gibberish

2011-11-25T10:46:00.001-08:00

Mountain bike racing season. They all generally start at the same time, end at roughly the same time, and have their ups and downs...sometimes more of one than the other. We train, we suffer, there are setbacks, rewards and ideally some good fortune along the way. 2011 included all of that and then some. It was a mental contest as much as a physical test...a time and motivation challenge. And in then end, it all worked out all right.

Things started fast. I distinctly recall DT stepping on the gas at one of our farm rallies early in the year. It was a bit of a shock to the system and I pinged him afterwards to see what it was all about. “Time to get serious.” Or something to that effect. I admit that it seemed a little premature to my still-happy-to-be-spinning legs, but I went with it.

The first go at the Snotcycle in late January was an adventure: failing to process how far the race really was from my abode, driving in some not-great conditions, and then racing in half a foot of snow. It was a serious early season challenge that I was unaccustomed to.

Lots of walking, and falling.

I walked away pleased with 2nd place and a nice pair of socks to keep my then frozen toes warm. From then on, there was plenty of rallying, and a good bit of winning. No need to go into great detail here, partially because the details elude me, but I was sitting comfortably atop the Virginia Off Road Series (VORS) Singlespeed standings after a handful of races. As the Middle Mountain Momma approached, I felt pretty confident. I had done a double ascent out in the Hills o’ Dyke in 34x19. Times were good. May 5th arrived and I was unsure of what race to ride, the XXC or the XC. Despite the encouragement of my friends to hit the XX, I caved to the pressure of VORS standings and I went w/ the XC race, as the XXC would net me nothing, VORS-wise.

As it turns out, racing at an XC pace in Douthat in 34x19 is hard. Very hard. I got dropped, blew a tire, and my spine. I exploded something in my back while cleaning a switchback late in the race. Things were bad in the weeks after. I’d rest, recover a bit, ride and then suffer. A 30 mile gravel ride one month after the Momma did me in. The spine was jacked. Hips were corked. I was laboring to walk. In hindsight, compensating for the original injury may be what did me in. But it didn’t matter. I was miserable.

There was talk of spinal injections, but I couldn’t get into that idea. At the recommendation of my brown skinned sugar plum, I went to a sports-med chiro for a few weeks...maybe months...I lost track. I can’t say what ultimately got me fixed up...the abuse he put me through, or the series of focused stretching activities and a general awareness of posture and its direct impact on the nerve in my back that had been squeezed, twisted and tweaked, but I got back on the bike. One month after the disastrous gravel ride that did me in, I eased my way back, very conscientious of the situation in my lower lumbar. This was around July 1st. No chance I’d hit the 2nd race at Camp Hilbert, but the Chimney Chase on July 31? How could I not? So I got focused, and set my eyes on a competitive return.

The Chimney Chase would be my test. Hilbert3 was one week later. Despite missing Hilbert2, I could still win the series with a strong showing @ the last race of the series. But I had to get through the Chimney Chase, which I did. The hills hurt, the back was sore, but I rallied, took SS and felt OK doing it. I recovered and shifted my focus to the next Sunday. I felt confident, but as with any race, especially an SS race, it all depends on who shows up. And as luck would have it, one of the faster dudes that I know on a SS was there. I went out hard and led lap 1.

Heart rate through roof, 30 seconds in.

Lap 2 was a recovery lap. Still quick, but nothing like the Pro/Expert pace of lap 1. When lap 3 rolled around, my tank was empty. Mr. Speedy went by, quickly, and I settled for the 2 spot. On the upside, that was enough to get me the series win w/ the points from the victory @ H1. Bittersweet.

“Training” was hit or miss from then on. I’d rally when I got the chance, but finding good time or the motivation to train in the random other time that became available was a chore. I was still in 1st place in VORS, sorta wondering what would happen if I just sat out the rest of the season. I thought about partnering up for the 18 Hour race, but I decided against it. The Paranormal came around. Another race with no VORS implications for me. I arrived with the intention of rolling a lap or two, but mostly just taking pictures and some video. The Dude wasn’t having any of that. He partnered me up and sent me on my way. 4 laps and a few beers later, I went home. It was a good, low pressure shindig. Not nearly enough of that going on these days.

Some time in early November, I found a few race result sheets online and discovered I was no longer sitting atop the VORS Singlespeed standings. I’d be lying if I said that didn’t sting a little, having been in the driver’s seat all season. I conferred with those I confer with, trying to decide how much I really cared. The universal consensus: screw it. I didn’t need to win VORS. It was meaningless. I was fast. Riding was fun. And there were only two additional opportunities to get points: The 18 Hour race, which I had already sworn off due to a detailed cost/benefit analysis, and a newly introduced RRR Duathlon. Having not run a mile at speed in nearly a year, two 2.5 mile runs didn’t sound feasible. And as The Dude says, foot travel is miserable. So that was that. It took some effort, but I shrugged it off. It was a good season. Drink some beers. Move on already.

Problem is, I wasn’t really ready to hang it up. I had an opportunity to get it back. I chewed on some numbers, and realized that I wouldn’t even need to do that well @ the Du to get back on top. So I started running. Not real hard, and just a few times a week. I inched the mileage up faster than is generally recommended, but we aren’t talking about big numbers here... I think I topped out @ 5 miles. I did a few running intervals here and there. And I rallied every chance I got. I started feeling some quickness creeping into the legs. My final rally w/ DT before the race was a good one. He filled my head w/ delusions of grandeur, and I walked into Pocahontas feeling OK about myself.

And then I ran. Faster than I probably should have. I finished the first run around 9th. Got on the bike and rallied hard. Calves started to go near the end. Finished 3rd. Swapped shoes and went for another run. This hurt. Nerve pain in the foot. Quads and hammies on the verge of lock-out. I managed to baby-step myself to the finish, clinging to 3rd overall. And I got all the points I needed to get back in the VORS 1 spot. Pretty good day. It took about 3 days for my legs to return to normal. It was a good burn though.

And now the season is really done. I didn’t cover as much ground as I have in years past, but the ground I did cover went by pretty fast. I hit new lows, and probably reached some new highs as well. The VORS win feels good. I told myself early in 2011 that if/when I took the VORS singlespeed class, I’d likely be done with that Category moving forward. I’ve taken it twice. Its time to let someone else have it. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still be on an SS in 2012 and beyond...its what I do, but I’ll focus on another category...other races. New challenges. Maybe get back to the SM100. Maybe the Wilderness too. We’ll see. The thing is...those aforementioned time challenges...they aren’t going anywhere. Training time will be limited, mid season motivation will be tough to come by. Things aren’t getting any easier.

The beautiful thing? The hot momma and two active little monsters that make training time hard to come by are an amazing delight. As much as I love a good rally, I really love every moment I can get with these folks. Every ride is a trade-off of sorts...I’m missing time with those boys and my lady...time I’ll never get back. But there’s balance to be had. The rally is good for the soul. Find balance.

2011-05-02T05:20:00.000-07:00

Middle Mountain Meltdown

I signed up for the MMM this year with big-time expectations….I was gonna pass on the XXC race and tear up the SS class. It didn’t work out so well.

Earlier in the week, my back got tight. But I didn’t take it too seriously. Then I started wavering on what class I wanted to race. Once the director confirmed he’d be willing to swap me from SS to XXC, I started thinking I’d have a better time in the XXC race (41 miles, vice the shorter 21 mile SS-XC race). When race day came, the back was still tight, and I was thinking it would be a much better idea to stick with the shorter race. So I did, despite birthday boy’s efforts to change my mind.

So now, let’s talk gears. I’ve been rocking 34x19 with great success for a few weeks. I’ve had visions of taking that gear to the SM100 this year. And when I cleared Flat Top and them some a few weeks ago, I was riding high on 34x19. Well, 34x19 + MMM kicked my butt. I got dropped by two more appropriately MMM-geared folks on the first climb. I hadn’t given up yet though. I was banking on a 2nd wind. I cleared the first hill and was moving along OK. Probably not fast enough to suck anyone up, but I felt good. And then I flatted. Not sure how long it took to get that tube in and inflated, but it sucked. And since I live in fear of pinch flatting tubes, I descended like crap. Rolling through rocky streams near the end, I felt the rim once, so I pulled over again to get another blast of air. That got me through the rest of the race.

On the downside to the downside, I wrecked my back. I put every ounce of k29er into one pedal stroke on a tight switchback, and the lower lumbar didn’t like that a bit. Pedaling was pretty uncomfortable from then on, and now I’m laid up w/ a heating pad. I’m thinking this might take a few days to get straight. Fortunately, it works out well w/ the race calendar to have some time off. Time to re-commit to gym work, me thinks. If I want climb like a beast, I need to train like one.

Congrats to birthday-boy on his 2-spot place XXC finish. That was impressive.

2011-04-13T08:24:00.000-07:00

My last blog post was 1 year ago, after Hilbert 1, so this seems like a fitting time for an update (2011’s Hilbert 1 was 2 days ago). I’ll see if I can’t make this a more regular thing. I’m sure you’ve never heard that before.

A quick biomechanical update…I saw Dr.J @ the speed clinic last year. He told me I had no butt strength, angry knees, angry IT Bands, hip impingement…all sorts of things. He gave me a set of exercises, proper bike fit and some clues on how to pedal a bike. Things got better, but I finished up a 2010 season of so-so performance based on very minimal training due to the aforementioned angry-left-knee. Fast forward…I’ve been killing my hamstrings in the gym, and I’m now out riding up and over things on 50 and 60 mile rides with relative ease. I’ve been chasing DT around the farm with regularity. Strength is balanced out in the legs, I think, and I’m feeling good on the bike.

Now let’s rewind to January. Some part of me thought it might be a good idea to run a 13 mile out-and-back trail race up a really big hill. Preparations were minimalistic, haphazard, and downright foolish. Descending mile 8 of a 10 mile training run 1 week from the race, my right knee decided it had had enough. I jogged, walked, and limped to get home. I bowed out of the race. 3 weeks later, recovered, I tried a 3 miler. 2.5 miles in, the knee balked on a descent. I was sore for days. Walking killed me. 3 months later, I tried the same 3 miler, and the knee three-peated. Sharp pains shut me down. One Dr.K visit later, I have some work to do to get the right side back in order. I predict no Duathlons this year. The good news is that this particular injury has not prevented me from cycling. Healthy cycling legs and some good gym work has produced a pretty solid start to my 2011.

No exciting race story from Hilbert 1 like last year. This year I was 1st into the woods, and 1st out of the woods after 3 laps. Bam. That’s 3 for 3 in VORS so far.

In other more significant news, my family is awesome. E is playing great baseball on his major’s team and the Total Performance 11U travel squad. N is an amazing little ball of extroverted goodness. A my lady is a beautiful soul that I am fortunate to be able to share time with.

That’s all for now. Perhaps things will get more interesting if I blog more often than once per year.

2010-04-12T04:12:00.000-07:00

Hilbert I

I bowed out of the Enduro Category at Camp Hilbert this year. Decided I’d see how fast I was and race the SS category instead. As it turns out, it’s pretty hard to redline for 18 miles.

There was some good carnage at the start. Somebody clipped a wheel and went over the bars, which is not a good way to start a race. I led out in 2^nd behind GWad. He would disappear after about 2 miles and never be seen again. So the fight was on for 2^nd. I had a guy with the loudest creaking EBB on earth chasing me for all of the first two laps. He’d mash the hills and get right on my arse, then I’d get separation in the twisties when he was recovering. It was a bit of a mind-game. I tried to yield the trail to him after 1 lap, but he didn’t want it, so I led out for lap 2 in 2^nd place and it was much of the same for the duration of the next 6 miles.

Start of lap 3 I picked up the pace a bit and got some separation on the creaker. However, in some of the early turns I started noticing a good bit of traffic behind me, and I got nervous. Maybe ½ way through, I was overtaken by another singlespeeder, and another settled in right behind me. Ugh. This is typically the time where K29er starts falling apart, yielding trail, veering off into the woods and collapsing like a whooped puppy. Fortunately, the guy that passed wasn’t throwing down too badly, and I was able to dig down and hold his wheel, quietly contemplating how I was gonna get my spot back.

We rolled that way in a tight 2-3-4 pack until the turn to the dam loop, a short straight away, followed by a quick steep climb, and nasty little descent, and then a short grinder to the finish. When we hit that turn to the straightaway, I opened it up, took the inside track, and got 2^nd back. It was hard, but it felt good. 3^rd finished 3 seconds back, 4^th only moments behind him. GWad was about 1.5 minutes up on me…not too bad. I have work to do if I am going to keep w/ that guy.

All in all, it was a great day. Beautiful weather and fantastic trails. Good to see the team out en masse, and to catch up w/ some of the SoMD contingent.

2010-04-09T04:42:00.000-07:00

Its odd to look ahead to May knowing that the 12 Hours of Lodi won't be a part of it. I've been doing that race for years now...maybe 5 or 6 straight. This year, the kid's baseball team has the trump card, and I've sorta always been curious about the Middle Mountain Momma on the Sunday after Lodi. So that's that. Given my lack of enduro base miles, its probably for the best, though I'll likely give the XXC @ MMM a shot. Why not?

2010-03-31T06:11:00.001-07:00

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.

2010-03-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

nuff said.

2010-03-15T19:28:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-05-03T08:10:00.001-07:00

Lodi 2K9

I decide to try something new this year. Forget all that solo nonsense. I went out there with 15 year old Danny O to rock the duo class. I knew we were fast enough to have a good day, but there were too many variables to predict early success.

I led out lap 1. Found myself in 3rd place on the Mocha Fisher Rig in 32x19. Was feeling good till about 1.5 miles in when I washed out. When I got back on, I stumbled and ended up pinning my leg between my top-tube and bars. I pinched it badly, and it hurt. I freed it up and got going, but it hurt for the duration of the race. It didn't impede me too much, just aggravating. I held 3rd. Later, maybe 1/2 way through the lap, I burped a bunch of air out of the rear. I rolled it for a while, but quickly realized it would need air. I pulled off and dug out my Genuine Innovations inflator and quickly got back up to good pressure. Bike Factory teammate Jeremy Senn overtook me, and I rolled a mile or so with him before I took 3rd over again.

Rolling through the creek was a surprise. Hadn't expected that since we bypassed that last year. I also expected to be nearly done at that point, but the new, fresh singletrack section drug on for a bit. I pulled in, had a good exchange with Danny and he was off. I think I turned a 51:30 or so. The leader did a 49 and change. I had decided to be done with the mocha Rig with the Jones ACX rear and took the 2009, XDX equiped Rig in 32x20 out for the rest of the race. I think that was a good call.

Danny and I made the best of the good weather for the first 7 laps, averaging 55 minute laps between us. After I finished 4, the rain came, and it came hard. It would rain off and on for the rest of the race. The conditions went from bad to worse to awful. The new singetrack was a disaster. Somehow or another, the Bonrager XDXs managed to bite very well in the slop on my first wet night lap. I was out of the saddle up most the hills and didn't spin out. The roots weren't even an issue for me. Lap times went way, way down between the darkness, fog, slop, etc. Danny got in from his 5th lap around 10:20 or so. We were in 1st by a bundle, so I headed out with the intention of just surviving my 6th lap. It rained for the duration. Conditions were the absolute worst. Leafy branches were hanging in the trail everywhere. I lost my helmet light, and riding with just a bar light out there on that twisty course is a nightmare. I lost most of my rear brakes and the front was gone entirely. But I survived.

We won Duo. To the best of my knowledge, we won overall as well, fending off the 3 person teams as well. We were as consistent as the conditions would allow, and it paid off.

Nice work Danny, and Happy Birthday race, Dave.

2009-04-11T17:06:00.000-07:00

FORD #1, 2009

Last year around this time I did pretty well @ the Fredericksburg Off Road Duath (FORD) #1, pulling a 2nd place behind ShawnT. This year was a tad different. Bigger field. Wetter course (thats a huge understatement). Tough competition. 2.8 mile run #1 started in the rain. The course, especially some new stuff, was slick as snot. I ran OK. Moderate pace ket me in the top 12 or so runners. After a quick pit, I was off on the bike. I rolled 3/4 of the ~10 mile lap behind DaveT in 34x19, which was not the best mud gear. The Jones ACX tire in the rear bit well for the most part, but I was forced off the bike on many slick hills. Eventually, though, I hit some nice terrain, settled in and starting moving along, passing many folk. I rolled into the pit very near DaveT and a singlespeeder out of DC named Steve. We were in the 3,4, and 5 spots by now, I'm pretty sure.

I got out of the pit first, but Steve quickly sucked me up and passed. I decided at that point I was going to hold on to him as long as I could, and that was challenging. If I had not had him as a pace car, I definately would have eased up. Once we left the woods, I decided to kick, but I broke too soon, had to ease up, he passed, and made his break. I was beat, but I dug down and stayed on his heals. Once I could see the finish, I let it all go. I passed him and took the 3 spot. ~2 minutes off 1st. Not bad.

Data: 36 minutes greater or equal to 182bpm. Another 36 minutes between 176 ans 181. Nuts. Avg 178bpm. Max 196. Wow.

Thanks to Konrad aka FRED Events for another great race. He'll get some grief for holding the event in those conditions, and the trails did take a little beating, but he had a tough call to make, and when he made the call, things were on the up and up. He and a few others will be out there doing what they can to make it right, and I applaud them for it.

2009-04-05T18:22:00.000-07:00

OK, so it has been awhile. Sorry. The back is better. I have also been through a bout of patellofemoral pain syndrome that I seem to have kicked by running. Weird. Three cheers for a balanced quadricep!

Hilbert 1 got delayed, so OHill was the 1st race of the season. I took 2nd in SS. A fine day in the mud it was. Next was BRS. Bloody hard course. 1st of 2 in SS, but it was a good fight. And then came the delayed, much anticipated (by me) return to Hilbert. Expectations were high, but I haven't put in that many base miles, so I wasn't sure how it would play out.

I went into the woods 5th in Enduro on my new (to me) Mocha Rig in 34x20. Before the lap was over, I moved into 3rd. I caught up to ShawnT in 2nd on lap 2, but then he decided to attack the lead man, and he disappeared. After lap 2, I swapped Rigs and went out on the new Root Beer in 34x21. It was a nice change of pace, but between the easier gear and lack of energy, I ended up slowing down quite a bit. At some point in those middle laps, DaveK blew by on the rigid SS Fisher Ferrous like I was standing still. Getting back on the Mocha Rig in 34x20 on lap 6 felt good. Hard at first, but I was able to settle in and get back on top of the gear. I picked up the pace on lap 7 and turned a respectable time in comparison to what the top three guys were doing.

Starting lap 8, I figured eight would be enough. I knew I could come in and do 9, but I was hoping that no one was close enough to threaten. I laid down a pretty slow time, as I was sorta trying to run out the clock. What I didn't know was that the guy from PA in 3rd had come in and decided to be done w/ 8 as well. I had assumed he was out fighting on lap 9. Had I known he had pitted for good, I would have blown through and had a race on my hands, assuming he mounted up and came after me. I felt pretty good, and my late inning times were on par or better than his. Argh. 3rd was in reach, but 4th will have to do this time.

Course was great. Competition was great. The Rigs held up great. All and all, given my lack of base miles these past few months, I'm pleased. At some point, I may actually have to get off my arse and do 9 laps at Hilbert. We'll see.

I have new and exciting plans for Lodi. More on that later.

2009-01-13T04:12:00.000-08:00

It is bloody cold outside. Not sure how this may affect riding plans. The back didn't get any better last week, so I followed the advice of my better half and saw the doc. And then I was off to Physical Therapy. So the riding didn't pick up last week like it was supposed to. Such is life. On the upside, the back is doing better. Second session of PT yesterday. Progress is a good thing.

I hit a 35 mile gravel ride over Fox Mtn with Russel and Ramsey on Sunday in the wee hours of the morning on a cross bike. Back felt good that day. Didn't quite expect the heart to be in the 180s, but with only 9 gears, I didn't have a choice.

I also got the trainer set up, so any day now I may set about punishing myself with some nasty interval nonsense. 54 days to Hilbert 1. 7 long rides. Doesn't seem like much time.

2009-01-05T17:13:00.000-08:00

I am a crappy blogger. And I am sorry for that. I'd say I'll do better, but the odds aren't good.

XMas and New Years was great. Lots of Family. Lots or relaxing. A bit chaotic, but it was good to see everybody. I work for a new company as of September08, and they give me lots of leave and a flexible working environment, and I love that.

Race season ended about two months ago. I finished up 3rd in my last endurance race, and wrapped up 3rd in the VA Off Road Series in the singlespeed category. Only other notable achievement was taking the Enduro crown at the Camp Hilbert series. Since the season wrapped up, I've exercised haphazardly and eaten a lot. As of Sunday, I was officially ten pounds up from where I should be come race time. Also note that my back has been a mess for several weeks. Maybe it was the cleans in the gym, maybe the weighted back raises. Maybe I slept funny. I can't say what caused it, but I can say that I have continually aggravated it ever since.

So Sunday started my comeback. 43 miles of gravel and pavement with DT. It hurt, and my back didn't love it, but it had to be done. Today I decided to see how trail running felt. Probably did 30 minutes or so of out-and-back on the RTF (Barracks to 250). I didn't have my GPS, but I did have some Gangstagrass to keep me moving. I'll run it again after work someday and record the mileage. The upside is that by back isn't any worse. Sleeping on the floor tonight to see if that helps.

So my plan is to try and keep this blog updated as I return to race shape. If you see me slacking, feel free to give me hell for it. The weather is about to go south, so it looks like gym and trainer for a few days. Note: I have yet to set up the trainer. I'm putting that off in a big way. Wish me luck...

2008-09-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

So it has been awhile. Much has been going on, not necessarily in the biking realm, but plenty elsewhere. New house? Check. New job? Check. Also coaching Fallball again. Ethan is a little prodigy. Three run shot in the last game. And his fielding is spot on. Loving it.

Been riding here and there. Motivation hasn't been quite as high as of late, but the cooler weather is giving me the bug. Two more races this season, and I think that'll be all. DT and I climbed a big one in the rain yesterday. 2600'. Good stuff.

Coming up on two years in this place. Seems the only constant thus far has been change, but it's been nothing but good.

2008-07-31T10:50:00.001-07:00

http://www.runriderace.com/camp-hilbert-race-series-point/

On a singlespeed? Of course.

2008-07-12T19:20:00.000-07:00

Battle @ Burke

Pseudo local race in Culpeper today. It boiled down to another battle between me and the old man, for a short while at least. I led out strong and put some time between us on the beginner loop. Through the scorching hot fields I picked up some more time, then into the expert section things got nuts. First, I burped all the air out of my front tire. I grabbed a CO2 catridge out of the saddle bag and did my best to get the tire to reseat. I wasn't having much luck, but eventually it bit. In hindsight, I should have threaded another cartridge in to get the pressure up a bit more, but instead I rolled out with pretty low pressure, unsure if the tire was seated all that well. The old man caught up after this episode (probably two+ minutes or so) and followed me for a bit. Soon after, I picked up something in my drivetrain that took me to a standstill. WTF? I look down, and a tube has lodged itself around my rear cog. I unwind the damn thing, cursing the slacker that left a tube on the trail that magically found its way into my cog. Back in action, I chase the old man and we both dismount to hike a climb. As I dismount...psssssss. Seal blows in the front tire. So I decide to put in a tube. Reach for the saddle bag...low and behold, it is wide open and empty. After I inflated the first time, I never closed it. Damn. So yeah...that was my tube that was lodged in my drivetrain awhile back. Go ahead...laugh it up. I yell to the old man for a tube, but he is gone. An oncomer heard my distress call and passed me a tube as he rode by. THANK YOU! I spent a few minutes fighting the 26" tube and the slimy 29er tire and eventually get it set, only to realize that the second CO2 cartdige is back there on the trail somewhere. DAMN! So I hook up the pump, but before I give it any air, a female rides up and asks if I need CO2. She whips out a threaded CO2 cartridge and saves my ass. THANK YOU! With that, I was off.

After the expert loop, it was back through the hot, hot fields to the beginner loop. ~1/2 way through I caught another singlespeeder that I must have missed as he went past (while I was working the flats). I knew the old man was long gone, so I settled in for the second place finish. Tough day for everybody, it seemed. It was pretty hot, especially in the fields. The HR hit 194bpm at one point, and was in the 180s a lot, if not most of the race. I did get to hit my first teeter totter out there today. Rolled it smooth...that was pretty cool.

Thoughts for today...I need to get some suspension. If I was suspended, I would have had 30 to 32lbs in that tire and I would not have flatted. I should have had 30 in there anyway. Also...check your saddle bag zipper after a pit stop...duh. On the positive, I was able to get back out there after the race and retrieve my CrankBros multitool and the shredded tube. The 2nd air cartridge, tire lever and two zip ties were donated to the trail.

That course is awesome. I want revenege.

2008-07-07T04:47:00.000-07:00

Hilbert 3.

What a day. Going in, I knew that I could win the series if the cards fell into place. They did, but it took a lot of work.

I went out in typical k29er fashion...first into the woods, despite being on a SS in 32x19. Held a decent pace for lap one...maybe too fast, but I didn't over do it too much. Lap two went much the same, except Shawn told me to back it off, and so I did. End of that lap, Old Man Kelnberger and Burris caught me. Burris rolled to his pit, and that was the last I saw of him till we were done with the race. From there on, it was just me and the Old Man. I think I pulled him through lap 3, he passed me at the end, then led me through 4. We had negotiated taking it back a notch for 5, and I didn’t see him for much of it, just a glimmer in some switchbacks. From there on, it was mostly a mind game, wondering when he was going to attack. I tried to stay steady, fighting off some cramps through the later laps. At the start of lap 9 at 4 hours, 30 minutes into the race, I was informed that he was 45 seconds back. So I jumped. And it hurt. Things started locking up all over my legs. I was trying to massage them in places while I rode, manipulating my pedal stroke and doing whatever I could to keep the legs from hitting a bad spot that would spell doom. Shawn met me at the bottom of a short steep climb and raced me on foot up to the top and let me know I was up by a minute. I tried not to dial it back much, as I knew what the Old Man was capable of. Towards the end, Shawn met me again and let me know I had picked up another 20 seconds. From there, it was smooth sailing. Turns out the Old Man stopped to pee at one point (let the old man bladder jokes fly). I needed to pee for about 2.5 hours but held onto it. That may have been the difference. 1^st Place Mens Enduro. Double series points at the last race, which should make me the overall winner. Madness.

Special thank to Shawn, Dave and the entire Bike Factory crew. The support was top notch. They kept me fueled and motivated and I would have been screwed without them. To Ted Gayle, thanks for the loaner Rig. While my intent was to spend equal time on both bikes, it was readily apparent to me that I was faster on yours. 8 laps for the Suspended Mocha Rig, 1 lap on the Rigid.

For the record, many of the elite weren’t able to participate. That may have made it easier overall for Kelnberger and I, but we did everything in our power to ensure that it wasn’t a cakewalk. It was a hard day. And it felt good to win.

2008-06-01T13:47:00.001-07:00

01June Ride

Solid 52 mile ride today. I picked up 5 ticks, saw two turtles, two turkeys, few deer, crapton of rabbits, and my first bear! Little guy was up a leaning tree along the fireroad. I freaked him out, and he started scooting down backwards, clawing and scratching his way down. I think he jumped for it at about 8ft, and made a ton of noise as he disappeared into the brush. Awesome. Motionbased is crapped out, but everytrail says this was a 7500ft of climbing. I doubt that, but it was a big day.

2008-05-26T04:28:00.000-07:00

Weekend Update

First off, the big guy went 4 for 4 at the plate @ Saturdays game. At least 2 were legit up the middle shots. Good stuff.

Then there was the Dirty DU on Sunday. I had high hopes and left mildly disappointed. I should be pretty happy with my performance, considering I've been running less that once/week, and I turned in a 5 mile trail run @ a ~7:10 pace. My two bike laps were solid, but the effects of the 5 miler were ripping through my legs. Right calf cramped up about 1/2 way through the 1st lap. I downed some Clif Bloks and got through it. It flared up again in the 2nd lap, and I knew I would be in trouble when I got off the bike. And I was. I beat the guy who was on my tail out of the pit, but he caught me and was gone. Then DK came up and passed me. I gave chase, then died. I gave chase again @ the last 100m mark, but again, that lasted all of about 4 seconds before my legs revolted. He beat me by 20 seconds and moved another few points up in the VORS. Darn it.

One thought that keeps haunting me...what if I had done the right thing and popped two endurolytes before the start? Maybe two more @ transition 1? I think that may have been the difference, but I could be wrong. Its done. Time to move on.

Lastly...if you are ever out at Camp Hilbert and see my Garmin Forerunner on the side of the trail, hook me up...I miss my data. Yeah, that's right...I lost another one. Lost the Edge on June 7, 2007. The Forerunner didn't make it a year. So much for the ultra secure quick release retention mechanism. I'm bitter.

2008-05-18T04:32:00.000-07:00

This is pretty cool:

http://www.ergon-bike.com/us/about_ergon/news_template.html?id=363

Ergons do rock. I have em on 2 of 3 bikes and need that third pair.

2008-05-15T07:35:00.000-07:00

Morning ride

3000+ft of elevation gain and two cups of coffee gets you jacked in the morning! I think this may need to be a regular thing for me. Good data:

2008-05-11T12:42:00.000-07:00

Redemption @ Hilbert

What a difference a week makes. I played the game just right on Saturday in the Enduro race at Hilbert #2. I didn't go out too hard, but hard enough to keep the 3rd place guy at bay. When the time came (around the 4 hour mark) I turned it up a bit. I amped up the chase for the VW Jersey (Shawn) and caught him around the last mile of lap 8. We rolled lap 9 together and crossed the line together at just a few seconds past 5 hours. Perfection. 9 laps. 50 miles. About 5000ft of elevation gain. Oh, and I did it on a rigid singlespeed, of course. My first win (co-win) of the season. Feels good. Nay...it feels great.

Some notes, for the record: I ate well on the bike. Killed 6 bottles of Clif Shot, roughly 3 packs of some sort of energy gel, a banana, and pack of Clif Bloks. Stopped for endurolytes once, maybe twice, along with some Advil. Threw down some Fig Newtons after two or three as well. In short, I ingested plenty. Support was key too. Being handed bottles and food is key. Special thanks to Dave, Jason, and Rick. And the Bike Factory Racing cheering section was awesome. Nice little pick-me-up every ~33 minutes. Needed to urinate for the last three hours or so, but I held it off till I was done...no time for that. Only 1 minute, 33 second between my fastest and slowest laps. Lap 8 was the strongest. Perhaps consistency is key:

Lap 1 32:30
Lap 2 32:37
Lap 3 33:27
Lap 4 33:34
Lap 5 34:02
Lap 6 34:03
Lap 7 33:56
Lap 8 32:22
Lap 9 33:34

It felt good to run Shawn down. Maybe one of the few times in my memory where I turned on the chase switch and got a reward for it. Its a good feeling. Putting 14 minutes on 3rd place was pretty awesome too. Lets do it again.

2008-05-05T04:41:00.000-07:00

No exciting story here. I went out too hard, and at 8:30AM, I couldn't stomach the thought of another lap. I yielded 2nd to my teammate Ted Gayle and I sat down. And I didn't get back up. 8 laps got me 4th. One more lap may have gotten me 3rd, but I was toast. The tank was empty. Wrists and triceps were gone. And that is the story of Lodi, 2008.

Disappointed? Yes. Gotta heal up and get back in the saddle.

2008-04-21T04:21:00.000-07:00

Mud was the name of the Twisted Tire Spring Cup game this year. How well can you and your gear tolerate several inches of mud and water? I never would have thought that the ability to stop my bike would have been the difference between me getting sixth or second. In the end, I decided to err on the side of caution, safety, etc. and not go out for a sixth lap…the lap that would have locked in 2^nd place.

During/after the first lap, the brakes faded badly. I can’t tell you how much life the pads had left in them to start the race, but it went away fast. I tweaked the barrel adjusters and rolled through holding 2^nd after lap 1. After lap two, the brakes were done. I pitted and we replaced both sets of pads (and I sold a pair of handlebars). The pads were bare. Thank goodness Michelle had some pads…one new pair and we robbed another set from her bike (BIG thanks to Jason for getting me back on the trail as quickly as possible). The bad news was that these new pads went just as quickly as my first two sets. (special note: this is where I lost the race…if I had brought the backup bike, the Rig could have been dialed back in the pit while I held onto Shawn and Konrad (who later blew up his freewheel)).

The next three laps were about surviving with less and less braking power (and not mowing down beginners). For the last three miles or so of lap 5, I had literally zero brakes. If I squeezed the front brake, not only did it do nothing, but the caliper wouldn’t disengage (turns out that the outboard brake pad was gone), so I was opening it with my foot any time that I accidentally squeezed it out of habit. I later discovered that the rear was down to metal on metal.

The good news is that I had the juice in the legs for another lap. Maybe even two. Oh, and did I mention that it rained for the majority of the race?

So was it fun? Yeah, I think it was. If my brakes would have been at 75% for the entirety of the event, it would have been a blast. Laps one and two were definitely fun. I felt bad for destroying the trails…hopefully they bounce back. We’ll find out in the fall.

Big apologies to the Endorphin Enduro guy that I mowed down in lap 1. Sorry bout that wheel. Just for everyone’s edification, he hit something in the bottom of a mud hole and got thrown sideways as he was about to head up between two trees. I was close behind and did all I could to not injure him. His rear wheel paid the price.

2008-04-20T02:46:00.000-07:00

"Weather "looks like rain", at least it will be warm. High of 68. We are blessed that Poor Farm drains very well! Bring your knobbies, we are racing. The race schedule is very packed this year in central VA, we will go rain or shine. posted 4/19/08 11:17pm"

I feel like this is a test. Problem is, I don't know if going to this race or staying home will get me a passing score. I'll leave you with this:

"Today: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 70. South wind between 6 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between one and two inches possible."

Lets race.

2008-04-14T12:58:00.001-07:00

My team rocks. Simple as that. Oh, and FREDEvents rocks and so does the VORS series. Bike Factory Racing took 1st (ShawnT), 2nd (me), and 3rd (DaveT) and the Fredericksburg Off-road Duath this weekend. And 1st (Denelle) and 3rd (Christy) in Female too. The run was tough...I can't lie. I haven't been running nearly enough, primarily because of a mild rib injury and some nasty shin splints. I'll fix that for next time. The ride was great though. Fun little rolling course there at the Quarry with more log hops than you'd expect. I loved it. I'll be returning...

Data:
Run1:17:46
Bike: 52:26
Run2: 16:54

Transition times were 0:36 and 0:59. I can do better. HR Max: 192. HR Avg: 179. Wowzers.

2008-04-07T11:23:00.001-07:00

Respect the form...

2008-02-03T17:13:00.000-08:00

Super Bowl Ride '08

A fine way to spend Super Bowl Sunday...

Not too cold. Good gearing. Me and 3 others (way to rock it Ted) pretty much arrived at the top first, well ahead of everybody else, after departing well behind most everybody. Sure, it wasn't a race, but that doesn't mean it didn't feel good to rock it...

Data @ MotionBased

Everytrail seems to have a bit more realistic data on the elevation gain. Sure do miss my Edge 305 w/ Barometric altimeter.

2007-10-22T05:32:00.000-07:00

Helluvan awesome weekend. Actually it started off pretty rough with a trip to the vet for the cat. Cat hates car, which makes life no fun for us. Also got a quote two take two lumps out of the dog and clean his teeth. Sorry kids…no Christmas. Gotta save Fido.

After being shredded by the cat it was time to hit DT’s for some beer and BBQ. Didn’t stay too long due to impending ked meltdown. Leaving early wasn’t a bad move though, as a torrential downpour kicked off right after we entered our house. Next morning it was off to Skyline Dr to meet up with a few compadres from work for 20 miles of road cycling joy. Fortunately, I was able to take it easy and enjoy the scenery. After the post ride beer it was time to get home and change out a few critical pieces of componentry on the Rig before the night race. Suspension and bigger cog turned out to be a great idea. Between the hours of 4 and 10 I turned a respectable 8 laps @ the Paranormal. Lap times went something like 36, 36, 40, 45, 50, 44, 43, 50 (rough estimates based on the garmin). I edged out the only other guy in SS solo by 3 laps. Suspect I’m somewhere between 6^th and 10^th overall in Solo. Not bad. I could have rolled out for a 9^th lap @ 9:45, but I had talked myself out of that a long time beforehand. My other SS Bike Factory brethren destroyed the duo class, as expected. Big Bear may be fun for us. Time will tell. The Tevendales rocked, of course.

Sunday was all about the little guy’s BD party and E-man’s ball game. Good food. Good game. Good stuff all around.

2007-09-07T07:53:00.000-07:00

Reflection

Where was I one year ago? I was chatting with my to-be-boss, who was destined to leave Charlottesville, and leave me his job in the process. Craziness. We had looked at Charlottesville plenty before then, but the job scene always blew. We looked at Boulder/Longmont/Ft Collins. We even took a little trip out there. Frizzy hair and dry lips, but no job. Probably the sweetest pedestrian mall ever though. Then we hit Portland, OR during the dry season. Beautiful. Even had a few interviews. Nothing solid though. When I came home, I read an article about Bend, OR in Outside Online. At the end, it says: "NEXT BEST: Charlottesville, Virginia." Hmmm. Hadn't looked there in a while. A few empty job searches leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

So I do some searches. Job boards blow. Digging deeper, I google a few random things and end up on my to-be-boss' blog. I post a comment. I get a job. Not quite that easy, but nearly. As the wise man said: #&$% monster.com - obtuse blog posts work magic.

One year later, I find my family comfortably nestled in the valley in a cozy home in the woods, with an arsenal of good friends that ride nice bikes and drink nice beer. Even found my way onto a bike racing team somehow. Kids are in a nice school that they love. And work ain't bad.

Moral of the story: It has been a good year. Looking forward to many, many more.

2007-09-03T12:59:00.000-07:00

SM100

It came. It went. Definitely the toughest thing I have done in a long, long time. Short recap: I went out at a moderately fast pace...maybe too fast. Mile 36: The old man passed me by. Never saw him again. Mile 39: Off bike with big, big cramps. Hammy and quads in knots. My quad looked liked it was going to jump out my skin. Very freaky. Was on the verge of cramping here and there after that, but I was able to hold them off. Yes, I was hydrated, and popping endurolytes. It didn't matter.

Braileys Pond sucked (in the 50 mile range, I guess). It sucked bad. I walked more of that hill than I rode. The downhill was nice coming out of there though. One of the smoother descents, I think. Mostly, I stuck to my plan to not indulge in too much crap. Sun chips out of my drop bags @ rest stop 3 and 5 were delicious. Thanks to Shawn for that brilliant idea. Pizza at rest stop 5(?) was great. One small piece. Even though it probably wasn't the best idea, I indulged in a cup of coke here and there too. The flasks of espresso clif shot + coffee ended up tasting pretty bad after not too long. Everything sweet was sounding pretty bad, as a matter of fact.

I had my sights set on a a sub 11 hour time. I saw that slip away as the average speed started dropping. Leaving stop 6, I was determined to keep it under 12. With the GPS telling me I was averaging 8.1mph, it didn't look good. Luckily, the race ended @ around 95 miles, per the Forerunner, with a time around 11:38 or so. New for 2007: I was hungry and ready to eat. Hot dog? Check. Cheeseburger? Check. Two heaping helpings of wonderful salty fries? Check. I did not however, indulge in any alcoholic beverages. That didn't sound good at all. Dirty, and exhausted, I crashed early.

Up early on Monday we broke down camp pretty fast and headed for the promised land: Cracker Barrel. Chicken Fried Steak, Eggs, Hash brown casserole, bacon, biscuits and
gravy. And Mr. Pibb. It was spectacular.

View Larger Map

It was nice to hang out with everybody. Good to see Kim too. A fine mix of friends from then and now. Was it fun? That is a tough question. Why would I voluntarily to this myself? I don't know. I've now done the W101 with 24 speeds, the W101 w/ 9 speeds, and the SM100 with one speed. Perhaps I should be done. We'll see.

2007-08-13T05:09:00.001-07:00

Return to Camp Hilbert

All in all, I'd say I had a pretty good day @ Hilbert. Tough to admit it right now, with my calves aching, numbness in fingers and a stomach that still hasn't quite settled, but I can still recognize some good. To start with, I ran my first competitive 10K. Actually, it was probably the first time I had run 6 miles in many months, maybe even this year. After a short bit of trail, DK passed me by, but I was able to hang with him, recognizing I may be running a hair harder than I should be. After 4 miles, I felt him slow down a bit, and we had been gaining on a guy, so I jumped on the opportunity and passed him by and caught the next guy too. At 5 miles, I gave the 1 mile-to-go-shout-out. I felt DK pick up the pace, so naturally, I did too. I was able to hold and took him by 20 seconds or so. Overall, I pulled 5th in my age group out of quite a few folks. Unfortunately, I filled DK with rage and he was gonna make me pay. 45 minutes to prep for the MTB enduro...

The Enduro started off well enough. I was a few spots back, holding my own for two laps. DK caught me at the end of two. We both pitted, and as I stuffed a Clif bar in my mouth, I taunted him a bit and rolled out. Mistake. Shortly thereafter, he caught me, passed me, and disappeared. I didn't see him again until the end of the race, when he was rolling up the hill, completing his 9th lap. I did 8 and bailed out with 7 minutes remaining on the clock. At that point, I was totally beaten. My hands hurt, my stomach was in knots, and somewhere in the last 2 miles, I started feeling lightening bolts shooting through my toes on my right foot. Not cool. I ended up in fourth in enduro. Pretty cool to see third and fourth place go to singlespeeders. Something tells me we were lucky there were other races going on that day.

So DK walked off with the "Me Stud" prize money and the knowledge that he once again was able to beat up on a bunch of young bucks.

Stats: 656' of climbing on foot. 5248' by singlespeed. Total distance run/ride: 49.64 miles.

2007-06-26T09:53:00.000-07:00

Love and Hate for el Oso Grande

We came. We saw. We didn't rock the house, but we did OK, especially considering the shear insanity associated with 24 hours of racing on rigid singlespeeds.

I arrived Thursday before anyone else from the team. With a little help from a one of the Grand Masters riders from "Off the Porch" , I got the tent (AKA The Gaylord) erected and treated myself to a sub and a beer. Friday morning was slow. I enjoyed some breakfast tacos and tried to get pumped for a pre-ride. Eventually Bry and I pulled out for a lap with Solo-Bob. The lap felt good. This SS/Rigid thing will be OK, I was telling myself. I will always remember passing mile 5 that day. Why? This is where the hate starts...because it is the last time I saw my beloved Garmin Edge. Somewhere around mile 5, I flatted (one of the hazards of running rigid with comfortable air pressure in a tubed wheel in rocky terrain). So I flip the bike, yank the wheel and go to work. Bob and Bry catch up and laugh at my efforts to get a 26" tube on my 29" rim. Eventually, we get rolling. I start to hammer up a hill and realize I forgot to turn the Garmin back on. I reach down hit start. It wasn't there. WTF? So I head back down the hill and search the spot where I changed the tire. No Garmin. I back track. No Garmin. I head back up the hill. No Garmin. Unbelievable. Maybe a flippin racoon ran off with it. Bob and Bry had gone ahead. I rolled out sad and slow, having just made a hefty donation to the mountain.

I don't remember much else about Friday, except selling a rear x9 shifter to a guy for $50 (the start of the new Garmin fund), and Laird's repeated warnings over the PA that we were about to get rocked by the storm of the century. We got some rain and wind, but luckily nothing too bad. The course took it well.

Saturday came fast. Always does. Captains meeting...nothing new. The run would be shorter and the "parade lap" would be longer. I knew that meant a bunch of gearies flying by me, spinning out in 32x19. Whatever. I had the usual case of nerves leading up to noon accompanied by a few trips to the port-o-can. Noon comes, the cannon booms and we are off. I lead the run all the way around this year. That felt good. Grabbed the bike and headed out. As expected, quite a few guys blew by, but only one SSer in a tall gear, but he had suspension, so I knew he wasn't in my class. Off into the woods and the race was on.

I finished lap 1 in decent time. Trail was good. Body held up well. I did get passed on the last climb by another rigid SSer who proceeded to disappear. He ended up taking me by 45 seconds or so. So we had a race on our hands. As it turned out, we really didn't, at least not with those guys. The boys from Baltimore came ready this year, churning out some rather impressive lap teams. Well done.

I fully expected to rock lap two. Without the run and parade lap, surely I'd rock a 1:15, right? Nope. 1:19. Same as lap 1. Oh well. Maybe if I had my Garmin I would have known I was sucking and stepped it up a bit. Lap 3: More hate. A full night lap, starting at 11:00. Mile 5. pssssss. Flats suck. Flats at night really suck. So I pull the rear wheel, yank the tube, replace it w/ another 26er tube and go to town with the mini pump (note: maybe I should start carrying CO2 again). I get the tire to a pretty decent pressure, decide to throw in a few more pumps and then pssssssss. I ripped the valve stem half off. Deflate, remove tube, put in another (luckily, I had two). I got that one pumped up without much to-do and I got rolling. Oh, I nearly forgot to mention the moths...the Wild West Virginian Mountain Moths. Holy S. They swarmed my head lamp, adding to the joy of changing the tubes. So I ran a 1:48. The team's slowest lap. Much dissappointment there.

My Lap 4 started at 5:30, later than expected. Daybreak was starting to crack. Still needed lights for 1/2, maybe 3/4 of the lap. I never got the "ah, the sun is coming up, I can rock it now" feeling, and the lap time shows it. 1:33. It was abundantly clear that 1st place was out of reach, probably long before this point. Dirt Church had caught up quite a bit after my flat lap, and we really wanted to hold second. Luckily, we were consistent enough to pull it off.

Around 11:30, we weren't even really sure if I needed to go out for a 5th to hold onto 2nd place. I had no idea how long Dirt Church had been out on their lap, only that D-Unit would be in soon and I needed to make a decision. Secretly, I really wanted to go out. I wanted to lay down a decent lap time to make up for my lackluster performance. I also didn't want us to have missed 1st by a full lap (we weren't far from that). So out I went in traditional Kevin last-lap form. It wasn't super fast, but it was the team's fastest lap, @ 1:16:60 (edit: that's what granny gear says, and it looks better than 1:17, right?). In the end, I had three of the top ten fastest laps in SS/Rigid. Davek had one, so Huevos netted 4 all together. D-Unit and Bry had the 12th and 13th fastest. Not bad. (none of us where anywhere near the top 20 overall fastest). Huevos took 2nd Place in SS/Rigid. 28th overall.

I think 4 Men's Sport teams beat us. Hopefully they got the same ration of shit that we got last year. I wish them all luck with their decision on what class to race next year.

2007-05-24T08:09:00.000-07:00

Big Bear. What a run it has been. I first hit this one in 1996 when it was the 24 Hours of Canaan. We stayed in a cabin, 10 minutes from the venue. I don’t even have a clear picture of what the venue looked like. I was on a 5 person open team, and we were beginners and we were slow. I think I turned 2 laps, maybe 3 at best in those days. We were there to finish, and we left feeling good as long as we had somebody come across the line after noon on Sunday. Sherry Z, thanks for getting me out there that first year. It was life altering experience.

We did that for a few years with random teammates coming and going. It wasn’t until 2000 that we missed a race. It had become the 24 Hours of Mud, er…I mean Snowshoe. There were enough teams registered for Snowshoe that we got wait-listed, like 50 deep. Madness. (Wouldn’t Laird love to see that again?) But in 2001 we made it. Still 5 person open, still relatively slow, and operating out of a nice condo at the top of the mountain.

Snowshoe took its toll on some of our team, and in 2002, we re-organized. Two of us old-timers joined up with two other SoMD guys and moved up to Men's Sport (I probably would have still raced beginner in those days). Finished up @ 60/166. 4 laps for me. 13 overall. A monumental feat. 2003. Same team. 28/77. 20 laps, 5 each...whoa. 2004. 11/71. 20 laps. Notice the shrinking field size? Where is everybody going?

2005. Another team reorganization. Two new riders. The birth of Huevos del Toro. A new venue. No more condos. First time camping for me in a long time, and I think I like it. The Big Bear course was well put together. It drained very well. I wasn't a fan of what I perceived to be a lot of climbing, but we had a fun time. 11/48. 15 laps.

In 2006, we lost JAM. He and I had been racing together for many years. Hopefully he'll be back in the saddle some day. Anyway, we drafted a new guy. He only brought one gear, and to our satisfaction, he rocked that one gear. Three 29ers and one holdout. We rolled consistent laps, and had only a handful of issues, if that. To our surprise we rocked the house. 1/49 in Mens Sport. 17 laps.

What to do now? We won sport. Can't go back and do that again. If you win once, people already call you sanbaggers (never mind that 11 teams finished 17 laps in Sport inside of 1 hour). Regardless, we weren't going back to Sport. So we were left with two options: Expert or SS/Rigid. Three of us had been riding SS off and

on for years. I had done some races rigid in the past, but rigid at Big Bear sounded plain nuts. The problem with Expert is that you never know who might show up and destroy you. Expert just didn't sound fun. Once our holdout got himself a Fisher Rig with a rigid Bonty Switchblade, it was settled. Rigid/SS, here we come.

So here we go. Two of us are fresh off a 1-2 finish at the 12 hours of Lodi, SSS, rigid. Feeling good. I'm also feeling like I may have run my course with this race. 11 years. Long time. After this year I will have competed in a class that I formerly believed was reserved for the lunatics (I guess that isn't too far off). Now that I live in Central VA, I have a plethora of local events to sample right out my back door. I also need to go camping with my kids.

We'll see how it goes...

2007-05-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

The 12 Hours of Lodi Farm

Three races into the season, things were looking pretty bad. SS @ Camp Hilbert. Two short laps. I was sick and out of shape. I felt horrible, and finished appropriately. SS Enduro @ Poor Farm. Never really felt good after speeding through laps one and two. Cramps, upset stomach. Blah. SS (in Expert) @ O-Hill. Ouch. Bottom of the barrel in expert and feeling pretty weak the entire time.

Status…not good. Wondering why I do this. Maybe I should quit all this racing non-sense. Spend time fishing. Take up rock climbing. Join a softball league. That’s the train of thought while mulling over my packing list for the 12 Hours of Lodi.

My partner from last year decided to go SS Solo. What a loon. So I draft a new partner from my Big Bear squad. After we register, he decides he’d rather hammer out his laps at his own pace in SS Solo. So it is settled. SS Solo for me too. I started looking at last years times, thinking about what a respectable number of laps might be. Thought: Ricky D is an animal. Read his blog from 2006 Lodi. Not thinking I'm that kinda guy, I plan on having full-on meals after every two laps. 8 laps total sounded like a good number to shoot for. I knew I’d be cramping and hating life, but 8 sounded doable.

I packed up the Karate Monkey in 32x18 and the WaltWorks in 32x19. The Walt would be the fall back bike. It had the Titec H’s on it. Between the bars and the easier gear, I figured it might be a life saver. The Monkey would be the balls-out bike. Packed a ton of soup and all manner of evil edible things that I would not ordinarily ingest. I treated myself to a Chipotle burrito and watched Kill Bill V1 and V2 Friday night. Glass of wine and I’m off to sleep.

I left for the venue a hair early, so I stopped and waited in a hellish line for another Chipotle Burrito. Yum. Picked up a propane heater too, remembering how damn cold I was last year between laps (note: tough to find propane heaters in Spring). Arrived around the same time as my buddies and went to work setting up camp. The weatherman turned out to be right on, and the rain settled in and soaked the place. Note: I hate mud. The few calls to my pops to check the forecast were not re-assuring…90% chance of rain. Big wind. 8 laps? The good news is that the rain stopped before midnight, and it didn't return, though all the water falling out of the trees sure sounded like rain. Or hell, maybe it was raining. I dunno. The mud was nasty for a few laps, but it seemed to get better fast. Or maybe it was delirium.

So at midnight we set out. I tried my best to take is easy. The parade lap vice the lemans start was nice and easy and kept everyone from killing themselves running on the muddy course. My plan to stop after two laps went by the wayside. I felt good. So I sucked down a packet of gel and rolled on. The laps felt like they were going by pretty fast. I stopped after 3 laps for a refill. I don't recall what I ate, but it was probably a banana, some endurolytes, some maybe some cheese nips. It was 3:07AM. I was averaging 1 hour laps and I felt strong. No sign of a cramp. I can't really remember how many times I stopped after that. I think I went two laps at a time, trying to kill a bottle of Clif Shot drink mix during that time. I also threw down a few packs of the Clif Bloks here and there. Also after lap three I turned on the bar light. Not long after, the helmet light started to fade, so I rode w/ just the bar for awhile and that sucked for me. So at the next pit, I threw a fresh helmet battery in the camel and had helmet and bar light for the remainder of the night. That rocked.

Daybreak and the sound of birds chirping may never be as appreciated as during an endurance race. Holy hell...that was great. I had been telling myself all night that I would get stronger when the sun came up. I don't think it really happened, but I think I was able to pick better lines, so my laps stayed consistent. So here I am wrapping up 6 laps, just after 6AM. Two laps to go to meet my goal. And the legs are still solid. My hands, shoulders and triceps are taking a serious beating though. Bryan's Ibuprofen is helping. Two pills here, one there, and I'm doing alright.

I got through 8 and took a break. I think I was going out for nine when I caught up with Ricky. He asked how I was doing...I told him I was doing OK and going out for 9. He asked if I knew where I was in standings. (Pause here...I had some fantasy during the night that I might actually podium. I had heard rumors of some super-hero, bike-cargo guy that was going to dominate SS Solo so I had ruled out the top spot. One of the guys from my squad was out there, and he's an animal, so I couldn't rule him out. I had no idea who else might be in front of me. All I knew was I was running consistent, and my legs felt good) So Ricky tells me he thinks I'm in 1st and that I should go check. I didn't want to do that. By this time, I had convinced myself I was definitely going to do 10 and that 11 was possible. How did I get here from there? I have no idea.

During Lap 8 the stomach started getting upset. Too much Clif Shot and other random enduro products? Who knows. It reminded me of the evilness that set in during the W101. So I turned to the ultimate medicine...Famous Amos cookies and lemonade. Damn, it was good. That got me pumped for the start of Lap 9. And hour later, more cookies and lemonade and I was out for number 10, just after 10:00. I was tired, the upper body was aching. Triceps were fading on every climb (every climb that I rode, at least). I finished up 10 and decided to forego the cookies and lemonade. If I was indeed winning, I wanted to lock it in. At 11:10, I rolled out. Some of the climbs went a little slower, but I still managed to push myself to climb a few things that had been notoriously challenging for me (for those that were there...the really short, rooty climbs on the back side).

And so I finished up 11, sometime around 12:15 or so. I handed in my wristband and asked if I won. One of the volunteers said yes, and then another followed that with "we are all winners." So I asked again, "but really...did I win?" And they said yes. Sweet Jebus. The other guy from my BB squad that I feared finished up 11 too, not sure how far back. He had light and air pressure issues. Given that, he must have put in a herculean effort to get as close as he did. Not really sure where crazy cargo man finished.

Re: my performance, I have no idea where it came from. If you had asked me if that was possible anytime before ~8AM on Sunday, I would have said no. Maybe it was the Chipotle. Maybe is was the cross-training I did that week. Maybe the Monkey in 32x18 is the machine for me (been riding the converted Walt w/ the Titec Hs in 32x19 and 32x20 for awhile now...didn't touch it during the race). By all accounts, I should have cramped. I was creeping up those hills just waiting for a quad to explode. Never happened. The stars aligned. That's all I can say.

I guess I'll postpone joining the softball league, for now...