Before I forget, lets recap the Ride the Ridge Race. It was drizzling when I left my house, and I knew the course was going to be tough. I also knew there were at least 6 single speeders registered, so I'd have some work to do. I had the all-conditions tires mounted up, my belly was full (perhaps too full) and I was off. At the starting line, I see Gordon and his blinged out Superfly. I'v ridden with this guy twice, and I know he is silly fast. I recognized one or two others, but Gordon was the only one that worried me. He was running XR1s, an interesting tire choice in those conditions.

We took off w/ the sport riders and hit much traffic on the early climbs. Lots of dismounts and running, but it made Bear Hole go by pretty fast. Before long I was closing in on Gordon. We ended up rolling together for 1/2 a lap or so, chatting it up and having a good time. I was under the impression he was in 1st, so when I passed him, I was feeling good. I expected him to hold my wheel, but after a few turns, I lost him. Two climbs into lap two, I see a guy off his bike on a climb, bellowing encouragement to me. He mounted and I noticed he was on a single. Hell....where did he come from? I give chase, but he maintains a good lead. Maybe a mile later, he has his bike upside down on the side of the trail. I ask if he needs anything...he says no...and I take off, pretty sure I *really* have the lead this time. I dismounted for plenty of muddy climbs, nervous every time that I'd see one of those two hammering up behind me, but I maintained my gap. Shortly after I passed the lead man, I lost my chain, but I got it back on it a few seconds and got rolling again....maybe a 20 second ordeal in all. Note: tighten up that EBB before the next race.

So, I won, against some pretty solid competition. I think we are all in our early season condition...not quite where we'd like to be, and I know Gordon will likely hand me my arse next time, but it was nice to start the season off with a win. I felt pretty good throughout, despite the lack of early season saddle-time.

Next up...Hilbert #1. Fun will be had.

nuff said.

Wow...coming up on a year since my last post. Madness. Here's a quick update...

Knee hurts when I ride gears, so I am trying to refrain from doing that. Running has fixed it in years past, and I was doing a lot of that, but I gave myself Peroneal Tendonitis in the right foot with some forefoot running, but I am getting over that. Have found that forefoot running is the long-term answer to running comfortably though (despite the moderate tendonitis setback). Back to running and single speeding as much as possible.

Head coaching the big boy's baseball team this spring. We are the Astros, at long last, and the team is sponsored by Bike Factory. Its like a merging of all my passions...family, baseball and bikes. Madness. Should be fun. First game is Saturday. Same time as the little one's first T-Ball game. Bah.

First race this year will be BRS' Ride the Ridge. That promises to be a painful experience given my lack of training. 13 days out. I'm just trying to relax and have a good time and not stress about it too much. Fun will be had. Beer will be consumed.

And lastly, I have a major Ti fetish at the moment that I can't seem to shake. Must have Ti. SS Ti.

9er, out.