River Riot 2010 was a blast!!!

Okay, I'll admit that I wasn't too keen on going to a concert at Westfair Amphitheater in Council Bluffs. I was there back in college and I don't remember having a good time. Maybe it was the traffic or the heat, but I was a little wary about slapping down money for those tix. BUT, how many times do you get the chance to see Weezer, Stone Temple Pilots, and Blue October all in one show? Never. Let's just say that I was very glad that I went. Quite possibly one of my best concert experiences in my life. I can finally check off Weezer as one of my favorite groups that I've wanted to see. Bands that I've seen in the past include 311 (my photos and write up here), Foo Fighters, RHCP, NIN, CCR, Tom Petty, DMB with Timmy Reynolds, System of a Down, Limp Bizkit, The Urge, George Clinton and the P-Funk Allstars, Moby, Goo Goo Dolls, Bush, Ben Harper, Cake, Black Eyed Peas, Smashmouth, Third Eye Blind, even Elton John. DJs I've dance to include Ferry Corsten, DJ Rap, Steve Smooth, Max Graham, and Christopher Lawrence.

The day had finally arrived!

Grabbed a bite at Chicago Dawg House before heading out to CB. I had the awesome chili cheese dog and Emily had the traditional, complete with spicy peppers, onions, relish, tomato and all. Topped it off with a can of Pabst and we were ready to roll.

Yesterday's River Riot artists included (in the order they came on stage) Something to Burn, Paper Tongues, Flobots, Spose, Emphatic, Cage the Elephant, Blue October, Weezer, and then finally Stone Temple Pilots. Woohoo! Only one band that I've never heard and the lineup was great! Luckily the weather cooled down for us just a little bit, high of 90 I believe. Tiny bit of raindrops while waiting for Weezer to come on stage, and even saw a double rainbow overhead. Could we ask for anything better?

We made our way to the fairgrounds. Parking Nazis on horse were aplenty. Guy was yelling at some girl for parking too far away from another car. She corrected herself, got out of the car and he continued yelling at her, saying that they needed to get cars as close as possible to fit everyone in. Pretty sure I heard her say sorry. Give it a break man on a horse with a pointing stick. Whatever, I sprayed some bug spray on and we continued on our way. I could hear The Paper Tongues playing, I was getting excited! Walk through security without a hitch, give them the tix, and there we were. Carnival type food vendors everywhere, StereoWest, Midwest Wake and Skate, KXVO, etc were there trying to promote their services.

Ahh...the grassy hill with the mainstage at the bottom. I look up and I see the huge "W" with wings on the back of the stage. Did it stand for Westfair or was it the Weezer logo? We concluded that it was the Weezer logo, oh how happy I was!

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Flobots taking the stage when we got there at 2pm 

The Flobots put on a great show, pretty cool to see the girl on stage with a violin with two rappers, drummer and electric guitar. They played Handlebars (how appropriate for the Bikingfools blog!) and my favorite song by them, Rise. I would best describe the Denver group as a cross between Beastie Boys and Rage Against the Machine, using their hip hop styled lyrics to convey change and a message to the public in many of their songs.

Spose consisted of a 24 year old rapper, turntablist, and a friend on the mic. They were from Maine, and the kid joked about not knowing that there were casinos in the midwest. He sang a song about money and it was funny because people started throwing their change up on stage. And I'm talking about hucking the money up on stage. He said to keep it coming, despite getting hit in the face with a quarter. Even joked about the dollar bill that made its way up on stage and how they were going to clean up and head to the casino with his new earnings. Of course they played their popular tune Awesome.

Rapper Spose trying to keep cool with water and mic in hand 

Next came local Omaha boys Emphatic and then Cage the Elephant. Emphatic's style was a little hard for me, although their one song Dirty that gets airplay on 89.7 doesn't really sound like their other tunes. Cage the Elephant was good, playing most of the their tunes that get airtime.

Rockers and local Omaha boys Emphatic took the stage 

 

Cage the Elephant 

Up until this point, we were trying to stay hydrated. Waters down instantly, multiple beers gone. Diet Mt. Dew and huge Tiger Blood shaved ice in bellies. Oh yeah, when the concert promoters say that free water is provided, they mean yellow nasty water that has been sitting in Farmer Brown's spray tank that they wheeled into the center of the field. Lines of people getting the yellowish water from the cart and filling their bottles with the stuff. Numerous occasions I heard people say, "This water doesn't taste right." I thought the water at Creighton was nasty, this was at a whole different level. I told Emily that I would be afraid to even bathe in that bacteria infested water. Pay the three dollars and get yourself a cold Aquafina, would you please?

Next came Blue October who played all of their popular tunes such as Into the Ocean, Hate Me, and Dirt Room. Dark and sad lyrics behind their music if you've never heard of them. Once again, I think the violin makes their songs really stand out. This time, the violinist had multiple colored violins, one was even green/purple fade that he later plucked at the end of their set. Pretty cool to see him holding that on his shoulder, while playing keyboards and having an electric guitar strapped and ready to play.

First time I've seen Blue October perform, great show! 

 

Might as well pluck the violin for a unique sound! 

Weezer singing MGMT - Kids at RiverRiot 2010 from Misterlime on Vimeo.

Ahh...Weezer's turn. Most people were there to see STP. Not me. Weezer got my attention back in the day with their blue album. Even though I had played that album dozens of times, I only knew the songs by track number. #7 and #10 were my favorites. How much do I like them? Buddy John and I had used the name Jonas as an alias to try to pick up women in St. Louis ten years ago (they have a song called My Name is Jonas). Even played El Scorcho over and over in the dorms while mashing Nintendo 64 buttons during those late night 007 GoldenEye matches. That game was a grade killer.

Weezer's turn to tear up the stage 

Weezer played all of their great tunes plus many others. Some of them were Troublemaker, Buddy Holly, Pork n' Beans, Hash Pipe, Beverly Hills, Say It Ain't So, El Scorcho and My Name is Jonas. Island in the Sun came on and out came the beachballs and tons of rolls of toilet paper from stage. It was like a huge beach party! Rivers Cuomo even stopped the music at one point and got this kid dressed in an all blue outfit (from head to toe) to come on stage. Later, he also got the kid dressed in a chicken costume up there. Is that all it takes to get up there during a Weezer concert? I'm dressing up in an ape outfit or something next time!

 

The spotlights were on the stage most of the show. Then while watching some kid next to us pass out, wake up, and pass out in the hands of security guards, the lights were shining on them as they got the paramedics and a stretcher involved. I turn around and I see the spotlights on one of the scaffold poles and I saw someone halfway up on the post! I thought it was a jumper! I was like whoa! Turns out it was the lead singer for Weezer up there in the middle of the field. How did he sneak out there? He sang up there for a little bit, then started running straight for us! I tried so hard to get my camera to take the picture while Emily stood in his way. My camera flash went off and Emily said that he had grabbed her hand. More like an awesome running hand shake and less of a high five. I looked at my camera to see what I got. Picture of Rivers Cuomo's hand and Emily's touching in an action shot. How cool is that? Almost as cool was when they played MGMT's - Kids mixed with Lady Gaga's Poker Face.

They let the guy with the blue man suit on, chicken man also!

 

Stone Temple Pilots were on after that. By now it was 10pm and people started leaving halfway through the set. Once again, they played all of their great tunes plus a few off of their new album. Emily was pretty sure that it was all of the same members. During one of the songs, Scott Weiland announced that a good friend/producer/drummer would be playing a song with them. Josh Freese stepped up and drummed like a madman. Reading up on him, he has drummed for Perfect Circle, NIN, and is currently drumming for DEVO and Weezer on tour.

 

 

 Scott Weiland sang into the megaphone multiple times during the show

 

Josh Freese up on stage, he has drummed for various bands such as NIN, Perfect Circle, and Devo 

What can I say? It was a great show. Beers were $5, weather was great, bumped into a few ex-coworkers, and we left with a few souvenir Weezer shirts on our backs. Traffic was terrible leaving and we got home around 1:30am. Slept until 2pm, missed riding with Dave and Paul in the Corporate Cycling Cup at 8:30am (sorry guys), but it was well worth the wasted Sunday. We'll have to see what River Riot 2011 brings to Council Bluffs. 2010's will be hard to beat!

Another Stolen Bike

Saw a post on facebook. Be on the lookout for this Kona and help the guy out if you see it. Another distinct looking bike.

2010 Kona Ute
http://omaha.craigslist.org/bik/1897010538.html

Good luck

Fellas, good luck at the tri this weekend. Kick some booty!

Nice hot trail ride last night

Aaron called...want to ride? Once again, my plans to lay on my couch were spoiled. Sent some texts and an hour later we had a small impromptu ride ready to go at Tranquility. Yes, 97 degrees leaving work. Yes it was hot when you didn't move. But once the wheels were rolling, it wasn't too bad. I logged 17 miles yesterday, got to take an envious look at Cory's new rig, and had a chance to finally ride Tranquilty after the 100s of laps were spun from last weekend. Trail is smooth and fast, even different from when I rode during Cat 3. Have a great weekend folks!

Cory on his new Stumpy 29er 

Gnat Likes blog

Another cool blog I came across. Kind of the theme of this blog is ride...take pictures. Gnat Likes...the guy works for Salsa during the day, rides and photographs in his spare time. Need I say more?

Adventure photography blog by Dan Bailey

A blog I came across while checking out the Salsa Mukluk bike. The blog is about adventure photography and getting out there and doing anything outdoor adventure related. Articles about photography and tips, mountain climbing, fishing, mt biking, etc. The photographer (Dan Bailey) actually was hired and shot the Salsa Mukluk photo that is being used on the Salsa website.

Image borrowed from the internet, it is all over people!

The bike is basically the new Salsa version of the Surly Pugsley. Lighter (made of aluminum) with disc brakes, rigid frame and fork, etc. Cruised by Guitar Ted's blog and somewhere he saw that the MSRP will be about $1500.00. Not a bad deal. Then he said that you could slap a 29er wheelset on there and have a year round 29er? Might be my solution to fill that 29er void in my garage and the need for a good winter bike that can actually go through the snow. Can it do a gravel ride I wonder?

Check out both!
http://salsacycles.com/bikes/mukluk/
http://danbaileyphoto.com/blog/

Remember how cold it was?

With a high of 97 today, I decided that we need to remember how cold it was back in December and we were trying to ride our bikes on the paved trails. We tried to bike over to Lake Manawa from the Pedestrian Bridge. It was so cold my cables weren't cooperating on my Gary Fisher, allowing me to shift only intermittently. Not sure which is worse. Having 10 lbs of clothing on just to stay warm and wishing I had those heated bike grips. Or it being so hot that I have no desire to hop on the bike after work. There is relief in sight though, as long as it rains this Thursday, temps will drop to the 80s this weekend. Just in time to see Weezer and STP at Westphair!

Hoping these pics help to cool you down

Another stolen bike

Please keep an eye out for this bike and if you see it, contact the owner. Once again, it looks like another one of a kind type of bike that isn't off the shelf so it should be easy to spot if out on the trails. Hope this guy finds his ride. Considering this happened at the race, please lock up your bikes after the race and even during the tacoride. Yes there are tons of bikes out there and it might be possible to grab the wrong bike, but not a bike with a unique name or look like this one.

Stolen lynskey mtb @ tranq race. Please keep an eye out when out on the trails...

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=641540

Final chapter, Tranquility cross country race

How do you prepare for a cross country race when the heat index happens to be over 105 and a comfortable couch with air conditioning seems like a much better choice? It's hard. I drank a ton of Powerade Zero and water before heading out at noon today for the Tranquility cross country race. Camelback filled to the brim along with a berry Elixir pellet dropped in for some electrolyte replenishing. I swear that stuff works. The only problem that I have with it is that time after time, after a lap or so I wish that I just had plain tasting water. At first it tastes great, like berry water. Then after awhile, you can't get the taste out of your mouth and it starts to taste really sweet. But I digress...

Yes, my old bike computer says it is 97 in the shade

There were a ton of riders ready to race at Tranquility despite the heat. Since I'm not in any contention for winning points, medals, etc., I just figured that I would take it somewhat easy and have a good time. Like Greg said, consider it a donation to help pay for Tigger the mower. Pretend it is a Monday Night Ride, push a little harder up the hills and ease off the brakes a little more than usual. It worked. Not fast, but it was the fastest that I've ever ridden at Tranquility. So I did set a personal best for me, and I finished in 100 degree heat! I remember as soon as I felt the heat on my back during the first climb on the north side of the creek, I thought to myself, "Wow, it is really hot. What am I doing out here? Why did I sign up for today's race?" But I pushed on...and finished 7th. Can't complain. Couple riders slowed me down, but they also help me to set a pace where I knew that I could finish the race in that heat.

They made it fun for the whole family with a kids race before the start of Cat 2

Sorry Alex, that propeller might give you an advantage during the race

I let quite a few other racers pass me (from other classes), no need to be rude and slow them down. I also passed a few people so it is all good. For the Cat 3 racers, it was basically a truncated track. Meaning no inner loop and no camel humps. Thank goodness for that! The trail was the most dry that I've ever seen it, and there were actually a few unexpected slick turns from loose dirt. Otherwise, the trail was in great hardpack condition and very fast. Thanks to T.H.O.R. and all who put the numerous days worth of work into the trail. Also thanks to all of the sponsors, Pyscowpath, and any volunteers that stood out there in the blistering heat to make these three races a success!

Team Spokehole finally updated to reflect these races.

ps. Sorry, no racing pictures since I didn't stay long after the Cat 3 races.

Brian, Paul, and Greg chit chatting after the race

 

Patty and Alicia were the smart ones. Shade, chairs...I'm taking notes for next year! 

Part 2, Tranquility short track

Decided to head out to Tranquility on Saturday afternoon to give some moral support to Todd and to see what a short track race was like. Brought the big camera out for this one. I'm so glad that I didn't enter. My legs and energy were zapped from Saturday morning's early race at Lewis and Clark. Everybody out there was fast, they would have had to postpone the later races if I was out there pedaling. I ended up taking two naps yesterday and three showers on top of that.

Alex and the leader in an all out sprint at the end of Cat 3 Men's Masters 35+

For those of you who couldn't make it out, the track basically started from the picnic table on the east side, went down the gravel road, made a right onto the other gravel road and then up the inner loop. After bombing down the inner loop, you then rode a short section of singletrack by the creek backwards and back to the gravel road. Repeat. Three laps for Cat 3 open. Hot, fast and sprint like in certain sections. Link to Ryan's GPS map of the trail here. Congrats to all of the riders that competed, you guys put on a good show with a near photo finish in a few of the races!

Team Spokehole updated to reflect these races

Todd giving it all he could after an already long day of racing 

 

 

Thanks to all of the sponsors for a great weekend of racing! 

 

 It was an exciting finish as three racers try to win the Tranquility Short Track Cat 3 open

 

Alex giving some pointers to Todd before the start 

Chris and Paul volunteering, trying to tell people that there is a race underway.

First installment of a weekend of races

Out to dinner late, up early, Mike you're up. 3...2...1...GO! This morning was the Lewis and Clark time trials through pyscowpath racing. You would think that riding two laps the previous weekend there would have helped me be a little more prepared. Yes it kind of helped me to know the course and what was coming up. But at the same time, nope. Just something totally different about race day. The extra speed you carry on the downhills and the crazy leg pumping you put yourself while going uphill is at a different level when you are racing against the clock and competitors.

The first place boys holding up their medals. Congrats! 

Both Todd and Alex finished 1st in their race division. Congrats gentlemen, I need some of your speed to rub off on me! As we were discussing, time trial is so different because it is very hard to gauge how well you are doing compared to other riders. You pass some, you get passed by others (unless you are Todd or Alex). Checked my results, three of us finished within 15 seconds of each other!!! 15 seconds and I would have moved up three spots. Oh well...I'm in it for the fun component and there's always next year.

Skipping the short course at Tranquility today because I'm not trying to get any points for the series. Just out there for fun. Will be on the course tomorrow for the Tranquility XC, gonna be a scorcher. 96 degrees, 100 some heat index. Good luck to all of those racing today and tomorrow. See you out there.

Team Spokehole updated to reflect this weekend's races

 

 

 Part of last night's dinner at Jazz. 2lbs of crawfish!

Get your race on!

Three, count it three Psycowpath races this weekend! Register before 8pm Friday night, otherwise you'll miss out!

"Build a Body for Your Mountain Bike"

Cyclops Power is an email I get from Saris with monthly training tips. Their latest newsletter had an article written by a professional triathlete that discusses some pre and post biking workouts and stretches to help you be better on your bike. While the other videos deal with using bands, this was a good stretching video. I might try this, considering how I never stretch before or after riding or lifting at the gym. Article here at Build a Body for Your Mountain Bike

Near bombproof cameras

Seeing how I like to be outdoors, at the clubs and bars, etc., I'm always in need of a new camera. I've been through two Canon Elphs and a Sony T100. All of their fates decided by the butterfingers of friends trying to take pictures of us. I refuse to buy the damage protection plan for one third of the camera's value because I know that in one year, something much better and cheaper will be out for a fraction of the cost. Olympus came out with their tough camera series, which is able to withstand freezing temps, drops, and is waterproof and shockproof to a certain degree. But, they were always twice as expensive AND the picture quality has always been subpar compared to other brands. Well finally, other makers are following suit like Fuji, Panasonic, and Sony. Outside magazine rounded up a few, check out brief descriptions here if you are in the market for a camera that you can take out on the trail, pools, or the bars.

Oakley's farewell to Rosenblatt

Kind of cool when you open your email from Oakley and they have a farewell article to Rosenblatt stadium (even if they misspelled it Resenblatt in the email). Wow, they didn't spell Scheel's correctly either in the article. Who writes this stuff? Anyway, check it out here, Rosenblatt Farewell.