BALLS TO THE WALL FISHING

The only place to stay current on the latest manic ramblings from the Florida Panhandle.

CHEEKY FLY REELS, THE OFFICIAL REEL OF BALLS TO THE WALL FISHING

Sunday, June 29, 2014

ONE THING I DO NOT MISS AND NEVER WILL

 is the post office in Eagle, Co. I've suddenly realized that now that I have a mailbox in front of my house, that I do not have to deal with that annoying as hell scene ever again. It never mattered if there were one or fifteen people in front of you in that joint, you stood in line for 10-15 minutes EVERY FUCKING TIME you went there and rolled your eyes while waiting for your pink delivery slip to be filled with 26 other pink delivery slips only to find out it was last year's phone book you had received. WHO THE FUCK USES A PHONE BOOK ANYMORE? Well anyway, things like letters, packages and such actual come right to my front door now, it's pretty amazing. But I guess most of all I do not have to sit at the counter and try and take the clerk seriously with her bunny ears on. Jeeeeezus Cheeerist.

 

Saturday, June 28, 2014

I'M GUESSING THIS WAS NOT FILMED AT THE EAGLE BMX TRACK...JUST A GUESS.

What do you think? BAP! All though this does look a bit like the alley way behind Charlie Brown's house......sayin.

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS MOVE FROM EAGLE TO REALIZE THE RIDING THERE IS JUST OK....THIS IS JUST ONE OF THE NEW RIDES FROM HOME.

Just one of a half dozen sweet descents from the summit of Green Mountain open space in Lakewood, and then I can go eat at Dunkin donuts. WORD.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

I LIKE MUSTARD, REALLY LIKE MUSTARD

And this stuff from Zatarain's is by far the best damn mustard I've ever put on anything. If you like spicy mustard, get sum.

Saturday, June 21, 2014

PUMMELED LIKE A BABY SEAL WITH A CLUB...DEER TRAIL

I do not race anymore, I do not see any reason too. With that said, I was intrigued with having a weekend off and the Deer Trail road race taking place east of Denver, so I registered. I'm not very fit these days, as I simply ride for fun and fitness and do not spend many long hours in the saddle, it's just not a priority in my life anymore. I still love to ride bikes, but on my terms. I signed up to race with the 55+ hammer heads for 43 miles of rolling terrain and what turned out to be pretty severe cross winds the second half of the race. By the way, did I say crosswinds? I've got a new steed with my Trek Domane which handled so much better than my steel Indy Fab while racing, the geometry is tight and the bike handles beautifully in the pack. I've never felt even close to that comfortable riding in a peleton. These guys know their shit. They have been playing this game for many years. This was my second road race ever racing with this group. I paid, and I paid dearly once dispatched from the main group about 12 miles into the 43. I was battered by crosswinds until the last three miles of the race, and except for catching the wheel of Paul Humiston for about a mile and half as he came screaming by me to catch back on after a mechanical, I spent a lot of time staring down at the road and driving forward, never looking up as the wind pummeled me deeper into submission. I would not call what I was doing on Paul's wheel "drafting" per say, I fought so hard trying to stay on his wheel that I got one of those side cramps you get that your mom warned you about from jumping into the swimming pool to quick after inhaling a hot dog. I had not had one of those cramps since I was about six years old, and it stayed with me for about twenty miles. I embraced the pain and pushed on, but damage was done in many minutes as the majority of the field stayed together until close to the finish. The biggest problem for me these days has become two fold, my asthma and lower back are always there, and as I age they continue to no get any better. It's funny, I think people expect that as you age you will continue to train and ride as you did when you were younger, stronger and faster....perhaps, but only if you are overly obsessed with it, and I am not, never will be again. But jumping in once in a while gets me back in the game and makes me a much better bike race announcer. It's good to experience the nerves at the start of the rollout and feel the accelerations when the pressure starts. It's also good to experience that feeling of the peleton riding away and your body saying "no more", and knowing what lies ahead is going to be hard, solo to the line in the wind. You can't talk about these things with very good perspective without experiencing them yourself the way I see it....so when time permits, I'll still line it up on occasion.....just to be in the game, for however brief it may be.

Editor's Note
After seeing how many racers dropped out of the action yesterday due to the extremely windy conditions, in some cases over 50% of the field, I'm pretty happy with finishing, and finishing 19th in an "open category" race. It was a tough deal, but I never considered quitting, period. 

Thursday, June 19, 2014

MY VOTE IS THROW THE CRANKBORTHERS PEDALS IN THE DUMPSTER, I DID.

Time Atac 6 saves the day at A2B....
I've been riding Crankbrother pedals for nearly 8-9 years. They tried to kill me once and failed me again about a month ago. The problem with their pedal design is that the nut that actually connects the platform and bearings (bearings which explode regularly even when serviced EVERY season) can and will work itself loose which leaves nothing to hold the platform of the pedal attached to the spindle. I would show you a picture of this failure but I threw all my Crankborthers pedals in the garbage last week and watched the garbage man haul them off to their proper burial place. The first time this happened to me was roughly 5-6 seasons ago while descending on ym mountain bike and I got hurt pretty bad, bruised ribs and kidney and some other shit. It fucked up the rest of my entire race season. It happened again last week while cruising around Green Mountain open space in Lakewood on thankfully smooth and fast singletrack. when the pedal came off the spindle, it shot off the trail into some tall grass and it took me about ten minutes to go back and find it so I could have the satisfaction of throwing it in the dumpster. 

After some fairly thorough research I ended up with what will be two sets of new MTB pedals. Coming highly recommended were the Time Atac 6 which are pictured here and which are currently on my mountain bike. I wish I would have known 10 years ago that this pedal, with two points of engagement, is actually easier to get into and out of than Eggbeaters with four points of engagement (which are usually all jacked up from slamming them into rocks). The Time 
Atac 6 platform works incredibly well with a "ramp" that your cleat slides up to the engagement point, it's impossible to miss. You also have release angle options depending on cleat placement. Time also does not need those lame spacers that the Crankborther pedals needed for clearance to get in and out of the pedals, which I always saw as a defect. 


I also will have another set of pedals coming shortly for my MTB or CX rig with thanks to Kalan Beisel of the Giant/Tuff Shed MTB squad.
Xpedo Tis are on the way, and I am super stoked for the hook-up and the opportunity to ride another "new" pedal. More on the Xpedo soon. If it's working for rider like Kalan and Mitch Hoke, I'm guessing it's good enough for an old beat up rider like myself...A2B is back on the review war path...enjoy the ride.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

THIS IS JUST FLAT OUT REDICULOUS....


IT'S ALL ABOUT RED. SKRATCH LABS



I'm on this red kick lately, not that any of you actually give a shit what I do, but red seems to be working for me as of late. I realized this at the GoPro Mountain Games and the Beti Bike Bash while announcing and scrounging around for free product to check out like the rest of the dirt bags looking for free stuff. The nice thing about being the person with the mic in your hand is that sponsors and expo vendors give you boxes of their product as opposed to a one ounce sample to try because they want you to talk about it. Every once in a while I find something that I really like, and I tell you about it. Then you may try, or you may not, but I will continue to use it because I like it. You may choose not to try it because I like it, that is your choice, but do not be a dumb ass, if I like it, you probbaly will too as I'm a picky bastard at times. Why red? I have a fondness for the flavors associated with red, and purple I might add. Raspberry is a particular favorite. We have a monster Raspberry patch in our backyard in Lakewood, and I can't eat anough of them...Skratch Labs has a Raspberry flavored daily electrolyte mix that I like, and it's not too sweet, and it tastes really good, and it's apparently made with all natural product. That works for me. There are a zillion similar products on the market which claim to do the same thing, but many of them taste like shit to be honest with you....Skratch Labs "tastes great and is less filling". 
I also happen to like the branding and packaging of the product, you may not, but I do.

Monday, June 16, 2014

"SHIT OR GET OFF THE POT"

 For many, many years this was my father's favorite saying. So today I did, and drove back up to Georgetown where I worked yesterday at the Guanella Pass State Championship Hill Climb and rode the course myself, this after a wonderful Saturday working the Bailey Hundo for the first time on Saturday, which raised a pile of cash for the Colorado High School Cycling League, Trips for Kids and COMBA. I'm almost all moved to the front range, and I've got to admit, I've lived my mountain life, I'm done with it, and I'm really digging all the options for EVERYTHING down here.


 The top of Guanella Pass, 3150 ft of climbing in 11 miles. I'm about as fit as a sour pickle right now, but it was a great ride on a great day, and close to home.

Friday, June 13, 2014