Cycling Oklahoma
We will talk about everything cycling in Oklahoma. We cover races, athletes, bike industry, local gossip and everything fun that has to do with 2 wheels.
Cycling Oklahoma
The Random Show w/ Alan White & Chris Drummond
In this episode, we delve into the exciting happenings in the Oklahoma cycling scene, filled with updates on new races and community initiatives. Our discussions highlight the importance of supporting local sponsorships and providing insights for upcoming events.
• Overview of the current cycling vibe in Oklahoma
• Recap of past races and shared anecdotes
• Importance of community support in cycling
• Details on upcoming races, including TdD, GCXC, and Mid-South
• Encouragement for listeners to engage with local initiatives
Instagram @2d9performance
What is up Cycling Oklahoma? Thank you so much for tuning in for another fun episode of Dumb and Dumber and Dumberist or whatever you want to call us. These conversations are always so much fun and really, truly they are just a way for the three of us guys to get together and BS and have a beer and talk and laugh. And we do go over all the exciting things that are happening in Oklahoma cycling. We cover all the races that are coming up. I mean it is race season here in Oklahoma. Things are really kicking off between mountain bike and crits are starting soon and it's just hot and heavy soon and coming hard. So we're we're really excited about all the things that are that are coming up. We cover, you know, really, some of the new races that are happening. We go over some courses and talk about those. So if you are doing any of the races coming up, you might really want to pay attention because there's some good insight here Cover Mid-South and what's happening there. There is some fun, exciting details that are happening with the course that we cover. But it's a really, really fun episode and I really enjoy hanging out and these dudes and talking and just BS and laughing. So I hope you enjoy these episodes as much as we do. We did not roast anybody in this episode, but we do lay the groundwork for roasting people in the next time, so you'll hear how and why that might potentially be happening, but I hope you enjoy this. It's super fun. If you want to be on the podcast, please let me know. I hope you enjoy this. It's super fun. If you want to be on the podcast, please let me know.
Speaker 1:We are always looking for sponsors for this because we have some really fun and exciting things that we're trying to get off the ground. And do you know? All that money goes back into getting podcast equipment, paying for the hosting of the podcast and the website and all that kind of stuff. If there is any extra money that goes back into the community for races or sponsorships to races or prems or anything that we can do to make the race scene and cycling scene in Oklahoma better, it does not go into my pocket. I promise you that. So if you want to sponsor any of the things that we do the videos that we're putting together this year, the podcast or anything in between please let me know. We do are doing the great gravel state championship. We do need some sponsorships for that because we have some really cool things that we're doing inside of that event. So the details will be coming out of that soon. Um, so, if you have some extra bucks and want to throw it this direction, we can put it to use and making the cycling in Oklahoma, uh, better and better and better, and let's continue to grow this. I do want to thank our sponsors so much.
Speaker 1:Uh, oklahoma mountain bike association. Uh, ride ombaorg is the website. Uh, man, they are crushing trail work days. If you want to get involved, please go and help and volunteer and do a trail work day. I will admit I still have not done that. I am slacking. That will happen soon as possible.
Speaker 1:But, uh, oklahoma mountain bike association is a phenomenal group. They take care of the trails all over our amazing state and, uh, without them doing what they do, we don't get to enjoy the sports that we get to enjoy. So go sign up with ride. Oh, mba, it's 50 bucks a year. People, you ride all these trails for free all the time. Donate $50 to them, help them with their trail building, help them with their trail maintenance, all those kinds of things, volunteer time. If you don't have the $50, I totally get it, but we really, really need to support this group, ride ombaorg. They're a phenomenal group. They do phenomenal things, so please check them out. And we have a new sponsor.
Speaker 1:I'm super excited about this one Oil filter company. So what did they do, you may ask. They sell oil filters, plain and simple. Taylor Jones, phenomenal dude. I've known Taylor for a really, really long time. He probably doesn't want anybody to tell him and rat him out that I started coaching him through multi-sport. So Taylor has a multi-sport background, but he loves racing cross. You see Taylor out there Absolute, phenomenal dude. Great family, his dad, his wife, his kids Like they're awesome. Walter, his amazing dog, but the oil filter company, taylor has taken over this business and is really trying to grow it and make some changes there and do some phenomenal things, and Ryan Drummond works there with him as well. So Taylor is in our community. He is, you know, employing our amazing racers that are up and coming in our community and he is giving back to the podcast and supporting us. So let's support him.
Speaker 1:It doesn't matter what you're looking for, but a lot of what they do is commercial. So if you have fleet trucks, if you have heavy equipment, if you have, like you, own land and you have tractors and all the things on your own personal land, they can give you what you need and what you want. So oil filter company phone number is 405-232-3411, 405-232-3411. Reach out to Taylor Jones. If you do know him, reach out to me, I'll connect you guys. But if anybody out there and I know you are we have some heavy equipment users out there, some managers, some fleet managers, all that stuff in the cycling community reach out to Taylor, see if he can give you a price quote, see if he can do some good for you, because we really want to support him in this new business adventure that he's on and trying to grow his business. As he supports us, we need to support him. So, taylor, thank you so much. Oil Filter Company. They're right here in Oklahoma City over on Southwest 3rd, so they're very local, very easy to get to, to pick up in a pinch for what your heavy equipment needs or your fleet vehicles need. So reach out to him again. 405-232 one. Thank you guys. So much for listening. Um, again, cycling Oklahomacom follow for all the things and I cannot say thank you enough and, uh, we'll talk to you guys next time.
Speaker 1:Oh, also, last thing, I'm moving the podcast to a new platform. So if you don't get it through Spotify or, uh, apple, uh, itunes, you may not be able to find it in the future episodes after this one. So it will all be better for everybody. Sound quality, all the things are going to be so much better with this new platform. But you may not be able to download it everywhere. So I will work on trying to get it everywhere, but as of now it's probably going to be on iTunes and Spotify. So if you've listened to this podcast somewhere else and you need me to put it there, let me know. I will find it, I will get it posted there, but the big platforms is where it's going to be found going forward, at least for a while. So thank you guys so much. I greatly appreciate it and we'll talk to you next time.
Speaker 2:A 165 mil.
Speaker 1:Hold on, save it. We're a 165 mil, hold on, save it. We're recording. This is oh yeah, this is awesome. Um so, gentlemen, we are back. Uh, we haven't done a dumb and dumber and dumber. How long has it been?
Speaker 2:before christmas. Yeah, yeah christmas?
Speaker 1:yeah, I think so we didn't get banned.
Speaker 2:That's good, and it's more canceled or canceled?
Speaker 1:We probably got canceled, we just don't know it.
Speaker 4:We're too old to realize we got canceled Nobody's listening.
Speaker 2:It's hard to get canceled when it's just us that listen to them. The two people listen in their car.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, I don't even listen, I just edit them and move on. Well, we really don't know what we're going to talk about, so we kind of randomly threw this list together. Let's start with the old races that we haven't covered.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:And then we'll get into the hot takes. Let's do it. I mean, we didn't even put it out for hot take questions, so any hot take topics that you can think of between now and then.
Speaker 2:Make a note of it, okay.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay. So races that have happened since we did this last we had the six hour, I don't know. I think that Arcadia six hour happened.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, I don't know if that happened before or after we did our last episode.
Speaker 2:That was after, that was in January.
Speaker 4:I don't think we talked about it. We talked about it. We talked about it coming up.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, I did that it was a good one. Yeah, it was good. Yeah, it was a fun course I watched.
Speaker 4:That counts.
Speaker 2:You did come out, didn't you?
Speaker 1:You did. Yeah, thank you for your support. Appreciate it.
Speaker 2:You even sort of cheered for me at one point.
Speaker 1:I cheered a lot of people on, we got fourth. Did you guys really?
Speaker 2:We had no business getting out of four. No, I think there was 20 in that group. Yeah, Billy and I at one point were like, oh shit, we're going to have to actually like push this a little bit.
Speaker 4:You missed the podium on purpose, didn't?
Speaker 2:you Get out of the cold. Yeah, it was cold.
Speaker 1:It was.
Speaker 2:Oh dude, that day was cold.
Speaker 1:Because that was my goal, was to stay with you guys.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I did a good job of it. You were with us for a little bit Until I quit, yeah.
Speaker 1:And then I was like man, I've had enough.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:That's the best part about six hours. If you don't really care, it's just like my back hurts a little bit. I'm going to do one more lap now that I hurt and then I'm done yeah, that's what I did.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was interesting because, like they would change the course midway through the race. Don't know if I'm a fan of that I, I agree.
Speaker 1:I I liked it and didn't like it good idea it was a good idea. It was fun super different.
Speaker 4:What did they change?
Speaker 1:the going up the hill up to the water tower yeah okay, they had two routes and so you didn't know which way it was going to be open when you went by. So it kind of gave you something new to think about.
Speaker 2:Each time yeah.
Speaker 4:So I wasn't opposed to it. Did they change it back and forth? Yeah, yeah, and you didn't know when.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So your lap times were different based on.
Speaker 1:Not a ton, but a little bit yeah.
Speaker 2:And then on the downhill, and then at first you get two choices on the downhill you only had the left choice right, and then they opened up the right side, yeah, which was way faster because way faster because you came all of a sudden. You appeared out of nowhere behind me and I'm like wait a second, like left open as an option, yeah, yeah going down I don't know about that yeah, yeah, the climb?
Speaker 4:I don't think. Well, actually, the climb was a lot different from pre-riding it as far as time, if it were left open, but I guess, if everyone has to go the same way, it doesn't matter.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it was the same per lap. I mean for the most part. I mean all the leaders were on the same spot yeah. But it was fun kind of different.
Speaker 2:Yeah, different.
Speaker 1:Yeah, coming down. I'm like man Brantley.
Speaker 2:Oh, when he had shit so bad, so bad, like in midair, he tried to do it Were you behind him.
Speaker 2:Yes, okay, I was in one spot in front of him yeah, because it was you, then Brantley, then me, and it was the sort of whoop-de-doo up down into that wooden bridge and you, like you railed it and I'm like, okay, good, we're carrying speed through this. And the next thing I see brantley's in the air and not, yeah, he and his bike separate, and I'm like this is not ending well, I heard it and I was like, but I knew there was like a line of you guys behind him, you're behind us.
Speaker 1:I'm like I'm not gonna stop and look.
Speaker 2:I can't stop and look. I don't do well with that stuff.
Speaker 1:The sound that I heard, I was like I don't want to stop and look. So I just kind of kept going and I slowed down to see if I could hear anything. That was like, oh shit, we need straight attention.
Speaker 2:And I didn't hear that, so I just kept going. He checked himself out and got up and slow rolled it for a bit yeah no, but it was bad because it was his first, that's right yeah and it was the first lap yeah, but it was in slow motion, one of those. Oh, that's not gonna end, well, no it didn't sound like it ended.
Speaker 1:oh, I got so pissed before I knew that they had opened up that right line. I was taking the left line and I saw some old man who was I don't even know. I say old man, I'm an old man, but I saw him come flying down that right side and I was like that cheating bastard, he's cutting the course, so pissed.
Speaker 2:Oh, I was so mad for like two laps it was good race, Good course Not this time I did. When we got to the top and run to that corner, I made a point to like stick my head around and make sure there was not a cable across there.
Speaker 1:I think I'm out something.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you did that's right yeah.
Speaker 1:I didn't happen this time that was great. I think my big surprise was Perkins.
Speaker 2:Perkins was pretty good, he crushed he didn't get his head too big.
Speaker 1:He did good in that race.
Speaker 2:He had a few sketchy corners.
Speaker 1:He's still riding that high. I think let's go ahead and bump him down real quick, because he was supposed to do the six hour, oh that's right.
Speaker 2:And then he no-showed it, yeah, and did the three Three.
Speaker 1:So it doesn't really count. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:His lap times were good and riding with him. Like you can see, like the raw power is there.
Speaker 1:But it's like man, you put so much effort, like yeah, which is impressive, he made it three hours, yeah. Yeah, that's hard when you work so much harder than everybody else yeah I mean, he really rode six hours in that three hours yeah, he really did.
Speaker 2:He really did. It's like man, if you get the technical side of this dialed in, you're gonna be good but has he ridden his mountain bike since?
Speaker 4:no, uh, he hasn't because I worked on it this week. He said I haven't ridden this since arcadia there you go now I. I was really disappointed.
Speaker 1:He says he's gonna ride it tomorrow oh we'll see we will awesome well, I think, and then okay, so going from that six hour into the thunderbird I did not go. I was out town, so I wasn't able to make that. Beautiful day, was it? Oh yeah, it was perfect weather, wasn't it? Yeah, it was great, it was great.
Speaker 4:Charles was actually a little dry because it rained that week a lot.
Speaker 2:Yeah, really.
Speaker 4:But yeah, I got by mid-race, it got loose.
Speaker 1:Because I was really hoping it was going to get canceled again so I could ride it. It's all the rain. I was like, yeah, dog, it was fun.
Speaker 4:It's normally a little cold that day. It's manageable, but it was really good, good it was like short sleeves. I wore long sleeves for my first. I did two laps that Aubrey was going to do too. I wore long sleeves and we got to the start line and I was like I'm going to be hot. I was like. I wish I would have worn the short sleeve but yeah, it was great when you're at the start line and you're not cold.
Speaker 1:It's not good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's not a good sign. You're like I've overdressed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, none of the shivers before you head into the trees is bad news.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Whose laps were faster? Yours or Aub's? Mine Yours or Aub's Mine.
Speaker 4:By much.
Speaker 3:Yeah, attaboy Still got it.
Speaker 4:She had fast laps, yeah, she had good laps, yeah, but I had the fastest.
Speaker 3:Nice.
Speaker 4:I set the KOM.
Speaker 1:Did they give a prize for the?
Speaker 4:KOM? No, they didn't. But I was going out first and my goal was to try to get us a big lead.
Speaker 1:Did you guys win the overall team?
Speaker 4:Maybe, maybe, I don't know, I didn't look at that, probably had to have been close. Yeah.
Speaker 1:I don't know who was the individual, that winner Of the solo oh Rai Rai Right, and then him and Rob battled. Yeah, I looked at the lap times.
Speaker 4:They were battling all day it got pretty interesting. Ryan McMahon was with him.
Speaker 2:He's gotten so strong he is strong yeah. He's really strong.
Speaker 4:Because Ryan took off on the start and I'm like all right, trees, I told him to let me buy Cause he was going fast, but I was like all right, I can go faster than this. For for two laps, right, um, and the three of those. I think someone else might've been with them, but it ended up being those three for a long time.
Speaker 1:Firefighter Barrett.
Speaker 4:Was he up there? He was in the second group. The first time I saw there was a second group of like tanner, barrett, uh, hodges was in it and somebody else, but it ended up being those three for, I would say, two and a half hours, and then, uh, then they dropped mcmahon. He was having to stop and get his own feeds, though so he was having to stop and chase back on, I think.
Speaker 4:And then Ryan, I would say maybe like three and a half four hours in, rob came by by himself and said Ryan was having stomach issues. And I'm like I really didn't think, ryan, his goal was to win it. And I was like man, he doesn't you know, he was coming off cross season and he rode for like a week or two and was like fired up to win this race and I'm like I won't say you can't but like I know who you're going up against and I know where his fitness level's at, um.
Speaker 4:And then, uh, yeah, ryan had lost a lot of time because of that. And then he came through and they you know I wasn't seeing every lap because I was out some and he was like two minutes down on rob, like he had started to bring it back. And then the next lap he came through and he was probably he was two or three minutes up on Rob. Wow, holy crap. And Rob, rob was coming apart, though Rob had done a road race the day before too.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 4:But he was at that point, he was having Issues, he was having a bad day by that point and Ryan was. I think Ryan was hurting but motivated yeah.
Speaker 1:It's impressive they were able to put in a hard six hours when coming off a cross training.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean I don't think he had done a ride over three hours in a long time.
Speaker 1:It's good to see someone to be young.
Speaker 4:Motivation goes a long way, especially when you've got somebody right there, like you know that he's right there and we felt bad after the fact because Rob came through and he looked. You know they could do one more lap, but the time was close and he's like what's the gap to Ryan? And we told him two minutes and he looked bad.
Speaker 4:I was like man looking at him I was like yeah, he's probably not catching my Ryan. So looking at him I was like yeah, he's probably not catching my Ryan. And he asked and I'm like man, he's still motivated, but he was asking us the gap to McMahon because he wanted to pull out.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 4:And it was like 20 minutes. Oh gosh. And after we're just talking, and Rob was sitting next to me. He's like well, that would have been good to know. And I'm like and it all clicked. I was like oh, that's what you meant. I gave you the wrong math, yeah because he was in. He was in a bad way because he could have stopped and ryan wouldn't have made it no way to the, because there was only like there was less than 10 minutes left on the clock.
Speaker 1:Oh god so he did a whole, not for nothing he was buried, oh that sucks, he'd get what you pay for.
Speaker 2:Yeah, brilliant.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. Well, I think it's probably great for Rob to have somebody to push him on the mountain bike.
Speaker 4:Yeah because I thought for sure he would. I was like Ryan's going to blow up at some point, he's going to run out of fitness. It just doesn't make sense that you can do that. But yeah, you helps a lot. Motivation helps a lot. Yeah, Um, he's got some big goals around marathon type stuff this year. So he was I think he was really like wanting to prove to himself he could do it, so he could then go on to the next things.
Speaker 2:Nice.
Speaker 1:That's cool.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's fun drum and sweep. Did it about time for you guys to move back to arkansas.
Speaker 1:No shit, the good thing, it doesn't matter to us right, we don't care.
Speaker 3:Yeah, not our problem, nope yeah, sucks to be sucks to be fast for those guys yeah yeah, um, okay.
Speaker 1:So I think that's a recap of what has happened. Oh, grode, oh yeah yeah, grodio, I did not do it? Did you guys do grodio? You did? I was supposed to do it with you possibly. Yeah, I just said I don't want to.
Speaker 2:Yeah we ended up just three of us me, billy and iron we were.
Speaker 2:We had a fourth we bailed those three stooges, oh my god and here listen, here was the agreement we made was look, we're not going to go out and kill this, we're just gonna like ride it and have fun, and not five minutes in aaron's on the front just pinning it apps. And we start I think we started like sixth or seventh team, but we start picking teams off and all of a sudden we're up there in second place and I'm like we know like like this is not, like this is not the pace, it's a bad idea, and we're probably eh, it was about 20, 25 miles. In was when Rob and the Sifuentes came past us and I said, yep, okay, we're done.
Speaker 1:Yeah, calm down now.
Speaker 2:No, billy and Aaron were still on it and I kept telling them look, my motor is done here sometime your actual e-bike motor, yeah no, no, no, my, my physical motor physical yeah, what there is is done in the next 10 or 15 miles, sure shit. We hit mile 40 and I blew up that finish stretch is not, oh my god, I told chad afterwards that last sort of handful of miles in as some of the hardest I've ever done. It was like just relentless course.
Speaker 1:I mean, I just did a short version of it. Yeah, with Billy and Aaron that one day and he was like yeah, this will be the finish and all this stuff. And I was like yeah if the wind sucks. This is going to be brutal.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the wind going to be brutal. Yeah, the wind was windy too. Yeah, and it and like coming back.
Speaker 1:It was a headwind coming. Yeah, it's like, oh, the headwind straight down every one of those hills. Yeah, it is a non-stop rollers yeah like eight miles.
Speaker 4:Yeah, the biggest one's the last one yes we did it on a team with like uh, abby chill brisky yeah sarah bell and Judson strong and she came in and I could. I could see it in her face when she rolled in.
Speaker 3:I'm like, yeah, she didn't have a good day.
Speaker 4:And then she's like I hate this.
Speaker 3:She rolled up. She's like I hate this, I'm never.
Speaker 4:I'm never doing gravel.
Speaker 3:And we high fived it.
Speaker 4:Vanessa's got a picture of us handshaking on it that we quit gravel. That's awesome. She's just like I keep same with me. She's like I keep doing these and I just I don't like this. What is the distance that she doesn't like? I don't, I don't know what she doesn't like I mean I think it's just the whole thing, just not to both of us. It's not fun like there's nothing about it. That's fun for us. Why is that? I don't know.
Speaker 1:I've done them and I'm just like, but you'd go on like a three or four hour road ride and that would be fun.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I think it's just the.
Speaker 2:There's no recovery, it's just relentless.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yes, there's no recovery.
Speaker 1:It's like a triathlon to me, yeah, where you have to be on the path, the whole time.
Speaker 4:I'm probably riding hard. I think a lot of people enjoy it. They just want to get out get scenery and ride Yep, and I just never enjoy riding that way, gotcha, and so if I'm riding hard then it's hard.
Speaker 3:I don't know, it's real hard.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I think road riding or mountain biking for that long is fun.
Speaker 2:Even in a mountain bike race you can recover. Yeah, like there's spots, you can sort of like hey, I can recover here for a little bit because even if it's flat or slightly downhill and gravel, you still have the the gravel right, you're still putting on power, yeah I don't know, I just don't enjoy it, and apparently she doesn't.
Speaker 1:That's awesome I mean, I rode the first g3 with her until she's like I've had enough of this bs. She was not.
Speaker 4:She pretty much did not have a lot of fun the entire day yeah she was she was battling a shoulder injury then too, so that was like she didn't have that this this time, but she just, she all healed up yeah, okay, good, and she starts her season fairly quickly.
Speaker 1:Right, they gotta be starting.
Speaker 2:I want to say april, okay, it's, it's much later than normal but yeah, interesting, okay, pretty soon that four-person, that team format is awesome at Grodio.
Speaker 1:Four people's tough.
Speaker 4:I don't know when you took off, but there was a team. I don't know everybody's name on it, but I know Basil was on it, if you know Basil and Kyle Hicks. There's a team of four. I see three of them. You know that little neighborhood there they go. They go West to like warm up on that road and I I hear the guy on the mic telling the one left like they're they're counting down the team to take off and these guys are down the road warming up.
Speaker 4:And so he's like well, I guess uh are down the road warming up. And so he's like, well, I guess uh go and, you know, find your teammates, and they, they start trickling back in. They didn't give a shit, you know they they're like oh, whatever. So they take off and and then they all come back separate and like oh yeah, I dropped them.
Speaker 2:It's like that's not how this race.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they had their own race, they came in like several minutes
Speaker 2:apart all of them like singles rolling.
Speaker 4:We saw a few of those out there and even minutes apart, all of them like singles rolling we saw a few of those out there on some of the windy headwind sections.
Speaker 2:You're like wait, those are individuals by themselves. What's happening?
Speaker 1:I will throw Perkins under the bus for this, because I did it with him last year.
Speaker 2:And that mofo he just took off.
Speaker 1:No only about 20 yards the entire day. Awesome the entire day and I, for whatever reason, was having a terrible day on the bike. Yeah, like as soon as we took off, we go out of the little addition, we turn right and then that first intersection you turn left and it was up that like little beat and I was like my heart rate's 180 already it's not good. And we were like a mile in and it didn't get better. And then he decided to basically like race himself.
Speaker 1:Yeah so it was awful and but he, he would stay about 20 yards in front of us and look back at us the whole time, Like we're trying to chase him down.
Speaker 2:Like listen asshole like if you would just calm down and ride back, come back to us.
Speaker 1:We like if you would just calm down and come back to us, we could all go a lot faster work together. Yeah, as soon as we got done with that, I was like you're the worst teammate I've ever had in my entire life in any sport. You're my worst teammate. I'm not doing this with you again awesome yeah, yeah, and he did. He just whooped my ass all day, it was awful, and his own yeah, oh man, he made me hurt so bad. It was awful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, terrible teammate, great guy noted yeah, yeah great individual terrible teammate, terrible teammates uh-huh, I was just waiting for the off the front, off the back to come out, so I could really just give him a lot of shit never, went off the back which ate me up inside.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for a lot of reasons I was like damn it we went and did a last year, the year before the mother road gravel race up in Tulsa and it was one of Perkins first gravel races and he went to the front and like he pinned it like just, and there's a group of 15 of us behind him and we all learn. But he was like I'm just going to sit on the front whole damn time here and it's like Perkins, you know, there's other people here right.
Speaker 2:Like let them do it. Yeah, like come sit back here.
Speaker 4:It's way easier. But I feel really good right now and that's like.
Speaker 2:I feel great. Ten minutes later it's like whoop gone.
Speaker 1:Sugar, you can go, yeah, bless him, bless him.
Speaker 2:good thing he's a sweet boy, yes, um okay, so well, who?
Speaker 4:ended up winning that. The usual uh rob and uh so point does it all. Yeah, they came in they were smoking started last game they had a flat because they did a flat selfie and came in way ahead yeah we were in there eating pizza when they came in, and then it was a while before anybody else came in Sounds right, I guess race is coming up.
Speaker 1:We got the new mountain bike series coming up, starting in Tulsa on the 9th of March Hell's Bells.
Speaker 4:Have you guys done that race?
Speaker 1:No, but I'm going to try to go early next week and ride it. It's so much fun.
Speaker 4:Where's it? At Bells Park done that race?
Speaker 2:no, but I'm gonna try to go early, it's so much fun. Where's it? At um bells park, it's like in tulsa, yeah it's like, uh, highway 75 and seven.
Speaker 4:You know where, you know where turkey's at yeah like if you were to get off. I think it's on 71st to go to turkey yeah just go the other way oh, really huh yeah, it's a small park and short laps, but it's it's really fun. You just it's like a downhill, kind of rocky, technical for half of a lap and you get to the bottom and then you climb back up. Then you kind of do a loop around a like a ball field.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and then back in. It's like several laps of a short course. Um, it's bumpy, it's not bad, it's rocky cause it's Tulsa, but mean I, I did it on my hardtail last year and it wasn't abusive okay, I mean it's.
Speaker 2:Is it enough rocks to keep?
Speaker 4:people honest. Yeah, I mean for sure it's if you, if you're not good at rocks, you'll struggle if you're good at rocks, you'll benefit. If you're not, you'll struggle. But it's not like old turkey or keystone.
Speaker 2:Those were awesome.
Speaker 4:Speaking of pre-ride, I can plug this I'm doing for the first three races with that series. I'm doing guided pre-rides on Saturday.
Speaker 4:Whoa With my coaching business so talked to Ray about it yesterday. I've got a flyer I haven't got put out yet, so that'll be out by the time this is posted. But I'll do noon roughly. We're assuming the courses are going to be ready on Saturday. But yeah, noon I'll do a beginner pre-ride, a no drop pre-ride, kind of go over features, teach people how to ride things if they're having trouble with them. Line selection, cornering, stuff like that nice and then around two, we'll do an advanced one.
Speaker 4:Nice, so if you're just going up the day before, yeah want to ride the course and then want some pointers. I'm doing that, no charge. It's just part of the event, that's cool.
Speaker 1:Nice.
Speaker 2:That's awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we'll plug that for sure. I think the series is going to be great. I mean, we did an episode on it and I'm so bummed that the audio sound came out so shitty and I was so mad about that, but you can still hear everything. Yep, I'm super excited about what they got going up there.
Speaker 2:It's pretty cool, it is yeah and it's not.
Speaker 1:I mean it. It's not competition, but it is competition. Just call it what it is yeah, it is competition to tour the dirt, but I think it's going to make tour the dirt better choice is always a good thing. Always, it makes everybody work harder it's everybody better, I think, tour the dirt's, making some changes that are going to be great, yep, and I mean I don't think it's like see who wins out. I think if, once that all the dust settles and everybody figures out their lane and their angle I think it's going to be freaking awesome for the state and so
Speaker 2:much racing somebody somewhere will figure out how to race both series.
Speaker 4:Yeah, somebody I mean I pitched this idea to ray for the pre-ride thing like yesterday, because I was like man, I think I might do that. I haven't ridden pretty much all month but I'm like I need to get my ass going. So go up there and do that race because I like the course, and I was looking at their website and it's pretty impressive.
Speaker 3:They've done a really really good job with like building that out in that amount of time?
Speaker 4:For sure, because I didn't know all the info. I didn't listen to that episode and it's like all right, well, what do I need to know, what do I need to do?
Speaker 1:and it's like it's laid out so good yeah it is, and they have some cool like tweaks that they're making with they're having. If you don't listen to the episode, I don't remember all the full details, but the age groups are going to be bigger, so there's less age groups, so you have bigger fields. Which cat three that's going to be? You know they're calling them different things. It's not cat one, two and three. Beginner sport open.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah and so the the beginners, I mean, you're gonna have some big fields which it's gonna be dicey on these tight little trails but I tell you what I mean.
Speaker 4:you're not used to that here, but if you, you go anywhere else, that's what it is, yeah. I mean and that's why you know you do well at the first race and then your call-ups are based on that. That's really important. You go places like Texas where the fields are always that big.
Speaker 3:Well and.
Speaker 2:I think it's awesome because even if you're at the middle, the back of the pack, you're always going to have someone to race well, and that's the thing like if you're, if you've got six people in your group and all of a sudden you're right there and you're by yourself you're like I'm just riding the trail by myself now.
Speaker 1:This is boring yeah, yeah, especially when you don't see anyone in front of you, anybody behind you. You're like yeah I'm why ride harder right and yeah, it doesn't matter.
Speaker 2:When you can see people, always you're like okay.
Speaker 1:I got to catch that person. And they're going to focus on doing the short laps, so there's going to be more laps.
Speaker 4:That's what's cool about particularly this first race is the laps are so short. It's kind of you can break it down easily in your mind and like put in efforts and keep racing instead of a long loop.
Speaker 1:And great for spectators.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's really good Because it's really easy to walk the way, the way it kind of zigzags because it's all in a tight space. It's really easy to walk out and see a lot of the trail without doing a lot a lot of walking as far as distance. Yeah, so that's nice it's a really cool venue. I I didn't know how good it would be last year and we drove over from arkansas at the time and yeah, it was super fun.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm excited about what they got going up there and I like how many races they have. I think there's only like six, six races per year, I think?
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's three spring, three fall and you take five, which is livable and doable. Yep, they're going to have a one day state championship, which is finally nominal, which I have a couple, something we're going to try to work on there. That I'll tell you guys off this, because we haven't, like, nailed it down yet, so I don't want to put it out there and screw myself, but like I normally do, but so remind me when we get done. But the the one day state championship they're doing, they are going to Ray's going to figure out how to make it happen. They are going to do a championship. He's going to award it if you win both.
Speaker 1:Oh really, so he wants to do an overall winner for whoever does the Tour de Dirt and theirs.
Speaker 2:Whoever?
Speaker 1:does the best in all of those, there will be a winner for the two series that he's going to do. That's awesome, so he's going to kind of track that and keep that going. So yeah, Very cool. Very cool. I think they have great ideas. They have fun stuff and the open I think is going to be good for the fast guys and girls. So I think that'll have much better fields there, much bigger fields, instead of having.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I think the only potential issue I see there is it's open. I didn't see anything with gender. I didn't see if there's open women and men. It didn't look that way.
Speaker 1:He didn't say that, but I'm going to assume that it would be. I don't know.
Speaker 4:I don't know.
Speaker 1:I assumed, but I don't know.
Speaker 4:The way I read it, it wasn't separated and I'm like that could be a problem. But, how many? There's not a lot of Cat 1 women that show up and race, so maybe that was their thought more women showing up to race because of the format and they would separate it. But I could be wrong on that too.
Speaker 1:I'm excited to have. I mean, I don't my fitness is going to be shit, but I'm excited to go up and have like a big field to race in.
Speaker 3:And I don't know how many but yeah.
Speaker 4:And new trails you know I don't know how Lubell is which would be, I think, the second race last last time I was there, which has been a long time ago, it was cool they were working on it, but I'm sure it's different. But I like I mean Keystone.
Speaker 2:I like those trails up there, because I mean you have to know how to ride your bike.
Speaker 4:You have to think about it a little bit and you kind of do here on some of them. But um, I don't know, they're just, they're fun to ride.
Speaker 2:Keystone is always awesome. Do you remember Osage? To ride and keystone was always awesome, remember osage? Yeah, I only raced there once, oh really, yeah, I didn't like it.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I loved it because the fast guys couldn't go fast that was rocky yeah, that was bad, uh-huh I remember and they the time I did it they didn't mark it very well. I ended up off in the woods once because I missed a turn and it was. It was a bad day for me. Where's that at?
Speaker 2:Bartlesville, bartlesville yeah, osage State Park yeah.
Speaker 4:Which I was. I couldn't ride rocks very well back then anyway, but I remember that one being really bad.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was one of those. I wonder if EA takes care of that.
Speaker 1:Huh, the Mountain Bike Association.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they take care of that, do they really? Yeah, association yeah, they take care of that do they really?
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah. They told me that I was like that's crazy because they take care of that one and they take care of enid, yeah, which I just thought they had the oklahoma city metro.
Speaker 2:So when they told me, I was like I didn't realize there was a trail up there it used to be like turkey was like the rocky, rocky one, and then they introduced osage and you went oh, just wait just wait, because you you'd have people on on the osage race. You'd be like the whole shot means nothing, oh really Nothing.
Speaker 1:Is it like a short little loop?
Speaker 2:It was about a seven-mile loop, so it wasn't short.
Speaker 1:Worth going to.
Speaker 2:But there was like when you get into the rocky sections. There were so many different lines. Most of them were unrideable.
Speaker 1:A huge home course advantage.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And so then you're just like I gotta pick up my bike here and I know I'm running this, yeah, and you'd have some folks go, I'm gonna try and ride this, and you just sort of walk past them, as they're still committed to riding it.
Speaker 1:I mean I hope western oklahoma and oklahoma city people go up there to challenge themselves yeah I. I don't know how many will yeah but I hope they do, because it's one, it's just good for the state, but two, it's good to do new courses and new trails. I mean, you're going to get better.
Speaker 2:Yeah, people do get intimidated by it, but then how else do you get better?
Speaker 4:But I also I think it's the mindset yeah, you have to go, knowing you're going to be at a disadvantage, knowing you're going to struggle and you know, want the challenge of like yeah, learn a new skill or how do I learn to ride this, which is hard to do on race day, for sure.
Speaker 1:But um, but I also hope that they come down here, and I don't think that's going to happen to me either, yeah.
Speaker 1:I don't think I think we've lost all of our Tulsa people, yep, so that kind of sucks. Um, so I know they want to grow their thing and do all that and they want the state to have it. But it's going to suck that with. It's going to become a state divided and they're like well, I'm not going to go support their races because they don't come support our races and it's going to become theirs and ours and you can just see the writing on the wall with that. But I hope that doesn't happen.
Speaker 4:Yeah, you would hope it. I'm going up there because I know it's going to be a quality event. It's going to be a good course. That's kind of what you should base it on, but that probably won't happen.
Speaker 1:I agree, it probably won't happen.
Speaker 2:But I hope it does, oh well.
Speaker 1:It'll sort itself out, but I'm excited about what they're doing up there Fast people, they're going to have money payouts and it's going to be cool. They're going to have a one-day state championship Us normal slow people. You're going to have big fields to ride with, so that's all good. Tour de Dirt kicks off towards the end of the month, Yep.
Speaker 2:End of.
Speaker 1:March.
Speaker 3:Which is always a great event.
Speaker 1:Team Warm-Up crushes those guys.
Speaker 2:And who knows what course they're going to pick for it.
Speaker 1:I mean you never know, you never know.
Speaker 4:I just hope it's not the same as the six hour, because everyone's done a lot of laps.
Speaker 1:It was a fun course. That was a fun course, maybe just mix it up a little bit. Yeah, that was a fun course, but they always do a good course, yeah, and they did I mean back to that race.
Speaker 4:They did such a good job with prepping. Yeah, it wasn't beat up.
Speaker 1:And they blow the leaves off, which is wild.
Speaker 4:Oh, randy, it's impressive. Man Got nothing better to do, no.
Speaker 2:He kills it. Yeah, they always do a great job, yeah.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, I definitely want to plug the Sooner Stampede, which is March 20-something, I can tell you, I want to say like 23.
Speaker 2:I think it's 23rd Signs, right, let me see? Or 23rd Signs, right?
Speaker 1:Let me see March. Yeah, I think it's 23rd, so we definitely need to support that race because team warmups Awesome. And the venue is always great. They always have a good party.
Speaker 2:It was a good beer.
Speaker 1:Yup, it's always fun. So those are the big ones as far as mountain biking getting kicked off this this month, and then the other one to stay on the mountain biking topic is Washtau.
Speaker 2:Ooh, the very last one ever.
Speaker 4:You going? I'm going for support, I haven't been riding enough and I've done that race not in good shape.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it hurts.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's not a good day and Ryan really wants to do well there, so I'm just going to go do feeds and whatever support he needs. Yeah, if I have anybody else, that's that that one's hard to support multiple people, cause you're going to different.
Speaker 1:I'll just give you my stuff. I'll be right on Ryan's will.
Speaker 4:If you stay there, you might do well.
Speaker 1:Okay yeah, just keep both bottles handy, that'd be great.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, I would like to support. I mean, I have some support, but it's typically we'll go to like three different places and you got to be there in a certain timeframe or we got to move on. But yeah, I'll just go support and hang out and watch.
Speaker 2:And that is one of the harder mountain bike events out there.
Speaker 4:I'm excited. One of the hardest yeah.
Speaker 2:Have you? You've done it. No, no, never you haven't never, oh, Ryan, I'm pumped.
Speaker 1:I've always wanted to do it and I've never been able to make it happen for a variety of reasons, however hard you think it is? It's just harder.
Speaker 2:Yeah, really yes you did most of cape epic so yeah, yeah, yeah, take your bad day at cape epic and probably add a little.
Speaker 1:I'd rather not, rather I honestly that's what me, and sack because he's going to. That's what we've been talking about. I'm like it's basically because I looked at it. I'm like it's Cape Epic for one day in. Arkansas. Right, I mean the distance and the elevation and stuff it's about the same, yeah about 115 degrees.
Speaker 4:The hard part about Ouachita is, even if you're on a good day, it's so easy to crash. Or mechanical and I wouldn't even say mechanicals are that common, but it really easy to like flat a tire, break it, a rail your crash?
Speaker 1:is it similar rocky like structure to like bentonville?
Speaker 4:no, no it's like the first half is um, the second half kind of is okay. The first half is like big, like like baby head, rocks, boulders and just you're.
Speaker 4:You're climbing, you know, in your easiest gear, riding through a minefield of baby heads yeah, so it's like medicine park kind of spots and spots not all of it, but I mean, and it's just like if you're not going up, you're going down, and when you're going down it's it's kind of just as hard, yeah, because you're descending longer than you're used to. If you're from here, yeah, so you know your arms will get tight dropper posts have. They've helped a lot yeah we're doing it. You know a lot on a rigid post and you're you're trying to get low on the bike, but you can't.
Speaker 2:And uh, new, new style bikes make it way better, okay, um so so if you guys, since you guys are both done, let's do a quick course preview, if you remember or know enough to don't there be a temptation to go as hard as you climb on that first road, climb up to the start of the single track, so many people blow up on that thing, okay, and you end up getting so how far is it to the single track?
Speaker 1:from the start it's 45 minutes. Oh damn. To get to the single track. Yeah, I think it's a while.
Speaker 4:So you start in town vehicle lead out for a couple miles, which always sucks because you're not pedaling and it's usually cold and you're just like shivering in this group of people, bar to bar, people that aren't used to riding bar to bar. It's a very nervous time and then you get on the gravel, um, and it's. It's just a steady climb for the next 40 minutes. Oh wow. Like it's kind of undulating, but you're going uphill, okay.
Speaker 2:And you know you're going uphill.
Speaker 4:The last kicker, like it's, it's. It's a gravel climb and that makes a hard ride into a single track and ride into a single track and then it's. So that's a good job of thinning itself out, yeah, but but whatever group you're in, he's right. The you're like oh, there's a single track, I just get up this hill and you blow up and you get the single track and you can't ride your bike you're gassed and then you continue to climb yeah, still get in the single track.
Speaker 4:You're still going up, uh-huh gotcha it's a little little bit up and down and then you climb descent. There's three big climbs in the first half.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 4:And three big descents.
Speaker 2:And the first time you start doing those descents you think I'll get my recovery here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're just always under pressure. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Like your arms. Last year it had rained.
Speaker 4:So all the descents leaves. You would see these giant leaf piles Cl. And so all the descents leaves. You would see these giant leaf piles Clumps of them, and some of them had rocks under them and some of them didn't.
Speaker 2:And you had no idea what was what.
Speaker 4:And so you're just going down I mean pretty fast, if you're trying to make up time and you're just trying to miss all those mounds of leaves, yeah.
Speaker 1:So it's just a lot of mental fatigue.
Speaker 4:It's called the Ouachita Challenge and no matter what level your fitness is, it is challenging in every way. Then you get, I would say, probably 25, 26 miles, I don't remember where. You dump out on gravel, then you're on gravel and road for probably 10. Roughly, there's a lot of gravel and road in it. If you're trying to do well, you think you could use that for recovery. If you end up before you go, there's a lot of gravel and road in it. But if you're trying to do well, you don't. You think you could use that for recovery.
Speaker 4:but, um, and if you end up in those sections alone, it's really bad if you can get in a group, yeah, way better gotcha um, and then you get into the womble trail, which is a really fun trail if you're but you haven't ruined your day.
Speaker 2:You're so gassed by the time you get to the womble, which is beautiful yeah you're just like god I hunt flowy one, yeah, with a lot of funner and flowier. Yeah, it's still, it's still hard.
Speaker 4:You're still doing some really hard climbs. Um yeah, and if you're not feeling good, it sucks but. If you're feeling good, it's okay, but it's still really. It's still really hard compared to if you ride here right, yeah, yeah gotcha yeah, it's like uh and then, and then you have this gravel climb that is an ass kicker, yeah, at the end.
Speaker 4:It's kind of a switchback gravel road and it's so hard and after that it's rollers and everyone I've gone to this event with I tell them the hill at the school at the finish is the hardest part of the race.
Speaker 2:It's a grass hill. It doesn't even show up on your elevation it may be a hundred hundred and fifty yards uphill you just ride through this schoolyard and a little kicker and the finish line's at the top and it's awful you watch people cramp and walk it and it's so hard at the end of that race because I have a feeling I'm gonna be my future.
Speaker 4:Well, everyone laughed at me that I have shown that hill. I'm'm like that's going to be the hardest part, and they laugh. And then they're like, yeah, it was Really.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because you think you're done.
Speaker 4:You're like rolling back into town and then you're in this thick grass, especially if it's wet, and then you've got to go up this tiny little kicker.
Speaker 2:And you're in your easiest gear going. Why am I not moving?
Speaker 4:Going the bottom of that and think there's all these people watching.
Speaker 2:I cannot walk. I can't get off and walk, but I wanted to walk. Oh wow, I was like I just gotta get up this. Okay. Yeah, they're free pizza. Yeah, well, this is their last year of the event ever. It's pretty sad, but I've been doing it for north of 20 years.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I kind of felt like this was coming and surprised it hasn't come before now. I mean, the same people put it on. They do it to raise money for the school in town. Okay so, and I don't even know if they're mountain bikers.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't think they are, and it's one of those like it sells out every year. Not anymore, not anymore.
Speaker 4:It did this year and it used to sell out instantly.
Speaker 1:And then it kind of I don't really know why it died off. It never really evolved. Yeah, that was the thing. It was always still good. It's awesome, you don't need any more, I mean it's. So what are you thinking for like?
Speaker 4:a normal person because you, you want it in what like four and a half five hours uh, it was probably like 440 for something like that.
Speaker 1:So what's a normal person if you're sub?
Speaker 2:seven. If you're sub six, you're doing well okay, yeah, six to. Six to seven is the yeah.
Speaker 1:Typical person. Yeah, gotcha.
Speaker 4:Someone that's fit and a decent mountain biker, I would put them in the five and a half to six Okay.
Speaker 4:Gotcha. Yeah, I mean it's, you've got to pace. You definitely got to pace the first half. Okay, and anyone that's going to be down there, I don't know, I don't have a time, but our normal routine is on saturday, or well, I guess on friday. Now, because the mountain bike race is saturday, as we'll ride, we'll do a ride out, ride the start, because it's good to ride that start, know how much you're in for and then, like I don't know, 20 minutes, a single track, like an hour and a half out and back, okay, so if you're going, I would recommend finding the start and and it it goes two different directions, based on if the creek's too high, because one way if the creek's too high it's like
Speaker 2:up to your knees it's like way too high. We went through it one year a couple times. The last two times I've done it.
Speaker 4:We went the other way, where you don't cross it um, and maybe they just do that every time now. But yeah, I would say, if you don't get to pre-ride it um, go ride the start, get into the single track, ride the first, could you?
Speaker 1:drive up to the single track, you can. Okay, I would ride it, though, oh really driving it doesn't?
Speaker 4:I mean you don't know what it feels like to ride it, know what you're in for.
Speaker 1:Know how to pace yourself I get to the single track hours the day before, I'm going to do six hours. No, no, it'd be 90 minutes there and back. Okay, it'll be an hour and a half.
Speaker 4:Yeah, gotcha 45 when I do it, I don't I just like ride the gravel pretty casual. Just kind of a preview yeah okay, so ride out. I mean, you could drive up to it, but it's kind of good to know what the feeling is yeah, because, because it's. I think the adrenaline and the group. You can tend to ride harder than you realize you're riding. And it'll kind of screw the rest of your day up.
Speaker 1:Gotcha, yeah. Yeah, I saw it sold out and got a full field. And are you doing? You're doing it. Are you doing the gravel?
Speaker 2:I am not doing the gravel. I did the gravel two years ago with chastine and, like the, the gravel is beautiful, um, and unless like andy was at the pointy end with a handful of others, once they were all gone, it was like this is really scenic.
Speaker 1:I'm just gonna like cruise and look around, yeah and it is beautiful gravel forest service roads, mile on the gravel two right shit kind of climbing.
Speaker 4:We'll do it this year, being after the mountain.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, I know sax is gonna do both days and then I'm coming back, so I'm not doing. Yep, are you guys camping or hotel you're?
Speaker 4:probably camp there's no hotels close?
Speaker 2:yeah, no, you're either camping or staying, so there's cabins.
Speaker 1:We're at a campground cabin place.
Speaker 4:I don't know where it is riverview maybe I don't remember, so there's there's some cabins that are really nice, that are right by the start. Yeah, that's the spot to get, but it sells out quick. So what I like last year, I just you can just pull up at the school and park and camp okay, or you can sleep in the.
Speaker 1:Maybe that's where we're at, we're at a campground area thing, it's not a camp.
Speaker 4:Well, the school's not a campground. You might be Riverview, and then there's another place that's not far away, that is a campground, okay.
Speaker 2:There used to be the house right across the street from the school. The lady would just open up her land and say five bucks and go park anywhere in the land and camp. That's cool.
Speaker 1:So we just you know, I figured it out.
Speaker 2:Chastain had his van and I brought a tent and I blow up bed.
Speaker 4:You can sleep in the gym at the school for free.
Speaker 1:Man this is like straight grassroots beauty, it's very, they do pasta dinner in the school cafeteria.
Speaker 4:You go through the cafeteria line with your tray yeah. And then they do pancakes in the morning.
Speaker 1:Dude, that's awesome, but it's like it's dialed Like what do you really need?
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, that's perfect.
Speaker 2:If you want a good night of sleep. Don't sleep in the gym. You know. What's funny is snoring.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I told everyone I knew last year I was like don't sleep in the gym.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 4:And then I went in the gym in the morning to go to the bathroom. There's two people oh.
Speaker 3:God, nobody was in there I was like we should have slept in the cold in the tent.
Speaker 4:I was like warm in the gym. Yeah, the gym might be full, but you can just pull up at the school and put a tent out there.
Speaker 3:Okay, that's good to know.
Speaker 4:A lot of options, not good hotel options. I think Mina's the closest.
Speaker 2:The closest.
Speaker 4:That's an hour away. Oh wow, it's a ways it's remote. How long does it take to get down?
Speaker 2:there Five, four and a half five hours. Okay, no, there's this yellow, run-dine old building called the Yellow Burger Store.
Speaker 4:One of the best burgers after any race you'll ever eat Like the nearest gas station. I went down there with Barrett one year. We just went down to ride and Barrett's like I'm going to get some water, so he goes in this gas station. He gets a gallon. I'm like'm like, all right, that's for us, but it was for him, and so we get down there and I was like oh, that was for both of us.
Speaker 4:He's like well, no, no and so we're rationing what we ran out of water. It was the middle of summer and it took us like 45 minutes to find a gas station, leaving to where we could get anything at all it's literally in the middle of nowhere. You don't want to go up to anyone's house out there. It's real Arkansas.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's real, it's a real deal. So bring a spare, yeah. Bring extra tubes. Yeah, oh, my gosh. Okay, well, I'm excited about it. I've always wanted to do it, so I'm excited I finally get to do it. Well, let's talk about the granddaddy of them all in Oklahoma, the Mid-South. Well, you're not doing it because you hate gravel.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Are you officially retired?
Speaker 4:I don't hate people that like gravel.
Speaker 2:You do hate people, I don't oh.
Speaker 4:I don't, just, I just don't go anymore. I tried my best numerous times.
Speaker 2:You did, you did, you gave it a shot.
Speaker 4:So if anyone needs a gravel bike besides 58, you call me. Make a heck of a deal.
Speaker 2:Can we claim he failed at it?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Something drumming failed at his yeah.
Speaker 4:Probably yeah, I've never won a gravel race.
Speaker 2:That's why he doesn't like it. See, I don't think a gravel race. That's why, yeah see, no, never have it's not good for your ego, is it, chris?
Speaker 1:I've even won a gravel race. I mean there were like four people there. But yeah, win right, you probably beat alan at that race.
Speaker 2:He didn't finish no, I didn't finish. At least he showed up. Right, I started yeah are you doing mid-south? I am shocker, except I'm doing the 50 this year for the first time.
Speaker 1:That you're going to have the best day.
Speaker 2:Uh-huh.
Speaker 1:I've only done the 50. It was awesome.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've only ever done the 100. And this year I was like I don't want to be, like no, I've only done it once and I didn't need to go do it and.
Speaker 4:I did the 100.
Speaker 2:I didn't want to be a coma at the end. See, you did it yeah.
Speaker 4:It wasn't bad. It got to a point where I was like, all right, I'm just riding 100 miles today and I kept going backwards and I'd get in a group for a while.
Speaker 2:And if it got harder, than I wanted, I went back to the next one.
Speaker 4:You just enjoyed it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, as much as you could, I think March 15th, yeah, 15th.
Speaker 1:So the runs on Saturday and the rides on.
Speaker 2:Yep Courses.
Speaker 1:Are you doing both?
Speaker 4:You'll be trained up, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:That will be my fifth run after this weekend.
Speaker 2:And no courses get released on Saturday.
Speaker 1:Okay, and it'll be a day after this comes out Awesome.
Speaker 2:Insider. Intel is um. We crossed the simmer on twice, Okay, and the elevation starts with a number eight. I'm impressed and shocked that they are able to get that much elevation up there. That's a lot of climbing.
Speaker 1:Which would be awesome for the pros to have a long race. Yep, you're going to be really thankful at some point. You're only doing 50.
Speaker 2:Uh-huh, that's it. When I got my Intel, I went thank God, I'm only doing 50. That's it.
Speaker 1:when I got my intel, I went thank god I'm only doing 50, so is the 50 gonna have like three?
Speaker 2:hopefully. Okay, yeah, probably three to four, because it'll cross the cimarron if you have 4 000 feet in the 50 miles.
Speaker 1:That's, that's gonna yeah be a good, solid effort yeah on gravel.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, but up there it's pretty much just fast dirt yeah, helps, yeah, but that's a lot of it's unrelenting rollers, let me say that's no flats yeah, no, that's just unrelenting and you know it's always what weighs the wind that day, that's true, and it can switch and is it?
Speaker 1:did it rain right?
Speaker 2:yeah, a lot of things to keep in mind yeah, do you know?
Speaker 1:have you heard any of the pros that are going to be here?
Speaker 2:I haven't even looked I think it's the usual cast of characters. I know payson's not coming.
Speaker 1:He's in morocco right now he's doing some weird racing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah yeah, but a lot of them will use it as sort of their primer before lifetime, right yeah so it's kind of the usual suspects usual, usual crews.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I don't know what he can do to spice that up, to make it different, cause it's become. It's amazing. Yeah, it's incredibly well done. I mean, you couldn't do it any better.
Speaker 2:Right, and I think that's the thing is. You don't, you don't want to change it too much, like, let it be known for what it is.
Speaker 1:Making it a really hard course might change it up.
Speaker 2:And I think this year it's going to be hard once, okay, yeah, once many moons ago, and it was 32 degrees and freezing rain was not pleasant no, yeah, that's why I have a hard time with winter.
Speaker 1:That's what. Like one yeah, I want to do the rodeo, commit to it. I'm like, yeah, it's gonna suck, even if it's perfect. Yeah, it's still gonna be cold and miserable when you start yeah, no matter what.
Speaker 2:that year I remember at the halfway point helped troy his hands were so frozen he couldn't get his gloves off to change them and I remember helping him just pull his gloves off just so he could put another warm set on.
Speaker 1:He probably had to pour the Mountain Dew in his mouth. For him, yeah, give him his ho-hos.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and he shivers Like I can't stop too long, I can't stop too long. Yeah, shiver is like I can't stop too long. I can't stop too long. Yeah, they've had some horrible days out there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's the crapshoot, man is you have everything from 32 degrees, freezing rain and snow to 75 last year was good, hot, yeah, yeah, last year was fast every time I've ever done it, the weather's been good yeah so I've lucked out yeah, let ask you this Are you into it for the epic, miserable, stupid weather?
Speaker 2:I want the miserable day.
Speaker 1:What about you when it comes to any races in general?
Speaker 4:If I'm dealing with miserable day on a bike, it's for 45 minutes. Yeah, I agree. In a cross race, yeah, other than that and I don't even you know I have a hard time with that I get grumpy when it's rainy or cold and miserable. Yeah, I don't. I don't like being cold. I also don't like being hot, but I'd rather be hot than cold.
Speaker 1:I don't like riding in the mud, especially when you can't ride your bike me huh, you are gonna kill some zwift yeah yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, that's what. That's what I've been doing all winter.
Speaker 4:I'm like it's always 70 yeah slight headwind, it's wonderful the climate I like to ride in. It's narrowing down every year.
Speaker 1:Exactly, I'm leaning into it.
Speaker 2:I've seen him in really bad weather. We were riding out in Arkansas one time, Me him, Chastain, a couple of others.
Speaker 4:I left you behind that day.
Speaker 2:It was like raining so hard and so cold, you couldn't see in front of you, and like we're motoring along and then he just starts running away from me.
Speaker 4:Well, I bonked, and then I came back from it and I was like I can't go anything but hard, I'm going to freeze to death.
Speaker 2:And I'm out there loving it, absolutely loving it, it's in your bones, yeah. We're made in that it's a leveler it's like this is what we're supposed to ride in no, I felt that way when I played golf the shittier the weather.
Speaker 1:I'm like game on because I know like almost everybody's already screwed. Yeah, yeah, and so that was like they're better than me, so at least a lot of its attitude 100 yeah yeah and I'm gonna tell you what my attitude is. It's shitty when it's cold outside, when it's attitude 100% yeah. And I'm going to tell you what my attitude is it's shitty when it's cold outside, when it's cold and wet.
Speaker 4:Muddy cross races. I'm really good in that condition, but I've got a really bad attitude about it.
Speaker 2:That was my only ever and this was a really long time ago. Podium at Mid-South was on a single speed on just absolutely horrible conditions. There were three single speeds that finished.
Speaker 4:I was the third one Was that one rusty, did Rusty win. Yes, rusty Daly, yes, tossed it out.
Speaker 2:And that's all it was. And people were huddled under trees and like just get to the finish line. The Jeeps got stuck. It was that bad.
Speaker 4:Oh my gosh the finish line for me is the nearest car. Yeah the finish line for me is the nearest car and that yeah, if a jeep's getting stuck.
Speaker 1:I already know right now I should not be on a bicycle yeah not only on those same roads. There's no way, awesome, I'm gonna keep going, I'm gonna. I'm trying to find, uh, two videos that I watched on youtube yesterday and I, um, I was trying to find the names of them because I was going to recommend them, because we're talking about the shitty weather, these long things, but, um, the spinistry which put on gravel in north texas they have the rat which race across texas.
Speaker 1:It goes from arkadelphia to tucum carry. It's a thousand miles, it's a. I've thought about it. If I was gonna do a bike packing, that'd be a thing that would, because it's closed, it's local. If it sucked like somebody picked me up in two hours, like it seems a manageable suck yeah, um, most people do it like an eight days like, with hoteling it along the way. So it's, it sounds manageable, yeah. I wanted to get into that.
Speaker 4:I'm not committing to that, but if I did, I think, I think manageable suck should be a sound.
Speaker 1:Yeah, troy attempted that one year, oh really, yeah, I think it was maybe one of his tour divide years and it's in October. I mean they do everything to make it as doable as possible.
Speaker 2:Out of the heat.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was trying to find the name of it, but it's like a thousand miles in a dusty saddle or something like that as long as the name of it.
Speaker 2:I watched it last night 40 minutes long, maybe worth watching. Really did a great job on youtube. It wasn't the east texas showdown, was it?
Speaker 1:no, okay, no, no. And so they did a great job and, um, they talked to some of the spinistry people. They follow the guys across and there's, you know, they tell their stories. The guys finish and don't finish and I mean it's not a dramatic thing or it's not this big crazy epic thing, but it's kind of a good. You don't have anything to do, you're on the trainer, you just have something to watch, a good bike thing to watch. It's local support them. You know it's kind of cool. So, um, I was going to recommend that. And then what made me think of that as I watched that new lachlan?
Speaker 1:oh yeah with ef going around australia. Yeah, watch, must watch. How long is that?
Speaker 2:It's a long one, it's like an hour and a half Hour and 45. If you're on the trainer, do you know what the trainer is? Chris?
Speaker 4:I haven't known what it is this year. Okay, it's a good trainer watch.
Speaker 2:You don't have to clean anything when you get done.
Speaker 1:Have you watched it all the way through?
Speaker 2:I've watched half of it.
Speaker 1:That guy is so different.
Speaker 2:He is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so different.
Speaker 2:Yeah man.
Speaker 1:He puts himself in such bad spots.
Speaker 4:I don't understand that. But yeah, it's like he enjoys that he does.
Speaker 1:He wants to go to dream discomfort in dark places and his wife talks about cause she goes, she cruising, and she talks about how she's like. This is the first time she's crewed with him and watching them interact and he, she talks kind of for him, yeah, without you know. Just by knowing him for so long and you, you see, you get a lot more insight to what it takes to be a special human like that yeah man is, it is not you, it is not made what's funny is at all ef get more publicity for him doing that than their tour team.
Speaker 1:Lachlan's the best thing that ever happened.
Speaker 4:I don't know what's going on with their tour team.
Speaker 2:Right. Unless they win a stage at the tour.
Speaker 3:Maybe, but yeah.
Speaker 4:I always know what he's doing. I don't even pay that close attention to that, but you see it and you know it and, yeah, usually it pops up on my YouTube feed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he might be the best thing in pro cycling. Yeah, period.
Speaker 2:When he did the Tour Divide there was a whole bunch. I'm a data junkie. His overall average watts for the Tour Divide was 180. Wow, 180.
Speaker 3:Damn, and he said he made sure on anything that went uphill. He never. And Chris is spilling beer this is awesome.
Speaker 2:You better drink that. Chris, Sit on the gravel. It's all gone now.
Speaker 1:That was amazing.
Speaker 2:That's the best beer shower Chris has ever had.
Speaker 1:I don't know if we have any towels, just get a paper towel. I'll clean it up later. So clearly Drummond's drunk. I'll clean it up later. So clearly Drummond's drunk. Yeah, he's cut off One beer wonder over there.
Speaker 2:But yeah, he never went over 250 on the climbs Not once, that's hard to do, mm-hmm.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you are, you've been drinking.
Speaker 1:I'm covered in it. So Drummond just opened a beer and shot it all over the entire room not my fault I mean to be clear.
Speaker 2:The beer was just sitting on the table for like 30 minutes an hour for 57 minutes oh yeah, it's been sitting there and it exploded. That was weird that was bizarre we'll take your drink of what's left.
Speaker 4:It's probably all I need anyway I mean his topo chico that was impressive.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'll deal with it later. Um yeah, so lachlan stuff is. It's impressive, it's good, but that mofo rides like basically four to five hundred k a day yeah for over a month does he have?
Speaker 2:did he have the weird mountain bike setup? Where have you seen his stamp Like? It is like a negative 17.
Speaker 1:He did Cause he's riding like a large frame when he does that. Yeah, he rides like a size too big to do that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't know the he does it to get really low on the Friday.
Speaker 1:I don't think we should try to understand what he's doing yeah, cause the guy that I learned the fit stuff from yeah colorado is the one that does all his fits really, and he's like he's so out there. Yeah, he's like he's the worst. He's like he comes in and it's just like. He's like he's the worst and the best, because I do it and I know the second he walks out the door and it's next, right, he's changing everything, yeah, and he comes in and it's all cluster every time, yeah because, he changes everything all the time it.
Speaker 2:I was like I don't know why he comes in. Who's that remind you of? Not me.
Speaker 1:But yeah, it's it's a good one. It's way worth watching Um and he's entertaining and it's it becomes more about um, not so much what he's doing, but like his community and the family, and like this it's becomes much deeper, which is interesting.
Speaker 2:Very cool. Yeah, I would recommend it, so that was a good one Nice.
Speaker 1:So other hot topics to keep in mind. Before we start onto those, let's talk about Mr Drummond's new official Oklahoma adventure that I would say Is it official.
Speaker 4:It's Instagram official. It became official quicker than I planned. I created the Instagram page and then Aubrey's like four people follow you. I'm like what? All I did was kind of created it to figure out what I want to do with it, because then it probably sent out. Well, she said it had popped up on her feed. It popped up on mine, yeah. So I was like well, shit, tell us about it. Yeah, just coaching, I've never.
Speaker 4:You work on your sales pitch A lot of people have asked me about coaching and I've just never, I think, wanted to make the time to do it and do it. I think that's a big responsibility, so you want to do it right.
Speaker 1:I think that's how you're different already.
Speaker 4:Yeah, you actually give a shit you actually give a shit, um, and, and I knew, you know I've never really had the time, or knew when I got busy I wouldn't make the time, but um, and I kind of had the time.
Speaker 4:Now I just make it work. But, um, I've worked with some people here and there and a lot of it's just like helping helping out kids or helping out friends or whatever, um, but I mean I want to, I want to get more into that and I kind of feel like my my journey from where I started in cycling to where I've ended up kind of helps. I think it helps me in a sense of, you know, I've never been a professional. I think a lot of coaches are ex pros or ex, you know, junior phenoms and I, I was never any of that like.
Speaker 4:I started when I was like 20, probably 25, 26, um, and, like I said in my post, I the whole time I've been cycling, I've had two kids, I've been married, had a full-time job and I think I mean there's other people that have that same thing, but I think they were also maybe professional cyclists or something. They had some something before that happened and you know, working with various coaches or hearing feedback from people, a lot of times it's hard for them. I think it's really hard for them to relate to the average person.
Speaker 4:They they don't want to train like a pro, they want to get better within reason. And that's kind of a lot of where I think my focus is going to be. I will train. I mean, I'll work with any level. I've had a lot of people reach out and, like, what's this tailored to? I'm like, whatever you want, like here's my base price. It can be less than that or it can be more than that. What do you want out of it?
Speaker 4:Um, and you know the people I work with, I want to make sure I don't burn them out. I want them to. You know they're good, it's going to be work. There's gonna be days maybe you're on the trainer, um, there's going to be structure and there's gonna be days where I'm like just go ride your bike and I think there's, I think that's catching on. People realize there's a space for that and that's important. But yeah, I mean I mean cycling has given me a lot. I've learned a lot. I have a lot of experience from when I first started. I didn't know anybody, I got into it and I didn't know anything about bikes. I learned a lot of stuff on my own, um, so I know what being in that position is like you know, that's kind of what helps me in the retail space too. It's like look, I've been there, I know you don't know anything, let me help you. And the same with the coaching side is I've been there, I've won national championships, I've raced world championships, I've been through the junior pipeline.
Speaker 4:I've been through all of it, whether with me or my kids, so I feel like I have I can really relate to what anybody's going to want.
Speaker 4:Um, I also feel like there's a level, like my I don't coach my son I did for a couple of years but he's at a level that is beyond, I think, what I can provide, so realistic in that aspect, where I think I can provide more value to someone just starting training, or you know your cat, three level, um, and and and well beyond I think the you know training plans. I want to. I want to dig more into you know strategy and how to think about things and how to be efficient in racing, like some more race craft type things. So that's where it can be tailored to anybody Like if you, if you like, I don't need you to coach me. I don't need a training plan. I need race craft, teach me how to race and like how to win races and what to do. So I kind of want to just whatever you want, let's work on that and price price that accordingly.
Speaker 1:So I just think I have a lot to offer in that sense that I would just like to share like a consulting strategy, possibility for a fee or a race, or like a training plan option for me or the two combined kind of thing two combined um training plan with skills sessions are you gonna doing it through training peaks? Are you doing it?
Speaker 4:yeah, okay so I'll do. I'll do training plans like that, through training peaks and everything else. You know what I? What I like to do is either phone or in-person conversation. Talk through like, all right, what? What are you looking for? What amount of time do you have? This is what it's going to take, and do you want to commit to that, or do you want to do less? Yeah, because I don't want people signing up and doing it for two months but like, well, this is more than I can handle or I don't like this. So really talking through everything beforehand instead of just taking their money and signing them up.
Speaker 1:Is it going to be all disciplines or yeah, okay, even gravel, except for gravel.
Speaker 2:Even gravel, except for gravel. Okay, there we go.
Speaker 3:I'm not going to coach triathletes because I can't tell you what to do with swimming.
Speaker 4:I'm not going to do things that I don't know. I'm not going to fake it, but yeah, any cycling discipline. On my page it says motocross. No one's going to listen to that from here, probably, but not skill stuff with that necessarily. I know there's just a ton of people that are racing motorcycles that they can do some really basic stuff and be a lot better. They don't have to train seven days a week.
Speaker 4:They could eat a little better, they could learn how to fuel and they could do a couple workouts a week and huge gains there too. So that's kind of why I want to dig into that. I have a lot of connections in that world in Oklahoma city, so I'm looking to get back into that a little bit too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what's the name?
Speaker 4:2d9 performance coaching.
Speaker 1:Cause the. When I saw the colors and the logo and stuff, it made me think moto. Oh yeah, I thought eighties and moto.
Speaker 4:Jake Beeson did my logo for me.
Speaker 2:Oh, did he really. Jake Beeson did my logo for me. Oh, did he really. Yeah, awesome yeah.
Speaker 4:He did. He did all that stuff for me. So, um, yeah, thanks to him on that. Yeah, that's exciting. Yeah, I'm. I'm looking forward to it, hoping.
Speaker 1:I get get some well, I had some preexisting ones and and talk to people, so so that's what I'm doing. I can attest to the one-on-one writing skills yeah. Cause we've done that a couple of times and it's been massive and huge help. So I will go on the record and I did a testimonial for that.
Speaker 1:Like I, that was such a great thing the time that me and Saxby came out to bentonville yeah and rode and you rode in front of one of us, like we kind of like you were in the middle and one was following your line, and then one you were teach was in front. You were telling him what to do, so I wasn't back and it was great, like I could just follow his line, kind of watch what he's doing. I was like this is so good.
Speaker 4:And then well, when I let you get in the front, you crashed hard, like two minutes later and I said yeah, that's, that was too fast yeah, yeah, I was like what I do there?
Speaker 1:he's like, well, just don't do that. Yeah, just slow down and, uh, just do what opposite of what you did.
Speaker 2:I'm like, okay, got it I think you and I talked about that on a podcast.
Speaker 4:Yes, it was hard. I thought he was hurt. It was bad yeah no, I will say.
Speaker 2:Having ridden with him over the years and doing skill sessions, it does transform your riding Huge and it makes it easier.
Speaker 1:We spent I don't know 20 or 30 minutes at the pump track before we went out. Yeah, from the time from what we started like watching us do it, and then RyRy met up with us Watching us do it and then Ryye, rye do it a lot different. Yeah, um, but we're doing a different sport here.
Speaker 4:It was very much a different sport I'm like. Why is?
Speaker 1:he flying from one to the other. That doesn't make sense no um, but it does make such a difference and it's just basic, the tiniest little things, like just the symbols, like relaxing your ankles and relaxing your hips, and just like there's so many tiny little things that you just don't think about trying not to like hit a tree, or you just don't, you don't know to think about you know, Um so energy you can save in corners, all of it.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And then he's always like well, did you go to the pump track and practice what you need to? And so I did for a while like going and like really trying to work on that stuff. It makes a huge difference, huge difference.
Speaker 4:That's kind of why I want to do this pre-ride thing with the Tulsa series and I mean, if Tour de Dirt's interested, I could work something out with them too. Like I want to show people, because I've preached this and preached this to people I talk to. But every time I'm in a race, especially when I'm getting tired, I'm like how can I make this easier?
Speaker 1:How can I keep going this pace? But make it easier, hey Alan. How do you make it easier, you?
Speaker 4:just pull off.
Speaker 2:Hard left or right.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Right to the beer tin. It's like oh wait, there's the bypass, let me take that.
Speaker 4:So I want to do these rides and people that have probably already pre-written these courses and then show them like, well, try this or try this, and you know, it's not all, it's, it's so much, not all, doing intervals and training.
Speaker 1:And we saw that skip when we did our clinic that you put on.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and that's. That's not a technical trail, but like you still. Well, we've had that debate. It is technical but it's not rocks and drops and things like that. The same with wheeler crit. I was talking to someone about crit racing. It applies to crit racing. It applies to pretty much everything but gravel, because it's always hard. There's not a way to get away from how hard gravel is.
Speaker 4:Even if you're drafting, it's hard, but every other discipline I mean, there's a way to make it easier. You still need to be fit, you still need to work hard, you're still going to have to suffer, but the gains you can make with doing the little things massive.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they're massive.
Speaker 4:So I mean you, you put the pieces together um you know, and so, yeah, whatever, whatever people want, I mean there's, there's options for if I'm at races, you know doing things with you at races and I kind of tend to do that anyway, with people I'm working with, because I just want them to get the most out of it.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, I'm excited about it very cool, but the Instagram and the show notes, so people want to find it. They can look on that and click on awesome. Follow along and do all that stuff. I'm sure we'll post stuff on it cycling Oklahoma about it. So it's nice to see knowledgeable people doing some good things here. So I guess getting into the hot takes for a wrap up here. So I guess getting into the hot takes before we wrap up here. One last thing was when does Wheeler start?
Speaker 4:It starts. Let me make sure I'm correct, Because we're coming up on everything kicking off around here.
Speaker 1:Is Chicken and Pickle coming back this year? It will Okay at some point, maybe. Yes, okay.
Speaker 2:The goal is sometime here in the spring, okay. So we've been quietly doing test rides figuring out what's the best road to actually get out. Uh, east on, okay. And so we figured out monday night hafner's way better than going a little further north, because it's, uh, four lane gotcha yeah, okay, so yep and march 25th march 25th yeah, wheeler crit start and it will be.
Speaker 4:I mean, it's being finalized so I don't know if I'm supposed to. It will be USAC sanctioned this year. So, racers can get points.
Speaker 4:And my understanding hopefully I don't get in trouble for this is it will be like a membership drive associated with it. For if you pre-reg between two certain dates, oh cool, because the license fee is a hang drive associated with it. For if you pre-reg between two certain dates, oh cool, because the license fee is a hang up. So keep an eye out for that. It'll be a massively discounted rate on a license. So if you plan on doing any usec events or you want to have that option, you're going to be able to get a license way cheaper than normal. Sweet um, but yeah, to provide. I mean, there's people that want to upgrade in road racing and it's really hard to do because there's not a lot of road racing, especially right here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's just not options.
Speaker 4:So hopefully it's not abused in the way of people writing a category. It shouldn't be kind of in a way.
Speaker 2:Just to get points.
Speaker 4:Yeah, cherry picking it to get points. You should be kind of earning them in the harder sense.
Speaker 2:But that option will be there. Here's the thing. If they do they will get called out, we will write their names down and we will blatantly make fun of them.
Speaker 4:On the show. Oh, yes, by name. Make signs at the races. Yes.
Speaker 1:I will take pictures. We will post them on our Instagram.
Speaker 2:Called the wall of shame yeah.
Speaker 4:I like it. Wait, are we talking about Perkins again? Is he a?
Speaker 1:four, yeah, we may be, Um, yeah, but if you do it, yes you will get publicly shamed on here.
Speaker 2:All of our listeners will know who yes.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Um, okay, so the hot debate that we have before this started and if you have any other, topics we can go over. Those is uh, and I don't even understand why it's a debate?
Speaker 3:because I'm clearly right yeah, short cranks win, huh. So no, no, I am a firm believer in short cranks.
Speaker 1:I've been a firm believer in short cranks since like 2010, whenever I learned about it when I went to the fist training um certification in california yeah, one that basically created the short crank phenomenon back in the early 2000s yep, and it makes zero sense not to have short cranks. Scientifically, it makes zero sense power output. It makes zero sense cornering ground clearance, all the things it. It makes zero sense to probably ride shorter cranks than what you have on your bike.
Speaker 4:Have you seen Jonas riding 150s?
Speaker 2:Bangago.
Speaker 1:You're riding 150s now. I'm getting 140s, I'm not opposed to it.
Speaker 2:I didn't know it was a thing until last year's tour and then I saw it and then Jan started telling me people are calling up the shop left and right, wanting to order like 165 I sold quite a few short cranks yeah, and it's like what is going on?
Speaker 4:yeah, I'll take. I'll take short cranks any day over hoods turned in, which is the other one what if I had short cranks and my short Narrow bars and hoods turned in.
Speaker 2:Oh, narrow bars is the other one. I think that sounds fast yeah.
Speaker 3:And sexy yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, what width bars do you ride? 42.
Speaker 2:Okay, good.
Speaker 4:With straight hoods.
Speaker 2:Even better.
Speaker 4:I mean maybe like a degree in yeah.
Speaker 2:But what length cranks? Better be be 172, 5.
Speaker 4:Okay, but how tall are you? 6, 2, but I ride 170 on the mountain bike instead of 175. That's the right way to do I don't really care.
Speaker 1:I mean, I would say 170s, which should be the max length I'm really, I really don't like the hoods.
Speaker 4:I don't care what length your crank arm is crank armank.
Speaker 2:Arm length matters Chris.
Speaker 4:I feel like the longer the crank, the straighter the hoods. Wait what we're going to see a lot of straight hoods at Wheeler now.
Speaker 2:Everybody's like taking their mallet out to the hoods and whacking them out 200 mil cranks and straight hoods. That's awesome.
Speaker 1:So do you like longer cranks I?
Speaker 2:ride 172 and a half on both are you opposed to going shorter? No, I've got. I've got 170s on my bike packing rig because it's a heavier bike when it's loaded and you want to be able to spin a little bit faster.
Speaker 4:Yes, I will admit to that. I mean, I like it better on my mountain bike I mean everyone's going short on mountain bikes because bottom brackets are lower and you pedal strike, but I I have not had a problem and I was gonna try 170 on road when I started going shorter.
Speaker 4:I was going shorter because the bike I was on at the time did not have good clearance for for crits and I was talking with taruki about it and he's like, yeah, try them. He's like you try 170s, and 172.5 felt good and then I just never, I wasn't gonna buy 170s to try them 170s on the road gravel for me feels like I don't have a proper pedal stroke well, you don't yeah well, yeah, I don't, yeah, no lie, yeah, it feels like I can't get like six foot
Speaker 1:six three you're six three, yeah, really, yeah, you're taller than him uh, barely, huh.
Speaker 2:Yeah, although I'm getting shorter in my old age, yeah it happens.
Speaker 1:That's bad news for this guy. Yeah, this is gonna be real bad in a couple couple years. Yeah, so, because I went 165s on my mountain bike did you really huh yeah, I have 165s on my tri bike. I would. I would possibly go like a 160 on a tri bike. Um, dj snyder, do you guys know who? He is super fast triathlete. He won. It's been a handful of years ago now, but he won he can't be that fast because we neither know exactly yeah he uh.
Speaker 1:Well, he runs fast and swims fast too. So that's the problem. Um he uh. He won iron man maryland one year, like overall yeah as an amateur and um he rides. He came in for a fit. He does 155s holy crap yeah, but I mean he is so slammed and aggressive on his tri bike and but if you have a really aggressive position, yeah, it's a huge benefit yeah, you aggressive position. It's a huge benefit.
Speaker 4:If you have hip problems, it's a huge benefit Because when you're bent over, your hip doesn't have to close as much.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it stays much more open, so you can get much more aggressive in your front end of your bikes and if you have like a legit knee problem or hip problem it is a huge relief in that.
Speaker 4:I do run a significant drop.
Speaker 1:Maybe I should go shorter. I'm telling you it well, get on the guru.
Speaker 4:Here's a shout out for um capital we just carried that thing up those stairs. Today it's not light.
Speaker 2:Is it shut?
Speaker 1:up, you moved it over to y'all shop today we moved it up, the stairs that thing it wasn't as bad as I.
Speaker 4:I'd never really seen the machine. I didn't pay attention when you did my foot, it's so they're like, we're talking about it for a couple months now and yeah, well, I mean we took it apart but well, there's only a couple parts that come off.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you still got the platform and you still got the whole damn bike. Yeah, it's made out of pure steel. We did it. How many of you? I mean we had five yeah whenever I bought that, I bought it in denver, so I drove up there with a trailer and bought it and me and a 75 year old loaded it loaded oh dear lord, how long do you think that took?
Speaker 2:a lot of breaks it was rough oh, half a day, so awful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was terrible um, but yeah, so get on the guru. So anybody that has a fit bike. Wherever, whatever fit shop you go to you, they have a fit bike at uh not currently.
Speaker 1:They are getting one, hopefully soon, from other resources um, if anybody has a fit bike, get on it and they will have the ability to do like 165 cranks. Do your normal setup, do the 165 cranks and then start dropping the front end and just see how it feels really it is huh and or put on like, put your normal setup on there, ride it like, say, I don't, I'm just gonna throw out out a random number like 200 watts and 30 watts, depending on your, your ftp, and then so it's like a say a solid zone, three effort zone, you know we have some effort on there and then adjust your setup with the 165 cranks and feel the difference.
Speaker 1:There is a noticeable difference. Um, and I think a lot of people, especially like, come into cycling older, like mash a lot, yeah, shorter cranks will help them with that. Like I don't know that.
Speaker 4:I just, I just don't know a negative yeah, yeah, I don't think there is either other than adapting, if you're used to you do have to change gearing, possibly because yeah so you could possibly have to change out some like larger, yeah, bigger gears harder gears. Yeah, because you spin too fast sometimes I didn't really think about the hip angle, because I've been messing with my fit and finally got it comfortable. But it's like a 14-centimeter drop. Oh, that's a lot, but it finally feels really good.
Speaker 1:But yeah, at that point shorter would probably actually benefit me a lot, but also, if you went from 172.5s to say 67, say 67 fives, you would have to raise the seat another five mil and more drop.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so the front end may have to come up a little bit to compensate the same amount of drop, but again, that can actually be more comfortable so well, I've always I've been struggling with getting it low enough, so that would actually give you more. Yeah, yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 1:I think everybody should explore it and we have resources, the ability to explore before you have to spend the money. But now there's so many companies making them you can get cranks fairly inexpensive. Yeah, there's a lot of different companies out there that make short ones.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the problem becomes when it happens. It becomes a thing in the tour and then demand goes through the roof and you have manufacturers going wait. Why does everybody want 38-centimeter bars now all?
Speaker 1:of a sudden yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:Well, there's a we, we sell BMC, and there's their aero bike comes every size. It comes with integrated bar stem, every size. So like 47 to 61, 36 centimeters, 36?.
Speaker 3:Really.
Speaker 4:And they, I mean based on their data, their data that's. I don't know if it's fastest, but wow, 36, I mean you can run. Luckily you can put other bar stems on that bike, but that's standard spec. It's a flare, so it's. You know whatever at the drops, but nobody rides on drops like yeah like man, if I get that bike I would have to do a different bar. Yeah, because that is for me. I would just be your chest closed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I can't breathe. No, you cannot have any boobies.
Speaker 1:No, no, yeah, you know your gym work, you'd be screwed.
Speaker 4:I would be terrible. I'm tired of taking those pictures of the weights.
Speaker 2:I just sit in there with my sandwich.
Speaker 1:Do people get mad that you come by and take pictures of their weights?
Speaker 4:There's nobody in there. They never claim you're lifting, you say lunch.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a good point. Yeah, that's a good point.
Speaker 4:We never see him picking the weight up, he's just looking at it.
Speaker 2:Perkinson's the same thing. Are you actually lifting that?
Speaker 1:No, it's a great place to go sit and eat lunch. Meatball sub. Looking at the weights, one day I'm going to pick one up. I'm going to re-rack those A gallon of Coke. Somebody should have re-racked those weights when they left.
Speaker 2:Damn it, do you?
Speaker 1:boys have any other hot takes.
Speaker 2:I don't think so. The start of the season is about to hit. I know I'm excited, me too.
Speaker 1:Well, let's do this. Springtime you have a big event. I mean everybody's going to Wachtau.
Speaker 4:My big event. I haven't been training at all. I rode Saturday and I was like I'm going to see how many days I've ridden. In February it was three days Wow, I haven't been riding at all. Wow, days I haven't been riding at all. I've just been in a funk and not wanting to ride. But I started riding. But I'm doing 12 hours at Twisted Oat Benefiting Mark Taruki. There's not a good reason not to do that race. You can do any duration or team or whatever, but I'll do the 12-hour solo. I did it last year, so start riding now, I guess.
Speaker 1:And I have a month and I have to go out there whenever we record that podcast. Holy cow, is that place beautiful?
Speaker 2:It's awesome, great race course. It's pretty cool, isn't it?
Speaker 4:It's incredible, the course is not too hard for anybody. If you're not skilled, there's probably a couple sections you might get off your bike. But I mean, I rode it for 12 hours last year and there was never anything that I was, you know, even being that tired that was felt dangerous and there was still parts that were fun. Every single lap. He's done a really good job with it, and I mean the. The cause behind it should be reason enough to go.
Speaker 1:Most importantly, it's donating to a man who's fighting for his life literally yeah, and he was given so much the sport, so yeah yeah, for sure so I think everyone should be at that event, but that's that's kind of like I need.
Speaker 4:Finally, it was like I need to get my ass, I need to be riding, so I can at least um, and I don't know if ray's covered this, but I know they're doing. Uh, like I talked to him about doing a um, like you sign up for the event, obviously, which raises money, but then, but then you can donate, you can yeah, based. I don't know if it's mileage or laps but you can.
Speaker 4:You can raise additional funds outside of the entries based on the distance you do, and I don't remember how he set it up. I think once you enter you get the link to do that. So yeah, like every mile or every lap I ride is going to raise more money and super cool. So that's going to pull in potentially way more money because you reach out to people that would never be at the event.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. Yeah, somehow get involved in that event, either just donating money or going and riding, or donating to a rider that's racing it or something like that. It's a good course.
Speaker 2:Very cool.
Speaker 1:A good course. Mr White, is there any big event you have coming up?
Speaker 2:Just Mr White, is there any big event you have coming up? Just the usual cast of stuff MidSouth Ouachita, I suppose, Red Bud, the OKC World Championship. It's a true story.
Speaker 4:I've never done it Really. Yeah, that's what I've heard.
Speaker 1:I probably won't start now no Not, unless you really want a good chance of hurting yourself.
Speaker 2:Yeah, if you really want to test your bike handling skills on the road, go to go to the first 10 miles of red bud yeah, yeah, um, this weekend I think we're going to kansas. There's a I heard it's nice this time of year, yeah I got roped into going to a 50 mile race up there oh so 59 miles and I think it's 1600 feet of elevation it's pretty flat yeah that's pretty flat trainer ride yeah just kind of put the head down and go. I like it, yep all right.
Speaker 1:Well, maybe let's do, uh, let's do a recap after the first couple of mountain bike races and wash tall, and that should make for some entertaining stories and some wheelers.
Speaker 2:So we can do the wall of shame.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, yeah, maybe with wheeler we can like document anybody, that's being a dick that day.
Speaker 4:Yeah, live. If you see us out there with our clipboard, be aware that's right.
Speaker 1:You have been marked. You're on the next podcast.
Speaker 2:You're going on the wall.
Speaker 1:All right Awesome.