Wente 2023: Relay Fitness on a Solo Ride != Good Results

I really fried myself at Wente 2023. 

Went out a bit hard, had a lovely 3 laps chasing Ian, worked on the 4th and cramped out on the 5th. Like, really cramped, in ways I never have before. Completely conscious, just my legs bucked, hamstring and quads all at once. 

I was able to stand, and stand on the pedals to control the bike properly, just pushing a bit was too much.

I could walk to, so I did a bit, and got passed by a bunch of riders, including the mighty Phorest, who said he was cramping too. BUT afterwards he said he RODE THROUGH IT, by standing on the pedals!

Oh well, preparation matters. 5 laps was still 45 miles, so 10 would have been 90, so this really requires preparation and a plan - not something Wente's awesome course encourages. I need relay buddies next year.

Camping with Z was fun too. 

Using the Tesla and having Elon pay for the miles was good too.

And the Yeti cleaned up nicely...

New Pins n Drills

 As with the cleats of my running career, we use powertools to attach the pins.

Some of the pins broke going in, I hope the stainless is not too brittle - some got hot and were really stiff to get out or in.

I put 12mm on one side and 10mm on the other to see which I prefer, test ride tomorrow am time to goto sleep!

2.5 mm allen key cut n turned into a bit

12mm side

10mm side

Post Boggs, Maybe Wente, Just Ride

 Dropped the Pike to 50psi, and removed the last token. We will see how loose it feels in Marin.

Santa almost went with DL to Wente work weekend, but he chose to risk the maybe-cracked Trek.

And so I take it tomorrow.

Yeti worked great for Boggs, race tires feel too fast but have not really failed.

Moved on to G-Form Pads

and you can too. Knees too  

Ordered new spikes for the Race Face Chesters - they are bent if not dull.

10mm, standard length

12mm, out of spec

and nuts, AC says I don't need em

Falling Behind! Seats from Canada to Flippin a Bell, to Fenders Fenders Fenders

 Lets go backwards. I did a hack on the Meta's 11sp XT crank to hold on the ring - the stripped bolt completely went, so I drilled a big hole, Dremeled it flat and used roadie crank bolts and backings to hold it on.

I just swapped the Cro-Mo Railed WTB Volt from Pinkbike onto the Meta hardtail anticipating another muddy ride in the am. Big Mudhugger Fenders on the Meta as well, running Chester flats that gouged my right baby-cow going down Cindy a few weeks ago.

This saddle was available to swap the Intense because also on Pinkbike I found a Yeti - branded Cro-mo railed WTB Volt, to match the Yeti, the Peak Bike. This bike did great on a big Pine Mountain XC loop last weekend, a great pedalling machine, I suffered the least of the crew. Experienced quicksand-like bogs without the clay, along with axle-deep water crossings.

Been spending too much time on Zwift this year, in the shed. The batteries that powered the house in a storm work just fine turning a fan and running the laptop. Burning up the tanwall Gran Prix 5000, but I also noticed the trainer is taking a hit, its axle wearing a grove and it looks crooked. The short training efforts are intervals, a good change we should maybe consider keeping.

3 months of wet really throwing off the riding, requiring lots of maintenance because I prefer the mud over the cars in the rain.

The Conclusion of the Yeti Hunt

Hunted the SB115 to the SB150 and back, found a match on Pinkbike and made a deal! For the build, the fast and most efficient start was to move the parts from the Intense 951 to the new-old frameset. A new 210mm 30.9 One Up was the only "new" part required. Well, also needed a bottom bracket, thanks to JN for the bearing press and pro inspiration for the Hunt...

We may have reached "Peak Bike"

Only the seatpost didn't fit...

Press fit BB getting Pressed In

Intense parts fit down to the quick-link...

Maiden ride, the commute...

Todd's Bikeshop Cam

Double Minion, Meta HT Fenders and The Beast Flask

 Its been a long wet month in Cali, but the combination of time and desperation finally got me out onto the dirt last week and twice over the weekend.

With MTB comes maintenance, and after a Santa Creme run on Saturday and followup cleaning, I finally got the new Minion on the front and the front onto the rear - Double Minioned! Can't wait to try it. The 5mm cut off each end of the handlebars has been noticed, and the deeper handlebars also are letting those steep climbs sneak up again!

Double Minions Fitted, Ti Boltage, Drop Bar-age

Z's bike, the Meta HT, has been fitted with the front Mug Hugger for the winter as the goto wet-bike. Its been great, a bit under-tired up front (crash on Sido extension but I had pads)

The 800mm drop bars make this bike

The 50Yr Old Flask o Power

Better Bolts - Titanium Oilslick Bling for the Headset

 An expensive new hobby of swapping bolts on Santa Creme is proceeding - after figuring out I did not have a Spank OOZY Stem after receiving the wrong kit, I checked my Amazon history and found I ordered this Spank stem instead:

But alas, the new bolts were too small :(

and the sizing on the website did not match the desired M6x16mm.

Contacting "Better Bolts" to return the incorrect M5 bolts they offered to send me the 6 x  M6x16mm I needed even though they were not on the site - and they showed up yesterday, and got installed today in the afternoon rains! I also ordered the Ti Oilslick washers to match the existing washers

Out of curiosity, and to justify the trouble and expense, I weighed the original bolt and new bolt - 5g to 3g - times 6x, thats saving a full 12g folks! I will crush it now!

The result is pretty if nothing else: