A Crux and a Little Bit of Riding.

 Alright, so I have spent the last year and change aboard a Specialized Crux Frameset that I built up.  While the picture above is not of my current bike, it may be my future bike, minus the WC stripes and Zipp wheels.  Mine will continue to have my Easton tubulars and I'm not a World Champion, so I can't really rock the stripes.

I can't rave enough about the bike.  It's stiff, rides smooth, and handles with precision, but above all else has NO BRAKE CHATTER.  One things that drives me nuts about cantilever brakes is the brake chatter.  My Crux utilizes the brake hanger from a Tricross that lowers the cable hanger to above the brake, and not near headset spacers as a lot of bikes.  I have noticed that a lot of other companies are starting to use this on their CX bikes. 

This past CX season was a total waste.  After getting smashed at the USGP in Madison, WI I didn't race again the rest of the season.  Which sucks and is ok at the same point.  I really wanted to race this year, but at the same time I was really burned out on bikes and was not really enjoying riding all that much. 
Well that has certainly changed since I moved to California.  I have rediscovered my love for the bike and am riding about 6 days a week.  I usually take Monday or Tuesday off and ride the rest of the week.  I'm not putting in a ton of time right now, less than 10 hours a week, but I am building up and am looking to move a little further away from work so I can do the triple ride; ride to work, ride at lunch, ride home.  That was come next CX season I can have a go at the great series of races that we have out here, and hopefully get in a little travel to race back in the Midwest somewhere.

To be honest, I haven't ridden that much over the last few years, and I have paid for it.  I have gained weight and lost speed.  Now is the time to lose weight and gain speed.  I feel myself getting stronger every singe ride, but above all else I am having fun.  I honestly think I needed the change of scenery, and to be surrounded by people that love to ride.  Don't get me wrong, at The Bike Way we were really starting to get something special going as I was lining up to leave.  I really miss the Monday night rides with the crew, but hopefully when I am back in June I can go out on a ride with everyone and show them that I got faster.  hehe.

I have lived my entire life in the midwest and while it will always be my where I am from, it did not always feel like home.  My family is all over the US, and we have been pretty far apart since we all moved our separate ways once we graduated high school.  Moving to California was a great opportunity for my career, but also to start building a life with Ashely.  I feel like I am home now, although it isn't complete until June when Ashley moves out here.  Then it will be home.  For those of you that do now know, I asked Ashley to marry me over the winter holiday and she said, 'Yes.'

Now on to another topic.  Strava.  Does anyone use it?  I love it and have quickly become addicted to trying to get faster around here.  That is pretty hard since I am surrounded by world class riders, current pro's and former pro's.  Strava is a great web-based service that you can download your GPS ride data and see where you rank among your friends.  It's free and simply awesome.  It allows me to see who is riding back in Nebraska, but allows me to see who has been riding out here in California.  If you don't have a Garmin, don't worry because there is an app for Iphone, and I believe one for Android. 

Well I have a ton of stuff in my head, so I will try and spread it out a little and do some more posts in the coming days.  I hope you enjoyed this post, and I will see you around.