More than you ever wanted to know about the Cohutta 100...

2007 Cohutta 100 Race Report

I arrived at the Ducktown Copper Inn around 2pm on Friday. Dan Jansen, Mark Hendershot and I discussed strategy, and then Dan and I did a 1.5 hour pre-ride of the first part of the course. This consisted of riding the first single-track loop backwards. Why backwards? Why not? Anyway, it went fine for me, but Dan crashed pretty hard on a downhill. We chalked it up to experience. A couple of plates of pasta and we were ready to call it a night.

Saturday morning dawned bright and chilly. The temps at the start line were downright cold, maybe in the low 40’s. Although there was much heated discussion about arm warmers and such, in the end I chose to start with naked legs and arms.

Lesson #1: GPS might not work in the Mountains. My GPS had no signal for the first hour or so of the ride. That threw off my mileage for the race, which was aggravating but not catastrophic.

The race starts with a fairly long pavement climb. I was able to stay within 100 yards of the leaders as they made the turn into the single track. The traffic jam at the start of the trail allowed me to close that gap.

The first section of trail is very fast and smooth. I got stuck behind a group of three riders; one single speeder and two geared riders. The ss guy was leading. He was smooth, but I could have gone faster. I wasn’t too worried, since I know you don’t win a 100-mile race in the first 20 minutes. But still, I knew there were people ahead of me that were getting away.

I passed the ss rider on a short paved decent that led down to a flat section along the river. This was bumpy but rideable. I noticed that my perpetum/sustained energy mixture was not flowing out of my bottle as freely as I would like. This forced me to squeeze the bottle quite hard to get any fluid. It was also about this time that Danielle Musto passed me. That was the last time I’d see her before the finish.

Lesson #2: Perpetum should not be used as a face and/or body wash…

After the bumpy section, we turned left to cross a suspension bridge. On the bridge, I decided to remove the blockage from my food bottle by squeezing it as hard as I could. Instead of forcing out the clot, this caused the top of the bottle to fly free and the contents of the bottle to splash on my face, eyes, hair, ears, computer, handlebar and gloves! Crap! The thick goo in my eyes caused me to loose control and crash on the bridge. I was shocked and pissed off, but I picked myself up and moved out of the way of traffic.

I though I was about to have some serious difficulty, but the day was saved by Shari Scurr. Shari is a Michigan racer/MMBA supporter who happened to be at this race supporting other riders. She saw my crash and grabbed my now-empty bottle, which she filled up with water. She also promised to have some perpetum for me later in the race if I needed it. With her help and a quick inventory of my bike (mostly fine) and body (sticky but functional) I decided to press on.

Well, during all this excitement several people passed me, including the single speed guy from the first part of the race! Oh, well. I got back on the bike and started riding. My plan was to use my ‘emergency’ gel packets to get to Aid Station #2, where I had a well-supplied drop bag. I would be a bit short of food, but what can you do? So on I rode.

After maybe another 10 miles of mostly fun singletrack, we got into the gravel road riding. This course has one major and three minor climbs. At the base of the first climb is Aid Station #1. I hoped they would have Hammer Gel packets, and they did! I grabbed a handful and the volunteer at the station tore the top off one for me as well. I clipped back in and turned the corner with all this gel in my hand, only to be faced with one of the first high-speed downhills of the day! I ended up dropping or squeezing several of the gel packets, getting thick goo all over my glove and handlebar. Awesome, more sticky shit. Just what I need. At least I got one or two gel packets out of the deal.

Now starts the climbing. Mile 25 to Mile 35 is pretty much all climbing, some of it quite steep. On paper, Mile 35 to Mile 55 look less challenging and I had heard the terrain described as “rolling”. After a long, fast decent from Mile 55 to Mile 75, there are three smaller climbs each about 3 miles long or so.

My plan was to hammer the first climb, since it was the longest and the earliest so I might still have fresh legs. Then I planned to coast through the “rollers” and survive the three smaller climbs.

As it turned out, the “rollers” were anything but! They were steep ups and downs with no place to recover. I was pissed because I had put some serious energy into the first climb and really needed a rest. I went back and forth with a group of three other riders. I would catch them as they spun up the climbs in an easy gear, and they would catch me on the downhills as they hammered the 44x12. There wasn’t much talking; I was suffering too much on the climbs and they were moving too fast on the descents.

Anyway, I made it to the top of the first climb and got my drop bag. It had some more hammer gel, and overall my energy level was about right. I put some Heed in the empty bottle I brought along for ‘emergencies’ and hoped it would be enough to get me to Aid Station #3 where I had another bottle of Perpetum.

The climbs on this course were brutal for a Michigan boy. I’m not much of a climber to begin with, and we don’t have anything like these hills where I train. The hills would just keep getting steeper and longer around each corner. Over the years, I have ridden outside of Michigan and have learned to look for the warning signs that the hill might be longer than it looks. For example, if it looks like the hill will be cresting “just around the corner” but you are still kind of down in a valley, then most likely you still have some climbing to do that is hiding around that corner. For some reason, I never got demoralized by the climbing in this race. Don’t get me wrong, it was hard. But I went in to the race knowing that I would spend a lot of time suffering so I just put my head down and kept pushing along.

The downhills were tricky as well. I put a nice, light carbon fork on the bike for this race. It was welcome on the climbs, but it made the 35+ MPH downhill sections a handful. The roads had loose gravel and stutter bumps, so my hands were often numb by the time I got to the bottom. Traction was an issue as well. In the end, I kept the rubber side down.

Lesson #3: Girrrrrrl Power!

The rest of the race was fairly anti-climactic. One final story: I have a problem staying in ‘race mode’ during these long point-to-point events. People get pretty strung out, and it is possible to go hours without seeing another rider. Around Mile 55 or so, I started to slip into ‘ride mode’: not pushing hard and starting to look around and enjoy the scenery. I pulled off to the side of the course to take a ‘nature break’. As I was finishing up, a rider on a bright orange Niner ss with full Niner team kit flew buy me. I’m thinking “What in the heck is Dejay Birtch doing behind me?!?” I figured he must have had a crash or some health problems or somesuch. Anyway, I hopped back on the bike and hammered to catch him. Well, I was able to catch up pretty quickly but it wasn’t Dejay. It was his teammate Leslie Williams! Yes, a female ss rider caught and passed me. Well, I am pretty used to getting beat by women in these races since I ride with Danielle Musto quite a bit, but not buy a woman on a singlespeed. That got me back to race mode pretty quick. We rode near each other for a bit. She had an easier gear which helped her on the hills. I had a harder gear so I worked hard on the flats and less-steep climbing pitches and was able to get away and stay away. I still only beat her by about 5 minutes.

Other Michigan riders did well: Mark was 7th (!), Dan Jansen got 13th on a 1x9, Teammate Paula rode her singlespeed to a sub-11 hour finish, Super Bon Bon was Top-5 in the 35 miler.

At the finish, I assumed that I was pretty far off the pace. I was very surprised when I found out I was in 5th Place for Singlespeed. I’m pleased with the result, and I learned some things that will help me in future 100 mile races. The course was good, the race was well-managed. I will plan to do this race in the future.

Quick Cohutta Report

The important stuff:

Finished. 5th Place SS (not 4th as reported elsewhere!) with a time of 8:47.

The whole trip went very well. The race was challenging and fun. I feel like I gave it my best effort.

Other Michigan folks had outstanding rides as well: Mark Hendershot, Danielle Musto, Super Bon-Bon, and Dan Jansen all had outstanding rides.

More tomorrow, must sleep now.

Cohutta Madness

The bike is ready. A carbon fork from White Brothers. A different crank. Some new tires. Oh, yeah.

We'll be on the road tomorrow. Report to follow.

Team Ride

Details: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2497704

Me, Nate, Dan, Shawn, JoeFro and Jason put the cyclocross bikes to work yesterday. The computer showed 41+ miles. It was arm and knee warmer weather, but just barely. We even caught a bit of sun.

In the middle of the ride we did a lap at Bass River. Shawn and JoeFro had to pick a bit of bark out of their skin after getting up close and personal with trees, but all wheels made it out of the loop mostly true and ridable.

Nice and easy for the rest of the week, right up until Saturday.

1st Centrury of the Year

It's hard to believe, but today was my first century of the year. I did so many long rides over the winter getting ready for TI the last two years that I had a half-dozen 100-milers under my belt by this time. By no TI and no DK for me this year, so I had more time to ramp up.

And you know what? I've never been stronger. Go figure.

I rode the DD-X with fancy new Small Block 8 tires, like so:

So, you've heard the rumors; those tires are fast! And I have to say, I have not spent enough time talking about my DDX. That bike is awesome! It is super-light, has a very plush ride and just plain makes me feel fast. I'm gonna go ahead and add them to the "Stuff I'd buy again" link. I think I'd talk more about it if I didn't suck so bad at cross racing.

So the weirdest thing happened on my ride today. Just before the 50-mile mark, I rode past a field that had a bunch of cows in it. One cow in particular was right up next to the fence. I saw that cow and though "Man, that is one *fat* cow..." and kept riding. After I hit 50 and turned around, I came upon that same cow, only now she wasn't quite as fat and she had a little baby cow underneath her! That cow dropped a calf in the 20 minutes I had been gone. And I mean just dropped; there was still all kind of the stuff that comes along when a baby cow is born hanging out the momma cow. Yeah, circle of life and all that, but it was nasty! Anyway, you see some crazy stuff out on a bike.

Here is the route, for those of you playing along at home: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2471819

All Smallblock 8, All the Time

I mounted Kenda Small Block 8 tires on my cross bike yesterday. I plan to ride them Saturday and Tuesday. I also put the larger Small Block 8 on the rear of the Quiring. I'll get some miles on that on Sunday.

Ride Report to follow.

Big box o' tires!

Ah, the Kenda tire order came in today. Small Block 8, Karma, Nevegal, etc. Pictures to follow. I got a box of tire that is so large I had trouble getting it in the car.

Team ride tonight; kind of a big crowd. Dan, Nate, Scott, Shawn, Jason, Barry, and me. I took off my super-fast Michellin tires and put on some tires I won at a race. Big mistake. I suffered for the first part of the ride as I got used to the new rubber. I was fine by the end; I think we got in about 2:15 with some hard efforts. Then it was time for an IPA taste-test at Nate's. A report will follow.

Riding hard all week. Trainer tomorrow, MTB on Thursday. Some day it will be warm again. Cohutta on the horizon. Good times...

April + Trainer = :(

Three hours on the trainer today. I was thinking about a long ride, but I just couldn't get into it. I should have followed Danny J. down to Yankee; he left around noon and I think he is still riding seven hours later.

So, what else is up? The poison ivy just keeps getting worse. Here's a couple pics:

Nice and crusty! Also, check out the awesome arm hair...

And the wrist:

Looking at more time on the trainer tomorrow. Cross bikes for the team ride on Tuesday, and maybe some full-on road or trail riding on Thursday. Ten it's the weekend, with a few hard rides and then rest up for Cohutta and race redemption.

What is love?

Rode cross bikes on Tuesday. Three of us; Nate, Shawn (or is it Shaun? or Sean?) and I did around two hours. The weather had been bad all day, but it stayed warm and dry for the ride. Drove home in the rain, but didn't ride in it. Good times.

Rode on the trainer tonight, since we have February weather here right now. I've got sunburn from Arkansas, so you know I'm not going back out in the cold.

I picked up some fairly nasty poison ivy in Arkansas. It's on my right wrist and forearm, right where my hand would like to rest while typing. Sucks.

Swapped out Arkansas tires for Tennessee tires. Looking forward to the next race, and no mental mistakes. It would be nice if the new frame, fork and wheels were here for Cohutta. But the bike I have got the job done in Arkansas so I can't really complain.

Speaking of Arkansas, calculations from the GPS indicate that I would have done just fine without the "long cut". Did I mention no more mental mistakes?

Ouachita Race Report

Ouachita Challenge 2007 Race Report

Day One: The Drive

Dan Jansen and I left Michigan early Friday morning for the 900ish mile drive to Arkansas. Most of the drive went well; no bad weather and no car issues. We made it to Little Rock in time for dinner with the rest of the crew who were traveling in another vehicle: Danielle, Scott, Bonnie and Barry. The food was good, and we were back on the road at a reasonable hour.

The last stretch of this trip was a bit more interesting. To get to the cabin where we would spend the weekend, we had to traverse several tiny, twisting dirt roads. Not fun at midnight. We eventually found the main cabin for the campground where we were staying, but the Deliverance rejects that were running the place sent us driving all over the backwoods of Arkansas looking for our cabin. Also, we were concerned because the rest of our group who were right behind us as we left the restaurant were no where to be found. Just when things looked like they might get ugly, the rest of the crew showed up and we found our actual cabin. Of course, but this point it was about 1 AM but at least we had a place to crash.

Day Two: Foreshadowing

The Plan was to get up a bit early, have breakfast, and get in a massive preride of four to six hours. Most of us had decided that pushing for a good result in this race was not a good idea, since we had all been [sick/up too late/stick up butt/skirt too tight/not enough beer] too really make our best effort. Therefore, why not enjoy the trails by doing a huge pre-ride on Saturday and riding for fun on Sunday?

What actually happened is that we slept in till about noon on Saturday, messed around getting breakfast and packing and didn’t get to Oden to start out preride until around 2 PM. Everybody but Barry and I started to pre-ride, while he and I drove back to the cabin to get a. my bike shoes and b. his front wheel. Hey, what the heck. Just gotta role with it. In the end, I got in about two hours and 30 miles of riding.

Day Three: Endurance can mean so many things…

Everybody was up at 5AM to pack and eat. We got to the start without any drama.

I was feeling pretty good on the first climb. I didn’t start too hard, so I was able to pick people off on the way up. I got to look at some nice bikes and say hello to some cool industry folks. I got to the top and got into the singletrack.

The Ouchita Trail singletrack was mostly fun to ride. At least, where it was possible to ride I enjoyed it! I was very glad that I ran 29” wheels and a suspension fork. The Reba worked very well; I didn’t notice the weight on the climbs (!) and I know it let me make mistakes that would have resulted in a crash with a rigid fork. Parts of the course were still not worth the risk to ride, mostly steepish uphill sections with lots of rock piles. Overall, I was still fresh in this section and in good spirits.

Next up was a long dirt and paved road section. This was not great for me, as I had a pretty easy gear and was forced to spin like a crazed hamster. Several geared bikes passed me, and one singlespeeder got by me here as well. Overall, I was still feeling pretty good. It was getting warm, and I was stopping to take some electrolyte pills about every hour or so. My back was a bit sore, so I took some advil as well. But in general, I was feeling pretty good.

As I got within sight of the Womble Trail, I saw Danielle pulling out of the aid station. Here is where I made my first mistake: I skipped the aid station to try and catch her. It felt like I had enough Gu2O in my pack to make it to the next aid station. As soon as I got on the Womble Trail I knew I should have stopped. It was very hot and stuffy back there. My Gu2O was very warm and no longer refreshing. I started to think that I wouldn’t have enough fluid to make it to the checkpoint. Although I tried to tell myself to keep pushing and drink as much as I wanted, I know I slowed down and tried to conserve fluid. I ended up crawling through this section.

At last I made it to the last water stop. I drank several glasses of water and filled my half-filled my camelback. I was pretty messed up at that point. I noticed that riders seemed to be coming from two directions; from the trail that I had just completed and from the dirt road. I asked the volunteer what was going on, and he told me that the course looped back around to this spot on the way to the finish. They also told me that I had about 15 miles to go.

Here is where I made my second and most critical mistake: After getting my water, I took off down the road instead of following the rest of the Womble Trail. I was busy drinking water and enjoying the breeze. I was passed by a few geared riders on the road, so I knew I was on course. I was wondering when the course would loop back to the checkpoint when I saw a sign that said “Finish” and a volunteer told me that I was almost done! I was pissed, because I only had 50 miles on my computer. I talked to the volunteer for a few minutes, and it dawned on me that I should have crossed the road back at the last water stop. I was pissed because I knew that my chance for a respectable result was gone, but I knew I didn’t want to DNF. So I turned around and rode back to the checkpoint and got back on course.

The rest of the race was anticlimactic. I did the last little section of the Womble and the dirt road. I felt pretty good, but I didn’t push it because I knew there was no point. I finished in just over 7 hours. My goal was 6 hours, and I was on track for about 6:20 or so before my error.

Even though I didn’t have a great result, the race was still a success. I finished under adverse conditions. The bike worked extremely well. My fitness was pretty good, considering that I had been sick for a week. I got in a great day of riding on some very challenging trail.

Epilogue
So, with the race over I was free to enjoy a beer and kick back. Oh, wait a minute; I still have to drive 900 miles back to Michigan today! I shower and Dan and I load up the car and get on the road at about 6PM. We drive straight through the night, arriving in GR at 7:45 AM on Monday. I shower, change my clothes and head to work. I eventually get to bed at 10PM Monday evening. That means I was up for most of 40 hours, 7 of which were hammering on a bike! Ah, the things we do to race our bikes...

Bike: Ready Rider: Eh...

I finished putting my bike together for Ouachita. They say never to make changes to your bike before a race. I broke that rule eight ways from Sunday: New tires, new (suspension!) fork, and a new gear. The bike in this configuration has about 5 minutes of riding on it; I've been too sick to give it a good test run. Hey, what ya gonna do?

The biggest concern for me is the fork. My last suspension fork was a 2001 Marzocchi Z-2 BAM. It weighed a ton, and since I bought it used and failed to maintain it, never really work well. I tended to avoid it even on courses where it would have been useful. The new fork is a 2007 Reba SL. I guess the entire Ouachita course is just littered with VW-sized rocks and the downhills put as much hurt on riders as the uphills. Oh, and there are hungry wolves and, um, pumas on the course. You have to bunny-hop them. So a suspension fork is required. I just hope my rigid riding style can adapt.

Lowering Expectations

Stayed home from work today. The cough is just about gone and the body aches are history. However, the 30 minute easy trainer ride just about tapped the power reserves. I missed two great training/equipment shake-down rides with the great weather we had this weekend.

Long story short, I don't have great expectations for Ouachita. Don't get me wrong; I'll still toe the start line. I just don't have confidence that the engine will be up to a top-10 performance.

The weather is supposed to turn to crap, so I don't know if I'll be able to give the new fork a workout before the pre-ride Saturday. The rest of the bike is good to go, so we'll just have to wing it...

Video

Video from Thursday:

Joe

Dan

I tried to get the videos to post here, but no luck. The quality of the video is not high, but ya gets what ya paid for...

Anger

I get sick every spring like clockwork. That's normal. I don't get sick twice in a row, at least not normally. Well, I'm sick again and that causes anger. It started Thursday on the first mtb ride of the year. I commented that the air was cold and it irritated my throat. The other people on the ride told me I was crazy. On Friday, I developed a hacking cough which led to a sore throat. I spent all day Saturday on the couch, coughing my lungs out and dealing with a stuffy head, fever, chills and body aches. About 10pm, my fever broke and I went from freezing to sweating. I drank tons of fluid, mostly tea and Gu2O. I ate zinc tablets and chicken soup.

Today, I feel somewhat better. Not well enough to ride today, but I think I will be fine for Ouachita this weekend.

SingleTrack

It is time to get it on! Got out for the first singletrack ride of the year last night. The ski hill is ready to ride, if you can get through the slush swamp at the bottom of the main hill. The rest of the trail is in excellent shape. But a little snow isn't gonna slow me down:

This shot was taken shortly after I did a wicked endo in the same spot. I'm not sayin' Jansen was *trying* to get a shot of me crashing...ok, yes I am.

The only downside to the ride last night is that I have developed a bit of a sore throat. I had planned to get in a big dirt ride tomorrow, but with Ouachita only a week away I may end of taking it easy.

Gravel

Although I will be missing out on my favorite gravel road races this year, I got a taste of that type of riding last night. A group of six of us set out for a two hour ride from Nate's house. One cross bike, one 69er, on 26er, and three singlespeeds were represented. Let's just say that the cross bike was able to put the hammer down on the dirt roads, with the rest of us just gritting our teeth and hanging on. All in all, it was a pretty good two-hour ride.

After the ride, we met at Nate's for training food, er, pizza and beer. Mark Hendershot of Santa Cruz fame joined us. Not sure where he was while we were riding, but at least he shared a cold one with us.

Trail riding on tap for this weekend. Yankee is looking like a go, and maybe some time at Cannonsburg ski area as well. Pictures? We'll see...

Face the Pain

While many people were doing the KissKross Alleycat and drinking tasty Founder's beer on Saturday, I was in Muskegon sitting on my trainer. Specifically, I was sitting on my trainer doing a 25-minute time trial. My heartrate was between 183 and 190 for the entire 25 minutes.

Ouch.

Anyway, it was for a good cause. The guy who promotes the Milkjug race series asked my to pitch in and help his team and I was happy to do so. I guess we took 2nd in our division. I think I was in the top 20 individual riders as well, but I didn't stick around to see the results.

Went out for a nice four-hour spin with Dan Jansen and Scott Chambers today. MTB's on the road. I switched out the 34x15 Eno setup for the 38x15 Shimano XT. White Industries makes a 38t ring, I just don't happen to have on in my collection. Anyway, 38x15 is no joke. I had to clock in to make some of the hills. It was a good ride, all things considered.

With any luck, I'll be getting 5-6 hours on the dirt next weekend. I've put in a decent amount of time on the road with the 29er, but my dirt time is still limited. I've got to get that sucker dirty! Let's hope the weather cooperates.

Truths

1. It doesn't take much warm weather to make the cold feel COLD.
2. Riding alone is not as much fun as riding together.
3. Singlespeed is the only way to fly.
4. Steel, baby!

Took the day off yesterday and put in an hour and a half today. Four butt-kicking hill intervals put just the right amount of hurt on. The new team kit worked well. I didn't think I'd get to use the super-thermal jacket, but I sure-enough did. I'm betting it will see some use this weekend as well.

I think the cold is 100% gone. I sucked in a ton of cold air tonight, with no wheezing or shortness of breath. What ever that was, it sure held on for dear life.

The new frame is built, now it just needs to get through paint. Working on the last of the parts orders as we speak. This will be one sweet ride; by far the nicest combination of craftsmanship and top-notch parts of any bike I have ever owned. I don't think there will be anything on the bike that I would want to be better/nicer/lighter, and that will be a first. Photo's as soon as the box hits the doorstep.

Something old, something new

Scott is sporting the new Founder's Ales team kit on out ride tonight. I am on the right, with last year's kit. Notice that I am wearing shorts--it was like 70 degrees when we started the ride at 5:30PM.

We rode for two hours. Dan Jansen of Niner Bikes fame was on the camera. I was on the singlespeed, Dan was on the 1x9 and Scott was on the full-geared 26er. It was a nice ride; I had to spin like a gerbil on crack to keep up with these guys, but everything worked our for the best.

The weather is going to turn to crap tomorrow, so it's back on the trainer for a while. Looks like some decent riding this weekend, and I'll be sporting the new kit by then as well.

A few more pics from the ride:

One of Dan's fancy bikes:


A whole pile of bikes:

Legs of steel:

"I don't know; I woke up and I had these huge eyes, kind of like a bug. Just call me Mr. Bug Eyes..."

Two days, two rides

Went for a nice long ride yesterday with Danielle and Dan. Dan and I were on singlespeeds and Danielle was on her geared MTB. It was a good ride-for the first 3 hours. After that I was about thigh-deep in the hurt locker. Not waist deep, but greater than knee deep for sure. I just plain ran out of gas. I ate enough food and drank enough fluids; I'm blaming my poor performance on being sick and not riding enough in the last few weeks, but who knows for sure. Danielle has a few pictures up on her blog, and Dan took a few that are posted below. Not a bad ride, 75 miles and almost 5000 feet of climbing on a singlespeed mountain bike. Details can be seen here: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2210898

Went out for an easy ride today. Ran into Nate, who was riding a singlespeed cross bike...pulling a Burely filled with about 80 pounds of his daughter Kate. We rode for a while, just catching up. I rode Nate's bike up on of the larger hills on the course we took; man, it is no wonder that guy is a killer on the bike. Pulling that burley will make a man out of you for sure.

Bits and pieces are selling on MMBA and MTBR. Act fast if you want a piece of Partridge Cycling History (TM)!

Pics from Yesterday: Ride Start

Dan fixing his seat:

Me, looking like a bucket of crud:

26" Stuff for Sale

I have a few items on sale on the MMBA board:
King wheels, White Industries ENO Eccentric wheel, old Skool Airborne ti frame, and a Spicer ti fork. If you read this site, you know that these parts have some miles on them! But if I wasn't switching to the 29er format, I'd keep useing these parts.

Whatever doesn't sell in a week or so goes on e-bay. I also have a nearly-new King 'patriot' headset that will be going on e-bay. $65 takes it locally.

Niel has dibs on the King wheels; others should feel free to let me know if that want any of this stuff. I also have a ton of new and nearly new 26" tires; if you need something along those lines let me know.

90-95%

It seems like it takes forever to get ride of that last little bit of sickness. I feel better every day, so I'll just wait it out.

I had a good news/bad news event yesterday. No Dirty Kanza for me this year. I'll be leaving for two weeks in Italy the Thursday before that race. So, Italy good; missing Kanza bad.

The weather seems to be warming up a bit. Hoping for 5-6 hours outside on Saturday, with maybe another 4 on Sunday. I'll believe it when I see it; my long rides have not panned out well so far this year.

80%

Maybe 85%. Still a little tired and congested, but much better than last week.

The final team parts orders will be in next week. Tires and brakes, and I'll be getting some of each. Ah, the sweet sweet smell of small block 8 and marta sl... Timing on the frame and parts will be tight for Ouchita, but no problem for Cohutta and beyond.

Rebounding

I'm feeling better. Not great, but on the way back. The twelve inches of snow I had to shovel over the last two days isn't helping. The bummer thing is I can't even get out and ski...

I did set the cross bike up on the trainer. I was able to spin easy for an hour. I'm thinking another hour tomorrow as well. My spin on the cross bike reveals that it might be time for a new bottom bracket; lots of crunchy-grindy going on down there.

Dan Jansen just got back from a top-secret recon mission of the Ouchita course. He brought back important info regarding gearing for that race. Much thought is going into tire selection as well. After last years disappointing season, I'm looking forward to racing again, even if Ouchita is only 60 miles... :)

Yeah, sick... :(

Stuffy head, fever, chills, the whole encilada.

This sucks.

No riding tonight, and I suspect no long ride this weekend; just me sitting here, drowning in my own phlegm.

Crap.

Sick?

Not real sick, but I haven't felt right since Sunday. I woke up feeling weak and with stomach cramps. The cramps stayed with me all day Sunday and Monday. I felt better yesterday, but now I have kind a general weakness and a stuffy head. I felt good enough to spin yesterday, but only got in about an hour and a half.

Could be worse.

I'm supposed to ride with the Crazy Bastards tomorrow, but the weather is supposed to be real crap; ice then rain then more ice and snow. Could be epic, or it could just suck. We'll see.

I meant to say "metric century"...

JoeFro and I rode bikes yesterday. I rode the Quiring in full-on mtb mode: Ignigtor up front and nano out back and 34x15 gearing. Joe was sporting a sigulated cross bike with a pretty big gear and cross tires. The plan was for 100 miles of roads.

Well, the wind was blowing at around 20 mph dead out of the east. Our route (Ok, my route) had us going due east for the first 25 miles. It becase clear after about 10 miles that this plan was not going to work for me. We turned off the main road and made some headway by takeing a slightly more sheltered route. We got to a 'checkpoint' and I decided that we needed to ride with the wind for a while. Truth be told, I was feeling pretty bad at this point. My hands and feet started to get very cold, and I was thinking that home was looking pretty good. Joe, however, saved the day by saying "Well, we have to get at least 60 miles in, right?".

An alternative route was created. The chemical heaters in my shoes and gloves started to kick it, I sucked down more of the frozen Perpetum from my water bottle and things got a bit better. The wind was really hellatious; even as a crosswind it was not alot of fun. Eventually we turned west, and at last the wind was out friend. We were able to move along at a nice clip.

We ended up with 69.75 miles and just over 5 hours on the bike. I was a mess when we got back; a little Recoverite and half a frozen pizza were consumed. I clicked on the Tour of California, wrapped up in a couple of blankets and promptly fell asleep on the couch!

I did get up in time to head over to Little Mexico for some food and Clique Lanes for some bowling with the good folks from the Western Chapter of the MMBA. Good times were had by all; it turns out that I can't bowl worth a hoot! But Scott Chambers, that man is a God of Bowling. He has his own ball and one of those fancy wrist brace things. He was en fuego all night.

The lesson from this weekend: Don't get too used to riding a super-light cross bike if you think you want to race a durable singlespeed during the season! I plan to spend much more time on the mtb for the next month.

the b to the i to the k to the e

Did a nice ride with the Crazy Bastards last night. It was a bit chilly, but nothing like recent cold-weather epics. The warmer weather resulted in a longer ride; we were out for around 2.5 hours. Roads were mostly in good condition, with a few soft spots here and there to keep things interesting.

Planning a 100 miler for tomorrow: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=726555

At least one other fool seems game, so I won't have to spend the whole time talking to myself. The weather will be the x-factor: if it gets just a bit warmer than predicted and the snow holds off, this will be a nice ride. If it gets just a bit colder than predicted and/or the snow comes early, this could get interesting. Whatever, it beats working around the house... :)

In other news: Got my confirmation from Barbara at the Cohutta 100; approved the drawing for my new bike from the new bike sponsor; and ordered a shim for Jones HBar #2. Good times...

Training, on the Trainer

I did a massive lunge session on Monday, which put the hurt on legs already sore from the 3.5 hours of skiing on Sunday. Topped off that pain sandwich with two hours on the trainer yesterday. I tried to keep the resistance light and the revs high; it didn't help. I was in pretty bad shape by the end of the night. Nothing a cookie or two couldn't solve, however.

Some nice stretching tonight and riding with the Crazy Bastards tomorrow. I expect lots of mud and slop. Not ideal, but it means warmer weather is here, with actually decent temps in the near future.

Registration has been sent for Dirty Kanza, Ouchita and Cohutta. Race season is right around the corner.

Choices

Today I had to make a choice. I could go to the Y and do a double spin class. Or I could get out the skis and enjoy the great outdoors.

Yeah, I was on skis. I ended up with about 3.5 hours. The weather was great; mid 20's with bright sunshine. I felt good until the last half-hour. I was getting tired and had developed a blister on my left heel. I also did something to one of the toes on my right foot. So by the end, I was about ready to be done.

This should be a good week. Team spin on Tuesday, Crazy Bastards on Thursday with lifting in between. Not sure about the weekend; if the weather is a bit warmer then I'll ride 6-8 hours. If it's cold, then maybe another day of skiing will be on tap.

As I sit here, the Tour of California is on the TV. That reminds me that I will be in Italy during the Giro this year. If anybody has advice about renting a bike in Italy, I'd be happy to hear it. I plan to see Stage 17, which includes the monster climb up Monte Zoncalon. I hope to ride that climb the day after the stage, but after all the hassle I had when I took my bike to the TdF I need to rent a bike rather than haul mine over there. So speak up if you know a good place to rent a quality road bike in Trieste or Venice.

Home Again

I made it home from KY. It was a good trip, but I was ready to get back. I was able to keep my fitness up, but no time was spent on the bike. It looks like the weather is starting to break here in Michigan, so I plan to be out on the singlespeed more often. There are only five weeks till race season!

And I raaaan...

...I ran so far awayyyyy.

Ok, not so far away, since I was running on a treadmill in the hotel gym.

I did my best Dallas Sigurdur impression by running long, or at least long for me. I ran for an hour, at a pace that would have Dallas on the floor in stitches with laughter but felt like a workout for me. I'll lift hard tomorrow and ride the spin bike for two hours on Thursday. This is turning out to be not a bad work-out week, considering I am on the road.

Here's hoping the snow clears in Ohio so I can drive home Friday. There is a 100-mile stretch of highway that I need to use that I hear is closed because of the snow/sleet/flying monkey infestation. I don't got time to mess with no monkeys, is all I'm saying.

Valentine's Day is for Lovers...

...Especially Meat Lovers!

That was the sign that greeted my this morning at Denny's here in Lexington, KY. The worst part of travelling is the need to find decent food to eat. Strangely, that same Denny's served a passable grilled tilapia, rice and vegetables for dinner last night. Not great, but passable. Today I should be able to branch out and find something better.

Any suggestions for places to eat in Lexington, KY would be appreciated.

The gym at the hotel is passable. A couple treadmills, a spin bike and a multi-station weight machine. More than enough to get me through the week, and unlike the YMCA there is no waiting! I had hoped to bring a bike down here, but the weather just didn't justify it; cold rain or worse every day.

Training is coming along well. All I need now is for the temps to get about 32F so I can get in some good 6-12 rides. The power is there; now I just need to make sure the endurance is good to go.

Holy Mary, Mother of God...

...pray for us sinner now, and at the hour of out death. Amen.

Sorry, I'm so sore that I was smacked back to my Catholic upbringing. I just got done with a couple of hours of XC skiing. I have not skied in a year, and I have less than 10 hours of XC skiing ever. My legs are fine; about what I would expect after a couple of hours on the bike. My arms and shoulders are so sore that I can just tell that tomorrow is going to SUCK!

Anyway, I did a couple of hours on the bike on Thursday with the Crazy Bastards. It was pretty cold, maybe mid-teens. I hit the nail on the head as far as clothing was concerned; I was not too cold and I didn't sweat. I think I could have gone another two hours without a problem. That being said, I was just as happy to get to the bar and have a bite to eat and a beer after only two hours or so.

Next week I will be in Lexington, KY for work. I was my hope to bring a bike, but it looks like the weather will be cold and snowy. Pretty much like Michigan. In that case, I will be spending quite a bit of time after work in the hotel gym. I may or may not bring the bike and a trainer; time will tell.

How may I serve you?

Not much to report. It's cold and slippery, so riding outside is problematic. I was on the trainer on Tuesday with Scott and Dan. We watched another fighting movie; this one was called "The Protector". Lots of Thai kickboxing, which I understand is the sport of the future.

Even though it is still cold, I'll be out riding with the Crazy Bastards tonight. Rumor has it that the ride will be short and sweet. I don't like short rides, but I don't like loosing bits of my extremities to frost-bite.

It sounds like a group will be doing 3-4 hours on xc skis on Saturday. I have not had my skis out all year, so I should be hurting like a dog by the end of the day. Monday I'm off to Lexington, KY for a week. I was hoping it would be a chance to get some riding in, but it looks like I'm be sweating my arse off at the hotel 'gym'...

Blizzard

Rode with the crazy bastards on Thursday. It was cold, but not that cold. Good bunch of folks.

Today it is like 10 degrees outside, with lots of snow and 30 mph winds. I've shoveled the driveway twice, and it looks like it will need at least one more go. The weather is so bad that the YMCA is closed. Needless to say, I rode inside on the trainer.

I'm guessing more trainer time is in store for next week. I hope to get outside on Thursday, but otherwise I'll be up in the gym, just workin' on my fitness.

Quick Update

Did gym workout Monday, including lunges.

Rode inside on Tuesday with Dan and Scott for two hours, including three 4-minute 53x11 max efforts. Ouch.

Did a gym workout today, including a bunch of lunges with weights. More ouch.

Riding outside tomorrow; should be interesting. Lows in the single figures. People have been having problems with rear hubs freezing up.

Supposed to ride outside on Saturday. Supposed to be the coldest day in several years. I might have to break out my warm jacket.

4 Hours of Pure Pleasure

Danielle, Jason and I had a nice ride this afternoon. It was mostly sunny, temps in the mid-20's, with some snow. Overall, the weather could have been much worse. I rode my cross bike, which I like a little bit better every time I ride it. Slingshot makes a quality product; if you are in the market for a cross bike, check them out!

Two notable incidents on the ride. First, we saw a bunch (flock?, gaggle?) of turkeys in a field on the side of the road. Jason started yelling at them, and they all took off running away from us. All of them, that is, except the Kamikaze Turkey of Death. This on got airborne and headed straight for us! Jason and I were up ahead a bit, but I thought for a minute that Danielle was going to have a turkey sandwich the hard way. In the end, she just missed it.

Later, we were cutting through a park near the end of the ride. Two kids were sledding, and the trail we were on went right by the base of the hill. Once again, Jason and I were just a little bit ahead of Danielle, so when the Uncontrolled Sledder of Doom came down the hill you know who was nearly taken out. That's right, it was Danielle again.

I'm going to try and post a link to the Motionbased review of the route. If it works, I'll try to post more of these in the future.

Ride Link : Well, it seemed to work. Enjoy!

1x9? Check!

I used the Quiring set up with 1x9 for the Crazy Bastard ride on Thursday. The bike worked well; the chain tried to come of the chainring in front during some very high-cadence pedaling. I was able to save it without stopping. Overall, the 1x9 thing worked ok, but I think I'm going back to ss. The setup with the Jones Bars and the gripshift just doesn't look good, and I don't need the gears for the kind of riding I do.

Plus, I'm a singlespeed kind of guy.

I plan to ride with Danielle and a few other people tomorrow. I think we are looking at 4 hours or so. The weather is supposed to turn to crap, but that is just the way things go...

Trainer-Fu

Did two hours on the trainer last night. It was me, Scott and Dan in Scott's basement. Two hours can be a long, boring trainer ride. Not last night, however. We had a sweet Jet Li movie to watch. It was something about a man battling demons from his past. Or maybe he was trying to atone for some family dishonor. I'm not sure, but the fight scenes were top notch; very good for out-of-the-saddle efforts.

My handlebar arrived this week. That means there are now two Jones bars in the family. The pile of happy fun parts for the new bike is growing. No word on the frame; I guess some delays occur ed on the collect-money-from-the-racers side of things. Whatever, I'm just going to keep on training and riding. The frame will get here when it gets here.

Speaking of frames, the 1x9 Quiring will get it's test run tomorrow on the crazy bastard ride. For real this time. It should be nice and chilly, with temps down around 15F for the ride. At least that is what the weather crone says. Which pretty much guarantees that something on the bike will break and I'll end up walking.

Here are a few shots of the bike:

The obligatory side shot:

And the Funky Bar With Shifter shot:

Yes, the photo's suck. Yes, my basement is a mess. I would say this it only looks this way in the winter, but that wouldn't be true.

The warmest feet EVER!

I went out for about four hours today. It was fairly cold (25F) and snowing quite a bit. There was a fairly large group for this time of year: Me, Danielle, Scott, Amy and Mackenzie. The snow and the wind made for a chilly face, but the big story of the day was my feet. They were the perfect temperature all through the ride. Here is how I achieved this minor miracle:

Warm wool socks from Rivendell,
Lake MXZ301 boots, size 44 (I wear a 42.5 Sidi...)
Size 45 Performance neoprene booties

That's it. No chemical heaters, no plastic bags, no Vaseline. My feet were warm and dry for the entire ride. In the past, strong wind would always cut through the Lake boots. Chemical heaters would do the job, but they tend to run out in less than 4 hours. This new combo is the answer. I think I would have been good even if it was 10 or 15 degrees colder.

Good times...

Project 1x9 and other stories...

Had a nice ride last Sunday with Dan. We did four hours, I was on my Slingshot and he was on his 1x9 Niner. It was a nice recover from the race on Saturday. Observation: Riding gears for four hours is much easier than riding ss for four hours.

Ran Tuesday, rode with the Crazy Bastards on Thursday. It was cold, but not super cold. I was on my cross bike again, and had a pretty good night. I pushed it a bit on the hills, but only went into overdrive on the last stretch of the evening. Tom Burke took off, and three of us tried to stay with him. Dan was on a fixed Crosscheck, and was riding on 30 hours without sleep. He bailed. I stuck with it a bit longer, but just didn't quite have the juice. I'm not sure who the last rider was, but he pulled in a bit after me. Anyway, it was a good ride. My fitness is coming along nicely.

Today I turned the Quiring into a 1x9. I figured I might as well give it a try, since I had Scott put cable stops and the paragon dropout with the hanger. My old Sram 9.0sl twist shifter is perched on the front extension of my Jones HBar, mated to my old 9.0sl mech and cassette out back. These parts have not been used since around 2003; I had to knock the dust and crud off them. I am using the Velocity wheels and Kenda cross tires I won at the last KissCross race; the hardest part of the installation was getting the front disk to quite rubbing. It should take me about 10 minutes to switch back to ss, and 15 minutes to convert to 1x9 now that I know the process. The ENO crank is not the best bet for 1x9, since you can't run a bash guard. I have a jumpstop on the inside, and my brief test ride went well. I will put some miles on this set-up tomorrow, and if all goes well I'll ride it on Thursday with the bastards.

Snowcross and Long Rides

Spent Saturday at the KissCross SnowCross race. I think I finished somewhere around 6th place or so in A's. Lots of DNF's, lots of broken bikes. The mud was as thick as any I have ever seen. In some places, there was firm ground under the mud, in some places you could just keep sinking. Overall, it was fun. I mean, the race was a suffer-fest. But hanging out afterword was fun.

Did a little over four hours of dirt roads on the cross bike today. Dan came along. The weather wasn't too bad, although it was getting cold near the end. Crappy weather is supposed to come in tonight, so the amount of outside riding might be about to shrink.

Good week on tap; more running, riding and lifting. If it snows enough, then we get to ski...

Little Ball of Hate

No ride last night. I was dressed and ready to go; I only needed to reduce the tension on the return spring for the rear brake on my cross bike. When I last rode that bike, the spring arm kept snapping out from the retention stud, causing the brake pad to aggressively contact the rim. The wheel wouldn't spin freely (or much at all) when this happened. So I figured a quick tension adjustment and I would be on my way.

Not so much.

Somehow I broke the tip of the spring arm off. As a result, the spring arm was just long enough to engage the retention stud UNLESS the brakes were applied. So when I would so my quick 'test spin' of the wheel in the bike stand, it was fine. I happened to grab both brakes as I was loading the bike on the rack. Low and behold, the brakes were broke. And I had five minutes to get on the road if I wanted to make the start of the ride. No dice. Instead, I had a nice, angry run.

No riding tonight. Had a nice dinner with some of Becky's friends. Good times, but now I feel sort of full. I don't think I ate that much even during the holidays.

First race of the season tomorrow. Versluis Snowcross. It doesn't look like there will be any snow, but it is supposed to get cold. The mud should be nice and thick. I got the cross bike all tuned up by Jason at Slingshot; new brake, some new shifter cable and houseing, clean chain and tightened chainrings. Geared bikes are a pain, but Jason takes the pain away. Thanks, buddy!

Winter, at last

Snow falling through the glare of HID lights.
Frozen ground crunching under fresh rubber.
Water bottles turning to blocks of ice.
Breath steaming into clouds.

Tuesday was a great ride. Two hours of trails in the cold, cold dark. A local trail (specific site CLASSIFIED) was in great shape for some winter riding. I was running a new Ignitor up front, and it was the perfect tire for the conditions. There was around an inch of snow on the trail, with nicely frozen ground below. It was chilly to start, but my medium gloves and Dan's new Moose Mitts kept digits toasty. The two hours flew by.

Dan was sporting his new "Team Issue" Niner Air9. I'll say this about that bike; It sure is orange. Shouts of joy were heard around the singlespeed world, as the bike was sporting ((shudder)) a 1x9 drivetrain. Dan will still campaign the SS at selected events, but will do the National Endurance Series on gears. The new Niner team jersey looks nice now, but I don't know how well the white color will fare after a few hundies...

The Quiring performed flawlessly! There has been talk about converting that bike to 1x9; it has cable guides and a derailleur hanger. I just can't bring myself to do that until I get my next frame. I don't expect the next frame for a couple of months yet, but that hasn't stopped my from dusting off a few 9-speed parts. Unlike Dan, I would only use a 1x9 for training; I'm SS on race day, and make no mistake.

I'm happy to say that White Industries will be back as a sponsor for 2007. Great parts, but more importantly great people! Even though last season saw less race participation than I would have liked,they decided to stay in my corner for another year. Awesome! People with time on their hands can check the team page for hints on the frame sponsor.

More riding on tap tonight with the Crazy Bastards. The weather is supposed to be a bit warmer tonight, so the mud will be flying. At least this week I will be prepared. Looking at four hours of trail riding Saturday and a nice recover ride on Sunday. Tomorrow I'm at the gym.

I've got one of my Airborne Lucky Strike frames up for sale on the MMBA website. $450 for the frame and a nearly new headset; it's priced to move. Help a brother out and get your neighbor to buy that sucker. I need money for new parts!!

Crazy Weather

The warm weather persists. I fear what February will bring; weather karma.

Ran on Saturday, 4.5 hours on the bike today. Forgot my food, so I had water and one Hammer Gel packet for the entire ride. I was pretty spent after that, and almost fell asleep watching the Giants/Eagles game. Grabbed some dinner and now it's off to bed.

Should be a good week; off the the gym three days and on the bike three or four. Feeling good so far. I have noticed it's a bit harder to train long when I know I don't have a 300 miler at the end of April...

First post of the year

Did an easy spin of the road with the clean 29er on Tuesday.

Hit the dirt roads with the Crazy Bastards yesterday. The rain came on strong on the drive to the start of the ride. I was supposed to ride to the start of the ride, but Nate and Dan decided that an extra 15 miles of wind and rain were more than they wanted, so drive we did.

The ride was muddy but fast, with plenty of opportunities to spit dirt out of my mouth. Because there was no rain in the forecast, I didn't have my clear rain jacket or fender with me. That was a bummer, as I ended the night caked with mud. Dan and Nate both rode singlespeed cross bikes, with Dan riding fixed. I got to enjoy the sound of an expensive drive train wearing itself away with sandy grit. Everyone (with brakes) got to but a few months of wear on rims. Whatever, it was still a good time.

I have to give a quick shout-out to Defeet; I got their arm and leg warmers for Christmas, and they are excellent. The leg warmers kept my lower parts nice and toasty during a wet and windy ride. If they make tights, I'm getting a pair!

Some riding on tap for this weekend; not sure yet about location or distance. I'll have some nice 26" parts for sale next week, so if you know someone in the market for a ti frame, some nice ENO wheels, 26" tires, or perhaps a complete ti singlespeed, let me know.

Dirt

The warm weather continued yesterday, so Dan and I went out to Ionia State Game Area. I had not been to that trail in years, so it was a nice change of pace. We rode for about two hours, which is about all of that trail that I needed to ride. It is fun for a while, but it is short and not all that interesting or challenging in the long run.

I borrowed a Maxxis Ignitor from Dan and used it in front. Once I got the pressure low enough, it was a great tire for that trail. It packed up with mud a bit, but the sturdy construction and grippy tread were the right answer for the roots and rocks in Ionia.

It's been fun riding the Quiring 29er in the dirt. I expected to be spending all winter riding it on the road. There is a learning curve with 29er, and I am glad I can get some of it out of the way now. I'm still learning to trust the tires and the larger contact patch to get me through corners, but the climbing traction and roll-over ability continue to impress.

I washed the Quiring today. It is a fine looking bike, if I do say so myself. It has spend most of the winter covered with mud and road grime, so it was nice to see it all shiny.

My new Garmin Edge 305 has been fun to play with as well. I changed out the batter in the HR Monitor strap, and now everything is working great. I'm a little nervous about using it during a race, as I'd hate to smack it into a rock during a crash. But for training, I really like it. It collects a ton of useful (and not-so-useful, but interesting) data. Most of that data is displayed in real-time, but some is accessed back on my computer at home. I'm looking forward to comparing times at various course during the season.

I got my YMCA membership today. That means I will be hitting the gym and spin class for the first time. I've seen what these things have done for some of my team mates, so I am looking forward to improvement in my performance.

Family events will keep me off the bike today, but I hope to get some saddle time tomorrow and/or New Years Day.

Slacker!

I snuck out of work yesterday afternoon for a ride. The weather was excellent, with some sun and temps in the 40's. The route was mostly road with a bit of trail thrown in, and I was out for about three hours.

I tweaked my back again, in the same way that I did before Iceman. At least this time I knew what to expect, and was able to ease off my pedal stroke when I felt the 'slipping/tearing' feeling start. It's a bit sore today, but not too bad. I'm trying to decide if I should see a doctor about this; maybe some kind of physical therapist? What do you think, Danielle?

More riding might be on tap for this afternoon. (The office is mostly empty, and I do have a bit of vacation saved up...) If the sun comes out, I don't know if I'll be able to resist. Some family and friends activity to round out the holiday weekend, but there should be time for some riding as well, although no formal ride is planned. (Marty, I deleted your message and phone number by accident; sorry for not returning the call!)

Bought a set of used Jones H-Bars this week for the 2nd bike. Also got to hold one of the new White Brother's carbon rigid forks at the shop...very nice! A small pile of parts is forming in anticipation of the NNB (Next New Bike), details should be available some time after the first of the year.

Check out the schedule for 2007 over on the right hand side of the page. I'd like to add one more 24-hour race. Any suggestions that fit in the schedule and don't involve a multi-day drive would be welcome!

Christmas Day Ride

I got in a nice 4.5 hour ride on Christmas Day. Most of the family stuff was completed on Saturday and Sunday, so I was able to fit this ride in. I used my fancy new Garmin Edge 305 for the first time; it's pretty slick. It turns out that all the little hill on my route add up to...not as much climbing as I would have thought.

Back to work tomorrow, but with warm weather in the forcast, I suspect that I will put in one or two short days and perhaps make my way down to Yankee. Best to make use of the warm weather while it lasts.

The week in review

Took Saturday off to let the mouth heal. Got a call from Scott around 8:30 PM. Seems he, Dan and Danielle went out and rode the Poto. As usual, things get a little crazy and Dan ended up riding the second lap WITHOUT A SEAT OR SEATPOST! That man is an animal. Scott was calling to invite me over to drink a beer and hear about the ride. I went, beer was drunk (see bottom of the post...) and stories were told.

Got up and rode cross bikes with Dan on Sunday. We got 3 hours in; the weather was mild and the ride was pretty gentle.

Rode my cross bike on Monday; one hour easy ride. Ran 3 miles on Tuesday.

Rode for 2.5 hours last night. Dan, Nate and Me down at Yankee. Did a short loop backwards, long loop backwards, so 'off-trail' riding and the first section of the long loop backwards again. I was running 34x15 on the 29er, so you know I was working hard. Dan was on 2x1 and Nate was running his Iceman gear on the 26er. Then we went out for Mexican food; mmmm, burrito!

I registered for the Ouachitta yesterday. I hear that the race is full already. A bunch of the Founder's people will be there; should be a good time. Anyone with advice on what gearing to go with on the 29er should feel free to post a comment to that effect.

Look for an update to the site around January 1. Updated schedule, some new links, etc.

**Adults-only Section**

I generally keep the blog rated 'G', but the following 'beer review' from Dan just has to be posted somewhere. The beer-drinking at Scott's on Saturday got a bit crazy, and we (Dan, Scott, and I) all blame the beer that is reviewed below. By the way, this beer was sold in an un-labled brown plastic jug. Read on, but you have been warned:

Michigan Brewing Hop Head Switch Double IPA

Warning: Do not drink this beer if you are required to take a urinalysis in the next 30 days. Consumption of this ale can cause you to go insane. I doubt the FDA knows much about this product as I am sure it contains some unknown ingredients that I can only guess would include psychotropic agents, crack, meth, weed, raccoon sperm and healthy B vitamins.

A mere one quart of this extremely hoppy drink will FUCK YOU UP!!! One minute it's all fun and before you know it your running around with your pants down, underwear on your head, repeatedly banging your head on house hold objects and trying to fit your self into a clothing basket.

You may find your self motivated to drunk call your non-present buddies pregnant wife and discuss such topics as who will be the father of her next child and then give her toc much information of your sex life which includes only your hand.

Lastly, you will wake up with the worst hangover you have had all year and then proceed to puke out last nights pizza. As you stare at the undigested olives and onions you will ask yourself one question... What the hell was in that shit?

All in all it is a good ale for the hops lover. Or if you just want some liquid crack.

DJ

Oral Surgeon

Man, that is never a good blog title.

I got a tooth pulled yesterday. Everything went well, but I am going to take the weekend off and let the wound heal a bit before I get back on the bike. I'm a bit pissed at the timing, since it is supposed to be trail-riding weather tomorrow. Dan, Scott, and Danielle (at least) are heading to the Poto tomorrow. I hate to miss it, but I'd rather heal up now so I don't have issues when the training rides get real long.

Now it's off to find some soft food...

Winter

Did a nice recover ride on Sunday; one hour on the cross bike around downtown.

I was on the trainer last night. Only an hour, but it was pretty intense. Some high cadence work, but some big gear work as well. It seems like my leg strengh is way ahead of last year. It's too early to comment on endurance, but it doesn't seem any worse than last year. Time will tell.

More riding this weekend. There is talk about a trip to the Poto. With the warm weather, a trail ride is not out of the question.

4 Hours, 22 Minutes

The ride today ended up being 22 minutes longer than I had planned. Somehow I missed the road I wanted to turn on, so my loop turned into an out-and-back. Not bad, but I was looking forward to some new roads, and my planned route included some gravel. Oh, well. Maybe next time.

This is my second 3+ hour ride on the new Quiring. I have to say, it is a great bike to ride. I traded in my ti seatpost for a Thomson, and my back refuses to give me any trouble. Ditto my hands, neck and knees. I guess all the hype of steel+full custom is true, at least in this case. The bike fits and absorbs more than its share of road and trail chatter.

I mounted tires on the Velocity wheels I won at the last Kisscross race. They look pretty sweet, all stealth black. I need to get another set of disk rotors so I can swap wheels without hunting for a torx wrench.

More standard winter training on tap next week; short rides on Tuesday and Thursday, long ride on Saturday (4.5-5 hours) and short ride on Sunday. The weather is supposed to be quite warm, which is great for not freezing but bad for salt-impregnated road spray on my fancy steel frame...

Outside in the Cold

Rode outside tonight. It was dark, about 26F with a decent wind. I was only out for an hour, so the cold wasn't really an issue. I switched from a 34x17 to a 34x15 gear ratio. That's a difference you can feel, I'm here to tell ya.

Looking at 4 hours on Saturday, and 1 hour on Sunday. The weather is supposed to warm up, so I'm not too concerned about either ride. It could get a little sloppy.

Remember: Take the right gloves!

So, I went to the crazy bastard ride yesterday. I got to the parking lot, and realized that one of my gloves was all messed up by having been in the washer. You know what I mean, you put the gloves in the wash, and when you take them out the liner is all twisted inside out. Anyway, this is usually not a problem, you just stuff your fingers in there and it works itself out. Not this time. Try as I might, I could not get the glove liner squared away. I grabbed my spare (thin) glove and set out on the ride.

It was cold. Within ten minutes, I could tell that my under-gloved hand was gonna get cold. Fifteen minutes into the ride my right (rear) shifter stopped working. First the chain started skipping. They the shifter just plain stopped working. Of course, I was in my easiest gear. I bagged it and headed back to the car. So I was out for a total of 30 minutes, and my hand was completely numb. So, I did what I had to do: I called Scott and we went to the bar.

Winter Ride

Got out for a three hour ride this afternoon. It was cold, right around 32F. I had a nice tailwind on the way out and fought the headwind on the way back. This was the longest ride to date for the new Quiring. I didn't take the time to put a harder gear on, so I had to spin my brains out with 2x1. I'll fix that before next week.

No trip to Detriot for CX racing tomorrow. Family committments will keep me in town. No big deal--I plan to get plenty of use out of the DDX on Tuesdays with the Crazy Bastards this winter.

Typical training week on tap: Cross ride on Tuesday, trainer on Thursday, longish ride on Saturday and short ride Sunday. Maybe some running in between. We got some snow this week, but not enough to get the skis out.

Training Ride

I went on my first ride with the Crazy Bastards last night. It was very warm ride, with temps well into the 50F's even at the end of the ride. We were out for around 2 hours. I rode my cross bike, which performed flawlessly. Dan, Scott and Chip were there from the team and Danielle was there as well. I think there were about 15 riders in all. I guess a bunch of people went to Honey Creek after the ride, but I had to help Dan move some stuff so I had to pass.

I guess they do this ride all winter long, in any weather, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'm not sure if I'll do it tomorrow, since we are supposed to get some kind of major winter storm. We'll see...

First 'long' ride of the season on tap for Saturday. I have to take another look at my training calendar, now that I won't be doing Trans-Iowa. Not sure if there will be any chance, but it is something that must be evaluated.

Bad News

What a bummer! It turns out that Trans-Iowa 3 is being held on the one weekend in April that I am not available to race. I have a very important family event that day that cannot be rescheduled. I really wanted to do that race, but it just isn't going to work out.


On the plus side, I'll get to do this Dirt, Sweat & Gears thing down in Tennessee. Dan and Danielle will be going down there as well, so Michigan should be in the money in a few categories.


I managed to get my cross bike put back together. It didn't suffer as much as I thought from the mud and the crash on Sunday. I did have to rebuild the Candy pedals. I hope I got all those bushings and seals back in there correctly. I guess I'll find out tomorrow when I ride with these folks.


Here is a pic from the race in Sunday:

I love these cross pictures! I look so fast; just goes to show you can't believe everything you see on the internet. I like this shot in particular because it shows 1. slightly bent brake levers from the crash and 2. me hard on the *front* brake in a tight right-hander. Not smart, but when all you got is front brake, it's front brake you use.

Cross Nonsense

Why do I keep tormenting myself? I went out to the last 'normal' KissCross race today. The course did not favor me; lot of pavement and not much technical riding. I was sitting ok at the end of the first lap, somewhere in the top 15. At the second set of barriers, right in front of all the spectators, I managed to slip off my pedal during the dismount and crash hard. Both levers were twisted on the bar and packed with mud, as I had been hard on the brakes coming up to the barriers. It was a total rookie mistake.

I managed to get the front brakes working, but the rears were rubbing bad. After fussing with them for a few minutes, I just unhooked the brakes and rode without them. I really wanted to quite, but I quite the last cross race and felt like crap afterwards. So I put my head down, and decided to do whatever it took not to come in DFL or DNF.

In the end, I achieved my goal. I think I passed four people, including one guy on a mountain bike that I beat right at the line.

Since this was the last race of the season, Rick gives away a bunch of schwag. I scored big-time; a Velocity cross/29er wheelset and some Kenda CX tires! That more than made up for the flat tire I had to change...on my car! Thanks to Nate and Scott for the help fixing that flat.

It is looking more and more like I will head over to Waterford this coming weekend for the cross race. I'm gonna try and bluff my way into the A race, even thought I don't have any kind of race license. A bunch of people took pictures at the race today; if I can track them down I'll link to them or post them here.

In other news: Vote over at the Snob's site and check out the latest info on Trans-Iowa 3.

Thanksgiving Week Rides

It was a good week for riding. The weather was warm and sunny, exactly NOT what you should expect in Michigan in November.

I rode with a good group of folks Thanksgiving morning. A couple of hours of urban trails were tackled. Nothing special, but it was good to get out and stretch the legs. After that, it was off to the in-laws for some fabulous eats. Good times...

No riding yesterday, but I made it over to the new trail in Greenville today. Many of the same people from the first ride, with a few new faces as well. Scott showed up, and we ended up riding away from the rest of the group. Not intentional, but that is the way it went. The trail was very twisty, with some nice ledges, stunts and log piles. I went down hard twice; chalk it up to the first technical ride on the new bike.

On that note, the new bike worked very well. I am starting to get a feel for what the bike can and can't do. It lives up to the 29er hype; it kills the sand, has great traction in the turns and while climbing, and it rolls over stuff like nothing else. It does take longer to get up to speed, and my build is not super-light. Without spending too much money or sacrificing durability, I can drop a couple pounds for race day.

Cross race tomorrow; don't know if I will do it or not. Planning on riding Tuesday, Thursday and either Saturday or Sunday next week. That includes the first 'long' training ride of the season--a three hour lsd ride. Can you smell Iowa, off in the distance? I can.

Ft. Custer

Did a nice off-season ride today at Ft. Custer. Dan and I made the trip. The weather was cool and we got to experience some snow, but it was not too cold to enjoy the ride. The trail was in great shape. We were going to take a few pictures, but the battery in the camera died.

The big wheels were great. The fort has a little bit of everything; twisty stuff, rocks and roots, some sand and one notable climb. We rode for about two hours. My legs are feeling it now. I'm sure I'll be stiff tomorrow.

We discussed the 2007 race season. Things are still up in the air, but I hope to have some tentative dates up on the site by the first of the year. We are going to try and hit some of the same races to share travel costs. More on this later.

Another light week of riding on tap. The riding will start to pick up again the first weekend in December. I might drive over for some cross race in Detroit that weekend, or I might just start hitting the long rides. It's hard to believe that soon I will be back to double-digit riding weeks. Iowa is only five months away...

Off Season

Novermber (after Iceman) is the off-season. I try to ride as little as possible. Since I started my new job on Monday, not riding has been pretty easy. There was a 'cross ride on Thursday, but I had a meeting that ran late in Hastings. I think there might be a ride tomorrow, but if I'm not sure.

The new job is working out great.

Training on the bike starts again in December. Got to get ready for TIv3; my hope is that they pick Option 1 or Option 3. I won't be able to attend if they go with Option 2.

Comments are now visible; there was just too much wisdom there to keep it to myself.

Some new bike news might be forthcoming soon. I know, it's like a regular bike cornicopia around here lately. Stay tuned for more details.

Club Poto

"Tonight, at Club Poto, we've got DJ Dangerous Dan, MC Farmer and Joe 2 Slo in the mix. Someone will bring sexy back, someone doesn't know your name but seems to like you *alot* and someone keeps looking at your bumps. Or is that "lumps"? It's hard to say..."

Nate, Dan and I went to the Poto for a couple of laps on Wednesday. The plan was to leave GR around 1pm, ride a lap during the day and then throw on lights and ride a lap at night. I was in because I had assurances that we would ride easy; it is the OFF SEASON! So I was running a nice 2-1 on my 29er. Nate was running his Iceman gear (which is around a 52-16, maybe a little easier) and Dan was running one tooth easier than his Iceman gear. Yeah, this is gonna be an easy ride.

In fact, the pace was not that bad, except on the hills. I had to work pretty hard on the hills even with the gear I was running and pace I was going; those guys were crushing the hills on those monster gears. Riding with national-caliber singlespeeders is a good way to get faster, but it is a guaranteed way to feel S-L-O-W.

There are a bunch of bridges on the Poto trail. The first half-dozen were fine; a bit wet but traction was not a problem. The seventh bridge was like ice. Dan was leading, and went down like someone hit him in the face with a baseball bat. I grabbed a double-handful of brake and instantly hit the deck. Nate was able to stop before he hit the bridge, which is good because he would have ploughed my under Farmer-Style. No permanent harm done, although I am sporting lots of bruises, scrapes, etc. and I still can't lift my left arm above my head.



We finish the lap, mount up our lights and head out for lap 2.

We get about a mile in and Dan notices that his front hub sounds like a chupacabra eating a handful of gravel. Some people like those American Classic wheelsets; they are light and the price is right. But I don't know anyone that has used them that hasn't replaced bearings at least once. Anyway, Dan wasn't about to try and tame the hungry chupacabra, so we headed back to the trailhead and packed it in.

The ride back was quite an experience. Both Dan and I had our ipods, so the station wagon was rocking and make no mistake. We had both kinds of music; country AND western. Emperor Justin T, nails that were well over 8.5 inches, some very dark-eyed vegetables, etc. And some songs with guitars. Good times.

We stopped at Michigan Brewing Company for some chilie. Hot, or more precisely ((HOT))! I still can't taste anything. The guys had a beer or two, and provided entertainment for the rest of the patrons; I watched, since someone had to run the music on the way home. We finished off the evening at Founder's.

Tomorrow it is psychocross, where the DDX will first turn a pedal in anger. If I get lapped I'm gonna get my money back. Otherwise I'm not really riding bikes for the rest of the month. Doing a little running, and eating all the stuff that I eat all year long, but not feeling guilty about it.

Bring the Pain

A friend of a friend took this picture. It does a good job of summing up the Iceman experience. Snow is falling, I have my typical grimace of pain, and you can see my fancy handlebars. That is the Iceman.

Iceman

Not much to say about this race. I felt slow at the start. I was able to get in the top six or so riders at the start, but I ran out of gas pretty early. My legs felt heavy and I was concerned that I had too big a gear. A bunch of riders passed me. As I warmed up, I felt faster and started catching a few people. Then I hit Tornado Ally, and there was a line of 30 or so "expert" riders ahead of me. I didn't want to pass in the thorn bushes, so I waited it out. By the time I got through there, I had some anger to motivate me. I felt faster as the race went on, and I passed more people and very rarely got passed.

I caught quite a few singlespeed riders near the end. Someone passed me within the last two miles, so I jumped on his wheel. We traded off until the last hill, where I gave it everything I had to make it into the singletrack at the end. There was tons of traffic, so I assumed the rider behind me was just sitting in and waiting for his chance. Sure enough, he slipped by me right at the line.

In the end, I was 13th out of 94 riders. My goal was to be in the top 10, and if I had gone 40 seconds faster I would have made it. Maybe next year.

The bike worked great. I am looking forward to getting more miles on the big wheels.

The rest of the team and friends did great. Nate won the ss race, Dan was 7th in Pro on his ss, and Danielle won the Women's ss race. Others also did well, with many top 10 age group finishes.

Now it is time to relax for a month, then start working on next year.

Two More Days

Things are looking up. Brake pads have been changed, my back feels about 95%, the snow is starting to fall; looks to be a good Iceman.

I'll be taking it easy today. Bags will be packed and pasta will be eaten.

Be sure to check here for some great pictures of the Halloween ride.

The Iceman Curse

I've been doing the Iceman for quite a few years. I never seem to have a good race up there, but I keep going because it is the last race of the season and I am an eternal optimist. However, I now look for the thing that is going to derail my race, which I imagine is something of a self-fulfilling prophesy.

So I made some changes to the new bike. I put on a different stem with more negative rise, the Jones HBars and a Specialized FastTrak tire on the front. Then I headed out to Cannonsburg Ski Area for a shakedown. The bike worked great! The FastTrak sticks like glue, and the increased leverage and lower bar height provided by the new setup made climbing easier. I was very pleased.

I didn't want to put in too hard an effort, so one lap was all I planned to do. There is one tough climb on the East side of the course; I rarely make it on the 26er. The course is very grippy right now, and I understand that the 29er wheel has good traction, so I gave it some gas and attempted to clean the hill. Good news: I made it, and I think I had a bit to spare. Bad news, just before the top of the climb, I felt something 'pull' in my lower back. It hurt, but not in a ride-ending sort of way. I got off the bike and stretched a bit; sure enough, the back is sore when I bend. Ah, so *that* is what will keep off the podium this year....

I took a bunch of advil yesterday, and the back feels fine for day-to-day stuff. I went on the Kiss Kross Halloween ride without a problem. It seems like the back is fine for up to 80% efforts. Of course, Iceman requires 110% efforts. I will give the race everything I've got. I just hope that whatever I did is minor enough that the four weeks I'll be off the bike after Iceman is good enough to heal it up.

Taking it easy for the next few days. Driving up to TC on Friday for a short pre-ride. Then race Saturday, post-race parties, then home Sunday. Race report to follow.

A couple of "clean" pictures

Scott took a couple pictures of the bike before it got dirty; check them out here.

I mounted the Jones Bars and threw a FastTrak on the front. More testing at the local stomping grounds tomorrow.

Joe

Ah, that new bike smell

The pictures are not great; I'll try to get something with more resolution up later.

I picked up the new bike on Saturday morning. Put it together Saturday afternoon. Had a few non-bike things to do in the evening, so the test ride had to wait until around 11 PM Saturday night.

The bike is awesome! The paint turned out exactly as I hoped; gloss black with a metallic silver fade. The silver just sparkles in the sun. Perfect.

As you can see, the bike is dirty. I left early Sunday morning to drive up to Kalkaska to pre-ride the Iceman course. A group of us went, including two former singlespeed class winners. The weather was cold but with bright sunshine, and the course was very fast. The bike felt great; stiff, solid and no frame-related mechanical problems. The Paragon sliding dropouts performed as advertised.

There are still some set-up issues to work out. The stem needs to be lower, and I need to get my Jones bars mounted. The Quiring is a bit heavier than my old 26er, and that fact combined with my lack of experience on the 29er wheels and the narrow bar I ran yesterday left me fighting some of the hills late in the day yesterday. All things considered, I am very pleased with the bike.

Now it is decision time: Which bike to ride at Iceman? I have many thousands of mile on the old bike, but it has a bad habit of throwing the chain during big races. I have less than 50 miles on the new frame, but I seems unlikely to have chain issues. Thought and comments appreciated.

Almost there...

Bike is being painted today. I will pick it up Saturday AM.

:)

Anticipation

I just got an e-mail from Scotty Q: my bike will be done Thursday or Friday.

:)

Pre-Ride Problems = Race Day Success

Where to begin? Dan and I went out for a pre-ride of the Peak to Peak MTB race course Friday evening. About 2 miles into the 10 mile lap, Dan notices that his tire is soft. Half a mile latter, we are on the side of the trail fixing a flat.

At this point, I should point out that Dan runs a Stan’s tubeless tire setup. Two weeks ago at Boyne, Dan was bragging about how well this setup has worked for him all year. In fact, he didn’t even carry a tube at Boyne.

Anyway, we can’t find anything wrong with his tire so he whips out his tube…only to find that the tube had two big holes in it! I didn’t bring a tube or patchkit, so we attempted to hold it together with duct tape. We patch it up, and attempt to fill the tube with Dan’s CO2. Denied! He only had a used cartridge. We tried a couple of my cartridges, but could not get the tire to hold air. I went off back down the trial to the hotel room for tubes and a patch kit.

I got back to the room, only to find that Dan only brought cyclocross tubes! I grabbed one, along with one of my 26-inch tubes and a patch. I scoot back up the trail to find Dan shivering next to his bike. We put in my tube, and set off to finish the lap in the failing light.

The course was dead flat for the first 9 miles. Then it turned up the back side of the ski hill for about half a mile and down the face for about half a mile to the finish. We made good time for the next six miles, until I heard a ‘snap’ from my seat. Turns out I snapped one of the seat rails clean in half! I could perch myself on the very nose of the saddle if I eased down on it and was careful. Mostly, I stood.

It was dark by the time we finished the lap. We went back to the room and called a teammate that planned to drive up for the race the next day. We talked him into bringing a seat, some tubes and CO2. Dan put on a harder gear and I stripped of my seat. I didn’t sleep too well, thinking about getting the bike set up for the next day.

Morning arrived, and I got the bike set up without further drama. I was racing my singlespeed against the geared riders in the expert class. Dan was racing his singlespeed in the elite class. All Elite and Expert riders went off together. The first lap was not as fast as I thought it would be. I was able to keep the leaders in sight for most of the first lap—in fact, I spotted Dan two-thirds of the way up the final climb when I was just starting out at the bottom. I was worried he was having a bad race, as he normally is far ahead of me.

The second lap was uneventful. I was able to sit on a couple of wheels. I often felt that I could go a bit harder, but I knew I would get caught on the final climb.

I got behind a fairly fast rider for the last lap. We were in the same class (Expert 30-39), and I asked him where he thought we were sitting. He said that he thought we could be as high as first and second! I had to work pretty hard to keep up with him that lap, but I was still right behind him at the base of the final climb. Once the climb started, he pulled of into the distance. I suffered up the climb and finished the race.

I ended up in 3rd place! I was pleased with this result; I have never raced my SS against the geared riders in the expert class. I would have won the SS class by over five minutes. Dan took 2nd Place in Elite. It was a good day for Founder’s riders and for singlespeeders. It was a nice confidence booster two weeks before Iceman.

The week in review

Rode the new DDX on Tuesday on the road. It was a good ride, and I think I have the saddle position figured out. It might need to be inched forward just a bit, but otherwise it is fine.

On Thurdsay, I went to Cannonsburg with Dan and Nate. It was cold, and we had our first snow of the season. It had snowed all day, and when we hit the trail at around 6:15 PM it was cold. We messed around a bit before starting to ride; looking at lines for the 'cross race next weekend. We hit the trail, and I had no legs. It was pretty bad; I could not keep the other guys in sight. I packed it in after that lap. I don't know if I was still tired from Boyne or if I still had a bit of my cold from the week before. In any case, I was not able to finish the ride.

Today I was back at Cannonsburg for some trail maintenance. It went well, and I did the trail on the DDX. While not an awesome trail bike, it got the job done. I will be back there tomorrow with Nate. We opted out of the Poto singlespeed world championships; too long of a drive, and I just didn't feel up to it. I'm guessing we will do two hours at the 'burg tomorrow--that will be plenty.

Next week will see a couple hard efforts on Tuesday and Thursday, and then the Peak to Peak race on Saturday and Kiss Cross on Sunday. I got a new digital camera so perhaps that will be some new pictures for the blog soon.

Quiring Bike Update: I talked to Scott this week; he has machined most of the tubes and started welding the rear end. Mike Curiak shipped my wheels on Friday, and most of the major parts are sitting in my basement. I have a few small parts that should be here this week, with the bike arriving perhaps the week after. Good Times...

Cross Country

I was up at Boyne Mountain this weekend for the Fun Promotions race. There was some controversy earlier in the week, as the promoter of this race bills it as the "State Championship". Some racers took exception to that, as there is no sanctioning body involved, no series that leads up to this race, no special purse, etc. Anyway, I don't give a rip about this stuff. I have done races put on by this promoter for years, and nearly always have a good time. He can call it the super-duper all-in hyper-championship for all I care--I was just happy to be racing again.

Boyne is a fun course. I have done 24 hour events there, both solo and on teams. I have also done a few XC races there. It is always a good time; I think it is one of the best venues in the state. Usually, the fall race is wet. This course has many roots and is covered in leaves in the fall, making for very slippery conditions. This year the weather was post-card perfect, with temps in the high 60's and lots of bright sunshine. Best of all, there was not a drop of water or spec of mud on the course.

I did the singlespeed class, which in hindsight might have been a mistake as only three people signed up. Since I don't do XC races very often, I didn't know either of them. One guy was on a nice Ionic 29er and the other was on a 26er Monocog. I chatted with the Ionic guy for a minute before the race, and he seemed to know what he was doing.

The gun went off, and I put my head down and went as fast as I could for the next 90 minutes. I never saw either of the other racers until the finish line. I won the race, and passed a small handful of geared expert riders in the process. My chain stayed on and I was able to put in a hard effort despite my recent (and still lingering) sickness. I was very pleased with my effort.

Next week has no races, with the following week being the first running of the Peak to Peak race. I will be up there with a few friends and teammates, hopeful that my pre-Iceman preparations continue to be successful.

Shovel

Did the Tuesday night cross training ride last night. Dan, Nate and Scott came along. It was fun for me because I was riding a fancy new Slingshot DDX. I ended up getting the bike that Slingshot built for Interbike; that is to say, it is pretty fancy. It is far fancier than I would have guessed my first cross bike would be, but the price was right and I have waited a long time to make this purchase. How fancy is it? Well, there is Dura-ace here, fancy carbon there, and some fancy green tires thrown in for good measure.

I still need to make a few adjustments to the bike, but for a first ride last night went well. There was one incident that confirmed that this was the bike for me. We were flying down a piece of two-track that was downhill and slightly off-camber. At the bottom of the hill was a sharp right-hand turn. I entered the turn way too fast, and was sure I was about to visit the bottom of the ravine off to my left. I closed my eyes, leaned to the right, and the bike just screamed through the corner! I was shocked to still be upright, and Dan commented that he thought for sure I wouldn't make the turn. Yes, that bike is gonna work out just fine...

In spite of the cool new bike, I was not as fast as I would have liked. Today, I think I figured out why. I have a bit of a cold; stuffy nose, sore throat, headache and a bit run down. Becky had it last week, and Dan mentioned that he wasn't feeling great either. This sucks, since I am supposed to be racing this Sunday. Scratch that; I WILL be racing this Sunday. It just might not be as much fun as it should be. I will be staying home from work and resting up tomorrow.

More good news: I got the first CAD drawing of my Quiring 29er today! The bike looks great; the geometry looks alot like a Niner One 9. I had a few questions for Scott, but I think we are on target.

Cross!

I did the Kiss Cross race today at Richmond Park. Since the Slingshot folks were all at Interbike, I wasn't able to get the DDX deal squared away. Not a problem, I just took the single speed. I work pretty well, right up until the point that THE CHAIN CAME OFF! Cursing, wailing and the nashing of teeth was heard. I didn't loose any positions, but I was still not pleased. Thank goodness Scot Q. is hard at work building me a new bike...

Anyway, I beat almost all the people that I wanted to beat and I think I was the first singlespeed across the line. I was able to keep the pressure on for the entire ride which was another major goal. The super-secret Tuesday and Thursday rides seem to be helping.

Here is a pic:
Notice the intensity, the focus, the crazy handlebars....

Normal rides this week, and I think the Boyne race is this weekend. Hope that chain stays on!