Power to the party

So tonight is our annual Holiday Party, usually a Christmas party but with all the travel it turned into a New Years party.  Either way usually a fun time and hoping for no broken bones this year.  If you are reading this and did not get an invite, sorry, I do not do Facebook and handle no invitations.  If you think you should of gotten an invite, you are probably right and are still invited!

Either way each year we have a good friend who is a DJ so he comes in and sets up lights and plugs into my home system.  Now my home system is not the run of the mill.  For those into AV, I have a set of Bowers and Wilkins 804s, an HTM 2 center, and 2 ASW750 subs.  My problem was I have the seakers but was limited in the amp area so each year we did something to it.  The first two years we actually smoked a couple channels on it then last year we kept kicking it out.  So here is the before, or acutally in the middle of running some new speaker wire;

So what is leaving is the 9 year old Denon processor and the Rotel Amp.  I also ran new Analysis Plus speaker wire and ended up bi amping the left and right speakers.  So here is the almost finished product:

Ended up with a good upgrade.  The processor is an Anthem AvM50v and the 2 amps are the Anthem Statement A2 and A5.  Here is my speaker set up:

So now with all the upgrades done we are ready to rock out till both the ball drops and the partiers! Hapy New Year! 

Come on feel the noise...

It is time for an upgrade to the amplifier situation at my house!  More to come, but it is good.  No kicking the amp out at this years party! 

Filth-a-delphia

Just got back from Philly yesterday and Michelle and I are super sick!  Guess that is what happens when you cram so many people into one space!  I think my best experience of the trip was when this New Yorker was explaining how special Central Park was due to the size of the park being in the middle of a huge city. I looked at him and told him we do it better in Wisco, we left the state a park and scattered small towns throughout it. 

Follow the herd

Well we made it out to New Jersey!  Yup New Jersey!  Not sure I would head out for a ride around here.  Michelle is wishing that she could go for a ride cause she got her Xmas present early.  Mark and I spent the day building it.  Here we are in the process:

A little disappointed in ourselves though, no beer consumption during the entire process! At least Michelle can feel good about riding it the first time cause it is put together right!  Here is the final build:

Amazing the weights you can hit right out of the box, this is even with the Quarq Power Meter. 

Lets just say she was a bit excited about it when I gave it to her! 

Other than bike building we have been running around with the masses!  Yesterday we took a limo into New York City and did some shopping.  It was really funny cause when the pedestrian lights changed just masses of people moved, you had no choice but to follow the herd!  We did hit Central Park, not sure how they were Ice Skating, it was 50 degrees out. 

We did the lazy path through and took a carriage ride:

We also visited a nice candy store.  I would of loved to eat my way out of there, but they told me there was not enough time:(  bummer!  While there we found something that made us think of R Krayer! 

We also found his childhood haircut.  He wishes that he could still grow it like this, but all of his hair has slid off the top of the head. 

While in New York, you have to go out for a corned beef sandwich form Carnegie Deli. 

After that, I am pretty sure that I will not need to eat till Xmas dinner! 

Next stop please!

So I know I keep promising pics, but for some reason I seem to be all over the place.  Yesterday I didn't even turn my computer on and luckily with my phone I am still able to keep the ball rolling in all the things I dabble in.  Yesterdays excitement was also turned up with a trip to the ER for Michelle.  She is OK but has five stitches in her right hand now.  it was a bit scary though cause it cut pretty deep and sent her into shock and she passed out for a bit.  We made it all better by taking a trip to Red Eye last night to numb the pain with beer!  Yum. 

On the bike side of things, still no new bikes. We do still have a couple team bikes left so if you are looking let me know.  We have and Era, an Epic 26er, and an Epic 29er.  I have started back into the swing of things.  Nothing really structured, just getting acquainted with the bike is what Bossman calls it.  Luckily for us here in Wisco there is no snow and the temps have been good.

The morning Nemesis Gabe has also been taking shots at us.  I think Monday we did about a million squats!  The other issue is he learned that I HATE doing jump squats with the med ball and makes sure they are incorporated into every workout!! 

Next up for us is a trip to New Jersey.  I have been working on my dialect so that I can fit in.  Every other word out there starts with "F" and they cannot even say water right!  After a few days there I should be able to make the Jersey Shore transformation!  Not Sweet! 

In the meantime, more pics:

Cadiz, Spain:

Cruising the Atlantic:

Michelle on the switchbacks, Gran Canaria:

Valencia, Spain

Some pics from the cruise, here is the concert hall in Valencia:

The Valencia Science Museum

 A couple pics of us coming into port in Valencia.

Our accomodations for the two weeks on board:

I will post more in the next few days.  Now that I am back and starting to get back on the right time zone!  Overall the trip was a lot of fun and the highlite has to be the time in the Canary Islands.  I will post some pics of that in the next couple days.  In the meantime though the plans have been made for the year and the race schedule is almost set.  The WORS cup moving is the only thing throwing a hitch in the schedule.  I was going to go out east to the New Hampshire 100 that weekend, but hard to make that decision with a USProXCT in our backyard.  I also feel like I should support Don at this race for everything he does to bring great racing to Wisco.  

We are also working hard to finish up our bike orders.  Lots of help from some great sponsors this year with Specialized, SRAM, Truvativ, Avid, Hidden Bay, and every rider on the team doing their own part to make us the best in the Midwest!  It is going to be a great year for the Adventure 212/Specialized Team!     

In the press

Our own Mike P showing off his pain face in XXC mag:

Pastries!

Mmmmm! All I have to say is Phillips and I would never get out of Lisbon! There is a pastry shop on every corner and they are all amazing! We have now made three trips to the Pasties de Belum and have found a chocolate pastry that, sorry bossman, beats the Nutella filled doughnut in Larskspur! So as you can see eating continues to be the trend! One more day in Lisbon then on our way home. I still have a bunch of pics and will try to get them on my computer and uploaded as time allows. Please tell me I am not coming home to snow!

Poor Connection

Our internet is not that good, left the Canary Islands after a good ride and now headed to Lisbon! 

Lost at sea......

It has been almost 24hrs since I have seen land.  My lungs are now clear of the Moroccan smog and my mind erased of the harassments we received from every passing street vendor.  Today there is nothing, nothing but the great blue ocean rocking this giant vessel from side to side.  The rocking becomes very noticeable as I get up from my slumber and proceed down the stairs to get my 2^nd latte of the day!  Yes 2^nd latte!  Something has to get me awake again after the evening of 2 bottles of wine and the numerous drinks near the pool.  I must be awake before the noon hour Mediterranean spread near the upper deck pool!  I must make it to my 3^rd feeding of the day!  Just in case pirates take the ship by siege and deny me of my dinner! Don’t worry though, if I do miss one of these feedings, I will survive on the padding I have developed around my rib cage.  That padding that I am building up before our New Years Eve party to protect from a repeat of last year!  This same padding should keep me warm if I make it back to Wisco to start riding my bike again!  Oh how I miss riding my bike!  So much that my main goal of the day is to find bikes in Las Palmas.  I am hoping that the Specialized gods are looking down upon me and there is a nice Tarmac awaiting!  Please do not disappoint!  Speaking of disappoint, if anyone is wondering, no one from our group has made it over board yet.  We are only half way in though, 8 more days to go. 

I wonder if the cat is alive? 

Africa

Well I can now say I have been to Africa.  We are in Casablanca, Morocco today.   Did not get the most warm fuzzy feeling so did not make it long.  Ended up turning it into a pool day on the boat and just relaxed.  The drinks here go down way to easy though and it is 3 in the afternoon and I am already thinking I have a hangover!  Oops!

So tomorrow is a sea day as we make our way to the Canary Islands.  First stop is Las Palmas, or something like that??  Michelle and I are working on renting bikes and want to cruise the island.  It is not turning out to be that easy though.  Hopefully something works out?  If you know of anyone there who has a couple bikes let me know!  I have to do something before I need to buy another suit before the last formal night! 

Where in da world?

Not sure, but the wine is good, the beer is better, and the food rocks!  Gonna need the entire base period to get rid of my insulation this year!

For now we have camped out for the day in Cadiz, Spain.  I have some pics, but not even going to attempt that since I am using the satellite on the boat and it really sucks! 

Tonight we take off for Casablanca where Michelle is going to try and teach me to cook again.  We will be doing a local market trip where we have to get the ingredients for our dinner then come back and cook with the chefs!  Should be fun! 

In the mean time though we are doing a taste of Cadiz tour.  Walking around town sampling local food and cerveza!  MMMmmmmm!  Oh yeah, in the 70 degree heat.  Which feels like 80 with the intense sun this far south!  Hope everyone is good back home! 

Airplane butt!

Wow that was rough! Flew first class this time and made the trip so much easier. All I wanted to do was sleep but they were too busy filling my wine glass and bringing me food. I think Michelle had the flight attendant trying to get me to pass out so they did not have to deal with me! We had one stop in Amsterdam at 6am in the morning. That is a huge airport! We made our destination this morning and after a taxi ride where the driver finally decided he had no clue where we were supposed to be. Finally he dropped us off on the side of the street and we were on our own. Luckily Michelle made friends with a couple of the locals and we found our first stop!  Here is our view from the patio:

So that is the Mediterranean in the background, so any guesses yet?  Sure wish I had a bike though,  The Pyrennes are just north of us and look like they need some exploring!!  Alright, we are sitting in Barcelona right now and sure could use a coffee. 

Today will be our first exploring day, but in the meantime here is Michelle's tower.  I think she was going to go up there and wait for a prince to rescue her?

 

T-Day

Happy Turkey Day Everyone! Hope there are 5 meals in your plans today!  I love this time of year, cause it is the off season and there is food everywhere.  Oh yeah if that was not a hint enough, I love to eat!  Welcome to the fat season! 

I will not be getting my Turkey dinner today but will instead be enduring a long flight!  We leave today at noon and get to our destination tomorrow at noon!  Oh ADHD, please let me make it through this!  I think Michelle has packed everything to try and keep me entertained, and if that does not work good thing the plane is serving! 

More to come on where we are off to and up to, but in the meantime I hope everyone enjoys their Turkey Burner rides!

Tru -motiv

Motivation!  That is what the boxes should be labeled.  Everytime we get spoiled and receive stuff in the form of support it makes me want to go out and train hard.  I know that my training has nothing to do with the support but it is about us representing and selling product.  So what bettter way to start that process for the 2012 season but to let you look at our new addition!  It came in the form of a couple boxes of brand new carbon pieces and have Truvativ written on them!  Sweet!!

Lets start with the handlebar.  Most of the team opted for a wider bar and what better bar is there but the Truvativ T30 10S flat carbon bar.  It measure in at 700 mm wide and no, most of us will not run it that wide.  The best feature has to be the generoous sweep they give the bar!  In the ever shortening USProXCT races this kind of comfort might not matter, but when you hang onto your bar for 7 hrs in a NUE race this is key!  Check out the curve!

Next is the stem.  Nothing too fancy here, but this is a stem we have used to build all the bikes up with over the past few years.  It has a good stiffness and is very comparable to a vast majority of the more expensive stems out there.  We will be using the Stylo T40 stem and most will be using a 100 mm length. 



Last in the collection is the seatpost and it adds a bit more carbon to the bikes! The graphics change to all the componennts is also very nice and should match our Specialized Epics.  For the Epics, it requres a 30.9 mm diameter post and most of our riders require a 400mm length and a 25mm setback due to some long legs on the team. 

Thank you very much Truvativ for the support of the team! 

So this is about all that has been happening on the bike front.  I have even slacked a lot with riding.  I did try to go out on the road bike Monday, but there was still a lot of orange out in the woods so I decided to give them their hunting space, they do carry guns, and let them have the 2weeks.  Anyway we get the remaining 50 weeks of the year. 

The morning abuse has been going good as well. Gabe has been doing some xFit style training with us which keeps my ADHD in check since we are alwasy doing something, nothing like calling recovery 400 m on a row machine!  Sarah makes fun of me though, cause I have a tendancy to strike up a lot of random converstions with 212 memebers.  This usually lets me know when she is suffering though, cuase she lets me go on chatting if she is tired!

Packing, that is what I have also been working on. I will elaborate more on this hopefully by the end of the week so check back.  Nothing at all to do with bikes, at least that I know of.  I did put some shoes, pedals, helmet, and a kit in there just in case I get the itch!  Till then, enjoy some turkey or the "Fat" Season as I call it.  Happy Thanksgiving! 

Random Ramblings

A whole lot of transition time has been happening.  Transitioning into more blacktop at 212 with a parking lot expansion.  Getting the blog updated with new sponsors, thanks Mark and the sponsors.  It is great to see the response and support of the team.  We are trying to create a group of great riders that actually like to ride and race their bikes for fun and are easily approachable at the events.  This also makes it easy on each rider as well cause the events are so much fun just hanging out, the race seems like a bonus!

So new on the sponsor front is SRAM, Truvativ, Rudy Project, and Keen.  This is already on top of the awesome support we have been receiving! Thanks to all the sponsors.   

More on this in the future.  I will work at getting a review of the product as we receive it.

So more on the transition time.  I have started working in the gym with Sarah and Mark.  Our Nemesis in the morning is one of our personal trainers at 212, Gabe!  He puts us through the ringer and is going to either kill one of us or make us faster? I will probably be the first to go, my ADD will kick in and I will drop one of those med balls on my head!  Other than that, the bike has not collected dust, here are some random shots from the last week or so in no order:

Occupy Iceman

No I will not get into opinion here, but if you ask I will tell.  Either way I plan to be the 99% this weekend that puts a wrap on the season and drinks too much beer at the after parties throughout Traverse City.  Hope to see you there.

I am also going as a spectator.  Seems weird to go to a race with no bike, but if you need a super water wench let me know.  If you are too far back in the pack you might get a brown bottle though!  Just saying by then I might not know any better, but then again you might not care either cause I do drink good beer. No PBR hand up from me. 

So from the team we have Scott, Michelle, Myles, and Mikee racing.  I can't wait to heckle Mikee and get him back for his torment at Kewauskum a few years back!  Gonna be a fun one. 

Other than that, my riding has slowed some due to playing in the dirt at 212.  We have been busy expanding our parking lot before winter.  Just wish the city would cooperate a bit more.  I have a meeting about that next week when I get home. 

Back on the bike front, Ryan, Michelle, Mark, Scott, Sarah, and I are registered for Cohutta.  We also booked our sweet lodging again!  I am already excited for next year!  That is until it starts snowing here!  Blah! 

Going back

Just a couple weeks though, since I have been slacking on the blog front.  Either way, it is that time of year to blow off a lot of things cycling related.  Which I have not been doing real well on the riding side.  With the weather trying to stay half way descent I still can not hang up my bike for the 2011 season.

Zoom Zoom!

Riding with a good friend of mine! Love it when the sun is out!

Bummer, the end of this trail!  Off to the next one!

Hmmm, decision??

 Our pre WORS banquet ride, has become the tradition. Of course there is a stop fro coffee. 

Even got the girls to go!

Why even mark this, isn't this a form of natural selection if you are this dumb?

 That's tongue in the ear hot!

I always wanted to try ordering from this menu, should I have the dragon or the tiger? 

 

 Ahh, this was fun, Tower Road up near Tigerton.

ADHD Bike!

I do not race much cross, but my favorite bike has to be my cross bike.  I call it my ADHD bike cause I can go anywhere with it! Trails, road, rail trail, Green Circle, and can't believe this is getting close but even in the snow with studded tires!  That last one is right up there with racing in a circle in the park!  Blah!  Anyway the last week I have been pounding out the junk miles with no purpose whatsoever but to enjoy the ride!  What a good time.  Last Friday I randomly went out and ended up with almost 4 hrs. Then on Sunday Michelle and I ended up riding around Castle Rock Lake after clubing it in the Dells on Saturday night, that's another story!  Either way the ride was fun even with the lack of sleep and the wind.  Then again last night I went out for a couple hours on the rail trail.  The rail trail is always nice cause it protects you form the wind, which we have not been lacking lately!  A couple shots:

Besides the riding the team has been working hard on getting things set for the 2012 season.  The sponsor thing has been going good for us this year and we are excited to add a couple new ones for 2012.  We have a new bar, stem, and seatpost sponsor.  We have used their products for years and they have an extensive product line to make sure every rider is comfortable on their bike, so while buillding or upgrading your bike for the 2012 season be sure to check truvativ out:

I have also been working hard at getting my schedule in place for next year.  At least as hard as I can be without a published NUE schedule.  I have been looking at maybe doing a European race too.  I have always wanted too, but just has not worked out yet.  The closest I have been to one is when I did Master Worlds for a couple years, unfortunately the 2 years I went they were held in the exotic locale of Canada.  I did manage a 5th one year!

By the way, the Belgium leading us out there ended up kicking our ass!  Really bad!

So for a schedule this is what I am looking at with some of the dates still questionable.

Date	Event	Option
4/7/2011		UCI Marathon -France
4/14/2011
4/21/2012
4/28/2012	NUE #1 Cohutta 100????
5/6/2012	WORS #1 Iola
5/12/2012
5/20/2012	WORS#2 Crystal Lake	NUE #2 Syllamos Revenge?????
5/26/2012
6/3/2012	NUE #3 Mohican 100	WORS #3 Big Ring Classic
6/9/2012
6/16/2012	NUE #4 LumberJack 100
6/24/2012	WORS #5 Eau Claire
6/30/2012
7/7/2012		Siditrol Dolomiti Superbike UCI- Marathon
7/14/2012	WORS #6 WORS Cup
7/21/2012	NUE #6 High Cascades 100
7/29/2012	WORS #7 Alterra	NUE Wilderness 101????
8/4/2012		NUE Pierres Hole 100 ??????
8/11/2012	Ore to Shore
8/19/2012	NUE Fools Gold 100	WORS #8 Kewauskum
8/26/2012	WORS #9 Green Bay
9/1/2012	NUE Shenandoah
9/9/2012	WORS #10 Grand Geneva
9/15/2012	Marathon Nationals	Chequamegon Fat Tire
9/22/2012
9/30/2012	WORS #11 Bear Paw
10/6/2012
10/14/2012	WORS #12 Sheboygan
10/20/2012