This past Thursday brought some new and exciting things. The “new” website was finally launched. It still has a long ways until completion, but I got a good start on it. I’m very excited to publish the whole new “Live like a Caveman” pages. I hope you find some time to look them over and gain some insight into living simpler.

Thursday night, I put my new pedicab license to work by hitting the streets of downtown for my first official shift. I had about two hour or so of training and getting a feel for the cab, but after that, I was on my own. Unfortunately, the cold weather made for a slow night for all pedicabbers and I brought home less than $40, but hey, you gotta start somewhere! When you actually do get a fare and aren’t sitting or cruising around looking for customers, it’s actually a lot of fun. Having to work from 9pm-2:30am will definitely keep me from making a regular outing of this side job though.

Last but not least, the new cross frame arrived. I didn’t have time to get it built that night due to work, but I was pretty excited stopping by The Peddler bike shop to pick up this beauty. The Peddler and Raleigh USA both worked out a small deal for me on this frame, nothing free or anything, but a little help is nice when you’re unemployed, and many of the parts came from my sponsor shop, Eastside Pedalpushers. Please consider patronizing these guys. I’m very appreciative for their generosity, especially in these lean times.

I got it running Friday, just in time for a little cross race action Saturday near San Marcos.  Course conditions were pretty brutal, but what better way to break this baby in than upper 30’s, misty/light rain, and peanut butter mud?? Lots of brake clogging, chainstay tire stopping, grass collecting peanut butter mud. Well, sandy or sloppy mud could’ve been better, but being on a singlespeed would be a small advantage in itself as a lot of riders had to bow out due to mechanical problems. Unfortunately, I was WAY over geared for these conditions and suffered the entire race. I took the pain in stride though, and gave the hecklers some entertainment adjusting leg warmers and taking beer feeds. The bike needs some tweaking and dialing in, but it’s definitely here to stay. Without further ado, I give you Miller, a Raleigh Hi Life frame built with a few parts I had laying around. 17.3 lbs. It is the champagne of cross bikes.

It’s funny how things can change in the course of a week. Following a pretty bad race in Dallas last Saturday that had me swearing off cyclocross for the remainder of the season, yours truly had a change of heart come Friday night. Weather conditions seemed too perfect for cyclocross racing to pass up two proven race courses that I had a blast on last year, so early Saturday morning Colleen and I took the short 3 hour jaunt to Memorial park next to downtown Houston.

Indeed, the forces of nature had conspired to give Texans the closest conditions to true cyclocross racing that we could hope for, in the balmy humid city of Houston, of all places. A strong norther’ combined with generous gulf moisture on Friday to dump as much as 6 inches of snow in some suburbs of the city. The park itself only got 1-2”, but there actually was a little bit of snow on the course when we got there, and yes, it was still pretty dang cold. This year’s course featured a muddy creek crossing with a nasty, slippery run-up on the other side. Of course, what crosses the creek once, must cross it again. At first the second crossing was ridable, if you were good enough, but after a while, it was a pure slopfest that demanded dismounting and sludging. The ensuing 30 yards up to the barriers was also a field of energy sucking muck, just to dismount again, and then remount up a slight incline. You then had maybe another 100 yards of flats to recover before another runup. This one was rideable by the stronger riders…unless you were on a singlespeed.

Yes, undeterred by last week’s crummy performance on the beloved IRO singlespeed, I again brought it along after making a few tweaks during the week to shave some weight and decrease rolling resistance with some skinnier tires, setup tubeless. The tubeless setup was untested and had me a bit worried. Luckily, I was the only one in the singlespeed category to go off in the morning, so this would be a good opportunity to test it out. They started me with the women and Men’s 4. I had no obligation to compete with the 4’s, but I wanted to give the setup a good test before racing the open category, plus someone incorrectly told me that this was the Men’s ¾ category and I thought it would be even more fun to see how I stacked up against my old category, so I pushed this first race pretty dang hard. I felt pretty good annihilating everyone out there until I figured out it was the Men’s 4, not the 3/4 . Oh well, I still beat 30 other guys with one gear. It would be good confidence to take into the open race.

It wore off a bit as I toed the line against the open category racers. That early morning race in the cold had seared my lungs, I hadn’t had anything good to eat since 7am, and felt really thirsty. I could tell I wouldn’t be in contention for top 10, but at least I felt I could hang in there til the end and beat a few people. I was also looking forward to a beer feed around minute 50 (of 60) I instructed Colleen to give if I were still in the race at that point. I was able to hang with the main group for lap 1, and then a middle group for a few more laps, but then fell back to the rear on my own for the rest of the race. I was still ahead of about 6 racers, so I didn’t let up. Come the bell lap, I was still in it, and Colleen delivered the beer feed in textbook fashion. That cup of St. Arnold’s didn’t last long.

My thirst was quenched, but now I had a new problem: burping and leg cramps. Just keep pushing. Finish. Excellent. 18 of 24. Not pretty, but a moral victory nonetheless. Here I was a tired and hungry guy from an earlier hard race, pushing just one gear, on a steel bike not even designed for this stuff, lining up with the fastest guys in Texas. I’ll take it.

It was time to go to our hotel, a gem of a place we randomly found last year while searching for a cheap and safe place to stay close to the Sunday venue. After settling in, we commenced in cleaning our muddy shoes, pedals, and clothes, thus turning the stark white bathroom into a gritty and dirty brown. Still starving from lack of food and an excess of racing, we walked over to an adjacent Tex Mex restaurant to refuel. Upon returning to the room, we continued cleaning clothing and bikes while watching the Crimson Tide destroy the Florida gators to claim the SEC championship game. Come 7pm, it was time to watch the Horns take on Nebraska for the Big XII title. What a heartthrobbing game that turned out to be! A 46 yard field goal narrowly clearing the left stay as time expired to win 13-12. Texas needed quite a bit of luck to pull that one off, but they found a way. Major props to the Cornhusker defense! A victory against that team is never easy and never by that much.

Sunday morning brought a crappy continental breakfast and a quick trip over to Mason Park for the Bikesport CX. It was on this fabled course that I won my first CX race and the single speed found a permanent home in Caveman’s stable one year ago. I made the decision to race the ¾ in lieu of the open category this very day. Blasphemy, I know, but I was influenced by a few factors: a lackluster finish the day before in the open, a sense that the ¾ category is stronger this year than last, a $100 payout for 1^st place (very nice when you are unemployed), and just the fact that racing with people closer to your ability is more fun.

There was again a SS category and this time I had one competitor. They started us with the women 3/4 , a few minutes back of the masters 40+ and 50+. I planned to sit this one in to save more for the later race, and I pretty much did. The other singlespeeder had the same intentions and finishing ahead of him wasn’t that hard.

Come the ¾ race, I again wasn’t feeling 100%, and wasn’t confident I could compete for 1^st place, but I felt a top 5 would still be nice. I was sitting back around 8^th on the first lap, 4^th on the second lap, then caught up to 1^st on the third. I feel that the ¾ race starts out about as fast as the open category, one of the main differences is that in the open race, they keep the pace going. Seeing as how the leaders in this ¾ race were tired already, I capitalized and made the decision to ramp it up hard and build a gap. The gap grew more each lap as I was relentless through the multitude of 180 degree turns, a small field of muddy grass, barriers, and the slick run-up. Right as I got the signal from the refs that I had two laps to go, I noticed my tires were getting a bit soft. I was riding them hard, and evidently they were burping air each time I remounted or hit a root hard. Fearing that I might roll the tires off on any sharp turns, I had to let up a bit and let that gap shrink. I was also starting to cramp, quite painfully in my right quad. I was really scared of tire and muscle failure on the last lap, but stayed calm and focused and nailed everything I needed to. Everything held together, and the $100 payout was mine.

Yes, in hindsight, I feel like a sandbagger, and for sure that will probably be the last ¾ race I ever do, however, I feel the decision was justified that day. After all, I gave the other racers a decent handicap with my choice of machine, and I only ended up crossing the line 10-15 seconds ahead of 2^nd.

As of today, there is a new machine on the way that might very well be the last cyclocross bike I ever buy. While not anything like a fancy Blue Norcross, Ridley X-Night, Kona Major Jake, or Redline Conquest Team that are popular among top end racers, it will be at the same level. I will not drop any hints (except that it doesn’t have gears-of course!) until it comes in and gets built up, but it is a beauty. The IRO did a nice transitional job, but it’s limitations become more and more apparent every time I race it. This new rig should inspire all the confidence I need to return to the Open category and compete well there.

Thanks for reading, stay warm out there.

It’s been a week of paperwork, forking out some cash, and getting certified to do things. Following my hunting adventure last weekend, I decided to go ahead and buy a hunting license. I somehow thought this would expensive and somewhat difficult, but at $25 and just a little application with a flash of my drivers license, and I was good to go. So watch out creatures of Texas, I am now licensed to kill you. Kill is a strong word, though. While that will be the end result, I prefer to use the terms “harvest” or “take” since these words clearly infer that I’m terminating their lives not only for sport, but for meat.  High quality, great tasting, wild caught meat, the way nature intended.

While I’ve had some small architectural side jobs keeping me afloat since getting laid off, I always told myself if I did get laid off and was hurting financially that I’d take up pedicabbing. I’m not exactly hurting financially since I live a very frugal lifestyle and had a decent savings account built up, but I was ready to give it a try. I think more than the monetary rewards of the profession, ever since I moved to Austin and started riding a bike everywhere, I’ve viewed the job as a great way to get a hard workout, meet new people, and be part of the downtown vibe that makes Austin what it is. After finally getting all the require documents from DPS ( a criminal history report and certified driving record,I met with Capital Pedicab last night to finalize some paper work. After passing the written exam abd throwing down some dough, I received my Chaffeur’s Permit from the City of Austin. I am now legal to haul your butt around downtown via a human powered taxi. Training starts Thursday, steady work thereafter. I look forward to the adventures to come through this new endeavour.

Finally, I submitted my application for a passport today. It was a lot of money and a lot of paperwork and you actually have to schedule an appointment to get in these days, but it went through. Hopefully in five weeks I’ll be free to move about the world.

It’s really astounding how much of our lives are on paper and are regulated by little pieces of plastic we carry around in our wallets. Whatever happened to just doing things the old fashioned way? I suppose liability is a nice thing to have since we are all human and prone to error, but sometimes the systems put in place to protect against the carelessness of a few really sucks for the majority of people who do the right thing.

That’s it til next week, site work still in progress. Thanks for reading.

I enjoyed Thanksgiving break with family this past week. Aside from lots of good food and conversation, two important things took place. My brother and I took to the bush (the deep woods, for you non-hunters) after our second Thanksgiving dinner at Dad’s Saturday for some feral pig hunting. I’ve been practicing with the bow Colleen bought me for my birthday and felt confident enough to head into the woods to lethally shoot an animal. This would be my first opportunity to test my abilities. My brother Jarred is good friends with a fellow that manages some land in east Texas that currently has a bit of a hog problem, so he let us in for free, which is nice usually considering most land owners charge $75 or more a day. The hike to the tree stand was muddy and otherwise uneventful. By the time I was settled in it was dark, and I was beginning to worry about my ability to shoot something in such low light. I had equipped the bow with some red LED headlamps to give me enough light to see the peep and sight on the bow, but I did’t have a night vision spotlight to shine an animal with. However, it was nearly a full moon out so I just decided to wait and see whether I had a good shot when a pig came along. About a half hour into the stakeout, something came up from behind. It was a doe. I much rather would have shot that doe than a stinky pig, but she was behind me and I didn’t have a hunting license (you don’t need one for feral pig if they are on private property and they are destroying property), not to mention that it was past legal shooting hours for a deer,  so I just watched as she walked on by. It was cool knowing that my presence was undetected, and it been a legal shot, I might very well have taken it.

After that, it was a boring but nice 3 hour wait til a large herd of grunting pigs came along, again, from my rear. I could turn just enough to see the varmits, but not get a shot. I went ahead and turned on my sight lights and got and arrow nocked. Then, all of sudden, those elusive things must have sensed trouble and high tailed it back into thick, muddy cover. About the same time, I saw my brother’s light heading back down the trail from his stand. He hadn’t seen a single thing and was ready to hit the road, so that was the end of our trip. Despite not bagging a pig, it was a good experience and I will definitely be back for me to fulfill my destiny as a Caveman.

Second, there was some cross racing going on in Dallas Saturday and Sunday. Colleen went off early in the morning to finish her first ever cyclocross race and had a blast. My turn came at noon. Having decimated the 3/4 field on a SS last season, I vowed to never race that category again, and true to my word, I entered the Pro/1/2/3 category. The blistering pace from the start was expected, but when it didn’t let up after 15 minutes, and I fell to last place with little chance of catching the next guys up, I was hit with a pretty big slap in the face.

Burnout. It’s what happens to an athlete when they push their bodies too hard for too long. As I dropped further and further back, and pushing the only gear I had hurt more and more, I completely had the sense that all the racing I’ve done this year, the 24 hour race, and everything since then, has finally caught up to me. There’s not much you can do at that point except pull out, and take a much needed break.

The decision not to race Sunday was a no brainer as I helped Colleen pack her gear and we headed off to Dallas to participate in her race. I didn’t even bother packing my bike. It’s interesting being on the other side of the fence. Usually, she is the one tagging along with me for support and to spectate. Those duties were all mine that day! No registration, no suiting up, no warming up, no spilling my guts on the course for an hour. Just chillin on the other side of the tape and cheerin’ on my baby. There were no regrets, just joy of a different kind, especially since Colleen looked much smoother than the day before and had a great race.

Work on the website is slow, but steady. I’m reading an awesome new book that will factor in heavily to the new website content. I’m thinking sometime late next week it’ll be up and running, so keep checking back.

Thanksgiving is over, but let us not forget the true spirit of the holiday, and always count our blessings, not our problems. I’d like to leave you with the wise words of the Haudenosaunee “Thanksgiving” Prayer.

Every SRAM Shifter Dies, not every one lives.

Colleen and I headed out towards Palo Duro Canyon Thursday afternoon as soon as she got off work. What an adventure we were in for. Hardly 70 miles into our 1060 mile round trip journey, some Texas Pit BBQ was calling my name in Lampassas. With a tummy satisfied and a full cup of tea, we hit the road again, stopping in a few other small towns before reaching Abilene and taking I-20 45 more minutes west to our resting spot for the night, the Lake Sweetwater Municipal park. While searching for a good halfway point to camp at along the way, I happened to notice this small park on my Roads of Texas supermap. A google search revealed that they had some campsites for cheap, so we planned on staying here. After finally getting someone on the phone at the lake’s bait shop after trying all day to talk to someone about camping there all day, Colleen seemed to squeeze out enough of a response from the man to indeed confirm they had camping. We had no trouble finding the lake, but a helluva time finding the camping area. After 30 minutes of circling the water and wandering strange unlit backroads, we finally found the unmarked campground. Sadly, we had unknowingly passed right by it upon initial arrival at the fork in the FM road. There wasn’t a soul in sight, and it really didn’t feel like we were supposed to be camping there, but we were tired and setup camp quickly. Maybe an hour into our slumber, some drunk kids, from the hopping town of Sweetwater, no doubt, came tearing butt through the camp area in their mom’s minivan and felt compelled to drive right up to our tent with brights on and honk a few times. Boy did they get a kick out of that! After attempting a few more donuts in the field they peeled off and let us be for the rest of the night, but following this incident we didn’t exactly sleep soundly the rest of the night.

Come sunrise, we packed up and got the hell out of there in search of breakfast. Sweetwater claims to be the wind energy capital of the US, and adjacent map dot Roscoe supposedly has the largest wind farm in the world,  but strangely, we couldn’t find any good places to eat in either town that time of day. Luckily, we found breakfast taco salvation in Snyder, the next town up Hwy 84. That would keep us going for the uneventful drive up to Plainview (so named for the vast treeless plain surrounding the post office) for lunch at a supermarket, and then on to Palo Duro. We settled in at a friend’s campsite, pre-rode part of the course, had dinner, and went to bed early at 7pm. 12 hours of beautiful sleep later, we awoke to a chilly, moist morning in the canyon. We mosied over to Juniper Canyon campground to register and setup for the race after a nice Caveman breakfast.

Photo by Rebecca Holcomb

The race started at 10am. I signed up for the open category and lined up with 7 others at the front. It was a mass start with all remaining age group racers behind us. I wasn’t feeling particularly strong this day, but I was able to secure the hole shot and held the lead for about a ½ mile, at which point I decided I was winded and didn’t want to be there anymore, so I let a group of  7 go by when the trail widened enough. I caught my breath and proceeded to set a fast tempo that I hoped to hold for 45 more miles. I was never much of a go getter at the beginning of a race anyhow; I like coming from behind and digging deep in the 9^th inning when everyone else starts to tire to make my surge. The first two laps went pretty smooth, and while I conceded time to the top 4 racers (3 of which hold a pro license), I had passed two others to move back into 6^th and wasn’t too far from 5^th. I was noticeably fatigued going into lap 3, but could sense the gap shrinking on the next rider up. Big Tex was really eating the course up and I was having a blast barreling down some of the more technical descents and carving the twisties with ease. Just when I started to think how nice it was that I hadn’t had a mechanical yet, my rear shifter pod stopped downshifting about 3 miles into the 16 mile lap. With the front still working on my 2×9 drivetrain, I was thus relegated to 2 gears: medium and high. Luckily, the rear cog was set in the middle of the cassette when the shifter broke, so it was manageable gearing with a 26t and 40t up front. I was prepared to finish the race this way and walk any steep uphills that I had to.

Unfortunately, the upshift function still worked and occasionally a knuckle would accidentally tap it to shift into a harder gear. The first time it happened, it wasn’t a huge deal. I had caught 5^th by this point and although it hurt like a dog, pushing a bigger gear than I really wanted was helping me to get a gap on him. But then it happened again, and again, and before I knew it, I was in my 11t on the rear cassette. The lowest gearing I now had was a 26-11, or a 2.37 to 1 ratio. Normally, when singlespeeding a 29er on a course like thise, you want around a 34-19, or a 1.8 to 1 ratio. That gear was absolutely killing me, and I just couldn’t push it anymore, so I was forced to stop and turn the outer limit screw all the way in on the derailleur to push it back on the 3^rd cog, or about a 15t gear. Still a little bigger than I wanted, but much more manageable than the 11t! I dropped back to 6^th, but now sensing 7^th closing in on me, I pushed through some pretty serious pain, cramping, dehydration, and energy depletion (I had a hard time eating and drinking during this race since the pace was so high and there were few good places on the course to do so) to finish the final 5 miles or so an maintain my position by less than 20 seconds.

Even at 6^th place, the payout was good enough to cover my entry fee (major kudos to the promoter and sponsors!) Although completely drained and hurting bad afterwards, it was one of the better marathon races I’ve competed in. Trail was in great shape, was a lot of fun, competition was good, and the weather was decent too. A total of 101 men entered the full marathon, so even though 6 of 7 in the open category didn’t look great on paper, 6 of 101 was a bit more respectable.

A nice little hike with my lovely fiancé before sunset followed by a super awesome caveman dinner consisting of salad, avocado, Cornish game hen spit cooked over campfire, and little cocoa beverage sweetened with agave nectar rounded out the evening’s festivities before a hard night’s sleep and a very long drive back home to Austin. No races for me until possibly Thanksgiving weekend, when there are some cross races up in Dallas and I’ll be up that way to visit family anyways. In the meantime, the break will be a nice opportunity to rest and work on the ‘new’ website. Thanks for reading.
Greg

As for the opening quote of the story, my old SRAM X.O shifter lived a good life. It began its duties on the Turner Flux in 2005 and 2006, before being transferred to Proud Mary for 2007 and 2008. This year it was put on Big Tex and had some awesome races before finally giving out in Palo Duro. It will be missed, but not forgotten. A formal changing of the guard shall commence as soon as I find a new one… and get around to cleaning the bike… RIP shifter.

I’m so happy that the October rains brought Barton Creek back to life. Being unemployed in Austin during the nicer months of the year has its perks…

I never knew why the trail was called dumptruck til this very day…

It’s off to Palo Duro Canyon for Pain In The Plains MTB Marathon race. Rumor is Lance might make an appearance. We’ll see. Check back next week for a recap.

Photo by Bobcat 13 Photography http://bobcat13.smugmug.com/

It’s been 3 weeks since I crossed the finish line at this mountain bike ranch, and for some odd reason, I felt compelled to do it again. Not exactly for the 169th time, but I’ve more races under my belt at this ranch than any other venue, so the count is pretty high. At least this time, I didn’t have to worry about pacing myself. Every category would race the same 21 mile loop. 21 miles should be a walk in the park compared to 182. But, do it against the fastest guys in the state (and even a few in the country-Jason Sager and Adam Snyder from Team Jamis decided to pay a visit while in town for Lance’s race next weekend), then you’ve got pain of a different sort. A lung bustin, leg screaming sufferfest for 1.5 hours. To make it a bit more challenging for myself, I even decided to ride it rigid, based solely on the perception that the Salsa cro-moto fork I bought for the Dark Knight looked sexier than the Reba. At least I went with gears this go round. I was able to pull of a 9 of 15 finish in 1:32:01. Sager went on to win in 1:25:26, so all things considered, I was pretty pleased with the effort. It’s nice to know I can go out and kill it at a 24 hour, and three weeks later go out and kill it with the Big boys on a rigid at Cross Country pace.

With my time off work,  I’m going to be redeveloping the website for a new look, new navigation, and new articles, including the one on bike fit that I never quite got around to… Anyways, Team NRC/Kona is out, team Caveman Productions/ East Side Pedalpushers is in. Working on a new kit, but for now I like the understated blue black like that I picked up while in transition. Happy Monday! Have a great week!

Caveman

Shorter days…cooler nights…more cowbell. This could only mean one thing. ‘Cross season is here.

I kicked off cross season in style Tuesday night at the weekly Dirt Derby. I haven’t seriously ridden a cyclocross bike since winter. I only tinkered around the neighborhood on the latest contraption to make sure the frankenbike build I did on the IRO fixie frame would actually work. It’d be cool to say I dusted off Rocinante, the super rad Jamis Supernova I added to the collection last season, but alas, that bike is for sale and will be going to a friend of a friend in Houston, where I’m sure it’ll get good use. Not that I didn’t like that bike, but times are a bit thin and it is more bike than I need anyways. I like steel these days, and as far as cross racing goes, dislike gears. Tuesday night’s results verified that for me.

The course was still holding some muddy patches from last month’s rains, and was super rutty in a few places. The track leading to the run up was rough, and bike down even rougher. It’s one of the most technical cross courses I think I’ve ever ridden. Not exactly the conditions I was looking for to get back into the sport nor test out an unproven setup. The intermediate race had a large field of some 23 racers. I was looking to use this as a warmup and get a feel for the course. That took all but 2 laps, and then all bets were off for the remaining 4. 3^rd place was a nice little finish to welcome back the season. The bike felt better than expected. I felt better than expected having taken 2 weeks off following the 24 hour race at Rocky Hill.

Having learned the lines, timed the run ups and barriers better, and figured out how hard I could push the bike, I was set for a faster Open race. Some pedal engagement issues at the beginning set me back to the rear, but I was quick to get back to the front, work up to 2^nd, and pack on some heat to finish second. I couldn’t have asked for a better performance out of the bike, nor my rusty legs, all things considered.

It just amazes the hell out of me what can be accomplished on a so called “less technological” bike. You’d seriously have to see this bike in person to really appreciate this statement. An IRO steel frame that is designed as a fixie commuter, tack on a mismatched LeMond steel fork, throw a BMX freewheel on a non competition, non machined fixed gear wheel, slap in a heavy square taper bottom bracket with an old school heavy mountain bike crankset, a funky steep stem, some cool bartape, a mismatched set of front cantilever brake, rear caliper brake (with just barely enough clearance for a 30c cross tire, I might add) and somehow you still have a machine that can carry you to the podium. I love it, but I digress.

Once you catch cross fever, it’s a bit hard to let go. There are a lot of cross races all over the state this season, but I’m not sure which ones I’ll make. Like I said, times are thin. Racing isn’t life, either, although I’ve never been one to let finances keep me from doing the things in life that I enjoy most. Racing just happens to be one of those…

So, having completed the dirt derby races with good results and without any nagging pains, soreness, delayed recovery, etc. etc., I’m ready to ease back into some training for what cross races I do plan on attending, but also the upcoming marathon MTB series. Damn Texas racing…just when you think your season is over, another one starts up. Oh well, as long as I’m having fun and not feeling burnt out, I’ll keep on keeping on.

Cheers,
GP

PS. Enjoy this pic from Halloween! Wolverine, my alter caveman ego!!

Wolverine and Rorsach

Hello all,

I’d like to welcome East Side Pedal Pushers as my new shop sponsor. I’ve been patronizing Lee ever since I moved to the Austin east side 4 years ago. Lee is not only conveniently located for me, but competitively priced and just a damn nice guy. Whether you need to stop in for a new tube, or to get your bottom bracket chased, he will take care of you. Unlike a lot of shops in the Austin area, he will not try to sell you the most expesive bike or part, only what you need.

Please consider giving Lee a visit for your next bicycling need.

1414 E. 5th St. Austin, TX 78702

826-3414

http://eastsidepedalpushers.com/

Hi Friends. I had a little free time this week while in recovery mode so I made this short little movie/photo montage of the race I hope you enjoy it. For best viewing results, click on the HD on the bottom right corner, and let the movie fully load before starting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T1C3Zc1P48

Also, friend and fellow racer Patrick Barrett took a helmet cam along and got some great footage of the course. Check out his video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC_0MACrPeA

Today, I got back on a bike (my commuter) for the first time since Sunday. The saddle soreness has healed, and most of my muscles soreness is gone. There appears to be no major injury to any body part, so I know my bike fit was dialed in pretty good, I was well conditioned, andthe Paleo diet continues to demonstrate incredible recovery attributes. Saturday is my birthday, and I don’t really have plans, but I’m sure it’ll be a nice day. Hope ya’ll have a nice weekend. Thanks for checking in.
Greg