06.14.2010 | 11:30 am
A “We Won!” Note from Fatty: Congratulations to Team Fatty-Seattle on winning both the Team Champion and Team Time Trial awards! This means our team raised more money ($71,398 as of this moment) than any other team, and that our fifth-ranked fundraiser raised more money than any other team’s fifth-ranked fundraiser.
Extra-huge kudos go to Team Fatty-Seattle co-captain “ClydeSteve” Steven Peterson, who raised $15,735 while still finding time to manage the team. ClydeSteve, thanks for working so hard and consistently in this fight. You’re an inspiration.
A “Don’t Forget to Join the Fight and (Hopefully) Win a Bike” Note from Fatty: With the Seattle LiveStrong Challenge in the bag, let’s turn our sights toward San Jose. The contest for the SyCip hand-built bike, tricked out with Shimano and PRO components, is still going strong. Read here for details on the bike, then click here to donate for a chance at the bike. The contest ends this Thursday, so donate now!
The FattyFly SS Is Go
I’m very happy to report that my FattyFly SS (which I affectionately refer to as the “FFSS”) has been built. I’m even happier to report that the FFSS weighs in at 17.6 pounds (or, for those of you who use metric measurements, 1.257 stone).
I of course wanted to get out on a ride on this bike as soon as possible, which I did on June 10. Brad met me at the saddle on Corner Canyon, where he pointed out that I have waaaay crossed the line of excessive color coordination, then graciously took this photo of me and FFSS:
“Six pounds (0.428 stone),” Brad kept saying. “That’s how much less your singlespeed weighs than mine.
Of course, I have around 12 pounds of blubber that Brad doesn’t have, which explains why he still kicked my butt on all the climbs.
Enough Rain Already
And then it started to rain. Not during the ride, but afterward. And for pretty much every moment since. It’s been unseasonably cold and rainy here in Utah County, making mountain bike rides few and far between.
Seattle, you know I love you, but you can have your weather back.
Looking at the forecast for the weekend (rain, followed by more rain, followed by thunderstorms), The Runner and I agreed: we needed to get out of town. Moab would have been nice, except for one problem:
Rain.
How about St. George? high of 83 with only a slight chance of rain? Sold.
So Saturday afternoon — after successfully marrying off The Runner’s eldest son (whom I have not yet nicknamed in this blog and so shall heretofore be referred to as “Travis”), The Runner and I headed out to St. George, where we’d meet up with Kenny and Heather for a day in the sun.
Ride 1
The original plan was for us to get in a good long mountain bike ride, since all four of us are going to be racing in Leadville in a couple months. Kenny proposed a Hurricane Rim / Gem / Goolds (sp?) loop, which should take about five hours, and which sounded great.
There was just one problem, which we heard about when we stopped at the bike shop where Dave Nice works: it had been raining in St. George, too, and part of the trail we wanted to ride would be a sloppy mess.
So Dave volunteered to take us out to and be our tour guide at Rockville Bench, a twisty mix of desert singletrack and slickrock.
Which made a fantastic place for me to show off my Dicky’s Death March jersey, which I obtained from the super-secret T6 Dark section of Twin Six’s site, and which I am pleased to say makes me look both handsome and slim:
(photo by Dave Nice)
I wear this jersey whenever I want to seem as cool as Rich Dillen. Which is to say, almost always.
Did I love riding in the warm sun? Yes I did. Did I love my new bike? Yes I did.
Ride 2
After dropping Dave back off at the shop, we headed out for another ride — this time on Hurricane Rim.
The first part of this all-desert singletrack ride is climby, with some steep, technical switchbacks that are not easy at all to do on a singlespeed.
I say that, of course, as a pre-excuse for what comes next. Namely, that I fell as I tried to grind up one of those switchbacks.
Just fell over on my side. Graceful as a sack of spuds.
After falling, I quickly executed my standard post-fall procedure:
- Look around to see who saw me fall, so I can adapt my hilarious excuse / explanation to their particular sense of humor (I’m a full-service excuse maker). In this case, it was just Kenny, and he’s already heard my best stuff, so there was no point in saying anything but “Ow.” Which I did, and with conviction.
- Extricate myself from the bike. This was not that easy, since the foot that was still clipped in was under the bike, and the bike was uphill from me. So I utilized the “thrash around like a landed fish” technique of getting away from the bike.
- Get up and continue riding.
It was step 3 that was a problem; there was something wrong with my bike. Here, take a look at this photo and tell me if you can see what is amiss:
If your answer was “white grips on mountain bikes get dirty very quickly,” you are correct, but that’s not really the problem I was thinking of.
The problem I was thinking of is that my front brake mount had snapped. Broken.
Kenny and I then made a brilliant field repair:
(photo by Heather Gilbert)
Really, the only thing wrong with this repair was . . . it didn’t work. Specifically, the brake stayed in place as long as you didn’t touch the brake lever.
So I strapped the brake lever to the downtube instead, figuring that the front brake is redundant anyways.
Situations In Which a Front Brake is Not Redundant
And for the climbs, I was just fine without a front brake. In fact, I’d go so far to say that when you’re climbing, applying the brake feels counterproductive.
And when you are going in a straight line downhill at a moderate pace? Having nothing but a back brake is plenty.
But imagine — just imagine — you’re heading fast downhill into a hairpin turn. First, you reach for your front brake, as is your habit. For the fiftieth time that day, you quickly realize there’s nothing to grab there. So you apply the back brake, which is fine.
And you keep going.
For the first time ever, you realize there’s quite a bit of truth in that axiom about 70% of your stopping power being in your front brake, what with you slowing down at roughly 30% the rate you usually do.
“Oh look, there’s the apex of the hairpin,” you say to yourself, as you slide right by it.
(Note to Hurricane trail maintenance people: sorry I left skid marks going right through pretty much all of your hairpin turns yesterday.)
Looking Forward
The thing is, even a (very expensive) repair is worth its cost when you get to spend a day in the sun riding your mountain bike, when you would have otherwise been trapped indoors in the rain.
But now I’ve got to figure out what to do with this broke brake. I am considering the following options:
- Call Racer’s and tell him what happened. This is the obvious solution, and will result in him ordering me a new brake body, which will cost approximately “a lot.”
- Call Racer’s and tell him it was a JRA break. “So I was just braking, and — *snap*! — the brake mount just pops off. This was obviously a lemon, Racer. See if you can warranty it.” The beauty of this excuse, of course, is that Racer will never have heard it before.
- Repair it myself. You know, I think I could epoxy the mount back together. And then maybe I could use some superglue to reinforce it. And then some duct tape, just to be sure. A couple rivets wouldn’t hurt either. Then I’ll wrap the whole thing in velcro.
Oh, and I’d love to have your repair suggestions as well.
PS: Obligatory group photo!
Comments (58)
06.10.2010 | 8:29 am
Wow. Today’s headline is really long, isn’t it? That may have to do with today’s contest being so jam-packed with awesomeness that it’s hard to fit into a nice, concise headline.
The crazy thing is, as long as it is, the headline is still leaving some really amazing stuff out, including the ability to get a Shimano group you can’t even buy yet.
So let me lay out exactly what you can win in the contest that we’re starting right this second.
You Get to Choose the Bike
Imagine owning a bike that fits you perfectly, because it was made specifically for you – to fit the look you want, your body and your riding style, based on measurements and discussions you had with the builder.
And now go one step further and imagine that you have to choose whether to have a classic steel road bike or a classic cruiser hand-built for you.
SyCip (pronounced “see-sip”) Designs has been designing and building custom bikes like this since 1992. Each bike they build is customized for the lucky person who buys it.
Or, in this case, wins it.
For this contest, the winner gets to choose between a SyCip Custom Classic Roadster and a SyCip Custom Java Boy or Java Girl.
Go to the SyCip Flickr page to check out a lot of their bikes, but here’s a few pictures to whet your appetite. Check out a couple shots of the Roadster:
and here’s another one:
But suppose you’re looking for something for getting around town. For cruising, or maybe commuting. Or maybe — just maybe — for riding around for fun. Well, the Java Boy or Java Girl ought to fit your needs pretty darn nicely.
One top tube? Two? Curved up? Curved down? It’s your bike, so it’s your call.
Yeah, I think your SyCip custom-designed and hand-built bike is going to make the word “awesome” feel sad and inadequate.
The Bike Will Be Outrageously Outfitted with Shimano and PRO Components
Let’s not forget, the frame is only half of your custom bike equation. Since Team Fatty is Shimano-Powered, you can bet that your bike is going to be tricked out beyond belief with Shimano and PRO components.
If you go with the Roadster, your bike will come equipped with a complete set of Dura-Ace 7900 components, wheels, and pedals. And that’s just the beginning. Your Roadster will also be equipped with your choice of PRO handlebars, stems, posts, and accessories.
Yeah, my head’s spinning too. With jealousy.
But suppose you want the Java Boy or Java Girl? Well, Shimano’s got you covered for that, too. Covered, that is, with the yet-to-be-released Shimano Alfine 11-speed internal group.
The Alfine group highlights with a wide-range 11-speed internal hub, disc brakes, and a list of other jaw-dropping bike technology.
The Bike Will Be Hand-Painted By Spectrum Powder Works
Regardless of which bike you choose, it’s going to look the way you want it to, because one of the artists at Spectrum Powder Works is going to talk with you about colors you like and details you’d like to have on your bike, and then make your frame more beautiful than you would have ever imagined possible.
How You Can Win
Whichever bike you get is going to be simply too cool for words. You will try to use words to describe how cool your bike is, and you will be unable to. But that’s OK, because riding the bike is more fun than describing it.
In other words, I think this is a contest you might want to enter. But to do that, you’re going to need to do a little cancer fighting with me. Here are the ways you can donate.
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By Raising Money at Your OWN Team Fatty LiveStrong Challenge Page: If you’re a member of Team Fatty, now’s a great time to donate money to your own LiveStrong Challenge, as well as to get others to donate to it. For every $5 you have raised in your LiveStrong Challenge by Midnight, June 17, you get another chance at the bike of your choice. And if you haven’t joined Team Fatty yet, click on one of the links below to join in the city of your choice:
- By Donating at my Seattle LiveStrong Challenge Page: For every $5 you donate at my LiveStrong Challenge page between now and Midnight of June 17, you get another row on my spreadsheet. That DOES NOT mean that if you want to donate $50, you’ve got to do ten $5.00 donations. I’m awesome at Excel and will be able to give you the correct number of chances automatically, based on how much you donate. Click here to donate now .
The contest ends Thursday, June 17 at Midnight, MDT. At that point I will choose a winner at random from my spreadsheet, using random.org to pick the lucky person. I will then fire off an email to the winner. Once I get acknowledgement, I’ll announce it on my blog, and you can begin the agonizing process of picking out which bike you want, how you want it customized, what you want the paint job to look like, and so forth.
Sweet, sweet agony.
By the way, since the Seattle Challenge is next week, I highly recommend those of you on Team Fatty-Seattle work your hearts out raising money for this contest.
Why This Matters
I hope you win this contest. I really, really do. But the fact is, what really matters in this contest — like all the contests we do here — is that we’re doing something in the fight against cancer.
And the truth is, this fight is going to be personal — in one way or another — for every single person, at some point in your life. You’ll either have cancer, or someone you care about will. It’s that widespread. And it’s that awful.
This is a chance for you to do something to fight back, while simultaneously getting a chance at winning an unbearably cool, custom-designed, hand-built, hand-painted, tricked-out bike.
At the very worst, your donation will have done something for someone’s fight against cancer. And it may just have won you a bike in the process.
Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.
So. Go sign up and raise money on your own Team Fatty LiveStrong Challenge page now, or go donate at mine.
Thanks, and good luck!
Comments (29)
06.8.2010 | 8:56 am
It’s just a bike. I know that. And I know that, eventually, I will put it in the garage with the other bikes. I will ride it without a second thought, without even considering how it looks. Eventually, I will let it get dirtier and dirtier, until I have to clean it more out of necessity — i.e., the wheels no longer turn and the bike is carrying an extra seven pounds of dirt — than out of a need to make it look new.
Eventually, it will be just another bike to me, one of several I love.
But not today.
Today, this is my new bike. Or, more accurately, today this will be my new bike. As soon as the UPS guy gets here. Which should be any time now.
You know what would be really awesome, UPS? If your trucks had GPS tracking and that information was tied to both my package tracking number and a maps application, so I could see exactly how close my new frame is to being delivered.
There you go: awesome new feature using inexpensive, readily-available technologies, that would differentiate you in a big way from the competition. No charge.
One moment while I reload the Tracking Information page again. Even though I know there will be no more information on it until my frame is actually delivered.
Still out for delivery.
Which I of course already knew.
New Bike Love
Obviously, I’m all atwitter for my new FattyFly SingleSpeed (my custom-painted Gary Fisher Superfly SS). But this isn’t the first time I’ve had that “can’t wait, can’t think about anything else” feeling when getting a new bike.
I had it when I got my first real mountain bike (Specialized Stumpjumper M2, for those of you who remember when Metal Matrix — aluminum mixed with pottery — was going to be the next big thing in bike material). I had it for months when I waited for my Ibis Bow Ti. I had it when I got my Orbea Orca with Shimano Di2 (note to self: post an extended review of what I think about this bike in the very near future).
OK, I’ve had this feeling every single time I’ve gotten a new bike. And I’ll bet that you have too. It’s the feeling of possibility. Of the expectation of having something you love be — somehow — just that much better.
It’s like Christmas on steroids. But without the unfortunate positive result the next time you have an out-of-competition blood test.
When The Frame Arrives
So here’s what I’m going to do when the frame arrives. Which will be, I’m certain, very very soon.
- I will unbox it, lick it, and take a picture of me with it.
- I will email the picture to The Runner.
- I will post the picture here.
- I will drive down to Racer’s, where I will beg him to drop everything he’s doing and build me a bike.
- I will go back to work, even though I really really really want to sit and watch Racer build my bike. As it turns out, I currently have a lot of work to do at my day job.
- I will text Racer every 30 minutes or so, asking him, “How’s it coming along?” I am sure that this will not be annoying at all, and will not slow him down.
- I will go and pick up my bike, photograph it, and post it here.
- I will stare at it for a while.
- I will ride it.
The Build
Let’s take just a moment and consider my plans for the FFSS build. Why? Because it makes me giddy, that’s why.
So, um, it’s going to be a pretty nice bike.
If the UPS guy ever gets here.
UPDATE: The UPS guy came by! . . . and dropped off a completely unrelated box. So now I’m waiting / hoping / praying for the afternoon delivery. Sigh. . . .
UPDATE 2: The frame has arrived!
Off to Racer’s…
Comments (79)
06.7.2010 | 8:37 am
A couple weeks ago, The Runner and I went on a road ride: up to the summit of the Alpine, down to Cascade Springs, and back home. With — I think — about 5000+ feet of climbing, this is always a great ride, but it’s extra awesome in the short period between when the snow melts and when the gates are opened so cars can drive the roads.
Because for that short week or two, roadies can use both sides of the road, bombing the downhills like we wish we could the rest of the year.
There is one little problem on the road, though: scree. Oh, and there’s usually pine cones, pine needles, and other tree-related debris.
Which means, I guess, that if you want to get fussy about it, there’s more than one problem on the road.
Though I assert that, collectively, it’s still just one problem: stuff that gets in the way of your ride and can potentially wipe you out or at least give you a flat.
By now, you’re probably wondering why I’m arguing like this, when nobody was counter-arguing. You are probably not wondering, however, whether someone got a flat, because otherwise I wouldn’t have spent four paragraphs going on about this.
By the way, it was The Runner who got the flat.
The Runner’s saddle bag had everything she needed to fix the flat: tube, CO2 cartridge, adapter and tire lever. We took care of the flat in a few minutes and finished the ride.
As we swapped in the new tube, though, It was obvious that it was time for a new tire.
The next day, The Runner brought her bike into Racer’s Cycle Service, asking Racer — yes, that’s his actual first name — to put a new tire on. And of course, he did.
And that should be the end of the story, which would not be my best or most interesting blog post of all time (not the worst, either, but perhaps a little more mundane than most).
But there’s a little more to the story.
Surprise Inside
The Runner and I planned to go on a longish road ride on Saturday — Over Suncrest, along Wasatch Blvd, up Little Cottonwood to Alta ski resort and back home — about sixty miles, with about 7000 feet of climbing.
As I was getting our bikes ready (I often do pre-ride bike prep on The Runner’s bike, because in addition to being remarkably handsome and athletic, I am also very chivalrous), it occurred to me: The Runner’s saddle bag was — and had been, for her most recent two rides — strictly ornamental. No tube, No CO2 cartridge.
Relieved that The Runner hadn’t found out about my negligence the hard way, I went and got a tube and a cartridge, then unzipped the saddle bag.
But there was already a new tube and CO2 cartridge in there.
But not the brand of tube or CO2 cartridge I currently keep in my garage.
Instantly, I realized what had happened: knowing that The Runner had used up her tube and CO2 on the flat, Racer had replaced them when he put on the new tire.
And then hadn’t said anything about it.
Yeah.
Racer Rules
So you can kind of see why I travel the extra distance to go to Racer’s. Why I’ve been going to Racer’s since it’s existed. And why I went to the bike shop Racer worked at before he got his own place. It’s because, in addition to being a great mechanic, Racer is just a genuinely good guy.
And I expect that there are a lot of great guys (and I mean the inclusive-of-all-genders version of “guys”) — local bike shop owners and mechanics — out there just like Racer. Guys who love riding, who know their bikes, and who take care of their customers.
Guys who make it possible for people like me to spend our bike time riding, instead of tweaking.
Tell me about them.
Comments (106)
06.3.2010 | 11:59 am
A Note from Fatty: Some people have been asking how my Alpine Loop Summit TT went. Well, I got rained out on the day I was supposed to go, but I did it this morning with a group of fast friends. My finish time was 55:56. Slower than my best time last year, but not a bad early-season effort! And I am tired. Check out how my friends did on the newly-formed Alpine Loop Time Trial page, read Grizzly Adam’s report here, Mark’s report here, and Rick Sunderlage’s (not his real name) report here.
I know you don’t need me to give you any incentive at all to join Team Fatty in our 2010 LiveStrong Challenge. You don’t need a reason beyond the important one, after all: you’re making a difference in people’s lives as they fight cancer.
But you know what? Sometimes a little incentive doesn’t hurt. You know, just to nudge you off that fence you were going to get around to getting off any moment now anyways.
Well, I think you’re going to like the nudge I’ve got to announce today.
Team Fatty Is Shimano-Powered
It’s no secret that Shimano has had UBFOF (Ultra-Best Friend of Fatty) status for a long time. They set up the incredible Orbea with Di2 components giveaway. They set up additional team-centric giveaways. They provided components for the Ibis giveaways.
This year, Shimano is going one step further:
They are providing components, wheels, and more and orchestrating the frames from three manufacturers as incentives for Team Fatty to fight cancer with everything we’ve got.
Without going into details about a very private person, let me just say that part of why Shimano is going completely overboard in helping us is because someone there has a loved one who is engaged in a battle with cancer incredibly similar to Susan’s. He and I talk pretty often, and his — and her — courage are phenomenal, as is his ferocity in this fight.
You fight hardest when it’s personal. And for Shimano, this is very personal indeed. I’m proud to fight alongside them, honoring their efforts to turn something hellish into something good.
So this year, Team Fatty is Shimano-Powered.
(photo of San Jose Team Fatty Captain MattC’s banner from Amgen Tour of California. Obviously, he had a little insider info!)
Three Dream Bikes, Three Manufacturers, Three Different Dreams
Here’s the thing. Not all of us have the same dream for our dream bikes. Some of us love mountain biking. Some of us love touring. Some of us love cruising around in town. Some of us love racing.
Well, I’m going to guess that — whatever your favorite kind of riding — you’re going to be blown away by at least one of the bikes in the fundraising contests this year.
But I’m not going to tell you what the bikes are, yet.
I will, however, tell you that they are all very different frames. And they are all from incredible manufacturers. And they all — naturally — are outfitted with top-of-the-line Shimano wheels and components, and PRO parts.
So when will I tell you what the bikes are? As we get closer to the contests, which will coincide with the LiveStrong challenges.
Bonus Awesomeness About the Bikes
Oh, this is probably worth mentioning: all of the bikes will have some version of the much-coveted Exclusivity Factor. Meaning that each of the bikes will, in one way or another, let you be the first — or only — kid on your block to have such a bike.
Have I teased you enough yet?
The First Contest Starts Next Week
So when will you find out what the first bike will be? Next week. In fact, one week from today.
And the cool thing is, you can get a jump on winning this first bike — and I’m going to drop a hint here by saying that no matter what kind of rider you are, you will want this bike — by joining Team Fatty now and starting your fundraising.
Join Team Fatty, Win Awesome Ridonculous Prizes
I’m going to do prize giveaways a little different this year than last year, to encourage folks to join Team Fatty and get others to donate to their own LiveStrong Challenge accounts. The idea being that the more people we get off the fence and involved in this fight, the better.
Here’s how it works.
First, you need to join Team Fatty, in any of the four cities:
Which city should you pick? Well, if you’re close to one of the cities and think you can make it to the event, pick that one. Otherwise, it honestly doesn’t matter which city you pick, because you’re going to sign up as a “Virtual Participant.”
Let me make it clear: you don’t need to attend one of the events to be part of Team Fatty. When you sign up, just sign up as a Virtual Participant. And the cool thing about being a Virtual Participant is that It doesn’t cost anything to sign up as a virtual participant.
Second, you need to start raising money. Get your friends and family and coworkers to go to your fundraising page and start donating. Explain to them why the fight against cancer matters to you. Make it personal. Chances are, you won’t have to look very far to find someone who is either fighting or has fought cancer.
Third, cross your fingers and hope for the best. When I do the drawing for the bikes, I’ll assign a ticket number to you for each $5 you’ve raised. So if you raise $500 right now you’ll get 100 virtual tickets in the hat for each of the three bike drawings.
Can you see how it’s a good idea to sign up now and raise money early? Yeah, I thought so.
Q&A
If you’ve got questions about this, ask in comments. I’ll either answer inline, or if the question seems especially relevant or common, I’ll move it up into this post.
I can think of a few questions you might have, so I’ll get started.
Q. What if I’ve already joined Team Fatty and raised money? Does that count toward the Shimano giveaways?
A. It sure does. And thank you!
Q. What if I don’t want to join Team Fatty. Is there a way for me to still win the bikes?
A. Yes, you’ll also be able to enter the drawing by donating to my personal fundraising pages.
Q. Do I need to have a Team Fatty jersey to be in Team Fatty?
A. No, you don’t. The 2010 Team Fatty jersey’s are all sold out and have been for some time. There won’t be a new order coming in, either. The fact is, while it’s cool to have the jersey, being part of Team Fatty isn’t at all about the look. It’s about the fight.
The pre-order for 2011 jerseys will be sometime fairly soon, by the way.
Q. Which LiveStrong Challenge events are you going to, Fatty?
A. My day job has me crazy-busy right now, and I’m wanting to do more with my family with what vacation days I have, so I won’t be able to go to all four LiveStrong Challenges. My current plan — subject to change — is to go to the Philadelphia and Austin Challenges, as well as the NYC Marathon.
Q. I want to join Team Fatty and raise money toward attending the NYC Marathon. What do I need to do?
A. Just sign up with any of the four cities right now; we’ll get your fundraising applied to the NYC Marathon a little later, once we’ve got that set up. And meanwhile, your fundraising may net you the bike of your dreams!
Sign up now. Start fundraising now. At the very least, your work will have helped in the fight against cancer.
And it’s entirely possible you might win one of three dream bikes.
Comments (40)
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