Right before I left town I got my copy of the latest Dirt Rag (or as I like to call it "me copy"). I think this would be the 5th issue with an article from yours truly which means they're not sick of me yet.
Truly a fascinating article and a sociologically relevant composition that will wow and amaze. Pick up three copies for yourself today... one to read, one to frame, and one to stick in a time capsule.A new toy showed up yesterday.
Camelbak? What about the Ergon BD2?
The Ergon has gone on to someone who can enjoy it more than I ever could. It seems to be a great pack for someone who carries everything but the kitchen sink or just a lot of camera equipment. I only used its full capacity three times, on a failed ride to the beach, on the failed attempt at the Pisgah 99 (The Big Hush Hush Ride), and when I succeeded in carrying a mess of beer up Pilot Rock to spectate at the Pisgah Mountain Bike Stage Race.What's there to like about this new product from Camelbak? Most of the issues I've worked around with my c. 2000 Blowfish have been addressed, and some improvements I never expected were thrown in as well. A decent write up on the new bladder technology is here on Bike Rumor, but in a nutshell:
Bigger fill hole
Easy open cap
Baffled bladder (keeps it from ballooning out)
Two separate methods to keep it from slouching down to the bottom of the pack
Detachable hose
Integrated drying arms
That's just the bladder stuff. I'm not talking about the pack yet.
All these features are pictured in the Bike Rumor post, so I'm not gonna bother swiping them for use over here. Even though I won't be going on a big mountain ride this weekend I plan on trying it out wherever I do go riding so I can find its inherent weaknesses and post them up. I've tried a lot of packs in the last 18 or so years, and most of them ended up on eBay or they're suffering the pack purgatory that is The Bin of Misfit Packs. I am a picky son of a bitch when it comes to bike shit, so if someone can find something to complain about it's me. Can't be too positive in my review... people love dirty laundry.
Sunday I did in fact make it out to the mountains for a ride. This was probably not advisable considering I was nowhere near recovered from the Tour de Burg.
photo cred: Big Worm A crew was headed to the mountains, and I didn't want to be left behind. This is probably where a good coach like Lynda "Let's be Reasonable" Wallenfels would be handy. She woulda told me not to go since my calves would feel like sandbags and my right quad would be as useful as a mime in a theatrical production of 300. She had this to say about recovery periods for week long stage races:
"Generally, 7 day stage races fall in the 3 week recovery time frame."
She gave out that informational tidbit for free, but she didn't say what to do over that three week time period. I don't think I did what I was supposed to do after the TSE to properly recover before the TdB. Now I have less than three weeks to recover for ORAMM, and I'm pretty sure I'm screwing that up as well. Maybe getting home after the last stage of the TdB at 10:00PM and then going to work and riding my bike was not the best thing to do. Perhaps going for a mini-epic at Wilson's Creek would be considerably inadvisable as well, but you gotta make hay while the sun shines.... or something of that folksy ilk.
Recovery? Namrita wrote an article that was posted on MTB Race News about recovery and multi-day races, but the lack of interactivity on the website and my disinterest in expending too much effort looking for it (setting my recovery back even more) kept me from finding it. I do recall her saying something about avoiding beer. I know beer reeks havoc with recovery (an unverified theory based on hearsay and alchemy), but on days like the 100 mile road stage at the TdB it's hard to feel like I'm rewarding the efforts of the day by putting on compression socks, elevating my legs for 1/2 an hour, taking a nap, and sipping on a 32 oz "recovery drink". Although I absolutely love stage racing I have become aware of the fact that I just don't have the attention span required to be successful at it. I can hold my focus for a few hours and maybe even over a period of 24 hours, but day after day after day after day? Not my cup of tea.
That's all for now.
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tomorrow.
tomorrow.
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2 comments:
That new Camelbak looks and sounds a whole lot like the Osprey Raptor packs, which are great packs. Hopefully the Camelbak will be similar quality.
Word on the street is that the new pack come pre talc'd
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