Going Long and Hard.

pooriggy

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I stopped to make friends with the locals.

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-Jim.

those things are good to eat.

u may have an in at Vreeland Ford if u go back out there and need a place to stay.

and fuck yeah i'm jealous of riding that stuff in shorts.
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
Great shots. This is sure to be the start of many plane rides. Once you break out of NJ it is harder to come back each time.
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
Great shots. This is sure to be the start of many plane rides. Once you break out of NJ it is harder to come back each time. You may have a future selling Fords. They couldn't possibly turn you away at a place like that.
 

Mitch

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Jim, Great post and thanks for the cool shots. I now feel that I did those climbs and now Im tired.. Glad you had fun and sorry you have to leave so soon.
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Thanks, I really do feel extremely lucky. A guy like me wouldn't normally have the means to do something like this so it's very special to me in that regard. However I've been learning as I begin exploring around outside of NJ little by little that there are great places out there. Maybe taking some of bike building budget, or my race budget, and saving a little to get out somewhere is a better way to spend chunks of income. The few experiences I've had riding really cool places outweighs any experience I can recall while racing my bike. I can see why the rest of the cycling world does it this way instead of our way.

So one of the perks of doing this, besides the swag, and the riding, and all the product info, and hanging out with all the guys that make all the stuff, is that we also learned how to sell these Trek Travel trips. As an employee reward you get points towards going someplace for yourself. So when I get back and tell people about my adventures, hopefully it will excite them to go someplace cool to ride and I can start earning my own points to go do another trip. Riding the climbs in France has always been on my bucket list, I'd like to dig in and see if I can make that happen.

I'm sitting here in my kit waiting for the sun to come out so I can get one last ride in :D

-Jim.
 

Carson

Sport Bacon
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Man, that looks like an incredible time. I'm sure the other mechanics will be working a little harder this year!

And the first time you spray painted a new Ford murder black, you'd be fired.

What did you think of the Madone now that you are a custom steel-snob?
 
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seanrunnette

Brain Damaged Ray Romano
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Jalama Beach, right? THAT'S right where the north/south break is on the California coast. Right there, at that very beach, is where it starts to get unpleasantly sharky, getting bite-y-er and bite-y-er as you go North. Nice camping though, and a pretty amazing road in. Looks like you're having a fantastic time!
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
I will write up a review on the bike when I get home, but for now, I haven't ridden a carbon bike yet that can hold it's own against my steel Seven.

Jim.
 

bigW

Well-Known Member
Goin' back to Cali, Cali, Cali

at least I think so.

Jim it makes me feel better just reading about nice things happening to really good people. Being in the moment, experiencing and appreciating where you are. Most excellent.

( brought me back 20 years ago to SoCal Mountain Biking and having my jaw drop upon reaching the top and seeing wide open Pacific Ocean views. Not sure how and why I let all that slip away... )

http://www.venturacountytrails.org/TrailMaps/Topanga/AreaTrails.htm

- W
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Thursday.

Last day in Cali. I got up at the butt crack of dawn to get in a quick loop of the TT course. Took a few minutes to enjoy the sunrise...

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Got back, showered, had breakfast, and then we walked around town. I haven't really seen much of the town other than riding through to go somewhere. It's a pretty cool little place. It's made to look like an old Danish town. Sorta feels a little like walking through Disney World or something like that.

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Very bike friendly town. A couple hotels rent these cool crazy Dutch bikes to cruise around town...

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If you don't already know, those are just painted Gary Fisher Simple Cities. They even have a bike lane at the bank...

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That was at a RaboBank BTW. I didn't know they actually had banks. Of course I had to eat a Danish as well. When in Rome right?

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Gave our goodbyes and thanks to the fine folks at Trek for showing us a good time and just like that, time to go home. Boooooo!!

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Santa Ynez Valley from the sky. I will miss this place for sure, but I also miss the lady and little guys back home. Time to start planning for my next adventure :D

Got home at like 2am. So tired. Ended up hanging out the wife until even later. Almost didn't get up for work this morning. So tired today.

-Jim.
 

mtnbiker7

New Member
Thursday.

Last day in Cali. I got up at the butt crack of dawn to get in a quick loop of the TT course. Took a few minutes to enjoy the sunrise...

405522_3338802910846_1291834825_3511622_1336853178_n.jpg


Got back, showered, had breakfast, and then we walked around town. I haven't really seen much of the town other than riding through to go somewhere. It's a pretty cool little place. It's made to look like an old Danish town. Sorta feels a little like walking through Disney World or something like that.

430351_3351554549629_1291834825_3515214_1794867789_n.jpg


418978_3339526208928_1291834825_3511957_1851046631_n.jpg


Very bike friendly town. A couple hotels rent these cool crazy Dutch bikes to cruise around town...

426542_3339535809168_1291834825_3511962_1696131275_n.jpg


If you don't already know, those are just painted Gary Fisher Simple Cities. They even have a bike lane at the bank...

395232_3339531569062_1291834825_3511960_1581973383_n.jpg


That was at a RaboBank BTW. I didn't know they actually had banks. Of course I had to eat a Danish as well. When in Rome right?

423701_3340823281354_1291834825_3512394_1893913976_n.jpg


Gave our goodbyes and thanks to the fine folks at Trek for showing us a good time and just like that, time to go home. Boooooo!!

425629_3341719623762_1291834825_3512606_1675714823_n.jpg


Santa Ynez Valley from the sky. I will miss this place for sure, but I also miss the lady and little guys back home. Time to start planning for my next adventure :D

Got home at like 2am. So tired. Ended up hanging out the wife until even later. Almost didn't get up for work this morning. So tired today.

-Jim.

Not to nitpick but those are from the Specialized Globe line of bikes...just not sure of the model. The simple city didn't have the twin top tube. Those also have dead give away's like the specialized tires, saddle, and the headtube badge that's only found on Globe bikes.
 

Carson

Sport Bacon
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I just met Mike Mentor and Jody (I think) as they were riding through Ringoes in their HG kits. Nice folks.
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Not to nitpick but those are from the Specialized Globe line of bikes...just not sure of the model. The simple city didn't have the twin top tube. Those also have dead give away's like the specialized tires, saddle, and the headtube badge that's only found on Globe bikes.

You are correct sir. I was heavily intoxicated with Trek Kool-Aid at the time and for a brief moment forgot that other bike manufacturers existed :D

Dave, that's Mark. He's a super cool guy. That's who I did my Christmas Day ride with.

I'll be back later to write something, leaving to ride in a few minutes.

-Jim.
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Catching up.

Friday.

Day off the bike to recover a bit. The shop is in full spring mode it would appear. Came into a full day's schedule. Not the best scenario after a few hours sleep :drooling:

But I did have some bike porn come in while I was away to keep me perky.

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These are for the murder bike. Simkins Egg brakes. They don't look it but they're super narrow and aero. When you look at them from the front they're narrower than the fork. And of course as the saying goes with any TT product, "They save 8 seconds off a 40K TT" :rolleyes:

Baller VW of the day.

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So need to talk my wife into letting me get one. Not sure why I can have like $100,000 in bikes laying around but buying a few thousand dollar beat up old van is completely out of the question? Someday.

Saturday.

Easy commute into work, still recovering. Another slammin' busy day at the shop. We were 3 dudes down today so that made it feel a little worse. Not much else to add there. I sorta feel like spring has sprung, I wrote up enough repairs to fill the week, shit's going down!!

Sunday.

Sandy Hook Century with Dusty Balls. I went a different, and I feel, better way. Stayed inland more, worked out pretty good.

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When we got to the beach I took the opportunity to walk in the water. Not sure if I'll get another chance to say I was in both oceans during the same week, so I took it while it was there. The water was not warm.

Baller VW of the day.

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Don't see those everyday!! Well, if you live in Atlantic Highlands you might. I forgot to re-turn on my Garmin so I lost 5 or 6 miles from my ride. Blah. Same kinda deal, 100 miles in 6-hours.

Get home and have some recovery eats quick like. I told the boys to think of something to do when I got home and we'd go do it. Wouldn't you know what they'd pick? A bike ride!! Woohoo!! Or, dang, after 100 mile day? Can't disappoint the boys, and a deal's a deal. Hooked the trailer up to the Pug and headed out for playground hopping trip around town.

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We got home just after my wife got back from the gym. Packed everyone up and went out for a nice family dinner. I ate one of everything.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/150969184

Monday.

President's Day Century. Met the Flying Frenchman in the Watchung circle for my patent-pending "Jim Century". It's a combo of my Round Valley loop and the ADA loop. Great ride, tons of great roads and a good amount of climbing. It also includes a stop in my favorite pit stop, Oldwick General Store.

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I couldn't resist getting that cookie today. It like called out to me or something!! Plus with 12+ hours in 2 days, I can eat a cookie!!

Jean-Louis started to fade a bit so we cut out the section through the swamp and headed back to Stirling. I dropped him off on Hillcrest and then I hit the Johnson Drive climb and Washington Rock to add a few more feet of up. Being that it's President's Day I stopped to pay my respect a little.

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I sat on that ledge for quite a bit before I managed the energy to head back out to finish up. The "+" in 12+ hours hit me pretty hard.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/151218534

Taking a need recovery day tomorrow. 400+ miles, 25.5 hours in the last 7 days. I have one more long week and my 3 months of base are over. About 240 miles to make my 1,000 before the 28th. 9-days, 2 of them a sunday and monday so I'm actually just ahead of schedule. Maybe I'll take an extra recovery day or 2.

Goal#3 I hit not too far into Sunday's ride. That was 2,000 miles in the base comp before the 23rd. #4, as I stated above, is right on target. Then I get a rest week :D

That is all. Please don't quote this entire post if you need to ask something. Thanks.

-Jim.
 

jShort

2018 Fantasy Football Toilet Bowl Lead Technician
Team MTBNJ Halter's
What kind of workouts will you be doing now that base is almost done?

Tell Paul he needs a seven.
 
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