Take a bite out of Grime

The Muddy Buddy slogan is "Partners in Grime." I'm betting that doesn't sit well with my brother, an officer of law. So I'll use "Take a bite out of Grime." HA!

Yesterday's Muddy Buddy event started for me on Saturday. I headed out to the packet pickup location (the outdoors store @ Chesterfield Town Center). It turns out both teammates were supposed to be there, so I got someone to stand in for my brother ;) while we handed in our forms. When I got home, I started working on the mountain bike to prepare for its big day. I needed new handlegrips, so I went to Re-Cycles (a nifty used bicycle shop on Cary St.) and bought some for just 100 pennies. I came back home and put them on. I Inflated tires to 45 PSI. I took off the crummy old handlebar grips and put the new ones on. I had to use soapy water as my lube and some seriously homo-erotic motions to get the new grips on. I was hoping no neighbors weren't watching... I also mounted the 90-degree bar ends to provide a different grip option. I also mounted two water bottle holders as recommended by the event organizers. Then I had to find two bottles that fit. Afterwards, I took it out for a spin. It felt good. I was hoping and praying that the tires/tubes would hold up because the tires are old and the tread was breaking apart. I'm not even sure if I ever replaced the tubes. I specifically tried to abuse the tires on my test drive. After the bike was ready and tested, I had to mount my bicycle rack to the back of my car and mount up the bike. And since I live in the ghetto, I had to lock it up.

Next it was time to prepare myself. The clothes I was going to wear during the event needed washing, so I had to take care of that. I also had to prepare another entire set of clothing because I was going to be covered head to toe in mud. Then I prepared my water bottles and made some dinner. I had 3 bratwurst on 2 hoagie rolls, and a hotdog! I had obligations Saturday night, so I had to be ready to wake up and walk out when I left the house. I had everything ready, so I hopped on the motorcycle (which was giving me trouble earlier in the day) and went to the event. I shouldn't have driven. When I left, the bike's battery didn't have enough energy to start it. Luckily it would kick start, and I was on my way only to have it die a few blocks later. Luckily, I was on a hill and was able to use the downhill to pop the clutch and get it running again! The electrics were all bonkers--I hardly even had a headlight. I had to ride on the highway because the bike would've died on the surface streets! Very dim headlight on the highway sucks... That delayed my getting home by 30 minutes at least. When it was all said and done, I was in bed by 11:30 PM and set to wakeup at 4:45 AM (WTF!?)

So I rolled out of bed, changed clothes and hopped in the car. I picked Glenn up by 5:45 as planned and we were at Pocahontas St. Park by the required 6:15 AM. We had to park out in the field by the entrance and walk in after pinning the numbers to our shirts, helmets, and the bike. It seems that nerves were high because the port-a-potty lines were extra long. We listened to the pre-race meeting, checked out the mud-pit, did some pre-race warmup, and just milled about until the start--delayed 5 minutes since there was a mile-long line on Beach Road.

We got a glimpse of the course from the map: there were 5 legs and 4 obstacles. Glenn was to start on foot and me on the bike. After the first obstacle, we were to switch, and keep leap frogging until finished. One of us were to bike 3 legs and run 2, the other did the opposite. It was easy to determine who got to bike more, even though we both wanted to--I paid so I got to choose. That and Glenn really is a better runner. And I should be a stronger biker than him since I do between 12 and 25 miles/week to and from work. But then again, we've never biked together, so I don't know.

We hit the bathrooms one last time and as we came out, the gun went off. So I hopped on the bike and set off, dead last in my heat. The runners were to go behind the bikers, and when I started the runners were already chomping at the bit to start. I turned out to be right next to my camping buddy Steve. We started with a pretty aggressive pace, passing quite a few people. Most people didn't understand slower people should keep right, so we were really bunched up with no where to go for the first 1/2 of the leg. There was one stretch here that was slightly downhill and therefore quite fast. One guy was passing another, but since I was going faster than both of them, I decided to pass him too. We were three abreast! I actually had to go through ~8 inch high grass to pass him. A few branches slapped against my leg as I was dangerously close to the trees. Then, hidden in the grass was a log. I hit that log so hard and so fast that I thought I was going to lose control. I'm truly surprised that my bike tires and tubes withstood the impact! I executed the pass and kept on going. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have passed, but it sure was exhilarating! I had to haul ass on the bike because I'm a terrible runner. I estimate the first leg was 1.5 miles. When we got to the obstacle, I dropped the bike and headed for it. It was a climbing wall wall/cargo net. It was just an 8-foot wall with rock climbing features on one side and a cargo net on the other. Pretty simple, but the cargo net on other side was a little difficult. I didn't want my foot to slip through--that would hurt!

Then the worst part: running. The next leg was my turn to run. I felt like I was running forever!! It had to be 1.5 miles. Someone on the run told me it was the longest leg. I was grateful of that fact since I would get it over with while still energized. As the runners passed the first obstacle they grabbed the bikes and set off. They came zooming by us one by one, yelling "left! left!" to indicate their presence. What turned out to be half-way through my run, Glenn came by and we exchanged cheers. It was really cool leap-frogging one another in this fashion. So fast forward like 3 hours (ok, 20 minutes or so) and I reach the next obstacle. It was a balance beam, which is easy, right? Not when your legs feel like Jello! It wasn't terribly difficult, but a lot harder that I thought it'd be. The guy next to me fell off, one leg on each side--ouch!

I quickly found the bike and hopped on. Again, I tried to set a very aggressive pace. The first bike leg was mostly narrow trails with brief openings. This one was mostly open (allowing enough room for 1 runner and 2 bikers abreast). There were more hills though. It was less a hiking trail and more a runner's trail. It seems some of the bikers weren't that comfortable going fast downhill seeing as thats when I passed most of those that I did. In fact, I don't think I was passed on the bicycle a single time, except for the start when we were all bunched. I came up to a hairpin right hand turn and as I approached, I noticed Glenn was right there. We exchanged cheers again and continued along our way. Actually, I went into the hairpin a bit fast. There was some loose gravel that slid under the front tire. Glenn saw this and said "Hey, Don't kill yourself!" I feel like I passed him roughly half-way through that leg. Somewhere near the end of this leg was a newly blazed trail. This trail had VERY soft dirt and roots still sticking out. I had power through it in the lowest gear and really pump to get up the hilly part. A lot of people had to dismount and walk their bikes up. At the end of this leg, came what I considered the hardest obstacle. It was an A-frame with two bars on each side and one on the top. You had to go over the first bar, under the second, over the top, and over the back side, but you're able to use the frame. This made it considerably easier.

Then the dreadful run again. Much like my second cycle leg, this leg was more open and had more hills. I found myself being passed by lots of people. Fatigue really started setting in here. I think I lost the majority of my time here. I was very slow, but I didn't walk. When it finally ended I was met by the final and coolest obstacle--the inflatable slide. You were to climb the cargo net on one side and slide down the slide on the other. It was awesome!

After sliding down, I searched frantically for the bike. I found it and grabbed a quick sip of water, I hopped on for what turned out to be both the easiest and hardest cycle-leg. After about 1/4 mile into the leg, I had to dismount (by order of the event organizers) and carry my bike through a waist-high creek. The uneven bottom made it hard to keep balance with a bike on your shoulder. After climbing out, I ran up the hill 20 yards and hopped on the bike again. Enter the hard part! I had to cycle up what felt like a 45-degree angle. And it wasn't just "power up it and you're done." This was a very very long hill. I was in the low gear cranking it out when lots of people had already dismounted and were walking the bikes up. It was so steep that my back found a lot of difficulty keeping traction. Sitting down helped, but then I lost momentum and power. After climbing for what felt like 300 yards, we made it out to the paved road. I am very familiar with road cycling, so this was the easiest part. I put it in high gear and just hauled ass! I passed fatigued cyclists like they were standing still :). Lots of bikers were tooling along next to their runners--I guess because you had to finish with your partner there was no point in passing. I pushed further and further down the paved road without finding Glenn which was a good feeling, knowing he was doing well! Finally, with the finish line in sight, I saw Glenn. After a quick cheer of encouragement, I turned the corner to headed for the finish. I was surprised to see Mandy, Cody, and Evan there to cheer us on just before the meetup area.







My surprise was evident in the picture ;).

I dropped the bike in the back of the bike dropoff and ran up to the start of the mud pit. The rules are: both team members must enter the mud pit together. When I reached this waiting area, Glenn had been there for just 10 seconds. We set off through the pit together, army style. It was awesome!







After crossing the finish line, I was disoriented. I wanted nothing more than to go shower. I briefly said hi to Glenn's family and posed for a quick picture with the photography company. Then I headed off to the showering area and waited for some extreme buddies to cross the line.





Glenn and I finished in 1:00:22.9.

I accomplished my three goals:
1. Finish in just about 1 hour,
2. Do not walk when on my running leg
3. Do not dismount the bicycle and walk it (which is very tempting on large hills!)

What a day! It was gross, but so much fun. And for the next 2-3 days, I couldn't hardly walk without pain. I really should have trained more! Looking forward to the Richmond 2009 Muddy Buddy!

finally, someone gets it (at least partially) right!

So the times dispatch folks did an article (linked in title ^^) on driving slower to increase fuel economy. Finally, someone got it right, at least partially. My car's highway MPG is 32 and city is 22. I average 18, but then again--I drive it like I stole it because its a fun car. I drive so little that I fill up once per month. If you read this blog or know me, I cycle into work most days or take the bus due to parking costs.

However, after getting the car, my fellow MINI owners collectively tried to get good mileage, a contest of sorts. I drove like grandma (not my grandma, but I'm sure I drove like someone's). I shifted @ 2k-2500 RPMs, got into sixth gear as quickly as I could, and drove 58 MPH. I obtained 32.2 MPG for the duration of the experiment (300 miles or so). So the article gives the general idea that if you drive slower then you'll save gas and therefore money. In their tests, a drive to Williamsburg from RVA yielded a 17% MPG increase by driving 55 MPH over 65 MPH in a Chevy Impala.

That said, I really don't think we should lower the national speed limit to 55 MPH. I think we shouldn't waste the money in posting new signs all across the nation's highways. Rather, invest that money elsewhere-- in technologies.

Independence Day

Saturday more motorcycle parts arrived, all the brake stuff I ordered. So I yanked off the old cables and hard wire, and mounted all the new stuff up. The cable turned out to be a tad longer than I needed for it to be, but the slack is fine. Also, the male-to-male fitting that goes from the cable to the brake caliper is a bit long, so I used 3 crush washers in there to give it some padding. The banjo bolt has a built in pressure sensor to activate the brake light. Previously, there were two separate brake hoses that met at a pressure sensor that activated the light. This setup has fewer places for air bubbles to get trapped. Air is brake fluid's worst enemy. The pressure banjo bolt is pretty ugly since it has the wires hanging out of it, but it sure gets the job done. The result is a very stiff brake lever and much better performing brakes.

After changing this stuff out, it turns out the brake cylinder is leaking. I need to rebuild it (the rebuild kit is $35). Rather than rebuild, I might upgrade it to one that contains a pressure switch (most newer ones do) to activate the brake light. Then I can get rid of the ugly banjo bolt wires.

Also Saturday, I performed the my first oil change on the bike. It was pretty uneventful. Drain, change filter, fill. Its a lot easier on the Honda than my MINI!

Today the front sprocket finally arrived. I'll be installing that this week. And soon I'll be ordering the following:
-Replacement Brake pads $25 - needed if I can't get the pads to stop squealing with proper greasing
-Clutch cable $11 - The lever is quite difficult to pull and its probably due to the cable. If it doesn't fix it, at least I'll have a spare
-Throttle push cable $11 - currently disconnected since it seems to cause too much resistance for the spring to properly retract the throttle grip
-Throttle pull cable $11 - Why not replace it too, could also be causing drag on the throttle cable system

I believe the bike is inspect-able now, so I'll be getting that done soon.

I rode the bike quite a bit this past weekend. I rode to my parent's neighborhood in c-field twice. I even took the bike on the highway! 75 MPH is scary on 2 wheels. 60 is not so bad, so I kept it there.


In other automotive news: we did more work on my brother's truck. We (mostly Ricky) adjusted the valves. This involved putting the distributor back in, and laying the intake manifold on the heads. We needed to bump the engine (using the key) to get each of the 16 valves in the proper location and then put proper torque on the bolts--tedious work. It turned out the battery was deader than dead, so after $98 at Advanced, the old Chevy had a new battery. We even had a brief scare when we though the starter stopped working. It turned out we had just drained the new battery and assistance from the accord provided enough starting power. Also, we filled the engine with oil as having lubed up internals is always a good idea when cranking the engine! Oh, and please note that if your vehicle has an electric fuel pump, connect it prior to turning the engine over with the key! Good thing the hose was pointing towards the firewall. Had it not, we would've been soaked with old gas!

Items left on that agenda
-Mount the air intake manifold and air filter
-Mount the valve covers
-Mount the alternator and the belt
-Buy and mount a bolt that goes into the mystery emissions component that runs on the belt
-Reconnect all the disconnected items: power connections, coolant hoses, PCV, etc

And its a good thing we're getting the truck running again, since they are pretty sure they found a new house in Portsmouth!


In other news, Congrats to Adrian and Amanda as Amanda is in remission, but still has a long road ahead of her.

Success!

So while I may be failing in one part of my life, I'm succeeding in another.

I got the job--I just accepted a new position with the firm, yay!


Bike work:
The first shipment: First FedEx lost the front sprocket
The second order and shipment: UPS is holding my package underwater in a sorting facility in Il!
WTFman?