Ice Road Rucker

Photo Courtesy Jay Cable via Picasa

In the middle of the night when no one was looking, he slipped away from his family.  He stuffed his favorite energy food - Poptarts, a hand cannon and sleeping gear into the panniers of his IF 29er and headed off into the wild of Alaska.  Well at least that's how it seemed to me.  Good thing that’s where the similarities end between my friend Rucker and Christopher McCandless.  Rucker took good care to tie up his loose ends, pass out kisses and hugs to those closest to him and promised to stay in contact with his family on his trip into the wild.

There was no big announcement when Rucker left.  I half expected a send off at with a burger and beers at Zipp’s Café.  I’d hear tidbits from friends about some Alaska trip.  Some said Canada.  I sort of wondered why he was doing all the group rides on a full suspension mountain bike weighted down to 35+ pounds with lights and still crushing everyone on road bikes up the climbs.  BioWheels bike shop posted a photo of his newly built rig.  Someone mentioned he was trying to figure out how to carry his new "Alaskan Passport" on the bike.  Well, at least he thought of everything.  Then I got the first email from his wife.  He was gone:

Rucker's Custom IF

Rucker spent part of the weekend riding the Denali Highway, which according to him is not the sort of highway to which we might be accustomed.

Yesterday he had a burger with Marcello from Italy, saw the biggest porcupine he had ever seen, watched a moose, and last night stayed at Sourdough Campground.

Brief but vivid.  These updates were accompanied by Rucker’s sparse Facebook posts from his rescue beacon, “Everything is okay.  Here are my coordinates.”  Each time I see one, I click through to see where in the world Rucker is.  There is never a message, link or photo.  Just a link to a dot on a map of the Alaskan wilderness and another email: 

The Story Unfolds in Clicks and Links

Rucker just left Wrangell-St. Elias Preserve & Wilderness.   He (spent) his time yesterday on an old mining road in Wrangell-St.Elias.  Had some of the most beautiful views so far, and (traveled) some of the gnarliest roads.  Parts of the road were crossed by creeks up to his panniers. 

For the past three days, his mileage has been:

Monday: 150

Sunday: 110

Saturday: 102

…all on mostly dirt roads.

Well he’s certainly making the most of his school teacher summer and the fitness gleaned from the Mohican 100.  I can’t believe the distance he’s covered from Anchorage.  He’s halfway to Prudhoe Bay by now.  A few days went by and I got another email:

Yesterday, Rucker was passed by two Google Earth cars on highway 1, heading North, between miles 14 and 15.  If they update instantly, there is a good chance he is on Google Earth there.  If anyone can find a picture, I'd love to see it.

Of course I clicked on Google Earth.  Of course I didn’t see anything.  Maybe a polar bear got him.  Another few days passed.  “Everything is okay.  Here are my coordinates.”  It appears he’s picking his way through the Alaskan valleys.  Then another pictureless email:  

Rucker made it to Canada yesterday but was turned away at the border on account of his hand cannon (Alaskan Passport.)  So no Inuvik, and probably no polar bears.  He spent his last night in Eagle and will be heading to Deadhorse.  

He said the roads are rough and they must be - his original tires are history and he is working his way through his spares.

According to the last Facebook post yesterday, Rucker was in Coldfoot Alaska on the Dalton Highway, home of Ice Road Truckers, apparently waiting a shipment of some fresh 29er tires.  

To be continued... 

Indy Fab Worthy (An OVCX Love Story)

THAT GUY

I just handed THAT GUY my IF.  I’m watching a guy who calls himself Jimmy Road Rash ride out of the OVCX Infirmary Mound race pits on my $5000 bike.  You might’ve heard of him, he writes a blog too (link here).  Now why would I handoff my cherished custom painted Independent Fabrication Planet X with Sram Red and carbon wheels to a guy who knocked out his tooth on a ride a year and a half ago?  Because he’s loveable, awkwardly man-huggable and a BioWheels/Reece-Campbell Racing teammate?  Hell no.  This is an IF we’re talking about.  I get the heebie jeebies when people pick it up to see how light it is.  Well my buddy Jimmy is finally IF worthy, or so I hope.

THIS BIKE

Don’t think for a second that I didn’t worry the second he grabbed the handle bars and threw his leg over my custom painted baby.  After all, the whole reason he entered the pits was because he crashed and bent his derailleur hanger.  I questioned myself immediately.  None of our other teammates were quick to offer their bikes.  I wanted to run back through the woods to the back side of the course to make sure it’d be okay.  That’s crazy talk though.  What was I going to do?  Throw my body under the bike in-case he washed out on the downhill pavement to grass turn?  Tell him to watch the rock and roots in the singletrack?  Make him wait in the pits while I swapped the $2000 Zipp wheels for something more Jimmy Road Rash appropriate like a three-cross open pro?  Sheeeeet.  The reason I handed him my bike instead of making him finish out the race on his 20 pound Ultegra/105 equipped Redline with three operable gears is because prior to his mishap he was laying down the law on OVCX fast guys like Phil Noble, Jacob Virosko, Sam Dobrozi, and Jason Karew on a 20 pound Ultegra/105 equipped Redline.

Jimmy behind at OVCX Infirmary Mound

Granted Phil, Jacob and Jason were on their 2^nd race of the day, but racing is racing.  Ask anybody around the Columbus Ohio venue if Phil and Jason could spank Jimmy even if it was their 2^nd race and I’m pretty sure the answer prior to yesterday would’ve been a unanimous yes.  However, Jimmy Road Rash was in the money in an Elite race.  No longer was he fighting not to get lapped by the Bike Reg pro’s, he was closing gaps, dropping guys and racing mid-pack Elite.  Before his misstep, he had systematically closed the 30 meter gap to and dropped every one of the guys listed above.  For the first time I can recall, the rider formally known as Jimmy Road Rash was looking at an Elite cyclocross payout.  He’s fast.  He also needs the money.

Jimmy at Gun Club OVCX

That’s always been my worry with Jimmy.  Like many riders new to the sport.  Sometimes your enthusiasm and strength grow faster than your skills, experience and knowledge.  That’s when you loose teeth and skin.  That’s when other riders leave a little extra room when they’re on your wheel.  Sure you’re fast…fast enough to drive yourself straight into a tree, fast enough to grab a handful of brake rather than soft pedal, fast enough to not think that a covered bridge may have 3 inch gaps between it’s 135 year old hand-cut decking.  That’s why you keep riding a beat-up 20 pound Redline with 105.  That’s why you sell the parts off the Trek Madone frame you destroyed on a covered bridge to your buddy Joe.  You crash.  Replace.  Repeat. 

Jimmy @ Mohican 100

However, it’s been a long time since Jimmy’s bit it.  It’s been a long time since Jimmy sold the Sram Force derailleur from the Madone to me.  It’s been a long time since I put that derailleur on the very bike I just handed off to him.  He’s finally at that point where I hear about his mishaps less than I hear about those from more experienced riders.  Besides, at the USGP a few weeks ago when I broke my seatpost, in a pit exchange that was ultra pro smooth, he handed me his 20 pound 105 equipped Redline so I could finish out my race.  Eventually, what goes around comes around, even if it’s a gorgeous $5000 Indy Fab Planet X.

The Cycling Miracle of Cincinnati

The light hath shown through my garage door, deep into the recesses where my man cave bike workshop resides. I have seen the light of the Madonna del Ghisallo, the patron saint of cycling. As of today, when I walk into a bike shop, mechanics with permanently blacked fingernails should bow their heads and raise their arms for I have performed a near cycling miracle. Eddie Merckx once said miracles don’t exist in sports. Eddie Merckx never saw the image of Christ in his morning toast. But, harketh! A miracle may hath taken place on my IF Planet X. Before I call Archbishop Pilarczyk to initiate the miracle confirmation, and start charging admission to pilgrims to witness the site of my miracle, you should know that this could just have been the simple discovery of a mortal’s initial mistake. I could be nothing more than a doof who undid a goof that went unnoticed by those with more expertise than thou. I prefer the former. All hail! Behold the Cycling Miracle of Cincinnati!

Almost as if Satan had possessed my Sram Red derailleur, since the beginning of the 2009 cyclocross season when I swapped the Sram Red from my road bike to my CX rig, I have had a devil of an issue with shifting on my steel IF Planet X cyclocross bike. The top 5-7 easier gears shifted okay, but the derailleur couldn’t move the chain to the harder gears of the cassette, as if the spring in the derailleur didn’t have enough tension on it to pull the slackened cable. The only way I could get it to shift into the harder gears was to manually wrangle the derailleur to pull toward the harder cogs on the cassette.

My first thought, demons. My second maybe the spring in the derailleur was worn out. However, it wasn’t even a year old and it’s freaking Sram Red for cripes sake. I called my favorite mechanic, who happens to have a giant tattoo of Jesus on his chest (for real). He said he’s seen this issue before with steel IF bikes and Sram. He suggested a holy water cleaning of the derailleur, cassette and chain, followed by a redressing of cables and housing. Like a bad pickup line, it sort of worked, but not exactly. So, at his suggestion, I brought the bike in to the shop where he pulled the shades, unbuttoned his shirt, exposed the full on Jesus and exercised the demons with a derailleur hanger straightener and a few other things in his little black exorcism bag.

The bike worked great! Angels sang as the sun pierced the clouds. I had a wonderful ride with crisp shifts in even crisper January air. The next day, I hit the Hyde Park Ride. It was lightly raining, but I needed a ride with the fast boys. It turned into a soaking sloppy sufferfest. Fingers went numb. I looked and felt like I had ridden Paris Roubaix. Near the end of the ride with 3 hours of wet road grit everywhere, my shifting went south again. Dejected, I was so wet and cold I had to ring the doorbell of my own house because I couldn’t get the key out of my jersey pocket with frozen fingers.

After warming up, I returned to the man cave to resurrect the beast. I cleaned everything, cables, pulleys, you name it. I lubed. I shouted, “Dear God why doesn’t a $300 derailleur work on an $1800 frame!” I still only had 6-7 gears on a 10sp cassette. Then I saw the light. If the derailleur spring didn’t seem like it had enough tension to pull the cable, what if I lessened the friction of the cable. I tinkered, pulling on the cable in the direction of the derailleur. Essentially feeding cable to the demonic derailleur, it shifted fine. I took out sections of housing, thinking that if I shortened or made the cable move through the housing easier, the derailleur would be able to pull it. I was getting hotter.

The last step, I unraveled my handlebar tape. The cable stop in the shifter had a tight fit and sort of a bend where it curved to send the cable along the bars. But, alas! With a Sram Red shifter, there are two options to run the cable out along the bars. (see photo) The tighter curved one ran the cable along the front of the bars. The straighter channel ran the cable to the rear of the bars. I switched it to run the cable to the rear of the bars and wah lah! Ten gears smoothly shifted. I heard harp music. Pretty blue Disney birdies sang and circled overhead. I thought I saw Fausto Coppi’s image on a shop rag. A miracle! If not, at the very least, maybe just maybe, a blessing from the Madonna del Ghisallo.

Facebook Friday: What's New On Your Cyclocross Bike This Season?

As the Tour Peloton makes it’s way toward the Alps, cyclocross is on the brain. I’ve done my last road race. Sure there’s a mountain bike race or two sprinkled between now and late September, but those are for fun. The Cyclocross pre-season is here, and it’s almost as fun as the races. Registration is open for the first few OVCX races. Friends are talking about swapping good parts from the road bike to the CX rig. Bottom brackets seat post tubes are being cleaned. I sold my trusty Jamis Nova pit bike to finance some upgrades on the IF Planet X, namely an Easton EC90-X carbon fork. My Jamis Xenith’s Sram Red drivetrain has migrated to the Planet X with a new chain. The new $69 Vittoria file tread tubulars are getting glued to the tubular Zipp 404’s. In addition, the CX bike will see some new cables, brake pads and bar tape. I'm hoping the bike will tip the scales at a scant 17.5 pounds. I talked to Mitch at BioWheels bike shop in Cincinnati the other day and they said sales of cross stuff is way ahead of last year. I distinctively remember there being quite a few CX bikes on the floor a few weeks ago, now it looks like they might have to order a few more.

With that, it’s Facebook Friday on The Best Bike Blog Ever. On Thursday’s I post a question to my bike crazed Facebook friends and on Friday’s we post the answers here. If you’d like to join the fun, send a request via the Facebook link on the right of page.

Today’s question is: What’s new on the CX rig this season?

Duane: Lesseee....Felt just recalled the fork on my CX bike. Not sure what that's all about yet. Assuming I have a bike to ride, I'm hoping to convert it from Shimano 9-speed to SRAM Rival. I love the SRAM stuff. I just haven't resolved the funding issue yet. That and some really squishy Octto bar tape.

Amanda: The Redline Conquest Pro unless someone wants to help me out with a lighter rig? Maybe just some tubulars and fast wheels?

Eric: A cyclocross bike. I have the pedals.

Shannon: Meet the new rig, same as the old rig: '06 Bianchi Cross-Concept/Ultegra/candies. Raced 5x. A bike for me to grow into.

Jaden: New Redline Conquest Team frameset- check. Hopefully some tubular wheels and tires to come.

Justin: a flat handlebar and some nice fat tires. I mean straight, not flat. None of this drop bar nonsense.

Ryan: Complete component overhaul, going from Ultegra 9-Speed with Avid Shorty brakes to SRAM Rival 10 Speed, and TRP brakes, also will be rolling on some bullet proof Mavic CXP30 tubulars with the old style TUFO tubulars unless it is real nasty out.

B-jet: Everything! The plan is Seven Ti Mudhoney frame, Dura Ace 7800, Tubulars, TRP Cantis.