The B1 Project Part II: Kinky Bars and Lost Bearings

So I finally figure out the shim job. I have all the parts. Now I just need to throw together the B1 and I will have my very own TT rocketship.

I figure the first step is to put on my new kinky aerobars – fresh from the dirt cheap bin at the mail order catalog. But first, since I have the damn thing almost apart I might as well overhaul the headset right? So I pull the fork out and hear something vaguely like dry bearings bouncing all over a concrete floor – I look down and low and behold – IT IS dry bearings bouncing all over the concrete floor.

WTF? I new the top bearings were sealed in a cartridge – who the hell combines sealed cartridge bearings on top with loose bearings on the bottom? Apparently our good friends at Cane Creek, that’s who. Rookie mistake – should have seen that one coming. Well I pick up all the bearings I can find, there are 23, that doesn’t seem quite right. Time for another trip to the bike shop.

I head to the closest bike shop (besides Reed’s, but I can’t go there because they sponsor the evil empire – and I am bitter because he beat me in Emmett last year). I go to Meridian Cycles, buy some bearings, chat about the ‘affordable’ Zipp 404’s and head back home. Good shop, I will go back.

So a fist full of bearings, some grease, and kinky bars and I am one step closer…

Around the Horn

I made it. Against all odds I made it. Yes I think I have shaved my legs year round for the first time ever. No clippers and gnarly hair balls for me this year baby! Now, I wonder if that tan line is ever going to go away – I have only had it 5 years. Hmm, that’s probably not good.

When you are a cyclist of the leg shaving variety you get the leg shaving question frequently – as in ‘Why do you do it’. Most are under the impression that it is for aerodynamics and speed. I don’t think that is quite right, but I did find this article that says shaving will save you 5 seconds over a 40K timetrial http://www.damonrinard.com/aero/aerodynamics.htm of course that was in 1990 – the air is thicker now with all that CO2 (right Al Gore)?

The other answer which I have used is that when you shave your legs it is easier to clean out all the crap in your road rash when you fall. I crashed twice last year to test this out – ultimately the parts that got the most scraped up where not particularly hairy in the first place so it was all for not.

My favorite answer is that I shave my legs because ‘chicks dig it’. I don’t really know about this one either. I think my wife lies just to make me feel better.

Any of these answers sound better than what I think is the truth – vanity.

Limited Gears + Limited Fitness = Limited Results?

The first race of the season came all too early on Saturday – the annual limited gear race. Fresh off my favorite holiday (not) and feeling violated yet well lubed from my annual physical the day before I was a bit apprehensive about racing.

On the bright side, it was obvious from the beginning that the one thing that wouldn’t be limited on this day was the number of LAC team mates. We had 8 guys lined up for the start of the 15 mile race – the first time I have ever seen us out number the Lost River guys.

As the race started I could hardly keep from giggling like a little boy as I sat back and watched 6 LAC riders echeloned across the front of the pack. There was black and blue on the front nearly the entire race, even a few LAC pacelines. The first half of the race was pretty uneventful with the exception of the field getting strung out a few times on Kuna-Mora Road when my newest LAC teammate Shane L. went to the front and drove for a bit. As we turned onto Cloverdale Kurt Holzer put in a few attacks, each time getting chased down by LAC guys with Dwayne S, Jason K, Chris C, Mark B and John Y all spending some time up front working. I mostly sat in the back giggling.

Approaching the final corner with about a half mile to go Kurt threw in another attack, Shane countered going into the corner and was off in a blurr of legs up the hill to the finish. I don’t know if I have ever seen anyone pedal so fast, yet go so slow – it was like a cartoon. A small group behind chased but couldn’t pedal quite as quickly. LAC riders Chris C and Dwanye S finished second and fourth respectively, with the rest of us finishing not far behind. I think I was still giggling.

All in all a great day for the team, a mediocre day for me, and a good time was had by all. Except for maybe Shane’s brother who had to wait in the car the entire time. Shane said it was ok, because he had his iPod – classic.

Three Pockets

I finally figured out why there are three pockets on the back of a cycling jersey. There is one for the tv remote, one for the vcr remote, and one for the dvd remote.

Oh god, it has been a long winter.

On the Road Again...

Woohoo it’s summer! Well maybe not, but it hasn’t snowed yet today.

Desperate to do anything but ride on my trainer or rollers I risked a bit of ice today to commute to work on the road bike. My first time outside in nearly two weeks.

I learned two things today on my commute. First, people that shovel the snow from the sidewalk to the road suck – I am going to add them to my arch-enemy list (shovels snow into the street guy). Second, that the Boise Greenbelt is consistently sloped towards the river – and the guys that maintain the Greenbelt plow the snow onto the uphill side. Oh I learned that ‘Stupid Girl’ by Garbage is one of those songs that get stuck in my head too.

All of the things that I learned today contributed to my difficulty in navigating to work safely. But hey at least I was outside.

Just occurred to me that I should summarize my training so far this year. This is my training blog after all. I put in a whopping 250 miles in January – oooooooo! I also put in an exciting 23 hours on the trainer – that’s a lot of videos!

Happy summer.

The B1 Project – shim job

With the roads all snowy I have little option but to turn my attention to the trainer, rollers, and other indoor pursuits. I have dubbed my latest indoor pursuit as the B1 project. It is my ambitious effort to convert my tired Bianchi road bike into a rocking time trial machine!

The cycling powers that be have taken it upon themselves to add a time trial stage race, a time trial series (with prizes), and a time trial to our spring series over the last few years. So given the new aspect of the race scene it is clear that I need another bike! Reality is however that I cannot afford a sweet new aero-tubed, disk wheeled, carbon framed Cervelo. Best I can do is slap some aero bars on the old B1 (every bike should have a name) – and there you have it, the B1 project.

Step one. The shim job. So I have an extra stem, and an extra fork – I am golden right? It seems not. Why oh why is there such thing as 1” and 1 1/8” stems and steering tubes. Furthermore, why do I have a 1 1/8” stem and a 1” steering tube? I think it is a plot to change sizes every few years to make sure that nothing is backwards compatible. This requires most people to buy all new stuff, or if you are to cheap it requires you to buy adaptors. Come to think of it, it generates an entirely new industry (what would Wheels Manufacturing do if they weren’t making adaptors)?

It so happens that the local bike shop has a shim that I can jamb on the steering tube to make my stem fit. Two dollars later I am golden right? Well almost, the shim is a little longer than the attachment deally on the stem – I need to cut it to fit, or find another shim that fits. I have wanted a tube cutter for a while anyway. I am off to the hardware store!

More later…