New Stuff from Masi

Cafe Racer Solo

Masi/Haro is expanding their line of bikes. Tim Jackson (Masiguy) has been giving a couple of sneak peeks at what will be landing at a LBS near you. I really love the new commuter bike above. It's too bad that biking down Hwy 471 in the morning would be suicide. I would ride this thing anywhere.

Unexpected Metric

Went to a great organized ride on the Natchez Trace this past weekend. It was the Cyclists Curing Cancer ride, put on by the Baptist Healthplex in Clinton, MS. The proceeds are going to a serenity garden for cancer patients and their families. It's always great getting to do something as fun as riding a bike while helping a great cause at the same time. Cycling is more than just a great workout sometimes.


Well, I went expecting to do 50 miles. This was going to be pretty tough since for two months I had done triathlon training rides. Basically laying on the aerobars and hammering as hard as I could for 20-30 miles. I also wanted to get back to my house in time to catch the start of the Mississippi State and Auburn game. Well, to quote the LBS owner, if it has two balls and it's on two wheels, it's gonna race. We went the first 25miles at .5mph lower than my personal best. I was ready to cry uncle and turn around. Unfortunately, we had caught up with a guy I work with.


He said, "Come on, it's only six more out and back, then back in from here. Let's do the metric." Well, I couldn't get upstaged by a guy I see at work every day, so I went for it. Turns out, I was kicking some ass. I ended up pulling him and a few others to about the 55 mile mark, and I was turning at a great pace for me. I could have even rode off and left them, but I was all about being the stud that yanked the wheel suckers along.


Then my legs fell off. Everbody was sucking wind. No one could pull. We were fighting a hellacious head wind. Mortorcycles and cars were whizzing by, pissed at the group that looked like a bunch of drunk bikers struggling on flat ground. To top it off, I got in my car, turned on the radio, and found out I had missed MSU scoring the first thirteen points against Auburn.

Well, I got home, cracked a beer, turned on the game. My legs were throbbing, I was still breathing hard, and it was then I realized how much freaking fun I had. Even when it breaks you down into a whimpering puppy, riding a bike is exactly what Bobke said it is (see the quote at the top of the page).


Two other things made the day great:


and:

Sandestin Tri

See those two flags. The red and the purple one. The red means the water isn't safe for swimmers. So ofcourse, we swam in it. The purple on means "sea pests present." In other words, jellyfish are all over the damn place. I only got stung five times. Face, shoulder, back, chest, and ankle. Good times.

I did finish in under two hours, which was my goal. You'll notice down below the clock says 2:02 when I'm crossing, but our wave started five minutes after the first one. Here are some random pics. I had a great time. Great race, good location, just too damn many jellyfish.

Jellyfish suck.

Details to follow.

Finally reading Lance's book.

Don't ask me why it took so long for me to pick it up. You don't even have to be a cyclist to want to learn his story, but being a cyclist, I'm almost ashamed I haven't read it. I'm about half way through it right now, and I hope to finish it this weekend. I've got a tri down in Sandestin this weekend, so Friday night before the race will be good for a ton of pasta and some inspirational reading. If you feel like checking it out, here it is:



It was written before he won his last two Tours. Here, he's tied with Merckx, which at the point I'm at in the book, seems very appropriate. Also, check out Lance's foundation. Not everyone can win bike races, but everyone can help the fight against cancer.

http://www.livestrong.org/site/c.khLXK1PxHmF/b.2660611/k.BCED/Home.htm