My big fat CY08 Wish List

A while back, Mike from GamJams.net asked all the ambassadors for some ideas (basically a wish list) for products we’d like to gain access to through the sponsorship program. Me being on a working/non-biking sabbatical of sorts did not manage to put anything together for it, despite the fact I’d long before started to come up with some ideas of what I could use this off-season. Granted my list more revolved around how much everything would cost and ultimately how damn expensive cycling is, but in the end it really was my wish list for the year. So, without further ado, here is my official wish list for calendar year 2008:

First and foremost: an indoor trainer! I had borrowed one from Scott last year but living with someone else and riding it on the third floor of the apartment complex, I didn’t use it nearly as much as I should have. Mostly due to how loud it would be which probably went directly through the walls and vibrated through the whole building. Now, living in my own place on the ground floor I won’t feel as bad about breaking one out and putting in some good miles in my living room in front of the latest netflix movie. I should add here also a nice long pair of head phones or wireless head phones so I don’t have to blare the volume too loudly.

Next would be gels, goos, bars and drinks for training rides. I’ve only had limited experience with getting into these and have never actually bought a full box or jug of them though I understand they are very helpful and even important for longer and more serious training sessions. In my marathon training I made the greatest use of these and was very thankful to have them throughout the way. This year with my planned additional training I’d like to really invest in my nutritional goods.

My next big desire would be a new hard tail mountain rig. I know this is well outside the region of a gamjams ambassador sponsorship deal, but it is something I’d really like to look into for this coming season. At this point the majority of my racing for the season will likely be road, but I’ve recently made some rumblings about doing a 13 hour and a 24 hour team race plus I’d like to get out for Wednesdays at Wakefield again and maybe even do a couple of the cranky monkey series races. My current mt rig is a 97 or 98 Trek 6000; a big deal in my eyes back in 97/98 when I bought it brand new as my first suspension mt bike but a bit dated and low end now. The bike is in amazing condition considering the lack of care I’ve provided it, however the front shock needs to be serviced and more then likely replaced and I dream about disc brakes on a nightly basis. I’ve loved that bike for a long time and have sworn for years I’d never sell it, though now I’m beginning to feel differently about the whole thing.

Gloves, caps, socks…; I feel like you can never have enough of any of these. They all wear through relatively quickly and are all relatively important to cyclists. As for sponsorship, these are inexpensive to produce and probably couldn’t provide much of a loss to companies if they were to be, say given away for free… Sweet sock, gloves and especially cycling caps are great and visible options for advertising a brand.

Helmet: I only have one helmet and it doesn’t even match my kit! Kidding, sort of. I’m not sure there are too many helmets out there to match a lime green kit. It would however be nice to have more then one stinky helmet lying around. It’d also be good to keep one at work so I’m not always the idiot at Hains with out a helmet for the noon ride.

Shoes: My road shoes are a bit tight to be layering anything underneath them for cold weather riding. What can I say I got them on sale. Hopefully somewhat soon I’ll get my hands (or feet really) on a decent pair that’s maybe a half size too big so I can layer up the sock s and stop loosing feeling in my feet every time I step outside to ride.

Tires: I’m sort of partial to my Michelin Race Pro 2’s and my Specialized Armadillos on the fixie, though that’s probably due to the fact that they’re the only tires I’ve really ever ridden. That said, the damn things a f’in expensive when it comes down to it. Even just replacing them every year is tough to squeeze especially when I add in the rest of the upgrades, nutrition and new bikes etc… Plus I should add tubes here… once again something you can never have enough of and go through like water.

Wheels: I NEED spare wheel sets. I’ve finally bought my first wheel set which was for my cross bike and I’ll probably use them as spares for my season but it’d be nice to get a nice pair of racing wheels. These though will probably be the last thing I choose to blow my cash on.

Finally, Saddles: I’d like to outfit all my rides with my choice of saddle. This means $100+ per bike generally. For road we’re looking at the Specialized Toupe Gel saddle, while my mountain seat of choice is the Specialized mountain equivalent. I actually tested it when I bought the Cannondale and felt like I was riding in a Cadillac or something; a bit much for a road bike but perfect for a mountain rig where weight is of much less concern.

Oh yeah, and I almost forgot. I'm hoping to land a new Cross bike for next season to hopefully help motivate my butt to race more cross!

Well there you go; I already sent it to Santa who blew me off this year, so now I’ll just go ahead and throw it out here. Anyone? Anyone?

Oh well, it was worth a try…