Back At It!

Kicked around the idea of taking the Dos Niner out on a Shit Road ride today, then I kicked around the idea of just doing my normal road ride loop... then I woke up and saw that we didn't get any rain over night and that from the looks of weather.com, we might not get any until later in the day. So I did what I had to do... I gave the big middle finger to the road and it's bastard brother/retarded cousin- the rural ghetto road and rode sweet... beautiful.... SINGLE TRACK!

I really wanted to get the Dos Niner out, so I could test out the stem adjustments I made and see how the back felt, so I headed to Boyce to get a couple hours of dirt in.

The trails were in perfect condition, the bike felt great and my back felt great (for now). More importantly, my legs felt nice and spanky and I felt super motivated to ride. The 3 days of rest really paid off. Being 20 degrees cooler than the last time I rode DID help a bit.

The weather looks WET the next 5 days or so, so I was glad I got some good single track riding in today. I still hope to get to the mountains on Saturday, but I'm sure it won't be too dry. Oh well. TODAY was great, so I'll just concentrate on that.

Later.

Rest: Day Three (The End of Days)

OK, this is the last one. The end of rest days. Easing the cheeks back in the saddle tomorrow for some road time. Might hit some shitty rural ghetto roads with the Dos Niner, but most likely just lay down a 2 hour road loop to get back into the swing of things.

I did need a few days off the bike, so I'm not gonna bitch too much. And I needed to get some real work done on the mag. Pretty geeked with the first article and the subject. I'll have more to say on it when the mag publishes, but some good enduro peeps helped me get access to this one. Big thanks.

Things look to be shaping up for a return trip the mountains this weekend. I figured out how to add a good 10+ miles of Seven Spring single track and few miles of road/dirt road to the loop, but not sure this weekend will be the week for that or not. But it MIGHT be! ;)

Would this SRAM group be too pimp for the Dos Niner??

Ha! Yeah, TOO PIMP! And I'm not giving up my XTR crank and XO Twisties!

Later.

Rest: Day Two

Today was ALL about endurance! Not the sort where slather your hard to reach regions with chamois cream and ride for hours on end, but the sort where you are given a PERFECT sunny day and do NOT ride. Who knew "rest" could be this hard.

Kidding of course, the day was great and I didn't waste it. Once B-Man's pre-school day was over, we headed home, fetched the bikes and headed to the local playground where there is some sort of paved type loop for folks to walk/run around.

B-Man relaxing before the ride.

I had spent some of the a.m. flopping my stem/spacers on the Dos, so this would also give me a chance to dial in some position and leave my basement to do it. AND it was great to be outside with the B-Man and see him enjoying his bike. We raced. He won eveyr lap, but one. Grrrr!

B-Man x 2

The stem felt good in flopped to a positive rise, and the only thing I need to do is straighten the stem, it was a bit to the right. Then I need to get some real ride time on it. Maybe this weekend. Other than that, it as all good.

I made a lot of progress on Issue #2 of XXC today too. Things are coming together and I can soon start focusing on designing and laying it out rather than worrying what the hell I'm gonna put in it! I just found out that I'm gonna be able to put a story in from a dude who is areal legend in the XXC World. GEEKED! Pressure is on now.

Here's a question for you- Would you be in favor of a printed version of XXC in the future rather than just its current PDF format? Or do you think it would be best to leave well enough alone? It would cost to get it fired up, and it of course would no longer just be a free download. Thoughts?

Gotta run, more rest and Issue 2 work beckons.

Later.

Rest: Day One

Rest: Day One

Spent the first day of some planned days off the bike by doing some of the mundane things that most people do on a regular basis, like clean the ephing house! I also got all the horse shit (literally) off the Dos Niner from last Saturday's trip to the mountains with Don P.

Speaking of the Dos Niner, I've been a bit frustrated with the Dos this season. I love that bike, and of all the bikes I've had, it may be my fave ever. My Ti Titus HCR was damn close, but it had tiny little 26" wheels, so the Dos edges out I guess. Anyway, I'm frustrated with the fact that I have not ridden the Dos pain free for many months. Something about the fit is jackin' my back up. It's not so much a sharp pain as just a dull ache. The kind like you get when you're pushing too big of a gear for too long. I know I need to get some second "pro fit" opinions, and I know it's not the bike per say, but a combination bike fit and current set up. Needs to get that taken care of soon, hundies approach in May and I'm counting on the Dos to drag my ass up some hills.

Still hot as ballz here. I don't mind so much, better than freezing, that's for sure. OK, time to go do some more nothing. I'm feeling stupid and lazy, I think I'll listed so some Eagles of Death Metal or someting.

Stay tuned, tomorrow is Rest: Day Two. I plan to clean the bathroom and toilet. You do NOT want to miss that!

Later.

Can This Be Good?

A man (not me) races a 13 hour race last Saturday. The man (again, not me) rides hard, lays down 100+ mile in about 9:35 and calls it a day, feeling pretty geeked about his fitness. Then that man takes a couple days off the bike and feels pretty damn good on his next ride, a recovery road ride of only about 1:40. Sooo now that man (continuing to not be me) does another longer road ride later in the week. Now the man feels pretty cooked, so he takes a day off the bike and THEN comes back the following day to cook himself further by going to the mountains to ride, hitting a bunch of BIG ass climbs and spending about 3:40 on his mountain bike.

Now it's official... That man's "recovery week" was NOT a success. That man (who is not me, damn it!!!) now vows to take at least 3 days off the bike so as to TRY to recover and get some spankyness back in his legs.

OBVIOUSLY I AM NOT THAT MAN, 'cause I indeed DID ride today. Admittedly, the above story is very much like what I experienced this week, but "that man" would have looked at today as Day One of recovery and NOT have done a 40 mile road ride in 85 degree heat, complete with a constant head wind. See how we differ? "That man" is wise and recovering, whilst I taxed my already taxed body jjjjjjjust a bit more by riding again. You see THAT man is wise. I AM AN IDIOT. BUT I did have spend 2:20 on my bike, outside, in the sun. Burned off some pizza from last night and worked on my uber nerdy bike boy tan and can now feel good about trying to be like the wise man above and get some rest and stay off the bike.

What I did this week was dumb. Don't do what I do. Don't listen to me about anything related to "training". EVER! But you know sometimes, being dumb is pretty fun. Hell, its worked for 37 years. It can work a few more, right?

You know it IS supposed to be nice again tomorrow....

Later.

P.S. Some Sunday Zen...

World Cup "Maja" crushage.
Work it my Eastern European chick XC machine. ;)

Hundie Practice

Headed up to the mountains today to get some climbing in and to start focusing more of my attention to completing 3 or 4 of hundies this year in the N.U.E. series.

Today I dragged my friend and teammate Don P. along with me for the ride. I always worry taking folks on this loop. There's not a ton of single track on this particular loop, it's more wide double track snow mobile trails and forest roads. Having said that, what it lacks in technical single track it makes up for with lllllllong climbs.

I could pretty much tell at about the 10 mile mark, that I still didn't have great legs, but Don seemed to be enjoying the ride well enough, so I push on and kept true to the loop I had worked out.

Don, pulling away from me on the first BIG up of the day.

Every time I take another rider up to do this loop, I have the feeling that they are disappointed when we start hamming forest roads. But I'm pretty sure I'm two for two now in having my fellow rider finish the ride knowing they just put in one hell of a 33-ish mile loop in the mountains

The ride was fun even though I didn't have great legs. We both got to work on some climbing, without dealing with the assholes out on the road. During the whole ride we were passed by NO cars, saw NO other cyclists and only two hikers.

I'm pretty cooked. I think the major reason was the sun and heat. I went from being cold as titz on my road ride two days ago to being cooked by 80+ degrees and sun on the Camp Run climb. Eeesh, I need a break. It might be time for a few solid days off the bike, refuel, hydrate and come back ready to roll for the the 2nd block of my 4 block season.

How hot was I? Hot enough to become a human salt lick...

Time to go see who won the Cohutta 100 today.

Later.

T. Ball Friday #2, 2009

It's Friday, F Yeah!! Shit I don't even "officially" work and I'm glad it's friggin' Friday. Man I busted my ass this week around the house, yard, and with B-Man, all whilst recovering from last weeks effort. Lets here it for recovery!!

No ride today, still laying a bit low, but it was a pitty 'cause Spring/Summer has arrived here in WPA, and we have weather worthy of just a jersey/shorts now. HELL YEAH! Tomorrow I'm heading to the mountain to get in some hundie practice in with D.P.. Lots of climbing in store, so I'm cookin' up some Turkey Ballz. If Don is smart, he's eating some ballz too. If I know Don he's for sure eating some ballz. (cough, cough). LOL!

Cohutta this weekend. Best of luck to all my peeps down south. If you're racing and want some coverage, shoot me an e mail and lets get you in the next issue of XXC Mag.

Gotta split, my ballz are getting hot, the water's on the stove and the Dogfish Head is getting cold.

Later.

via Brad-

"Fortunate Teens Party With Morrissey, 1994." by Derek Erdman

Catch Up

I played catch up with dead legs today. I've felt great all week on/off the bike and then this morning I really felt like the underside of a muddy pig's nuggets. Damn. The 44 degree ride time temps didn't help the spankyness any, but still the Bike God's coulda thrown me a bone!

Better now than later, I guess. The weather is leaping straight into summer and weekend temps are expected to be in the 80s, so I'm planning on some mountain miles to exercise the demons of the road out of my legs.

Last night I was able to re-launch the XXC site. Changed it quite a bit, but it is still a work in progress and may change 20 more times in the future. But I do feel better about it than I did before.

Cooked up a big ass pot o' chili tonight and pretty much strapped on a feed bag and made a f*cking pig of myself. One man should in NO WAY eat as many beans as I did tonight.

Chili beans, black beans, corn, chipotles, onions, peppers... HOLY CRAP! COLON FLUSH AT WARP SPEED! I guess I won't be needing any Dual Action Cleanse. Did you click the link? Did you watch the video?? WTF?? "I feel almost a euphoria... a blissfulness..." JEEZUS DUDE, IT'S A TURD NOT A BABY!! RELAX! Dammmmn!!

Timt to go do something. Not sure what... but something.

Later.

Busy, Un Tweaked, Cut & Hydrated

The weather here was psycho again today. Cold (for mid April), in the mid 40s, with rain one minute, followed by sun the next- Truly Bates like. I had enough web work going on to say "eph that", abort any ride, and hunker down in the "rumpus room" and finally figure out some stuff for the site. The next thing I knew it was time to get B-Man and head over to Pro Bikes to fetch my wheel that LBoH was fixing.

Oh yeah, the wheel... when I was putting the Big Mama up on the Xb after the race Saturday I noticed one spoked that seemed a little loose. Not full on busted, but loose. So Monday I dropped the wheel with Tim to have him tension things up and make sure all was true. He ened up just replacing the tweaked spoke, now it's good to go. Thanks Tim.

While I was there I needed some other shiz. I had to pick up a new CamelBak bite valve. During lap 11 or 12 on Saturday as I headed into the second part of the loop I felt water just pouring all over my nuggets. Here it the bite valve came off and was now God-knows-where amongst the cow patties of Leesburg. Frig.

I also wanted to pick up some small bottles of Elete.

I've never used it, but am looking for some added electrolytes for racing and long rides. The only real issue I had during the race was my legs cramping after about lap 10. I can't take Endurolytes (they make me gag, literally) and the the powder tastes like sweaty feet.

Sports drinks help of course, but I want something as tasteless as I can get (even more tasteless than me. Get it? it's a joke... sorry). I wanted to try it this race but thought better of trying a new product on race day. So now with a nice bit of time before my next Enduro, I can experiment with some stuff. Pro Bikes had like a billion different sizes, but I just went with the small bottle, since apparently only few drops goes a long way. Let the testing begin!

I'd also like to get in the shop for a fit in the coming weeks. Not too concerned about the Big Mama, but I think a lot of my back issues on the Dos Niner are related to fit. Again, I think this is a good time to get it done. Some long races coming up this summer, gotz to be ready.

Later.

Rainy & Spanky

Woke up to sunshine this morning even though they were calling for rain. This was a welcome sight, since I had self scheduled myself to get back on the bike today. After getting B-Man off to pre-school and getting some minor house things taken care of, I was off to ride. By now the sun was gone, but it looked like I could still squeeze my ride in without coming home with a pruned up ass.

The first thing I noticed when I started was that my legs felt fine. Not great, but nowhere near how they normally feel post race. I stayed in the saddle a lot, and did a lot of spinning rather than pushing anything too big. That seemed to work great to get the legs feeling normal and dare I say "spanky".

30 minutes into the ride I felt the first sprinkles of rain, by the 50 minute mark I was pretty much riding in some steady weed whacker to face type drizzle. I figured that since this was pretty much a "recovery" ride nothing could be gained from pushing on in the cool rain. So I shortened my loop by about 15 minutes and headed back.

Glad I went though, it was nice to see that I made a quick recovery from Saturday's 100+ miles and that if I do some of these easy rides this week, by the weekend I should be ready for some big mileage again.

Time to get back to XXC site hell. I can find NO inspiration for Web design. Functionality wins out over creativity too often, and simplicity of design is all too rare. XXC might just be heading to Blog only, but I am sick to the back teeth of Blogger. Oh well.

Later.

Leesburg Bakers Dozen Race Report

This weekend I returned to Virginia to race for the second time in 3 weeks. This time for the 3rd Annual Leesburg Bakers Dozen. 13 hours of tight flowing single track, bumpy ass farm roads and plenty of cow patties thrown in, JUST to keep your immune system on it's toes.

The Baker's Dozen in one of the few endurance lap races I have on my schedule this year, and may be the longest one I do all year. This year I'm choosing to race more hundies, marathons, and (attempt) XC in lieu of the big ass Solo lap events.

I find that as I age and the more I do this type of racing my goals and expectations change, especially after having dealt with a blood clot in my leg for the past 6 months (now gone). Pushing myself to a puking, cramping, zombie can be fun and invigoration, but at some point you have to ask yourself what you want from your racing, what do you want to walk away feeling? I'm comfortable with this plan, and I think Wifey and my doctors are too!

This year for the Baker's Dozen I set my goal at seeing how fast I could get 100 miles in without feeling like complete and utter shit. I wanted to focus on mileage, time, and fun, not laps and placings. These are the goals that I like to set for myself, whilst non mortals like The Vegan, Schwarz and Bob A., are battling it out for top spots. Enough intro, on the report...

Left Friday afternoon for Leesburg, I would be driving down Solo and meeting Brad S. and K-Aho (Brad's girlfriend/fiance/wife) at the venue. The drive was uneventful and MUCH shorter that the drive down to Camp Hilbert! That freaking drive almost killed me, ha!

Brad and K-Aho pulled in not long after me. We got the pop-up set up near my Plum Grove Peeps (Pete, Stu & Bob) and then Brad and I went out for a quick pre-ride. The trails were perfect! Fast hard pack, tacky in some places and just fun. The course would be the same as Snotcycle back in January, but looked a lot different without the snow and ice on it. It also FELT different to be riding in 70 degrees rather than 18 degrees! HA!

Cold Ballz, Boogers, PBR, & Maverick's Buttocks

After the pre-ride we went to the hotel to get checked in. A process that took a good 15+ minutes due to the elderly desk clerk who insisted on telling me the menu and attraction of every local restaurant AND explaining to me at length that if I wanted a room with a microwave I needed to request that when I made the reservation. She meant well, but I all I wanted was a place to heat my T. Ballz up!! Cold Ballz would have to do.

Upon entering the room we immediately noticed a HUGE bloody booger on the wall above the TV. Nice, real nice. Microwave? NO! Bloody booger? Yes. Soon Brad was busting out PBR (much to my dismay) but given that I have NEVER even tasted one I figured I needed to at least try it before I continued to bust his balls for drinking it. It was as bad as I anticipated and one would be way more than enough.


The rest of the night was spent watching Latino soap operas and at K-Aho's request- Top Gun. Top Gun may be one of the worst movies I've EVER seen. It's bad on so many levels I can't begin to get into it. I found it amazing the lengths that the director/studio went through to work Tom Cruise's ass into the movie. Including a "heart to heart" scene with his instructor about his now dead navigator named Goose, which was had while T.C. shaved at a sink, sticking his ass out, in nothing but a pair of tighty whities. Ridiculous! But it made for some laughs and killed the pre race jitters.

Finally... the race!

After a semi-restful night's sleep it was off to the venue to get ready to get down for the next 13 hours. Got all my bottles situated, food ready, and the Big Mama double checked by one of the Plum Grove mechanics (thanks!). Before your knew it, we were all on the line.


On the line I found myself DEEEEEP in the back. As soon as we hit the single track things came to pretty much a stand still. It was like a traffic jam on I95. Eeesh! After the first lap things got a bit more thinned out and I was able to open up the legs a bit.

It took me about 3 or 4 laps to really find my rhythm, and to see how the body and my stomach would react to the long haul. I made it my mission to keep drinking water (from my C'Back) and make sure I was taking in a full bottle (of CytoCarb/Gatorade) every two laps. I also made sure to pit every 2 laps to refresh my water, bottles and suck down some solid food. The stops ranged from 2 to 5 minutes. But I never sat down and in the end it really helped to keep my legs moving and my belly happy. Many long time readers will know all to well that not bonking and keeping food down has been a problem for me in the past. But not today! Woot! Woot!

I think it only took 2 laps for me to be lapped by The Vegan, but I was feeling good on the bike and as I thought the Big Mama was PERFECT for this race. On the stutter bumped farm road that joined the two loops together I saw folks being bounced all over the place. I was able to just hammer the road like it was a rail trail.

At about lap 8 or so, I passed a couple of solo racers that I know and are equal or better riders than me, so I felt like had good legs. I took every opportunity I had to put the hammer down and get my 100 in quick. It was also about lap 8 that I started to get leg cramps in the SAME section of trail for the rest of the race. Every time I hit a big rock at the top of dip at about the 5.5 mile mark, my legs would seize. I would then have to soft pedal or pedal in some f*cked up way to prevent my legs from locking up. I should have been taking in some Endurolyte pills, but A. I didn't have any, B. I hate them, and C. They make me puke. So I would just have to deal with the cramps.

Motivation can be found by the oddest things during a race. Some dude "nice biked" me when I passed and after saying thanks, I felt compelled to show him what the Big Mama could do, then later in the race some dude recognized me as the putter outer (publisher) of XXC and yelled "XXC! I love the mag man!". That could have been the best on the trail morale boost I ever got. Thanks man. Seeing my odometer creep closer to the 3 digits was the main motivator. Every time I was hurting, I just focused on that number.

When I finally hit tripple digits on the odometer, I was ready to be done. I wasn't completely toasted yet, but I was bored of the loop, getting close to body shut down, and hit my goal in about 9:35. I'll need to double check the results for exact time, lap count and my final placing.

Burgers, Beer, Bonfires, Blue Grass and Bizza.
OK, it was Pizza, but it seemed lame not to have another B word in there.

Many would poo-poo my descision to stop when I was feeling good and still had a lot of time left. That's their bizness and we all approach racing differently. I felt good with it, and was stoked that I just ripped off 100+ miles and felt good. A nice sighn that my fitness is pretty good and I might not completely embarrass myself in the four N.U.E. races I'm doing this year. Not sure when my next endurance lap race will be. My focus is to now get ready for the Mohican 100 in late May, get some long rides in, and maybe do a couple XC races.

Brad finished up not long after me. And we both agreed that cleaning up and sitting our asses down with a some beers would be the plan for the rest of the night. Our pit neighbors from Plum Grove cooked us up some burgers and dogs and K-Aho had made a beer run while we were out racing, so the night was complete.

Soon the bon fire was going, 9,000 pizzas were delivered, and a blue grass band was playing. I'm shocked to feel so good after a race. I've not regretted my decision to stop when I did. If I would have stopped feeling like shit at that point in the race would have felt worse, but stopping after 100+ miles knowing I still had something left in the tank really felt good for a change. I hope I can build on that confidence and fitness for the rest of my season.

Congrats to Brad for putting in a ton of laps and way over 100 miles and to P.G. Pete for a great finish. Also big thanks to Rob (the race director) for putting on another great race, and to K-Aho for her help in the pit, for putting up with my Turkey Ball Gas, and for giving me Top Gun. The pain of that freaking movie, and not being able to get it out of my mind all day Saturday, really made 14 laps feel like nothing.

"Son, your ego is writing checks your body can't cash"
-Stinger

Glad "Stinger" wasn't talking me. My ego, or lack there of wrote checks that my body had no problem cashing this time (for a change).

Brad put up some great pics from the race HERE. Just pay not attention to THIS one!

Later.

Big thanks to Gary Ryan for use of the pics.

EDIT: Results up finished 21 out of 61 with 14 laps in 9:36. Seems stupid that I stopped so early with over 3 hours to go. Especially considering the 22nd place guy took 12:18 to do the same amount of laps. I'm an idiot. But then again, I was ready to stop, and it wold have taken 17 or 18 laps to crack the top 10. And I KNOW I didn't have that in me.

Giving Up & Fear My Ballz

The past few days have been just packed with non stop, go-go busy work: Mag stuff, packing stuff, family stuff, B-Man stuff, ride stuff etc., I revisited that place in my mind where I question if the racing, the blogging, the trying to put out a mag is worth it or not.??

The mag turned out great for the first run and I'm closing in on 1,000 downloads in one week. That's pretty cool. And even though I made not one dime off those 1,000ish downloads, I took the plunge and got me a new Mac. I love it! But with newness comes some challenges. File transfers, program compatibility issues, etc, had me ending up having to spend another few bills (that I don't have) on a newer version of PhotoShop. GOTZ to have PhotoShop or shit just sucks (IMHO). But I'm getting it done and ready to start on Issue #2. (EDIT: Just checked and as of 10:50 p.m. there is about 1,100 downloads of XXC!! In one week! Hell yeah!)

Geeked for the race, but trying to pack in the midst of everything else is a pain, I just can't wait to ride, to be on single track, to suffer, to feel that pain. I know that's probably not what most people think of as "fun", and many folks can push themselves further on training rides and group rides, but I need the race to dictate my suffering, I guess I don't have the ballz to do it on my own. Who knows?

I did get out on the road for a couple hours today. The day was gorgeous, but sadly at the time when I was out was gray, cold and foggy. But I still had a good ride and it was great to blow off some steam via the bike.

The ride did have a very low point- during one climb I found a nice rhythm, I was sitting and spinning nicely up the hill when a dude in a car coming down the hill leans out of the car and starts screaming with all his might...

"Get off the road you fucking piece of shit! You fucking asshole!!
You piece of shit, fucking asshole!! Get off the fucking road!!!"

The dude was just ephing enraged!! I mean who has that sort of rage to yell at a random cyclist at 10:30 a.m.?? Jeezus!!! It really tainted the rest of the ride. All I could think about was this white trash meth head screaming at me for no reason other than I was doing something out of the ordinary for this area. I just felt like climbing off the bike and giving in.

But in the end, I said "fuck that!!" That's what they want!! To bring us down, to make us quit. To make us the same trash as they. I will used this psycho meth head as motivation. I will ride further, race harder and stronger than the last time. The dude will inevitably die in some D.U.I. accident or trailer court murder, and my spandex encased aging ass will ride on! And someday during a road side nature break, I will pee the remnants of Chimay or other fine Belgian beer on the very spot where he attempted to bring me down!! F*CK YEAH!!

This week I ushered one of my faves back into my rotation... SPINACH! How I've missed thee..... And how I've missed making my Turkey Spinach Meat Ballz. They ARE PRE RACE POWER! And should be feared!!

I even made a few extra to take with me tomorrow so that I have some of the T.Ball power with me come race day. FEAR ME! OK fear might be strong, but know I have the power. Or at least some kickin' garlic/onion/turkey/spinach gas.

So that's it. I'm outta here 'till Sunday. If you're racing this weekend- GOOD LUCK! Whether it's at the Otter or down at the LBD with me. And remember the next time a Meth Head fucks with you, just roll on, safe in the knowledge that you have the power of the Ballz!

Later

Mid Week Madness

Ok, not exactly "madness", but a BUNCH to do nonetheless! Ran around like a goof this a.m. looking for a fire wire cable so as to transfer data from my old Mac to my new iMac which was to be delivered today. After 3 places, I found one, but something told me to wait until Best Buy opened (an Apple retailer) and make sure I got the right one.

Thankfully I did, 'cause the one I almost bought would have been wrong! The new iMacs have different fire wire plug pins, so I needed to get an Apple one that came with a neat little adapter. Not long after I got home the new iMac was here and I wanted to get her all set up, transfer files, etc., I'm just about all done with that part.

The only suck part is my old PhotoShop won't work for some reason. FRIG! Still trying to get that all sorted out and get all my fonts in line. Thankfully I aborted a ride today in favor of one tomorrow in better in less soggy conditions, because on top of all those computer set ups and issues, I of course needed to do my Dad duties, go to a birthday party for my father in law and continue to organize for this Saturday's race. A busy day, but all good stuff. Looking forward to blowing off some steam on the road tomorrow.

My fave site for viewing Word Cup race photos-MTBS.cz has their photos from the Pietermaritzburg race up. Looked HOT!! One of the best pics was this one...

Time to keep transferring files, get in the zone for some riding tomorrow, and get some sleep.

Later

2 Days In Hell Looked Great

Not much going on today. I needed some time off the bike to rest and get some pre-packing done for this weekend's road trip to Leesburg, VA and the Leesburg Bakers Dozen. One good thing is that I'm not camping, and staying in a hotel, so that cuts down on the necessities. Just a pop up to put my shit under and provide some cover for my gear and pit crew. Actually for Brad's pit crew, I'm going at it pretty much self supported, which really isn't that hard for a 13 hour race. I've done it a few times before, so I'm not all that concerned.

The only suck part of being "semi self supported" is when it's time for lights to be put on. I'm usually pretty f*cked over and that's when it is nice to have someone getting your lights on and telling you to eat something or you'll die. What I try to do is have a separate helmet/Camel Back all set with lights, water, etc.,That saves a big chunk of worry. So some of today was spent getting things sorted out, and getting the PT SB3 all charged up for Saturday.

Then B-Man and I hit Pro Bikes to have my Campeon looked at. Looks like when my chain jammed on Sunday I slightly bent my front derailleur. But it was able to be bent back and is good to go for now. So in the next couple days I can get some miles in to burn off some pre race angst and keep the legs loose.

2 Days of Hell...

Spent last night and this evening watching some cycling movies I obtained over the weekend. First was "A Sunday In Hell". What a great flick, just amazing! I HIGHLY recommend it. 1976 never looks so good.

Then tonight I watched "Hell On Wheels"...

Both were just amazing films. But for different reasons. Take a look at the YouTube links above to get an idea of why. There is just some incredible footage in both films. I'm not even a huge roadie, but I totally was just sucked into these movies.

That's about all I got. Nothing to exiting. Weather here is more like early March than early to mid April, and not all that motiivating to ride in, but the weekend in Leesburg looks promising, so that's cool.

Later.

A Good Dirt Day

Oh yes, glorious dirt! No cars, no jack offs yelling "Go Lance!" or "Get off the road ass hole!" at me, just the sound of the wind through the trees, the birds, and the Big Mama laying the smack down on some dirt! It felt so good. It was sorta like a long dry spell of no sex ending- it feels great, and I don't want it to end. BUT even though I tend to last several hundred more minutes on the bike, than I do in my bed, it was still over way too fast! If you couldn't tell, I was HAPPY to be back on dirt.

The trails were in great condition, varying from bone dry to tacky. I guess that is ONE bonus of all the windy days we've been having- shit drys out fast. I felt pretty good and the Big Mama rolled nicely. I'm still amazed how she can take on a root fill trail and make it feel like you're riding on a bike path. Got a nice 2+ hour ride in today, and had a great time. Looks like rain for the next couple days, so I was glad to get some quality ride time in.

As much as I like my Big Mama, It's still hard for me to think of her as my race bike. The Dos Niner is my fave race bike (maybe ever). It's just so light, and responsive. But as I age, my back tends to get pretty sore during longer rides and races. Even though that 1" helps, it AIN'T four inches! But of course there is a trade off. The Dos is little lighter, has some hoochie mama components on and in my opinion climbs a bit better.

I have no doubt the Big Mama is the right tool for this coming weekend's Baker's Dozen. The the B.D. course has about 3 inches of elevation gain, but has proved to beat me up pretty good in the 200+ miles I've put on the course in the past 2 years. Over 13+ hours I think the Big Mama will prove itself.

Tonight I did swap out my Stan's/Hope Pro II wheels from the Dos to the Big Mama. That should help her spin a bit quicker. Now if I could just get my hands on a 2nd XTR crank!!.... ;)

I obtained a copy of A Sunday In Hell today. Can't wait to watch it later after Wifey/B-Man surrender the TV. Overall a pretty good start to this race week. Lots to do this week to prep. I'm anxious for the weekend, and pushing myself into that area where legs cramp, minds shuts down, stomachs revolt, shit hurts, and vomit, tears, and blood often make an appearance. Good times people, good times....

Later.

Up To Here With The Road

Weekend Recap:

I'm pretty burned out on road rides, and I would have really preferred to be on dirt this weekend, but a tight family schedule would force me to the road both Saturday and Sunday. I wanted to be positive and make the best of it, but I just was NOT feeling any love for the road. Saturday started off bad right from the start when I forgot that this week must have been the start of the spring soccer season. SOCCER MOM ALERT!!!

Let me explain- I start my ride near some local soccer fields out in the sticks. They're pretty much out in the middle of nowhere, but the road is a direct link from some local McMansions. So every mini van and SUV driving soccer Mom/Dad was buzzing me as they hurried to get Jr. to his 1 hour outside. I've never seen so much high speed traffic on this usually low key back road. Frig!

I breathed a sigh of relief as I made it to the next road, turned, and escaped the grill of the previously mentioned Soccer Mom driven SUV. My next problem was a stiff 20 mph-ish head wind. It was like riding in wind tunnel. But I plowed on and got a 30 mile ride in. Not sure if it was Easter madness or what, but there was a LOT of traffic out there and it was hard to relax and have fun. I guess I'm used to my 10 a.m. weekday rides when traffic is pretty low key on these roads.

I hoped for better luck and times on Sunday. I was pleased to wake up to sun and was heading out to my Dad's house to hang out and get a planned 40 mile ride in.

As nice as it looked out, it was pretty chilly and in the low 40s at my ride time. But I farted in the general direction of the temps, put on base layer and some arm warmers. DOH! MISTAKE! I was one mile in and KNEW I was under dressed. Frig! I pushed on into the wind. Again, NOT wanting to be on the road in the least bit, and wishing I would have adjusted my schedule to accommodate dirt.

OK, lets make the best of this! Look at the chilly wind and my ill feelings for the road as mental training. I can do this! I can make this work! As I approached the 45 minute mark and some hills, I shifted into my 34 in the front. The chain jammed hard and then fell off. Frig!! OK, fixed, back on but the front derailleur will NOT shift into 34. I stopped adjusted it as best I could.... nothing. Frig! I try few more times, get it, shift back to the 50 and the chain drops AGAIN. And again I say "frig!" When the chain jammed in the front d., it must have f*cked it a bit. Grrrr.

Since the second hour plus has WAY more climbs, I made the decision to just keep it in the 50, do what I can, and when I get the chance take a bail out back to my Dad's digz. So 1:15 was all I got. WELLLLL short of my planned time.

Nnnnnnnnnot happy. I dig road riding, but it's easy for me to get burned out on it. I hate cars, drivers, and the boredom that the road can bring. But you do what you gotta do to get a ride in. I really envy the folks with miles of forest road and/gravel at their disposal. They can avoid cars, get big miles in, and ride fat tires when the trail might not be in the best condition.

Tomorrow, I'll have the time to hit Boyce on the Big Mama to make sure she's good to go for next Saturday's Leesburg Bakers Dozen. Some might ask why I would choose to ride a 29 pound FS 29er instead of a 24 pound Dos Niner, on a course that can be ridden on rigid hard tail with no problem? Easy- I'm a 37 year old schlep with a bad back riding 13+ hours on single track with access to TWO killer bikes. Both bikes will be there and both get to taste Leesburg Cow Shit I'm sure, but the Big Mama wins hand down on this one. With 2 feet of total elevation gain, lots of roots, and cow hoofed trails, I can't imagine riding any other bike for this year's LBD.

I'm pretty happy my friend Brad from Bikeman.com is coming, he was able to get a Solo spot! It will be nice to have yet another friend and quality racer on the course that day. Sadly Wifey can't come due to some unexpected B-Man school picture stuff that we don't want him to miss. And the way I figure, I can finish 25th with or without support!! HA!

In non bike news a new Apple 24" Apple iMac is hurling it's way towards my crib. Stoked! One of the frustrating things about putting the first issue of XXC together was some of the limitations my old ass Mac was giving me. So hopefully Issue #2 will be even better and the web site will be a bit more dynamic.

Speaking of XXC, thanks to all the support you all gave me on this project. I proved to myself I could be something out that folks wanted see and has audience. Now I just have to figure out how to make a few pennies, or I'll be flipping burgers PDQ. If I'm reading my stats correctly, I think about 400+ folks have downloaded it. That's 399 more folks than I EVER thought would do so. THANKS PEEPS!!! Anxious to start the next issue. There will be lots of gravel, cow patties, and some cool features from one or two folks doing some big ass self supported type epics. Stay tuned!

Tomorrow it's me, Big Mama, and some some single track baby makin' in the dirt.

Later.

Good Friday

It's been said before but today GREAT Friday!

First I had an appointment with my hematologist this morning in which I found out I NO LONGER HAVE TO BE ON BLOOD THINNERS! Hell yeah!!!! The clots type things that the Doppler Tech saw the other day were in my superficial veins, NOT a DVT, and pose no real threat. So I can get by with some Baby Aspirin for a while, NO weekly blood tests or nasty ass blood thinning medication. I'm geeked!! I just wish I would not have let the initial report from the tech get me so fired up. Either way, I'm stoked to be void of ALL medications in my bod and I can focus on the important medications like beer. Kidding! Sort of. I still have to keep an eye on it, and get another Doppler in a few months, but I'm stoked.

On top of that, I got all the work done on XXC and it is ready for download at xxcmag.com. It turned out pretty well and I'm pretty happy. Hope folks dig it and see where it could go. Big thanks to all the folks that contributed. You rock. So even though there was no ride today, it was a fine day, and I'm kicing back with a few celebratory Sierra Nevada Torpedos. Mmmmmm

Time to chill, have a few beers and get ready to ride tomorrow!

Late.

The Luck Of It All

Wow, I got all caught up in a flurry of work yesterday, and totally forgot about the blog. Strange. I did get a ton done on XXC and all that is left to do is upload it to the site. That should happen sometime today or this weekend. In other words Issue One is done and good to go.

Snuck out for a 2 hour road ride yesterday. Felt good to get out. The Campeon had some finicky shifting issues, but nothing too bad, I think it might be time for a new rear derailleur. My current one is 5 years old and has a LOT of miles on it, and very little TLC from me.

Check out the pic below from CyclingNews.com. Julian Dean (Garmin-Slipstream) went down at Gent-Wevelgem the other day, and he was lucky enough to have photographer up in his grill while the doctors worked on him.

This would be my luck, get some camera time and it's because of a crash, AND I have a big hunk of booger on my face. Nice. Hope he's ok. Road crashes freak me out. I have no problem imagining eating dirt at 15 mph but the thought of crashing on the road at even 3 mph gives me the heebie jeebies..

Time to get B-Man ready for Papa-O's and myself ready for an exciting trip to the hematologist.

Later.

Better Than The Last

I once again woke up to snow on the ground. Yeah it's April, there's snow, it's cold... frig... hate, curse words, etc., but there's nothing I can do about it. I can't help it if Ma Nature and Jack Frost are cavorting in some f*cked up, seasonal molestation of sorts, that's their business, I got my own shit to worry about.

After the B-Man drop I headed home cranked out some PDFs like a mad man, and then kitted up for some Maui Rollers on the trainer. Shit was hard! Heart rate was up around threshold the whole time. Felt good to push like that and be on the friggin' trainer! The downside was that 2 hours after my workout, the sun was out, the snow melted and temps got up to 50. But my Mr. Mom duties beckoned, so an hour in Maui would have to do.

Today was so much better than yesterday. I got a workout in, a ton of work done, AND a tone of house shit done. On top of that, B-Man and I FINALLY finished his big ass Lego car. Yikes! That thing was a mother! As a bonus, Wifey doesn't seem to be hatin' me, so that's a bonus.

It looks as if Ma Nature and Jack Frost can stop with the whole Lifetime™ porno of the week "forbidden love" thing, and allow me to get some outside ride time in tomorrow. JOY! It will be road (boo!!) but better than inside.

Time to do some reading and go to bed.

Later.

As Expected, Not As Expected

I woke up Tuesday morning sporting the final remnants of the "post race glow" I brought back from Virginia. P.R.G. is sorta like "post sex glow", but not at all like "post one night stand regret glow". ANYWAY before I get anymore sidetracked... it was an incredible weekend in the Virginia sunshine. That post race glow made Monday's recovery spin on the trainer ok, but could do nothing to stop the suck Tuesday had in store.

I was a nervous about getting the 2nd Doppler done on my leg to see if the blood clot is still there, but that nervousness went away when I looked outside Tuesday a.m. to see snow blowing. SNOW? Are f*cking kidding me?? Great. No ride today, 'cause I am DONE with the cold rides! I refuse at this point.

Then I go to the medical imaging place to get the Doppler. As I expected the clot is still there. A lot smaller, but still there. There is blood flow through the leg and that apparently is what helps to break down the clot, and that's real good. So I will enter the season having to remain on blood thinners. I guess I'll keep packing extra bandages and an extra pint of blood in my cooler for the races. Frig. I have an appointment Friday with my blood Doc to get the low down. Again I say Frig.

Later it was home to build a big ass Lego set with the B-Man. When did Legos get so hard?? Shit! I think you need an engineering degree to build one now. It was fun, but Jeezzus, what KID is building some of this shit? It was also fun to see that The Smoking Popes are now one of B-Mans' faves. Enter one hipster 5 year old.

My plan for the evening was to cook, have a couple beers and forget about snow and blood clots. But as luck would have it, before any of that could happen, I ended up getting in a BIG ass argument with Wifey about dumb shit, said some really dumb ass things (I'm sure your shocked), and spent the night tying to convince her that I am NOT a complete asshole.

After much convincing, and a shitty evening, we finally ate. Then I helped B-Man more with his Legos. I apologized to him for arguing with Wifey in front of him. He told me he was mad that I "made mommy sad", but forgives me- As long "as it doesn't happen again!".

There's a lot of pressure out there. I've got some things I've been working on for a a month or so and I'm pretty anxious about what folks will think. Add in the clot news, snow, lack of riding, and a few other things and I had some pretty built up tension. Still NO excuse to say shitty things to the folks you love. Wifey gives me some incredible support for my projects and my half assed racing, and I thanked her by saying some really stupid things.

Although there's snow on the ground, I'm hopeful that the day will be better than yesterday. Sadly life ain't all bikes and beer. Neither was today's blog post. Sorry about that, but sometimes you take whatever therapy you can get it. Today I got it here.

As the Popes say- Lets hear it for love.

Later.

Rabid Racoons, Maui, & Blow Up Dolls

I knew it was windy out there today, but I was still all set to go for a nice 30 mile road loop. I loaded up the Xb and drove to my fave ride launching pad, stepped out of the car and nearly got blown over. OK, I've done this before, no worries... then another gust. Frrrriggg it all I want to ride, but I don't want blown into a ditch either. Then I look over my shoulder to see what must have been a rabid raccoon skulking along the road. Yeah, I took that as a sign from the Bike Gods to just chill, go home, load up a Global Ride DVD and do some Velosturbating™ on the trainer.

I went with the Volume I of the Hawaii Rides series- StrenDurance In Hawaii. The music on this one wasn't as good, but it was good workout with a lot of climbing in and out of the saddle. I had the heat off, and the windows open and I was still soaked in sweat. My heart rate monitor chose to work today, so that made the workout that much better. I could watch my zones and utilize more of the coaches instructions.

The best part was Maui Cliff Climbs. Lots of cool scenery and some STEEP climbs to watch yourself "go up". NOT at all what I wanted to do today training wise, but I figure burned off a few of those 12 oz. recovery intervals I did yesterday! ;) And riding in Hawaii, sure beat 30 mph gusts and rabid raccoons.

By this time tomorrow I'll know if I still have any of the blood clot remaining in my leg. I'm REALLY hoping that it's gone. Of course I'm not sure there's anyone out there who really hopes they have a blood clot in their leg. I fully plan on cracking open a bottle of beverage to celebrate if it's gone. Of course if it's still there I fully plan on cracking a beverage open to ease the embarrassment of flipping out on the Doppler chick.

It's been a while, so I leave you with Moment of Zen via MTBS.cz

Due to time and weather I doubt I'll get out on the road tomorrow. But on a positive side, I'm one article away from publishing the first issue of XXC. Should have it available for download by the end of the week.

Later.

Camp Hilbert Enduro #1, 4.04.09

What makes two guys drive 11ish hours round trip, spend cash on a hotel room, gas, tolls, and shit food just to punish themselves and race their mountain bikes for 5 hours? Who the hell knows?? But that's just what me and B. Schmalzer did this past weekend as we drove down to Maidens, Virginia to race the previously canceled Camp Hilbert 5 Hour Enduro.

I picked Brad up at Casa de Schmalzer Friday afternoon. We immediately had a small problem. For some reason my Yakima rack's fork mount would not accommodate Brad's SID lowers. WTF? But luckily with the seats down in the Xb there was plenty of room for his '09 Moto Rapido in the back. So Brad got the prima donna treatment for his bike. Typical. ;)

After a stop at ProBikes for pro mountain bike racer turned Cat 4/5 roadie- LBoH to work out some tire/rim issues Brad was having, it was time to get on the road. It of course was pissing down rain, and blowing wind... 'cause you KNOW driving 5.5 hours isn't enough, I like to drive half of it with my hands clutching the steering wheel holding on for dear life as the wind blows my very UN aerodynamic Xb around and the rain soaks my Dos Niner to the core.

"Run to the hills, run for yourrrrr lllllives"

- Run To The Hills, Iron Maiden

After 5.5+ hours of driving of Brad forcing (not really) me to relive my early high school days by listen to old school metal songs via his iPod (dear God man!) we made it to the hotel. Unpacked, got the bikes inside without any front desk confrontations, prepped bottles for the morning, and watched Rambo 2 (again- dear God man!).

"The bugle sounds and the charge begins,
But on this battlefield no one wins."
-The Trooper, Iron Maiden

After a sleep filled with nightmarish images of Stallone shooting exploding arrows and Ronnie James Dio riding tigers and wielding swords like he was an animated Frank Frazetta painting, it was off to the Camp Hilbert compound to do some racing. Finally!

The weather was perfect and the pit was set up. By pit I of course mean a cooler full of bottles and gels under a tree near the course start/finish. I soon joined Brad, P.G. Pete, and 25+ other Enduro minded folks at the start line and got ready to get the 2009 season going.

9:30 came and we were off. Brad and a few other dudes took off fast as hell, while the rest of us steady pace types just "took off". Unlike Brad I had not pre rode the course, I opted to save all my energy for the race. Knowing the course definitely would have had some advantages that first lap, but I think I made up for it on the second lap.

On the second lap, I was able to remember where the flatter sections were and big ring as many as I could. Like the Little Angry Man In A Hair Suit says "if you don't keep it in the big ring, you'll never win". OK, winning wasn't really on my mind, but making up some time was. I picked off a few riders and caught and passed Pete, who may have went out a bit too hard. Passing Pete was a good sign for me. He's a strong rider and passing him motivated me a bit. Anytime I got the chance I big ringed it to gap Pete the others I had passed. Knowing my talents (read: lack there of), the next lap I backed off the gas a bit.

By lap four all those roots were starting taking a toll on my back and I began to slightly regret my decision to not roll the Big Mama. There were so many sections (like Boyce Park here in Pittsburgh) that the full suspension would have let me just sit and hammer with no worry 'bout the roots. But there were some power climbs that I of course loved having the light weight Dos Niner for. I guess it was the whole 6 vs. 1/2 Doz. thing, and/or robbing Peter/paying Paul, Apples vs. Oranges, etc., etc., blah, blah, blah.

A lap was not all that long. The promoter said 6.5 miles, my computer (which is probably wrong) said less, so I had to do some mental hand-jobbing to deal. I tried to think of it as just one lllong stretch of single track. Instead of letting my mind think "great, that f*cking rock/tree/stick/climb again??" I would force myself to think that it was a new f*cking rock/tree/stick/climb. It sorta worked.

When I hit lap 7 I told myself that if I got to the start finish with less than 5 minutes to go I would no go out for lap 8. But, at the end of lap 8 I had a good 25 minutes or so, so I just kept going and never looked back.

On lap 8 I was lucky enough to hook up with a couple other Enduros who had a nice pace going. I latched on to them and let them pull me around for a few miles, but then back off and let them go. That was a good move and actually gave me one of my faster lap times on the day.

I was more than glad to be hitting the last climb with nothing more than a short sandy straight-a-way to the finish my first endurance race of 2009. I ended the day with 48.5 to 52 miles (depending on who's bike computer you look at) in 5:18 and in 9th place out of about 28ish Enduros.

My friend, navigator, former Bikeman.com teammate, current Twin-Six teammate, and pusher of old school heavy metal- Brad ended up in 3rd. An amazing result for someone doing what I think was his second enduro ever, I THINK his first would have been last year's W.V.M.B.A. Revenge of The Rattlesnake XXC race (a race that could make a grown man weep). Congrats dude! It must have been all that metal in your ears.

Post Race Salty Chamois

In the end I was real happy with my performance, my nutrition and the way my body felt. Looking forward to the Leesburg Bakers Dozen a couple weekends from now. For now, I see some Dogfish Head 60 Minutes and a heap of my White Trash Mexicana in my future.

Lap 1 37:34
Lap 2 36:12
Lap 3 36:59
Lap 4 38:44
Lap 5 43:41
Lap 6 42:45
Lap 7 43:13
Lap 8 39:41


Later.

p.s. Thanks to Brad "Rainbow In The Dark" Schmalzer for a couple pics.

Useless & Leaving

I was about useless today (this morning). Mind is on Saturday and my first enduro of the year. Not so much nervous as just excited to get out and get some rubber on dirt in a competitive atmosphere. I won't be in the hunt for a podium, just want to do well and make sure I fuel right and ride as strong as I can. This is all prep for the LBD in a couple weeks.

Heading down with B. Schmalzer (bikeman.com) in the Xb. Long drive for a 5 hour race. It seemed like a great idea back in March when there were no other race or ride options, but then it got postponed due to snow (WTF? SNOW??). I coulda got my casheesh back and just planned a long training ride, but f*ck it, lets race! 25 guys are pre-registered for the Enduro right now and lots of familiar names. I'm sure more will show tomorrow, including Plum Grove Pete and his infected taint. If I can finish in the top half I'll be happy. Bottom half- not so much.

My mind is also all over the place due to next Tuesday morning's scheduled doppler on my leg. It will tell me and my doc if I'm still rocking the blood clot in my leg or not. I freaking hope not! I am so tired of taking medication! Especially one that f*cks with your blood like Coumadin. Oh well, once I get racing tomorrow, I won't be thinking of anything but hanging on for dear life.

Won't be back in Dodge until llllate Saturday night, hope to have a race report up Sunday sometime. Have a great weekend, have a beer for me. I got me some 60 Minute in the fridge for late tomorrow night.

Later.

Race Weekend #1 Approaches (joy)

Finally morning temps that were warm enough to get my ride on a.s.a.p today. Arm warmers required for the first part, but they were ditched p.d.q. as the sun got warmer. The ride was my basic loop. I didn't have the mental energy for much else. Most of my brain vibes are locked on Saturday and the Camp Hilbert 5 Hour. Who can think about the road, when a multi hour dirt race lies ahead? Not this kat!

The ride was the ride. The sun was out, the legs felt good and I was in the happy to blow off some mental stank on the road. The only down spots were some strong ass head winds on the return part of the loop, and some jag-off in pick up that refused to come around as I climbed a steep little junk kicker of a hill, even though I waved him around.

When he did FINALLY go around, he gave me the "what the f*ck?" hand gesture, to which I responded with the same "what the f*ck"?" hand gesture. Along with the silent mouthing of "how much f*cking room do you need asshole??" j/k of course. Sort of.

That would have/sort of lamed the last 3 miles, but when I got to the bottom of said "jag-off" hill, another dude in a a pick up waved me through, so as no to have to stop before the next hill. Thanks dude! That vibe totally canceled out the previous "jag-off". Even Steven baby!


I'm not gonna mention any names, but WHY is it that I get e mails from friends about their saddle sores? I mean I sympathize, but dude totally harshed my lunch vibe with tales of his saddle sore/pimple/boil. Just before I make my lunch time omelet I read- "I squeezed and poked and prodded that thing last night and finally got her to explode" WTF? Oddly I think I did the same thing with Wifey las weekend.. OHHHH!!!!! Just kidding you Pete, hope your taint is good and I see you (and not it) on Saturday.

That's it. Gotta split.

Later.