SteveAustin

Back pain on the bike is usually due to the wrong saddle heighth or the wrong stem. Do your knees hurt as well? If the front of your knees hurt then your saddle is too low, if the backside of your knees hurt, then the saddle is too high. If your knees don't hurt then its probably your stem angle and or length. A lot of bike shops have a stem sizer or a complete bike fit kit. I'm sure if you went in to your LBS and told them whats up they'd proabably help find ya one that works. If all this shit is spot on and your back still hurts....do lots of crunches and that will help alot. Another thing that might cause it would be a stiff aluminum frame and thin ass tires. Only options there being a wider tire or a more forgiving frame (last resort). When I first started riding my back hurt all the time. Once I got enough miles under my belt it hurt less and less. Hope some of this helps. I'm real lucky, one of the guys on my team is a doctor. I'm always calling him to get his opinion.

my legs are absolutely trashed from mountain biking. when I shave my legs, all these scars from the past magically appear. I think I've been riding my road bike too much. I had a brutal race yesterday. Ended up in 9th or 10th...I was too exhausted to really figure it out for sure. Lots of creek crossings and mud. I'm still zapped today, but looking forward to my nice easy recovery spin tonight.

Heres the article in reference to the accident in procycling: http://www.procycling.com/news_main.asp?newsId=3884 I especially like the "two unnamed women" bit. Bar whores? Kick ass. Sucks to hear he's out. Is there going to be any competition for this years Tour or are they just going to give it to Lance? Did my first group ride after being sick for a week. Hi-light: Blasting along at 34 mph. Lo-light: got dropped about 3 miles from the end of the ride.

BTW: thanks for the suggestions. I was just looking at the new Fujis. I noticed the cable is routed on top now. I almost bought the Surly Crosscheck last year. Somebody pointed out the weight (not that I'm that big of a gram freak) and I decided to pass and get a little lighter ride. I'd love to get an IF. One of my buddies had a really nice IF...then he got hit by a car. Now, one of my other friends has a really beaten up IF.

You have no idea. I was helping out with the medical side of things that whole weekend. We had lots and lots of hypothermia cases. There were a couple guys that wore shorts for the nationals...they had tights the next day. This one girl (can't remember her name) broke her wrist racing. During the race she taped her hand to the bars, so she could keep going. I think she podiumed...can't remember for sure. Another one suffered a concussion and couldn't remember her name.

that Empella looks sweet, whats it made out of? I'm pretty dead set on getting a steel frame. I've noticed a lot of guys around here rockin the Redline. Last I heard its a hell of a deal and everyone seems to really like them. How well do you like yours? I used to own a Cannondale with a headshock. I destroyed the shock within three months. After that I've kinda avoided them.

Here they are. http://www.freephoto-i.net/users/SteveAustin/OPCross1.jpg'> http://www.freephoto-i.net/users/SteveAustin/OPCross2.jpg'> http://www.freephoto-i.net/users/SteveAustin/OPCross3.jpg'> http://www.freephoto-i.net/users/SteveAustin/OPCross4.jpg'> http://www.freephoto-i.net/users/SteveAustin/OPCross5.jpg'> http://www.freephoto-i.net/users/SteveAustin/OPCross6.jpg'> http://www.freephoto-i.net/users/SteveAustin/OPCross7.jpg'> http://www.freephoto-i.net/users/SteveAustin/OPCross8.jpg'> http://www.freephoto-i.net/users/SteveAustin/OPCross9.jpg'>

Thats my goal for the fall. I got a lot of shit for riding my mountain bike, but that was my first year racing cross. Now that I'm addicted....I have to come up with some cash. Any suggestions on a cross bike? I was looking at Bianchis and LeMonds. Nationals and SuperCup were in Overland Park, Kansas December 15-17 2000. It was colder than hell frozen over. I'm just running a little behind on posting things in a timely manner.

Cross http://www.freephoto-i.net/users/SteveAustin/Lead.jpg'> droppin the hammer and rollin up front http://www.freephoto-i.net/users/SteveAustin/RunUp1.jpg'> these guys won't leave me alone. http://www.freephoto-i.net/users/SteveAustin/RunUp2.jpg'> all by my lonesome, feeling the pain. http://www.freephoto-i.net/users/SteveAustin/TeamWork.jpg'> in the back doing the team work thing. I'll post the SuperCup and Nationals from Kansas soon.

I went out last night with the intention of doing a nice urban spin. Ended up putting 3.5 hours of mtn single time in. I also managed to hit my "first car". I had the light and this bitch pulled out in front of me. I hit her rear quarter (mainly the plastic bumper part). I wasn't going fast enough for it to do any damage to myself or her car. It did however leave a nice "tire print" for when she got home and looked at it.

I think wiping out on the road scares me more than on the dirt. I've wrecked so many times on dirt and come out ok most of the times. I've seperated my shoulder twice (same one), but nothing too serious. The only time I ever got a concussion was wake boarding. I can only attribute this to wearing a helmet. I always wear a helmet when I'm riding off road. Most of the time on the road, except for pub crawls and easy recovery rides around the neighborhood. My advice for ticks....shave your legs. I know I'm asking for it, but I haven't had a tick embed itself since I started shaving. I do have a nice collection of ticks that did try to steal my blood. They are forever emtombed in 3M scotch tape. Hopefully I can get some miles in this weekend. I've been hella busy this week. Feel sorry for me...I have to go to a co-ed bacholorette party this weekend. :D

thanks It seems like the only time I ride my mountain bike is when there is a race. I've got over a dozen bikes and the road bike(s) probably get 95% of my time. I have a full suspension mt bike that hasn't been ridden since September of last year. Crazy thing is that its a nice bike. It weighs a little over 23 lbs. which is damn light for a dually mt. bike. I'm beginning to think I should just sell it. Hesh, you outta turn the mt bike into a singlespeed or fixie. That changes everything. Its a whole new ride. I turned my first mt. bike into a SS and that is partially to blame for not touching the dually. Gotta love the rigid single. Cinnamon...you know, riding is a great stress reliever. luck on those finals man. Strato...that festival sounds like a blast. I would've loved to be there. I've got an old tandem I want to make into some kind of crazy ass chopper. I'm thinking ape hangers and riding from the second seat. One man hella chopper.

So, I had my second mountain bike race this weekend. The weather was nasty as predicted. It rained all Friday night and Saturday. Showed up at the race site on Sunday and as expected, it was muddy. Luckily this place drains fairly well, so it could have been worse. I have to say I didn't feel the best when I woke up in the morning. My legs felt a little tight, almost like I had raced the day before. The wind was biting cold as we were standing around waiting for the start gun. The race started and I oddly found myself out in front. Knowing it wasn't going to last I tried to get to the top of the hill first. Since I arrived late and didn't have time to warm up...I felt the lactic acid build up quick and then patially shut me down. I started getting passed left and right. That whole first lap I felt like I was going to puke. Between wanting to stop and stick my finger down my throat and my tire choice I had some serious thoughts about quitting. I finally got past the queasyness, settled down and got in my comfort zone. My tires started hooking up on the second lap really well due to the tackiness of the mud. The second and third laps were much better. Dropped several guys on one huge climb. Passed lots of people while only being passed twice myself. I finished the race in 9th place. Went and checked my lap times....my second lap was 8 minutes faster than my first and my third lap was 6 minutes faster than the first. If my first lap was on par with the other two I would've been top five. I'm thrilled with the 9th and glad to see all the work I've done in the past month has paid off. I can't wait for the next race.

Its kinda crazy how everything effects your performance. Last fall I had a bad cross race. Cats I normally destroy handed me my ass. It was just one of those days. Pissed me off something serious though. Climbing is definitely where races are won. One of my buddies gave me the great secret to descending. He said its all in the brakes....don't use 'em. I know it sounds strange, but ever since he said that...I've gotten faster and faster on the downhills. I try not to touch the brakes unless I have to. Single speeding helps out with this as well. Gotta maintain your momentum, so braking is very bad.

Re: litespeed siena Hesh...Titanium is the shit, straight on. Before I got mine I borrowed a buddies old Cannondale R400. Aluminum frame, aluminum fork and low end Shimano with some 105 on it. I rode about 30 miles on it and raced it the same weekend. That bike beat the crap outta me. When I got mine I couldn't believe the difference in comfort. I've got a titanium frame and that bad ass Look HC3 Carbon fork (and steer tube). I can't believe how smooth that bike is. Gotta love that nice clean titanium look on the chain and seat stays. My next race is coming up this weekend. Its on a course I absolutely love and the weather looks like its going to be bad. For some reason I tend to do well under those circumstances.

I can't quite say I believe that 8000ft of climbing or the 45 miles for that matter. From what I know of the event its more of a drink fest with a bunch of guys "racing" the next day. I absolutely love that you have to go to a bar to find out where the race is. I've heard lots of stories about people puking during the race. They're probably starting the rumor just to discourage the faint of heart.

TEARZ Thats one hell of a nice looking ride, but nothing says mountain biker with a road bike, better than Time ATACs on the new ride. When I got my new Ti ride last year I put my mountain pedals on it just so I could start riding it. Well....one year later, they're still on there and I'm still bitching about them every time I ride. One of these days I'll switch em. Any recommendations?

SSWC2K+2 There's not much info out there at the moment. Just the basics and some rumors. Here's what I pulled from the singlespeedoutlaw website: "2002 Single Speed World Championships a.k.a. SSWC2K+2 - October 13, 2002 - Downieville, California - Rumor has it the course will be 45 miles with 8,000 feet of climbing. More details as they become available" There is no way I can pull 8000 feet of climbing on the setup I currently have (2:1). I'm trying to figure out a way to get myself a more climbing friendly setup. I don't suppose anyone has a 24 tooth rear cog (without shifting ramps) laying around collecting dust.

Where and when? I'm already planning on going to Cali for the Single Speed World Championships...maybe I can make it for both.

nice job cinnamon. sounds like your right on track man. you should be taking that first spot within a month. climbing is where its at. its so demoralizing to others when you blast past them on a climb, or up leave em dead in their tracks. We've got some nice technical stuff around where I live and I've never had a problem with the grip shift shifters. Guess I'm just used to it. I also missed the roubaix. I haven't gotten my cable connected since moving. Hopefully one of my boys taped it. um, what else. oh yeah, finally ordered a wheel for my fixie/single. I totally tacoed my singles rear. I knew it would happen eventually, but wasn't quite ready for it. I was cranking up a big ass hill, one spoke broke...and the whole wheel just twisted like a double wide in a tornado. walk home sucked.

Re: from toy statements to toy questions... Like Joker said, Zinn and the Art of Bicycle Maintenance. I bought that book and pretty much do all my maintenance now. Last bike I built I did everything except for the headset (no press) and the fork. As far as upgrades: Cranks...I would go with Truvativ. You can get a bad ass crank set and bottom bracket for under $150. Its a really nice, stiff, light weight set up. Headset...Pay the money now and be done with it. Chris King makes the best headsets period. I think they have something like a 10 year warranty. If its not threadless then switch it when you upgrade the fork. It'll set you back around a $100. Shifters...it sounds like you have the Grip Shift shifters. These have come along way in the past few years. SRAM is making the best set of these now. SRAM just started making a set of "trigger" shifters. I have no experience with them, but I'm sure the're nice. Other things. Just because you got me started. If you upgrade your seat and your not a vegan...go Selle Italia. I haven't found a better saddle yet. I just bought a Carbon Fiber SLR for $40! That thing weighs like 135 grams. I've got it on my racing road bike right now, but I'm gonna switch it to my cross bike and put my Trans Am back on the road. One of the best upgrades you can make to your bike is wheels. Mavic and Ritchey both have some nice wheel sets. Brakes...I'm a big fan of Avid brakes whether its v or disks...they rock. Hayes has the best hydraulic set up. good luck!

Last time this happened to me, I had my pedals set so tight that I couldn't get out of them. So, there I lay, in the road...on my back....with a bike still attached to me. I can't even begin to tell you how embarassed I was. After a little inspection I realized it wasn't necessarily the pedals tightness. The cleat on my right foot (typically the first one I unclip) was a little loose.

if someone wants to draw some shit up I can prep it. I've actually designed a couple jerseys already...its a side business. :D my ride last night got cut a little short. I rode out to some spots and noticed some new shit. I just stood there in awe. fucked up my ride, but it was worth it.

I busted 50 miles out on an absolutely gorgeous day. Thought about how I need to get the fixed road rollin the whole time. One of the things stallin me is the frame I wanted to use (old French Jeunet). The rear seat stays are so thin (think pencil) where they weld into the drops that I'm afraid I'm gonna break them. Anyone have any knowledge about this frame or anyone breaking frames on fixies?

Now that you mention that, I remember someone else saying the same exact thing. I might have to move up quicker just because. Supposedly I can move up based on my mountain results alone. Gonna have to find out. The mountain fixies are insane fast. Almost as fast as gears. I think the only thing that slows them down is the crash factor.