Win a Hydrapak for Your Next Adventure

See The Cool Packs at Hydrapak.com

CONTEST ENDED: 
Congrats to Nate!  He chose the Hydrapak Soquel!  Thanks for reading.


Last week I wrote about my trip to Park City Utah where I goosed a moose on the Mid Mountain Trail, ran into pro rider and PC resident Evan Hyde, and at the end of a four hour ride, stuffed an entire six pack of Full Sail Ale in my Hydrapak Morro at the state liquor store and rode back to our condo.  Hydrapak liked it so much, they picked up the story on their blog AND offered up a chance for you to win a Hydrapak for your next adventure.  Sa-weet corn!

To win: Click, Choose and Comment

1) CLICK here and visit the hydration packs page of the Hydrapak website

2) CHOOSE a model you’d like to take on your next adventure

3) COMMENT!  Come back to this post and leave a comment explaining the Hydrapak model you chose and why.  Of course, creativity is always encouraged.  However, we’ll draw a random winner from all the comment entries to win a Hydrapak. 

Fine Print: Deadline for entries is Midnight October 12^th, 2011.  Anonymous comments will not be considered.  It's not a rule, but to help us get in touch with you if you were to win, please try to link an email address to the profile you choose to enter with.  Winner will be drawn and contacted October 13^th, 2011.  Winner will be announced October 14th, 2011 both here and on our Facebook page.  Click here to like us, especially if you don't link an email to your comment profile.  Good luck and thanks for reading The Best Bike Blog EVER!

Your Front Wheel: Things I Forgot to Bring to the MS150 for $500 Alex

When you rob a bank, don’t forget the ski mask.  When you carve a side of beef, don’t forget your chain mail glove.  When go skiing, don’t forget the jacket with the zippered lift ticket that proves to all the ladies you tore it up at L’Alpe d’Huez.  Whether you’re cashing in at the local branch, starting your first day at Fuddruckers or dropping the double diamonds at Breck, veteran cat burglars, meatcutters and swooshers have a mental checklist of the tools of the trade.  So do most veteran cyclists.  This weekend one of every 10 people at the Ohio MS 150 ride will forget one of the following: helmet, shoes, gloves or cigarettes.  It’s because their pre-ride routine has been moved from their floral wallpapered bedroom to a field in rural Ohio.  Sunscreen, chamois cream, a towel: which one didn’t you think of yet?  Rain jacket?  Hurricane Irene is coming.  See how much you need me. 

Coco: My Bike Butler

The best advice, hire a bike butler to take care of your packing, like my flamboyant guy Coco.  Or, write up a list pronto and pack for your ride today…Monday.  Ride Tuesday using only your packed items.  Then, like the MS150, ride Wednesday using the same stuff and methods available on the MS 150.  Nuh uh uh.  Using the washing machine and drying rack is cheating.  If you only have one pair of shorts, slide that soggy chamois back up those thighs.  It’s harsh but the only way you’ll learn to bring two pairs of cycling shorts or find a place to wash and dry them Saturday night.  Since I can’t account for the personal items you just can’t live without, like your Polish cleaning lady confederate doo-rag, here’s a basic idea of how to pack for the big MS 150 weekend.

Documents: Your entry information, hotel confirmation, directions, start time/location, email proof that you have dibs on the bed in your buddy’s camper.

Bike: Bike, cleaned and tuned up by Wednesday with both wheels and test ridden at least once before the big weekend.  Yes, I said both wheels.  So don’t leave the front one leaned up against the work bench when you put your bike on the roof rack and back out of the driveway at 5:30 in the morning.

Bike clothes: Helmet, shoes, glasses and wipey cleaner bag, rain jacket.  Multiplied by two: gloves, shorts, jersey, under jersey, light vest, sports bra, socks, cycling cap, confederate doo rag, arm warmers. 

Street clothes: Pants, fundies, shorts, socks, shoes that’ll be good in a muddy field, cool cycling t-shirt, jacket, hat.

All Hail The Top Banana Jersey!

Pocket stuffers: Road ID (drivers license, insurance card, emergency contact), charged cell phone, I-pod and some cash/credit card, spare car/house key.

Toiletries: Sunscreen, chamois cream, lip balm, deodorant, towel, hand sanitizer, baby wipes, soap/washcloth, gallon of water, hair scrunchies, eyeglasses or contacts stuff, plastic bag for the stench-fest of your sweaty wet clothes, toothbrush/paste.

First Aid: Band-Aids, the spray that stings really badly on open wounds, Neosporin, gauze, road rash netting, and medical tape.  Bringing this stuff ensures you will not crash.

Tools: floor pump, 2 spare tubes, CO2 and/or frame pump, seat bag, multi-tool, patches, spare chain pin, umbrella, repair stand, chain cleaner, lube, soapy spray bottle, frame brush, rags, a plastic bag and rubber bands to keep your saddle dry while your bike is on the roof when hurricane Irene arrives.

Food: Coffee and travel mug.  Cooler with icepacks.  6 water bottles because the two of them will be covered in grit after day 1 and it’s nice to have a full bottle or two waiting at the car after the ride.  While there is plenty of food/drink available, limit what you bring to your favorites: like energy drink mix, GU blocks or Sharkies, fig cookies, licorice, meatloaf sandwiches, whatever helps you turn the cranks.  Consider Sport Legs or some sort of electrolyte replacement.

The MS150 doesn't end till your bike is off your car

Recovery: a massage stick, yoga mat for stretching next to your car in the field, a camp chair, a pop up tent.

Lastly, when you arrive at home in a lactic acid haze late Sunday evening, don’t forget your $3000 carbon Trek is on top of your $35,000 Audi A4 when you pull into the garage you dufus.

Meet Coco, My Flamboyant Fantasy Bike Butler

My cell phone rings once a month.  The exterminator calls to pitch us a package, $180 to keep bugs out of the house for the year.  That’s a tish pricey in my book.  You can win the lottery, but you still have to spend your money wisely right?  Conversely, since we hit those six big numbers a few months back, $180 is exactly what I spend every single week for my bike butler.  

Hola Coco!

Meet Coco, my fantasy bike butler.  I considered a cycling coach, but since I won the lottery a bike butler makes me much happier.  Coco is half butler, half coach.  Coco is a nickname, since my wife and I can’t pronounce his real name.  It’s got a lot of rolly R sounds in it.  My wife pictured a bronzed ex-pro who would wear tight slacks and sexy white open collar shirts.  However, I was uncomfortable with that and hired Coco, who’s a bit flamboyant.  In his mid 30’s, Coco dresses in nice slacks and a pressed dress shirt.  However his has fluffy rainbow striped sleeves and a bow tie.  His machismo bubbling through, he insists the rainbow colors are world champion stripes.  I go along with it, knowing that’s probably not the reason.  While it’s our ultimate fantasy that Coco resides in the spare room with the full bath upstairs, we’re still frugal enough to keep the bike butler part-time for now.  Besides, as leader of a hot salsa band, Coco does well for himself and insists he’s married to an actress named Lucy.  I Love Lucy, he says.  Till we decide on the full-time thing, our bike butler visits once per day and is on call if we need him outside of that.

Every morning, Coco lets himself in just after we get up, brings us coffee and confers with us on our cycling or workout plans.  He’s so sweet.  He even asks if we had any mechanical issues with our ride the day before.  Tonight, after she spends the day at Nordstrom and lunch with the girls, Coco’s workout plan has my wife going to do Pilates at Pendleton in Loveland.  I’m doing hill repeats at Devou Park and riding from work.  Yeah, I still work, but just for the insurance benefits now.  He kindly reminds my wife to be careful with her bummish knee and for me to keep my heart rate at or just under 100% of lactate threshold.  “You go hard.  Backoff if over one hundred LT,” he says shaking his finger.  Even with his sleeves flopping around when he gestures, he can be intimidating sometimes.  Knowing that he’ll see my Powertap data, I nod to confirm.

My Wife And I Buying My New Truck After Lotto Win

Coco then heads down to the laundry room and packs our gear bags.  Yoga pants, other workout wear, a Sigg bottle, a granola bar, a Sweaty Band and a towel go in my wife’s bag.  He instinctively tosses an instant freezie pack in her bag incase my wife’s knee gets inflamed.  Coco packs my Northface backpack with my kit, shoes, helmet, IPod and heart rate monitor strap.  He even pre-butters my chamois.  He also packs a small cooler with a granola bar, a Gu, and three water bottles, two for on the bike, the third mixed with a recovery drink.  He then heads into the garage man cave to give the bike a quick once over and pumps the tires.  He then loads it all into our cars, her BMW and my Range Rover Sport, and hands us the keys as we leave.

Coco sticks around for about an hour after we head out for the day, prepping our other bikes and feeding the cats.  Since we hit the Powerball we each have two identically set-up pro level bikes, for each discipline.  Pretty sweet huh?  While I’ll ride my #1 Kuota KOM tonight, Coco gives my 2^nd KOM and my wife’s two IF Crown Jewel’s a thorough cleaning and overall.  If something’s amiss, like a stretched out chain, he’ll pick up the part at Biowheels bike shop during the day and install it the next. 

It’s a good life.  If it goes well, maybe we’ll hire Coco full-time and buy a motor home for CX season.  Coco still hasn’t shared the secret of how he keeps bike grease off his cool salsa shirt.  We still haven’t won the lottery, but we can dream.