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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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

On a singlespeed? Of course.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

Respect the form...