Travis Pastrana is racing RAAM?

I think this may be my only chance to be able to beat him at something!, lol

Probably not, the guy is an animal. For those who don't know who Travis Pastrana is just go on to youtube and do a search with his name. His accolades are more than human.

According to his Facebook on Feb 2nd he posted this.

"We signed up for the RAAM (a bicycle race from CA to MD) this year in the 8 man pro division, so today I went on a 50 mile ride with teammates, CowboyKenny690 and Todd Jacobs. To win, we will have to average 23 mph for 5 straight days. Today we averaged 19mph for just under 3 hours... It's going to be a grueling couple of months!"




I am super stoked to see a person of this caliber jump into something like an event the size of RAAM. I am actually very excited to see how he does even though the brute force will be carried as a team overall. it will still be interesting to be able to watch it all unfold behind me.....Far behind.......mua ah ha ha

I doubt he will be smiling and doing double backflips but I can bet the bus antics will be something to be filmed on nitro circus.

although I haven't seen his name on the official race roster, it will be a definite media frenzy if he actually registers and follows through with the claim.

And hey Travis! if by chance you or one of yours read this, hit me up on twitter @gonefirefightin

otherwise I will see you at the start line!

Why I ride

Today was a interesting day on my morning ride that has left me in a bit of quandary for most of the morning as I thought about what happened. I was on a typical training ride, today was a part of the course that had some 5000 feet of climbing in less than 30 miles. There were some mild hills along the route but were fairly steep. I was in my typical teeth gnashing head down type of mode of climbing till I arrived at the crest of a hill then would bang out the gears and try and eek out the fastest possible speed on the descent in order to get up as high as possible for the next climb. The weather was very cool and overcast for a socal day and the roads had a bit of moisture on them from the scattered sprinkles of rain throughout the morning.

I was riding through a fairly built residential area along the route and bombing down a descent when I came onto a cyclist sitting in the bushes at the bottom of a hill on a tight turn in the road. I laid on the brakes to investigate and found a bike down the hill and the cyclist sitting with head in hands. I got off the bike and walked down the hill while catching a glimpse of the riders mishap. I could see that the rider had locked up the brakes on the slick road and had went straight off the side of the road into the little brush covered draw. It had appeared from the marks in the leaves and dirt that the rider went over the bars and probably took a pretty good header (something I do on a regular basis on the mountain bike) I called out to the cyclist as I was navigating down the little drainage and asked “are you ok?”

In retrospect I should have rephrased my question to “are you hurt?” but apparently if you throw out the term “are you ok?” you will be downloaded with every major problem that anyone is going through at that moment in their life.

The rider in question was a 22 year old girl that was currently enrolled into the local college and was on her first ride with her newly purchased road bike and was (up to this point) very excited about joining the schools cycling team. As she was telling me her life problems and how stupid she felt I was looking over her bumps and scrapes and could see she was fine and the only thing she injured was her pride. In the next 30 minutes I listening to how many problems she had, how difficult things were and why is was such a battle for her to even get all this off her chest. In typical male fashion I was doing the head nod and the proverbial assortment of replies such as “uh huh, yep, I hear ya,”

I was starting to cool off from my training ride and wanting to get back on the bike before it rained and kinda switched into military mode and told her “let’s talk on the bikes” and proceeded to walk back up the hill. In my mind I was trying to put myself in her shoes when I first started cycling and the trials and tribulations I went through in order to help her identify that she wasn’t alone. I was contemplating what to say that would motivate this gal to get her ass back on the bike and just drive through whatever she was dealing with and realize it’s not that big of a deal, people crash, it happens. But apparently I didn’t need to prep myself for a pep talk.  As I turned around she had read the back of my jersey following me back to the road. I happened to be wearing one of my wounded warrior project jerseys that I got from a soldier ride several years ago. I got on my bike and was waiting for her to get clipped in and rolling and then she started chuckling and apologizing to me. She pulled out her cell phone and made a call saying that she didn’t need a ride after and the bike was fine and she was going to finish off the ride.

Once we were riding again and everything seemed to be back in order she had asked me if I had a blog and was training for the RAAM. I said yeah why? Apparently she has been following the blog after a Google search using the terms “race training” and had read the whole thing and was riding on the particular course after seeing my links from the RAAM site. She told me that she felt so stupid after telling me all her problems and thinking it was so bad not to continue riding after her little mishap.

She asked about my story and we basically chatted about specific challenges and peoples resolve to complete goals and I was giving out some braking tips so she wouldn’t face plant again.

As we parted ways I was thinking about the challenges that young divorced single mom/ working college student had and it isn’t any different than mine but it is a challenge of epic proportion to her. Instead I was inspired by her story. I have never thought of myself as an inspiration to others, nor do I feel comfortable thinking of myself as a role model. I ride for myself, I don’t ride for fitness and I don’t ride for the finish line. I ride for the journey; I ride because I was told I couldn’t. I am training for this race because there are none like it and I was told by many I couldn’t. I get more satisfaction in doing things I was told I couldn’t accomplish or wouldn’t be able to physically complete. I don’t ride for the inspiration or the publicity, I blog only to keep a journal for myself not to encourage others or be an example of triumph. Apparently it is after this morning’s ride but that was not my intention. There are a lot more astonishing stories than mine and I am very blessed to be in the place in life that I am in.

I simply ride because it is something I enjoy to after being told I couldn’t.

Sunscreen maybe?

I haven’t been riding in the So cal sun for a couple hours but I have already gotten a sun burn and gotten lost a couple times, but no complaints. Been able to get out and do a bit of recon on the route near my area and it isn’t that bike friendly during rush hours so I will have to plan my rides around the peak traffic times. The roads are like glass compared to what I have been riding on lately and the food in San Diego is going to be my worst enemy. What I really find a musing is the locals walking around in hoodies, beanies, and jackets as if there was snow falling.

More to come.

The bored bike mechanic

While I was in the garage tonight building my road bike up I was reminiscing back on the days when I was wrenching on bikes full time in shops and the fun I had traveling around the country as a race mechanic.
There is never a shortage of laughter in the back of a bike shop since the customers keep the scenarios coming through the door. There are several reasons most bike shop employees are smiling when they greet a customer because there was probably a huge helping of shenanigans served just before the customer walked in.

These shop stunts can range from the simple yet effective to the elaborate and dangerous. Some of the simpler pranks are usually used a couple times a year and are ineffective on seasoned mechanics such as inflating a bike tube to the point of explosion or the hiding of tools. These are the starter pranks deployed on the new guy to gauge his ability to handle the future onslaught of jovial hijinks.

During the slow times in a bike shop there is a myriad of engineering feats conducted that would rival post grads at MIT. If you give a couple of bike mechanics an hour alone in a bike shop you will have a compressed air spoke gun that through trial and error that will have the range of a sniper rifle and possibly penetrate a solid block wall. There will also be several other attachments developed to fire other random parts in the shop or out the back door at small woodland creatures such as valve stem caps, spoke nipples, chain pins, cable caps, ball bearings and a ton more.

Some of the other pranks include but are not limited to covertly greasing common handles in the unsuspecting mechanics work area, gluing tools down to work surfaces,

These are what I would call the “bike shop basics”, These are the average and plain pranks that are currently being deployed in every bike shop. But the true artisans of bike shop pranks are far and few in between. These are usually the guys that are quiet and methodical and take weeks to plan and prep for the final tactics to execute on the unexpecting recipient. Most time these fine purveyors of pranks are the shop managers or owners. There were only a select few that I would consider greats in this category and I feel I have truly learned from the best across the country. Since most bike shop employees have bikes or commute on bikes there is always a prime employee target bike leaned up against a wall in the shop or hanging in the back that may be unattended for hours or possibly days.

These can range from the simple “time bomb” anchovy down the seat tube to the multiday operation of adding weight to ones commuter bike. The bet part of these advanced time release pranks is silently and un suspectingly watching the recipients realize something is wrong and start to diagnose the problem. One of my favorites is buying several of those small (half inch or smaller) bells, the kind that are usually on cat toys or Christmas decorations and placing these in very hard to find places on ones bike. The rider will usually notice noise right off the bat and start to find out where it is coming from. But if you put several of them on in the bike at one treatment they will find one and think the problem has been solved and continue riding only to find the noise is still prominent. I will usually drop one down the seat tube, one down the headtube (captured inbetween starnuts) one in the handle bars, one in the bottom bracket, one in the stem, one in the down tube (if possible) and even to the extent of inserting one in each tube and patching said tube and installing back on the bike. This prank is very time and labor intensive but very worth it.

Another prank of the same magnitude is slowly adding weight to ones bike. Starting with lead shot in the handle bars and other areas and eventually filling the tubes with water and re inflating. If the additions are made gradually the rider won’t suspect a thing over time and will eventually be riding a 60 pound commuter bike. I usually will also get everyone to throw in certain comments that will dwell on the physiological aspect of the rider such as, “are you losing weight?” “You look like your getting sick” or possibly “you seem to be getting weaker on your rides”. These comments with the additional weight on the bike will wage war in the head.

Some of the other simpler tricks are swapping the shifter cables or the brake lines/cables or even both at the same time, incrementally changing the bikes geometry like lowering the seat a little each day or possibly staggering gears on the cassette, I have seen guys during group rides re align brake pads so it would eventually rub through the tire to cause a blowout and even change a crank arm 90 degrees or even swapping a crank arm out for one that is 5mm shorter. Changing out the 39t inner ring of a road crank for a 42t can be humiliating on a group ride. also replacing 4 gears with several 16 tooth gears in the rear cassette makes for some funny reactions when they keep shifting and shifting with nothing happening then they will go from a 16t to a 12t or 13t

I would go on with this list but I have to save the best for myself because I truly love a good prank war and I have a lot of great secrets.

Victoria's secret cant even offer this much support!

My usual morning routine has been shaping into a timed ritual of coffee, push up's, sit up's, a snappy sprint ride if the weather inst too cold first thing in the morning, and then followed by a Fat mondo breakfast and check my emails. I usually leave my phone in silent mode during the night so I can get my beauty sleep, but last night I forgot to turn the ringer off.

over the course of the night my phone chimed about every 30 minutes or so signifying an email, text, or notification tied to my Facebook or blog. When I checked my phone this morning I had 87 notifications!

this cant be right? 87? I thought maybe there was a family emergency, but then I remembered I was raised by a pack of wolves. Turns out it was all notes of support and congratulations for making the team and comments from people I have never met dropping lines of encouragement from the blog and other sources. WOW! I was truly taken back at the amount of people starting to follow this escapade. I have to say I am very thankful to be surrounded by so many that are rooting for me and the team. Some of the emails I received were barely legible in English from a cycling club in Russia and they were expressing how amazed they were to see the team and myself going for the RAAM after the combat history we had gone through.

it started to get me interested in where the blog was going, so I checked the stats. It has a ton of hits in Russia alone? There must be a huge endurance cycling presence there. Pretty amazing.

The Team 4mil site threw out a press release this morning on there site and have to say I am always encouraged when I see the diversity in the team. we have almost every branch covered and and fine spectrum of athletes that would rival even the most hardened full time athletes.



RAAM’s 2011 Armed Forces Challenge Cup winners, Team 4Mil, will defend their title by returning to the world’s most challenging endurance event again in 2012.  Inspired by the team’s motto, “Keeping The Warrior Spirit Alive”, several new team members have rallied to join the team, including a separate cycling team comprised of wounded veterans being hosted by The Wounded Warrior Project™ and mentored by Team 4Mil.  Both US Military Teams have been challenged by two similar team entries registered by military representatives from the United Kingdom.


The US Military Wounded Warrior Team is led by LtCol Mike Matney, USA.  His teammates include Mason Poe, Nieves Rodriguez, Brett Miller, John Fairbanks, Tom Murphy, Tim Conner, and Jeff Palenske.  Crew Chief Richard Wolak, USMA ‘66, has organized an effective race plan to compete successfully and safely neutralize the forces of nature that are encountered during each RAAM event.


Team 4Mil has announced CPO Wayne Dowd, USN (ret) as its 2012 Ride Captain.  His teammates include RAAM veteran’s Jim Weinstein, Kyle Pitman, and Jimmy Colgary, and new members Jason Peterson, Chad Connor, Alan Fischer, and Shawn Olin.


With a proud heritage of military service, these service members have experienced more than 40 deployments, hundreds of military missions, and led countless hours of mission planning.  Combined with their years of cycling experience and a tenacious interest in racing, they are prepared for the many unpredictable challenges that RAAM 2012 will present.


Team 4Mil is an IRS registered 501C3 organization.  As an all-volunteer team, our participation in veteran rehabilitation programs, National Soldier Ride support, and participation in RAAM are subject to voluntary charitable contributions.  To  make a tax-deducible donation via PayPal, please visit our website, www.team4mil.org or contact dan@team4mil.org for more info.


But there is one major thing that sets us apart from all other teams competing this year. It is not the support, nor the sponsors. It isn't the media coverage or the remarkable individual back stories. It isn't even the fact that a handful of disabled veteran athletes are going to race across the country.

The one thing that sets this team apart from any other is Esprit de core. I am not talking some corporate team building "trust fall" exercise. I am talking the Forged in combat, Blood brother trust. The military personnel itself has a razor sharp feeling of camaraderie, But when you put those same people in a combat environment it grows even stronger. Now take that same level of trust and drive and throw it in a hospital bed for several years and you now have a staggering amount of dedication and drive on top of a mutual understanding of fearlessness and unity.

They say RAAM is a race that takes everything from you and crushes even the best athletes. I say to RAAM, Prepare to be broken and crushed!

"see the battlefield and execute with violence!"

No more fudge to be had.

The holiday gluttony has been drafting my rear tire like a anchor and it seems the roads are a bit rougher after a small break in the training timeline, but none the less it is back to the grindstone of dropping the leftover fudge and picking up the gu packs.

Its a funny thing about the holidays and how much you can justify eating and being lazy. although you always seem to be a product of laziness it is still fun to sit on the couch for a few days and watch others on TV sweat it out for a bit. but it gets old fast.

The other reason I had to hang up the bike for a spell was my daughter was my center of attention for the holidays. when she asked me how long the race was she was thinking it would be just another one of my usual downhill races or possible a mountain bike cross country race and be over in a few hours. I think she was taken back a bit when I told her it was coast to coast.

she is now trying to grasp the scale of miles and mountains buy following the route on Google earth and trying to calculate the distance as if it was a road trip in a car. She is now following my blog and the RAAM website like as if it is a Justin Bieber fan club site. I think she may be my biggest fan!

So now the team is officially on the RAAM website and the waivers have been signed and the bio's have been submitted. feel free to check out the other racers while I take time to link them on here as well,  and there seems to be only one thing left in my mind.........the finish line.

why not training you ask?

because I think the training is almost meditation of the sadist kind. I like the burn and the crunching hill climbs, I look forward to the irregular tan lines and flat tires. the thought of 50 mile per hour descents make me giggle like a pre teen girl. Just the thought of getting up off the saddle and cranking out a hill climb sprint is a sense of normalcy for me.

But the finish line? now that is something that every one enjoys and should be the only thing on the mind!

Downhillers VS Roadies

While prepping my tools and parts for this transition to a road bike for the next 6 months I have been putting away most of my baggy downhill gear and chuckled when busting out the bibs and skin suit roadie stuff and I started to think how one gets so entangled into opposite sides of the spectrum. So I thought I would write on the subject.

I have never been that much of a roadie over the years of my competitive cycling. My first road bike was a 80's steel frame Schwinn that was way to big for me and had toe clips. Needless to say it was the start of frantically trying to get your foot out before sacrificing my genitals on the top tube and hitting the asphalt since there was no standover. The only differences I have noticed from the downhill MTB crowd vs the roadies is technology but the demographics seem to have staying power that rivals a Vegas STD. Since I am legitimately both I guess I can get away with the real details and make fun of myself.

Demographics of the Roadie Stereotype

Granola crunching, Latte sipping, Leg shaving, Prius driving, weight weenie. These are the yuppies that are dropping major coin to shave grams on their water bottle cages. The tech nerds that hover over the counter salivating on the newest power meter gadgets and talking to each other in watts while slipping and falling in grocery stores when wearing their 300 dollar Italian bike shoes. They can usually be found at a coffee shop listening to nora jones on their iPhone and discussing the intricacies of riding on cobble streets and the dynamics of bruised bananas in their jerseys during a metric century. They will often be found riding 3 or more abreast off the fog line taking up a whole lane but will still flip you the bird for not "sharing the road". They will always have a matching dayglo florescent kit from socks to gloves and wont buy anything that doesn't match the bike. They will buy a 300 dollar helmet every year because the last one was 3 grams too heavy. They don't smoke, would never stay out past 8 and have a single digit body fat percentage and will always be bragging of that one minor case of road rash. They ride in pace lines drafting each other staring at each other butt while leaving a trail of GU wrappers. They pretend they are cars when the light is green but will be pedestrians when the light is red. Dont even get me started on the whole Fixie/Hipster trend.

Demographics of the Downhiller/MTB Stereotype


This group is the sloping forehead, dragging knuckle, beer guzzling, pickup truck driving, vulgar mouth breathing, GED holding, energy drink and junk food addicts. These groms are the ones pushing their bikes for miles to get a 3 minute ride in and be on the brakes the whole time. They can usually be found at a chair lift operated resort in the bar slamming down 40 bucks of beers and shots while eating a 99 cent hot dogs and Doritos to feed the "munchies" before they get their 250 lb carcass and 45 lb bike on the lift for another non pedaling run down the mountain. You can hear the squealing of their brakes a mile away and there is no bark on the trees next the trails from constant crashes. The only time you will see them pedal is in the parking lots and they leave a trail of chains and derailleurs down the trails. They will always be shoveling new jump lines and hacking down trees to make the newest "Huck" in hopes they will be in a movie. They will always have their headphones in listening to Slayer at full volume and will have to buy a new 400 dollar troy lee designs helmet every year because the last one was demolished. They are usually missing a sock because they had to take a crap somewhere along the trail and can often be cracking joke about each others moms. They brag about the hardware holding their bones together and complain about getting stitches over the top of their fresh tribal tattoo's. Dont even get me started on the Dirtjumper trend.

But in the long run it is still two people spending 3-5 grand to get out and ride. In my case I feel at home on both sides.

Surpirse! the next 6 months of my life are full!

 I was informed that I was selected to race with the 4mil wounded warrior team to compete in the 2012 Race across america. So now my preparation begins with new bike selections, builds, riding base miles and getting a good set of numbers out of the Garmin. This Blog is going to journal my start to finish experience, from the first day of training on the bike to the After action review of the finish line and summary of the whole event.

My tasks right now are building my bikes, sorting the equipment, dialing in my diet, getting my training schedule and routine catered for the event and most of all, having a blast doing it. Since I am combat wounded with a disability retirement I am able to put all of my attention and focus on this one simple task.

I have come to the conclusion that there are alot of things that are going to tie up my holidays prepping for the things to come. Right now I am on the search for a road race bike and a time trial bike. I have several people helping with the search and am not a bit worried about the outcome. I have alot of great friends and supporters through the years of racing bikes and traveling the US to various locations chasing medals and trophies and these people have been more than happy to step up to the plate and lend a hand. I will be sure and recognize all of those who are involved.

since I haven't ridden for a while I am actually excited about getting back in the saddle and shaving some weight and time. My medical history has been a problem in the past but has leveled out to some normalcy and I have been able to adapt as a result.

Luckily I have been hunting all year and I have a freezer full of meat so my Diet will be awesome and packed with the great taste.

this is the point of conception for me. the initial clap of the hands and get to work point in this venture. since I am single and have nothing to do but strive for something awesome this couldn't have come at a better time!

Here we go!