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Black and White...

2010-11-05T22:18:00.004-10:00

Made it happen...very light and trick looking...

Cool Commercial......

2010-09-21T21:30:00.003-10:00

Saw this cool commercial tonight:

Here's the original and still can't believe that MJ is not here anymore.....he was THE og Dancing Machine:

2010 vs 2011 Cervelo R3 SL OR 2011 R5???

2010-09-21T20:44:00.003-10:00

Decisions....decisions.....

Looks like I'm probably leaning towards the discounted 2010 models since I've read that the 2011's require some new exclusive to Cervelo standard "BBright" bottom bracket and crankset that only Rotor makes at the moment. Also read that BB30 is suppose to fit with some adaptors, but, even those adaptors are not yet available. Also, there still is no geometry out on the 2011 models.

BUT, it does look like the newer R5 (no...not the $CA$ version) will be better than the 2010 R3 SL: "The new R5 closely mimics the R5ca. For 2011 it replaces the current R3sl. Bastie said that bottom bracket stiffness in the R5 is 100-percent higher than in the R3sl it’s replacing, and the head tube is 40-percent stiffer. Even with the improved rigidity, the 2011 R5 weighs the same as a current R3sl."

100% and 40% stiffer......hummmm........

http://girodilento.com/2011-cervelo-r3-first-picture

Just Thinking.....

2010-09-07T21:54:00.005-10:00

I've been waiting for this price drop to finally happen.....and when I checked today, IT DID!!!

Been looking at the Cannondale HM, Scott CR1, Look 585, Kuota KOM and others, but I think the Cervelos below would be the lightest, stiff enough, best riding, and best fitting and looking for me:

R3SL???????? -

OR...

R3??????? -

I like both color schemes....just not sure if 100grams is worth the extra dough...

My Best 2010 Super Bowl Commercials.....

2010-02-07T20:31:00.007-10:00

Nothing really really caught my eye this year - but here's my picks for the best.

No. 1 - http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-super-bowl-commercials/09000d5d81643d98/Kia-commercial (don't know if i would buy the car, BUT, Kia commercials are kool...but still not as good as their hamster one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFHCfwF87_o)

No. 2 - http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-super-bowl-commercials/09000d5d81643a5f/Vizio-commercial (how much can you recognize...???)

No. 3 - http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-super-bowl-commercials/09000d5d816439a3/Audi-Green-Police-commercial (i guess because i work in the refuse/recycling field)

Was a great game, btw.....good for the New Orleans Saints!!!

From HI.....Happy 2010!

2010-01-05T23:47:00.007-10:00

When there's no vog, it's been pretty nice around here...

Swimmers, stand up paddlers, kayakers, fishermen, reef explorers, surfers, kids and people on the beach and playing in the water.....

Taken from here: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3394502

Feel Fine...

2010-01-03T00:52:00.007-10:00

Today was a super great day...so...I'm hoping 2010 will be a really good year...hopefully a really good decade...

Since the legs have been feeling really spent lately I didn't expect much today, but, when I jumped on the bike this afternoon, they felt OK and even somewhat peppy. So, I decided to do a long ride out to Hawaii Kai and back. And, for the first time (maybe ever), I had an unbelievable ride out AND back.

When you hear someone say, "May the Wind Always Be At Your Back," after today, I really know how wonderful this is....especially with today's beautiful clear blue skies and perfect riding weather...

On the way out, with some pretty decent southerlies I was feeling fine and pretty easily rolling a 53-13/14ish gear on Nimitz, then Kalakaua, then Diamond Head Road and Kal Hwy. I was thinking I better not go too hard since it's going to be HARD riding back all the way home. But I couldn't resist, the speed felt so good...so...I kept on rolling the big gears all the way out. Up Lunalilo Home Road it was 53-12 and I'm flying way over 25 thinking...man, it's going to be a grind all the way home.

Took the left at the fire station and the wind feels not that bad...round bend back towards the ocean and it's not that bad again. Hit Kal Hwy and I'm flying back in the 53-14ish and I'm thinking What's Up??? Of course...the winds have somehow magically switched from Kona into into a light trade somewhere in Hawaii Kai and it's smooth smooth sailing all the way back!!!

Got home feeling spent, but great. Man!!!...what a great first long ride of 2010...

Kuraki Mai - Feel Fine
]

For 2010 - "May The Wind Always Be At Your Back..."

Happy New Year - 2010!!!!!

2010-01-01T00:21:00.008-10:00

The celebration materials...7 strands...and one for Lucy too...

Dad doing the honors...

1st shaka of 2010 :-)

Even Weather Pixie Celebrates...

Merry Chirstmas - 2009...

2009-12-25T20:10:00.007-10:00

The wonders of Skype - the most amazing program in the whole wide world...
Direct and live from Honolulu to Kurihama...

After a fun party - eating all kine and too much food last night, sleeping in till late, wrapping all my presents this morning, and opening all my good presents today...I just HAD to ride...but...I was dragging.....so I got out the door after 5pm, late as usual...

The dreamy dreary overcast weather this Christmas day sort of matched my melancholy mood...and Ipod set to shuffle, when these two favorite songs came on... it felt...just...right...

The Emotions - Flowers:

BoA - Do the Motion:

...Merry Christmas...

Merry Christmas (Eve) - 2009 Party...

2009-12-25T19:03:00.006-10:00

From last night's Christmas Eve gathering at my brother's house...

The Main Attraction (Potluck - Hawaiian Style):
(Click to make big) Clockwise from bottom left:

Kalbi - Korean
Kinpira - Japanese
Lamb Chops - American
Zippy's Chicken - Hawaiian Style
Stuffed Chicken - American
Okonomiyaki - Japanese
Sushi Rice - Japanese
Lumpia - Filipino
Ige's Rafute (the best) - Okinawan
BBQ Ribs - American
K's Popcorn Chicken - Hawaiian Style
Miso Butter Fish - Japanese
Sashimi (hidden) - Japanese
Tofu Pattys - Japanese
Nishime - Japanese
Crab Potato Salad - Hawaiian Style
Chinese Chicken Salad - Chinese
Pineapple Cloude Jello - Hawaiian Style
Andagi - Okinawan
Shrimp Tempura - Japanese

On Other Tables:
Limu Poke - Hawaiian Style
Tako Poke - Hawaiian Style
Homemade Garlic Fried Tako - Hawaiian Style
Edamame - Japanese
5 Layer Taco Dip w/ Chips - Mexican

Deserts:
Ice Cream Cake - ???
Mochi - Japanese
Coconut Cake - Hawaiian Style
Chocolate Cream Pie - American
Liliha Bakery Coco Puffs - Hawaiian Style
Sugar Cookies - American
Marshmallow Puffed Rice Snacks - American
Zippy's Pastries - American
Cup Cakes - American
& A Real Japanese Christmas Cake (from Ford's Japanese Wife) - Japanese
Hi Mom!!!

This is for my brother in Japan...close up of Gregg's tender and juicy grilled Lamb Chops!
Oishi sooooooo.....

Yooooooo.....Been a While...

2009-12-16T21:20:00.005-10:00

I've been very slowly getting my デブ arse back into bike riding again after a couple month break due to some strange sensations brought about by trying to change my riding position (way higher seat) and pedaling style (pelvis rotated forward). What were the sensations.....exactly like this: http://www.tipna.org/info/documents/BrochurePNE.htm

To "fix" the problem, instead of taking any too drastic measures, I just decided on good old stretching, r&r and time off the bike seat!!! Things have gotten a lot better, but not close to being fully "cured" yet. But, about 3 or 4 weeks ago, I just couldn't take it any more and HAD to get back on the bike.....riding for only short bouts initially, but up to over 3 hours recently...with a MUCH lowered bike seat...

Last Thursday, I got my first dose of some fast riding (due to seeing David on Lagoon) and now I can finally start to feel the fitness kicking in!

Yesterday after work was a good day. I got on the bike at 5:22 and even though I got to ride only 40ish minutes till the sun set...I rode pretty strong for the whole time. Towards the end I decided to do some super fast spinning and then this song by Orange Range came on which is PERFECT for super fast spinning...since it gives you some short breaks interspersed with some super MANIAC spinning tempo sections!

OrangeRange - Matsuri Danshaku

Although I only lasted for about 1/3 of the song yesterday...in a few weeks, I think I'll be strong enough to do the whole song!

Weekend Sporting Wins...

2009-09-27T20:34:00.003-10:00

SUMO: Asashoryu kicked some @$$ this weekend after first loosing to Hakuho during regular time. During the OT rematch it was super exciting as it looked like Hakuho had a slight advantage for a few seconds, but Asa somehow found a way to pull it off!!!

CYCLING: I was so happy when I found out Cadel won the World Championship Road Race! After much bull in the Tour and even more real bull in the Veulta, he finally got his redemption. Plus that, I think he is one of the few guys whose really doing it totally on his own without any "assistance."

A Train In Japan...

2009-09-20T21:41:00.006-10:00

We were leading at this point...

On the way to Shinjuku (新宿), my brother getting in a few minutes of UH football against UNLV. Unfortunately, UNLV had this super tall receiver that just out "jump balled" our smaller DB. Our guy had perfect position but there was just nothing else he could have done...

2 Casio G Shocks...

2009-09-15T21:06:00.004-10:00

So I couldn't resist and ordered two G-Shocks from the ones I was checking out before...

Casio G-Shock AWG100: This one was suppose to be my "bang around" watch, but, after examining it in person, it looks really really too good for banging around. And, I was really surprised to find that this one HAS the World Time function...perfect!

Casio G-Shock BG011: This is one that I really had to have, and after seeing it in real life...I'm glad I pulled the trigger. That dark green background is perfect for University of Hawaii games and the faint flower-paisley style backdrop and bold roman numerals on a rectangle face is so dope. This thing is literally built like a tank and is like wearing a brick of gold. I'm glad I found it on-line at Jomashop.com for only $83 cause just recently, I saw it on ebay for $119. Apparently, this model is getting rarer by the minute as it's not being made anymore by Casio...

I Like White Seats and I Cannot Lie...

2009-09-01T23:58:00.008-10:00

Granted...even in pimp looking white, it ain't sexiest looking seat out there. But, this 255g Viagra sounding V-Flow Max seat has a HUGE cutout for guys who need it (I'm not bragging).

$170, straight and direct from John Cobb (www.cobbcycling.com ) with free shipping and a 180 day satisfaction gaurantee, I don't see how I can go wrong to just see if this seat works for me or not...

Some G-Shocks...

2009-08-25T20:17:00.003-10:00

I've been looking at some G's lately...and these are the ones that are perking my interest....

Casio AWG100 This is the one that instantly caught my eye at first - relatively inexpensive ($80ish), atomic w/ solar, the only thing really missing is world time. Lots of bezel protection and perfect for autocrossing.

Casio GW2500 Then this classy and expensive ($175ish) looking G REALLY caught my eye. Supposedly one of Casio's newest models - atomic w/ solar and world time. Very professional looking and the only thing I wish it had was more protection for the bezel like the AWG100 above.

Casio BG011 For some reason this discontinued metal bracelet square G has constantly been on my mind for months...w/ no atomic or solar, but with wt, I like it...don't ask me why...

Hawaii.....Happy Belated 50th...

2009-08-25T20:06:00.002-10:00

Last Friday, August 21st, was the 50th anniversary of Hawaii becoming the 50th, and so far last State, of the United States of America. From what I hear, it was a great day in the State.

Happy 50th Hawaii...

Kam sa ham ni da!!!

2009-08-16T21:08:00.003-10:00

...Was probably what Y.E. Yang was saying when he tanked his eagle chip on 14 to finally take the lead from "The" Tiger Woods. Then he goes on to hit an unbeleivable and perfect shot from the rough, over the trees, over the bunker, holding the left to right wind, to tight back LEFT pin position to like 10 feet, to seal the win...what an awesome shot...

Speedplay Pedals???

2009-08-10T17:19:00.002-10:00

http://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.slipperypedals

You've got to be kidding me...I wonder what other "two pedal brands" they tested against? 33 seconds is killer "free time" with just a change of pedals...maybe they were thinking old school platform and clip pedals?

I would seriously consider switching if I didn't just buy another pair of my old Time Impacts...

Viva La France...Beppu, Arashiro, and Miyazato...

2009-07-30T20:33:00.003-10:00

This past weekend was probably one of the biggest weekends for anyone interested in cycling and golf and, who is of Japanese (esp. Okinawan) heritage!

TDF: AWESOME JOB ARASHIRO AND FUMI !!!

I've (and I'm sure a lot of other people) always wondered why there were no Asians in the Tour.....I just figured it was for the same reason you don't see any Africans in the Tour.....just not "made" for cycling at the highest level. But in this past tour, Fumiyuki Beppu and Yukia Arashiro (born in Okinawa) put an end to those thoughts.

For the first time EVER, these 2 Japanese riders FINISHED the biggest, baddest, most crazy bike race in the world. They even showed really good in several stages, and Beppu showed especially good in the last stage where he absolutely dropped the hammer and started the only breakaway on the Champs-Élysées! He even won the "Most Combative" award for his exploits on the final stage. Hopefully...they'll be more to come, especially with all the good track Keirin sprinters in Japan. I wouldn't be surprised to one day see an awesome road sprinter come out of Japan...
Oui...Beppu flashin the Shaka!!! w/ Arashiro...

Evian Masters: CONGRATULATIONS AI MIYAZATO
A Happy Ai on a Sunny Sunday Afternoon in France...

Must have been a great for Ai Miyazato (born in Okinawa) to finally get her first win...and a MAJOR at that!!! She did it the hard way too, by having to win in a playoff.

TDF - Stages 16 - 21...

2009-07-28T20:32:00.002-10:00

What a great race it was.....and the scenery of France was stunning in HD.

The last week was as exciting as advertised and we saw how mortal LA was when he couldn't go with the initial moves of Contador. Then we saw how awesome LA was when he attacked. We also know that Cavendish is by far the fastest man in the sprint. And the Schleck brothers will be force to be delt with in the future.

But after the race, it was really sad to see that LA and Contador were not getting along at all. Right or wrong, I think LA should have been like a "big brother" to Contador and just be the bigger man...I mean, Contador is still so young compared to LA!

The way I kind of see it, Contador attacking probably assured the team of the yellow jersey, cause who knows if Contador may have had a bad day, and that time he made would have been the cushion for him to keep the yellow!!! Cause if Contador had a bad day...there's no guarantee that LA or Kloden would have made it into the yellow jersey...especially without Levi being there.

Until the real stories come out as to what really happened during the race.....I guess it's all soap opera gossiping...

TDF - Stage 15 and Tantalus

2009-07-20T21:24:00.003-10:00

TDF: Sunday was a pivotal day in the TDF w/ Contador flexing his muscles showing everyone who was the strongest on the hilltop finish. Too bad Sastre and Cadel couldn't show any better than they did, hopefully they will do better in the remaining climbing stages.

LA just couldn't match the pace of Contador, but he still did damn good considering...in fact, gotta really watch for him this coming week to see if he gets stronger...

Tantalus: And, since Sunday was a climbing stage, I did my own little climb of Tantalus this weekend. I was really surprised when I stopped the clock in 24:33 as I haven't climbed up there for a long time. Gotta say that my new Kinlins performed really really well as the added stiffness really helps when you climb standing. I also am pedaling with a new technique and I "think" it is helping cause my legs never got that blown out feeling at any time. Usually, at 24:30, my legs and lungs should have been feeling really blown! Gotta test out my new techinque again on Tantalus sometime again soon...

The Power and the Heartbreak TDF - Stage 14 and 13

2009-07-18T22:00:00.003-10:00

Stage 13 - Break went away again and Cervelo Test Team soloed in for the win - great for this young guy.

Stage 14 - Today's stage was super exciting and super frustrating.

The Power - Ivanov rode away from his breakaway companions just like he did in 2001. What a pedaling style that guy has...just super smooth and powerful - awesome to watch! And he did it EXACTLY like he did in 2001 when my and my brother were watching the tour...I remember us thinking how awesome it was back then and it was just even fore awesome in HD.

The Heartbreak - 1st of all, I think Astana really &^%%# Big George. There was NO REASON for Astana to be on the front of the peleton...infact, per the TV, at one time they were on the front for over 30 minutes straight with about 60 to 80kms to go. I was thinking to myself...what are these guys doing...why the hell don't they FORCE the yellow jersey to chase????? It's not their kuleana to do sh!t so why burn any of your matches on the day before the big climbing stage....their tactics surely closed down WAY more than 6 seconds today and if they had just backed off a bit to keep the gap at like 10 minutes or so...it would have been FINE cause Big George is surely going to loose over 10 minute tomorrow...

2nd, I'm glad I don't have any Garmin stuff cause this American team really %^$^%$#& Big George in pushing the pace in the last 5 to 10km or so. I mean, the French teams would NEVER chase down their own country men, especially if they had a chance for the Yellow Jersey...but these clowns are so @#@#%$! that instead of having an icon of American cycling in Yellow today, they HELPED to rip vertual jersey OFF of a FELLOW Amercian's back. Big George has been representing America for over 14 years in the pro pelton and what these guys did to help AG2R shut down the last minute or so is inexcusable...what a heartbreak for George...

Leipheimer Out & TDF - Stages 9, 10,11,12

2009-07-16T22:24:00.005-10:00

Per LA's Twitter (twitter.com/Lancearmstrong), Levi is out of the TDF with a broken wrist...bummer for Lance though...I'm thinking they could have "tag teamed" their cards to some awesome results in the last week...

Stage 9 - Breakaway makes it to the end.

Stage 10 - No Radios = Rider Boycott w/ no real racing till the last 5k or so...never even bothered to watch.

Stage 11 - Most exciting, crazy and dangerous sprint finish yet when Garmin's Farrar ALMOST comes over the top of Cavindish...he actually made up big gournd to the finish...but he just had to start from too far back...

Stage 12 - With 1.5kms to go on a solo break, my DVR runs out of "tape" and I can't see the finish. Had to check the internet to see if Sorensen actually won...

TDF - Stages 7 & 8....ZZZzzzzz...and Radios...

2009-07-13T23:15:00.004-10:00

Borrriinnnggg.....as far as for the overall...

What a waste of good mountians. At least one of those stages should have been a mountian top finish (2 would have been asking too much of the riders I think). It got to the point where I just FF to watch the last 10 minutes or so of racing.

Good for the stage winners though. And good for Thor H. on how he ripped the Green Jersey off of Cavindish's back by hanging tough on the first couple of climbs. It was intersting to see Thor sprinting against Hincapie for the intermediate sprints...really no contest. But even if George won, it wouldn't have made any differnce cause Thor was only down by 1 point going into the stage, so he would have gotten 2nd place points anyway.

Also, I'm really interested in seeing the stages with no radios allowed. I think it's going to make for some really exciting and more confusing racing. You'll only be able to get your time splits from the motorbikes and I think it will really add a new facet to the "text book" racing that goes on now...

Also.....I think Lance really wants to WIN his 8th TDF...and I think he is going to really let loose in the last week...we'll see...

TDF - Stages 3,4,5 & 6

2009-07-09T20:59:00.003-10:00

Stage 3 - What an awesome race that was - especially watching in HiDef when Columbia initially split the field. I'm sure every bike rider has experienced a situation where someone opens up a gap, and it's do-or-die and you try to bridge using all your matches...and you get so close to making contact, but no matter how hard you go, you just can't get across that last 20 or 30 meters...then you pop and that gap just explodes - never to be seen again - lol. It was especially cool to see Beppu putting the hammer down in the break in the beginning and end!

Stage 4 - That TTT course was just a little tight for 9 men. In fact, having less people, like Garmin had, might have even been better since you could rip through the tighter sections without worrying about loosing your last couple of guys. I felt especially sorry for Cadel cause he lost BIG time in that stage - and through no real fault of his own...though...he really didn't help himself when he accelerated at the end and dropped 3 of his riders!

Also LA and Cancellara really put on a show pounding at the front for both of there respective teams - especially awesome was Cancellara cause he needed to do all the work in the last 10k since his team doesn't have the class of Big Dogs like Astana does. And...LA ends up like 22/100th of a second OUT of the yellow jersey...well...LA WAS the 5th man for Astana across the finish...he should have just thrown his bike and it might have been his...

Stage 5 - Thomas Voeckler really had some big b@lls in attacking from KM 1 and holding off the field by 7 seconds! That was a fabulous ride for him and the 5 other breakaways to keep the field at bay for so long!!!

Stage 6 - Just got through watching Stage 6 and all I can say is what a crash fest. I hate those white lines, that's why for the wet TT a couple of weeks ago, I decided to sport the "dork mirror" so I could ride in the road as much as possible...keeping crossing the white lines to a minimum.
Also, the TDF just wouldn't be the same (or as exciting) without Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen. You just gotta just love Phil Liggett's commentary, something like..."he should keep a little in reserve cause when David hits the final climb, his legs are going to burn like a furnace!" Lol...What a great race the TDF is...

TDF - Stages 1 and 2, and Training

2009-07-05T21:03:00.007-10:00

TDF: Can't believe it but, their OLN is broadcasting the TDF in HIGH DEF!!! Now this is really living in luxury! Makes the racing way more vivid and intense...

Stage 1 - I thought Cancellara would win...and he did by a big margin. LA did really good coming in 10th? He should get better as the race goes on...so who knows what will happen on the Astana team. Could it be another Hinault (Armstrong) vs Lemond (Contador) soap opera type of TDF???

Stage 2 - What a fabulous finish for Japanese rider Yukiya Arashiro of BBOX Bouygues Telecom - who came in 5th place sprinting against best in the world!!! I hope this wasn't just a one time flash and I hope he can contend in all the future sprints. Cavendish, as usual, was just too fast for anyone pulling out a 2 or 3 bike win...I think the only way you beat him is to jump first, and force Cavendish to come around your top speed.

4th of July Weekend Training - I'm hoping I didn't over do it.....got in 2.5 on Friday, 3.5 on Saturday, and 2.5 today...not bad considering how cr@ppy my pulled groin muscles feel. I even did 4 loops of Aliamanu on Friday, the first medium hard climbing I've done in probably 2 months or so. On Saturday I did about 2 hours in the CRAZY crazy 4th of July trafic with the T-man. And today, wanting to just take it easy, I rode my old school Bridgestone - which is always retro fun!

But, what WASN'T fun, was using some large leaves (as gloves) to work out a kink in the B-stone's non-DuraAce chain under Nimitz Highway! On a bike you don't ride often, don't ever buy anything else BUT DA, unless you want your chain to rust and kink...

Malaekahana 40k TT

2009-06-28T21:25:00.004-10:00

Last Sunday was the annual 40k TT out at Malaekahana. As usual, got there a little later than I wanted to, and combined with a early start, I got in a shorter warm up than usual...NONE. Straight from the car right to the start line.

Conditions were rainy for the first couple miles and extra extra windy. In fact, the winds hit 48mph out at Kahuku. On the way out, I decided to ease into the race for the first 10 minutes or so to try and work up to my race effort. After about 15 or 20 minutes I finally felt pretty good - I was feeling good all week actually.

It was really really windy and I got to the turn-a-round in about 32 minutes or so...no worry, I knew I would have a raging tail wind on the way back. Well, it wasn't as much of a tail (more of a side) as I thought it would be...either that or I was losing power.

Because I was feeling good all week, I really thought I could do another 57 something, but I stopped the clock in 59:09. Not really all that happy with my time, but considering most people rode slower this year than last year, I could only feel good that I matched my last year time (59:11) in probably the toughest conditions I've ever did this race in.

Another thing I could feel good about, was that I was probably the fastest "dork" sporting a side mirror!!! That thing probably puts out some massive drag, but, I figured considering the rainy conditions, I wanted to ride in the road whenever possible - not having to weave in and out of the shoulder over the slippery painted lines and blot-dots. I ended up riding on the faster and smoother road for about 98% of the ride and I never once looked back to see how the traffic was. I figured it was probably a wash considering...and I felt a lot safer too...

Me w/ mirror :-)
http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/orderpage.aspx?pi=0NKM000J000097&po=97

For sure next year I need to go back to my 10/1 intervals to really push the anaerobic threshold...this year I only did long non-stop 30 to 60 minute sessions and never really hurt myself like those 10 minute intervals do. I just didn't have that extra toughness to push through those sections where it got tougher.

ALSO, I have GOT to get me a disk rear wheel...all the way back during the race ALL I could think about was those charts which show how a disk can "push" you along in strong side winds (high yaw angles). See: http://www.hedcycling.com/aerodynamics_technology/

The D-man also did this race and did the fastest time he's ever done in the tough conditions - he even beat "most" of the riders he "planned" to beat.....like all the g..ls lol...
http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/orderpage.aspx?pi=0NKM000J000102&po=102

RESULTS (June 21, 2008 Malaekahana 40km TT)
1 2 MIKE ZAGORSKI Elite Men 1/2/3 0:53:56.85 27.6
2 24 TONY LANG Master Men 30+ 0:56:21.95 26.4
3 16 RAY BRUST Master Men 30+ 0:56:46.50 26.2
4 69 TAI BLEWCHTA Elite Men 1/2/3 0:57:45.85 25.8
5 22 KEVIN KAWAINUI Master Men 30+ 0:58:02.90 25.6
6 8 AARON WALLEN Senior Men 4/5 0:58:03.05 25.6
7 31 EDUARDO SA Master Men 30+ 0:58:41.05 25.3
8 60 CARL BROOKS Elite Men 1/2/3 0:58:43.10 25.3
9 1 GARY SHIELDS Master Men 50+ 0:59:01.50 25.2
10 27 MICHAEL OKURA Master Men 30+ 0:59:03.40 25.2
11 28 STEVEN SERIKAKU Master Men 30+ 0:59:09.50 25.1
12 18 MIKE FERREIRA Master Men 30+ 0:59:31.50 25.0
13 66 GREG PRICE Master Men 30+ 0:59:58.00 24.8
14 25 DAVID LUM Master Men 30+ 1:00:22.60 24.6
15 7 CASEY TUCKER Senior Men 4/5 1:00:29.90 24.6
16 13 BEN SAMBRANO Senior Men 4/5 1:00:40.15 24.5
17 45 DAVID SUMIDA MASTER MEN 50+ 1:00:52.95 24.4
18 61 DAN MILLER Elite Men 1/2/3 1:00:56.60 24.4
19 70 JOHN CLIMALDI Elite Men 1/2/3 1:00:56.65 24.4
20 37 DEVERY ANDREWS Master Men 30+ 1:01:07.60 24.3
21 3 NGUYEN LE Elite Men 1/2/3 1:01:08.55 24.3
22 10 TROY KEIPPER Senior Men 4/5 1:01:36.95 24.1
23 63 JAMES MCGUIRE Master Men 30+ 1:01:47.75 24.1
24 33 MIKE ABBOTT Master Men 30+ 1:02:49.75 23.7
25 29 JASON SMITH Master Men 30+ 1:02:54.70 23.7
26 26 DARIN MIYAMURA Master Men 30+ 1:03:14.55 23.5
27 11 NOEL CAOAGAS Senior Men 4/5 1:04:01.50 23.2
28 19 MIKE FUJITA Master Men 30+ 1:04:02.15 23.2
29 32 ROBERT ROY Master Men 30+ 1:04:10.65 23.2
30 56 MICHELLE FOSTER Master Women 30 1:04:14.00 23.2

Micheal Jackson...

2009-06-25T23:29:00.003-10:00

Wow.....I'm still in a sort of shock...he was the Baddest...and only 50...life is sometimes too short...

Tonight, on my way home, a lot of stations were playing Micheal Jackson tributes and I gotta say...when I heard Off the Wall on the stereo, I couldn't help but to start grooving and singing along really loud...and suddenly my eyes unexpectedly welled up...man...I guess he had a deeper affect on me than I knew...

Here is one of my ALL TIME favorite MJ songs that, from what I can remember, wasn't getting overplayed like every 30 seconds on the radio back in '87...in fact, I still am rocking this big time on my Ipod and everytime I hear it...the pace automatically gets cranked up a few notches...

Micheal Jackson - Dirty Diana
Also gotta LUV the way this song just builds and builds and with Michael just laying it out - and that electric guitar just ripping it up in, MAN.....makes you so AMPED!!!

Best Thing Since Sliced Bread...

2009-06-02T21:03:00.005-10:00

1# of Homemade Bread!!!

Prepped, stacked and ready for bread maker action...
Hot, awesome crunchy crust, soft and fluffy, delicious, and so good smelling...

After getting my shipment right on time from Amazon (only 2 days w/ free shipping) and buying "bread" specific flour (more gluten), I got through 2 loafs of bread with the Zo this weekend. One basic regular white and one french, both soooo good. Should have bought this thing years ago...you'll never see me buying bread ever again!

No excuse for not having enough carbs during my workouts now.

Carbo Time...Homemade Style...

2009-05-26T21:14:00.004-10:00

After a ton of research.....got this coming, supposedly on the 28th...

Mini Elephant "Zo" bread maker...supposedly the best bread machine that's not the size of a grand piano. I could have gotten away much cheaper with the Panasonic bread maker, or spent a little more for the top-of-the-line Zo machine, but those were just way too BIG.

Now on to doing the research on what is the best bread flour and yeast.

With all the riding I've been doing, this will help with the carbo loading for sure...

100 to Zero in 2...

2009-05-12T21:11:00.003-10:00

Today, I got a flat like I never had before...

On a slight turn, riding in the middle of the road by Salt Lake library, I ran over some d@mn unseen %$^@%$*&@!!! scum piece of metal and puctured my still almost new EVO CX front tire and was down to the rim in like 2 seconds. Pretty scary when you think about it...what if I was doing 30+.....no wonder the pros ride on tubulars...

The tire still looks salvagable...so I decided to try one of those shoe goo repairs...

But, in case the tire is ruined...I was so p!ssed that I ran down to McCully tonight and bought their last EVO CX. They only have the old 290 tpi tires...there are new 320 tpi ones out now!

Anyways...I still can't get over how good these tires ride and grip...and with my new rims, how fast the setup is...

New Wheels...

2009-04-27T23:12:00.002-10:00

After hearing so much about how good my 30mm deep Kinlin with aero spokes are, my brother is thinking of going one "deeper" with a set of these 41mm S 4.0 Soul Wheels. Total weight about 70 or 80 grams or so heavier than my Kinlins, but, the weight is all in the rims.

The Soul hubs weigh in at 72g (Front) and 202g (Rear), 274g pair (weight without skewers). My two DA hubs weighed about 430 grams or so. That means the rims will probably weigh about 105 grams more per rim - say about 565 grams per rim with the wheel set weighing 1,680 grams. This is for the black set, cause the white rims weigh 30 grams more each - probably for the paint.

Soul also makes a set pretty close to my Kinlins, their S 3.0 with a 30mm deep rim and total weight of only 1,480 due to the lighter hubs. Hummmm....what do you choose.....increased weight or better aerodynamics???

In any event, the S 4.0 is pretty reasonable at only $420 shipped!

http://bikesoul.com/2009/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=25&Itemid=36

2009 Metric Century Bike Ride

2009-04-26T20:07:00.004-10:00

100km reward...this year's shirt is nice...

A perfect day. I usually NEVER ride this early...but this was how dark it was out my window at 5:45 this morning.

Today's clear, calm and flat conditions were a prefect for bike riding and a good test for my new Kinlin wheels. The Verdict - same as before, these things are awesome! They definitely make it easier to just cruise along without having to work as hard through the bottom of the stroke. Also, I've gone back to my Shallow Deda 215 bar and 11cm stem. The Deep bar just didn't feel as good in the tops and while standing...

This was the first time I can remember where on the way out, the wind in Kahuku was not bad at all. I was a little worried that we would face a head wind coming back, but, it was OK on the way back too. And, although I don't have a picture, the calm conditions made the ocean at Kahana Bay super clear and glassy.

This year's course was also a little shorter and a lot easier since on the way back to Haleiwa, we didn't have to ride up and loop around on the windy Highway. Instead, we took a shortcut turning right and riding right through the town...

Here we are, back safe and sound...it was a really good ride...

7800 > 7900??? Pt. 2

2009-04-08T20:34:00.003-10:00

From Cyclingnews.com, the following:

"Columbia-Highroad is also running a mix of Shimano Dura-Ace 7800 and 7900 componentry at the moment. Most of the setup is from the newer package but many of the riders were using the older 7800 rear derailleurs. Cassettes and chains were also a mix of old and new but that is perhaps more due to stock on hand since the team needs so many of them.

Team officials wouldn't confirm as much but the rear derailleur swaps are presumably due to the older model's more durable - and stiffer - pulley cage. Given the abuse these bikes have been subjected to over the past few days, a little extra durability and resilience is likely more than worth the handful of extra grams in this case."

More reasons to save some bucks and NOT switch at this time...

Some Interesting Stuff...

2009-04-05T21:20:00.002-10:00

Dura Ace 7800 > 7900??? - Looks like Cervelo Test Team, the team who actually BUYS their own grouppos (so that they can use what they LIKE), thinks 7800 Dura Ace is BETTER than the 7900. Apparently, the 7900 just doesn't shift that well in their new S Cervelo frames since it has some funky cable routing. In fact, I even remember reading, a while back, that a cyclocross woman pro also was also sticking to 7800 since it handles the mud better.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=/photos/2009/tech/features/ronde_van_vlaanderen109/RVV_Cervelo_S2_RD

http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=/photos/2009/tech/features/ronde_van_vlaanderen109/RVV_Cervelo_Hammond_bar

Small Kine Bike Stuff

2009-03-31T22:07:00.003-10:00

Some new stuff I'll be adding to my bike.

New Vittoria Diamante Pro rear tire - since I'm running the Vittoria CX on the front, I wanted an equally good riding, grippy and more durable rear tire...just gotta avoid all that glass and keep my fingers crossed while I ride.

New White Profile Bar Tape - my old tape just really needs a changing...

Koolstop Salmon Brake Pads - my new Kinlin rims don't like the old DuraAce pads I had on there...especially when it's raining...

Tested & Certififed...F-A-S-T!!!

2009-03-29T22:05:00.007-10:00

Pimp My Ride...
I'm usually NOT a pimper...usually always preferring FUNCTION over fashion...but these things just look so good...

So after retruing my new wheels using the D-man's truing stand, I headed out for a short ride this afternoon in probably the windiest conditions I have EVER ridden in. Not wanting to get blown around too much with the cars, I just rode around the neighborhood and did about 4 laps on a super windy lagoon. Downwind, I was easily spinning the 53x12, and into the wind, it was usually a 53x17 or 19.

FIRST RIDE VERDICT - My new wheels LOOK SWEET...did I already say that???? They're also super fast as the "dead spot" feels a LOT LESS than before. Could it be all psych? (tests show 30mm rims to be of no help)...who cares???? since it felt way faster riding around today in all conditions (down wind, side wind, raging head winds) - no matter what "they" say, I say that churning 24 aero spokes per wheel versus 32 round ones, and having a deeper and narrower profile HAS to help...

I was wondering about how the rear wheel, at only 24 spokes, would perform. It feels much more direct, compared to my Revolution spoked OpenPro, like the bike is hard wired to the pedals and jumps with no delay at any little effort. The front at a heads in radial 24 also turns and hold a tight line like it's on rails. Side winds are also not that bad, although on Lagoon it was mainly head and tail winds...but when a strong side gust does catch the front wheel, you gotta make sure you're holding on and countersteering into the wind - worse than my OpenPro, but in today's strong gusts, ANY wheel with some profile would be harder to handle.

Btw...did I mention that my new wheel's color scheme...black w/ red nips looks sooooo pimp on my white w/black and red Look KX Light...???...

Cont. My Rear Wheel...

2009-03-26T21:24:00.006-10:00

I was all set to go to work last night...when I heard that today was the Kuhio Day State HOLIDAY!!! What a surprise! I was this // close to going to work this morning...

Anyways, put the day off to good use and spent about 3 hour building my first rear wheel...and although if took a LONG time, it was satisfyingly fun!

Here it is with the 6 pull drive side spokes laced. I took a long time deciding whether to lace the pull spokes heads out or heads in. But, after reading the Sapim site and seeing they recommended the pull heads in, that's the way I built it. From what I've read it's supposedly a better bracing angle and I knew I wouldn't have any clearance issues with my rear derailure since my current Open Pros were built pull spokes head in. My only issue was that the Dura Ace hub I was reusing was laced the other way originally...oh well...

Not knowing exactly how to do a 2x rear lacing, it was a good thing I took some pictures of the original 650c build so I had something to follow. Not as difficult as it may look or sound...

All built and trued up!

Took a really long time to true it up as I didn't have all the "proper" tools (only a Park spoke wrench) and was doing it all by feel. But, after slowly tightening left and right, things really started to fall into place and I think its really a tight build...a LOT tighter than my front wheel. I will be tightening up my front wheel again for sure...

For this wheel, I used one of my old frames as a truing stand. For my front wheel, I used an old steel fork I had laying around. Also used plain old Phil Wood grease on the threads and the nipple seats. I read that if you lace it up really tight, you shouldn't need any Spoke Prep...we'll see...

One thing I remembered today (and should have know yesterday) was that to prevent twisting the spokes 360 degrees while tightening, I needed to push on the rim to detension the spokes, made truing much easier - versus almost damaging the spokes trying to hold it with a cresent wrench...duhhh...

Also, on this rear build, I decided to "debur" the nipple seats using the ball-end of an allen wrench...not sure if it was really needed, though, I read it was good to do...

Took some weights:

Rear DA 7700 24h Hub: 310g (no skewer)
Kinlin 24h 30mm Rim: 460g
24 Sapim CX Ray Spokes: 115g (278, 280)
24 DT Alloy Nips: 10g (yeah...chancing the alloy on the DS)
24VeloPlugs: 5g???
TOTAL REAR WHEEL: 900g

Front DA 7700 24h Hub: 120g (no skewer)
Kinlin 24h 30mm Rim: 460g
24 Sapim CX Ray Spokes: 110g (272)
24 DT Alloy Nips: 10g
24VeloPlugs: 5g???
TOTAL FRONT WHEEL: 705g

TOTAL SET: 1605g

Wow...pretty light and looks super trick...not bad for a set of 30mm deep aluminum rims w/ Dura Ace hubs...can't wait to ride it!!!

My Custom Front Wheel...

2009-03-25T19:46:00.005-10:00

Spent yesterday building my first bicycle wheel, an easy front wheel radial build. Felt pretty tight and reasonably straight so I decided to ride it today. And NOW I know why people build their own wheels...there's nothing more sweet than riding one you've built yourself.

Every time I looked at the blurred spinning wheel while riding today...it was very very very sweet looking with the red nipples adding just the right amount of bling with the black rims, silver brake tracks, and glistening spokes, even in today's fading cloud infested afternoon gloom. And although it was really windy, the cross winds hardly affected the front wheel and it felt pretty fast and aero to me...

Build Parts:
Kinlin 300 Rims (24 hole, ~465g ea)
Dura Ace 7700 Front and Rear Hubs
Sapim CX-Ray Spokes 272f, 278ds and 280nds
DT Red Aluminum and Black Brass Nips
Veloplugs

Finished front wheel:

Sweet looking red nipples w/ black rims look great when spinning and, they match my bike...

After debating for days...and lacing it heads-out at first, I decided to go heads-in for the better bracing angle and increased front end stiffness. If I laced it heads-out, the distance between the spokes at the hub would have been way less than the D-mans front Mavic hubbed Kinlin. Now, my wheel has about a 1 mm wider bracing angle than his build, which should help the front end feel more solid...

Now all I need to do is start building the rear, 2x both sides...

Long Ride with New Deep Drop 215

2009-03-15T20:44:00.002-10:00

With all the cold and wet weather (and the colds) over the last month or so, today was the first day in a LONG time for me to put in a ride of over 3-1/2 hours. After the ride, I could tell that my body really needed it...

It was beautiful with some pretty decent Westerlies making riding the "easy way" harder. After my usual neighborhood warm up, I hit Tantalus from the stop sign after about 1:20 or so. Witht he wind blowing up the mountain, I figured I could do a pretty decent time, but was not really sure how the legs would be since I haven't gone hard for a long time. Did it in 19:19 so I figure with the regular wind it would have been about 19:45 or so...not bad, not good, but OK considering...

My new Deda Deep bars are pretty good, but I'm still working out the best position. I've been fiddleing with the angle, a lot, and with my seat height. Then today, I could tell my stand up climbing was really over working my upper body, compared to the Shallow bar. Since the hoods are higher with the Deep's bend, I decided to slam my bars all the way down, iow NO SPACERS, and that seemed to really help my stand up riding. And now, the drops are really really really really deep...we'll just have to see how this works out...

Wheel Building & Youtube!

2009-03-12T20:36:00.005-10:00

Youtube's great. Search "wheelbuilding" and you get a ton of hits on how to build your own bicycle wheels. Maybe it's just me, but this one is pretty good and quirky funny: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTb3x5VO69Y

Rims: These are my 2, 24 hole, 30mm deep Kinlin Rims I ordered for $60ea. from www.fairwheelbikes.com:

The built wheel is the D-man's home brew front Kinlin rim w/ Mavic hub - I was borrowing it.

Hubs: I'll be reusing my 24 hole Dura Ace 7700 hubs that are currently laced to Velocity 650c rims.

Spokes: I'll be ordering from www.wheelbuilder.com, a set of Sapim CX-Ray spokes for the front - radial maybe??? For the rear I will be using probably CX-Rays on NDS radial, and maybe 14/15 db on the drive side. I just pray that the 24 spoke rear wheel will be strong enough.

Build: I'll be building my first set of wheels soon :-)

New Bars...

2009-03-10T21:15:00.004-10:00

And I'm not talking about the drinking kine!

Deda 215 DEEP drop bar - 240ish grams.....not exactly 215...

For a while now, I've been riding around with my Deda 215 SHALLOW drop bar...the same one LA used in several TDF wins! But that bar's reach was just a little too short with the 11 stem I was running AND, when really hammering the drop was just a tad SHALLOW duh...

So I decided to try the Deda 215 DEEP drop and it seems like it's working out pretty good. I had to go to a shorter 10 stem, but the DEEP's reach is 15mm longer so that netted a 5mm longer reach, just what I was looking for. And, the drop is 10mm deeper so its a way better fit for me in the drops. Also, the hoods are also a tad higher since the DEEP bar does not drop angle down as sharply as the SHALLOW.

As with all bike fitting issues go...we'll just have to see how it goes.

Broken Laptop and Autocross Practice

2009-02-03T23:35:00.002-10:00

2/10/2009 Haven't been able to post for a LONG LONG LONG while - since my Toshiba M105-3004 laptop cr@ped out the other day. Either going to fix or get one of the new netbooks...or both.

THEN!!! - my desk top crapped out while I was writing this on the 3rd!!! After much research I ended up with an HP Mini laptop from Costco...90 days to decide if I want to keep it...

Took the Tetsuyagarage roadster out two Sundays ago to get some autocross practice - in the wet and on our 185 Yoko ES100's. Surprisingly, we could keep up with a lot of the higher HP cars on better and wider rubber...only after we figured out (after 12 runs or so) how to take the right lines.

It was really nice to see the car out there blasting around on our street setup - those bad a$$ looking SSR Star Sharks really set the car off nicely...

Tokyo Bound...

2009-01-28T21:31:00.002-10:00

6:30ish A.M....my brother took off this morning for Tokyo...it's going to be a bit quiter around here...Good Luck Man!!!

Selle San Marco Zoncolan - REPORT

2009-01-20T20:21:00.000-10:00

The saddle was super bad a$$ looking in person...unfortunatley, it was like sitting on a sack of jelly fish!!! If the saddle had some decent support, it might have been a keeper based on the looks alone! The shape was pretty good and flat all the way around too...too bad...it's back to Performance Bike...

I should have probably read better...it was called the Zoncolan Gel Around saddle!

Also, it weighed a ton at over 260 grams so, considering my bike is already pretty heavy, I can't see adding more lead to it, considering my Terry only weighs like 180 grams or so...with all missing leather and such...

Magic...

2009-01-17T21:44:00.005-10:00

Ever saw real magic??? I'm not talking slight of hand...but for real kine???

Today...I saw real magic, in person, when Moanalua High School teenager Tadd Fujikawa shot a blistering 62 to shoot to the top of the leader board in the Sony Open. When Tadd played in the Sony 2 years ago and made the cut...it was also unreal: http://serikaku.blogspot.com/search?q=tadd+fujikawa

When my brother checked the Internet and told me he threw 3 birds in the first 3 holes, we were psyched and quickly ate breakfast and headed out to Waialae. We entered through the 12th green gate and on the leader board there, it said that Tadd was 5 under!!! While walking towards the tee of the 12th, we heard a LOUD roar and knew he must have dropped another bird on the 11th!!! 6 under and 2 off the lead!!!

We, along with a large Tiger like crowd, followed Tadd from the 12th to the 18th. We were standing directly behind him when he hit an awesome shot to the tucked back left pin on the really hard 17th par 3 hole...the gallery went crazy when he dropped that putt for bird, and 7 under. 17th hole: http://serikaku.blogspot.com/search?q=sony+open

Then on the next hole, he launches a 2nd shot 3 wood from the bunker ON TO the 18th from like 230 yards out...the Golf Channel's "Shot of the Day." Too bad we couldn't track that shot cause it was a super hard fairway bunker shot and must have looked unbelievable! 2 putts later and Tadd was tied for the LEAD in a real PGA tournament at 8 under - Holy Smokes!!!

The entire course was buzzing with energy when Tadd was out there playing today, what a magical day for Tadd as well as all the people of Hawaii.

This is a great quote: "This year, I'm out there to win, and I know I can do it." Good luck tomorrow...we KNOW you can do it!!!

Pulled the Trigger...

2009-01-16T11:15:00.006-10:00

Mavic Ksyrium SLs, Elites, Cosmics, Open Pros; Velocity Aeroheds, Deep-Vs, Fusions; Heds, Neuvations, Williams, Other Shimano Wheels, Tubulars???, Miyamura Kinlin Specials, etc, etc, etc...

I'm not 100% sure I made the right choice...but after a month of research, demoing and thinking...I finally pulled the trigger on a set of these:

Dura Ace 7850 SL Wheels - hopefully I made the right choice...

They're Here.....Vittoria Unique 30th Aniversary...

2009-01-13T22:12:00.009-10:00

Strikingly Stylish and Beautiful...

And like many of the finest things made in Italy, think Ferrari, looking like 300kph while standing still...

Fuji-san New Years...

2009-01-12T21:39:00.003-10:00

Got this special New Year postcard from my friend Ats in Tokyo.
We WILL make this a good year too!!!

Vittoria Open Corsa EVO CX - REPORT

2009-01-12T20:39:00.008-10:00

What all the reviews say are true...this tire is AWESOME...

Same route, same turns every ride...and I've been noticing that my bike has been handling like cr@p over the last couple of weeks, front end drifting wide on every turn. So today I decided to do something about it and put a new front tire on - Vittoria's Open Corsa EVO CX tire, 700x23. I was going to go with a Pro Race 3...but, decided that I wanted Vittoria's tubular feeling 290 tpi instead of the 100 something with the PR3...I think I made the right choice!

I used to ride with good expensive tires (Conti's GP3000's) a long time ago...however, after getting so mad with too much flats I decided to just use cheap training tires. BAD MOVE! Even though this tire costed OVER $55 (w/ team discount at McCully), I now think it is totally worth it!!! (Caveat - front tire only, this will only see the back rim AFTER it's been well worn on the front...I still can't get myself to drop $50+ for a new back tire that will wear out super fast.)

With just the front, my bike now handles like my brother's Miata on R-comps! The turn in is sooooo good and fast now, especially this one off-camber turn that the foldable Seca handled decently well when new. But this CX is on a totally different level, the front end just turns right under you with tons of grip to spare...I even over turned on several of my usual turns, the performance is that good. I just really hope it wears well and the handling stays the same over the life of the tire - probably not though as I think most tires drop off once the middle starts getting sqared off...we'll see...

Also, like everyone says, it is really smooth riding. At the 100psi I usually use, I especially noticed that the supple front tire just eats up the sharper edged bumps, noticeably taking the edge off them compared to the Seca I had on there. I can only imagine how awesome one on the back would feel - must be super smooth...

About 225 grams...about average for racing tires, but not ultra light...

The only thing now is that I've been cleaning my front tire like every 10 minutes or so, when I even THINK I see glass...just making sure that it doesn't pick anything up...knock on wood!!!

Selle San Marco Zoncolan...

2009-01-09T22:46:00.004-10:00

Got this ultra trick white saddle on order too...

My favorite seat is the Terry Zero (iow, my experiment with the Concor didn't work out).

But even though...I'm always always on the lookout for new seats that might fit my a$$. This one looks like it has a chance, pretty flat from side to side and front to back, and with a cut-out to boot.

We'll see how this works out...

New Shoes - Vittoria Unique

2009-01-05T21:01:00.005-10:00

Got these new ultra light shoes on order:

I've been riding around on my RB-1 with my old Time Impact pedals and TBT Time shoes and, I think I like the stiffer shoes better than my current plastic soled Sidi Genius Megas. The TBT Times are old school "pro" shoes and even before carbon soles, the TBTs were known for being one of the best. But, the pedals and shoes do weigh a ton...

These new carbon soled Vittorias are super light (400g per pair) and they look good...I just hope their wide enough for my feet. If not, it's back to Performance and maybe on to the Sidi 6.6 Carbon Megas, or, maybe the carbon soled Shimano's in their wide size...
http://www.vittoria-shoes.com/schedaProdotto.aspx?imgBig=3&ID_prodotto=83&ID_pagina=3

Already 3 Days Into January...

2009-01-03T21:50:00.004-10:00

Taken in September from the roadway above Bamboo Ridge fishing spot.
2009 is off to a flying start as today is already the 3rd day!!!

Spent it riding for about 3-1/2 hours out to Hawaii Kai with my RB-1 and the D-man and Todd. Good thing we had 3 people on the way out cause it was really really gusty, but, at least the rain stayed away...

Can't wait for this lousy weather to finally pass...I want to ride my race bike.

1st Sunset of 2009..

2009-01-02T22:09:00.007-10:00

Spent yesterday, the 1st day of 2009, waking up late, then relaxing and fishing in the afternoon with my brother at Bamboo Ridge. We were going for Opelu...but didn't get any...

Sunset...

Crystal clear tidepool...

Happy New Year 2009 - アケオメ！！！

2008-12-31T22:14:00.004-10:00

Welcome!!! Year of the Ox...

Last Sunset of 2008 - Lagoon Drive, Oahu, Hawaii

Heading home from my last ride of 2008...

サヨナラ　２００８．。。

Otokoyama...

Almost Midnight...

オイシイ Homemade Pizza...

2008-12-20T21:53:00.006-10:00

No Pizza Hut (or Papa John's) for me...

Been making some awesome homemade pizza over the last couple of months...and today's was the best ever.

Ready for baking...

デキタ...Done...

Ingredients:

Bagel (Onion Flavor)
Homemade Pizza Sauce (Tomato Paste, Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, Tabasco, Herbs, Water)
Fried Eggplant
Tomato
Sun Dried Tomato
Goat Cheese
Mozzarella Cheese
Pepperoni (Made w/ Turkey)

My brother's one is the one with no eggplant or pizza sauce. Mine are the other 3 with tons of tangy pizza sauce...just the way I like it...

Bike Story...

2008-12-20T19:53:00.004-10:00

Shot of Diamond Head through the Manoa Mist - taken from Ualakaa State Park on Tantalus.

Did almost a 3 hour ride today including a Tantalus after about an hour of warm up. A couple of weeks ago I took 20.? minutes to get from the stop sign to the top. Today, I did it in 19 flat!...so I was pretty happy. I could really roll a bigger gear today and tried to do as much of the top half in the big ring (maybe my new big gear training plan is working \(.,.)/

Bike Story - So on my way back home, I usually take Young Street, but today, I decided to give Beretania a try instead...and, it was UNREAL!!! Got on at University Ave., and with a slight tailwind and what seems like a slight slight down slope, I rode NON-STOP syncing all the lights, from University to Punchbowl...just stroking the 53x12 and 13!!! Man...syncing those lights doesn't happen every day...and the speed in the moving traffic kind of reminded me of when I used to ride my motorcycle...that was some awesome stuff...

Caught in the Rain...AGAIN!

2008-12-14T20:27:00.003-10:00

Saturday: Thank goodness for fenders. Got 2 hours into my afternoon ride on my RB-1 with my Race Blade fenders on, then...got REALLY dumped on in McCully. Rode on the sidewalk from McCully to the State Capital then threw in the towel. Had to get a ride back home from my dad.

While waiting a the capital, an asian tourist from the mainland, who knew abouty bikes and could appreciate a cult classic like the RB-1, said that the Bridgestone was super cool "rocking fenders." Oh Yeah!!!

RAINY DAYS...

2008-12-11T19:45:00.005-10:00

Oahu and the entire island chain is getting hit by the worst rainstorms of the year today - flooding roads, houses and even the freeway to work! Making it even worse were the heavy winds causing all kinds of havoc out there.

EVEN THOUGH...I tried to go out for a ride during a short window of flickering afternoon sunshine, got in only about 15 minutes before it started to dump again...got soaked making it back home. If I had gone out just a little earlier, I could have gotten in a nice and dry 1 hour ride.....

Another Bike Story...

2008-12-11T19:06:00.000-10:00

A couple of weeks ago I was doing loops around Aliamanu Crater and had the coolest experience...

I almost always ride solo, but for a little while that day, I had a riding partner as a small mongoose ran along side with me. Actually, there was a new construction/dust fence along the right side of the road with absolutley no gaps in it. So, once the mongoose started to run along side with me, he actually had no where to go...running along looking for an opening in the fence. I just kept pace in back of him wondering how far he would go...

After about 30 seconds or so, he must have realized there would be no opening, so he stopped and let me ride on pass...

Bike Stories.....Southerly Winds and Smooth Roads...

2008-12-02T21:39:00.007-10:00

Southerly Winds...the southerly winds the other day let me do something that I've really been thinking of doing since they FINALLY paved Puuloa Road...

On Monday afternoon, after just cruising around and listening to Utada Hikaru...on my last lap of Lagoon Drive, the winds changed just a bit to where you could really start to roll a big gear on the usually upwind return leg...

When I got to the last 1/2 mile of Lagoon, I was really moving with not too much effort and I must have stepped on something...cause I caught green lights at both the Keehi Lagoon Park AND Nimitz Highway intersections...

By this time, I'm really rolling the 53x12 and I blast through the Nimitz intersection and then get to do what I've been wanting to do...spin it up on the newly paved, smooth has glass, Puuloa Road.

Not wanting to let any cars get in my way, and in an fast moving Utada Hikaru trance...I decide whether it's worth trying to slip by the cars waiting to turn left at Wendy's...then just a couple of seconds later...it opens up and the cars begin to move, me almost on the back fender of the last car. The guy kind of sees me in the mirror and steps on it. I end up catching a draft for a short time and then just begin to crank it on Puuloa...what an awesomely smooth and powerfully effortless feeling it is...unreal...

Happy Thanksgiving...And A Long Ride...

2008-11-27T22:20:00.003-10:00

Happy Thanksgiving...I probably should take some time in the coming days to think about all the good and grateful things I'm thankful for...everyone should...

Went for a long and very windy 3.5hr ride this afternoon...felt like junk all the way. Didn't help when the Polar HR computer I just put on today decided to STOP showing the speed about 1 hour into the ride. Rode back home, took all that cr@p off my bike, took of the irritating HR strap, and rode out to Hawaii Kai and back with whatever energy I had...

Then, about 2/3 of the way out to Hawaii Kai, I see this guy coming up to me in my mirror and I'm not riding really THAT slow...the guy kind of breezes by me riding a chrome Bianchi fixie w/ 2 water bottles on his seat - tri style...although I could have easily jumped on, I figured I'm just riding easy today so I just let him go, he barely makes it through a just turned red light. This guy had that total pro racer build, like 6' tall and super skinny and super tanned...I wonder if he's an off season pro cause I never seen this guy before and if I did, I would have remembered him for sure...

UH Wahine Volleyball - 2008 WAC Champions!!!

2008-11-23T21:25:00.004-10:00

Jamie Houston Smok'in the Coconut!

Left Side!

Right Side!

Back Row Soaring!

Cubie Crushing It!

The last point and celebration...

UH was just smoking tonight!!!

The whole team played awesome and Jamie Houston was just slamming the coconut like I've never seen before...but so was Cubi and Kanani. And Kaufman's and Brandt's serves were causing havoc! And the whole team was putting on a Block Party!!!

When UH was making their runs...the Wahine got that whole arena ROCKING and it was just like a HOT ROLL in Vegas!!! Super exciting...

Bike Web Sites...

2008-11-17T21:07:00.003-10:00

My favorite bike sites:

www.cyclingnews.com

www.pezcyclingnews.com

www.velonews.com

And a new one I just ran into this one that seems to be really good: www.bikeradar.com

A good article on aerodynamics: http://www.bikeradar.com/road/fitness/article/how-aero-is-aero-19273

Look KX Light - Lightening...

2008-11-13T21:12:00.004-10:00

This past weekend I spent some time putting my KX Light on a 50 gram diet by putting on my lighter but well worn gray Terry Zero in place of the heavier black Zero. Also changed out the Dura Ace seatpost for an old school American Classic post which was probably about 10 grams lighter or so.

The American Classic seatpost is NOT clear coated or anodized so I had to buff that thing out to bring back the mirror like shine...looks way different from anything out there now-a-days, pretty cool I think. Hopefully, it stays shiny for a while.

I hope this AC seatpost won't break too fast as I think everyone has had an AC seatpost with a broken clamp...

Test rode it around yesterday and one thing good about the American Classic is that it has a micro-adjust level screw, versus the notch type in the Dura Ace or even Campy seatposts. Lets you get just the right amount of tilt.

Body On Me - Nelly Featuring Ashanti & Akon

2008-11-12T22:39:00.008-10:00

I've been getting into piano music recently and I really dig the beginning of this song...it really grooves...

This song got kind of popular in the summer...but it never got to #1, which might be good cause I probably would have gotten sick of hearing it every 10 minutes on the radio. Infact, crazy or not, when there's a song I really really like, I actually turn the station so I don't over hear it...

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_on_Me

How Much Cooler Barack Would Look...If He Raced...

2008-11-11T23:41:00.011-10:00

My brother was testing out his Nikon D40 and his photography skills the other day, panning and focusing on FAST moving objects...pretty good job I would say ;-)
Tantalus Descent...

Obama's Cool...

2008-11-11T19:46:00.002-10:00

I Like To Ride...So Does Obama! Looks like he needs to pump up his back tire though. Also looks like he likes to trailer around his daughters.

3 Hour Ride...

2008-11-09T20:08:00.004-10:00

Took the Bridgestone on a very gusty 3 hour ride today...and, the stretch with the 100 stem might be a tad too far...may need to find a 90 on Ebay...we'll see.

Also, am getting some problems with my aero lever on the right side...during the ride it must have slipped down about 1cm or so. Could be that's why it felt too far, especially at the end of the ride.

But whatever...cause everytime I see that stem on the bike...I feel good :-)

Even More RB-1 Upgrades - Cinelli Italian Style...

2008-11-08T22:14:00.011-10:00

Added these to my RB-1 today...Cinelli 1R Stem and Cinelli 63 Bar.

With that iconic winged "C" on the front...back in the day, there was nothing more racy and beautiful than having a sleek, soft polished and Italian, Cinelli 1R stem on your bike...it screamed...PRO! Although, I don't think anyone around here was really a pro, all the fast guys AND the pros rode these stems and bars. It was the standard!

The 1R used a slightly bigger 26.4mm diameter bar, not like the 26.0 standard today. Cinelli 26.4mm bars, also pretty much the standard, came in various bends: "64" Giro d' Italia shallow drop, "65" Criterium bend (had one of these "sprinter" bends on my bike for many years), "66" Campion del Mondo "Merckx" deep bend, and the bars I have here (actually my brother's) "63" Campion del Mondo medium drop bend. http://www.43bikes.com/cinelli-bars-stems.html

Thank goodness (again), I didn't dump these as they were just laying around for many years. Since I started upgrading the Bridgestone, I put the Cinelli combo on and off the bike several times over the last couple of weeks...deciding that the stretch was just too long, 100 vs 80. Plus that, this old-school set up ADDS about 125g to the bike, cancelling out lots of the gains I made going to the Dura Ace drive train stuff! But still, even though its heavier, I just couldn't get my mind off knowing how sweeeeettt it would look. So today, I decided to just put it on and went for 1-1/2 ride...and holy smokes...I COULD RIDE IT!!!!! (today anyway...)

At first, I was going to use my lighter Deda 215 with this super nice, retro Nitto 26.0 Pearl stem the D-man let me borrow, to get rid of that clunky, but functional, front loading Profile stem. But now...after riding with and seeing how the Cinelli components look...there's no turning back!!! I really really hope I can get comfortable with the longer stretch...a 3 hour ride is on tap soon.

One thing for sure...Cinelli is pure Italian Style!!! It just takes it to the next level...too bad we all have to use that clunky threadless stuff now...

The Cycling High...

2008-11-06T21:12:00.007-10:00

Some days you feel like riding and some days you don't...but, when you gotta have it, cycling makes you feel unreal good...

Yesterday, I felt like crap, didn't want to ride, but I forced myself to do about 45 minutes riding around the neighborhood on my full suspension bike...at night. Good thing my diy-bicycle-light was still kicking a$$ big time. Got home, but still felt pretty crappy...

Today was a different story. All day at work, for some reason, I wanted to ride...and I wanted to ride HARD. I figured 3 hard laps of Lagoon before the sun went down would be a good "fix." I even used the drops on the 3 legs into the wind, versus going only medium hard in the hoods. Got done a little after 6pm. It was TT style very HARD, like I haven't done in several months, but...it felt so unreal good...

I gotta get more days like today...

BARACK OBAMA IS PRESIDENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-04T18:11:00.006-10:00

Finally...Barack Obama is president of the United States of America...

After Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004, finally...

Barack Obama is president of the United States of America...

Finally...

Peace.

More RB-1 Upgrades...Dure Ace Forever!!!

2008-10-31T22:10:00.011-10:00

Got around to more upgrades on my Bridgestone RB-1 cause of all the rainy afternoons this week.

Spent LOTS and lots of time taking apart and cleaning up all of these old-school parts...thank goodness I never threw these away!!! Got to take it for a ride yesterday and it was running really good compared to the lower grade Suntour GPX components. And, it felt plenty fast...

Dura Ace FOREVER!!! This rear Dura Ace 7400 derailleur is still super solid with absolutely no play in the parallelogram at all after all these years (and a couple of crashes - one I remember on a right hairpin coming down Tantalus).

Companion front derailleur still shifts super fast and direct. (Took off the 9-speed DA I had originally put on.)

The ORIGINAL 6-speed SIS Dura Ace shifters. Working absolutely flawlessly even now. I still remember when I first upgraded from Suntour friction shifters (with Ultra 6 freewheel) to these "new" indexed shifters. It was cutting edge back then. But still, it only became industry standard when Campy finally got on board several years later. Once that happened, friction shifting was gone forever... Although, Shimano still provided a fail safe friction mode with a twist of the D-ring.

Back in the day, I had all the cogs to make straight blocks, wide ratio sets, super low gears, whatever. Of course, a 6-speed Dura Ace 7400 freewheel with champagne colored Dura Ace Uni-glide cogs.

Weight savings compared to Suntour GPX.

Crankset: 690-595=95g
BB: 300-190=110g
Bolts: 40-0=40g
Front D: 105-100=5g
Rear D: 225-200=25g
Freewheel w/ cogs: 25g???
DT shifter R: 50-45=5g
DT shifter L:5g???
TOTAL SAVED: 310???

Bridgestone RB-1 Upgrades

2008-10-26T21:52:00.008-10:00

Spent this rainy weekend upgrading my RB-1...
A long time ago, even before I bought this RB-1, I bought these DiaCompe Royal Gran Compe brakes cause I though they looked super cool. Took off the stock RBS 400s? and put them on the RB-1 a while ago. Today I was considering slapping on a pair of 9-speed Dura Ace calipers...but, these brakes just look too good on my retro RB-1. At any rate, I read that DiaCompe also made these same brakes for Suntour...for their top of the line Superbe Pro line...

Felt bad about it, but the original Suntour GPX crankset and bottom bracket went into the trash today...the crank was totally buzzing with surface corrosion and the big chainring was bent cause it was waffling back and forth with each turn. Also got rid of the GPX front derailleur - keeping that for backup.

Ended up putting on my spare Dura Ace 9 speed front derailleur, crankset and old-school Time Equipe pedals.

Weight Savings:

Crankset: 690-595=95g
BB: 300-190=110g
Bolts: 40-0=40g
FD: 105-90=15g
TOTAL SAVED: 260g

Road&Ster...Hawaiian Style...

2008-10-23T21:36:00.005-10:00

Instead of riding my bike on Lagoon today...I took a couple of action shots of my brother's roadster. This thing looks so awesome it belongs on the pages of Road&Ster magazine.

Some of the Cambio gang riding by...

ラムネ Ramune Marble

2008-10-21T22:18:00.001-10:00

ラムネ　Ramune Marble, originally uploaded by dancedream2002.

Enjoyed this drink over the past couple of days...

Accroding to my brother they drink this in Japan during the hot summer months. Today, it still felt like the middle of summer here in Hawaii...

"Love Never Faileth"

2008-10-21T20:57:00.007-10:00

Two Saturday's ago it was wedding bells for one of my cousins. They got married in the bigger of the two Central Union Churchs.

The inscription on the top saying, "LOVE NEVER FAILETH"...quite fitting...

Enjoying the awesome drinks, pupus and 1st class dinner...

Total SNAFU!!! Oct. 6th Autocross...

2008-10-07T20:30:00.006-10:00

Countersteer quick!
This past Sunday was a TOTAL FAILURE.

By removing the rear swaybar, the car drove totally different from last race. And, add that to my non-adjustable lousy driving, I again never compensated until the LAST of my fun runs. Took 8 out of 9 runs, but, I finally got it to do a 29.8ish - versus the 31+ I mangled out during the real runs.

Like the last race, I managed to totally RUN OVER so many cones that gave up trying to count. You know it's bad when while I was working the fun runs, another competitor mentioned to me that, "that cream Miata's been running over the most cones....."...no $h!^^!#&..."Oh yeah...that was me."

My brother again smoked the course in his 6 running a 31.6ish for 1st place in STS. Maybe...I gotta get back into my bimmer wagon and into STS again??? In the fun runs he managed a 30 flat in the Miata while totally messing up a key turn.

Fwiw...the roadster is driving totally different now...without fear of a spin, sans rear sway, it has a very predictable trailing throttle oversteer, and, on power it doesn't slide very much and puts down the power WAY better than before. Overall, much more stable and less twitchy. Now that I think I know how to drive it, next race...it should be different...IT BETTER BE!!! Just writing this is p!$$!#& me off...

Results: http://www.sccahawaii.org/2008results/10-5-08.pdf

Big Sunday...Aloha Staduim Autocross - Oct. 5th.

2008-10-03T21:58:00.006-10:00

Some pics by my friend Zarli from the last autocross on August 31st.

My brother smoked the course again in his Mazuda MX-6 wagon with a very fast 23rd PAX and a 37 flat time.

After getting some driving pointers from my less experienced but "smarter" (when it comes to this car driving stuff) brother, I finally sort of got "IT." But, he must have not told me all of his tricks cause during the fun runs, my brother BEAT my official run time of 36.24 with a 35.8 in only 3 fun runs in the Tetsuya Garage Eunos.

Had to really reset my brain's concept of speed and how fast you can really go, but, after (ahem) 9 shots, I finally got it down to a 35.6! When your really cooking, the car is just slithering through the course, especially through the transitions!!! No sliding, no skidding...just slithering, and it feels unreal!!!

During the fun runs, my brother said that the car was really over steering under acceleration. This Sudnay, we're hoping that disconnecting the rear sway bar will provide a little more traction out of the turns since were still on our skinny 185's. Else if not, ADJUST YOUR DRIVING!!! And, DON'T LIFT!!!, and start turning before the cones in the slaloms...

2008 Honolulu Century Ride...

2008-09-28T21:16:00.008-10:00

Today was the 2008 Century Ride...and I DIDN'T do it...along with about 400 LESS people compared to last year. According to my Japan friend, Kushima san, the air fares were really affecting the participation of Nihonjin with fares costing a crazy $1,000!!! ($600 with an ADDED fuel surcharge of $400!!!) Hopefully by this Febuary, the airfares will come down!!!

So, I woke up late again today and headed out the door at 2pm. Rode to Sandy Beach and there were still lots of riders (many girls) riding in at 3:30ish. The weather was really hot and but nice for the ride, as you can see from this shot above the world famous Bamboo Ridge - you could clearly see Molokai and Lanai in the distance today.

Although I didn't do the ride this year, I sort of did my own "Century" - yesterday I rode over 2.5 hours and today I did over 3.5 hours, so, I guess I must have done close to 100 miles over 2 days. An "unofficial" finishers picture of myself with the "real" finish in the background...

Sun Line....

2008-09-17T21:31:00.002-10:00

Took this short lived picture while riding home this afternoon.
Location: Under Nimitz Highway near Puuloa Road.

Tokyo Wankei and ビッグエコー

2008-09-16T21:16:00.008-10:00

Just go through watching about 10 hours or so of Tokyo Wankei last week. A story about Nihonjin and Kankokujin living in Japan. It was sort of corny, but even though, I really enjoyed it...but, I'm a jdorama neophyte. I really liked Yukie Nakama - who wouldn't!!!

http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x38ff_hopelessfanboi_tokyo-wankei/1

This drama was done in 2004, the first year I ever visited Japan. Luckily my friend Randal had his Japan friend, Yoosun, show us around Tokyo. One night, we ended up singing and drinking at a BigEcho karaoke box. These BigEchos http://www.clubdam.com/be are EVERYWHERE in Japan and we spent 3 hours or so in one near the Ginza / Shinbashi area.

Yoosun in the BigEcho - where she sang Yuki no Hana (my kind of music - tag).

Yoosun is an awesome AWESOME singer and we could have listened to her sing all night. She kind of reminds me of Miki chan in the drama. And exactly like in Tokyo Wankei, Yoosun always used her Japanese name while living in Japan.....

Yokohama Ferriswheel...

2008-09-11T00:27:00.002-10:00

Yokohama Ferriswheel, originally uploaded by dancedream2002.

ロード　サン　took this beautiful nite picture about a month ago in Yokohama. He should be coming home next week sometime.

Although not the same ferriswheel, I rode a big one like this in Osaka in 2004. http://serikaku.blogspot.com/search?q=osaka+ferriswheel

2008 Cycle to the Sun...Haleakala

2008-09-10T20:52:00.001-10:00

A...Long Time No See...

It's been several weeks since the 2008 Cycle to the Sun and even today I still feel like I've got some semi-permanent brain damage from the thin and COLDISH air at 10,000 feet.

It was a really hard ride, and I rode as hard as I could until I couldn't beat my best time of 3:39...no sense in inducing a brain aneurysm if I'm not going to be setting a record. So for the next 10 minutes or so I brought it down several notches and got passed by probably about 5 or 8 people (senior citizens included!)...but at that point...I couldn't give a cr@p...

At the top, I asked myself, "Was I ever going to do this race again???" It was the WORST I've ever felt in the last 3 years and I just wanted to get the h#ll off that mountain ASAP! I didn't even get to enjoy any of the finishing drinks and snacks cause I felt so bad...and my legs were just killing me, I could hardly even sit to take off my shoes. Luckily I didn't need to wait for a bus cause I got to catch a ride down with one of my teammates. By the time we got back to sea level, I felt a whole lot better...

Results: http://www.cycletothesun.com/reports2008/ResultsCombined.PDF

Cycle to the Sun 2003 VS 2008 by Heart Rate. Notice I was on the road suffering for 40 minutes more in 2003.

Cycle to the Sun 2003 VS 2008 by Distance.

In 2003, I had ANOTHER terrible terrible ride and did it in 4:28. This year, I still felt bad, but probably not as bad as in 2003 because my fueling plan went exactly as planned, but, I still took 3:50. Must have been in better shape though, cause I could still keep the heart rate up during the last 2ok of the race vs. 2003.

Would I do this race again....????? My brain still ain't functioning right...

2008 Cycle to the Sun & Super Ferry

2008-08-20T22:24:00.002-10:00

Going to do this on Maui on Sunday: http://www.cycletothesun.com/

And getting there on this on Friday: http://serikaku.blogspot.com/search?q=superferry

800 Calories...And A Weak Stomach...

2008-08-17T22:49:00.006-10:00

I've ALWAYS had problems with eating on the bike (or run)...but, compared to energy gels or energy drinks, my STOMACH says these Clif Shot Bloks are the BOMB!!! And, the rice tastes almost as good as when you used to eat musubies at the beach when you was one small kid.

200 Calorie - Margarita Clif Blok
200 Calorie - Coke Blok
170ish Calorie - Pina Colada Blok
200 Calorie - 5 Mini Musubis (w/ Shiso and Korean Nori)

After doing the same exact 3h 39m the last couple of years at Cycle to the Sun, I decided to try something new this year...EATING MORE http://www.slipstreamsports.com/2008/07/16/the-feed-zone-vande-velde-the-eating-machine.

Usually, after about 2:30 or so, I start to slow down drastically, so, hopefully this year, it will be different.:

From 2006:
0:00 - 1:00 - 216 watts warming up
1:00 - 2:00 - 222 watts riding good!
2:00 - 2:30 - 205 watts started slowing down
2:30 - 3:00 - 184 watts really slowing down
3:00 - 3:39 - 172 watts OMG!

My last couple of long rides I've been eating like mad, finishing decently strong, with this past Sunday being the most I ever ate in 3:48 and 88kms. Really good too, cause now I only need water - no energy drink required! If it works in the tour...hopefully it works this coming Sunday...

I Was Thinking...Olympic Road Race

2008-08-13T22:28:00.002-10:00

SUGGESTION TO THE OLYMPIC CYCLING COMMITTEE...
I see a TEAM here...

I see people sprinting for the medals...

And yet...there are only 3 medals given.

I suggest that road cycling be changed into a TEAM sport and everyone on the team should get a medal. Same as it is in volleyball or soccer or whatever...cause to win a medal in the road race, everyone on the team worked together to support the winner. It would just be fairer for all and would prevent guys just bagging it and pulling out because you would have to FINISH to get a medal.

8...8...8 Olympics...

2008-08-08T22:10:00.007-10:00

WoW!!!

What can you say...just got through watching 4 hours of Olympic opening ceremonies in HD, and...I was IMPRESSED!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know how ANY country will ever top what they did in China. Unreal...

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-08/08/content_9051919.htm

Btw...the camera caught the Idiot looking TOTALLY BORED every time it showed him ... probably couldn't wait for it to end so he could get back to playing his video games. Can't wait till Barack gets in...

Brother's Big Adventure - Back to the Source & Autox Action Shots...

2008-07-31T21:55:00.005-10:00

My brother and his friend Kieth at 7am this morning heading off for their big adventure. He just checked in and they just got into Yokohama about 2-1/2 hours ago...I'm jealous...

Good luck ケーキ

Me driving Rod's Roadster...some nice action pics he took with his new Nikon D40x SLR...

June 20th Autocross - Brother's Eunos...

2008-07-22T21:56:00.007-10:00

Saturday Nite Prepping - Putting On The Race Rubber...

Spent about 2 hours Saturday night taking off the Starsharks and putting on the 185 R-comp Advans, and adjusting the suspension a little higher. During the last race, the car smelt like a hibachi with the fronts burning into the top of the tire liners...

All Done...
Took my brother's "new" Eunos out after a LONG LONG layoff. Never got it going as the back end was way too loose. Probably due to the added camber on the rear rubber that was worn and molded to less camber = less outside tire edge on the ground! I should have thought of lowering the pressure...Doh!!!

My 3rd run was my fastest with a 38.1 and change...good for 5th in E Modified. On my forth run, I decided to push the car a little more resulting in some Initial D action...

Vid from the other angle...

Well...at least the CAR looked much nicer than BEFORE:

My brother took 1st in a 2-man STS class but was not really feeling it cause his wagon was oversteering too in the transitions. Maybe in two weeks, we'll both co-drive the Eunos...

Results: http://www.sccahawaii.org/2008results/7-20-08.pdf

SCCA Hawaii Autocross - July 13, 2008

2008-07-16T21:10:00.006-10:00

This past Sunday was the first autocross after a 2 month break for the 50th State Fair, which is also held at Aloha Stadium. And, it was like learning to walk again as both me and my brother felt that we weren't really focused after the long layoff. In fact, a LOT of people must have had the same feeling as everyone was DNFing...even experienced racers like Erik in his Subi Wagon!!!

"Ahhhh...Left Turn There!!!!" My brother DNF'd away his first 3 runs!!! On his last do-or-die run, he managed a 34.8.

On my first run, I got lost and did a 37.
On my second run I coned away a 34.8.
On my 3rd run, I decided to NOT left foot brake and did a 34 flat.
On my forth, I over drove the course and went back up to 34.9.

We both did lots of fun runs and my brother bested me with a 33.8! I could only repeat my 34 flat with numerous 35's thrown in there. Although, I did have one really good run that might have broken into the 33's, only that the lights malfunctioned and I ended up with a smoking 14 seconds!!!

Results for STS:
Steven BMW 325it 37.017 36.862 1 34.086 34.893 34.086 43 27.814 29
Gregg Mazda 6-Wagon DNF DNF DNF 34.841 34.841 54 28.430 40
Erik Subaru RS Wagon DNF 36.703 36.635 35.971 35.971 76 29.352 57
Malcolm Toyota Corolla 47.225 37.594 37.096 DNF 37.096 93 30.270 74

A Sea of Cones to Get Lost In...
The course was a really open high speed layout and I got up into the 45mph range in 2 places on the course. Although, there were probably 2 or 3 places where you HAD to slow down to get the proper line for the section, else, you ended up plowing away lots of time.

Not much time to think, analyze or recover as the next race is this coming Sunday!

Big Saturday...

2008-07-13T20:49:00.005-10:00

Although not EXACTLY like a TDF stage...not really ALL that bad for me...

On Saturday, I did my longest ride of the year. I wanted to get in about 1,500 meters of climbing and/or over 4 hours. Got one of the two with 4'17" of riding and about 1,350 meters of climbing in 95kms.

The first almost summit was Alewa Hts (where I saw the D-man fast at sleep). The end of Alewa was just soooo hard that I turned off on a side street to grab some air. Then I tried to make it all the way to the top, but that hill is just a concrete WALL!

Then I went up Pacific and then Tantalus. Felt like cr@p after 2 hours, but 3 mini musubis sort of fixed that. On the way home I went to the stop sign on Tantalus.

That was pretty hard...

A Bee and A Frog...

2008-07-08T21:49:00.006-10:00

A BEE: So right at the beginning of Sunday's ride with my brother, I got stung by a bee on the way down Moanalua Valley - RIGHT near the tender parts. So been dealing with a itchy and swollen mouse down there...

A FROG: Then, on Sunday night, I get upset cause I accidentally step on my little frog friend (from the post below) with my ring toe cause he's sitting on the edge of my slippers...BUT, he still hops away so I think he'll be OK...I hoping so...

New Shoes - Nike Air Max Moto +5

2008-07-07T22:05:00.005-10:00

On Saturday, I also picked up these new pair of Nike Air Max Moto +5 shoes from McCully then headed straight to Ala Moana and put in a very tiring and hard 70 minute run. Tired, cause I rode 3-1/2 hours on Friday. Hard, because these shoes weren't total mush like my 2 year old shoes...

The good news was, for the first time in my life, I finally got a pair of running shoes to fit my "luau feet" cause this shoe was available in XXXX WIDE!!! At first, I was going for another pair of Nike Air Pegasus, like I did 2 years ago http://serikaku.blogspot.com/search?q=Nike%27s , but they just didn't have the right size. So when the sales guy asked if I tried the Moto 5, I thought he was talking about a trail running shoe - (moto) get it? But when he busted out this awesome looking running shoe, and when it fit to a "T", I said, "I'll take it!"

With McCully's shoe sale I got it for about $65 bucks, the same price as the Pegasus. This has got to be the best looking running shoe I have ever seen with all the awesome Blue highlights. Although, it does kind of look like a clown's shoe cause it's so wide.

Cateye Velo 5 Bike Computer

2008-07-05T22:13:00.005-10:00

Because my dad is starting to ride my old Bridgestone MB-3 mountain bike, he wanted to get a speedometer to see how far he goes. So I went down to McCully Bike Shop to buy some stuff...and ended up also picking up this Cateye Velo 5 bike computer.

It is a VERY basic computer that is only good for casual users - like my dad. I would definitely NOT NOT NOT get this for my own use.

Very easy to use...only one button...good for my dad.

WHAT??? NOT RIDE TIME????? YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!!!!

I do all my training by "ride time" so, talk about missing a MAJOR component. I only found this out after I mount it and started riding around. See the instructions above, only the VELO 8 has the ride time, the VELO 5 does without!!! But, it does have a rather useless Maximum Speed...whooopiiiieee!!!

All in all a BASIC computer that I would not buy for myself...but might be good enough for a casual user...

Cost: About $16 bucks with my Cambio Team discount.

Would I Buy Again?: Who EVER heard of a computer with NO RIDE TIME???

Satisfaction Index: Probably OK for my dad...unless he wants to train seriously...

4th of July Colors

2008-07-04T20:48:00.002-10:00

4th of July Colors, originally uploaded by dancedream2002.

Went out for a patriotic looking 3-1/2 hour ride on my old school Bridgestone. Just cruised it today through Ala Moana to Sandys and back.

One thing I noticed, in these tough economic times, thank goodness for the beach cause it's totally FREE!!! And today, it was just PACKED because of tonight's 4th of July fireworks show...

Sidi and Frog...

2008-07-03T22:13:00.003-10:00

Sidi and Frog..., originally uploaded by dancedream2002.

Every once in a while, when I go out at night, I see this trippy fast and high jumping frog hanging out right where we leave our slippers and shoes...lucky for him, we always check before we step...

A couple of months ago, I caught him and took put him in the garden. But he seems to like to come back to our "Welcome" mat...

San Marco Concor Light Saddle

2008-06-29T22:41:00.002-10:00

San Marco Concor Light Saddle, originally uploaded by dancedream2002.

So I've decided to start posting all of these bike parts that I started weighing...

My favorite saddle...for now...

Selle San Marco Concor Light Saddle (2001?)
Titanium Rail
Say 220 grams. Not really that "light" but what do you expect for an "old school" saddle. But, you gotta use what feels "right!"

Cervelo Wolf TT Fork

2008-06-29T22:38:00.001-10:00

Cervelo Wolf TT Fork, originally uploaded by dancedream2002.

650c Cervelo Wolf Carbon TT Fork (2007)
Cut Aluminum Steerer and Dropouts.
A TANK at say 600+ grams!

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