My Bikes Are Rebelling

I got my single all up and running after picking it up from the parents in NC. Rode Tabeguache on it yesterday and all was well. Its always fun riding a one speed. Today I take it out to 18Rd to shred some flowy trails when I had another bicycle tragedy. Take a look at the picture below.


I was maybe ten minutes into my ride when I torqued the chainring. Up a rockslab and I thought my chain came off. Nope, just a bent Surly chainring. Never seen that before. I am assuming my chainring bolt either snapped, or came out right before that. The bolts were in and tight in the morning. I bent that sucker good.


I am not coming back for the Iceman, but it should be a great time for everyone else this year. Looks like Joberon is putting together a hell of a party. Hopefully everyone in the MI scene will haul ass.


At least the weather here is nice. Mid-seventies and sunny. I heard back in the mitten is is cold and nasty. I'll take a hike back to the trailhead in warm weather over MI crap. So, is it going to snow for Iceman?

Sorry, I just had to remind myself how nice it is here!

Reporting from Charlotte

I love airports with wireless. Another 6 hours in the terminal today should be a fun time.

Weekend was really fun, but we all had some bad luck.

We got to our place in Banner Elk at 9pm after picking our bikes up from Mines. Got everything ready, then hit the sack for a few hours of sleep. Up at 5am aka 3am CO time. Rode down to the LMC campus in the pitch black at 7am. Couldn't see crap until just before 8am. Raced at 8:15. 5 laps of a rocking XC course. No long climbs, but just a bunch of punchy stuff and a sweet decent. Lap 1 was blind since there was no pre-ride. The downhill was a hike-a-bike with all of the people. I broke the buckle/strap on my shoe. I had to pull out a multi-tool and try to fix it. Luckily I was able to get it to work and I was on my way a few minutes later. On lap 4 after passing a bunch of people and riding back into the top 15, I flatted at the bottom of the rock garden. I shot it with CO2, but it wouldn't hold. Took all of the air out and put a tube in. A million people passed me it seemed. I got going again and passed some people back on lap 5, but it didn't matter at that point.

Sunday was STXC. I rode the course right before the race and was worried. Thick peanut butter all the way up the climb, then a slip-slide back down. Racing Maxxis Larsen TT tires didn't work. The goal for most people was to try and pedal and move forward. It seemed I pedaled 10 miles and went 2. I don't know where I finished, but I only raced a bit of it. Mud tires would have worked much better, much less a CX bike.

Went and watched the rockin DH race in the afternoon. We had a good representation with Peter and Marshall hitting top 10. Saturday night was a good time and Sunday dual slalom looked way fun.

Back to DIA late tonight, then pack up bikes in Golden before driving back to Junction in the middle of the night.

Single Speed at 18Rd is calling me this week.

Late edit: Just saw the USGP Results. Wissink is a rockstar. Way to represent the MI Scene.

DIA

Sitting in DIA right now. Drove down to Denver yesterday and sat in traffic for hours on Vail pass as it was snowpacked.

Up at 3:30am and came here to DIA. Learned our 6:45am flight was moved to 9:30am. Then the flight was cancelled. Then we get tickets from DIA to Dallas and then to Charlotte where we will get in after 6pm. Then we went to check in and I wasn't transferred over. We figure that out and went to security.

I was a lucky one with the SSSS on my ticket, which required me to be searched extra special. Sweetness. Then we ran over to another terminal to try to get on another direct flight to Charlotte. Denied. Now we are sitting around waiting for our flights. There goes my pre-ride. Hopefully we will be able to find our bikes and put them altogether before the race in the morning.

At least DIA has free WIFI.

I'll try to update later on this weekend. I'll try for a prelap before my race tomorrow.

Quick Post

Jammed up with schoolwork this week. Here is a quick recap

Saturday-Sweet CX race. Cool course. Dave Towle. Over 600 racers. 88 people in my race. Had a decent race and finished 8th. Didn't get chicked this week. I beat Georgia.

Sunday-Okay course. Def a power course which worked for my flatlander legs. Bridged up to lead 2 guys on last lap and preceeded to blow my tire out on a curb. Done. Good legs and training.

Leave GJ tomorrow afternoon. Fly out of DIA to Charlotte Thursday morning.

Hopefully a quick pre-ride at LMC on Thursday evening.

XC Friday at 8am.

STXC Saturday at 8:45 am

Banquet Sunday

Fly out Monday

Drive back to GJ early Tuesday morning.

Drive back to Boulder Friday

Boulder Cup CX Sat and Sunday

Back to GJ Sunday

Take a breath.

HERE WE GO. 2 Weeks with 2 of the 3 biggest races on my schedule. The other is CX Nationals in December. Let's hope for snappy legs and dry dirt.

Later

Fall Break

We had Fall break on Monday and Tuesday, but a home race last weekend kept us from traveling. STXC Saturday followed by a Sunday XC race.

As luck would have it, I flatted on Friday night while marking the course. It was a small hole, but it kept slowly leaking. I rode out to Whitewater in crazy winds and noticed my tire had dropped some pressure once I got to the race site 45min later. I decided to take the tire off and put a tube in. That is where I noticed my sealant had dried up. I warm-up, do a few laps, then stand at the start for 15 minutes. My legs were tight. I felt like crap on lap 1, then started moving up on lap 2. As I came to the finish line to start lap 3, my tube blew. It went flat in no time. I looked at it later when I changed it and noticed a nice long slice at the seam. Bad tube. I'll take it now rather than nationals.

Fixed everything up on Saturday night. Sunday morning came and I pulled up the weather as I ae my oatmeal. WHAT...32F. I bundled up in tights, winter jacket, and thick PI winter gloves. Added a skull cap and I was out the door at 6:45 off to the course. The race didn't start until 9:45, so it was a bit chilly standing around. Sun came up and by race time the tights came off. It is weird out here. 50F feels nice and there is no need for knee warmers or baselayers and arm warmers.

Race went okay. I think standing around and a not-so-good warm-up left me cruising slow for a while. My first 2 laps (of 3) were slow. I could not go hard, breathe hard, or suffer. I could only max out at a decent tempo. By lap 3 I had warmed-up and could go hard. I passed 4 or 5 people to finish off with a 7th overall. Next time I'll go for a better warm-up.

So with no school Monday and Tuesday, it was off to MTB some of the trails that are close, but never see our tracks. 18 Rd. was the choice on Monday. We rode all of the loops did Joe's Ride to Kessels twice since it is so fun. By the time we were done I think everyone was pretty well bonked out. I was definetely in the hurt for some food.

Tuesday was off to Loma to hit the Kokopelli trails. While not as fun as 18Rd, it was still a good time. The beginner loop, Rustlers is probably the best with some fun slickrock and swoopy sections.

A few more classes, then it is off to the front range on Friday for a couple cross races this weekend. Come back for 3 days, then head back over the passes on Wednesday so we can fly out of DIA on Thursday. Race Friday and Saturday. Hope the legs are good. You Lees McRae guys better keep the rain away. I want to ride my bike, not hike it! I'll be sure to bring mud tires as well.

Extra, Extra

Found a few pictures and a video.

I am the first guy running the barriers in the vid. The guy who crashes (and they show it 25 times too many) did the same thing as my pre-ride. I decided to try and hop the barriers on the warm-up, but then decided it wasn't any faster. I made the first 2, then caught the chainring on the log and stacked the front wheel.

I also saw JHK at the race cheering on his wife. I should have asked him what tires he is running at ICEMAN. I saw he is registered. Anyone think he will run the Dugast 45's again? They seemed to work unitl the last corner.




Find more videos like this on Cyclocross Magazine

Frisco CX 1 & 2

Weather held out for the weekend. It was supposed to be rainy and cold, but ended up in the mid-40's to 50 and only a few scattered light showers. The CX courses were okay, Day 2 was better.

Race 1-start my warm-up and know its not my day. I know 5 minutes into my warm-up how my legs are feeling. Today as just one of those days where there is residual fatique and they are slow. I managed a front row call-up and did my best to screw it up. I took 5 pedalstrokes and sat down into a comfortable hour pace. Yup there went at least 40 guys in our 60 man field. Get to the top of the long road climb and take the inside line on the switchback. Mistake #2. Everyone passed me on the outside as I trackstanded to wait for guys to flow in. A large part of the course is 1-track, which made for slow going. The first 3 laps think Iceman sport class bunch-up in the singletrack. Oh well, I stayed calm and jumped off a few times to run by people. Lots of standing around. I spent the rest of the race playing catch-up. I managed a 5th place which wasn't too bad considering my start. I had 2 guys right in front of me, and 1st and 2nd(Katie Compton) were only a minute up.

Day 2-Legs feel great in my warm-up. I know it will be a good day. Decide to try hard and stand the entire start. Damn, I am looking around as I go into the woods in 3rd position. "Is everyone going slow, or did I actually do that right for once?" Ride 2 laps and 5 of us are in a front group. Then after 2 laps and just after the pit, I pop my tire remounting. I must have got on at a bad angle and also hit a bump. I was also playing around with tire pressures, and was a bit low. I managed to get the bead to seal back up in a spot and get rolling. My tire is sitting at 5 psi(at most). I babied it a hole lap, taking the corners oh so easy. Finally I get to the pit again after a million people pass me. Grab a friends bike. "Oh shit, this is weird." I ride a medium, this was an XL. Managed to get through the lap without killing myself. Switched bikes back in the pit after some Blue Sky Cycling guys quickly got on my bike and pumped the tire back up. Thanks! Now, make up some time. The leaders were way up the road, I was in the 30's. I did 3 more laps and worked my way back up to 18th. Good training and a fun event.

Superfans-Got out the camera and heckling skills to ridicule the open racers. There was a good group of people cheering on and giving racers shit. What a fun time. Some of the racers were getting into the festivities pretty well too. Thats what CX is all about.

I'll see if I can dig up some pictures of myself learning how to ride a bike. MTB race in the Junction this weekend. Hopefully I have good legs and race smart. A little luck won't hurt either.

PICS

Why is the bike in front of him?


Remount

Bunny Hop

Yup, Spencer should stick to hopping the barriers

Baker crushed it

As did Katie

but Kelli chased hard

Motivation

Finding motivation to ride is not hard to find around here. With trails dispersed evrywhere, and great roads to ride on, I am finding it hard to limit my riding. It doesn't hurt that the weather is sunny everyday and the high temperatures are 85 everyday. With a long season still ahead of me, I am keeping the hours down, but upping the intensity, so I can stay fresh for upcoming races.

I decided to stay in the valley this weekend and get in a good block of riding instead of going to Boulder to race. Pictures do the justice...







Staying here was probably a good idea considering my travels coming up in the next 5 weeks. Two cyclocross races in Frisco this weekend should be a blast. Next weekend I get to stay here again as we host the collegiate races. After that is some more CX ragin' in Longmont and Fort Collins to keep the legs going for MTB Nationals. Off to North Carolina for some east coast action. I am bringing mudders in case of water. Back on Monday night, and off to Boulder the next weekend. Boulder Cup races should be crazy. Will that Lance guy show? Rumor has it he will, and all of the rumors as of late have been true. I think it is cool he is trying new events which should bring more people in the sport, but the media is crazy. Everything I read now is about Lance. Look at Cross Vegas. Trebon and TJ race for first, and all the media swarms Lance after he finished 20+ places back. How about some big press for the winners?

This is going to go FAST.

Wyoming

Its the UP for CO. People are just like Yoopers too.

Okay, here it is

2nd overall Short Track

11th overall XC




Short track was Saturday and was cool course. It was like Michigan riding, short punchy climbs, flat section with fats corners, then some downhill. I started 2nd from last as the guy ahead of me would not file in. Sat in on lap 1, then passed like 10 people on lap 2. Everyone goes balls-out on the start, and I can't. My legs opened up, and soon I saw the lead group which was Fort Lewis guys, and 2 CSU guys. Then I crashed on a flat 2-track crossing over. I was laughing at myself for that. I kept chasing as people were popping. It came down to 3 of us. I was sitting 3rd coming near the finish as the 2nd guy crashed while standing up. I brakes and got around him. No way I was going to beat 1st as he was 2nd at track nationals last week.

XC-sat in the car until 20 minutes before the start as it was pouring. Fixed some bike stuff, road up the dirt road maybe a minute, then lined up. I rode lap 1 near the back just having fun. I went a little harder on lap 2 and 3, but I never killed it. Just wanted to stay on 2 wheels and enjoy the trails.

Then it was off to Boulder to pick up some CX bike components so I could build up some bikes. Sweet bikes.

Might stay here this weekend and get some riding in, or head down to the Republic for some CX and STXC. We'll see.

Another Adventure

Sol Vista was on tap for Friday. Located right next to Winter Park, we arrived to a nice rain and cold temps. A nice dinner and warm lodge was the name of the game for the night. Woke up in the morning to a frozen tent and waterbottle.

Noon was race time. A long climb to the top, some sweepy downhill followed by fireroad and 1-track. Then shoot down the mountain. 3-9mile laps was called. I felt decent, but seemed like I could not go downhill fast at all. It wasn't techy, just lots of turns. Finished up 15th overall, so not a bad result considering the people in the top 10.

Another night in a cold tent, then off to Breckenridge for some pain and suffering at 10,000ft. We arrivd to mid-50's and bright blue skies. A great day for cross. I lined up with a group around 40 in the 3 race. Had a decent start, but about 15-20 people ahead of me and a lot of 1-track. All dirt and some paved road climbs was the course. Bridged up to chase group 1 on lap 2. I was told a guy was off the front, but I decided to chill on the back of the group. Pace wasn't that fast, and another guy bridged up. We picked the pace up a bit, and on the next lap attacked on a road climb. I stuck to his wheel as the others dropped. Once we hit the woods and a little rise, I countered his move and had a large gap immediately. Another 1.5 laps and I rolled in 2nd with a minute gap over 3rd. Sure was a fun time.

Watched Conor and Kevin race the Open race at 3:10. Small field, but some fast guys. They held up well dispite spending some time with the ground. T. Brown rolled in 2nd place on his SS 69'er.

This was the first cross race of the season, and I was rolling a new tire setup. As tubies are expensive, I went another route. Ksyrium wheels with a Stan's NoTubes rimstrip. Some sealant in a Michelin Mud2 tire and I am set with a tubless setup. The course yesterday had a bit of rocks and roots, and flats were not uncommon. People were telling others to jack the pressure up. I rode about 40psi and had no problems. I felt the rim a few times, but I don't have a pinch flat problem with no tubes. Tires hooked up well and I never rolled a tire. I could definitely rail the corners faster than others, but that could have something to do with MTBing. So far with 1 race and a few nightly practice sessions, it works well.

Up next is some MTBing in Wyoming followed by some riding around here, then a few CX races in Frisco in 3 weeks. Can't wait for that. CX is so FUN! Oh yeah, I registered for Cross Nationals as well this morning. U23 and Collegiate. See you in December.

Bike Racing

Left Fun Junction on Friday to go shred some trails up in the boonies south of the Wyoming border. CSU MTB race weekend. Saturday was the short track where I was looking to limit my losses. Suprisingly, I ended up 7th overall as I did my normal skit and passed loads of people after starting near the back. Then I went to pre-ride the course, but I had no idea if I was on the right track. I was stopped and coughing my lungs up as a lady hiker came down. "Oh, it must be the elevation(in reference to me coughing). My cabin is right there, and it is 9400ft." Thats why I could taste my lungs the whole race. Tasty.

XC was Sunday morning. Luckily it wasn't 30F like the day before in the morning. First lap was good. Just a brutal climb to the top, a techy downhill, a deep creek crossing of freezing water, another climb, then a sweeeeeet rocky downhill to the bottom. I climbed to the top in a good position, then rode like a school-girl trying to descend the first downhill. Smacked my derailluer and bent the hanger so it would hit the spokes. I had to watch my shifting so I didn't go below my 3rd lowest cog. Lots of granny ringing was had after that. Just after lap 1, I feel my front tire all squirrelly. Hit it with CO2, but it only goes up to 20psi, and my Big Air was gone. Must of been a bad one. Stop a few times on the climb to try and get the gash in my tire to seal. After shredding the DH on lap 2, I felt my tire very low again after hearing multiple rocks smash my rim. Pump up the tire and head of for lap 3, which had us avoid the rocky downhill, and shorten the loop by taking a smooth fire-road back. Just as I hit the fire road and flew down at 30+mph, my tire goes flat and I try not to crash. Get off and run downhill and then a long flat section to the finish. Running 2 miles in crabon shoes worked, but is not the greatest thing. I guess it is good training for cross season.

So I ended up going from 5th overall to 9th in the XC as 4 guys passed me running. It was still fun, but it seemed like when I was racing, it was like another ride. I was never really pinned, and the HR was pretty low, but that could have been from the elevation and fatigue. Fun weekend though.

Next up, its off to Sol Vista for some XC action on Saturday. Then a few of us are of te Breckenridge for a CX race on Sunday. Should be another fun weekend.

Wet?

"It rarely rains here, and never this hard."

We turned back at the strike of lightning. Nothing like spinning the 53x12 over at 130rpm to get back.

'splorin

Google-Earthed some routes. Found dirt road that goes to the top of Grand Mesa. 4500ft->8500ft+. Took CX bike for adventure. 2 miles onto dirt road I hit a sign and gate. "Aghhh...but wait." Sign says raod only open to hikers, horses and bikes. Sweet. Go through opening and ride. Get rocky. Not too bad. Just a doubletrack type road all the way up. Cross a creek. Then really rocky. Hike-a-bie and decide to turn back. Looks like a sweet adventure for an epic ride someday. Road was more than I bargained for on a CX bike. MTB will be in store next time. Turned back and cruised around the vinyards and orchards in Palisade. Evening MTB ride was also in store.

Other Side of the World

Left MI Monday afternoon and arrived in Conifer, CO at 8am. Stayed at Kevin and Danielle's until Friday. Did some MTBing and road riding before packing up and heading west.


Drove over the passes Friday morning. It was raining in the Front Range, but nothing in the Mts. It snowed later in the day and over 10K was white over the weekend.

Cloudy until coming out of the Eisenhower Tunnel and it was all blue skies.



Rode up onto the mesa on Friday. MTB's Tabaguache trails on Sat morning, Road ride to Fruita and around in the afternoon. Up and into the Monument today and around north of the city. Monument has great views but the camera was forgotten. Another time.

Another one down

Another week that is. After a good and hard final week, I am now on a little rest week. Should help bring the legs around. Tuesday ride at Pontiac was fun. Trail is getting a little gravley and loose, but my crow still hooked up.

Hit up the Poto on Saturday for a good time. That trail has seen the likes of mother nature lately. It sure was a good time though.

Took the cross bike out for a little excursion on Sunday. I think I hit every rock possible on the trail though.

T-1 week

STONY

Did the TT Sunday. Even though I had a bit of fatigue in the legs, I felt good. I was able to turn the cranks over well. It was fun to get back out there and have the adrenaline flowing. Took it a bit safe in spots, especially all 2-track corners. At this point, there is no need to hurt myself. Even though I finished 11th in a good field, I was happy about it. Only 1:24 down on Bill's winning time showed me that my form is coming back. I sure was happy about that.

Best thing about the races besides racing is the great atmosphere. The MTB scene is just so cool as everyone cheers eachother on and gets along. It's like a little family. Each year it seems to be everyone gets faster as we all push eachother to make ourselves better. Hanging out after the races sharing stories of this and that makes it even better. That's MI racing.

Just under 2 weeks and I'm outta here. 2-a-day Tuesdays have been in place for a few weeks. Today is no exception. Road this morning and Pontiac at 6. Haven't been there all year. Should be fun.

Keep on Pluggin'

I crashed on the MTB the other day. I was on the ground before I knew it. "Oh Shit," was the first thought. Sat there for a minute and did the checkover. I was good. Pelvic bone didn't hurt. Cool, must be healed. I had to get up and move quick before the mosquitoes sucked me dry. Those suckers are terrible this year.

Trying to work on the top end as it is lacking. Did intervals today then hit up the Specialized train. Felt good until Don drilled it. Dropped twice, but legs felt good. More hard rides like that should help bring me around.

I think Stony TT is this weekend. Not my course at all, but I want some MTB intensity and there are no other races in this State. If the weathers good, I might show up to fight out DFL.

Getting back into form

420 miles in the legs in 6 days is bringing back to the bike racer ways. I was planning on throwing down 3 centuries, but killed that dream with a case of the bonk. 1.5 powerbars aka 325 calories in 4.5hrs with 88F and humidity doesn't work. Stumbling home with shakey hands and legs with 87 miles was good enough. FOOD.

Friday I ate more food for my hundo and I felt great. Saturday I rolled out of Chelsea for the Helluva ride with some people. 100 miles later I was feeling good.

Then came the best part in weeks. I saddled up the fat tire bike and hit some gravel. A detour through a conector trail felt good. 1.5hrs of gravel roads and I headed over to some 1-track. 2 laps of the Milford loop and my pelvic region was still feeling great. More gravel over to Proud Lake for a couple loops. Headed back home 3.5hrs later feeling great. Riding the mountain bike and hitting trails for the first time in 5 weeks was a great feeling.

Ramp up the intensity this week and try to build the form.

Let's Try This Again

So 2 weeks off, 4 days on, and another week off. My fitness isn't too bad. My leg is feeling much better. I put in a short ride on Friday, another 1.5hr on Saturday, and a 2:15 ride today to see how everything is going. Not bad. Looking like I'll throw down some endurance rides this week to get the legs back into the riding thing. Keep to the road bike and hopefully the MTB will see some action soon.

Today was the first time I was able to put some power down. I wasn't trying to go hard, but I pedaled right up one of the hills in Kensington and was only 20W off my peak 1 min power. Some threshold work, extra miles and MTBing, and I should be back cruising again. Looking foreward to it.

Friday the parents and I rode out to the park for a fireworks show. Fun night even though the fireworks were weak.

Hit the Gas and Go

This week marked getting back into the riding scheme of things. With the leg being worked on last weekend, it was feeling much better and I got the okay to giv'r some love. A short jaunt on Saturday led to a dirt road rampage on the CX bike Sunday. A little commute to work to move the legs was in store Monday.

Tuesday was back to normal. I was handed this sticker on Monday, so I figured I would give it a go.


Rode with Alex down to Chelsea where we picked up Matt. Headed to Aberdeen to fill up water and talk to Lummis. Cruised on down to Dexter to the HRD. Hit up Barton Hills before heading back to Whitmore Lk. Into South Lyon and back home got 90 miles under my belt.

Wednesday was a nice 50 miler at 7am. Getting in the ride before work was nice as the temps were comfortable. Still my legs are not ready until about 8am.

Yesterday was a commute followed by another ride in the rain. Not sure why, but it seems like I have been rained on a lot this year. Came back soaked and went out later with my dad for a nice 1.5hr cruise.

Got a call from the Dr. yesterday that I have a slight fracture in my pelvic bone. He said no MTBing, since there is impact. I'll keep to the vibration damping plastic bikes for a while.

Mid-Season Break

Winter seems to take forever with endless days of cold and clouds. Spring came late along with the temps. A dry and cool April and May lead into a crazy June. Rain almost every day with temps in the 90's with high humidity. Just like the race season, anticipation is there to line up with friends you have not seen over the course of the winter. Then 4 weeks of racing. Strangly enough, the schedules open back up for 4 weeks to allow time for long rides.

Brighton Stage Race was the first time back on the MTB scene since April's Bloomer XC. The week before was spent trying to acclimate to the heat and humidity and patching up some road rash. The TT came Saturday morning and I felt pretty good. My start sucked as normal, but I got back into a rhythm only to be disrupted 5 corners later as my skin wanted to touch the dirt. With overgrowth on the trail and going for a top time, it was easy to miss corners and run off into the trees and weeds. A few times of twisting wrong sent a pain through my hip and leg that was previously aggrivated. I finished it up in 5th place just 2.2 hundreths of a second behind Joe's new Quiring.

Short Track was later. My leg/hip was bothering me, but it seemed a little better that the TT. I lined up late, so I was in the back. The hip only had a little pain, but on the last lap, the muscle gave out a sharp pain and put me back. I rolled in for 11th, dropping a few spots. After the race, any sudden movement even as little as reaching for a glass hurt. I scratched the XC on Sunday for recovery. Usually it is hard to watch when you could race, but it was a total sufferfest. 90+F and humid as hell made for some not-so-fun conditions. Congrats to everyone who pushed through it. Oh, and the 3hrs for a XC. 40mi and that time is almost marathon distance.

So, I took last week off the bike and rested my leg. I am pretty sure it is muscle strain(after discussing with Dr. Internet Explorer). Ice, some stretching and rest was on tap. I rode my CX bike on Sunday, but it was a little sore as well. More time off. No need to rush it. My season goes until mid-December, so getting healed and resting up is key. I am scratching my east coast racing in July as I have no time to get back into shape. I might end up doing Boyne Marathon and then Malliot Juane road race if it happens. Anything else is up for grabs and based on my leg.

Maybe visual stimulation later, but my computer will not pick up the wireless anymore, so I'll have to transfer pics. Riding into work tomorrow, so we'll see how the leg feels.