Tues. Ride Plan

Plan is to take the Trek out tonight. Length of ride will depend on how my body feels. Right now I'm feeling pretty good. Little sludgy in the left sinus but bod feels good. Weather looks sweet. Hope trails dry out for tomorrow, need some trail time.




This is my road bike.
This bike get more time and miles than any of my mountain bikes, and that sucks 'cause I hate traffic.
Road riding is a necessary evil for me. I don't get all "roadied up" either. I use my PolarPak, mountain shoes and pedals etc., Shit, it's enough buying all the mountain bike stuff, let alone "road" shoes, helmets etc. No thanks, I'll get by.

Looks like wifey is sick now. Remember this: KIDS ARE GERM POOLS!!!! Fear them.

Sweet sale going on at rackwarehouse.com looking to get the Element set up with a Yakima rack system before Big Bear.
Need to check finances then decide.

Later. Hope the bod feels good tonight..

Curl Up and Dye

Went to picnic on Sun. night. Once I got there I started getting freaking chills. Wifey and I stayed about 2 hours and split. By the time I got home I was freezing to death, shaking etc. and it was 70 degrees! Went to bed at 8 p.m. woke up at 4 a.m. hot as hell and then at 6 a.m. I woke up in a huge pool of sweat. Whatever fever I had must have broke. I hope this was the illnesses parting shot and after a day or two of rest I'll be back in the saddle.

After a hot shower I started feeling a bit better. Wifey and B-Man out of the house so I mowed the grass, went and bought a new electric trimmer (whoo hoo!). I also hosed off the B-Man's vomit covered car seat. Has the whole inside of the Element smelling like puke. I scrubbed the seats down too.

I also explored some new roads to road ride on. No real luck but I did spy a hair salon called "Curl Up and Dye". Unreal. Who the F names their business something like that?

Got some beta on the Big Bear course today. Looks like it's gonna be a rocky one. Nothing 3 years at Snowshoe hasn't prepared me for. Hope it's dry, but I'm not counting on it.

Hope to be back in the saddle tomorrow or Wednesday. Later.

Sunday Ride

Took the Titus HCR out to my dad's house today and rode the roads out there. I jus can NOT get in to riding my mountain bike on the road anymore. I fell dorkishly slow. I locked out the Fox 100 and kept my Maxxis Ignitors on. Weather was nice and sunny (for now) but no rain while on the ride. Kinda an uneventful ride. The top tube got treated to some Starbucks coffee (not good). Still feel like I'm fighting the same virus as the B-Man has. Only a little over 3 weeks till Big Bear. Need to get my stomach good.
Rode for about 1:30.

In other news my battery should be in from bikeman.com this week. Bikeman.com is also carrying Hammer Nutrition products so I was able to make a nice order and save some serious "jing". Got some Banana, Vanilla and Espresso Gels coming as well as some HEED.
This should stock me up through Big Bear and maybe to the 6 Hours of Power in N.Y. in July (maybe).

Monday will either be a huge ride or nothing. Have a chance to hange in luxury box at the Buc game (sis-in-laws work) but that's not really my style. Rather be down in the real seats. Free food and drinks are nice though. If I'm still feeling puggish I might
just tell Wifey to go and I'll just rest (right) and do some laundry, mow the grass etc.

Later, I'm off for some Memorial Day Eve festivities. Just the thought of a hot dog makes me want to puke.

Saturday Ride Recap

Put some new Maxxis rubber on my road bike's rear wheel last night. The one that was on there was so freaking bald if I would have run over a cotton ball it would have punctured. So on goes a $7 Xepher close out from last year. Gonna need to order some new road tires while I can still get a deal. Maxxis makes some sweet road tires.

Watched the weather radar and took off for my ride about 11 a.m. was on the road around 11:30. Rain had stopped but roads were still wet enough to soak the chamois. Great. No need for rain jacket but I did use arm/knee warmers due to the chilly (summer?) temps. of 60 degrees.

Felt pretty good considering the illness from later in the week. Rode for a little over 3 hours and got a bit over 55 miles in. Hit the normal road loop, the Rich Hill Road Climb (my fave climb. A little over 5 min. to get to the top, huge gradients, 5 mph max speed, lungs seering, quads burning, etc., etc.) + I did the Saxonburg Blvd. extension and explored some new roads. Man did those roads suck. Real "Nut Slappers". You couldn't sit. You couldn't stand. Had to kind of hover over the saddle and the roads were so jarring SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! right in the boyz. I wont't be going on that road again. That's for certain. Had some head wind and a bit of rain on the return. The chilly air made my legs a bit tight. Glad I wore the knee warmers. Overall a good ride. Given the weather in the early a.m. I was lucky to even get out.

Watched the last mountain stage of the Giro today. It was great! Lots of action and some serious climbing. Up near the snow line the roads were freaking gravel and dirt. SWEET! Little mountain biking thrown in. HA!

Not much on tap tonight. Watched the Pirates with Wifey, ate some Pizza and hung with the B-Man a bit. B did a lot of sleeping though since he's still a bit sick.

Might do a short road ride on the Titus tomorrow. Then up to PJs for a M-day party.
Wont't be too long since I can take advantate of being off Monday with a nice ride.

Later.

Sat. a.m. Ah, summer in P.A.

Well, stomach is feeling all better. Thank god! Although my neck hurts from the violent vomit attack.

Gotz to get some road miles in today. Right now it's pissing down some serious rain, but it's supposed to clear out by 11 or so. Just have to delay departure. So for now I'm gonna kick it with some Starbucks home brew and find some eats. Might be forced to do some house cleaning...YIKES!

Update later, post ride.

And it's here!...

Arriving at 1:11 a.m. last night. B-Man's stomach virus penetrated me. Head in toilet, etc., etc., etc., Should make for a LOVEly day at work. Might see if once I get that Pittsburgh Mills presentation done for J.B. if I can split. I was able to eat this a.m.
(whole wheat toast, serv. of Peanut Butter and serv. of Brown Rice syrup + a glass of GNC Vanilla Soy Protein.) So far everything stay down/in. So maybe I don't have the full blown virus.

Out with J.P. last night for dinner at Piper's. Scored copies of the new New Order and M83 off him in exchange for my Decemberists collection. Nice. Whole time during diner I just knew my stomach was jacked. I'm sure the freaking Fish 'n Chips didn't help. I knew there was a reason I hate that fried shit.

Gotz to take care of some bizness then off to work.

No rides tonight due to stomach evacuations.
Plan on long road ride tomorrow.

Out.

My Inner Roadie Plays Dirty

We all have an Inner Roadie. Mine looks a bit like Paolo Bettini (or an Italian Kazoo from the Flint Stones), He'll hover near my ear and talk of cruising at 25 mph on country roads and enjoying the sunshine with a sweet tailwind. He'll urge me to "leave that mountain bike alone, the road's where's it's at" I woke up with Paolo whispering all this in my ear today. I know that's a hell of an image. But I told Paolo to F-Off.

I was pretty sure the trails would be dry so I planned a 3 hour ride or so on the El Santo at Boyce Park. So I got the B-Man off to day care, made some breakfast, took a clean pinch and off I went.

The Inner Roadie was a tad "jacked" at me so little martian head Bettini decided to rear his head gremlin style....

The trails at Boyce were still slicker than a greased dog turd. And I opted to NOT change my tires and still had the useless in the wet/mud Pananaracer Fire Pros on.

Felt pretty good despite the slick conditions until 39 minutes in, coming off some roots my chain jumped off the 32 in the back and in to my spokes. Wedged in super hard and took about 10 freaking minutes to get out. 9 SPEED!!! Whilst fixing my chain with the bike upside down my entire bottle of Hammer Perpetuem leaked out. Shit!! That was to get me through 3 hours!! But I still had water, Hammer Gel and an Oatmeal Pie just in case. So on I went.

Felt ok despite the stop. It was hard to maintain speed through corners with those Fire Pros though. I let some air out in hopes the lower pressure in the front would help. It did a tad. Bike felt good I felt good physically, but mentaly the chain and shit F*cked with me so I did 2 hours of single track riding and also rode up one of the ski slopes. Going up hurt. 2 MPH straight up through 8 inch tall grass. But I needed it.

I did spot a sweet looking girl tanning in a bikini. Always nice to see the Lay-deez when riding. Although you know she was thinking "who's the perv staring at me with that stupid outfit on and snot, sweat and drool hanging out of him?"

All in all. NOT the ride I had in mind. BUT I did get some nice climbing in. The mechanical was good practice for keeping composure when shit goes wrong in races. It's also funny how 2 hours of mountain biking seemed like I was
slacking. I probably should have listened to Paolo, but Paolo doesn't race mountain bikes. I do.

Out.

Wedneday's (non) Ride & More

Due to the B-Man's illness and Wifey spending the WHOLE day with him, I opted not to ride tonight and just did a short spin on the stationary trainer. 'Bout 45 minutes whilst listening to the new Malkmus on the iPod and watching '04 Tour Vids. Then I did a couple sets of 50 crunches. Was going to go an hour but I decided to take the WHOLE day off on Thurs. which means if B-Man is good to go to Day Care I can get in 3 hours or so of saddle time. SWEET!

Kept my HR under 130 tonight except while I did some standing hill climb stuff. Mostly
to take some pressure of the "boyz".

Man, I made some White Trash Ragu Pasta tonight and was forced to use regular pasta 'cause I ran out of whole wheat, and it sucked! I don't think I can eat white pasta anymore. I'll have to go and stock up tomorrow. Snacked on some whole wheat bread with peanut butter and brown rice syrup. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmm.

Still gotta decide if I want to road ride, mountain bike or road ride ON my mountain bike tomorrow. We've had a good deal of rain the past couple days and I'd hate to pack up all that shit just to ride mush.

Other news. Liverpool F.C. beat A.C. Milan. NICE GOING REDS!
That's for my buddy Craig over in the UK and for my Anglophile buddy D.K. down in FLA. I was watching the match on ESPN2 and turned it 'cause in the 1st half Liverpool was down 3-zip. What a turn 'round. Betcha the pints are flowing in the pubs tonight! 'eh Craig?

Most people in the U.S. think of soccer as something Yuppie Mom's take their kids to on Sat. a.m. for the rest of the world it's football and it's a way of life...RIGHT BEHIND CYCLING!!!

Later.

Wednesday cops a feel...

El Santo seems to be up and running again. Tom and I took a spacer out of the Race Face crank and it seems to move with a less drag. He's still gonna talk to Race Face and make sure this is all cool. Also replaced the aluminum chain ring bolts with steel. Aluminum is lighter but also more prone to cracking from me ham-fisting it. Got the Fox 100RLT serviced on the Titus as well as the free hub. So all should be good to go. Now I just need the trails to dry out.

Wifey home with a sick B-Man today so no ride tonight (guilt). Gonna do some quick leg speed work on the trainer and some core strength stuff when I get home from work though. Taking 1/2 day off Thurs. to do a long ass road ride. Might do it on the Titus.

Still fighting some slight illness. Feel like I have a cobweb in my throat. Gotta watch it.

Wonderful spring here in Western PA. High of 50!!! And gray. Gray should be the official color of Pennsylvania.

Got the new Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks yesterday. Very sub-par. Should have got the new Gorillaz or Sleater Kinney.

Later.

Enter The Vomitorium...

Little update here.

My sickness is at bay, but got a call from the B-Man's day care whilst at work...
"you might want to come pick up Brennan, he just vomited all over himself"
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTHHHHHAT'S NICE!
Not to be selfish (but I will) I'm gonna be walkin' around the house like the freaking "bubble boy" to avoid getting sick. I have one of the biggest races of the summer in 3 weeks or so and do NOT need to get sick. B-Man seems to be doing ok though. So hopefuly it's just a one day thing. Although when I picked him up he looked like Lance from the '03 Tour when he was all dehydrated and shit (looks better now). At least I had a great excuse to leave work early. You can't argue with vomit, remember that.

Lodi race report is up on the www.bikeman.com site now. Big Al put up a bunch of reports in the team section. Check it out.

Mon Nite Ride(r)

Was able to get a great price hook up from my sponsor www.bikeman.com on a 2nd Niterider Storm battery. Thanks Al! So I used the booty I won at Lodi to pay for it, so it's like free right?? I also was offered Blowtorch batteries/lights from my friends Caryn and Tom, so looks like I'll be lit up like a freaking Wal-Mart all night at Big Bear and 7 Springs this year. Sweet!

Monday night's ride was great. Funny how the threat of thunder storms will help you with your speed. I went balz out (as much as I can with traffic, lights and some big ass hills) to a stay one step ahead of the rain and did my 30 mile loop at an avg. speed of 18.5 MPH. I needed a TT work out like this. Felt good to burn like that. Spent 45 minutes in my LT zone and over 5 minutes above it. These workouts are hard because I do 99% of my riding on my own. The groups that I used to ride with can be chatty and Kev is still healing from the knee blowout so he's only going at about 60% right now. So other than racing it takes some focus to push myself like that. Plus I NEVER got rained on.

On the down side: I'm fighing off some sort of "raspy" throat. So I've upped my vitamins and am downing Emer'gen-C.
Fingers crossed.

No ride tonight. Bike stuff at Tom's.

later.

Little pre Lunch Blogging

Little mid a.m. blogging to turn you all on to some other blogs that I’ve been reading steadily for some time. I’ll be added them to the links too.

Jeff Kerkove’s blog. Jeff rides for the CatEye Enduro Team and has been the man answereing many of my questions relating to 12 Hour & 24 Hour races and training for them. http://jeffkerkove.blogspot.com/
Thanks Jeff! Good luck in Wisconsin this weekend. I couldn’t race there, Cheese & Beer. Nuff said.

Ernesto Marenchin’s blog: http://sologoat.blogspot.com/
Ernesto races for Speedgoat (a shop about 45 min. from me and where I got my Titus HCR) great people. I’ll be racing against him at Big Bear. Hope he doesn’t lap me too many times. Looks like his form is on given some of his recent results.

Jeff and Ernesto are a wealth of knowledge. If you’re thinking of getting into the endurance stuff, their blogs are must reads.

Another fave is Jason Sager’s blog:
http://www.jasonsager.com/blog/index.php
Jason lives in Durango and travels the country doing up the NORBA circuit. This is one of the funniest blogs you’ll read. Durango was where I went on my first pilgramige to Colorado so I always love seeing his photos from that area and hearing him name drop some of the place around D’Go.

So learn and enjoy. Time for some eats.

out.

Sunday, Monday, Giro, Rain

Sunday was a rest day and a day to work on the bikes. Got the Trek all clean and shiny. Worked on the El Santo a bit. Hate that first cleaning after a big race when you find all the dings and problems. I've discovered some drag in my crank. Think it's coming from the Bottom Bracket. I was a little suspect of this New Race Face crank and hope it's nothing major. It's been through a LOT of stream crossings in two consecutive races, so it could need cleaned etc. Oh Tom....

Spent Sunday Eve. watching Giro highlights. Wow there are some serious climbs there.
One was 15 miles up... Sweet! I'm happy when I find a 1 mile up.

Monday is here and another week at my pathetic job. One word: HATE
Weather looks like rain for 9 out of the next 10 days. Nice. Real nice.
So I'm taking my road bike with me and will road ride in the rain, unless of course it thunderstorms then I will abort and ride the trainer and do some weight work.
Gotta go dig out my rain jacket. Later.

Legs are BACK!

Wow, great ride today. Temps in the 60s, blue sky and sunshine. Took the Trek out to S-Dale to ride. Felt great from the start. Riding out there is the best. Only 2 or 3 times do I really even have to worry about traffic. Many of the roads remind me of those narrow Belgium farm roads you see in some of the Spring Classics. Ended up with
55 miles in a little over 3 hours. Wasn't till about 2:40 or so that I could feel last weeks effort in my legs. Little more sore than usual after, and I had some serious chap ass going on. FORGOT to lather the carriage up before I left. Drat! Gonna take tomorrow off and just hang with the B-Man and Pappa-M.

Supposed to have "date night" with Wifey tonight. Should be good. I've been loading up on caffeine since ther ride ended. 1 can of Red Bull, and about 25 oz. of Starbucks home brew. Post ride snack was 2 cups of Bran Flakes and 1.5 cups Skim Milk with GNC Soy Protein. MMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmm. Then I mowed the ephing grass.

Gotta go, OLN Giro coverage is coming on. The stuff below is for me. Gotta write this shit down that I made last night (my own invention) before I forget. Have goon one.

White Pizza Pasta Bake
1 8oz Bag of Whole Weat Pasta
3 Plum Toamatoes (sliced)
4 Cloves of Garlic
3 Cups or so of fresh Baby Spinach
1 Medium Chopped Onion
2 Boneless Chicken Breasts
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
Red Pepper Flakes
Red Wine Vineger
1 Bag of Low Fat Mozzerela Cheese
1/2 Cup Parm Cheese

Slice Tomatoes and onion and cover with RW Vineger. Let marinate for 1+ hour.
Cook Pasta. Stuff food processer with baby spinach, garlic gloves and dash of olive oil. Shred it up! Slice chicken and stir fry till done. Add tomatoes, onion. Once onion is done add spinach. Heat through. Then add drained pasta. Add more olive oil, salt and pepper(s) taste and some Parm Cheese. Add more olive oil. Mix thoroughly. Next add some Mozz. cheese. Mix through. Top with the rest of the Mozz cheese and bake for 15 min. at 350 degrees.

Then stuff your face and enjoy. This tastes almost exactly like a White Pizza.
But a bit better for you with the whole wheat and your fresh ingredients.

'nother Lodi Pict

Photo courtesy of buffalo2step.com

Eating Mexicana del Jason
whilst surfing net here at work.
The cubical has been "soiled".
Yikes!

Nothing on tap tonight except getting
my gear ready for tomorrow's multi hour
road assault.

Picked up from Mocha Java beans for breakfast tomorrow.

And DK I found a new "Kobe"... Starbuck's Grande with a Shot of
White Chocolate Syrup. Too many calories for an everyday.
But once in a while to get the mojo going.

out.

Thursday: The Revenge of the Sith

Thursday: no ride. Took the Titus to Tom's for Fox 100RLT serviced and the freehub rebuilt. Sure glad he knows what he's doing or my racing would be f*cked.

Hoping to go 4+ on the road Sat. in S-dale. Gonna experiment with some solid food options. Got me some secret recipes. *wink* Hope to work on the ol tan too (ha!) my skin has the sheen of a wet dog.

Sent an e mail to Big Al today to see what kind of price he can get me on a Niteride Storm battery. If I can get one under $100 I'll go for it. Should know tomorrow. That would give me two HID batteries for Big Bear. SWEET!

Can't wait to get back on the bike. Sat. should be better than Wed.'s feeble attempt. Saddle sore: better. Little J-Man: better Kankles: improving

Wonder if DK went to see The Sith?... Must have been in SW-Nerd Heaven. "Gettin' his Chewie on". Alos wonder if Double-K walked two steps behind so no one thought she was with the guy dressed like Han Solo.. HA! Sorry DK.

Wind mill, wind mill, blah, blah, blah.

bed time. later.

55 Minutes in Hell

Oh my God, did tonight's ride suck.
1. Forgot gloves
2. Traffic was a bbbeeeeeeeeeotch
mucho traffic on Saxonburg. Annoying to ride
3. Legs felt like total shit.

Aborted after 1/2 hour and headed back to car.
Didn't want to push system. Weekend is supposed
to be nice. I'll get some miles in then.
Back to recovery.
Poor me. Eating and resting.

later.

Back In The Saddle

Gonna hit the road tonight for 1:45 - 2:00.
Hopefully not like this...



later.

12 Hours of Lodi Picts

A lap at night with a serious flash!


Grabbing some more Hammer Gel in the a.m.


Last lap


Me, a beer and my main man Tom


Finally gettin the mud off


Thanks to all who took photos. Some good stuff.

Later.

Lodi Farms Race Report

Tom and I left Pittsburgh Sat. a.m. for Fredericksburg, VA in the pouring rain. Tom's Soob Outback was pack to the gills with camping supplies and bike parts. We were almost scraping bottom.

About 40 miles down the road the weather turned gorgeous. Blue skies and sun. All right!!!

Got to Lodi Farms about 3:30 or 4 in the afternoon. Upon entering campground met up with John, I guy I chatted with about the race over at www.mtbr.com. He directed us to where he was camped and said we were free to join him. So we pulled up and Tom went to work setting up camp like only Tom knows how.

I went out for a pre-ride on the Titus and the trail were dry, dusty, fun and FAST! Just tooling around I did the whole twisty 8.25 miles in about 55 minutes. Got back to camp, cleaned up and settled in. More racers were pouring in to the camp. Our other neighbors were real nice too. Phil and I think Steve. Phil brought an Espresso maker that we hooked up to John's generator and used in our pop up tent. All the luxuries... I had to pass though. Didn't need any 2:00 a.m. coffee dumps.

Just as I finished eating the winds kicked up and it proceeded to thunderstorm for 2 hours or so. Grrrreat. Stopped around 10:00. Riders meeting was at 10:30. After that it was back to the tent to strap on the Bikeman.com kit and get lights, gels and drinks ready for the start.

11:55 Tom took the bike up to the start line. Racers had the option of laying bike down or having a team member hold it. I chose for tom to hold it. I went down near the creek about 50 yards from the start to get in line for the Lamans start. 12:00 a.m. the EMS trucks siren goes off to mark the start and hundreds of racers sprint to the bikes. I grabbed my bike from Tom and headed down the double track in one of the leed packs of riders. Things started to back up as racers funneled across a after. wide bridge to get to the single track. Then we all settled in on the single track in a long line of racers. People were "mooing" and making cattle calls. Since we looked like herded cattle. The pace was pretty good and there we're only a couple minor dismounts due to people spinning out on the wet roots. The soil was not that bad but he roots were darn slick.

First lap too a little over an hour. My pit was right along the trail near the check in tent but no need to stop for anything after laps one or two. I'd pass the pit and Tom would offer bottles if I needed them and holler encouragement. After lap 3 I stopped for more Hammer Perpetuem and Hammer Gel, then I was off for lap 4. Lap were taking about 1:10 or so due to a slower pace of night and wet roots. This was slower than I thought I'd be but wasn't bad. I pushed my Niterider Storm's battery to an uncomfortable 4:20 before I stopped before lap 5 and and had Tom mount up my light to the bar with a bottle mount battery on my hard tail.

About 1.5 miles into lap 5 my legs started spinning wildly. I thought I dropped a chain, but it was worse... FREE HUB!!! It would't engage. Sh*t! For some reason If I dismounted and bounced the rear wheel a few times I could loosen it up and it would engage. I had to do this about every 2 miles or so. Could have been a lot worse. After the lap I got back to the pit. Tom had the El Santo ready to go, so he quickly got it set up with the bottle mount and I was off for lap 6.

Lap 6 should have been great. The sun was coming up and I was half way home but it sucked! I was all over the trail and ened up in the bushes several times. Just couldn't concentrate. Maybe there's sometthing to this sleeping thing? About this time all I could think about was Pepsi. As soon as I got the pit I started guzzling Cherry Pepsi. I took a couple bites of Cliff bar while Tom got rid of my lights and wiped down the drive train. As I checked in they told me I was in 2nd place, sweet!! This gave me some fire as I went out for lap 7.

Laps started getting harder now. I tried to keep a good pace but it was hard. Started walking more sections to conserve energy. About the time I started thinking of things to get me through the race... Dairy Queen ice cream, Good beer, a nice steak and some things I'm not able to mention here.

The next couple of laps seem all the same. Ride/walk/ride/hurt/ride/eat/drink/check in.

After lap 9 I asked where I was in the standings. I was tied in 2nd but with the other rider now over 30 minutes ahead of me...DRAT! This was really discouraging but I had to keep on keepin' on.Completed lap 10 at about 11:35 a.m. I had our pit buddy John go check the stats. I was in 3rd. I didn't wan to risk missing the podium or possibly a shot at 2nd so out I went for lap 11. This lap actualy wasn't that bad. Motivated by the podium and the thought of real food I pulled a decent lap and retained 3rd place out of 61 registered soloists.

After my final lap I clocked in, handed in my wrist band/baton and Tom met me with a beer and a towel to dry off. We stuck around for the awards, then Tom packed up the car (I was little to no use)and we started out for our 5 hour drive home. I slept first, then Tom slept for about 45 minutes to an hour. It was a llllllllllllong drive home.

Feel pretty good about it. Still need to work on some things for the 24 Hours of Big Bear in June. Overall the El Santo worked great, the pit routine was good. I need more of a variety of nutrition. I'll need to work on that. Might need better chamois cream too. HA!

Tom did a great job working on the bikes and having my bottles and gels ready for me. Thanks! And thanks to our pit neighbor John, I guy I just met that day, for the encouragement and for that hunk of orange he gave me before lap 10, that pulled me through brother!

I think I got the Bikeman.com name out there pretty good. Heard several racers and spectators comment as I'd pass..."Hey there goes Bikeman" "Go Bikeman!" "Did you drive the whole way from Maine for this?" The El Santo got some positive comments as well.

This was my second year at Lodi. Great bunch of people. I'll be back next year.
Time to recover and then start getting ready for Big Bear.

Lodi Farms Almost Here!

Leaving tomorrow at 10 a.m. for Fredericksburg, VA and the 12 Hours of Lodi Farms. Really looking forward to it. Did the race last year on a Duo. Going Solo this year of course. Love these trails. Nice laid back atomoshpere too.

Got a ton of packing done last night. Man, it takes a lot of planning doing these races. Bikes, nutrition, non race food for me and pit crew, logistics etc. You almost forget that you still have to ride 12 or 24 hours. Make list, go over list, make new list. Can't wait to just start riding. Feeling pretty good about this event. Trails are very much like my training loops. Twisty single track, roots, and short up hills. Would love to place but really. I hate the thought of that first lap though. 1. I hate to run. 2. Everyone trying to get out first. Don't see the benefit except for avoiding the major traffic jams. I love once it spreads out and you find a nice pace and just keep hammering. If I can get through the first lap without major incident, things should be ok.

Looks to be hot during the day Sat. but should be comfy for Midnight start. Just hope no rain comes down. I got some serious chap-ass at this race last year just from the stream crossings. I'm prepared this year with som Udderly Smooth to put on the 'ol ass cheeks.

Most likely will not post till Sun. night or Monday. Hope things go well.

later.

Bunch O' Random Stuff

Saw a kid in the supermarket today wearing one of these

Had the voice filter going in full effect. I can just hear B-Man howling through that thing. Wonder if DK wears one of these when he's trying to enter Double-K's Dagaboh System. (I can't believe I just Googled Dagaboh and spelled it correctly)

Did some minor preps for Lodi last night. Got all my lights togehter. Did a full charge, now here at work I'm checking burn times. 2 HIDs should get me through the night no prob. Put the Maxxis Advantages on my Titus HCR and lowered my FOX 100RLT to 75 and up my rebound a click. Gonna run the Panaracer Fire Pros on the Salsa El Santo, but I'm taking a pair of Panaracer Trail Blasters too in case trails are dry. Saturday's temps are to be in the high 80 there. Should still be in 70s when race starts at Midnight.

Picked up a bunch of food and drink for Thomas-C and myself to munch on on the way down to F-Burg, and for him to eat whilst I'm sucking down Hammer Gels all night.

Gonna spin on trainner for an hour tonight then mow the grass on my vast estate. So I'll get an extra 20 minutes of cross trainning. Then more packing. Somewhere in there I need to make dinner for Wifey and I, and play with the B-Man.

My entire office is out at some German restaurant for a lunch meeting. Mmmmm declining sales and Brauts and S. Kraut = heart burn and colon blow.

Alright I'm done. Later.

661 Comp Glove Purchased

Just purchased the 661 Comp Glove in Goth Black.

Love full finger gloves. Have a pair of Troy Lee Design ones, but my fingers poke through and now they're also
irritating me whilst climbing with my palms on the hoods of The Trek. Only paid 19 beans for 'em. Forced to go to a shop I hate here in M-ville. Dude alway talks out his rectum. Not sure he even rides. Feel bad not getting them from bikeman.com but I needed them ASAP. Seem to have a little bit of padding on the palms. Hope that will help over the long haul. Could have done without that 661 rubberized logo on the tops of them. But out of all the full fingers there, this seemed to fit the best.

Out.

Spinacia Oleracea

Spinach. Or the latin Spinacia Oleracea. Great power food. I eat spinach in something the next ride leaves me tearing up the trail/road. So eat your spinach.

"I highly recomend it, it's so choice"
- F. Beuller

Road ride last night. 30 miles. Felt great. Lot's of power on hills and TTed back to the car. I love cruising along at 25 - 30 mph. Freaking rocks. Saw a bunch of my peeps out last night. Saw Kev out still rehabing his knee. He had surgery this winter. They took a piece of his freaking hamstring to use in his knee. Then I saw my ace mechanic Thomas C. driving home from work. Must have been a late night. Then right after that I saw Dr.s Brad and Jeff. Jeff got himself a new carbon fiber Oreba Team Edition, carbon black, bright orange and yellow. Sweet looking. I can't even imagine what kind of coin was dropped on that bad boy

No ride tonight. Might have to go to funeral home for a relative. Not fun a'tall.

Got my order from Hammer last night.

Still have to get everything ready for Lodi on Sat. AHHHHH!!

Out.

Honeysuckle vs. Testosterone

Did an hour spin on the Titus HCR last night. Man that thing seems so harsh after riding the Salsa El Santo for the past few rides.

Was just spinning easy most of the time. Even stopped once to shove my mug in a honeysuckle tree and smell it up. Damn that's one of my favorite smells in the world.

Then at the top of one climb another mountain biker come up from behind and asks to pass. Go ahead bud.... but then just could take it. This guy wasn't bad, but I KNEW I could take him so I stepped on it and before you knew it I was on his wheel. We stayed like that for a while. Then at a fork in the trail I went left/he went right. We ended up at the same intersection. Him before me. Then I just road by whilst he sucked some air. Why? What is it that make one chase someone like that? Too much Testosteroni® for lunch I guess. I gotta stop that. Makes me look like a wanker.

Finished up just spinning the road back to the Soob. Kept my HR in the 130s but I think I need to do these rides on the Rail Trail or neighborhood roads to prevent the HR going to high. Too hard on single track.

Hitting the road on The Trek tonight for my Saxonburg loop. Should be about 1:45 or so, moderate pace.

Out.

Revenge Of Rattle Snake Pre-Race Pict

I look like I'm holding back the sphincter dam and B-Man looks like he's all jacked off about something.
Probably got yelled at for eating rocks again.

Revenge of The Rattle Snake 60K Marathon Race

Ah, first race of the season is over. Wasn't in the plan. Just decided to do it for shitz-'n-gigles. Let me start by saying NO race in West Virginia is easy. NONE! This race had it all 60K in length, sweet single track, hub-sucking mud, black mud sink holes, rocks, 4 or 5 stream crossings, rocks, mud, huge exposed tree roots, rocks, sun, rain, wind, and steep as F forest road climbs. Did I mention there were rocks? Jeeezus!

There were 21 starters. Not too many but Sun. morning was the WVMBA Points Series race so not too many hard cores were gonna double up. So I'm on the start line and I'm admiring the Trek Top Fuel bike in front of me when the rider turns around and says "Hey, how's it going?" and I almost soiled the chamois. It was freaking Jeremiah Bishop! NORBA Pro, Pan-Am Gold winner etc., etc. NICE!

The race was tough. Started fast and furious. Eventually I settled in to a rhythm when things spread out snaking through some nice single track. Then it was a very short road section in Black Water Falls Park then onto a forest road. Then super technical single track with all the above mentioned goodies. Trails were tight and packed with rhododendrons. One section was a gas line up hill on soggy-grass-swamp land. Legs burning just to go 4mph through the muck. We would return down that same gas line later. No better coming down. 13 mph, sideways, with mud spraying all over my face. After a final HUGE climb on the Canaan Loop Forest Road we back tracked some rocky single track back on to the gas line return mention above, and then down a double track to the finish line were Wife and B-Man just pulled in in the Soob as I crossed the finish. Covered with mud from head to toe, soaking wet and shivering.
Officialy I finished 7th out of 21 starters. Technically, I finished 11th Because 4 guys missed a turn and ended up riding less miles so they were sent to the back. That's their problem though. The race official say 7th! HA!

The winner (which was J. Bishop won free entry and all expense paid trip to Colorado to compete in the Red Bull Rampage multi sport event) He's not going though, so the next guy (whoever that was) will get it. I was pretty happy with results given the terrain and conditions. A nice little adventure. Hope to get some picts up later.

Afterwards all racers and family were invited back to Back Water Bikes in Davis for pizza and drinks. Nice! The folks at Black Water Bikes who put on the race are SUPER nice. B-Man got to ride a bike there (no his feet didn't hit the pedals) and as Wifey pushed him down the sidewalk, he looked half happy and half like a scared, frozen fart.

After pizza and getting my results we headed back to the house at Timberline Resort and had some Newcastle Brown and sausage sandwiches. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

I finished the 60K in a little over 4 hours. My avg. HR was 152, and I burned over 4500 calories.

Next Sat. @ Midnight the real shit starts hitting fan with the 12 Hours of Lodi Farms.

Can't wait!

No Arm Warmers? No Knee Warmers?? SUN!!!!

Sweet road ride tonight. Sunny, little breeze going and 71 degrees!! Woooo hooo! Only downfall was that my legs are so paper white there was a glare coming off them. HA!

Got 30 miles in at easy pace in 1:45. Last ride till Saturday's race.

Heart rate monitor was a real bitch tonight. 1st the chest strap would loosen every time I exhaled. 2nd. the watch is loose, from stretching and from the fact I have wrist like a 12 year old girl now, slid down and my glove turned the stopwatch mode off. Crap.

Funny quote from Adam Craig, pro mountain biker who rides for Giant.
Commenting on getting back in pack after having a mechanical at 2005's 1st UCI World Cup this year...

"I used the disgusting lack of skill on the average euro’s part (seriously, it’s crazy how much these guys struggle to ride in an efficient, fast manner down remotely challenging terrain)"
Adam Craig


No more posts till Sun. eve.

later.

Pssssssssssssssst... FLAT!!!!

"Punctured bicycle, On a hillside desolate"
- This Charming Man, The Smiths

This seems to be the story of most of my mountain bike rides. I think I've had a puncture on about 5 rides this year! All thorns, little bastards. Baring the puncture I had on Tuesday night's ride, it was a great ride 22.5 miles of twisty single track. Conditions were good. Temps were still a bit low for my liking (about 47 degrees). The El Santo did great. Took Wednesday off to get some stuff done around the house and recover from 2:35 on Teus. Gonna spin on the road bike tonight for 1:30 - 2:00 or so.

Random thought: I hate my job with every fiber of my being. Just thought you might want to know.

Broke down and ordered my stuff from Hammer Nutrition. Big ass can of Perpetuem (carb/protein drink for rides longer than 2 hours) and 2 - 26 serving bottles of Hammer Gel (carb gel with no simple sugars to spike you insulin SSSSSLOW burn) Vanilla and Banana. MMMMM tasty. I like to mix it with my Perpetuem. Good flavor and saves me from carrying gel flasks AND bottles. During races I don't like to have to be fumbling around for flasks. Road rides are fine for flasks etc.

So I check out my order status last night and see that they through in a free Gel Flask and 24 oz. water bottle. Thanks Hammer! Can't say enough about them. I consider them an "unofficial sponsor".

B-Man up again last night with teeth issues. Gotta thank Wifey for getting up with him. She's got the touch. He sees me and screams louder. Either way we're both up. Her with B-man and me laying in bed listening to him scream and feeling guilty for not helping her.

Might take Friday off from work or at least a half day to prep bike and gear for Saturday.

That's it.

They're not just for Euro-Road Dogs anymore!

Soiled Chamois Mini Review:

A couple of months ago I started using the new Salsa Coolmax Cycling Cap under my helmet to add some comfort for my noggin on rides lasting 2 or more hours. It’s super light, soft, and comfortable. It’s Coolmax so it doesn’t hold sweat like cotton caps do, 100% machine washable, one size fits all and comes in one color - bad ass black, which is cool with me, no need to be looking like a roller disco on the trails/roads. My only complaint is that the bill seems to be too light. Sometimes I like to flip the bill to see little more but this one is harder to stay up (that could be from the way I prefer to wear the cap and my helmet fit too though).



It retails for around 17 beans. Not real cheap for a cap, but if your looking for comfort, I think well worth it.
I give it 5 Chamois for comfort and 3 for value.

Look for it in shop near you or online at www.bikeman.com

"Because people like to say Salsa"
- J. Seinfeld

Tuesday doesn't have a feel.

So I’m 99% sure I’m going to do the Revenge Of The Rattlesnake race at Blackwater Fall State Park in West Virginia this coming Sat. If it’s going to piss down rain I might bale but the forecast is looking good. Plan on taking 1/2 day off on Friday then soon as Wifey and B-Man get home we’ll head on down to Canaan Valley, WV and stay at my sister’s “cabin/vacation home” at Timberline Resort. It’s only like 15 minutes from Davis.

The “Snake” is 60K/37 miles long. I figured I’d be riding Saturday anyway so I mines well see were my fitness is. and get away from The Oak for a while. Celebrate Mother’s Day with Wifey in WV. Not gonna bust too much ass though with The 12 Hours of Lodi Farms next Sat./Sun. I just to get a nice long technical ride in will be cool. I’ll go just above my 12/24 pace and see what happens. It’ll be nice to use that F-Tub at the cabin Sat. night! WV rocks beat you up man.

Was going to go out to Bavington tonight to get a ride in, then once sun goes down do a lap with the water bottle battery in pack to see how it goes. But I think I’m gonna scoot over to Boyce Park instead and get 2.5 hours or so in. Boyce is more like the trails will be a Lodi. Fairly smooth, tight twisty singletrack, with some log piles and roots. Hope it’s not too slick from recent rains. Soil has a lot of clay and gets slicker than greased poop. Wish the freaking Five-0 would let us ride at night there. The Man is alway trying to keep me down.

Ended up caving and ordering more Hammer Gel and Perpetuem Mix from http://www.e-caps.com/ Gotta try to get them as a sponsor next year Spending a lot of jing. That is of course there IS a next year, Maybe I’ll go Lance and hold a press conference to announce my retirement.) Nah, I’ll go out more like Mario "The Lion King" Cippolini who recently called it quits.
Look at this, gott a love Mario...



Went to Starbucks...AGAIN! I swear they lace that coffee with Heroine.
Chamois Soiler: “Small Komodo please, room for cream. Thanks”
Coffee Wench “Sure, would you like a needle and spoon with that?

Got my hair cut at Supercuts® . Woman working there with pierced tongue. Hard to concentrate.
I hear that a pierced tongue makes eating a hot dog more pleasurable. Made her sound like a deaf person. (not that there’s anthing wrong with that).

We’ll that’s Tuesday in the shell of a nut.

Out.

Gray Monday

Another cold, gray Pittsburgh Monday and a rest day. No riding at all.
Have to do some maintenance on the road bike. 2 rides in cold rain this week.

Still deciding wether to do the Revenge of The Rattlesnake 60K race down in Davis, WV this Sat. With the Lodi Farms 12 Hour race on the 14th not sure whether I should risk bike and bod on this one or not. Looks like fun though. If you like rocks and mud. ANNNNNND I think that you do.

Ordered a bunch of back up parts from www.bikeman.com today; Disc brake pads, 6 tubes, 8 spd. chain for the Titus, extra derailleur hanger for El Santo. I need to order more Hammer Gel and Perpetuem from www.e-caps.com too. That will have to wait for pay day. Drat.

Getting excited for the race season to get rolling. If I don't race Sat. I might go down to Big Bear to pre ride course.

out.

Sunshine & Male Lactation in The Saddle

Supposed to do a recovery ride today. The sun was shining so I planned on 1:30 or more keeping my heart rate in the 130s. Fooled by the sun, drat! Just as I was headed out the door to ride out at my dads I decided to shed my arm warmers and go with a long sleeve base layer. Thank God I did. The sun indeed was shining but it was only 50 degrees with a constant cold wind of about 20 mph or more. Even the flats were work in the seemingly constant head wind. I couldn't keep my hear rate down. So after about 1:20 I took a bale out road back to Dad's. Amazingly my Avg. HR was under 140. It was so cold with 50 degrees, 20 mph wind and moving at 17 to 35 mph = nipply enough to trigger male lactation (that one's for Double K).

Got 10.5 hours on the week and 'bout 140+ miles. No real sights on ride. Except for me getting pissed at a motorist that wouldn't pass. So I dropped him an F-Bomb and cruised right down Broadway (literally, that's the street's name).

Got back, showered and headed up to the supermarket for some dinner supplies. No sight of the Bearded Female Deli worker that used to work there.

Back at home base in W. Oak. Sipping a Stoudts Weizen



and watching abbreviated coverage of the Tour of Georgia. Sweet!