Every year around February is becomes a challenge in CO for training. Earlier in the winter it is easy to do something else other than ride because you still have a long time before race season. So if it is cold or windy, you just run or hike or snowshoe or ski or whatever. But [...]

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One of my favorite YouTube movies out recently “Shit Cyclists Say” has many a classic line. One of my favorites is the “I’m not a sprinter” and “I’m not a climber” exchange. From day one, racers seem to put themselves in one category or another. When I raced in TX, I did not consider myself [...]

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 Started painting the bike this weekend.  Of course, I didn’t realize painting the bike would take as long as it took to build it.  The kids helped with the fingerprintes on the frame to add that special Mother’s Day feel.  Only thing left is logos and clear coat.     

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As you move up in categories it becomes more difficult to be a generalist.  People at the P12 level are just too good at climbing, sprinting, attacking, time trialing, etc.  It is very difficult to be able to do them all well enough to win.  So many riders get to the Category 2 level and [...]

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After protecting the lead in the RR and all of us finishing safe, we set out to get another W in the criterium.  The race was only 55 minutes, which is a relief for most of us used to racing 75-90 minutes.  55 was much more palatable for the first crit in Feb.  The course [...]

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After Jim won the TT by a minute, I immediately entered my love/hate phase of leading a stage race.  Ideally as a teammate, it is always best to take over the lead on the last stage so that I don’t have to do anything. (Insert sarcastic look) But since Jim decided to win from the [...]

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Here is the finished frame.  Next step is painting.  I am going to paint it myself because I am not sure I can even find someone to do the complicated paint job I want to do, coupled with the interaction of my kids adding their finger prints to the design.  In the future, I can [...]

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The last pieces take some time.  All the little braze-ons (water bottle, cable guides, etc.)  They are pretty easy to put on, but boy it takes a ton of clean up.   

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The team’s first race of the year is always interesting.  If your team has been racing together for years, it is all about seeing who is fit and shaking out the first race.  Sonic Boom is a pretty new group of guys.  So for us it is a lot about learning about each other and [...]

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After the front triangle came the rear triangle and the dreaded rear wheel alignment.  This is supposedly the hardest part for the novice frame builder.  It took about 3 hours to get it where I wanted.  But when I was done, I was feeling pretty good about the bike working out.   After I had [...]

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