left leg. Anyways, less than one hundred miles left. FASTER LEGS!! FASTER!

It's coming down to the wire. Here's what's been in heavy rotation this last week.
1. Devo - Watch Us Work It (2:13)
2. Lily Allen - Not Fair (Doctor Rosen Rosen remix) (3:29)
3. Local Natives - Airplanes (3:58)
4. Phoenix - 1901 (3:13)
5. Stereo Total - I Love You, Ono (3:10)
6. Ugly Duckling - Einstein Do It (4:30)
Download

That's it, I'm done. What started out as a "hey-I-wonder-if-I-can" and turned into a 17 ride hurt-fest, is finally over. Thanks to everyone for their words of encouragement. My legs need a massage and my soft parts need a rest. What's next? I'm going to try to do 500 miles in a week by biking from San Francisco to Los Angeles at the end of May.

I rode here:

So I ate this:

And this is why I'll never get any heather riding my bike.

Photo by Sarah Sitkin
I think I'm in this picture somewhere. I started riding WPH again, and it's definitely just as fast as I remember it. At least now I have the legs and bike to hang now. Every monday, 10pm @ Tang's Donuts in Silver Lake

Okay I think I'm packed for my SF -> LA bike ride. I've got my 18.5lb full carbon road racing bike loaded with a 3lb rack and 17lbs worth of gear. I tried riding it the other day with 8 beers loaded in the back and I seriously felt as if I was balancing an orange on a chopstick; rounding corners feels scary and getting up out of the saddle to sprint is an absolute no-no.

So what makes up 15 lbs worth of gear?

San Francisco to Los Angeles, 500 miles, May 25th to May 29th 2009. Graeme put together a little website about the trip. Link.

• I own more cycling outfits than I do work pants.
• I've never dieted for heath or religious reasons but am willing to diet in order to "go faster".
• I've spent 10 minutes comparing prices on shampoo to save a dollar but haven't blinked twice about spending $21 on a 4oz tube of chamois cream.
• I view changing my car's motor oil a chore while cleaning my bike's drivetrain a treat.
• I haven't owned a Bic razor in years, and I only recently bought one to shave my legs.
• My Outlook contact list has 4 categories: Family, Friends, Clients, Bike.
• I've blown off holidays, birthdays, and other major social gatherings not just to ride but the night before a big ride because I want to "prepare myself".
• I've worn mismatching socks out in public thinking "who's going to care", but have been hesitant to install mismatched stem/seatpost combinations because "everyone's going to think this looks stupid".