The HiFi Continues to Impress

If your unfamiliar with the HiFi or the Superfly this post will make no sense, click on the HiFi and Superfly labels under the Label List to the right.

I rode the HiFi twice on Marshall Mesa last week and it continues to impress me. Marshall's trails make a good proving ground since I'm very familiar with them on the Superfly. The first noticeable difference was how stable the bike felt. The High Plains Trail connects my neighborhood to the Marshall trails. It's a rolling, off camber trail, lined with lots of tennis ball sized rocks. Although not a joy to ride it's good to train on because it is similar to some fresh cut race courses like Nathrop or parts of the Laramie Enduro. It's the kind of trail that on the Superfly I always feel like I should be riding faster, but have to sacrifice speed for control. On the HiFi the rear suspension did all the work allowing me to shift some focus from keeping the rear end connected to just riding fast. It was an example where the combination of 29 inch wheels and 4" of travel really shinned! On the few short climbs of the ride the HiFi was still a tank, but I feel like I'm learning how to exploit the it's assets and minimize it's weaknesses. Conservation of momentum, while important on the Superfly, is critical on the HiFi. It's greater mass requires much more power to accelerate once it's slowed. Small climbs that I can sprint up and power through on the Superfly require just letting my speed bleed off and spinning to avoid going anaerobic. This will change as my fitness builds and I transition from base to intensity training later this spring. The end result will be more total power in my legs and "training bat" effect when I get on the Superfly. I'm stoked on the bike and continue to be impressed by it's virtues.

Here's a tracklog from a shorter Marshall Loop (about 14 miles) I did last week. The loop on the west end is the new Spring Brooke Trail that was opened last fall by the Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance. I decided it was too windy that day to do the full loop from my house, which proved wise later when I was literally blown off the HiFi by what I estimate was a 60mph gust. Rocky Mountain Regional Airport which sits on the same plateau network as Marshall Mesa reported gusts of over 50mph that blew over a Cessna while it was taxiing (here).

Triple Bypass Photo

Last year I rode the Triple Bypass on the Superfly. The Triple (as it's known locally) is a 120 mile road ride over three of Colorado's highest mountain passes. You can read my post about it Here. Jonny V. and I have been talking about getting the Triple photo below for 7 months now, he finally did it. The picture was taken as we rode over the top of Loveland Pass. A sign announcing the photo spot instructed us to look ahead and not at the camera, but I obviously didn't listen. It was fitting since I was one of only a handful of the 3000 riders on a mountain bike.

The Superfly Takes Flight

I just finished editing pics from the first day of the White Rim trip, I'll have a post up soon. Until then I could not resist the temptation to put up a few self glorifying jump shots Jo took of me hucking the Superfly off a ledge on the last descent of the ride. As the sun set I raced ahead to be the first rider down the descent so I could take pics of everyone else. Afterwards Jo offered to take a few of me, here's what she got. Wait, is it bad to jump a carbon hardtail race bike?

Crankworx Terrain Park on the Superfly

CCrankworx Colorado came to Winter Park back in August. I raced in the cross country race and my Mom, Jo and I watched the some of the qualifiers for the slopestyle event. If your too lazy to scroll, you can read about it Here. There's a great video of the Slopestyle Finals Here.

After the King of the Rockies race last weekend John and I rode up to explore what was left of the Crankworx Colorado terrain park. The Superfly is not the ideal bike to ride on a terrain park. It's carbon 29er race bike which is made to roll over things not huck off them. Nor am I the ideal rider, if I jump higher than 3 feet I go unstable and usually crash. Plus, it hurts more and takes longer to heal these days. Basically I've turned into a giant weenie!

As a result I decided to abort riding down the 20 foot drop leading into the first jump. Looking down from the top I was able to feel the full grasp of how big those guys in Crankworx were going. John is an expert snowboarder and skateboarder who is used to dropping on things and even he thought it was pretty insane. We stood on the rock looking down and imagined how it would feel the first time you committed to the jump.

After deciding to pass on the huge drops and jumps we moved on to the walls. The first one is a 6 foot high 180 degree wall that is used in a few of the Winter Park race courses including the King of the Rockies last weekend. During races I've always picked a medium line it at top speed. It's great because it allows you to carry a ton of speed into what would normally be just a switchback, but the G's compressing you into your seat can catch you off guard. We rode it a couple times and it was fun to just to take it easy and not worry about crashing.

The second wall is at the bottom of the huge drop first jump we stood on earlier. It's a menacing 270 degree turn into a ladder bridge that leads into the slopestyle course. I merged this series of pictures that John took into one shot. I didn't really get that high, but it looks cool!

Lance Armstrong Races the Leadville 100 - No Superfly

The Leadville 100 mountain bike race is this weekend. Although not the hardest 100 mile mountain bike race in the country, The Leadville 100 is definitely the most popular. It's ranks are filled with famous and talented cyclists from all avenues of the sport. Last year disgraced 2006 Tour de France winner Floyyd Landis came in second to local superstar Dave Wiens who won his fifth Leadville 100 in a row. This year Lance Armstrong is adding his name to the list. He tried out two trick bikes for the race, a Trek Top Fuel 9.8 and a Gary Fisher Superfly 29er, my two-wheeled ride of choice. He chose the Trek.

Velonews Aug 4, 2008. Author: Steve Frothingham.

"Lance Armstrong is preparing diligently for the Leadville 100 mountain bike race in Colorado, training in nearby Aspen to acclimatize to the altitude.

As of Monday, Armstrong had ridden parts of the 100-mile Leadville course two or three times and was doing daily road and offroad rides, said Trek spokesman Ben Coates.
"Lance is in Aspen with a couple of guys, one of them is a trainer that he is working with. He looks super fit when I saw him the other day, and he seems to be taking the race very seriously," Coates said.

Armstrong also has been testing equipment, choosing between a Gary Fisher Superfly 29-inch hardtail and a 26-inch Trek Top Fuel 9.8 full suspension.

Coates said both bikes were under 23 pounds with seat pack, bottle cages and computer. Coates told VeloNews on Monday that Armstrong has settled on the Trek. "

Here's the actual bike and specs below (also from the article cited above).

Coates provided the following specs:
Avid Juicy Ultimates with 140mm rear Stan’s rotor
Bontrager Race X Lite wheels with Bontrager Jones XR Team Issue Tubeless Ready Tires
Bontrager XXX Lite Riser Bar and Bontrager X Lite Stem
Bontrager Race X Lite Carbon Bottle Cage
Shimano XTR Cranks, Derailleur (rapid rise on rear), Cassette, shifters and Chain.
Crankbrothers 4 Ti Candy pedals
Nokon cable housingSID World Cup fork w/handlebar lockout
DT Swiss rear shock w/handlebar lockout
Bontrager Race Lite lock on grips
Not pictured is a new Bontrager Inform saddle

Obviously I'm biased, but I think he made a poor choice. Coming from years of road racing I think the Superfly and its 29 inch wheels would suit his strengths and the race course much better than the full suspesion Trek Top Fuel. The course consists of approx 14,000 feet of climbing on mostly dirt roads or double track. It lacks any major sustained tech sections or even much single track for that matter. Plus, you could easily shave a few pounds off an already anorexic stock Superfly with the components above making it more of a climbing machine.

Who am I to pontificate on what bike Lance Armstrong should ride in the most popular 100 mile race in the country? Wait I can answer that - someone who takes his racing too seriously and has way too much time on his hands! The answer of course is a no one, although I do bear a striking resemblance to George Hincapie. Either way, I standby my self-entitled opinion. I'm sure Lance will have no problem on the Trek, but think he should have chose the Superfly. I wish him, Dave Wiens, and locals Ryan Hamilton, Natt Ross, and Todd Carver a good race! Here's a follow up article posted today.

Velonews, Aug 7, 2008. Author: Steve Frothingham.

Lance Armstrong on Wednesday downplayed his chances of winning the Leadville 100 mountain bike race this weekend, saying a top-five or "on a good day, top-three" finish is more likely.

"I'm not in it to win it, as they say," Armstrong told reporters in a conference call from Aspen, Colorado, where he has been vacationing and training for the 100-mile race, which starts in the considerably-less-posh nearby community of Leadville.

Armstrong said he's been training on and off road, and also has been hiking and running a bit as he focuses on adjusting to the altitude in the Colorado high country. The Leadville race starts at more than 10,000 feet elevation and tops out above 12,000 feet.

He said he wasn't sure if he is fully acclimated. On race day he will have spent 14 days at altitude.

"It's hard to say because I've never spent more than two weeks here. I feel a lot better than I did the first week," he said. "I'm not sure anyone ever feels good at 12-five."

He said he's been training with an eye toward Leadville for the last five or six weeks.

"I don’t know how competitive I can be," he said. "It's a nice goal to have, it keeps me serious, keeps me fit."

He called five-time defending champion Dave Wiens "the odds-on favorite."

"Really, a race like this takes a lot of experience and a lot of endurance, too, and he has that."

Pushed to predict his finish time for Saturday's race, Armstrong said he thinks he'll come in in the neighborhood of eight hours, or about an hour behind the winner — which at Leadville equates to about fifth place.

"I fully expect to get beat up," he said.

He did, however, engage in a little trash talk with coach Chris Carmichael, a Leadville veteran who will compete again this year.

"I know I can beat Carmichael. I will be home and showered and probably three beers in by the time Carmichael makes it in."

Bike Touring on the Superfly - The Triple Bypass on my Mountain Bike

The Triple Bypass was a huge success! It was easily one of the most enjoyable cycling experiences of my year. All of my fears and anxiety about riding it on the Superfly were unfounded, it was perfect conditioning for the Laramie Enduro.

Jo and I got to the parking lot at 6:30am and in a disturbing pattern that's emerging at these events I had to make a B-line for the nearest restroom. Every single Port-O-Pot I found was surrounded by a huge line of riders hopping up and down in anxious anticipation. After waiting in line for a few minutes the stark realization that time was running out hit me. I frantically rode down the bike path looking for more Port-O-Pots. As I rode by a playground I saw a plastic roof peaking above a wooden privacy fence. I was like an oasis in the desert. Given the situation it might as well have been a porcelain throne surrounded by walls of mahogany with a vase of wild flowers inside to keep things fresh. There was no line, it was clean, and it was private. Unfortunately, just as I settled in my serenity was disturbed by banging on the door from others who were in the same state of panic I was in moments prior. It reminded me of the movie A Christmas Story were Ralphy was trying to decode his Ovaltine secret decoder ring as his little brother was banging on the door. It was a horrible experience and put it me in a bad mood.

This wasn't from the Triple Bypass, but a funny Port-O-Port image I encountered at a Race in the past that is appropriate!

Unfortunately, my absence caused some confusion in meeting up with Angela, Scott, Todd, Paul, and Jon. Angela was running support for us and needed a bike tray off Jo's Honda for the shuttle back. My bad mood only added to the confusion and resulted in an embarrassing tirade over the phone to Scott - Sorry Man... Eventually we found each other, but as a result we were some of the last riders to start. We passed the Road Closed sign on Squaw Pass Road at 7:30am, a full hour after the official start. Our group settled into individual paces with Todd going off the front followed by Paul. Jo and Jon settled in together and I ran laps between everyone for a while. I wasn't sure what pace to ride. On the mountain bike, my cadence was much higher than everyone else's and I was afraid of exhausting myself trying to early. Soon I found my pace and took off after Todd and Paul.

Todd, Paul and Scott, Jo and Angela

Crossing the Start Line 1 Hour Late

Scott and I

As I started to catch the stragglers ahead of us I enjoyed the shocked looks and supportive comments of doing the Triple Bypass on a mountain bike. It was a theme that would last all day. The crisp morning air was invigorating and as my legs came alive my pace picked up. The views were spectacular and my anxiety about the miles ahead on knobby tires faded, although they didn't leave completely. Near the top I pulled out my point and shoot to grab a shot of the Continental Divide and found it wouldn't focus. Nothing I could do would make it focus, it was dead.

Dead Camera

It was a shame because the miles ahead would treat us all to spectacular views and hilarious moments as delirium set into the group. Sadly all the shots to follow are through the sweaty haze of my camera phone lens.

It didn't take long to climb Squaw Pass (Juniper Pass on the map). At the top was an aid station where I waited for with Jo, John, and Scott. The Superfly was creaking bad and I thought maybe it was the cassette again (see Superfly Creaking Post). There were a couple mechanics there who let me throw it on the stand and tighten it which helped, but didn't stop the creaking.

Top of Squaw Pass

Everyone in our group had left before I could get my bike back together. At first I wasn't concerned because I thought for sure I would catch them, but then I remembered I was on a mountain bike. Unlike all the roadies coasting down the descent beside me there was no recovery to be had. It was pure anaerobic cranking just to get to 35 miles an hour. It felt like I was riding a single speed. I had to use any draft I could find, be it off cars or other riders, and only brake when absolutely necessary to conserve my energy. My only advantage was in tight corners where my big knobby tires let me lean in deep. Eventually, near the bottom I saw Jo way ahead in the distance. I was hurting bad, but didn't want to get left so I put in a good effort and after about 3 minutes I caught her. She pulled me the rest of the way down the hill to Idaho Springs.

Riding Down Squaw Pass Alone

Angela was waiting for us in Idaho Springs along with everyone else. We laughed, re-energized hydrated, and Chamois Buttered. Jo and I headed out towards Loveland pass before everyone else. Riding through Idaho Springs Jo surprised me when she dropped the hammer and attacked a small group of riders. It was all I could do the keep her pace until I warmed back up again. The long ride up to the base of Loveland pass took us along the I-70 corridor through the towns of Dumont, Georgetown, and Silver Plume. It was particularly scenic as we climbed up the bike path below the Georgetown Loop Railroad's Devil's Gate Bridge. Todd caught us on the road before the path.

Devil's Gate Bridge

At this point we were no longer in the back of the ride, we had caught the back end of the main group. There was a steady stream of riders ahead of us. Jo and I worked together riding a tempo that was noticeably faster than everyone else. I felt like a rock star passing them all on my mountain bike, but reminded myself that this was the back of the entire ride and consisted mostly of recreational cyclists. After a while the bike path ended and the route crossed over and onto the shoulder of I-70. We caught Jon and the three of us worked our way up I-70 together. Our tempo was still much higher than everyone else's and passing next to the constant flow of traffic on I-70 was a little uncomfortable. After a while I decided to try to break away and catch Todd. It was about 5 miles before the next aid station at the base of Loveland pass. I put down a sustained race pace effort. Instead of passing on the left near the highway lane I decided to use my bike's inherent advantage and ride on the groomed dirt to the right of the highway shoulder. Now I really felt like a rock star as I climbed past the long stream of riders on dirt. The comments were awesome! Everyone was super supportive and complimentary. I didn't catch Todd before the aid station, but I my effort was solid and I felt good. Jo, Jon, Scott, and Paul rolled in shortly afterward.

Jo and John after Idaho Springs

It was good fun to laugh and socialize at the aid stations without feeling pressure to keep moving or beat the clock like in a race. Angela did an amazing job of running SAG for us. She was always there with a smile on her face and much needed water and food. Chamois Butter was becoming crucial as the miles and hours wore on. For the non-cyclists out there, Chamois Butter is a soothing lotion you put on the pad in your cycling shorts (your chamois) to prevent chaffing. The Bontrager Race Lite saddle on the Superfly is going to have to go, it's just not made to be sat on for hours at a time.

After leaving the aid station we started the four mile climb up Loveland Pass. It was probably the steepest climb of the ride, but not nearly as steep as I thought it would be. I could have ridden it on my road bike without knee pain, but was glad to be on the Superfly. Everyone took off except Scott so I hung back with him for a while. Eventually, I broke off and caught Jon. I resisted the temptation to open it up and go hard because it was a long way until the base of the Vail Pass and the Superfly would have a big disadvantage on the flats. Jon and I rode an easy, but steady pace all the way to the top while Jo took off hard. At one point I spotted her two switchbacks above me and she was killing it. At the top we waited for Scott and took some pictures.

Switchbacks on the Way Up Loveland Pass

Jon, Scott, and I on the Way Up Loveland Pass

At the Top

On the descent I planned on drafting behind Scott or Jon, but unlike Squaw Pass it was steep enough for me to keep good speed. I only got up to 48mph, but the Superfly's cornering advantage in the tight turns allowed me to maintain my speed, while the roadies had to brake. As the roadies recovered on the descent, I pedal hard and focused on energy retention. About half way down it flattened out slightly and Jon caught me. We worked together drafting off cars and each other to keep our speed up. We passed the only accident I saw the entire ride were it looked like someone washed a wheel and went down. Police and fire were already on the scene as we passed. The rider was on a backboard, but he looked okay.

Todd, Paul and Jo were waiting just past KeyStone Ski Resort. After a GU we formed our own pace line and worked against a solid headwind to Dillon Dam Road. At the Dam Paul, Todd, and I broke away in a sustained 25mph effort until the next aid station. I felt really strong and took my share of pulls at the front. I was surprised at how easy it was to maintain the high speed once the Superfly's wheels were spun up. The only real difference was I was in my biggest gear while Todd and Paul had some more to go. The route turned onto a bike path that follows the shores of Dillon Reservoir. We were still cruising in the mid 20's when I saw a piece of single track break off to the right. I was in front and took it, hoping it didn't end in a 6 foot drop. Paul almost followed me until he realized what I was doing. It wasn't very long and it spit me out right in the back of our 3 man pace line. The surprised look of the group behind us as I came off the dirt and fell right back into formation was priceless!

Jo and I at the Bottom of Loveland Pass

The next Aid station was at the Dillon Marina. Angela was there and had brought me a couple cans of Coke. I normally try not to drink soda that isn't natural, but the mixture of sugar and caffeine in Coke was a good boost. I cut it half with water and kept a bottle with me for the rest of the ride. Re-Chamois Buttering was essential!

Mmm Fresh Chamois Butter

After the Dillon Marina we followed the bike path along I-70 to Copper Mountain Ski area and the base of Vail Pass. Todd and Paul broke away while Jo, Jon, Scott, and I formed a group and enjoyed the rumbling creek on our right and towering rocky peaks on our immediate left as the path snaked up the tight valley. We rode through Copper to the path again were it snaked its way up Vail Pass in a wide gap between the East and Westbound lanes of I-70. I had ridden this before and remembered that it isn't very steep or long. As soon as we hit the path I slowly accelerated until I was near my anaerobic threshold. It had been about 85 miles and I wanted to simulate a last push to the finish for the Laramie Enduro. Soon I was hovering just below threshold, putting down good power and going fast. My rockstar feeling came back as I blew by a constant stream of road bikes. One guy wouldn't have being passed by a mountain bike and attacked me as I passed. He pulled ahead, but I maintained my pace and soon he slipped behind me. He hung on my wheel, but now after the attack I was determined to drop him. Occasionally the path would go up a steep "bump" where I would get out of the saddle and power through my current gear. With each bump the gap opened up a little more until near the top he was gone. I was completely in race mode as I rolled into the Aid station. Paul and Todd were waiting with Angela and when everyone else rolled in we hydrated, GUed, "buttered" and were off quickly.

Bike Path Between Dillon and Copper Mountain

The rest of the route was a long descent down Vail pass, through the town of Vail into the finish at Avon. Todd took off first and I hung with him for the entire descent. The descent down Vail pass was a little shallower than Loveland so I couldn't take many pulls. I spend most of it tucked in behind Todd. The path snaked though an endless forest of aspens glowing in the warm light of the late afternoon sun. At the bottom we waited for everyone else, deciding to finish the ride together as a group.

Todd Pulling me Down Vail Pass

Riding Through Vail as a Group

We rolled through Vail and down the bike path following I-70 into Avon. In Vail, I allowed myself to make the mistake of thinking the ride was almost over, but we still had 10 flat miles to go. My arss was really hurting and the familiar back and neck pains of long rides were slowly creeping into my awareness. The joy from almost being done and a growing sense of accomplishment of doing the ride on the Superfly overcame any negativity and kept my spirits high. We rode together until the finish were Paul led Jo out and she crossed the line first.

At the Finish

The finish was rather uneventful. Not that I was expecting fireworks and grandstands filled with cheering fans or podium girls with bottles of champagne, but a balloon arch or actualy finish line would have been nice. I realize it's not a race, but the line of cones we rode though ending into a wall of Port-O-Pots was too anti-climatic for a 120 mile ride. Ultimately, nobody needed any of the that to re-enforce good feelings about the ride. Doug was on his way back from the Snowmass race so he met up with Angela and they both greeted us at the finish. Smiles were plentiful as everyone was stoked and glad to be done.

After changing, stretching, and breaking down the bikes we headed to the food tent for a post ride dinner. I ate 2 cheeseburgers (I never eat those), a huge piece of chicken, a salad, a baked potato, 4 oero's, 4 chocolate chip cookies, and 3 glasses of lemon aid! After that Doug and Angela shuttled us all back to Evergreen in the end of great day. It was a pleasure to Represent Phoenix Multisport along with Jo and Jon. As we passed people we recieved many comments on how well we were doing in the Colorado mountains coming from the lower elevation of Phoenix, AZ. It didn't take long to get practiced at explaining that we were from Boulder and that Phoenix represented a bird rising from ashes, not Phoenix, AZ.

Thanks to Angela running SAG for us, she couldn't have treated us better. Thanks for Doug for giving Jo and I our entries and running shuttle for us. Thanks to Scott for putting up with my melt down at the start. Thanks for Paul, Jon and Todd for the good company and great riding. And thanks to Jo for another memory of a fun adventure together...

My Distance on the Superfly: 125 Miles. Riding time: 8:29 (this obviously doesn't include stops).

Triple Bypass Tomorrow

It's 11:55pm, as usual today was a bit of a de-railment in getting ready for the Triple Bypass. This summer has been one of chronic busyness and it's seems to go on without an end. I worked all week and had to cram all of my weekly chores, sleep depervation recovery, dog walking, and bike maintenance into the short day today. I have a high level of anxiety about riding my mountain bike the full 120 miles tomorrow. I adapted the bike by mounting some bar-ends (which I'm luke warm about) and Doug's semi-slick tires. Every single person I mentioned I was doing the Triple Bypass on a mountain bike to looked at me as if I was crazy. I'm really having some doubts, part of me thinks it's going to be miserable. Listening to the Tour De France today I couldn't help but think how fun it would be to glide down the descents to the swish of my carbon aero road wheels and to enjoy the rhythm and cadence of pedeling my road bike over the mountain passes. Instead, I'll be listening to the "waw waw waw" sound with each pedal stroke of my knobbies on pavement for however long the ride takes. Even worse, the thought of getting dusted by overweight, middle aged recreational roadies on their gucci road bikes is a bit unsettling.

BUT those are all fears and my purpose for doing this ride is training / body conditioning for the Laramie Enduro. I don't have a compact crankset and although I doubt the route gets steep enough to, riding my road bike's big gears up the climbs could inflame my knee. Spending the miles and time on the Superfly's geometry will only strengthen my supporting and secondary muscles for the Laramie and I'll get way more of a work out! Lastly, maybe - just maybe I'll be the one doing the passing when I come up on the hordes of overweight, middle aged men on expensive road bikes! Nothing could be more humiliating to that cycling demographic than to be passed by some dirt loving punk on a mountain bike. I'm going to wear my wool Dirt Rag socks just in case!

Training Update 7-07-08, Triple Bypass

Last week I had a solid training block consisting of 6 rides covering 250 miles in just under 16 hours, 4 road and 2 mountain. The road rides were commutes to work which I'll expand upon in another post soon. The mountain rides were the Laramie Enduro Recon Mission 1 posted below and an expansion of Super Walker from my house. I named it Uber Walker in my training log. It was a brutal 46 mile ride, taking Marshall road to Flagstaff and then Super Walker. Next week I'm going to extend it a little by adding some of the Marshall Mesa trails on the front and back.

Tomorrow and possibly Wednesday will be rest days tapering ahead of The Triple Bypass ride on Saturday. Doug gave Jo and I Triple Bypass entries for our birthdays. The Triple Bypass is a road cycling tour covering 120 miles and climbing 10000 feet over Juniper Pass (11,140 feet elevation), Loveland Pass (11,900'), and Vail Pass (10,560'), He's also going to lend me some slick tires so I can ride it on the Superfly. I'll probably be one of only a few doing the ride on a mountain bike, but it will be perfect conditioning for the Laramie Enduro. There is a school of thought that recommends always training on the bike you plan on racing on. In my experience this becomes more important with endurance events. It allows conditioning of saddle pressure points and the secondary muscles that vary with the subtle geometries between different bikes. Plus, the lower gearing will allow me to spare my knee.

Triple Bypass Route and Elevation

Pre-Race, The Superfly is Creaking like the Titanic

Winter Park Race 2, The Cross Country Super Loop, is tomorrow. My start time is in 10 hours and 55 minutes. I should be in bed, but like the last race (The Burn), I'm a little de-railed (no pun intended). This week has been a less than ideal pre-race week. My goal was to taper throughout the week, instead I just didn't ride for 3 days, 2 in a row. When I did ride, they were fraught with problems and cut short due to time pressures. The first was cut into by a shady car dealer trying burn my new friend Jean-Paul, who also rides a Superfly. Then it was shorted when his chain ring bolts backed out, which happened to me on the Superfly's 3rd ride. The second ride didn't happen because I was rushing and forgot my shoes. Three times this has happened to me now and I am horribly embarrassed to admit it to the world, as I pride myself on being organized and not an idiot! That morning I looked in my riding bag and saw the bag my shoes go in, but as I found out later it was sans shoes. I ended up getting a short road ride in, but it was a bad day! Today, I managed a good effort and feel like I woke my legs up for tomorrow, but the Superfly was creaking so bad it sounded like the Titanic in her last moments.

Carbon resonates noises louder and at a different frequency than steel or aluminum. The Superfly has known issues with creaking, in fact my frame is going back to Trek (Gary Fisher) to have one of the issues fixed. The creaking today was so loud it was disturbing other people on the trail. I was the butt of many dirty looks today as I shattered people's serene walks in nature with a sound similar to that of a tin can being dragged under a moving vehicle. When I got home I tried to chase it down.

First I cleaned the bike and spent extra time on my chain, chain rings, and cassette.

Then I pulled both crank arms and cleaned, lubed, and inspected them. While they were out I checked my chain ring bolts, just in case they had loosened up. I cleaned the outside of the bottom bracket bearings and cups too.

Then I put it all back together and took it for a test ride. I was worse than before. With every pedal stroke it sung out like a hand saw cutting through a cello. I the hard realization hit me that through out my race tomorrow every pedal stroke shriek out with a demoralizing creak. There is nothing more demoralizing than a creaking bike during a race. Nothing! The only solution left was a less complicated, although somewhat elegant option.

Earplugs! Maybe the creak wouldn't be as demoralizing if it was muted by earplugs.

Resigned to my fate, I started cleaning up. Then it hit me! I remembered a ride I did last August shortly after building up my Santa Cruz for the 10th time. The bike felt fine at first, but as I pedaled more and more I felt play and heard an unsettling noise from below and behind. It was my cassette which had come loose from the rear wheel hub probably due to improper torquing on my part. I put the Superfly on the stand, pulled the rear wheel and torqued my cassette to the 40 Newton Meters specified on the lock nut. It let out a god awful screech, but it moved a little. I put the wheel back on and alas the creak was gone.

Victory! At least for tonight. I'm pretty much expecting the creak to come back in the middle of the race tomorrow and I'll bring ear plugs just in case. For now I'll go to bed with a little peace of mind knowing that I stopped it at least temporarily. Race start time is now T minus 10 hours and 27 minutes!