Holy crap.

We all know Vanilla bicycles are nice. Now there is a 4 foot tall trophy to prove it. What a year. A national championship, a best of show trophy. Mr. White has it all, money, power, influence.

Me? I spent the evening hiking around the forest in the snow doing some covert trail work. Got a bunch more done than I thought I was going to. Never used a chainsaw before. Next time you ride over this—> Thank Brian Ellin.

What is with the snow? Serious. I’m over it. What do we only get 2 months of warm weather?

My current problem is figuring out when I should start racing again. No Cherry Pie, no Banana belt, no Mudslinger… What next? Maybe I’ll make an appearance at the Piece of Cake road race. Maybe I’ll just show up at the Willamette valley classic stage race.

If Barry stood up straight he’s the taller of the two.

Peace out.

Rode out to the Banana Belt race series #1 at Hagg Lake yesterday with Ira Ryan, Matt Hall and Cary Miller. They ended up eating at McDonalds. Can you even handle that? They are telling me cross season is won with Mcmuffins in March. I’m not buying it.

Sacha White is down at the Handbuilt bicycle show in San Jose right now. The only current link I could find and the official website and a couple of Cyclingnews reports: part one and part two. Tony Pereira gets a photo and mention in there too.

Feels kinda like sending Sacha off to his National Championship event. He has spent so much energy and put so much time into the bikes he has down at the show…

Ok, I’m ignoring Matt. Gotta ride.

Not having an inspired week, I took off early yesterday with Ira Ryan and ran errands. Went by River City bicycles and harrassed the competition, then by Stumptown printers and picked up new Vanilla posters. Dan Gilsdorf (my tattoo artist and pal) did the artwork in the “retro art nouveau(sp?) style” and they are just perfect. I’d post pictures but I do not want to spoil the surprise. Dan has a graceful hand. The artwork is not a direct copy of the retro style. It has it’s own thing going on. And really stands on its own. It made me feel warm.

I never realised that Stumptown printers is 1 block from my house. I have always liked that print shop. The work that comes out of there is amazing. Quality people run the place. It is small and local. When I find some money, I’ll give them some money.

Then off to Vanilla bicycles. I have not been to Sacha’s shop in a month or so. They have put up some more walls to kinda define the Vanilla space from the other bike stuff going on and are f’ing busy with all the Handbuilt bicycle show projects. I know I keep mentioning the “secret project”. I had only heard rumors of it for the last few weeks. I got to see it last night. shit! I think the thing is going to weigh in at like 50 pounds. I saw a couple of the track bikes he is taking down too. shit. I want one. They are beautiful. I would love to race one.
…
We got new Veloshop jerseys in yesterday. Veloshop waterbottles, Schwalbe tyres too! The new Nobby Nic tread is going on my XC bike in a second. Super light, agressive with widely spaced knobs, great for all the riding we will be doing around here until the summer time. Then I’ll switch over to the Racing Ralph tread. Pretty much the lightest XC tyre around. Besides the Geoff Kabush edition paper thin Maxxis tyres. I really like the Schwalbe tyres. It is a shameless sponsor plug. They are really light, I have been really happry with the “Jim” “Ralph” and “Albert” treads. Ok, I do kinda loathe the names. But, c’mon, are any of those names ever any good? Mutantoraptor? What the hell is that?

And speaking of the paypal button. I’d like to say thanks to the small handfull of people who put thier money into my bike racing last fall. I ended up not spending the money all fall and then using some of it this spring to pay for renewing my expensive UCI license! The self funded racing thing gets hard to manage and not having a big money sponsor (or enough talent to attract a big money sponsor) really means that every cent counts. So thanks.

Yesterday was one of the days I loathe. The phone rings every 2 minutes ALL day long and everyone wants my money. Not like telemarketers or anything but y’know, debt, bills, distributors, sales reps, bills, payroll, bills and, ok, a few telemarketers.

Yesterday was one of those days where I realise how close to futile keeping the little Veloshop afloat is. I have to laugh when companies are like, ok, well on top of your $75 fee we will need a $900 security deposit. I just have to laugh and hang up the phone. It even gets to a point where I just laugh on the phone and tell them “Hey, I would love to pay you. But seriously. No, really. I do not have ANY money.”

Which is true.

Sure, I have $15 in my pocket. I can still pay for lunch and espresso but, in the business scale of things, I’m broke. I dream of one day actually having a few hundred bucks in the bank to use in an pinch. I remember 5 years ago when I started the shop in my basement and then a little later on MLK blvd. $300 was the start up. Well, that and first months rent on the space next door to the Rasta drug front.

I’ve never had a credit card and never gotten a loan or investment. Shit, the shop does not have a business plan or anything. I show up, open the door, work on bicycles and then go ride them. Sounds simple enough right? That should work right?

The Veloshop suffers from a bit of an identitiy crisis (no pun intended). I run my shop like it is ten times bigger than it actually is. And within the last couple of years it is getting pretty big. It is no longer just an extension of my tool box and closet. It is slowly becoming its own thing. I stress, slowly. My accountant says it. “You are underfunded.” And because of that I just have to put my head down and work super hard and slowy, slowy, slowy build up capital and inventory.

But yesterday. Man. Days like that make you want to crawl up into a little ball and hide in your bed. I just have to laugh about it and remember that money is bullshit and if I lost it all tomorrow, well, it only cost me a few hundred bucks in the first place.

Moving on.

We broke into the team S&M team research lab, found Eric’s stash of performance enhancing cookies and this team issue helmet. Rumor has it that Sellwood is now requiring a ski jumping license to join the team. There was a load of cash laying next to some fancy full carbon TT bikes and we stole that too.

Pete got back yesterday from Hawaii. So nice to see her. I picked her up from the airport and we took a nap before both being late to work.

Sacha White is viciously building bikes for his 2nd attempt at dominating the Handbuilt bicycle show. FYI: I know what the secret weapon is. I will not tell.

My pal Peter was dealt a crushing blow in the Cherry Pie fixed gear category road race. After reading HIS report of things. There was a ot of wheel sucking and sketchy riding, a crash, some busted spokes and an illegal sprint. Oh but the guy who won deserved it fair and square.

I’ve been working with Wenzel coaching the for the last month and besides my chronic knee pain they have set me up with a kick ass program and I’m hitting the gym harder than I ever have before. Not too hard mind you. But hard enough to improve on last year and go from a top 30 cross racer to a top 10 cross racer.

Well, per usual, I’m running late.

End rant.

PS: Thanks to all my really awesome friends, teammate and customers. Though I scowl at you, it is the most affection I can muster out of this ice cold heart. I like you. Really.

Tour of California started today. I’m calling it, Levi is gonna win it and then be burned out for Le Tour de France but will come back to podium in the Vuelta. Basso is gonna stick it to Jan in the tour. I’m thinking Basso will do the Giro-Tour double.

Kinda been wading through a crappy week. Juggling too much stuff at the Veloshop, not staying on top of riding. Pete is still in Hawaii, she calls daily with stories of dolphins and bikinis. I think I am getting a coconut bra when she comes back.

I am loving the 2006 Olympics! Did everyone catch Shani Davis’ (first African American to win winter Olympic gold. ever.) post-race interview?

“How does it feel to win olympic gold?!”

“great.”

“Are you mad?”

“no. I’m thrilled.”

The guy trains in Canada and shuns the US skating scene. It seems like the US Olympic/speedskating folks were not supporting him properly and trying to boss him around (did you catch the interview with Shani’s mom too?) so he just sticks it to the redneck american favorite and then (wisely enough) does not want to play into the “oh! You won gold! Now we love our black athletes!” crap.

Good for him. Does not owe anyone anything and is not afraid to just say “Hey, I did all the hard work, I got MYSELF here.” That is some pressure the cycling scene cannot relate to. Sometimes we feel like outsiders cause we don’t buy into NASCAR and Football. Just think about it for a second, his friends and community must think he is nuts. “What? You are into ice skating?” That is so gay.

What? I know you were thinking the same thing watching the ice skating events.

On a sad note. Cyclocross season is officially over. Fittingly enough on the day of the first road race here in Oregon. Mark Blackwelder got 6th in the cat 3 race I think. No other news there.

Rode with a big Veloshop possee out to Scappoose and back today. Ran into Mr. Too Vanilla ice, Slaven, Wilson and Stayton heading home as we finally got there.

I am typing to you on my new laptop. Thank you Apple, thank you Veloshop. I got the extended warranty too. If I have any issues in the next 3 years, I am covered!

Ran into another proud new owner of a 29er. Andrew Reed (who I was SUPPOSED to call to go riding this weekend) crossed our path on the way back home through Forest Park. Everybody is buying up those new Gary Fischer bikes! A quick and easy way to check out 700c mountain biking. Brian was jealous. Andrew’s is full XTR.

I got more to say. But mainly I am real excited to have a nice stable computer again. Now I can play cyclocross videos as I doze off while cuddling my laptop.

…but I guess a new laptop will do. I don’t know where the money will come from but I ordered up a new MAC for the Veloshop from Apple, complete with 3 year warranty.

What is new in my life?

Pete was in LA for a week working as the soigner for the USA cycling track team. She came home for a couple nights and we got to spend some time together and then I took her off to the airport for her 2 week trip to Hawaii with her family.

Ouch! I really miss her when she is gone.

I rode a lot this weekend. I’ve signed up with Melissa Sanborn of Wenzel coaching and we are getting my program together. Funny to sit down and just say “I don’t give a crap about anything until October, EVERYTHING is just training for cyclocross”. So don’t expect to see much on me till September.

Rode bikes with Doug Ollerenshaw and Evan Elken on Saturday. If blogs were about anything other than name dropping I would not mention it but, Doug has been getting LOADS of photo coverage recently. Seems like every dealer catalog, magazine advertisement or race flyer has him on the front pulling his HealthNet teammates around. Which is nice. Oregon is f’ing crazy. We have so much talent jam packed in this state. You cannot throw a stone with out hitting a great bike racer. It is small things like that I notice. The photo in the corner of some companies poorly built website that has a local superstar jamming up a climb. No credit givin but I know who it is.

It blows my mind the amount of money big sponsors put into cycling. Doug is apparently heading off to Europe and Asia for racing this summer. There we are riding around the west hills and I realise that I have been putting my advertising dollars in the wrong places. I put a bunch of cash into the Veloshop cycling team and I am going to divert even more money into cycling related projects.

Advertising works, maybe I’ll be calling up Healthnet for heath insurance. Are they a good company? I don’t know, but they are sending a friend to Europe to race…

The bike ride was good, Evan ended up sprinting it out with a Ferrari or something. That night I rolled down to Sellwood cycles to pick up some XTR disc brake pads and get Erik to go on a mountain bike ride. They were not quite closed and I sat down in the chair and soaked in the shop.

It is still my favorite bike shop.

I’m gonna leave it there. It is running late and I am still in the shop, gonna work on bikes and build some wheels.

Ok.

Laptop died. This time for good. If I had a photo of me giving my laptop the finger I would post it.

Since I don’t…

My computer at the shop does not let me acess the blogthing so when I scrounge up a grand for a new computer, I’ll be back…

Ugh.

I was’nt there. As a distant observer, it looked fast. World Championships fast. I have watched the TV footage from the race a few times and it is just crazy how fast they are going. Like Tour de France fast.

I don’t think anyone got lapped in the race. If you look closely it looks like Tonkin and Jon Baker are dead last in the start. In the aerial view you see 2 USA jerseys just stuck at the back of the 50+ group with nowhere to go. The course snakes around so much in the first section and it is only 1-2 riders wide and just creates a horrible bottleneck. They are barely ever touching the brakes the whole time and you could hardly call the course technical. Just fast. That is not Tonkin’s speciality (so he says) and it is a bummer that it was not pissing down hail and rain. What can you do? He worked so damn hard this year, running the shop, getting 10th at mountain bike nationals and clobbering everyone at the USGP races. I know he is not happy about his result. When you show up to a course that does not suit your strengths you just have to step up and do your best.

Oh Niels…

The cute one on your right was the favorite for the U23 race. The fat, pimply kid in the middle? Got lucky. Two years in a row lucky I guess. hehheh.

I’m off to the gym with Cary and Brian in a second. More crunchs than you can handle.

Pete, Brian and I rode rollers and then all fell asleep on the floor while watching the 2005 Giro. My aspiration for tonight is getting back on the rollers and doing a solid hour watching Salvodelli hang on for the win.

Cary just set up his blinging KONA cross bike with a set of Dura Ace cranks. One of the 2 pair I attempted to mount onto my Vanilla cross bikes this fall with no luck. The superior tyre/mud clearance of the Vanilla chain stays proved too much for ANY combination of Dura Ace+XTR-Dura-outboard bearing sets. Looks like I am going to have to find something that WILL fit on there. Those Gucci Stronglight’s I have on my Vanilla Road bike? Maybe. Maybe.

Listening to Sunny Day Real Estate (the first album, of course.) Best album ever.

I’m putting my hands on my Chris King, Vanilla team issue tubulars, adjusting them and getting them ready for a road racing season. I got really excited again about Chris King hubs. Going to buy myself a pair of disc hubs to put onto whatever I end up racing (if you can call it that) this XC season.

I have NOT been riding much. Had a tumultous last couple weeks.

Ok, bad post, I’ll give you more dirt later tonight.

Ouch.

Moving on. I kinda beat myself up mountain biking yesterday. Matt Hall, Matt Slaven, Steven Hunter and I went out to Sincline (in Washington) near Hood River. I had never been before, it was sweet. The ride started out with too much climbing on Sea Otter-esque single track on wide open sweeping plains. The big descent was super fun, fast, rocky single track. Slaven was killing it on his singlespeed. Matt H, Steven and I were just dying! I have never had a “granny gear” on my bike until the last month and I was in it for most of the climbing. The climb was what, like an hour or something? Well, it was awesome. Good mountain bike rides really get me motivated to ride bikes again. I took a couple good spills but actually impressed myself with my riding over the super rocky and technical stuff. After the last good crash I was babying myself, I did not get clipped into my pedals and went careening down a rock face and got tossed off and into some boulders. hehheh.

After a couple hours, both Matts and I were riding fast together and putting the hurt on Steven. He rode so tough! He just bought this dual suspension Rocky Mountain bike and I think this was his first real long ride on it. We were all dying on the last couple loops, I was getting tired and making silly errors.

All in all, an epic few hours on the bike.

The Saturday before, Adam K. was back from an extended sickness and helped out in the Veloshop, putting up more wheel hooks and just hanging out. “Just hanging out” means, keeping the shop looking hott and just standing around looking hott in general. That is the dress code in Veloshop. Hott.

Ahem.

It was busy as hell today, everyone has started riding thier bikes again with a little break in the rain. Did I mention Brian Ellin got hit by a car on Saturday night? He’s fine but, his Surly appears to be a total loss. Now, I am exhausted, staying after hours at the shop, I just finished re arranging the track case. Got a lot of new stuff in today.

I read Tonkin’s journal entry. So rad. He is a great writer. Actually makes bike racing interesting to read about.

Peter Drake came into the shop today, he is putting in the miles and counting down the days till the Alpenrose 6day. Hey Peter, you left your water bottle here…

Que mas? I want to pass out I am so tired. Got Thai food waiting at home and a crappy movie date with Brian and Cary.

Ok, I’m out.