Pho-Toes

Again with the Pho-Toes...You're probably thinking to yourself...what a clever title.

Middle of nowhere on top of a mountain.
Circa early 1800's.

Blackburn LongNeck review

A couple of seasons ago it seemed as if at each race I went to I won a crappy pump. Since I use CO2 at races  and hardly ever flat I never gave them much thought, and didn't really ever put them to use.Then at the end of that summer at the Farmall Hill Challenge I won this Blackburn LongNeck. My initial impression was that it was just another crap pump so I threw it on the pile and forgot about it. Eventually one day a long time ago in a place far far away I lost my Crank Brothers pump and ended up throwing the Blackburn in my pack. Now more than two years later-thousands of miles, and probably about 10 flats-it still continues to impress me with each use.

Today when my rig decided to fight back as I was shredding some double track with the slicks mounted up (yeah...obviously not optimal) I realized i'd never even reviewed it. It certainly deserves a review as it's been nothing but awesome for almost three years now.

It's not too light, not too heavy. Super sturdy with a detachable head, two way airflow, high/low pressure/volume settings and your usual presta/schrader compatibility. With the high pressure setting enabled it takes about 580ish strokes to get a roadie rubber to 60ish psi. For mtb use, i.e. a 2.1x29 takes about the same number of strokes with a mix of both low and high pressure settings to reach 28ish psi. The detachable head takes a lot of the hassle and aggravation out of a flat since you can get comfortable and just crank out some reps on the pump without being in an awkward position.

Overall i'd give the Blackburn LongNeck an official rating of PFA (pretty freakin' awesome).

Ramble Around Prattsburgh 2012

Another sweet Rambler. It's always so fun to see everyone after a winter of hiding. Jeff and Katina picked up the slack for the Crankskins crew with some solid podiums, I had plenty of fun but was edged out right at the end for a podium spot. Weather this year was incredible relative to years past. Fridged but no rain during the race, and a pretty dry course considering. Got to preview a few sections Saturday evening so that was a huge plus. I had a flat out awesome weekend. The weekend ended on a somber note though as tragically someone passed away right out on the course. My heart and thoughts go out to his family.

The trip went smoothly on the way down, until my super secret shortcut backfired when a bridge was closed with no warning and no detour as it was out in the stix somewhere. Return trip was a white knuckle 7 hour suffer fest in some really crappy conditions. Funny how that always seems to be the case. Four Redbulls and a huge coffee later...

Fail

Beautiful trip into NY

Welcome to NY