My Kilmer Challenge Ride - Attempting the "CCC 8 Track". Please help ...

CCC 8 Track (click for larger view)

This coming Sunday, November 11th, I'm going to attempt to be the first rider to complete the ultra epic mountain bike route, the "CCC 8 Track" in a single day as my Kilmer Challenge ride.

The reason and inspiration for this ride is that a local mountain biker, father, husband and good friend is in a costly battle for his life with 3 rare blood cancers and The Kilmer Challenge Ride benefiting The David Kilmer Cancer Fund was created to try to help.

You can participate in The Kilmer Challenge Ride from anywhere in the world! You just sign up (tinyurl.com/KilmerChallengeJoin) and get people to sponsor you for each mile you ride on November 11th, 2012 (tinyurl.com/KilmerChallengeSponsor).

I'm going to try to complete the "CCC 8 Track" because the route's rugged Jefferson National Forest singletrack is exactly the type of riding that David loves, and in a recent conversation David said he wants to do a truly epic backcountry mountain bike adventure when he recovers, so I'm hoping the planning, images, video and stories that result from this attempt will be uplifting and inspiring for David.

The cumulative costs of the procedures, treatments, travel, and care associated with David's cancer battle are astronomical - and I'm kindly asking for your help.

Please sponsor my single-day "CCC 8 Track" attempt at 10 cents per mile by clicking here tinyurl.com/KilmerChallengeSponsor.

If I make it, your resulting donation to The David Kilmer Cancer Fund will be $8.

If you are able to and moved to sponsor/donate more, that's wonderful and will be really greatly appreciated by David, his wife Susan and their daughter Julia.

Example sponsorship and corresponding donation amounts for the 80 mile Kilmer Challenge "CCC 8 Track" attempt:

• 10 cents per mile = $8
• 25 cents per mile = $20
• 50 cents per mile = $40
• $1 per mile = $80
• $5 per mile = $400

The CCC 8 Track [CCC = both Craig County Crusher and Civilian Conservation Corps, the group that made virtually all of the amazing trails on this route.] This ultra epic mountain biking route combines two phenomenal XXC / Ultra / Marathon mountain biking race courses "The Escape" and "Dragon's Tale".

Update: Jeremiah Bishop has joined "The Kilmer Challenge" along with Ultra-Cyclists Wes Wilmer & Reid McClure!

Cannondale Factory Racing's Jeremiah Bishop, one of the top professional mountain bike racers in the US, has joined "The Kilmer Challenge"! Jeremiah will be travelling on the day of the challenge (November 11th), so his ride might be a short one, but he wrote "I am glad to help. Best wishes to David and his Family." 

Please consider sponsoring Jeremiah's efforts to help David Kilmer in his battle with 3 rare blood cancers here http://tinyurl.com/KilmerChallengeSponsor

Ultra-Cycling ace Wes Wilmer has also joined "The Klimer Challenge" benefiting The David Kilmer Cancer Fund. In 2006, a then 50-year-old Wes Wilmer pedaled a 333-mile route that covered the length of Virginia from south to north in 19 hours and 22 minutes. How far will Wes be able to pedal on November 11th? Please consider sponsoring Wes here http://tinyurl.com/KilmerChallengeSponsor and then stay tuned ... 

Reid McClure is another accomplished Ultra-Cyclist and he wrote that in The Kilmer Challenge "I will try to match my best 12 hour Ultra Marathon Cycling Association Race total of 231 miles achieved during Calvin's Challenge (Dayton, Ohio) back in May." Please consider sponsoring Reid here http://tinyurl.com/KilmerChallengeSponsor and root for him on the 11th!

For more information regarding The Kilmer Challenge benefiting The David Kilmer Cancer Fund, or to join the event as a Rider or Sponsor, please click here or visit the Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/events/297184140394422

Thank You and Blessings to you from, David, Susan and Julia Kilmer.

bicycle heroes, doping and a proven remedy

Since it was revealed that cycling heroes Armstrong, Hincape, Landis, Hamilton and others all participated in elaborate doping programs (see this NY Times article for details), a lot of their fans are feeling deflated.

Recalling the heroic performances of these cycling greats had been fun, stimulating, inspiring ... but now what? What are we to feel when we look back?

Yesterday I put these questions before my therapist. Without fail, whatever the issue, he always helps me put things into perspective and feel better. Let me introduce you to him ...

His name is RUMBLEFISH

RUMBLEFISH said to me

"You can spend your time looking backward or trying to ride a bicycle backwards, but neither are easy, comfortable or natural.

I'm going to suggest to you the same remedy that my colleagues and I have been prescribing for decades ...  

Go on a bicycle ride.

Personally, I feel it's most potent to bicycle ride in the woods, but to each his own."

I thanked RUMBLEFISH and then took his advice.

I went on a lunchtime ride ... and I returned with a face-stretching ear to ear grin!

In fact, I felt so good afterward that yesterday evening I took my kids on a night ride in the woods. The kids started feeling excited as soon as I mentioned that we were going riding.

Isn't that incredible! Just *thinking* about bicycle riding can make a person feel good!

If you've read to this point you may be beginning to feel better already, so please build on that, and ... go outside and ride!

Team Roanoke Personalized Bicycle Frame Stickers - Want one?

It's pretty cool to have your name on the top tube of your bicycles. And, in addition to looking great, it personalizes your ride and adds a low level of security.

And, it can let people know where you're from, or what team you're on.

I'm interested in setting up an inexpensive way for Roanoke area cyclists to order personalized "Team Roanoke" frame stickers.

Something simple like an image of the Roanoke Star followed by the persons name (or whatever 

text print they'd like).

Below are some super rough conceptual drafts. If I can get these, or something similar, made up relatively inexpensively - would you want one?

$26 Rechargeable Bicycle Headlight

These $26 lights ship from China and are a copy of a copy of a fairly decent lighting system. A friend posted information about this setup on Facebook, he and his cronies are all great riders and they say they love this system ... so I thought I'd give it a try.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/140842626907 

Bike Bicycle T6 LED Light HeadLight CREE XML XM-L HeadLamp 1200LM Blue

Adding this $3.95 Wide-Angle Lens changes the focused beam into a horizontally wide and bright beam that provides good visibility in front of you and about 30 degrees to either side of center ... which is nice when cycling into turns.

www.action-led-lights.com

I've done about 10 rides in total darkness with this setup on my CX bike and ... the system works. It's bright enough to ride very fast on the road, it's good in the woods and the system's unfazed by rain.

It seems to last a while too. I've run it on high for 2+ hours and it's still going strong when I've returned home. The recharger is a slow charger with an LED light on it that's red when charging and turns green when the battery is fully charged.

The glowing button on the back turns the light on and switches it between three brightness levels.

If you're looking for a really great lighting system with good customer support, a warranty, customer service and all of those really nice and important things ... visit your local bike shop. They will set you up with a lighting system that's designed for your riding needs and they will take care of you before, during and after the sale.

However, if money is tight and you want to ride at night, this bargain system with zero-frills packaging, no customer service and probably no warranty may help you ride more and more safely than without lights.

Gateway / Jacobs Ladder / Snake Root Lollipop MTB Route, Blackburg, VA

This is a great route if you've only got 60-90 minutes and want to enjoy a taste of the sweet singletrack of Blacksburg's Pandapas Pond area trails.

Pic of trails map in the kiosk of the Gateway / Old Farm trailhead.

• Garmin Connect - Old Farm (Gateway), Jacobs Ladder, Snake Root Lollipop MTB Route

Omni-Awareness + Ride Like You're Invisible + Continuous "Car Back" [Bike Month v12#2]

While biking about this morning, unexpectedly, I received three simple and powerful road cycling safety tips, one from my beautiful wife Lisa Thomas, and the others from our friends Bob Welsh and Joe Dudak.


Omni-Awareness - Lisa describes as "basically having eyes in every pore of your body". It is developing your ability to see, sense and feel what's happening all around you. Lisa feels (and I agree) that keeping your omni-awareness turned on is the most critical aspect of staying safe while bicycling.


Ride Like You're Invisible - Bob offered this tip and it's so crazy simple. What if you conduct yourself on a bicycle as though you are invisible? Instead of expecting motorists to see and avoid you on your bicycle, you expect that they will *not* see you and you act accordingly. In practice, this might look like:

You sense a vehicle approaching from behind, and you assume they do not see you, so you check your rear view mirror or look back and are prepared to move off the road.

Thankfully, most often, you are able to visually confirm that the motorist does in fact see you. They've either moved left to allow 3+ feet of space to safely overtake you or they've slowed to wait for an opportunity to safely overtake you. 

Applying the Ride Like You're Invisible tip has the potential to prevent many many motorist / cyclist accidents.

Here's an example of a cyclist counting on drivers seeing him and avoiding him, as motorists are required to do by law ... but one motorist does not see him:

Let me be very clear here - bicyclists are legally allowed to occupy an entire lane on roads where bicycles are permitted.

However, bicyclists are the smallest and most vulnerable road users, and if we ride with the assumption that everyone sees and will avoid us, we are literally gambling with our lives.

On a road like the one depicted in the above video, even if you noticed in your rear-view mirror a car speeding toward you with its driver looking down toward their lap, what could you do? There's no space to your right, only a concrete wall. Maybe you could abandon your bike and dive over the wall? Personally, I would choose another route. My need to feel in control of my safety would not be met by bicycling across Fahy Bridge.

Continuous "Car Back". Joe shared this gem that clearly and easily improves the safety of bicyclists.

When bicyclists ride in groups, and one or more of them perceives a car approaching from behind they loudly say "Car Back" and all riders in the group quickly move into single file as close to the right side edge of the road as is safe. This creates the conditions for the motorist to safely and easily pass the cyclists. Well, what if bicyclists always rode as though there was a "car back"? Imagine if for a few moments a cyclist's omni-awareness faltered, and/or a motorist actually did *not* see them, but ... the cyclist had the habit of riding in Continuous Car Back position. That habit may very well save their life.

So get out an ride lots and lots, while trying to apply these tips in combination with Light up the *DAY* with a PDW Radbot 1000 &/or Planet Bike Superflash Turbo [Bike Month v12#1]!

I'm really thankful to Lisa, Bob and Joe. I've been an avid cyclist for a long time, but their reminding me of these tips immediately helped me to feel more in control of my safety than ever.

Thank you! Let's Ride :)

Light up the *DAY* with a PDW Radbot 1000 &/or Planet Bike Superflash Turbo [Bike Month v12#1]

We all know that when riding at night bicyclists can dramatically increase their visibility with lights ... but what about during the day?

Does bicycle lighting increase the visibility of cyclists during the light of day?

Thanks to recent innovations in high visibility bicycle lighting the answer is "Yes!"

When cyclists ride with high visibility lighting, even on a sunny day, motorists are able to see them sooner, which gives the driver more time to react and choose when to safely overtake the cyclist.

Here's a video I created this morning that depicts two low-cost super high visibility bicycle rear lights - the Planet Bike SuperFlash Turbo and the Portland Design Works RadBot 1000.

Tangent - in this video I mention that I bought my commuter bike for $50 on Craigslist. Coincidentally, it has been costing around $50 each time the tank needs to be filled on the wagon in front of the bike. Get bike. Have fun getting around on it. Save $$ :)

Portland Design Works (www.ridepdw.com) "The Radbot has one directive: to defend you and your bike from rear collisions."



Planet Bike (www.planetbike.com) I love that Planet Bike is expressly marketing this light for daytime use :)


"I didn't see them."

These four words are the most common response given when a motorist has hit a cyclist.

The great news is that cyclists can take steps to enormously increase their daytime & nighttime visibility.

Please join me in lighting up the day by equipping your bicycles with high visibility lighting and turning it on every time you ride - night and day :)

Visibility Compromised? **Stop Driving** | NC Cyclist Tragically Killed by SUV

I had a lot of trouble sleeping last night. A dream kept recurring where my fear of being hit by a car while bicycling had increased, a lot, and I was inquiring with East Coasters (a local bike shop) about buying high visibility clothing.

At around 5am I gave up on sleeping, went downstairs, and I looked at Facebook on my phone.

One of the top stories was a post by a high school friend about a woman who grew up in our hometown, Katherine Henriksen Shubert. Tragically, Kathy was struck and killed by an SUV while bicycling along Brookbank Rd in Greensboro, NC this past Friday 4/13/12.

The SUV driver said the sunlight was blinding her and she never saw Katherine.

I'm incredibly saddened, and I can't stop thinking about this tragedy.

Kathy's family has suggested in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Yield to Life http://yieldtolife.org/

Even if you're not a cyclist, please take a couple of minutes to look at Yield to Life's website. It contains excellent safety tips for motorists and cyclists.

And here's one safety tip I'd like to add:

While driving or riding, if for any reason visibility becomes compromised, slow to a stop as quickly as you are safely able, and only resume driving or riding once you have remedied the visibility issue.

If your vision becomes compromised, and you continue to drive your vehicle, you are gambling with human lives. Other people's and your own. Please ... do not do it.

According to the SUV driver, 33 year old Kimberly Mann of Summerfield, NC, the sunlight was blinding her. If as soon as this had occurred Kimberly had slowed, stopped, possibly adjusted her sun visor and / or put on sun glasses, and then proceeded with caution ... in all likelihood 38 year old Katherine Henriksen Shubert would still be alive today.

A number of years ago, while I was bicycling home from work, my bike was hit by a car under similar circumstances. The sun was setting, the 16 yr old girl driver said she couldn't see, and the mirror of her car struck the handlebar of my bike at ~45mph. The mirror of her car broke off and, amazingly, I didn't even fall. I was unbelievably lucky. My son was very young at the time, and I remember thinking he was just inches away from potentially losing his father.

Kathy's obituary: http://is.gd/rMsOac, News: http://is.gd/IEVAek, http://is.gd/MsVWNE

My thoughts, prayers, love and condolences are with Kathy's family and everyone that knew and loved her. I'm so so sorry for your loss.

For everyone reading this, please drive and ride very safely and encourage others to do the same. Teach kids about the importance of driving safely, the dangers of not doing so ... and lead by example.

I tried to make an online donation to Yield to Life http://yieldtolife.org/support but the link wasn't working. I'll try again later, and if difficulty persists I'll mail a donation to:

Yield to Life1338 S. Foothill Dr. #157Salt Lake City, UT 84108-2321

And ... for some reason, I wanted to see an image of the road she was travelling on, so I typed the road name into Google maps, zoomed to street view and this image of a cyclist pedaling along the road came up. It looks like a wonderfully beautiful and peaceful road to bicycle into the sunset along ...

Roanoke Cyclists Championing Goodwill

With the number of cyclists on the roads of Roanoke growing quickly, creating and maintaining a high level of goodwill between cyclists and motorists is enormously important so everyone can safely and efficiently enjoy our region's roadways.

Roanoke's cyclists are looking forward to demonstrating that they will be doing their part in "Sharing the Roads" - and then some - beginning at tonight's Famous Tuesday Night Beer Ride.

Blue Ridge Bicycle Club President Chris Berry and one of our regions strongest riders and supporters of cycling Rick Woods will be holding a brief rider meeting at 5:20pm tonight, ahead of the start of the Famous Tuesday Night Beer Ride.

All riders are asked to be present and supportive.

Among the goals of Roanoke cyclists is for motorists to broadly consider cyclists to be very considerate, kind and respectful toward motorists.

Please plan to attend tonight's brief pre-ride meeting, you're welcome and encouraged to come to the 10 minute meeting even if you're unable to participate in the ride.

Creating a community where cyclists and motorists are consistently friendly toward and look out for one another: 5:20 to 5:30pm, tonight Tuesday March 27th, in the parking lot of the Virginia Transportation Museum, 303 Norfolk Avenue Southwest  Roanoke, VA 24016.


Thank you,


Rob Issem
540-537-4896

2012 Bicycle Racing / Event Schedule (Updated 3/16)

This is subject to change, but I'm looking forward roughly one event per month. Click on any of the links for detailed information, and if you live in the Roanoke area and would like to carpool to some of these, please message me or comment here.


Updated 3/16: Family fun plans have caused me to trim a few events, so now the ones in BOLD are where I will nearly certainly be playing ;)

• March 18 - O’Hill Meltdown, Charlottesville, VA http://is.gd/3poLVq  
• April 1 - Dragon’s Tale, New Castle, VA http://is.gd/T3nX3h
• May 6 - Middle Mountain Momma, Clifton Forge, VA http://is.gd/XaeHrL  
• June 10  - Massanuten Hoo-Haa, Keezletown, VA http://is.gd/rtrXry
• July 15 - Iron Mountain 100k, Damascus, VA http://is.gd/BPnLLi
• August 5 - Artie Levin Century, Roanoke, VA http://is.gd/tjlIFy
• August 19 - Star City Vicious Randonnee http://is.gd/w6ui9f
• September 2 - Shenandoah Mountain 100, Stokesville, VA http://is.gd/YTGd0F
• September 15 - Jeremiah Bishop Alpine Loop Gran Fondo, Harrisonburg, VA http://is.gd/QNN1dH
• October 29 - Rowdy Dawg, Blacksburg, VA http://is.gd/pHuBWu

An Upgraded Procedure for Preventing Rust in Steel Frames with J.P. Weigle's Framesaver

You love your steel frame. People bond with steel framed bicycles like no other materials. And for good reasons. If you own, or are getting ready to own, a bicycle with a steel frame, and you're dreaming and hoping that it will maintain that great feel, appearance, comfort and utility for many years ...

then carefully treating the internal frame surfaces with J.P. Weigle's Framesaver is a crucial step, and investment, in preserving your beloved steel frame.

The following pictures depict a clean, and extremely thorough, method for applying Framesaver to a frame. It goes beyond the printed instructions that come with Framesaver in that it temporarily seals each section of tubing after Framesaver is applied, to eliminate the mess commonly associated with treating frames, and to further insure that all internal tubing surfaces are very well coated.

What you'll need:

1. J.P. Weigle's Frame Saver (1 can)
2. Paper Towels
3. 2" Wide Painter's Tape (this is low-tac and non marking)
4. Soft surface to work on frame. I used padded foam flooring mats.

1 - Using a small piece of painter's tape, seal the seat stay drain holes, which are generally located by the rear wheel dropouts.

2 - Pack the bottom bracket housing with paper towels.

3 - Seal the bottom bracket housing with painter's tape.

4 - Some frames, like this 2012 Salsa El Mariachi, have open ended gussets. Treat these by spraying a small amount of Framesaver into the open end.

5 - Wipe off any overspray.

6 - Carefully seal the gusset with painter's tape.

7 - Repeat with all open gussets.

8 - Insert Framesaver spray wand into the drain hole of the chainstay, spray for 3 seconds.

9 - Wipe off overspray.

10 - Seal with painter's tape.

11 - At the frame head tube, insert Framesaver spray wand into the top tube and downtube holes, spray for 5 seconds each, then stuff the head tube with paper towels.

12 - Seal the head tube with painter's tape.

13 - Move to the seat tube and spray a short 2 second burst of Framesaver in to the top tube hole.

14 - Spray for 3 seconds into both of the seat stay tubes.

15 - Close / seal the seat tube split, spray Framesaver into the seat tube for 4 seconds coating all walls, and stuff a small section of paper towel into the seat tube. Don't push paper towel more than an inch into the seat tube or you may have trouble removing it.

16 - Seal the seat tube.

17 - Slowly rotate the frame end over end and side over side for a few minutes. Then lie the frame on it's side overnight, or for a few hours.

18 - The next day, remove the seat tube sealing tape and paper towel stuffing, respray the top tube and seat stays, restuff and reseal the seat tube.

19 - Then remove the bottom bottom bracket sealing tape and paper towel stuffing, respray the chain stays, the down tube and seat tube, restuff and reseal the bottom bracket.

20 -  Slowly rotate the frame end over end and side over side for a few minutes. Then lie the frame on it's other side overnight, or for a few hours.

Congratulations! You're done! You have not spilled a drop of Framesaver and you've done an exceptional job of preserving your beloved steel frame.

Product Review: TOMS SHOES - a Bicycle Commuting Secret Weapon!

I work in an office and, for fun & fitness, once or twice a week I try to go on a bike ride during lunch. 

Since my bike commute is a short 2.8 miles, I can comfortably ride wearing my work clothes - including casual shoes. The only exception is that on the days when I will try to bike during lunch I wear my cycling shoes during my commute ... and I pack a pair of TOMS.

TOMS are fashionable, great looking shoes, that are comfortable, super light weight and take up very little space in a pack. TOMS are commonly worn without socks, keeping your feet cool and looking good during the summer, and for cold weather comfort, just slip thin wool socks on before your TOMS.

TOMS simply make my bicycle commuting life easier.

Because I represent the Bike Sherpas Touring Co. as the leader of a weekly, lunch time, group mountain bike ride, I need to carry a lot of gear ... and it'd be a hassle (if not impossible) to try and shove common office shoes in my pack.

My TOMS effortlessly slide into the pack, and, as if all the comfort, versatility, style and practicality of TOMS were not enough ...

and get this - they cost only $44.

TOMS are great to pedal in too. My wife and I enjoyed a Bermuda bicycling honeymoon this past June and the only shoes I wore were my TOMS.

Full Disclosure: I have no affiliation at all with TOMS, other than I love them. My beautiful fashion superhero wife introduced me to them and suggested I wear them with my tux during our wedding - which I did - and the rest is history :)

This image depicts everything I pack when I will bike commute and represent the Bike Sherpas Touring Co. as ride leader for the Uptown Joe's "Lunch Vacation" Mountain Bike Ride - a sweet weekly Blue Ridge Bicycle Club group ride. [Pack Contents: East Coasters long sleeve jersey, Bontrager tights, Bontrager reflective wind shell in stuff sack, Salomon XA20 pack, Pearl Izumi bike shorts, Bontrager gloves, socks, reflective pant / ankle strap, 26" & 29" tubes, Topeak Alien II multitool, patch kit, 8, 9 & 10 speed chain quick links, 4 CO2 cartridges, CO2 inflator, Apple, bag of Almonds, Helmet, shoes, Tri-Flow lube, First Aid Kit, saw, emergency blanket.]

Inexpensive Tubeless Upgrade Procedure

I've upgraded quite a few wheels to run tubeless in the last few years, and I recently realized that you don't need the expensive "tubeless upgrade kits" to perform a very high quality conversion to no tubes.

This is a stock Bontrager SSR 29er rim off of a new 2011 Trek X-Caliber. Leave the blue rim tape in place and ...

Add a layer of Velox rim tape on top of it. Then ...

Add a layer of 3/4" electrical tape along one side of the rim. Once complete ... 

Add a second layer of electrical tape along the other side of the rim to fully cover the rim bed.

Adding second layer.

Completed rim bed preparation. Extremely easy!

Create a hole for the valve either with a razor, round file or drill bit.

Add the Stan's NoTubes Standard Valve Stem ... and you've done it! You've successfully converted / upgraded your wheels to be Tubeless Compatable!  

There are loads of How-To's, instructional videos and DIY guides for mounting tires and airing up and sealing tubeless systems. www.notubes.com has a good series of videos and there are also loads of vids on YouTube. I highly recommend using Stan's Tire Sealant.

All together, upgrading this stock wheelset to tubeless cost under $20 (less than 1/3 the cost of a kit). You can safely run lower tire pressures without pinch flatting, creating a more comfortable ride with better traction, and the sealant virtually eliminates flats caused by thorns and most other punctures. And, if ever you do get a flat, you can simply remove the Stan's NoTubes Valve Stem, install a standard tube and roll on :)