How far should you be away from another rider before you YACK!

Well today I cracked the 3,000 kilometer mark for the year. That isnt a lot for some but for me it is huge! Today I also set my highest 75% average at 32kph. So all in all a great morning ride. I had the new egg beaters and new Giro Republic shoes as well. The highlight of the ride though was Brandon and his near vomiting experience. So that brings us to the question at hand. How far should you be away from other riders when you are about to yack? Brandon chose the safe route and let me lead the ride and stayed a safe 30 meters behind. For me, well I have a different approach. The other riders should pay mind to my yelling or abnormal hand waving to create a vomit buffer zone. The vomit buffer zone should take wind, splash radius, and head whip into account. What do you think?

*Disclaimer: There was no actual yacking on this ride, Brandon was just very close.

Spinneys Dubai 92 update

Well the race is closing in and we have three confirmed participants from the Missing Links. Eric, Brandon and myself are all confirmed. We are hoping we pick up one or two more folks to round out the team. We have plenty of space in the van and in the hotel room.  

First real ride on the Lynskey

Well I was finally able to get out and put in a few real miles on the Roadie. During my dial in rides I had to swap my 25 set back seat post out with a 0 set back. The only thing left is my handlebars are a little but up and  I will move them down a bit. Over all the bike is nice and stiff and I was able to attack the small climbs with a lot more power then on the MTB.

The Lynskey is here!

Well folks it has been a long two years waiting for the right time to buy my road bike. It is almost ready to go!

Here are a few pictures of the un boxing and build. 

Ironman Meeting

Hey guys lets get together on 10/16 and go over the IronMan. My place at 1600. Bring a finger food and I promise my dip will be better!

Race update

Well everyone it has been a week or so since my last post. The Missing Links have been sick. Finally everyone is back to good health and we are ready to get on with our Bahrain Ironman 70.3 and Spinney Dubai 92 training. Team A has already been registered. Team A is Matt England, Brandon Gibson and Kelvin Mcghee. It is my opinion that they have a real shot at taking a spot in the Relay. Brandon and myself have registered for Spinney's but I am sure more of the group will sign up soon. 

Quiet Mornings

When you ride the streets of Bahrain at 0430 there is little to no traffic. Just waiting in Brando to crest the bridge so we can start the day.

Spinneys Dubai 92

Well I have registered for my first bike race. The Spinneys Dubai 92. I have a link to the race on the bar to the left of this post.

Spinneys Dubai 92

Triathlon Meeting Review

Well we were missing the swim team but had a good meeting none the less. The big winner of the night was the Q and A session we all had. Lots of new things to think about and to ask the Challenge people. The big loser of the night was my Queso Dip. It could not have turned out much worse. The guys showed there toughness and ate some of it anyways.

Moving forward we will have another meeting in about a month. 

Chupacabra Sighting

Well it has been a long time in the making but Tyler did make a ride. Here is the proof.

First Meeting for the Triathlon Teams!

Today we will have the first of a few meeting for the triathlon teams. We will try to get the registration sorted and do a meet and greet. I will get some photos of the gathering and maybe even some team photos. BIG TIME! Bahrain will never be the same.

Humidity is back...again. Park Tools TB-2 review

Well folks it was a short but brutal ride this morning. Brando bailed with "stomach issues" and it was left to Mark and myself to clock some km's. My first thought this morning was "WTF". The humidity was off the charts but I set out to meet Mark anyways. Mark was in full stealth mode on his Surly Pugsly Fat Bike. Our pace was slower then normal but neither of us minded as the 4" wide tires was pawing at the pave like a set of buckshot mudders. The highlight of our trip was my flat. Several months ago you might remember my alum. shiv that ripped a hole on my tire. Well I placed a TB-2 Emergency Tire Boot in there went about my riding. Which leads me to my review of this Tire Boot after the ride summary. Mark and I sweat but got the tire changed and we were back on our way. This day we took a short cut through New Hidd, one route I used to ride all the time. To my surprise it was all paved now. It kept us out of the wind and the rode was clear so I did not flat again.

Park Tools TB-2 Emergency Tire Boot: The adhesive was not very impressive. I ha to use some super glue to actually affix the boot. This lead to another flat altogether as super glue dries very hard! In some cases it will form a SPIKE! After removing the glue daggers this solution lasted about 450-500 km. Then a new issue arose, if you run your tubes at high pressure the edge of the boot itself becomes a knife blade and will wear a long line in the tube which leads to a type of hole that you can not patch. Overall: The boot is only meant to get you home until you can replace the tire itself. It did that very well. My only suggestion to Park Tools would be to make the adhesive much stronger.

The day has finally come....

Well folks after three years of dreaming,working hard, and support from the family I have finally ordered my Lynskey Road bike. Mike at Lynskey said it would be about three weeks or so before it hits the mail. Ill keep you all posted, until then here is a stock photo from the website of the bike I ordered.

2015 Helix Disc

Wipe out Wash out!

Well it has been a few days since my last post. Last week I had a front end was out and well it hurt. Here are some photos of the results.

Sick Sick Sick....

Well this week has been very disappointing for my weekly rides. I had some food poisoning, sore knee, sinusitis, and today a stye on my eyelid. Training for the races is ongoing as Brando Commando is starting his sprinting one day a week. Lets see who follows! I did have to cancel my bike order as there were some external factors involved. Moving forward this weekend is our 150k Fondo attempt!

Rain Maker Has a bike on order!

It is a long awaited announcement in the bike community. Rain Maker has his road bike on order. Although it is not his first choice he is happy with the purchase. The new stead is a 2015 Ridley Fenix with a Sram Force 22 groupo. To finish out this speedwagon is a set of Look Keo 2 pedals and Sidi Genius Carbon shoes. There is no ETA but we will keep you posted!

 

Bahrain Sickness

Well it has been a few days since we last had a post. Brando and Rain Maker have been down with some gastrointestinal distress issues. Food poisoning seems to be the root cause. With all this the numbers for this week are off a bit. The heat and humidity are also starting to take it toll on the Missing links. Everyone seems to be recovering and we should start to see the heat leveling off and the miles pick up!

Over priced Tubes

So as Broken Spoke always says "a tube is a tube is a tube". Well, I agree with most of that statement.   There is a good chance a tube not specific to your bike will actually get you home in a pinch. I am not really here to argue that point though. My point today is the cost of tubes and the Bahrain roughage along the roads. Since I upgraded my wheel set to Velocity Chukkers, I need an abnormally long stem for a mtb. 60mm is hard to find sometimes. So when I was in a pinch and all anyone had was Continentals I ordered the 7.99 tubes. It hurt, it hurt bad. Anyways I just got another puncture in one of these 7.99 tubes, wtf. I am about to start fashioning my own tubes out of kevlar. That is todays rant. Good job to Brando Commando for having a patch at the right time.

Cody "Rain Maker"

IronMan Bahrain

The Missing links has formed a few Relay teams for the IronMan coming this Dec. More info to come on those teams as things are finalized.

http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/emea/ironman-70.3/bahrain.aspx#axzz3ifQfnzyf

Weekend Therory

Well the work week is coming to a close today here in the middle east. The August Strava Gran Fondo is 150k. For most folks that is a nice ride. In Bahrain that is close to a death sentence. It is hot, humid, and hot. So the Missing Links has to start preparing  a few weeks in advance. We look at all the atmospherics that come into play such as wind and humidity. Then we talk about our starting time, this time it will be quite early like 2-3 am. This helps with traffic patterns and the sun. After we process all of that we get a date and time set and begin our hydration and nutrition set up. Everyone has a plan that works for them. I run two bottles of gatorade, a 1.5L camelback, and 3 Stiger waffles with a banana. So riders dont eat at all. Anyways right now we are looking at the last friday of this month to knock out the challenge.

Change in scenery

As most of you know one of the Missing Links had spot on a reality TV show. Brando and myself wanted to use this notoriety to perhaps exploit the local scenery. We had selected a spot to film a commercial, such as one of the Barbican commercials you see at the movies. Unfortunately this location was removed and we must start over.

 

Hidd Bridge Danger

So this morning Matt and myself had a very nice ride despite the brutality of the humidity and wind. there is one thing I would like to discuss today, the Hidd Bridge. As I started to cross the bridge I couldn't help but notice the terrible smell and ungodly amount of trash. Trash from wrappers and also shrimp heads and fish guts. It is really a horrible place right now. How many people transit that thoroughfare a day? The second issue is the used fishing line. Some genius tied a piece of heavy test fishing line across the bridge. I did not see it as it is translucent and it caused me to wreck. It cut into my legs and would have made me fall into the railing I had not been able to unclip fast enough.

If anyone knows a Bahraini policeman, please let them know that the hidd bridge is a disgusting place that needs some law enforcement attention. Rant over.

Cody

Possible TriLife ride tonight

The plan for the Missing Links was to ride in the Tri Life group ride tonight at 6:30 PM. This might not happen for us as one of our members is spending some time with an IV Bag. We wish that member a quick recovery and hope they read rule #5 and immediately ready there cycling kit once out of the clinic. 

200K Week

Well I finally got my 200K week. It was humid and took 7 days but I did it. Of course nothing can be done without my team! Thanks guys for riding in the mornings and putting up with my whining. Working on some news topics and looking for some reader input.

Slow Roll

Welcome LOMI Riders!

I would like to invite and introduce the LOMI Riders! Great groups of guys and gals racing around Bahrain!

Tri Life Bahrain

This past weekend the wife and I drove down to Zallaq. We found the gem of all bike shops, Tri Life. When you enter you are greeted with a big smile and the workshop. At first this is a little odd as I have been to my fair share of bike shops. After a few moments I really appreciated the shop in plain view and found it reassuring. Then we went to the showroom where there is everything you need to make it in the Triathlon world! The prices were on par with getting something sent here and assembled. They have a wash/lube service for 15BD and then three levels of tune ups ranging from BD25 and up. I look forward to vising them again.
Tri Life Facebook

Product Reviews

So the guys and I are looking to do some reviews. Right now we have a few things that we use on every ride that will be first. Next round will be a few new frames and build ups. Any suggestions from our fans?

Atmospheric Brutality

Folks we started at 0400 and it was about 90F and about 90% humidity. We made some great time and everyone had enough hydration. Half way down Brando took a flat on the rear. He made quick work of it and we were on our way in about 10 min or less. All down hill from there till the gas station at the BIC. Another strop to fill up on water and grab a Stinger Waffle and we were back on the road. Had a great climb but started to struggle up the hill near the clock roundabout. Recovered and made it back to the group to only have to stop and rest. Brando stayed back and made sure I was ok. With some good motivation from him and a quick reminder about the Velouminati rule #5 we made it home. Washed off at the outdoor shower and then hit the pool. 

Recovery day (Calm before the storm)

Recovery Day!? Yes that's right the Missing Links took the morning off to prepare for the Strava Gran Fondo 130k ride. In Bahrain it is hot and humid. Typically you will consume at least 2L of water per hour. If you carry two bottles that means you stop every 45 min or so to refill. The gear for this ride will change as I will use a Camel Back, which I hate doing. If you want to put in distance and work on that endurance you have to carry my water. We also carry mix to add so we can keep those minerals and nutrients in the system. To give you a peek into the level of effort, the last long ride I took was 124K and a little over 5 hours. I burned over 6,000 calories. So all of this is super important. the average temp we will be looking at is 110F. This is how we train in Bahrain so when we finally make it out to the greener cycle lanes we will be comfy.

Hot Summer Mornings whoopin up on the Missing Links

The real challenge to riding Bahrain is summer hydration. Brando and myself shed about 10 lbs of water weight today. For me that is fine but Brando about lost 20% of his body weight! Going to have to rethink the no camelback policy for this upcoming Gran Fondo. Any thoughts?

Humid like a wet dog

What do you ride with?

Well today was a nice hot humid Bahrain morning. Brando Commando ran out of water and had to duck off course to scurry home for some libations. Perhaps he should take a lesson in wine drinking from WH03 (Matt) and how to hydrate after said bottle (or two) of wine. Overall we all kept a good pace and made it out alive

Gypsy Danger after a humid hot ride!

Brandos new Steel!

Missing Links is proud to share these early release photos of Brando's new Stinner Steel Frame! This will be a great addition to the arsenal.

Jeromy Inaugural Ride!

Today Jeromy showed up with some fire in his belly and a crown royal bag. Great job Jeromy! Keep coming out and it it gets lots easier. If you are lucky you will get to see Dynamo Matt out there racing around.

Brando Commando

Jeromy

Crown Royal to the rescue!

60 Km BIC ride

Well this weekend we had a very hot and troubling ride. We kept it modest at 60Km, the kicker was the flat tire I suffered. It was about a 3 inch aluminum shard that cut a huge hole in my tire, tube, and almost went through my rim tape. It took at least 30 min to change this flat as we had to bend the metal back and then pull it out. The main issue was my stem was to short! Luckily Marky Mark had a 60mm 29 tube he was going to give me anyways. That 30 min in the heat and direct sun really worked on us all. Dynamo Matt put in a great effort and Anthony the Pinoy Pride got a taste of distance. Until next time. I should also point out that it was upwards of 120 degrees on this ride.

Welcome to the Missing Links Blog. We are going to try and keep this updated with our training progress for the upcoming Spinneys92.