12 Hours of Lodi and the Big Pink Rig

Ok, here is a little project for you. 1) Get a piece of string about 4 feet long. 2) Ball it up and throw it up in the air. 3) However it lands will give you a good idea of how the course map is. This course is the most technical I have ridden as of yet. It is very similar to Fountainhead, Va. There isnt a straight line anywhere. There are sections that looked like someone was right on your tail, but they were probably a mile or so back; pretty weird. The course is a owned by a 80 something woman. Very cool and loves having the race on her property. It has been held there for 14 years. I also got a chance to meet fellow crewetter, Denelle Grant. Very, very cool indeed. That’s the best thing about this whole deal, just meeting some of the cool folks on the team as well as other shop employees, too.

Pink Bikes is Fast!

Anyway, like I said, this course is riddled with roots and steep, loose rock climbs. Oh yeah, if you have wider than 630mm bars, you are in for some peroets with the local foliage. I had to remove my 750mm rhythm bars for this reason. I was doing a duo male with my friend Chris on this one. I brought along my Ferrous SS , Superfly SS and Rig SS. I was running my usual 32/18 setup. The Superfly was the best choice for this course, though. For those of you not in the know, my 2011 Rig underwent a transformation last week. I will admit up front; the paint is on the Rig this year is a baaaaaad. So I had no reservations about removing the diseased skin and replacing it with my own flavor…SILLY PUTTY! View the previous blog to see the hideous monster this pink beauty once was. All told, it weighs 20 lbs. 11 oz. Very nice with the steel fork.

It drew quite a bit of attention, and all positive I might add. It handled very well, although it developed a severe case of the creaks a mile in. Couldnt figure it out, but I think it was the dropouts. I will get to this at some point. Back to the race. We were in 3rd for all of the race, but decided to call it after my night lap. My buddy Chris was feeling the effects of a saddle meets Mr. Bottom. We ended up 4th, which is ok by me. It was really uneventful, just cranking out the miles and trying not to fall victim to the wheel grabbing roots, which reminded me of Snowshoe. I have the Evoke ti and carbon saddles and these are simply the best. Even over the roots, it was very comfy and had just enough flex to boot. I will give a more detailed review later.

I put in very consistent lap times (all low 50's) and my training is really in full affect now. No cramps and no fade, just consistent. I felt as strong as I could feel. Even my night lap, which was my first in a few years, was very nice. The Magicshine is awesome. I ran one light and it was all that was needed. All in all it was a good event and a fun time. Oh and a big shout out to the fellow SSer that I passed on the trail. Thanks for reading my garbled mess. Rock on man!