Arizona MTB Racing

20-11 a RUKUS RE-ENVENTION

2010-10-12T20:57:00.010-07:00

Much like Brad Pitt in that lame movie “Seven Years in Tibet” I have had to undergo extreme hardship in the cause of trying to find myself this past year. Too much school, too much office work, too much the man trying to keep me down and certainly not nearly enough RUKUS to keep life even remotely interesting.

Like most people going through life change I sought control over my otherwise out of control world and grew a sweet old man river beard and put on some short shorts. This didn’t work. I put the bike up for a few months to focus on finishing the education the man tells me I need. That hasn’t worked. I even reverted to a primitive state, running barefoot through the streets of AZ looking for meaning and purpose. That just got me dirty scratched up feet, but no new direction.

My search lead me to the Grand Canyon and the transformation of hippie beard into radical handlebar mustache. My goal was to run it rim to rim, all 24 miles, in under 7 hours. The main draw back was that with this incredibly manly mustache I stood a high chance of inadvertently impregnating fertile women along the way. Not that I would actually have intercourse with these galls but the power of the mustache is so high that things like this are known to happen….its science.
The run went well, lots of communing with nature and other hippie bull crap. But on the south rim as I slaved up those infernal log steps it came to me, the higher meaning of the RUKUS, the enlightenment that is 20-11 a RUKUS RE-ENVENTION. Feel it my brothers and sisters, right down in those anti-social bones of yours. Let lose the inner beast that craves to get out and tear the living crap out of all this convention you’ve surrounded yourself in. Follow the Evolution at evomo.com

Look who came home.

2010-09-07T22:08:00.004-07:00

Burn out is a hell of a thing. I speak from experience, if you noticed it’s been a few months from my last post and while it hasn’t been that long sense my last bike ride I have to confess that it has been at least two.

I reached my limit about the time of my last posting where I just could no longer stand the idea of being in school for as long as I still had to go on my MBA and something had to give. That something it was decided had to be cycling. I put aside racing and riding and took on 24 credit hours at once to get that degree over and done with. The upshot is on August 16th I finished, the sown side is that every time I pass by my bike room all of my bikes flash me evil jealous looks.
While I couldn’t dedicate the time to training and racing I did have half an hour or so each day to get out and run. While running is certainly nowhere near as cool as mountain biking I am committed with a number of my friends to run the Grand Canyon in the middle of October. I’m excited for the run and fearing it at the same time; the image that sticks out in my mind is walking out to the north rim of the canyon, looking out and seeing all 24 miles of pain laid out in front of me. If years of marathon races have taught me anything though it’s that pain is temporary and some how I always end up on the other side of it alive.

And Dagny is a Cowgirl. Just an FYI.

Have fun in the rain.

2010-02-22T20:44:00.005-07:00

When it rains in Arizona people absolutely lose their minds, it’s the amount of sun shine that we get, people forget that some times it rains. They do have the capacity to se that things aren’t normal so they make drastic changes, most of which are uncalled for. When it does rain everyone slows down to 15 mph below the speed limit or if they can just stay inside. That means the trails are all mine,not that I want to own the trails, but some times the less people you see the better.
I was tempted to do the same after work but I had a little bit of time that I could get out for a quick run. There are few things I love more then the desert after the rain, everything is 10x as green and all the dust is washed out of the atmosphere making it possible to see for miles. The down side was that it was a cold rain.
The upshot was that it was off and on as I ran and even at its hardest it was a best a heavy drizzle making running conditions perfect.
It won’t be too long that I will be dieing for this cool of weather so it’s a shame that I don’t have too much time to enjoy it. Look at that view though would you? The desert smells even better then it looks, its hard to describe but everything just smells fresh. The soil out here has an odor that jumps out with any rain that is unmistakable.
I also saw the season’s first wild flower, one of many to come. It should be a good season for flowers with all the rain we have been getting.

2010-02-20T10:24:00.002-07:00

One of my long time friends, Micha is in town this weekend on leave from the Navy. He’s not that into cycling but he does run so we went out to the river and ran the Hawes loop with Travis.
Travis read Born to Run as well so he has been barefoot training for the last month. However neither of us are to the place that running barefoot on the trail sounds like such a good thing. He however has started the next best thing and started trail running in his converse, it’s basically like running with no support, just protection.

Death to the pool.

2010-02-16T22:08:00.002-07:00

So how did I spend the rest of my 4 day weekend? I got rid of my money pit in the back yard that’s what, what everyone else calls a pool.
This thing has sucked my time and money for the past 7 years and after seven years of thinking about doing it we paid to have the thing collapsed. I’m super excited I didn’t try to do it on my own though as I had planned on because as it turns out there where three separate pads of concrete back there.
Yet another fun part of living in an old house, you’re attracted to them because of the original hardwood floors but that’s the thing that suckers you. Once you’re in though then all the fun things come out, like three pads of concrete surrounding the dysfunctional pool

2010-02-12T10:13:00.002-07:00

I got to take the day off work today because Sarah has a big day at her job and Dagny has a doctor’s appointment this morning. Vaccination time round two for the baby! She said she is ready for it and isn’t scared, I thought that was pretty brave for a child of four months, not to mention articulate, strange.
I snuck out before the sun came up for a quick mountain ride before Sarah had to leave for work though. The conditions where perfect, last night brought a nice heavy due making the trails super tacky. You can always tell trial conditions are good in the desert when you get this light dusting of dirt that sticks to the tire.
One of my favorite aspects of riding when the sun is coming up or going down is the long shadows. They make the 29inch wheels look even bigger.

No 24 hours this year.

2010-02-11T08:02:00.002-07:00

With my schedule this year I’m not going to be able to make out to 24 hours at the Old Pueblo. I’m not super excited about that because I could really use a man weekend out at the races but there is too much home work and too much work work to get done between now and then.

All this being said, who’s the luckiest guy I know? This guy because I get to spend my weekend with these two.

2010-02-09T11:16:00.001-07:00

Free Grand Slam breakfast at Denny’s this morning! Do I need a better excuse to cut out of the cubical before the boss gets in? I don’t think so an it super tasty so Jack and I pulled a fast one and got there early. Believe it or not my wife and I had our first date was to Denny’s; I know it’s hard to believe with me being such a classy guy and all. We gave up on it a few years back but there’s nothing like filling up on sugar and fat to get you ready to sit around in the office all day.

Little things.

2010-02-06T11:11:00.004-07:00

Maybe it’s the MBA program I’m in right now talking or maybe its just the realization of how cool the little things in life are but I couldn’t help but think of the small things this morning on the trail and how they combine to make an experience. Like being the first ones out on the trail tearing up fresh damp single track as you watch the sun race across the desert floor at the start of the day.
Or like learning that trying to exercise more control isn’t always a good thing. Breaks, while a great thing if applied too heavily or at the wrong time it can really screw up your flow.
Or the simplicity of a nice soft boiled egg. It’s hard to get the timing down but once you have it the taste is just so great.

2010-02-06T09:11:00.001-07:00

I know I’m including a lot of links to Velo News this week but they just wrote up an article on Arizona’s very own McDowell Mountain Park which is just north of my house here. Many a great mountain bike battle has taken place out there and remains one of the fastest rolling trials available.

In the story they include a picture of the infamous second drop on the tech loop where everyone gathers in hopes of watching some one go down hard. One of the closest calls I have had there was trying to over take some one who took the wimpy right line like the guy in the photo is doing while I took the drop like a real man to the left. We banged bars at the bottom but thankfully I saw the collision coming and leaned into him pushing him off the trial before he took me out.

If you have rocks in your head and live in the valley get your 29er out there and put some miles down. It’s the best track in town for big wheels and you’ll love it.

Back to the primitive.

2010-02-05T09:25:00.001-07:00

So here are my two new toys for playing outside. Turns out they where on my legs the whole time. I read “Born to Run” which I only learned after words is quite the popular book these days. It presents the case that man is actually born to run, contrary to what many modern doctors think. As an example of this he points to the Tarahumara tribe in Mexico, that’s what caught my attention in the first place because as a teenager my parents thought it would be a good idea to send me hitch hiking with a family friend to Mexico for two months. This friend took me to Copper Canyon where we actually stayed with the Tarahumara, just an fyi, that’s a great way to teach a kid gratitude.

I had committed to run a ½ marathon last month but in the months running up to it as I trained I found myself falling victim too many common running injuries, mostly in my knee. The book puts forth the idea that as man was born to run our bodies are built to take what nature dishes out, so now I’m running barefoot three times a week for 2 miles, and then a long trail run on the weekend in shoes. the goal is to run the Grand Canyon rim to rim…with shoes. (I’m having a hard time finding anyone willing to run the 24 miles by the way so if your down let me know) Over all my feet and legs are feeling great, the knees are feeling way better, and I feel like I’m getting closer to my inner cave man.

With Sarah working full time over the last month running has been a good outlet to stay fit in shorter time. She starts part time this next week so I will have more time to hit the trail with the bike. Thank goodness for that.

29 4 ever.

2010-02-04T14:54:00.001-07:00

I read this morning on the Velo News mountain bike site that the Gary Fisher team is 100% 29er for 2010. Great for them, I’ve been on 29ers for four years now and I knew from the first ride that it was the bike I would be riding for the foreseeable future.
When I started on my first 29er I was the only guy in the Pro/Semipro field here in AZ on one, last year at least 75% raced one. If you’re a taller rider they are a great option because you just seem to fit the bike better. The Fisher crew seems to be able to fit even the short ladies on them as well. Even those concerned about weight are coming around; the Super Fly is as number as any bike on the market.

I could write forever on the benefits of a 29er, I’ll let this little triumph of the big wheel crowed speak for its self. Once you have thrown a leg over the big wheels, let them carry you through the washes you’ll be sold as well.

2010-02-03T07:19:00.002-07:00

So yeah it’s been a while from my last post. Does saying I have been really busy begin to cover it? Most likely not because as busy as I’ve been I've had plenty of time to writ something. I think the real issue is a lack of what they like to call “motivation” to write anything other then papers at this point.
The baby is ready for action though. Dagny and I tried out her baby back pack this weekend, as you can tell she was pumped. We only made it around the block before I called it quits. Her head is still a bit to wobbly at this point, her attitude is all for it though and she said she can’t wait to get out there and get dirty.
Bath time always comes after play time though and that is a blast. The saying “soft as a babies butt” is as real as it gets. I don’t think there is anything softer then a babies butt. It helps though when your baby is literally smiling all the time.

I guess in the end I have begun to question the whole blogging thing. At what point does what I write and talk about just become an extinction of me telling all of you how cool I am? Seems like a lot of blogs tend to be nothing more then a brag post and so I hope now one who has read this blog in the past ever feels that way about what I have wrote.

Dawn to Dusk 2009

2009-12-08T08:21:00.007-07:00

Travis, myself, and the boys from South Mountain Cycle where out in force this weekend for the DCB Dawn to Dusk race. I know I’m going to get crap from everyone in the mid west for this but it was freezing cold out there! At start time it was 36 degrees and didn’t break out into the 40s until after 10 AM. Getting the legs motivated to move when it’s that cold all day takes some work and of course me being the smart guy I forgot to pack leg warmers or even knee warmers so my skinny white legs had no protection from the elements. Maybe you cold weather guys have some insight into keeping your legs moving when it’s that cold.
Erik from SMC got the team off in good time on his first lap; I was all set for the second lap when just minutes before we expected him in Craig saw that my front tire was completely flat! It was quickly decided that I would jump on Erik’s bike when he came through as we have the same pedals and Craig ran back to our camp to get my tire changed. There are benefits to riding with shop guys though because my bike was back in my hands with a new tube in a matter of three minutes tops! It was just in the nick of time too because no sooner did I have it back in my hands then I was off for my first lap.
The drama continued though when Travis on his first lap broke his chain and spoke in the back. Thankfully we had an extra bike out there that was cannibalized for him to get out on his second lap.
Erik put in the fastest team lap for us though because we didn’t have the little micro timing chips on the lap times over all where suspect. I think he got his power from his wicked witch socks. Despite the timing, mechanicals’ and cold weather the Evomo/SMC team came in second place at the end of the day only 10 or so minutes down on number one.
We didn’t stick around all night for the awards because we all have family’s to get back to and some miles to drive to get back. Before we left however Travis won the over all title for the Dust Devil fall series in single speed. Way to go Travis.

2009-11-08T18:34:00.006-07:00

I know the posting has been real hit or miss laltely but here is another random posting for you. I got out this morning for the third ride on my new Gary fisher Super fly, you know the all carbon pimp ride that everyone is on these days.
While I'm racing single speed this year I found such a good deal on this bike I couldn't pass it up. I'll use it for all the epic geared rides like Dawn to Dusk coming up and any mountain explorations. So far it's been fantastic, I have had to mess with the positioning and handle bar a bit bit it's feeling more dialed in.
It was a solo ride out at Hawes, up around mine shaft and over tot he towers climb. i felt a bit like a slacker because I didn't ride right from my house which adds on an extra hour or so. Can you blame me though? I'm just so excited to get back to this.The trail out there is really torn up; we missed out on the typical fall rain storms that pack the trails in after a long summer. No rain means very sloppy, sandy single track.
Who can complain about a couple hours out in the hills on a great bike?

New bikes all around.

2009-10-26T07:35:00.004-07:00

Got out on Saturday morning for a ride with Travis, Joe, and Erik out at Estrilla Mountain where there will be a Dust Devil race next Saturday. It was like pulling teeth from Travis to get me out there because it always seems like when I ride out there something snaps. Not Saturday though…probably because I’m not racing this time.
It was the second ride on the new Cannondale single speed I built up. This year because of the time restraints of my MBA program and the new kid I just don’t think I’ll have the time to train and race marathon. This was only my third time ever on a single speed and I could tell its going to take a little getting used to, but a new challenge keeps things fresh.
This is the last year Cannondale will have made in America written on it. Kind of sad if you ask me but I got the frame as a replacement for the one I have been on for the last 3 years and I got a replacement fork as well so it’s basically like a new bike.
Not as new as Erik’s S-Works carbon 29er. This bike came in at 21 pounds for a 21 inch bike and it felt pretty incredible when I put a leg over it. For the price though this bike better fly to make it worth it, from the feel I got it looked like it just might do it though.
Trail conditions where about what I’m used to out there….crappy. I was able to clear everything on the single speed though including the technical sections on the back side of the long loop.
It was a great morning of riding even if I had been up from 3 am with the baby who refused to go back to sleep. When I got home after noon I was so ready for a 2 hour nap, even after that I was in bed around 10. It looks like I will have to get my sleep down before race season.

Here she is.

2009-10-11T11:51:00.002-07:00

I got me a new baby last night. Say hello to Dagny Ayn Hosman. She came in at 7 lbs and 21 inches, eyes open right from the start and checking the world out. I can’t wait to get her out and show it all to her, especially the biking parts. Fitting that this be my 200th post.

Desert Tortoise on a bike.

2009-10-04T13:46:00.003-07:00

Travis and I got out yesterday for a couple hours of mountain biking at McDowell. Travis is going to be racing out there in a couple weeks on his single speed so we wanted to get a little ride time in out there. Honestly it has been a few years sense I have just rode out there for the fun of it, typically its only on race day so to just roll out was fun.
On one of our laps we fond this desert tortoise trying to sneak into the parking lot. When I approached him he gave me his best intimidating hiss, but he’s a turtle and I'm a branny man so it didn’t work.
Here he is trying to ride Travis’ bike. I can’t even reach the pedals on that thing so I don’t know why a tortoise thought he could do it. After his bike riding attempt I walked back into the desert and away from the cars. This probably ticked him off, who knows how long he walked to get to that point.

Still no baby?

2009-09-30T21:46:00.002-07:00

Seems like life is on hold for now. Little baby Dagny has decided that she is way more comfortable in Sarah’s belly then she would be outside so she’s hanging out. Our doctor said that she could come any day and Sarah has had contractions off and on for a day or so for the past two weeks but still nothing. I find myself pulling my phone out and looking to see if I have missed a call when I'm out on a ride. No calls yet though.

With the baby up in the air no races have been planed yet. However I did get Erik from SMC and Travis committed to do the DCB down to dusk race the first of December, baby should be here by then. We need one more fast guy for our four man team so if you’re out there and you want o win hit me up. after last years disaster in my solo attempt I am itching for some action and by that point I will have missed two or three mountain bike races so I will be pumped and ready to get back into the fight.

2009-09-25T08:23:00.001-07:00

All of our team riders at Evomo have been eating Simbree for the past years, great organic food for our rides and races. At any rate some one in the movies got a hold of Simbree, loved them, and put them in a big foot movie…..no kidding.

If you love Simbree go to the clip and leave a mssg about your love of Simbree. If you haven’t tried Simbree get on it, you can buy it here.

Evomo loves teaming up with companies like Simbree, not only because the owner and founder Sally is really cool but because they're a small company like Evomo. I’m not sure if anyone else has felt the pinch of the recession but keeping your friends supported at this time is important. Simbree has been a great friend to team Evomo so we are beyond happy at her success!
Way to go Sally!

2009-09-14T21:45:00.003-07:00

I went out Saturday for a group ride with the guys at SMC, I thought at first it would be a mistake with how little I have been riding as of late but it turned out to not be so bad. I climbed South Mountain one and a half times and felt pretty good doing it. Afterwards however I got caught by a cold I have been dodging for the last few weeks which ended up putting me out of sorts for the remainder of the weekend and today.
On the way up the mountain Saturday however I observed some behavior out of cyclists that kind of ticked me off. The road up the mountain is narrow and curvy and this group of about four riders had spread out over the entire line so that no traffic would risk going around them. It got so bad at one point that after I took the picture above I actually passed these two cars (having already passed two others) and got around the cyclist blocking the road. I know we should share the road but some times I can’t help but think we do ourselves no favors by getting in peoples way.

I don’t know if there is a term for men nesting when their wife’s are pregnant but I think I am doing it. The last month or so I just can’t stop cleaning my house. Typically I would rate myself a 6 out of 10 on the cleanliness scale but as the time for our baby approaches I am getting crazier and crazier about the cleaning. If there isn’t a term out there for it already I think I will coin it as “mesting” as apposed to nesting.

2009-09-07T09:39:00.001-07:00

Good road ride this morning with Travis out and over Usury Pass. I tell you what, with the lack of intense riding lately we had to actually had to battle it out with a couple old guys road riding on mountain bikes. We passed these guys and the next thing I know they where right on us pushing the whole way up the pass. Who knows who these guys where but their old balls pushed the crap out of us.
When I just got home I found out that the AC in the house is out. Great. The repair guy should be coming out here at some point so no going out for any Labor Day activities until he gets here. Lots of home work to do in the heat though so I shouldn’t be board.

Kids and bike racing.

2009-09-02T20:57:00.002-07:00

We got some new pictures of baby Dagny today; here she is cracking a smile. I know every parent things their kid is cute even when its not but that is pretty cute for a black and tan picture in 4D.

With only a few more weeks before the kid makes her appearance here in our house I have thought more and more about fitting in riding, training and racing around the new number one priority of being a dad. I hold no illusions at this point in my racing career about making it big so putting it all in second or third place is a decision I made before we even got pregnant so that’s not a big deal. In no way do I feel like having a kid is going to cramp my style because I’m ready for the style change. One of the reasons I put off having kids until I was 31 was because I just wasn’t ready to put everything aside for the sake of a wee child and I figured I would be doing the kid a disservice bringing it into the world when I wasn’t ready for it.

Now that the time approaches I have to wonder how it will all fit in. I plan on riding, racing and kicking ass well into the future but how do you balance it all out? I’m such a creature of habit, I wake up at the same time every day, like riding at the same time every day, like eating around the same time every day and now I will have to adjust those patterns to fit around the kids needs. I’m not bumbed at all about it. I know there are plenty of guys who make this happen so if you are out there and read this fill me in.

Where has Clint been?

2009-08-30T20:14:00.003-07:00

Well I decided when I got back from Utah to take the month off cycling as well as bloging. The masters program I am in requires a lot of time and with the new baby on the way I had to make room some place to get ready for her. That time came every Saturday morning except one for the last month and (I’m crossing my fingers here) I think we have every thing ready for her to be here. By the way we decide on a name for the wee child, Dagny Ayn Hosman, I’ll give anyone who reads this a bright shinny nickel if they guess where her first and middle name come from.
I have been busy working out though in different ways. My office has a gym so myself and some friends have been lifting as well as doing plyometrics which as it turns out kick ass. I have been focusing on the weak spots such as the back, arms and wrists, all those places that break down after 4 hours of mountain bike racing. I’m up to 180 pounds as well, that’s the most I have ever weighed and I have to say its pretty cool looking into the mirror and seeing muscle on the upper body. I don’t get too used to it however because in 6 months after lots of training hours on the bike most of it will be gone and I’ll be back down to 165-170.
At any rate I’m back to it full time this week with the bike and the gym, my fall races will be hit and miss as Dagny should be coming some time in October and I’ll adjust my schedule accordingly. The pics are from a hike Travis and I didn last week up north.

More Utah.

2009-07-26T15:43:00.011-07:00

Ended up having a great week up in Utah, more riding and even some hiking. I learned that as far as Utah valley goes trails and roads have two directions, up or down. That’s a big change from here in mesa.
After days of riding around Mount Timpanogos I decided it was time to hike to the top. I went up with some of Sarah’s family. It was a heck of a days hike up to over 11,000 feet.
Along the way we walked across glaciers and switch backs which was a nice change from the Arizona heat.
Near the top I heard some rocks falling and looked up to see a group of four mountain goats on the cliffs above us.

I hustled to a ridge over looking the group and caught a couple pictures of the baby in the group.
Once they saw me above them they took off and I was able to catch them on the retreat.
From the top you could see quite a long way; I mean you could guess that as this is the second largest peak in the state right?
Coming down was murder on the knees; it should help with the connective tissue in the legs.

Here is Utah.

2009-07-21T15:52:00.007-07:00

The wife and I came up north to Utah for a week to get out of the heat and go to her family reunion. I had to bring both bikes because while I may not enjoy everything about Utah you can’t argue with the riding.
Of course the hotel we are at doesn’t have the most reliable of internet connections, or continental breakfast I might add. I mean even motel 8 has a continental breakfast right?
It is close to some great riding though and yesterday I rode up Provo canyon and then jumped on HWY 89 I think. At any rate it’s the road that takes you right by Sundance Ski resort. The climb was gulling but it allowed for some great views of Mount Timanogos.
Once I reached the top of the pass I had two options, go back the way I came or drop down into American Fork Canyon. I opted to not back track and it was completely worth it. The road down was incredibly steep, so I was glad I didn’t climb it from that direction.
I was going so fast there was no way to break out the camera. Traffic the whole way was incredibly light making the ride even better. My only complaint was that I wasn’t feeling as good as I should, the heat back home just makes it no fun to ride so I am out of shape big time. It’s not a race though so whatever, I do what I want.

Mogollon Rim mountain bike ride.

2009-07-09T21:43:00.005-07:00

Travis and I attempted some exploration of the Mogollon Rim last Friday. The weather was great for a long ride and the added bonus of a day off work paid didn’t hurt either.
We set out to try to follow the General Crook Trail that runs along the top of the rim out to some single track. The trail is less then maintained so we spent most of the time on Rim Road 300.
It allowed some great views, however as the day progressed more and more people began showing up to camp for the holiday. The area we choose to explore is really popular for this but we wanted to get out to some single track that is up there.

While we could have just drove out to it that wouldn’t have been as fun so we logged some long dirt road miles in our attempt to get there.
Problems started around mile 20 when Travis got a flat. Then is when we found out that he had forgotten his hand pump and the valve for my big air had gone MIA. Being 20 miles away from your car is not the time to find this sort of thing out.
I started moving quick back to the car but about five miles away here came Travis in the back of some ones truck. He had gotten tired of waiting and decided to take advantage of all the people out there and just hitch hike back. Good thinking.

Next time better preparation and fewer crowds will be in order. We didn’t even get to the single track so we have that to look forward to as well.
One funny thing was the Arizona rain storms up there. When we stopped for lunch there where big thunder heads building up. As I rode back I went through nothing but sunshine though the remnants of a rain storm where clear in the water running down the middle of the road.
Arizona shower will hit one mile of land and then like a light switch off, move a mile down the road and start again.

New road frame, hurray for me.

2009-07-02T07:30:00.003-07:00

Thanks to the folks down at Curbside Cyclery I was able to get a brand new frame in exchange for my old Six 13 frame when I had some issues with it last month. Also big thanks to Chris the local Cannondale rep for getting a replacement to me in under a week.
In the exchange I got up graded to the System Six with a full carbon fork and the beefy 1.5 head tube. Talk about upgrade, I have been out on this bike for the last week and it is exponentially stiffer then the old frame with a much better ride quality. We just switched all the components over from the old frame and they did a great tune up on the rig making it all run like it was new.
Right now I am doing the whole lifting cross training thing so time on the new ride is lower then normal and I wont be able to put the rig through its paces for a few months. The System Six is no longer made being dropped in favor of the Super Six but for me who doesn’t have to have the newest and hottest road stuff it works great. Thanks to Cannondale and Curbside for the great ride.

Back packing Haigler Creek Arizona.

2009-06-28T09:15:00.008-07:00

When it comes to hiking in Arizona in the summer I try to keep everything centered on one thing, a place with swimming holes. It is just too freaking hot to try big overland hikes without some kind of pay off at the end.
Friday my friend Ben and I explored Haigler Creek up by my parent’s house in Young. At the bottom of the creek is a public camp ground which I am not a huge fan off so we decided to hike up the creek and see what we could find as far as good fishing and swimming.
The creek was pretty good, you have to bypass some privet property and we saw more people then I typically like along the way. When I go hiking I really want to feel remote so the fewer people the better. This is a relatively popular place so the run ins where often but friendly.

We kept getting bombarded by these little light blue bugs. The little guys would fly around and for some reason land on us then hold on for dear life.
Along the way there where lots of wild flowers which Ava decided to take a break in. she isn’t much of a hiking dog so whenever she gets the chance she is laying down in the water or in grassy patches.
The water in the creek was pretty cold and we eventually hiked far enough to find out why. There was a spring flowing in from both sides of the creek that provided at least half of the water volume downstream and made it feel ice cold. Of course on a hot day nothing feels better then water so cold it makes you head hurt.

While swimming through I found the freakiest thing ever. On the other bank was what I think is a wolf spider that was not joke as big as the palm of my hand chilling out. He was so not scared of me that when I got the camera right up to his face to take this picture he didn’t even flinch. If you open the picture up its so close you can actually see 4 of his eyes glowing yellow, I think it is just a sign of how purely evil he is.
Overall it was a fun hike, like I said though too many people for me but it is great to just get out and not have any concerns other then navigating a creek bead and avoiding man eating spiders.

Pearl Izumi Octane SL extended review.

2009-06-25T15:31:00.002-07:00

Gear reviews isn’t something that I typically do but as I took a chance on the new Pearl Izumi Octane SL Shoes I figured I would let you all know how they are working out. I say “took a chance” not because I don’t trust Pearl, all their gear has been nothing but great but up until this point in my cycling life I have ridden nothing but Sidi’s, I loved the buckle and wondered if the all velcro straps on the Octanes would hold up and tighten as well as I like.
After four marathon races and lots of training rides over the last two + months I think I’m able to render a verdict on them to this point. And the verdict is (insert your own drum roll)…..I love them. I have never ridden on such a stiff pair of shoes. The carbon sole is ridiculous, while it does get muffed up here on the AZ rocks those suckers are a solid platform to ride on. So solid in fact that there have been a couple times on fast descents where I hit a dip with such speed that I actually pop my ankle a bit. There is no flex in those things so there is no place for that energy from my straight leg to go but up. Time to adjust my sloppy ride.

As for my original concern about the velcro, well that was completely unfounded. The shoes secure tighter then my Sidi’s ever did, in fact on my first ride I think I cut circulation off to my toes by having them too tight. Keep in mind that all my mountain rides and races are over 4 hours long so they have plenty of time to come loose but they don’t. In addition there was that race a couple months ago that was wet and muddy and they stayed on strong.
One point I hadn’t planned on but like is how venty they are. The toe section has perforations in the leather that come in really handy on hot rides. I can actually feel the air flowing over my feet which is something I have never experienced. In the winter this could prove to be an issue, but it ain't the winter here.

The down side is that if you are looking for a super comfy shoe and you’re not interested in having the lightest race shoes around they aren’t for you. The ride could be considered harsh for most, but if you want it a responsive super light weight shoe this is for you

Arizona night ride.

2009-06-24T07:16:00.005-07:00

Travis and I got out for a night ride tonight out at Hawes. Travis as usual forgot something, this time the velcro strap for his light. Thankfully as I have talked about before he got all the white trash jerry rigging ability in our family and he was able to improvise a bungee cord out of his car to hold it on. It actually held up the whole time which was impressive. He and I both have to spend some long hours to get our mountain skills back. I walked a couple sections of trail that are really no problem to ride but I couldn’t put the skills together to get up and over it. When it heats up here in the valley the only way to ride is to start out around 6 PM and ride into the dark. Add the dark into my already weak mountain skills and you have a recipe for going to very slow. Without any races coming up and lots of homework to do in my masters program it feels good to just hang out on the trail and not take myself too seriously. The clouds were out tonight which made for a great sun set.

Owls on Hawes trail.

2009-06-17T21:52:00.004-07:00

The weather has been so unbelievably nice this month. This has to be the coolest June that I can remember, that Al Gore is full of crap. Tonight I got out to Hawes for a mountain ride. At the top of cardiac I saw this Great Horned Owl feather on the side of the trail. Great Horn’s are so freaking cool, they take on pretty much anything so I put the feather in my helmet to draw on the bird’s strength and my Native American ancestry. As you can tell I’m like 100% Cherokee and my grandma was a Cherokee princes. However Great Horned Owls must not be able to corner to well because later down the trail I cut it a bit quick and paid the price. I slammed my shoulder into a teddy bear cholla sending the the needles right into the shoulder blade. It’s always a good time trying to pull those suckers out let me tell you. Once when I was a kid I put my whole shin into one and just got it covered. You should learn quick in AZ not to do silly things like this but that’s what I get for letting my single track skills slip so far this year.
It was good to just go on a ride with no particular purpose, just to be outside and to ride. On top of that you just can’t beat Arizona around sunset.

MBAA State Finales.

2009-06-14T21:18:00.009-07:00

I have to be honest, I was pretty reluctant to get up to the state finales this year in Flagstaff. It's been a long season starting back in December and know in June I was burned out. I felt so great at the last race in Payson, it felt like I had hit my stride and was coming into forum for the last few races. Like most well planed out things the plan went down quick when I got sick last month. I don’t think I fully realized how much it all took out of me until this weekend though.The wife and I stayed at a cabin with my friend Glen, AKA the best bike mechanic ever. The week before the race he rebuilt the wheel I had dented at the first race and now before the race he ran through everything to make sure it was working right.

Unfortunately my legs couldn’t match the expert tuning he had given the bike. I knew I was in trouble within the first 20 minutes, there was just nothing there but I pushed on through and tried to put up a good fight.

The curse went up and over mount Elden 2x for a total of 6000 feet of climbing and around 46 miles. (That's Eldon on the right in the picture above.) The first time up I felt alright, not good but alright. The second time up I tried to push it again but once I reached the top I was completely blown. So blown in fact that I walked the technical section at the top called hobbit forest, a downhill section with large boulders and trees. You couldn’t ask for better riding but I was so spent I just couldn’t hold a line.

Once at the bottom it was all I could do to keep the peddles turning, but I finished, the finish was far back though. I came in 13th out of 26 so right in the middle. It’s very aggravating though top have felt like I was coming into great forum and then to go back to square one. O well though, it was good enough of a finish to keep me in the top five for the overall series. 4th sounds better then last so I will take it.

Thanks should go out to Absolute Bikes in Flagstaff for getting us on such great trails to race. It was apparently quite a work to make it happen with all the tree hugging hippies in Flag who hate bikes and really hate bike racing. Hopefully we can get back there next year.

After waiting for freaking ever for the overall podium Sarah and I crashed back at the cabin with glen, Gail and Gail’s son Jay. Jay and I where on the same team this year at Old Pueblo so it was cool catching up with them and enjoying some nice mountain air.

By the end of the race my legs where so depleted that when I sat down they started shacking uncontrollably. You have to watch the video for a few seconds for them to start up again but it’s funny when they do.

freaking cycling socks.

2009-06-09T22:29:00.003-07:00

Tonight I have one complaint and one happy point. Complaint, every freaking pair of cycling socks I have and have ever had busts out the toes. Its not like I have rat claws down there cutting through these things, I keep them trimmed very short just because of this. But here I have this unnamed brand that is barley a month old and then this. Carbon fiber is cool these days, maybe they could mix some carbon up in there to strengthen these things. Then again maybe I am the only person that has this problem.
On a more positive note the weather took a turn for the cooler this week. We had been getting up into the 100’s the last couple weeks but this week it has been over cast and today it only got into the high 80’s. I didn’t even mind the wind today because I got out before 5 pm.

Baby and peeing on the bike.

2009-06-07T19:11:00.003-07:00

Had a great ride yesterday with the guys over at SMC, we went out and around the mountain with a group of about 50. It’s a long flat ride and out on the flats I have to stay in the middle of the pack to survive. The problem is as you all know that if you get off the back of a fast moving group in the flats alone you will never catch up. However if you have a small bladder like myself you have to go pee every hour or so, add on top of this that in the summer here you have to drink like a fish to stay alive. So of course 45 minutes into the ride I have to go, I held it as long as I could to no avail as I started to cramp up. Right about then a few guys made moves off the front trying to break away so I formed the plan to jump off the front with them, get as far ahead as I could push myself to go, stop and take a leak before the group caught up. Needless to say I have never bothered to learn how to pee on the bike.
I leaped off the front peddled as hard as I could for 5 minutes, came to a screeching halt, whipped it out and proceeded to do my business. As fast the group moves though they caught me in no time and passed. Now I’m in panic mode, I whipped it back in and made the mad dash to catch back up. Thankfully my worst fears of being left alone on the flats for miles was not realized and I caught back up pretty quick, I have been on rides out there where I have not been so lucky though and it sucks.
Friday afternoon the wife and I went and got some pictures taken as well, partly to celebrate here collage graduation with a bachelor’s degree in business marketing, partly to have some nice pictures of her sexy baby belly. Some one asked me today how the baby was doing, so assuming that a growing belly is a sign that everything is alright I replied “sure is doing great, right now the baby is working on her tiger claw punch so that when she comes out she is ready to do battle.”

R.I.P. Catlike.

2009-06-03T07:59:00.003-07:00

Isn’t it strange the attachments we make? Shop guys have been telling me for years that not trading out your helmet after a couple years is dangerous but for the love of my Catlike I refused to listen to them. My helmet just fit my head and because of the fact that I took this helmet on every ride, dirt or road that thing became my favorite peace of equipment. Yes I even loved it more then the bikes I rode, they have come and go but the helmet has stayed right on the top of my head where it was built to stay.
Eventually I did buy a new Catlike last year; they don’t sell them here in the US so I had to special order the sucker form England. When it got here I wore it a few times but it just didn’t feel right, and by “right” I mean it didn’t feel like the old one. Now though I am thankful to have it on hand because last night disaster struck.
There I was “just riding along” climbing a hill and “pop” the plastic adjuster behind my head just broke. The helmet went loose on my head releasing all the sweat into my eyes which was good because it hid my tears. I think it must have been the heat; my theory is that it made my head swell breaking the tensile strength of the plastic. Whatever the cause it is a sad day.

New Shimano shiz.

2009-06-01T07:21:00.003-07:00

It is hot enough now here in AZ that all black jerseys are at the back of the closet and everything that does not incur the suns wrath is brought forward. Here Travis is in his new SMC kit Saturday morning at the top of South Mountain, this still may be a little too much black for me at this point. I am contemplating the entire white skin suit thing just to keep the heat under control.
Here is a super secret spy pick of shimano's new black box rear derailleur for the road. You will note that is made from parts of an old XT mountain derailleur and something else. Travis has been testing it for a few weeks now and it seems to be working out alright. Here is my problem, why is it when two brothers come from the same line of white trash Travis gets the redneck fix it up abilities and I get the hoard everything I can part? It's just not fair.

Mountain bike girl to be.

2009-05-21T07:43:00.003-07:00

Well its official the mountain bike baby will be a girl! I'm excited to start the training as soon as she comes out of the womb to mold her into the next Olympic champion so she can redeem the country that invented the sport. I can say this because my wife doesn't read the blog, but from the looks of things she has been cheating on me with an alien.
Check these legs out, I think with these kickers she will be able to smash the competition. In all reality I am just excited the baby looks to be healthy and growing well.

No racing but lots of helping.

2009-05-17T22:08:00.006-07:00

Well I have not written over the last week due to me only riding about 4 hours. Every time I have gone out and put in any effort I have started hacking up a lung. Whatever I got the other week is still holding on and making it impossible to race. However it doesn’t make it impossible to help out at the races, so this weekend the wife and I took the opportunity to get out of the valley and head up to Flagstaff for the weekend.
Saturday I went out in the morning and stood watch over the race course at one of the corners. As it turns out some of the Flagstaff locals who are apposed to racing where out screwing with the marked course over the last week. What gets me about the Flagstaff “locals” is that none of them are actually from Flagstaff but are imports from all over the country but for some reason they think they own the trails that are on national forest. Pricks.

While I was sitting around pointing people in the right direction I found this little guy trying to cross the trail.
As I was checking him out I realized the Horny toad is in fact my favorite lizard.
After the race the wife and I hung out in Flag and then headed east to Meteor Crater by Winslow. Despite living in Arizona for most of my life I had never been out there and as far as road side attractions go I have to say it’s the coolest big hole in the ground caused by space crap I have ever seen. Here is the wife and baby pointing out the giant hole if you can’t tell where it is. -h/

Mogollon Masher 63 miles of muddy fun.

2009-05-06T13:32:00.004-07:00

What a crappy couple days I have had after getting back for the Mogollon Masher MBAA race. I must have stirred up some kind of illness from big foots dick locked in the numerous mud pits up there because starting Sunday I was sicker then a dog and barley got back to my 9-5 job today.

The race though was freaking radical! It was on top of the Mogollon Rim a place if you remember is where I have been doing a lot of training so I was excited to get up there to the 7200 elevation and get the burn on. The problems started when I got up there late and was told that the feed zone was a mile down the trail, well I didn’t have time to go down there and I was flying solo so I just ran down the trail from the start a few hundred yards and dropped my cooler off figuring like most races I would loop back through there on each of the 7 laps. With this thought in mind I started the race with only one water bottle.
The course was a blast, a good mix of single track and old jeep trails. Just for fun some very deep mud holes where thrown in that came up the hubs of the wheels. First lap I was feeling great and was putting in a good fight with the top five guys. Then as we came up top the feed zone disaster struck, I realized then that we never loop back to the start finish and that my water and food was a mile away. No time to think about it now though and I was off for lap two. Midway through this lap my front tire flats. CRAP!!!! So I fix that and get going again trying to regain a couple positions I lost and trying to think about what the heck I am going to do for a refuel.

When I come up to the feed zone again I see one of my friends Tom hanging out, I yell out to him asking for any extra water bottles he might have. He gave me a full bottle of Heed and said he would run back and pick up my bottles. I’m saved I think but then at the end of lap three Tom was not back and so I had to mooch another water bottle off some one standing by. Lap four I had to get a banana from some one else before I saw that Tom had come through and brought up a bunch of my bottle s and gels.
By this time though I was way behind on the nutrition wagon and it was too late to catch up. Each of the remaining laps my time went further and further down. Then on the last two laps my cleat on the right side decided to come lose, not once but twice. So I had to sucker some one into giving me their mini tool to tighten the stupid thing back up again.
Eventually I rolled in completing the 63 mile race in 5:31, good enough for a fifth place overall. I can only imagine how well I could have done with as good as I was feeling at the start of the race if i had my nutrition and water lined up. O well though it was some serious man game out there and I was just glad to be a part of it.

I wounder how bad this will hurt?

2009-04-28T20:38:00.002-07:00

As bad as I thought my race went Saturday Travis’ race was even worse. He forgot his size 13 shoes at home on Friday and didn’t realize it until he had an hour until the race. Do you know how hard it is to find a size 13 shoe at 7 AM? As it turns out its imposable. He had to wait until 9 when a shop opened and then he went ahead and bought a new pair, threw on cleats and rode out at 9:15 AM and still came in 117th place.

Never underestimate the power of an angry gorilla. He did get the above picture and video of the start though; this angle shows how many people showed up to this event. I have said it before and I will say it again but I think these types of races are the future of American mountain bike racing.

2009-04-26T08:05:00.003-07:00

Well my results from the Whiskey off Road did not come out to what I would have liked. I came in at 4:17, 8 minutes faster then last year but still slower then my best time. Even with the faster time though the field this year was stacked, I guess having Floyd Landis out last year was all the reason everyone needed to show up this year and give it a go. With a faster group I came in a disappointing 39th, as you can see from the video though the group was freaking huge.

The great thing about this event is that it gets bigger and bigger each year. I could tell it was on from the start though as when the pavement ended I looked back and saw the majority of the field split, once we where on single track it thinned out more. The one down side to the first section of single track is that there are huge log water diverter things in the trail. You hit the first ten of them alright but after that they get tougher and tougher to get over. Finally I got up and over one with so much momentum that I went right off the trail falling and shoving the seat in my butt as hard as it would go. A great way to start off the race.

Eventfully I got going again and found a rhythm going up the first fire road climb to the aid station where you either make the big drop into Skull Valley or head back for the 25 mile ride. It seemed like I was in and out of a climbing rhythm all day, I would feel good for a few minutes and get going, and then slow down again. With 7000 feet of climbing that lack of consistency ended up hurting me as I made the big climb. I didn’t start feeling great until I had made it back up to where the 25 mile riders where feeding back in, then I had people to chase. It’s amazing how much better passing some one, anyone will make you feel.
The ride back down the mountain was a breeze this year, the last couple years I was so cramped up by that point that going down was no fun at all. Yesterday though I was rolling and the time went by fast.

The funniest thing I saw was as I got back down to the pavement the trail was in and out of a creek bead. One section went up hill to the right getting very narrow as it rises about 15-20 feet above the water. This guy a few feet ahead of me must have bumbled his peddles because he went off the bike and then off the embankment into the water. Mostly he slid on his belly the whole way down but it looked rad, I am sure he was dumping a load in his pants about that though.

Once I hit the road I was all alone the whole way in, when I rounded the corner to the finish line I saw some one out in front so I pored it on to catch them, it was only until I was a few feet back that I realized it was a chick in one of those cycling skirt things. So here I was looking like a douche beating up on a chick in a skirt who had most likely done the 15 mile fun ride. I kicked her ass though so at least I can feel good about that.

All in all it was a fun day on a bike and hanging out with friends. While I am disappointed with the results having come in 17 minutes behind my time goal there is not a whole lot to do and complaining sure as heck won’t help. Get back on and ride again its all for fun anyways right?

How about some Whiskey?

2009-04-22T20:29:00.003-07:00

Shiz has been so busy the last couple weeks that bloging has had to be put to the side for a few. Riding however has not because on Saturday it is time for Epic Rides Whiskey Off Road, that’s right 50 miles of suffering is on tap for everyone. With the way this event grows each year I am sure that the competition will be even more stiff this year.
As for myself I have a personal vendetta with this event. In 2007 I did it is 4:08, and then in 2008 I came in at 4:25 and suffered big time. This year the goal is to do it in under 4 hours. We will see how well we do with that idea though. The place to make the time as usual will be the big climb out of skull valley, isn’t that a great name? Skull valley, we know how to name things appropriately here is AZ.

New Pearl Izumi Octane SL's.

2009-04-09T07:05:00.004-07:00

I have been getting a lot of clicks on this blog so here is an updated review of the Pearl Izumi SL mountain shoes. Check it out and feel free to ask any questions.

I got home today from work to find a box from Pearl Izumi on my porch. I have been waiting for this box for over a year starting when they teased their new high end mountain bike shoe the Octane SL and then quickly took it down again. See I have been wearing the same pair of Sidi’s for over 5 years and while I new it was time long ago for a new pair of shoes I just couldn’t bring my self to drop $300.00.
At Interbike The Guys at Pearl said they would be coming out around Christmas so I waited even longer. Today the wait is over through. These shoes are so cool they come with their own bag, and what could be inside?
That’s right a pair of the most pimp shoes ever, come on out and play friends.
At just 320 grams they are by far the most blingy shoes I have owned, and will I am sure the carbon sole will be muffed up by the end of Saturday I am just pumped to have some new kicks that I don’t have to make excuses for. As for the Sidis, they will be retired to a place of honor in the house where we can talk about old tomes.

Apocalyptic destruction at the Prescott punisher.

2009-04-05T14:33:00.001-07:00

Whoever said that shaving your legs makes you faster is full of crap. I shaved my legs the other week for the first time in a year or so and then went out and got my butt kicked yesterday. Sure it could have been the 40 degree temperatures at 8 AM at 6000 feet elevation. Maybe the fact that my legs had no protective layer of hair was why they felt like a solid back of cement for all 40 miles and every foot of the 5500 feet of climbing. No matter what the reason everyone got a peace of my ass yesterday.

I love the course up there in Prescott; it’s a fun course but is actually a 4 wheeler track and keeps you on your toes all the time. There is one climb that allows you to get into a rhythm, but that only lasts for a quarter mile if that. With the cold temperatures in the morning no one was excited to get going when the gun went off; it was no joke probably the slowest race start I have ever been in.

I thought maybe my legs would warm up after a few minutes but it didn’t work. First one guy passed me, then another and then another. Soon I lost track of where I was in the group but I was well aware of how much life was sucking for me. At about lap three of seven I started contemplating good excuses to drop out but I couldn’t come up with anything.

So I stuck it out, I figure I have to have at least one horrible race a year and I guess this had to be the one. Three weeks from now though will be the Whiskey off Road Epic Rides event so this made for some good elevation training. Also next week Travis and I have a big 70 mile training ride planned at elevation which should help out as well.

Regardless of the out come it was fun as hell. Isn’t that strange? I paid to get physically destroyed and suffer. Why do we do this to ourselves? No one paid me and I lost big time. Yet three weeks from now I will be doing the same thing.

Random mountain biking thoughts.

2009-04-03T07:42:00.003-07:00

The other week when I was sick and didn’t ride for a few days in a row I got to feeling down and slow. So I shaved my legs again to make myself feel faster. While I can’t say that I am faster I noticed two side benefits that I like #1 they feel great when I climb into bed between the sheets. #2 after shaving my pants feels cool. Other then that not much of a difference.
The other day was the first weekday ride in months in which I got the whole thing done in complete day light. This time of year is perfect for AZ riding, temperatures in the 70’s sun light until almost 7 PM. It just doesn’t get better then this.
I have a race this weekend up in Prescott, this is like the 8th complete season of racing I have done. At what point do you stop getting nervous about a race? I have had some big races in the past so I try to tell myself it’s not that big of a deal but I still find that if I think about it too much I can get worked up.
I saw a sign in a bike shop the other day that said “lance is back on the bike. Are you?” and I thought to myself “screw Lance Armstrong.”

You should use Fluid Recovery.

2009-04-01T08:52:00.003-07:00

I am not one to jump on a band wagon for a cycling products. With my own cycling gear and nutrition I always stick with what has proven itself to me over an extended trial period, to break into the Hosman circle of trust is a hard thing to do. With nutritional products it is such a crap shoot, the stuff is expensive and seems to do no better then a simple and cheap Fig Newton so why bother blowing the extra cash for day in day out training food? This brings me to Fluid Recovery. Evomo picked up Fluid this year on the recommendation of one of our team guys who used it last year. After getting into contact with the guys over at Fluid I found them to be a really cool bunch of people, totally into sports nutrition and most importantly cool laid back people that fit the vibe we where looking for as a partner for the Evomo team.

The product itself I started using at the beginning of the year and now after a couple months of use I can recommend the product 100%. I wont try to explain how the product works and will just let you go to their site to get the whole low down. The important facts to me are that it is a 100% natural blend of complex carbohydrates and natural flavors. I use it directly after each ride to speed recovery for the muscles and belive it or not have actually noticed a difference in the speed of recovery as well as the way I feel the next day on the bike. As my season advances I double up on interval days doing two hard day is a row. That second day can be tough to get motivated for little alone have the strength for but with Fluid my muscles do feel noticeably more lively on day two. The motivation position unfortunately it does not help with though, maybe they could add some crack or meth to help out with that?
While I don't intend my blog to be a non-stop shill fest I do have to say Fluid does work. Spending money on nutritional products is a hard one for me, we can spend so much money on stuff we just poop out anyways so spending my money wisely is important to me. If your going to try something new for recovery check it out, if your not doing anything for post ride recovery you need to, it makes a huge difference but I am not a coach and cant help you with that.

Go vote for the next rider submited Evomo T-shirt.

2009-03-26T10:39:00.004-07:00

Evomo had a great contest going on for all you haters out there who think they could design a better t-shirt then them. Well I approached that wrong, they had a great contest for those creative people out there where you could submit a t-shirt design then have it voted on by the public. The winner gets their t-shirt run in limited release for sale on the site.

You can go to vote here.

I’ll give you a preview of your options starting with m y personal favorite. But don’t let my opinion swing your choice. Go and vote for yourself.

It brings so much pain to my little world.

2009-03-25T21:09:00.002-07:00

So you may be asking where the heck I have been for the past week and a half. The answer is…..sick. Yep I got back last weekend from the race and the allergies started really kicking my ass. By Monday I was completely out of it and didn’t get back on the bike until Friday.

At any rate I am back on the bike this week and feeling 100% better. No that I am back I motion to burn down every orange tree in Mesa. All in favor let’s go out and do it so we can all live better.

MBAA race #4, Fort Huachuca.

2009-03-15T16:00:00.006-07:00

It was a great weekend for racing down in southern AZ. The MBAA series held the first race in 6 years on the Army base Fort Huachuca; it’s a great place only 15 miles from Mexico with an elevation around 5000 feet. For those of you who didn’t make it down to this race, you missed out. The course is mostly epic single track weaving through oak tress and up and around grass covered foot hills.

I rode down with the guys from focus, Dan, Lane and Travis. We got down there in time to put in a couple laps.

The race starts out right, with a big tough climb, you can see the elevation gain from the last post. Once you make it to the top its right onto single track for a fast off camber decent that winds through trees at the bottom. It was decided that this would be the portion of the trail that would decide race. If you got behind a slower rider there really was no way around them so if some one got out and ahead they would put some major time on you.

There are also a few technical sections that could mess you up. It was rocky enough that I got a pinch flat my second time around. On this one Dan takes the foot down and looks a little sissy, but you wouldn’t know it on race day because he got second in the category 1 group. Great job Dan!

Race day itself was beautiful, high 50’s with a few clouds in the sky. The marathon group I was with started first as usual at 8:30 and to start the day off right I got the whole shot to the single track. It was a great peace of work but within the first mile an unknown guy who blew past me. Turns out he is a full time pro from Canada who decided to travel down here for some early season racing. Cool I guess, I figure if he is willing to travel all the way down for this then he can have the win and deserves it.

My race was great though, I completed it in 3 ½ hours and with as rocky and technical as the trail is I was happy with my position. Considering I am not a technical rider it was a good thing Travis and I got out and warmed up the tech skills over the last couple weekends. With the flat on Friday I was a bit sketched out so I pumped the tire pressure up to 40 PSI. That made for a really bumpy ride and not as much control as I am used to. Time to get a new rim.

Throughout the race though all I could think about was how great the trail is. It actually felt like a mountain bike race and not a glorified road race. I fell into my 3rd place with in the first lap and then had to sit in to try to catch the two others ahead. It wasn’t to happen though and I finished solo a few minutes ahead of number 4. However I was off walking the trail watching the pros when I heard my name being called for the podium. To make up for that though I got this sweet pic of fellow Evomo rider Darren who placed 4th in his race. Way to go Darren!

Good times on the training ride.

2009-03-11T20:00:00.005-07:00

It's hard to stay entertained on a recovery ride, there are only so many routes a person can take at low speed for only so many years before you want to pull your hair out. Tonight though Mesa PD did me a favor and posted the movable speed radar right into my path. So I got the camera out to see just how fast i could get going without hands.

24 MPH, not so bad. I think I could have gotten it up higher.

This weekend I will have to do some driving to get down to Sierra Vista for the MBAA race. The marathon race is only 35 miles long. The thing is though that when they cut the mileage down you know it is going to be rough steep and ugly. Looking at the election here I am going to say it will be a little of both. Sierra Vista is practically in Mexico so it will have to be an over night adventure.

Why XC guys don't catch air.

2009-03-08T18:42:00.001-07:00

A non-cycling friend of mine asked why there are no pictures of me jumping off stuff on the blog. I tried explaining that I don't catch a lot of air on a 29er and that most of my time is spent with two wheels plated firmly on the ground. Still he persisted in wanting to see some "action shots" other then me just riding. So to demonstrate why I don't have any "sick air time" photos I got Travis to jump over a burm into a wash.

There you go, not that exciting right? It's hard to translate the glory of a 5 hour mountain bike ride to the non-rider because there is no point of reference between us and them. Seeing some kid hucking himself off some 50 foot cliff is something quick and easy for people to look at and go "wow, that was soooo rad." 5 hours up and down hills though is a bit harder for people to wrap their mind around.

The ride yesterday was dedicated to getting my mountain bike handling back. Travis and I made repeated climbs up a technical climb out on Hawes called "big screen." Big screen is great because it is always changing, routes and lines are never the same and it has a good mix of loose sand as well as rocks to momentum up and over. There is a price to be payed though and I did fall over a couple of times during the day. Nothing cool just those lame ones where you loose momentum, stand there for a second and then down you go. Again like the jumping XC falls are pretty unimpressive.

Kids and bikes?

2009-03-05T21:30:00.002-07:00

Tonight as I was doing a recovery ride in the dark I came across a little family consisting of a mom, dad and 14 or 15 year old girl all on touring bikes decked out with racks and trailers. They had stopped at a light and had maps out so I figured I would stop and see if they needed directions. In talking to them I found out they where from Tennessee and riding cross country from Florida to san Diego. They had been on the road for 6 weeks and I wondered how in the heck they got a teen age girl to ride a bike across country like this.

At any rate I helped point them in the right direction and rode on. Now that I have a little one on the way I have been trying to figure out in my mind how to integrate being a mountain bike racer and the time that this takes with the new responsibility of being a dad. Clearly priority number one is the child, I have already made that choice but how do you strike a balance?

I know a lot of guys who hold down the ride thing as well as the family thing but if any of you out there have any suggestions on making it all work I am all ears.

FYI

2009-03-03T21:42:00.002-07:00

Mesa AZ mountain bike ride.

2009-03-02T10:26:00.008-07:00

With the bike back at home where she belongs it was up and of the house before the sun rise for a good long ride. Any mountain bike ride that starts out with the use of lights is a good ride for me. I took the canal system out to the Salt River and the Hawes loops meeting up with Travis and his new Specialized 29er he picked up over at South Mountain Cycles. Even with the Extra large frame and 29 inch wheels Travis makes a bike look small.
A few minutes after meeting up and hitting the trail the sun was coming up. I am not a fan of getting up early for road rides I love it on the mountain, the sun sitting low in the sky cast great shadows making the desert look much more colorful then it actually is.
We did a complete Hawes loop including a new section the pirates carved out. The new stuff is great and an addition I am sure the forest service didn't sanction. fine by me though, if we left it up to the government mountain bikers wouldn't even be on the trails we created in the first place.
After a complete loop there we headed out and back on twisted sister, a trail that for some reason I cant help but getting cactus in me on. This was the first 4 plus hour ride that I have been able to sit in consistently on with the Titec components. The Pluto Duke seat post was great, this is the first carbon seat post on a mountain bike I have had in a couple years and it was great. The high frequency vibrations that typically break down my low back where lessoned. That is a great thing.
Once I parted ways with Travis I had a small bit of road to ride and was quickly over taken by a roadie. I had to catch and pass him just to show him what's up. the look on his face was priceless when I pulled up along side him fat tires and all. Passing roadies on a mountain bike and beating guys with more expensive bikes are a few of my favorite things. The only thing that could have made it better would be if he hada pro team kit on.
After the ride I recovered with my favorite Cheesy eggs and salsa. I also had to throw on a few thick slices of pepper bacon for good measure. That's the kind off food that makes you a fast mountain biker.

Mountain bike ride.

2009-02-27T18:33:00.002-07:00

Got my Ride back from the guys down at Focus tonight. Turns out the Rukus was a bit much for the lefty the other weekend and so I had to have it sent back to C-dale to be worked on. In the mean time they switched out the broke ass one for a loaner allowing me the opportunity to get my ride on Saturday. Thanks guys! That's the bonus to having good shops back you up.

Random Mountain Bike thoughts.

2009-02-25T07:28:00.002-07:00

Taking a week off riding last week was nice though it sucked getting back on the pony this week. Plus the USB port on my laptop has been acting up from the time I got back from OP, I think my wife broke just to tick me off....that of course is the most logical train of thought.
Here is a picture of my newly broken Rudy Project sunglasses. I'm not so upset that they broke, after three years of use I figure I got my moneys worth. However you know you have crossed some kind of threshold when you stop seeing things like this as just another broken peace of equipment but a couple hours of overtime in my little grey cubicle. I don't just see dollar signs but literally hours spent on the job, suddenly this makes everything I have already bought way more valuable to me.
Next is a picture of my hairy legs. A friend was telling me at OP that I clearly wasn't committed to cycling and racing because my legs aren't shaved this year. I responded that I am just keeping it real, my legs are hairy therefore they stay hairy. In reality I am just to lazy to spend the time in the shower shaving them each week, I do have exceptionally long legs and when I miss a spot it brings out my OCD and I can think of nothing but that one spot on my legs that I missed until it gets resolved. Plus I think it pays honor to the hard core mountain men of yester year, I roll with the dogs of old.

24 hours in the Old Pueblo, the Rukus has landed!

2009-02-15T17:16:00.014-07:00

So for the second year in a row the team that drafts me on at the last minute also decides that I should be the guy doing the running at the start of this race. That will teach me to take a gift again, but then again it may just be the price I have to pay for a free ride.

The amount of people at this event always surprises me and that is always shown at the start. I lined up late due to fidgeting with the fit of the new Titec gear so that meant that it was the back of the line for me and a lot of dust once we got going.

Even with my bad positioning I came in 21st to the exchange area for the first lap. A few of the lead guys including Sarah’s crush Ryan Trebon took headers into the cholla and had to stop to get it out. The trail twists really tight through an endless sea of cacti so you have to stay 100% aware of bar placement.
After that start though the team faltered, our second lap took a little over two hours and then Jake on the third lap took a header into what are is affectionately called “the widow maker” and tacoed his rim.
The widow maker is on one of the last “bitches” of the trail. The bitches are these rolling hills that you climb and drop one after the other and they lure you into gaining tunes of speed down one side to help get up the other but then the widow maker is located just a few meters up the uphill side and is a little dip in the road that if you are not watching out for will send you flying, as Jake found out. Thankfully he had the foresight to take his cell phone and he called in for the back up bike.

By the time he got back though we as a team had slid down into 121 place out of 130 4 man teams. Now I know this team is all about fun but it is hard to tell that to the XC race guy who has to be first or at least close to first.

But I was able to kill time wondering how the hell Tinker keeps up his pace by himself for 24 hours. Screw that.
Also there are the freaks at a 24 hour race to watch, such as “guy in a gorilla out fit”
Or kid riding the clunker with a wig in the technical section.
Perhaps most baffling to me is “couple who is racing on a rigged tandem.” I love my wife but the last thing I need is her back seat driving for 24 hours. Conversely I am sure the last position she would want to have is looking at my ass the whole time wondering when the next bomb is going to drop.
I finally got out for my second lap around 8 pm with a bit of confusion, lets just say I got the timing wrong and was “that guy” who doesn’t show up to take the baton from the completing rider. Surprisingly I did pretty well on my laps. It was freaking freezing but my handles where on and I didn’t get passed for the whole 15 mile loop. That’s saying something for me because night riding is certainly not my thing.

However when my second lap came at 2:30 AM I was beginning to question as everyone does what the hell you are riding a bike for 24 hours. The temperature had dropped below 30 degrees and there was a good wind blowing from the east so motivating my self to get out was not easy. Once under way though I plugged in the Ipod and rocked out.
One of my goals for a night lap was to stop and take a picture of one of the many squashed mice on the trail but yet again the racer boy inside wouldn’t let me stop, so I settled on a picture of my grumpy cold face at the end of the lap.
With a couple restless hours of sleep under my belt I was back at the holding pin by 8:30 hanging out with my friends Yuki and Tim. Yuki signed up this year with Evomo’s friend Jeff from Ergon to be on the Ergon team, Good job Yuki! He was also on the team with Dave Wiens so you know he’s fast
My last lap felt great, powered by caffeine and big wheels I did it in just over an hour and it was time to reward myself with a delicious BBQ tritip sandwich. Quincidently the guy standing in line behind me was Richard Cunningham editor of Mountain Bike Action. Super nice guy, he was telling me of his witnessing a solo rider absulutly losing it in the middle of the night breaking down and crying on the side of the trail. Yea that sounds like a blast.
Our team managed a Herculean effort though and moved up from 121 to 60th place. Go us!

This weekend also allowed me the opportunity to get better acquainted with team sponsors Titec and Fluid. After the fitting the new components worked flawlessly, didn’t even notice them, and that’s about as good as it gets. I was downing Fluid after each lap and didn’t cramp at all in 24 hours and as I said last weekend it goes down easy when the old tummy is not so happy.
Thanks to John and Jake from Austin for offering me a position on their team, Glen as well it was a blast as usual and I can comfortably say that the rukus has been brought this weekend.

Titec trial by fire, 24 hour fire.

2009-02-13T17:59:00.005-07:00

While I would have liked a little more time to go over the fit of all my new Titec gear this weekend presents the best opportunity to do so. 24 hours should provide a lot of field work on the subject.

The new parts look bomb ass though. Here is the complete build from behind.
The Pluto seat post and seat look great and from the right angle take on a gray look that matches the frame well. Then from another angle it goes back to black.
Next are the water bottle cages, super lite and sexy, in fact the whole bike has a new sexy look with the carbon parts added.
Next is the extra wide sweeping bar. It has been a long time that I have ridden on a wide bar so I will see if I need to cut a little back.
It should be a great weekend and while it is short notice there is something to be said about being able to live on the fly. Besides mountain bike rule and 24 hours of them non stop is about as great as it gets.

24 Hours at the Old Pueblo is on.

2009-02-11T09:06:00.003-07:00

My friend Glenn called me up last night with an offer I couldn't refuse, an all expense paid trip to 24 hours at Old Pueblo this weekend. I had not actually even thought about going this year simply because there has been no interest with the people I ride with to go down. It's on now though and I will be doing it the right way, on a 5 person team of people who want to have a good time. I tried it the hard core way last year and honestly it just wants that fun for me. To start I am just not that good of a night rider on the mountain bike, everything just looks flat to me no matter how I setup the light. I am now excited though for a fun three day weekend.

McDowell Meltdown 2009.

2009-02-08T18:02:00.004-07:00

MBAA race number two was yesterday at the famous McDowell Mountain Park. The order of the day was a 55 mile race with 4200 feet of climbing a big day with an early 8:30 AM start. My one concern going into the day’s event was that at the last race when I flatted I actually dented the rim right at the valve making it impossible for the tire bead to fit securely as a tubeless set up. This is a huge worry as anyone who has raced at McDowell will attest to the number of people who pinch flat during a race. It’s a rocky course with lots of Sharpe edges and running a tube in the back end just made me that much more vulnerable to a delay like I faced last race.
At the start line there was a huge crowed that came out for the pain. The announcer said it was the largest group of marathon riders at an MBAA event, some where around 30-40 as I could tell. I got a decent position pulling into a top 10 place out of the gate. Within a couple minutes though I could tell I was felling great and it would be a good day on the bike so I started to put the peddle down and pulled into the top five position and never looked back.

The only hold up this race however was again having to work my way through the beginner and sport classes for half a lap 2 times. In some ways it serves as motivation though to still be passing people after 50 miles of riding. But at least this week I dint have to get off the bike to get around people. At no time did I feel like I was moving back words and I stayed in contact with the lead group for pretty much the whole time. With only a couple weeks of intervals under the belt it looks like my fitness is coming along. I only lost contact with the top 4 riders with in the last few miles and I was able to come in 5th. A much better performance then last race. Here is the last sport guy I had to get around at the end
As far as conditions go it was another perfect day for a race with temperatures in the high 60’s and a nice cool wind. I have to be honest though, Friday I wasn’t that motivated to get out and race. Last week was not the best for training and I was just not feeling confident in my ability to get out there and lay it down. Some time though I guess you just have to push through those feelings because I had a great race.

After the event I had my first opportunity to put down some Fluid after an actual event. For me when I am done racing that hard for 4 hours my stomach doesn’t feel much like taking anything into it. The Fluid however went down good and covered the time until I felt like eating something solid. Those few minutes after a hard ride though are the most critical as if I don’t refuel quick enough I will literally go down hard and not feel like moving for the rest of the day. However with yesterday the Fluid went down and I felt great.

Team Evomo gear up.

2009-02-04T21:24:00.008-07:00

Today was the wife’s birthday but from the looks of things when we got home you would have thought it was mine. Some of the Evomo Sponsors came through in a big way for the team today. I got a large and in charge box of gear from Bryan including products from Titec, Fluid, Simbree, Action Wipes. Mostly I was happy that finally some one is calling me buy my proper title, thanks Bryan.
From the Top Titec came through with the build kit for the bike. I went with the Pluto level components; they strike a great balance of low weight with strength. The bar is what I am really excited to get on the bike because of the sweep back. Unfortunately this weekend is a race so I don’t want to mess with the set up two days prier. As soon as the race is over on it all goes.

Fluid sent over the canister of recovery powder. Another good thing is that if you’re in the Phoenix area you can now buy Fluid at South Mountain Cycles. I highly recommend this product to everyone, as much as most people like a cold beer after a ride but getting some Fluid down you makes recovery much faster and more efficient.
Simbree as well pumped in some product. While you can’t get their all natural energy snacks in the valley yet they are great and you have to love the all natural ingredients.
Action Wipes through in as well but due the shininess of their packages I couldn’t get a good picture.
Last but not least the Evomo shirts tie together a great box of gear. Every time I wear the Brainecase people always ask about it. The cool thing about Evomo shirts are they say mountain bike without saying “Hey everyone pay attention to me because I ride a mountain bike.” Freaking sweet.

Stuck.

2009-01-31T18:10:00.003-07:00

The posting has been a bit slow this week due to an overabundance of work at the 9-5. I actually only got 3 hours in this week before today which made for a not so fun ride this morning. I may have opted to go ride by myself at the race course for next week but opted to ride with the group at SMC to get some intervals in. About 2 ½ hours is all I could take today before calling it quits.
The ride home from the ride was a bit like my week, stuck! Traffic during the weekend and freeway closures are the order of this weekend. Thankfully I keep the best record ever on CD in my car for just such occasions, The Clash, London Calling. It’s about what my life seemed like this week, filled with energy but ultimately stuck. Also It made me feel the sting of sell out for driving a road bike to a road ride. Selling out is cool though.
I did however have a funny/sad experience on the road at Wednesday night. I was riding in the dark with my light when I looked up to see a LED light blinking off someone else’s bike coming towards me on the other side of the road. I looked down for a moment and then back up and the light was gone. Just then I looked to my side and saw the cyclist who was coming towards me laid out on the ground. Apparently he slammed right into a black trash can as pictured bellow at full speed. The pour guy hit the can so hard he knocked his own shoe off and bent his rim. Its hard not to laugh though when some one goes down and I suppose if it had been light and I had seen the moment of impact it would have been even better. He got up and called his friend ok other then the shock of the impact and being rightfully pissed about breaking his wheel.

Scottsdale Quadruple Bypass.

2009-01-25T10:15:00.019-07:00

Erik from SMC called Friday and invited me on an all day suffer fest in north Scottsdale called a “Quadruple Bypass” that’s bypass as in your heart needing medical help. And help it needs after this ride. The Quadruple Bypass is only a 35 or so mile ride with over 6000 feet of single track climbing, rocky single track climbing. The trail takes you over 4 passes in the McDowell Mountains and then rolling single track in between. So while we finished it in just over 4 hours it is a hard fought few hours.
The group that left the parking lot was around 35 and apparently a MTBR group who meet every year to ride with each other. There where guys from California and New Mexico who had driven all this way for a good AZ ass pounding on some of our best trails. The trail system we rode is a combination of Sonoran desert preserve on the west side and County Park on the east side.
The group quickly divided into a number of smaller groups and Erik myself and Ben from the shop joined up with 6 other guys to make a fast assault team to ride the trail at a faster pace.
Coming up Wind Gate pass the tops of the mountains where still in the clouds adding to the “out back” feel of this trail system.
At Wind Gate there where still a number of people with us but as we made the next climb up Bell pass the group thinned. We also ran across a number of hikers at this point, the strange thing is about hikers on these trails that as apposed to an adversarial stance they always cheer you on, and at the pitch these trails rise you need all the support you can get.
Coming down Bell back towards Scottsdale the trail gets amazingly steep. I have to admit I was the slowest one coming down, my handling is still not where it needs to be and my guts just are not up either.

Once down Bell you take some fun single track through housing developments and washes before you make the hardest though not steepest climb of the day up the Sunrise Trail. The first part of this climb is covered in baby heads so it’s tough to get a rhythm going. About a third of the way up however it turns into decomposed granite and you are on your way.
People began to slow down in our 9 person group however as the two previous passes had taken their toll. You could tell as Ben put it “people where starting to crawl into their pain cave.”
Once down Sunrise you are back over on the east side of the mountain range and you get a bit of a break from single track by riding for a few miles on jeep trails. This quickly gives way however to more epic single track rolling in and out of washes.
Before you know it however you are at the finale climb of the day re-approaching Wind Gate this time from the east thus completing the loop. At this point our group of nine had fragmented even further so that me and this guy from New Mexico whose name I can’t remember pushed each other over the top.
Looking up at the last hill.
Another hard hitting member of our group was this 16 year old kid Scott on his 29er single speed. Kids this hard core aren’t born every day but he is from Mesa so what else would anyone expect? We are all pimp tough here.
Also kudos to Erik who did the whole ride on a 6 inch travel bike. All be it his 6 inch travel bike is almost as light as my race bike. He was a daredevil as always on the down hill and the rest of us on hard tails and short travel bikes go the hell out of the way for him coming down.
All in all it was a great day on the bike. Perfect weather, good conversation and hard ass trails. Rides like this require the Ergon pack on the back though next time I will do a better job of filling it with food. Ben gets the last picture of the day to sum it all up.

2009-01-22T22:06:00.003-07:00

After only a few weeks of full finger gloves I am back to the half finger roadie gloves. Heck this year I didn’t even break out my thick gloves or shoe covers. I know the rest of the country is having a cold winter but here in AZ Al Gore finally came through with my global warming. Thankfully all the driving to and from the trail is paying off.

Tonight though the legs where just not feeling the intervals I wanted to put them through. Not having raced for a long time and not being used to the racing extremes this last weekend has been a bit tuff to recover from. It surprised me to see my heart race post event and see that I was at and over 90% effort for the first two hours of the race. That’s the kind of thing you just can’t do while training, and on the same token its something that’s hard to recover from.

Leadville bad ass Dave Wiens.

2009-01-20T13:38:00.001-07:00

Bryan over at Evomo did a great interview with Leadville legend Dave Wiens, you know the guy who beat The Lance Armstrong last summer. The guy is a family man with a real job so his insights into being a bad ass mountain biker are invaluable. Stop by and check it out.

First Arizona race of 2009.

2009-01-17T19:28:00.006-07:00

Today was the start of the Arizona series here in Phoenix so me and Mrs. Hosman where out in all our Evomo glory. Isn’t she the best looking girl in a skull shirt?
My group was the first to take off this morning at 8:30, as it is the marathon class we would be out there the longest so why not get any early start? I hate to say this with all the guys up north who will read it, but it was a beautiful day for racing. Try 75 degrees as a high, starting out I didn’t even put on arm warmers. I love Arizona!
Starting out I got one hell of a hole shot and once on the trail I was in the lead. A couple guys eventually got out ahead of me on the first two laps and I moved to the 6th spot but still had numbers 4 and 5 within 20 yards. On lap three coming into a wash I got a little bit too heavy with the RUKUS when jumping over a rock garden the force of which blew my tire off the rim leaving a hug dint as well as bringing me to a stop. It been so long that I have flatted that I sat there looking at my tire and didn’t know what to do. My reflex’s kicked in soon enough though and I made relatively quick work of the repair. However I had lost a number of spots and valuable minutes.

Once going again I made the 6 and a half mile loop just in time to be behind the entire beginner or “CAT3” class. This part of the story is hard to tell without using the word “cluster” but it sums it up better then anything else. Now I am all about people getting out and trying the sport and I hope they stay but to have to pass a hundred beginners on technical trails while racing is not so fun. In the loop I had to stop 9, that’s right 9 times to run around people or wait for them to get out of the way. Aggravating. Whatever, as long as they all come back I am OK with it.
Over the next few laps I was able to make up some time and get past a number of guys who got by me at the flat. However I did not catch the lead group, that pass once lost is hard to overcome. It was great to be back on the bike in a competitive way, it makes me feel more like a man and less like a cubical monkey.

SRAM change out.

2009-01-12T21:32:00.008-07:00

I got my MTB back from SMC today where I had a new X-9 derailleur put on to replace the destroyed XO. This is now the second XO that has gone down in a blaze of glory at my hand so I figure its time to move on to a slightly heavier, slightly more beefy tool.
Here are the last two to have gone by the way side, the complete one I actually had rebuilt a year or so ago but it was just not shifting right. I thought I would swing in the old trusty one this weekend but upon further inspection Craig saw a crack through the carbon fiber. Sad for me, it was time for a new one.
It shows the scars though of a year or so of service in Arizona. That’s what’s so cool about AZ the terrain just removes the unnecessary chunks of carbon for you so over time you have a liter then factory component.
On the ride tonight out and around the cannels in the desert it worked great. It is always a concern for me when any part of the drive train is replaced. It always seems they get replaced the week of a race. Maybe some better planning would be in order?

Group intervals

2009-01-11T09:20:00.002-07:00

I got out with the guys at SMC yesterday for a couple hours of hill intervals with the group. It’s an amazing to me how much more effort you put in riding with a group then by yourself. During the week I did hill intervals alone and my perceived exertion was through the roof. Yesterday though without even thinking about it my heart rate was right where it should be without the high perceived exertion. It must have something to do with the adrenaline of riding and competing with others but the same is true of racing. When I have worn a heart rate monitor during races my heart rate has been way higher then it seems I can ever get it alone.
While I was out I also figured out why I have been popping tubes all week. I have this sweet little tire tumor that looks like a little latex wart coming out of my tube. Of course before I saw it I was riding and cornering hard on the tire. Afterwards I got all cautious on my left had turns.

Speaking of racing next week is the first MBAA race. This year the series will start out at White Tanks Regional Park, by far the most boring of all the courses for the series. But this year it looks like we will be riding it backwards. I didn’t realize that and so I have not gone out there to pre-ride it and wont have time before Saturday’s race. I have found that even with the direction change courses like this are still pretty basic and though you have never ridden it that direction you remember all the turns.

Paying for years of help.

2009-01-09T08:37:00.002-07:00

For team Hosman there are trade offs. The more attractive feminine version of the team helps out at numerous races each year with bottle handoffs and hours on end sitting waiting for me to circle around. Literally years of service have gone into this on her part so it is only fitting that I make some sacrifices as well.
So last night I took the ever lovely Mrs. Hosman to The Lion King in Tempe's Gammage Theater. While musical theater is certainly not my thing, I mean really lets just admit to each other there is only one thing worse then live theater and that's musical theater. But me not liking it is besides the point, it made the wife happy and that's what really matters.
Gammage itself is pretty darn cool though, Frank Lloyd Wright designed so that has to count for something. Apparently though Frank wasn't to concerned about male comfort in the bathrooms because the urinals are way to close to each other and have no dividers between them. Not a fun experience in urination.

Thank you!

2009-01-07T07:18:00.001-07:00

Sponsors are a hard thing to come buy some times. When it comes to the current economic state of things it is even more difficult to find companies that are even able to support a rider or group of riders. That's why I am so thankful to further support this year from Maxxis tires and Motor Tabs. Motor Tabs even stepped in to support the Evomo team so it was a nice transition from personal support to team support. A couple new companies stepped up to support the Evomo team and by default me this year namely Simbree energy bars, Fluid recovery and Titec. Each companies has a new link on the side bar over there so check them out. I will of course be writing about each one as the season continues...season, like we have those in Arizona.

To start of the new sponsorship year I went out and did some way fun hill intervals! Hurray for hill intervals! It's good thing these make you faster or I would be ok with never doing them.

Ride to Tortilla Flats.

2009-01-04T09:17:00.011-07:00

So it has been almost two weeks without writing. It seems to be a common phenomenon on most blogs during the holidays and it looks like I succumbed to it as well. What with family in town and in my house and a little bit of sickness and my general laziness it just didn't get done.

Yesterday though Travis and I got out for an End of pavement ride out the salt river canyon through the Apache Trail.
The road was built on an old pack trail so the grade is perfect for making a lot of climbing without actually feeling a steep grade.
On the way out and back you go through some great rock formations as well as some good views across the Superstition Mountains.
Before you make the last climb to the end of the actual pavement you cross through Tortilla Flats. The restaurant there was cooking up breakfast so the smell of Bacon hung heavy in the air. It just doesn't seem fair this early in the morning.

As we went out the creek was still running strong after the last few weeks of rain.
Because we where up so early the whole way out we got passed by only 4 cars allowing us to pretty much own the road. It seems that during the week all I do is peddle in straight lines so the old curvy road was a blast.

Dog day on the bike.

2008-12-23T23:03:00.004-07:00

My bad mojo I put on the rain last night by saying how much I loved riding inside worked, no rain today. In addition I have the next three days off work for the holiday so tonight was the first night of some good rides to come. I will be focusing on some distance and as I don't have the derailleur on the MTB replaced yet it will all be on the road. No problem though because you have so much better control over effort on the road bike.
With all the heavy rain yesterday there where quote a few puddles to cross tonight.
A couple miles away from home I got suckered into helping a dog that was running free int he street.
I came a upon him as he walked right into an intersection narrowly avoiding being hit. I have a huge soft spot for dogs so I had to stop. All he had was his county registration so I called animal control first but they close at 4PM, I guess animals in the city of Mesa only have between 7 and 4 to get lost. So I called the cops because after all he was a traffic hazard, they said "we cant take him if he is under your control." So i said "How about I hold him until the cop gets here and then I will let him go and the cop can catch him again." The dispatcher agreed and so the dog and I hung out for a while.

Inside riding is so much cooler then outside.

2008-12-22T21:20:00.006-07:00

The rain is back and you know what that means? Yes, your right, great rides inside the house! Strapping your bike to an inside trainer is so much more fun then peddling it outside in the light of day. I mean look at the view in front.
Whats even better is watching the hills pass away under your tires. Now if I am lucky, and I think I will be there will be more great riding like this tomorrow.

Dance hippies it's the solstice.

2008-12-21T20:57:00.005-07:00

That's right party people today was the winter solstice, so raise your hands and dance with the other hippies to celebrate the shortest day of the year. For you my fellow bike riders this means more time starting tomorrow for day light hours to ride in. I for one am pumped to have more day light hours to ride in, its hard to keep the motivation up when I think that EVERY day light hour is spent inside the office.
Yesterday though I didn't get out to ride with anyone because I got to help a family member move. From what I heard though hardly anyone showed up for the group ride so I didn't miss out. It seems that holiday time is no ride time for most people and then add on top that its cold in the mornings and it just makes so very easy to sleep in and sleep off last nights eggnog.

Good music to ride to.

2008-12-18T21:29:00.005-07:00

All the heavy rain we have been having this week blew off this morning and by tonight when I was ready to go ride even the clouds where gone. No clouds mean its clod outside, granted not as cold as the rest of the world but for me it was pretty chill.
With the entire ride being in the dark the Ipod comes in really handy. One record that has been scratching me where I itch is The Killers new album Day and Age. The big sound of the album fits well with the dark nights out in the desert under the stars. I have to be totally honest and say that I have a bit of a man crush on The Killers, it has been growing over the last couple years and so when I saw that they are not coming on tour to AZ I was a bit sad.
After you give the album a listen you too can decide if you are human or dancer.

Who wants to buy my used stuff?

2008-12-16T21:45:00.007-07:00

As I didn't have any luck selling my Kona as a complete bike at a great price I broke her down and am selling her peace by peace and now you get the shameless sales pitch once again, only this time with new prices for individual parts.

The 20 inch frame is selling for a smoking $450.00. for that price you get a scandium frame with carbon break stays and 2 1/2 inches of travel. It likes fast rides across the desert and going down hill fast.
Next is this Fox F80 RLT that only got ridden for 8 months before I made the switch to the 29er. As it came off a 20 inch frame the steerer tube is long, like 9 inches. Can you believe it is only $250.00? I cant.
Here we have an XT crank at the 175 mm length. She still spins great and only costs $80.00
Nothing would look quite as nice with that crank as these here XT breaks. The levers are brand new and the callipers are only a few months older. they stop nice and come with all the mounting hardware but no rotors. At $200.00 who could say no?
And here is a Chris King headset for only $80.00. So pretty.
How about a Ritchy WCS riser bar for only $50.00?
Drop me a response on the blog here and it can all be yours.

Tis' the season.

2008-12-10T20:54:00.004-07:00

The temperature has came down and the lights have came out. It certainly does make these night rides more interesting to be out looking at the variations that are out there. It sure is a shame that the race Saturday didn't last longer then 3 hours, I am feeling great right now. Unfortunately I have another month before the first MBAA race and as of now there is no telling if there is a marathon event or if I will be in the Pro field. If it goes Pro then it it will just take a couple weeks of intervals to get the motor up to speed for the shorter event.
Also this weekend is the infamous Hosman family Christmas party. this years theme is "Cosby sweater Christmas." There will be prises for the ugliest Cosby sweater. Stay posted for the contestants.

Dawn to Dusk is just too easy.

2008-12-08T08:05:00.002-07:00

So sometimes things just don’t work out the way we want. After a couple months of anticipation and training I got out to the race on Saturday and off to a great start. My first two laps around the almost 16 mile course where completed within 2 minutes of each other and as I started out on my third I was feeling good and warmed up so I kicked up the pace. Up the first six miles my pace was 4 minutes faster then the first two laps so I knew I was moving up….and then had a great idea. Things are going so well I thought I need to make this more challenging. So I arranged for a stick to break my XO derailleur into a few different peaces. Then I limped and pushed my bike in to complete lap three.

I then figured that instead of simply pushing my bike around the track for the rest of the day I would convert my 27 speed drive train into a single speed using the remaining portion of my derailleur as a chain tensioner.
I got back up to the top of the track and then decided that really this whole “race all day” thing is just to easy and I should take pity on the rest of the field so I went ahead and over torked the remaining portion of my derailleur and chain breaking both. So on lap four I was back to walking.

By the time I got back around to complete lap four I was done for the day and figured that with such a good start I should just go home. The rukus had been brought so my job was done.
Honestly what are we to do as mountain bike racers when all the training and time breaks done on one freak accident? My answer is get out and train for next time.

2008-12-05T18:09:00.003-07:00

Come one come all and see what all the spandex is about. tomorrow is the Dawn To Dusk race and you can come see me suffer for 10 or so hours on the bike.

follow the link for directions.

Did some one say angry snake?

2008-12-03T21:53:00.005-07:00

So you would think that early December is late for snakes right? well not so much this year I guess. I took the mountain bike out for a ride after flatting two times on the road bike before leaving the house. I rode out the canal system by my house that takes me right out to the desert. as I am cruising along with the lights I cant believe my eyes to see this fella spread out in the road.

Apaches from what I hear will not cross the path of a Rattle snake so I took this opportunity to turn around.

I think there are two reasons he was pissed off. Option one was that he could smell the cooperate stink on me because I still had work socks on.

Option two was that he was the model for the Evomo Venom shirt and he didn't get his royalty check from Bryan.

2008-12-01T21:07:00.006-07:00

Thanksgiving day MRS. Hosman had A triathlon. the goal was to do the sprint distance in 1:30 and with all her training she was primed and ready to go.

At race start she was off to a good run.

Her transition to the bike was the best part though and she was able to make good time by rolling fast. Over the last couple weeks she has gone out and I have paced her so she could get more used to the faster pace and it payed off on race day as she passed a number of people on this portion.

After the bike it was time for the weak spot in the training, the swim. Not being a tri guy (I look bad in a bakini) puting the swim in at the end is back words but as it was at a pool it seemed logical. Unlike all the dudes I saw in tankinis, thats just wierd. She didnt lose much time though and she was able to come in at 1:16. Freaking rad. I just can't say how proud I am of the Mrs'.

Round two, up the Chamberlin trail.

2008-11-28T22:20:00.010-07:00

For day two I decided to take what is called the Chamberlain Trail to the north west.while this ride was only 50 miles in that 50 miles you climb 4,500 feet up and over a couple mountains to get to highway 260 between Payson and Header. On the way out I crossed through what is called the Bar X ranch. the brand mark for the cattle is displayed above the gate to let you know where you are, sort of like cowboy tagging so you know who's hood your in.

It seemed like all week I was seeing deer all over the place but I was finally quick enough to catch this picture of a little White Tail at the bottom of Heggler creek before benign the climb.

This sign pretty much summed up the days ride.

the road/trail is graded in the old school fashion so that the grade takes you not through the easiest way but rather right to the top of the mountain.

At the top you are out of the juniper and up in the pines before you drop right out the other side then back again to get home.

Nothing says good times though like a post ride cool down at the cowboy bar called "The Antlers" in town. Any establishment with a hitching post is good in my book.

My day three ride was interrupted by rain so I only made it about 10 miles before turning back. good thing I did though because it didn't let up all day and by the time I headed out the top of the rim was blanketed in snow. It's hard to believe but this is the very same aspen grove that was so sunny Monday. so goes the weather in Arizona

Climbing the Mogollon rim on a mountain bike.

2008-11-27T03:46:00.001-07:00

For the first ride back on the 29er I decided to take the 288 road north out of Young and climb the Mogollon Rim. My Dad made his famous whole wheat bread the day I got up to their house. I lived off the stuff it seemed like; nothing quite gives me the carb boost for a big day on the bike like whole grains.

There is only about 10 miles of actually paved road in the town so the first 1000 feet of climbing on the day was done with the fork locked out.

Eventually the pavement went good bay and it was all dirt all the time.

To get to the actual top of the rim you have to climb a lesser rim below the Mogollon called the Naegelin Rim and so combining the two you have 25 miles of dirt road up and out before you hit highway 260.

Upon top you get to actully ride through some Aspens which is differnt for Arizona.

The plan was to make the climb, hit some single track, enjoy the view off the top of the rim and then come on back down to a forest service road marked 128 which would then loop me along the top of the Naegelin Rim looping me back west where I would intersect with a couple other forest service roads connecting me to a road called the “Chamberlain Trail” which would intern take me back south east to Young. Here is the top of the rim looking west.

This is looking south to Young.

I got back down the rim and to the 128 trail and then took it east on the top of the Naegelin Rim. A few miles in I came to a road block where the forest service had dead ended the 128 but people had promptly created a cut around to bypass the obstructions put up. No problem I thought I have directions on which roads out there to take so it won’t be an issue. As it turns out though it was a problem. When they took out the road they then went out there and took down all the other road numbers beyond it. I didn’t really think about it until I was a good 10 miles out there and realized “I dot know where the hell I am.” By this time it was getting later and the sun sets early this time of year so light was becoming an issue or at least it would in a little while.

I followed my gut and ended burying myself way down at the bottom of a canyon that ended up being a dead end and on the north side of the rim, which as it turns out is the wrong side of the rim. Now I was pissed, while I knew how to get out it was just 10 miles of back tracking. So I started back.

As I climbed out of the canyon I saw that birds where beginning to roost in the trees for the night and the sun was actually almost down. There wasn’t much I could do though in the way of moving faster because by this point I was pretty well blown out.

I got back after dark and found myself very thankful that the majority of the road home once on 288 was down hill. For the day I climbed 7000 feet, rode 80 miles and did it all in 7 hours. Not supper fast but today speed wasn’t the point.

I found myself thankful to have the Ergon BD2 pack today though. I was able to fill that thing up with food and all the extras. Next time though I will take more then just written directions in it and add a map as well.

Back on the 29er and into the old west.

2008-11-26T17:11:00.007-07:00

Over the last few months to the new reader of this blog the title “Arizona MTB racing; The Mountain Bike Life” may seem a bit strange because all I seem to be doing is road riding. Well to tell you the truth my main ride the 29er Cannondale which is my main ride has been out of commission, but last Saturday I got it back together and promptly took the last three days off work, drove north and spent the last 4 days riding the heck out of that bike.

I went to stay with my parents in Young Arizona, a cool little country town that to get to a person has to drive 25 miles on a dirt road. Once there you find a about 1000 people, a store, a bar and a couple other buildings including a post office and that’s it. The town sits right in the middle of a valley surrounded by mountains that reach up to 7000 feet and it’s at 5000 so regardless of which direction you go you are climbing, which as it turns out is just what I need.

The riding is mostly jeep trails but the terrain is hard core. With names for locations such as “Dead Boy Point” “Multiuse Gap” and “Hells Gate” you know you are in the right place for some killer mountains. I mean “Dead Boy Point” Doesn’t sound like the kind of place you would want to raise a family but it makes for a hell of a climb.

The area has some amazing old west history as well. Back in the late 1800’s there was “the Pleasant Valley War” which was your classic land war but with the two opposing family’s actually totally killing each other. As you ride through the valley you can’t help but see the reminders of the war from the grave of the first victim

To the gun ports carved out in the old homes in the area.

Hell these people were so into it they no joke carved gun ports in the out houses. Talk about bring the rukus.

So with Young as my base of operations and miles of wild open country to roam it was time to get my ride on.

Mustache Options for a bike race.

2008-11-21T08:36:00.004-07:00

So with my next race only a few weeks away and it being in the winter I thought that I would grow my beard to keep the old face nice and warm. However the weather has been uncooperative as of late and the temperature has stayed in the mid 80’s for the past few weeks so now I am rethinking the possibilities for the crop of hair I have grown. To aid in the decision making I have assembled some possibilities of what could be. Here is a picture of the growth as of a couple weeks ago.

Because the weather may still be warm smaller may be better. Because I am a stylish man maybe the pencil mustache would be a great choice. It says “yea I may be riding a bike now but in a couple hours I will be having cocktails and a sophisticated conversation about architecture and world hunger.”

In the same vain is the porn mustache and who better to illustrate this then Ron Jeremy? This definitely rates high on the creepy factor and could do one of two things on race day. Option one would be that it encourages people ahead of me to ride faster to keep away. Option two would be that they let me pass because they just want to stay away.

The next option would be the sweet full bodied mustache of Mark Spitz. The fact that he is in a Speedo is just a plus. There is definitely something intimidating about a stache that thick, you know that if he can do that with his facial hair he can pretty much do anything.

The bad ass factor brings us next to the Samuel Jackson from Pulp Fiction. Here we begin to bring in the side burns and handle bar stache to complete one tough look. Because I have a pair of guns on the back of the jersey this one has some real potential.

In the same ball pack is the biker mustache sideburns combo of Lemmy. If you don’t know who Lemmy is then you need to find out.

I could channel the Force with the “Jedi.” A simple grooming would clean what I got already and maybe that could help me focus during 12 hours of riding.

If you have any other suggestions let me know but these are the current front runners.

2008-11-18T21:50:00.003-07:00

Had a great ride with Brian tonight out and over Usury Pass. It was funny at one point because this coyote came running across the road to our left in plain view of streetlights and us and then proceeded to trot along behind us for a while. Having lived in Arizona most of my life I have had all kinds of experiences with coyotes, they have to be my favorite desert animal. It’s almost like they just ignore humans until they want to eat your cat and because I don’t like cats we get along.

Also yesterday a friend of ours sent over our Halloween pictures. For some reason we didn’t get any of our costumes this year on our own camera. We like theme costumes and as the Hosman name is German we went with a Bavarian theme that unfortunately for the dogs because we don't have kids they get included getting dressed up as well.

I refuse to spend a lot of money on costumes because I feel they have to be at least some what home made so Sarah did all the work on mine with items one can only find at Wal-Mart. Some one asked me “does it always have to be some what gay with your costumes?” intimating that maybe my shorts could be a little to short, to which I responded that “yes, it does always have to be a little gay because that’s funny.” There is nothing more hilarious I think then a really manly man acting a bit fruity. The more manly the man the funnier it is.

2008-11-15T16:10:00.003-07:00

Well the couple months of solid riding are starting to pay off. Today we did the climb up South Mountain 2 x and I felt great, not just great but for the first time climbing up that thing I felt my rhythm return and I just motored right on up. My climbing style is different then a lot of peoples because I don’t have the muscle mass to push big gears standing up to drop the hammer. For me I have to sit in the saddle and just spin away relying on the lungs and heart to get me up and over. It works pretty well but when those two parts of the body are under trained then I just feel awkward on the bike and can’t get my legs to move in a way that feels right.

Eric the manager at SMC was on the attack though and I knew from the get go it was going to be a battle. First only the harder riders showed up, then on the way out he was pushing the pace. By the time we hit the actual mountain it was on. He Travis and I split from the group and the three of us where off to the races.

The wind was blowing in our faces for most of the way but with as curvy as the road is we would dive into a corner and be out of the wind for a second and then come out and have it right in our faces again. Have I ever said how much I hate wind? Can’t stand the stuff. We where on our way to a battle royal on the last section to the radio towers when we saw they had it blocked off to bikes. So we didn’t get to see who really had the stuff to make it to the top first. Maybe next time.

Dogs in Tee shirts and heavy metal.

2008-11-13T20:48:00.002-07:00

I wish I could have gotten a picture of the REZ dog that chased me tonight. I was riding along at about 20 mph when this Pit Bull mix came charging out at me wearing a Tee shirt. Thankfully he wasn’t out for blood, just the chase but with as close as he was to me and as rocky the road is I couldn’t get a picture. But really who gets chased by a dog wearing a Tee shirt?

I meet up with Brian for a trip around Usury Pass but half way up the climb he got a roofing nail in his tire and didn’t want to carry on in the dark with a huge hole in his tire. Strange I know. So all I had to keep me company was the new Metallica album “Death Magnetic” I am telling you this album rocks so hard I nearly lose my balls each time I listen to it. You know an album is good when every song is at least 7 minutes long. I was raised on Metallica but had sworn off of them for years because they just seemed to have lost the punch that made them cool when I was a kid. With this album though they are back and even cooler then I ever remembered. You should totally check it out, great music to ride to.

2008-11-12T22:12:00.002-07:00

So two things caught my attention tonight. First was this sign.

Do you think they really lost their parrot or where kids just putting this out to screw around? If it’s for real who the heck is going to go through the hassle of trying to catch a bird? A dog? Sure, I’ll put some effort into that but I wouldn’t know the first thing about catching a freaking parrot. My luck I’d catch the parrot that knows to go for my eyes to defend itself and I’d go blind just trying to do the right thing. And after all its dark outside, a parrot would have to pretty much fly right into my face for me to even notice it.

Second was the sunset. The color was a deep red which tells me that it won’t rain tomorrow; you know red at night sailor’s delight? I have found that it holds true but then again I live in the desert so I’m not taking too big of a chance by guessing it won’t rain tomorrow. I had to get my face into the shot for the camera to focus and not wash out all the color with the flash. It’s my scared face.

2008-11-11T07:52:00.003-07:00

By looking at the pictures of Miss Hosman you would think it was frigid cold out side last night and not in the mid 50's. Granted I did put on the arm warmers but the wife is way more sensitive to cold then even me and I would put myself firmly in the "Tittie Baby" Category when it comes to cold weather.

We got out though for an hour together and road around down town Mesa and our surrounding hood. She has a Triathlon coming up on Thanksgiving day so here training is ramping up and tonight we got to get out together for a while. Its nice to ride with each other every now and again. Most of the time it is hard though because of work schedules and different training needs. I mean go figure she doesn't want to do 2 hour rides at 21 MPH, who would think that?

After an hour together we went our different ways so I could get in an extra few miles and she could get dinner ready. Big night

How to avoid a bike gang fight.

2008-11-10T09:16:00.003-07:00

Had a bang up ride Saturday with the boys from South Mountain. We actually broke out of the normal routes and headed up to Scottsdale for a ride around Camel Back and Mummy Mountains. I kept waiting to get jumped by rival bike gangs for breaking out of my territory, kind of like the fight scene in Anchor Man. There are defiantly three camps of cyclists in the Phoenix area, those from my hood in the east valley, think of them as the working class guys. There are the Ahwatukee guys who are kind of new money and then there is Scottsdale which is all up in the business old money. Scottsdale guys are the ones in the full pro team kits with the team bike right down to the tubular wheels on a training ride. To get from one gangs' hood to another's you have to pass through the no-mans land of Tempe.

Tempe is where all the hipsters and collage kids live and go to school at ASU. Typically this would be a good thing as there are lots of hot chicks to look at along the way, that's assuming your not rolling through at 7 am when they are all sleeping off Fridays parties. surprisingly we got through the whole three hour ride without having to come to blows with any one. Good thing id hate to have to break out my G style on anyone out there.

Kona Mountain bike for sale.

2008-11-05T20:05:00.002-07:00

Is it tacky to sell your own used bikes on your own blogspot? If it is I don’t care because as I said a few months ago I am over selling stuff on MTBR and so here is the bike for sale and I am asking $1300.00

Kona Leroi 20 inch
Scandium/carbon frame
Fox RLT 80mm front fork and Fox RP3 in the back with 2 ½ inch travel.
Shimano XT crank and hydraulic breaks. I ordered them new a few months ago and they have maybe 6 rides on them.
SRAM XO rear derailleur and XT front
XP shifters. Ritchy pro carbon seat post and WCS handle bar.
FSA wheel set.

It’s a great set up and a great riding bike, if you are over 6 foot it should fit you fine. I am just loving my 29er so much that I never ride it and want it to stop looking at me and making me feel guilty.

Freedom to ride.

2008-11-04T20:39:00.002-07:00

Thankfully my employer has a very patriotic view of November 4th. Being as how it is Election Day they give us two hours at any point in the day paid to get out and vote. Being the crafty guy that I am I took it at the end of the day, voted, and then celebrated my freedoms by going on a bike ride in the day light with Travis.

Here is a sweet close up view of the beard I am growing in. I have taken a vow of not shaving for the next month until the Dawn to Dusk race December 6th. Sarah is not too pleased with the idea but I keep telling her it’s necessary to keep my face warm in the cold weather. Unfortunately she has been married to a cyclist for to long and countered with “well won’t the extra fur on your face slow you down? I mean you do shave your legs.” I need to stop explaining so much to her.

2008-11-03T07:45:00.001-07:00

In the Hosman house Halloween is a big deal. The wife and I always like dressing up and getting into our community trunk or treat giving candy to the kiddies. This year we went German. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures at the party we went to because by the time we thought about pictures we had already gotten out of the outfits. Here I am though at the work party in my shortly short lederhosen, and yes that's Santa Claus there. At my job we pride ourselves on thinking ahead so one team skipped right on by Halloween to Christmas.

With the late night Friday it was tough to motivate myself to get out Saturday morning but I made it anyway. It was hill sprints in Ahwatukee with the group. Short steep climbs which account to be intervals is something I have not started yet so I wasn't feeling it all morning but I made it up and over anyways for 2 1/2 hours. The majority of the group called it quits after an hour or so.

On the groups flat out warm up section we where moving in a pace line at about 30 miles an hour when in front of me I heard a wheel blow. I held my line because I didn't see anyone make any funny moves but then I heard another pop. At that point I figured someone's tire blew both tires in under ten seconds and I braced for the ensuing crash. Finally one guy pulled out he right keeping his bike under control. Turns out his tire popped off the rim and then popped the tire. It was enough o make me crop a load in my pants though.

2008-10-31T09:36:00.005-07:00

So this is what my entire ride looked like last night.

One of the nice things about reaching Fall/Winter is that there are less people on the highway going along the Salt River. For the whole 8 mile stretch I only got passed by one car and with there being no moon out the road was dark enough that I just jumped out and took up the whole lane. The benefit is that I can see the headlights of cars coming miles away, its nice to own the whole road every now and again.

After the ride it was dinner time with the lovely Miss. Hosman. An enjoyable dinner out side in late October is defiantly a benefit to living in Arizona. We had some errands to run to get ready for Halloween, it's our favorite holiday and our costumes are great this year. I'll keep you posted with the results.

2008-10-29T08:33:00.002-07:00

I cut out of work a little bit early yesterday, I just wasn't feeling it and besides I wanted to log some long miles. I rode out to Usury Pass and put the hammer down on some climbing out there. I don't know why but out there along the side of a mountain there is a sign painted on a mountain saying "Phoenix" with an arrow on it pointing the direction of Phoenix. I have never heard why its out there or who put it up but its huge. You cant really see it to well because by the time I got out there it was getting a little dark and I wasn't going to slow down long enough to take a good picture of it.

By the time I got up and over the pass and down to the river the sun had gone down and I was left to just look at the changing color of the sky. I realized the other day I have lots of pictures of others on he blog lately but few of myself so here is the side of my head mixed with the sun set.

When I got home tonight I found that the city of Mesa had installed two Yield signs on each end of my street. No one told me they where going up but with all the kids on the street and the speed at which most people going flying through there its about time. In a neighborhood meeting I suggested speed sensors that would be triggered when a driver exceeded the speed limit and then spikes would pop out of the road slashing their tires. I'm sorry to see the city didn't take me up ion this idea. The spikes would allow us time to get out of our homes and beat the offenders until they get the point not to speed on streets where kids play.

Running is for chumps

2008-10-28T08:02:00.003-07:00

The ride Saturday was the longest ride for me in a couple of months. Travis and I rode up South Mountain 2X for a total of almost 4000 feet of climbing on the day and 60 miles. We started out with a group and on our first time up the mountain we rode alongside some runners who apparently started a 10K out there. Just watching the primitives running about ruining their knees was enough to make not want to run.

On our second time up no one from the group was game for a second climb but with the ever cooling weather you just have to take advantage. We where able to ride until 10 AM which is just unheard of only a month ago. But there was an upshot to climbing again and that was that we ran into our friend Lane who also rides out of Focus Cyclery.

Lane is one of the coolest guys on a bike and add onto of that that he can climb like a raped ape he is always good to spend some time with. Today was no different as he pounded us up the mountain. You just cant get faster though riding with people who are slower then you. On the way back we rode across the track of the runners and one guy looked up and said "I would pay just about anything for that bike right now." Sucker.

How to become an angry cycling gorilla.

2008-10-24T07:19:00.003-07:00

A couple weeks ago on a group ride a question came up between a couple guys in front of me about riding a road bike with mountain pedals. They allowed as how no one does it because it’s just silly, I chimed in with “T-Rav rides on mountain pedals.” “Really? T-Rav is riding mountain pedals?” Some one else chimed in saying “Did you ever hear the story about how T-Rav beat down two teenagers at a stop light for slapping his ass?” “What the crap, are you serious?” responded the other “O-yea” said the first “apparently some kids slapped his ass in traffic but then got stuck at the next light. T-Rav was so enraged he tore off their mirror and then knocked them both out when they got out to confront him.” A silence feel between the two and all you could hear was the churning of wheels and cranks when finally the other responded “I guess he can use whatever kind of pedals he wants then.”

It’s strange how lore starts within any group of people. In cycling a person has to create their reputation one hill climb, one line sprint, and one amazing race at a time. Below is a list of possible ways to create a legend for yourself. Keep in mind some of these things may have already been done by the original Ruckus bringer himself so try to invent your own and not steal his, it could be dangerous.

#1 Establish your dominance over a pack of roadies by smoking them for 50 miles on a fixed gear. When they ask you with fear in their eyes every other week if you brought your fixie out to play you know they respect the authority.

#2 Have tails told about how when climbing, not deciding, you snapped the top tube of a steal frame into two peaces. This one I saw with my own eyes, the man stood up on the pedals cranking the bike back and forth when the air was stabbed with the sound of rending metal. Sure enough two peaces right across the top.

#3 Drive point #2 home by breaking every other mountain bike you own in like manner on a yearly bases.

#4 Stop with every person on the group ride who has a flat and stay with them until they have it fixed. As friendly as this one sounds it’s actually a subtitle intimidation. As it turns out people fix tires much quicker with a 6’4 210 pound man staring at them while they fix the tire. But you can play this one off to seem friendly at least and size does help the intimidation.

#5 Have so much scare tissue on your knees from going down that when you fall in the future and tear open the knee it doesn’t bleed. Scare tissue as I found out isn’t full of capillaries at all, just weird white grisly skin.

These are all just suggestions and your ability to carry them out depends on a number of variables but I think you get the right idea.

HA HA!

2008-10-21T08:24:00.003-07:00

Someone forwarded me this picture yesterday because clearly if I like mountain bikes I like seeing people fall off of them. OK their right, I do like seeing people fall off their bike, especially those people who ride in red hammer pants and an orange safety vests. What is up with the vest anyways? Is that to warn woodland creatures off your coming? But don't they see in black and white?

This reminds me of one time I was out riding with Travis and he went down deciding the mine shaft out at Hawes. Being behind him and watching the whole thing happen I had to laugh, I mean come on people falling is hilarious. He got butt hurt about it and I had to remind him to chill out and that if the tables where turned he would be laughing at me if it was me. Then a hour or so later I had to put my Camelback down and when I picked it up I swung it over my back. The next thing I know I am screaming in pain and Travis is laughing at me. I neglected to look at the pack to see a peace of Cholla attached to it which then slammed into the small of my back. Travis couldn't stop laughing at the way Karma just up and kicked my ass in his favor. So now when I laugh I just keep it to myself.