The Official Website of Noah Singer

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:55:00 +0000

The new site lives at noahsinger.com
I will no longer be using blogspot, posterous has won the battle.

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 02:00:00 +0000

Tulsa Tough may be the greatest overall weekend of Pro/Am racing in the USA. Tulsa is an absolute gem in the rough, the rough being Oklahoma. From the onset, the promoters did a fantastic job, starting with host-housing applications on the race website. Host housing is much more than just a way to save a few bucks, but a way to be part of the community and to live with another person or family for a few days. In my experiences, they have always been good and the hosts are always very interested in racing, diets, training and the overall lifestyle. Our host for the weekend was a gentleman named Bob, an avid cyclist and outdoorsman living in the coolest part of town. Lucky us.

The race is a three day series setup omnium style, meaning you can start one day without finishing the previous day. Also, each day is scored separately, although at the end of the series points are added from the three days to determine the overall winner.

Friday- 9:15pm. Starting well after dark we had a 70 minute, figure eight course through the Blue Dome District. The longest section was two city blocks, making for a very technical crit that averaged 28mph. Everyone was on par in terms of fitness within such a tight course, but it was technique that made the difference. Also, you had to skip the heart attack when a massive fireworks show started about halfway through, to the surprise of everyone. With 7 laps to go in the 40+ lap race I crashed with three others. I think I was hit from behind, but not sure. Regardless, I hit the pavement at 35mph on a slight downhill, to the excitement of about 500 onlookers. I did a full 360 then laid there for a few seconds, waiting for a tire to run over my face. That Never happened. I jumped up to the applause of the crowd and made it back to the SRAM pit to get back in on the very next lap, about 60 seconds later. Zach, Wade and I all finished in the pack, while Brad Huff (Jelly Belly) sprinted to the win.

Saturday- 8:30pm. 80 minute crit. Another night crit, but this one started in dusk so our eyes had some transition period midrace. This race was in the Brady Arts District, and even more people showed up to cheer us on. Soundpony, the greatest bar outside of Durango, CO, had beer on tap to lubricate the throats of its majorly awesome hooligan crowd. Mega-phones in tow, they lined the streets spewing beer and yelling at every single rider. Just as in the night before, Dave Towle announced the entire race while having access to live TV coverage from his booth. Also, there were two huge jumbo-trons on course to spectators could see about 80% of the race at all times. All three of us kept it upright this time, finishing in the pack, again behind eventual winner Brad Huff.

By the time we left the race at 10pm not much was left open for dinner. We finally scored a place, and refueld our tired yet blood pumped bodies. Long story short, over a glass of wine I expressed one of my biggest fears in life to Wade and Zach. I’m afraid that one day in the not too distant future I will meet someone younger than myself, and they won’t know who Michael Jordan is. Seriously, I am scared shitless of this. So, Zach thinks it’s a great idea to ask our teenie bopper waitress what she thinks when she hears “I wanna be like Mike”. I cringe. She looks at each of us separately, then hesitates for what seemed like an hour. Zach- “So, do you even know what that means?” I punch Zach because I can tell what is about to happen in my life. She says “Umm…like Mike Jones”. I melt into the booth, and my only response to her is “I’ll take another glass, now!”

We proceed to get at least once drink at Soundpony after my oh-so depressing dinner. I see a temporary tattoo machine, with prints of the Soundpony itself. Perfect mark for the place that fueled the emotional side of my race just two hours earlier. It went right next to my fresh roadrash from the night before.

Sunday- 4:25pm. 80 minute circuit race, with ‘crybaby’ hill. About 30 laps. This is the queen stage of the weekend. $4,000 to the winner, and even more hooligans on the climb than ever. AT&T sponsored a prime at the top of the climb to keep things extra hard. After a morning spin we were loosened up and ready to romp for the third and final time. We begin, and the first time we make the bend around the top of the climb the road looks almost entirely closed with people. It’s insane. There is a live band and about 500 people having a civil war with supersoakers, back and forth across the road we take. From the extreme stench, you would think nothing but beer exists on this hill. It almost made me sick to my stomach, the hot Bud Light flowing on the 100 degree pavement. Flag poles, man thongs, race car outfits, astronauts, men in diapers….it was all there to cheer and push us along each lap. Wade ended up making a monster attack and bridging up to the eventual winning break. After his efforts to get up the road, he lasted a few laps and was back with us. Regardless, he went for it and did a really impressive move with nothing to regret. I did all I could to stay in the top 1/3 of the shrinking pack, while Zach had to retire from heat exhaustion. In the end Wade was pushed aside with one lap to go when a guy slid across the pavement infront of him at near 30mph. I held my position on the other side of the road, and finished up 31st out of about the 60 remaining. I was quickly scurried to a photo booth for a post-race headshot, Rouleur style.

Overall Tulsa Tough once again set the standard for Pro/Am events in America. Here is what helped to make it work-

* Bring the course to the people, not the people to the course. Hold races in already crowded downtown districts.
* Keep the courses tight, length short, and money high. Fans (or virgin fans) do not want to see us go by once in 110 miles. This includes only seeing a finishing straight for 30 seconds. 80-90 minutes in a tight circuit are fun for racers, and evidently even more fun for fans. St. Francis Hospitals were the top sponsor, overall the race had over $100,000 in prize money. $47,000 in the Pro/1 field alone, meaning $50,000+ in the NON-pro fields.
* Volunteers and hired professional staff. Corner marshals and jumbo-trons are all huge benefits in their own way. Having renowned announcer Dave Towle kept the veterans and first time crowds on the tips of their toes, he is well worth the fee. Tons of first time fans expressed their new found excitement in bike racing to me directly after the race.

Tulsa, keep on keeping on. Your cycling community is among the best and Team Panther will continue to return. Other towns/races, take notes.

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:03:00 +0000

Ronde van Burns Training Series. Week One.

Each summer Competitive Cyclist hosts and promotes the Ronde van Burns crit series. It’s a simple concept- 55 minutes of racing on a Tuesday night. Five bucks to enter and you always get more than you pay for.

For the 2010 edition the Panther pb Competitive Cyclist team will ride all of the races. Just to keep things interesting, our own sponsor built a team of the remaining local racers that they feel can take us down. The SRAM Froggies (get it?)have about ten riders and are solid I will admit. So, 10 guys vs. 4 guys, but the 4 are all cat. 1’s.

About 20 minutes into the races a few attacks had been thrown out, but nothing was really sticking. Finally, Wade (Panther) laid down an attack and was quickly marked by local stud Peter Beland (BMC/Wal-Mart). Those two are both known to have some punch, and once they got about 15 seconds up the road I did everything I could to bridge up to them without pulling the field. I went, and turned around and had a clear gap. My two remaining teammates were blocking and I made it safely to the duo up the road. With about 30 minutes still remaining, and 95 degree temps it was going to be an effort. We grew our gap while taking perfectly timed pulls lap after lap. Shortly after we got up the road Zach and Kris (Panther) tried to bridge up with two other Froggies in tow. They came within about 15 seconds of us but didn’t make it. We never even knew they were trying to bridge up, and just kept the pace at the 26-28mph range. Once they were back in the field I think it was pretty calm for the rest of the race for the pack. Meanwhile Wade, Peter, and I were leaving nothing left in the tank, and just burying ourselves to stay away.

With four laps to go, Wade attacked Peter and I to get away. Peter quickly followed and it didn’t stick. Immediately after that, I gave everything I had for my attempt at a break from the breakaway. It worked. I quickly grew a 15-20 second gap for the three remaining laps. I saw the field in front of me, and out of principle felt obligated to overcome them. It would just be cool. So, with about 300 meters to go I made it around the entire field and came across the line with my arms in the air, as they continued on for one more lap. Wade then jumped Peter for 2^nd, while Kris won the field sprint. Panther went 1^st, 2^nd, and 4^th. Not a bad way to start out the week, and open up the legs for the upcoming Tulsa Tough series this weekend.

Below are nearly 200 photos from the race last night, all taken by Competitive Cyclist photographer Rob Karman.

Ronde van Burns Week 1

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Sat, 22 May 2010 13:55:00 +0000

If this doesn't get your blood pumping, you've got something wrong with you.

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 18:06:00 +0000

Thanks to David Henderson for this GoPro video he had rolling during our race. You can view the final few kilometers where you see our team fall into place at the front of the race. As we hit the brick section of the final kilometer you can see the effects on the camera. Just before he falls towards the back you can see our final leadout train fall into position. After a perfect execution, Chris Uberti goes on to take the win. For the video below, you may need to pause it and give it a minute to load. You can also see the full length video here.

Team Panther wins Hillsboro-Roubaix

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 23:08:00 +0000

It was an incredible day for the 87 mile Hillsboro-Roubaix in IL. 125
racers- Pro,1,2 on the start line. 100% farm roads and only about 8-10
feet wide. Crashes, close calls and damn near 120 90dergree turns in
all. Our team had a perfect leadout train after widdling the field
down to 30 guys in the last lap. Greg Christianson was an absolute
animal at the front, covering every attack! The he rode the front of
our leadout train, followed by Kirk Albers, Chris Uberti, Noah Singer
and Ryan Knapp. We held that train the final kilometer over the pavé
and the leadout shot Uberti down the road for an incredibly hard
faught win. Noah was 3rd an Ryan Knapp 4th.

Know Uberti has an automatic invite to Nature Valley Grandprix.

Us Arkansas guys are in the car for a 7 hour jaunt over to
Fayetteville, AR for the Lincoln Road Race.

Great work to all the guys at Hillsboro-Roubaix.

Noah Singer

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:36:00 +0000

It’s the shortest race. It’s the hardest race. It’s the funny looking helmet. It’s the funny looking saddle. It’s the leotard like outfit. It’s when the socks go outside the shoes. It’s the woosh of the disc wheel. It’s when you think you didn’t train enough, no matter how much or how little you trained in actuality. It’s the race that matters. It doesn’t matter if you wear a Rolex or a Timex, you're racing against the clock. It’s the race of truth. It’s the time trail.

For the past four weeks we have designated one day of the week for pure time trial training. Be it 10, 20, or 40k we are out there hammering and dialing in position. The slightest adjustments now will make the biggest difference on race day. And that first race day was this past weekend.
Myself and Zach made it an early morning and packed into the back of Ryan Johnson’s van for the three hour trip north to Fayetteville, AR. The occasion was the Iron Pig Time Trial. Being its first year we really didn’t know what to expect. We did know it was 18 miles and slightly up on the way out, slightly down on the way back. We arrived about an hour before our 10am start time and picked our way through the race packets, the registration table had been abandoned. We also quickly realized that the TT was more of a perk, for the main event being a duathalon with several hundred participants. The cyclist didn’t really have any idea what was going on, and not many people knew where to tell us to go. We found the start box about a half mile away.

After a very brief 25 minute warm-up it was go time. Moments after leaving the start box I realized I had no clue where the finish was (I later found at that some people asked while in the startbox and they didn't know either). Back at the main event there were cones everywhere, and people everywhere. Whatever. I hammered out and the legs felt great. The turnaround came quick and I still had a bit in the tank because it was over a mile early. After turning around it was mainly stair stepping downhill back into town. I averaged about 40mph for well over 45 seconds, then held 30mph on the flat sections thanks to that lovely tailwind. I came back into town and saw all the cones, still no clue where to finish. I went to take a right where a sign said “bikes”, logical decision right? Wrong. They directed me forward and I got in a few more pedal strokes to the finishing clock. Also, it was 16.5 miles, not 18 as advertised. I got off the course and did hill repeats with the left over energy. Kidding. Kinda.

Post race was typical, we all spoke about how we felt and how none of us knew where to finish. At least we were all in the same boat. The plan was to go ride another 1.5 hours before driving home but we wanted to see results first. Turns out, I won and Zach got 2^nd! We decided to hang out for about 30 minutes as told for awards. So… fast forward through two Michelob Ultra’s sample beers and 1.5 hours of duathalon awards and we hear this- "Oh, and for those of you awaiting TT awards, they are still on the slow boat from China so we will be mailing them to you". So… no awards. No training ride. Just a post race stop at the chicken shack and it was back to Little Rock. A fantastically fun and rewarding day, despite all that jazz.

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:07:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000

When we think of Vegas we all think partying (no, not Interbike). When we think of Fayetteville, AR similar scenes flash through our heads. Let it be known that just as Vegas means business, Fayetteville means bike racing. The Natural State is known mostly for the Joe Martin Stage Race which rolls around each May, but that weekend is surrounded by oodles and noodles of good, clean racing. This past weekend Kris, Chris, Wade and myself headed up to throw down on the states season opener road race.

Upon arrival on Saturday I did my standard one hour loop North of town. It includes ridding past the Waste Management dump, through the Tyson Country Club (yes, that Tyson) neighborhood, and then past the old-drive in movie theater. It's like one of those rides at Disney World that takes you through all the different cultures in one big swoop. This time I was halted at the gates of the club for the first time and forced out to ride the highway with the common folk, where I suppose I belong. At least I still got to see the club house where the Chicken slingers drive their Titleist balls.

Fast forward past Mellow Mushroom that evening and to the start line the next morning. The Cat. 1/2 field had about 25-30 stallions ready to duke it out for 81 miles. The course included a 1.2 mile climb during each of four laps, and that is always where the winners win and the loosers loose.

Last year Brian Jensen made his move at the top of lap two and wasn't seen again by most of the field. This year I was glued to his wheel on lap one, then again on lap two. At the top I thought I was in the clear and mission accomplished, then he attacks, again. I had no response but luckily Chris Uberti came flying by me and hopped on his wheel. Jensen's teammate Steve Tilford followed and away they went with three others. My group of five stayed about 35 seconds behind them for about 20 miles. It was a sick, sick joke. The leaders gap eventually grew and we lost sight of them, but still had Uberti up there. Kris, Wade and myself all rode well together in our chase group, rotating pretty darn smooth. Wade pulled ahead on lap three and stayed between us and the lead group until the finish. In the end Steve Tilford rode to victory while Jensen was 2nd and our man Uberti was 3rd. All around it was a smooth race and it was great to get Uberti on the virtual podium after our first race together. Ben Upchurch put on a great event as always. To top it off he was handing out the cash prizes before anyone even got off their bikes, see this picture courtesy of Steve Tilford's blog. He also had some nice things to say about our kit. I complimented his kit, and the rainbow stripes around his sleeves.

Also, check out this video of the finish courtesy of Jon Landes-

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:15:00 +0000

1st Race Weekend, Bad Habits, Fat Tires.

Monroe, Louisiana. That was the site of last weekends opening race for my season. I got a late start, not leaving until 8:00pm or so on Saturday evening. On the way down Ryan Johnson and I needed a solid pre-race meal for dinner so we saw the bell. Once we got to Taco Bell we knew we had to get inside and see what the 30+ high schoolers were up to. I reckon that is the new hang out. The best part was when six douche bags with this haircut walked in and tried to run the place. They quickly retreated.

Ryan and I rolled into Super 8 around midnight and hit the sack with Wade and Wes who had arrived an hour earlier. The next day was a 20k TT, followed by a 40 minute crit in the afternoon. I had a solid warm-up for...umm.... the first time ever and ran what I considered a good first race of the year. My new TT bike has 8 miles on it but we felt like a match made in heaven. I did a 27:41 which was 5 seconds behind Wade and good enough to be the 1st looser. Yep, 2nd place.

After taking a nap at Starbucks it was off to the next event, the 40 minute crit. Twenty minutes in Wade attacked (for the 2nd time) and this time got away. His brother Wes and I just sat back and chased down all of the attempts to catch him. At 25 minutes in the ran began and it was reminiscent of figure skating without the grace. Wes crash immediately after saying "I run 90 psi so I can nail the corners". I kept it upright and continued blocking for Wade while he eventually rode to victory. I won the field sprint for 2nd overall. My second 1st looser of the weekend. Both Wade and Wes acted as guest riders for the weekend we got the 1,2 punch in both races.

In other stuff- I have two ~~bad~~ annoying habits that are really going to bite me in the ass one day. 1) I check the Send To: address immediately after sending a text message or email. 2) Whenever walking into a one-hitter public restroom I halfway open the door before knocking.

Finally, the boys from Moots Cycles showed up at Competitive Cyclist today on their road trip to the North American Handmade Bike Show. Check out their snow bike, it will surely be the talk of the show. Check it out-

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 22:44:00 +0000

Here it is, the first race of the year. Myself and a few guys from work are heading down to Monroe, Louisiana for a one day, two stage event on 2/21/10. I have made a tough decision to not follow my original plan, and team mates to Austin, TX for the Walburg and Pacebend races this weekend. I opted to not spend 18 hours in a car in February, for what would be a training race for me. Work, life and Mardi Gras have gotten in the way of consistant training over the past 12 days so it couldn't be justified. This is a strategic decision to better my season and start out motivated and rested while off the bike.

Not to belittle the race in Monroe, I am very much looking forward to riding my new TT bike that has 75 minutes of riding on it total. There is a 20k TT in the morning, followed by a 40 min. crit in the afternoon. It is also the first time to slip on the new Panther pb Competitive Cyclist team kit. They turned out well, images coming soon. I'm anxious to see what you think because I helped design them with Zach Spinhirne-Martin.

We are also making the final adjustments to the official Team Panther website, once that is launched I will be sure to point you there.

My Team From The Start!!!

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:48:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:24:00 +0000

How about Dem Saints?

Schmidty and Troy took off for Mexico today. Lucky Ducks. Shannon and I got the last minute call to join but life got in the way. Take a look on the right side of this post, you will see some links for my Picasa account. From there I'm posting an assortment of pictures. Some are my photography, some are from trips, some are wedding pics, some are random. Shannon keeps saying she is going to start her blog too, someone shoot her an email or message her on Facebook and tell her to get to work!

I'm selling another bike, have you been in the market for a sweet single speed?

Check out this new site, promising and well designed.

86 This- Boulder can keep it's hippies and Illegal Pete's to it's self. Does anyone know of a job available in Boulder/Denver, CO? Online marketing / web design in particular? Shannon and I have been thinking, and it's not the first time it has come up. This company is promising.

Check out this photo shoot with Todd Wells. Pretty sick.

Ready for a new Guilty pleasure? This site is a total addiction and is masterfully designed and kept up. Sign up now.

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 23:13:00 +0000

Our Wedding Album.

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 23:08:00 +0000

Today's Snow Ride.

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:28:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:15:00 +0000

My new teammates Kris French and Zach Spinhinere-Martin have been talking lots of trash already. I copied/pasted their recent email thread into a movie, added a few gestures and here is how it plays out. Pretty darn funny, and has some slightly obscene verbage...mind the kiddos.

Boulevard in the AM

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:55:00 +0000

Started off the day with a freezing cold ride with Zach and Don.
Boulevard is always here to warm us up though.

Coming up- 230 miles of riding between Saturday and Sunday. Ouch.

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 04:47:00 +0000

An update, finally. Here is a photo diary of my past 6 weeks. It includes my wedding in New Orleans, Cabo San Lucas, San Francisco, Little Rock, Hot Springs, the Christmas tree farm, another trip to NOLA and some mountain biking.

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 01:38:00 +0000

se7en days

1 week. 168 hours. 10,080 minutes. 604,800 seconds.

Next Friday is the big day, Shannon and I will get married down in NOLA. Wedding prep and wedding work is a ton of work. Just ask Shannon. She has handled about 90% of it, and has been incredible at it. It's one more day in the office and then it's down to NOLA and then on to Cabo. By the way, once in Cabo all forms of public contact- phone, blog, facebook, twitter and email will all be removed from my access. Score.

What eles has been keeping me busy? I have been jam packed with work, including a couple days in Vegas for Interbike. Below are some of the highlights from the show.

Engin was beautiful at the Edge booth.

As usual, Vicious made my mouth water.

White-walls are so yesterday. It's all about White-alls.

Nino Schuter. World Champion and his special little stem.

Independent Fabrications was showing off their showstopping track bike. It was started on the American new year and finished on the Chinese new year. Get it?

This is so gold. Anyone who knows Troy can appreciate this.

Lance Armstrong's Leadville 100 winning whip.

Of course, the one and only Mark Cavendish bike was on display. It was the most viewed bike at the show, hands down.

Also, did I ever post this? If not, I sure meant to. My dad took this at his house. So Gold.

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Single Speed World Championships

Durango, CO 2009

Here I am again, sitting in Durango Bagel like it's 2008. I am back in Durango for a part homecoming, part bachelor party, part single speed worlds. Combine those for on exhausting but overly satisfying weekend.

The fun began about an hour after my plane landed on Thursday. I went on a great mountain bike ride to stretch the legs out, and more importantly feel the Durango dirt again. Schmidty, Jesse and T Wells threw an awesome bachelor party for me. We know it was a success because it did make the police blotter in the Durango Herald.

8:15 p.m. There was a loud party in the 600 block of Valentine Drive. Police responded and learned it was a bachelor party, and the participants were about to move it downtown.

After we moved the party downtown this is how things began-

And this is how it ended. At Denny's like any other successful evening on the town.

The next day I made sure to make it into the backcountry for a little hiking a my first ever attempt at fly fishing. And yes, that is a black bear we saw on the way to the trail head. Then, we found it's tracks on the trail we were hiking. Sketchy.

Finally, Saturday was here and it was time for teh Single Speed World Championships. Over 2,,000 people showed up, 987 of them in full costume. Everything ranging from cops to penguins. It rocked. The course was 22 miles on literally the most difficult course possible. There was an epic hike-a-bike lasting about 25 minutes as we crawled out way up the mountain side. Once on top, it was Raider's Ridge. If you don't know the Ridge, here is what you need to know. Hold you line and balance at 3 mph while riding the most technical terrain imaginable and don't fall to the right or you wont touch ground again for a thousand feet or so. There was a small prop plane flying overhead for that entire section, I will source out the video/photos they shot.

After about 2 1/2 hours of grueling singletrack and climbing I made it to the finish line somewhere in the top 50 I've heard. Oh, and I can't forget the hilarious feed stations on course- about a half dozen beer feeds, a pot feed, more beer feeds, a live band, and then finally a whiskey and bacon feed just before the final section of trail. Epic. I did not take part in them all, only some.

Check out this sweet picture of Danny Pate. You may remember him for this years Tour de France where he rode for Garmin-Slipstream. He totally rocks, and on this day he was rocking the penguin suit.

To wrap things up, Saturday evening belonged to the party at Ska Brewing. It was 'hosting camp'. This is where there is a compition to decide where Single Speed Worlds will be held the following year. Chad 'Chainsaw' Cheeny put together a basketball game, with New Zealand and Italy represented. Try to imagine a bunch of cyclist throwing down in a b-ball game. It was a joke and it was a funny one.

The outcome... We will see you in New Zealand in 2010.

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 17:08:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 02:41:00 +0000

The ultimate full carbon fiber townie

This was for sale. Now it's not. I thought you may want to read about it anyway.

This full carbon Argon 18 Krypton has been turned into the ultimate townie. Just a year ago it was a bad to the bone race machine. As a matter of fact this exact frame won the crit at the Tour of the Gila in 2008. It was in the cat. 3 field but that is still pretty badass. It was a owned by a buddy of mine who was just going to leave it in his garage, naked of components. I adopted the beauty and put a good bit of work into it, starting with the naked but very sexy frameset.

Yes, this is a full carbon frame and fork which makes it the most bad to the bone townie… in town. I began by dropping in a pair of Velomax Circuit wheels that were also slightly used on the road racing scene. These wheels sell for $300 alone (they are now renamed as Easton, if you’re a searching or them). Wrapped around the wheels are two different tires for two different purposes. In the front is a Continental Grand Prix 4000 clincher tire. Conti tires are known for durability so having this as the first line of defense against you and the unforgiving payment is a must. On the back is a Michelin Pro Race 2, known for speed. It is also known for the tubby Michelin Man that would ride a bike almost as cool as this one.

The wheels are attached with Shimano Dura-Ace 7800 skewers. Yes, that is true. These skewers alone retail for $129.00 alone! Feel free to Google that up!

I then inserted a full carbon Truvativ Team seatpost, with a Fizik Arione Wingflex Team saddle. The saddle and post combo alone have a $270 value. But to be honest the saddle has a crack across the bottom, but that only adds a slight suspension feeling. Think of it as a Buick turned into a Cadillac. I keep the setup in place with a Salsa Lip Lock seat collar. So pro.

Up front is the full carbon Argon 18 fork mated to a Cane Creek IS2 integrated headset. Not to be one to miss a detail, I have even outfitted this machine with carbon fiber headset spacers.

The stem is a totally modded out and custom with a On-One 4-bolt frontal faceplate. For aesthetic sex appeal I dropped a small hole through the center of the stem for the routing of the front brake cable. No, it does not interfere with the structural integrity, nor does it have a practical purpose. It just looks sick and that’s all that matters. Right?

The front brake uses an Avid Speed Dial 7 lever and Shimano 105 brake caliper. This just slows you down so I don’t recommend using it if you’re a hard-man.

I have a pair of upside down mustache bars mounted to the front of the stem. They really set off the bike and scream it’s purpose – cruising the strip and looking like the man. You can stand up and hammer down to beat the next stop light, or beat the riced out ’97 Honda Civic with a spoiler sitting next to you. The bars are wrapped with Arundel Gecko Tape. Again, Google that up if you don’t know about it. It’s some fancy pants handlebar tape.

Let’s talk drivetrain- Shimano Compact cranks in 170mm length keep this guy turning. It has a 34 tooth single chainring. I opted for a shorter length crank so there was never a hesitation to stop pedaling while railing a turn and trying not to skid out and bust your butt on the painted cross-walk markings in front of you. They use an external Shimano bottom bracket, pretty much what all those hunks rode in the Tour de France this year. This bike could live in the streets or Portland or slopes of the Pyrenees.

The rear wheel is 9/10 speed compatible but I have spacers setup to run a single cog. No, it is not a fixed gear. Again, no it is not fixed gear. This means you can stop pedaling and use the single mounted front brake to stop instead of blowing out your knee’s acting like a NYC messenger. I used an STS singulator which works flawlessly and can accept any size rear cog. The bike has a 15 tooth cog on the wheel. With a 34/15 setup I find this to be the perfect gear for cruising town. It will keep you at a good clip when on flat streets but will allow you to crank up the hills. Of course you can tear apart any cassette and change the gearing to your sweetest little desires. If you’re a manier man than me just drop a smaller cog on the back or a larger ring on the front.

There was a small scuff on the non-drive side rear chainstay. The bike was like this when I received it from my old racing buddy. I put some JB-Weld over the blimmish and I’ve been riding it for 8 months like this. Trust me, it will not break at this point, its not even close. I bet the baseboard of your bed has bigger cracks then this thing would ever turn into. It is shown in the pictures, it has black sharpie over the JB-Weld to hide the band-aid.

There is a SRAM PC-991 chain with master quick link for cleaning in after you ride through street grime of the knarliest degree.

Sizing up:

The seattube from center-top is 56.5cm
The seattube from center-center is 52cm
The top tube center-center is 55cm

Like father like son.

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:11:00 +0000

Here is a hint of my wedding present from my dad. I'll just say that
this blog will come back to life shortly. In a big, colorful way. Stay
tuned...

noreply@blogger.com (noah) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:51:00 +0000

Unreal. My first ever CD was Michael Jackson History, double disc set that my dad bought me. You will be missed.

To break the seriousness. This if from The Onion: Last piece of Michael Jackson Dies was headline yesterday.

Last week there was an absoultely beautiful shower for Shannon and I. Hosted at the home of Mike and Beth Coulson, along with our great friends Barbara Graves and Barry McDaniels. They have always been extremely nice to our family, and that was shown to everyone in attendance.

Shannon and I are in Fayetteville for a three day weekend. Her friend Kati is getting married on Saturday. Shannon is a brides maid and gets to do all the fun stuff that goes along with that. I get to do fun things to like mountain bike and kayak at Lake Fayetteville, then join in for the rehearsal dinner at Theos. Congratulations Jeff and Kati! I will bring my notepad, Shannand and I get hitched in just four months.

I was excited to get a new iPhone today. Well, really just update my existing one to 3.0, but the updates always feel like a new phone. I should be careful what I wish for. I did get a new phone but in a beatup old body. iTunes thought it would throw me for a loop and totoally restore my phone to factory settings. Then I used the backup copy to get it back to normal, but it forgot all of my 3rd party applications. This new cut/paste/copy feature better be better than and iced mocha with a scoop of gelato inside (ZaZa).

I don't claim to be a top 100 Twitter'r by any means. But when people use their updates to say "driving" or "working out" or "taking a dump" this is when I unfollow them. Just shut up... or compile all of your lame Tweets into one jumbled up one like "out driving taking a working dump".

If your not doing it already, follow my Twitter account for work. You will get huge deals like 50% on things that are never even 30% off. @compcyclistroad and @comcyclistmtb

Billy Mayes just came on TV.

We finished up the 4th and final round of the Ronde van Burns crit series on Wednesday. Competitive Cyclist's own Zach Martin powered to the win and overall series victory. Sam Keesler was 2nd that day, and 2nd overall for the series. I ened up 3rd in the series and 4th that day after jumping away from the field with four laps to go, chasing down the Heiniken Keg Can preme, bingo. Also, I want to give HUGE props to the guys coming down from Jonesboro each week to keep it fast. My buddy Michael (Trent) Talley and I had a personal sportmanship rivalry each preme lap of each race. We literally would look at each other in the eye and start laughing, waiting for the first attack from one another. I am not afraid to admit it, I never passed him for a win. Never, he has tree trunk legs. A few times I got the jump early and earned a preme, but if he jumped first I off his wheel like a dress on prom night. Thanks for the good clean fun Trent, and enjoy your BMC Swiss Technology belt!

Does anybody have a kayak for sale? I am really itching to somehow get a playboat, creek boat or something slightly larger in volume. Give me a shout, especially if you need bike stuff so we can work something out.