Kurt's Race Reports

Here it is again (this time set up as the ultamate winter commuting machine), my HotTubes cyclocross/touring bike built by Toby Stanton in Worcester MA.

Frame: Columbus Zona tubeset which is the same as the old "EL" by columbus. Lugged bottom bracket, fork crown, and dropouts; everything else tigged.
critique of Zona tubeset: this stuff is plush and responsive. Criticism: I think the chainstays would be stiffer if they were round (stiffest tube shape), they are quite oval at the bottom bracket junction.

Geometry: total bad-ass geometry by Kurt
top tube: 60cm, level
seat tube: 58cm @ 70.5 degrees
chainstays: 42.5cm
bottom bracket drop: 7.2cm
head tube: 15cm @ 73 degrees
rake:4.5cm
trail: 5.6cm
fork: 1" threadless
wheelbase: 101.6cm
Because you still need to know: downtube: 63.8cm @ 59.2 degrees

Components
cranks: shimano ultegra spline 175mm
chainrings: 39t ultegra, 48t salsa
chain: shimano HG-72 9 speed
bottom bracket: ultegra 109.5mm spline
pedals: time ATAC aluminum
ergo levers: 1994 campagnolo record They take a licking and keep on ticking!
front shift lever: campagnolo nuovo record (70's, retro!)
rear derailleur: late 90's campagnolo chorus
front derailleur: shimano dura ace
cantilevers: Avid shorty (I don't like them and suggest trying the new shimano)
headset: chris king 1" threadless (who else?) this was in my old cannondale for a couple years
seatpost: shimano dura ace
saddle: sella italia turbomatic 4
stem: salsa "cycleloft" limited edition 12cm 1" threadless 90 deg
handlebar: cinelli nerve 42 cm c-c
bar tape: benotto navy blue. benotto is "used by all cycling champions"

wheels
rear hub: shimano ultegra 8/9 speed
front hub: 1994 campagnolo chorus
cassette: shimano 105 12-25 9 speed
skewers: 1994 campagnolo chorus front, shimano ultegra rear
spokes: wheelsmith 14/15 with brass nipples
rims: mavic open pro "CD" 32 hole note: get cd coating on mavic rims or they will wear out from braking
tires: nokian hakkapeliitta 106s 700x35c, features 106 carbide studs per tire

accessories
bottle cages: blackburn Mtn.
fenders: sks 50mm with "custom mudflap extensions"
cyclocomputer: cateye astrale 8
frame pump: blackburn
saddlebag: trek
lubematic by rohloff (lubes chain while riding, located on right seatstay)
vistalite tailliight
niterider 15watt headlight with nicad bottle battery

What is there to do in the off season besides work (if one is not racing 'cross)? Well I found some stuff to do starting with a costume party at a UConn bar. Tim and I kitted up in "Burger World" uniforms taylored by my mom. We transformed into Beavis and Butthead for the evening which was an easy task for us. Sean Condon came along as Stuart but his costume (a Winger Tee shirt) was totally weak. The bar was too dark to do our kits any justice except when Tim walked around "cornholio" spilling beer on people. That was great. Good post ride a few hours later on a warm sunny Haloween morning.

That Tuesday tensions ran high in the country on election day. In attempt to capatalize on the situation I hired Melissa, a co-worker, to use her skills and create a three foot tall double sided portrate of Homer J. Simpson with "Simpson for president" written below. Jeff Hnatio accompanied me to the local town hall to get some video footage of me picketing for Homer. We soon realized that the responce was over 90% positive instead of the angry reaction we were aiming for. A quick trip home allowed me to improvise a second sign that said "honk 4 Homer" which proved to be very popular as rush hour approached. Lots of people honked and lots more smiled.

The following weekend I drove (solo) to the world pumpkin chucking championships in Millsboro Deleware where I met my sister, (who lives in Virginia) and watched some pumpkins get chucked. And when I say "chucked" I mean launched out of huge air cannons or catapolted/slung with shots traveling over a kilometer. I was able to visually track about 2/3 of the shots which looked like golf balls going across the clear blue sky. This is a big deal, I think there were 10,000 spectators. The winning shot was 4224 feet! See www.punkinchunkin.com for more on this epic event.

The next day Medora gave me a 6 hour tour of our crapitol, Washington DC. I did get kind of an eeery vibe from it being a political center but enjoyed the monuments a lot more than I expected to. My favorite one was the world war (I) monument which is the ultimate tractor henge style (12 pillars) structure and smaller than the others.

Then we went to the Smithsonian but I was starting to bonk so we bailed and ate Giant Burritos at the corner of G st and 7th st. I bet it is the best place to eat in the whole city. And Medora won a free burrito! That was followed by the spy museum which was top notch. I wanted to stay for another day and check out more but I had to drive home to get to work on time. I don't think I have walked that much in one day since the last time I was in DC 2 years ago with Adam Stark at a natural food trade show.

Snow came a bit early this fall but provided excitement on NEBC's mountain bike ride in Townshend. I took the knobby tires out for one more ride this year on a cold Sunday morning. Harvey had a tour of the state forest using the best trails all planned out and we had a blast in about an inch of snow with clear sunny skies. The technical descents were especially fun as I have gained some skill and confidence over the last few off road rides.

Next up was the bike swap in Palmer. I had nothing good left to sell thanks to bicyclefatso, so I brought a bunch of stuff from the CycleLoft along with my juicer and 30kg of carrots. I distinguished my table by displaying my Simpson for president sign and demanding a recount. Attendance, and therefore sales, was a bit slow thanks a conflicting 'cross race in Jersey. I managed to sell some of the Loft's stuff but my carrot juice sales didn't pay for the wheel I bought from John and Sara at the Mavic table. That night was the NEBC banquet, conveniently located next to the CycleLoft where I returned the unsold stuff. I went and ate lots but became sleepy and left early.

My off season was concluded with the beginning of Tractorfest season.

I bought this late 80's Moser TT bike from a co-worker for $20 then spent another $120 on new tires, chain, and seatpost. Its damn cool

Frame: F. Moser lugged TT from the late 80's with the classic 26" front/700c rear wheel setup. It has full internal deraillur cable routing which makes the external rear brake cable routing a disappiontment. Nice paint scheme with cromed forks.

Geometry
top tube: sloping, effective length is about 57cm
seat tube: 57.5cm curved, effective angle (to the seat) is about 73.5 degrees
chainstays: 37.3cm
bottom bracket drop: 7.3cm
head tube: 9.7cm @ ?73? degrees
rake:?
fork: 1" steerer, 26" wheel
wheelbase: 94cm

Components (early 90's unless noted)
cranks: campagnolo chorus 175mm
chainrings: campagnolo record 42/53
chain: (new) sram pc40 8 speed
bottom bracket: campagnolo record
pedals: time magnesium (original style)
shift levers: campy downtube
rear derailleur: campagnolo victory (I really need to upgrade that)
front derailleur: 80's campagnolo ?super record?
brake levers: campagnolo record
calipers: late 80's campagnolo chorus?
headset: campagnolo record
seatpost: modern cammpagnolo centuar
saddle: san marco rolls
stem: modolo 9.5cm -17deg. 1" quill
handlebar: mavic cattlehorn style 40cm
aero bar: mavic clip-on -super comfy!-
bar tape: ?thick? benotto white. benotto is "used by all cycling champions"

wheels
front hub: mavic cartridge bearing 28h
front spokes: bladed with "IHSOH" marking
front rim: mavic mach2CD
front tire: continental competition GP 26"
rear wheel: ambrosio by logos disk (126mm) with D'Alessandro speciale tire (over 5lbs!)
freewheel: sachs 12-24 7 speed
skewers: campagnolo record

accessories
bottle cage: elite, black

This year has been the best autumn for riding that I've ever had. Working 4 days a week instead of 6 or 7 like in the past is what made it possible. Two of the days that I gave up was driving the hayride at Applefield Farm. The farmers kids have grown up (they don't ride it anymore) making the job very boring.

I did a couple good midweek rides with Tim. On one of them we met up with Dave Uchenick and did a 2 mile all-out TTT for reasons that will not be discussed here. Then we rode around aimlessly for a while. Another one Tim and I journeyed west from my house. What began as a 40 mile ride soon became a 90 mile ride. The weather and foliage was so nice that we couldn't turn around. We saw some "scenery" that day too.

The weekend following the six gap ride (see previous entry) I did a 5 hour solo ride from Shelburn falls into southern VT and found some more steep hills. And I did a short ride when I was in Great Barrington that led me to Bash Bish falls in the southwest corner of the state. I couldn't see the falls from the steep climb next to the brook but I sure could hear them.

I also enjoyed some mountain biking using this month's bike of the month. I started with a couple CycleLoft sunday morning great brook rides and graduated to the NEBC Leominster State forest ride this past weekend. I actually did a couple off road rides last summer with long time friend Jon McQuillian to aquire a few skills. (He just got married for those of you who know him) Off road really is a blast with a group but if I went alone I think I would get bored quickly or get hurt doing something stupid with no one to carry my broken body out of the woods. I have no plans for a norba licence.

Besides riding I've taken on a few new food activities. I made some cultured vegetables (kraut) which is super healthy. Lacto fermentation is how people prepared vegetables for long term storage before refrigeration. My dill pickels are okay while my cabbage (sauerkraut) and carrots are good. But I don't like how the salsa came out. I've been making kifer too (cultured milk).

I went back to Orchard Hill Breadworks for Noah's "harvest festival". It was a great day with several educational activities. The best one was when I helped slaughter a cow. The cow was 100% grass fed and it really was an impressive animal. It was extremely clean inside and everything was perfect. Even the contents of the stomach smelled good! I guess thats how it's supposed to be. Because you need to know: there was a piece of fence in the cow's stomach so apparently it was 99.99% grass fed.

Noah bakes the best bread, pizza, and cookies ever. So if you are ever on the north side of the Keene area find Old settlers road in East Alstead and you won't be disappointed. He doesn't have a webisite but is part of the Weston Price Foundation

Kurt's deep thought: Cream is butter in beverage form, so drink up.
I like to add a bit of maples syrup or vanilla. It is so good.

This particular ride would require 36 hours of preperation beginning Friday evening when Tim and I went to Killington and watched Beavis & Butthead for a couple hours followed by cycling videos (93 Giro) to put us to sleep.

The next morning we went for a two hour "warm up" ride on the old sunrise road race course. After descending rt 4 on the way to the course, I attempted to maintain the same cadence and gear ratio when I hit the flat section. This was especially hard due to the headwind and 53x12 at 100rpm. It didn't last long but left Tim slightly annoyed. He let me know with an attack as soon as we were on the race loop. I reacted with a full out 90 second chase (500 a.v.watt estimate) and Tim sat up after he was unable to increase his 15 meter gap. I answered immedeatley with a counterattack that put me in the redzone after about one second. I kept the pressure on for a minute but was completley spent. Tim tried another attack right away but his legs failed him. We proceeded to sit up and ride at 15mph for a while.

Just past turn one (onto 100A) I heard a shift and looked back to catch Tim starting an attack. He terminated the move and coasted past me. A minute later I attacked and rolled out of sight because Tim thought I was bluffing. Tim's lack of chasing led me to hide behind a parked pickup and surprise him from behind.

Our battle neutralized for about a half hour until the old finish line approached. At 350m I provoked Tim by saying "don't tell me your going to sprint". He jumped around me but I managed to hang his wheel and pass him with at least 100m left and do a victory salute.

A couple miles later we hit the Bear Mountain finishing climb of the "Brandon gap" stage and recalled where Tim broke his crankarm off back in 1993. Then we half wheeled each other at a quick tempo all the way to the top. This stradegy allowed us to nuetralize eachother and prevent any more cycle-induced pain which could have been severe on the 10-15% gradients. After that we stopped by the Basin to chat with Ben Kubas before returning to Tim's ski house.

The afternoon featured a few more hours of Beavis & Butthead videos which inspired Tim and I to collaborate on some epic Halloween plans. We finished off the day by loading up the calories with Ben Kubas and Brett Williamson at the "Night spot". I had a half a pizza and Tim had a few beers. Ed Kross arrived just after we returned to the house.

6 gap ride
Finally the day of the six gap ride arrived and I was pumped. We drove to our starting point in Rochester and kitted up. The first gap, Brandon in the easy (westerly) direction, began after a few miles. As we ascended the thick fog cleared and revealed a clear blue sky. It was going to be a nice day.

We turned off rt 73 onto rt 53 and cruised up to E. Middlebury. There we picked up 125 east and rolled over Middlebury gap. My inclometer showed +/- 12% for a while near the top and the foliage in this area was a bit rusty. (There is also a brief 15% section early on) Our first water stop was in Hancock.

We quickly returned to our bikes after Ed commented on "utilitys" (hhhhhhuh huh) and rode a paceline into the headwind on rt 100 north. We enjoyed this especially scenic valley as we passed by open fields and wound our way next to a brook up through Granville notch. Then after a few more pulls we were on Lincoln Gap rd.

This is the shortest, yet without a doubt the most demanding climb of the day. The road rises 1040 feet in 1 1/3 miles averaging over 15%. A 39x25 will get you up but a 39x27 is ideal. I pulled away from Tim near the bottom and the three of us rode very hard to avoid stoppage. Near the end there is a section about a third of a mile long that is a steady 19-20%. Max grade was about 21 or 22% (my inclometer stops at 20). The hill is so steep that hikers will congradulate you at the top just for making it. Always ascend the east side (going west) to achieve maximum bragging rights.

The descent to Lincoln (dirt for a while) revealed peak color although there was still some rusty brown in the mix. I was 100% content though with the crystal clear sky. In Lincoln we made our second water stop and ate lunch on a bench in front of the general store. There we enjoyed some other local "scenery".

I made a last minute (without a map) decision to travel north out of Lincoln on Quaker road instead of the usual west. This provided us with BIG scenery on both sides of the road (which became dirt) but near the top of the hill I began loosing confidence in my mapless navigation. Just before I became nervous we plunged down to rt 17 and turned east to Appalachain gap.

The final stage of App-gap begins at "waffle iron corner" (see GMSR in my '03 journal) about 2.5 miles from the top. There are some 12% steps and it finishes off with 400m at 15% and a grand view to the west.

We quickly finished off 17 east and took 100 south to Warren for another "scenic" food stop. It took us a moment to become aware of the scenery due to the onset of fatigue at this 89 mile point. After resting a bit Tim continued on 100 south back to the start while Ed and I pressed onto Roxbury gap. The climb began right out of town.

Roxbury proved to be one heck of a climb with dirt sections and lots of time spent at 14%. It was second only to Lincoln as the hardest gap of the day and I think it was the longest strech of sustained uphill. It took quite a while but had spectacular views over our left shoulders to the west.

After the bumpy dirt descent I towed Ed down rt 12A south to Randolph where we made one final pitstop. I was getting tired while Ed had been hurting for an hour. After a brief rest we continued to the final climb, Rochester gap, which began with 11 miles to go. It started out at 5% for a while but we soon found ourselves on a sustained 12% gradient that seemed like two miles (probably one). It was tough. The descent to Rochester was very enjoyable and we finished off in 8 hours ride time plus 1.5 hours of stoppage for the 128 mile ride.

Ride map and profile can be found here. Our loop was 4 miles shorter due to my Quaker rd option.

So this month's selection, my mountain bike, is quite similiar to my April's bike of the month, my HotTubes cyclocross/touring machine built by Toby Stanton in Worcester MA. In fact it is the same bike! Well, except for the rear wheel, tires, rear derailleur, chain, cranks, and pedals. Oh yeah and that XTR seatpost (that I bought from Todd Rowell) finally broke so that's different too.

Frame: Columbus Zona tubeset which is the same as the old "EL" by columbus. Lugged bottom bracket, fork crown, and dropouts; everything else tigged.
critique of Zona tubeset: this stuff is plush and responsive. Who really needs suspension anyway?

Geometry: total bad-ass geometry by Kurt
top tube: 60cm, level
seat tube: 58cm @ 70.5 degrees
chainstays: 42.5cm
bottom bracket drop: 7.2cm
head tube: 15cm @ 73 degrees
rake:4.5cm
trail: 5.6cm
fork: 1" threadless
wheelbase: 101.6cm
Because you need to know (again): downtube: 63.8cm @ 59.2 degrees

Components
cranks: shimano ultegra spline 175mm
chainrings: 38/48t salsa
chain: sachs 8 speed
bottom bracket: ultegra 109.5mm spline
pedals: time ATAC aluminum
ergo levers: 1994 campagnolo record They take a licking and keep on ticking!
front shift lever: campagnolo nuovo record (70's, retro!)
rear derailleur: shimano XTR 9 speed note: campy 9 shifters will shift a shimano 9 derailleur perfectly on shimano 8 cogs.....go figure
front derailleur: shimano dura ace
cantilevers: Avid shorty (I don't like them and suggest trying the new shimano)
headset: chris king 1" threadless (who else?) this was in my old cannondale for a couple years
seatpost: shimano dura ace
saddle: sella italia turbomatic 4
stem: salsa "cycleloft" limited edition 12cm 1" threadless 90 deg
handlebar: cinelli nerve 42 cm c-c
bar tape: benotto navy blue. benotto is "used by all cycling champions"

wheels
rear hub: shimano ultegra 8/9 speed
front hub: 1994 campagnolo chorus
cassette: shimano XT 12-32 8 speed
skewers: 1994 campagnolo chorus front, shimano ultegra rear
spokes: wheelsmith 14/15 with brass nipples
rims: mavic open pro "CD" 32 hole note: get cd coating on mavic rims or they will wear out from braking
tires: ritchey mount cross 700x38c (largest size that will clear the chainstays and seattube)

accessories
bottle cages: blackburn Mtn.
cyclocomputer: cateye astrale 8
frame pump: blackburn
saddlebag: trek
skymount inclometer

I decided that this was my last season while driving to a race in April. Next year I plan to do the Brevets and then Boston-Montreal-Boston if I have the ability to finish without stopping. Other than that my only competitive events will be the NEBC champioships and the Josh Billings runaground. No more racing licence for me.

These are my top 10 reasons to stop

10.)I have aquired enough cool bikes and bike stuff
9.)someone told me I "look like a vegetarian" (I immediately denied the accusation)
8.)I'm not winning enough money
7.)winter training in New England is rough
6.)no more Killington stage race
5.)Toby Stanton still won't put me on his team for any junior world cups
4.)the New England circut is getting stale for me
3.)racing uses all of my money (and therefore all of my time)
2.)traffic on the interstates is only getting worse (Connecticut is ridiculous)
1.)I hate driving (that could have its own top 12 reasons)

For something more positive I though I'd recognize my favorite racers to travel with

3.) Mike Barton: the best guy to have behind the wheel (he used to race cars)
2.) Nat Faulkner: the King of Host Housing
1.) Tim Unkert: think Beavis and Butthead

This journal will continue but expect less frequent updates. Also I hope to get more pictures up soon.

The last weekend of the summer can only mean one thing in the Berkshires: the Josh Billings runaground. This is the largest bike/canoe/run triathlon in the country with 400 teams entered and its a huge production with full pre race media hype, live radio broadcast, and a big post race party at tanglewood. The race begins with a 27 mile mass start bike leg, followed by a 5 mile 2 man canoe, and concludes with a hilly 6 mile run. Fast times are about 2:20.

This year appeared to be the most competitive Josh ever (on paper) with 5 teams that could take the win. Our team definately had a shot. We had won the event in 2001 and 2002 and then placed 4th last year. Our traditional pre race team dinner/pep talk had us ready for battle. Alex Sabo and Sean Jennings are always up for a maximum effort (in case you have never seen an elite canoeist before I reccomend you never mess with these guys), Mark Mayall was fresh off a couple local wins, and I had good form from the first week of la Vuelta (de Venezuela).

I felt plenty strong as I started off the event and soon realized that I was the strongest in the race. But not by enough to escape into the very windy (mostly headwind) conditions. I did try though including one attack that was assisted by a huge tailwind gust in West Stockbridge. I went through that town at over 40mph and had an instant gap but was chased. On the last climb I countered an attack by the Archbiker (S.Nealy) shattering the lead group. Then I went again but it was in vain as I still had two of the four other teams with me (Brett Williamson & Sean Nealy) while the other two were only about 15 seconds down. At the finish I had a bad hand off (of the wristband to the canoe) where Alex almost pulled me off the bike.

Onto the canoe portion: Alex and Sean redlined themselves for 40 or 45 minutes in Stockbridge bowl where the wind picked up and the water became choppy. VERY choppy. Enough that national caliber canoes were capsizing. Alex and Sean were amazed they didn't sink because they are the heaviest pair, causing their canoe to ride very low in the water. They did take on some water though and finished 20 seconds behind the Archbiker's boat.

Mark ran hard and I gave him the time splits. Despite his time of 31:40 on the very hilly 6 mile course we finished up in 3rd for the day, about a minute off the win. We hung out at Tanglewood for a while then some cyclists went to the Archbiker's "applefest" which was fun. But kinda weak compared to tractorfest .

Bill Guazzo gave me most of this bike and although the components were intact it was junked. I cleaned it up and Toby at HotTubes painted the frame. Parts that are not of the correct era include: seat, bars, stem, tires, rims, spokes, chain, and bottle cages.

Frame: 1972 Motebecane (I think), fully lugged construction. critique of tubing: this thing is a noodle

Geometry:
top tube: 60cm, level
seat tube: 61cm @ ~73 degrees
chainstays: 43.8cm
bottom bracket drop: 8.0cm
head tube: 17.4cm @ ~73 degrees
rake: big
fork: 1" threaded
wheelbase: 104cm

Components
cranks: campagnolo nuovo record 175mm
chainrings: campagnolo super record 53, el cheapo 42
chain: sachs 8 speed
bottom bracket: campagnolo nuovo record
pedals: campagnolo nuovo record w/alfredao binda toestraps
shift levers: campagnolo nuovo record on downtube clamp
rear derailleur: campagnolo nuovo record 5 speed
front derailleur: campagnolo nuovo record
brake levers: campagnolo nuovo or super record
calipers: weinmann centerpull
headset: campagnolo nuovo record
seatpost: campagnolo nuovo record 27.2
saddle: san marco rolls titanium
stem: cinelli 1" quill 10cm -17 degrees 26.4
handlebar: cinelli 66-44 26.4
bar tape: benotto blue. benotto is (was) "used by all cycling champions"

wheels
hubs: campagnolo nuovo record, 28h front, 36h rear
skewers: campagnolo nuovo record
spokes: wheelsmith double butted, 2x front, 2x3x rear, brass nipples
rims: campagnolo montreal
freewheel: regina extra oro 14-24 5 speed
tires: michelin axial sport 25c

accessories
bottle cages: elite
helmit: saavedra hairnet size 7

Below is a summary of my Trip to Venezuela. So much happened I don't know what to write really. Fortunately my composite teammate Jake Stephens did a better job than I will attempt, so for more details/description go to: http://www.thecaboose.org/news23.htm I do have to say that my team was a great bunch of guys and we spent a lot of time laughing. More than any other race I can remember.

L-R Ward Solar (captian), Niche (director), Jake Stephens, me, Chai Kung, Jon Hanson (mechanic). That's the Caribbean Sea in the background.

The first stage was a flat 65 mile circuit race that traveled along the shore of the Carribian sea at Puerta la Cruz. It was 26 laps with two u turns, and it was very hot and humid.

The pace was manageable for me and I seemed to handle the heat okay. Ward crashed on some oil about halfway and was pulled, Chai was caught behind a crash, I flatted on a big piece of metal with 3k to go (lost 2 minutes), and Jake was set up for a good finish but got pushed off course. After the race I realized my arms and legs were black with the oil and dirt from the road. The place was filthy just like I thought the day before.

Stage two was a rolling 92 mile point to point from Barcelona to Punta de Mata. 1 mile from the start the peleton mixed in with a local traffic jam and we lost the caravan. I was at the back with Marlon Perez who can speak a bit of English. He kept saying "welcome to Venezuela" to me as we dodged the cars. We continued through the streets like curriers for 10 minutes or so and then stopped to wait for the caravan. It was extremely hot with no breeze or shade as heat radiated off the pavement.

Eventually the race restarted and I proceeded to ride at the back. The roads became rough with holes and one section had broken glass covering both edges of the road. Chai got a flat, didn't catch back on, and dropped out. Jake was dropped with 5k to go while Ward and I finished in the bunch. That night we stayed in a very nice hotel.

Niche: without hime we would still be lost in Venezuela

Stage three was a hard 75 mile circuit race and I suffered. It was so hot that every time we slowed for a u turn it felt like riding into an oven. I was dropped with 15 miles to go, got pulled a couple laps later, but made the time cut. Ward managed 8th place.

Because you need to know: After the race I managed to get my arm stuck in an elevator door and Jon woke up Freddy Gonzalez by mistake (he knocked on the wrong door).

Stage four: a rolling 114 mile point to point and we were in the gutter from a crosswind for a while. Today was our first stage with giant speed bumps. I remember a nasty crash halfway and thinking I was at my limit a couple times. I was still riding at the back too much and was close to getting dropped. By the end of the day I started getting used to the racing style, dodge stuff (like holes & debris) by swerving at the last possible moment. I finished in the bunch and avoided the big crash in the last km. That night we were entertained by a lighting storm (and a Marlon Perez interview) after the power went out.

The next day started cloudy giving us a break from the heat until the last hour or so. The pace was fast from the start and we covered 102 miles of rolling terrain in 3:33. We were flying across the land today. Somehow Ward managed to catch back on after a wheelchange and rear ending a car in the caravan! With 4 k to go I attacked and got a good gap but faded and was caught after 1k of freedom. It was great though with all the people cheering for me even if it was for only a minute (I was doing 60kph+ on the flat).

Day six was really something beyond any of my racing experiences. About an hour into the 115 mile stage the wind churned up (there was a hurricane out on the ocean) and it began to rain. I found myself at the back as the race went single file on slick roads with a gusting crosswind. Gaps began forming in front of me and despite the wind sliding my front wheel around on the road, I gave it full gas to pass the dropped riders to get up to the bunch. After a few minutes of chaos and riding at the limits of traction I was back on. Then it began to downpour and the pace slowed for a while.

We continued through some small towns where there was 4 to 8 inches of dirty water in the roads. All I could see was water and we were still doing 25mph. I held onto the bars tight expecting to hit some debris or fall into an invisible pothole. Our mechanic said the sewers from some houses drained into the streets we were on. I did flat on something but got back to the pack quickly after a wheelchange. I didn't want to get hit by someone in the caravan.

Eventually Jake fell off the pace and Ward flatted and didn't catch on. I watched a couple crashes take place from the back and decided it was time to move up to stay safe. I was so wet that my shorts were almost flapping in the wind. I sat in 20th spot for a half hour until riders began fighting for the front before the KOM. It wasn't steep for long (big ring).

With about 10k to go I attacked and was covered right away. Then I proceeded to get dropped on the last hill. As I rode downhill (fast) into town (its still raining hard) I saw carnage all around. Guys had wiped out on the bumpy water covered streets approaching the finish. I saw one rider crawl out from behind a car and another car with a bike and a wooden chair under it. Couldn't figure out how the chair got there. I bet 20 guys went down in 10 different spots.

During the chaos the final turn at 800m to go was missed and the riders and caravan dumped out onto a highway causing a huge traffic jam. The results were nullified as to not effect GC which was not good for me because I would have moved up for sure.

Because you need to know: As if riding through (diluted) sewage and telling my "record from high school" story wasn't enough, Jake and Jon used the bidet to fill the cooler when bleaching the water bottles tonight.

Stage 7 was a cloudy day but fortunately no rain. It was mostly rolling with one climb and a long section of grooved pavement. I rode near the front from 10-5k to go to get in position to help Ward but it got so crazy that I dropped to the back. Ward ended up 12th after braking for a dog. Jake missed the time cut.

Because you need to know: I helped an official send an English version of yesterdays incident at the finish to the UCI. Apparently the last turn was missed because there was a car accident in the way. And Jake spilled guava juice on Phillip and I (mostly on me).

The start of what would be my last Bike race.

I felt great at the start of stage 8 but as soon as we got into the mountains I knew I was in trouble. I fell off the back, caught on, and fell off again on the next climb.

It felt like my body forgot how to climb after spending so much time on the flats. It was scary riding alone on the highway without the caravan behind me and eventually I was picked up by a police truck with another rider. I had no chance of making the time cut.

The police drove like crazy to get us back up to the caravan and into a bus. We spent quite a bit of time on the wrong side of the road to pass traffic. I really like the way people drive in Venezuela. As fast as possible and everywhere is a passing zone. When I got in the bus the officials took my numbers (tour style) and that was the end of my race.

Once you are out the race organization doesn't want to pay for you (food/hotel) to stay around so its off to the airport. This was fine with me as I had had enough of the air polution, crappy hotels, and potholed roads. And the sooner I was home the sooner I could start resting.

I was on a bus to Caracass that night and I met Jake at the airport. We flew to JFK where my sister and dad picked me up. I could tell I was getting sick and felt bad by the time I got home. It was the first time I got sick in a year and a half.

Ward toughed it out and completed the whole two weeks of racing. Look here for a link to his race diary when he writes it.

I picked up my (rushed) passport in Boston wednesday afternoon and stopped at the club TT on the way home to claim the NEBC championship. The next morning Ward picked me up on his way to Mike Fraysee's "cycling resort" in Glen Spey NY. I had stayed there back in '93 for the Junior nationals and in '95 for a junior selection camp. Along the way Ward missed an exit and made a sweet (illegal) U turn to avoid going through a tool booth.

Fraysee's was the same as I remembered except a little more run down. Ward lives there during the racing season with some trackies from Uraguay. There is a very lazy/sleepy/messy feel about the place. And it has the most ancient useless bike crap I have ever seen. A dozen Nat Faulkner's couldn't deal with (ebay) it. I managed to score an old pair of campy brake levers for my '72 Motebecane.

I spent two days at Frasyees' before going to JFK airport. There we met up with Jon Hansen (mechanic) and two more riders: Chai Kung and Jake Stephens. We flew to Caracass and stayed one night before getting a bus ride to the start in Puerta la Cruz.

On the way (at breakfast) Ward met up with Niche, his team manager from the previous year, and he was looking to help a team through the race. This was important because we really needed someone to drive in the caravaan, check us into hotels, get us food/water, massage, and cart us around. Without Niche and his friends we would be completely lost.

We sat with the columbian Sella Italia guys on the bus which included stars Marlon Perez and Freddy Gonzalez (winner of '03 Giro 'd Italia KOM). Kind of intimidating. One of their riders, Phillip Schneyder from Switzerland, spoke fluent english. He said he finished the Giro this year and asked me about what races I've done. "I've, uhh, finished Altoona?" was the best I could do. That night we stayed at a hotel that overlooked the Carribian Sea which was cool. I was noticing that the cities in Venezuela were dirty.

I headed for the Saco races after a good week of training. After Tim (Unkert) kicked my ass at the "Cannibal Cup" 40k (40.75k)TT he put me on his salvage the end of your season programme and I was feeling good.

In saturday's flat 6 corner downtown criterium teammate Mike Barton made an early move with Justin Lillie (Trek) just as the skys opened and heavy rain began to fall. The two dangled out in front for several laps as I patrolled the front with Zack Soucy and Brian Vaughn. They slowly gained time as the downpour slowed the field on the technical course which was now slick. Mid race Robbie King (L Garneau) made a very strong attack and bridged up to Mike and Justin. With the added horsepower of Robbie and the L. Garneau team no longer chasing the break was set and Mike got 2nd place. He also raked in several primes including a $50 gift certificate to a tattoo parlor.

After cooling down with Zack I met up with Ward Solar (winner of the NYC champioships). Apparently he had a spot open on his team for the 14 day tour of Venezuela. I told him I'd have to think about it because he said Venezuela is hot and humid this time of year. That night I stayed at Zack's and didn't sleep much thinking about what to do, among other things.

The weather cleared for Sunday's 6 lap, 81 mile road race in the rolling contryside. Mike and I were the only Ibex guys today in the 50 rider (1/2)field and we covered some moves early on. At the start of lap 3 Tim Unkert and Dan Cassidy (FiordiFrutta) were being especially aggressive and a break of 9 formed, including myself. We did a smooth paceline and everyone took their turn until the last lap. Other riders in the break included: Patrick Sullivian (NCC), Brett Williamson (Hawley), Scott Plante (Trek) and one rider from L Garneau, ECV (jon Bruno?), Quad Cycles, and Portland Velo.

Tim attacked after the steep climb and held a 5 second gap for maybe 3k. I didn't chase and sat at the back with Scott. When Tim was caught with about 5k to go I countered and Patrick came with me. But I couldn't hold the pace and we were caught after less than 1k. Then the pace slowed until 500m. Patrick and someone else attacked again on the left side of the road while I started on the right side. I gave it full gas at 200m to go and hit the front with 100m left. My legs started fading but I had plenty of speed to hold off Scott Plante for the win. It felt great. It was especially fun to have been in the break with Patrick and Tim. After the race I told Ward that if I could get a passport in time I'd go to Venezuela.

I don't have much racing to talk about. I did, however, enjoy a 2 lap ride of central park with Mike and Zack. It was my first time to New York City. I also saw "ground zero". The buildings next to it were so tall I can't imagine how tall the world trade center was. I think they could have given it a much better name than ground zero or no name at all.

Because you need to know: My threshold power is 4.6 watts/kg instead of 4.7 like I thought it was. But I make a bit more power climbing so I think I could do 4.7 on a climb such as Mt washington. Instead of paying $200 and hoping for a good performance with ideal weather to find out, I went to analiticcycling.com to calculate my time. I managed a 1:01:37. Wow, that was an easy effort!

Check out Matt DeCanio's new web site www.stolenunderground.com It's good.

Last year I needed a bike to go racing in California after I was hit by a car while riding my CSI. The CycleLoft loaned me this coors light team frame and then refused to take it back. I think it had been hanging on their top floor since the late 90's. It now features parts I had left over from the mid 90's and weighs 10kg. The calipers and cranks are the best looking ever made!

Frame: 1993 Serotta Coors Light team issue, fully lugged construction. I don't know who's this was.
critique of older "colorado" tubing: very similar to my CSI (see june's bike of the month), but maybe less stiff with a bit more positive spring. I changed to a fork with less rake to remidy the twichyness.

Geometry:
top tube: 57.5, level, internal cable routing
seat tube: 56.5cm @ ~73 degrees
chainstays: 41.2cm
bottom bracket drop: 7.0cm
head tube: 14.5cm @ ~73 degrees
rake:<4cm? (not original)
fork: 1" threaded
wheelbase: 97.5cm (not original)

Components
cranks: '94 campagnolo chorus 175mm
chainrings: campagnolo chorus(9 speed) 39/53
chain: sachs 8 speed
bottom bracket: '94 campagnolo record cartridge
pedals: Time magnesium
ergo levers: campagnolo chorus 8 speed
rear derailleur: campagnolo chorus 8 speed
front derailleur: campagnolo veloce
calipers: campagnolo record deltas
headset: Chris King
seatpost: '94 ritchey
saddle: sella italia turbo
stem: salsa 1" quill 12cm +5 degrees 26.0
handlebar: cinelli nerve 42 cm c-c 26.0
bar tape: benotto yellow. benotto is (was) "used by all cycling champions"

wheels
hubs: '94 campagnolo chorus 32 hole
skewers: '94 campagnolo record
spokes: DT double butted, 3x, brass nipples
rims: campagnolo omega aero tubular 32 hole
cassette: campagnolo record 8 speed 13-26
tires: D'Alessandro speciale

accessories
bottle cages: king cage titanium

Fitchburg went exactly like last year for me, bad. And when I say exactly I mean a (slow) TT within a half a second, getting dropped on John fitch at the same spot (5 miles to go), and pulling out of the RR on the same lap. Instead of having problems in the heat like '03 I just had no motivation. Teammate Mike Barton had a great race and finished 17th on GC.

I rode clam fest and haven't raced since. Skipping Altoona is bugging me, oh well. Hopefully I'll get it back together for late summer.

If you are in the Keene area you should check out Orchard Hill Breadworks in East Alstead (130 old settlers rd). Noah Elbers (strongman in the late 90's) makes some excellent sourdough bread and also sells unpasturized milk products and other good food like pizza and pesto. He lives with his wife, Dove, and 3 year old daughter, Greta, above the bakery. He also shares some crops and pigs (not for sale) with family and a neighbor. It was great to watch Greta picking and eating food as she wandered through the fields.

Because you need to know: While riding thru West Boylston I saw a big wheel loader endo because it had a boulder in the bucket. When the rock slid out the rear end came crashing down. This, to my amusement, caused the driver to bounce around inside the cab like a pinball. Genius at work.

Today Ibex teammate Seth Hosmer scorched the course to place 8th. His secret was a heavy powertap wheel with a disk cover on it. Oh yeah and he tried too. I did my usual to place right in the middle of the field although I went easier than I usually do at an NRC race. I was too busy enjoying the 15 degrees below average Fitchburg temperature to max it out (It was 80 today). And I lost some time laughing at the dumbass who crashed in the turnaround 20m in front of me.

I used this frame for road racing in '94 and '95. Then I adapted it to a TT machine in '99 with an aero fork and a carefully "chopped" headset. The geometry works good for me although a 56cm seattube would be ideal. Then I could drop the bars one more cm and have space for a "full" headset. Internal cable routing would be nice too.

Frame: Unbadged Rygin tigged from Tange and painted by HotTubes with aero GT carbon fork (threaded steel steerer). I like Tange because its responsive stuff.

Geometry
top tube: 58cm, level
seat tube: 58cm @ 72.5 degrees
chainstays: 41cm
bottom bracket drop: 7.2cm
head tube: 16.2cm @ ?73.5? degrees
rake:4.3cm?
fork: 1"
wheelbase: 99.7cm

Components
cranks: campagnolo record 175mm
chainrings: campagnolo record 45/53
chain: shimano dura ace 9 speed
bottom bracket: campagnolo record 102mm cartridge
pedals: shimano dura ace spd-r
shift levers: front: campy downtube, rear: dura ace 9sp downtube (mounted to aerobars)
rear derailleur: dura ace 9 speed
front derailleur: campagnolo record
brake levers: dia comp
calipers: campagnolo chorus ('93) with SRP ti bolt kit
headset: dura ace cartridge with modified top bolt
seatpost: dura ace
saddle: sella italia turbo "Indurain" edition, magnesium rails
stem: salsa 13cm -17deg. 1" quill
handlebar: early 80's modolo cattlehorn style 42cm
aero bar: early 90's mavic clip-on -super comfy!-
bar tape: benotto italian (black,green,red). benotto is "used by all cycling champions"

wheels
front: '96 12 spoke campagnolo shamal with 18c vittoria tire
rear: 2001 zipp disk (pre golf ball style) with 21c vittoria CX
cassette: shimano dura ace 11-21 9 speed
skewers: shimano XT

accessories
bottle cage: king cage titanium
Tyler Hamilton signature aero helmit. I lent my Bell Vortex to Tyler for the '96 Fitchburg prologue with one condition: that he autograph it. He proceeded to win the GC by 10 seconds; I like to think that I helped him with that.

I turned an okay TT Wednesday evening and managed to finish in the main field at the Veryfine GP on Sunday.

Nat and Sean with teammates Kerry Ryan and last minute replacement Bill Innes (team Action Sports) set a new RAAM 4 person relay record this week (23.06mph). Nat will probably fill me in on the details soon.

After a few miles of the Housatonic Hills RR I found myself in a break with teammate Mike Barton and a few others. We proceeded to roll strong and create a gap of about 4 minutes before some mechanicals (Mike flatted) and a couple guys unable to hold the pace slowed us a bit. I was still feeling good and thought our group of five could stay away but we were caught by a surging field at the halfway point. The break had lasted 40 miles or so. Then my legs felt empty and I was dropped on the next series of climbs; probably psychological and not my legs.

Because you need to know: I stayed at Tim's house the night between the races and had a dream about his cat Specky. When I woke up Specky was sitting on a chair staring at me with his oversize eyes (seriously, this cat has huge eyeballs).

Tim's endorsement of the month: Action Sports bike shop in Bakersfield California. He's never been there but I know that he really wants to check it out. Action Sports has a team for the 4 man RAAM relay this year that includes Nat Faulkner (faatnaat) and Sean Nealy (the archbiker). Follow their progress here They start tomorrow.

With 15 miles to go a 1 3/4" drywall screw found my rear tire. It went all the way through the tire and down a spoke hole on my zipp 404 rim. After a long wait for a wheelchange I took a shortcut back to the start, jetted for home, and glued on an almost new tire. Seth also flatted and Mike was 6th.

Because you need to know: On the way I stopped at Spags to get new shoes to keep at work so that I don't have to carry them on my back every day. But Spags doesn't even have a sneaker selection anymore. That store was THE PLACE TO GO until the mid 90's when Mr. Spags died. It was even considered a tourist attraction and had so many customers that it created its own traffic patterns on the roads of Shrewsbury. Costs were kept very low by doing things like accepting cash only and storing overstock in trailers instead of paying for a building. The place had EVERYTHING. When his kids took over the store went right down the crapper.

WalMart didn't have anything I liked so now I have to go to a real shoe store. That's bogus.

Today (6/13) cannondale is supposed to have a drawing for a six 13. I better win because Nat and Sean are getting Six 13s for team RAAM and I don't want to feel left out. I have not been contacted yet (its now 6/14) and am becoming worried that I did not win the bike. If Serotta is lacking one thing its online advertisement like legalizemycannondale.com If I met Ben yesterday I would have helped him out with some creative ideas of my own.

Today Nat and I went for a morning spin and then to the crit in Providence. I just sat in and let the turns keep me entertained on the fun downtown course. Nat won a $100 prime, I didn't. I was glad to finish with minimal effort after so many DNFs in the last month. But I was missing from the results (typical). Jon Hamblen won (again) with an impressive 6 lap solo. He's my pick for winning Elite Nationals this week.

Because you need to know: 1.) Today was the first time Nat has raced in RI
2.) Space aliens never abduct people when its raining. So if its raining you are safe.
3.) Neil Sullivian says that in German, and other northern languages, FART means FAST. Will that give Ullrich the edge this year?

I initially planned to use my mom's car for the weekend but Nat insisted that he could car pool me to the races AND the Serotta factory tour IF I got a ride to Sean Nealy's girlfriend's house (Carrie) 20 miles away. So Friday afternoon my mom dropped me off and Carrie drove me west. First stop: Carrie's mom's house (Northampton) where I found myself deciding the value of their belongings as I priced them for a yard sale. Sean showed up and "home shopped" some food. I managed to score a free copy of the book "How to s%!t in the woods" (Brian Jones says its a good read). Eventually I loaded my Serotta into Sean's jaguar (barley worthy of containing my fine machine) and we drove to his apartment in Lee where I encountered NAT FAULKNER: travel agent (read like ACE VENTURA: pet detective).

We woke up late on race day, loaded into the natmobile, and made it to the Balloon festival race 25 minutes before the start. I rode 4 of the 6 (14 mile) laps before getting dropped on the main climb. Knowing that Nat and Sean didn't want to drive me to Serotta for the factory tour I decided to go by bike. I refilled my bottles, packed my street clothes, and rode steady for 2 hrs to Saratoga Springs. The scenery in upstate NY was great on this clear day as I vented my frustration into the pedals.

KELLY BEDFORD: frame drafter, was my tour guide. It was great to see the factory which was an ideal setup from start to finish. Apparently Keith, the guy who brazed my frame, had left. Oh well. After the tour I managed to hitch a ride back to Massachusetts with Malcom and Marty Starr. After we left Malcom told me I had been sitting two seats away from Ben Serotta at the BBQ. I didn't know, maybe I'll get to meet him some other time.

Even though I was quite tired I did my best to entertain Malcom and Marty with racing tales as they drove me back to Lee (Berkshires). They really saved my day. Going to Serotta with no ride home wasn't the smartest thing to do but I just didn't care at the time. Malcom and Marty are both long time friends of Bill Peterson from Newport who made my cycling orthodics.

From Lee I drove (the natmobile) with Nat back to my house and realized I left my (only) team jersey at Serotta. But it has my knife in the pocket so I expect to get it back eventually. I've lost that knife many times and it always shows up. One time I mailed it from an airport (after checking my bags)in a plastic bag with my address written on a napkin and a dollar bill taped to it and it came home.

Because you need to know 1.) Sean Nealy bought a church.
2.) In Bakersfield CA I am known as "Kurt who crossed the killer Kern" according to Kerry Ryan of Action Sports.
3.) I think I had dejavu today

Maine's crit for this Sunday is a fun one, bumpy with fast turns and a very short steep hill. But everytime I moved to the front I seemed to run out of air even though my legs felt fine. Fortunately Mike and Seth made the early break that stayed away the whole 30 mile race. The only excitement I had was avoiding a crash as a few of us sideswiped a SUV parked on the course. I came to a stop against the side the SUV to avoid running over a rider who was down and got hit from behind. A quick inspection confirmed that my Serotta's paint was okay so I resumed racing. I caught back on in a lap and was able to finish. Mike finished 3rd and Seth was 5th

Because you need to know Art Trapotsis does yoga....Freaky! He tried to get me to do some yoga with minimal success. I'll stick to my regular streching, after all my handlebars are set much lower than his.

I drove to Maine the day before the race and enjoyed a sunny afternoon ride through the countryside Northwest of Yarmouth. I stayed at the Olson's just like I do for almost every race in Maine; they live off of turn 1 of the Clam Festival in an awesome house. I met their daughter Brook (10 months) and she was probably the first baby I held in 15 or 20 years. Their oldest, Hope, is two years four months and towers over three year olds at 39 inches. And she is smart too.

Saturday's race was 6 laps on a very choppy 11 mile loop, a race of attrition. Of course it was dominated by none other than Jon Hamblen (aka: Ham-Bone) who won solo at least 5 minutes ahead of a totally splintered field. When we were juniors I was actually faster than HamBone because he didn't train.

I rode 4 of the laps before calling it a day with teammate Zack. About 20 guys finished; Seth was 7th while Mike suffered a broken spoke on his Ksyrium on the last lap and finished about 12th.

I wasn't concerned with my DNF as this was my first hard ride in two weeks. I actually felt okay most of the time. I had been very tired for a couple weeks so feeling fresh today was a relief.

As I was loading my bike into mom's car at racer parking (a dirt road) I noticed a tick crawling up my leg, then two more. I loaded the car quickly and took two additional (bonus) ticks off my cooler in the process. As I was driving I removed one from my arm and then another from my chest when I got back to Yarmouth. At this point I did a full body/clothing search and found no more. That is until the next morning when I looked in the mirror and noticed one on my face. Hopefully that concludes my tour de ticks.

Because you need to know: Kyle Gates drove all the way to Maine for a RR! He couldn't stay for the crit the following day (his specialty since the late 90's). I always thought he looks like Charlie Parker before (parker) got fat, Kyle says that its just 'cause he's black. I disagree. He has a clothing line called sufferwear.biz but the web page doesn't work at the moment.

Instead of saving the best for last I saved the best for June. That's because I'm going to tour the Serotta factory and hopefully meet my framebuilder, Keith, on the 12th. This is my favorite bike and features a mint paint job by none other than Frank McCormack who is now at HotTubes. I try my best not to scratch it.

Frame: Serotta CSI with Kestrel carbon fork/alloy steer tube. Lugged bottom bracket and seat post clamp, fillet brazed everywhere else. The "3-D" dropouts are the coolest.
critique of "colorado" tubing: This stuff is stiff but forgiving. It is the stiffest bike I have ever ridden. The "S bend" chainstays (developed by serotta in the mid 80's) rock! And the downtube and seattube are "fluted" which means they taper like a clarinet or tree trunk; instead of just being shaped and butted at the ends like everything else. It does not ride as smooth as a "softer" steel but has great response. Colorado tubes have been made for Serotta by several companies including True Temper, Tange, Reynolds (like mine), and (currently) Columbus.

Geometry: total bad-ass geometry by Kurt
top tube: 59.3, level
seat tube: 57.5cm @ 71 degrees
chainstays: 42cm
bottom bracket drop: 7.2cm
head tube: 15cm @ 73.5 degrees
rake:4.3cm
fork: 1.125" threadless
wheelbase: 100.6cm

Components
cranks: shimano dura ace "octalink" 175mm
chainrings: shimano dura ace (9 speed) 39/53
chain: shimano dura ace 9 speed
bottom bracket: shimano ultegra "octalink"
pedals: shimano dura ace spd-r
ergo levers: campagnolo record 10 speed
rear derailleur: campagnolo chorus 9 speed (shifts on shimano 9 cogs w/10 speed campy levers)
front derailleur: campagnolo record
calipers: shimano dura ace with SRP ti bolt kit
headset: Chris King
seatpost: campagnolo chorus titanium
saddle: sella italia turbo "Indurain" edition, magnesium rails
stem: CycleLoft limited edition S.U.L. by salsa painted to match; 12cm 0 degrees 1.125" 26.0
handlebar: cinelli solido 42 cm c-c 26.0
bar tape: benotto red. benotto is "used by all cycling champions"

wheels (same wheels as the CAAD 7, I don't actually own 2 pairs of 404s)
front: stock zipp 404
rear: Chris King 28h hub, wheelsmith 14/15 g spokes 2x3x w/zipp alloy nipples, zipp "clydesdale" 404 rim
cassette: shimano dura ace 11-23 9 speed
skewers: shimano XT
tires: hutchinson carbon comp tubulars

accessories
bottle cages: king cage titanium

Because you need to know Zipp 404 rims make great frizbees so if you damage one don't just throw it away. Jeff Hnatio, Ian MacFarlane (the wak) and I tested one yesterday. Wear gloves to avoid carbon splinters and keep a forestry expert around (the Wak) in case the rim gets stuck in the top of a tree. We actually broke a mavic reflex (tacoed last weekend) with minimal effort but the Zipp 404 took a pounding and showed no visible damage beyond its initial crack from a race 2 years ago.

I skipped the New Haven friday evening crit to limit my travel and "save it" for the weekend. My legs and energy had returned for the Waterbury stage where I proceeded to taco my rear wheel at the end of the 1st of 13 laps. The tire wasn't quite hitting the chainstays so I opened my brake and pressed on not wanting to chase after a wheel change. This proved to be the wrong decision on the fast technical descent. The wheel had a huge wobble causing an uneasy feeling while taking corners over 40mph. I probably wouldn't have finished but hoped to do more than 3 laps on the epic 4 mile course.

That evening I stayed at Tim's where we continued our tour of CT tradition by watching American Pie 3. We watched the first two last year and I must say that all 3 are great.

The last stage of the tour of CT was the Housatonic Valley classic in Danbury. The temperature went into the high 80's with a dew point of 70 so I didn't expect anything from myself. My body just doesn't function in hot & humid weather. For some reason I felt good for a while and rode comfortably mid pack. One winding descent was particularly fun as we hurtled down a long hill all strung out at 50mph.

After about an hour my body quit without warning. I hadn't gone hard yet but was spit out the back so fast it felt like I was in reverse. A few miles later I felt the chills coming on. Fortunately a couple spectators gave me a ride back. Horner won the stage and McCormack won the GC. More than 80% of the field dnfed so I wasn't alone.

Rt 84 was full of cars again along with torrential rain and spotty thunder. That's my favorite race weather, if only it started 3 hours earlier. A summer storm gives me so much energy I feel electric. Like the Fitchburg crit in 2001.

Kurt's traffic tip If you are traveling between I 290 and I 84 take rt 20 instead of the pike because its only 4 minutes slower unless there is a backup at the tolls in which case it is faster. Plus you save 50 cents on the toll and there is a cheap gas station (Cumbies) where 12 south splits off of 20.

Because you need to know This entry was so boring I had to add something. Tim felt (slightly) embarrassed about the squirrels in his house (which are probably dead by now because something smells in the side room). Therefore I thought I'd share a tale of unwanted critters from my house. About eight years ago my sister heard a soft steady noise in the wall of her room each night before falling asleep. Then we found big black ants crawling up the side of the house. The ants were making so much noise eating that she could hear them! Dad proceeded to poison them but it took a few days to kick in. It must have been creepy to hear what she now knew were ants eating wood. And to fall asleep trying not to imagine them pouring out of the wall!

It better rain every day at Fitchburg this year.

Today I went to Tim's house to car pool with him to Lime Rock, a 1.5 mile track in the Northwest corner of Connecticut. Of course we went in the Tim-mobile. It took a while to get there but the end of the drive was scenic (CT's Berkshires) and we had enough time for a 20 minute warm up. Today's Ibex team was Tim, Seth, Zack, and myself. Before the race I caught up with Roman Kilum who is riding for MGuire. He's the guy who was offered a baby while we were in the Altoona ghetto last August.

Today's stage was only 50k and it was super-easy to sit in which is exactly what I needed. The course was a winding motorcycle type track with a tiny steep climb on the backstrech that you could get sucked over. The finish was a fast sweeping downhill, definitely a fun race.

Seth went off the front for a lap mid-race while I didn't touch the wind until 2 to go. I hit the front thinking Seth and Zack were on my wheel but Zack had been shoved into the grass by some big dude. We had hoped to drop off Zack in a good position before the big boys wound it up. I proceeded to pull for a minute with Seth on my wheel followed by the Healthnet train. The motorcycle (video) camera was less than a meter to my left so I made some goofy faces at about 500 watts. Then I sat up and cruised in. My legs felt good.

The drive home was awful. After a half hour of traffic in Farmington we encountered another half hour backup approaching Hartford. According to the radio some genius hit an overpass with a backhoe and it fell off the trailer. I assume it was really a hydraulic excavator (a big backhoe with tracks). Unfortunately we didn't see the carnage because we got off the road before we knew what happened.

The highways are so full of traffic around here that its like California. On the way home there were loads of breakdowns and some lumber fell off a truck east of Worcester causing another delay. There were accidents too and half the delays are gawkers. If only they had some racing experience. The idea is to get through the crash area and avoid get rear ended. It took four hours for me to get back frome Lime Rock.

Kurt's traffic tip One spot that always backs up is Waterbury going east on 84 (I wasn't there today). If you see this happening take exit #23 onto Rt 69 near the bottom of the hill (at the end of the bridge) and travel beside the highway. Eventually you will come to a traffic light where you just go straight and back onto the highway. I believe one can pass a thousand cars by doing this, no exaggeration. I hate to think what the roads will be like in ten years.

Because you need to know There are squirrels in the wall at Tim's house. He says you can hear them and the dog likes to chase the babys. I'll try and confirm this when I stay at his house Saturday night.

Tim's endorsement of the month (new feature): Tim loves Ibex clothing. He can't get enough of that soft wooly feeling. Hopefully he gives us the jersey back after the race is over.

Last year I was fast at tour of CT after a trip to the Gila gave me some form. That's not the case this year. I have been sleeping like a rock and taking naps all week. Even though my legs feel better than a few days ago I still didn't have the reserves for today's 137 mile race through the hills of Litchfield county.

Tim Unkert, Patrick Sullivan, and I were team Ibex for the day. The three of us go way back to our Junior days in the early 90's and it was great to hang out before the race. We kitted up in our totally retro Ibex jerseys. It was funny when John Eustice (race promoter) asked Tim if he "missed the ride" referring to the recreational ride that started early. Tim, now feeling like a "fred", had no comment. And Patrick didn't exactly fill out his jersey. Even though it was a size small he could have easily fit a football under his jersey in the chest area. I amused myself by flapping his jersey as we waited for the start; Tim thought it was funny too.

Patrick designed today's course for spartacycling. He grew up in Northwestern CT and knows all the roads. I had never actually been there myself so it was going to be nice to see the area, sort of.

The race started off easy and the pace didn't pick up until 5 seconds after I stopped to drain my liver. That resulted in 2 minutes of effort at mile 20. Then it was mostly steady tempo until the climbing began at about mile 60. At this point Tim, and then a bit later Patrick, were dropped. Patrick took a shortcut back to the start in Torrington while Tim had brought his cell phone anticipating the need to call his dad for a pick-up.

I made use of my 39x27 as Patrick's course put me into the redzone. I managed to catch back on after getting gapped a bit on the two hardest climbs. But at mile 85 I began to yo yo in and out of the caravan and got dropped for good at mile 90 at the bottom of a steep climb.

At this point I enjoyed the scenery which was excellent on the sunny afternoon. I estimated that it was only 5 miles to the next feed zone but it turned out to be 15. It must have taken me 50 minutes to go the last 10 miles to the feed zone as my legs were empty and the terrain became choppy. I felt real bad. Fortunately the tour of CT is an omnium this year so there was no time cut allowing me to pull out at the feed.

Because you need to know: The "Bling Bling Cafe & Lounge" on rt 44 in Hartford is closed for 2 weeks for renovations. And let me tell you they have some serious renovations to do, at least from what I could see from the road as we drove by. There was no bling there at all.

Hopefully my body will rebound in time for next Sunday's race in Danbury. I felt fine during my recovery ride today.

Early this week sparta cycling (promoter of tour of CT) emailed the team captains (me in this case) to find out who would be attending a post race dinner after Saturday's insanely hilly & bumpy technical circuit race. I passed on the word to my team and Tim Unkert, who is sitting out saturday (its an omnium), replied:

Don't sign me up for the dinner thing.

Then I replied: But there will be hot chicks. They [sparta] said it will be a post race dinner for the riders to meet some models that are in town.

Tim replied: Are you serious? I'll go if you're going. -Tim

then 1 minute later he replied again: Dude are you full of s%!^? I can't tell right now, I'm tired.

That was followed 11 minutes later with: Alright dude, I just checked out the website and didn't see anything about hot chics - I'm sensing your full of s%!^. If there's hot chics I'll go - otherwise I won't. And if you tell me there's hot chics and I go and there aren't any I'll kick your ass for getting my hopes up. Speaking of hot chics when I was riding past Uconn Tuesday I noticed some hot chics checking me out - summer session is in I guess. Anyways I could have also been delirious at that point in the ride (6 hour day). Either way I will find a chic and ....censor... or something mark my words with words as those who oppose ...censor... or something uh huh huh huh huh. -Tim

Too bad I had to censor Tim's rhyme, it was quality.

So I took today off after my legs managed only 3 of my 6x3 minute intervals yesterday morning. The power was good but the muscular sensations were bad, therefore I stopped. I was using powercranks which can make intervals a bit tougher because you can't be sloppy.

Fortunately I had a massage scheduled for the afternoon. I think Anne, my massuse, did magic on my legs (again). Early indications are good. She has serious talent and has saved me a few times in the past. Then my boss, who has run some marathons, let me off work today at lunch and I took a 1 hour nap. So far so good although its not easy to skip a day so close to the big race. Maybe I should go for a 30 minute spin.

Because you need to know: Last night I saw a new episode of that 70's show. Apparently they are running dry on ideas and came across my website tractorfest.com and used some of my canoeing ideas. The episode featured canoe sledding (done that) as well as towing a canoe with passengers using an el camino (we've used my friend Chris Barton's pickup as well as the tractor). I was doing that stuff 10 years ago so you know who's the real comic genius. That's right its me.....now I'm waiting for that call to make the big bucks writing sitcoms.

Sterling didn't go well at all for us (Ibex). I bridged to the early break which stayed away for 3 laps before getting caught. After that the winning move went but all we could manage was to get Seth into the second group. He was about 15th. At least I got a good pre tour of CT workout.

Nat Faulkner stayed at my house the night before Sterling. I got him to eat a raw scallop after assuring him they were fresh. I had been chowing them down all day. We spent a couple hours catching up on stuff. He is doing the 4 person team RAAM this year while I am contemplating Boston-Montreal-Boston for next summer.

Because you need to know: I am happy to tell you that my 9speed CAAD7 is almost a pound lighter than Nat's Trek 5500 w/dura ace 10 even though it's a much bigger bike. My steel Serotta CSI, however, is 1.5 pounds heavier. Nat's wheels do weigh a half pound more than mine. CAAD7:16lbs, 5500:17lbs, CSI:18.5 lbs

Once bike weigh in was complete we found a victoria secret and talked about how they use cocaine to stay thin (thats what ex-models said on TV). Nat says they shoot up between their toes so you can't see the marks. We also compaired a cyclist's work capacity to the general population and concluded that a lot of people (in the states anyway) have "no concept" of physical work. We both used the term "tempo" to describe a steady hard workload. At this rate we figure that can crack most anyone, except maybe Jamaicans like Danny and Junior over at Applefield Farm. But if you see me moving like a turtle at work my effort level is high, much higher than when I'm working "fast". I have to go slow when I'm tired from racing. Most people don't understand overload either.

Nat has a good online diary himself where you can read about some success (a top 5 finish) at Sterling. www.spokepost.com/diary/nat He has some good things to say.

Last year I rode for the FiordiFrutta/Ridgefield bank squad and got hooked up with this custom CAAD7 with fork and cranks. I added the rest of the parts from the CycleLoft. It kicks total ass, 16 pounds complete. I believe that CAAD7 is the work of Chris Peck who has really come up with an aluminum masterpiece. The serial number on mine includes my last name!

Frame: Custom Cannondale CAAD 7 with full carbon "slice" fork
critique of optimo tubing: This might be the smoothest aluminum ride ever. The "hourglass" seatstays work. And its stiff, but not as stiff as a Serotta. The hollowgram cranks and bottom bracket make up for the slight loss of stiffness compared to steel. I never thought one could feel the stiffness in a crank amazing! So stiff it feels like pedaling a flywheel
note: I would not expect the thin aluminum tubes to take abuse like a steel tube. This is a racing only machine.

Geometry: total bad-ass geometry by Kurt
top tube: 59.5, level
seat tube: 56.5cm @ 71 degrees
chainstays: 41.7cm
bottom bracket drop: 7.2cm
head tube: 16cm @ 73.5 degrees, integrated
rake:4.3cm
fork: 1.125" threadless
wheelbase: 100.5cm

Components
cranks: Cannondale hollowgram Si 175mm
chainrings: Cannondale Saeco 39/53 black
chain: shimano dura ace 9 speed
bottom bracket: Cannondale hollowgram Si
pedals: shimano dura ace spd-r
ergo levers: campagnolo record 10 speed
rear derailleur: campagnolo record 9 speed (shifts on shimano 9 cogs w/10 speed campy levers)
front derailleur: shimano dura ace
calipers: campagnolo "cobalto" super record with custom ti bolt kit I made at SRP (275g) from R Dapice
headset: campagnolo hiddenset
seatpost: Bold precision
saddle: sella italia turbo "Indurain" edition, magnesium rails
stem: ritchey WCS 12cm +6deg 1.125" 26.0
handlebar: cinelli solido 42 cm c-c 26.0
bar tape: benotto white. benotto is "used by all cycling champions"

wheels
front: stock zipp 404
rear: Chris King 28h hub, wheelsmith 14/15 g spokes 2x3x w/zipp alloy nipples, zipp "clydesdale" 404 rim
cassette: shimano dura ace 11-23 9 speed
skewers: shimano XT
tires: hutchinson carbon comp tubulars

accessories
bottle cages: king cage titanium

Brian sent me this today

Because you need to know: facts on farts webpage I think you
should see if you can get sponsored by them or something. you could have
a facts on farts jersey and shorts...that would be pretty cool. I can
hear Dick Ring, "...and the breakaway pack is all drafting Kurt Hackler,
riding for Facts On Farts...".

a good fact to start with:

Q: Why do farts come out of your butt?
A: The butt is the location of the anus in humans, and by definition, a
fart is an anal escape of intestinal gas. We should be grateful that we
are not crinoids. The crinoid is a marine creature with a U-shaped gut,
and its anus is located next to its mouth.

or maybe

Q: At what time of day is a gentleman most likely to fart?
A: A gentleman is most likely to fart first thing in the morning, while
in the bathroom. This is known as "morning thunder", and if the gentleman
gets good resonance, it can be heard throughout the household.

Brian

Now that I completed my 8 days of NRC racing (in 10 days) it was time to fly home with altitude in my blood and tan on my skin. We just had to get to Alberquerque by 9am. Mike and I jetted from Silver City at 4:30 and it took us only 3.5 hours. We enjoyed minimal traffic and a 75mph speed limit until the outskirts of the city. After we filled the rental car up with gas we used the extra hour to get breakfast.

Mike had been enjoying the rental car all week by doing neutral drops on the automatic transmission. As we finished off our drive he began testing the governor. He put it in neutral and floored it. The governor would kick in making a wooo wooo sound. We were laughing our asses off. Then he stalled it at a light doing one last neutral drop. The new car had been broken in.

In the airport we made fun of all the people who would jump up and get in line as soon as a flight began boarding. Ether they just don't get the concept of assigned seats or they want to sit crammed on the plane longer. This phenomenon also happens when the plane lands, everyone is standing up and waiting while the first class passengers get off first, Roy style. They're in no rush. We had a good time, I wonder if the other passengers knew we were laughing at them. We were being quite loud.

Now that I'm home its time for a rest week. Next stop is Sterling and then the tour of Connecticut. I am looking forward to riding the Litchfield stage which was designed by Patrick Sullivan. I might preview it this Sunday.

This stage has been on my mind for days and finishing it was the one specific goal I had for this trip to the southwest. I was amped for the epic ride and didn't sleep well the night before. Fortunately I felt okay in the morning.

Mike and I ate breakfast early for the 8am start. I ate 4 eggs and used an entire stick of butter on 4 slices of toast with jam. That's 800 calories in butter alone! Mike appropriately asked, "are you going to have any toast with that butter?" I was going to need all the energy I could get for the 106 mile final stage of the tour of the Gila. The profile was pretty much right out of a mountain stage of the tour de France.

The first half of race was easy and was highlighted by yet another stupid crash. Sometimes I wondered if this actually was a pro-1 field! At mile 12 there were railroad tracks at the bottom of a descent. Everyone slowed down to about 35mph so all should have been fine. Mike saw the crash start when some genius bunnyhopped the tracks and got his bike sideways in the air. He didn't land it straight and proceeded to go down causing Mike and a couple others to swerve right. As Mike exited the crash area I entered it and witnessed one guy's bike fall from beneath his body. He was still upright and began running on his cleats at about 20mph, however fast he was still traveling. I was through before I saw what happened to him, I bet he fell on his face.

The first big climb of the day, a 7 mile cat 2, came at the halfway point. I positioned myself about 30th in the pack as the road began to rise. It didn't get steep but still took us to 7500' where I maxed out and barely hung on. I felt quite nauseous and faint in the thin air but made it over with the lead group. A water bottle fell out of my pocket right at the top. Another minute of climbing I would have totally blown up.

Immediately after redlining my whole body we plunged 2000' down a technical 5 mile descent which would be our next climb (a cat 1) after the turnaround. I still felt light headed as the pack strung out in a line, hitting 50 to 60mph between switchbacks. This was scary because: 1.) I felt faint & 2.) if I botched a turn I'd most likely fly off the mountainside and die. I focused hard on the task at hand and made it to the bottom alive and still with the lead group. And to think I did it on a 16 pound machine, crazy!

We cruised to the turnaround at the "cliffs". It's a national park that preserves some dwellings in the cliffs that Native Americans inhabited before the euros showed up. I felt like stopping and checking them out but of course I continued on.

The bottom of the next climb (the hill we just went down) was quite steep and I fell off the pace immediately. I rode alone most of the way up and distracted myself from the steady effort with scenery. The place is so big it didn't seem real. I could see far into the distance at the massive mountains and valleys. It was gorgeous! I can't think of a more appropriate sponsor for this event than National Geographic. I wonder if they will print pictures of the race.

At the top I picked up the water bottle I dropped on the way over the first time and hooked up with 3 others for the descent. We were soon joined by 4 more guys including two Healthnet riders (Wherry & Lokkesmoe) who towed us the final 25 miles to the finish (which included a cat 2 and a cat 4 climb). I was "all done" and just sat on. And I was glad I got my bottle back because I needed it's remaining fluids.

At the finish I saw captain Roy for the first time in 3 days. Apparently he gave a straggler a ride to the finish with the exterra. But the roof rack came off with the guys bike on it. I don't know what happened to the guy's bike. Needless to say Mike and I opted to get a ride back to Silver City with the Puerto Rico crew.

This was one of the most epic rides I have ever done. I finished the stage in 54th 16:44 down and was also 54th on GC. I was tired but I was happy. Time to pack.

I sat in for the entire 44 mile Silver City downtown crit today while Mike represented at the front. He was in several breaks including a 3 lap solo. He finished top 15 while I conserved the legs.

Tomorrow is the big day, its why I came on this trip. I plan to test myself during the 106 mile Gila monster RR. It features 2 cat 4 climbs, 2 cat 2 climbs and a cat 1 climb taking us to 7500' three times. I think I'm adapted to the altitude enough to do well.

The wind and Healthnet were kind to Mike and I today. I was concerned about this 80 mile stage after riding most of it off the back last year. No problem today though.

Mike and I rode to the start where the temperature dropped as clouds rolled in. Sean Cahill said he wasn't going to race with his leg warmers and let me borrow them. That really made my day, thanks Sean! Captian Roy did not start.

We started fast but chilled over the first cat 3 climb at 7100' which was fine with me. The tempo went up on the second cat 3 climb where I started with good position. I went over the top (7400') feeling strong in about 25th spot and hung on during the long technical decent to the valley. I must be acclimating to the altitude. Mike says he is too.

The wind never picked up, probably because it stayed cloudy until 20 miles to go when I finally took off Sean's legwarmers. At this point Mike says he saw two girls at the feed zone with painted on bikini tops. I hung on over the final climbs, avoided a couple stupid crashes, and finished at the back of the field about a minute down. Mike was dropped by about 3 minutes while Axel finished quite a while later. He may have been caught in one of the crashes.

After a post race nap and Mike cleaning out the garbage diposal we went to town for groceries and an "enchalada" racer dinner. On the way we stopped at the Holiday motor inn to see if Gabi and Axel wanted to tag along. They wern't there so I just raided the ice machine when I bumped into Mari Holden, again. She said she was tired and didn't want to get enchaladas with us.

So we bought groceries and went to the dinner which was at a church. There we encountered a 40 minute delay while they prepared a second batch. The line grew and the wait was "soRoy" meaning that they were in "no rush" to get the food out. And it wasn't worth the wait. The food back at host housing was much better.

2 more days to go, a 44 mile crit and the EPIC Gila monster final stage.

I'm chillin' post-nap at host housing with just Ben (14) and Mike. Ashley (15) is off socializing and the parents (Gina and Brad) are stuck in Deming where they both teach 5th grade. They can't get home right now because the winds are so strong there is zero visibility via a big dust storm. The family here is great, along with teaching Brad is quite an artist. Ben and Ashley are accomplished baseball/softball players and their youngest, Caleb is 3 years old.

The racers experienced the wind's wrath during today's 94 mile point to point stage. Fortunately there was a break up the road so the tempo was steady preventing splitting echelons. It was challenging, however, to hide in the sweet spot in the gutter without hitting stuff. There were a couple isolated crashes including one of the motorcycles in front of our race that fell in the center of the road at 40mph. We went around him like a traffic island. Mike and I hung in until the final turn onto the 6 mile cat 1 climb up to Mogollon at 6800'.

Healthnet ramped the tempo at the bottom and Mike and I got blown out the back, literally. The crosswinds were so bad that I was more concerned about staying up than finishing. I rode steady to 74th place 7:33 down and maintained my spot on GC. I eased off in the last kilometer to avoid cracking. Mike came in less than a minute after me and moved up one spot on GC.

The decent to the parking lot was actually just as challenging as the race itself. The wind was excessive. I was exhausted and pissed off at the wind by the time we got off our bikes. My eyes felt all dried out and sleepy while my arms and right shoulder are sore from holding the bike upright.

We bummed a ride back to Silver City with the Puerto Rico squad that includes our CenturyTel composite teammate Axel. Gabi had some good stuff to say that helped pass the time which I can't remember now. Today she experienced a 10 speed cogset on her 9 speed bike after a wheel change. It was a long day.

Time to glue on an unstreched tubular with a frame pump. My back tire is all cut up.

I slept well and woke up refreshed. Mike and I went for a spin and chilled at the house during the morning. Our afternoon stage was a 16 mile time trial in Tyrone that featured a cat 4 climb out of the start and a cat 3 climb before a fast decent to the finish. As we chilled in the parking lot we checked out some chicks as suggested by Tim. I must say there were some hotties cooling down after the womens event. Skinsuits look so much better on girls than on guys. One TMobile rider in particular caught our immediate attention. As Mike said, "she wasn't hard to look at". So here's what didn't happend per Tim's request:

Kurt couldn't help but notice her smiling at him and his mind drifted off from the race at hand to fantasy-land with the Tmobile hottie. She approached him and Kurt showed her the interior of they're totally pimped out rental car. Kurt's warmup stradegy changed as ...-censor-...

What really happened: Kurt and Mike watched the TMobile hottie do a lap in the parking lot. Kurt used the side mirror for a while to avoid unseating himself from his reclined shotgun position.

Mike kitted up in a blank navy blue Ibex jersey and seaweed green Dartmouth shorts. He looked totally retro with the Tom Cruise shades and without a trace of aero equipment. I got Gabi, a Guatemala rider, to laugh at his TT kit. For my ride I used a NEBC/CycleLoft skinsuit, aero booties, a Zipp 303 front wheel (32 spoke rear), spinachi clipons, and a Bell Vortex helmit autographed by Tyler Hamilton (he borrowed it when he won the '96 Fitchburg Stage race by 10 seconds).

Mike started early and rode hard until he got passed by 3 riders and then went easy. He was experiencing altitude combined with a lack of aero equipment and motivation. I managed to ride steady to the turnaround before the winds picked up. I was almost blown off the road by some killer gusts as I went to the drops to try and keep traction on the pavement. Guardrails look scary when strong winds are sending you sideways. Something hard hit my helmit during one gust, probably hail (there was spotty rain too). I coasted about 2 miles of the final descent as my 53x11 was spun out and the crosswinds were tough. Guys on aero bikes exceed 60mph on this imfamous stretch.

Riders who started early had much better conditions than the ones who started late. This was evident in the results. I was 61st, 5:29 down while Mike was 86th, 8:01 down. Mike was happy that he beat Larry Parera by 0.3 seconds. Quote of the day: "I almost died a hundred times" -some guy with a full TT rig after his finish.

The following is from Tim Unkert

Dude there is nothing about any hot chics. You must have seen at least some hot chics in your time on the road. Maybe in the airport or something or maybe you saw a hot chic ...-censor-... that would be funny in a disturbing way - you should add that in you journal. Say you were doing a stage and you saw this chic ...-censor-... on the side of the road like Eric Cartman in South Park. Oh hey I needed some more cycling socks so I ordered some Defeet "beer" socks - they will push my performance to the next level. Anyways dude you should add some more funny stuff to your journal - like how a washer is a big toilet if you sit on it - that was funny. Maybe a dryer could be like a urinal where you have to aim or something. Actually a dryer could be like a toilet in outer space because there is no gravity so you could crap sideways.

Anyways in your next journal entry I want to hear about lots of hot chics doing crazy things - even if you make them up.

Editor's note: Okay Tim I'll search for hot chicks in Silver City when I get a chance. I usually notice a hot chick at the airport, or even walking onto the same plane, but never end up sitting next to one for the flight. I'll get back to that "because you need to know" feature too. Here's one: (because you need to know) Mike noticed that captain Roy shaves his chest and stomach but failed to verify if his back was also. Shaving one's chest has got to be the biggest waste of time.

Before picking up Mike at the airport, we (captain Roy and friends) went into town to get breakfast, go to a bike shop, and do the laundry. This journey took 4.5 hours after a couple bike shops and a trip to Jamba Juice (lunch stop) were added. The ultegra 12-25 at the first shop just wasn't good enough, it had to be dura-ace. Fortunately, I brought 2 quarts of water but still didn't expect this rendevue to take so long. I expected possible delays as the crew would wait 3-4 hours before eating after the 80 mile stages at Bisbee. Funny that they all complained of headaches when we got back from driving to the hotel in 95-100 degree heat. They failed to bring any water with them on the 4.5 hour errand run. Of course I didn't notice that the motel had a washer and drier until we got back.

Roy and I picked up Mike at the airport at 6pm while the other two went for a ride. When we got to the motel Mike assembled his bike and went for a short evening spin. Then the two of us went to Dennys (next to the motel) while the others planned to go eat somewhere else in Tucson. I mentioned to Mike that when we get back from eating at Dennys they would still be at the room and possibly in full-chamios. Sure enough they were! They departed for dinner well after Mike and I glued two tires, a full 12 hours since their last meal.

I didn't sleep much that night as I was all stressed about the following day's trip to Silver City. It had disaster written all over it. Roy wanted to Fed Ex the bike cases to Albuquerque (airport) so they wouldn't have to be loaded into the exterra to make it easier to fit five people. Mike and I feared that Roy's "no-rush" philosphy would create problems on our trip home to the airport.

The next morning Mike and I went to Dennys for breakfast and he convinced me we should rent a car and boogie. So we rented a pimpin' ride from Jesse at Avis (2004 chevy impala), loaded it up in 15 minutes, and jetted down I-10 east. Mike drove the whole way and after I commented on his driving ability a couple times he informed me he raced cars for a few years. No wonder I liked his driving style so much! We arrived in Silver City in time to preview the TT & crit (via car), register, food shop, ride, and settle into host housing. We left our logistical nightmares behind. After seetling in the host housing we went for a quick spin. I can really feel the altitude (6000'), Mike can too.

Our host housing is amazing. A great family has picked us up for the week. We are located about 7 miles east of Silver City in a posh "double-wide manufactured home". I just finished lighting off fireworks with their 8th grade son and his neighbor. We were trying to blow up a water bottle with minimal success.

Mike and I cooked dinner for the family and they really enjoyed my home made pesto that I brought. As a bonus, we have internet access so I can update each stage of the race which begins tomorrow.

Okay, time now for some serious sleeping.

So I flew to Tuscon via LA last Thursday and got picked up at the airport by captain Roy and friends from Vail CO. The following day we packed everyone's bike crap in a Nissan Exterra and drove to Bisbee. They possess good humor, especially Scott who has some creative things to say. They think I'm a bit odd though because I brought turkey livers to eat raw for breakfast.

The friday evening prologue started in historic "old" bisbee and climbed 2.8 miles out of town. I wasn't sure if I was going the right way for a while because I didn't get to preview the course. But all went well and I rode steady pace to get 34th.

Stage 1 was mostly flat with a gradual uphill to the finish. I went in a midway break that grew from 4 riders to about 15. I worked hard for about 10 miles but once teams were represented by multiple riders I sat at the back. We were caught after 15 miles. I had good position with 5k to go but got boxed in and just rode into the finish.

Meanwhile composite teammate Roy had flatted and got a slow wheelchange which prevented him from catching back on. During his 50 miles off the back he witnessed border patrol gradually load up a truck with Mexicans and figured being off the back wasn't so bad. And the race gave him pack finish time for some reason.

The afternoon out and back TT was 8.6 miles and heavily favored full TT machines which many riders had. I attached my spinachis and rode a steady somewhat easy effort. The race traveled south to the turnaround which was 2k from the Mexico border. I was disappointed not to see a Taco Bell. On the way back I got caught by two full TT machines and dropped to 47th place on GC. Maybe the Taco Bell was at the border, another 2k south.

Sundays 88 mile stage 3 had plenty of climbing in the last 10 miles. Otherwise it was mostly rolling terrain. I began to feel the altitude after 30 miles and became light headed. As we approached Tombstone I chatted with Mari Holden (2000 world TT champion) who was racing with the men in preperation for olympic trials. She dropped her water bottle after the feed and I almost caught it off the bounce. How cool would that have been to ride up next to her and hand her the bottle she just dropped? Oh well.

As the climbing progressed at the end of the stage I became more and more light headed and weak. I couldn't feel lactic in the legs, I was just out of air. Turning a low cadence saved me on the climbs. I struggled decending from the hill top finish back to Bisbee where we were parked. My arms and shoulders hurt and I felt nautious & weak. It was a couple hours before I felt okay. I managed to drop another 10 places on GC finishing exactly 12 minutes down.

After the race we saw Mari at the restaraunt and checked a couple historic sites downtown before jetting back to Tuscon. Tuscon is just a bunch of cars and glass, and its 100 degrees. Mark McCormack is right when he said "there must be only 5 rides to do in Tuscon". I'm going to pick up Mike Barton at the airport in a couple hours. I hope we fit everything in the Exterra to get to the tour of the Gila.

I have managed to accumulate 7 road bikes over the years, 4 of them just last year. I thought I should show off my "fleet" of machines as a new feature called Kurt's bike of the month. Obviously I will run out of bikes for this by year's end and will have to feature other peoples bikes. Two qualifications must be met to be considered for this prestigious honor.

1.) Must be a road style bicycle (cross & track bikes okay). I will define this as drop handlebars (unless its a TT bike) that are at least 2 inches (5cm) lower than the saddle height and tires less than 35c wide. No triple cranks.
2.) Must be unique or custom, no "off the shelf" models will be accepted.

Apply at tractorfest@hotmail.com. No photos more than 250kb please!

So this month's selection is the bike I've been training on all winter, my HotTubes cyclocross/touring machine built by Toby Stanton in Worcester MA. I got it mid May 2003 to replace my 14 year old cannondale 3.0 that finally broke on a fridged winter ride. This bike has 6k miles on it already and its the bike I've always dreamed of for training here in New England.

Frame: Columbus Zona tubeset which is the same as the old "EL" by columbus. Lugged bottom bracket, fork crown, and dropouts; everything else tigged.
critique of Zona tubeset: this stuff is plush and responsive. Criticism: I think the chainstays would be stiffer if they were round (stiffest tube shape), they are quite oval at the bottom bracket junction.

Geometry: total bad-ass geometry by Kurt
top tube: 60cm, level
seat tube: 58cm @ 70.5 degrees
chainstays: 42.5cm
bottom bracket drop: 7.2cm
head tube: 15cm @ 73 degrees
rake:4.5cm
trail: 5.6cm
fork: 1" threadless
wheelbase: 101.6cm
Because you need to know: downtube: 63.8cm @ 59.2 degrees

Components
cranks: powercranks 175mm
chainrings: 39t ultegra, 48t salsa
chain: shimano HG-72 9 speed
bottom bracket: ultegra 109.5mm spline
pedals: shimano dura ace spd-r
ergo levers: 1994 campagnolo record They take a licking and keep on ticking!
front shift lever: campagnolo nuovo record (70's, retro!)
rear derailleur: late 90's campagnolo chorus
front derailleur: shimano dura ace
cantilevers: Avid shorty (I don't like them and suggest trying the new shimano)
headset: chris king 1" threadless (who else?) this was in my old cannondale for a couple years
seatpost: XTR The top clamp is coming "unglued" from the shaft. I bought this from Todd Rowell
saddle: sella italia turbomatic 4
stem: salsa "cycleloft" limited edition 12cm 1" threadless 90 deg
handlebar: cinelli nerve 42 cm c-c
bar tape: benotto navy blue. benotto is "used by all cycling champions"

wheels
rear hub: powertap old school/1999
front hub: 1994 campagnolo chorus
cassette: shimano 105 12-25 9 speed
skewers: 1994 campagnolo chorus
spokes: wheelsmith 14/15 with brass nipples
rims: mavic open pro "CD" 32 hole note: get cd coating on mavic rims or they will wear out from braking
tires: varies, usually 25c

accessories
bottle cages: blackburn Mtn.
fenders: sks 50mm with "custom mudflap extensions"
cyclocomputer: cateye astrale 8
frame pump: blackburn
saddlebag: trek
lubematic by rohloff (lubes chain while riding, located on right seatstay) traded from Matt Svatek
skymount inclometer (not shown)
vistalite tailliight (not shown)
niterider 15watt headlight with nicad bottle battery (not shown)

I fly to Tuscon tomorrow for la Vuelta de Bisbee and the Tour of the Gila. I will update if I have internet access.

It's a much needed rest week for me so I've been taking it easy. But I do have to work so I can't sit on my ass all day (which is what I dream of doing while I'm working). I thought I'd write something today after being inspired by the Mike Jones diary soprojones.com . I doubt I will ever equal Mike's ability to describe one's weekly training as an epic stage race. I'll just have to rely on tractorfest.com for my online glory. Click on the summaries when you have the time. My favorite ones are from November & December of '98, they're classics.

Today I had a massage scheduled for the afternoon but I had one problem. My drivers licence had expired and it was to far to ride (during a rest week anyway). I'd just drive without one but my mom said I couldn't borrow her car without a valid licence. I suppose if I actually got in an accident, which would be my first non-tractor accident, I would have some troubles. I owned a van once but hope to not own a vehicle again for as long as possible. I am fortunate that my dad gives me the pickup to go to races.

So I kitted up in full NEBC colours, rode powercranks to the registry, and locked my bike outside. I got a good spot in line 10 minutes before it opened. All went well except I couldn't get my signature to look accurate on that stupid pad that hooked to the computer. After seven tries I gave up. My new licence photo looks great, sweaty hair and all. And it still says I'm 5'9" even though I'm 6'1".

The massage was great, made the legs feel fresh and bouncy again. I payed with a combination of cash and food/milk because my massuse does not have a natural farm nearby. The farm near my house sells clean meat (good when cooked super-rare) and raw milk. Raw milk is super healthy stuff but can't be legally sold in stores. Its amazing what pasturization and homoginzation does. I actually didn't drink milk for years, until I found out why it was bad for me.

I consider myself a half expert on nutrition. An expert because I truely believe I know what works, a non-expert because I don't remember (or could care less about) all the scientific mumbo-jumbo that one would have to know to debate about it. I actually overcame 2 years of "chronic fatigue" by using nutrition for healing. I've read all the stuff but only remembered what I needed to. Why try and remember why if all you have to remember is what? That's extra effort in my world. Why is the entertainment, what is what you have to know and do. If you want to learn the real scoop on food, something that's not written with other's "agendas" (money) in mind, pick up Sally Fallon's "Nourishing Traditions". The contents of the book should be accepted by scientists in about 100 years. If you can't find it near you stop by Debra's Natural Gourmet in West Concord MA and I'll sell you one. If I'm not there ask for the last book that Kurt read.

I plan to be at the Adelphia this weekend so I better go to bikereg next. I'll have a hamburger shaped bicycle bell on my handlebar in honor of Keith Burger. Here is a picture of me at Marblehead sent to me by Oscar, the rider following me.

Notice how my rear tire, waterbottles, and bibs showing between my tights and jersey match.

Because you need to know (a potential new feature of my diary): If you sit on a top load washing machine with the lid open it feels like a giant toilet. Is that how a regular toilet feels to a 3 year old? I can't remember, perhaps I should ask the child of a customer that walks into the store sometime.

Commercial of the year: Quizzno's sub shop That "singing" bobbing blob with his blob friend on guitar. Why did they stop showing it? If its still on let me know what channel 'cause I want to tape it before its gone for good.

Best commercial of last year: Bob Roll's "Tour DAAAY France" I've got that on tape