July Numbers

First things first, HUGE shout out to David and Suzie Olsen on completing Ironman Boulder!  David finished 22nd out of 338 in his AG and Suzie finished 8th out of 133 in her AG!  Now, if you guys could ever figure out how to do Ironman Arizona, we could go mano-a-mano on our finishing times.

Just as I feared, but swore wouldn't happen, as soon as I get my MTB all set to ride, my running plummets.  As you recall, my running was coming along nicely.  Keeping my trusty metronome handy, I was clipping along at 180 cadence for 8 and 9 mile "fun" runs.  Gone were the days of heading out for a quick 3, 4, or 5 miler.  I was becoming efficient enough to actually enjoy the longer stuff.  Alas, I fix the tire problem, and brakes, on my my MTB, and it's all about the trails again.  Not to mention that my tri bike is back on the rack too. In fact, I've only ridden it in May, June, and July only this year and logged a mere 613.26 miles.  If I don't get back on my tri rig for the rest of the year, it would be my lowest annual output (since I started keeping data in December 2009) by about 406 miles.

Swimming?  What's that?!?!  STILL no yards in the pool or in the lake.  I haven't been in either since January.  We even renewed our YMCA membership with the anticipation of getting back.  So, far, it's not happening.

JULY 2010 TOTALS (IMAZ 2010 TRAINING YEAR):
SWIM = 26750 yards
BIKE = 554.69 miles
RUN = 82.7 miles

JULY 2011 TOTALS:
SWIM = 39042 yards
BIKE = 578.87 miles
RUN = 0 miles

JULY 2012 TOTALS (IMAZ 2012 TRAINING YEAR):
SWIM = 27000 yards
BIKE = 338.63 miles
RUN = 96.33 miles

JULY 2013 TOTALS:
SWIM = 11200 yards
BIKE = 321.91 miles (169.77 tri & 152.14 MTB)
RUN = 6.5 miles

JULY 2014 TOTALS

SWIM =  0 yards

BIKE = 227.23 (96.58 tri & 130.65 MTB)

RUN = 5.33 miles

 

Rekindling A Love Affair

Went in to pick up my new brake pads today, but was quickly told that they weren't in.  Un-friggin-believable, right?!?!  I was told that the order was already in and that they'd be in today.  Come to find out that the order wasn't in and that it was, allegedly, put in a couple minutes after the cut-off on Wednesday.  As a result, they were do in the shop on MONDAY!  Seriously?!?!  Seriously.  So, we end up checking a few of the bikes on the floor to see if they are built up with what I need.  Nope.  Completely frustrated, I end up walking towards the door to leave.  Right there, right at the door, something caught my eye.  It was a MTB bike that we hadn't checked yet, but was sporting Avid Elixr 1 brakes.  I went in for a closer look and, sure enough, JACKPOT!  There they were, the elusive brake pads that I've been looking for.  The shop ended up pulling them out and I ended up installing them a couple hours later.  Finally, I'm back in MTB business.  I suppose I own my bike an apology, but I'm not quite ready for that yet.  After all, she is high maintenance, and has caused me a bit of grief lately, but it's not entirely her fault.  Let me get a few rides under my belt, get the MTB romance built back up, and maybe, just maybe, I'll apologize for the negative posts/comments then!

I've Just About Had It!

Sometime, late last month, I got around to picking up some new brake pads for my MTB.  After watching several YouTube videos on how to do it, I felt confident in my abilities.  Well, those pads sat on a garage shelf for a few weeks before I got around to installing them.  When I finally had time to make the switch-aroo, I realized that my hex wrench was too small.  After some scurrying around, I found an Allen wrench that was able to remove the necessary screw nicely.  This was, per the videos, the reservoir for the brake fluid.  Once off, I wasn't really sure why that needed to be done, so I put it back in place and surveyed the scene again.  I saw the pin that the videos said needed to be removed, but not several of the other components mentioned.  Well, at this point, I figured, "why not", and just dove right in.  I removed the pin, pulled out the pads, and the metal clamps keeping them put.  Hmmm, that's it?!?  The pads were out.  According to the video, there was going to be brake fluid leakage and several more steps to follow.  Well, that was easy!  The one thing I did remember, was to make sure that the calipers were pushed all the way back, before installing anything, or replacing the wheel.  OK, done.  I now go to install the new brake pads, and, wait for it.......................they don't FRIGGIN' FIT!  They are the wrong ones!  I specifically told the dude, at the shop, that my brakes were Avid Elixir 1.  When he handed me the pads, I verified that they would, indeed, fit and went so far as to tell him the exact model bike while reiterating what brakes it had.  His response was a very positive, "Yes"  @#$%@!@#$!@#$^#$%&$%^*!  This bike is really, REALLY, starting to piss me off.  Honeymoon over I guess!  So, 4 or 5 more days go by and today I make a return trip to the shop.  I bring the old pads in and tell the guy (one that I've worked with for years now) and explain what's going on.  He quickly recognized that the pads I was holding wouldn't fit what I'm riding.  DUH!  What the?!?!  He disappears for a while and comes back with news that I really didn't want to hear.  They didn't have any of my correct pads, and wouldn't have any until Friday!  ANOTHER return trip!  Now, you may be asking yourself, why do I keep returning to this shop?  Quite honestly, their prices can't be beat and they have been good to me for going on 6 years now.  The few bumps I encounter aren't big enough for me to look elsewhere for my biking needs.  So, until Friday, another week goes by with no mountain biking.  Hopefully, HOPEFULLY, I'll get this rectified this weekend and will report back about a glories trail ride.

Halftime Report & June Numbers

The love affair with my MTB, that I was experiencing just a year ago, is quickly slowing down. My first trail ride was on 06/16/2013 and, by this time last year, I had racked up 129.63 miles.  This year, between those same dates?  Try a whopping ZERO miles!  Tire issues, rim issues, squeaking bearings, and a busted front brake have all limited my MTB riding.  While these issues aren’t that big of a deal, my ability to make it to the shop, and/or the time it takes to fix the issues are few and far between.  Not to mention, I’m not much of a wrench when it comes to bike maintenance.  At any rate, at least I still have my relatively low maintenance tri bike that is filling my riding needs nicely.

I’m still running, but not as much.  I was running between 3-4 time per week this spring, but have brought that down to 1 time per week.  That one day, however, has been between 7-8 miles.

As for swimming, well, another month has gone by with absolutely no time in the pool.  That makes it 5 full months with no yardage and just 6700 YEAR TO DATE!  The good news is that the family just rejoined the YMCA by our house.  While I still have my issues with this facility, we quickly realized that it is absolutely the only source of convenient water around our house.  Hopefully I’ll see my swimming numbers increase here shortly.

JUNE 2010 TOTALS (IMAZ 2010 TRAINING YEAR):
SWIM = 26750 yards
BIKE = 672 miles
RUN = 81.63 miles

JUNE 2011 TOTALS:
SWIM = 30187 yards
BIKE = 419.80 miles
RUN = 23 miles

JUNE 2012 TOTALS (IMAZ 2012 TRAINING YEAR):
SWIM = 14712 yards
BIKE = 392.22 miles
RUN = 81.23 miles

JUNE 2013 TOTALS:
SWIM = 12550 yards
BIKE = 421.34 miles (292.52 tri & 128.82 MTB)
RUN = 0 miles

JUNE 2014 TOTALS

SWIM =  0 yards

BIKE = 406.85 (all tri)

RUN = 42.47 miles

Going Ghetto

For quite some time now, I've been really wrestling with the tires/rims on my MTB.  For some reason, the tubeless set up worked fine for almost a years worth of riding, but is no longer cooperating.  Every time I'd fill 'em up, the Stan's would bubble around the bead, but wouldn't seal.  We'd (my neighbor and I) try, and try, and try, and would finally think we got it to hold, only to wake up the next morning to a flat.  On a few occasions, it would actually hold long enough for me to go for a ride.  Saturday, May 17th, was one of those times.  I set out solo for a nice cruise around one of my usual paths.  About 4 miles in, my back rim hit a rock funny and put a small dent in it that made it immediately go flat.  I had no option other than to put a tube in it and limp back home.  I made a trip to my LBS, to see if they had any cheap rims that I could buy.  Honestly, I only really needed just the rear and didn't care if it didn't match the front.  The only thing they had in store would set me back $300.  Nope, wasn't going to do it, no way, no how.  The owner indicated that he had some used rims at his house and would check to see if they were what I was looking for and would have fit my budget.  He told me that the store would get in contact with me about it, but they never did.  I ended up doing two rides (about 54 miles total with that tube in my rear rim and the creaking issue described in my last post).  Frustrated, I went to another bike shop to see what they had too offer.  Nothing.  No 29" rims in stock at all.  It wasn't until after I left that second shop that I remembered what another neighbor of mine did to his MTB.  His bike wasn't set up to be tubeless, but he watched a YouTube video on how to modify it so that it could be.  He indicated that he's never had a problem with flats, leaking air, or anything else after making the conversion.  What the heck, I figured that I'd give it a shot too.  In order to make the conversion, I had to go buy 2 26" tubes and some more Stan's.  That's it.  Basically, you take the tubes and cut them in half down the seam opposite the valve stem.  You then place it in the rim (like rim tape), put the tire half on, add some Stan's, re-bead the rest of the tire, pump, and trim the rest of the lining tube.  All in all, the process only took about 30 minutes and cost only about $15.  Much better than $300!  BAM!  What do you know?!?!  The held air perfectly!  

Now all I had to do was take her for a spin to make sure the Stan's sealed everything up.  As soon as I hop on and take off, I hear a scrapping/rubbing sound coming from my front brake.  I get off to take a look and......wait for it.....the metal clip that holds the pads in place bent when I was putting the front tire back on.  DAMMIT!  No riding until I get that fixed I guess.  I solve one problem and another pops up.  This bike is starting to piss me off. 

My Neighbor, McGyver

My last MTB ride was on 05/26.  I haven't ridden since because I've been having some issues with my rims, wheels, and flats.  That, however, is a story for another day.  On that 05/26 ride, I was constantly being annoyed with a persistent squeaking/creaking noise that I assumed was coming from my bottom bracket.  I couldn't understand why, because not too long ago, my neighbor and I took it off, cleaned it, and determined that it was good to go.  At any rate, Craig was willing to help me look at it again today.  After giving it a quick once over, he determined that it wasn't my bottom bracket, rather it was the bearings for where the rear suspension attaches to the frame.  They were completely shot.  Luckily, Craig is somewhat of a McGyver when it comes to tools and fixing things.  He has a tool for just about any task you can imagine.  Want to clean the exhaust vent for your dryer?  He's got a tool for that.  Having trouble opening a special clamp on the reservoir tank of your car?  He's got a tool for that too.  So, I goes without saying that he has a bearing remover tool, a bearing packer tool, and assorted bearing too boot.  Before I could open my beer, he had the crank off and was whacking away with the bearing remover tool.  No sooner did I finish said beer, he had the bearing packed, the crank back on, and had fixed the problem.  I had no idea that MTB were this much work!  With my road bikes, you change a few brake pads, or maybe a chain every so often, but that's it.  If it weren't for him, I'd probably have spent a quarter of what the bike is worth in shop fees!  OK, now that that's taken care of, let's see about the leaky rims.....

Replaced bearings:

 

May Numbers

MAY 2010 TOTALS:
SWIM = 13700 yards
BIKE = 477.25 miles
RUN = 69.90 miles

MAY 2011 TOTALS: 

SWIM = 23771 yards

BIKE = 350.01 miles

RUN = 39.47 miles

MAY 2012 TOTALS:  
SWIM =  15927 yards 
BIKE = 342.41 miles

RUN = 54.57 miles

MAY 2013 TOTALS:  

SWIM = 11050 yards 
BIKE =93.51

RUN = 18.41 miles

MAY 2014 TOTALS: 

SWIM = 0 yards

BIKE = 173.75 miles

RUN = 43.93 miles