Ride: In Ruins

Planned road ride done in by weather...


So home and some cross training with my Super Duper Spin-Weight Workout.
Did for 1 hour. Got a major sweat on whilst watching '05 Roubaix.
Felt good. Listened to the new White Stripes. Gets a LITTLE better with repeat listens, but still not that good.

Sun porch has a leak. Great. Not sure how that's ever gonnna get fixed.

Off work Friday. Me and Wifey taking the B-Man to Idlewild Park (think sub-par amusement park in the mountains of WPA) It is right by Speedgoat, maybe I'll stop in and lust for parts. THe park is real good for little kids. Think there's a water park too. Maybe I'll stroll through and gawk at the lay-deeze (that would go over big with Wifey)

Off to cook up some beef & bean burritos on a low-fat tip.
Enter one Thursday Night "Dutch Oven"

Big azz road ride planned for Sat. I hope.

later.

The Preston School of Industry: Doping For Gold

Short ride on the El Santo at Boyce Park last night. Cut short by some Thunder Boomers moving through the area. Only got about 1:15/10.5 miles in before I had to abort. Knee felt great though. I was getting worried there for a bit. With Tom and Kevin both having knee surgery last year they were like the "knee gloom 'n doom" brothers.

Then home for some Turkey Sausage-Red Pepper-Whole Wheat Pasta Casserole with mucho Garlic. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

No ride tonight. Road on Thurs. and then some sweet miles on Sat. (road most likely).

Yancy said he might be able to pit for me at the MASS or 6 Hours of Power on the 9th/10th. Has to check with the Mrs. first though. Tom will be in F.L.A. :(

Anyone watching Chasing Lance on Discovery/Fit TV? This show rocks!! Last night was about Hincapie and "The Hell of The North". This show is so much better than OLN's feeble attempt last year with "Lance Chronicles".

I was on monster.com yesterday. Sent off a resume to General Nutrition (corp. HQ is in Pittsburgh). Also saw a job at Eat 'n Park to be the Smiley Face Cookie mascot. I was tempted, but then I saw there was a backround check. Ah, no. HA!

Getting a new Mac at work today with OSX and all new programs, P-Shop, Multi-Ad, Illustrator etc., Whhoo hooo. Just because I have to designing a bunch of shit, doesn't mean I don't want the best stuff to design said shit. Plus, what's theirs in MINE!

If you would like to see a pro rider applying chamois cream to his under carriage, check out Kerkove's blog. Yikes! Took some ballz to post that pict. Hilarious!!
Cograts to Jeff on his 2nd place finish at that race.

later

Change-a-Plans

No Monday ride do to some fecus. Maybe Teus.
I did spin on the trainer and do some light weights for my knee and upper body. So it wasn't a wash. In fact it was probably best. Think I may have been rushing recovery and with the sore knee I don't need a problems. Felt good. Got a sweat on and ate some dinner whilst watching "The Science of Lance" on the Discovery Channel. Nice.


Later.

1:35 of Suck

OK that might be a bit much. Actually I had a great ride. But the day started with me realizing my skewer on the Yakima rack is shot. That sucked, but then it was out to the rural roads near my dad's place and that's cool.

Not cool were the temps. Real monkey-butt inducing heat. Water and HEED were both iced down, but tasted like tepid dish water by the 1/2 hour mark. The ride started good, fitness wise I felt great. My ass is healed up nice, BUT my knee started hurting again after about 10 miles. I'm sure it's not ligaments, tendons etc., pretty sure it's a deep bone bruise (from multiple crashes at B. Bear) and is aggravated when the muscles starts pumping up. Pretty sure it's bone since it hurts to press on the area. Enough about that though, boils down to a nice ride with some pain and a lot of sweat for a short hour-35. But I was in the saddle so it was all good.

Spin at Boyce on the El Santo tomorrow. Hope this F-ing knee start getting better.

Later.

Sat. Ride & UKraig Checks In

Back in the saddle! Woo-Hoo! Only bad was the deep bruise on the side of my upper knee (from about 3 or 4 Big Bear crashes) apparently has not healed, so after a while it got a little tight and sore. Went to Boyce on my Titus HCR hard tail. Rode for 1:45. Trails were super dry and temps were nice in the woods. Might hit the road tomorrow if my knee feels ok.

My man in the UK, Craig (code name: UKraig) has check in with some wonderful video phone footage from his raid in the Pyrenees. Looks like it was an epic adventure that he won't soon forget. We cyclists seem to always be on some sort of adventure. Why can't we get more people to PUT. THE. REMOTE. DOWN! And STEP AWAY FROM THE DONUT! ?


Up in UKraig's grill on the Col de Aubisque

He sent some cool vid. If anyone would (with high speed internet) wants to check out some kick ass footage. Drop me a line at jmahokey1@comcast.net and I'll send out.
The views are stunning.

Whata-we-got, like 9 or 10 days till the Tour? Sweet!! Post-ride dinner in front of the tube watching cycling. THAT'S what I'm talkin' 'bout!!!

Might have to do up some kind of cool Tour Kick Off ride. Wish I could get a good century route for Western PA. That would be kick ass way to welcome in the start of the only cycling coverage the US will most likely ever see again (Thanks Lance).

Later.

But It's All Warm and Steamy

It's warm, it's steamy, IT'S THE ESPRESSO MAN!
All fired up and it's 8:00 a.m. NICE!

It's also warm and steamy out side and I care little.
I'm riding today and that's all that matters.
I haven't been in the saddle since 12:01 last Sunday
and I'm about ready to jump out of my skin.
Road or Dirt? I'm jonezen for both. Coin toss.

Check out these picts. Tom hooked me
up yesterday.


#13 behind me is that dude that I leapfrogged with for a while.


HEED & Turd Bar MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!
Started to get a tad loopy here.

Later. Gonna go get my chamois on!

B. Bear Recall Top 20

Stream of conscious Big Bear memories:

1. My hay-noose running ability. Needs improvement.
2. Forgetting my bottle of Heed
3. Heather Moseley's sweet hot pink team kit
4. Leap-frogging with solo billy and then never seeing him again.
5. Cookie Dough Balance Bars.. EAT ONE RIGHT NOW! DO IT!
6. All the cool racers wishing encouraging me (go solo! keep it going solo!)
7. Blessed Red Bull
8. John B. so out of it that he did a complete lap sans helmet (from what I'm told)
9. Dude with the mega phone. that thing was so obnoxious.. I LOVED IT!
10. Being passed by girls as my endurance wore down. Started looking forward to it, I
enjoyed the view.
11. 2 HID lights. That freaking rocked. Thanks to friends that lent batteries.
12. Seeing Ernesto pass me, then chattin briefly to him by the "carnage rock" a few
laps later. Gotta admire that dude. Could be the next World Champ... Have people
saying "Chris who?"
13. Hanging with Dirty Harry's Jason Cyr. Thanks for all the enouragement.
14. Random dude that came up to me after last lap, said he rode with me for a while
and congratulated me. Thanks again dude.
15. Trail side coffee and bagel. Thanks Tom.
16. 50¢ Ramen Noodles that tasted like a million bucks.
17. Last lap crash on the down hill that squirted Espresso Hammer Gel on my jersey
making it look like I sh*t myself. Nice.
18. Woman at check in tent who kept telling the othersthatt I wasgonen win, I admired
here confidence in me.
19. Hearing the whispers: "there's a solo" "that guy's a solo" as I would head out
for another lap.
20. Finishing 5th. Sometimes it feels like a $300 T-Shirt sometimes it feels cool as
sh*t. Hey it ain't 6th!

Recovery: The Slow Torture of The Mundane

Still in recovery mode. Legs are still a bit swollen. Like granny legs. Happens after every 12 and 24 event.
Feeling back in ALL body parts. Thank GOD! I was a tad worried there for a couple days.

Recovery is pretty damn boring. I realized that other than work and bike stuff I really don't do too much exciting except listing to music and look at porn, I mean surf the internet. Can't wait to get back in the saddle.

I came back too soon after Lodi and got sick so I'm waiting till Saturday to ride, most likely on the road. Been hard no riding too 'cause we're having some sweet weather around here.

Tom's taking the El Santo for the weekend to get it back in race shape. Man these races beat the HELL out of a bike.

Still not sure whether I'm racing the 6 Hours of Power or the Mid Atlantic Super Series 6 hour race in July yet. Opinions? I'm leaning towards the 6-o-P 'cause it pays out cash if you place rather than prizes at MASS. But of course I need to place. One good thing is that Solo is broke down by age class. So I'd be up against old-heads like myself.

NON BIKE STUFF:

Tom's son Jesse is home from the hospital and recouping at home. Feels good just waiting for the nerve in his face to start heeling up. C'MON!!!!

Work sucks beyond the capacity that a job should suck. I must look for something else. I'm totally burned out on the graphics stuff. 12 years is a lonnnnnnng time. Boring, mundane, trivial, boring and passionless. That sums up my job. Sure glad I went to art school. I want to something COMPLETELY different. Wish I could get a bike rep job or something.

The Pirates are back to sucking after being at .500 for a day.

Mowing of the estate tonight. That should kill 10 minutes.

Wonder how Craig is doing on his adventure in the Pyrenees?

Making An Art Out Of Suffering

The 24 Hours of Big Bear was my first 24 hour race of the season and the field was stacked with solo pros like Mark Hendershot, last year's winner Ernesto Marenchin (aka Sologoat), recently crowned 2005 Solo National Champion Cameron Chambers, and a many other experienced solo freaks.

At 12 noon the cannon fired to signal the LeMans style start and I was off running. I’m not much of a runner so it felt like an eternity till I reached my bike. My pit man Tom swears it wasn't that bad, but I felt like a lumbering oaf. Once I finally got to the El Santo it was right into the single track and a huge pile up of anxious racers. After a few back ups due to crashes in front of me and slower racers things finally spread out on some up hill double track and I found my pace. Then I looked down and saw that I forgot my bottle of HEED! ****! This wasn't SUPER important for one lap but mentally it was kind of a blow. STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! Tom eventually handed me a bottle at a mid way check point so it was all good.

For the next few laps I maintained a nice pace and hooked up with another solo rider. We leapfrogged back and forth for a while then just before before dark I passed him and never saw him again. Could have been abducted by aliens for all I know. But it think it had something to do with him saying he was almost out of gels, COMPLETELY out of gels, for the WHOLE race. Man, I was worried with 3 jugs of Hammer Gel and a box of various other bars and foods. He must have had a killer bonk.

My pit stops were great. I had an area about 30 yards from the course and Tom, his son John and my wife JoErin would alternate meeting me on course and having a variety of all my solo standbys ready for me. Including: Hammer Gels, HEED, Perpetuem, Endurlytes, Balance Bars, Cliff Bars, Red Bull, and fresh cold water for my PolarPak. I've learned it's best for me to have a variety to pick from to insure that I'm taking some amount of food or drink in, rather than passing and bonking later.

Around 7 p.m. I clocked out briefly to get my bar mount light set up in case I wasn’t back by dusk. I sat down briefly while Tom installed the lights on my bike. Took a couple of Advil to help with the aches and pains that were starting, ate a little of a Balance Bar and took a couple swigs of Red Bull. I also grabbed some arm warmers and wiped down with a warm wash cloth. If felt surprisingly refreshing to be a little clean, even if it was only from the neck up. Plus you know you gotta look good for the paparazzi and the layyyy-deez.

By my next pit stop it was full on dark so I had my helmet light installed and now I would blaze two Niterider HIDs through the dark. The trails were getting slick with dew and pretty tore up by multiple laps from hundreds of racers. I was finding it hard to keep the rubber side down including one slow speed crash that found me in a 4’ wide mud puddle. That woke me up for sure! And practically gave me hypothermia given it was like 45 degrees. But I kept going, teeth chattering loud enough to drowned out my muttered obscenities the whole way. Actually I couldn't help but laugh. Then cry. Then laugh again. Sleep depravation will do that to you I suppose.

At my second battery switch Tom made me come into the pit and eat some hot Ramen Noodles and change out of my now funky (funky- like stank not funky-like George Clinton) bikeman.com shorts. Good call on that one, God knows what goes on "below the equator" after 15+ hours in one pair of bike shorts. I tried to not get too comfy or stay too long. Good thing too, because I almost fell asleep sitting up with a Balance Bar hanging out of my mouth. So I downed a full Red Bull, got some dry gloves and then hit the trail.

Seemed like it was daylight before I knew it. Now is when I started going into Solo Racer Math Mode (possible laps I could complete divided by hours remaining). Laps were taking me way over 2 hours now and I knew with about 3 hours left that although I could make out for a 12th lap, at the speed I was going they would probably have the race venue packed up by the time I got in. So I checked in and went out for what would be my 11th and final lap.

At the top of the last hill Tom met me and radioed down to his son John in the pit to check the stats. John reported that going out for a 12th lap at this point would not change the standings. So I hung out about 300 yards from the finish with some friends and family then at one minute till noon made my way up over the big bridge and down to the finish. I would finish in 5th place out of 13 Solo starters.

My goal for this race was just to be in the top half of racers and try to learn as much as possible, so finishing 5th was a real bonus for me. This was a long tough course that had me walking many climbs in the 2nd half of the race, but overall a great course, a great bunch of racers and a great bunch of people. I look foward to racing Big Bear again and would encourage anyone to do so.

And of course I have to give thanks to my pit crew: Tom, his son John and my wife JoErin for all their hard work over the weekend. They were always ready with a variety of foods and drinks for me and helped my stay awake for the entire race. Tom of course did his usual great job setting up the pit and camp areas and taking care of my bikes.

My wife had the best line when I pulled in for about my 5th pit stop with that "what-the-hell-did-I-get-myself-into" look on my face when she screams “you’re making an art out of suffering!” Thanks honey, that’s sweet... I guess.

Time for a week or two of recovery then think about my next race. Most likely a 6 hour race sometime in early July. Either the 6 Hours of Power in NY or the Mid Atlantic Super Series 6 Hour race here in PA.

Full results and event information can be found at www.grannygear.com

later.

Big Bear Complete!

Short blog. Came in 5th of 13 solo startes at the 24 Hours of Big Bear. I'll do my full report later. I'm more sore than you can imagine. Thank GOD I took today off from work.
I have scrapes and bruises all over from those embarassing, late race, slow speed crashes. And to top it off I haven't had feeling in the "little J-man" since Saturday.

This is what 5th place gets you (or what you buy yourself when you finish one of these gigs):


I'm off to fire up the Espresso Maker and do up some eggs and toast. Mmmmmmm.

later

Blog Before The Bear

Ride aborted tonight due to threatening clouds. DO NOT need chap ass the day before my first 24 of the year. All packing is done except for food in the coolers.

Plans changed slightly. Tom is now going down Friday a.m. followed by me and my crew mid a.m. or afternoon. Hope weather is ok, but if not, all I have to do is ride in the shit, not camp in it.

Think I have a upset stomach due to a skank water bottle I've been unknowingly drinking out of all week at work. Is the bottom supposed to have black dots on it?
Who knew! HA! Enter one spastic colon. Is is wrong to wear one of B-Man's diapers during the race? Just kidding, I'm ok, nothing some Pepto won't cure.

Off to check my lights. Going down with 3 HID flat packs and 1 HID bottle/Light. I plan on blazing two at a time for max vision. I don't have the best vision, let alone NIGHT VISION.

Will post Sunday night with details from the weekend sufferfest.
Lungs will be hacked. Asses will be chapped. Tools will be numbed. and
I will Rage* as best I can.

*Rage may or not be copyrighted by Jeff Kerkove. Thanks for the loan of the word JK.

later.

Colon: Ready to Blow!!!

Wow, biz-ee freaking night. Packed copious amounts of shite. All non-perishable race nutrition including: HEED, Perpetuem, Hammer Gels, Flasks, Bottles, Balance Bars, Cliff Bars, bladders, etc., etc., etc.,

Also washed the Titus and put 2.1 tires on it. El Santo is ready to go with some minor adjustments to make by race day.

Tom's leaving for Big Bear tomorrow afternoon. B-Man, Wifey and I will leave Friday a.m. I'm choosing not to pre-ride since I just did the course last week.

Getting excited, then nervous, then excited. Colon is about ready to blow. Chamois will be soiled.

Short road ride tomorrow then home for more packing.


later.

Ape Teets! The Tuesday Ride Blog Continued

Went out for a planned 30 mile road ride at easy pace tonight. All was good, sun went in, the temps seemed to hover around 85 (down from 93 according to the Soob) and it felt great to be on the bike releasing some of that Big Bear nervous energy. Then at about mile 20 I noticed things getting pretty black. Oh F! Winds kicked up big time. Blowing me all over. Then the f-ing rain came smacking me in the face. Pulled over underneath a store front till the winds died down, then took off in the rain. A big tree limb was across the road, so I figured I'm wet and need to get passed so I moved it with the help of some other dude that hopped outa his car to help. Then off to finish the last few miles to the car. Drenched. All I kept thinking about was the '03 Tour and Ulrich's big Kraut ass sliding across the road, sparks flying. So I kept it a tad slow. It actually felt good to be cooled off by the rain. Been so F-ing hot here.

Check out the pict that FLA-DK sent in reference to my early Tuesday Blog:



No ride Wed. Going to Tom's to see Jesse and maybe get my stripped cleat bolts out of my shoes. (Don't ask)

Later

Yinz wanna pop?

Father's Day came early last night thanks to Wifey & B-Man. Sweet F-ing Espresso maker. Had a double this a.m. Complete with foam. Wooooooooooosssssssshhhhhhhhhh. Been wanting one for a while. It freaking rocks!
This is it:


Did a 45 min. spin last night. Road riding tonight at easy pace. Supposed to get heavy storms so hopefully I get it in without being blown away. Today's Blog title was overheard at the Pgh. Zoo on Sunday. Also sighted: 2 Ben Worthlessburger Steeler Jerseys (worn in 90 degree + heat) and 1 Lone Wolf T-Shirt with "survivor" written at bottom. Ah, Pittsburgh.

I'm steeped in Big Bear logistics right now. Food, clothes, parts, etc. Takes a lot of planning.

NON BIKE STUFF:

Foot in mouth: As I'm standing at the monkey cage watching this one chick monkey sashaying around with these huge monkey nipples (not kidding like 4" long). I say to my wife, "wow, that's some serious nipple action!" but of course it was not my wife, but a total stranger. Nice. I crept away slowly trying not to look like some sort of freak.

Tom's son Jesse is still on the mends. Time will tell on nerve damage in face. Also has a fracture in part of his skull and a punctured ear canal (no hearing loss though) from the F-ing dog. Having said all that he's up and playing PS2 in his hospital room. Should be home on Tuesday some time. Tom is still coming to wrench for me at Big Bear. He's looking forward to the distraction of watching me suffer solo style.

Later

Saturday & Real Life Takes Over

Saturday's ride was good. 1:45 road ride. Able to keep my HR where I wanted even in 90 degree heat.

Real Life: Horrible news. My mechanic and pit boss Tom's son Jesse was attack by a German Shepherd yesterday. Severe damage to face and head, and nerve damage. Was Life Flighted to Children's Hospital and had emergency surgery on his nerves. Doctors say it went as well as expected, but only time will tell. I am absolutely sick about this. Just puts life in perspective. You obsess about a race or fitness and some times forget about the things that are so important.

Tom insists that he'll be in the pit come Saturday. I told him that that is the least of our worries and that I can get by no prob. I have two bikes, enough lights and Wifey and B-Man to fetch food. Getting additional lights from Kev too, may be able to convince him to help out.

NO DOGS ALLOWED!

Big Bear Recon II

Took Friday off from work and headed down to Big Bear to try to actually ride the course.
Turns out last week I only rode about 75 or 80% of it due to multiple race markings. All the 24 markings are up now, so it was off to see the course...again.

Found the start with no problem and headed down some sweet single track. Then the course me with where I started the last time and started some false flat ups mixed in with some steady middle ring up hills. Then it was flat dirt road to the start of what I call the Jedi Forest. Sweet twisty bermed single track through the pines then a steady down hill (where I crashed and broke my lever last week)

Found the new section Laird put in. Nice stuff. If it rains it could get a bit slick since it's so new, but it's nice single track for sure.

I eventually came to the big-azz boulder section the John B. call "The Balboa Section" (Rocky get it?) This will be a no ride section for 99% of racers, myself included. Why risk crashing, injury etc. just to go about 70 ft.? Then the only serious up hill of the course kicks in. This one could maybe be done in middle ring it I was team racing, but I'll "granny" it to save the legs.

Once at the top it was more fresh cut single track to the finish where the big "disco bridge" is up, but not completed. At least I hope they still need to work on it, 'cause there's about a 10" lip at the top that will be IMPOSSIBLE to get over given the speed (or lack there of) that racers will be going up the bridge.

All in all this is one of the best race courses I've ever raced. People are gonna be flying through most of it. My prediction (tttttttttttttttthupp), that I just pulled out of my ass is that the Solo winner will do 20+ laps. I've set a personal goal of 15 laps and see what happens in placing.

Looks like Granny Gear gave John B. some props for his wicked GPS maps and data that I've been privileged to have for a couple weeks (although because of my inability to properly read maps combined with a horrible sense of direction the still didn't allow me to ride the right course last week, ha!) Check them out here.

Little road ride today in the heat. HEED and water will be flowing


Later.

Got Racked!

Got the rack on the Element tonight.



Not too hard at all. Did't put bike
mount on yet. Until I get the extra cash
I'll just swap from subaru.

Big Bear pre ride tomorrow unless it storms.

later.

Thursday's Good Deal/Racing at 19% interest

Sweet. Just went to Giant Eagle (Pgh Area Grocer) with a pocket full of change and cleaned up! I always check the health food aisle to see if there are any deals on PowerBars, Balance Bars, etc. 'cause lets face it 98% of America and 99.5% of Pittsburgh has no idea what they even are, so sooner or later they go on sale. And YES... Balance Bars 2/$1.00 Reg. $1.29 SSSSSSSSSSSWWEEEET! Got me 6 for $3.00. My fave Peanut Butter in stock too.

Rant: Never look at how much you're spending on entry fees for a season. WOW! They really get Solo riders by the balz.
My wife and I have full time jobs and it's hard to pay for this stuff without the help of the VIsa, not sure how some racers do it. I know promoters have to make a profit or why would they do it, but damn. Rant off.

Why is the only copy of Velo News my Borders books have the one with Bobby J. on the front from like March???

Taking Friday off to either A. go to Big Bear to ride the course and dodge golf carts (don't ask). or B. road ride. I have 18 vacation days this year and since we're not heading out to Colorado for the 1st time in 6 years (F.F.F.F.F.!) I've been taking days all over the place.

Also firmed up plans for staying at my sister's house the night before BIg Bear. She lives in Morgantown (20 min from Big Bear) so Wifey, B-man and I will sleep there. I'm a terrible camp sleeper. I hear EVERYTHING. This helped at 7 Springs last year when I stayed at my dad's (30 min from 7 Springs). Thanks Kim.

In Praise Of My Hard Tail

Did 1:25 of tight single track tonight at Boyce Park on my Titus HCR.
This bike rocks.



Couldn't imagine it being my main race bike for these 12/24 hour races but for regular XC it freaking flys. Needs some upgrades in the wheel department (heavy). Maybe next year. Pedals need tightened up though, kept coming out over log piles. Resulting in some carnage. Or at least a bump on my knee. Felt real good on the climbs. Think all that climbing on the road bike is paying off. Heat remains intense. I wasn't even pushing all that hard and my heart rate still averages 6 or 7 beats more than usual.
Also working on a saddle sore (I know you were dying to know that) doesn't seem to bad though. The weeds are out in force now too. Legs looked like I got beat with a stick from them slapping me in couple of the fields. Major tick check needs to happen too.

In general a nice single track ride of about 12.75 miles. No ride tomorrow.
Might put the rack on the E.

Also got some cool ride video today from a my man in the UK. Used his phone to record video and send it to me. Looks like some killer road riding over there. Thanks Craig!
Can't wait to get some video from his upcoming ride in the Pyrenees.

Later

This can't be good

Maybe it's just me. But this seems a tad too "rock star" for me. Liked it better when you saw him with his kids on the podium.



But then again he's won 6 Tours and beat the BIG C.
All He Wants To Do Is Have Some Fun (pun Intended)

Just wish her music didn't suck so much.

oh well. The new White Stripes purchased. Poor. Seems unfinished. Good ideas that never come to fruition.
3/10.

later

Baked Up!

Damn hot! I love it! Did the Saxonburg road loop with the Rich Hill Road(?) climb thrown in. This climb rocks! It's one of those climbs that uses every muscle... arms, legs, ass, etc. Speed going up: 4 MPH. Nice! Heart rate...through the roof. On most of the hlls I did as seated climbs grinding up in 39/25. And went pretty balz out on the flats. Did a little over 35 miles, under 2 hours with avg. speed of 18.5 mph. This was a pretty big effort and may be the last ones before next weekends race.

Getting pumped to race. Even I don't place, I love the adventure of it. That's why endurance races rule! To me there's way more sense of accomplishment from doing these races rather than some 15 mile XC race. Not that I don't dig that too. Just love the endurance races.

2nd HID battery and Hammer HEED and Gels arrived from bikeman.com today. Sweet!
Hope that Espresso gel doesn't rock my colon. Gotz to do some trial runs this weekend.
Might go back to B. Bear on Sat. Convinced I missed too much of the course to be confident. Or I may just plan on the Friday before pre ride. Hmmm.

Wifey wants to take B.Man to the Zoo on Sun. I dig, but man it's hot. 90 degrees walking around on cement with the stench of monkey bum in the air. Great.
It's her birthday Sun. No idea what to get her. Hammer Gels? Told her her gift was
the rack for the Element. (That did NOT go over big, ha!)

later.

Got me a lever! And much randomness

Good news, my main man Tom was able to fix the Hope lever. Took both of us and some hi-tech tools like a wooden clothes-pin to get it done, but it's good as new! Getting the o-rings back in was the tricky part. That is a huge relief off my mind. Did NOT feel like spending more cash so close to the money pit that is Solo 24 Hour racing.

Rack for the Element arrived today. Now I just need to find the time to put it on.

On yesterday's road ride a bee (or some such pest) flew down the front of my jersey and proceeded to bite me 3 or 4 times on the back. Itchy as F now.

See that John B. is racing at the Enormous Bear. Be nice to see familiar face out there.

Road ride tomorrow. 1:45 - 2:00. Supposed to be less humid. Hope the storms stay away.

Where the hell is D.K.? Probably B.D./K.K.

Why didn't Sager post picts of S.V. at the country dance? I was counting on that.

Time for bed. Later.

The heat, my god the heat

Wow, sure was hot out there today! Sun and mid 80s, it was great! Kind of a dumb ass move on my part, starting my ride at noon, in the hottest part of the day. Really could feel the heat on the climbs. My avg. heart rate was 6 to 7 BPM faster than normal. Felt REAL good during the last 5 miles so I put the hammer down T.T. style and made up some time that I lost on the climbs today. Avg. speed of 18 mph for the 30 miles. Sucked down a 20 oz. of HEED, about 60 oz. water and a Hammer Gel.

Road kills were cookin' out there today. Nothing like riding over a 10 day old dead ground hog that is baked right into the pavement. Nice.

Man, the house is as hot as ballz. Not complaining though. 'Cause I HATE winter and all associated with it. Give me sweat over freezing cold fingers any day.

May or may not ride on Mon. Have to get that brake lever on the El Santo fixed ASAP.

The thought of going to work on Monday makes me want to take a rope to the attic.
I'm too career driven aren't I?

out.

Oh Snap Part II

Just informed by J. Kerkove that Cameron Chambers is coming to Big Bear. YIKES!
Almost wish I wasn't racing, so I could watch some of these guys in action. So cool to race with these guys. Gonna be a good time (or a sufferfest, either way it's good.)

Last nights Micro Beer Fest was cool. Funny when you get older. 10 p.m. we were packing it in. Good food, good beer and a nice warm evening the the 'Burgh. Thanks Jenny/Joe.

Time to get some food in my gut for the today's ride. Not go to Papa-M's house. He's got the virus me and B-Man had last week and is in a world of hurt right now.

later.

Big Bear Recon: Mission Accomplished

Drove the 2 hours down to Big Bear this a.m. Was sure trails would be a bit wet but I just didn't have a road ride in me and I thought a pre-ride would help with mentally preparing for Big Bear. Drive was easy, although I had to stop once to unleash some
fury. Got there and checked in and paid my $5 trail fee with Barney Fife then parked the Soob and prepared. Was riding today with a liter of SmartWater in the PolarPak, a large bottle of HEED, and a flask of Hammer Gel.

I rode up the road till I saw some people and they pointed my to the trail head. Think I may have missed some of the 24 Course from the Start to this pony (bout 1.5 miles) There were some deep mud pockets but nothing wheel sucking. For the most part the single track is pretty wide with room to pass if needed. There are a lot of embedded rocks but all easily rideable. Then you hit a flat forest road perfect for taking in gel and fluid. After that it's a supa-fun, bermed single track through pine trees (think Star Wars: circa Jedi). Then a sweet down hill, a stream crossing, then down what appears to be an old stream bed. I found the up hills all doable. I did the whole course in my middle ring. Think I did miss one up hill (that may be taken out anyway due to mud). People were talking about this grassy, muddy up hill. I did a couple of those but saw no reason for them to be removed.
So this is why I think I may have missed it. The signage was not great right now. Various arrows from different races were around.

Did two laps. On my second lap, just as I got out of the Jedi Forest a saw sweet rock to speed off of. I did, but then there was another that I did NOT see and BAM over the freaking bars and ... oh snap... dislocated my front Hope Brake lever (shit). Looks repairable and I have all the small parts so I'll try on Sunday, if not I'll have Tom look at it to see if I need to order parts ASAP.

Luckily there are no SUPER steep descents and I was able to used the rear brake to stop. Just couldn't go that fast (shit).

Got back to the Soob and loaded up. Karl Rosengarth, former Dirt Rag employee
and current Dirt Rag contributor was getting ready for another lap and I chatted with him for a while. We've met a few times at races and Dirt Rag functions. He did a LOT to improve the trail conditions of the Seven Springs 24 last year.

Grabbed a snack and some water for the ride home out of the cooler and headed back to White Oak. Quick drive back 1:45.

Overall the course is super. I would have liked to have seen some longer climbs
(like the Airport Road at Snowshoe) since I actually LIKE going up hill and can usually make up some time. People riding the 29ers are gonna rip this course up with speed, since it's pretty wide open. Sologoat is gonna rage.

Wanted to spy a good place for pit set up, but there was some sort of back woods
flea market going on there and didn't want to neb too much in that area.

Going to the Pennsylvania Micro Brew Fest at the Penn Brewery tonight for Wifeys' birthday. All the states' biggies will be there: Troegs, Victory, etc. I DO NOT need this temptation, but I think I'll be ok. I think they only give you sample glasses anyway.

Road riding tomorrow (I think).

Oh Snap!

Friday Rest Day Product Review Time

Schick Quattro Razor for Women



Let me start by saying yes, I’m a leg shaver. Been doing it for about 4 years now. Long enough that people WITH hairy legs freak me out. I in no way think this makes me faster. I get very little road rash, I get “trail rash” and applying stuff like Antibacterials to scabs without madding hair through it is a good thing. It also make cleaning up nice, not to mention when the legs are in full-on “summer muscle mode”... well they just look damn good sans hair suit.

Anyway to the review. This is Wifey’s razor and I was forbid to use it. So of course the 1st time it was left in the shower....
This thing rocks. Glides over the legs and leaves them feeling maybe a little too chick -like. I just use it in the shower with plain ol water. Hope the blades stand up in the long run to the man hair or Wifey will be on to me.

So if you’re a leg shaver grab Schick Lady Qattro or recomend one to the chick in your life.

CHAMOIS BONUS: GET ONE FREE! Just found this info. WHO'S YOUR DADDY??
Go to this link (sorry OS9 Won't let me link you, maybe later)

http://www.quattroforwomen.com/sq_master_flash.cfm?rd=1

Click on “Can’t Wait” on the right bottom corner and on the 2nd screen, click on “Your Free Sample” at the top. Offer limited to U.S. Residents. One per household. You will also receive a coupon included with the owner’s manual that’s good for $2 off your next pack of Quattro for Women refill cartridges. *Hurry limited to 1st 300,000 New requests.

I make now guarantees you ever get one, you know how this free crap works.
Order it then 5 years from now, you get one in the mail.

This is what it's come to. Writing reviews about chick razors. While at work. I might have some issues to work out.

Looked all around for Elete, that water that Kerkove is pimpin. No find. Did find a similar product called SmartWater.
It's also Electrolyte enhanced. Gonna try this weekend in they PolarPak. Hope I don't look like a DumbAss for buying SmartWater.

Back to not ruling out trip to Big Bear Sat.

later.

WHOOOO HOLD ON!! Just checked www.bikeman.com Elete in stock! Hmmmmmmm. Might have to check out.
Might go on SmartWater and Endurlytes for Big Bear but then try this stuff. Kerkove, always on the cusp of endurance knowledge. That's why he' a pro and I'm writing shit about shaving my legs. HA!

Friday Post Deleted

Deleted my earlier Blog. Contained too much bitch-ass whining about my job. Blah, Blah, Blah
Got some coffee at Starbucks (grande Verona please, room for cream). I'll Blog later when
I got something to say. Now I'm pretending to work and listening to Interpol on the HI-FI (or my iPod)
so all is good.

Pete, the dude that with the hay-noose wig that writes Obits is "going off" about something. Nice.
He also talks to himself whilst in the bathroom... alone.

No ride tonight.

out.

Big Pimpin Thursday

My Yakima rack is on the way for my Honda Element, so now I will be "big pimpin" in the bread truck. I also saw that my extra Niterider battery and Hammer Gels shipped from bikeman.com today. Sweet!

Did a short 10 mile loop at Boyce Park tonight on the Titus HCR. The first couple miles on my hard tail always tends to amaze me that I ever rode it as much as I did, but then after a while you start to appreciate that feel of the trail you get with a hard tail. It also helps that it's a sweet ass ride. ha! Rode for about an 1:10. Have the Maxxis Ignitors on the Titus. Man do those things rock. I'm using the regular rubber, can't even imagine what the lighter race versions are like. They are SUPER skinny 1.95s though. Need to make 'em in 2.0 or 2.1s. Good ride just so short, but I needed to get some time with the B-Man + I hope to get another 4-5 hours in over the weekend if I'm lucky.

Check out this pict my buddy John sent me. This is one of the rock gardens waiting to cause havoc down at Big Bear.

Nice.

Also got a nice e mail from Troy, a fellow bikeman.com team member and fellow Salsa El Santo owner, from Utah today. He congratulated me on my finish at Lodi Farms and gave me a heads up on some of his race plans including this sweet endurance series out in Utah that he's gonna do. Looks super cool. Check it out.

Saw a great quote from Tinker Juarez today about what it takes to win a 24 Hour race:
"Riding your race and pacing yourself, that's how you win a 24-hour race,
not by trying to see who's going to wear out who"

I like this philosophy. For 24s I don't understand flying out of the gate. I think consistency is the key. But what the F do I know. HA!

No ride Friday. Ah, rest day. Maybe down to Big Bear Saturday if rain moves out. If not, it's back to the road. Shhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeit.

Later.

Wednesday Night Ride

Good ride tonight. Trails were muddy in the usual spots but for the most part they were dry to tacky. The Maxxis Advantages hooked up well and shed mud better than the ultra- useless-in-the mud Panaracer Fire Pros I had on. Rode for 2 hours a steady pace. Unfortunatly I had my chain jump in the spokes in the same EXACT spot on the trail as last week...THE SAME TURN! Unreal! Need to adjust the limit screws I guess. Had some minor ghost shifting too. Barrel adjustment got that taken care of. Overall a good ride. Might do and hour or so tomorrow on the Titus, if it rains I'll road ride.

Later

The Tuesday Ride n’at

The Tuesday Night ride was blissful. One of those rides that after you find yourself with an ear to ear grin. Great weather and my legs and body felt great. My illness seems to be gone. There was a slight increase in frequency and amount of snot rockets but I can deal with that.

Didn’t want to push too hard, but in past years I found myself doing a lot of “junk miles” so this year I’m trying hard to make every ride have a purpose. So I thought this would be a good ride to work on leg muscle strength. So on all feasible climbs I remained seated and powered up Jan Ulrich style. On some climbs of course It just wasn’t possible, the grade was just too steep. But got some burn going in the quads and glutes.

Saw Kev out again. Powering up a Saxonburg with one good leg and the other, not clipped in and about 60% strength.

Mountain biking on the El Santo at Boyce tonight. 2+ hours. Should be great stuff.

The Big Bear solo category has grown to a whopping 6 riders. 4 of the 6 competed at the Solo Worlds last year. Yikes! But I can’t be worried about who else is racing. I need to stay focused on MY abilities and realize that this is my first year of doing all solos and I’m learning as I go. Some of these guys have been doing this for years. I’ve already learned a lot since last year at 7 Springs. FOCUS! FOCUS DAMN IT!!

At the beginning of the year when I was developing my race goals, I wanted to be COMPETITIVE at Big Bear and try to podium at 7 Springs in September. I need to stay focused on my long term goals.

Saw a great 30 min. Libertines concert on cable this a.m. shame they fell apart ‘cause they freaking rock.
Sing it with me: "I GET ALONG, get-a-long, get-a-long, get-a-long, get-a-long, get-a-long,
I Get along just singing my song, people tell me I’m wrong. F*ck ‘em".

Cameron Chambers won the NORBA Solo Nationals, knocking off Chris Eatough who had to bow out due to health issues. See the story over at www.mountainbikeracer.com. I got passed by Chambers through a rocky technical section at Snowshoe last year. Seemed to be floating over the rocks.

Later