We made it back to Colorado. Glad to be back permanently with Cori, Coen, and Emma.

Lowertown Arts Festival

Cori, Coen & I met Jessi, Gage and Taylor at the Lowertown Arts Festival in Paducah last Saturday, to just hangout. 1st priority was getting lunch. I opted for a gyro from one of those festival trailers, not exactly authentic. Spent most of my time watching Gage eat a corndog for the first time. He was really confused about the stick. Amy Lavere was playing on the stage. Great tunes, think I'll try to pick up her album this week. Ran by the Maiden Alley Cinema tent. Cori, my Mom, and I caught the Kite Runner here. Unfortunately with Coen, we haven't been able to catch very many shows here. They are now running a "Guys Night Out" & "Chick Flicks" promo. They are showing Fight Club on June 30th sounds fun.

We then browsed a few of the galleries. I made one purchase from Enrique Gonzalez who was in from Lexington for just 2 days for the showing. He had some really fantastic horse racing paintings, but I chose the following. Bet you can't guess why?



photo quality isn't that good, took it from my phone. It's 24 x 48, and makes a nice addition to another cycling painting I picked up in Florence a couple years ago.

The kids only lasted another 1 hr before the sweltering humidity and heat intiated some mental breakdowns. After a stop at Etcetera Coffeehouse for an Izze Sparking Grapefruit soda, we called it a day.

Ch-Ch-Changes

So a lot has gone on in the last month. Coen is walking pushing a cart and is cutting the top 4 front teeth. He's been working on breaking them through for what seems like 2 weeks. Should be any day now. I can't believe how fast it is going by. Gets better everyday. He's also starting to mimic which has been fun as well, just gotta keep him away from my brother now, or he'll constantly have his hands down his pants scratching his stuff.

On a professional note, I took the the Director of Pharmacy position at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale. I'm really excited to get started. The Hospital is growing, has a new CEO which I really like, and there are several opportunities to make improvements in the pharmacy department. I think it will be challenging, and will give me some valuable experience for the future. I'll even have a chance to get an MBA paid for at SIU. With the new job, also means we'll be moving to Carbondale in the next year. I'm disappointed that I'll be moving further away from my brother and his kids, but excited to move to a college town. Plus I think the cycling is going to be a lot better.

Cori and I had been unhappy with our work situation, which was in turn, making living in Paducah not fun as well. We did consider moving back to Denver initially, but the thought of moving that far away from family again wasn't ideal either. So we decided to get jobs we think we'll really like and go from there. If we find that it wasn't just the jobs, then we may make the move back to Denver someday. I do think we'll like Carbondale, but we'll see.

On another note, I've been able to start riding more consistently. I've got some good rides in the last 2 weeks, slowly buidling up the miles. I'm targeting some races in August and September to be ready for. Hope I can stick to my plan.

River 2 River Relay

On April 18th the Pope County League of Extraordinary Sportsmen tackled the 80 mile River to River Relay. We had Damon Turner, Dustin Turner, Jess Taylor, Clint Taylor, Brian Levin, Allen Clay, Justin Wolff, Gordon Dugan, and myself. This was my 2nd year participating. I don't enjoy running, but have a good time hanging out with the guys and telling stories. We all met at the Dixon Springs Chocolate Factory, after loading Wolff's suburban, and exchanging the customary insults to one another, we headed over to the start. Apparently the insults took longer than expected and we missed our start time. Oh well, we just had to start 30 min later, and they corrected our time. During the drive over, we decided who runs what stages, through intense negotiation and peer pressure. Damon has always been our ringer, but broke his foot falling out of a deer stand this year. (side note: It was his 2nd time falling out of a deer stand. 1st time fell asleep, 2nd time stand broke) He got no sympathy and still had to run the hardest stage. Since I signed on last year as an alternate, I used that to my advantage to only have to run 2 stages instead of 3. I did however get stuck doing the 2nd hardest stage and the longest. My goal earlier in the year was to average under a 7min/mile. During training I could do it no problem if the terrain was flat, but considering the elevation changes on my stages, I was hoping to keep it under 7:30.

I started with Stage 7. I knew the first hill would be hard, but didn't realize how steep it was the last quarter mile. It took me 8 min to get to the top. Unfortunately the downhill was just as steep and hurt just as bad. I finished the stage in 23:14 for a 7:44 min/mile avg.

As soon as I finished I grabbed some water, and put my Ted Hose on, and grabbed some lunch. I tried to keep my feet elevated and stretch at every stop, but it gets a little crowed with 8 grown men in one car. My next stage was 16. Knowing how bad the downhill on my first stage hurt, I knew I was in for more of the same. The stage didn't disappoint. I also got to run in the rain, which was good and bad. It made the downhill a little slippery, but gave me something else to think about besides my legs. I ended up finishing in 29:30 for a 7:17 min/mile avg. Overall I was happy with my performance, next year I think I'll try to find some flatter stages to run, or at least cut out the long steep downhills.

Our team goal was to go under 10 hrs and we finished in 10:00:37 so we have some unfinished business there. We finished 21st in the open division and 53rd/232 teams overall. Not bad for a bunch of guys just getting together.

Also my Newton shoes were great on the flats and uphill, but were awkward running downhill. I still really like them, and I felt more efficient and didn't hurt near as bad after finishing compared to last year. I personally think they are the real deal.

Pics courtesy of Clint Taylor






I should also mention this race finishes in my hometown of Golconda, Il. We even got our team pic in the local weekly paper. Glad we didn't choose Renis Pinkles as our team name.

Newton Neutral Racer

So I bought a pair of the Newton Running Neutral Racers a couple of months ago, to try before the River 2 River Relay race coming up. Last year I ran in a pair of Saucony Progrid Triumph 4. I originally chose these, because they felt best out of my few options available in Paducah. I don't dislike these shoes, but I found it difficult to change my running style and I always felt beat up after a run of 3-5 miles. These however are my favorite pair of shoes, when it comes to strength training.

Regarding the Newtons, I should preface this brief review with the following information. I don't really like running, but have a great time doing this relay race, and have considered doing a triathlon in the future, so I casually run from Jan-April. I know very little about proper running technique or training. I decided on the Newtons after reading a couple different reviews and watching some video's. I was basically looking for anything that would make me more efficient and comfortable. My goal was to find a shoe that would be comfortable and light that I could use to run 5-10k distances.

Initially I started with short runs of only 1 mile to familiar with the shoe, and allow my feet to adjust. It does feel different at first, especially for me, as I was a heel striker. I did have a little soreness in my Tibialis Anterior muscles. After 4-5 runs I started to increase my distance, and have had no problem sense. Currently I'm running 4-5 miles 3 times a week at a pace of 8min/mile. I plan to start increasing my pace with a goal of running 6-7min/mile for the R2R. For reference, last year during my first leg of the race I averaged a 6:30 min/mile for 3 miles, and a 7:30 min/mile for 3 miles on my last one.

I do think the metatarsal pads on the bottom of the shoe, train you to run on that part of the foot. It feels really uncomfortable in these shoes to go back to striking the heel. I have also noticed that they have made me more conscious of not overstridding. This may become more of a problem as I try to increase my pace. They are super light, but I've never felt that I needed more cushioning or support in these. My only complaint is that they do feel awkward running down moderate hills, but again I've never found this comfortable. Some complaints that I've read about are: (1)They aren't good to use on the treadmill....I've used them on the treadmill several times and have had no problems. (2) They wear quite quickly....Mine have minimal wear after about 40 miles. I have no desire to become a long distance runner so I don't see this being a problem for me. I don't think they would be the ideal shoe for marathons, but I could be wrong. I also don't believe you will want to run sprints in these either, but for moderately paced distances of 5-20k I think they are great. I should also mention that I haven't tried any racing flats, which also are highly recommended for those distances.


I'll post another update after the Race. Wish me luck.

Wildwoods

Yesterday I was in STL for a StLCOP Alumni Association Board meeting, and to get Cori's car serviced, so I thought I should squeeze a ride in if I could and get some of the climbing I miss down here in KY. I stopped by Mesa to give DB a shout and catch up. Unfortunately I needed a Conti GP 4000 tire to get my ride going. Mesa didn't have one not in some funky color, so I stopped by Maplewood and got some major stick shock. $69 bones for GP 4000? UGH! That's $17 more than they are listed at Excel. After a veggie burger and some cucumber chips from OR Juice & Smoothies in Clayton (DB recommended) I headed out to Six Flags to get my ride on. It was a great day ~60 degrees and sunny. I had to cut my original route short, due to running late for my meeting, but still got plenty of climbing. My legs were cooked, considering this was my 5th ride since Oct.

Here is the route. Hope to get back soon for some more.

Back in the Saddle Again!

Finally....Got my new ride built last week after having to hunt down some parts that were holding me up. I haven't ridden since October of 2008, and it felt great to get out, even though I'm lacking any type of endurance or power at the moment. The next week will be spent, just try to get my bootie accustomed to sitting on a tiny little saddle. I was sore after my first 30 min ride. I forgot how bad the 2nd ride feels, but I got through it. Mentally I feel like a new person. I can't believe how much I've really missed the bike over the last couple months. I'm hoping to be race ready by June, I guess we'll see how well I can stick to a training program with a little one at home.

Lance and Yellow Devil

Also Funny

On live broadcast, you could see the other riders come up and give Lance High-Fives. Personally all the people running in the road was getting annoying and dangerous.

Oops! My Bad!

Not sure if you saw this or not. I think Chris was on the rivot and not thinking to clearly. Wish I could hear what George said to him. I just find it funny.

Power

Well we survived the epic Ice Storm this past week. We were without power for 5 days. Didn't realize how much you use it until its gone (I was reduced to checking facebook and email on my phone). There are still 100,000 people in Ky that don't have it. Following the storm we had our 2 busiest days at work on record. Sometimes a feel like I'm a robot at work...

Other News:
Coen has popped out 2 bottom teeth, and is starting to get mad when you take things from him. It was cute at first, but that wore off quickly. He's growing up so fast.

Got my first day of training for River 2 River today. I also ordered some new Newton kicks. Thought I'd check out the whole forefoot running technique. Anything to make it easier more efficient, because I really don't like to run. I Guess I do the relay to remind my how much I love cycling. Last year I swore I wouldn't run it again, but how quickly you forget. As an added bonus they look sick.

Has it really been that long?

Can't believe it's been a year and a half since my last post. I'm thinking about getting back into updating this thing again. Part of my downfall has been my obsession with Facebook. If I'm not one of your friends yet, look me up. Anyway what has happened since my last post.

1. I became a dad. Coen Thomas Dugan was born 7/1/08. He's the most wonderful thing ever. I've never been so overwhelmed with emotion in my whole life than when that little guy was born.

2. Cori and I moved to Paducah, Ky. You may ask, what was I thinking? At first it seemed like a great idea financially and to be closer to family. Lately it has felt like a big mistake. Even though I grew up in the area, I just don't feel like I fit.

3. My racing/riding has become almost nonexistent. Only got 3 races in last year, none of which turned out well. I'm looking for motivation to get back at it this year. I've realized that I'm happiest when I can ride routinely and get outdoors. On a side note I have started running a little, and have toyed with the idea of trying a triatholon.

Let me know if your still reading, and I'll try to post interesting stuff more often than yearly ;)

Oh yeah, I turned 30 as well....ouch.

July

This post is just going to be all about July. While I like to read blogs, I've found it difficult to stay motivated to post routinely, especially since they blocked the site at work, hence the month absence. Anyway.

Had a few races.

Longmont - got caught behind two crashes, jumped a curb and rode though some lady's yard, then did solo TT for 3 laps to get back on - finished with the pack.

Salida - Rolled down with Ty . 10th place in the TT, got poured on the whole race. RR did 3/6 laps and pulled the plug. No since in finishing once your out of the the top 25. Got dropped 1st time up the climb, caught back on right before we started again. Dropped again worked with Jared and 3 others to get back on, but didn't. 3rd time up Jared and I decided to call it a day. Crit - felt pretty good, counter attacked after Jared was caught. Spent a lap solo, once caught there were 3 counters, and I was tailgunning for the next three laps. Once the pack got down to 30, I couldn't close all the gaps in the head wind section, and finally blew. Was bummed about that. Just needed about 30 seconds recovery. Was first Cat 3 crit all season that was single file the last 20 min. Still had a good time, and the road race is still hards as a mofo.

Fed Center, I was sucking wind the whole race, finished 31st?. While I like the fact it is a circuit race, 12 turns with no rhyme or reason is a bit ridicolous. I never knew where I was going next.

Bannock, made a stupid move with 4 to go, ended up 23rd. Race was fairly fast. Did avoid disaster when I got pushed to the curb when some dude changed his line and bumped another guy going through a corner. I basically banked into the curb, scraping my right pedal. Still don't know how I kept it up. Heard that the guys that saw it were impressed. I was just glad to keep the rubber side down.

Cori and I made a trip home to celebrate my mom finishing her chemo treatment for Breast Cancer. Had a great time. The usual suspects were present, and Gordon ended up doing an impression of Capt. Jack Sparrow at about 3 in the morning. Spent a day at Cori's parents pool, then a day on my parents boat at the river. Got in a couple rounds of golf and drank a few cold ones.

For the record 96' Pirates were the best basketball team. If your from Pope County, you'll understand.

Landlord

Pearl is a bitch!

A few I haven't heard

My college roomate nicknamed "Piss" sent me these:

The opening scene of the movie "Saving Private Ryan" is loosely based on games of dodgeball Chuck Norris played in second grade.

Chuck Norris can win a game of Connect Four in only three moves.

Chuck Norris doesn't wash his clothes, he disembowels them.

Crop circles are Chuck Norris' way of telling the world that sometimes corn needs to lie down.

Chuck Norris needs a monkeywrench and a blowtorch to masturbate

Recharging

I've been trying to recharge this week after last weeks debacle. Got some recovery rides in, road Rash is mostly healed, and finally got some decent sleep. I had to work over the weekend since we were moving the hospital so wasn't able to do the Rocky MTN Omnium, which included the Hugo Road Race. I think I made a good descision considering there was a huge crash at the crit Thursday, and they neutralized the race. I was really disappointed with how the omnium was organized for the 3s, so didn't mine missing it at all. Instead I did some max efforts up Lookout MTN Sat. and Sun. to see where I'm at. More recovery the next couple of days and hopefully I'll be back to 100% for Dead Dog.

Colorado Cycling Festival - Rist Canyon Road Race

My adventures started Friday when driving to Boulder to pick up my bike. About 1/2 mile past the foothills parkway exit, my left front differential and drive shaft blew up on my car. As I'm calling roadside assistance my cell phone died. I then yelled, threw my phone, and said lot of dirty words. This was just icing on the cake for how my past week had gone. Luckily a service technician from the dealership stopped to make sure I was ok and I borrowed his phone to call my buddy Taylor to come get me so I could pick up my bike before the shop closed. Gotta have priorities. We left the car for the tow truck to pick up and headed on to Fort Collins.

After a quick spin to try to loosen the legs from not riding for two days, Taylor and I joined Owen, and Erin for dinner at Enzo's. Big thanks to Owen and Erin for allowing us to crash at their place.

The Race - I cracked....Not much more to say about the race than that. 4 crits, 2 crashes, travel, little sleep, and stress from work all within a week finally caught up with me. I had no power from the beginning and knew I was going to be in trouble. I got dropped up the climb quick then rode the rest of the race with Brian Huggins from HART. I ended up 46th/60+ starters giving up 13 min to the winner. My race turned into a training ride, and I was able to enjoy the course and views. Even though my effort sucked, the course was awesome. It had a little of everything, flats, long climb, long descent, and steep rollers. My favorite section was the downhill and and the steep rollers across Horsetooth Reservoir. Here is a pic of me on the back of a group of 4 going across the rez. My favorite road course to date. I thought the event was well run, and the BBQ after the race was great way to catch up with everyone and make excuses for how bad we did. I would highly recommend doing this race next year. After detonating, I decided to skip the race Sunday and instead had a great day with my better half. Breakfast at Crepes n' Crepes. I went with the Nutella and strawberries. Lunch and Beers at the Irish Hound. Followed by a afternoon nap and a light dinner at home watching the Soprano's finale. WTF with the ending, hated it.

Tulsa Tough

First let me say this is well run event, with cool courses and a community that is totally behind it. I represented VC for the weekend along with Jon Baker. It was also relative easy travel. Caught a flight from Denver, took the complimentary hotel shuttle to the Race Hotel, which was within a mile of all 3 courses. I would highly recommend doing this race, if you like Crits.

Friday - 7pm start, poured rain the whole race. 10+ crashes. Every time we came through the wheel pit, there were 4-5 dudes getting a free lap. I like racing in the rain and was feeling great. Sitting 10th wheel with three corners left, when the guy on my inside layed it down, sliding under me. I basically rode him across the pavement. Got up adjusted my brakes and rolled in 23rd/100. Minor scratches.

Saturday - Sitting 15th with 5 laps to go, when I heard the infamous "inside, inside" then got t-boned. The guy high sided me and I landed hard on my butt and back. Wasn't able to get up for a while, so didn't get the free lap, plus my bike was screwed. DNF/100

Sunday - crit had a steep climb. Stayed towards the front. 3 guys got away. I goofed up coming through when I saw 1 lap to go on the counter. It was actually for the break that was catching us. I hit it hard up the hill pulling away a group of 4, but then realized I didn't hear the bell, so we got caught going through the start finish again. I was able to hang towards the front the last time through and finished 14th in the field, 17th overall out of 100.

Overall I felt pretty good all weekend, without the crashes, I think I would have pulled some good results. Sunday I was quite sore, especially my lower back which started to act up the last couple of times up the climb. I ended up a lot of road rash on my right elbow and arm, and I left my right butt cheek back in Tulsa. Tailbone was bruised as well.

Other Damage - Broken handlebars, Broken seat, cracked frame, worped both my wheels, broken barrell adjuster on the front brake. I didn't find the crack in my frame until wednesday the following week, after I raced sunday and the Mead training race on Tuesday. Luckily Excel was able to warranty my frame and had me rolling again Satuday for Rist. Big props to Dan at Excel for taking care of me.

Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day Weekend

Cori and I had a great Memorial Day weekend. I got some good long rides in, played a couple rounds of golf, and got to spend some QT with Cori's family. Cori and I squeezed in a quick ride friday before her parents and her brother and his girlfriend arrived. Later that night we had a nice dinner at Table 6. Saturday morning I took off for a 4.5 hour ride from Cherry Creek to Evergreen and back. I had a great ride going up Deer Creek to Parmalee Gulch, Bear Creek, Kerr Gulch, then down the frontage road from Genesse to Golden and Back. It' hard to get my ass out of bed before 6am, but I sure like riding early in the morning. That afternoon, we headed up the the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch. We love that place. Totally relaxing. Cori's Dad is a golf nut, so we played a couple rounds at Red Sky Ranch. Probably the nicest 2 courses I've ever played. I didn't play to bad, considering the last time I swung a club was February. I even managed to get in a good ride Sunday morning out to Wolcott and then up to top of Cordillera and back to the Ritz. We had perfect weather and it was nice to get away for a weekend.

SOLD

2004 54cm Specialized Allez Pro frame and full carbon fork.
Frame is the exact same as the S-Works E5 frames that year, its component mix was less expensive, which is why it was branded Allez.
Fork is also the same as used in the S-Works lineup - however this one is BRAND NEW. Steerer tube is uncut and expander plug is included.
Also included is a new Specialized OS road stem. It has the flip-flop internals so you can adjust the angles in 2 degree increments from -8 to +16.
The pictured seatpost is not included in the asking price but you can make an offer if you're interested.

Geometry - Effective TT 548mm, 73.5 degree STA, 140mm HT length. see specialized.com for more details.

The frame is in Excellent condition. Cosmetically, there are very few blemishes - minimal wear to the paint on the drive-side chainstay, a 3M protector strip was always used. Some small scratches to the seattube where the front derailleur cable rubbed a bit. A small paint chip on the drive-side barrel adjuster near the headtube. The paint on the headtube was protected by the clear stickers.

Weight - 1960g including: stem, headset, bottle cage bolts, seatpost clamp, uncut steerer tube.

Post a comment if you are interested.