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?