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This summer Spy Optics sent over some new eyewear from their performance line. Spy says, “This is what you get after 16 years of R&D: Stylish, functional eyewear that can endure a world of abuse and won’t allow anything to get in the way of clear vision, fit or comfort.” The Quanta runs between $100 and $140 depending on the lenses you get with them.

Stylish

Here are some of the cool features on the Quantas:

Grilamid Frame Said to be pretty much unbreakable. This is good for MTBing, since our gear is usually tossed in the backseat after a ride. I found the frames to have a lot of flexibility in the arms. I have a face that is a little on the narrow side, and although they fit snugly, others that tried them on with a wider face, found them comfortable as well. And they come in three color options: black, white, and brown.

Scoop Venting System Said to combat lens fogging by promoting air flow between the lens and the wears face, the scoops on both sides allow air to flow behind the glasses. Making it harder for the lens to fog up. Fogging is a problem I often get on the cold early morning rides. I got zero fogging while moving, even if it was at a slow speed. If I was pushing it and breathing real hard, and then came to a dead stop, I would get some fog going on. But as soon as I started pedaling again, it was gone in about 3 seconds without removing the glasses.

Patented Scoop Venting

Hytrel Rubber is found on the nose and temple pieces. And is a unique hydrophilic compound that gets tackier when exposed to moisture. So when you sweat, the Hytrel grips your face better, and keeps your eye protection from moving around. The Hytrel Rubber is not sticky to the touch, but they do stay put on your head. I did a few races where the temps were in the 90s. With all that sweating, I never had any problem with these slipping at all. The rubber is also very comfortable on the nose.

Hytel Rubber temple pieces

Hytrel Rubber nose piece

ARC Lenses are used on the Spy Performance Line. ARC stands for – Accurate Radius Curvature. These Polycabonate lenses are impact resistant, and provide optically correct, distortion free vision. They also absorb 100% of UVA, UVB, and UVC rays that damage your eyes. Spy does offer lenses in many colors, as well as a polarized set. I only tested the standard black ones, and after 6 months and hundreds of miles, they are scratch free.

ARC Lens

The Verdict, eye protection is very important in what we do. To find something than performs well, and comfortable, is often hard to do. I’m sold! Spy delivered with these, and is doing something great with their Performance line. Check out the Quanta, and other styles at Spyoptic.com

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Get it? Supdate…Like S as in Single Speed Soma…but since Update doesn’t start with S, I threw it in there. But then it makes it like a double meaning, Sup’ as in “What’s up” but combined with Update becomes Supdate as if I was saying “What’s Up, here’s an update!” Aye…nevermind, if I have to explain it, then it’s not as clever. I’m sure there’s a few of you that said, “Supdate?….wait….OOOOH I get it!!!! haha Supdate…ya…haha…Supdate.”

Anyhow, the other day I was able to take the Soma SS on its first longish ride. The Fullerton Loop is about 11.5 miles and it has a mixture of ups and downs, as well as wall rides, teeter totters, boulders that chase you, darts that shoot out at you while you’re riding away, and some guy name Jones…Indiana was his first name. Ok, you got me, that stuff about wall rides, boulders and such were made up. But wouldn’t it be cool! But I digress, my gearing on the Soma is 32t/20t. I had feared that having such a big cog in the back would make me spin too much on the flats, well it’s true, I was spinning like a hamster on a wheel. However, it was the perfect gearing to ensure that I could clear all the climbs. I did dry heave a few times because I found myself exerting my body in order to keep up with Priscilla and our friend Ben. Then again I recall when I was SSing with a 26er, it was pretty common to get that nauseated when I was working hard.

So far the Soma is doing great! No chain skipping or breaking, and riding on drops was a great experience. My only complaint would be the brake levers I installed. One of my friends donated them to me, I thank him for it. But they are just a tad to small and the reach was too far. You see, my hands are like biscuits with baby carrots as fingers, yes wide and stubby (Moe, don’t even…). This mean that braking was a bit of a task and proved to be difficult especially if you’re going down the trail fast.

I ended up ordering some Tektro XLC brakes from Jenson USA. Funny thing about these brakes, I searched for “Road Bike Brake Levers” and they didn’t show up on the Jenson site. So I Googled it and found a link back to Jenson in turn I purchased them for about $17.

These brake levers are awesome! Not only do my hands fit in them, but they are ergonomic and has 2 reach settings. Not bad for $17!

Here’s a photo of the old lever in comparison to the new.

I’m hoping to get another ride in before the weekend is over. I gotta see if these levers are as awesome as I am hoping them to be. So until next time, I’ll provide you all with another Supdate….get it? Supdate…aye never mind.

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This Saturday, April 30th was the Project Rwanda ride. This a ride to raise money for Project Rwanda, and they provide bikes for those in Rwanda to be able to transports agricultural produce. According to their website:

Project Rwanda is committed to furthering the economic development of Rwanda through initiatives based on the bicycle as a tool and symbol of hope. Our goal is use the bike to help boost the Rwandan economy as well as re-brand Rwanda as a beautiful and safe place to do business and visit freely.

An example of the bikes proovided by people by Project Rwanda.

They sell tons of raffle tickets, and will give away a carbon bike as the grand prize, as well as lots of smaller items. There are two ride options available for those who want to participate, 25 miles and 50 miles. Somewhere in my confused brain I thought, “I’ve done 25 mile ride before, why don’t I do the 50”. Needless to say I am now paying the penalty for that decision. From what I heard they were expecting around 600 riders for the day. The 50 mile ride started at 7:00am and the 25 at 9:00am. When I arrived at Cook’s Corner early due to limited parking for the start of the race, the wind was absolutely howling. I prepped the bike and stayed in the car out of the wind. There wasn’t a good area to spin and warm up, plus 50 mile is plenty of time to warm up, so I waited till the last minute jump on the bike and spin a little bit.

Riders begining to line up at the start.

After some brief comments by one of the ride organizers, he finished by stating, “You have now officially started.” It took a few moments for those at the very front that this meant GO! This was a mass start so even near the middle of the pack it took a minute before I even started moving. The first section of the course followed part of the Aliso Creek bike trail (which is paved). This was just downhill enough that there was no point in pedaling on the single speed. Next was the first turn onto dirt and riders were backing up trying to get into single file for the single track. This section headed into the Whiting Ranch for a small loop. After a quick climb the trail headed down and out of Whiting on single track. With SO many riders so densely packed, this was the absolute slowest I had ever ridden through Whiting. At every water crossing, there were at least five riders who would stop for some unknown reason. I never did figure out why so many riders seemed to have a water phobia on this ride. This fear of water continued throughout the entire ride and only got worse as the water crossings got bigger and deeper.

Riders coming through Whiting. ~photo credit Gene from Warriors Society.

Once out of Whiting we headed back toward Cook Corner’s and on to O’Neil via Live Oak Canyon. This was a fairly easy stretch, but had some good climbs. The first aid station I knew was around the 12mi marker, although at this point it felt like I was past 12mi, it was probably only 8-10mi. By this point the riders were starting to thin out a little bit, but the hardest part for me, being on the single speed, was the single track climbs. All the geared riders would immediately drop into granny up the hills and spin away, not climbing very quickly. I, however, had to stand and crank on the pedals to get up the hill, but it was even harder to do it at a slow pace. By this point I was beyond the brief 10-15% of the course I had actually ridden before, and everything was going to be new to me. So I pulled over for a quick snack. I had checked with another rider before the race who does a good amount of endurance riding and was informed that your body is only capable of making us of approximately 250 calories and 24oz of water per hour. Based on that info I had loaded my pack accordingly with GU gels, Cliff Bars, Gatorade, GU chews, orange slices, and a peanut butter & honey sandwich (for the home stretch). I ate one of my oranges, chugged some Gatorade and took off again.

As I continued to head on I scaled back my pace a bit to make sure I wouldn’t run out of steam too soon. This section was mainly rolling fire-road and a little bit of pavement till I hit the first aid station. The aid stations had plenty of extra water, Gatorade, snack bars, as well as fresh oranges and bananas. I downed a couple a bananas, a bottle of Gatorade, a shot of GU, and a bag of chips. The aid station was near a set of restrooms, which I made use of while they were available and because I had already had to stop once and answer the call of nature. The though did cross my mind at this point, if this is only 25% of the course, how am I going to finish. After the brief rest, I was feeling good and headed out. Once past the first aid station the riders definitely began to thin out. After about 10-15 minutes I began to feel the benefits of the food I had consumed and kept on spinning. Not far out past the aid station I hit some pavement as the course wound away from the dirt and through a few intersections. In just a few miles I came upon the second aid station. I only stopped long enough to grab a few Cliff Bars and down another bottle of Gatorade and kept pedaling. I’m sure I probably was not eating quite enough as I should, but my stomach is not very forgiving when it comes to mixing food with strenuous exercise.

Dove Canyon Aid Station ~photo credit Gene from Warrior's Society

I was already in unfamiliar territory by this point. All the dirt was new to me, and I had to start keeping an eye out for the trail markers as not every turn had someone pointing in the right directions and no large groups of riders to follow. After some downhill section which I knew would be tough on the way back I came across several water crossings and each seemingly followed by sand pits. And just like before there were riders who didn’t know how to attack the crossings. The water on the deepest crossings was only about 12-18”in. My fee didn’t even get wet till the third one. The sand coming out of the water was pretty deep. A lot of riders ahead had given up and were just walking through. I pedaled through most of them, but 2/3 of the way through the biggest sand pit, my front wheel sunk in and I was done in with it. A quick hike a bike out of the sand let to trail through the river bottom that was just painful at this point. All of the little river rocks were just chattering me to death.

Rolling hills and deserted fire-road came and went for several miles as I tried one by one to pick off the isolated riders ahead of me. In one section I came charging down a fire-road only to find a off-camber left turn at the bottom with a large rain rut on the outside of the turn. I quickly tried to lose as much speed as possible before I made a fatal mistake and ended up going OTB. Just as my front tire slid into the rut I had gotten my speed under control and was able to keep rolling through the rut without going over the bars. There were constant reminders that MTB’ers were not the only ones to use these trails as evidence of horses was more than abundant. After a bit of trail that was more down than up I rolled up on pavement and third aid station situated just past the halfway point.

As I sat resting in the shade at the aid station I contemplated how much energy I really had left. It felt like I had used up 75% on the first 50% of the mileage. More bananas, oranges, and a cliff bar quickly were eaten while I chatted with some of the other riders from which I found out that there was a big climb out of where we were back in the other directions. I took a little longer rest knowing that the first thing out of the gate was another big climb. There were guys at the rest stop cleaning and lubing chains, so I took advantage of that while I rested and ate. I was not really watching the clock on my rest, but quickly enough I reached a point where I realized that I was only postponing the inevitable and further rest would not be of any benefit.

I headed out to face the pain of the final half of my journey. Just like I had been told shortly after the aid station there was a long grind. The first bit of it was not too steep and I slowly conquered it. The last section got fairly steep and I ramped up what speed I could and made it about halfway up before I spun out and lost my momentum. A quick HAB up the remaining climb, I then headed back through the rolling hills that led to the sand and water crossings. After the final water crossing there is a significant climb, but all the riders ahead of me stopped to clean their bike in the middle of the trail at the foot of the climb. On the single-speed this just sucks, as momentum is your best friend. I ended up having to attack the hill in sections, stopping for air several times. This just depleted what remaining energy I had, and in the 35-40 mile range I was really SSuffering. I was starting to get cramps in both legs, and when I straightened my legs they cramped up badly and wanted to stay that way. About the only thing keeping me moving forward was sheer stubbornness and unwilling to give up. I was definitely slowing down and other geared riders were passing me. I came across some covered benches and took a few minutes to rest.

I got back on the bike and continued on at what felt like a snail’s pace, but I was still riding. After a while I came upon a group and riders and used them to pace me and chatted with them along the way. After a while things were starting to look familiar and I realized we were quickly approaching the second aid station on the return route. With that glimmer of hope, I had a small resurgence of energy and pulled ahead of the small group I had been pacing with. The aid station was down in supplies to mainly water and a few granola bars which I passed on. Finding a spot in the shade to rest, I finished off my remaining fruit as well as my sandwich. I still had a good amount of water remaining, so once my food was eaten there was no point in further rest. From the aid station it was pavement for a bit, so even on the mild uphill, it was fairly easy even in my tired state. Soon enough I found dirt and generally gravity was in my favor as I headed back passed the first aid station toward O’Neil Park.

I came through the pavement section of O’Neil and began the last major climb of the ride. I was so spent I had to break it up in to section again stopping every hundred yards or so. By the top of the climb it had gotten too steep to ride. I hiked the remaining bit of the climb and the cramps returned only much worse this time. I made it to the top of the climb and the last hard climb was over. With every pedal stroke my legs wanted to lock up whenever they straightened. The cramps were bad, but I was not about to quit this close to the end. I was on the home stretch, and I could virtually see the finish line. That alone was enough to give me the burst of energy I needed to finish strong. Up the final climb at Live Oak Canyon, and down the hill back to El Toro and Cook’s Corner where the finish line was. It felt good to be done!! I had never done a ride of this caliber before, let alone on a single-speed. 50 miles is a long way, and this was an awesome but painful ride.

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This past weekend was host to the fifth and final race of the Southridge Winter Series. The weather however did not get the message that this was still the winter series. Temperatures were in the mid 80’s, a significant change from the previous races where layers to keep more were more typical. On the way to the course, I got a surprise phone call from fellow team racer Mark Tomas. He was able last minute to join in on the final race. Mark, who brought out his new SS, and I were in the same class with the SS’s being an open class. In our class we were joined by Bruce Dupriest with Incycle and Byant Mena with ODI. With all the registration paperwork completed, Mark and I headed out for a warm-up spin.

Spinning through the flats.

Normally the SS class is released for their start just after the expert class. There were a bigger group than normal of expert ladies, and somehow they missed their correct start with the group ahead of us. Donny called the SS’s up to the line and notices that there is still a group of ladies mingled in among the SSers. He tells them that they had missed their start. Some of them started to line up as if he’s going to give them a fresh “GO”. Donny tries to clarify by telling them, “No, go now!” This gets about half of them moving and the rest catch on after the first few take off.

First section of the Hike-a-bike.

Now the SSers actually get their start. I got the out in front off the start and through the first turn and into the flats. Mark caught me at the beginning of the single-track, and all of the SSers proceeded to loop through the single-track leading to the hike-a-bike. I have Mark about 20-30 yards ahead of me on the start of the hike with one other SSer between us. I pushed up the hill trying to close the gap between us. I wasn’t able to catch Mark, but I was able to catch and pass the other rider by the top of the climb. I reached the top and started the first descent. This is where I really notice that I was having trouble finding a rhythm. I was forcing myself through the turns not flowing through them. Through the next two climbs and down the back side of the hill, I continued to struggle to find my rhythm.

Finishing off a single-track climb

I finished up the downhill section and headed out to the flats. I cleaned the steep climb before the last bit of single-track leading to the end of the first lap. There was a change made to the final turn out of the chicane leading to the second lap, and evidently some of the riders didn’t catch the change and rode directly into the tape. Luckily, Mark & I pre-rode this section in our warm-up, so it wasn’t an issue for us. As I passed the finish line, I noted my time for the first lap. Not really a faster pace than the previous race, and I wouldn’t be setting any PR’s today. As I started the second lap, one of the other SS riders was creeping up behind me. I could not manage to maintain my lead heading to the HAB. I followed him up the HAB section. It was definitely quite warm and I was definitely feeling the heat. I noticed another rider using his water bottom to cool his head. Best idea ever! For some reason I had never thought to do this. I don’t normally drink much during the race, just a mouthful here or there to keep my mouth from getting to dry. It worked well to cool me off on the hike.

Last decent of the lap.

I knew I could gain ground on the downhill sections to help make up the gap. This time around however, I did have any issue finding a flow with the trail. I was able to pass him at the bottom of the descent as he had to reset a dropped chain. I pushed up the next climb to try and put some distance between us. As we approached the single track climb he was still about 30 yards behind me. I stood up and sprinted up the hill till my lungs were ready to burst. This lead to some rolling single-track and one last steep section that completes the majority of the climbing for the lap. By this point the other rider was out of sight and it was time to enjoy the long descent and put more ground between us. As I reached a short fire-road climb about halfway down, I came up on the rider I had already passed. He was gotten a flat and walked straight down the hill (I assume). I offered to stop and help him repair the flat as I had a tube, but he was not interested. I dropped down the rest of the hill, and toward the back flats. Up a steep short loose climb, and then I headed out to finish out the rest of the lap and on to the finish line.

Finishing up through the chicane.

I powered through to the finish line and placed in third for this race behind fellow team racer Mark who won the race. See his race report here. As this race completed the winter series, the series overalls results were available shortly after the race. Having had participated in all five races, I had accumulated enough points for a series win. The final results for the series had me in first place.

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This past weekend was the Final round of the Shimano Winter Series. Although I havn’t been participating in this series, I made it out for the final race. Its been a few months now since the last race I did. The weather was forcasted to be warm. I wasn’t looking forward to doing the normal three laps in the sport class. I decided to enter the singlespeed class, hoping they would do the two lap format they have done the past few races. After meeting up with Team Boss RL, and Dan B, we geared up and got on the bikes. Dan was nice enought to show me the parts of the course I wasn’t familiar with. I have done a few races here at southridge, but none of them have included the Hide A Bike section. As Dan and I spun around the trails, he pointed out the others in the SS class. I’m not going to lie, I was a little intimidated by these guys. All the SS guys were lined up together, at the sound of the horn, we were off. As we rounded the first corner I was middle of the pack. A few racers were pulling away quickly, I jumped on the tail of that pack, and tried to hang on.

Through the front singletrack we were all pretty well lined up. At the first climb I thought I was in third. Then we hit the HAB! I dismounted and started to hike up, following a geared racer. Not too long after, he remounts his bike, not knowing whats ahead I do the same. 20 feet later he jumps back off, “What is he doing?” I think to myself. I jump off, take some big steps and pass him. I catch up to another racer and ask him how much longer? He says we are halfway up. I continue to follow him and we pass one of the guys in my class. After a few more minutes he tells me to jump on. We both remount, and I follow him down the trail. We hit another climb and he motions for me to pass. I get to the top and I remember Dan telling me to be careful on the way down. I kept on the brakes and took my time. This put me back to the paved road, now I knew where I was, and what I was up up against. I passed the watertower and looked back. A fellow SS racer was gaining. I pushed hard up the next climb and dropped in to the singletrack. After one more short up, I followed a group down the back of the hill.

About halfway down I took one of the right turns to fast, I went off the course and had to bail off the bike. I was fine, just lost a little time. Next is a short fireroad climb. I felt like I had the perfect gearing, seated I spun by three of the racers running gears. A quick rutted out trail lead us down to the wash. This is where the Singlespeed is a disadvantage. This part is flat and long. I spun as fast as I could and down a gel to get some energy for the next lap. Next is a short, rocky, and loose hill. I NEVER clear this thing! I make it about 1/4 of the way up and have to jump off and run the rest of the way. I spin my way to the final drop of the first lap feeling stronger than I thought I would.

After weaving thought the tape, one lap down only one to go! as i start lap two, I hear someone yell, “GO HAMMER!!!” I look around but don’t recognize anyone. I think RL was hiding behind some rocks messin with me! As the trail doubles back. I see the same racer not too far back. I press on to the the HAB section again. Right from the start of it my legs are burning, and by this time its pretty hot. I had to stop for a few seconds to catch my breath at one point. Finally I reach the top and remount. I feel spent. I grind out the last of these climbs.

I shot down the techy stuff to the road again. I don’t see anyone behind me, so a back off a little. Halfway up the next climb I got off and walked. I think I was faster walking than riding this part. Down the backside I start to feel a little better. Once I am on the flat I spin as fast as I could, hoping no one is behind me. Once again I don’t clear that rocky hill… But that gel must of finally kicked in, cause I’m able to run up it. Looking back I still don’t see anyone. I roll though the final turns and finish. There was one racer I lost track of from the start, I wasn’t sure if he finished ahead of me, or if he was still out there. Later on I find out he got a flat, and didn’t finish. Once the results were up I placed first.

The bonus was Team MtnBikeRiders.com took two spots on the podium! Thanks to all our sponsors, Evomo Clothing, Ergon USA, VIP Energy Mix, Serfas and Dirty Dog MTB.

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