The first anti-mechanical occurred last week, when my riding gloves decided to shed their winter coat in favor of a spring-time buzz cut. Here is a depiction of my gloves in their brand-spankin'-new form (note: my gloves were actually white, and had a bad-ass rating of 8.2 out of 10):
As you can see, these are some pretty intense gloves. The carbon fiber shell was a great advantage when pushing the pace through tight corners, as I could punch through trees like a downhill slalom course (they also worked well for coercing pedestrians out of my path when riding out to the trails). However, the fake leather used to hold on the carbon fiber bits had decayed the last few months and finally shuffled off this mortal coil, leaving my precious hand carbonless. The result?
By no means a devastating injury, but certainly a minor annoyance as I keep reopening it ad nauseum.
This week's anti-mechanical is equally as benign, yet even more frustrating. Tuesday I went out to the local Short Track series to loosen up the legs and get in some good hard efforts. Halfway through the warm-up lap my plans were thwarted. What follows is a picture of my right shoe, which has nothing wrong with it.
I was fairly impartial to these shoes. The toe-box was a little tight, the buckles loosened up and fell out once already, and I am well on my way of tearing off the tread on the bottom. The buckles were easily fixed, and the tread wear is expected for the rocky terrain in central PA, but what happened on Tuesday was not a normal problem.
What you are looking at is the left shoe, and the sole of the left shoe. Now, if you are familiar with shoes, as I assume most of you are, you would know that the sole actually belongs on the bottom of the shoe. Clearly, this is not the case. The entire sole of the shoe (it is a carbon sole...) was ripped right off the shoe. As you can imagine, it made the rest of the lap uncomfortable as I had to ride with only a thin piece of cloth between my foot and the pedal. Freeze Thaw will be getting some new kicks in on Friday, so I will be taking a hiatus from the bike until this weekend.
Come to think of it, I always had reservations about carbon fiber on the mountain. Sure, I ran a carbon bar for a year or so, but once I replaced it I never looked back (the new bar was only 20 grams heavier than the lightest carbon bar, even weight weenies can appreciate that). I am utilizing carbon spacers under the stem too, but spacers are not really a high failure point. For now, I'm forgoing any major carbon components (except for the cosmetic carbon under my X0 shifters, it is just too pretty). You had your chance carbon fiber, and you blew it. Harden the "f" up and maybe, just maybe, I'll bring you back... if you're lucky.
Aside from finding ways to mend my broken sole, I was in drastic need of a distraction for the afternoon, which came in the form of the Toothfairy/Cobra himself, Mr. Tim Culbreth. After polishing off a bowl of Mac&Cheese, we jumped in the car and headed out to Shingletown for a quick hike. The trails were in great condition and it was fun to get out to some ridges I don't see on the bike. The sky showed us a questionable forcast, but held off on raining in time for us to finish our hike. We stopped by the castle lookout where Tim took a wonderful long-distance picture of a watertower. He swears it is for a class, but I think he just has an affinity for large, bulbous water containers. Here are two shots I took during the hike. Nothing spectacular, but my photography skills are, as the great proverb says, "like monkeys trying to snatch the moon's reflection on water."
I have been spending a lot of time recently pursuing some new music to complement my library. The most recent additions have been newer albums from reputable artists. I picked up new albums from Animal Collective and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Merriweather Post Pavilian and It's Blitz! respectively) and have been playing both nonstop. But the real treasure from this week was finding a track by Cannibal Ox that just left me stunned. I am a big fan of the lesser known hip-hop scene, and Cannibal Ox was always a consistent favorite of mine. In the first thirty seconds of the song I realized where the sampling for the beat came from: Jaco Pastorius "Portrait of Tracy." Jaco's instrumental is an incredible complement for a lyrically brilliant track, and I highly suggest you taking a listen. I always appreciate when artists put some thought and depth into their songs, and Cannibal Ox almost never dissapoints.
I certainly hope my words have got you rubbing your Buddhas a bit; if this is the worst of my worries for the week then good fortune is certainly taking a few sole-less, limping strides in my direction. Now, go forth and thrive.
By no means a devastating injury, but certainly a minor annoyance as I keep reopening it ad nauseum.This week's anti-mechanical is equally as benign, yet even more frustrating. Tuesday I went out to the local Short Track series to loosen up the legs and get in some good hard efforts. Halfway through the warm-up lap my plans were thwarted. What follows is a picture of my right shoe, which has nothing wrong with it.
I was fairly impartial to these shoes. The toe-box was a little tight, the buckles loosened up and fell out once already, and I am well on my way of tearing off the tread on the bottom. The buckles were easily fixed, and the tread wear is expected for the rocky terrain in central PA, but what happened on Tuesday was not a normal problem.
What you are looking at is the left shoe, and the sole of the left shoe. Now, if you are familiar with shoes, as I assume most of you are, you would know that the sole actually belongs on the bottom of the shoe. Clearly, this is not the case. The entire sole of the shoe (it is a carbon sole...) was ripped right off the shoe. As you can imagine, it made the rest of the lap uncomfortable as I had to ride with only a thin piece of cloth between my foot and the pedal. Freeze Thaw will be getting some new kicks in on Friday, so I will be taking a hiatus from the bike until this weekend.Come to think of it, I always had reservations about carbon fiber on the mountain. Sure, I ran a carbon bar for a year or so, but once I replaced it I never looked back (the new bar was only 20 grams heavier than the lightest carbon bar, even weight weenies can appreciate that). I am utilizing carbon spacers under the stem too, but spacers are not really a high failure point. For now, I'm forgoing any major carbon components (except for the cosmetic carbon under my X0 shifters, it is just too pretty). You had your chance carbon fiber, and you blew it. Harden the "f" up and maybe, just maybe, I'll bring you back... if you're lucky.
Aside from finding ways to mend my broken sole, I was in drastic need of a distraction for the afternoon, which came in the form of the Toothfairy/Cobra himself, Mr. Tim Culbreth. After polishing off a bowl of Mac&Cheese, we jumped in the car and headed out to Shingletown for a quick hike. The trails were in great condition and it was fun to get out to some ridges I don't see on the bike. The sky showed us a questionable forcast, but held off on raining in time for us to finish our hike. We stopped by the castle lookout where Tim took a wonderful long-distance picture of a watertower. He swears it is for a class, but I think he just has an affinity for large, bulbous water containers. Here are two shots I took during the hike. Nothing spectacular, but my photography skills are, as the great proverb says, "like monkeys trying to snatch the moon's reflection on water."
I have been spending a lot of time recently pursuing some new music to complement my library. The most recent additions have been newer albums from reputable artists. I picked up new albums from Animal Collective and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Merriweather Post Pavilian and It's Blitz! respectively) and have been playing both nonstop. But the real treasure from this week was finding a track by Cannibal Ox that just left me stunned. I am a big fan of the lesser known hip-hop scene, and Cannibal Ox was always a consistent favorite of mine. In the first thirty seconds of the song I realized where the sampling for the beat came from: Jaco Pastorius "Portrait of Tracy." Jaco's instrumental is an incredible complement for a lyrically brilliant track, and I highly suggest you taking a listen. I always appreciate when artists put some thought and depth into their songs, and Cannibal Ox almost never dissapoints.I certainly hope my words have got you rubbing your Buddhas a bit; if this is the worst of my worries for the week then good fortune is certainly taking a few sole-less, limping strides in my direction. Now, go forth and thrive.
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