Review: Running Shoe Run-off

Back in March I bought two different pairs of shoes to get myself running a bit more and better.  My old Columbia hiking shoes where giving me horrid blisters after three miles of running.  Here are my results.

Adidas Marathon 10

Great shoe! Light and you don't need the expensive socks. Your cheap no-show cotton socks from Wal-Monopoly work just fine. The tops of the shoe breathes amazingly well. The heal was good. My only trouble was that I thought the padding on the ball of the toe. The padding in the under side front of the shoe seemed very thin. If you are sprinting, doing some track work I think that would be great. But on the road and dirt I like a bit more padding.

Asics Enduro 5

My overall pick between the two. The heel is good and sturdy for the dirt runs. The stock thickness is good under the toe and ball of the foot. The edges around the heel do not rub me raw. The breathing on the shoe is not as "summer" setup as the Marathon but does a good job. It will probably keep me a bit warmer once fall gets here. The major downside is that I HAVE to run with the nice socks. But that is no problem now since I've bought 1/2 a dozen pairs.

After note:
What did I wear on my ascent and descent of Pikes Peak? My old @$$ Columbia hiking shoes. I have no idea what kind they are. The name is completely wore off of the on the toe tag. The bottoms are nearly worn flat. The heel is cut diagonally from me walking predominantly on one side of my foot. But, I wore the $12 pair of socks and I didn't get any blisters. :) So, lesson learned. Those socks are $12 for a very, very good reason. BUY THEM!!!! You will not be disappointed!

Deceased Cyclist in hit and run in OKC

Read the story here

My thoughts and prayers go out to the family.

I see through you... well your bike that is...

*courtesy of Picture is Unrelated

I wonder if it is fish tank compatible? Although a lap around Bluff Creek and the fish might be all dead. "Don't shake the bag! You'll kill the goldfish!"

Tires

I bought some tires while I was up in Colorado. My stock tires on the MTB were getting pretty flat. I think they were qualifying for BMX halfpipe tires at this point.

I bought some last year model closeout Kenda Kinetics for the front and back; 26 x 2.35. Darn it! Last year model! WHAT SHALL I EVER DO?!?!?! Probably ride them till they look like my last pair of tires.

They got me up and down the first 7 miles of the Barr Trail no problem. Although I did get a puncture flat on my way down the trail. I probably just need to throw the slime in. But, there were way more prickly items on the trails up north than there are around these parts. I might just get the thicker tubes.

Cheers,

Bike Jerseys

There are thousands of custom jerseys out there. Most of which you will never see because they are made for one particular event and then are banished to dresser drawers forever. Well, that is until they are used on the weekends. But you can't buy them. You are stuck with whatever is at the local shop or what you can scavenge on the internet. I haven't seen really cool bike jerseys online. I'm limited to less than 5 that I would actually buy.

Ben Franklin Quote - doesn't exist but I want to make one!


Very cool singletrack brew shirt

My own crazy drawing - not too serious about this one anymore. It would look really bad on a shirt. Needs color.

Cogs and Dogs - WANT!! But can I put my pooch's face in the middle?

Ole Jolly Roger - When asked the question, "Would you rather be a ninja or a pirate?" My appropriate answer is, "AAARRRRGGG, yee questionin' me?"

Those are the the few that I remember that I liked. I've seen really cool designs out and about, but nothing I would but. I would like to put some phrases on the back of jerseys. Something like, "YELL SOMETHING ORIGINAL!" Mainly because I'm tired of people just honking or yelling "WHOOHOOO!!!" or "GO!" or "Get a car you bloody wanker!" Alright, I lied on the last one.

 Here is one rough idea I would buy.  Especially if the front had a black bean chicken burrito on it from Chipotle.  :)

Cheers,

Pikes Peak - part uno

I made a trip to the top of Pikes Peak 2 years ago but it was in my GMC Yukon. Really great trip but I have been thinking about pedalling or hiking to the top ever since.

Pic from 2 years ago... I rode in the back seat with my kiddos.

This year I made it up the peak on my own power and demise. The trip took a great deal of time. I stopped a lot for pictures, rest, and to not get too light headed. Mustang, OK is 1,340 feet above sea level. Manitou Springs, CO (where we camped) is at 6,320 feet. Pikes Peak summit is at 14,115 feet. So I'm already a mile higher than I'm used to just being in Manitou. Then I've got another mile and a half of just elevation change to go before reaching the summit.

On a side note, Colorado is dry. This is the first time I had to buy chapstick since I lived outside of Oklahoma. I've lived in Oklahoma, Florida, Arizona and Colorado. I think the last time I actually had the old ring of Carmex in my pocket was when I snow skied as a kid in Colorado. I can still remember that pungent odor. But, people from Colorado and Utah are always carrying around a canteen. I always thought that it was just a Northerner thing that was fashionable. Good gracious, those canteens are really for survival. I had to drink way more water to feel normal just walking around.

I started up the "hill" @ about 7:00 AM. Start early. Very important. You want to beat any weather that might develop in the afternoon. You want to have extra time in case you end up being as slow as I was. I pedal from the campsite the 1.6 miles to the trail head. Manitou Springs is really pretty early in the morning. I should have taken a picture. But I didn't because I was focused and ready to get started on my ascent. But Manitou is really beautiful before all the cars start lining the town.

I get to the trail head and there are just tons of people. The Barr Trail and the Manitou Incline share the same parking lot. I find out later that people start climbing the Barr Trail and the Manitou Incline at like 5 in the morning or as early as the first light. It is illegal to climb the Incline. I was told it crosses like 3 different private properties and no one maintains it. Take from that what you will. But I know for a fact that it is illegal because it was in the local paper about hikers that got hurt on the trail. And people were trying to determine whether or not to press trespassing charges. Either way, when I go to the trail head the parking lot was full. A bus load of high school kids where there and I found out later it was a football team doing the incline. Over the period of the day, I must have seen over 200 people do the incline. What people do is they do the one mile climb that goes up 2,000 feet. Then the come down using the switchbacks on the Barr Trail. The switchbacks take 4 miles. :) So on my way up I see just a ton of people running down.

It was ridiculous the number of people I saw on the trail. I got a lot of comments from people. Really fit, beautifully healthy looking people where like, "You're pedaling down this?!?" "You are the most hard core athlete I've seen." "GOOD LUCK!" I hope they thought I was pedaling down the Barr Trail and not down the Incline. I have a hard tail. I would totally need a full suspension to do the incline. :)

Truth be told, I only saw one other cyclist the entire day. And he was only going down not up. He had the full suspension, disc brakes, full face helmet, helmet camera, and logos all over all of his gear. This picture was taken above the tree line about 2.5 miles from the summit. This guy was hauling butt. I'm guessing someone dropped him off at the top and he was getting the video down the mountain for a site like Pink Bike or something. Which reminds me I need to scan and see if I can find any video of myself taking pictures of him flying by.

Halfway up the first four miles of switchbacks I go to the bailout point from the Incline. It was too hard not to stop and snap some shots. I talked with a local and she filled me in about how "its illegal but everybody does it".

In your head you have to keep a positive attitude when trekking all day. And subconsciously I came up with a name for all the people I saw on the incline that made me giggle as I was pushing my bike up the switchbacks. I called them tourists. I thought it was hilarious. Most of these people were locals. In my head they had come to the tourist trap of trails. It is easy for me to say that because I did not climb the Incline and I bet it would kick my butt. But I was doing a far longer and higher climb so I let my inner ego run rampart. Plus they were keeping me from riding my bike up the switchbacks. There were so many people that I couldn't keep a good enough pace or momentum to stay in the saddle up the gravel trail. I kept having to dodge people that didn't notice me and just said "Thanks" as they pranced by like deer. Oh well. I'll have my fun later when I'm screaming by you on two wheels. :)