Saturday Extremes

Today I woke up to a 26°F temperature and icy street. Great way to start a 6 hour ride. I cautiously rolled down to Scott's Cycle for the 7:30 ride. When I get there nobody is kitted up and they're trying to figure out where to go to breakfast...whatever, it's not that bad out. Anyway Kyle Gritters was in town and he was at the shop ready to roll, so roll we did with two other brave souls. It was a great ride, a little sketchy at times but great none the less. About 1.5 hours into the ride disaster strikes. As we were all riding relaxed, feeling that the ice was not a problem, we turned left onto a side road. First down, Kyle. Second down, Matt, after rolling over Kyle rear wheel. Third down, Lauren. Of course I stayed upright because I was on my custom made Marcroft that tracks superbly in the snow and ice. After the melee we were down a rear wheel and a rear derailuer on Kyles bike. After jimmying it back together we limped back to the shop. Luckily the temperature was rising, Steve and John got the bike running again and we were able to continue the trek. Six hours, 3000Kjl.

Vertical Integration

I've been trying to get a website up for Marcroft Cycles for quite some time now. Well, after coming to the realization that someting on the web is better than nothing, I started work on the site myself. I'm no programer but I was able to get a program that writes all the html code for you. Here's a sneak peak.

I'm going to try to get the site uploaded this week and a better gallery dialed in.

I hope the pictures of me aren't too much. I'm just trying to bring sexy back.

It Figures

The day after Christmas and I don't have to work. Great time to burn off some holiday calories....in crappy weather. I'm so tired of riding in the rain.

Titanium Push

I've decided to push forward with offering titanium bikes. This is quite a large undertaking as the costs are much greater than building steel bikes. I only need to do a few things to the shop to get it dialed in for building bikes out of Ti. I'll need to do a proof bike too. I wonder what kind of bike I should build? I already have 4 road bikes, 2 mountian bikes, a TT bike, track bike and cross bike. It'll probably be another road bike, they get used the most.

Marcroft Cycles Flyer

I had this flyer made up about 6 months ago. It went up in a few shops around town. Check it out.

Frames

Here are some frames:


This is my new road bike for next year. Columbus Spirit tubing, it's sick light.


Doug's bike back from the painter. I'm looking forward to seeing this built up. Should be sweet.


David's rain bike finally with all the braze-ons. Still nasty with the flux too. It'll be back from the powder coater by Christmas and ready to ride for the new year.


Marcroft Cycles quality control going over a frame...it passed.

Finishing Up

I always do this. I'll end up with two or three bikes 80% finished. This weekend I should have them done and ready for the painter. I'll post a few pictures before they go out the door.

Trimmed Up

I almost busted a gut when I saw this.

Enough Already

Alright we get it, cyclocross racers are 'zany, cooky, dudes.' They like to drink beer and wear speedos while racing in knee deep mud. But you know what, when everyone else is doing it, you're no longer unique.

Cyclocross was at one time a fringe sport of another fringe sport (road racing). Now it's all mainstream. I mean the New York Time ran an article about it for christs sake.



Whatever.

Goes Around, Comes Around

After one seriously wet and nasty November, December starts out with blue sky and great rides. We'll see how long it lasts.

I have a theory: Every year we accumulate X number of inches of rain. Every year its roughly the same number. That means we ARE going to get X inches of rain. The question is how are we going to receive it. One week, 5 inches followed by a week of nice, or will it be steady drizzle for a month? I prefer a nasty week followed by a nice period. I guess we're in that nice period.

Some Bikes

I'm too tired to efficiently build bikes this evening so I thought I'd post some pictures of some bikes Ive already built.


Anthony's Road Bike. This photo doesn't do the finish justice. It's certainly the color of money


My TT bike. Don't let the 54T front ring fool you, I'm still slow on it.


Chris's TT frame. I really like this orange. In fact I think this will be the color for my next road frame.


David's rain bike in progress. It just needs brazing and a Canadian flag, eh.

Epic?!

Sunday was stupid. I should have just stayed in the garage and built bikes. But noooo, I gotta go ride. Of course I didn't want to ride alone so I text messaged O-Dogg to meet up. He accepted and my day was about to turn to shit. With the temperature about 38 degrees and the wind wipping at 20-30 mph I kitted up and rode downtown to meet Omer. I won't get into details about the ride but Omer's built for flat, windy riding and let's just say that I'm not. After 3.5 hours of wind and rain I got home and for some reason I've been in a pissy mood ever since. I think that ride broke me. Stupid bike. I'm moving to California.

Next Stop: Pro Tour

Well not quite but it is the next step for Lake Washinton Velo and world domination:

Todd Herriott Joins Hagens Berman Cycling Team as Director

November 22, 2006 – The Lake Washington Velo Cycling Club is taking another big step in solidifying itself as the premier amateur development team in the Nation with the announcement of Todd Herriot as the Director Sportif. Todd comes to the team with several years on the NRC circuit as a member of the Colavita/Sutter Home and Healthnet programs along with a background as a strength and conditioning coach. "With the increased support from our sponsor Hagens Berman we were able to bring in a great talent and mentor like Todd to help mold our talented yet inexperienced riders into the cyclists of tomorrow. He has the experience and background to direct this team to an even higher level", states team President Terry Buchanan. Todd comes to the team with several stellar performances over the last several years: first American to win the Univest Grand Prix in 2002; first American to win the Tour of Cuba and finishing his professional career 12 th overall at the US Professional Road Championships earlier this year. Todd won't only be sitting behind the wheel of the team's Saturn Ion but will also support the entire team in many areas including coaching, tactics, and mental toughness and will also give us a unique perspective as the season rolls along at www.hagensbermancycling.com or www.toddherriott.com

Pass the Gravy

It's Thanksgiving Day and that means eating until you can't move. For most cyclists, and me especially, this is a very bad thing. An extra 7000 calories in one dinner can set you back a few weeks in training. I found this article about making Thanksgiving dinner healthier. It's pretty much common sense but we could all use a reminder now and then.

I'm going to enjoy my one piece of turkey, no potatoes and one scoop of dressing. Of course the one piece of turkey will be 300 grams and the scoop of dressing will be from a shovel.

Why I Hate CycloCross

I just checked out some pictures from the USGP finale in P-Town...why the hell would you roll to the starting line knowing full well what the course is like. That doesn't look like fun at all. Covered in mud, soaked to the bone and freezing your ass off. At least it's over with in one hour and you can get a beer hand up.

A couple nights ago, after finishing a pint of ice cream, I had a dream that I was guest riding at Mt Hood for a pro team. Odd. I'm going to have to have one hell of a start to my '07 season for that to happen. I should probably lay off the fozen dairy products.

Yeah...

5 hours on Saturday...no rain but cold.
3 hours on Sunday...rain and cold.
7 day forcast: rain and cold.
yippee.

Where's....?

So in order to better prep for playing with the dude when he arrives let's play a little game. It's called find the stuff on the workbench.



-Calculator, because I can't add or subtract
-Bike-o-pain, AKA, time tial bike
-Half eaten cliff bar
-2005 OBRA expert number plate
-Various measuring devices because my eye-crometers are not calibrated
-Remote to the tunes
-Pliers for assisting my weak wrists
-Cell phone in case the orders start flowing in

Big-Tex vs. Cancer Ver.2.0

Over-Competitive Lance Armstrong Challenges Cancer To Rematch

It Figures

Sore throat....Check
Runny nose....Check
Achy muscles....Check

It's officail, I'm sick. It pisses me off too, I wasn't dieting or pushing myself on the bike. I was just exposed to some virus, which brings me to my rant:

If you're sick, stay the hell home!! Don't come to work, don't show up on group rides, don't go to the store, just stay home! Last week I can count 2 people that came to work ill and at least 2 people that showed up to the weekend rides coughing and hacking. I hate them right now.

The Pay-Off

I think all the weight lifting is having an effect on me. Check out my buff legs.

Corporate Sell Out

I added a couple links to my page here. One is Garmin, my corporate job. I have hesitated on linking my 'real' job to my blog. It's not like the need the publicity for revenue. But what the hell it's review time and I think my boss reads this.

The other is Motion Based. Check out their site. If you are using a GPS device you should be uploading your information to Motion Based. Besides they're a good group of guys and they do need the revenue.

Rain is Here

I started raining today. I'm not ready for 3 months of wet weather. I don't even know if my rain bike will make it another 10 miles before it falls apart. I guess I was hoping the nice weather would hold. I guess I was wrong.

The Blazers season started today...with a win in Seattle. Brandon Roy is something special.

Hagens-Berman Hit Squad: Oregon Edition

I got a list of all the Oregon based Hagen-Daz-Borg Riders there are. It's quite impressive. Here's the break down of the players:

Carl Decker: He's pretty fast.
Andrew Fischer: Been known to win a race or two. Won the 2006 Oregon Cup
Ian Boswell: Now that he can drive a car I'm sure he'll be upgraded.
Brian Marcroft: Straight money pimp.
Damien Schmitt: Still racing after all these years.
Alex Newport-Berra: He goes up hill very fast.
Dan Watson: Does he still ride? I saw him dish out some serious pain in 2005...
Joe King: He races a lot, I'm sure there will be some results in 2007.
Adam Curry: If you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all...
Solomon Woras: Anyone that races SS Cross in a Speedo is alright with me. Besides we were on Team O together, as 4s...and Omer too. I'm seeing a trend here.
Taylor Kneuven: Altitude training and keg stands.

Don't hate.

Trade Show?!

Looks like I better get off my ass and get a booth set up to show off Marcroft Cycles. I only have 11 months to prepare.

Trade Show in P-Town

I'm sure booth babes are optional.

Oh, I can race again....Thanks

So did everyone implemented in Operation Puerto dodge a bullet, or will there be some more fallout down the line? I don't know but there are some serious problems with the UCI and WADA that need to be ironed out.


So in case you're wondering about my training program for next year is going, I think this pretty much sums it up:


Peace!

Ultimate NW Training Bike

I've been kicking around the idea of building high zoot rain bikes for the crapped out weather we get around here for 5 months at a time. There's been a ton of interest but who really wants to spend a grip of cash on a custom bike that they are going to beat the hell out of? I found one guy and he's stoked.

It'll be a sweet ride. I figure the bike will match the riders race bike in fit and relative handling but the frame will have special enhancements to make winter life better. Including disc brakes, 135mm rear spacing and extra fender clearance not to mention that custom steel feel. Sure this bike will need a special wheelset, but don't all rain bikes? I should make an interesting project. I hope this is the catalyst that sparks some more sales.

I'll post some pictures as the build goes on.

Respect the Riis

I think Bjarne Riis is doing a fantastic job protecting his name and the integrity of Team CSC. By sacking Basso (I know they are saying mutually decided to part ways but we all know what that means) Riis can wash his hands of anything that might come out of Operación Puerto and Basso's involvement.

Riis is taking no chances and if that means letting a potential Tour winner go he's willing to take that chance to protect the squad.

Hillsburrito - 'Cross styling in the mud

Since I'm not doing the 'cross thing this year I gave my bike to a dude outta Corvallis to rock on. Here's how his first race went:


A story doesn’t exist until it’s been told. So with that little deep thought in mind (I made that one up all by myself too), I have a little ditty to tell about my adventure last Sunday. It just so happens that I don’t think any of you were there!

My story has a little background to it. Brian Marcroft approached me recently about riding his custom built Ti cross bike during this fall to get the name out for Marcroft Cycles. Considering that I was riding on a large, heavy Kona Jake I immediate said heck yea! I started training on the Marcroft ‘cross bike just before my trip to Raleigh, NC last week. I returned to Oregon last Thursday and took the Marcroft bike out for some intervals and ‘cross skills in Avery Park (Corvallis) last Friday and peeled the Tufo tubular clincher cross tires off twice! This was very concerning – I didn’t want this to happen in a race. So I bought a new pair of Hutchison cross clinchers and put them on the bike Saturday night. Not good planning to have new equipment that I’ve never tested before, but considering the risks of continuing on the Tufos I decided to go for it.

Race day dawned a beautifully gray morning in a full down pour. I looked like excellent Oregon ‘cross weather and I couldn’t be happier to be headed out to play in the mud. The down side of the rain was the cold wind that was whipping along the race course. I was able to get to the race (whole family in tow) early enough to preview the course with one lap after the C’s finished their race. The course was very slippery and there was a beautiful section where the sadistic course designers decided to send the race through the 25m long mulch pile with ankle to calf deep of lose chipped mulch. It was still raining during the Master’s B/Junior race so I kept moving to warm-up doing laps around the stadium. About 25 min before my race start I decided to do some mount/dismounts and the saddle seemed to slip back so the nose was pointed in the air. I found a couple of teammates near by and borrowed an Allen wrench. I adjusted the saddle to level, tested it and it slipped again. I did this three times total before I realized race time was just too close so I’d have to just go for it and hope for the best.

I staged about 15min before my race and was mixed in the back of a large mob of SS and B’s shivering in the rain. I was able to see my daughter Kate do her first ever bike race in the kiddie kross group riding her trike with her mom to help. Apparently they sent the kids over the six pack too, what a trooper. Back to my race – they flipped a coin and the B’s would start first. So I pushed my way through the SS and rolled up to the start line and staged about 3rd deep. The line had about 20 people wide and about 5 deep total. We then shivered for the next 10+ minutes in the rain. Eventually we started and most of the group didn’t realize that the whistle was going to blow which added to some confusion. At the first corner (about 100m in to the race) someone ahead of me in my line crashed taking down about three other riders. I went to the left through the ditch to avoid the carnage and looked around to realize I was dead last, about 85th position! Well the racing games began and I quickly passed lots of people who were rolling around in the mud on their backs (literally!). There were also a couple of flat gravelly sections where I punched it and flew past people 2 and 5 at a time.

More drama ensued about half way through the race when I dropped my chain coming into the six pack of barriers at the finish. I ran the barriers and then put the chain back on. When I went to remount the bike there was a load crack from the saddle and now it was cocked up in the air and sideways. I decided that the saddle wasn’t going anywhere so I rode it and was very careful mounting the bike again after that. It didn’t feel too good to ride like that but I only lost about 5 more places and finished 45th. I also dropped the chain one more time, and it turns out that the lower rail of the seat post clamp broke off completely. On the positive note the new tires worked great and I never lost traction anywhere, nor did I slide out or crash anywhere on the course.

In the end I’m listed as 45th – I passed about 40 people in the race. …so if I could pass 45 people next time and I started in 50th position I’d be fighting for a spot on the front of the race!

So that’s my story. Next up for me is that I’m planning on racing at the Flying M Ranch October 29th.

Ben

Too Hard?

So people have been giving me shit about how hard my picture looks in my profile. What can I say, that's how I roll.

You want soft and cuddly, here ya go:

It's Hobbes, he likes to sleep.

License to Ill

Ahhh yah, I got my upgrade, I'm a Cat 2. See whining and pestering the officials works. Or maybe they need to raise the sexy index of the Cat 1,2 field. It'll be off the charts now.

Ultra-Sound

Kristin went in for her ultra-sound today to check out the babys progress. It was amazing! Seeing the little heart beating and the little legs kicking, awesome!

BTW it's a boy.

2028 is right around the corner.



No pressure son, no pressure.

Old Skool Mountian Biking

Back in the day (mid 90's) I started mountian biking. I went riding with these guys that were way faster than me and they'd beat my ass on every ride. I suffered so much on these bike rides, I don't know why I kept going. But I did. Fast forward a few years and out of that original crew most are still riding but now when we ride I get to inflict the pain.

On Sunday a few of us got together again and rode Mt St Helens. It was a social ride so no pain was dished out, lucky for them. We rode up into the clouds and across the lava flow, it was sureal. You could only see about 50 feet in front of you.

I brought along my custom painted Edge 305 that has been on my desk for a couple months.

Da' Ride

After rides like yesterday it makes me want to ride more in the woods. It also makes me want to build a new mountain bike....hummmm

True, True

Sometimes it hurts to be this good.

Confusion?

The ladies in the beer garden don't seem impressed by my raw beauty nor my amazing custom made Marcroft Ti Cross bike. Must be gay and DeSalvo fans.

Final 'Race' Report of '06

It's was StarCrossed weekend in Seattle and I was going up to help out and maybe race then haul ass to PDX for the first Cross Crusade. Here's how it went down.

-Up bright and early Saturday
-Pack all my stuff, caffinate, plug in i-Pod and hit the road. Only 4 hours to Marymoor Velodrome
-It's 1:00 and I'm only an hour late. Of course Russ is just arriving too so we go look for Terry to find out what needs to be done.
-Terry is looking a bit tattered and points us to registration and says, 'Make it happen'
-Cool, looks like I'll be helping out with registration for a little while before the others get there.
-6 hours later everyones register and I'm heading off to get kitted up. Why am I racing after sitting in registration all day without any fluid or food in me...I'm stupid I guess. Something I learned about working in registration, be calm and cool. It seems as though a racers IQ drops 20 points 2 hours before their race time. Odd.
-Barrow some water from the Whitman boys and down a Cliff bar. I guess I'm ready to race.
-Random number call ups, I'm mid-pack of 100+ riders on the start line.
-Gun goes off and I set off to get to the front of the race.
-4 laps later I pull the pin and practice my wheelies around the course until the officials pull me because I'm about to get lapped.
-Dickson did give Marcroft Cycles a shout out while I was racing though. Sweet.
-Roll around a little bit showing off my Ti crosser.
-Give Tubbs shit about riding a GT that's as old as I am. Seriously you gotta get a new ride.
-Get changed and watch the best Elite cross race I've seen at StarCrossed.
-Hand out some Marcroft Cycles cards. I hope someone bites.
-Get a text message from home, Kristin just felt the baby for the first time. Oh man, I really hope some one bites on a bike.
-Take off to Anthony and Mire's place. Decide that I'm wicked hungery and Applebees is just down the street.
-Dine on half price appitizers and a beer until midnite. Talked a lot about mountainbiking and racing motocross but we mainly just gave Mire a hard time about riding a 30+lb mountainbike. Why do that to yourself?
-12:30 finally getting some sleep.
-7:30 get up.
-Slam a double esspresso and haul ass to Russ's to meet up for the 9:30 Hagens-Berman team ride.
-3 hours of sidewalks, trails and back alleys we get done. Wierd training in Seattle and it makes me really appreciate living in the mid valley.
-First ride with the SRM and I got 1100 watts in an effort some place. I don't even remember sprinting either. I wonder if I can do 1200 watts in an all out sprint?
-Russ's new wife, Dana, made us lunch. Mmmm pizza. Damn it I'm never going to get skinny.
-Go do some fit stuff at Russ's place of employment. Found out that I'm not very far off in my position. Good.
-Hit the road home.
-It's 3:30, oops I guess I'm not stopping by the Crusade race. Next weekend maybe.

Good time, sweet race and I'm still sexy as hell.

Dang!

Where Bikes Come From

Here's a customers TT bike about to get the chainstays tacked on.

See Marcroft Cycles IS real.

In Case You've Forgot

I'm a bad man.

Fine Day

I rode today, 3.5 hours, big ring. It's amazing how fast you lose fitness in the fall. I think this was the longest ride I've done in 2 months. Like it really matters what I do for training right now.

Tomorrow is the Peach of a Century event ride out of Salem. I think I'm going to fill my bottles with Jack and Coke. I should be good and lubricated by mile 50 or so.

Frame Building

I haven't really had much to say about the progress of Marcroft Cycles lately. I've sold some bikes, I have some others waiting in the wings to make purchases. Things are starting to roll along a little bit.

I read today that another custom frame builder is throwing in the towel. There seems to be a disturbing number of builders closing their doors this year. It makes my second guess this line of work as a full time profession. I'm going to adjust my goals for Marcroft Cycles. Instead of doing 100+ bikes a year I think I want to focus on doing about 25-30 per year. I think that is an attainable number that I can do while still working for 'the man'.

It's a good thing I haven't burnt all the bridges at Garmin. I'll need to remain gainfully employed there for some time to come.

The Finale

I'm done. My 2005 road season is finished. In review it wasn't too bad. I got a win, some top 5s and a shit ton of top 10s. Between WSBA and OBRA I racked up over 45 starts on the year, by far more than any other year. I met a bunch of good people and handed out 100s of Marcroft Cycles cards. I can't wait until next year. Although I still might do some cross races this season but just for fun. And by fun I mean drunk.

Speaking of next year, my wife and I will be having our worlds rocked by a new arrival. Kristin is pregnant. We were both very surprised and at the same time very excited by this news.

I guess I'll have to change my description on this blog to:
Find out what it takes to make it into the world of elite cycling, start a custom frame business, be a good dad and maintain a normal life outside of cycling

Climbing the Walls

I don't know if I've had too much caffine or listened to too much speed metal this morning but I'm busting at the seams to race. I rolled for a couple hours this morning, nice and easy to losen up for tomorrow. Now all I want to do is race. Not just race but inflict pain. Big pain. Like cry to your mom pain. I'm going to be chewing on my handle bars for most of the race tomorrow wanting to attack....gotta stay in control. The last 10 miles will be fun.

NBA vs Cycling

As some of you know I'm a pretty big basketball fan. Well maybe not that big, but out of the major american professional sports (baseball, football, hockey...) I follow basketball the closest. Remeber a few years back when a ton of NBA stars were getting busted for weed. I remeber one of the excuses was 'it's part of my culture.' Maybe cyclists that are busted for dopping should try that angle. It's no more silly than complete denial.

I stink!

I've decided that my win in Washington was a fluke. I rolled into the crit weekend in Portland with a ton of confidece and all I have to show for it is a 14th, 15th and a 24th place finish. Not what I wanted. Today was Woodland and it featured an uphill finish, 13th place. Dang it! At least I'm consistent.

Let's see if I can make some things happen in Bend and Eugene.

Dang Good Look'n

Check it out, I'm 'Photo of the Week'. I'm going to buy this image from Amara and use it for the family Christmas card.

Merry Christams Suckas!

Race Report

Here's how my Saturday went.

-Alarm goes off at 5:00AM. Shit I've gotta get going. I calculated that I needed to leave Salem no later than 6:00AM to get to Gig Harbor in time to get through registration, duke, prep the bike, pin numbers, kit up, piss, roll around looking good and make it to the start line on time.
-Load my bike and gear. Load Cree's bike and goodies taking extra care not to scratch the new bike.
-Hit the road.
-Stop at Starbucks for coffee and a bagel
-Dammit no bagels! Fine, give me that walnut-rasin baggett....yuck. But it was a better choice than frosted lemon pound cake.
-Drive north
-Crank up i-Pod
-Crap I forgot my sunglasses. I guess I'll be squinting all day
-Countinue driving north
-Contunue blasting my playlists
-
-Still driving
-
-Sweet the Tacoma narrows bridge. I then realize I still have a problem with giant man made expanses across bodies of water. As i cross trhe bridge I notice I'm hunched over the steering wheel driving very tense and my palms are sweaty.
-Find the race and park the hooptie
-Get my rental number and go through the pre race rituals
-Hear how everyone is searching for late season upgrade points, myself included.
-Line up at the start. We didn't really have a pre-race meeting, or maybe I just wasn't included, or maybe i just missed it because I was too busy rolling around flexing for the fans. Anyway, it was kinda known that because this was Gillette's race he should get the win and he placed 3rd at the first race of the series. Col by me. He wins, I get a top 5 and get to keep all my toes.
-Race starts. Russ is the offical in the caravan behind us. If I get dropped I'm sure he'll ask the driver to run me into the ditch to put me out of my misery. That's motivation.
-The course is sweet. One longish climb followed by a buch of false flats and rollers.
-Broadmark is active all day marking guys and attacking the group. We had 5-6 guys and Garage had the same. Wines was there and Second Ascent. So there were some teams represented.
-It was apparent that the race was going to come down to a sprint finish as nothing was getting up the road. Typical cat 3 racing. Oh well.
-Race finish. 3 Miles to go: take a flyer with a Second Ascent rider. No soup! We come back. 5km to go I'm sitting 6th wheel and a RAD racer puts me into the ditch! I recover without losing any ground and promptly flick the RAD racer and take the 5th wheel. 1km to go: the pace is getting hgher and Gillette is second wheel. 350 meters to go: Gillette goes long, damn! He's got big balls! 200 meters to go: We get both lanes and I come out into the left lane and wind it up. 100 meters to go: I've passed the five guys that were in front of me including Gillette. 50 Meters to go:....holly shit I'm going to win. Across the finish line: Arms in the air and a holla! I hope my jersey was zipped up for the photos.
-Feel a sense of releif as in 5+ years of racing bikes this is my first win.
-Get congratulated by every Broadmarker I see.
-Find out we went 1-2 in the sprint.
-Hear there was a nasty crash in the group at 100 meters and a Broadmark rider went down.
-Immediately go back to find out if they are OK.
-Find out it's Ted and he's pretty banged up. Damn it! And he's the wheel I was on fo most of the final 10km. Get well soon!
-Ride back to the parking lot feeling on cloud nine.
-More congratulations.
-Change.
-Hand off custom Marcroft for delivery to Russ's brother.
-Hit the road home, calling and texting everyone I've ever trained with.
-Stop at Burgerville for a cheese burger and fries...don't judge! I earned this!

In all: 8 hours of driving, 1.5 hours of racing and my first win. Not too bad.

I Won...

Can you believe it? I actually won a race and it had more than 10 people in it. I'm still in disbief.

If you don't believe me check out the cat 3 results for the Gig Harbor Circuit race WSBA

Nevermind

Apparently that giant cock of Floyds on stage 17 was merely a testosterone injected ego. I hope he's able to clear his name and I hope he smacks his docter for screwing up.

Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to talk my wife into some rigorous sex to elevate my testosterone level. I've got some big races this weekend.

Peace!!

The Floyd

I think we all know who has the kong dong in the pro peloton now. A day after getting his ass kicked on the last cols of the stage, the Floyd comes back and rides all the 'contenders' off his wheel with 120km to go. Thus getting the stage win and moving from 11th in GC to 31 seconds out of the lead. Wow! A move that will get you some respect in the peloton. Eve nthe great uni-balled one should be impressed.

Step aside please, we need to make room for the Floyd and his gigantic cock.

I'm Back

After 2 weeks of living with the hippies and Californian transplants in Ashland I'm back home and ready to move Marcroft Cycles into the next phase. That phase....Titanium frames. I've been busting ass getting my shop dialed in for Ti frame manufacturing so I can build up a new road frame and MTB SS. It's going pretty smooth and I should be up and running in another week.

I'm putting together some exciting stuff for the up coming cyclocross season. Trying to sweet talk riders to be on my bikes and kits is tough business. I always feel like a used car saleman but oh well, if that's what it takes. I've got some good people that have shown interest, I just need to get them nailed down.

It's very important for me to have good representation at the cross races in Oregon. Since they get over 600 entries per race, that's 600 potental customers in one place, at one time. Bitch'n.

Oh and BTW I have silly good fitness right now. I've got a build up over the next month that will have me destroying the field in no time. I shouild rack up some serious upgrade pionts in the coming weeks. Finally.

Class Act

I'm leaving for 2 more weeks of training in Ashland. That's right, I'll soon be able to offer titanium bikes. It's funny how as soon as I mention that custom Ti bikes will be avaliable soon from Marcroft Cycles people light up. Nobody wants steel right now. Even if I can make a lighter, better riding and cheaper frame from steel. Oh well, I gotta give the people what they want right? Whatever puts food on the table.

I've got a couple bikes at a custom painter right now. I can't wait to get them back. I'm not one to get too excited about pretty paint but if his portfolio is any indication these bike will look sweet. I'll get pictures up on my site soon. Which brings me to the website. I have a guy getting a site together right now. He's a graphic artist that has a good eye for color and all things cool. Along with the site he's doing up a kit design for me to race in next year. I've got to get out of the kit that has a Belgium painted/Taiwan made frame company on it. I wish I had the money and resources to replace that name with mine. Oh well in time I suppose.

I'm looking forward to a nice relaxing time in Ashland just going to class and then riding my bike around the Rouge Valley. I hope to use it as a little training camp and build some fitness for the second half of the season. I want to turn my top 10s into top 5s. You never know I might actually win a race. That would go a lot towards my upgrade.

Later

Almost Tour Time

Keep up to date with Der Kiaser's inner most thoughts.

Der Kaiser

Road Bike Success

I've gotten feed back from the first road bike I built for another rider....he loves it!

I have to say that I'm releived. He says it does everything he wanted plus some.

Now if I can only convince more poeple that steel is indeed real.

Off to Ashland

I'm looking forward to the weekend. I'm rolling to Ashland with a buddy to do some mountain biking and whoop ass at a road race. I love riding my mountain bike down there. The single track is so sweet. It's one of the few places you can ride a hardtail and not seem lame. You won't hear a bunch of talk about how much travel there bike has and how they did this 'killer 15 foot drop.' Whatever, just ride your bike.

Peace

Tri-Geeks

It would seem it takes an act of God for me to post anymore. Actually it only takes one a-hole tri-geek. You see, I was out for a little recovory/I gotta sell some bikes ride on Tuesday and I had a little run in with a local short short wearer. First off let me state that this group ride has been dubbed the 'hour of power' by some. It's gives all the wannabees in town that can't hang on the Wednesday night world championship ride to put the screws to rec riders that just want to ride their bikes with a group and socailize. Anyway I do these rides sometimes because I know everyone there and it gives me a chance to show off my frames and let people know what I've been up to.

There was this dude there on a naked Trek Madone with clip on bars. I noticed that he had his saddle jammed as far forward as possible and he was wearing the lamest kit ever. Short black shorts with a sleevless jersey. He sceamed triathelete. Hey, whatever, he's gotta get in his miles and what the hell he's on a bike, he gotta be a cool guy...right? Well not really. Everythig was going fine. The 'superstars' were putting the boots to the group, I was sitting in rapping with someone about my latest bike build, everything was nornal until I look up at the front of the group. I see Mr. 'I Own running Shoes that I Actually Run in' at the front of the goup, head down in his TT bars motoring away. Ah shit, that's not right. Every cyclist knows that it's a cardnail sin to ride in your TT bars at the front of the group. Well I thought this guy must be new to group riding and I should give him a pointer on group riding etiquette.

I roll up to him at say, 'Hey how's it going. Just a little pointer, it's not cool to ride in your bars while riding in a group. It's not safe'

His response, 'I'll ride in my bars when I want. You don't need to give me pointers.'

What the hell!! He's lucky I didn't saddle smack him into the ditch. I explained to him I wasn't trying to be a dick to him, I was just looking out for the safety of the group and letting him know what isn't acceptable in a group atmosphere. Well he wasn't listening and continued to tell me that it's alright and he'll do what he wants, when he wants.

Screw him! I didn't speak with him the rest of the ride.

I know that roadies have an elitist aditude and I'm aware of that. I try to speak with all cyclists, even if they are riding a recumbant. I didn't expect this attitude from at tri-geek.

So, here's to you on the Madone geeked out with clip on bars....Get Bent!!

Readership Up??

It's been brought to my attention that people have been looking at my website and blog. No way!

First off let me say the Marcroft Cycles website is in development and the splash page that you see today is just a place holder.

As far as the blog goes, I promise not to get drunk and post any more. And I swear I'll update more often.

Peace!

Top 10s?

Two weeks in a row I've finished in the top ten in a road race. Not too bad since these are just training races.

Marcroft Cycles is chugging along and starting to create a little bit of a buzz around town. No time to write a real blog entry, I've got bikes to build.

Who Doesn't Blog??

Everyones got their own blog, web site, my space...ect. Damn it, next thing I know my grandma will be blogging about how her grandson never visits her.

Blog Slacker

It's been a while since I put anything up on my blog, but give me a break, I'm not a pro cyclists. I'm not required to update every other day.

Here's what's up. I finished my two frames last week. Powder coated and ready to rock. I got my road bike together with all the high zoot shit ready to race...15.7 pounds! That's steel bitch! I raced it today and it works great, very stiff. Next up is building up the TT bike and then the beta/bro-deal bikes. All the feedback I've gotten from others is positive, but you never know what they are saying after I'm not around. Let's hope it's not too bad.

Look for the website to be updated with content very soon. My goal is to have that a little more mature in the following week(s).

Racing in the northwest is in full swing. The Banana Belt World Championships have started and let's just say somethings never change. Nobody will initiate or work in a break but they'll sure as hell chase your ass down. Both races have come down to a sprint finish. Damn I wish I could sprint. On a positive note I'm climbing very well. I reached a milestone last week, 134 pounds. My wife is none too happy about it either, but I'm slowly becoming a climber. I think I'll be in good shape for the hilly stage races in the following months. I can't wait to drop a dumptruck load of pain on the refigerators in the group.

First Race of 2006

I'm getting ready to do my first race of 2006. Luckly it's just a TT. It will be the first time all winter that I'll have gotten my heart rate up to my AT, man that's gonna hurt.

It's too bad I won't be on my own TT bike for this race. It's sitting here on the floor ready to go to the powder coater. Oh well, there will be plenty other opportunities to show it off.

Getting Well

Well I caught the flu last week. Sweaty, shaky, stuffy, achy flu, and it sucked. I haven't been on the bike for 6 days now and that sucks. The weather was beautiful last week but I was sick, that sucks. I seem to be getting better now.

Since my training has been in the toilet, as luck would have it, I'm super busy with Marcroft Cycles. My mill is up and running and all my fixtures are here, finally. So I've been methodacally going through all the steps to build a bike. So far so good. All the fixtures are working without any problem and I have all the tools to get the job done. I'm buildng my TT race rig first since the tubing is a little less money, then I'll build up the mack daddy road frame for next year. I think it will change some peoples idea of what a steel frame is like.

Got It

I picked up my Bridgeport mill yesterday. The final piece of equipment. It won't be long now before I have my demo and Beta bikes on the road.

Crapped Out Weather

I'm usually not ne to complain about the weater but I've had enough rain for the year. Every frickin ride is in the rain. I looked at the alminac for January and we've had like 9 extra inches of rain above the average for the month. How much does that suck?

I hate my rain bike right now. It's heavy, not aero, barely shifts, and rides like a wet noodle. I think I'm going to market the ultimate Oregon winter training bike. It'll be Ti with disc brakes, big tire and fender clearance. The cockpit geometry will match the riders road race bike. I think I could sell a ton of these around here.

What A Releif

so, my dad and I went to Springfield to check out a Bridgeport mill. I wasn't getting my hopes up for this machine to be the right one. When we arived at this dudes place he took us to hs back yard where he had the shop. This yard was nasty, tons of leaves rotting on the ground, an old dune buggy in the corner of the lot. This wasn't you normal setting for buying a machine tool. As we entered the shop he explained to us that he was in the proccess of moving back into tis shop from his old location in Eugene. Fair enough, that explains the mess. We made our way to the far end of the building into a bay that was filled with machines. New mills, old mills, CNC mills, mills that had gone though fires, probably $150K worth of equipment. We zig-zagged between machine to the one he thought I might be most interested in. I was a beauty. I had to restrian myself from yelling out within the first 30 seconds, "I'll take it!" We talked back and forth about the mill and its history and what needed to be done to it, then I said "1300 bucks huh, well, I guess I'll take it." Hell yah I'll take it! I scored big time. He told me later that if he did any work to it it would be listed for $2000+.

This is the final piece to the Marcroft Cycles puzzle. I'll be up and building bike in my garage by the second week of February. It looks like I might actually get my demo/race bike done for the first race of the season.

Mill Arrh Time

I realized I needed too get a mill of my own when I was leaving the shop I was using with nothing to show for my 5 hours of work other than a bunch of frustration. This sent me into panic mode. I need to find a mill of my own. I've been on the phone to every used machine tool seller in the state trying to find a good mill. You would think with all the industry around I could find one with the quicks but you'd be wrong. After spending a better part of the day on the phone leaving messages I found one in Springfield that I'm going to check out this Saturday. I hope it'll work for me, I've got a pile of Marcroft decals to get on frames.

Bo-Yah!

I'm in business, well sorta. At least the welder is up and running.

I'm checking out a used milling machine tomorrow. If I get it I will be completly self sufficient and can work at my own pace. Where the hell am I going to fit the machine though?

Power On

It looks like I'll be welding this weekend. I have everything I need to fire up my Lincoln welder. I'm pretty stoked to get that thing dialed in because I'll have mittered tubes for my road and TT bike I'll be racing next year to weld up. It's going to be bad ass.

Pizza

I haven't posted for a while now and Anthony was giving me shit about it so here's a post just for him.

In my fatty days I've been known to put a hurt into a large pie from any and all pizza joints. Now it's a treat to mack a slice of heaven so I have to make it count. Here's my top 5 pizza places in town.

5. Pizza Peddler in Aumsville. I know it's outta town but they have a garlic crust that rocks and everytime we roll through town you can smell the pizzas cooking. Mmmmm.

4.Prime Time. They deliver. It's not super greasy and heavy.

3. Lefty's. New York style pies and they have specialty pies too. My favorite is their chicken pesto.

2. Wallery's. I grew up (and out) on this pizza parlor style pie. Damn it's good. 10 bucks for a large one topping. At that price everyone gets their own.

1. Padington's Pizza. Hands down the best in Salem. Order a pepperoni and mushroom, you won't be disapointed. Maybe after I win my first race I go there and celebrate.

2006: Year of Breakthroughs, I Hope.

After this weekend of rest and relaxation I had at the beach I'm ready to take on the challenges of 2006. Kristin and I got away for the weekend. It was great to be away from the bike for a couple days. It was also good to step away from Marcroft Cycles for a bit. Now I'm refreshed and ready to rock.