The racer prepares for the big race because he values the challenge it presents.  He values the obstacles the other racers put between him and his goal of winning.  Why?

Because it is those very obstacles, the size and momentum of the big peloton, which draw from the racer his greatest effort.

It is only at big races the he is required to use all his skill, all his courage and concentration to overcome; only then can he realize the true limits of his capacities.

At that point he often attains his peak.

In other words, the more challenging the obstacle he faces, the greater the opportunity for the racer to discover and extend his true potential.  The potential may have always been within him, but until it is manifested in action, it remains a secret hidden from himself.

The obstacles are a very necessary ingredient to this process of self-discovery.

Note, that the racer is not out to show himself or the world how great he is, but is simply involved in the exploration of his latent capacities.  He directly and intimately experiences his own resources and thereby increases his self-knowledge.

(Adapted from W. Timothy Gallwey’s THE INNER GAME OF TENNIS – an excellent read)

171.2

Today I promised myself I’d take a break and ride my mountain bike at 4pm, before the sun sets.  It’s 7pm.

Kinda like Monday, when I promised myself I’d leave at 4pm so only half my bike commute home would be in the dark.  I left at 6:30pm.

Well… it’s 4 o’clock somewhere.

171.6

My friend lost his sweetheart.  It was shockingly sudden.  A picture of health and zest, we’d chatted in August at the mall shopping for back-to-school gear.  Gone in weeks.

I don’t do good at losses of this kind.  It’s a weakness or lameness.  Too busy with my own small worries.

We used to ride together, when we only had a couple of puny kids.  We’d ease out when the wives were preggy and talk about life.  Young guys, excited about a big adventure.

Bike rides, the slow kind, are great places to share one’s wins and loses… burdens.

Over time, the families have grown.  Heck, mine is scattered across the country.  And our friendship and bond of fatherhood has been neglected, not forgotten… kindred spirits are never forgotten.

He’s ready for a new bike.

I’ve been a pain in the rear to reach, maybe I’m afraid of my own mortality.  I am.

He calls, I text.  We’ve talked about road vs mtb, hard tail vs suspension, even electric assist for aging knees.  He’s got it picked out, going with the local bike shop, wants an introduction to the owner.

That’s easy.

He’s so much stronger than I am, facing much tougher challenges.

It’ll take time to get the fitness back.

Will I make time for rides that really matter?

171.2

I wasn’t feeling it today, so I did the JV loop.  Not the A (aka for this post Varsity).  Not the B (aka for this post Frosh/Soph).  The idea was to get Cronk to go JV with me – turning right at the school, but going straight instead of the Varsity route – then, make it over the wall.  But, he was feeling frisky and put himself on Varsity.

In his own words:

“I fumbled on 4th and Wall, doh!”

I cruised to meet the Frosh/Soph squad.

We were chatting and laughing when the first Varsity rider came screaming by.

He will go un-named.

I’m bringing it up – again – because…

… from the re-group to the bike trail is DMZ (de-militarized zone)!

Why?  Because it’s 50 mph decent, if you tuck it, and there are 6 stop lights… obviously the lead guys can probably make a light and the tail end won’t.  In light of last weekend’s Roger’s Cup, a tribute to a rider who was killed by running a red light on the end of a group, we need to take care of each other.

Am I clear?  Do you all get it?

DMZ is from the re-group to the bike trail, then every man for himself.

As for the Frosh/Soph, JV, Varsity designations… if you are easily making the re-group with the Frosh/Soph group, starting turning right and doing the JV loop.  Once you’ve got that, move on up to Varsity.

Until next week…

172

Like life itself, when you find yourself in a rut on your mountain bike, it’s very easy to keep looking at the trap you are in.  Ruts are tricky, hard to escape.  If you stay in the rut you risk great peril, crashing usually results.

You must change your focus, your vision.  The body follows the head.

Point your wheel out of the rut.  This takes guts, leaving the devil you know.

By aiming to escape, you will climb the side of the rut.  You won’t be free yet, you don’t have enough momentum.

As gravity pulls you back into the rut, you must aim for the other side and use momentum to either get out or go back down and up the other side with even more momentum.  Eventually you will bust out.

The first time you dare to break free of a rut will be frightening.  Act quickly, while you still have speed on your side and before the rut gets deeper – as the often do.

There are other techniques to escaping and even using ruts to you your advantage.

Life life itself, you must keep moving.  Be confident.  A rut is a grave with no end.

173.8

The Dirty 30 is a really fun course.  And it’s hard… ’bout 1400′ of climbin’ per 9 mile lap, with a fair amount of single-track.

Pre-riding  a race course – like we done today – can give ya a huge advantage on race day… ‘specially if the promoter likes yer idea of a little race course modification after everybody done their pre-ridin’.

—–> Did I just pat myself on the back? Do I really talk like that?<—-

Here are a few things we learnt.

Y’all prolly figgerd snot really 30 miles: 8.9 miles per lap times 3 laps aint 30.

Which means it’s gonna take ya 10% less time than ya was countin’ on.

The first coupla miles are wide with some stout rollers, and flow into fun downhill with switch backs and off camber turns.

Theres an 18″ drop off at the bottom… do NOT slow down like the guy who banged up his shoulder and limped home… hit that thing, it’s nothing.

Next is up is a little rocky climb with 1 good line.  Could be conga time on the first lap – this is why I race expert – not because I have a chance at winning – I wanna be ahead a ya.

We were gonna be crossin’ the trail of a later part of the course next, but Brownie said let’s turn right here – so now ya know ’bout the change.  Turn right, and it’s a straight bomb down to a lollypop and back up to another right hander.

Gear down, short nasty ahead.

Yer ’bout 1/2 done now, gonna be doing some false flat climbing.

Drink.  Eat.

Super fun single track ahead.

Plan to have a stupid grin on your face.  It’s that fun.  Enjoy it.  Because it’s going upside down.

Ya have a hideous 5-10 minute thigh buster ahead.  Straight up. Fire road.  I doubt y’all be doin’ much fuelin’.

At the summit…

ya gasp fer air… gag on yer drink… choke on yer bar… do it again.

Yeah.  So that’s it.

We had some tasty Mexican food at Don Pollo‘s after.  It’s classic and yummy, and not franchise food.  Have you ever noticed places like Don Pollo’s fail in strip malls and thrive in funky locations?

Got home, unloaded.

Was thinking about cleaning Black Beauty after her work out when Trevor said let’s go surfing.  The car is loaded.

Okay.

We drive down… well, I’m driving and he starts texting.  I can’t resist – I’m that dad – who are you texting?  (swore me to secrecy).  What are you texting about – I’m that dad – Oh, we were supposed to go surfing.  So, I was back up? (I’m that dad).  Then she calls and he puts some distance between us (I’m definitely that dad).

It was still great.  Trevor used to be my main riding buddy, but he’s back to surfing and girls.  I love catching up with my kid when he’s around.

Wing Stop was next.  We chatted more about his first 6 months of working, and about surfing Mexico next swell.

I’m lucky – I’m that dad.

I hear the chains a spinnin’
They’re rollin’ ’round the bend
And I ain’t seen the gruppo
Since, I don’t know when
Been stuck in Workin’ Prison
And I keep getting dropped
But that gruppo keeps a-rollin’
Long after I’ve been popped.

When I was just a baby
My Mama told me, son
Always be a good boy
Ride your bike and sometimes run
But I got a dadgum desk job
Just to do what’s right
When I hear those tires rollin’
I hang my head and cry

I bet there’s rich folks ridin’
On fancy carbon wheels
They’re probably sportin’ lycra
And shiftin’ ‘lectric gears
But I know I had it comin’
I know I can’t be free
All those dudes keep a-pedalin’
And that’s what tortures me

Well, if they freed me from this prison
If that carbon bike was mine
Bet I’d bust a giant gap
String out a big ol’ line
Far from Workin’ Prison
That’s where I want to stay
And I’d let those carbon wheels
Roll my blues away

171

Today – oh, I wish I had my own picture – we cruised past this gal that had bars so wide on her MTB she looked like a bird with huge wings spread out.  There’s a guy we pass most Tuesday mornings pretty much takes up an entire car lane… bars are so wide we eek by single file.

Why?

What the heck?

The cartoon look can’t be comfortable, can it?

It’s more like their prepping to tell me about how big the gap they cleared was… this big man!  Well, dang… that is huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge!

Looks more like a tight rope walker searching for balance.

Imagine doing push-ups with your arms that wide.  No power, no way.

I dunno, maybe there’s tons of leverage?

Good luck ripping through dense trees.

Good luck passing anybody on single-track.

Good luck, period.

Oh man, it’s raining.  Can’t wait to hit the hero dirt, and shred (insert your favorite trail name).  It’s gonna be so tacky, like velcro!  Let’s go tomorrow…

How do you know if it’s Hero Dirt or if riding it makes you a Zero?

At precisely 10:55am today I snuck over to my local trails, Sunday’s rain wasn’t even on my mind.  Up the horse trail I shot, right into some pretty wet dirt.  Uh oh, it did rain the other day.  But, this moisture was only from poorly aimed community sprinklers.

This trail goes from packed in gravel to dirt with lots of clay.

Lots of clay means if it’s wet your knobbies are going to fill with mud and in no time you’ll be carrying that bike praying your shoes don’t get sucked off your feet.

I could feel the pull of the moisture on my tires.  Lots of grip, lots of drag.

No mud in the knobbies = Hero Dirt.

There were a few wet spots that I found miles from the trail head.  Not much you can do about that, and the were small and easy to get around.

Ride On.

Some trails are so rocky, or have so much DG (decomposed granite) that you can ride them within hours of rain… others, like the ones by my house can take days to dry out.

If you ride your trails too soon they develop huge grooves down the middle where more rain will pour in and turn the grooves to troughs.  Not good.

Right after it rains you’ll see a few Zero’s out being very greedy…

But you’ll also find real HEROES:

…who take shovels and make sweet berms and jumps,

filling in troughs and braking bumps.

_____

172.2

What if I always rode my bike to work?

What if I always rode until I met someone new?

What if I gave my bikes away?

What if I bought a new bike every year?

What if I only rode alone?

What if I did a group ride every day?

What if I only rode with people faster than me?

What if I set a day aside to ride super slow with my less than fit friends?

What if I wrote down all the tricks I’ve learned about bikes?

What if I read every book ever written about bicycle mechanics?

What if I went to bike mechanic school for a month?

What if I wore the same kit for a week?

What if I bought a new kit every month?

What if I never did the same ride?

What if I all my rides started from home?

What if I drove to the start of every ride?

What if I rode my MTB on the road and my road bike on the dirt?

What if I worked really hard to have pro tan lines?

What if I didn’t shave my legs for a year?

What if I shaved my arms?

What if Storm Troopers rode bikes?

What if I only focused on being aero?

What if I only focused on being lite?

What if I only shopped at the local bike shop?

What if I only shopped online?

What if I never had a Schwinn?

What if Schwinn was still the best game in town?

What if I rode across the USA?

What if I rode around the world?

What if I did an awesome 1 week ride twice a year?

What if I had a power meter?

What if I had no data?

What if Strava mattered?

What if VeloNews was delivered to my door everyday in print?

What if there were no bike races?

What if there was only 1 bike race?

What if all race bikes were identical?

What if every kid rode a bike to school?

What if I lived some place without hills?

What if all my possessions could fit on my bike?

What if all I ate was protein?

What if all I ate I found in local trash cans?

What if I only rode with my lover?

What if my lover didn’t want me to ride?

What if I only rode in the sunshine?

What if I rode twice as far in the rain?

What if I rode from bike shop to bike shop for a year?

What if my shoes were old?

What if my helmet didn’t work?

What if the roads were awful?

What if I had an electric bike?

What if I was the fastest guy on the planet?

What if I couldn’t ride any more?

_____

172.6

Today we got final approval from the County of Orange to hold our first road race. It will be in Santiago Canyon, and it will be rad.

Saturday 3/18/17.

Lots of details will follow.

Stay in touch at HUNKR.com

In the meantime, here’s a little shot of what we have planned.

_____

175.6

I never check the weather until the first day I get caught freezing or melting.  Not gonna lie (my kids always say that and it makes me wonder…), it’s nearly always perfect here, 72 and sunny.  However, on my bike commute to and from work I get away from the coast, and this time of year it can get in the 30’s.

It can even rain.

Ignore the Weather Channel at your own app-peril.

It’s wise to look at the whole week if you’re training for an event, as you may need to switch a few days around… unless you’re the indoor trainer type – I’m not.

Low 50’s tomorrow evening on the dark ride home… and sunny all week.

Layer up and ride on!

What do crazy-light carbon wheels with ceramic bearings and my new toothbrush have in common?  My new toothbrush is amazing. It cost 10X more than my usual purchase. My teeth feel like a fresh cleaning from Dr. Day’s.  Exactly how my new wheels felt in ’15 – so slippery and clean and fast, fast, fast.

They were about 3X a decent pair of wheels…

and totally worth it.

That was my first and only purchase of carbon wheels.  And, this was my first sonic toothbrush.

I can’t imagine going without either one, they’re that good.  And… I can’t explain what was holding me back?

 $40 for toothbrush is outlandish, until you feel those teeth.

$2000+ for bike wheels is redonkulous, until you coast past your buddies and PR the next hill.

Amortize it out… that toothbrush is gonna cost me 5 cents more/use.  Those wheels… about $2/ride.

 We gotta live within our means, but when you’re talking about cost/smile…

…what could be better than a sonic tooth brush and silly-light carbon wheels with ceramic bearings?

(So good I rode right up ’till the storm moved in)

Ever been on a ride and noticed something old for the first time?  My town, well the part I live in, has tons of cool old trucks… so that was my goal today – takin’ pics of people’s treasured rides

My favorite is my friend Bart’s – “’63 GMC and over a million miles on it.”

Not just old, not barely old… trucks with stories to tell.

Some are rusty, others restored.

It got me thinking of my dad.  He’s old too, on the rusty side.

He’s facing a tough battle with Parkinson’s.  It’s really hard for him to talk – a brilliant legal mind trapped.  Last night we spent a fair amount of time learning how to text each other.  That was hard too, because his hands are unsteady.

He asked me not to give up hope.

I can restore a truck but can’t restore my dad.

‘Guess that’s what heaven is for.

Did you trot your turkey?  Take a hike?  Surf some waves?  Ride your bike?

What interesting times we live in!

Happy Thanksgiving!

_____

171.2

Peter lost his Dog Park virginity this morning, and thanked me for it.  I told him we’d ease into it, not go too fast… and I promised it would be fun, no regrets.

We’ll hit this, then circle around.

Down we go.

After a million twisty turns and some funky wood bridges I stop.  How’d you like that?

Smile.

Let’s climb up over here and do another run.

The dirt was really nice and tacky from Monday’s rain, a few thick spots filled our knobbies.

Dog Park is a crazy network, I ‘splain.  It’s never the same ride.  Over here, down there, up that, off this.  You can get a ton of vertical without really going anywhere.

I stopped often to orient him on where we were, tell a few stories, point out other crazy descents.

It’s easy to get turned around, and impossible to get lost.

All the trails are awesome, and interesting. You just ride.  Turn left if you want, go straight if it looks better.  It doesn’t matter.

Exception:  we found ourselves grinding up a large swath of fire break.  Where the heck are we?  Oh yeah, I remembered. Car Crash.

Dude, you’re gonna be so glad you’re on a full suspension with a dropper post. Up here… it’s gnarly!

There’s an old water trough for cows/horses?  Reminds me I’m thirsty.  My bottle is empty.  We’re 90 minutes in.  So I stop to pee.

We slip in.

The trail slowly twists, then straightens out a bit, and I’m in full gallop.  Charging down.  Very down.

My seat is jammed against my gut, and bum is just above my rear tire.  Bounce, bounce, skid, bounce… off the brakes, gotta get some speed to make this drop. Uh oh, trail is gone.  Too much rain.  Just in time I unclip.  A better/younger man would ride it, I scramble.

At the bottom, we relive the glory of the ride.

I promised Pete we’d see a big cat.  When you’re experienced you can do that kind of thing – the snake was a bonus (can ya see it?)

171.2

If you’re going to hit it hard, hit it ’till you puke.

If you’re going easy, spin like you aint got a chain.

Do it with purpose man, don’t waste your efforts.

Mix it up.

Listen to your soul – set a goal.

Make it count, and when counting don’t make no sense…

… take a new path,

and just roll.

__________

172.8

See that old light? That mostly used tire? That old thermal vest? That old helmet?… Keep ’em all, until they are a minimum of two upgrades behind.

They’ll be needed.

When you can’t find your good light, like I can’t right now at 8pm when the local bike shop is closed, it’s so nice to find an older/weaker light that still works.

When you wake up to a flat tire with a slashed sidewall… it’s good to have a back up with a little life left in it.

When you commit to ride to the top of Saddleback on Thanksgiving and it’s that one super cold day, it’s good to have a thermal vest you mostly never wear.

When you have a friend in town who forgot their helmet, it’s good to have your old salty lid.

So when the love of you life wants to pitch your box of…

…”what’s this for?”…

you’ve got to say with confidence…

“Can’t touch that.”

_________

173.8

That’s what a friend asked me… if I’m ever tired of riding my bike.

I thought of Butch Cassidy.

And Albert Einstein.

And… me.

I may be getting old, but riding a bike never gets old.

__________

172.4

1. Do what ever you can to get into Platinum… there are probably 300 people in the corral, starting ahead of 8,000.
2. I slept horrible without my favorite pillow… bring yours if it matters.
3. 5am wake up in Tucson, is 4am wake up in CA… you’re not gonna be thinking too good when you rise.
4. It can be cold, and it is dark… be careful getting over, take an old hoodie and chuck to a volunteer before roll out – they go to GoodWill.
5. It takes 10 minutes to ride over from the University Marriott… so, even though we were way behind schedule getting over we still made it with 15 minutes to spare (corral closes at 630).
6. Riders in the corral are nice and excited… this isn’t the craziness of Leadville.  Simple Green’s Tino, Brian and Mike were there.  Josh Wolff from BlueBird Canyon crew was close by.  My Jetset buddies in force.  Rahsaan was looking sharp in a Ride With Nelly jersey and stylish bandana.  Johnny Tz and Rich must have been way up front.  And me and Gould – the virgins, ready for our first ETDT.
7. As 7am approaches, all the guys and gals that got there super early and left their bikes laid over on the pavement start showing up, so be prepared to move up… if you’re at the back like we were you can easily move up a bit.
8. At 7am it’s on, and everybody hits it pretty hard… I was able to move up pretty easily.  The entire road is closed.  It’s awesome.  Everybody is pretty cool, and pretty safe.
9. 8 miles in, you hit the first sand wash… we expected to have to run it after the meeting the day before, but it had been watered and I made it through easily.  I was still a 100 guys back, so I had to go 9/10ths to re-connect with the leaders.
10. There is a train crossing about 7 miles later… sure enough, we could see the breakaway groups up ahead and we could see the train.  My group soft pedaled and made fun of the guys charging up front.  Well, we soft pedaled too much, and the train cleared the crossing before any of us got there. Doh!
11. It rolls and climbs a bit until the second wash about mile 50… this is much longer and twists and turns and you can easily get stuck behind someone who skills aren’t there.  You come into this section on a twisty downhill through a residential neighborhood.  It pays to be up front here.  I made it all the way until about the last 30 feet.
12. Don’t pat yourself on the back… you have a decent hill ahead of you and lots of people on the gas trying to shatter the group.  You also have a bunch of people breaking the rules and handing bottles and food up.  If you’re not a rule breaker stay left or you’re gonna regret it when the guy/gal in front of you slows way down.
13. Now it’s gonna roll, mostly downhill.  Today was super windy, so nobody really wanted to pull.  I was bored out of my mind and trying to get something going, but of course the group had enough gas to chase me down…. then I got lucky.  I attacked again and Mike Gould came with me.  We didn’t know the course at all.  We were lucky because no one chased for a bit and we hit a big fast downhill and went for it.  The group sat up.  We had a minute gap and we rolled up to two guys who’d gone 5 minutes before us.  One of those guys was smoked and dropped off.  It was me, Gould and Amgen Doug.  We were working and two more guys bridged across.  Now we had something.
14. Work with your fellow riders… this is a long course, and if you work together you will catch others, or be caught if you don’t.  We rolled up on Rich Meeker and 5 guys who’d stayed on the gas back at the non-event train crossing.  Too bad they were smoked, because we actually went slower.
15. Our slow pace let about 10 guys catch up… reinforcements are good if everybody works together.  The wind was now howling.  We’d covered 90 miles, and the next 16 were really rough.  No organization.  Fake attacks.
16. Real attacks will follow fake attacks… I was caught off guard when a real attack went.  It was Brian Forbes and one of the guys that had ridden with Mike and I, and a Jetset guy.  I tried to chase, but couldn’t bridge.
17. The final 10 miles area awful… huge headwind, very tired legs.
18. Good thing someone was handing out donuts with 4 miles to go… I was hungry, all I’d had was 3 bottles of Fluid and most of a Snickers bar.  One huge bite of fluffy sugar donut.  Yum.
19. With 2 miles to go, the group ramped up a lot… I was moving backwards fast.  I waved Steve Hegg through, and watched my gang roar into town for a top 26 placing.  So yeah, I got 27th and I’m happy with that.
20. It’s a really well run event.  Started on time.  Police on every, and I mean EVERY, turn.  Police escorting our group the whole way.
21. The “festival” at the end does not include food… theres a BaskinRobbins standing by a block from the hotel.

    

    No scale today.

Lots of energy, not too much testosterone… that’s the Platinum Meeting of El Tour De Tucson.  The Platinum Corral means you’ve either been very fast in the past, or you’re a wily one… it also means you’re starting in front of 8000 other riders.

Riders… not racers we are proudly told and this is not a race we are told again, it’s a ride.

Really, a ride with winners, trophies, and timing chips?  Riding AZ style, I reckon.

… anyway, everyone in the room is friendly and excited about riding tomorrow.  Most have participated for many years. I’m looking forward to losing my El Tour virginity.  The corral closes at 6:30am.  Race, errrride, starts at 7.

My pals tell me to get over there early as the corral fills up.  It’ll be low 50’s at 6. I’m gonna take all the newspapers and magazines from the swag bag and stuff them in my jersey.

Let’s ride!

We are getting ripped off as a company.  We are getting ripped off as consumers. Jeff Bezos just keeps getting fatter, greedier, and lazier.

I don’t go in too much for fear, but this is a mess.

We have this cool little t-shirt brand, DHDwear.  We’re in bike shops across the US and Canada.

People like our quality so much we are being ripped off. ALOT.  Does Jeff Bezo care? Instead of protecting us, Amazon puts up all kinds of hurdles that protect the thieves.

Search one of our top selling designs on Amazon and you’ll find 33 different sellers, with prices ranging from $9.28-23.95.

Just one of those sellers is offering the real deal, 95 Markets.

They ALL use our images, they use our name, they use our copy and then print crap.  The design is crappy.  The shirt is horrible, it literally stinks.  Look at the images below.

Nearly all of the sellers claim a US address, but actually ship from China or India.  People hate the shirts, hate the print, then give horrible reviews… which end up making us look terrible, and we are really awesome! (really)

We have to to go through this huge process to get them to stop selling… and for every one we stop, two pop up.  It’s like Whac-A-Mole.

We aren’t alone.

A recent study said 80% of Apple accessories are fake.

Let that sink in…

We, you and me, have NO idea if we are buying legitimate product on Amazon.  Books probably won’t kill you, but what about the FLUID sports drink I like so much?  What about an Apple charger knock off that smokes your laptop, do you think Apple is going to bail you out?

Here’s some good news.

Walmart is in hot pursuit of Amazon.  Walmart is really hard to get your products listed on because they are taking the time to make sure the sellers are legit.  We aren’t on there yet, but we will be soon thanks to the hard work of 95 Markets.

Our options as consumers are to either buy direct from the manufacturer, from an authorized seller, or from a curator like Walmart that is doing their job.

Please share this all over the internet, Amazon needs to change their policies.

The print is dreadful… super heavy plastic ink. That white you see indicates poor quality and lack of attention to detail. Look at the “A” filling. Sheeeeesh!

Up close you can see our print quality. We use environment friendly, water-based inks that you can’t even feel after just 1 wash.

Ever heard of this brand in the US. NOPE!All our shirts are tagless, with our neck print.

Really, really bad… you see it, right?

Here’s our Smiley. So crisp and clean.

Look at that precision. Oh, did I mention all our shirts now have UPC codes and hang tags?

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169.6 17%

For MTB night riding you need lights.

Thank you Captain Obvious.

How many and why?

At a bare minimum 3.

A tail light: in case you are riding pave to get to dirt, AND in case you get dropped by your buddies.

A front light: basically the most powerful light you can afford.  You can get a modern light that’s half the size of a hot dog and brighter than most cars for under $100.

A head light: mounted on your helmet this light is great for seeing around corners, looking at your Garmin, trail side repairs and more.

Here are a few keys for fun:

Keep the lights on lowest setting so you can burn bright when you bomb down hill… and remember to dial up brightness pre-bomb.

ALWAYS have a much LESS powerful light on the helmet.  Your front light will cast shadows… shadows give you depth and let you see if you are hitting a big boulder or a giant flat rock…

… I learned this the hard way when a friend lent me his only extra light.  It was my first night MTB ride ever.  28 years ago the lights were awful.  Weak.  Heavy. Unreliable.  We were poaching trails west of Irvine in what is now open to riding out by the toll road.

The sense of adventure whipped through the fall night.  It was spooky too.  Little bunnies sounded like bull elephants in mad pursuit.  The three us made the final summit and listened to live music blasting from far away Irvine Meadows.

It was time to bomb.

My little light strained to show me the way.  My friends disappeared. I was alone, and in my own zone.  Humming a forgotten tune, turning and burning,  but not jumping.  It was all so flat… what did Mike say to be careful of?… there’s a big flat rock… WHAM!… over the bars, huge cloud of dust… breathe, breathe, breathe…

This is Captain Obvious signing off, “May your front lights burn bright, and you head lights be…. about 40% less so”.

PS… we’ll be doing more Wednesday MTB night rides, join us.

170.6 15.9%

Charles says I can easily be under 10% body fat if I’ll cut out carbs.  That would be about 10 lbs.  Heard/learned this on Tim Ferriss’ podcast on the drive home tonight.

When I weigh in, I completely blow off the body fat % that pops up after the lbs.

For me, under 170=happy, over=sad… scratch that under 170=confident, over 170=not so much.

That’s after I rise, after I take care of business.

Which is what I did around 5:10am this morning, pre TMWC.

Which was too early, because I set my sleep app 15 minutes too early.

Which left me too lazy to blog at 8pm.

Which made want to just post my weight of 171.6 lbs  and call it a post.

Can’t do that.

So… 171.6 is 2 lbs over my current daily average, which is 5 lbs over my goal.

If my body fat was 10% that’d mean I was 10 lbs lighter.

Going forward you’ll see my weight and % at the end of each post, and you’ll have a good idea how I’m going to do on upcoming rides.

“If you’re 80% good and 20% terrible, you can’t expect to have 100% results.”
– Charles Poliquin

Part of building a team involves building a brand.

Velosport is a local team we work for.

They have their main logo, but it’s rarely seen.

Like most teams, sponsors cover their jersey, and canopy.  That’s proper, the sponsors are paying the bills for the team.

We gather all those sponsor logos and make all kinds of cool stuff for them.

Once a year, they make a one off t-shirt for the members that has nothing to do with their sponsors or their team logo.

That’s fun.

It binds the crew together.

Got a shirt from 5 years ago?… that has a meaning all it’s own, and that’s branding.

The first time I saw Nelson Vails was ’84.  The first time I rode with him was in ’88.   The first time we connected was ’12.  Today he called.

Pull up chair kids.

The summer of ’84 was a special one for me.  I’d just returned from a church mission to Mexico.  English was a struggle.  Culture shock all over.  No job, free time, the Olympics in LA and this new thing called ESPN 24/7.

I flipped on the tube, and there was Alexi Grewal on the roads of Mission Viejo racing away from all the favorites.  The drama was amazing.  Steve Bauer bridged up to him and Alexi did the road cycling version of the rope-a-dope on La Paz… yes kids, the same La Paz we slug it out on Canyon Velo Long.  Bauer was by far the superior sprinter and would go on to much greater cycling success, including wearing the Yellow Jersey… but, not that day.  Gold for Alexi and America.  Lots more gold and silver and bronze cycling medals would follow.

I was hooked.

I wanted more, and would get it because track cycling was up next.

The track was outdoor, in Carson.  The racing would go on for several days.  The US Team was very prepared, and looked awesome.  All the guys were cool, but one guy stood out…

… the bike messenger from Brooklyn…

… his name was cool, he looked cool, and he was a cool customer.  Check it.

It was a team of standouts, and I was rooting hard for him to do great.

What would it be like to be that fast?

I pumped up the old LeTour and pedaled around the condo complex.  It was old and neglected, but it rolled.  It was a lot like the clunkers I’d ridden in Mexico.  The wind on my face and through my short hair felt sublime… it was freeing.

5 years later, I’d graduated and married and picked up cycling.

We lived in Irvine.  I was on the local team, Canyon Velo.

One day, either on Food Park or Coffee Crew (it was originally a Saturday ride), he was there.

No joke.

Nelson Vails was on the ride.

I’d heard he was in town, and heard he’d been riding the group rides.

And there he was.

So cool.

I was trying to be cool… but, I wasn’t.

We were rolling up Back Bay, in a decent double pace line, and somehow I wound up next to Nelson Vails.

I tried small talk, I’m horrible at small talk.

He just looked at me and said something like man, you gotta keep your thumb and forefinger touching like this… his accent was so Brooklyn… I was star stuck… “like this” he said again, showing me his fingers wrapped confidently around the bar.  Not gripping, just confident.

You keep your hand like you have ’em, hit a bump and you lose control… take us all out.  Got it?  Yep.

I still think of that conversation all the time, and I can honestly say that little tidbit has saved me more than once on and off the road.

20 something years later we became “friends” on FB.  I told him about the advice he’d given, and we laughed about it.  Now he has his Rides with Nelly going, and yesterday I see he’s gonna be at Tour de Tucson Saturday.  I post, C U there.  This morning I see he likes my comment… you can do that on FB, make friends with people and get to know them.

Then my iPad rings.  It’s Nelson.

I’m making eggs.

Yo, what’s up Nelly?

Hey, you want to ride up front at Tucson with me? (I want an accent).

Heck yes I do.

Cool, here’s what you need to do… I listen, I get it.  I’m in.

Now, I can’t tell you more because I have to keep it on the down low… but I can tell you there’s a slight chance you could join us.  Don’t think I’m a turd here, but it’s up to me to make sure you merit starting up front – you’re fast, and you’re safe.

Let me know if you want to ride with Nelly next Saturday.

You got your Sunday best, jersey and bibs.

You got your chapel, race course.

You got your preacher, race promoter.

You got your congregation, racers.

You got your opening announcements, racer meeting.

You got your opening hymn, the National Anthem.

You got your sermon, the race.

The sermon, for most of us is hell, fire and damnation.

We are chastised and castigated for our lack of discipline with our diet and sleep, for our lack of care with our spouse (bike), and for our lack of paying attention to the commandments (bike handling skills).

Post sermon, the preacher tries to pick our spirits back up…

…in reality it’s mingling with the other sinners that makes this church time so special.

Sharing our sins and our burdens with each other, and giving a helping hand where possible and accepted. Cheering each other on for the good deeds of the previous week, and sustaining each other in the efforts to be a little better in the coming week.

Yep, it’s a lot like church… and that’s why I love it, and love our flock, and pray for our preacher to give us a good sermon in his chapel.

_____________________________

Today’s NonDot race went pretty good for me.

I’ve been really tired lately, and just kinda burned out on racing and riding hard.

This fall has been epic for surf, and I’ve blown it by not taking a bike off-season.

But, we are in this big research phase for a revolutionary race series we are planning and so we’ve been hitting every single race and fondo and ride we can.  It’s a ton of fun, but it’s hard to do this late in the season.

My power was good and steady through out.  My times on the three big laps were:

… can’t ask for more than that.

I’m really digging my Fluid.  I found this by chance at the Whiskey 50 where I’d run out of Hammer Heed.  There’s something about it, it’s a much more sustained energy for me.  I still use Hammer Recoverite, post ride… though with our new, always stocked Muscle Monster fridge at work I’m only going Recoverite when I don’t want all the caffeine.

Tire pressure seems to be nailed down at 24 lbs.  On my hard tail, that pressure seems perfect.

Speaking of hardtail and perfect… I railed the big down hill, posted a 4th faster over all – ever.  Not bad for the old diesel.

The guys and gals at NonDot put on another great event.  I like what they’re doing.  It’s simple, like Simple magazine simple.

Oh, my canopy got wings when the wind picked up.  Shoulda staked it in.  It was the back wall that was causing havoc. I’m going to make a new back wall out of our stretch mesh that I use on the bike rack banner.  It’s a really cool fabric, big vents, stretchy and still shows the print really well.  It’s kinda see through too, which will be different.  Plus, it will fold up super small.

Got to catch up with a lot of friends.  My friend Gerrit is retiring next year, and his wife Kim retires the year after… happy for them.

Scott McClain’s company name is so fitting, Called To Creation.

It’s been a long 2 1/2 weeks for Susie… she’s been in Utah caring for her mom and she’s exhausted.  She comes home tomorrow, which means I gotta get off the couch here and do some deep cleaning… gotta get to the store too… she’s needs a vacation, I miss her. She comes home tomorrow, which means I’m gonna skip church and go visit my parents in Encinitas before Susie lands in San Diego.

My friend MIke Gould showed me this the night before the Tahoe 100.

He promised it would be awesome.

I used it.

It hurt like hell.

An hour later, that night… legs sore as ever.

It seemed like a really bad idea to do before a major event on my calendar.

I woke up the next day.

Ate my sardines and black beans.

Rolled up to the start, and had the race of the year.

You can get Roll Recovery at your local bike shop – got mine at RNR.

One of the best tricks of the year for me… and will definitely use tonight after NonDot.

PS… once you start using regularly your legs won’t hurt like hell.  It takes 10-15 minutes to use properly, perfect for TV watching.

Sleeeeeeeeeep… I was robbing myself of so many benefits by not sleeping enough.

Then, my son Trevor started racing.

I hooked him up with my coach, and he actually listened to what she said.  He was a dry sponge soaking up every word, where I was a soggy old dog.

He was living like a monk.  Sleeping and resting tons.  … and flying on the bike.

So, I started to listen to his advice… “Dad, you gotta sleep more.”

Here’s what I noticed, and for old dogs this matters:  I recovered a lot better and quicker, and I lost weight.

Yes… that’s exactly what my coach told me would happen, but…

I’m bringing this up today because I learned something you probably don’t know.  When we sleep our brain cells shrink and spinal fluid comes in to that new space and clears out excess proteins.  When your dad has Parkinson’s (mine does) that gets your attention, because proteins play a roll.

There are all kinds of articles you could read regarding cycling and sleep, like this one.

The thing that has helped me get a lot more sleep is a sleep app.  It follows the old rule, you get what you measure.  Measuring sleep, like measuring hours and miles, will have an effect on how much you get.

Sweet dreams.

PS  I can only handle about 6 weeks of structure at a time so my coach cringes when I call every year or so with I have major goal… she’d much prefer I see her a couple of times a month.

Pre-riding pretty much guarantees you’re gonna go faster.  But, you have to have a strategy.

I won Super-D Nationals at Mammoth in 2004 & 2005 (age group, not pro).  Both years I went to Mammoth multiple weekends before the big race and pre-rode the course.

Some runs were very slow, looking at every corner and line.

Other runs were full gas, to see how things looked at speed and to adjust my bike set up… I used the same black Turner 5-Spot each year – wish I’d kept that bike.

2005 shot down the top of the world-famous Kamikaze course… we hit 45 miles an hour.

It was so fast.

Our second and final weekend of pre-riding I tested out the goofiest set up ever:  skin suit, no protective pads, road time trial helmet and my motocross goggles… what a dork!

You should have see the looks John Tomac and Greg Herbold gave me on the bus to the lifts.  Hahaha… all fun and games, I couldn’t resist blowing by those guys pre-riding the Kamikaze section.  Whoops.

On race day, I came into a steep wood ramp with way too much speed and went over the bars.  I lay stunned in a giant dust ball.  I almost quit, but I came to my senses, realizing I’d been hauling @$$ and passing a lot of guys (it was a time trial format).  It took me a bit to get up to speed, I’d gone down really hard.

Crossing the line, I had no idea how I’d done.  Breathless,  I could only wait.  My brother-in-law Mike had come down and my buddy Bryson had raced.  I was pissed about the crash.

Finally an announcement.  Todd Brown wins by 7 seconds.

To win by 7 seconds in a race that took 25 minutes is nuts, but it confirms that pre-riding can make the difference.

…back to this weekend…

The day before a big race, I like to get on the course and hit it hard in sections.

Whether I’ve seen the course previously or not, I’m gonna open up my legs.  Doing 5-10 minutes several times in a Zone 4 effort works best for me.  I’ll rest in the days coming into it, but I’ll always do some good, hard efforts the day before – on or off the course.

Join me Friday if you want… I’ll be at Casper’s at 7:00 am, at The Old Corral Picnic Area

If you want to sign up.

… but I don’t wanna be a T-Rex, which can happen to a cyclist that neglects the upper body.

I love being outside, so hitting the gym has never worked for me.

Here’s what’s workin’ these days:

Surfing, I prefer traditional surfing… but my lady has shown me stand up paddle surfing can be fun too.

The pull up bar in my bathroom door jam gets yanked on most every day… I can only do 8 in a row, used to be able to do 15 : (

Couple a times a week, I jam through my combination of push ups, pull ups, light hand weights (15lbs, don’t mock me), and core work.

It ain’t much, but it’s enough to keep me strong for gnarly MTB trails and able to surf and most importantly help Susie unload the dish washer (not often enough).

Speaking of my T-Rex, it’s because of her love for red meat (and I mean quivering red).

That’s a good thing, as it turns out I need a lot of protein in my anti-T-Rex diet.

The time change always brings new energy to TMWC… some rides like The Market Ride die in the winter, we just keep growing.

30+ guys showed up (ladies?)

So fun.

New attacks, new wheel sucking… even a detour – Aliso Creek Bikeway is getting new pavement!

The pace?  Well, let’s just say it’s not slowing down.  For old turds, that’s a good thing because we need a good kick in the fanny once or twice a week.

If rest is required, go to the back.  If hard ride prescribed, go to the front – and pull through!

Hi there… I’m Todd, and I want to “officially” welcome you to our world.

About 5 years ago, I shifted my talents for promotional marketing from the corporate world to the cycling world.

I started helping my local bike shop get some great T-shirts vs the boxy el cheapos they’d used before.

Soon we were cranking with customers like you, riders who appreciate quality and fit vs my corporate customers that wanted a junky give away.

From T’s we offered our canopies… same thing, the corporate guys wanted the cheap steel frames, and the cyclists loved the all aluminum, super light option.

Delivering greatness to people with a shared passion is so much fun!

That’s what we do at PEDALindustries. We get the cycling world killer product, and make your brand look awesome.

Sometimes seeing is believing, that’s why I want you to see first hand one of our products – in this case our t-shirts.

If you’re like me and would pay a couple of bucks more to get a killer T vs crap, then we gotta get one in your hands for FREE…

… I want this relationship to start out right, so the PEDALindustries T is on me.

I am going to WOW you with SO much value you’ll feel obligated to buy everything from me in the future (just kidding… kinda).

It’s the same t-shirt we use for DHDwear and many other brands.

Sound good?

Cool… pop your email address in here.

Thanks,

Todd “Your New Custom Guy” Brown

PS You’re going to get an email in a few minutes verifying you’re not a robot… you aren’t right?

PSS  The next email’s subject is “Poof, Business Goes Up In Flames”

My free world problem:

Ride home tonight and back in tomorrow after TMWC only to drive home and vote with the masses

or

Drive home tonight and ride home after TMWC and vote early?

Cra-cra that I spent my first groggy moments working this out.

We’ve had a lot to work out this election cycle, and so much remains to be solved.

To that end, I purchased Thomas Sowell’s Basic Economics last night.  It’s time to dig in, and participate meaningfully in the discussions.

No more time for “mailing it in”, get in that booth!

It’s hard enough to slow yourself down, even harder to get the gang to cruise.

Today I shoulda stayed off the bike. It’s too pretty and I have house guests.

Air BBNB – Brown’s Bike N Board

We all played nice and cruised the coast.

The kids pounded up Cove – my legs felt like 5 tons.

If you don’t take time to recover, you can dig yourself into a overtraining pit of dispair… and and possibly not come out for weeks or even months.

Stay rested my friends.

800 riders are flocking to a park in Thousand Oaks CA to memorialize a man most of us never knew, but somehow we caught his spirit.

It’s about 8am on a Thursday and the texts are coming fast and furious.

Where are you?

Where ya at?

I’m north side of lot.

I’m stuck in traffic.

Hope we see you.

We are all rushing through the LA jungle to honor Mike Nosco on a bike ride that takes place on the 3rd of November each year – the day his ride ended.

At 9am, 800 of us take the lane and slowly roll out.

The road is beautiful, lightly traveled, Southern California coastal farmland at it’s absolute best.  There is a beauty and peace in the air swirling around the slow procession lead by a fire truck.

I get it.

Mike probably just wanted to relax and go for a spin.  This is special country, far from the war torn lands he had traveled to many times.

The route bathes me, it’s cleansing.

We stop.

This is where it happened.  A lonely country road with no shoulder, no place for a good life to end.

But it does.

And we are left to think about our own lives, and the roads we travel and the friends we make and the impact we may or may not leave behind.
Peace be with you Nosco family.

Matt Wenger is changing the world, AGAIN.

He did it before by creating the largest weekly mountain bike race in the world: Over The Hump.

Matt’s new creation is the Revolution Bike Fest, and it starts Friday.

He’s so pumped that asking him what it is all about is like getting hit with a fire hose.

Here’s the distilled version:

600+ bikes from 17 manufacturers for you to ride

New trails and a terrain park for you to punish said bikes on

Lots and lots and lots of fun activities for you and your family – especially the youngsters

This revolution is about expanding the joy of bikes to our families, and our friends.

Revolutions take dreams and make them reality.

Revolutions start with an invitation.

Here’s your invitation from Matt:

Couple of things: I got involved in the bike sport scene in 2007 to recover from a motorcycle accident, only to fall in love with the sport. What I didn’t realize is through the bike is that I’d found a cure for much of what ailed me (injury, anxiety and a pre-diabetes condition). Turns out even my work is now entrenched in this awesome community of amazing people that I get to ride with, spend time in the saddle, and grow in amazing friendships.  I’ve made amazing friends, discovered new places, and found an activity that I can do for years and enjoy the fun thrill of adrenaline and cardio fitness at the same time.

My top 3 reasons why you should stop in at Revolution for at least a day, this weekend:

1. A Family Friendly bike event with something for everyone (Riders and innocent bystanders). Kid’s Fest activity center, with tons of fun geared for the 10 and under crowd, music and beer for the non-rider…..all that close to home; you don’t have to travel to Oregon for an epic ride weekend. It’s right here in SoCal.  And the whole family can enjoy the fun.

• Road bike rides
• Kid’s crafts
• Mazda Corn Hole Tournament Saturday
• Huge Exhibit area with brands, yummy food, and good beer.
• Saturday all-day live concert, with 8 bands, including National Headliner “Dramarama”

2. Your ticket allows you to ride over 600 bikes from 17 Bicycle Manufacturers all in one place (Most bike gurus have to make a pilgrim to the two international Bike Tradeshows to find this kind of stable.) Learn to embrace or reduce your carbon footprint: bike technology can cost more than a car, or as little as a pair of Tommy Hilfiger loafers. We’ll have it all here, but you don’t have to sell your car to have a great bike for you (unless you want to). Road bikes, gravel bikes, custom steel bikes, kid’s bikes, electric bikes, gravity gun bikes and all the awesome Orange County features to enjoy them.

• Snow Summit closed last week, so we’ve built SoCal’s newest Bike Park right here at Irvine Lake, as a perfect test track for feeling out your demo rides.
• What’s the big deal with Electric Bikes you ask? Try one and find out.  E-Bike demo course onsite. With 5 electric bike brands to rev up and go.
• SRAM and Shimano bring out their newest component releases for onsite demos.

3. We’ve sent out the beacon and they’re coming.  You should too.  Meet some of the most amazing people on the planet. You are awesome, and we want you to come join our 2 wheeled family.  The SoCal bike community is family is inclusive. I’ve learned more about life from friends on bikes or bike trips, gained new riding skills, following behind them, and developed life-long friendships that have traveled with me through the hardest times.

Revolution is kind of an anomaly, while most bike events throw a number on to bring out the competitive, this is less a test of testosterone and fitness, and more an outdoor life-lover’s fairy tail.

Big, small, girl, boy, local or traveling from out of state? Yep Revolution is for you.

We hope you’ll join us,

Revolution is bringing together all kinds of people, Life’s too short to be static, bored, or alone.  Bikes bring out the best in people- they connect us to our inner child, and early memories.  It doesn’t really matter what kind of bike, or where kids grow up, most of us remember riding to friends houses, heading to the 7-Eleven, or just doing circles on the cul de sac.  This is your chance travel back in time.

Discover your inner kid and bring your kids with you.

Tickets start at $25 for a day visit general entry ticket, $40 for the Live Music pass. Kids six and under are free. Weekend Full Experience Pass includes bus transportation to ride locations, 4 meals, 4 beers, all access pass, and entrance into all the great clinics, expo area, and more.

Revolution Bike Fest

The way I figured out Super Dave was much more than a time trialing, curb jumping maniac was via this terrific podcast:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/cyclingtips-podcast/id1117221239?mt=2&i=375184358

I was super surprised at how articulate, thoughtful and impactful he is in the cycling industry.

Shame on me, but that’s what happens when all we do is ride together and tear each other’s legs off.

Dave was an integral part of Felt for many years and is now General Manager of 3T.

If you want a glimpse into how “The Sausage Gets Made” (how bikes are manufactured) you’ll love the interview by Cycling Tips.

Half of me is glad we don’t talk about work when we ride, and half of me wishes we connected better.

Is it worth it to make connecting professionally easy?

­­­­­­­Loading my crusty, old Oakleys into the RaceDay Bag for my commute home it occurred to me that I see better than ever.

How’s that?

If you ride enough you’ll “see it all”, you’ll develop a “spider-sense” and be able to predict the future.

New guys get dropped more, crash more, flat more, break their gear more, generally have a tougher time.

Old guys seem to sail right on by.

Swap old with experience and it’s the same result.

A young 30-year-old with 15 years of riding under his bibs easily outwits the 45-year-old business sage newby on the local ride.

Given equal fitness, experience will nearly always come out on top.

Want better vision, faster?  Ride often, read books, watch video, get a mentor.

Why ya gotta be a hater just because I’m going twice as fast as you and not breathing hard don’t mean ya need to be a turd about me squeezing by…

…“Strava” under your breath…

Hell boy, I been ripping this climb for 25 freakin’ years and I have a little tiny black book with my times scrawled in Bic ballpoint blue, it’s called handwritin’

Today I’ll go fast, but minutes slower than way back when…

When wheels were 26”, Ritchey tires1.95” wide and pumped to 55lbs;

When Cannondale aluminum-framed bikes weighed in at 26 lbs;

When a Camelbak was required to carry all the tools you’d need to keep that piece-o-crap-bank-breaker together.

I respect you for riding up.  It ain’t easy.

It’s hard.

Look at all the punks that shuttle… makes me shutter.

They be missing out on the endorphin-nirvana you and I be drowning in.

But not you, and not me.

Hell no.

Respect the speed brother, The Old Diesel is comin’ through.

It started off as a simple prod by a fellow cyclist blogging about the virtues of his 10 mile commute by bicycle each day..

So I tried it.

It’s not as easy as you’d think.  It takes some planning: gear and logistics. A RaceDay bag will help keep you on track.

Now I’m hooked.

Working a schedule makes it easy, and makes it something I look forward to at the end of the day when I’m commuting home.  Arriving relaxed vs. stressed from traffic is life changing.

The days I ride in, I’m first one at the office and I’m energized to make good things happen.

For sure, I’m riding home on Mondays, and back in on Tuesdays.  The straight shot home is about 20 miles.  On the way in, I leave very early and catch the world famous TMWC.  Meeting up with the group makes the commute in 40-50 miles depending on the route.

Loving the 1 Less Car lifestyle changes, I’ve added a second day to the schedule, bouncing between Wednesday and Thursday.

You in?… The first person to say “I’m in… and send me a Strava link to their commute is gettin’ one a these fine, ultra soft 1 Less Car t-shirts.

You’ll send a message to the rest of the world, that you’re down for doing your part in reducing traffic and pollution; and increasing fitness and fun.  It’s a 100% cotton t-shirt with an athletic cut… and you’ll look sharp.

What does it mean to have a vision, a dream that only you can see?

… and what are you going to do about it?

We just put on an event with riders from as far away as Arizona, from Malibu to San Diego, and cities and towns in between… all connected by a concrete web so tangled only the locals can navigate without an app…

… at 6:30AM!… on a Tuesday!!!

The unOFFICIAL TMWC has grown into the largest weekday morning, pre-work “race” in the US, and it started with a dream, a vision, only a few could see.

How’d we do it?

Really, how do you do that?

The original crew of 4 laughed at me when I told them the name of the ride, I couldn’t even take it seriously: The Tuesday Morning World Championships.  It sounded so unbelievable I had a crooked grin everytime I said it.  But, we just kept saying it over and over.

Give your dream an audacious and memorable name.

We’d pick up commuters who would join us on parts of the route, and we’d ask them about where they were headed and what they did.  We’d post in club forums, and reach out to local shops and teams.  Many great people have come and gone over the years, and many friendships have been made.

Make friends along the way.

Sure it hurts the ego when you can’t hang, but it’s such an ego stroke when you can make it one corner or hill further than before.  When you PR a segment! Give it your all, beating on each other makes the group stronger.

Be gracious and congratulatory.

With the ride, it took about a month to scout out the course.  Challenging.  Safe.  Interesting. And, for “the city”  pretty darn light-free, completely light and stop free the last 7 miles.  It’s a great course.

Make it great, whatever it is.

Start on time, don’t wait for flats, obey the traffic laws, teach newbys the rules of group riding. The group is depending on a reliable experience they can plan the rest of their busy lives around.

Be dependable.

We kept growing.  Each invitation being delivered with passion and conviction by ever more people:  “Hey man, we got this cool course and awesome group a guys.  We hit it pretty hard every Tuesday.  Come out.”  Depending on skills and fitness, we followed with “we could use a rocket like you to light it up” or “you’ll learn how to ride in a group, it’s safe.”

Keep inviting. One human at a time.

There’s genuine love (too mushy?) for each other.  We’ve shared our life stories:  marriage, work/no work, child-rearing, cancer, broken bones, spiritual journeys, what training is working, what big event is on the radar, encouraging each other all along.

Have love for the group and the individual.

With all that naming, friending, congratulating, greatness, dependability, inviting and loving you still have to persevere.  There have been times when it’s 28 degrees and dark, days we didn’t get home the night before until well after mid-night, many times with an evening MTB  race to follow.  There will be obstacles in the way, but if that dream is burning you’ll show up, you’ve got to show up to your own dream

Persevere, be the leader and be dependable.

Know that there are lots of wonderful new friends that want to be part of what you’ve got going on… and you’ll keep making it better, because those new friends will contribute their time and energy freely, simply because you shared your passion with them and they are digging your vibe.

Share the dream!

Thanks for being part of our dream this year.

Sarah Strange for (wo)manning the registration table and shooting great stills on the corkscrew.

Jim and Vickie Bishop for riding lead moto and shooting the drone footage I can’t wait to see.

Chad and Geno at Baghouse for the awesome awards.

Damion Hickman for the killer t-shirt art.

Shelby Burton for the new sexy kit design.

Marco Sanchez for scoring the Oakley eyewear.

Guy LaRoque, BetterRoofing.com, for the insurance.

Robb Dorf for the PureFit bars.

Dan and Brandon for the Bowls of Heaven.

The local bike shops (I hope you frequent) for being awesome: RocknRoad, The Path and Two Hubs for the great gifts… really, go see these shops they are all unique and cool to visit.

Mike Gould, Chris Johnston and Jim Bishop for being on “the board”.

To all the trophy wives (that Susie Brown!) and husbands and lovers and kids and parents who indulge us and support us.

Now lets go build our dreams!

PS  The kids dominated!  1-2-3 when to Kevin 15, Mikael 18, Andrew 15… couldn’t be better.  We raised a record amount for the local high school MTB teams.  Official results will be up soon at TheTMWC.com

PSS… I’m sure I missed or forgot something, drop me a line and I’ll get it updated.

The unOFFICIAL TMWC happens once a year, in July.

Tuesday morning, 6:30AM – quiet time in our little mecca.

7/19 is a Tour de France rest day, and we are all geeked up.

It’s warm, but not hot.

The faces are friendly, the introductions genuine.

Interlopers, real pros or soon to be pros, will own the day.  We don’t care.

Us regulars just want to play in the same sandbox as long as we can and with a little luck snag a PR on one of the course’s many segments.

This is our day to share what we love with you.

It’s real.

Straights and turns, false flats and climbs, streets and sidewalks…

All leading to a broad, bike-only road, edged with friendly trees and shade.

The final 7 miles.

Just a gentle pitch to start.

Brief punches out of the saddle to keep it honest.

A tunnel to yell and scream.

A sleepy motorcycle bar warns “trouble ahead, trouble behind”.

A 4 minute (for some) wall to conquer.

A 50 m.p.h descent, twisting under an endless oak canopy.

A this-can’t-be-flat straight away past the 100-year-old general store and elementary school.

A final 1-minute blast (for some) up the cork screw to a this-is-definitely-not-flat drag strip finish.

If you are on this list below, awesome.

See who of your friends should be on it, and pass along our little invite.

If you’re not, we hope you can make it… whether you beat us silly or you’re hanging on with all you’ve got, it won’t be the same without you.

There are 100 spots in total to be had, and we’d love to fill them soon so we can properly plan an awesome morning for you.

(Last year we had a hundred, so I’m sure we’ll hit that again… the question is will you or your pals be there?)

The event is free and a fundraiser, and U19 have guaranteed spots.

We hope you’ll be able to stay for a Bowl of Heaven and the podium presentation of 2016 Tuesday Morning World Champions.

Cheers!, tb

Register at TheTMWC.com

Some interesting stats so far:

$492 in donations, most common is $20 – largest $200!

34 registrants

3 of you have never done the ride

48% admit to riding 10-15 hours/week

82% of you learned about the ride from a friend –  gotta pass this email along : )

Thanks in advance, you all continue to amaze me with great friendship, riding skills and generosity.

Fritz Reimers

William Langstaff

Jim Bishop

Robert Cavallo

Christopher Hill

Michael Quito

Mark Christopherson

Daniel Eitman

RJ Kern

Steve Horvath

Brian Cronk

Todd Brown

Patrick Galvin

John Brantley

Scott Lamb

Kevin Vermaerke

Frank Warren

Kevin Cavallo

Rigo Cruz

Jim Carter

Michael Russell

Cy Zuidema

Thomas Butterfield

Jason Hole

Spencer Roundy

Brandon Thede

Michael Wieczorek

Patrick Coffey

Shayne Kennedy

Chris Johnston

Wade Poulson

Marco Sanchez

Michael Gould

My high school friends, then (2009) and now.

Such a happy day, during a very turbulent time of my life.

What to do when life gravity is pulling you down? Get some earthly gravity to pump you up.

My two sons, Trevor and Shane, and my other “high school” friends, Austin and Clutch, headed for our favorite downhill run: The San Juan Trial.

Why is it our favorite?

Because back when these punks were weak and scrawny (not Clutch), we only bombed trails, and SJT is the most bombable trail in OC – miles and miles of single track all headed downhill, all on decomposed granite – the kind of terrain that grinds flesh to the bone, all  flanked by buckthorn – the plant that tears at your clothes and skin, all full of twisty turns and rocky drops and lots and lots and lots of smiles.

Looking into that picture I see what time can do:  all four of the kids are now excellent men, blazing their own ride through life… making me as happy for them today as “way back when”.

South of town I see this guy heading towards me, he turns around so I wait.

Do you know how to get to Oceanside?

Yep, through the base.

They wouldn’t let me through.

Did you have ID?

My racing license…

Well, we need to get your real ID… you staying in a local hotel?

Best Western.

Okay, let’s go back and get it… I’m in no hurry, and headed that way.

My name’s Michael, we shake hands… I’m Todd.

ID in pocket, we roll up Coast Highway and catch Dave.

Where are you headed?

I’m meeting the guys at the T-shirt shop, then Celo Pacific.

Awesome… I’ve always wanted to do that ride… we can cruise down, draft the pack back.  Just what I’m a needin’.

Introductions are made, we point south.   Chatting, getting to know new faces.  Michael mixes right in… we’re rotating a double pace line with an odd number, always someone new to talk to.

At the end of the base, the boys are whipped out to water spring weeds, while we wait for the Celo crew.

Here they come, right on cue we are hammering at 35mph with a steady, unusual southern wind.  OK, new guy could be shot out the back… this train is being stoked by big lumber.

I make a move up the final hill before the North gate, solo through the small gate onto the emergency runway… the group is way back, it’s now or never… never, I scratch and latch onto a break of 4 very fast guys.

The tunnel under the 5 is wet and muddy, we slow and the main group reconnects.

Michael is there and takes a pull on the front. Nice job, new guy!

Tri guy takes the lead through the campground and stays there averaging 30mph, nobody comes around for miles.  I’m right behind him, so blame me tri guy.

Up the hill, the group swarms us… new guy included… lining up the sprint, it’s a fast one and the interlopers from San Clemente take the V.  Pretty sure the CP guys hate that… I sit up and congratulate tri-guy on the manly pull.

Cruising back through town, Michael and I decide to catch a “coffee” at Kaylani‘s.

Turns out he works for Travis Pastrana’s Nitro Circus… he’s used to managing rock groups, now manages the US tour for TP – there are 3 tours running this year.

Turns out he had a ride to Europe to race pro and went all teenager with his step-dad and screwed that up.

Turns out he raised a family, started riding again in his 30’s, and was instantly running with pros.

Turns out family came first so he retired again.

Turns out he got back on the bike 5 years ago and was easily spinning with the local hot shots.

Turns out a freaking car turned in front of him as he was crossing the line for the win on a local ride: broken neck, sternum, bleeding on the brain.

Turns out he’s tough – he is Aussie – and last year he qualified for Master’s World Championships.

Turns out he’s another gem, just riding along.

#meetnewpeople

It was my birthday.  I’d been training all year for the mountain bike season.  And my plan was to kick @#$!

But… I’d over trained, raced way too many days on the road.  My diet was off enough to pack on 5 pounds. And my legs truly felt like crap… they bit back at me, just taking my “smoke break” walk around the office parking lot.

Racing was suddenly not seeming like a fun thing to do on the b-day.

The Boss insisted I would feel good in the morning… I believe everything he says.

Bam!… next thing I know it’s dark, and early, and my birthday.  Eggs are cooking, avocado is cut, smoothie is blending, fueling up the old diesel.

I’m ahead of schedule, scattering through my brain comes… “fix that cleat!”

No problem, I’ve got time and I have a brand new cleat.

Done.  Loaded. Heading down the road.  Let’s race!

Sign up, warm up.  All on schedule.

At the Start line I find a buddy to hand up my bottle after lap 1 – figuring there’s no need to add to the sloth I’ve become.

And we’re off.

I try my new strategy of not going out like an idiot but actually pacing myself the first 5 minutes.

15 minutes later, my masterpiece is not looking good at all.

Standing up and hammering hard, my foot pulls out of the pedal.  Damn cleat.  I sit and grind, pedaling in strong efficient circles.  Foot pulls out again.  DAMN cleat! Blast a rock garden. Foot out.  Ddddddddamndamndamn.  My right leg can only put out a fraction of the power being demanded.

Either the lack of rest or the pedaling imbalance or both creates all kinds of lactic acid.  ouch, ouCH, OUCH!

I roll through the Start/Finish for lap 2… buddy with bottle has vanished. Shoot.

Next lap begins the long parade of being passed, a lot.  Often.  Not trying to be arrogant, but dudes I normally beat by minutes are passing me and kindly inquiring – Todd, you okay? – yep, just not my day.

Back through Start/Finish I get my bottle for the final lap… too late.  Once you bonk – once I bonk – it’s over.

I wanted to quit, bad.  But, I never quit.  Ever.  Quitting aint my style.  I’m all in, regardless of the pain, the mishaps, whatever… I’m a finisher.  Plus, I paid for this epic fail, and I’m gonna get my money’s worth.

These are all rookie mistakes – lack of rest, failing to test new equipment in advance, not having a solid race food plan.

Maybe I’m not that old after all?

Deconstruction:  finished 20 minutes off the winning pace, but… PR’d the first half of the course, made the absolute best of the downhills, got a nice reminder of what it takes to race at high levels before Nationals this summer, saw all my friends and really enjoyed the day.

I am not shocked by the Brussels bombings, and you shouldn’t be either.

Right out of high school, a group of us traveled Europe by back pack and Eurail for the summer.  Europe at that time was a wonderful playground of history and adventure for us.

Travel was easy, language from my native “English” to my adopted Spanish to Italian was easy to navigate.  The Germans spoke great English.  The French made no effort to help our rotten translations, but who cared?… the food and bread were unforgettable!

11 years ago my pals and I landed in Paris, excited to witness the Tour de France.  It had been 25 years, but how much could have changed?

For the most part, nothing had changed in France.  The locals still sneered, even with my friend’s wife speaking decent French.  But who cares… the food and bread, and the riding(!) were unforgettable. I had no idea how amazing cycling would be, the roads seemed to be paved and banked and sized solely for the purpose or traveling by bicycle.  Perfect.

There was one part of the trip that did freak me out a little.

One evening, as the sun was dropping, we found ourselves passing through what could only be called a Muslim slum.  Instantly, I felt uncomfortable.  At first I chalked it up to wearing lycra, then I added being white, then I added being different, then I could only add the unpleasant feelings of not being welcome.  At all.

Mind you, I’ve lived among the poorest of Mexico wearing the standard uniform of Mormon missionary.  I know what it’s like to stand out, and hail from a very foreign culture.

This was different.  This was thick.

Maybe it was my paranoia at the time, but I distinctly recall thinking to myself France was going to go down.

The people were not integrating, not learning the language, and more importantly not participating in the economy.  This is a formula for disaster.  And the French, were not having children at nearly the rate of the immigrants.  At some point, they could not/can not afford to stay separate.  One of two peoples is/was going to swallow the other.

The only Honors class I took in college was Sociology.  Really the only thing I remember was being fascinated by the topic and by the students who were clearly smarter than me.

You may think some politicians, and wannabe politicians, are nuts to want to close our borders… let me suggest you go visit France, and England and experience what is going on there.

Solving the integration problem for immigrants must be addressed for immigration to be successful.  Landing in a foreign country, getting on the government dole and clinging to your fellow compatriots is not the answer.

A wise man once said work is a blessing.  The older I get, the wiser that seams.  When we work side by side towards a common goal our differences melt away, and we learn to appreciate and enjoy each others unique talents and backgrounds.

Europe’s 40 year history of kicking the can down the road is coming to head.  They desperately need vision, leadership.

Sure, it’s easy for a white dude, with time to ride a bike to make those comments… but, I’ve been kicked hard in the nuts by life just like everybody else I know and the only answer I’ve ever found that makes me happy is getting up the next morning and putting my pants on one leg at a time and getting back to work.

Witness all the successful immigrants in our country today, they get to work and integrate.

Is that too simple of a solution for immigration… getting to work?

As my dad celebrates his retirement at age 80, I would like to raise a toast to him for giving me the greatest advice for business and life I’ve ever received.

Calling Dad for advice is kinda like sincere prayer… things are either really great, or really not great.

This advice though is timeless so I hope  you find value in it to.

Here’s how it goes….

Dad, I have this thing, and it’s huge…

Dad laughs and says…  Well did I ever tell you about my first legal contract for the family property at the Zion Ponderosa?  I was straight out of school and so green and so nervous… and 54 years later, that contract is still in place today.

Then he says the key advice…

Or Dad, you can’t believe what is going on in my life…

He laughs, and he says oh that’s a good one…

Did I ever tell you about representing the doctor who cut off the wrong leg?

His story is always larger than life… we laugh, and he gives me the advice.

Or Dad, what would you do if this was going down in your life?

Always more laughter and complimenting me on my predicament followed by…

Did I ever tell you about how I rescued RoseMarie Reid’s swimming suit empire business?

My “thing” seems so small, and he says this key phrase….

Or, Dad I’ve got this business idea that could be…

Oh yes!, he laughs… did I ever tell you about our helicopter business flying fat cats from LA skyscrapers and landing on the tarmac at LAX?

I say that’s crazy… he says I know, laughs some more and clues me in with this advice…

Or, Dad I’m really concerned about this thing going on…

He laughs and looks at me and says, well ya but remember when we were trading gold and pesos and the check cashing business?… haha, I laugh too and he unloads the advice.

Dad, how did you ever figure out how to handle this thing I’m facing…

The smiles and laughs come harder and happier… and he tells me about him and Merwin clobbering the largest law firms in the nation – just a couple of cowboy cousins kicking butt… and he tells me again what to do.

So, here’s the advice…

Get up in the morning and put your pants on 1 leg at a time, and get to work.

The juicy details of that advice were a little bitter at times until I understood that my dad, loves to work and do big projects and have fun while he’s at.

Now I shared that so I could tell you this… because sandwhiched in between the laughter, the awesome story and the advice was this… You Can Do This

Cheers to my dad for putting his pants on one leg at a time and going  to work, making it fun, and providing so many wonderful times for his associates and family.

Can’t wait to see what he does tomorrow!

Whatever you put in your bottles, get white tops.

White tops allow you to mark your secret recipes…

… leaving you and your support team one less thing to screw up.

I don’t know about you but… I love to hate my fellow racers, to find something that just makes me want to stomp their guts into the ground.

You know it’s not hard to do.  I find a lot to hate about myself, for example.

But Smiley, Smiley just ticks me off to a whole new level.

First, he’s so damn nice and personable.  He’s a total giver in a sport filled with takers.  He’s that guy that brings the tent early, and takes it home late; that guy that helps you patiently fix a broken bike, even as his start time viciously approaches; that guy that asks how the family is, and the actually listens…

… and he does all this with the most beautiful pearly smile, UGH!

Second, when I told my coach about my goal to take him down she just nodded and said, “ya know, he was built to race mountain bikes; and isn’t he a nice man?”

… all without a hint of hope, #$%@!

But the real kick in the nuts, is when chatting Smiley up about an upcoming race and how svelte I am, how primed I am, how much I’m looking forward to racing the big guns like him…

… there isn’t the slightest doubt in his mind that I have no shot, NONE…

Smiley, the epitome of that guy you hate to love!