Finished

I got XXC Magazine #12 done. Woot! Man I love this job, but it can make me a big tool bag of stress. I still find it hard to believe I have now done TWELVE issues of the mag + one special Dirty Kanza edition. Although, I would just as soon forget the quality of the first few issues (my fault), I have been stoked with the quality of the past year or so. Oh well, enough work... time to chill with a beer or three and relax.

I did squeeze in a quick 33 mile ride today. about 40/60 pavement vs. dirt. A bit more pavement than I enjoy, but I was in a hurry to get home to have lunch with Wifey and I'm a tad faster (GASP!) on the pavement. So 33 would have to be it.

Dirt/sand/gravel/stuff not pavement.

Looks like I might have my next race planned- the 46 mile Boyne Marathon next weekend. As much as I dig longer stuff, I am comfortable with my suck limit which seems to max out at about 75 miles anymore. I hear the course is a ball buster with a significant amount of climbing for Michigan. Then again, maybe 46 miles will be the new suck limit.

I dare you to find where this road ends! Great googly moogly, it just sort of goes on forever. Sometime I pedal for so long without a car passing that when it does it scares the beejeeezus out of me.

Later in the day I scratched an Italian itch (not the one I picked up when I use the shitter at the Italian Oven in 2002) with some Cacio e Pepe. Damn it was good. I really think I could have eaten the whole 16oz. of pasta... but I didn't I only at 14oz.

File foto. The man in the hair suit is clearly not me.
I do recommend checking out the recipe. Great stuff and super simple.

Gotta split, gotta do some shit and then go to the Bird with my lady type person later (the weekend starts TONIGHT!)

Later.

A New Day Bringeth And All That Crap

Yesterday sucked. I just was not right, didn't ride, and felt like a sloth like creature of stank with no direction. Today, the sun was out, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and had plenty-o-energy, and I got out for 40 miles of gravel and roads. The mix was a bout 80/20 dirt vs pavement. But it was 100% good!

I don't have too much time since I am on the cusp of getting XXC #12 out tomorrow, so I will just post some pics and split.

Sometimes I like to lick my sweaty chin stubble whilst I ride.

Sometimes I get real low and all aerodynamic like to take a pic. It increases my power to photographic output by 2.4% according to the PowerFat Meter™ that I just made up that I have.

Here in central Michigan, what we lack in Eiffel Towers, Washington Monuments, etc.,
we make up for with our own giant towers dedicated to our virility.

Later.

Always Wondering, Always Trying

I did not ride today I was going to, but I was busy, real busy. So I ended up going to the gym for a quick workout. This is not by accident when I opt to go to the gym and not on a short ride. See I can easily look at the clock and be like "OK, the gym sucks donkey dong, I'm out of here." But when I'm on the bike, I have to feel pretty damn shitty to say "Oh, an hour is up? Time to head home." Sure I love riding. I'd have to be some sort of Redneck-psycho-Fox TV type freak not to love it, but there are times that I just have to do what I gotta do to get through the day, week, month, year, life.

XXC #12 is to be out by the end of the week, I have to be in a slow car to Pittsburgh by the end of the week, I have to try to not gain 10 more pounds by the end of the week, I have to try to not have my liver fail by the end of the week, and I have to try to not go totally fucking insane by the end of the week. Good times.

The XXC stuff is not a big deal... it's only my job and passion and if it's a few days late, I doubt anyone will notice since they surely have better(?) things to read. But I still wonder how many times do you do something before you admit failure? How many times do you crash trying to clear a hay-noose rock garden before you say "you know what... I think it would be faster just to walk."? For that matter, how many times can I do a gravel ride and take a photo of some farmers irrigation thing-a-ma-bob? I must have taken 100 pics of these stupid things since I moved to Michigan. I had seen them on trips out West years ago, but never ever rode my bike so close to them. They draw me in. I am their bitch. I love them. I hate them.


To this day I have not taken one photo that I thought truly captured what I was feeling, what I was seeing, and what I THOUGHT the photo COULD be concerning these stupid things. To this day I think the same about every ride, issue of XXC, and day of my life. Did I do everything I could to make it the best. All too often the answer is no, I did not.

I am approaching the age of 40 in less than a month. Part of me says "dude you didn't even start living until you were 22" (until then I was about 300 pounds of human waste), and part of me says-- " you know what, just do whatever the hell you want. You're about half way home, so just ride it on out. Grrrrrr! I find that part of me IS doing that. The whole DVT/depression thing, and what I have to do (various meds n'at) to try to keep it all in check (at times unsuccessfully) has me saying "fuck it" more often than not.

Having said all that hyper boil, the question remain.... Will I stop taking photos of those Goddamn irrigation thing-a-bobs? Will I stop riding and racing? Will I end XXC anytime soon? Ah ... no? While I might not do everything right, and might not be the slimmest, fastest racer anymore (not that I ever was), there is a want to not go down with the ship looking like a fool. If I "die trying" so be it. There are worse things. So the answer?...

Nope.

Much of what I do can/could/might kill me sooner rather than later, I still need to try things. Like FINALLY getting a pic of one of those stupid irrigation things that sums up what I am feeling when I take it!!! Then I'll work on the other stuff.

Fuck it.

I mean "later."

Once Again I Will Say...

There are about 2.6 million things I should be doing other than posting a stupid blog post that no one read anyway, and if someone DOES read it, I find it hard to believe that they would not click off faster than a PornHub pop up (not that I would know). Yet I blog on....

I was looking at yesterday's post and was a little taken aback at how all over the place my writing seemed. Sorry, I was tired, and was still riding the high of a good weekend in the saddle.

What I did take away from the weekend was a couple/few points that I will share here:

1. I am STOKED that I once again felt at home and in mad, passionate, nugget tightening love with the Ti El Mariachi. I had (and am) been in love with that bike for some time, and I KNOW how damn fine it is, so to feel constipated on it (not sure what that means), was sad. Here it was just some jacked brakes, and saddle issues (I thought I made something right, but I made it wrong, THEN I FINALLY made it right again!!).

2. Hmmm.... I forgot what #2 was so forget it.

No ride today, as I was/am balls deep into trying to get XXC #12 out before the 4th of July weekend. I am pessimistically hopefully, and filled with more than a bit of doubt that will happen.

Later.

Not About What It Was, But What It Could Be

I had a fun but draining 53 miles/3 hours on the cross bike yesterday, so that was out for today. I dig the gravel roads, but I needed to get back on the mountain bike. I have been wanting to check out the riding on the North Country Trail for a while now, but for some reason kept putting it off. Then last Sunday I had a chance to hike some of it up near Wellston, MI, and that got me even more interested in riding it.

The thing with the NCT is that not only does it connect over several states, unlike many other extended trails systems on the east coast and midwest, much of the NCT is open to mountain bikes. There are a few section here in Michigan, that require slight reroutes on gravel and paved roads, but the amount of ride-able singletrack is pretty damn impressive. I mean there are HUNDREDS of potential miles to ride.

A couple friends of mine have done extended assaults on the NCT and are planning another one soon. I will probably miss their adventure this year due to being out of town, but that's not stopping me from doing some exploring on my own.

"Minor" logging on one stretch.

Since this was my first trip riding the trail, I was going solo, and just had some basic maps I had to do the ride as an out and back. Not my favorite type of ride. Today I started from the M20 trail head about an hours drive from my crib and rode to Nichols Lake about 17 miles north. That of course meant that I would have a nice 34-35ish mile ride which except for about 30 feet was all on singletrack. It was sweet!

The trail was super fun. Almost all narrow single track, a few climbs, some fun descents, and lots of roots. I used the Ti El Mariachi today, and I FINALLY felt good on it again. Amazing what a some minor brake and saddle adjustments will do for your ride comfort!

I ran into a few other riders, 2 of which looked as if they were doing some serious miles. One woman was even using a BOB trailer! I couldn't believe it. While the trail isn't SUPER technical, I would NOT want to be hauling that thing through the singletrack! Yikes!

Rest stop along the trail.

The elevation overall today was surely pretty tame, but so much of the riding reminding me of some of my rides out west. Long ribbons of single track, much of which was packed down with pine needles, the dry air, and the smell of the trees. The only thing missing (and not a small detail) were the mountains, but still fun.

Nichols Lake.

Today's ride was no big deal. 35ish miles of singletrack and a casual pace. But I loved it, not because it was some grand epic, but because it has the POTENTIAL to be a grand epic, and that is pretty neat to think about. I mean there are HUNDREDS of potential miles of single track to ride. For now I am just happy to have rode what I did today, and plan on doing more soon.

I have so much to do this week on the magazine I am gripped with fear. I really don't know how I am gonna get it done.

I guess I should go work on something, or worry about working on something.

Later.

2 Was Not Enough (By The Numbers)

I had not been on the bike since last week's 67 mile Lumberjack 100 DNF. One short spin session and a day at the gym was all the "doing stuff" I got in during the bulk of the week (this is why I am currently a Clydes-fucking-beer-swilling-dale). Of course I did get in some hiking in on the NCT, so that was cool (except for the earlier in the week mentioned blisters that I got from the sandy trails and beaches. Fucking sand! What up with beaches and sand? Can we pave them?).

Anyway... today after going to see B-Man's football (I mean soccer) game in which he scored two goals (enter one proud father type person), I headed out for some gravel/dirt/sand road grinding.

Did you ever start off on a ride, look down and see two full bottles, and think; "I wonder if two bottles will be enough?" If you have, then you have probably also been on the business end of a 3+ hour ride thinking to yourself "two bottle was NNNNNNNNNNNNNOT fucking enough, and I think I might die out here on one of these godforsaken gravel roads!!!!!!" Yeah, that sort of happened today.

The ride was sweet though. Bright blue sky, farm fields alive with potential food items for us to fill our already big bellies with, and the sun in full on "this is freaking sweet!" mode.

In my opinion how one measures the success of a ride is up to the one doing the ride. I don't measure success in wattage, heart rate, wins or placings. I measure it in what I got out of the ride. Today's ride had the following stats to get something out of:

53+ miles completed.
5 deer seen (2 in middle of road).
5 super hot spank bank worthy co-ed on campus. Zoo-y-Mama
4 horse back riders.
4 waves from passing drivers on the dirt roads (beats insults fo' sho!!).
3 snakes seen (the kind that don't make me poop a dook).
3+ hours in the saddle.
3 fresh strawberry stands.
2 bottles drained (2:30 into a 3 hour + ride).
2 critter that looked like racoons but weren't. Hmmm. Honey Badgers? LOL.
2 guys racing office chairs down a steep drive. (I shit you not)
1 turkey.
1 Clif Shot barely digested.
1 Amish guy plowing fields.
1 sign for fresh strawberry pies. (YUM!!)
1 beat down, dehydrated smiling cyclist VERY happy to be back on the bike after 6 days off of it.

Those are the stats on the day, some better than others. I'll take those waves from the friendly farmer type folks over having insults hurled at me by passing motorists any day. For the record, I have not had a motorist scream at me ONCE since I moved to Michigan last October. Sure it could happen any day now, but I like those stats.

Clicky and see the deerz in the middle of the road.

I REALLY need to start throwing an extra bottle in my jersey. That was a dumb move on my part. I knew I wanted 45 to 50is miles in. Who rides that in the summer on 50ish ounces of water and nutrition. BTW CarboRocket 333* has been a nutritional blessing for me, just wish it wold have stayed cold longer, and that I wouldn't have run out today! Again that was my own dumb ass fault.

More pics and random commentary (if you care)...

The second pair of horseback riders I saw today. I stopped and let them by for fear of spooking them into A. Bucking the rider off, or B. And MAYBE more importantly; kicking me in the fucking head. The older gentlemen in the back was very thankful, as the horse he was on was "green" and he was just "breaking her." (his words). When I am in the woods and I see the horses and what they do to the trails, I sort of get jacked. But out here in the farm country I figure these are THEIR roads, I am just a visitor. Might as well be nice and not take any chances (not that I DO take chances in the woods, since I STILL don't want my head kicked in).

I urged this little guy to get off the road. He didn't listen. Hope he survived. I hate snakes, but when they are this small, I don't.

The world's tallest clothesline. WTF?

This pic I just love. Endless green. I could do some serious frolicking in a field like that.

Amish dude, keeping it old school in the fields today.

While not a great pic, I do love this pic. I love that if one wanted to REALLY pursue eating fresh and locally raised and grown foods, one could do it here. I mean in this ONE farm you could get chicken, strawberries, produce, and maple syrup. Brilliant. I might have to start riding with a pack and some cash!

OK, enough of about a boring (to you) 50ish mile gravel ride. I will end with the Danzig looking salt stains that 3 hours and some slight dehydration gave me.

*Just to be honest CarboRocket is an advertiser on my work site (xxcmag.com), but I paid for the product, it was not a comp. Just sayin' so as not to look like more of a douche bag than I already am.

Later.

The Mini MINI Vacation

As I mentioned at the end of my race recap, the family aborted our mini vacation by Tuesday morning. The weather was turning shitty so that meant our plan to spend the day on the river was probably not going to happen without sucking. So we packed up an split Manistee before we had to pay up for another night in the hotel.

We had some good times while we were there- We hung out on the beach (I got blister between my toes from the sand), we went hiking on the North Country Trail and that rocks! Especially since just about all of it is open to mountain bikes and that has my friend Chris and I thinking of doing something stupid long on it this year if we can work it into our schedules.

Of course I think I got about 51.2 mosquito bites while on the trail, and that was WITH using Off, On, Cutter, Cudder, Sheep Ball Juice and whatever else I could slather on my body that even thought of containing something to keep the blood sucking pests away from me.

We did the Dune Climb at Sleeping Bear and that was cool. Seeing B-Man tear off up the GIANT endless dune sat full sprint while Wifey and I huffed and sweated (I huffed, Wify sweated) our way up was a treat for sure. Even better was that there was more sand to get in my now blood red popped blisters. Joy.

We had some great pizza in one little town. That was yummy. But not before B-Man dumped an entire large lemonade all over the table.

For the record, B-Man asked that I splash him with the water. I wasn't being a Dick Dad.

We stopped at a small beach that had a neat lighthouse. B-Man and Wifey collected cool rocks off the beach. We all got bit hundreds of times from angry black flies.

I drove down Main Street in Manistee the wrong way "YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!!" he shouted, "I KNOW!" I yelled back, before I ducked down the first available two way to avoid any more haters. Some folks are so uptight.

We ate at Rico's Roadhouse two nights in a row (3rd night for me) where they have THEEEE best hamburgers I have ever tasted in my entire life. Wifey, a former vegetarian, was nearly in an orgasmic state of bliss from Rico and his 1/2 pound burger. Brennan ate chicken fingers and fries, twice.

M-22, the Lake Michigan coastal-ish highway, is filled balls deep with little towns that contain thousands of tourists and annoying pseudo rich people, and everyone inbetween (us?), but it also contains the largest hills, best roads, and the most amount of cyclists not on cross or mountain bikes I have seen in Michigan. It made me actually WANT to ride my road bike. Something I have not done since last fall. September?

I was not unhappy to come home early from this little "vacation." Truth be told, I hate vacations. I never find them relaxing. There's too much thought put into the process of fun and relaxation. The best times I ever have are usually by accident or unplanned. Wifey loves vacations (probably because she has a real job and a sparkling personality). B-Man hated being on vacation except for his time in the sub arctic waters of Lake Michigan or when watching Cartoon Network in the hotel. He of course cried when we told him we were leaving early. Go figure.

On the cool side we saw and did a lot of cool things in just a couple days, but a couple days in fine by me. It was fun watching B-Man frolic in the lake and it was fun seeing the amazing beauty and outdoor opportunities that Michigan offers (on the beach on moment and 20 minutes later in the deep north woods!), it really is amazing. Even better is that this trip was only 2 hours from our front door. Having said that, I am glad to be home and ready to get back to work on XXC, riding my bike and of course taking care of what now looks to be two to three infected toe blisters. F*cking sand. F*cking vacations.


Can't wait for the next vacation. Seriously.

Later.

Lumberjackness

Time to catch up here-- I had a great weekend racing my bike and catching up with good friends. The race did not go as planned but was still damn fun. I raced 2 of Lumberjack's 3 laps (about 67ish miles) felt great at times, but by the mid point of the second lap saw the writing on the wall. I was out of water and nutrition with about 10 miles left in the lap and was sweating like roasting pig over a BBQ pit. I seriously don't know how anyone could sweat more than me? Even with that though I had only ONE cramp over 67ish miles.

Sure I could have forced myself to go out for a 3rd and final lap. Limped, mumbled and stumbled around the course for another 3+ hours, but I'm getting a tad old for that, especially with some of my health issues of the past 2 years. I have completed about 10 (I think) 100 mile races, the goal of this one was to do better than the last Lumberjack. When I saw it would most likely be worse, I thought "Big deal! I have done this before, as it is I've ridden 67 miles, I want to have some fun with my friends and not lay about in a suck coma all night."

I was content to stop after a sweet 67ish miles on some of the best trails in Michigan. My ideas of what I want out of a race continue to evolved every race, every season. Hell my ideas of what I want out of my riding continue to evolve. So I ended it at 2 laps, content to sit and watch the Pros finish. Can you believe Christian Tanguy of Team CF crossed the finish line just about 15 minutes after I did? It took me a little less time to ride 67 miles than it took him to WIN the 100! Jezus H!!

Got to see a few friends from back in WPA/WV, + hang with some of my new friends from here in Mich, so that was cool too. I did say hi to a few folks and contributors I know through the mag, but when I did, I sort of got a "why is this sweaty fat guy saying hi to me look." Still not sure they knew exactly who the hell I was, LOL! I did see and talk with The Pflug, Danielle and Garth, I also had a chance to thank Jeff Schalk in person for doing the interview a couple of XXC issues ago. I also got to chat with some of my advertisers, and some happy readers... Happy readers are always good.

The Lumberjack is now history, and was/is probably the last of the really long races that I have on tap for 2011. I still have more XXC races to do, but I doubt that I will go over 100 miles. I also have it in my mind to something a bit grander, not a race, but a long ass ride. Looking forward to planning that soon.

I have a bit more to blather about, but most of that concerns my families "mini vacation" we took in the Manistee area after the race. Actually that jaunt ended a tad early due today being nothing but rain and t-storms up there, so we got out of Dodge before we had to pay for another night's hotel.

Later.

Like A Herd Of Turtles

I am set to launch an attack on the 2011 Lumberjack 100 that can only be compared to a pissed off herd of turtles. Looking forward to racin' again (it's been a few weeks!), and to racin' the Lumberack again (been since 2009). The last time I did the LJ it was 4 laps. Looking forward to three this time. Not that it will be any easier, just that it sucked mentally to do 4 laps. It also sucked that I bonked BIG during my 4th lap, and limped across the finish line in 9:42, and I think my last lap took like 3 hours! LOL!

Hoping for better this time. Then again I'd be glad to get the same time and just not be reduced to a stumbling goof. I might be able to get it done... I have a great bike, nutrition that has been treating me well. Not to mention some extra built in bonk protection.

Also looking forward to hanging out in Manistee a few extra days with the family. Maybe do some canoeing, some picture taking and that sort of thing. And I want to catch up on some of my reading.

One good thing about my race travels is that the last time I raced the Lumberjack it took like 9 hours to drive from Pittsburgh, tomorrow it will take me just over 2! SWEET! Now if we are lucky enough for Top Gun to be on in the hotel tomorrow it will be all the better!

See you at the race!

Later.

Going Soft (80mm At A Time)

UG! After a great ride last night, I was due a bad one. "But you just had a bad one on Sunday," you say. Yeah, but that was my fault. No wait actually that was Wifey's fault for turning 40 and keeping me out all night pretending I was 22 again! Today's ride sucked and it wasn't my fault at all! Seriously it wasn't, it was the bike's fault! Sort of.

I was/am/might be/could be/probably not set on running the El Mariachi for the Lumberjack. Since I haven't been on it since my Hanson Hills 100 pre ride (which sucked), I figured I'd better give it a spin. I LOVE my El Mariachi, I do, but it is NOT the bike for my local loop (by local I mean 25 minutes away via xB at 80 mph). The singletrack is just over a year old, with momentum sucking bumps, embedded rocks in parts, and lots of momentum sucking bumps. Did I mention momentum sucking bumps? That is why I raced the Spearfish on these trails back in April (and did pretty darn not too bad, but not great 'cause I sort of suck). With the 'Fish you can sit and just HAMMER. The trail gets totally buffed out, even with just 80mm of travel. Not so much with a hard tail. Even on the Ti hard tail in which I love.

The El Mariachi actually rocks in technical single track that you would be out of the saddle for anyway and flicking the bike around, like some of the PA single track that I used to ride. Here in Michigan I find that I am faster when I can just sit and hammer. Or I lazy, one of the two. OK, I'm lazy.... and fat.. don't forget fat.

I raced the EM at the Stony Creek 6 hour last month and didn't think twice. But today I was all over the trail, the seat felt low, the brakes felt grabby, the levers seemed too far away (even after I stopped and adjusted them), and I was being bounced all over the trail. In other words the ride sucked, and I aborted after 1 lap. F!!! And by "F" I mean F*CK!

See, it's not my fault... it's the bikes! But not really. I have been on the either my cross bike or the Spearfish for the past month, with probably 200+ miles on the 'Fish. So the HT just felt all cattywampus today. I think in the back of my mind I knew I wanted to race the Lumberjack on the Spearfish, so that is why I opted to not risk pre race mechanicals by riding a local loop today.

I love my EM, and if I had to have one bike, the EM would be it. But I don't... I have two mountain bikes and right now, I am super comfortable on the Spearfish and I am in the zone racing and riding it. Plus when you're as slow as me it could take almost 10 hours of riding to finish, and right now I don't want to do that on a hardtail. The Spearfish could be (and probably is) the wrong bike to race at the LJ100 and most will be on hardtails for sure, but what could it hurt if I do, a few extra minutes? On the other hand, things could be bad if I race the hardtail, realize I'm uncomfortable and suffer for 9 to 10 hours or DNF (not saying I won't STILL DNF).

Spearfish wins.

Not sure if a ride is in the cards tomorrow. I leave for Manistee on Friday, race Saturday (on the Spearfish), and then Wifey and B-Man are coming up Sunday for a little mini vacation action for a few days. As a result I have a TON of work to do on XXC #12 (not that anyone has really read #11, but you can't stop a playa' from playin').

OK, I am letting go of today, taking deep breaths (and my medication), having a beer, and focusing on having a good time and geeked to see my local yokal friends, plus Brad "The Bird Man of Charleston, K., Rob, Chrissy, and a bunch of other of my freaky PA/WV/OH friends. They don't call it the Mother F*cking Lumberjack for nothing. Or is that just me?

Later.

Feeling Like 2005 or Was It 2006?

I have never had great seasons or years racing, I raced as poorly 10 years ago as I do now. I'm not proud of that, that's just a fact. I did have some good years around 2005 and 2006, my results were usually better than mid pack, my weight was WAY less, and I was getting way more miles in. Of course I was way younger too and had way less health issues. Blah, blah, blah, whatever.

The point of this post is that I clearly remember the good nights in the saddle during those years. The times that I would hurry out of work early to hit Boyce Park or the road for 2 hours in the summer sun (or more often the dreary, humid grey) of Western PA. I remember the way the sun filtered through the trees as I hurried along singletrack, anxious to get home, see Wifey and B-Man and feed my belly that was aching for some food.

Even though I am 20 times happier now with my life, family and career, I still miss those days of uber fitness, race goals, seeing more ribs than belly, and riding more miles than write about.

An evening spent with some fine Michigan single track.

In some ways I am stronger now. My fitness is pretty darn not bad for almost 40 (give me a few weeks), my family life is better, and I no longer have to cut out work early from a company that I detested to go ride. My current employer is all ABOUT the ride. Sometimes I just wish it was more about MY ride, but I am more than OK with that.

Racing over the years is about priorities, goals, and fun. My priorities have changed (my family, my business, my riding), my goals have changed (mid pack is the new top 5), but the fun has NOT changed. I still look forward to riding, I still look forward to racing, and I still have a ton of fun riding my bike, even if I am even slower and have even less chance of winning a race.

So what does all this REALLY have to do with 2005 or '06? Well, nothing really, other than for some reason I remember those summer nights, riding singletrack, feeling good and having fun in the deep orange sun and long shadows of a summer evening. Right now my schedule has me riding more in the evening, I am experiencing those summer evenings on the bike all over again, and it feels great. Sort of like 2005 or 2006, but this time it's better. Just different.

I had a great ride tonight. Like 50x better than on Sunday, and I can't wait for the MF Lumberjack 100 on Saturday and seeing some of my east coast homies. LOL.


Later.

Catching Up

Wooooosh... what a few days! Packed full on stuff. Dad stuff, husband stuff, house stuff, XXC stuff, riding stuff, kick ball playing stuff, bike race watching stuff, birthday celebrating stuff (Wifey's 40th), sore as hell from playing freaking kick ball stuff, etc., etc., I was in bed at 7:45 Sunday night, I shit you not.

The only real riding I got in since last Thursday was a couple laps at MMCC on Sunday, and they sucked from being out until 1am with Wifey and friends on Saturday night, and being sore as hell from using unused muscles at Wifey's work picnic on Saturday.

I did get to take in some of the Tour de Mount Pleasant, and watch B-Man race. He put in a solid mid pack performance. Just like his old man! Only younger, faster, cuter, etc., etc.,

It only took me about 10 minutes of watching the crits to realize I am so not a road racer type. Not just because I don't like racing on pavement, or that I am twice the size of even the old dudes, but because also because I don't have enough carbon bike parts, HED wheels and spares to take to races!



The race was cool to watch and the community was really behind the race, I think every store had a display and signs in the windows promoting the race. The crowds were pretty big in the downtown area, and there as no lack of enthusiasm from folks that's for sure.

Sunday sort of sucked. I was stiff as hell from the gym on Friday, kickball on Saturday (I had a few singles, fielders choice and a double), and a lot dehydrated. But still I rode for 20 miles at MMCC in the cloudy low 60s air. I guess it was like bonk training, since I was bonked before I even started.

Monday brings no ride, and that sucks because it is freaking BEAUTIFUL here. About 70 and not a cloud in the sky. Hoping to get a couple low key rides in this week before the mother fornicating Lumberjack on Saturday.

Later.

I Think It Might Snow

OK, so earlier this week it was 92 degrees. Just taking a dump made me sweat. Now it's like 50 and rain. I swear I saw my breath. I am in the house and the man-nurps are fully erect and there is a 67.1% chance that I might lactate due to said nurps and their erectness. AND I just turned the heat on... IN JUNE!! The kicker is that today kicks off the Summer Fest here in MP? Summer? Maybe in freaking Siberia! Well I hope as long as this cool weather is going to be here it keeps it's ass around until next Saturday night, AFTER I am done with slaying the Lumberjack 100.

The cold drizzle had me abort the ride today. I opted for arms and back at the gym. OK, I went to the gym, I did some exercises that involved my arms and my back at one time or another, but I really don't have a routine for arms and back. They are just naturally this under defined and useless.

Remember when I posted this video last year?

Well here is another great look at this unique MTB sprint through town. As a bonus, for most of it there is a great view of "The Polish Minx" AKA Maja Wloszczowska.

I stand by that this is a great way to kick off an XC race and set the field. Bring the race to the people rather than the people to some ski hill in the middle of nowhere.

OK, time to chill in the chill air, sit on my porch under a blanket, pretend it REALLY is June, and watch the Summer Fest parade go by.

Later.

Resting For The Not So Wicked

Took today off the bike to tend to family and work stuff. Could have been better, but could have been a LOT worse. Went to a doctor's appointment for B-Man. There had been some mild concerns from a Doc about a some heart stuff, turns out he's 99.9999999999% normal and cleared to do whatever the hell he wants (except look at my blocked bookmark files on the computer), so that was titz and a BIG relief.

The temps dropped 30 degrees in 24 hours here, so I am really hoping to get a chance to get out on the bike tomorrow... and that JUST might happen as B-Man was invited to some sort of post last day of school throw down at a friends house. SWEET! Of course I am totally unsure whether there are kegs or giant water bongs involved or not. As a parent I should probably look into that. OR invite myself. I kid... again with the kidding. He'll be fine... I hope.

B-Man's first USA Cycling sanctioned (I kid you not, I had to fill out the paperwork) road race is Saturday at the Tour de Mount Pleasant. Should be a good time. Never bet against a red head riding knobby tires on the road. They'll beat you EVERY time. Or look cool trying. Fear his 7 year old whirling tires bitches!!!

Wifey, B-Man and I walked over to town tonight to see some live music. Pretty cool. Not my sort of music (too hippie for me), but the crowd was low key and they blocked of the the street so folks could chill in their lawn chairs and what not. Hung out with Mike S. and his female lady a bit (good peeps), had a good time, then walked our asses home. I love being able to do that stuff within spitting distance of the crib. If it's cool great, if it sucks, it's not like I drove 45 minutes and paid $10 to park and have it suck ass.

BUSY freaking weekend ahead. Did I mention it's 8 days until the mother f*cking Lumberjack? Well it is. Ass is puckered. Why I don't know, not like I haven't done this shit a million times before. I guess that's the curse of sub par mediocrity. You don't worry about whether you will suck our not. You worry about how long and hard you will suck.

This is worth a look...

Later.

Evening Salvation

Side note: The regular school year finished up yesterday for B-Man, just the a few half days this week and he will be done with first grade- WOOT! He did a great job and is kicking ass in the reading area with some off the charts scores that his teachers can't believe. Anyway, I hate to get too much off the subject of cycling, but I just thought that he kicked some ass and wanted to give him some props. In August he started his school in PA, then started the public school here in October, and then we made the executive/parental decision to move him to SHA in late November. Through it all he rolled with it and still did amazing academically. So big congrats to him for an amazing year.

Now back to less important things... me. Since B-Man had a half day today, any riding would have to be done in the evening. I think the last time I rode in the evening was back in October when I did a night ride. I am very fortunate that my place of employment doesn't mind that I take a couple hours mid day to get my rides in. Of course my paycheck reflects this slack attitude too. Oh well.

B-Man and I spent the afternoon doing some errands, and general slacking around the house to avoid the 91 degree heat. By 5 or so the breeze was blowing pretty nice, and you could tell some rain was moving in somewhere, not in MP though. So with Wifey due home from work any moment I took a moment to slather up the chamois with Chamois Butt'r and slip into the bibs to enjoy that "I feel like I just shit myself and skin cream came out" feeling while I waited to make the parental tag team exchange.

As soon as Wifey pulled in, we exchanged hellos, I gave the B-Man a hug and I was on my way to ride the trails at MMCC again. The wind was blowing good, making 90 seem not so bad, and it seemed that there was no rain in the immediate area. Sweet!

Got to MMCC right at 6, got the Spearfish down, and set off for a couple of laps. I forgot how cool watching streaks of evening sun filter through the trees is. Morning and evening sun just gives off such an amazing glow. I was also not unhappy to be riding in the cool shade on the woods, avoiding the heat of the road and the strong breeze that was blowing.

First lap was OK, but the 2nd one I started feeling even better, and in the end did two 10 mile loops in about 1:44 (1:45ish if you count the time I spent throwing a wiz). By the 2nd lap the sun was gone, it was still VERY much light out (it stays light here till after 9 PM right now), but the rain clouds were rolling in. In the shade of the woods, it was like riding at night, especially with the Walter Sobchak Tifosi glasses on. I think the threat of a storm moving in definitely boosted my lap time.

Got back the car, packed up and headed home, hoping the rain would avoid MP so I could grill. It didn't and I was forced to eating 5 day old leftover Mexican food as the rain moved. The Mexican food was good, just not the two grilled hunks of ground cow meat that I wanted. Curses. Still a great evening on the bike. Glad I got out, avoided the heat AND the rain. SCORE!

Not sure the ride plans tomorrow. After school we are taking B-Man to Lansing for a doctors appointment, so the day is gonna be sort of nuts. We'll see. There are worse things than not riding.

Later.

The Underside Of Nuggets

Over the past few days the weather "gods" kept calling for thunderstorms here in Mid-Mich. They never really came. The heat DID come and stayed. And I am NOT complaining on bit (at least until my A/C breaks or something). My nipples were hard for so long this winter I think I wore hole in my t shirts. Dear GOD! Of course now it's Butt Sweat Central and I walk around town looking like I soiled myself. "No mam, I don't need toilet paper, that's just my butt sweating."

Today was B-Man's last full day of school, which means for the next 3 months my schedule will be a tad different. Well sort of. He's enrolled in a summer parks program here in MP, but that doesn't start for 3 or 4 weeks, so that means for the next 3 weeks I will have to be like a NORMAL person and do my riding in the evening. I just hope the boy doesn't wear me out too much during the day. One can only play so much one on one soccer in 90 degree heat before you just want to lay down and die. Or just chill. Either way.

Anyway, I worked on XXC #12 a bit today, sent some e mails and all that sort of thing, then headed out for a mountain bike ride on the trails of M.M.C.C. It was nice to ditch the heat and open farm land riding of the gravel roads here, for some shaded woodsy type stuff. In fact, the woods were so shaded in many parts, my camera's flash would go off. Then when I set it to NOT fire, the pics blurred. Eph the camera, today was about a ride.

Took the Spearfish (my new fave bike evah), it performed great as expected. The trails were bone ass dry and the Maxxis Ignitors almost whirled on them. I think I need some low profile Michigander type tires. Nothing too narrow though since I want to be able to float the sand. Any thoughts? I was thinking of going back to the Cross Marks but of course I am open to suggestions. They need to work well with Stan's rims/goo too.

As I mentioned it was hot as a freshly laid turd, but inside the canopy of green that covered the trails it was not nearly as bad. The sun's rays had no effect on my sagging old man skin. Of course it was more humid than a Las Vegas gynecologist's office, but it was still damn OK with me. (the heat, not the stripper/hooker coochie part).

I did my standard 2 x 10ish mile lap ride. The first lap was a bit slower than usual since the ferns, plants, flowers, and weeds of the forest are now popping up and making the trail MUCH narrower than it has been. For the record, I am still very much NOT used to seeing leaves on the trees in Michigan, let along the trail being crowded by plant growth. This was standard M.O. in PA, but here in Mich-a-go-go-gan, not so much, since the trees had been bare from October (when we moved here) until about 2 weeks ago. I am still waiting for my arms to be scratched up like they used to get at Boyce Park back in the 'Burgh. Not sure that is going to happen anytime soon.

At times I felt like I had too much air in my Fox up front, but I think it was more a tire PSI issue. Other than that the bike felt great. I will be using the Spearfish for the Lumberjack of course, so it was nice to ride it and have it rolling so freaking sweet. What about the Ti El Mariachi? Well I admit the TiEM is THEE bike to ride for most every sort of ride/race, and would be a great choice for the Lumberjack's singletrack.

I have to admit, the cush of the 'Fish has me pretty smitten. It's probably 2 or 3 pounds heavier than the El Mariachi, but then again I am about 50 pounds heavier than most "competitive" hundie racers. My competitive ship has sailed in the endurance game. I am riding to have a good time (killing myself), try to finish, hang out with friends and drink beer. If I had ONE bike the Ti EM would see every race/ride without a thought. But as it is I have a few to choose from and the Salsa Spearfish is rocking my endurance race world right now. BBBBBBBBBBBBBUT I am not a full suspension zelot, SO if I HAD to have one bike it would INDEED be the TiEM. Just sayin'.

I've been getting a LOT of e mails and Facebook posts from weirdo cycling foot fetish nut bags wanting to see pics of my toe jammed feet. Well here you go pervs....

And NO I WILL NOT POST VIDEO ME PRETENDING TO SPANK YOU WITH MY FEET. IT ENDS HERE!!!!!!!

Later.

The Weekend

Wow, it's been BUSY lately. Friday was me basically saying "Eph U" to work and going for a planned two hour ride to jack around with some video stuff. That two hours turned into 52+ miles and 3+ hours in the saddle . Ooops! My bad. It was a great out on the dirt roads though, so I am not going to complain or anything of that sort. Yeah sure, the plan was to jack around and take it easy, but as I mentioned somewhere else- plans are for saps. Get on your bike and see what's out there. Sure structured training is great, and can get results if done right. I KNOW I would NOT do it right so I might as well ride just to ride and see where the mid pack placings fall.

I loved being out in the dirt roads again. Sure there are no huge climbs, but the rollers, sand, wind, potholes, and tempo can make it damn hard. Here is the video from the day....

Saturday was to be a B-Man soccer game followed by me throwing down in a kickball game at Wifey's work picnic. But they cancelled due to a slight possibility of thunderstorms. OR SO THEY SAY! I think it was they got wind that someone NOT an employee was gonna bring the hurt in the form of my right leg to the game. Well they'll get another chance this coming Saturday as it's been rescheduled. Rather than ride in the heat and wind of the day Saturday I opted to finally get some of my house duties done and save my ride for Sunday.

Many of the locals were heading back to Hanson Hills for the XC race. I had had enough of Hanson last week at the 100, so I opted to go to Midland City Forest to ride. MCF is fun because it's one of the only trails in the area that reminds me of some of the PA trails. Tight singletrack, ferns, roots, logs, off camber stuff with some bridge thrown in. Not much climbing, but I'm sort of used to that now. There is lots of fun singletrack though, and I am also getting used to that!

There were more than a few trails back in PA that I would have loved to have seen these signs on.

Took some video with the helmet camera:

Busy week coming as I need to get mad amounts of work done, along with get some rides in, and up my Dad duties as B-Man is finishing up school this week with a bunch of half days. Then I need to start getting in the zone for the Lumberjack in 2 weeks.

Later.

Gravel Munching

At last I typed, I was suffering with a saddle sore issue, dead legs, and a so so ride where I dealt with HIGH heat and steady strong headwinds. BUT that was then. Then things got a tad worse, well not like "piss and moan, OMG what will I do if Sarah Palin actually would become president and I have to move to Canada?" worse, or anything that head in the oven extreme. Just that Wednesday those steady 15 mph headwinds turned into 25-50 mph wind gusts (I'm not joking) and that, with the saddle sore rubbage, led me to the gym for some strength training rather than to the bike. BUT (and BUTT, I guess), things THEN got better.

The elusive Michigan Horse-Dog.

The heat vanished and was replaced with mid 60s temps, no wind and brilliant sunshine. The legs are back from the undead and the sore in my ass cheek pit is feeling the best it has in some time. With all those things going for me, I headed out to do a nice steady ride on the dirt roads on the cross bike.

Traffic was a bitch today.

The ride was one of those super sweet rides, where the legs felt good, and I found myself taking new roads just to try to extend the ride a bit more. Sadly (well not too sad, since I wouldn't have any other way) even without a boss to answer to, I do still have job, dad and husband duties to attend to, so I did have to call it at some point and finished with a nugget hair under 45 miles. And felt damn good the whole ride.

Please pay no REAL attention to today's pics. I tried a new setting on the camera. It looked good on the LCD, but once DLed, it was obvious that the "antique" feature is sort of lame. Oh well, I prefer to do that shit myself with PhotoShop anyway.

Apparently I rode into SOUTHERN Michigan. Strange.

Lots of friends racing this weekend- Some locals will be doing the Hanson XC (I've had enough of that trail for a bit), and many other friends will be throwing down some SERIOUS miles at the DK200 and the Mohican 100. Can't wait to hear all the gossip. Good luck to you all. Hope you get good weather.

I hope to get out for more dirt road action tomorrow, followed by the big kick ball throw down on Saturday, and a big mountain bike ride on Sunday if possible. Good times... good times....

Later.