Beater takes a beating

My winter beater/commuter is taking a beating over the past few months of riding to work everyday on the freezing, snowy, slushy, salty, wet roads. Friday, my rear wheel came loose and while trying to get it centered in the dropouts I snapped the quick release axle. D'oh!

Corrosion weakened the axle

Crusty and rusty.

I was getting sick of pushing the big winter knobby studs, so I threw some slicky-slicks on. With more snow this past weekend I may end up switching back.

Remember when my sheer brute strength (fatness) snapped my chain ring?

Well, I'm too cheap to buy a new one, so I fixed it - and fixed it good. A little dremel work took care of it nicely. Only problem is I have to spin to work in the middle ring.

Greasy, messy 7 spd cassette single speed.

I'm hoping that I only need to get by on this piece of crap for another month or so before this arrives and is all built up to take over. The Fisty is going to be my all-around bike: commuter, long distance gravel bike and cx racer. Hopefully it will arrive soon - hint, hint, wink, wink, nudge, nudge! ; )

Progold Lubricants

I'm pleased as punch to say that the fine folks at Progold Lubricants will be standing behind us again this year providing us with outstanding products to keep our parts moving smoothly over the course of the season.

Stupid weather

Well after doing a trial run last night with one guy using klister and the other guy using swix red/silver we bailed on the keski. Even the klister was well below average kick, combined with the course changing to an out and back on the parkway we decided it wasn't worth the $100. We'll replace it with an attempt to ski to the firetower once the snow returns.

That said it was stupid fast when you weren't heading uphill, skating should be good.

What to do What to do....

Well after spending some time getting ready for the Keski it seems like Mother Nature has turned against me. I have not registered yet so the money isn't on the line but I really want to do the event. That said I'm a novice skier and the prospect of 3 hours on a sheet of ice doesn't sound good. How will it all turn out.......

My take on the CSM

Here's my experience...its a bit lengthy but that's appropriate because so was the ski!!

I did not get my Coureur Des Bois Bronze :( but I sure worked my butt off. Can't wait to hear how Rick and Tobin did! They looked great when I saw them.

Good Luck Big Ringers

Good luck Tanya, Rick and Tobin this weekend completing the 160km + course at the Canadian Ski Marathon. May your grip be firm and glide effortless. Looking forward to the race report.

Weekend in Pictures

Saturday

I finally got out on the Rideau Canal for a skate this weekend.

It was a sunny and crisp Saturday morning perfect for taking out the long blades.

A few folks were out enjoying an early morning skate

I made some new friends from CEGEP de St-Jean in Quebec

It was great to be out on the long blades. They are very smooth and effortless, even if my technique isn't perfect. The ice was in pristine condition, like a mirror in some spots. The only downside was a wicked head wind that hit here and there when you rounded a corner.

Sunday

Got a call on Sunday morning from the Dick-tator, Big Ring himself, to go out for a skate ski. Melissa dropped us off at P5 as she headed with the kids for lesson.

Conditions were ideal for a skate ski, unlike last weekend when there was no glide because of the cold. It was also pleasantly mild for a change. Our plan was to do a loop (sort of) and meet Melissa and the kids back at P6 (Mackenzie King Estates).

Big Ring getting ready to climb up Fortune Parkway
(don't know who the dude in the back is- likely a Big Ringer want-t0-be)

The section from P5 to Fortune was nice - good glide which makes all the difference. Having both suffered last week going up Fortune, we planned to make it to the top of the climb with only one stop (I believe I stopped 4 times last week...). We headed up at a nice easy steady pace and before we knew it were more than halfway up. We stopped for a short break and I checked my HR monitor which read 148 bpm (my highest HR ever was going up Fortune last year - 221!!) which was much lower than I anticipated, awesome! We continued on to the top and made it without too much suffering then continued on to Gossip corner for a well earned snack.

Big Ring and I at Black Lake Hill - Wicked ride down, Whoot!

For the rest of the ski, we took our time keeping a nice and easy pace and only stopped at the top of Black Lake hill to get set for the big down hill. The ride down Black's was a blast we rode in the classic tracks and they were fast especially in the sunny sections!

Great day to be out and a great ski overall, my best ski so far this and I think Big Ring will probably say the same about his outing.

The End!

Sick and tired of SICK AND TIRED!!!

I don't know about the rest of you but I've had the winter blahs lately. Even though this winter has been flying by with the nice skiing weather and not that much of the really cold stuff, I've still been down in the dumps!

Over the last 3 weeks I caught a cold, got rid of it and then got it back again. This past weekend I was so lazy that I left the house only once and that was just to go and shovel the driveway and take the Beagle for a short stroll. Check out the crazy beagle...

Good thing she is cute or she'd have gone on ebay a long time ago! I must say though that I have appreciated her more lately because of the passing of Jacks. Oh how I digress...

My couch has a huge depression on it from my ass! For those of you who know me you'll be asking how that could be... well OK, it may not be that wide but it's deep because I've spent so much time on it.

So there I was sitting at my desk this morning thinking how lazy I am. I was disappointed that I chose not to drag my lazy arse off the couch yesterday because it would have been a really nice day for a ski. So then I got to thinking about what I could do to get myself moving again and that was when I got a burst of energy and walked over to McDonalds for a coffee and a muffin. OK, so maybe it wasn't that much of a burst but it did inspire me further... the weather was absolutely gorgeous and that's when it hit me, "why not blow off work for the afternoon and head up to the park for a ski". I called up my best pal to see if she was out of bed yet. She gets every Monday off work and usually hides in bed until the teenage monsters have vacated the premises. She was up and thrilled at the prospect of some fresh air and a nice ski in the park. I took this picture of her at the top of Pink Lake:

We skied for 2 hours and it was the perfect fix for a couch potato. The conditions couldn't have been better; I got the wax just right and the downs were super fun and fast with the warmer snow and of course the warm air and bright sunshine was just what the doc ordered!

So now the next challenge will be to keep active; I've been very sporatic this winter. Hopefully I can shake the rest of this cold soon and start getting into good shape. I am always in shape but this shape shouldn't really count! Spring is just around the corner and soon it will be riding season! Yeehaw!!!

What's in a name?

**I don't normally double post here and on my blog, but . . . I was getting sick of looking at Peter's ugly mugg (Finn is cute as a button though!) everytime I checked the blog to see if anyone posted. So, since my post has to do with the team name and the history of it, here you go. Also, NO ONE is posting lately!

Yesterday's blog post got me thinking a bit . . . . what's in a name or where does a name come from or why do we have a certain name?

Take my blog for example, the original big ring. It started off as "Craig Barlow: Enurdance Mountain Bike Racer" - but who is going to remember that?! Generic and kind of lame. Then it morphed into, "big ring" (notice the smaller case lettering? Psychologists and headshrinks everywhere take note: is this self loathing or demented narcissism?) mostly out of a need to have a catchy, memorable blog title to keep the masses coming back for more. Finally, it turned into the present blog title, "the original big ring" (still small letters). This came after the formation of the team I helped form, manage, find sponsors for and ride for, Big Ring Racing.

Now I know what you are thinking, "You formed a team based on your self imposed nick name?!" No, or at least that's what I told the team and everyone else. That, and "Big Ring Racing" sounds like a team that can push the big ring and is fast! The real truth, in my warped little pea brain, is that the team is all about me - it's always about me. I changed my blog to "the original big ring" to distance my blog from the team . . . . and ensuring members it really wasn't "Craig Barlow Racing", which if I do say so myself, has a nice ring to it.

But I digress from what I meant to blog about. Maybe someone reading my blog for the first time yesterday might think to themselves, "Man, this guy thinks he's a powerful rider, bragging about breaking his big ring and calling himself big ring! I've looked at his photos and he's a big fatty McFats-Alot. And his race results are sub par, middle of the pack. What gives with the sponsorship and stuff?! He's a putz!"

And I would agree with someone saying all of that, especially the last part . . . I am a putz. But, in my defense, let me explain . . . .

Have you ever known someone, or known of someone, who was rather large in stature? A rather hefty bloke - big and tall? For example,

Derived from the persons physical attributes we can use the poetic device "juxtaposition" to come up with a name for the fella above, i.e. 'Tiny'. By placing the name Tiny to the obviously HUGE dude on the scooter, we can illustrate contrast.

Another example,

We might call this guy, 'Arnie', after Arnold Schwarzenegger. Two contrasting things: skinny dude and name associated with famous strong guy.

One more,

Maybe you remember this from 2007, Miss South Carolina. We might give her the nickname, 'Einstein', or perhaps 'Rocket Scientist'. Again, opposites.

My point is, my blog name (self imposed nickname) is "big ring" due to the fact that I am not a powerful rider and have great difficulty pushing the big ring. One might associate and be mislead by the name, thinking anybody with a name like "big ring" must be fast and/or powerful. This couldn't be further from the truth.

So to all of you who I have mislead in thinking you were reading the ramblings and going-ons of a fast and/or powerful cyclist, I apologize.

SpiderBoy

A very brief post to say thanks to Gilles and Melissa for their rockin' present to my boy Finn, a future Big Ring Racing star. Check out the cool diggs they sent. If anyone is looking for more reasons to ride, here's two that come to the top of my head at this moment:

1. Get to know a crowd who do the world good.
2. Keep in shape so that if you have a kid when you're 40, you'll be able to keep up with them when they're 18.

That should be enough.

Hot Chick Skate Ski

It was a perfect day to ditch work and get out for a skate ski. I'm relatively new to the sport, with last year being my first full season. A sure-fire way to improve in any sport is to try and impress a bunch of attractive women. To this end, I assembled this crack-team of motivators to assist me in my quest to become competent in this sport:

Left to right: Big Ring Racing's own dyamic duo, Tanya Hanham and Kari Ferlatte, along with guest babe Julie Houle.

It was Tanya's 2nd time ever on skate ski's while veterans Kari and Julie can boast a dozen sessions between them. We all spent the day practicing our technique and each could boast of measurable improvement by the end of the day. We started at Asticou and wound our way up towards Pink Lake along the 15 and some other trails I forget the numbers of. I tried to point out that most "normal" human beings don't leave the wide, forgiving tracks of the parkways to venture into the forest trails until they've achieved some mastery of the sport. Nobody listens to me though.

Kari, Peter, and Tanya. It is perfectly acceptable to comment on how stunningly well-matched my attire is (note particularly how the boots compliment the jersey).

We worked a lot on form and timing, trying to get a good rhythm. I encouraged Tanya to keep her knees bent, stick her butt out, and keep her chest forward which she did, though with palpable skepticism given that is what I tell her to do in any given situation. In the end, we were out for a good hour and three quarters. We got by on fitness and determination. The skills will someday catch up I hope! I feel a little more comfortable every time.

NGR E-Load

Alright, alright. Enough procrastinating, I'm down to the last hour of the year and I want to stay on the team as the token slow guy that makes everybody else look good. Of all the products our Benevolent Dicktator arranged for us to represent this past season the one that surprised me the most was E-Load.


The Product - delicious strawberry

I had only tried the stuff once before, in the middle of a 100km race in 37 degree heat, and it was mixed wrong. The worst cramping I have ever had.

Fast forward to this year and I am loving E-Load. Mixed properly it has gotten me through long rides in much better shape than I historically had, I know that's hard for some of you Big Ringers to believe but it's true. It has even seen me though longer winter training sessions...


Like a true roadie, shades, no helmet and drinking in the stupidest way possible


Of course the sponsor offers more than one product, another favorite is EMEND. Post exercise recovery drinks for all your naked recovery....


Blogging and recovering all at once, I love technology.

Other than being tardy, what's morally wrong with my NGR? You would have to know me and somebody else on the team reasonably well to get it.

Cheers,
JK

Naked Gear Review - Cervelo R3 SL

OK Big Ring, I get it. You want to see me naked. The late night phone calls, the fancy dinners, even the booze weren't enough to get me to drop my drawers but you've pulled out the big guns and threatened to kick me off the team. Well played - you win. Here I am in all my naked gear reviewing glory...

As pointed out in Big Ring's blog a few days ago, I've left my review to the last minute. As it's a bit chilly for my liking to do an outdoor naked review, I've decided to review the bike that's on the trainer, which also happens to be my newest bike, the Cervelo R3 SL.

This bike was an unexpected purchase. I had called Cycle Logik just to see how good Cervelo's year end sale was on their cheapest carbon bike, the RS. I was informed the only bike Cervelo had left in my size was one of their most expensive bikes, the R3 SL. I politely informed them that this bike was WAY outside of my budget despite the fact that this was my dream bike and the bike Carlos Sastre won this years tour on. Well, it only took about 24 hours for me to re-evaluate my budget and commit to buy the bike. Unfortunately, this all happened at the end of the riding season and the only outdoor time I've had on the bike was a 5 km loop of the experimental farm with my 5 year old son on his BMX and the rest of the fam. Not exactly the type of riding the bike was designed for. Oh well, here are my initial impressions of the bike based on our limited time together.

Looks - It's go fast black with a hint of "See ya later" white. In other words, it's freakin' gorgeous!

Weight - Picking up the bike for the photographs last night, I'd say it weighs a tad over 16 pounds with pedals, water bottle cages and Garmin 705 bike computer (confirmed with a bike scale). Not bad at all for a huge frame.

The ride - As mentioned, I've had limited time on it outside. Having said that, even just at a modest pace it feels faster. Seriously - it was really weird but even just cruising along it felt smoother and faster. I did a couple of quick jumps for fun and it just rockets. The difference from my old bike was enough that I assumed the bearings in my wheels and/or bottom brackets must be shot but when I checked they both spun nice and smooth. Very strange - might all be mental at this point but time will tell. Other high points: the carbon does seem to soak up more road noise (I'm coming from an aluminum frame), the 7800 Dura-Ace shifters/derailleur combo has more positive clicks than the 7700 I was coming off of and I especially like the return of the trim function on the front derailleur. Low points - only one so far. The rear Hed Bastogne rim has a slight imperfection in it which is annoying when braking. Cycle Logik will clear that up with Hed though, so not a real issue. Oh, and how is it on the trainer you might ask? Well a picture is worth a thousand words, so...

Oh yeah baby - this bike was worth it. I've never been able to get that aero on the trainer before, nor have I gotten that close to the ironing board in a single training session. I can only image that it will be better on the road.

That's it for this review, but now that I've lost my blogging virginity (yes, this was my first time and it wasn't quite like I imagined it would be - is it always this messy?) there will be more to come. A follow up outdoor review of the R3 SL will be in order, I want to get a review in of my beautiful Vassago Optimus Ti SS (Dr. Peter and I may have to do a "he said, she said" with that one as we both bought the same bike - the good doctor of course providing the feminine perspective) , and due to the positive experience I've had with that bike's 29er wheels I'm thinking of converting my beloved Ibis Mojo over to 650B wheels, which will definitely warrant a review. Oh, and stay tuned for my New Year's resolution...

Phat Tony

Christmas Day CSM Training Outing With The Whole Famn Damily(not quite)

Got out for my 6th ski of the season today on Christmas Day. I think thats a personal record. I did CSM Bronze on about 140 training kms 2 years ago, thats 140kms for a 160km timed marathon. I winged it, it went well, so did Silver last year and so this year we - Coco and I - are reaching for Gold, with all these training kilometers and the time remaining until this years CSM, I'm hoping for great results. Todays ski was kind of special though as we - Jenn, Matt,myself, were out for a fun ski with the dogs for our annual Christmas day outing, and I had plans to do some *homework thats been awhile coming*.

We went to nearby Larose Forest where there's a 21km out and back groomed ski trail thats really nice for a quick ski when a drive to the Gats isn't really practical.

The weather today was fairly warm and we used a 0 to -2 red that the pine needles which were abundant in some sections rubbed off fairly quickly.

Before too long though the hard work of skiing ahead of my ski partners caused my body to heat up more than comfortable and i had to do something about it.

I told those guys to go ahead so i could layer and not have to listen to complaints about the amount of time i was taking, which is inevitable with these guys, it would be easy to catch up anyway!

After i caught up to those guys i realized i should take the opporunity to plug the great Kenda gear I've enjoyed using over the 08 biking season and draw attention to the fact that its also great for other fun sports!

I hope everyone got some great new gear in the stockings,
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Golonghardman

credits
supporting actors
Jenn (Fiance)
Matt (Fiances brother,teammate)
Riley (Chocolate Lab)
Molly (Weinmeraner)
Ashton(Heinz 57)

How to Shoot a "Naked Gear Review" - Part II

How To Do A Naked Gear Review - Part II
(not to be confused with the children's story book of the same name)
- by the original big ring

Ask Yourself, "What Do I Want To Review?":

You must also choose what you are going to review. It needs to be something that you feel worthy of getting your gear off for. For example, my Vassago Bandersnatch - totally worth getting naked for. I'm also waiting for a very special Vassago product to arrive sometime soon to get naked for! Time will tell.

The facial expression captures your readers attention.
My facial expression in this photo is saying, "Yeah baby! This bike is the cat's meow."

It's All in the Eyes:

You may also notice my facial expressions. Try mixing it up. The same boring bland smile may have worked on your significant other, but it ain't going to work on tech savvy bike geeks looking for a little skin. Use your money maker and sell the product!

Camera Angle:

Stan's No Tubes

Try different vantage points. Shooting from the same location gets boring. Mix it up a little.

Product Placement:

The use of strategically placed objects help cut down on the need for 'blocking rectangles'.

A wheel works well.

From a recent review, my knee/leg creates the perfect "My eyes! They burn!" shield.

In this review that I am presently working on for Citra Wipes, I photoshop'ed a towelette to be much larger than it actually is so to act as a cover up. It also 'exaggerates' the product - an advertising trick widely used.

Get Creative:

Playgirl centre fold? Moi?!? Awwww, shucks - you're making me blush!
What cycling related piece of gear could I possibly be reviewing on my sofa? My heart rate monitor.

One last tip, try taking some shots in unexpected places. Most all of us will be in the workshop or on the trail when taking photos for your review of cycling gear. Be creative and get out of the workshop and off the trail.

Good luck, have fun and I'll be keeping an eye out for you on the web!

How to Shoot a "Naked Gear Review" -Part I

With 2008 quickly coming to an end, there are several Big Ring Racing team members who may be looking for a new team to race for next year. It seems as though Phat Tony, King, Golonghardman, Coco and Zamboni have forgotten their agreed upon contractual terms of agreement: at least one naked gear review before the year is up. With only a few days left, I hope the boys get some new gear under the tree that they can review. Here's a little help to get you started . . . .


How To Do A Naked Gear Review
(not to be confused with the children's story book of the same name)
- by the original big ring

Get Comfortable:

Rwwwooooooooar!!

First, you've got to feel comfortable and relaxed in front of the camera. No one wants to see some one all stiff (if you're into that sort of thing you need to look at other places on the internet) and uptight. I like to loosen up my going in my backyard and bouncing on the trampoline for a wee bit wearing nothing but a ten gallon cowboy hat. It feels good and my neighbors love it. But with it being winter and stuck indoors, I like to pretend I am an animal, wild and free. Rwooooar!

Loosen Up:

Next, I like to limber up so that I feel loose and won't pull a muscle while I get into my poses.

The calf muscles are especially important to stretch. Doesn't my bottom look taut!?!

Reveal Your Goods Without Blinding Anyone Permanently:

Face it, if you're as ugly as me, no one wants to see you naked. So, you're going to have to use some sort of "blocking" device to cover up your junk or be prepared for people to send you nasty e-mails telling you to put your clothing back on.

You must decide how generous, or modest, you are going to be with your cover ups.

Here I am in one of my earliest 'naked gear reviews'. I was fairly modest with my rectangle. What can I say, I was feeling a bit shy being new to the 'naked gear review' thing, the basement was also very cold that day so there was 'shrinkage' involved - hence the smaller square.

Here I am wearing a very nice vest that I picked up in Switzerland this past summer

The shot above, however, I was feeling relaxed and the workshop was at room temperature allowing me to 'hang' how I normally do. Hence, the need for an appropriate sized rectangle.

Penis nosed elves are perfect "Ewwww! My eyes! They burn!" shields

Also, don't limit yourself to just using black squares and rectangles. See More on this in tomorrow's Part II.

Lighting:

Lighting is very important. The above shot is during a review I am working on for my lighting system. It didn't work so well. When shooting outdoors, make sure you do so in enough light.

The sun is providing perfect lighting to show off my lilly, white taut bum as I ride off in the distance on my Vassago Jabberwocky.

Choose a Theme For Your Review:

Besides the obvious , I have a running theme in all my reviews: I am wearing my helmet, socks and shoes, and sometimes gloves and glasses. Wardrobe changes are important too. Notice I am wearing different items in my photos? It keeps the reader coming back for more, "What won't he be wearing this time!?"



* Part II of "How to Shoot a 'Naked Gera Review'" is tomorrow.

Best Ride Ever

Last night the skiing was crap, so Paul and I decided it was a good idea to ride our bikes instead. The rainy thaw on Monday combined with the freeze on Tuesday made for excellent riding conditions. It was my third snowy ride of the season and by far the best.


Introducing Crazy Paul

On an undisclosed trail in an undisclosed park, we climbed and climbed until we reached the top. That's when the fun began. The trail was hard packed from the many generous snowshoers who unknowingly created the ultimate singletrack. It was swoopy and fast just like Albion Hills. For the last downhilly section, I focused on hanging onto Paul's wheel going as fast as I could. Weeee!

However, the reward wasn't without risk. If you lost concentration for a second and veered off the trail even an inch, your tire would sink to the hub and you'd superman over the bars landing with a thud on the hard trail ahead. Between the two of us we must have endo'ed half a dozen times, many times at high speed. But that didn't dampen our spirits. We just picked ourselves up and happily jumped back on our bikes ready for more.


One happy Vagabond!

We finished the ride with big stupid grins, high on endorphins. When I went to bed last night, I replayed the ride helmet-cam style over and over. So much fun! Wish you Big Ringers could have been there too.