Long Time, No Post

Well, it has been an interesting week. Last Tuesday, two pros joined us for out team ride. It is not uncommon for Mark Hendershot to show up, but to have this guy ride along was rare. He used to ride with us all the time, but went off to ride the Big Time instead. Funny thing was, the ride was slower than usual. Go figure.

Saturday, while many friends and teammates were racing at Pando, I was up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for the Upper Loop. This is a semi-formal ride hosted by a brother of a friend of mine. I did this ride in 2003, but since it is on the same day as Pando, I have skipped it for the last two years. Since I am not racing right now, I saw no reason not to make a return trip. It was well worth the drive-I had a great time. The Upper Loop is 100 miles, and the people that are invited to participate are a varied and interesting group. I won the sprint competition, but was relegated to second place in the hill climb. A good time was had by all, even thought most of the last 50 miles were in a steady downpour.

This week's team ride was a hoot! A ton of people showed up for what was billed as a "moderate" ride with a cook-out to follow. Instead, it turned into a hammer-fest with several fast riders pushed to near-upchuck levels of effort. No less than three (3) pro's showed up for the ride: Mark Hendershot, Danielle Musto, and Amy Stauffer. Rick of Kiss Cross fame was there, as was the overall winner of the Pando 12 hour (and the 3rd Place guy as well) the 3rd Place Expert Men 35-44 (sandbagger!) guy from the Pontiac Lake XC race. The ride was fun, and much food (and some beer) was consumed afterward. Someone took pictures, which I bet will show up here.

As indicated, I did 100 on Saturday. I also did 50ish on Sunday. I think we did something over 40 on the team ride. I plan to get a few more miles in this week off-road. Next weekend I will be in Chicago, so no riding. Need to keep getting faster for psychocross and Iceman.

Interesting couple of rides

Rode Friday with Becky at Egypt Valley. She did great, but I was tired. We ended up with just one lap.

Saturday I joined Dan Jansen for the final four of his ten laps out at Cannonsburg Ski Area. The secret to riding with Dan is to let him ride for three hours before you show up. I rode with him for about 2.5 hours; it had been a hot day and he was looking a little rough when I showed up. The new singletrack at this site is great--if you are in the area and have not done the new parts of the trail, you will be impressed. Anyway, it was nice to be able to keep pace with Dan. When I got home I told my wife I was 40% of the man Dan was, as he did 10 laps and I did 4. Good times, good times.

Today four of us did a longish ride. Mark Hendershot and Dan Jansen were in the group. It was supposed to be a 100, but my computer showed 91.5 at the end of the day. The pace was pretty good for the first 50, somewhere north of 24mph. After a quick lunch at the beachside taco stand, the headed back home. One of the riders was having some tailbone issues, so the pace was more relaxed on the way back. The highlight of this ride (outside of the beers at Founder's) was watching Dan pedal away from the group on a singlespeed, no-handed, hitting around 30 mph; did I mention that he was on a singlespeed and he was riding NO-HANDED!?! That just isn't right...

This week should see lots of miles; 91 today, 50 on Tuesday, 20-40 on Thursday and 100 on Saturday. Like I say, good times.

Quick Update

I had a great ride on Tuesday. A bunch of fast people showed up, and the hammer was thrown down. This was the first team ride all year where I worked so hard I started to cramp up. The weather was good, the pace was high, and a good time was had by all.

I failed to win any sprints. Dan Jansen showed up, and he smoked everybody on (I think) all the sprints. On his fixed-gear. I don't know what size chainring he had, but it looked like one of those industial-sized buzz-saw blades. It was huge, and he had the legs to back it up. That guy is scary-fast.

Had a friend in from out of town tonight, so no ride. I do plan to ride for the next three days, capping the set off with a hundred-plus on Sunday.

Climbing

Those of you that ride with me know I don't like to climb. I can get up the hills OK, but I can't get up them fast. Slow and steady is fine for endurance racing; in fact, I end up walking most hills by the end of a 24-hour race. But for shorter races or throwing down with the locals, speed up the hills is important.

Last season, I didn't work on climbing at all. This season, I am working on it when I can. Yesterday I did Dan Jansen's Climbing Loop. It's a collection of just about all the hills in and around Cannonsburg Ski Area and Egypt Valley Stage Game Area. It takes about two hours to complete, and it is a decent workout. I rode my backup bike. Something is wrong with that machine, and I think I have figured out what that something is. The bottom bracket. It creaks like that is no tomorrow. By paying careful attention to the noise, and when and where it shows itself, I think I have eliminated every other source of this creak. Also, the chain stayed on without any problem during the ride.

Today I took the main bike out for some road climbing. Two climbs up Serenity Ridge and two climbs up Scenic Drive. Not quite as much work as Dan's loop, but it allows me to focus on power output as opposed to technique. No dropped chains, but the chain did loosen up a bit. I am going to install some washers between the axel end and the frame on the ENO hub. I have read that others with ti frames have had slipping issues, and washers can help.

Easy ride tomorrow, team ride on Tuesday, easy ride or run on Wednesday, back to the ski area for Dan's Loop on Thursday, weather permitting. Got to get the legs ready for psychocross season and Iceman.

Random Thoughts

I spent some time today talking to someone who is going to do a 12-hour race on a singlespeed later this month. This conversation got me thinking about racing and how much I miss it. Riding is fun, and I have been able to ride enough to keep my base of fitness. But endurance racing on singlespeed bikes is...Awesome. As in, I am in awe of the people that do it. I really miss it, and missing it makes me want to work 24/7 to find my new job so I can get back to racing.

Also on the topic of racing, people are starting to talk about TransIowa III. It looks like Mark and Jeff are planning a loop instead of a point-to-point race. Sounds good to me, as that should make the logistics easier for both racers and organizers. Every year I leave that race thinking I've seen all of Iowa that I need to see, and every year I find myself strangely compelled to return. I suspect I know where I will be in early April '07...

My geared bike inclination seems to have passed, for the most part. The chain is staying on the main bike, and I think I have the chain tension issues on the backup bike sorted out as well. I have been drawn to this website more often than I'd care to admit; I really don't need to replace the frames I have but it is hard to argue with Mr. Jansen.

Hot

Hey, it's hot out!

Did the team ride last night, if you can call three guys with matching jerseys a "team ride". Seems like 98F degrees and humid was too much for most of the regulars. We did about 50 miles. I suffered on the hills, and Nate took most of the green jersey points--neither Chip nor I really seems to have the legs or the lungs to duke it out with him.

Looks like the weather will break this weekend. There is talk of work on a secret trail, eating tasty fresh roasted corn and maybe even drinking a beer or two on Saturday. Oh, and a couple of hours riding on that secret trail as well.

Congratulations to Danielle, Mark, and Paddy (and Naomi!) at Nationals! I was very sad that I could not be there as well. I hear that Nationals will be back at 9 Mile next year, so I *will* get my chance to race there. Watch your back, Paddy...

Bummer

Floyd, say it ain't so! That's all I've got to say on that subject.

Did a road ride on Tuesday with the team. Well, a few members of the team. Only five people started the ride, and one bailed out along the way. Seems he needed to rest up for this weekend. Good luck, Mark.

The four remaining riders enjoyed the heat. Many sprints were contested, and I took my fair share. Not as many as Nate, but enough to feel like I earned the beer and mini-burrito afterward.

Speaking of hot, I will be riding this weekend. I don't know when or where, but it should involve knobby tires. I'll drink a cool glass of water out of respect to all the riders at Nationals. Then I will go to sleep and enjoy the AC and eight hours of rest.

Suckers!

Super Secret Trail Ride

A few lucky members of the Founder's Ale team gathered yesterday afternoon to ride some secret trail. The weather was great, sunny but not too warm or humid. The trail was in great condition. There were six of us: Martin, Scott, Jason, Rick, Tim, and me. Two fully-rigid singlespeeds, two hardtails and two full suspention bikes. We managed to have one flat, three chain drops (two were mine), and a couple crashes. No bodies or bikes were damaged beyond repair on this ride.

I won't say too much about the trail, since you can't ride it anyway! :) I have driven past this trail many times, and never knew it was there. A small group of riders have put alot of time into keeping this trail in top shape. I'm glad I made the time to join this ride.

After a couple of hours of riding, we headed back to Martin's place for some brats and homebrew beer. Marin is a master of both the grill and the brewery. Rick also brought some of his homebrew--On the Founder's team, we take out beer quite seriously. Several teammates that couldn't make the ride joined us for dinner. Good times were had by all.

I had two bike issues on this ride. I let the chain get slack, and eventually it fell off. I put it back on and it lasted for another hour before I had to snug it up. I think I have solved the bulk of my chain issues; of course, I have thought I had this problem beat before.

The second problem I had was with my camelback. As I was riding along, I felt a little drip of liquid on my backside. The little drip developed into a stream and then into a geyser! The drinking tube had pulled away from the bladder, and about a liter of Gu20 spilled down my back! My socks and shoes were filled with it. This was not ideal. We only had about 30 minutes to ride, so I toughed it out.

After the ride, I took a short spin on a cannondale rush. Going from a fully-rigid bike to a full-suspention bike with 4 inches of travel at each end is...quite an experience! The bike was not set up for me; the seat was too high and I can't believe I would run it quite so plush. But I am interested in giving it another try at some point. It was so comfortable, I couldn't believe it. I wonder how it goes up-hill. I also wonder how it would feel after 16 or so hours in the saddle.

This week has the team ride on Tuesday and some trail riding later in the week at the new and improved Cannonsburg Ski Area.

Good Week

It's been a good week on the bike. I did the team road ride on Tuesday. It was fun; I haven't ridden fast on the road in quite a while. The pace was not excessively fast and the climbing was limited. We did have some nice sprints and I was able to win my share.

I took the ss out on the road tonight for some climbing. It was a good time; the weather cooled off a bit and I was able to put in some good efforts. I passed someone on a geared bike on the second climb of the ride. He caught me on the flat section of road on the way to the third climb. Well, can't have that. I got into TT mode and chased him down. I was spinning like crazy to get the 40x17 to hit 22 MPH, but I caught him. He peeled off shortly after that, and I finished up my climbing and headed home. Had to watch the tour recap--How about that Floyd?

Team secret trail ride on Saturday followed by some road riding on Sunday. Running when I'm not riding to get ready for psychocross season. No need to taper for Nine Mile, since I won't be there...

Parts Test and 100k

Rode the new parts on Thursday. It was on the road, but I hammered a few hills. the chain stayed on without any problems. I plan to take it off-road tomorrow and see how things go there. I have to say that the 44t-sized bash guard makes the bike look tough! Now if I can just get my legs to back it up...

Becky and I did 100k today on road bikes. That is the longest ride she has ever done, and she did great! We planned to avereage 15 MPH, and ended up doing 16. I turned it up a little near the end, getting up around 20-21 MPH for most of the last hour. She sat on my wheel like a pro--I kept waiting for her to blow by me on the left! :)

Anyway, it was a good ride. Looking forward to the dirt tomorrow and a report on chain retention.

Gear Update

I installed the rest of the new parts. A bashguard and 40t ring join the Jumpstop in the never-ending quest to keep my chain from falling off.

It is raining tonight, so I won't get to test the new setup. Tomorrow or Thursday I should have a report.

Surprise Workout

The Jumpstop arrived on Thursday, so I installed it at lunch and went out for a test ride. I dropped chain three times in the first seven mile lap, which pissed me off. I tightened up the ENO in the parking lot, thinking that I would do one more lap.

As I was crossing the road to enter the trail, who do I see but Dan and Nate. You may remember Dan and Nate from my Arkansas trip earlier this year. They convinced me to ride with them for a while.

We did Dan's training loop. It consists of pretty much all the hills in and around Cannonsburg and Egypt Valley. We rode the ski hill (three versions), some dirt road climbs, some secret trails and some not so secret trails.

Riding with those guys is great! They are so much faster than me that is just isn't funny. It reminds me of how fast it is possible to go. I could most keep up with them, but only because they were taking it pretty easy. And they smoked me on all the hills. All the hills, every time.

And here is the kicker--My chain didn't drop once while riding with those guys! We rode for over two hours, with lots of climbing and hard efforts. The chain didn't even think about dropping. I just don't get it.

Revelation?

While cleaning my main bike in anticipation of parts arriving later this week, I noticed that the master link was loose. Could this have been the cause of my chain trouble at Lumberjack?

Hmmmm....

Two Rides, no chain drop

I was able to ride a bit yesterday with Becky. The pace was moderate, but we still had a good ride. My bike worked fine, at least from the perspective of chain drop. However, the bike did have a awful 'creak' that just would not go away. I think it is the seat/seatpost interface. Anyway, I need to get that fixed. It nearly drove Becky and me crazy!

I got a status update on the new bike parts--they won't be here until Thursday or Friday. I want to give the main bike a workout this weekend, so I hope there isn't any delay in the arrival of those bits.

A ride without chain drop...

...is the best kind of ride! I put another set of washers in the stack that space my rear brake caliper, tightened the Eno and went out for a ride. I hammered a local trail (Egypt valley SGA) and was not able to dislodge the chain.

The ride felt good. The weather was perfect and the trail was in great condition. My computer isn't working, so I don't know how fast I went, but it felt pretty fast. I'll take it.

I might be doing Poto this weekend. I also might not be doing Poto this weekend. I have some other plans that will take up one full day of the weekend, so I don't know if I can spare another full day for riding. In a year where I was full-on racing, the answer would be clear-poto would get ridden hard and put away wet. As it stands, I might spend Saturday scraping and painting garage trim. Blah...

The anti-chain-drop parts shipped today. They should be here early next week. I want to get them installed and get back to hammering the big gear. The back-up is just under 2x1 (34-18), so riding it is fun but only so much of a workout. The main bike will be sporting 40-17; that'll break a sweat for sure.

Shame

Last night I...

I assembled a geared crankset. I dusted off a set of shifters.

What is wrong with me?!?

More Frustration

I rode the back-up bike today. The chain won't stay on.

Grrrrr.....

I'm very close to converting one bike back to gears.

Somebody talk me out of it!

Joe

One Last Try

From time to time, the chain falls off my bike. Most often, this happens when I am riding hard. For example, during Iceman 2005 or the first Milkjug race. However, it doesn't fall off every time I ride hard. I rode extremely hard at DK, and had no chain issues at all.

Every time I think I have this figured out, something new creeps into the equation. I now believe that when all drivetrain parts are out-of-the-box new, the chain will not fall off for at least 200 miles of hard riding. After that, the chain will not fall off during light or moderate riding, and can even put up with some hard riding. However, the combination of slightly worn parts and frame flex causes the chain to fall off during repeated hard efforts.

I will not let chain issues ruin another race for me.

To that end, I have the following parts on order; A Raceface 40t bashguard, a new 40t Blackspire DH chainring, and an N-Gear Jumpstop. This combination should keep the chain on; it works for some Very Fast People who must flex their frame more than I ever could. If it doesn't work, I will retire my current bikes from singlespeed use. Perhaps I will give up the singlespeed thing at that point. Or perhaps I will get a new frame. I just don't know yet.

As far as riding is concerned, I have been taking it a bit easy this week. I was frustrated with my performance at Lumberjack, and I wanted to sort through my chain issues before I got that bike out again. My other ss is set up with 34x18, so riding that hardly counts as a workout. I did get the road bike out on Monday and Tuesday for rides with Becky. I hope to put in some harder efforts this weekend. No endurance racing on the horizon until the job situation is more stable. If I get all the chain issues worked out, I'd like to do a XC race or two so I don't get too rusty.

Lumberjack

DNF.

My first real dnf in an endurance race. It was hot, well over 90F. I had some bike problems. Mostly, however, I just had other things on my mind. I was not focused the week before the race. The race was just too hard without the proper focus.

Congratulations to singlespeed winners Dan Jansen and Danielle Musto! They did great under horrible conditions. Chris Eatough, the overall winner, was amazing.

Still riding, not much blogging

I did a nice century last week. 5.5 hours, so the pace was not too hard. No drama, which is the way I like it. The only interesting thing was my food consumption, or lack thereof. I ate two Hammer Gel packets, 2 bottles of Gu2O, 2 bottles of water, and a cheeseburger from Burger King. That was it. I eat more than that just sitting at my desk all morning at work! :)

Becky and I rode together quite a bit this week. We were out on road bikes twice and MTB's once. Here riding is coming along great; I am sure she will do fine for the metric century in July. It's too bad she doesn't have more time to train; she would be hella-fast!

This will be a pretty easy week. I'm thinking about another easy-pace 100 tomorrow, with one-hour spins the rest of the week. I will drive up to Lumberjack on Friday afternoon, and hammer like there was no tomorrow on Saturday.

More on Lumberjack gear and expectations later in the week.