{iron vegan}

chupacabra lives

2010-07-01T00:20:00.001-07:00

this sucker is light!

note the fine features:

hand sanded '98 specialzed stumpy frame (2nd time, yes i'm crazy - initial nasty orange was annoying, my failed attempt to spray paint it red was weak)
disc brakes are for sissies, why not use mismatched old v-brakes instead with red ritchey pads
shifting was thrashed, so a work in progress single speed conversion reminds me of my weakness and has been fun like a bmx
totally flexy, completely worn out '01 sid fork - rides like a pogo stick
super awesome seat post clamp for $3 from performance
sketchy $15 stem from pricepoint 'sette edge' that looks and weighs like a $100 stem and i hope it doesn't break
ditto for the bars
tubeless conversion for old mavic 517 rims with xt hubs and dt revolution spokes, the Caffélatex sealant is working great
old school race face cranks quickly replaced the 'specialized strong arm' wafer thin flexy cranks. when i took out the orig bb i couldn't believe how heavy it was, so i went with some weird old square taper titanium bottom bracket with two drive side bb's (fsa?)

Spooky Cross

2009-10-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

It was awesome. My 2nd cyclocross race so far (on my mtb), put on by SoCalCross. There was even an organic vegan burger waiting for me from Green Truck on the Go.

future cyclocross star

10k Fun

2009-07-10T21:24:00.001-07:00

Pure fun:

44 minutes, not bad for this old fart!

Some 22 yr old kid tried to pass me at the end, but I wasn't having it.

Rock It

2009-06-25T23:47:00.000-07:00

Hadn't run in about a week.

Went out for a jog before work.

Ended up doing 3 miles in under 21 mins, so just under 7 minutes/mile pace.

Not bad for an old fart.

Longest Run Yet

2009-05-31T20:23:00.000-07:00

Slowly becoming a long distance runner... It was wet and drizzling and I only had a few hours of sleep but I felt good. Started out slow then gradually picked up the pace on a nice trail nearby. Did 13.1 miles (half marathon) in just under 2 hours, then came home, got my boy and put him in the stroller and ran a few more, slowly. After a warm bath and some healthy food I felt surprisingly good, not very sore the next day either.

Big Fun

2009-05-31T20:20:00.000-07:00

Like father like daughter (bike seats with kids):

8 hr mtb

2009-05-11T15:03:00.001-07:00

My brother and I did a 2 man 8hr mtb relay race a few weekends ago near Idyllwild.

It was a blast! More here.

2nd half

2009-05-11T14:38:00.000-07:00

Did my 2nd half marathon the other weekend with my brother Greg who works for Team DUKE. It was fun. That's me in the middle.

poison oak

2009-05-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

My poison oak is finally almost gone. It has been 3 weeks. This was from a week and a half ago or so. No more riding in dense little wet canyons for me, this was horrible! Right in my "elbow pit", about 5 inches long.

Power Food

2009-05-11T14:17:00.000-07:00

Homemade granola from The Thrive Diet:

Most Excellent

2009-05-07T21:07:00.001-07:00

Saw this at our local Co-op tonight.

eggs - changed to Braggs (as in Braggs aminos)

milk - changed to soy milk

butter - changed to peanut butter

juice - left alone

25 cents

2009-03-02T21:23:00.001-08:00

This is what it's all about! Now we're talkin'. 25 cents at a local thrift shop, YES.

Tour of California Stage 8

2009-02-23T22:29:00.000-08:00

Post helmet wearing "Tri-hawk" and chest hair in effect. Sorry about that.

90 gazillion dollars of carbon wheels, anyone? Wonder if anyone secretly uses Williams wheels instead, at least for training rides.

Brr, brr, brr. Looking south from the top. Interesting contrast: burnt trees from the recent fires, tons of snow from the 'massive' socal storms of late.

mmmmmm... hot dogs.

The stage was great. Freezing at the top of Mt Palomar. We rode up the "reverse" way, caught a glimpse of the climb at the top, went down the hill the pro's had just gone up, then saw them passing along at the bottom after they descended and wrapped around the mountain. Lots of fans with fancy or old or fancy AND old bikes. Spotted a Calfee bamboo bike amongst the crowd and a really old Mantis mtb and old Fat Chance mtb.

Lance wasn't too far behind Levi. This was right near the top.

Some thoughts:

A friend of a friend was in town from Victoria, Canada and noticed my OA shorts and knew a fair amt about the OA Victoria guys like Dave S, etc. The gospel is a spreadin'.
The top climbers seemed very, very small in person. Can't really "see" that on TV. While everyone was downing hot dogs, the 130 lb climbers came JAMMING by.
Supposedly there was a suicide that they found early in the morning part way up the hill that had been there for a few days. Yikes.
Starting about 20 mins before the riders arrived at our spot there must have been at least 50 motorcyles/cars jamming up the hill kicking up dust. Why? Do the riders hate all that smoke and exhaust or what?? Has anyone thought of minimizing the ridiculously huge motorcade? Or at least using a Prius? Bikes are 'green', but bike racing... hmmm. Speaking of sustainability, what is going to happen to all this carbon fiber in 50 years? or 10?
Cool to have Floyd Landis sitting behind us at dinner afterwards. Heard Bob Roll was a few tables away. Crazy that at this totally mainstream place they actually had two vegan options.
What's up with Herbalife (one of the race sponsors)? This nutritional label is pretty intense, check out that huge list of ingredients.
Thank you "random mountain bike guy with slicks" who tried to race me back to the parking area at the end. I really love it when some random guy follows way too closely and won't leave you alone. My revenge - let them pass, then sit right on their butt for a while and breathe down their neck up some climbs so they get a dose of their own medicine.

Hope it returns next year. Hope they figure out how to have a mountain top finish!

The fast guys up front:

Where am I?

2009-02-11T23:24:00.000-08:00

I love this

2009-02-05T21:07:00.000-08:00

Switzerland has a law against vegans serving in the military.

Funny Graffiti

2009-02-04T10:25:00.000-08:00

Did a little jog this a.m. and saw this, not sure what they mean:

Any idea?

Training Buddy

2009-02-02T09:36:00.000-08:00

Out for a 7 mile run, this guy was hanging out.

Earth-friendly architectural concepts

2009-01-31T20:38:00.000-08:00

Now this is cool:
http://rmi.org/sitepages/pid389.php

"Welcome to Rocky Mountain Institute. RMI is a non-profit organization created to foster the efficient and restorative use of resources to make the world secure, just, prosperous, and life-sustaining. It has three areas of research and consulting (Energy & Resources Services, Integrated Design Practice, and Green Development Services), but the Institute also works on global security, economic renewal, and education.

RMI's main building reflects the Institute's mission. The building is both a home for our cofounder Amory Lovins and a workplace for some of the Institute's departments, but it also serves to demonstrate earth-friendly architectural concepts."

The deth

2008-12-11T21:47:00.001-08:00

nice, i just went to youtube...

i starting writing in "scholastic" and the 2nd item in the little pop down list was "scholastic deth", my old band

hahah

Controlling Our Food

2008-12-06T22:17:00.000-08:00

if you want to get bummed, check out the documentary, Controlling Our Food, http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6262083407501596844

"Controlling Our Food provides a comprehensive overview (the film is almost 2 hours long) of Monsanto's early days as the chemical company that developed Agent Orange. It covers the dangers of Roundup herbicide, the regulatory revolving door between Monsanto and government regulators, the evolution of genetically engineered crops, the impacts on farmers internationally, and much more."

who killed the hemp car?

2008-12-04T12:29:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rgDyEO_8cI

http://www.american.edu/TED/hemp.htm

Iron Vegan Rides Again

2008-11-20T23:06:00.000-08:00

I saw Iron Vegan (Neurosis, Lost Goat) play a long time ago, they ruled.