Best Post Race Interview EVER!

Open letter to Avid/Sram.

Dear Avid/Sram,

Your Elixir CR brakes suck! That's right, they totally blow. You usually make pretty good components, but these things are crap and you should be ashamed for selling them to the public. I bought a pair of your Elixir CR brakes in July of 2009 and they have been the bane of my existence ever since. I can't count the number of rides these things have ruined. The problem is the rear brake fades over a period of about 30 to 40 days until it is useless and the lever touches the handelbar when squeezed. I first thought this was caused by a poor factory bleed, but after having them bled 6 times by 4 different mechanics it became obvious the problem couldn't be solved by simply bleeding the air out of the lines. I'm not the only one having issues with these things either. The Internet if full of post and complaints about the Elixir CR brakes fading, failing, vibrating, and rubbing. Avid must have gotten a ton of complaints because they released a service update online about bleeding the Elixir brakes. You'd think Avid informed all their dealers about this, but who really knows given the obvious lack of quality control. However, this "new method" hasn't solved my problem and I'm tired of dealing with it. I'm done with the Elixir CR brakes and have ordered a pair of Formula R1 brakes as replacements. I also saved myself some weight in the process. Congratulations Avid, you blew it with these things.

Trying to get back in the groove.

I decided to test myself today by riding my mountain bike from my house out to the Clear Creek trail and back to town where I'd pick up some more single-track at the Whirlpool Trails next to the Ole Miss campus. My calculations put the mileage around 52 miles, but it actually turned out to be more. I felt good until just over the 40 mile mark but it wasn't too bad. By mile 50 I hit a wall but was still able to pedal through it. All in all, I did pretty good for someone who hasn't trained or ridden much this year.

The Moots waiting outside the garage. It won't be that clean again for a long time.

Entering the park at the Clear Creek recreation Area.

The return "leg" from Clear Creek on 314.

60.11 miles on a mountain bike in 5:19:09. About 37 miles of pavement, 22 miles of single track, and the rest was power-line.

Wounded Butterfly

I found this butterfly crawling across the mountain bike trail today, probably the victim of a bird attack. I didn't know what to do when I saw it and I felt sorry for the poor thing, so I picked it up and hiked a mile back along the trail with the it sitting in my hand while leading my mountain bike with the other. I eventually reached the smooth section of trail where I could ride back to the car with the butterfly hanging on to my glove. When I got home, I put it on a slice of water melon from the forth of July figuring it needed the sugar water. I assume butterflies eat nectar like hummingbirds.

In any event, It looks like I have a pet butterfly to tend to since I do not think it will ever fly again.

(July 7, UPDATE) The butterfly is now in the care of a class. It has its own butterfly cage with fresh fruit, sugar water, and lots of people to care for it.