Dual Threat

Super Bowl Sunday ride.

2012-02-05T15:30:00.001-06:00

I think this is the first time, or at least the first time I can remember going on a road bike ride on Super bowl Sunday. I may have went on a few mountain bike rides a long time ago, but nothing in recent memory. But today I got out for an hour and a half. This winter in Wisconsin has been great for being able to get out and ride. We keep waiting for the "really bad stuff" to hit, but it hadn't. And im ok with that. The more nice days we have the closer to spring we get.


Always recheck you stem after doing adjustments. This was driving me crazy the whole ride. Kept wanting to turn right.

The river was very calm and unfrozen today.

Bad start to the day.

2012-01-26T12:02:00.000-06:00

Its funny how a little piece of metal can run your day. Left for work yesterday morning, and the car just didn't sound or feel right. Pulled into a parking lot and took a look, damn flat tire! Drove over the the air pump. Four quarters later I was looking for a tire shop.And on the south side of JVL there's not a lot of places to have that done. But I found one. Lets just say they did a good job of fixing my tire, and I won't get into the fact that everything was covered in dog hair and smelled of dog pee! He got me back on the road, I wasn't later for work and its all good. So I took a picture of the little sliver, Its amazing how something can cause your world to get put on hold for a few minutes.

Thinking about France

2012-01-22T11:43:00.003-06:00

I just found this picture that one of our Guest took this year in France. If you can tell it was a wet and cold day. And this was almost to the top of a 10 or 12k climb. I was glad to see the top. On the decent the sun came out for a little bit and the road dried out, which made for a nice and fast decent. This was a nice day in the saddle.

Finally they have what I've wanted for years.

2012-01-20T21:07:00.001-06:00

Chris King has finally started making campagnolo freehub body's. Only available on the R45 hub but that's the hubs you want to use anyway. Now I just need to get a set.

Cyclesport Travel information meeting

2012-01-13T10:22:00.001-06:00

Cyclesport Travel/Cronometro

Cycling Vacation information night.

Have you ever thought about a cycling vacation in France, how about Italy? Thursday, January 19th is your chance to stop in and check out the great trips

Cyclesport Travel is offering for 2012.

The Pyrenees Playground Trip June 25th to July 7th
This trip include an opportunity to participate in the Ariegeiose Cyclosportive and ride virtually all the important Pyrenees climbs.
Castles, cave paintings, the Tourmalet, Plateau de Beille, Ancizan, Col dAspin, Col d Agnes, the Corniche and the Mamar are all
on the menu for this incredible experience.

This years L'Ariegeoise Cyclosportive will finish atop Plateau de Beille in the L'Ariegeoise 161km and La Mountagnole 117km events.

Tour de France trip July 9th to July 17th
Experience the TDF like the French villages do! We will let the Tour come to us in the our mountain village and ride up the Port de Lers to watch the pros!
Ride every day and come back to your cabin or head down to the local bar to watch the Tour excitement.

You will have the chance to ride the 18 percent grade on the last climb of stage 14 before the tour attacks it.

Italy, Gran Fondo Prosecco and Chianti October 1st -10th
Ride through two beautiful wine producing regions and celebrate by rolling through the Prosecco vineyards during the Gran Fondo on Oct 7th.
LINK TO GRAN FONDO PROSECCO

We will have wine and cheese snacks and lots of pictures of past trips.
Time: 6:00-8:00

We hope to see you then.
Colin, Dave, Mark and Scott

Cyclesport Travel is now able to take credit cards! Just our way of trying to make your trip more convenient.

Just wait 24 hours!

2012-01-12T20:10:00.001-06:00

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday the high in Madison was 55, today we awoke to 28 degrees, 20 minutes later it started to snow. Needless to say 28 was the high for the day. Made it to work scooped the sidewalk for the first time. 3 hours later did it again. And at 4:30 did it one last time. By the time o left for home, (45 minutes early) I would guess we had about 6" or more on the ground.
The drive home was when the fun really started. This is Wisconsin we are supposed to be able to drive in the snow. We shouldn't need to relearn this after every snow storm, should we!?! But I guess it has been a long time.
Few rules to remember:

Put the cell phone down!
Slow down, you don't want to stop, but slow down!
Look ahead, plan where you want to be before you need to be there.
Don't tailgate!
Four wheel drive is not FOUR WHEEL STOP!

OK, now i'm done.

Old memories.

2012-01-11T13:42:00.001-06:00

I use to help out a friend chase his Hot air balloon. We had a lot of fun, I even had the chance to go up a few times. I had forgotten how big they are.

Two rides in three days

2012-01-09T21:57:00.001-06:00

Started out 2012 with 2 rides in the first week. Took a couple of hours off work to ride out to Cross Nationals in Madison on Friday. And then got out for a couple more hours on Sunday. Two rides outside in January, and almost 50 miles. Works for me.

Happy New Year.

2012-01-01T09:13:00.000-06:00

I think I had about 4 last rides of the year in 2011. Each time it was thought that the weather couldn't hold out. And each time I was proven wrong, which is acceptable. Yesterday was the last "last ride of the year"!
It wasn't a big ride, all my last rides have been less then 25 miles. Yesterdays ride was 18.5. Cold, temps around 32 degrees, and a brisk south wind. Stayed on the bike path, the trees protected us from the wind. Near the end of the path we hooked up with an unwanted riding buddy. A stray dog decided to join us. Friendly pup, and fast! We tried to drop him a few times but his form was better then ours. So we used an old trick that I use to use in grade school. Stopped, looked at his collar and called his Mom! After a 15-20 minutes wait she arrived and took him home.
We headed back home, and ended my 2011 biking. Not bad for New Years eve in Wisconsin.

Sunday with the kids.

2011-12-11T11:19:00.001-06:00

Leslie is having a Ladies day. So I get to spend the day picking on the kids. Play a little football, watch a little football. And then we are going to the movies. Puss in Boots for the boys and I. And Braking Dawn for Rachel and a friend. Should be a fun day for all.

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Re riding the past.

2011-04-03T17:56:00.012-05:00

For some reason today I was thinking about old friends and old rides. When I first started riding I always rode by myself. I didn't know anyone that rode a bike, I saw people riding, but I had no way to contact them, out side of stopping them along the road and asking "can I ride with you?". I would see riders around McCook NE. usually when I was driving to or from work. But after a few month of riding around in town and on the highways I got to know a few people. Patrick, John, Randy, Linda were probably the ones that I met first. Just happened to be riding by Patrick's house early one morning and his wife yelled at me. There was a ride leaving from there house and she thought I was going with them, and had missed their house. So that was my first chance to ride with a group, a small group but still. We would do Saturday rides and when we could rides after work. Nothing too big 20-25 miles, but a whole lot of fun. And it got me into the bicycle loop in town.
There was another rider I would see, he had a red and white Schwinn. I always saw him riding on the highway by my work. I ask around with the other riders in town, someone said they thought he was a cop in town. But know one knew for sure.
I'm not sure how Paul and I finally met, but we did. He wasn't a city police officer, he was a Trooper for the Nebraska State Patrol. And riding was part of his wellness plan. I didn't care why he was riding just that he rode.
As the summer went on we rode more and more. I got to know his wife and two kids. We became good friends. You could say I leached onto them and kinda of a weird step brother that they never wanted. But they put up with me. Paul and I would do a lot of riding together. After I would get off work and on weekends we would do some longer rides. When it was really windy we would ride with the wind and his wife would come pick us up. Nothing like having your own team van!
I guess it was the first year that Paul and I started riding was when I met Rosemary, Quite the little Lady, My first encounter with her was along the road. I was riding by myself one morning. Just started down a hill when a Isuzu trooper pulls over to the side of the road, This CRAZY LADY jumps out, running at me, yelling and screaming. At first I have no idea what she is saying, or what she is wants. After a few seconds I could understand her, "Are you from around here?" Yes I said, Why? Well she was a cyclist that was moving to McCook. Her husband was going to work for the Community Collage, and she wanted have people to ride with. And she saw me riding on the road and had to stop and ask.
They would be moving from O.K.C. in the fall and she would get a hold of me when they were settled in.
That spring was a start of a lot of great rides for the three of us. Quick rides long rides it did not matter. We rode when we could and as often as we could. The funnest rides were the "Ride with the wind" rides. You could do a lot of mile in a short amount of time. Best way to describe it is forced motor pacing. And a lot of fun. Paul's wife and kids were the ones that would usually pick us up, and drive us back to McCook. I'm sure that was a ton of fun for her.
We made up rules as we rode, on a century ride we made a rule that after 75 miles, we were not responsible for what we said. Anything goes! Its probably best that I don't remember what happened after 75 miles. Some things were better left on the road.
One of our crazy "ride with the wind" rides was in April. The wind was out of the south, and it was blowing like crazy. We were headed north. North Platte to be exact. 65 miles straight north, this should be fun! And it was, big ring the whole way. 20 mph average. And yes Its it was 20.5 mph average to be exact, I check my old training log, and the date was April 8th 1990. Ride time 3:09:42 and 65.17 miles.
At 65 miles we didn't hit the don't ask don't tell 75 mile zone. I don't remember the whole ride but there was one indecent that I do remember. About half way into the ride Rosemary needed something to eat, and for what ever reason when she pulled out her Fig bars they slipped out of her hand and all over the highway. Now Rosemary and I were hungry. I cant remember if Paul went for the road kill or not? Rosemary and I did, like rats going after scraps. Big pieces, little pieces it didn't matter we ate it off the pavement! And we liked it!

And for some reason I had that pop into my head today. Good times, Good times!

Slow motion lightning

2011-03-24T15:12:00.001-05:00

Spring outside ride #2

2011-03-21T17:17:00.000-05:00

Got outside today, a little over 2 hours. Nothing to crazy just a little bit of fun. Will need to do for a few days, looks like some more snow this week.

Untitled by dualthreat at Garmin Connect - Details

What are you training for?

2011-02-14T14:03:00.001-06:00

Spring weather.

2011-02-13T15:44:00.001-06:00

The weather is in the mid forty's. Its nice to walk outside and not have three layers of clothing on. Back roads are still snow covered in spots so it might be a few days before we are able to ride the road bike. Not really a problem, I got steep last week and still on meds, and have no energy to go for a ride. I've slept over 30 hours in the last three days. Can't remember the last time I've gotten that much rest. It feels nice but wish I wasn't so tired.
The weather looks like its going to be in the upper 30's to lower 50's all week if this keeps up the snow won't be around for long.

Hope everyone is getting some miles in!

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Epic Pugsley time!

2011-02-04T12:15:00.002-06:00

Check it out you wont be disappointed!

A REAL Workout!

2011-02-02T17:23:00.006-06:00

I decided to take a spin around the lake today, It's about 10miles, on a road bike in summer you can get around in 30mins if you're flying... After 12" of snow last night coupled with 30mph winds that created huge snow drifts it took well over an hour.

I'm thinking the Pugsley is pretty much the ultimate machine in these conditions, I noticed a few drivers who were rather pissed when I walked it around the drift pictured below.

My morning workout

2011-02-02T12:01:00.002-06:00

We had our first Wisconsin blizzard. Alot like the ones we had in Nebraska, snow and lots of wind. Drifting up to three feet could have been worse. But glad it wasn't.

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The Blizzard starts

2011-02-01T16:19:00.001-06:00

The latest "Blizzard" of the century is upon Southern Wisconsin. Should be a fun next few days.

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testing out the droid app

2011-01-26T13:14:00.002-06:00

Just added a app to the phone. Want to see if its worth keeping.

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SI's report on Lance Armstrong.

2011-01-19T20:23:00.000-06:00

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1180944/3/index.htm

Mikael Colville-Andersen - TEDx Copenhagen

2011-01-02T12:24:00.001-06:00

Mikael Colville-Andersen - TEDx Copenhagen: "Why We Shouldn’t Bike with a Helmet"

Velo101.com announces 2011 Euro cyclosportive calendar

2010-12-24T16:01:00.001-06:00

Would love to do a few of these events. Will need to see if Cyclesport travel can get something going.

Grand fondo's are so much fun,

Velo101.com announces 2011 Euro cyclosportive calendar: "

Via Passista, the French website Velo101.com has posted a list of 2011 cyclosportive events on the European continent.

As noted, no links for any of these, but it should be a good starting point for planning your riding calendar.

• Saturday, February 26: The Specialized-Loop South Ardèche

• Sunday, March 6: The Jacques Gouin

• Sunday, March 27: The Corima-Drome Provencale

• Saturday, April 2: The Coulainaise

• Sunday, April 3: The 77

• Sunday, April 3: The Kiss

• Saturday, April 9: Paris-Roubaix Challenge

• Sunday, April 10: The Charly Bérard

• Sunday, April 17: Granfondo Colnago Cogolin

• Sunday, April 17: Six Bourgeois

• Sunday, April 24: The Scott-1000 Bosses

• Sunday 1 May: 91 Velostar

• Sunday 1 May: Golden Wheat

• Sunday, May 8: The Lozère

• Saturday, May 14: Côte d’Orien

• Saturday, May 14: The Vence

• Sunday, May 15: The chirpy Alain de Carvalho

• Sunday, May 15: The Look

• Saturday, May 21: The Ventoux Beaumes-de-Venise

• Saturday, May 21: The Bernard Thevenet

• Sunday, May 29: The Challenge Vercors

• Thursday, June 2: 3 Cols

• Thursday, June 2: The Roger Walkowiak

• Saturday, June 4: The Chiappucci

• Saturday, June 4: Raid Alpilles

• Sunday, June 5: The Luis Ocaña

• Saturday, June 11: The Peaks Mercantour

• Saturday, June 11: Three Balloons

• Sunday, June 12: The Time-Megève Mont-Blanc

• Sunday, June 12: The Granite Mont Lozère

• Wednesday 15 to Saturday, June 18: the Ardèche

18/dimanche • Saturday 19 June: the Sisteron

• Saturday, June 18: The Jean-Paul and Denis Guard Jusseau

• Sunday, June 19: Morzine-the Valley Aulps

• Saturday, June 25: the Burgundian

• Saturday, June 25: The Stone Bigaut

25/dimanche • Saturday, June 26: Clermont-Clermont-Aurillac

• Sunday, June 26 / Saturday, July 2: Jeantex Tour Transalp

• Sunday, June 26: The Tristan Vauclusienne Mouric

• Sunday, June 26: the Burgundian

• Sunday, June 26: The Vaujany

• Sunday, June 26: La Marmotte d’Olt

• Sunday, June 26: The Béarn Cycl’Espoir

• Saturday, July 2: Groundhog

• Sunday, July 3: les Copains.

• Sunday, October 3: The Nine of Hearts JPP

• Sunday, July 3: The Fausto Coppi

• Sunday, July 10: the Serre-Che Luc Alphand

• Sunday, July 10: Marathon of the Dolomites

• Monday, July 11: the Etape du Tour Mondovélo (Modane-Alpe d’Huez)

• Wednesday, July 13: The Challenge Izoard

• Thursday, July 14: The Challenge Granon

• Thursday, July 14: the Arvan Villard

• Thursday, July 14: The Antonin Magne

• Sunday, July 17: the Etape du Tour Mondovélo (Issoire-Saint-Flour)

• Saturday, July 30: Ascent Chrono Risoul

• Saturday, July 30: Run for Peace

• Sunday, July 31: the Vauban-Risoul

• Saturday, August 6: Stone Channy

• Tuesday 9 to Saturday, August 13: Tour de l’Ain Cyclo

• Sunday, August 14: Step Sanflorains

20/dimanche • Saturday 21 August: 24 Hours of Le Mans

21/samedi • Sunday August 27: High Road

• Sunday, August 21: The Marco Pantani

• Sunday, August 21: The Jean-François Bernard

• Sunday, August 21: The Saumur

• Saturday, August 27: The Laurent Desbiens

• Sunday, Aug. 28: the Louis Pasteur

• Sunday, Aug. 28: the Midi-Libre Cyclaigoual

• Saturday, September 3: The Jean-Cyril Robin

• Sunday, September 4: The Cyclo’Manche

• Saturday, September 10: Round Picardy

• Sunday, September 11: Routes du Ventoux

• Sunday, September 18: The Bosses of 13

• Sunday, September 18: The Machinoise

• Sunday, September 25: The Dromoise

• Sunday, September 25: the Massi Font Romeu

• Saturday 1er/dimanche October 2: Paris Superv

• Sunday, October 2: The Peaks of Lake Annecy

Pump Track in Middleton WI

2010-11-01T21:20:00.002-05:00

Last year a pump track was built about 15mins drive from my place. Here's a video a friend and I put together.

Pleasant View Pump Track Middleton, WI from D.M Hughes on Vimeo.

Getting ready for France!

2010-06-13T22:18:00.002-05:00

I leave for France on Thursday the 17th. The bike is set, Parlee Z4 a mix of SRAM Force, XX and Zipp drive train. With DT 240 hubs laced to DT 465 White rims. The big new addition is the SRAM XX rear derailleur and Cassette. Long cage der and a 11-36 cassette. That right a low gear of 34-36, super low. But I think that is what I'm going to need to get me butt up the French Pyrenees.

I have a nice little hill in Janesville that is about 1/2 a mile long with an grade of 12-15%. The final climb on Plateau de Beille is 10.3 miles with a grade or 8-12% and that starts at mile 68 of a 78 mile ride. With a little luck I will be able to complete the event and share some of the "fun" with you after I get back.
So check back after July 1st and hopefully I will have some great pictures and a good story or two.

Laps

2010-05-12T19:30:00.001-05:00

Cold and looked like rain all day. Needed to get in some miles so thought it would be a good idea to stay close to home in case it cut loose and started to rain.
There is a "nice" loop with a 1/2 mile climb that is 10 to 15% the all the way to the top. I have heard that some of the racers in Janesville have done 10 laps. I did 3! And yes all 3 hurt. The first hurt the most and the last hurt the least. I timed it just right, no sooner did I get home and the wind picked up, and the temp dropped.

Nice day for a bike ride.

2010-05-02T15:38:00.003-05:00

Got to go out for a nice little spin this morning. No real plan just wanted to ride into the wind and have a nice ride back.

The wind was out of the southwest. So I headed west, the plan was to work my way down and see some new roads. And that I did. I have ridden northwest a lot. But today I went straight west. Mostly flats to start with a few rollers, A nice warm up.

The rolling hill of Southern Wisconsin are amazing.

Map of today's ride around whitewater lake

2010-04-21T20:12:00.000-05:00

Untitled by dualthreat at Garmin Connect - Details

Great day for a ride.

2010-03-17T21:12:00.002-05:00

65 degrees with no wind. Chance of snow this weekend, if it dose it will not be here for long. Bring on SPRING!

Cronometro's "other bike ride" Spring forward version.

2010-03-12T12:52:00.001-06:00

Time is changing and that gave me a excuse to do something. A quick ride from the Store to The Great Dane pub. We will leave the store 4:15ish. 6 mile ride to the Dane, a refreshment or 2. Maybe a snack as well. And then back to the Store. Please if you are in the area grab a bike, (hopefully one of yours) and join us.Tell your friends help spread the word, its always a good time. Hope to see you then.

<a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/wi/madison/196126840666075047">crono 2 Great Dane</a><br/><a href="http://www.mapmyride.com/find-ride/united-states/wi/madison">Find more Bike Rides in Madison, Wisconsin</a>

Cronometro Spring Classic.

2010-03-04T21:40:00.005-06:00

Cervelo's new Road bike.

2010-02-17T12:20:00.000-06:00

Project California Version 1

Trainer? They are for Wimps!

2010-02-14T17:37:00.005-06:00

February... Riding... In Wisconsin? Hell yeah!

A brisk 26F and a nice little wind shouldn't stop anyone from enjoying a nice Sunday ride. I went out with a couple buddies for a 15mile ride, mostly on the Capital City trail.

Here are a few pictures:

A good month on the trainer.

2010-02-06T18:53:00.005-06:00

For the first time in about 19 years I have ridden a trainer for a significant amount of time. Or at least what I think of as a significant amount. A little over 200 miles and 15 hours of trainer time.
The motivation is simple. 10 days of ridding in the Pyrenees Mountains.
That makes hoping on the trainer a little easier when there is light at the end of the tunnel! And you know that the tunnel is an 8% grade. So far its all going well I just keep telling myself that the more I ride now the less it will hurt in June. Still have a hard time staying on for more then an hour, but will try to up it a little. Don't think I could do 3 hours like Capn Cowbell did. But with a little determination I think I might be able to get in an hour and a half. All I can do is try.

Back on the trainer.

2010-01-24T22:36:00.003-06:00

After only ridding once in the last week and a half. Tonight I got back on the trainer. We all have been a little bit sick. Nothing major just hacking cough and tired. Thought I had better get over it and not make it worse. Took it easy tonight, watch the OT of the Saints and Vikings and just spun for about 40 mins. Feels good to be back on the bike, now just to get into a routine.
Hope everyone else is getting in some "Outside" miles. Looks like the weather will be chilly here for another week and then warm up for a few days. It will be nice to get out on the road if possible.

Trainer time?

2009-12-28T20:12:00.003-06:00

Spent an hour on the trainer tonight. For me its more of a mental issue then a fitness (or lack of fitness) issue. I have never been one to set on a trainer for hours at a time. I remember when I first moved to Omaha and was staying with a friend. He and a few of his ridding partners would spend 3 or 4 hours a night on the trainer and rollers. So I guess that's why they were Cat. 2 on the road and semi-pro mountain bikers.

When I was in North Platte the winter was pretty mild and we would go MTB ridding almost every night, and a 2 hour road ride on the weekend.

Living up in the upper mid-west, plus having a family put a halt to night ridding and road rides on the weekend. So I guess I have come to the conclusion that if I want to ride better I'm going to need to put in the trainer time. I have all the bells and whistles for the task. Fluid trainer and power tap, just have a hard time with the motivation. Like last year I set up a motivational work out. My tour de trainer is a pretty simple idea. Divide the complete 2010 Tour de France in to a workout. A simple excel spread sheet, with lots of color and formulas. And hopefully with the up coming trip to France in June. That will also give me the motivation to stick to it. I guess time will tell how I do.
So to all of you that do have the mental toughness to set on a trainer for long stretches of time.
I salute you!

Please wish me luck.

Till next time, Peace and grease!

New things on the horizon

2009-11-19T21:49:00.003-06:00

No, its not a job change! Just an added adventure!

www.cyclesporttravel.com

The best ride of the year.

2009-08-22T22:38:00.006-05:00

A great day for a bike ride, I plotted a course on the garmin, and for the first time ever I followed it. The big purple line tells me where to go.

Smooth pavement along the Rock River. Replaced last year after all the flooding.

I guess its tobacco harvesting time in Wisconsin. Its just a odd thing to see up here.

More tobacco, North of Janesville there is a lot of it.

What will this road lead to?

Good thing I'm on a bike!

Nice view, but I know why the bridge is closed.

A look back at the bridge.

This is whats on the other side.

Not a good sign. Just glad that it wasn't for the road that I was on.

More smooth roads with rolling hills.

I like this sigh, I just wish I was going the other way. 13% ahead with 41 miles in my legs. Yup you guessed it HURT BOX!

And the hurt just kept coming. This was the first of five or six short steep hills. I need to plan better!
Speaking of planing better next time I plan a 60 mile ride I'm going to plan for a water stop or two. Running out, Not a good Idea! But this was still the best ride that I have had in a long time. LOVE the Wisconsin Roads!

New Wheels, and New Roads

2009-08-12T22:54:00.003-05:00

New wheels for the Ottrott. Icing on the cake!

Today was a great in Wisconsin, 80 Degrees and no wind 42 miles went by very quickly.

Lots of rollers today. Looking to get some more in this weekend with Tyson and Doug.

A real Dualthreat!

2009-06-27T21:26:00.001-05:00

What a place to play

2009-06-14T00:04:00.002-05:00

How about this for a starter home. It even has a garage.

Riding out here is great.

Leadville, CO.

Crazy people have crazy friends!

2009-04-28T21:48:00.000-05:00

I received this video from a friend of mine that is getting ready to do the Race Across AMerica.
Its a 600k brevet. That's 372.82 miles. Paul finished it in 26 hours. Watch it till the end, there is a short interview with him talking about his training this year so far.

You're better off by bike

2009-04-06T21:31:00.002-05:00

Spring!

2009-03-21T21:14:00.002-05:00

The weather in Wisconsin is getting better. We hit 70 on Tuesday, dropped Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. But today we were back up to 60. I got in 50 on Wednesday and another 40 today.

With all the nice weather and what little wind that we have coming out of the south. I'm getting to ride some new roads. I have even ridden into Illinois. The roads there are not as nice has Wisconsin. A little more traffic, and not all the roads are paved like here. But still good riding.

It is nice to be able to get outside this early, last year we still had snow on the ground. Cant wait till it stops freezing at night, then I can ride early in the morning.

Hope that everyone is getting in some saddle time.

Grumpy.

40 miles on a new bike.

2009-03-05T20:39:00.004-06:00

I've had my new Serotta for a little over a month. The weather has been anything but good riding weather. Snow, ice and cold, I've gotten in a few rides on my old bike. But I just could not chance taking out the Serotta.

Last night just as I was getting ready to leave work the phone rang. Its was the man himself Ben Serotta! We had a short talk I told him I had Wednesday off and was planing to take the new Ottrott out. "Have a good ride, I'm sure you will enjoy it" It was like being blessed by the Pope. (if I were Catholic). So I should have known I was going to have a great ride.

So the day was here.
Day off, Check.
40 degrees, Check.
Roads dry, Check.
New Serotta Ottrott W/Campagnolo Super Record 11 in the garage, Double Check.

I had to alter my original route due to wind. Wind in Wisconsin is rare, but I didn't care. The plan was to get in 40 miles. The wind was out of the south, so I will ride south. I don't ride south much. I live in Janesville and work in Madison, that's north. So it would be some new roads.

As I started the ride I wanted to go in with an open mind. I have ridden a Cervelo R3 for the last 2 years. And that's an unbelievable ride. Smooth over the road and stiff in the bottom bracket. I also had Sram red on the R3, thought it was the best thing out there last year. Now it was time to compare.

There is a reason its called "Super Record" it is! The first thing I noticed was the feel of the ergo levers. That was what I noticed when I took it for a test ride it last October. They fit my hand better then any other shift/brake lever set I have ever tried, very comfortable.

Heading out of town is ran through the gears front and rear. Fast and smooth, front shifting flawless quick throw from the 34 to the 50 no issues at all. The rear shifts before you finish the thought. I was so busy running through the gears I forgot that I had a Ottrott under me.

So yes its a smooth ride! The roads are not the bad, but it is March in Wisconsin so the road is broken up and ruff.
Not only is it a smooth ride is super stable. Think where you want to be and your there. I rode through broken up pavement next to the edge with no problems. The R3 was a little twitchy on super ruff sections. I cannot explained it. Its the experience of ridding a bike that moves with you, knowing where you want to be and your there. It is by far the best first impression I have ever gotten from a bike.

Going up hill, very quick response. Stand up to climb, and no front derailleur rub. A very firm bottom bracket. For the smoothness of the ride very impressive.
Going down the other side, again very stable. I think I could have let go of the handle bar and the bike would not have veered an inch. But I didn't.
Like I said it was a little windy so I rode in the drops a lot. The shift/brake levers were easy to reach both up and down shifting. Everything right where it needed to be.

Weaving through the roads of southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois I kind of got lost in the ride. watching the garmin seeing where this road would take me and how it would wind back to where I need to be. Once again I remembered how much fun bike riding can be. I just got lost in riding my bike! And that is something that you can't explain. So I will stop trying.

When I rolled into the driveway I had ridden 41.77 miles. The last half or so I had a tail wind, that's always good. My toes were cold, my legs were sore. But I got no problem with that. The cold toes meant I didn't ware my winter boots. And the sore legs meant I had a good ride.

Remember I'm a want a be rider, not a want a be writer.

Frosty Cross

2009-02-15T20:57:00.003-06:00

Yeah the pictures didn't turn out very good. But when it's 13f your frozen fingers hit exposure buttons and you don't notice.

From Frosty Cross 2009

Look closely at this one, that guy's about to bite it. Although he got right back and finished the race.

From Frosty Cross 2009

Shimano Di2

2009-02-12T14:22:00.000-06:00

2009-02-08T22:40:00.000-06:00

"It’s also a passion thing. You can know it but unless you live it, ride it bleed it, speak it, it is more challenging to get people excited about it". (Todd Schmidt, Quality bicycle products)

Ice Racing in the Mad City

2009-02-07T19:26:00.003-06:00

Normally 50F weather in February is something you dream of in Wisconsin. Well it's a slight issue if that's the day you planned to race your bike on the lake...

More here if anybody's interested

Chicago.

2009-02-04T18:39:00.002-06:00

A garmin in Spanish? I wonder who's that could be?

2008 Tour de France Champion Carlos Sastre!

Yes I do need to get on the trainer more!

Carlos was great, took pictures with everyone, answered questions and told a lot of funny stories about the Tour and the Giro. I had a good two days!

Its a little warmer in Wisconsin.

2009-02-01T15:23:00.003-06:00

I got in an hour ride today, Still cold but at least it was above freezing.

Still a lot of snow.

Polo on the two wheel

2009-01-24T01:40:00.001-06:00

Grump... we need a 10th. Shake down to O-town.

DZnuts

2008-12-18T18:32:00.001-06:00

I have used this stuff and it works!

Nutcracker(no not that kind)

2008-12-15T17:34:00.000-06:00

The Weather in Janesville

2008-11-30T09:33:00.002-06:00

Looks like it has started. The forecast is for 130+ inches of snow this winter. That is up about 25 inches from last year, which was a record snow fall.

Let the winter fun begin?

Statement as of 5:44 AM CST on November 30, 2008

A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect from noon today to 6 am
CST Monday.

Snow will develop later this morning and early afternoon... and
continue through tonight... becoming heavy at times. Snow
accumulations of 6 to 10 inches are expected by Monday morning.

In addition... north to northeast winds will strengthen to 20 to
30 mph... gusting at times to 35 mph. This will lead to areas of
blowing and drifting snow.

A Winter Storm Warning for heavy snow means severe winter weather
conditions are expected or occurring. Significant amounts of
snow are forecast that will make travel dangerous. If you must
travel... keep an extra flashlight... food... and water in your
vehicle in case of an emergency.

Potters Pasture!

2008-11-19T21:13:00.000-06:00

So I was surfing the web the other day, I see that the FFL have a post for the Paxton peleton, I think hey, I use to ride around there, lets take a look.
Its a nice blog, I can see the power plant in the background of some of the pictures. I wonder if I know this guy? Lets check out his profile.
To small of a picture lets check out his other stuff.

WTF Potter's Pasture MTB blog are you kidding me? I gota see this! And there it was Potter's Pasture.

Now for those of you who don't know and for the others who don't care. I was there at the start. P. Stephen Potter the man the myth the Legend! Is the owner and name sake of Potter's Pasture.

This is some of the best off road riding in Nebraska if not the BEST! And its free. (as long as you don't add up the cost of gas to get there)!

Exit 99 off I 80 south to Brady Moorefield road, turn right follow till the pavement ends. Its been awhile but I think its about 1 mile past the end of the pavement and the entrance is a gate on the left. Look down the valley and you will see a rustic camp ground. Unload your bike and start riding. The map above and the cow path's guide the way.

The last time I was there Potter had more land and had added twice as many trails that were there in 97.

With all the good memory's that Potters pasture blog brought up I started looking for pictures that I know that I have. So far I only have found a few. But I will keep looking. I did find a Video tape that the local TV station did on the Pasture. If I can transfer that to digital I'll get it posted.

The new news is The Big Wheeled Ballyhoo for 2009. Looks like a lot of fun. Check the link from time to time and see how thing progress.

Till next time.

Peace and Grease..

Grump.

Snow in 'sconnie land...

2008-11-17T12:41:00.002-06:00

As much as I hate to do this for my first post to Dual Threat, it is true... we now have snow on the ground...

Beautiful day for a ride!

2008-11-01T10:24:00.003-05:00

Took a little spin, 60 plus deg. Very little wind, just a wonderful day for a ride in Wisconsin. I got in about 26 miles. With a little luck I'll get one in today. We will see.

I'm on vacation so a lot of projects around the house that need to be finished up.
That's not going according to plan. But that's for another blog.

I hope that everyone is getting out for a ride or three.

Till next time.....

Peace and Grease.

Grumpy

Do your Part!

2008-10-30T12:16:00.002-05:00

Early Voting in Wisconsin, I did my part. Will you, have you done yours!

2009 Tour de trainer day one.

2008-10-26T15:29:00.001-05:00

Day one down. (week one as well) Ya ya I know I didn't ride the trainer. Its OK you don't need to ride the trainer. I make the rules! 17.24 miles down and A LOT TO GO!

Check out my progress of lack there of here.

A very windy day here in the land-O-Cheese. Reminds me of Nebraska, 30 mph winds with 40 mph gusts. Good times, good times!

Not much else going on so till next time....

Peace and Grease.

Grump

Tour de Trainer

2008-10-19T22:05:00.000-05:00

With the announcement of the 2009 Le tour de France next week I thought it would be fun to incorporate that into my mundane trainer training.

For me to set and on a trainer for more that about 5 seconds is a major accomplishment. So in a attempt to add a little excitement to an other wise boring task I came up with "Tour de Trainer"

What is this you may ask? Simple! Every week you will ride a stage of the 2009 Le tour de France.

21ish stages with a prologue (or not) and 2 rest days. When the route is announced on Wednesday then we will have the total mileage.

The idea is,

Ride one stage a week 21 stages, 21 weeks. Divide them up however you want. If the weather is suitable for riding outside DO IT! We are not keeping score.

If you miss a day, you can make it up somewhere during the week or not, again we are not keeping score.

The point of this is at the start of nice weather you will have a head start on next years riding.

For those who do not need any encouragement, good for you. For the rest of us... Its a thought!

Peace and grease.

Grump

Cervelo P4 and Fall Classic

2008-10-11T20:46:00.002-05:00

I guess I had better post something!

2008-08-24T21:30:00.003-05:00

Well its been almost 2 months. I haven't gotten of the bike just been busy. Went to Longmont CO. right after the 4th of July. Got to see the new line for 2009. Some really cool stuff coming.
You may have saw the Bronze medal winner on a new S3 Cervelo.

That nothing to what will be revealed at Interbike. All I can say is FAST!!

As for my ridding Tyson, Craig and I got in a 40 mile ride today in New Galrus.
Lots of hills at a easy pace. The route that we had planed out had to be altered due to road construction. No big deal, almost every road is paved and its all good. Each new road is a great ride.

The weather is starting to cool off up here and that means Fall will soon be here.

I hope that everyone is getting in some miles and all is well on the road!

Till next time.

Peace and Grease!

Another ride home!

2008-07-02T19:41:00.005-05:00

Rode home on Tuesday night, pretty uneventful just a nice 48 mile ride. Took a bit of a new route home, saw a few new roads. The best thing about this part of Wisconsin is, almost all the roads are paved. I think that I have seen only one dirt road up here (in the year and a half of living in Wisconsin).

Wisconsin Farmstead.

Lots of nice roads to ride.

Same as above!

Yup still a geek!
The way cool dudes @ Saris tell me that by this fall I will only need the Garmin 705.
A Firm wire upgrade will let the powertap talk with the garmin.
Then I can be like the Garmin/Chipotle team
Don't you just love technology!

Peace and Grease!

Grumpy

So I'm a geek!!

2008-06-20T20:59:00.006-05:00

I got a new toy! Like a Garmin 705 isn't enough I have a Power tap now. Good news is Garmin and Power tap are starting to play nice.(Garmin is now a title sponsor for Slipstream)
So with a little luck....

My handlebar won't look like this for long!

The light will need to stay, but the Power tap head soon will go.
A whole lot of information in one small package. The garmin is a cool unit. With the mini SD chip I can find even more roads to ride. Import courses from www.mapmyride.com that are easy to follow (I can't get lost if I try).

On to other news, Flooding! Yes we live on the rock river. Not close but it criss crosses through Janesville quite a few times. The river is to crest Saturday sometime.
Sunday I went for a little ride and these are the picture's that I took. the river is foot higher now!

This is Main St. Down town Janesville.

Better news. I rode home from work Tuesday night, and back to work Thursday morning.
Beautiful ride both ways. Had a good chance to play with the Power tap. I don't know what it is telling me, other then I a weak, weak cyclist.

Ahhh Wisconsin in the morning! You don"t know what your missing!!

This one goes to 11 million!

2008-06-17T23:41:00.004-05:00

Looks way cool rumor is it's only 300 euros more then 2009 Record. Total cost of 2300 euros.
I don't know what the exchange rate will be? but it will be expensive.

Ya Ti and Carbon it will do that!

Anything going on?

2008-06-08T10:10:00.004-05:00

We are getting a lot of rain in the Land of Cheese! 24 hours record for rainfall fell yesterday. 2.23 inches . Thats a lot of water! Tornadoes, high winds and floods! That what we got.

Coming home from work yesterday a big tree branch fell into the middle of the highway! Some ass hat thought it would be a good idea to drive around the branch thru the ditch on the wrong side of the highway. Problem was that there was a sharp drop off on the other side and he, his wife and kids got high-centered in there nice new SUV. I don't know if I felt sorry for the wife and kids for having a dumb ass husband, Or for the husband getting ripped a new one from his wife. I guess it was a toss up, they deserve each other! The kids don't stand a chance!

I stopped to move the branch out of the highway, two other guys stopped as well. It took all three of us to move one of the big branches. The whole time cars flying by like there was nothing going on. Should of left the branch in the road! "Assholes"!!

Anyway we got the road cleared and I headed home.

That was my day.

Not getting in any bike commuting in. Just driving, $4.00 per gallon gas got to love it!

This one goes to 11!

2008-05-24T13:15:00.004-05:00

Story is from.
http://dirt-boy.blogspot.com/

Well from many insiders and other sources, we have learned and will tell you for 2009 Campagnolo will release a 11 speed groupsets.

Super Record, Record and Chorus will now be 11 speed.
None of the 11 speed stuff is backwards compatible either!
The chain has been reduced to 5.5mm, and the 11 sprockets fit in the same space that 10 once did.

Yes, Super record is back with Ceramic bushing in the RD and Ceramic bearings among other spots.
Everything is new except the brakes and minor aesthetic changes to the cranks.
*********************************

Now if the rumors are true 2009 is yet another year of who can one up whom.
IMO Campagnolo took a huge step back with QS. The pros didn't like it and neither did the consumers. Is this there way of trying to dig their way out of a deep hole or is it just pulling the dirt in on top of them?

What ever the case may be Shimano and SRAM are going to 11.
SRAM will have the easiest time, there Red group is a year old and can be changed by 2010 if they decide it's in there best interest.

Shimano has yet to officially introduced there new DA 7900. Will that leave them out in the cold? Not likely! Campy went to 10 speed a few years before Shimano. It didn't hurt them then and I don't think it will hurt them now.

I'm sure that more things will come out soon. The news blackout on Shimano is to be lifted June 1st. And who knows what else they will come up with.

Till then.....

Temper temper!

2008-05-17T19:42:00.000-05:00

Ride to work day.

2008-05-16T22:48:00.002-05:00

I did my part, rode home Wednesday night. Did my honey do's Thursday, and rode in today.

A little over 47 miles each way. A nice tailwind both ways.

Wednesdays ride.

Fridays ride.

I hope everyone had a good day!

Peace and Grease.

No Cable?

2008-05-12T19:53:00.001-05:00

Want to watch clips of the latest races? Check this out: http://www.hulu.com/cyclysm-sundays

Weekend riding

2008-05-05T21:57:00.005-05:00

Pre ride lineup

A nice start to a great day on the bike.

We don't know why Craig only has one glove on?
I'm sure he would say its for taking pictures.

Flying the Dual Threat flag!

If you look close you can see the rest of the group way up the road.

Craig takes good pictures with one glove.

I hurt myself today!

2008-04-30T19:52:00.003-05:00

I think I lived this today.

Here is the ride.

I'm shelled!

Lots of wind and a couple of steep climbs.

Thats all I got to say.

Set your TiVO, VCR or just set!

2008-04-20T10:13:00.005-05:00

Better late then never! Versus is running last weeks Paris-Roubaix at 2:00 cst.

Hang on its going to be a rough ride.

A windy Ride

2008-04-16T13:58:00.003-05:00

Nice and Windy ride today. I took the Stores Lightweight wheelset out for a spin.

Lots of thawing and lots of rain mean a high river!

Water was over the road in a few places, the Road was "Closed" to cars.
Sometimes I'm not to bright!

EPO TE QUIERO

2008-04-14T13:39:00.001-05:00

Just in case any one missed this from last year...

More Miles

2008-04-13T22:59:00.002-05:00

You would think with all the warm weather that we've had
all the snow would be gone.
Guess there still a little left.

Today wasn't to bad. Not quite 40 degrees and a cold North wind.
Hey a bad day on the bike is still a great day!!!

You can check out the details on Garmin Connect.

And I thought they were just making room for Lance!

2008-04-11T07:35:00.005-05:00

Trek is suing Greg! Greg is suing Trek! And in my thinking, well they need to make some room for the 2009 introduction of Trek's newest division,

The Lance Armstrong bicycle company.

The Lance Armstrong bicycle company is going to happen.

And for me this was just the next step.

And then yesterday I read this on Bicycleretailer.com

Trek to Reintroduce Klein in U.S.

I stopped drinking the Trek Kool-aid a few years ago. And haven't thought about Klein for longer then that. But when did Trek stop making Klein's?

I guess I thought they were just letting it die a slow death!

And has Trek devalued Klein enough so that people will want to buy them again?

IMO if Trek wants to make another big splash they have 2 options.

1. Start making Armstrong bikes.

2. Introduce Keith Bontrager Custom Steel & Ti Mountain bike frames. Sell them under the Project one banner. One off hand built frames, price them so high that every single-speed rider will sell his daughter for one.

And as for LeMond?

Pacific adds another Name to their IBD brand?

Just my thoughts.

Trek sues Lemond

2008-04-09T18:33:00.002-05:00

I hope the link works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTgsWBZBc4U

A little test ride today.

2008-04-02T16:56:00.004-05:00

I got to take a Parlee Z4 for a spin today. 2 hour ride, 30 miles. Ya ya I know 15 mile average. What can I say? Oh ya Fat will do! Anyway Nice bike.

But man did I miss RED. DA is nice but IMO RED shifts a lot faster and with less effort. If anyone get the chance to test ride RED try it. You will be amazed.

Anyway got out, did some miles and had a good time.

Anyone else getting in some rides?
Lets hear from you.

Peace and Grease!

Grumpy

Interval Training

2008-03-28T13:31:00.003-05:00

This hill is super close to the shop and its a great way to hammer out some mid day anger. It is fairly short but it is a 15%. The pictures just don't look right.

The wheels that never were!

2008-03-25T10:13:00.001-05:00

Those wheels were made for Mario Cipollini. He was supposed to ride them in Milano-SanRemo but obviously he wasn´t a member of that squad on the raceday and Rock & Racing was not allowed to start…

Photo and text from. Light-Bikes.de

S.S.D.D.

2008-03-22T19:04:00.000-05:00

Well I could post pictures of snow, but I've done that.
I could post about how tired I am of all the snow, but I've done that to.
Or I could tell you how I hate driving to work in the snow, but I guess I've done that as well.
But then I could tell I miss riding, but guess what been there done that.

So if you couldn't tell we got snow again. Somewhere between 4-6 inches.
It's melting pretty fast but its still here. And I'm tired of it.
So I guess.....
What doesn't kill you will make you stronger, Right?

I hope someone somewhere is riding a bike!

If you get a chance to ride tomorrow.. Please do an extra mile for me.

Peace and Grease....

Sunday in Wisconsin

2008-03-17T22:19:00.005-05:00

Still some snow! But it's going by by!

Adam and Mike road out with DH.

Went for a little ride with DH on Sunday. I was proud of myself.
DH however opened up a large can of whip Ass!!

The difference between DH and Myself.

I drove to New Glarus 45 miles
DH Rode there *30-35ish miles
I was the last up every hill
DH was the 1st or 2nd
I was tired after 31 miles of being pulled around
DH turned down the offer to get a ride and rode back to Madison, Ya another 30-35ish miles

So DH is the man and I'm Well lets say I'm just old!

We had a good ride there were 6 all together. And one of the guys that rode out with DH rode a Single speed with a 42X16! And we rode a lot of hills, and yes he was the one that beat DH up the hills.

*due to weight issue DH doesn't use a computer

Bikes Can Be Cleaned...

2008-03-13T18:45:00.004-05:00

And life's too short not to ride at every possible opportunity...So I took my new R3-SL out for a spin tonight. The roads were very bad, sandy and wet. But it was great to get out for a spin. I saw few riders with Cross bikes, no roadies. I think I can safely say that Spring is HERE! YAY!

I got in some miles!!

2008-03-12T21:49:00.004-05:00

I got in 26 today. The roads weren't to bad dry for the most part, but a few places that the water had no place to go.
My Dad always ask where does the white go when the snow melts?
I think it all gets sent to Wisconsin they spread cow crap on it and it turns brown.
That's my answer.

It was go to get out for the first time in over a month.
Looking for more miles this weekend!
Till then...

Peace and grease.

Floyd's last chance?

2008-03-11T20:44:00.002-05:00

Depending on how this turns out Floyd might be looking for a Dualthreat.net jersey!

GENEVA (AP)—Floyd Landis will make his final appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in New York next week in an effort to regain the 2006 Tour de France title he lost because of a positive doping test.

The hearing that begins March 19 is expected to last six days.

“It will be a hearing behind closed doors unlike the previous arbitration hearing,” CAS secretary-general Matthieu Reeb told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Landis went to CAS, world sport’s highest appeal body, after losing a public hearing by the American Arbitration Association last year. That panel upheld the results of a laboratory test that indicated Landis used synthetic testosterone during a comeback win in the 17th stage of the 2006 Tour.

Landis went on to win the title in Paris but was later stripped of his yellow jersey.

The 32-year-old rider from Pennsylvania has been fighting an expensive legal action to regain his title and reputation. He is banned from cycling by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency until the end of January 2009.

Landis submitted appeal papers to CAS last November in which he stated that “to wrongly strip a champion of his victory due to a flawed test is much worse than to have an athlete cheat his way to victory.”

Landis claims the French testing laboratory made mistakes and returned a false positive test on his sample.

The CAS hearing, likely to be conducted at a Manhattan law firm, represents the last chance for Landis to clear his name.

Reeb said it was not known when the arbitrators’ final ruling would be given.

“There will be a statement at the end of the hearing to say when it will be issued,” Reeb said.

Evening Zen...

2008-03-10T18:30:00.000-05:00

...because photoshop is worth much more than my babble.

Get them while you can!!!

2008-03-09T21:30:00.006-05:00

Word on the street is Highgear is selling Dualthreat.net
jerseys for $25.00. I don't know what sizes are available
or how many. But it is a good deal! Jump on it!!
Give Highgear a call or drop me an e-mail if you want one.

Bike There Feature on Google Maps

2008-03-08T22:13:00.001-06:00

Check it out sigh or not. I think it's a cool feature for Google to have.

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/bikether/

Grump

So I didn't see what I thought I saw!

2008-03-08T08:12:00.003-06:00

NO light just a punch in the face I guess!

Light at the end of the tunnel

2008-03-05T19:33:00.002-06:00

Another day another inch of snow. Well maybe not an inch but it did snow again today.
But I think I can see a small flicker of light. Either that or I'm just going totally NUTS!

We had a ride planed for this Sunday. We had to cancel it due to Extreme cold and snow in the forecast. I guess we will try for the 16th and if not then the next Sunday. I guess we just need to keep on keepin on!

This can't last forever and I'm sure the weather will turn around soon.

I hope that some of you are getting in some riding and that someone has some decent weather.

Till next time.....

A day missed

2008-03-02T20:18:00.003-06:00

48 degrees and I didn't ride? What is wrong with me? We have been going through an epic winter and I've been sick for the last week and a half. Yes the flu has hit Wisconsin. I was out from work Saturday and Monday. A couple other people that I work with were out all week. So I feel lucky!
I thought I should ride and little and push what was left out, but still not enough energy to do more then walk up stairs. So no riding today! And to add insult to sickness we are going to get more snow, CRAP!!!!
On the brighter side time changes next week and SPRING will get here sometime... right?

With a little luck the flu will be out of my system soon and I can ride soon!!

Till then I guess I can dream of riding....
I hope that someone is getting to ride. If so let me know, I need to ride through someone!

Peace and Grease,
Grumpy

Losing your right to a Quick-Release?

2008-02-28T22:10:00.000-06:00

NBDA ADDS $7500 TO QUICK-RELEASE FIGHT
New donation to be matched by suppliers.

Following an initial contribution of $7500 last summer, the NBDA Board has voted to commit another $7500 to defend the ubiquitous quick-release axle. The latest contribution will be matched by the supplier side of the industry, said NBDA Executive Director Fred Clements.

The fight is against a ban on quick-release axles that has been proposed in the New Jersey legislature. While the law, if passed, would affect only New Jersey, it might set a national trend, making the fight a national issue. The bill exempts axles that also have a “secondary safety device,” but fork tips apparently do not qualify for the exemption and there is currently no other technology that would.

The proposed law was a response to injuries to children riding Wal-Mart bikes with quick-release wheels, Clements said. But with the exception of some high-end BMX bikes, the kids bikes sold by independent dealers do not have quick-release axles anyway. The New Jersey bill as written would ban quick-releases on all bikes, adult as well as juvenile. Funds contributed by the NBDA and the Bicycle Products Suppliers Association are to be used to hire a lobbyist to make the case against the bill.-John Francis, Editor, NBDA Outspokin'

Armstrong to advocate for Wisconsin smoking ban

2008-02-27T21:43:00.001-06:00

From Cyclingnews.com

Lance Armstrong is keeping plenty busy in his retirement. On Tuesday, March 4, the seven-time former Tour de France winner will travel to Madison, Wisconsin, to advocate for a ban on smoking. The trip supports his foundation's cancer advocacy effort, including highlighting the causal link between smoking and lung cancer.

"He's a great advocate, obviously a fabulous athlete, and we're honored to have him come speaking about this bill," said Allison Miller, on behalf of the American Cancer Society to the Badger Herald.

A cancer survivor himself, Armstrong is scheduled to meet with Wisconsin's Governor Jim Doyle in order to express support for legislation to ban smoking in all work settings, including eateries and bars.

Smoking ban!! gota love it!

Winter Training Gone WRONG!

2008-02-25T22:49:00.004-06:00

I was going too fast on a down hill and couldn't avoid a spot of ice. The bike went out from under me and I hit my head(eyebrow) on the ice...4 stitches.

I WANT SPRING!! NOW!!

Frostbike Pictures after all

2008-02-19T13:34:00.002-06:00

Here is a link to a few Pictures from Frostbike.

From the Cronometro Gallery.

Frostbike..Cutting out early

2008-02-17T14:49:00.004-06:00

Not a lot to talk about at Frostbike. The only a few new cool things. First was the new Garmin 705 Got to touch it! Looks way cool, new and updated from the 305. We will see how they sell.
The other cool thing was the new Zipp/Power-tap disc wheel.
No pictures.. Sorry weather was turning to crap and I don't hang around to ask a lot of questions.

Left Minneapolis around 3:00 pm got home about 9:00.

Did get to see Turbo, not for long he had to head back to Omaha to beat the weather as well.
Spent some time with Dave and Dale from Bike Masters and Doug from the rack.
Ran into Mod from Trek Omaha and he had War Axe Sam with him. I guess they were on a little vacation in the Minnie city.

And yes the weather is total crap today, rain all morning and now snow. Looks like 6-12 more inches. The weather channel is talking about a seasonal total of over 90 inches... Give me a brake The most before this year was 76.3.
I guess that after this winter we should be clear for the next 100 years, Right?

Well if you can ride, RIDE if you can't Dream!!

Later..
Grump

Frostbike

2008-02-15T22:46:00.001-06:00

Up in Minneapolis for Frostbike.
Had some food and Beer tonight. All the fun starts tomorrow.
I hope to post some cool pictures then.
Grumpy

Daily Ugly

2008-02-15T15:08:00.001-06:00

I honestly dont know what to say about these.