rubbish heap two

It's basically like glucosamine and chrondoitan. I believe MSM converts to those two substances in the body, anyway, being a form of dietary sulphur. You can find it in the supplement aisle of any grocery store. Anyways, there's not a whole lot of studies to back up MSM's effectiveness (or glucosamine/chondroitan, for that matter) but it works for me and I'm fine with that. Don't think it'll help you win any bike races, but it could take away knee pain long enough that you can get on the bike for some intervals and train to win. That's my plan, anyway... 10x10's tomorrow. And much like glucosamine/chondroitan, I guess it's a bandaid solution in that once you stop taking it, pain can come back. Either way, I'm hoping stretching and just having my legs spinning again out on the road bike should help the root. Info: http://www.msmguide.com/jointpain/improvejointhealth/

MSM... not more than 12 hours after taking some, I'm feeling knee relief. Try it out...

Wow, and now I'm having knee pain as well. Couldn't hammer above 20mph on today's ride, and damn near couldn't get out of the saddle to climb. Ugh. Hoping stretching, fish oil and MSM are going to ameliorate things before Thursday throwdown ride and Saturday track race.

Well, not riding for 2 weeks did about what I expected it would do coming into today's road race (Eugene Roubaix). Finished with the main group but sat up in final gravel section leading to the finish and just rolled through the line. Was cramping multiple times before that and ran out of water on like the 20th mile but managed to fight through. Time to get back into more riding... first track race of the year next week. Can't wait! Track > road!!!

Ah, I remember riding in Maui with similar shit. Hot weather and the worst winds I've ridden in. Tips... figure out the time of day when wind is at it's weakest and ride then. For me it was the morning.

Did you get an acute knee injury or is it something chronic?

You're both off. Go study your history. Fixed gears have indeed been used for training by roadies, but almost never brakeless, and modern day hipsters are not emulating road-training racers. The idea of stripping the brakes off was never for "faster accelerations" - if you're training, you don't want a lighter bike when the point is gaining fitness and efficiency, and roadies don't exactly let brakeless people ride in their groups. Non-sequitur. oldskooltrack.com

Racing Eugene Roubaix?

hit me up, although that's about the time i leave at...

Hesh you still racing tri's?

I'm not even saying it's his fault for riding a fixed gear is the thing... he said he couldn't hop the curb at speed, and that's a pretty essential maneuver if you're going to ride around brakeless. Always have to have an exit hole. For the record, I still ride a brakeless track bike on the street (in addition to two geared bikes), but not so much at speed or like an asshole anymore. I mostly save my legs for intervals and racing these days :D

Kinda your fault.

KHS is mostly garden variety Taiwanese stuff. I had a KHS Flite 100 frame/fork - no complaints really except the steel was a little soft and dented easier than expected from locking up. Really, the brand isn't much different than Fuji, Giant etc. And damn, the more I look at that Moots, the more I like it. They really nailed it all on that build.

Damn, I wanna see more of that Moots... Campy + Speedplay for the win on both of those bikes.

What? Mustache bars are fine for city riding...

Table Rock was quite the hard race. I made it 60 out of 70 miles with the 1/2/3's... on the last climb, a guy in front of me crashed, I was already slightly cramped but got gapped and got into full on cramps fighting to get back on, with two teammates behind me in the exact same boat. They solo'd off the back to the finish, I turned around and went to the parking lot. I really couldn't get the fluids in me fast enough to offset what I was sweating. During the race, I drank my two water bottles I brought, another one from the neutral feed zone at the finish line, one from the support car 10 miles later (very classy move on the driver's part actually), one when I got dropped and then 2 more, one being a protein shake, when I got back to the car. Still ended up not peeing very much afterwards for the absurd amount of fluids I put down. Other than that, the course was really fun. We hit 53.5mph top speed in a descent, and it was had some good winding turns. There was two major climbs with the first one being the longer/mellower one and the finish line climb being shorter and steeper, though not the 15% advertised grade. Afterwards there was a raffle, bbq and tons of free shit to go around. Mike Ripley definitely puts on some really legit races...

I've been reading a ton about bike fits lately, and from all the research, I can draw three conclusions: 1) It's not about propriety fitting systems (Retul, Wobblenaught, etc.), fancy tools/lasers/Motion Capture, etc. All that stuff helps but ultimately the fitter has to know what he's doing, and needs years of experience. So look first and foremost with someone with plenty of years of experience doing the type of fit you're looking for (competitive road). 2) Pick the brain of a few fitters before going with one. See what their background and beliefs are and if they mesh with what you're looking for. 3) Make sure, if they're doing a cleat fitting, that they're not "just" getting your ball over the pedal spindle. Any average joe can do that. What you want is wedges and shims if needed (and most people need wedges, myself included). They make you more efficient, more balanced on the bike and less likely to get knee problems. Definitely good to just ask locals where to get fitted, too.

I would avoid both and go handbuilt. With these hubs (http://cgi.ebay.com/CIRCUS-MONKEY-ROAD-Hubs-F20Hole-R24Hole_W0QQitemZ110506024984QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCycling_Parts_Accessories?hash=item19baac2018), Kinlin/IRD rims and Sapim or DT spokes, you can build a sub-1500g wheelset for sub-$500. Better yet, follow Sheldon Brown's wheelbuilding guide and build them yourself. You'll save dough and come out better in the long run. You're doing the right thing getting back into the action as soon as you can. Time is your friend here - you just gotta give it awhile before things feel natural again. Also remember that tenseness in your mind and body show up pretty fast in your bike riding in the pack, so try to relax and stay low on the caffeine if you drink it for now...

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/the-slowly-fading-cult-of-the-messenger/ Hey Joker, are you doing Table Rock or De Ronde Van Oeste Portlandia this weekend? I was apt to do De Ronde for months, but Table Rock is going to be more miles and more feet of elevation gain... but a long ass drive for you guys in PDX.

Yeah we'll see how it goes. 5,000 ft. of climbing = I'll be happy to finish with the group.

First crit of the year for me... race report. Cat 3 crit, 40k, about 30-35 racers. For the first 3rd of the crit, my teammate spent some time off the front in a break but got caught. In the counter attack, a few people went out and I responded, following them. Over the laps, our four man break got about 35 seconds on the field. Until... a friend in front of me crashed in a corner on account of forgetting to wear his contacts (luckily he took no one with him), and I cramped up with a side stitch. Of course, I was the lone sprinter in a group of TTers, so that could have had something to do with it. Anyways, I fell off the back of the break, the four man lead turned into 2, and after a few laps I got swallowed back up by the main field and recovered in the back. With about 5 laps to go, a teammate got off the front and stayed off, somewhere between the break ad the main field. Lots of attacks and counterattacks that tired down the mass field. I stayed out of the wind, sucked wheel and got deep in the drops. With about two to go, I got in the front to avoid being boxed in... then got swallowed back up into a midpack box. Lap to go, same deal... but this time, I took the lead of the main group, got a few bike lengths on the field while we overtook 2 lapped riders through the last corner, then took a tight line through the corner alone and sprinted for the mass sprint win. 5th place overall. Stoked! Next week: 75 mile race, feed zone, 1/2/3 field, 50mph descent and supposedly a 15% grade somewhere in there. Real ass road racing...

Damn. Sucks to hear Count! At least you got your race crash cherry popped.

Ugh. Not more than 8 miles into my first ride on those Pro Race 3's, the fucking front tire gets a nasty 3cm tear, likely from some glass (no particles in the tear). Changed the tube, made it on time to the meeting place for our local Thursday Worlds ride and didn't flat after, but fuck, Michelin. Their tires ride so nice but this is the 2nd or 3rd I've had durability problems with and getting a tear like that on the first ride is unacceptable. Gonna patch it up and hope for the best.

Thanks. Being into having matching stuff and all, I'm actually doing my CX bike exactly the same... white frame, black tape, black saddle, white hoods. Will post pics after it gets re-built with SRAM, new 3T compact bars and a Easton fork... I love spending money on bikes! PS You doing Table Rock or Icebreaker? Table Rock is going to be a 1/2/3 field, feed zones and 70 miles. Sounds nuts. I should be there.

Inching closer and closer towards having a legit road racer...