bent blog

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 07:31:48 -1000

My first 24 hour Mt. Bike race was a blast. I managed to only crash twice, loose my bike lighting once, and miss hitting the cows at night! I will let the photos do the talking. More later!

24 hours of hell in paradise

Thu, 4 Sep 2008 05:47:19 -1000

This Saturday I will do my first 24 hour Mt. Bike race. I have signed up on a 4 person team that only has two riders and on bike. I know it will all work out, but it’s Thursday already! I need to find a Mt. Bike or I will be doing the race cyclocross style! The race will take place at Kualoa Ranch, a spectacularly beautiful place complete with wild pigs and cattle. Talk about obstacles! It should be a good time.

Anybody have a Mt. Bike they want to loan me?

RAAM and the Carbon Aero

Tue, 2 Sep 2008 21:03:15 -1000

I am getting my old Carbon Aero back! Yeehaw!!! (Is that a word). Sara Kay will be shipping it from Kansas and I hopefully will be getting it in a couple of weeks. I bet your wondering why I am getting the old team bike back. Well..........., I am on a RAAM team with Larry Gram, John Tanner, and hopefully Michael Wolfe. I will use the team bike to train for the event in July of 09. How cool is that! There is actually a new Bacchetta Carbon Aero being tested right now, but I have a fondness for this machine. We have done a lot of riding together, and it will be good to give it a new home in Hawaii, and hopefully start a bent movement! Now if my team can just get use to me riding something different.

A day of racing, Hawaiian style

Mon, 1 Sep 2008 07:40:29 -1000

Yesterday was the last road race of the season, the DIck Evan’s Memorial. The race encompasses the whole island of Oahu, a full 112 miles of non stop racing with police escort through all of the intersections. The race starts conveniently in my “hood” (Hawaii Kai) with a neutral zone all the way through town (Waikiki and Honolulu) with the real start happening on Kunia Rd. You could feel the tension building before we hit Kunia. The peloton of 120 riders fell silent, and riders started jockeying for position. Because the climb is long, people got dropped fairly fast. The hill naturally separates rides and puts them into sub groups. I found myself in the first group when we hit the top, leading some, and watching Mike Zagorski go off the front. It was early so the pack let him go. We would not catch him again until Kaheohe. Amazing! Coming over the top and down Pineapple Hill towards Haleiwa Town was a blast, and heading out North Shore way with the peloton was a blur. We passed all of the major landmarks and before I knew it we were in Kaneohe. Over the saddle road to Kailua. This is where I lost the peloton. There were attacks going up, and I just could not keep up. I stayed with the second chase group for the rest of the course going up and back Olomana (my favorite loop on the island) and into Waimanalo . Over Makapu’u, then the downwind ride home to the finish in Hawaii Kia. I ended up 19th in a field of 120. There is no age or category breakdown for the Dick Evan’s, so I happy with that placing.

Riding with my team for this duration, this race, was really the winning deal. All of them are so easy going and giving. The top riders always share there knowledge with the rest of the team, especially during the race. And at the awards party the winners were so humble. Everyone was congratulating everybody that finished. My kind of people.

Tantalus morning ride

Fri, 8 Aug 2008 06:56:30 -1000

My team (Tradewind) has been doing wednesday morning rides up Tantalus in preparation for the Dick Evans Memorial Race. I was a little late, but caught the group on the downhill. I always forget how beautiful this ride is. Photos below.

Race movie!

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 23:45:35 -1000