I'm So Hi...........FI

Yeah, I am fly'n HI, HiFi that is. Check out the newest addition to my arsenal. It is an '09 Gary Fisher HiFi Deluxe. It has an awesome paint scheme, glossy, sparkly, white with dark blue graphics and charcoal colored carbon seatstays. She's a real beaut.

I made a few upgrades from the stock model although, it already came with a nice spec. Most of the parts came off the Fuel EX. I added Bontrager Race X Lite carbon bar and seatpost. Put on SRAM Attack twist shifters and XTR derailleur, SRAM 990 cassette and XT crank set. One last add on was the gold Bontrager cable housings which added a real cool look.

So here is the break down.

Frame
6066 hydroformed butted aluminum mainframe & chainstays, co-molded carbon seatstays, cold-forged dropouts, G2 29" Geometry
Fork
Fox F100RL 29, 100mm travel, custom G2 Geometry 51mm offset crown,

Rear Shock
Custom Tuned Fox Float RP2

Front Derailleur
SRAM X.9, high clamp
Rear Derailleur
Shimano XTR
Shifters
SRAM Attack Twisties
Cassette
SRAM PG990 11-34T
Handlebar
Bontrager Race X Lite Carbon
Stem
Bontrager Race X Lite
Saddle
Bontrager Race, hollow cromoly rails
Seatpost
Bontrager Race X Lite carbon
Wheels
Bontrager Rhythm Comp Disc 29

Tires
Bontrager XDX, 29x2.1
Brakeset
Custom Hayes Stroker Trail SL, hydraulic disc, 160mm

Crank Set
Shimano XT

Check it out on Gary's site.

http://www.fisherbikes.com/bike/model/hifi-deluxe-29

Took the HIFI out for a lil break in ride at White Park today and it was a real delight. I think it's going to be a great addition to the family. Need to make a few adjustments to the suspension setup to tune it in. Going to throw it around at Coopers tomorrow on an out and back ride, I so excited I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight. It's like Christmas Eve.

We're going to take a break during the ride tomorrow to watch Anna run the Coopers 10K and cheer her on. Last year she got first in her class. She's looking for a repeat.

No Steve for the ride tomorrow, he's still working the Super Sale down at the home base (aka Wamsley's). So go down and support your LBS and make it worth Steve's ride sacrifice.

I'll let you know how the HiFi performs at Coopers and soon there maybe some news concerning Jeremy's Race bike. One more Superfly to the crew.

Later,

Josh

Steller Weekend at Camp RowMan+

Got a lot of time in on yee ol'bike this weekend, had some good food and beer and watched the final final stage of Paris-Nice.........all and all a good time.

Saturday I slept in for the first time in quite a long time. Had to try to shake the time change slump. Didn't have any pressing business to take care of so I just goofed off on the computer, drank coffee and read some VeloNews. Took me awhile to figure out how to get the playlist.com gadget to work on the blog. I exhausted all my limited computer know-how with no success. But I final won the battle. Ended up being so much easier than I was making it. We are taking music requests (within reason)........want to keep the people happy.

After that it was time for some bike maintenance and simple repairs. Got on the stationary torture device or some interval work. Then it was off to the shop on the E to the X to pick up some supplies and the crew. After the Rowand's got off work we headed out to Bakers for a few laps in the day light. Only road for about an hour cause we wanted to save some go juice for Sunday's trip to Big Bear.

We went our own ways and I was pumped to go to Black Bear with Anna. I had a Pizzadilla and a Rogue Juniper Pale Ale at it was de-lish as usual. Anna had Thai One On with shrimp which was very good too. I like it a loooooooot.

Sunday it was up early to load gear for Big Bear. Picked up Steve and met up with the rest of Team RowMan+ with addition of Auvid at Bob Evan's a pre-ride fuel up. There was a whole table full of food. I had the whole grain pancakes, biscuits and bacon. Carbs and grease (protein), reserves were topped off.

Got to Big Bear a little before noon and it was cool and drizzly. As we were gearing up the rest of the days group showed up. The Talbot's, Robbie and Laura and James. After everyone was ready the girls drove up the road to start their own ride and the guys rallied up to discuss the route.

There was quite a collection of fine bikes in the group. Two SuperPimpFlys, 2 69er's (last years and this years), Specialized FSR 29er and 1 Canny Caffine 29er. Lots of big wheels with a couple small ones thrown in for good measure. In my opinion, 29er in should be the bike of choice around Big Bear area.

Robbie led us out on some new/old trails, many of which I've

never been on before. Some of the new trail required some hike a bike but has promise to be a technical masterpiece. I hear Benji has something to do with the design and it shows. He's like the Jack Nicolas of trail design, everyone wants to get on the course.

We circled back around to the parking lot just in time for Jeremy to fix a flat but not before Dr. Talbot smacked both the boys off the top tube. He was in a crumbled hump for a few minutes but was able to suck it up and ride on. He better give himself a self inspection to make sure everything is still where it's suppose to be.

Then we headed out to to some of the 24hr course by way of a trail that paralleled the road then ducked in behind the store. Both of which I've never road before. Good, challenging trails. Thanks for taking the lead Rob.

Once on the 24hr loop we had a few stops for mechanicals which for once I had nothing to do with. First, Ryan had the largest gash I've seen on a tire in quite some time. There was a rumor that Brian shanked it after some sketchy rub move Ryan put on him while trying to pass. It took many minutes and gel wrappers to fix it. Next, a couple turn of the cranks later Robbie just about ripped off his front derailleur. But with his massive mechanic skills he was able to roll out with a 1x9.

We got rolling again just in time for the sick, fun decent. Again, the big wheels roll over stuff so smooth, especially at speed. Eventually, after descending and ascending we ran into the ladies ride. After a short chat the groups split up and Team RowMan+ headed back to the parking lot via parallel trail.

The rest of the group was heading to eat some SweatyMex while Steve and I headed home. Steve had to pack for his trip to Ireland and I got home in time to watch the final stage of the "Race to the Sun" and eat a large bowl of spaghetti and meatballs. I thought The Condor was going to pull it out for awhile there. He lost the race because he forgot to eat and bonked. How the hell do you do that at that level? Oh well, Lance made the same mistake before and there are plenty of more shots for victory. Alberto's new Madone looked HOT!

What a good weekend. Almost 7 hours of riding in two days..........Right now it's two days later and I've take a couple recovery days before cranking it up again for this week. Maybe Steve will have some stories for us when he returns from the Emerald Coast. I'm enjoying some Guinness for St. Patrick's Day but I'm sure their not as tasty as the ones he's drinking. Lucky punk!

One more thing. I'm considering making a new bike purchase. Passably a HiFi 29'er to replace the Fuel EX, I need to move a few things around to make it happen. Stay tuned to see if I can pull it out.

Later,

Josh

Thursday Night Throw Down

I've been struggling all week with this time change. I get up at 5am for work, so with the hour forward it's been like getting up at 4am. My body just didn't understand but, tonight made it all worth it. I got out on the bike around 5:30 for the Thursday night'r and got a good two hours in before I had to turn on the light..........Bitch'n.

I got a call from Jeremy today and he informed me he was going to break the geared Thursday night rule and was going to bring out his Trek 69er SS. So, I though I would join him on the one geared machine. So like I said I left the house at 5:30 on my Gary Fisher Rig. I like riding this bike, it is fully rigid which provides a real positive feel on the trail, simple and sweet and few parts for me to break. It has a OnOne steal fork, on harder hits it still has a little give so it's not too harsh. Perfect for a Bakers Ride.

I headed out the road to UHS and started out on Grouse Trail. Right away I saw how dry the trails were and felt a long forgotten feeling........Traction. After Grouse I passed on Legs a Fire and went down to the left to what I like to call the Rhododendron Tunnel then back to the road. Hit the other side and headed down to meet up with the rest of the crew. Still noting the tacky, smooth, fast conditions.

The Rowand's and Nate showed a little after the usual go time. Guess Jeremy got a flat on the way over from the shop. Jeremy and Steve were 69'n (that sounds bad), J on the SS version and Steve on the 3x9 type. Nate dog was on his pimp'n SuperFly.

Then it was on. Right off the start the tempo was fast. Nate led us up the access road and hit the steep right. Jeremy and I cleared it on the SS's, probably a first since last fall. Again, there was good traction. Then it was over to 7 logs with J in the front hit'n it pretty good. Felt real nice flowing over those logs and landing smooth and rolling out. The hammering continued up numb skull and back out. Next was turbo and back over to grouse trail on the UHS side. This time we did Legs a Fire. Ouch, luckily there wasn't much hammering up this killer. Back out grouse backwards to the road. At this point the lights came out. It was a real treat to ride that long in the day light.

Back on the main side the hammering continued for another hour or so. It hurt but felt real nice to be able to feel some speed for the first time in many months. Those big wheels smooth things out even more at speed and carry good momentum. By the time it was all over the crew was pretty gassed but smiles were all around. Good ride'n.

Nate was looking real strong. He was doing a lot of the pace setting and hitting the hills hard. Way to go dude, keep up the good work. Jeremy was ride'n strong as usual and somehow didn't even break a sweat and only had a max HR of like 165. He's a freak'n machine. Steve was hurt'n a bit from playing on his new Madone yesterday but kept the hammer down anyway, true Steve style. I was feeling the burn from previous interval torture but managed to hang. Nothing makes one faster and better than riding with some speedsters. So come out and throw it down and get faster and make it hurt so good.

I've got some high hopes this weekend of doing something cool like going to Big Bear or doing the Morgantown RR course. Time will only tell, stay tuned for Team RowMan+'s activites

On another note. Way to go Ryan (coach)! He is now a Master of Science. That a boy! Let's celebrate.

later,

Josh

Coops Out and Back Epic

My day dreaming finally paid off, warm and dry. First time this year we were able to ride with shorts and short sleeves. Temps were in the 70's and partly sunny. It was very bitch'n. I met up with the Rowands at Jermey's place. Didn't hear from coach, he has his masters defence this week so, I figure he is real busy. Everyone wish him luck.

I pulled up and Jeremy had on knee warmers, arm warmers, and vest on. I told him he was a dumb ass and to take all the crap off cause it was awesome day to be out on the bike. As usual I was spot on.

I brought out the SuperFly again to get it dialed in a lil more. Steve was 69'n it and Jeremy was on the Stumpy FSR 29er. We headed out around high noon for a Cooper's Rock out and back. Went the Mile Ground/Peirpont/Old Cheat Lake Road?/Quarry Run up to Coop's day lot. It took us about 1:20hr to get there. Went nice and slow on the way there so it was a great warm up.

Here's Steve reliving himself after the long ride up.

Jeremy happy to be at coop's

There were a ton of people at the day lot. After a short fuel up we headed out on the trails, which were pretty sweet, dry and fast, great traction. We went out to the reservoir and back toward the day lot via the Parallel Trail. Then down to the intermediate loop and back to the reservoir. Then it was out to Rock City and Rhododendron Trail. At this point I fell over on my derailleur and bent my tab like a real idiot. It took quite a bit to get that all straitened out. Thanks to Jeremy for bringing a spare tab even though it didn't fit his bike. Needless to say this isn't the first time this has happened. Got things rolling again and went over to the other side of the hill to do the Nature Trial. After that we decided we better head back cause we were run'n out of water and I was gett'n gassed.

Steve goof'n off.

Then we blasted down Quarry and hit up the BP for some rehydration and munchies. It was just in time, we were out of fluids and feeling some hunger pain.

After the break it was back home for some recovery food.

What a good recovery dinner. Grilled turkey burgers, potatoes with peppers and onions and asparagus and wash it all down with Dog Fish Head Brewery's 90 minute IPA. Now it's time to relax and watch one of my favorite movies "Idiocracy". Oh my balls.

Anna and I also did a fishing trip to Davis on Saturday. Didn't catch any trout but who cares? Had some good beer (Yuengling Black and Tan) and good food (Siriani's Veggie Pizza). A cool bonus, got to see JR while he was working at BWB. Dude has lost 30 lbs. and still isn't smoking, way to go man. Watch out Clydesdale class.

Check out the Sport Utility Neon doing some mudd'n.

later,

Josh

Dry Day Dream'n

My optimism didn't pay off. I was day dream'n all day today of a warm dry Thursday Nighter. I went to White Park yesterday and it was quite dry. It was still cold though. So with the warmer temperatures today I was hoping it would be warm and dry tonight. Not! It was a lot warmer which was awesome but the Bakers trails were a mucky mess. And to top it off I thought it would be a good night to break out the SuperFly for the first time this year. Here we are before the ride, both smile'n and ready to hit the trail.

Got down to the gate to find Coach hanging out. Then a special guest appearance was made by Dr. Brian T. fresh from his trip to India, that's right India. And he showed up on his 2009 Trek 69er 3x9, which he won from Dirt Rag. Cool!

The rest of the crew rolled up. Steve and Jeremy, Nate and Jake. After a quick photo session it was up the trail. Started out on the road and then headed out to 7 logs. It quickly became obvious that it was not dry at all. The trails were muddy and slippery. It was hard to find front or rear end traction.

After a loop around 7 logs and up Numb Skull Nate had a small but detrimental mechanical, broken seat collar. So Nate and I headed up to my house to find a replacement while the rest of the group did some labs around the top. None of my spares fit his SuperFly frame so, we had to improvise. Check it out

Yeah, that's a front derailleur/seat clamp. It did the job.

At this point Brian and his mustache decided they had enough and the rest of the merry, muddy crew headed over to the UHS side for a lil grouse and legs a fire. There were a few spills of varying degrees of spectacularity. Grouse was in good shape and was by far the best trail of the night. Then it was back to the other side at which time we decided to call it a night. Here is the aftermath. Poor baby, I'll be give'n her some love'n now.

Despite the tough going it was a good ride with some cool cats. Maybe attendance will increase with warm weather and increasing daylight. Remember..........turn your clocks forward this weekend. Lose an hour of sleep but gain an hour of light. I'll take it.

later,

Josh

Oh what fun.

Well boys and girls I can say my new bike is AMAZING! Got another ride on it today for a total of 100 miles outdoors. For anybody on the fence to get a new ride I would recommend the Madone. It rides so tight and responsive. I was so used to riding a noodle with the Lemond. Man those days are over. This thing just gets up and goes with every once of power you give. Well enough of me babbling about this and that. Took a full view pic so you can see it in its whole. Added a couple new bits as well. She now comes in at 15.45lbs. Enjoy everyone. Oh the last one is of my new best friend. Hehehehehe. He likes going fast.