Arsbars - The rants of Arleigh Arsbars

Failing (or loosing) is the best motivation for me it seems.

Wednesday series I got owned.  My body wasn’t ready for the abuse of a steep gear on steep hills.  More miles, maybe even more full suspension.  The single speed is becoming a 1×9 tonight to gear up for tomorrow (yes I like to build bikes the night before races.)

So I was shown how badly I need to ride, how badly I need to pedal and get saddle time back in.  Mailing off my USA Cycling test this week.  The test is not difficult and more common sense than common knowledge.  I am looking forward to a coaching seminar this November in Atlanta.  I have the knowledge and just need to practice what I preach.

Tomorrow is the 7 hour.  Ben and I have not rode together in a month and I haven’t read a map in over a year.  I’ll charge the camera batteries for great entertainment.

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This morning I was driving in to work, a bit bummed out that I was driving instead of riding but I had a higher purpose for my ride this evening. So I’m people watching, something I enjoy doing at all 6 red lights I hit every morning. There’s the gansta on my left in the pimped out Camry and a smoker to my right.

Oh wait, the smoker has a Yankee Candle air freshener hanging from her rear view. Really? Is that one vanilla candle that is hanging from the center of your car going to help your poor car smell better? You’re killing yourself, your cars interior and the least you could do is put up a candle on a string. A flat cardboard candle on a string. Why not wrap your seats in plastic? Better yet, wrap you LUNGS in plastic because you are killing them.

I wonder if she brushes her teeth 15 times a day, to make them smell better. Do you think she is brushing her lungs as well? Or her hands for that matter.

Smokers disgust me, smokers that try to hide the fact are even more disgusting.

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Needed to do some tune up work on the most ridden bikes in my stable. The Fast Boy and the road/commuter.

The road bike hasn’t been cleaned or really tuned since last fall (early last fall.) I had put on some serious mileage in the late fall and recently started commuting on it. Thanks to the fact I like to ride through mud, sand and off road it was a bit of a a sty. A pig-sty that is.

The Fast Boy is doing wonderful. Upgraded the front chainring to a 33t from a 32t. Testing out a E.13 Guide Ring for The Bike Lab and when I initially put it on my legs were weak from lack of riding - so it quickly came off! They seem to be catching up wonderfully so it went back on to best tested out at Sherman Branch early this coming week.

In my little bike room the light seemed to get brighter and brighter as the storm clouds from the morning passed on. Grabbing the camera I took as many photos as possible as the light glittered off my little Fast Boy.

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Saturday evening I found time and energy for a quick spin around Sherman Branch. For all of you non-locals, Sherman is very close to my house and the 10.something mile loop is a good amount of fun. Nothing too horrible but enough elevation change, switch backs and greenery to keep me entertained.

Before the ride I switched up my stem and handlebar to the Origin-8 bar and Thompson stem for a more comfortable riding position. I still need to switch the stem to a flat one, instead of a rise but for now its comfy. Almost too comfy, feel like I’m riding a fast Cadillac.

The current training plan is modeled off of Team Dicky’s. (Who the hell would ever do that?) In the upcoming two weeks I have 3 races. 1 being the weekly series, 1 being the 7 hour adventure race that Ben Wilson & I are doing for Cool Breeze this coming Saturday and 1 being the 4 hour Escape from Granogue. You can’t forget all the riding and mishappery that will be happening on my vacation either. A planned 6 hour ride up the C&O from DC, at least 3 road rides with the hopes of getting lost where I grew up and first pedaled a road bike, riding to get coffee every morning and sneaking up on old friends.

On Saturday I also found a decent - cost effective - beer at Trader Joes. Less than $1 per bottle in a 6 pack. Works for me as beer is a much needed part of the newly adopted training plan.

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The Charlotte MTB summer series is well under way.  I’ve only made it to one race so far in the series and didn’t even race it.  The only good thing in that statement is I was able to take some photos after I changed a guys flat tire he exploded soon before the start.   I hope to make 2 out of every 4 starting up after my vacation.

Here are a couple of my favorite from this past week:

http://flickr.com/photos/arsbars

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Three days ago I was sweating my ass off in the garden. Mowing the backyard with all the dog “fertilization” seems to be a full speed a head sport. Between land mines and how thick the grass grows due to the land mines, my little push mower often stalls out if I go more than 6 days between mowings. Before taking on the mowing I thought I would go to the gym after, once I was done 30 minutes later - I was sweating like a pig and pretty tired in the upper body.

We also found a bag of tulip bulbs a few weeks back, a couple of them were bursting at the seams so we planted them in various pots around the inside and outside of the house. 3 of them have grown, no tulips but at least they grew. Now I need to figure out where they belong and replant them.

There are two other large joys in our garden. The rose bushes are the first and the eye catching ones. The rose bushes are amazing. I plan on buying more and planting them along our fence in the backyard. Due to their thorns the pups don’t mess with them and the seem to like the land mine fertilization.

The one we are looking forward to the most is the vegetable garden. The vegetable garden is slowly growing. Red & yellow peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and some marigolds to look pretty. The peppers I hope do wonderful. Jeannie loves peppers and they are hitting a high price at the grocery store. I’m excited about the cucumbers. Maybe once I get this gardening down I’ll plant another plot and try beans (I love beans!)

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I have no clue what the title of this blog means.

Today I sat at the doctors office for an excessively long time. The doctor was running behind, the nurse that took in my paper work was feeling horrible about it all. Kept offering me water even though I had a water bottle in my grubby left hand. I was very entertained sitting in the waiting room. There was an older African-American couple (trying to be PC here) that was getting pissed that they waited over 15 minutes from their appointment time. These are the same people that came 5 minutes late to their appointment, when they ask you to come 15 minutes early. They tried to fake it by signing in at the right time but the nurse was not impressed.

Then there was this couple. The guy/husband was in his pajamas. Old beat up Red Sox tshirt and Carolina Gamecocks flannel bottoms. Thankfully he didn’t have slippers on but instead normal shoes. His wife kept beeping someone on their Nextel (are they called Sprints now??) It ended up being their son. After the 10th beep back and forth, I really didn’t get why a. they were on speaker and b. they didn’t just call each other. The beeping and shouting was very annoying. Especially when the husband was shouting over the beep-beep to his son on the other side of the Nextel, walky-talky, thingy.

There are times like this I miss riding the Metro in DC. People watching when you are “listening to your iPod” is very rewarding. You realize you aren’t nearly as messed up as the rest of the US of A.

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Jeesh, that weekend flew by. One ride in at the crappiest trail in the area. Got to be back at that same trail in three days for the local summer series too!

New wheels rolled into the lab last Friday. Stans ZTR 355 in the 650b flavor. They are here for testing, reviewing and loving for 650b.com. They already shaved off TWO pounds off the single swizzle! I look forward to hammering it out in the morning at Sherman. The wheels haven’t gone tubeless yet, I want to test them out fully before going to the tubeless on these guys. I’m a big fan of tubeless but not having a compressor readily available - I am not ready to be doing them by hand.

Have been searching Flickr and various blogs for stories about Dirt Sweat and Gears. Very bummed out not to miss it but I’m already very excited about the end of the MTB series which blends in my mind of the cyclocross. The pain cave is coming I keep telling myself.

Now need to get in the shower to wipe the compost off my arms and body from planting our veggie garden tonight. Not a very good post, but what do you expect for 9:30 on a Sunday night.

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When moving to Charlotte a few years ago I was an avid blogger, blog reader and just stalker of everything internet. I knew of this guy “Team Dicky” from forums, rumors and shop talk. I soon met “Team Dicky” in the shop I was working at when he stopped by one day, for who knows what. Quickly I learned the ways of Rich. He would come in bantering about Hopey Steerer Dampeners, Ninjas and Vikings, and rigid craziness.

He once purchased a Hopey Steerer from us, even when we recommended he demo one, took it home.. thought about it really hard (probably lost sleep over it) NEVER installed it, and brought it back. It just wasn’t the viking way. (This is also when the guy swore off 29ers due to them being vehicles of cheating, or ninjas, or something.)

Rich over the years of his tangent blogging has become very well known in the cycling industry. If you mountain bike and have the internet - you’ve read Rich’s blog.

There even seems to be a movement of Team Dicky blog readers. Recently I flew across the country for Sea Otter. Multiple people (probably close to 8/9 people) , once they heard I’m from Charlotte, would ask “Do you know Team Dicky?” The first couple times I was like “huh..WHAT?!” Then I quickly realized the blog-o-sphere is much larger than Charlotte, and my little world.

I have a friend that asks me almost every time we talk what’s new with Team Dicky. The guy has never met him. Maybe never will, but still asks me like I’m married or best friends with him. Normally I have no new stories unless Wild Bill has shared something with me.

To all you that worship Rich’s blog - he’s a normal guy with ADD, ADHD, and some OCD in there. His family is as sweet as they get. His wife is very patient and loving. And his kids are awesome.

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A few things to handle this evening.  Rode home into the sunset.  Was a very welcoming feeling after the last week.  More riding and less thinking is what’s needed.  Tomorrow is the day I can officially count down to vacation the end of May.

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