"GamJams Reviews: Shoes - Carnac Lemond

I bought the black Lemonds in 1996 from Mt. Airy Bicycles. I am still wearing them on a regular basis. They are with out a doubt the most comfortable cycling shoes ever made. They might also be the ugliest too. The words "clown shoes" has been mentioned more than once over the years.

The newer Ellipse model there next to the Lemonds are pretty comfy too, but I like the old school laces under straps.

I wish I could find a new in the box pair of Lemonds (or Legends as they were called after Carnac dropped Greg as a spokesman). I live a tragic life in that I cannot find a shoe that fits the way I like otherwise, I wouldn't be wearing 13 year old shoes.

I wear a size 43. ;-)

Cheers,

FGR.

Still hanging in there...

It's been awhile, but I'm still around. I'll get back to some regular posting soon. FWIW i've been riding as much as I can and have lost about 8 of those 12 lbs i picked up after Christmas.

And for chrissake everybody, keep the rubber side down.

Fatguy Roller Pic of the Week - 3/13/2009

Howdy Ho Everybody!

Believe it or not, I didn't disappear into a vast pile of work, never to return. Although in spite of the way things are going with the economy, I'm happy to say so far I've been keeping very busy. I have managed some good rides in the past few weeks and I have been managing to keep a hold of some of my base fitness even though I'm not where i should be with my weight. The sad (and embarrassing)fact of the matter is that I am only about 8 lbs lighter than I was on November 1st when I started this feature. Whoever said that being in business for yourself will give you all the free time in the world to ride was wrong. I work more now than I ever did before. I'm not complaining, but It's a little disheartening to see the best laid plans got to waste for the greater good. These days racing and training ain't everything. Work has to come first no matter what. That's just the way it is. Like Jim Koch of Sam Adams fame says, "Do something you love and you'll never work a day in your life." Well, that is very true. I love what I'm doing. I'm the best there is in the field and as long as I keep my head on straight I will be very sucessful with this venture.

There is a silver lining on the cycling side. Things have been easing up a bit lately and I hope to put in more time on the bike and less time with a fork in one hand and a beer in the other.

In other news, my team CADD9 came in 2 weeks ago. The parts I needed arrived 2 days ago and next week I should have the time to get it cobble together and get it tuned up in time for Walkersville. I can't wait. It's one of my favorite races. I had targeted it as my "A" race of the spring, but with me scrambling to drop 10 more pounds before the event, I don't hold out hope of a good result. Well see...

In unrelated news, my Ducati is running like a scalded dog. I guess those expensive spark plugs did the trick. Now I need to get belts and shims done before Jefferson Cup. Christ, this stuff never ends.

Cheers,

FGR.

About the face - Ben Spies passed Noriyugi Haga in race 2. That's all I'm gonna say.

The price of stupidity: $31.50 and a slight loss of self respect

That's $31.50 for each plug. My ST4s takes two. I have no idea why I didn't walk out of the dealership laughing my ass off.

Somebody pass me the Prep-H.

Live and learn.

Cheers,

FGR

GamJams Reviews: Chamois Cream - Vagisil

I need to state for the record that I have never in my entire 46 years used chamois cream. And I started riding when shorts were wool and chamois was real. I can also state for the record I have never had a full blown saddle boil either. I have had the occasional chafe and rash. And by occasional, I mean maybe twice a year. The chafe and rash have never been severe enough to warrant the use of chamois cream on a regular basis. That's were Vagisil comes in. If i happen to have a little irritation down in the man parts region, Vagisil cures what ails me and in less then 24 hrs, it's like it never happened.

I guess I'm just lucky that way. I can tell you all that during race season, on race day, I've got cycling shorts on for 12+ hours. (Yeah i know, yuck!) I wear them under my protective overpants when I ride the moto. I've found nothing that will stack up to a pair of cycling shorts for an all day ride. I cant say I've never had Monkey Butt after a 400 mile day, but chamois cream wont help that anyway. There's a powder for that!

I don't use that either.

Cheers,

FGR

(In case you're wondering, I am man enough to buy my own damn tube of Vagisil. I dont make my wife get it for me)

Fatguy Roller Pic of the Week - 02/13/2009

Howdy Ho Everybody!

I'm back.

Well, I'm late with the post and truthfully I shot this on Monday the 16th and not Friday the 13th.

I may not look it, but I am in fact in the best shape I have ever been in for a February since 1999. Maybe better, I don't know. In 1999 there was no C race at Tradezone, but the B race then was a 4/5 race like the C race is now and I think the riders were tad slower then too.

I can see that I'm gaining lot of tone everywhere but in the middle. My legs are really shrinking! The middle is getting more obvious as I shrink overall. First on, last off is the cruel rule of weight loss. I think I'll still have a gut even when I reach my goal weight of 175 pounds.

I rode the C race at Tradezone on Sunday the 15th and I had a great time. I didn't do squat but ride the bike and sit in the wheels and stay out of the wind. So basically it was a 17 dollar group ride with 45 strangers and other teammates. Going into it I wasn't sure what to expect as far as pace and how I would handle it. I havn't raced there since the 2006 Turkey Day Cat 4 race and I got dropped 1/2 way thru it. I was in bad shape mentally that summer, so I didnt expect much. The last full race finish I had there was 2005 Turkey Day Cat 4 race. That was the year I lost 60 lbs. The first time.

Back to yesterday. After about 5 laps, I had no doubt I would finish all 16 with the group. I never felt like I was gonna be dropped. There was a time or two where I felt like stopping, my legs were like two bags of cement, but I never thought I was gonna be spit out. On the last lap I was just so glad to not have gotten dropped that I felt like my work was done and sat up. Thanks to wooden legs, I had nothing to contest the sprint with and well, it's a training race. I seem to have bad luck sprinting for inconsequential shit, like training races and group rides. I'll save it for when my season really starts in April. If I'm gonna go out in a blaze in a sprint crash, by gum, it'll be someplace cool like Wilmington or Reston. Not fracking Tradezone. Well not Reston either. I just remembered I'm gonna be a moto ref at that race again.

Fatguy Roller Pic of the Weeks 1/30/09 & 2/6/09

Howdy Ho Everybody.

No pictures again for 2 more Fridays.

On the plus side, my business is moving along very steadily and it's very hard work. I remember reading in Bryan Vaughn's blog a year or so ago how he ended up getting very large while building his business. I completely understand. I work harder for myself than I ever did for someone else.

I'm not gonna say I am putting this feature on hiatus, I just need a few moments to workout time management issues so I don't burn myself out and get back up to 260lbs. right now I've probably picked back up to 205, but I haven't lost too much of the base I worked hard on in Nov and Dec. I'm probably about 3 weeks behind the 8-ball.

Cheers,

FGR