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Monday, January 31, 2005
Sorry I am a little late on this, but check out some of these links to photos of the Salsa Cycles Chilly Chili World Championships Ice Race. SuperTeamRacing Stedman Brewing Enjoy. Chuck Posted by chuck : 5:23 PM 0 comments | permalink 
Friday, January 28, 2005
Many of you have contacted Salsa to find out how the Pinewood Derby went for Jordan and I last weekend. Here's the inside scoop. Friday Afternoon I became a little nervous at our sticky, right front wheel. It was catching on a faulty axle head. Rather than going into the race with that huge disadvantage, I left work early and headed for the Hobby Store for a set of replacement axles (nails). My nerves were firing but after successfully removing the old axles, the new ones were installed and we headed for the Weigh-In. Friday Night Weigh-In Kids were jibbering and jabbering all around, but Jordan and I bypassed the smacktalkers...we'd let the Flyin' Eagle do the talking! The car was put on the scale and came in at the perfect 5.0 ounce fighting weight. We wished the car goodnight and left it in the hands of the officials. Saturday Morning Race Day I'm not sure who was more nervous, the kids or the dads...actually, I am sure. It was the dads. I'd heard these two twins had very fast cars the year before and their dad was obviously going for the win. He was sweating bullets. I just sat in my chair and rocked back and forth while Beck tried to keep me calm. Jordan was already talking about how he wanted a trophy. The Tracks These Days It's not like the old days of wooden tracks and visual judging. This was a state-of-the-art bright yellow plastic track with electronic timing. Results from heats were projected onto a screen for all to see. Wow. Pinewood Derby racing is serious business in the year 2005. The First Heat Twin #1 set a record time. Then his brother broke that record. Then the Flyin' Eagle set a course record!!! We were psyched and the twins dad was sweatin'! The Day Continues For some reason which I am still trying to solve, the cars all began to slow down for a few heats. We remained fairly consistent and claimed a 2nd place in Den 7. First went to one of the twins. The Round Of Eight Luckily we qualified among the fastest eight cars in the whole pack and made it into the final 4 heats to decide the trophy. Course records were being set and then broken as the cars mysteriously began running faster again (my theories are the graphite actually works better when worn in or the track was getting smoother as excess graphite filled in the rough spots). We put in four solid runs, winning one of them, and placing 5 overall for Pack 268. We were both psyched and learned some valuable lessons that we will apply to the Flyin' Eagle in 2006 when it comes back for vengeance! Tight Racing The whole electronic scoring thing was really cool. Usually heats were being won by 2/100ths of a second or so. There was one run that showed a difference between the first two cars of 4/1000ths of a second. Yikes! That's close. Den 7 was hoping for fastest den award as every kid in the den would get a medal but no such luck. We were nipped by 1/100th of a second by some Webelos from Den 5. Dirty dogs is all I've got to say. Next Year The Flyin' Eagle will return with some serious modifications. I'd tell you about them but then I'd have to kill you. -Kid Posted by Salsa Kid : 2:30 PM 0 comments | permalink
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Today the Salsa Crew headed out to the Pro Kart track here in Burnesville, MN for a little team bonding. I have only done this once before in my life on considerably slower karts and let me tell you, 35mph at 2" off the ground feels fast. Miker, Bobby, Dave, Butcher and I realized we weren't getting along very well, especially with all the hair-pullin' that Dave and I have been doing lately (and that would be funny to you if you saw what a Wookie Dave is and how follicly challenged I am). Let's just say a little "togetherness" was needed and what better way to work on PMA than to swap a little paint? First lap out was more akin to a Keystone Cops movie...Butcher heads off in the wrong direction on the track, Dave's heartrate goes to 196bpm in less than 5 flat, and Miker throws the pedal to the metal with disregard for whomever is in the way. Me? I stall and sit there a lap down before we even start. Now, Pro Kart racin' tells you alot about an individual. For example, if Dave's skills tell you anything about his agressiveness as a man, you stand a good chance in a slap fight with this "guy". Now Miker... don't get too close because the guy means business, passing this guy is near impossible as he throws his authority around. Butcher? Well, he is the GM and the GM should be given a lot of room to manuever and he let's you know it...also, it is good to slow down and let the boss catch ya. You know, good "team building" and all. As for Bobby? He spent the 20 minutes of race time proppin' up a battered knee from a weekend of snowboarding. Nothin' like using the board edge like a Ginsu and endin' up with 50 stitches, inside and out (ouch). Let's take a look at some lap times, shall we. Dave: Fastest Lap??? Didn't have one, let's just say he bested at 23.586 seconds. Butcher: Fastest Lap: a tough 22.127 NICE WORK BOSS!!! You are the best!! (I hope you are reading this.) Miker: 22.775 Chuck (that's me): Toppin' out at 21.948!!! Way to go me! Anyhooo... we had so much fun we are startin' up a league team. If any of you local bike shop guys wanna come out and throw down. Bring it! We are so fired up... just don't eat at El Loro on the way home. We all are sufferin' from a little "fire in the hole" if you know what I mean. later chuck Posted by chuck : 3:05 PM 0 comments | permalink
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Good news! Salsa Cycles returns as a sponsor of the Horribly Hilly Hundreds road ride/race in 2005. Once again Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin will host the cramping calf muscles and the aching quads. This years gravity-deying event takes place on June 18th. For more information on what the HHH is all about, check out their website. www.horriblyhilly.com One lucky event participant will walk away with a brand spankin' new Salsa Campeon frameset! -Kid Posted by Salsa Kid : 10:25 AM 0 comments | permalink
Saturday, January 22, 2005
For those of you that don't know or are not from the Twin Cities area, Salsa Cycles and a group of alcohol-drinking, womanizin', and down right aweful group of human beings(but really talented bike racers) known as the SuperTeamers organize the annual Chilly Chili Ice Race and Ice Criterium Championships. Now in it's third year, this race has become famous for it's generous prize list, studded tires and studly racers. This year we have also become recognized as the first Ice Criterium WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS!!! and we will honor the winner of the ice series with $100 cold cash. We will post some photos next week of all the activities! Here is the race update: Tomorrow is the big day folks. Its time for Salsa Cycles 3rd Annual Chilly Chili Ice Race and ICE CRITERIUM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS at Bloomington’s Hyland Lake Park Preserve. This race is co-organized by Silver Cycling (a Team of middle-aged, white-haired, high income weekend bike races...but we love them), Salsa Cycles, and SuperTeamRacing. The crew was out today working on the course and has laid out quite a challenging route. We took all of the feedback we have received in the past 2 years and have put together a course that is both challenging and fair and will be perfect for those of you that have put so much love and time and effort into creating those beautiful, homemade studded tires. The Course: Expect a relatively twisty ice (lake) section leading to a transition to dirt and into a difficult dirt climb of freshly shoveled singletrack. Follow this up, up, up through the woods, into a field and then a fast decent back towards the lake. From there it is back onto the ice, a loop around the dock (very spectator friendly, so bring your family and friends) and back onto the start/finish straight. Where: Same place as always, Hyland Lake Park Preserve Picnic Shelter 2. This is on West Bush Lake Road. NOT E. Bush Lake Road!!! WORDS of CAUTION!!! As of 5pm Saturday the parking lot has not been plowed so parking is gonna be tough if the City of Bloomington doesn’t come out this evening to plow. When: Registration for the first race is open at 10am. First race starts at 10:30am. Registration will be at the top of the parking lot at the Picnic Shelter 2 building. SUPERTEAMERS will be out at 9am with their shovels putting the finishing touches on the course. With all the snow, it is gonna be hard going on the dirt sections but will prove highly entertaining. Remember there are no cash prizes at this race. Cash prizes are only awarded to the top 5 finishers of all three Ice Races (the second two races are held at Crystal Lake the next two weekends). PRIZES: Each Race: Top 5 of each category get a prize. Feb 5th: The World Championships!!! Medals to the Top 3 for all three categories. Overall for 3 races (points series): A Race: Cash for 1st through 5th ($100, $50, $25, $15, $10) B Race: Prizes for top 5 C Race: no overall series HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE TOMORROW MORNING!!! -Chuck Posted by chuck : 6:19 PM 0 comments | permalink
Friday, January 21, 2005
Tomorrow is Pinewood Derby day. Jordan's first ever and my first in about 30 years. I was in it twice as a kid. Once I got 3rd and the next year I got 2nd. Both years my cars were red and bore the number 15 in honor of the great Packers QB Bart Starr. Jordan's (and mine!) car is lucky number 29 this year. He chose the name Flyin Eagle for it. Rather than paint it, we decided to give it a nice sanding, do a little wood burning, and then give it a couple coats of varnish. The car is going to weigh in at the maximum fighting weight of 5.0 ounces. The axles are lubed, although one wheel seems to be hanging up a little (and that's got me concerned!). Perhaps the most exciting element to the car is its Shining Skull logo, a semi-tribute to our new Muertos (Day of the Dead) Jersey. Behold the Flyin Eagle! 
So this doesn't have much to do with Salsa...but it's a fun little tidbit in life, and not every tidbit in life has to do with bikes. Wish us luck. -Kid Posted by Salsa Kid : 11:14 AM 0 comments | permalink
Thursday, January 13, 2005
I am normally a man who very carefully and precisely plans for trips. I know what I need and in what order it needs to be packed. That doesn't mean I can't pack in a hurry when I need to. So when my friend Matt called on Sunday and asked if I wanted to go climbing, in Canada, for two days, I said I would be at his house in an hour. It's almost instinctual now, as I move through the house gathering clothing and gear. Big orange duffel bag, gloves, socks, fleece, long underwear, jackets. I already have most of my climbing gear packed from climbing in Stillwater, MN that morning. Double check crampons, ice screws, ropes, leashes, slings, helmet. I keep a Rubbermaid container with my spare carabiners, chemical handwarmers, and rock gear if I need it. Add tea bags, thermos, Nalgene bottles, Cytomax and Endurox. Toss everything in the back of the wagon, grab the snowshoes and a pillow for a little bit of luxury and I'm off. So you must know what's coming. I've done this short-notice-leave-for-a-week thing so many times I was due to forget something critical. Just south of Grand Marais as we were waiting for a semi to be pulled out of the ditch (weather and roads were terrible, perfect for ice climbing) I remembered my bag of Clif Bars and Gu; still sitting on the kitchen counter. Matt was out of energy gels too but since I usually bring more than needed thought he was covered. So into the Grand Marais SuperAmerica for some gas station power food it was. We've all bonked on a long ride and seen a 7-11 shining like an oasis in the distance. We buy a doughnut, some peanut M&M's and we can make it home. This was a little more serious than that however. I needed enough food and calories to keep me going for 12 hours of hard activity in seriously cold weather. The gas station had some Powerbars and some other sort-of energy foods like SlimFast Bars and Atkins Bars but I decided to skip the traditional nourishments for a strict diet of junk food. Nature Valley chewy granola bars, cheese and pretzel Combos (240 calories!), spicy beef and jalapeno cheese sticks (in hindsight this one was a poor choice), Corn Nuts, 8 cans of Red Bull, and Hostess Ding-Dongs to top it off. I had enough sugar and preservatives to put an eight year old into a coma. The trip went well, the climbing was good, and I thoroughly enjoyed pulling Ding-Dongs out of my pack in front of a couple miserably cold Canadians breaking off chunks of Clif Bar with their teeth at the base of a climb. Oh yeah, they were jealous. All the junk food worked well enough except the beef sticks and jalapeno cheese which it turned out I wasn't supposed to bring across the border anyway. In either direction. Silly mad cow scare... -Pierce Posted by Pierce : 3:54 PM 0 comments | permalink
Friday, January 07, 2005
The big talk around here is of course the upcoming Vikings Packers playoff game. Being nearly on the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin, Minneapolis is a veritable battleground of green and gold cheeseheads taunting purple clad snowmobilers wearing horned plastic helmets. Well, it's veritable if you actually care about football. In the esteemed words of my good friend Smeby, "Go Packings, or Vikers or whatever. I thought hockey was on strike..." If you know how to say Favre without pulling a cheek muscle you're invited over to Chuck's house this Sunday to watch the wildcard game. Beer and sarcasm provided, bring your own chips. -Pierce P.S. I love the suggestions spellchecker comes up with. Favre is favor, cheeseheads is chest's, Smeby is samba, and spellchecker is splices. Heh,heh, samba. Posted by Pierce : 3:08 PM 0 comments | permalink |
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