Monday, March 30, 2009

SHE'S A BEAST!!!


My sweet love took the Baby Moose down to Big Flats to pick up the new wheels and while she was there, she and the Moose procured a grassroots sponsorship-I'm super psyched--Stan's rock!

The 29er ZTR Race wheelset--just look at 'em!!

Anyone who knows the Baby Moose knows he does not do any manual labor, no cleaning and certainly no lifting, so you know these wheels are super light if the little guy is willing to give a hoist.














Front: Chris King hub
Rear: Powertap disk hub
DT Al nipples                                                                                   
DT revolution spokes                                                                
Stan's Crow tire                                                                             
Stan's sealant 2 scoops                                                                  

Total Wt Front:   2.50 lbs.           
Total Wt Rear:  3.51 lbs.

I managed to get the beast built up by 2pm (with a little help from my friend Dave F.).  Without his help, who knows when I would have been done getting the cables on. I was a little bummed in that I finally got the cold that's going around, so the 50-miler I had planned was not going to happen.  Truth be told, I should have gone back to bed, but I couldn't do it, the bike kept calling out to me: "Mount me, ride me."  I swear she said it--ask Moose, he heard it.

I gave in and away we went for a 2-hour trek. I was good at first--Z1 and little touch at Z2 but she was feelin' so good. I got to Blacks Road and had to go "just a little" Z3 turned into "some" Z4 and that was feeling so good, I reasoned that I couldn't possibly be sick and feel this good, so Z5 was inevitable.



The top picture was 3/28/09 and the bottom was 3/30/08--I had to ride--it is the nicest day we have had this year--mid-60's with not a cloud in the sky.

I always find it interesting when people ask if a 26er is faster than a 29er because it's really a hard question to answer for a number of reasons.  My thoughts after one ride are that each bike probably excels at its own discipline. I assure you that my thoughts will continue on this subject.
Today I certainly felt faster--was I just jacked up on a new bike or does this Beast really roll faster? Time will tell.

P.S. I also felt quite a bit sicker after La Diosas' maiden flight, so please someone remind me that rest is key.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

The Worlds Greatest Trail Dog Is Gone





I really don't think Smokie thought the Jackrabbit squad looked very impressive back then.


Here we are rolling in the grass having fun.








For roughly 14 years a mut from the pound was the best family pet and trail runner a bike rider could ever ask for. A few years back Smokie J could run at 15 mph for 10 miles then turn around and do it all over again the next day. Smokie never went off trail. Ever. She was all business. She had a bad habit of biting your feet if you tried to pass her, she was the lead dog if she was on the trail. That is how I will remember her. She was hairy black and bossy, but a beautiful mix of Malamute and who knows what else. She loved me, and in the end I held her and cried when she went limp in my arms and breathed her last breath here. She could no longer walk, I carried her to the vet with tears in my eyes. She was warm and still smelled very sweet, I couldn't ever understand that about her. This was a big 90lb dog and she always smelled good and was great to lie with and scratch and pet. I will miss her terribly. I sobbed over her and placed her head on her now still paws as I had seen her lie thousands of times. There was a big wet spot where my tears had pooled in the fur on her head. I told her she was a good dog one last time and left that shitty place where she was. They can have her damn ashes. I had the worlds greated trail dog for 14 years.



Friday, March 27, 2009

TNR Part III

The ride was an all cement loop. Two very fast guys on road bikes came and they were pushing the pace compared to the two previous rides. I much prefer having to work hard if I am going to go to all the extra effort of a group ride. It takes a lot to keep my otherwise cantankerous attitude positive around a bunch I don't know. One of the guys is a Jeff Kerkove/Sonya Looney fan and was telling me about how he bought a few Linda W training plans...that was cool to know what the heck he was talking about. Another guy loaned me his Pi headband b/c my ears were freezing. It was like 37 and wind chill to probably 25-30. That was nice...I didn't get lost b/c my ass was dragging way behind, but I like the feeling of acid in my veins again. I'm alive.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

The Moose looks like he died and went to Heaven!

Well, the goods finally got here. I was asleep after a rather heinous night (No. 11 of 12 shifts in 15 days) and came down at 2:15 so Cora could gather the twin possums from school. I found the baby Moose with bloodied and bandaged nose and a huge smile on his face. Yep, you guessed it--"Daddy, are these yours or are they ours?" I turned, wondering what he wants to "share" now and the Bull was holding high his--I mean my new grips. I asked him where he found them. He was so excited--he looked like a bull who found the cow of his dreams. He replied, "My boxes are here!"
So I sat and watched the little man open all the boxes and answered his many questions as he played, dropped and tried on all his new stuff. After the brief clean up, I, too, went through everything and it all looks sooo good--I can't wait--if all goes as planned, I can get to building tomorrow afternoon.
I must say I am particularly impressed with the shoes--I can only say PIMP!!!!


Here are some of the other goodies the Moose found.









Wednesday, March 25, 2009

He's still our man!

Need to get pumped? LA I also just ordered a few photos from this site. BobbiandSteve See photo numbers 12 through 18 in the slideshow to see me screwing around at the start finnish line.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Double w/o today.

I felt so good today after lifting I decided to hit the trainer for a taint busting 2hr spin. I was going for fat burn and felt great. My old steal frame is pretty comfortable I love riding that ol pig. I may just try to put franken bike together for a few road rides. I wish I had Jackrabbit ride partners in Omaha...The TNR crew is an ok group, but I hate not knowing my way around though. I forgot to mention that one of the riders asked me what Jackrabbit racing was. I thought about it for a second and said your looking at the Omaha chapter president. I laughed...more like chuckled, and told him it was really just me and my best friend...and we make it look so damn good.
I was so happy yesterday!!--I needed to get 90 mins. of Z1-Z2 in, weather permitting. To my delight, not a cloud in the sky and it was relatively warm for 38 degrees. Even better, my honey was sweet enough to let me sleep in until noon--I so needed that!! I figured the ride would be all about "route recon"--I went out for 2 hrs and 15 mins and covered parts of the ole favorites, all of which will be featured during Camp Jackrabbit--still need some more warm weather--still not passible in some places--I'll try again next week.

                                                                 Top of Trip Hill.

I also made up some "Rocket Legs" to test out and it was goood!!  Who needs Starbucks???  I used a long pull of 53x11 and about 30 grams of sugar with 1% organic milk--went down nice and easy at the half-way point. I'll try a bit more sugar next time and see how that goes.

                                                    How about those mouse tails?


 Here's my plug for Rufus's outfit.

                                                                          Smooth!

Only 2 more nights of my crazy work month--can't wait!!!

Hopefully all the goods for the 29er get here by Thurs. and La Diosa will be ready for her maiden voyage this weekend.  Sounds like Stan's will have the wheels done and will press the headset in on Friday, which is HUGE!  I can't wait to get a long ride in on the Lead Sled.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Lance--what happened?

Video of Lance--Broken collar bone--get well !!

Jacked up!

Man, I'm all jacked up--sounds like Big Dave is throwing down--strong work, my friend-- you have come a long, long way in the last year.

For those of you who do not know, the Big 'Un started riding again just about a year ago, after I called and invited him to come along with me to North Dakota and ride the Maah Daah Hey Trail in its entirety. To my surprise, he said yes without much coercion necessary. I was surprised for a number of reasons:  1. He had no bike--easily solved--my main man Zach at BeyondBikes came through with a sweet Niner/XT set up which, as always, was priced right.  2. He was going to need several days off from work--this became irrelevant because he got sick and could not work anyway.  3. Last, but certainly not least, the Big 'Un was a plush 260 lbs and had not exercised in several years (maybe more).

By the time Big Dave got his new bike, he had just short of 4 weeks to acquire the fitness necessary to ride 5-6 hrs a day for 4 straight days. The Dominion of Downtime Destruction and I have always talked pretty regularly but now we were talking every day or two--Dave sounded super happy riding and appropriately a little apprehensive wondering what in the hell he had gotten himself into. He kept asking if I thought he would be okay and I would say yes, of course, sure, no problem. Now if it were me, I definitely would not have been okay, but Dave is a unique creature in that he has the fortitude to destroy himself in the name of achieving a goal like no other person I know. So truth be told, yeah, I knew he was going to suffer--big time--but it never crossed my mind that he would not finish.  As it turns out, he did suffer and he did finish and had a lot of fun doing it.

Flash forward to August last year and I was getting myself ready for Leadville and I called Dave and asked him to crew for me. Again--he said sure, drove 10 hrs out to Leadville, arrived at 2:30am, got up at 5:30am, crewed all day for me,  slept for a couple of hours, got up at 5am and drove 10 hrs home, making it just in time to pick his family up at the airport in Omaha. I hope he knows how much that meant to me--thanks! As much as I thought driving 20 hrs in a two days was crazy, I was dumb-founded when Big Dave declared he was going to do Leadville next year and wanted to know if I was in too. The coolest part was I knew that he was hooked and the comeback was only a matter of time.

So here we are and this year's focus is Leadville--Dave asks from time to time if I think he will be okay with the 12,000 ft of climbing and of course I say, "Yes, you'll be fine. Do I think you will suffer? Absolutely, we all will, but that's the fun of it. Do I think you will go sub-12 hrs? Absolutely, because you will wreck yourself to finish if you have to."  And I have no doubt that he will suffer and will "Buckle." 
Dave--thanks for riding with me--I've had more fun in the last year than I've had in a long time.  Congrats on 212 lbs today! Congrats on the strong race finishes early season! Congrats on being much healthier.  This year is gonna rock!!

Sunday, March 22, 2009

A weekend of rest

Well, I was looking at my training logs and realized I hadn't taken a day off in over 5 weeks so...this blog will be an open dialog about knowing your body and knowing your self. When someone tells you that you are training too hard they are usually jealous of your work ethic...when your legs won't go and people that you would normally smoke are blowing past you it is time to listen to the inner voice. Know thy self as it turns out is excellent advice. There is something to be said for old athletes attempting to remake themselves. There are also a few truths I have come to believe in. 1.) You are not your best coach. 2.) If you know how to win that is like gold. 3.) Not many people know much about winning. I have got to find a trustworthy and understanding coach because I have a deep understanding about the subject of winning. I am not satisfied with third or even second. I need to devise a plan that will allow me to find success in XC as well as Endurance racing. I think the 2hr to 12 hour race range is close enough that if I do the correct training I can be good at both. I have the crazy idea that a year from now it will be difficult for almost anybody to stay with me when I push myself on a strong day. For some strange reason that is important to me. I use this to put in 4-5 hour training sessions, where a coach would help would be to put some structure to my overall training and give me specific goals and ride/race/training advice. I took two days off and feel rested and ready for the tainting/training ahead.

Friday, March 20, 2009

The Bull Moose

So it was time to get the hubs off to Stan's so they can build up a new set of wheels for the 29er. I'm super psyched 'cause they agreed to build them up on their new 29er race rim which is supposedly crazy light.





For whatever the reason, I found the task of cutting apart a perfectly good, no, great set of wheels that have served me so well to be quite stressful. No worries though, the Bull Moose decided that he was going to stay home from school and help Daddy "fix" "our" wheels. The Bull was all to happy to help when the project involved the destruction of the wheels.




When we needed to clean "our" wheels, Max was long gone and creating his own bit of very special mayhem. Now I must explain that Max is going through a wonderful stage where he asks if anything he sees me touch is mine or "ours" and if I will being sharing it with him. In my mind, I see this as him wanting to be like me and do the things I do--so it makes me really proud and I love every second of it. So Max was off and in rare form and making a pile here and a pile there--I think he successfully managed to get into everything that "we" own. Now this is a problem on its own because this kid can create a mess, but it became a touch annoying in that he felt it necessary to bring all of "our" possessions into the kitchen which was serving as a de facto work shop. So when the little man came in for the umpteenth time saying, "Daddy is this your "thirsty bag" (that's a Camelbak to you and me) or ours?," I looked up and proudly saw a Bull dressed like a Jackrabbit--man, that little guy sure is cute, but what a handful.




The Big Dave said I should be short and simple today which sounds good 'cause a picture (or in this case, a video) is worth a thousand words and I'm off to go riding!!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

TNR Part II

The second TNR was harder than the first...mostly b/c I am a bit worn out. I have not taken a day off in over a month. Granted M,W,F is always between 1-1.5 hours on our lovely lifecycle at work. I may have to rethink the doubles I have been doing on T,Th. Of course 2 weeks ago I raised the bar with a 100k race in the freezing cold and then last weekend I sprinted my ass off for two hours in what was basically a road race on my mtb against cross nugets. So about 8 or so people showed up and we rode to Swansen park and did two laps. I got lost in the front section and did that area three times and the back section once. I probably went the same distance as everybody else. It is really a shitty trail if you ask me with criss crosses all over the place and virtually no markings...sorry guys if you like that trail...it sucks. Oh well it's not like Omaha has tons of trails to choose from. I'll take friggen Tranquility! For those friends that know...I'll really take Quiet Waters.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Camp Jackrabbit in the making

I started thinking about our training week in April and and I'm so psyched-- I definitely need to come up with something epic to satisfy my main man Big Dave's appetite for long taint-busting miles. After talking with Joey, the plan is going to be for back-to-back 100 milers.
 
Day 1
Day 1 is recovery as we will both be racing the Greenbrier Challenge 4-hour marathon down in Maryland on Sunday. I chose a 22-mile loop which is a nice mix of hills and flats--I call the loop "the first big loop" as it was huge for me back in the day when I first started riding--I have not done it since.

 
Day 2

Day 2 is what I call the "big long loop" which is about 46 miles and should weigh in at about 5500 ft of climbing.


 
Day 3

Day 3 is bantamweight at 11.7 miles and approx. 1600 ft of climbing. In the AM, it's a leisurely stroll around the short loop.  In the PM, it's all out and somebody is lookin' to set a record time which currently stands at 44:19. 

Day 4 is still under consideration but will be in the 100 mile neighborhood and I'm aiming for 8-10,000 ft of climbing. Details to come.

 
Day 5

Day 5- is the second of the 2 hundy's and I promise it will deliver. As it is currently planned, it's
a beastly 103 miles with 14000+ feet of climbing--The mission is simple--get done as quick as possible without meltdown. I am still trying to work Gately Hill into the mix which will up the ante a tad--we'll see.

Day 6- If possible (i.e taint permissing) will be a recovery day. Details to come.

The last bit of news around here which is not ride-related is certainly the most exciting--Bella lost her first tooth. She waited all weekend and pulled it out at school so she could get the little treasure chest they give to anyone who loses a tooth at school. I though that was pretty cute and certainly very smooth on her part. The best, however, was to come when she jacked the helpless little tooth fairy for a cool 20 bucks.  It sure pays to be smart--love ya kiddo.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009



Yesterday's mission was simple:  Joey had me down for 2 hours of HILLS, HILLS, HILLS. . . so I did my best to deliver.  I thought I would do my 7 hills course, which is about 25 miles and 3500 feet of climbing and should take just about the prescribed 2 hours to complete.  



The weather was gorgeous: 55 degrees and sunny--what more could I ask for? A little mud maybe? Well, I found some.





Part of the earlier season "grand plan" is to iron out nutrition on the bike, given that it was a big problem at Leadville last year.  I want to try different things to see if we can really dial the feeds in.  I just got some Cytomax pink lemondade, which thus far has been great, although lacking any protein.  Accelerade is a touch rough on the stomach over the long haul.  So I think it's probably out.  I'm still faithful to Hammer Gel--yesterday's choice was espresso, which never disappoints.

 



I've also been trying a Starbucks Expresso shot at the halfway point of high intensity rides--it works for Dave Wiens and Big Dave, so I figured it's worth a shot (ha ha--no pun intended).  It's a nice boost of caffeine and something like 140 calories in 6.5 ounces and best of all, it goes down smoothly and quickly.  Next time, I'm going to mix up 2 shots of 53x11 and milk and 60 grams of sugar and see how that works.  That 53x11 is gooooood stuff.  Big Dave wants Evan and the boys to market their own 6 ounce shot and call it "Rocket Legs."  

The ride went well--power seemed to be up and legs felt good--we'll see what the boss thinks.  The best part was coming home to the three little monsters who were eagerly waiting for me at the bottom of the driveway.

 I'll just pretend that I don't know that they're really just looking to finish off my bottles--they're all big fans of the new pink lemonade.

The other good news is that Big Dave got his plane tickets, so it looks like the April training week (Camp Jackrabbit) is on--it should be epic and I look forward to being there when Big Dave busts his hundy cherry.  I need to work on getting that week's rides planned out--more to come on that...

Sunday, March 15, 2009

An old race result...

But a goodie...

The Panama 30 Mile Enduro

I rocked a two hour sprint today. There was a heap of hammerheads at this little loop. I was totally impressed with some of the team guys in their kit. The race started out nice enough and I had to really put the pistons to work to try to keep up with the guys on road bikes and cross bikes. Even though this was advertised as a mountain bike enduro at least 30-40% of the riders were rolling narrow tires. The team from Lincoln was all roadies and when we took the first turn into the wind and up a hill they were gone. I was gassing just to keep them in view. Three solo guys were able to keep up with them and that lead group went the whole way together.
After some time I was riding with a small group and we pushed each other. With about 10 miles to go I noticed some cracks. I seemed to be the only one looking at my map and I was the only one who spotted the last two checkpoints. After the last CP I heard my last "which way" and started to plot. The hammer bags were talking and trying to figure out where to go, so I threw them a bone moved to the front and said my last "turn here." I stood into the wind judging that there must only be about 5-8 miles to go. I simply and pleasantly climbed the next set of climbs in big little standing and rocketing over the crests. By the time I looked back the group of ten or so guys were spread like dear skat as if fired from a blunderbust. They were way back to put it less fancy. I had snot running down my nose and spit sticking to my wanna beard. It was so worth it as I shot through the gate in 4th place solo. A few of the team guys were nice when I got there and looked a little in shock. So I said my usuall "How many Clidesdales are in your group?" They looked puzzled b/c the biggest dude said I am the Clidesdale I guess. He said he weighed 172. Official results

Friday, March 13, 2009

A Rose by Any Other Name...

Because my wife was lax in bookmarking this blog for me, I, being the resourceful fellow that I am, Googled "Jackrabbit Chronicles."  Lo and behold, there is another blog by that name.  It is written by a single mom who seems to have a much more active sex life than Bigdave & I put together!  Her blog is named for her self-pleasuring device, the Jackrabbit.  While tires, headsets, cranks and tubeless v. tubed may be porn to us, no doubt followers of her blog may not find our discussions as titillating as hers.  So I thought it would be prudent to give an explanation of the team name while this blog is still in its infancy.  Though my wife does sing the praises of my sexual prowess (at least to my face), the name refers not to any sexual escapades, but rather to my metamorphosis from an overweight 30-something to the most well-supported, sinewy, hot 40-year old sport superstar wanna-be.  So, to be clear, the name Jackrabbit is meant to be ironic--if we were to be descriptive, our name would be the 40-year old Slugs Who Really Want To Be...  

The Omaha TNR

The Thursday Night Ride was fun, short, and fast. The loop called the CB Loop had only one or two tiny bumps so was pretty much flat and wound around city streets for about 30% of the ride and on City park cement trails for the rest. RF from the MTB Omaha group went nice and slow to keep the group together as I acted like a complete ass and was going faster and getting lost and stupid crap like that. I am a terrible group rider. I have always known this and can't stand stopping for the group to get together. Drop'em as I have been dropped so many times is my very idiotic and selfish attitude. Maybe next time some of the hammerheads will show up and treat me like the overweight wana be that I am.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

La Diosa



It's on like Donkey Kong. I found a new race since the Bone Bender was postponed. Can't wait. http://www.adventureracingomaha.com/calendar/2009.html

Tchaikovsky's Overture of 1812


powered by good ole Moose milk, baby!


Hot off the press team kit 2009 is finalized! This kit represents months of painstaking tweaking by Dr. Matt, the Jackrabbit team captain for the 2009 season. Domestique Bigdave is very happy with the result.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009



Dr. Matt rides at camp 2epic.


Bigdave rides at camp 2epic

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

That's Right 200 lbs.

The CIRREM Ride

I think it was Jed one of the CIRREM course creators who said come enjoy some great rolling hills in rustic Iowa. I'm paraphrasing here, but the hills were slightly more than rolling, Iowa is certainly rustic, oh yeah did I mention the freaking cold. 25 brave souls began the ride 12 soggy hardened Popsicles finished. Luckily I was a finisher. I even back halved the damn thing. I actually felt better at 4 hours than I did at 1 hour.

The race itself, the first annual I gather, was run spectacularly. The checkpoint for water and snacks was right where they said it would be. (I blew past nonstop) Consumed 12 Endurolytes, two 24oz bottles Gatorade with 2:1 protein powder mix, 2 gels, 100 oz plain water. All carried on board Sherpa Dave. The course directions were exact and handed out 5 minutes prior to the start. I was very nervous at the beginning of the race as my closest ride if I got lost or broke down was 2 1/2 hours away in Omaha. No technicals thank you. The bumps (hills) were more than I expected, but were perhaps my favorite part of the race. Some of the fixies and single speeders were very sorry, as I saw quite a few dab and push. For the longest time in the saddle and most altitude gained I am happy to say I never touched the ground.