Today's "long" commute

The plan today was to simply ride the 5 miles to work, hitting a few trails and urban obstacles on the way in and back. Worked fine on the way in. Had plenty of time to tweek the saddle, and lever positions and get the cockpit feeling like home.

However, I had a cancellation this afternoon that left me free for several hours with a new bike, but no real gear except my commuter bag and garb. No water or any way to carry it, no spare anything.

What's a man to do but Carpe Diem.

I snagged an empty bottle from the hospital, made a quick run for the Border for munchies, and headed upt the road to the trails.

I did have my camera, however

Up newly redone Iron Springs:


Turn at Granite Basin Road:



Full Face shot for Padre:


The MM is very well behaved on the roads. In general, I liked the higher gearing than I usually run. With the shock locked out, bob is imperceptible; with it open, bob is present if you look, but basically still undetectable at the pedals. I found that if I was really mashing, the fork really tended to bob more than the frame.

After climbing roads for 6 miles or so, I finally hit the trails. I was still worried about the bigger gearing for the trails, so I selected one where I could back out to less steep trails if I was flogging, or continue to some really steep stuff if it was going okay.

332:


The bummer of having your water inside your commute bag is that you have to stop and enjoy the views every time you want a drink.

332 takes you back to Iron Springs. Rolling, loose off camber singletrack descent, then steep 1 mile climb to the road with a few sections that really make you grunt.

I fairly immediately found that the fork was outclassed by the frame. I also found that the Fox 100mm fork on my usual SS rig has totally spoiled me without me knowing it. The front end just felt squirrelly as all get out in the loose stuff. As I adapted to the fork, things got better, but I am definitely looking forward to the new Reba at this point.

The climb went better than expected, cleaning all the difficult loose parts. This gave me the go ahead in my mind to proceed to the ultimate test, so I headed up the road to trail 37.

Took a rest in the shade at the trail head for liquid refreshment.




Then up the trail:


This trail is a bear for me SS and a good fitness test, very loose, rises 900 feet in a mile, and has 55 water bars to get over in the process.

I was able to get through with three dabs each of which I cleaned on a second try. Amazingly the gearing did not seem to hurt me. I noticed a slight improvement in traction with the Motion Control off. Not dramatic, but real.



I got my just desserts for trusting a stick on cable guide. It pulled off and was getting sucked into the rear wheel. No zip ties or tape in this bag, so I rummaged around and found an address label. Luckily, the Aloe plant has many uses as well.



Finally, the big descent down 40. Not much to show, but this caught my eye.



At Granite Basin Lake, I finally refilled since I had been out of water for about 35 minutes. No fun in AZ for sure.



At this point, I needed to boogie to get home, so a parting shot of Granite Mountain and no more photos.



Climbed out of the Basin, down to road, and roads home.

I finally felt the extra work of the larger gears on the last few hills on the way home. I was worked over, but generally pleased with my performance. The great thing about SS is that it is what it is. Push it if you can, or get off and push. Sometimes you body can do things your mind does not think it can and the only way to find out is to try.

Sooooo, how does it ride? It generally feels like a single speed hardtail with a flat tire. I was constantly checking the rear pressure. It is more competent than a hardtail SS, and less competent than a FS bike with gears.

My only criticism thus far is that it feels flexy to me at higher speeds. I don't know if it uses all the same tubing as the Leviathan or what, but I have never heard anyone complain that a Lev was flexy. You can just feel that little bit of frame wind up as the speeds increase. It is not really coming from the pivots so much as if feels like the frame tubing. I can't put my finger on it.

Part of it is that I am used to riding the Uber Stiff Lunchbox, or my Fisher Rig with its massively large diameter and boxed TT-DT-HT interface. The other issue is that this is my weenie Arch wheelset, the Box runs Flow rims, the Rig: a DT TK front and flow rear. Too many variables to nail down, but the flex is there somewhere and bugs me a little.

Nothing I would really change at this point except maybe go to lower gearing.

Joshua Memorial

I was asked to give a two minute remembrance, since I typed it up, I thought I'd throw it on the blog.

Joshua Sloan Memorial

I never knew Josh before his cancer was discovered, or before his surgery.

I never knew him when he was not a bit brain damaged.

I never knew him to be anything but delightful, giving, full of joy and good humor, and personified by a servant's heart.

I met Josh on the children's playground at Height's church in probably in February 2006, just a few short months after his first operation. He was chasing his and my kids around the playground making monster noises. I liked him right away. The large crescent shaped scar on his head was obvious, and since I have a professional interest in scars, I asked about it. In his halting speech, he described his journey thus far.

I told Heather about the nice couple I met at church, and we decided to have them over for dinner. This is not something we do often, but it was God's timing in our lives. Our kids were about the same ages. We had a splendid time. In the course of the evening, I found out that Joshua had once won a mountain bike race in Oregon. I am really in to bikes, so I invited him out for a ride on one of my loaner bikes.

Neither Josh, nor I knew what to expect. I think he was unsure if he still had the ability to ride a bike. We met up, and indeed he did have the ability, and really enjoyed himself. We probably only rode mountain bikes together two or three times, and every time I think he crashed. That never seemed to set him back for long, and certainly did not dampen his enthusiasm.

Eventually we got him his own bike (Karate Monkey SS) which he greatly enjoyed. He couldn't drive due to the seizure risk, so the bike really turned into an essential means of transportation for him as he tried to resume work and a somewhat normal life. Josh and I rode the same route to work on our individual commutes, and many times had the opportunity to ride to or from work together which was also fun. I found it disturbing that in a few weeks he was actually the stronger cyclist. “There goes the guy with brain cancer dropping me as we race up the hills”

I think riding his bike in some ways, for Josh, was a symbol of his health. I remember once in small group he was recounting his illness and the predictions of severe disability that were made before his surgery. He summed up by saying: “They said I could possibly never talk, or walk again, but here I am....I'm riding my bike and everything.”

Josh approached us about hosting a small group for he and Sadie, and some friends from their apartment complex. We met fairly regularly for the next two years and in fact that group is still in existence. We got to enjoy kids birthdays together as well as the ups and downs of life in miscarriages, pregnancies, births, and recurrent cancer.

Over the last two years, we have observed and walked near Josh and Sadie as they have dealt with repeat surgeries, and Josh's slow decline in health.

I never heard Josh complain.

I often times heard him laugh.

I always saw him smile.

In our private conversations, Josh was continually asking me for advice on how to be a better husband and father. How to guide his family righteously, and love his wife better. How to best protect and provide for them. His eyes were simply never on himself.

Sadie: Josh loved you and wanted nothing more than to protect, restore and serve you and the girls. He was limited by his body, but his heart and will were strong for this purpose.

We as a family have been blessed to get to know Josh and his entire family.

We have a son due to be born in late August. His name is Joshua. Our hope is that he will exemplify many of Josh's virtues. Virtues that are also shared with our Lord: Servant leadership, strong manhood, and a deep love for others.

I feel this name was given to me for him from the Lord before he was even conceived. Yeshua: “Yahweh is salvation.” That salvation was Josh's hope and confidence as he lived with and died from his cancer.

Mem Day

Great afternoon ride (rare for me) with Ionsmuse. Rode him all over Granite basin.

I love riding SS.

I love the way the Rig handles. Not much I would change, or could improve.

Dave at the top of 40:

Outrageous

What with this and the Texas Debacle, I fear child protective services more than any other government agency. They seem to have been given carte blanche by we the people to "protect" children from their parents.

No doubt some children need protecting, but their authority is too great and the oversight is seemingly lacking.

Little Granite goodness

Did the tech combo of 37 to its end to 38 to 39 down to the moto trail climb(620). All in all a 2: 20 minute climb without a lot of breaks.

The flowers are going off and I did stop to gawk and photo a bit. Unfortunately, posting from work does not allow photos.

This loop is awesome, and it is a pity I don't do it more often. 37 is techy, but 38 is relentlessly techy. Even going down, I have never been able to clean it without crashing, to say nothing of the dabs. Yesterday was nt exception with one big OTB incident (on the uber slack Lunchbox!). Minimal harm done, especially since I forgot my helmet and opted to ride without it (but with full gear otherwise). Yeah, stupid. "Let's do the techiest ride in these parts, way out away from any help alone with no helmet." Oh well, at least I don't smoke.

This trail is really fun. I also found myself not as wiped out from the moto climb as I have been in the past. Better fitness? Or no helmet? Either way, I would have been up for more if I had the time.

I was able to enjoy this great story on China's one child policy on NPR during the ride home even.

Goodbye Joshua

Thanks for being a great friend. Thanks for being an unbelievable example of faith, hope and perseverance in the face of suffering.

Enjoy your rest.

See you soon.

E

Bill Williams

Outstanding morning with Chris. Wish it was closer.

The grainy photo in the middle of the slide show will link to a video of Chris on a difficult double switchback with a bunch of loose stuff in between. The vid absolutely does not convey how difficult the moves involved are. Click the photo to play it in a new window.

Belief

What you believe affects how you live.

"...The duty of Christians is to resist the violence brought on their consciences, through the weapons of the spirit. We will resist whenever our adversaries demand obedience contrary to the orders of the Gospel. We will do so without fear, without pride, and without hate,..."

Outstanding story of quiet resistance to the holocaust during WWII.

The rescuers stated plainly, in interviews before they died, that the Biblical injunction to love one another implies that something is owed to one's fellow man, regardless of race or creed.

Interesting the story is not celebrated much in secular France due to the overwhelming religious motivation of the rescuers.

Moving Stuff

Spent a little time with Fat Cyclist tonight. Superb writing about a difficult situation.

Your wife is dying of brain mets from breast cancer. What do you do?
How do you tell your kids?
How do you live out your days?
What does it feel like to care for someone you love?

Have a kleenex ready.

Great job Elden. Thanks for letting us in. You are a great example of a man who love his wife as he loves himself.

I rarely care for people at this stage of their disease other than to put in IV access for desperation chemo. My job is detection, diagnosis, and radical treatment of breast cancer before it gets to this point. Makes me realize how important that job really is. It is easy to become routine.

2nd Lap colon

This time on the Right. Extended Right hemicolectomy for cancer. 2.5 inch incision.
The first one did not impress me as far as pain goes, but recovery was rapid with less wound issues.

This time the guy is flying. Not much more pain than a Lap Chole. Surgery time was 2.5 hours, probably about twice what it would have been open, but it went well and safely.

For those interested, this is what a fairly typical colon cancer looks like.




It's that little round spot in the center. Looks innocuous. It is not.

Japan

Is finding out the hard way what it means to not value children.

396

Fun, Fun, Fun.

Great for a beginner. Scenic, and as easy as anything in Prescott. I took a leisurely pace up, went across and up 299 for about 20 minutes, then zoomed back down. I sense a big loop in the making.

Lots of little rocks, logs, and stumps to hop, and even one short log ride.

I love the Rig. Fabulously responsive handling, and adept at the pseudo-trials stuff I like. I keep decreasing the spring pressure in the fork little by little. Used only 80mm on this ride.

A Time to Die

Just got this from Joshua's parents:

This week the doctor cancelled all scheduled curative treatments for Joshua and he signed his precious handicapped signature to begin to receive hospice home care. According to the doctors, Joshua’s length of life is now better measured by weeks rather than months.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die…” --Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

Not unexpected given his diagnosis. It has been different to follow a family through this process, however.

We walked over to their apartment with the kids tonight (see Nelson blog for some funny photos). Such a contrast to see six kids full of life running around like crazed things, right past Josh, who could barely sit up in his wheelchair. We spoke a few words, but he just seems tired, tired, tired. Takes a lot to remove the life out of a 31 year old. His speech is a lot worse, and his left side is now getting quite weak.

His fate is the same as all of ours, just likely to be sooner. What will we do with the days left. I have all assurance I will see Josh again in eternity. In some ways I envy his oh, so close opportunity to rest in the arms of a savior who loves him. Until then, May I live each moment to the glory and pleasure of the one who made me and who is always so close in his love for me. I certainly could never ask for more than I have already been given in this life. Not at all.

These are in reverse order.

Multisport peaking?

“Biking hurts your running performance,” she said. “It tires your legs out, and you are using opposing muscle groups. I actually believe you are tearing up your quads to the point where it hurts when you run.”

That my friends is the beautiful agony that is triathlon. I can remember never, ever being so depleted as heading in to a 13 mile run after three hours on the bike. I just could not move.

Sled Dogs

Interesting story on fatigue.

In fact, sled dogs in long-distance racing typically burn 240 calories a pound per day for one to two weeks nonstop. The average Tour de France cyclist burns 100 calories a pound of weight daily, researchers say.

Do TDF cyclists really burn 15,000 calories a day!

I have to think the reporter screwed up some details as the physiology described some stuff that made no sense. The energy has to come from somewhere. If not from fat and glycogen reserves, then where? I think the point is that the sled dogs continue to have the ability to burn immense amounts of calories even under exercise stress. That tells me the secret is really in an awesome digestive system that can digest on the fly.

RSX-S

So, gramps shows up this weekend with a new ride. This is nothing new, but he did sort of shock me with his choice.

2005 Acura RSX-S


Suffice it to say this thing is a hoot. I've been in minivan hell for too long and really miss driving something small with great performance. I've never been a front drive fan, but the performance and handling of this thing simply blew me a away. The 8100 rpm redline didn't hurt things, but it was also very tractable around town in low revs as well.

All this while getting 32 mpg.

Honda has it going on.

Quote of the Day

"Is that a new fork?"

Rachel on seeing the box Brown dropped off with the new Fox F 29 in it.

Seems maybe something is wrong when the 6 year old recognizes parts simply on the shape fo the box.

Ethan's First SS ride.