Charleston - Think About it

A warning to those who follow this blog for cycling, skiing, or fly fishing and who are anti-gun - we're going to talk about guns here today. And a warning for those who read for hunting and shooting - I'm going to step out of line with the NRA party line. Call me an equal opportunity offender...

The events in Charleston this week have really given me pause. As a gun owner, they've caused me to re-examine some thinking. As an American, they've stirred a lot of thought. And as a human being, they've caused me to be really disappointed in my fellow man.

Hatred
I heard a talk radio host yesterday posit the theory that the problem is we all hate each other - blacks hate whites and vice-versa. I'm sure he was firing for effect to keep the program lively, but it was a legitimate theory. Do we really all hate each other? My take is that there are extremists in every group and those people probably do hate each other. But the vast majority of us don't share those feelings. Unfortunately, social media, the Internet, and the 24/7 news cycle have given the limelight over to the extremists. Sad. We've become a nation focused on the extreme. Maybe it's time for the Moderate Majority (yeah, damn right, I capitalized that...) to seize control and get this place straight.

No Gun Zones
This one's ticklish, but this particular case is illustrative. An Emmy-award winning reporter from a Dallas TV station told the tale of an interview with a family member of a victim that Dylann Roof reloaded FIVE times. As a long-standing concealed carry permit holder, I know that churches are an identified gun-free zone. Curiously, I think this is more of a legal thing -- churches and stadiums both hold a lot of people, and therefore are gun-free. Sad, I'd actually think you'd do it out of respect for the Church as a place of peace. But I digress. He reloaded five times. And you've got to figure a 21 year old isn't going to be trained in eyes-off reloads. So he had to look down, drop the magazine, grab another, insert, and rack the slide to chamber a round. I wasn't there, so this is merely speculation, but I have to believe that during at least one of those reloads, a savvy concealed permit holder could have ended the situation. Does this mean I'm advocating eliminating gun-free churches? I'm not willing to go there yet. But in Michigan you can carry in a Church if you have written permission from the priest, minister, rabbi, etc. Makes you think.

Politics
We don't do this much on Get Outside - polly-ticks that is. I'm a confirmed fence-sitter who's beginning to align more with the Libertarian mindset. If there were really any moderate Republicans or conservative Democrats, I'd probably vote for them. But I'm incredibly disappointed in our President who took this opportunity to use this tragedy to push his personal "no guns" agenda. That's shameful. And to say that "this doesn't happen in other developed countries..." is just outright rubbish. Seen what's happened in Paris in recent years as it became a melting pot of cultures? Would you consider Pairs a developed country. This was a time for our leader to express the Country's grief for the victims, their families and loved ones, and the people of Charleston. Period.

More Politics
Obama's decision to focus on guns took everyone's eyes off the real issue. The gun in Dylann Roof's hand didn't kill those people - his finger pulling the trigger did. And his decision to reload and pull the trigger again. I own a number of firearms. None are equipped with a self-pulling trigger. The gun is simply a tool. He could have killed those people with knife, a bomb, or even a folding chair. What Obama glossed over is our utterly ruined mental health care system. All reports indicate that this was a truly troubled young man, with a history of drug abuse and violent statements. We see this pattern over and over in these shootings. Virginia Tech? Same deal. Aurora? Yup. So, I would issue this challenge to our government - how about if you devote 50% of the time, energy, and money that you spend trying to prevent law-abiding citizens from having guns and put it into fixing our broken mental health system. I have a number of friends who are mental health professionals. All will tell you the system has been gutted by cuts. It's time for real reform. And remember, this is an anti Big Government guy suggesting this...

The NRA
Sorry folks, its time to stop being part of the problem and start being part of the solution. We need to stop protecting the rights of people like Dylann Roof and Adam Lanza. People with a history of mental illness, drug abuse, and/or violence shouldn't be able to own firearms. Period. Do whatever it takes to find a solution. Show that you are the good people you claim to be. If that means stronger background checks - good. A national database? I'm not thrilled about some aspects of that, but maybe we need to look at it. One logical place to start, in my opinion, is levelling national policies rather than the current State-by-State model. A friend told me that in Indiana you can get a concealed permit by having a simple chat with the Sheriff. Seriously? I've been an NRA member for years, but this is my last unless they start to find some way to collaborate and seek solutions.

The Family
You need a license to drive a car. A special certification to operate a motorcycle. A CDL for commercial truck drivers. And, what do you need to have a kid? Just a few sweaty moments. Dylann Roof's parents saw the external signs of hatred -- he wore Apartheid patches on his jacket and had a Confederate flag on his car. So what do they do? Buy him a gun for his 21st birthday. That's some solid parenting there. Adam Lanza's Mom thought that somehow having a Bushmaster AR would be a good idea with a kid with clear mental health issues in the house. She paid for this mistake with her life. Do I have a solution? No, but there are plenty of smart people who study family dynamics. I'm pretty sure if you got a few of them in an apolitical room, you'd get some clear, simple answers. I will give you one piece to think about -- I enjoy and value my guns. But if a family member in the household begins to have issues, they're out of the house. Immediately. The guns, BTW, not the family member...

Charleston
This city has long been one of my favorite places. It's hard to describe, but it's a place with soul. I love the State of South Carolina and the city of Charleston. I can only imagine parents in the United A.M.E. trying to convince themselves and their families that the church IS a safe place. It's a city that's had a rough year of senseless violence. Honestly, I don't know how I'd cope with it if I lived there. Just know that you're in the thoughts of an awful lot of Americans right now.

So there you go. I suppose I wrote this for me more than for the readers. Just putting some of this down was cathartic. I hope perhaps for you as a reader it was, too. Just one man's opinions.

-Sean-

Fit Is It

Pick up any cycling magazine or browse web site and somewhere in the issue you'll likely a mention of the value of a good bike fitting. Sure, a good salesperson can get you on a bike that looks like a good fit. But did you get a good salesperson? And did the wrench who assembled your bike position the bars correctly? Did the manufacturer put the brifters at the right place? Bicycle companies have come a long way with sizing and such, but every 56cm Trek Madone is the same. The people who ride it are not.

For a while now, I've been considering a pro fitting. My road bike was set-up as-built from the shop. It's comfortable enough, though I find that when I get past the 40 mile point, I get some foot numbness, some shoulder/neck pain, and my arse hurts. These days bike shops have all figured out that a fitting is a great way to make a few bucks on the fit, and sell a bunch of new gear to adapt your fit. And a decent fitting isn't cheap. So, I really wanted to find someone good.

Thanks to my cycling-connected friend, Josh, I am introduced to Jess Bratus of fitmi!. She recently fitted Josh and he absolutely raved about the difference it made. A chat with my neighbor Mike, a competitive triathlete, reveals that Jess also did his fit and he was very pleased. SOLD! An appointment is scheduled.

Jess' studio is located above Sic Transit Cycles in a historic building on the north side of Ann Arbor. From the moment I walk in, the whole experience is just about perfect. The space is bright and open with all the tools of the trade on display. Right away I can tell this won't be a big box bike store fit. Plus, she digs my bike.

I gear up while Jess gets my bike on the trainer on an elevated platform so she can observe, measure, and tweak my bike. To my surprise we don't even start off on the bike. First she wants to quantify all of my body's quirks, oddities, and issues. She finds a few things I already knew (really stiff hamstrings) and a number I didn't (a great deal of pelvic rotation and a right foot arch that's lower than the left). She looks a my stance, measures the natural angle of my feet, observes how my knees are positioned in relation to my ankles. All the while, she's methodically making notes and clearly thinking about how what she's seeing will translate on the bike.

We discuss my Fizik Alliante VS saddle. Josh had warned me about this, so it wasn't a surprise. Turns out that in addition to being overly narrow, has a reputation for excessive pressure in the nether regions. Yeah, that's not good.

Now it's time to hop on the bike. Immediately she's identified a couple of major areas. And the adjustments start. First a swap to a shorter stem to get my shoulders relaxed. Ahhh - that does feel better. Then we swap out the saddle for an Selle SMP Avant in the mid width. Immediately I can tell that the trusty Fizik wasn't supporting my sit bones at all. Then we go to work on my cleats. A positioning adjustment, followed by a shim in my right foot and things are feeling really nice.

Thus far this has all been the experienced eyeball. As we chat during the fitting I learn about the extensive training Jess has completed, both with custom builder Serotta and later with the Specialized Fit Lab training. Pretty cool.

But wait - now we're going to break out the laser. COOL! She puts an elastic band with a reflective target just below each knee. Using a laser, she's now able to visualize how my pedal stroke is tracking. The improvement is incredibly visible. My right side is now largely corrected. Given that I have a history of issues on that side (tight IT band and a funky knee) this fix feels hugely better.

All in all, a really worthwhile expenditure of time and money. Jess is like a bespoke tailor, mixed with a kinesiologist and a bike mechanic. A true intersection of art and science. She sends me away with a new understanding of my body and how it's issues intersect with my bike (and a new stem and a demo saddle to try out).

But the true test comes tonight on the road (I hope -- Michigan has been enjoying some weather that has me happy to own a drift boat as it means constructing an ark won't be necessary). Stay tuned!

-Sean-

Dry Fly Adventure

Had the pleasure of a dry fly adventure float with Capt. Jon Ray over the weekend. I've done a little dry fly fishing, but only once before out of a boat. I know enough to understand how technical this style of fishing can be. Being in the right place, at the right time, with the right cast and presentation can mean the difference between a successful outing and a skunking.

Found a dumb one (the fish)!

Fortunately, Saturday was a successful outing. We were floating a section of the Manistee river known for its big fish - but not for quantity. Jon knows I'm always up for a research project, so this stretch was chosen to give him some more knowledge on it. Plus, it's linking up some sections I've floated before. A definite dry fly adventure.

One big challenge for this adventure - angler skills. My dry fly casting skills are among my weaknesses. Blame chasing smallmouth bass and steelhead. Throwing a sink-tip, spey rod, or popper on a heavy line has a tendency to make you lazy. Plus, I haven't put in the casting practice I need this season.

A few lessons learned:

1. Slow down. Slow down your cast. Slow down your hookset. Slow down and watch the water ahead for rises. Just slow the eff down overall.  
2. There are no second chances. Trout are smart. prick 'em and miss a hookset and they vanish like a ghost.
3. Sometimes, there are second chances. But they're few and far between. I got lucky and missed a fish on a jet set. This was a dumb one, as she started rising a few moments later. On the second try, I got her!
4. This is a lifelong skill. We fished with one of Jon's long-time frequent clients. This guy had a story of a lost fish around every bend. He's done this a LOT. He had skills I didn't even know I lacked. 
5. Missed fish will haunt you. I missed what looked like a nice fish on a too-fast hookset. This one wasn't dumb enough to come back. Was it my mythical two-footer? Maybe, but we'll never know.
6. Rowing for dry fly anglers is harder than it looks. To give Jon a break, and because I'm always happy for some constructive criticism, I took the sticks for a while. In the two years I've owned my boat, I've gotten fairly competent with the basics of maneuvering the boat, river position, etc. But in dry fly adventures, I learn that now you have to watch the front fly and try to match boat speed to presentation.
7. I need to do this more. A lot more. It's fun and relaxing. But it's also demanding and you need the skills to keep up. The more I do this, the better angler I'll become.
8. I love my Abel clicker reels. My AC2 was ideal for my 6 weight Scott A4, and my Classic is perfect beneath the G2. There's nothing quite like the purr of those clickers.

An excellent day/evening on a beautiful river. And, as a bonus, I learned something. If you're looking to up your dry fly game, I highly recommend Jon, or any of the guys at Hawkins Outfitters.

-Sean-

Early Season Progress Report

Cycling season is off to a solid start. By the end of April I had surpassed the 40 mile mark several times. Each ride was generally solid with decent pace, despite often-windy conditions. All in all I feel like the off-season work on the trainer, mixed with some skiing, helped me maintain some semblance of fitness. This is a nice feeling as the past Winter was UGLY. Got really good at watching TV and gaining weight.

Thus far, I'm enjoying the new carbon wheels. Lighter rotating parts do make a big difference and I'm feeling some of the aero benefits. We'll see how durable they are - so far things seem to be holding true, but I haven't really got a ton of miles on them yet.

On Saturday, I had a nice day with a relatively free agenda so I thought I'd attempt to break the 50 mile mark. Not only did I accomplish that goal, I did it by adding on the loop up through Hell, MI. If you haven't ridden that area, it's known for being pretty rolling. I needed to spend some time on hills and I must say it went pretty well. In fact, my final mileage was 56.75. Actually closer to 60 than 50, so I'm quite pleased by that. And, I had enough energy to do just over 30 miles with Bike Ypsi

Another notable addition to this season is joining Strava. I had some reservations about this (how much sharing is too much?) but I've actually found that having a smaller community with other active friends has been good for me. If I see that Josh or Jeff did a ride and I skipped, it, I'm more motivated for the next time. And when I put up a solid ride, I get kudos. Best of all, it syncs automatically from my Garmin Connect account, and shares with my LoseIt! app. Pretty cool and some interesting data is now flowing in all directions.

As of now, I've really got the road bike dialed. Everything fits me well and I'm comfortable riding fairly long distances. On Sunday I rode the cross bike and realized we still have some fine-tuning to do. The first is going to be picking up a Fizik Aliante VS K:ium saddle. This is the same saddle my road bike has on it and we're used to each other. I also think it's probably time to score some decent MTB shoes for this bike. My old original entry-level Pearl Izumi's from a decade ago really aren't doing it. Especially after the oh-so-comfy Bonts on my road bike (and sadly Bont doesn't have a two-bolt pattern that will fit the SPD cleats on the 'cross bike).

It's early May, I've got some solid miles in and I'm eager for more. I started fundraising in earnest for the Susan G. Komen Ride for the Cure (feel free to donate!) last week. Thus far, the season is off to a solid start for this cyclist.

-Sean-

Roll On - Roval Rapide CLX 60 Wheels

Got the new wheels out for a first ride last weekend. Josh had a 40+ miler all planned out for me. Despite some pretty serious wind, we headed out in the afternoon.

I'd read a lot about aero profile wheels and the wind. A number of online mentions expressed concern over 60mm profiles like my Roval Rapide CLX 60's. More profile = more exposure to crosswinds, etc. So, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

What I found was that while you could definitely feel the impact of the wind, it really wasn't that big of a deal. Not bad per se, just different. Cross-wind gusts were noticeable, primarily with the front wheel, but not completely scary.

One thing I will say is that my bike looks BAD ASS with these wheels. As Josh commented, "It's like a completely new ride." And, he's right. Just looks tough.

Giant Defy Advanced with new Specialized Roval Rapide CLX 60's

As to the performance and handling of the wheels and their impact on my ride, it's really hard to say. Between ripping winds, and the fact that I haven't got a lot of road miles in yet this season (Winter hasn't really wanted to give up in Michigan) I don't think it was an optimum situation to evaluate. By the end of almost 45 miles, I was pretty much cooked. But, I survived those miles, and I think the new wheels made that easier.

More to follow as I get in more miles. Early impressions are that I like 'em.

-Sean-

It's Back...

At $579, the Epic Locals Pass is just an awesome deal. Plus, for just a $49 deposit, you can lock in the season's lowest price and pay for it this Fall. Easy decision - done like dinner! Next year's goal will be a long weekend (probably Keystone and A-Basin) as well as a longer week, perhaps to Utah. Can't wait!

Spring Fling - Ten Lessons Learned

Picked up a few things while skiing in Colorado:

1. Some pretty damn good beer there. Both the Dillon Dam Brewery (try the Brown) and Backcountry Brewing (easily one of the best amber ales I've ever had) delivered great beer and mighty good food. 
2. It snows in Colorado. Even in Spring. Might want to think about that when offered the $80 SUV upgrade on your rental car. And factor it into your commute time to the mountain.
3. Staying slopeside is cool, but it was equally nice (and way cheaper) to stay at a hotel in a central location. Dillon Inn was great.
4. Seriously getting back in to cycling has really helped my fitness and my skiing by leaps and bounds. Long runs at high altitude were no issue. I owe that all to thousands of miles on a bicycle.
5. Paying for parking at a ski area is bullshit. Vail's model is quite clearly "pay to park close", but I was able to park for free with only a short shuttle ride at Beaver Creek and Breckenridge, and within easy walking distance at Keystone and A-Basin.
6. Arapahoe Basin is awesome. A true local gem. Reminds me of places I love like Solitude and Powder Mountain in Utah. Great terrain, cool people, and a great vibe. Plus, Ramrod is one of the best blue runs I've ever skied (should be a black easily). Fast. Steep. Scenic. I will definitely return to the Basin.
7. Breckenridge just isn't my cup of tea. Crowds. Tons of pretentious dining. Traffic. And their blue runs would be greens anywhere else. 
8. Still love Beaver Creek, and Keystone will become a new favorite. I really learned from chatting with the locals that all of the area can be great, but you have to consider some key factors. For example, chatting with one of the locals at the bar on my last night in town revealed that A-Basin is awesome, but you don't want to be up there on low-visibility days. Having a third of the resort above treeline makes it really disorienting.
9. My Blizzard Bonafides rule the mountain. They also got a lot of compliments on their appearance (they are a sweet-looking ski).
10. Pack for nearly everything in Spring out West. After two days of bluebird sunny skies and temps in the 50's I thought bringing the colder weather layers was a waste. Wrong. I ended up needing everything I had with me.
11. (Bonus Round) The Epic Pass is awesome. I had my choice of five mountains in Colorado, AND I got a pass to ski Mt. Brighton back home and stay in shape. Perfect!

Next year, who knows? Maybe I pull of two Western trips and get to both Colorado and Utah. Sure would be fun!