The Traveling Circus has moved.

There is entertainment right down the street

2010-12-31T13:13:00.002-09:00

Why are you still coming here? This blog is dead! Check out the new and improved Traveling Circus by Clicking here,

or here

There are more photos, some home movies and better graphics.

www.thetravelingcircus.us

love dan

Closing the Doors

2010-11-17T14:16:00.001-09:00

After receiving several hundred spam comments I have decided to close down the old blog and shift everything over to

www.thetravelingcircus.us

Check it out

love dan

On the Move

2010-10-05T13:32:00.001-08:00

The site has moved.

I will be moved shortly.

We are all moving.

love dan

2010-09-26T10:15:00.001-08:00

New Blog

love dan

On the Move

2010-09-19T16:33:00.000-08:00

http://web.me.com/danfrayer/Site/Home.html

I will make the final shift in the next few weeks.

love dan

2010-09-12T14:12:00.002-08:00

Holly and just returned from a weekend trip to Northwest Arkansas. We visited Hobbs Conservation Area, the Fayetteville Farmers Market and a couple of bike shops. It was a nice scenic getaway. It is an area with more dirt trails than a person would know what to do with. The first evidence of a sick Single Speed Build. Velocity 700c Blunt 32H Rims. DT butted spokes and King ISO hubs will be here soon.
My new road bike. Steel is the theme right now. I like the ride and the machines have some character. It came out of the box with compact gearing which had to go. I will post pictures when this project is finished.
I have never regretted a Salsa purchase.

with love

Summer's End

2010-09-06T07:44:00.001-08:00

The changing of the leaves and my obsession with watching cyclocross videos signals the end of summer. I will trade the hot hot heat, lawn mowing and Oberon for the cool breeze, wet leaves and Ice Ice Baby preparation.

I spent the 2nd half of my summer working for Breakaway Bicyles and they were friendly enough to help me build the bike of my dreams. I spent some time designing the angles, picking the color and conversing with the friendly folks at Independent Fabrications. I have not thought of a name yet. It will have big wheels, sliding dropouts and the color will impress you.
In the meantime I assembled a workhorse to keep the dirt in my teeth.

I also ordered me up one of these.

Some other notable news:

Jason Lummis is out of the hospital but the driver who nearly took his life is still on the run. Check for updates at the Bells Beer Racing Team Site.

Danielle Musto earned top honors at the Salsa 2-4 bike race. She has been riding laps longer than most and is earning her legend status.

Cross Fit AZO is up and running.

Next up is the PCOC strut 5K and Dunes Duathlon. From then on it is Ride Ride Ride.

with love

For Sale

2010-09-04T14:29:00.000-08:00

$100 each. Local pickup only.

love dan

2010-08-29T05:56:00.003-08:00

Physically Strong Tri (Long) Overall Results

I have been working hard in the gym and was able to throw down. 9th out of the water, gap on the bike split by 30 seconds and respectable run.

1st in my age group and 5th overall.

Props to Ryan B. for completing his first triathlon and standing on the podium in his age group.

Next Race? Cyclocross? XC? Dunes Duathlon? I need to take a break.

The Man Hunt has started for whatever idiot did this:

In the meantime I am cleaning out multiple closets and getting ready to freshen up the stable. Check out the goods and let me know if you are interested in anything. EBAY LINK HERE

Something Familiar

2010-08-22T11:14:00.004-08:00

Biking, Canning and Big Blog Changes coming soon.

love dan

To London and Back

2010-08-15T15:21:00.004-08:00

Kalamazoo to London to Dartmouth to Waterford to Dublin to Edinburgh to Kalamazoo
We went where fries are chips and chips are crisps.

Where Scarves, High tops and cigarettes are hip.

Where bicycle messengers cheat death between the bumpers of bright red double decker busses and black cabs.

Where waves of people with cameras around their necks swerved, flowed and became lost in the round about roads and dark alley ways.

Where self important Versace style sashays and admires itself in store front mirrors.

Where Guinness tastes like it is supposed to.

Where bag pipe music, chain saw juggling and flame swallowing does not distract you from the old town history towering above.

I wish I could say "It is good to be home" but I would much rather go back.

love dan

R2R Race Report

2010-07-31T05:03:00.001-08:00

Disclaimer: This post is all in good fun. If you have some easily offended conservative tendencies please avoid this post.

A few weeks ago I vowed to never race a skinny tire triathlon again. I changed my mind. I had planned on taking on the knucklebuster in Midland but could not swallow the 2 and a half hour commute when there was a local event 15 minutes from the house. The 2nd attempt at the Calgary Reformed Church's Race to Rejoice was born.

I woke up before the sun for packet pick up. I was not phased by the rain drops on the windshield since we had storms rolling in and out of town for the previous three days. What did have me a bit nervous was the bright strobe light sky about 1 mile north. It was as if the Mighty JC and mother nature were having a R2R pre-party with disco lights and loud music.

At registration I was told they could delay the start but would not cancel the event. I drove home to pick up my support crew and gear then make the trip back to set up my pit. The rain picked up and the clouds looked angry and I pictured my soggy wife and dogs with frowns on their faces as I finished the race. I loaded up and ventured back alone.

As I was setting up my dork station the clouds broke and mother nature treated us to a bit of sunshine, even after a late night of disco drinking and dancing.

Athletes walked to the beach and the promoters warned us if lightning came back into the area that they would pull the plug. Then we bowed our heads to pray. A reasonable request. The event was put on by a church to benefit a church encouraging their church goers to participate. There were a few strangers in the crowd, myself included, with little to no pre-race praying experience. Aside from funerals, I had not attended a religious service since I was a teenager. I noticed a few darwin stickers on cars and some akward gazes among the skinny athletes which told me I was not alone.

The gun went off and dove in under sunny skies and sparkling water. 11 minutes and 58 seconds later I exited the water to dark grey skies with darker grey skies rolling in. Someone stirred the mighty hungover JC with fake prayer and he was not happy.

I threw my leg over purple passion for the 12 mile bike leg. She was geared with a 42 x 16 fixed which would be plenty for pushing the pace at 20+mph. My pedals turned as the the clouds swirled and I came into the transition sitting 11th as the rain started. 11th position with 5k to run. Things were looking good. 1 mile in the sky's grumpy rumbles started and the rain increased. Lightning was flashing, thunder was shaking and visibility was poor. I started to feel like a poser. Was this amy fault? I was surprised at the risk the promoters were taking. I had no idea they had closed the course 5 minutes prior and were pulling athletes back to the church. Only the top 30 athletes out of 100 were left on course to battle each other, themselves and a hungover prophet.

I kept striding, losing positions on the run as usual and enjoying my first thunderous triathlon. I made it to the finish without getting struck by lightning in 19th position. Not sure on my time splits since the power went out at the timing tent.

A special thanks to my supporters including Swiftwick, Headsweats, Brooks and JC who decided it was ok for me to race a church sponsored event without attending church on a regular basis. I will be back next year to see what you can throw at us.

love dan

Swippy Swappy

2010-07-23T03:44:00.002-08:00

For Sale: 2008 Salsa Mamasita XL 29er Frame Only. 2 seasons of racing. Cable Rub. Chain Rub. One scuff on the down tube. $325 includes XTR Front Derailleur. $20 to ship. Paypal accepted.
This past weekend I ran the "Run for Shelter Pets 5K" in Battle Creek. I tried my best to pace with the leader but went under anaerobic torture in the first 2 minutes. I fell back to 3rd to catch my wits and then made a final push to finish 2nd. It was a fun run for a good cause. My pal Ryan also put down a solid result in his first 5k in a while. I look forward to running events with him in the future.
A new tool for speed. I have been contemplating this purchase for a few months and finally pulled the trigger.
Next up is the 2nd annual Race to Rejoice in Kalamazoo. I unloaded my TT bike to fund some off road gear purchases. I will be riding my fixed gear and look forward to the questionable looks.

MGMT is my new favorite band to dance to. This video is strange but the song is catchy. I hope it does not get stuck your head like it is stuck in mine.

with love

Dan

Thanks Mark

2010-07-16T03:04:00.002-08:00

The 2010 Tour De France

200 Riders

27 Stages

2178 Miles

0 Beards

Not sure what this does for the professionalism of lameness but it has me interested in the sprint finishes.

Now the arrogant cry babies really have something to complain about?

If you are wondering, yes, I am bitter that my man crush Lance is out of the GC chase and Mark Renshaw has given me something worse fast forwarding through Tivo style each morning.

Other exciting happenings include my return to bike shop rat status as a part time employee at Breakaway Bicycles. This was a decision made based on the length of naps I was taking and amount if Ice Cream I was consuming during my down time. It is good to be back selling bike for fun and the sweet discount helps.

I will be pulling the trigger on a new mountain bike soon. I have narrowed my choices down to:

stay tuned.

love dan

8 Days of Canada

2010-07-12T03:38:00.005-08:00

We are back from our 7 day tour of the Canadian rockies. Our return feels bitter sweet.

The Sweet: It is always good to return to a routine you are comfy with. Your food, your trails, your dogs etc.

The Bitter: It is tough to leave one of the most beautiful health conscious mountain bike friendly places on earth to a pancake flat paved paradise.

Highlights

Day 1 Canmore, Alberta: Lots of travel, Big Rock Brew and elevation adjustment.

Day 2 Canmore, Alberta: 18K on the Goat Creek Trail from Canmore to Banff. Rocky ups and downs with Holly holding her own on a rented whip.

Day 3 Jasper, Alberta: We spent the day touring mountain roads, scenic overlooks and glacier melt white water rivers.

Day 4 Field British Columbia: Did you see that bear? Was that a moose? That was the road trip dialogue as we all turned into national geographic animal identifiers.

Day 6 Edmonton Alberta: The Largest Mall in the World. It had a roller coaster, water park, sea lion show and ice skating rink. We spent our day reading and enjoying smoothies.

Day 7 Calgary, Alberta: We spent the day at the Calgary Stampede people watching and trying to determine how one might measure the authenticity of a cowboy.

Day 8: On the Road Home

I now have 3 weeks of racing action before we take it on the road again for our vacation to Europe.

I have a 5K Saturday to benefit shelter dogs then the following weekend I am heading to Midland for the Knucklebuster Off Road Duathlon.

I have decided to call it good on paved triathlons. Since the Torn Shirt, I have put plans in action to simplify my training and racing schedule. I enjoyed my time as a multi faceted triathlete but like the sounds of keeping things dirty for a while.
Stay tuned for my 5K race report.

In the meantime, check out my EBAY listing and one of my favorite sponsors.

with love

Dan

3 For 1

2010-06-26T03:49:00.003-08:00

Lets celebrate the weeked with a Mega Blog Monster Post.

For a limited time only you get three posts for the price of one. That is right, your eyes are not deceiving you. You not only get "Pricker Bush Madness," you also get "Your Decals and Derailleurs Mean Nothing to Me" and "Your what glows in the dark?"

Three posts mixed into one!

"Your What glows in the dark?"

A Tour of Velocity.

Tyler and I were lucky enough to take a tour of Velocity's new wheelhouse on Thursday and got a sneak peak at several cool new hoops. The glow in the dark 700c Halo, the superwide tubeless compatible P35 and the lumberjack plad Blunts.

A special thanks to Jeff for introducing us to all the cool people and showing us around the place.

"Your Decals and Derailleurs mean nothing to me"

How to build an awesome single speed.

Phase 1: Make nice with your local bike shop. My establishment of choice is Team Active in Battle Creek. The staff is friendly, the selection is great and the beer is cold and free on Fridays after noon.

Phase 2: Pick your pieces. Frame, fork, wheels etc. Keep it simple and durable. I like my frames like I like my music, heavy and metal. Gunnar has treated me swell the last two go arounds and would suggest their Ruffian 29er frame with sliding dropouts and several color options. Their prompt service and communication matches well with their confidence inspiring trail tuned geometries.

Phase 3 Assemble and Ride.

"Pricker Bush Madness"

The Torn Shirt Xterra Story

The Swim: I came out of the lake with water in my ears, sea weed between my fingers and placed in the bottom 80 racers out of 100.

The Bike: I have not ridden Brighton since I lived i my parent's basement and rode 26 inch wheels. I was faster then but I am smarter now.

The 15 mile ride was a mix of moderate inclines, rooted decents and long stretches of fast trail. My campsite neighbors said the course was big ring friendly but I kept things conservative. Between each section of singletrack were hilly gravel roads. That is where I did my damage and pulled back several aqua men and women. By the time the roots, rocks and dust settled I was racking my bike and in the top 30.

The Run: "The Torn Shirt" title has meaning for the six mile trail run. When I was not climbing I was dodging rocks on the downhill. If I wasn't dodging rocks aI was grimacing from the gaping bloody lacerations caused by thousands of razor sharp prickers. The pain was intense. The burning salty sweat in my wounds motivated me to push on. (Disclaimer: Description of the above mentioned injuries is not entirely accurate. While the pain was fierce, there was no evidence of significant skin damage as indicated by my wife, who was not able to locate the large cuts.)

After it was all said and done I improved on my swim time, enjoyed the trail and finished 4th in my age group, 28th overall.

Starting today The Traveling Circus is going to unplug for 2-3 weeks. I am going to attempt to learn how to play the harmonica, travel to Canada and work on some construction projects.

I will return with the Tri Del Sol race report, pictures of the Rocky Mountains and another big ebay auction.

I will miss you all very much.

love dan

2010-06-18T13:28:00.003-08:00

Torn Shirt XTERRA Sunday. Long Swim, long Bike, Long Run. Hope to have a top five age group finish in the legs.

New Gunnar, New DecalsSam and his new riding buddy

Not sure how these pieces work but I will find out soon.
Thanks Team Active

Thanks Bontrager

All kinds of cool things have been going down since school got out.

1. One of my old biking buddies and dear friend Jill made the trip from Colorado for the Lumberjack 100. She made some time in her travel schedule to ride with the Circus. Good luck to Jill and every one else at the LJ100.

2. My Custom painted Gunnar Ruffian 29er arrived just in time for free beer Friday at Team Active. I am still waiting on a headset but hope to have it pieced together soon.

On a sad note, John Burke and his cronies at the Mega-Brand Trek have started the slow break up with Gary Fisher. My first mountain bike was a Gary Fisher, Holly's bike is a Gary Fisher and the bike she bought when we met was a Gary Fisher.

I think this is lame.

love dan

You Tube Tuesday

2010-06-08T15:16:00.002-08:00

1 week to summer's official kick off. I will be able to master my transitions, log some miles on the bike and get better at those tricky turkish get ups.

My tour of summer concerts:

The Torn Shirt Xterra in Brighton is next on the list. 1500 Swim, 16 mile trail ride and 10k trail run.

love dan

2010 Custer Xterra and Sea Horse Challenge

2010-05-31T08:26:00.004-08:00

It was this time last year when I was blogging excuses about the amount of time between posts and my racing challenges.

Old habits die hard.

2 for 1: The Summer Sequel.

Part 1: Custer's Last Stand

800 swim, 12 mile ride and 4 mile run. All Dirty

I spent the winter revising my strategy, strengthening my areas of sucky and looking forward to attack at the first multi sport event of 2010.

The swim was your standard of skinny dudes dressed in tight black neoprene grunting, breathing heavy and doing a very poor job of not hitting and kicking one another. The only major difference was the added excitement of going head to head with Cyclocross Superstar Barry Wicks. I approached him and asked if anyone else had recognized him and he said no. Must be tri geeks do not spend the fall and winter months jumping barriers with bikes and watching videos of bikers jumping barriers for fun.

Back to the race…..

I tried to stay in the hitting kicking thick of it for as long as I could. By the time the group hit the first buoy I was spit out the back of the pack and left to splash uncomfortably with the other newb sauce swimmers. (Newb Sauce: Someone new to any sport, as defined by a K-zoo dirty riding bad ass)

After two laps in the water I looked forward to what was once my safe haven, the bike leg. I made the decision this past fall to scale back on my bike training to build up the other areas of need. The price for this was paid over the next 12 local singletrack miles where I struggled to comprehend the lack of "go juice" in my legs.

The run was much of the same as I cruised slowly over roots, rocks and rolling hills in for a 5th place age group finish. A special thanks to my wife, inlaws, nieces, nephews and dog Sam for making lots of loud noises as I went in and out of the pits.

Part #2: Wrestling the Sea Horse

1600 swim, 25k bike, 10K run (Olympic Style)

In September of last year Spaghetti and Meatball Racing tried their hand at the Olympic distance. I shuffled to a 2:46 finish and needed work.

Fast forward to memorial day weekend 2010 and S and M racing was back at it in Coldbrook park. This race was a special occasion because my meatball counterpart is making the move south with his family to pursue career opportunities and this was his last Michigan Triathlon for some time. It needed to be something epic. Mother nature and 3 Disciplines did not let us down.

The swim was long and sunny with lots of bodies bumping and water splashing. I did my best to hang until the first buoy and after the turn the pack split. Meatball exited the water 20 spots and several minutes ahead of me. I needed a quick pit and fast bike split to pull some time back. I entered the transition just as he was exiting but still needed to wrestle out of my wetsuit and get suited up for the ride.

The bike was hilly and riddled with pot holes. I decided to try another strategy, as suggested by my bride (who drove 8 hours the day before so i could be rested for the event.) I was going to take it easy on the bike. Did you hear what I just said? Take it easy? Was that possible? I put tropic thunder in a comfy cruising gear and just stayed steady. Not too hard. Not too soft. A cadence and gear ratio that was just riiiiiggghhhhtt. The toughest part of taking it easy on the bike was resisting the urge to crush everyone with disc wheels and compression socks. Something about railing past someone with a $10K bike that makes me smile. I pulled Meatball back but it took some time. He had logged miles this summer and was on his way to a personal best bike split.

I kept the tempo pace for two loops and pulled back several strong swimmers.

As I entered the pit I was looking forward to the lactic acid wall that awaited. Coming off the bike and into the run has always been a struggle. I slipped on my wool swiftwick socks (great for easy on/easy off) and took off for the 10K 6.6 mile shuffle to the finish. I was surprised with the spring in my step, but I knew it was too good to last. The course was hot, humid and hilly. I would crash after a mile. Maybe two? First 5k lap down and I still had fresh legs. I turned it up just a bit. Mile four was going to do me in for sure. Nope. Could I pull this off? Was I going to finish my first olympic triathlon without death knocking at my door? Mile 5 came and went and I was feeling frisky. I kicked and reeled in two guys in my age group. I exited the trail with 1.5 miles to go and Kevin was heading out for his second run lap. He looked at his watch and told me my split. He yelled sub 2:40!! If I kept this pace I was going to beat my personal best by almost six minutes. I turned it up. I came to the paved section, .5 miles from the finish and the Franck family was cheering me on. I don't remember if they said I looked like a freight train or jet liner, either way I gave it my all for the final uphill to the finish.

I crossed the line in 2:236:11, 10 minutes faster than last fall and on the podium for the first time in 2010. Meatball cruised in shortly after bringing a successful conclusion to our reign on Michigan Triathlon Racing.

A special thanks to my wife, Meatball, the Franck family and my sponsors Team Active, Swiftwick, Headsweats and Brooks Running Shoes.

love dan

XL Gary Fisher Rig For Sale

2010-05-16T15:56:00.006-08:00

FOR SALE: Fisher Rig 2010 XL

One Year Ago,,,

MALE AGE GROUP 25 - 29 Place No.   Name                   Ag Rank Swim    Trans1  Rank Bike    Rate Trans2  Rank Run     Pace  Time     ===== ===== ====================== == ==== ======= ======= ==== ======= ==== ======= ==== ======= ===== =======      1   325 Antonio Zamora         28    4   11:02    1:19    1   43:08  13.9    0:32    2   23:12  7:44 1:19:11      2   330 Dan Frayer             29    9   14:12    1:47    2   44:12  13.6    0:45    8   25:49  8:37 1:26:43      3   284 Josh Kroll             27    7   12:25    3:28    4   48:47  12.3    0:34    1   23:03  7:41 1:28:15      4   276 Richard Graham         27    1   10:13    2:21    6   51:28  11.7    1:40    3   23:27  7:49 1:29:08      5   310 Nathan Strudle         28    5   11:21    2:52    5   50:24  11.9    0:36    5   24:20  8:07 1:29:31      6   309 Burton Stover          28    3   10:44    3:21    3   48:37  12.3    1:37    6   25:22  8:28 1:29:39      7   299 Jeremy Schoen          28    2   10:21    2:55    7   51:55  11.6    0:53    4   24:09  8:03 1:30:11      8   271 David Favaro           26    8   12:41    2:49    8   54:34  11.0    1:16    7   25:34  8:32 1:36:51      9   306 Matthew Stamerjohn     28    6   11:49    3:53    9 1:00:03  10.0    0:36    9   27:46  9:16 1:44:04

My goal for 2010 is faster swim, quicker transitions and a strong run.  The legs feel good after today's ride/run at Custer.

Saw this group last night at the State Theatre. Very good.

Custer Stampede

2010-05-11T12:19:00.003-08:00

I woke up last Sunday morning to cold rain splattering against our window and thought to myself: "There is no way I am paying $30 to get sand between my teeth and a major case of soggy butt." I was skipping the Fort Custer Stampede.

A few hours later I was white knuckling down smooth lines and spinning as fast as my chicken legs would push my single speed Rig.

I felt fast but most other expert/elite racers felt faster. I kept the intensity and smiles high and cruised in for a 10th place finish.

Next up is the Fort Custer XTERRA

with love

2010-05-01T16:55:00.002-08:00

I have been spending all my internet time wrestling with the ebay monster. Every spring I promise to quit the auction gambling and every spring my garage fills with gear. Maybe next year will be different. I will have the courage to walk up to that beast of burden, thank it for the money and punch it square in the throat. Speaking of throat punching, I am considering retirement from Mountain Bike Racing to pursue amateur martial arts. Several claim it will help with skills I lack: Discipline, self control and the ability to not get my ass kicked by middle school girls.

At this point in the post you are wondering "where is the god damn race report?" Patience friends, all good things come with time, just like my list of 2010 race results. The running events will have only times, the others with have finishing place. I have been doing more than blogging this year. That is proof.

On Thursday night I hitched a ride with Notified front man Jeff and Trek Co-Op rider Bill G for the Cannonsburg Milk Jug Race. Never heard of it? Me neither but it still kicked ass. I did not have the will or the way right off the start line so I enjoyed the sun, sweat and sweet trails. The list of friends that smashed me include Jeff the wheel master, D2's Eric P., and several Farm Team superstars.

I won some rims, enjoyed some dirty jokes, drank a beer and made it home safe. Time well spent.

Not sure what is next for The Traveling Circus but it will be awesome.

love dan

Behind the Times

2010-04-21T15:14:00.004-08:00

List of things accomplished after skipping a bike race:

Finish "A Long Way Down," the DVD series of two motorcycle nuts riding to Africa.
Finish "Into Thin Air," a very entertaining novel that inspired me to never ever ever climb a mountain.
Sip tea
List lots of Ebay
listen to folk music
follow all of my pals results on mountain bike forums and facebook.
never get out of my pajamas

A day well spent.

The Ebay Monster has returned: FOR SALE

Trying to decide between Custer and the Willow Duathlon. Any suggestions?

love dan

Open Roads.ORG

2010-04-11T15:14:00.002-08:00

On Saturday I had the pleasure of working with Open Roads, a Kalamazoo non profit organization focused on teaching vocational and social skills to the youth of our community. They hosted a bike drive with Scotty Budd from 92.5. They collected over 20 kids bikes that will be tuned up and donated.

It was a great opportunity to see so many members of the community dropping off bikes for a great cause. One guy even brought 2 brand new bikes and said "Every kids deserves to ride a bike."

Check out www.openroadsbike.org and become a fan on facebook.

love dan

EBAY BY BIKE

2010-04-01T06:15:00.003-08:00

Car is broken and the sun is shining.

love dan

2010-03-29T03:30:00.002-08:00

The Traveling Circus with special guest Jeff Cachero cruised north in the deep blue pimp wagon for the 2nd annual Barry Roubaix Killer Gravel Road Race.

The event was yet another grueling masterpiece brought to us by the twisted mind of Rick Plite, creator of the Lumberjack 100 and Kiss Cross.

Several hundred dirt and pain obsessed people flocked from all edges of the mitten and beyond to test their spring legs. Why? It is all in a name.

Barry: Barry County, rural, scenic and without traffic.

Roubaix: Bumpy as F*#ck

Killer: Legs, brain cells and pride if you played your cards right.

Gravel: In my lungs, shoes and dreams.

Road: Some pavement but it was often short and too good to be true.

Race: Until your lungs, heart and blood vessels in your eyes burst. Pure tire and elbow rubbing racing complete with tactics, ass holes, cuss words and an entry fee.

In 2009 I made the mistake of not training enough, running my fixed gear with a 42 x 17 and starting way too fast. In 2010 I did the exact same thing.

Insanity Defined: Doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result.

I took my $35 number plate, purple bike and moderate level of insanity up the hills with grunts and down the hills with a stupid high cadence. I enjoyed every smile, cheer and twinge of pending cramps.

Thanks to my current supporters Swiftwick and Headsweats for keeping my extremities toasty and Team Active for helping me get the bike set up, and Holly Scott Racing for keeping things real.

Until Next Time (Yankee TT)

bro hugs and passionate kisses on the cheek

DAN
QR 4 Life
One of my beer run training rides (.4 miles)
Upgrade

First Race is in the books

2010-03-20T16:32:00.002-08:00

Holly has a new machine in the stable. See Above

Everyone needs a tune up: See Above
Sam Guarding the Barry Roubaix Race Weapon: See Above
If you look closely you will see what gear I will struggle with: See Above
Yes, the Rims, hoods, cages and bar tape are pink: See above

I had been waging an internal war with my former enduro soul and new multi sport manifestations. The question was this: Multi sport or single speed? A half Iron Man was calling my name along with single speed adventures up and down the mitten of Michigan.

I had a nice long conversation with my support staff (wife and dogs), made a T-chart of the positives and we decided to focus energy into three sports instead of one.

I could not think of a better way to celebrate this epiphany than to thrash the legs at a local 5K. I made mountains out of urban hills, feared a heart attack from all the pounding and pushed my way to a new PR and a 5^th place age group finish.

Next stop for the Traveling Circus: The Barry Roubaix

With love

dan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Male 30 - 34 Division ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Place Bib Name Age Sex City St Time Pace

===== ===== ====================== === === ================= == ======= =====

1 703 Jeff Layne 34 M Kalamazoo MI 18:21 5:55

2 941 Greg Huff 32 M Vicksburg MI 20:43 6:40

3 779 Jeremy Reivitt 34 M Portage MI 22:23 7:12

4 776 Tim Ragones 30 M Kalamazoo MI 23:08 7:27

5 968 Dan Frayer 30 M Portage MI 23:13 7:29

6 765 Tom Pearce 33 M Schoolcraft MI 24:48 7:59

7 526 Brett Beier 34 M Kalamazoo MI 25:49 8:19

8 568 Nicholas Cekola 32 M Kalamazoo MI 26:06 8:24

9 548 Scott Brooks 30 M Mattawan MI 26:14 8:27

10 935 Donald Cassada 31 M Vicksburg MI 26:32 8:33

11 786 Patrick Rolfe 33 M Kalamazoo MI 26:32 8:33

12 593 Adam Doyle 33 M Mattawan MI 26:33 8:33

13 644 Kevin Hemstreet 34 M Kalamazoo MI 26:57 8:41

14 731 Mike Medendorp 34 M Kalamazoo MI 27:25 8:50

15 903 Adam Schuur 34 M Portage MI 27:27 8:50

16 848 Ryan Vaughn 32 M Richland MI 28:55 9:19

17 652 William Hodges 34 M Goshen IN 30:19 9:46

18 753 Jamie Nicholson 30 M Kalamazoo MI 32:17 10:24

19 725 Manrique Matyas 31 M Schoolcraft MI 43:34 14:02

Cleaning out My closet

2010-03-13T14:18:00.003-09:00

EBAY SUCKAZ

Bikes, Forks, Race Face Cranks, Sidi Shoes. More will post Sunday afternoon.

Time to get rid of everything collecting dust and get my hands on some new treats.

Have you read this? If not, do it soon!
Barry Roubaix Racer pics will be posted by the end of this week.

love dan

What would I do with a two day work week?

2010-02-26T15:50:00.005-09:00

Play in the mother F-ing Snow.

love dan

2010-02-20T15:55:00.004-09:00

Soon the snow will melt, blogs will come back to life and I will taste the sweet sweet nectar of lactic acid. Until then, more photo shop, trainer rides watching Family Guy, and setting realistic goals for 2010.

Thinking this might do the trick:
March 27 Barry Roubaix
April 24 Borgess 1/2 Marathon
May 23 Fort Custer XTERRA
June 20 Brighton XTERRA
July 24 Race to Rejoice
August 29 Petoskey 1/2 Iron Man
September 25 Dunes Duathlon
October ?
November Ice Man

love dan

Visit to the Bike Shop

2010-02-13T05:16:00.003-09:00

Stopped by the LBS to pick up some brake levers, trainer friendly skewers and shoot the bull.

Here is what I learned about:

End of Winter Party! Good Deals, Cool Bikes and Free Beer.

Who Dunnit?

2010-02-05T16:02:00.006-09:00

A crime mystery of Who Dunnit that can only solved by the classic detective work of Sherlock Holms paired with the technological savvy of CSI Miami.

The Culprits

The evidence:

Teeth marks on the nearly unidentifiable remnants of the following:
Xbox Controller (destroyed)

Several Tennis Balls, stuffed animals, books and Dog Toys (destroyed)

One pair of Tifosi Shades (destroyed)

Holly’s prescription eye glasses (destroyed)

Dan’s eye prescription glasses (destroyed)

Pieces of each were found near the scene of the crime, just outside the gate separating the East (Canine Side) and West (Feline Domain) territories of the Frayer/Scott household.

Initial questioning of all three culprits yielded ears flat, tails tucked and sad puppy dog eyes. All tell tale signs of guilt or is it ruthless manipulation by a team working together?

The Hard Cold Facts:

As of Friday evening, detectives were not able to identify the perpetrator of these heinous crimes of senseless disregard.

The only hope for resolution was the discovery of Dan’s blackberry found at approximately 6AM Thursday. The partially mutilated and tortured phone was submitted for DNA testing and tooth mark matching.

Was it , The Good Boy, Cham Cham or The Big B?

Who will testify?

When will the destruction stop?

Will the wrong criminal mind be put behind bars?

Love Dan

Winter Blues

2010-02-01T12:59:00.001-09:00

The Frost Bite 5K may be a big fat maybe for Saturday. I need to log some miles for I go kicking my heals and chasing those podium dreams.

love dan

A little of This and a little of that.

2010-01-24T13:02:00.005-09:00

I would like to thank Mother Nature for bringing us the spring teaser thaw and uncovering 2.5 months of dog poop.

I ruined a perfectly crappy worn out pair of shoes

while listening to

looking forward to finishing

and thinking about

that I enjoyed while drinking

My wife says this blog is getting lame. I hope cat pictures change her mind.

I am still swimming, jogging and getting that excited dreadful feeling in my legs for the first race of 2010.

I leave you with highlights from the Kalamazoo chili cook off.

love dan

2010-01-17T13:43:00.003-09:00

Mid January is a time for reflection, planning and whatever it takes to maintain sanity. I am reflecting on a season of multi sport racing, planning dirty single speed dreams and keeping the screws tight by riding through the balmy 30 degree temps in the Great Lakes Region.

Jeff "$25 to Serenade your Wife" Cachero and Bill "2 Legit for Tights" Gallagher soaking up the grey rays.

Mid ride cookie and coffee break

Is it time for carbon?

Beard Ice

Tried and true geometry.

Missed Snow Cross, thinking about NUE and working hard.

love dan

Dirty Thirty

2010-01-10T11:26:00.004-09:00

Frozen base miles, Vegetarian sushi, a growler of raspberry wheat, a new camera lens and time with family. I cannot think of a better way to celebrate 3 decades on earth.

My "Year in Review" post is in the works. Stay tuned for photo highlights, a tentative race schedule and 2010 supporter news.

In the meantime check out the latest addition to the Salsa squad.

love dan

putting the pieces together

2009-12-29T05:25:00.003-09:00

the off season is drawing to a close and I am putting together bikes, a tentative race schedule and some training plans that I have no intention of following.
Worth the wait.

My good friends at D2 Racing put together some cool video footage. Check it if you dare.

D2 Racing Video 2009 from Eric Patterson on Vimeo.

xxx

2009-12-21T12:57:00.007-09:00

We hope your holidays are jam packed with warm food, good karma, cold beer and spare time to do exciting things.
BROOKS IS BACK! This will be my 2nd season wearing Glycerin 7s.

Clicky Clicky to make it bigger and better.

Thanks for taking a break from all that Team Radio Shack Web Fodder and venturing over to the Traveling Circus. I hope it was worth the trip.

With Hugs, Kisses and Love

dan

2009-12-13T11:54:00.002-09:00

Some interesting information coming down the Salsa Pipeline

Next up...Christmas, turning dirty thirty and SNOWCROSS!

love dan

Highlights

2009-12-06T09:23:00.004-09:00

Just enough snow to prompt the purchase of a monster truck super charged snow thrower but not enough snow to use it. Mother Nature toys with me.
I am far enough separated from the racing season to pretend to lift weights but not far enough to get my toes cold on the bike.
The One by Nine 69 Metal Heap Muffin is ready to destroy.

A word to the wise.
The only thing more lame than blogging about base miles is NOT registering early for the Barry Roubaix.

love dan

2009-11-27T04:57:00.002-09:00

I am bringing back the winter killer.

Happy Black Friday

love dan

Off Season

2009-11-19T12:26:00.003-09:00

2009 Ice Man

2009-11-08T16:20:00.005-09:00

The traveling circus ventured north this weekend with three goals in mind. Spread the gospel of Swiftwick Socks, take several pictures, and bring my body to the brink of lactic acid induced death using the big ring.

This is how the weekend unfolded:

#1 I went to the expo with a backpack full of schwag looking to introduce unsuspecting racer heads to American made socks that hug your feet and kiss your toes. The requirements for scoring a pair of socks? You either needed to be someone influential in the cycling community, wearing a tuxedo jersey or not walking around with a chip on your shoulder. Mission accomplished.

#2 Several pictures of sport, expert and Pros. If you use them for web and print purposes kindly donate what you think they are worth to Pretty Lake Vacation Camp.

#3 Over the past seven attempts at an Ice Man podium I have stood on the start line in freezing rain, wind and inches of snow.

The 20^th anniversary of the Ice Man Cometh Challenge brought balmy temps, sunshine and screaming fast course conditions.

The 20^th Anniversary of the Ice Man Challenge started with 2 miles of pavement quickly funneling into two track compressing 200 plus ego crazed big ring raging expert racers into a pile up of bikes, bodies and broken podium dreams. I made my way around the pile up and settled uncomfortably into the top 30 speed freaks knowing full well I would not be staying long.

The rest of the race was routine. Push it on the flats, take chances in the single-track, get dropped on the hills, repeat. I worked with Mike Woods for the first few miles which was enjoyable but just as history repeats itself; I popped and settled into a grimacing state of enjoyment.

Williamsburg road, which is the half way point, felt like comfort food to my soul when I saw familiar faces, some cheering my name, others just being jealous of my socks and arm warmers. Had I only ridden 16 miles?

Just like stubborn leaves in November, I hung on for as long as I could before falling apart. I left the remnants of this year’s fitness on the “Three Sisters”, my pride on “the wall” and my soul still lays in the fetal position sucking his thumb on “wood chip hill.”

I finished in just under 2 hours, good enough for an elbow rubbing sprint for 20^th, a fake smile and a desire to come back next year.

Tyler "My teeth will kill you if my speed does not do it first" Sarasin
Jason "Sign of the Devil" Imhoff strikes again
Eric "I will help you kick someone's Ass" Patterson of D2 Racing
Bill "I am so pro I am raging" Gallagher
Reid "The One Speed Bearded Legend" Arnott
Brent Harris , on a fixed gear.That is right, Brent Harris rode a FIXED GEAR, worthy of two pictures in this hard core scrapbook.

love dan

The Sponsor Shuffle

2009-11-01T06:13:00.004-09:00

I am happy to welcome a new supporter to the Traveling Circus.

Head Sweats have been keeping the stingy salty mess out of my eyes all summer and you should join the cool kid club and get you some.

The Ice Man is looming, 2010 multi sport schedules are being posted and the trails are still snow free.

Life is good

PS: Watch for me at the Ice Man swinging the Swiftwick Schwag Hammer. I will have samples, brochures and products to view. Stop by to talk about dry feet and "Doing What Moves You."

love dan

2009-10-24T15:53:00.000-08:00

Thanks H1N1

2009-10-22T03:14:00.005-08:00

The swing flu scored me a long weekend.

Time to ride.

North Face is at Team Active. Go get you some

END OF SEASON SALE!!!!!!!!!!!! All my extra goods must go to make room for new toys.

love dan

Double Trouble

2009-10-18T15:49:00.004-08:00

The last two weeks have been a hot mess of Ice Man pre-riding, Cyclocross Racing, Parent Teacher Conferences, sponsor hunting, ebay prepping and concert going.
The whirlwind has left me out of breath with unanswered questions:

Why does my brain think cyclocross if fun when my legs tell me it is not?
Who will support the Traveling Circus in 2010?
Is Nutella good for you?

Click on the following and they will take over your screen.

Rick Plite and Mr. Hall put together a hectic painful event and left me wanting more. Race Report? It is best described HERE.
Dork Factor
Newest Supporter
Top Priority

Cyclocross: It hurts and I suck at it, but I cannot stop.

love dan

2009-10-04T07:54:00.002-08:00

My chamois is soaked and toes are tingling from the brisk temps. Stores are putting out Christmas decor and the trails are slick with soggy dead leaves.

Summer has past.
1. The Traveling Circus is combining forces with the clan of Bunker Hill to pre-ride the Ice Man course next weekend.
2. Mad props to Bill G for scoring a well deserved W.

love dan

Dunes Duathlon

2009-09-26T11:46:00.004-08:00

2009 Multi Sport Season Over.

The Saugatuck Dunes Duathlon is a well run event with 5 sandy hilly Toe stubbing rooted miles of trail running followed by 18 big ring miles with some long gradual climbs and tight switchbacks.

I wrapped things up in 1 hour and 26 minutes, good for tired legs, 33rd overall and 1st place in my age group.

It has been a season of improvement, tough races and good times. Now it is time to put the wet suit, vaseline between my toes and transition times behind me and focus on my knobby tire exploits.
Next Up is the Boyne State Championships which I will use as a measuring stick for my cross country racing legs. I have not gone after it solely on the bike since May and the bumps of Boyne city tend to bring out the best and the worst of every athlete.

2009-09-20T10:52:00.003-08:00

A quick prayer to the Mountain Bike Messiah, Pedaling Prophet and Single Track God.

Please give us 2 more months of warm dry trails and tell Mother Nature to hold off on the winter squall until late December.

Amen

love dan

Two For One

2009-09-13T15:14:00.003-08:00

Buy One Get One Free Race Reports

At the start of the season I had grand aspirations to try my hand at an Olympic Distance Triathlon. 1.5K swim, 40K Bike, 10k Run. .9 miles of wet and wild fun, 25ish miles of burning lung busting anaerobic big ring raging and 6.2 miles of quad questioning pain.

Having completed this at the Niles Triathlon last weekend I realize I did not respect the distance.

I stood on the wet sand with my teammate Kevin at 8:15 staring out at the buoys that required binoculars to see and wishing I had my water wings. The .9 mile swim took 38 min., 28 minutes slower than mediocre pros, and 10-12 minutes off the lead group containing Kevin and several speedy bikers.

I exited the water and ran into T1 pumping my fists in the air. I was happy with my effort and especially stoked that my wife would not need to cash in on my crappy life insurance plan.

On to the bike. I was hoping to do the damage but after 5 miles I was zapped. The pistons started feeling like cement and I backed off of the throttle. I made up some time pulling back a few riders but my 22 mph average was well off the winning split of 25mph.

The rest of the event was achy sweaty debacle in a lactic acid haze. 6.2 miles, 9 ½ minute miles and it hurt. I came across the line in 2 hours 46 minutes, in 76^th overall, 7^th in my age group.

I swam, I biked, I ran I finished.

The Traveling circus rolled into Cannonsburg Ski Area to represent the South West Side in the first cyclocross event of 2009. Rick Plite, Kiss Cross mastermind and Lumberjack inventor put a fun course together under the lights.

Jeff C., Bill G. and myself lined up with the As and went to work for 11 laps by starlight.

Jeff and I squeaked into the top 20 and Bill G. threw down a righteous result lapping me and nailing a top five slot.

Next up is the PCOC Strut 10K

Love dan

Here is our latest addition to the family. Samuel "Sammy" Adams is an 8 month old lab mix we adopted Saturday.

Slippery When Wet

2009-09-04T08:26:00.004-08:00

The Traveling Circus had a short trip down the road this past weekend for the first annual Physically Strong Off Road Triathlon.

The deck was stacked for me with the short swim, off road ride and off road run.

I came out of the water on my usual position of sucky but was able to pull everyone back on the six mile slippery trail ride, coming into the transition in second place and winning the bike split by over a minute.

The run once again served as damage control losing two spots but still holding on for the age group win and 4th overall with a finish time of under one hour.

PICTURES HERE

Next up is the Niles Olympic Distance triathlon. Double the pleasure and double the pain.

stay tuned

love dan

Coming Together

2009-08-27T07:18:00.005-08:00

I made another stop at Team Active this week to pick up more goodies for purple gravel grind groover.

Even though the feds have pulled the plug on cash for clunkers, Team Active is still letting you trade up to something dual suspension, carbon and fancy.

Visit them on the Web: CLICKY CLICKY HERE

I will be participating in the physically strong race saturday and the Niles Olympic distance tri next weekend.

My Ice Man campaign starts shortly there after.

love dan

2009-08-24T03:41:00.004-08:00

1. It has arrived. The folks at Gunnar and Team Active help me put this One Speed Gravel Grind Groover together. I am looking forward to dressing it up with bits from Paul, Chris King and Velocity.

2. Can Do Active LLC hosted a 4.8 mile run through the Winchell Neighborhood and around Asylum Lake. My two mile split was 16:05 and I was able to keep it together for a finish in 38:15. It was by far my best run race yet.

3. The above mentioned run race offered prizes to the best knee high socks. I thought they meant quality, moisutre wicking ability and technical awesomeness. They were looking for wierd and goofy. I did not win.

4. Stretchy Strethcy

5. More Swiftwick Love

6. They are back and better than ever. They rocked a sold out crowd at DTE and put on one of the best live shows I had ever seen.

My race and training schedule is complete and I have a few more multi sport events before starting my ice man campaign.

Check out Team Active's Cash for Clunkers Program

Next up is the Al Sabo Off Road Triathlon.

love dan

2009-08-17T04:45:00.005-08:00

With the summer of 09 coming to a close the Traveling Circus wanted to end on a big bang, an adventure, a therapeutic rambling road trip through the urban jungles and rural rights of passage.

Here are the observations and social commentary (run on sentences) of a traveling nomad fueled by pricey gas, fat tire ale and the pursuit of good pizza.

Chicago

We traveled by train and slept on Michigan Ave. for a week. I ate pizza twice a day, discovered my new addiction to smoothies, tried to understand modern art, ran along the lakeshore and became one with the Chicago masses.

I watched the big sunglasses, cell phones, fancy clothes, sidewalks like runways modeling fancy high dollar dreams and tattooed hipsters dodging traffic on fixed gear bikes, the posers with brake levers.

I enjoyed the skyline after dark with family and realized the overgrown concrete jungle is not that bad.

Brief Single Track Intermission…

I took a couple of in the mitten to re-group, re-pack and ride before heading south.

Chattanooga TN

My soundtrack south was an audio version of Hunter S. Thompson’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.” I shared a similar journey as the main characters and found my American Dream just south of the Mason Dixon line.

The further down on the map I traveled the thicker the accents became, churches doubled in size and the humidity was on the rise.

I was going to visit my good friend and former Bikes Plus Alumni Jason and family. I reached his single track haven in time for homemade eggplant parmesan, a trail ride out his back door that ended on a rock bluff overlooking the TN River from 1500 feet.

The American Dream

The next day we rode 18 miles of Raccoon Mountain. It is tricky to describe trails of this caliber. I would compare it to my version of heaven with characteristics of fear, pain and strange pleasure.

Between trail rides and a technical trail run on Mabbit Creek I rested and enjoyed toy instrument music, curious george films and stories from their two sons William and Benjamin.

Places like that are hard to leave.

Charlotte NC

I headed east the next day to shoot the shit with Ryan, a good friend for the better part of 25 years. His fancy condo overlooked the growing skyscrapers of downtown and was a change of pace compared to tiny college apartments that we would visit as young dumb thrill seekers.

We toured each corner of the city and rode a tight and tangled mess of roots, climbs and rocks called Poplar Tent. This was a special ride for me because Ryan got me into Mountain Biking over a decade ago.

Afterwards we watched “Funny People” and reminisced about our ignorance before paychecks and alarm clocks.

That was my road trip

Thank you to everyone who bought me beer.

What is next?

WORK

Love dan

Local Peaches

2009-07-29T03:50:00.002-08:00

The traveling circus took it on the road to Mattawan Michigan Saturday for the first annual Calvary Reformed Church Race to Rejoice. Teammate Kevin and I went to battle with 45 other multi sport maniacs to benefit the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission.

Kevin came out of the water after 500 yards of freestyle in 3^rd place and I followed 4 minutes later (12:30 swim NEW PR!)

The out and back 12 mile bike leg was mostly level with three steep humps before the turn around. Promoters shortened the course by two miles the night before cutting out several steep rollers, disappointing all athletes whose strengths lay in the pedal power portion of triathlon racing.

I put Tropic Thunder into the biggest of big rings and went to work. I pulled back several fast swimmers and wheezed through the rolling course reaching speeds of 40 MPH plus.

I ditched the bike quickly and my pit team (Holly and Izzy) told me I was sitting third about 2 minutes back. I slid on my Brooks Glycerin 7 size 13 shoes and took to the asphalt for 3 miles of damage control.

I still consider myself a rookie and need to throttle back on the bike to save some legs for the run. I was passed and dropped by 3 runners on the rolling course before kicking to the finish in 1 hour and 12 minutes, 8 minutes off of the overall winner and four minutes ahead of 7^th place. The result was good for a 2^nd place age group podium spot, 6^th overall.

Kevin came in shortly after with a 6th place age group finish.

I am going on a blog vacation. I will be offline until the middle of August. During that time I will be riding with the guys from D2, visiting Chattanooga, Charlotte NC, Chicago, ordering a cross frame, seeing Blink 182 in concert, finalizing my race schedule and taking hundreds of photographs.

I hope my beard and Tifosi Vogels impress you

Love dan

2009-07-21T05:31:00.003-08:00

The traveling circus took a brief hiatus from racing to rehab a rusty knee, watch every stage of the tour and take some road trips.
Racing action reconvened at the Clark Lake Triathlon. The event was my one year anniversary with multi sport racing and it was cool to see measurable improvements. There was a .5 mile swim, 14 mile bike and 4 mile run. I won the bike slit in my age group, swam slowly and ran with heavy legs. The effort was good for 8th place and the opportunity to take a picture of a guy wearing only a T-shirt and no shorts.
Next stop for the traveling circus is a local sprint just outside of Kalamazoo next saturday. I hope to bring something special.

In the meantime help me decide on a cross frame. Gunnar? Surly? On One? Quiring? Must be single speed friendly, steel and stylish.

love dan

Canmore 09

2009-07-14T03:28:00.004-08:00

These pictures tell the story of our Canmore road trip.
I will live in the Mountains someday.

love dan

Riding Trail and Exaggerating Tales

2009-07-02T05:31:00.004-08:00

The traveling circus has taken the past couple of weekends off from racing to re-group, focus on training and enjoy some epic rides.

I am putting a schedule together for the remainder of 09 and it is set through August but gets tricky in Sept. and Oct. There are too many races to choose from. Should I cross, Du or chase points?

Some highlights:
Gu has renewed with the traveling circus
Rick has posted a schedule
Buy some stuff
Need Socks? 15 washes deep (if you do the math, yes, I wear dirty socks often) and they are still steady rocking all night long.

Joel and Tyler with PG-13 hand gestures.
John "The Life Saver" Doyle with PG-13 Hand gesture
Billy G., hand signal rated R
C02 Sucks

love dan

2009-06-23T17:31:00.002-08:00

Only after 8 ½ hours in the saddle does one truly appreciate the finer things in life. Things like Saturdays at the Farmers market, sitting on a couch, scrabble, Tivo, air conditioning and any time spent not wearing bike shorts.

The weather forecast called for sunny and mild as the bag pipes signaled the start of the National 24 Hour Road Challenge. My job was to serve as a domestique and sidekick for Brian as he embarked on an epic endurance testing adventure. I was going to make him drink before he was thirsty, eat before he was hungry and inspire him with positive words of encouragement and toilet humor.

We rolled out of Middleville where the headwinds were stiff, hills steep and people watching was stellar. There is something about the endurance cycling culture that attracts crazies from all walks of life. Recumbents, $10K TT bikes, tattoos, grandmas, grandpas, road racers and other wack jobs with only one goal which was to beat their previous year’s mileage. No sponsors, no cash payout, only motivation and pain.

We arrived in Lakewood after 35 miles and Laura got us through the first pit quickly and we were back on the road for another hilly 35 miles. By this time the sun was above the tree lines and we could appreciate the silhouettes of barns against the blue summer sky and a traffic free rural landscape. As the temps got warmer, the roads got rougher and the hills got relentless. At one point in our sweaty suffering a Harley rumbled by with perfume soaked passenger and we enjoyed her strangely motivating scent for a ½ mile before turning back into the wind for more gear grinding towards checkpoint number 2.

We took a quick pit to re-fuel re-apply butt butter and eat free bananas. We were feeling the burn of 70 confidence testing miles and needed to regain our focus for the next 25.

Between mile 71-96 I got some relief on the front when we latched on with a 30 year old riding a Dyno BMX bike with mag wheels. He had a leather bag draped over his shoulder, a walkman tape recorder and cubic zirconium earrings that rivaled the shimmer of the sun. We settled on his wheel for a mile, holding a solid pace of 17MPH. I contribute a majority of our success to his efforts at the front.

We came into checkpoint 3 with plans for a short rest, some Cheez Its and cold water before watching our odometers roll over the first century ride of 2009.

During miles 96-121 Brian and I learned the definition of hurt. My bum ached, his quads burned and we both were looking forward to no more pedaling. We mashed, coasted, and reminisced about road trips, trail rides and what it was like to not ride bikes up and down the hills of Barry County.

After 121 sweaty and sun burnt miles I remembered the December phone call when Brian asked me if I was interested in this event. I had no idea it would change my views on what it takes to make a ride epic and give me a finer appreciation for endurance.

A very special thanks to Laura for the cold water bottles and flawless pits.

As always, thank you to all the supporters of the Traveling Circus.

Countdown

2009-06-18T18:00:00.003-08:00

24 Hours, skinny tires and a curiosity as to how my brain will react. Will it bring back the enduro fire? Will it further solidify my multi sport pursuits? Only saddle time will tell.

While you are waiting for a race report check out those new links, Donate, Buy a bike and eat this Bread!

love dan

2009-06-14T15:52:00.002-08:00

Time for an enduro style taper leading into next weekend's long road ride. I am going to focus on eating, napping and light spins. Grand aspirations set on 300, modest reality tells me 200, will smile at anything over 50.

For Sale online soon, once ebay pulls his/her head out of his or her posterior.
Stay tuned for a full race report.

love dan

Nice Obama Socks

2009-06-07T12:49:00.002-08:00

The Northern Indiana Mountain Bike Association
put on a Time Trial Sunday at Dr. TK Lawless Park. My plan was to travel to Grayling and race Hanson Hills and continue my CPS points chase but $3 a gallon makes it difficult to support two dogs on an educator's salary.

Tyler and I opted to make the trip south for some man versus clock twisty single track mayhem. The promoter sent riders off one at a time, with expert/elite riders doing an extra 3 mile section of trail. The wide open extra loop circled cornfields and two track and I took full advantage of my big wheels and chicken legs. I knew I needed to put forth the effort there because once I hit the Lawless tight and twisty root infested trail I would not be able to open things up again.

I entered the singletrack looking over my shoulder for Jeff, who started exactly one minute behind me. I hoped to hold him off for the first 3-4 miles before needing to slide over to let him dust me royally.
After 10 mind bending miles of brake, turn, roots, brake, turn, roots I crossed the line in 8th place expert/elite. Tyler saught redemption after a broken chain at Custer and took it out on the trail finishing in 54 minutes, good for 9th place in his first Mountain Bike Race.
Next stop for the Traveling Circus is a skinny tire ride with my good friend Brian Yost. It is going to be a little longer than most.
In the News:
Ice Man
Team Active Midnight Ride
Swiftwick Blog

love dan

Urine, Nipples and Bunny Hops

2009-06-01T15:31:00.005-08:00

The best and worst part of racing is the tension at the starting line. Athletes are breathing heavy, stretching awkwardly in close quarters and participating in strange pre-race rituals. The start line tension is heightened in Triathlons because you are standing waist deep in cold water. At the Sea Horse Challenge I needed a release, a familiar face or a funny joke to calm my nerves before tempting fate on another 500 yard swim. I made the decision to ask about pissing in a wet suit. I was surprised at how many responded with "It is great" or "I just did." The power of persuasion drove me to test it, warming my body and propelling me to a new swim PR, cutting 20 urine soaked seconds off of the Fort Custer XTERRA.

The biggest obstacle on the bike leg was a speed bump shortly after the transition. Forums and promoters warned about the dangers and when I walked by I said to my wife: I am just going to bunny hop that bitch. 5 Minutes later the promoter warned: "Every year racers try hopping the bump and someone crashes, so slow down and roll over it." One sideways glance from my wife (similar to those when I make an unauthorized bike gear purchase or forget to put my bike shorts away) and I was warned.

I did not listen when I pulled up going 30 MPH, clearing the bump but bouncing my only water bottle leaving me parched on the 10 mile ride. I pushed a tall gear to the 5th fastest bike split on the day and paid for my bunny hopping shenangigans on the run.

With dry throat and valuable lessons learned (listen to Holly always) I burned through the 5K in a bad way, getting passed by several runners.

I ended the day 35th overall and 5th in my age group. A solid effort and exciting mix of pricey bikes, bare chests, short shorts, wierd athletes and fun times.

A very special thanks to my wife's home cooking and the in laws for cheering me on.

Stay Tuned for several June Race Reports.

Digging Dog Proof Garden:

Danny "The Rocket"
Pete Post:
Custom:
Digging Dogs:

2009-05-25T15:13:00.002-08:00

Will Kelsay posted some videos from last weekends XTERRA. The music is wierd but the single track footage is killer.

love dan

2009-05-23T17:21:00.002-08:00

2 Weeks of Teaching left
Building a digging dog proof garden
Keep forgetting to download the new green day
gunning for 3 podiums in a row at next weekend's Sea Horse Triathlon
So many concerts, races, BBQs and trail rides to plan

love dan

Back to Back in Augusta

2009-05-19T16:35:00.003-08:00

My first introduction to multi sport racing was the Memphis in May Triathlon. I was there doing some PR for Bikes Plus and chuckling to myself watching those tri geeks wrestle with their wet scuba suits and swim caps.

Fast forward 4 years and I found myself standing in cold wet sand wrestling into my own aqua man attire.

For the 2009 edition of Midwest Xterra Short Course Cup I planned on reaching the shore after a 500 yard swim within two minutes of the lead group. My dreams were water logged when I rolled on my back for survival stroke before reaching the first buoy. I could blame the freshly thawed Michigan water, sore shoulders or I could look myself in the mirror and admit that I suck at swimming. I was one of the last 10-12 out of the water. 14:25

I hustled through the wiggling embarrassing endeavor of shedding my neoprene casing looking forward to climbing on my trusty weapon of choice. Transition One 1:47

Once atop my full rigid 29er rocket ship I was ready to do some work. I enjoyed the well worn lines created by all the pro racers while pulling back one competitor after another. 44:12

I came into my second transition and the announcer said I was in the top 15. Transition Two: :45

I needed to gain more time on the single-track 5K so I worked with a Team Active team mate to make up some ground. We reeled in 4 runners over the hilly root covered course and had enough legs to kick to the finish line in 25:49 which gave me a 2^nd place age group finish.

A very special thanks to the continued support of the traveling circus, especially Team Active for sponsoring this year’s event.

PRESS

RESULTS

CONRAD STOLTZ

Love dan

2009-05-12T16:49:00.001-08:00

2009-05-08T12:09:00.003-08:00

2009 Fort Custer Stampede Expert 29 and Under 3rd place

The stars were aligned this past weekend and I was able to score a great result. I owe it to a combination of my wife's pancakes, Zach Tansey's bottle slinging ability, the Jeff Cachero/Jim Leikert pain train and the supporters of the Traveling Circus. (Tifosi, Swiftwick, Gu, Team Active, Holly Scott Racing, White Brothers)

A very special thanks to the 30-39 expert chase group. You guys are probably right. I need to learn how to ride my bike, especially when racing expert. Without your profanity and lack of sportsmanship who knows what kind of rider I may become.

PICTURES TO BENEFIT AUTISMSPEAKS.ORG

EBAY EBAY EBAY

Fort Custer XTERRA is the next adventure on my calendar.

2009-05-05T17:43:00.002-08:00

Photos to Benefit Autism Speaks.org are posted in the dump linked to the bottom right.
Many Goodies for sale in Dan's Used Bike Warehouse, also linked to the bottom right.

Crazy busy, race report coming soon

love dan

The Ebay Monster

2009-04-30T17:00:00.003-08:00

Ordered a Gary Fisher ARC Pro this morning from Team Active
After work I emptied the bike part closet
Still have not hung on to the Wednesday Night Hammer Fest. I get quicker every week but need to focus on matching the accelerations.

This need for speed will send me out to Fort Custer on Sunday to chase around a bunch of dudes in tight shorts sans leg hair.
Wish me luck

love dan

2009-04-26T12:29:00.003-08:00

An eventful weekend:

Installed a new drive train on my Tropic Thunder TT machine
Updated the Team Active Racing Blog
Was chased by a rabid poodle while trail riding
Got inked with my wife
Ran a PR at the Borgess run for the health of it
purchased a Blackberry
Took Two naps

Fort Custer XC CPS Race #2 SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY

love dan

Yank Me Sprung

2009-04-20T14:56:00.005-08:00

More Pictures, less words.

The Traveling Circus made the short trip north for the first CPS race of 2009, the Yankee Springs Time Trial. 2 laps, 24ish miles of tacky twisty rooty single track. The event was a carnival of beards, 29ers and old friends missed from a long winter's slumber.
The Yankee Springs Time Trial is a historic and requires a solid winter of training to be successful. Instead of selling my soul to the Devil's soup bowl I opted for less beard ice and zero trainer rides. I still had good legs when the gun went off and stuck to my strategy of cruising at threshold with a kick at the start and a kick at the end. I came through the finish in the big ring with a time of 1:47 and change, good enough for a top ten spot in the expert category. (all of last year's experts moved up to Elite, I suppose I should one of these days)

1 Speed Reid

Fancy Fancy Fancy

Breakaway Bicycles Race Team

Classics

Founders Dance Off

Old Bike Shop Gurus from my Hometown

John and Chris put the hammer down

A very special thanks to my 09 supporters including event sponsor Swiftwick.

Next up is the Borgess 5K where I will make another attempt and running fast.

love dan

Triathletes Gone Wild

2009-04-13T13:32:00.004-08:00

Instead of driving someplace warm to drink cocktails and dance to top 40 with bikini clad undergrads I settled for 50 degree temps and down time. I commemorated this holy week with long training hours, movie watching and relaxing.

Highlights included

South Park’s Fish Stick’s Episode

“I Love you Man”

Multiple Single-track adventures with friends

A trip to the Dentist for the first time since 2002

As good Friday approached I wanted to celebrate with a transformation of my own. After careful consideration I decided to pursue getting dropped countless times on the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club Wednesday Night Hammer Fest. On a fixed gear? The idea of pushing a single gear seemed appealing but I imagined the multiple rider pile ups similar to those in the Arenberg Forest caused by my forgetting an inability to coast.

I made a trip to Team Active on Saturday to help with the Linear Park Cleanup and pick up the necessary accessories for the above mentioned project.

On Sunday I resurrected some scrap parts, combined them with my new Ultegra shifters and came up with this.

Next up is two laps around the Devil's Soup Bowl. Stay tuned for Monday's race report.

love dan

Knowledge

2009-04-07T14:34:00.002-08:00

Dan Frayer knows his blog stinks without race reports.

Dan Frayer knows he has not posted a solid result since 2005.

Dan Frayer knows that 2009 will turn some heads.

Dan Frayer wants you to check out his interview on The Michigan Scene.

hugs and kisses
from Dan Frayer

2009-04-04T13:32:00.004-08:00

Are they really coming back?

RODE RAN SWAM this weekend

SPRING BREAK NEXT WEEK

YANKEE SPRINGS TT 17 Days and Counting

2009-03-29T11:33:00.002-08:00

The traveling circus took to the gravel streets of Middleville Michigan on Saturday for the first installment of competitive outdoor excitement. I signed up for the Barry Roubaix Gravel Grinder a week ago and registered in the fixed gear category. I did it out of curiosity and ignorance. I was curious how racing in a pack would feel without coasting and to feel that special pain I have been missing all winter.

Rick Plite, Michigan’s all star promoter of kiss cross and the Lumberjack 100 put together an excruciatingly undulating course. The Elites went off in one wave then the expert/sport classes were staggered. He saved the single speeds, tandems and fixed gear riders for the final wave. The rollout had smooth gravel rollers and my 39x15 felt perfect. If only that was a preview of the next two hours. It wasn’t. The group of cycling outcasts took a hard left onto two track and the chaos ensued. Traction preventing sand pits, frame denting loose rocks, quad buster kickers and derailleur hanger bending line picking made for an interesting start to the first annual Barry Roubaix Gravel Grinder. I was on the bike, off the bike, switching positions with tandems, dual suspension mountain bikes and a roadie or two struggling in the dirt. I was praising the blue skies above for making the last minute decision to swap my speedplays for SPD mountain pedals.

The rest of the course was littered with inappropriately steep ups and high cadence downs. I worked on and off with packs of riders and stayed with the same group of 10 most of the day. Everyone was enjoying the sunny suffering and waterfront views. I was passed early on by the only other fixed gear rider and he disappeared. It wasn’t until the final few miles that I passed him at an aid station. I buried what was left of my melting rubber legs to the final paved stretch hoping for the magic to happen. He pulled me back a mile out, dropped the hammer one last time and left my wheezing and dumfounded.

I crossed the line in under 2 hours, enjoyed free zoup and founders brew, won a set of Velocity road wheels and Rick hooked me up with some 53x11 coffee and knickers. The schwag hammer struck hard making the Barry Roubaix one of my favorite events. I am adding this event to my calendar for next year and hope you do the same.

A special thanks to the 2009 Supporters of the Traveling Circus

Holly Scott Racing

Tifosi Optics

Swiftwick Socks

White Brothers

Team Active

Next up is a solo training camp south of the Mason Dixon before the Devil’s Soup Bowl Time Trial.

Love dan

MICHIGAN

2009-03-26T17:22:00.006-08:00

Today was my final tune up ride leading to Barry Roubaix. 30 miles of gravel will be the longest ride of 09 and I hope it stings my ego.

Photos stolen from Velo News
Check it

love dan

2009-03-17T17:39:00.002-08:00

It has been a long road for our band and the time has come to rock one last time. This Saturday we will take our final bow as rock gods and join the masses in a pursuit of the mundane.

Stay tuned for pictures and fan commentary.

love dan

2009-03-07T15:06:00.002-09:00

Red to Green

2009-03-01T14:20:00.003-09:00

My inflamed knee ligaments have been echoing from the bottom of an empty advil bottle for the past three weeks. A crazy guy once told me to ignore the aches and pains but stay in tune with your body. Could it be self doubt? Old Shoes? Lack of determination? I am settling into a rest week and have to make a decision to push through or return to my cross country mountain biking roots. It is a win-win no matter how you look at it.

I heard the sound of knobby tires on mud for the first time in months. I wanted to drop to my knees and wrap my arms around the ground, rub my face against its wet cold gritty surface and thank mother nature for the pending spring.

I rode green to red to green, found some secret trail projects and tasted the bitter acid from a winter of couch surfing.

Stay tuned for a pending monster ebay auction and ice man registration confirmation.

Love dan

2009-02-26T16:01:00.003-09:00

To the Thawing Wind

COME with rain, O loud Southwester!

Bring the singer, bring the nester;

Give the buried flower a dream;

Make the settled snow-bank steam;

Find the brown beneath the white;

But whate’er you do to-night,

Bathe my window, make it flow,

Melt it as the ices go;

Melt the glass and leave the sticks

Like a hermit’s crucifix;

Burst into my narrow stall;

Swing the picture on the wall;

Run the rattling pages o’er;

Scatter poems on the floor;

Turn the poet out of door.

2009-02-22T06:17:00.002-09:00

No race reports today, just ramblings of the upmost importance. Advice, real life experience and a pledge to inspire and motivate. Today’s lesson: I know washing dishes is important but it is just easier to throw them away.

Now a word from our sponsors:

Park Tools
The manuals have arrived.

Tifosi
I was always a fan of the Tifosi slip. Light, interchangeable lenses and durable. They came out with a new style called the Vogel. Single lense, comfortable frame. Light and they make me look like the terminator.
Swiftwick
Without fail, every time I deem a sock to be my favorite I lose one. Last seen on my foot during the frost bite 5k.
They speak the truth

Mother nature decided spring has not sprang and dumped some ski ready snow shoe fat tire ready powder. I hope it melts before the Barry Roubaix.

Reminders
Team Active End of Winter Party and Ice Man Registration FRIDAY NIGHT

2009-02-15T13:15:00.002-09:00

We made an unexpected trip to Indianapolis over the weekend so I was unable to motor, jump and slide my pink accented salsa around the Versluis orchard on Saturday.

Instead I spent a great deal of time on cruise control contemplating the end of February, our lack of snow and the approach of the 2009 racing season. Longer miles mean more time to think about my new teaching job, the loss of true bubble gum punk rock and plan my strategy for slaying the glycogen dragon.

I am writing the curriculum for a vocational training program using bicycle repair. I needed something inexspensive, hands on and full of learning potential. Park Tools has already stepped up to the plate to donate manuals. I have been in contact with local shops and suppliers in hopes of nailing down some parts, inner tubes and shop supplies. If anyone has any suggestions I would welcome them with open arms.

Love Dan

2009-02-07T13:43:00.002-09:00

A quick recap of the frost-free 5K: I ran hard, breathed harder and crawled hardest. My awkward gallop is slowly evolving to a stride through rigorous stretching routines and you-tube tutorials on cadence, foot strike and how not to get passed by junior high girls (not that they are not fast, I now consider them rivals)

I did not have the juice to hit my PR but turned ran strong, my body reacted well to the torture and I look forward to speed in the spring.

In the Blogosphere News

New Job
Considering the Kiss cross race on V.D. Day
Mother nature is torturing us with warmer temps before she strikes our smitten faces with more zero.
I am just going to type the words Michael Phelps. Enough Said

Love Dan