Saturday On The NCT

What a super Saturday of riding! Hooked up with local friend and (light years better than me) endurance racer Chris M. to ride a chunk of the North Country Trail.

The plan was to do an out and back ride from 9 Mile Bridge (up near the Lumberjack course for yinz that don't know) to the Marilla trail head using as much of the North Country Trail as we legally could. A nice hunk of the trail is off limits to bikes for some unknown reason, even though the reports I have got is that much of the closed section isn't even singletrack or anything "pristine" and is mostly two track or similar. But the hikers deem it so, so it is so (they are like the Judge Dredd of outdoor activities). OK, all bitching aside Chris mapped out a way for us to avoid those trails via snowmobile trails and dirt roads and still get us to some fine singletrack. Plus add in some miles. Nothing wrong with that.


I used the Ti El Mariachi for the ride. Seems like it's been forever since I had been on it, but in reality it was just since the nightmare of a race that was the Boyne Marathon. Felt good to be back on the EM and the trails and roads were were on were perfect for the it. Since that race I have flipped the stem to a positive rise and that seems to help my back pain a good bit. I enjoy the negative for handling, but figured what good is good handing if my back is killing me? I would also take advantage of it's two bottle cages using two full bottle of Carbo Rocket 333 and a 100 oz. CamelBak with water. I would also be hoping that we could find a pump at a trail head.

Soon as the ride started we were right into singletrack for about 6 miles. Then on to M55 for about a 1/2 mile or so to get to the forest roads that would help us avoid the above mentioned closed to mountain bikes part of the trail.

The dirt roads were dry and sandy and we got passed by more than our share of motocross folks out kicking up dust (at least they were out and not sitting on the couch!). The sand of the forest roads was nothing compared to some of the sand on the snowmobile trails though... Eeesh, it's like I gave up tire sucking Western PA mud for power sucking Michigan sand. The sand is easier to clean up, I will say that. LOL!


Earlier in the ride as Chris consulted the maps I noticed my Fizik saddle was broke. Uh oh. The rails were fine, but the hard plastic underneath was cracked in half. Still useable, but it did flex quite a bit. I wasn't real into the idea of the saddle flexing under my 200 pounds, but there was really nothing I could do about it. So I just tried to ride as smooth as I could, which is not easy when you're me.

The trails from 9 Mile Bridge to M55 were good, but the trails from just passed Dilling Rd. to Marilla were freaking amazing! Lots of climbing on perfect bench cut singletrack trails! They were some of the best trails I have ever been on and unlike anything I have ridden in Michigan so far. Nice sustained climbs, some roots to make it fun, and some sweet downhills. Just amazing singletrack.

We made pretty good time on the way out even with a few pauses to correct our direction and to consult the maps. On the way back we took a small diversion to get to get some pump water at a small campground. Thank God we did 'cause things were getting super hot, my water was about gone, and the 333 tasted like hot cooked Jello. It was also about this time that I started to notice that the 'ol chap down in the chamois was taking some abuse (hot dog vs. cheese grater sort of abuse). This was not good. Not good at all.


The heat was really kicking on the way back and I continue to pump out more sweat than any living human being. My kit and gloves were all soaking wet and I was saltier than Mr. Peanut. My power was fading and my chamois rubbed Little Ricky Ricardo was killing me. It seems bloody appendages and salty sweat don't play well together.

The climbs that were so fun bombing down were less than fun on the way back and up. Doable, just not all that fun. The only real bitch of a climb was a snowmobile trail that I had completely forgot about bombing down. I ended up having to walk that one a bit on the way back, clutching my junk the whole time.

Soon (I guess it was soon, seemed like a long time) we were back to the dirt roads and snow mobile trails. The heat was freaking kicking and amazingly I was about out of my second bladder of water. We had about 6 miles of singletrack to go on the other side of M55. I consulted with Chris about options it went sort of like this "Dude what are options here?" "Why?" "Well to be blunt we have 6 miles of singletrack, my dick is bleeding and I'm about out of water." "Oh shit, you're bleeding?, well let's just take the pavement, it's a little bit shorter and a lot easier." "Thank you from the front of my chamois!" OK, I didn't say the last bit, but I WAS thinking it.

So we took M55 to Udell Hills Rd. and back to the xB parked down by the river. That stretch of pavement was relentless! All I could think about was getting to the car, cooling off in the river then getting our asses to Rico's Roadhouse (makers of maybe the best burgers in the world!). While it was easier to pedal, it wasn't that much easier on the Little J-Man.

Getting in the river was one of my top 5 post ride experiences ever! The water was fresh and super cold. I sat there sort of letting my head float just above the water. I trout jumped to my right, a bright yellow finch sat to my left, the sky was pure blue and bright with sun above, my legs were sore from over 6:45 of riding 70 miles of singletrack, pavement, snowmobile trails and dirt roads and we were about to got eat some yummy food and beer. It was almost too good to be true ... life is good.

Once out and dried off we headed to Rico's Roadhouse. A Log Jammer Deluxe was eating and enjoyed with good conversation, and ice cold water and a pint of Bell's Oberon.

Back in PA, I used to live for the weekend rides in the mountain, and took great pleasure in showing friends around there. It was pretty cool to have Chris up here to show me around, map out a killer ride, and help me enjoy the amazing feeling of riding new trails, in new places, with new friends.

Later.

Maja Friday

Been a slow week of riding. 1 good mountain ride, 1 lame, one, and a whole lot of Dad duty. Been sort of refreshing though. Got to spend time with B-Man, saw from friends last night, and have some pretty good ride plans set for Saturday on the NCT most likely. I also got a log of work done for XXC #13 and xxcmag.com this week.

FYI: If you would like to help fight Chronic Fatigue Syndrome AND save a $1.50 on the new XXC Magazine Fun Hurts T just order up and enter the code EPHCF at check out. XXC will then give an additional $1.50 to The CFIDS Assoc. of America. So it's sort of like saving $3 and shelling out a donation to boot.

But enough business... the web is alive with Maja videos:

Stuff to do.

Later.

NoTube, NoAir, NoProblem

Mind funk be gone! Or at least gone enough to post something. B-Man is still in recovery from his surgery and home from his summer camp program for probably the rest of the week. No worries on my part as long as he is recovering and feeling better. Might be another couple days though.

Wifey got home sort of early from work today so I headed up to do a couple laps at MMCC. I felt pretty good at first, then sort of blah, then good again. Then I noticed the front tire was feeling a bit too soft. Crap. I was trying to remember the last time I had the tires freshened up with Stans. I couldn't remember. I decided to bail on a second lap, mostly because I was too lazy to put a tube in.

When I got home I washed the wet sand and grime of the Spearfish and pumped up the tire. I found the leak; a big thorn. I took the tire off and flipped it to/fro and there was no sound of any Stans in the tire. Crap. I pump the tube a bit more, took the thorn out and watched my tire deflate. Brilliant. Time to get some fresh Stan goo!

I really don't have a problems with this, since this was only the 2nd flat in 3+ years of using Stans No Tubes. Both times was from having old goo in it. I like them odds, especially since I can remember summer rides back in PA at Boyce (in my pre Stans days) where I was seemingly flatting every ride due to thorns. That's a LOT of tubes!

Spent most of the day updating the Blog over at xxcmag.com with like 5 new posts. Check it.

Later.

ug...

No ride Sunday. Did some walking at Deerfield with the family. No ride Monday as B-Man was having some minor surgery on his belly button (he's doing fine), and a 2 lap ride at MMCC today. I could talk about it, but there's no much to say. It was a good ride, I felt good, the weather was titz. Blah, blah, blah...

I've been sort of in a mind funk with a variety of things. Need some time to chill my brain, find out what I need/want. Until then (and that could be tomorrow).

Later.

Sort Of A Fail

I wanted to get a long ride in on Saturday out on the dirt roads; anywhere from 65 to 100 would have been sweet but the mapped and actual ride would fall a bit short.

The ride I mapped out a ride on mapmyride.com ended up only being 66.6 miles (YIKES!). I figured I could always add more on as I saw fit. With a number like that I should have known right there that evil was afoot.

Most of the ride was a loop/big ass square that I have done before, but I did want to explore some new roads too. No map, no GPS needed (good thing, 'cause I don't have one), I didn't feel the need for anything other than a couple road names scrawled on a piece of paper and stuffed in a baggie with a couple bucks to get more water at a store somewhere along the route.

The temps were going to be hot with a ton of humidity too, so I took 3 bottles. One bottle of 333 and one bottle of water on the bike and one bottle of water in the jersey pocket along with some Hammer Gel.

I knew from the start that the legs were not as good as the day before, but I also knew that if I just kept pedaling they would probably come around, and they did.

About 22 miles in a realized I wasn't sure if I was on the right road, then about 25 miles I was on ONE of the roads I wanted to be on, then at about mile 35 I was on a road that I had no real idea where it would dump me out at. It's pretty hard to get TOO lost here, as must roads are just big squares of dirt, keep turning left and you're bound to find a road that you recognize.

I did finally find that road I recognized, but not before going a bit further out of my way, going further away from any gas station or convenience store. CURSES! The bottles were super low, and about their contents about the same temperature as a human bladder filled with the remnants of an all night frat party.

It figured it would be at least 5 miles or more to the closest convenience store, and few miles or more to get back to some road that wold point me home, and that was assuming I was be going the right direction. Since I was hot as hell, and so humid that breathing was like trying to breath whilst being tea bagged by a Great Dane I decided to abort and head towards home.

The ride was still a blast and I ended up with about 58 miles. Well short of what I hoped for the day and short of my evil mapped ride, but still another great ride on the dirt roads. I did have to ride a couple more miles of pavement than I dig, but not nearly enough to warrant wishing I was on a road bike (for the record I have not done a ride on my road bike since early fall 2010).

I really should have planned better and actually planned the ride around store locations, or at least sucked it up and rode with a CamelBak. But noooo, I had to be a "cool guy," ride without a pack in 85 degree temps and 80% humidity. I'm an idiot.

I arrived home spent: A melted, sunburned, heap of sweaty human idiocy.

What lessons did I learn?

1. Maybe carry a map, or at least use a better cue sheet.
2. Plan the ride around stores or ride with a pack.
3. Don't be an idiot?

As I mentioned above, I have not been on my road bike (other than on the trainer) since last September, and have done ONE ride here in Michigan on it (I've lived here since October, but did the ride on a house hunting trip over Labor Day). Maybe it was the heat and my baking brain, but while I was out there the wheels were turning literally an figuratively... I dig my Jake, but it could be better in some ways (brakes suck, ride can be harsh at times, a couple other small details) and I don't ride my road bike. I hate to get rid of the road bike, but still the wheels are turning for 2012. I'm not exactly saying a new bike, but maybe some thing done to an existing bike, or... OK, I might be talking about a new bike in 2012 I just had to say that last bit 'cause I know Wifey reads this shit.

Later.

It IS The Heat

This week has been SERIOUSLY hot. I mean, I dig heat, but this shit was unreal. I still got out to ride a few times with varying success. I have also been busy over on the xxcmag.com blog this week, so Soiled Chamois time was/is at a minimum.

1st ride was a ride at MMCC. Did one loop and bagged it. I go a late start (after 11) so things were REALLY freaking hot. Like 90 and climbing by that point. I wasn't real pleased.

The trees provided a brilliant cover from the heat.

Later in the week I planned correctly and got two nice and fast loop done way before the temps climbed up to almost 100 degrees (later that day my car thermometer would read 100 in the shade 101 in the suns. YIKES!).

FINALLY the heat broke a bit yesterday and it was only about 80, but with that came humidity of about 95%. Still, it felt like a fall day in comparison to earlier in the week. I headed out for a gravel loop and had a great ride. Got about 2:20 on the bike and had good legs.

Nothing like some deep sand on the road to bring
a cross bike from 21 mph to 5 mph in a hurry.

OK, enough, I need to get my ride mapped for today. Hoping to get a long one in. We'll see.

Later.

Laying It Low

It's been dog ball hot and I've busy as eph the past few days. Raced Saturday, cookout at some friends Saturday night, went to the Tigers game on Sunday, work catch up Monday, and finally a short ride in the woods today. Nothing long, but enough to get a sweat on, which isn't that freaking hard considering it's like 99.9999 degrees here this week. Dammmmmn..... I hate the snow and cold, but I'd like to be able to think about taking a dump without sweating. At least we have real AC now. Unlike the house in PA that we only had piss poor window unites. Give me a few week and I'll be complaining about how cold it is.

I wanted to post the video below on xxcmag.com, but it's about XC racing. Not that I don't dig XC racing, it just doesn't fit in with the site. Get it? Got it? Good.

Hope to ride tomorrow, but I gotz to work and take B-Man to a doctors appointment, so it might have to wait until Thursday.

I had the realization today that I really don't buy that much bike shit anymore. Strange. At times in my life it seemed like everyday I had a new part or something coming to the house. Now I am racing more than ever and really buy nothing other than some food and sports drinks. Hmmm.... Maybe I need to fix all that?

Later.

Splittin' Logs

Raced the 28 mile Log Splitter point to point XC race today. BTW every time I hear, read, or type Log Splitter I think of the term "ball splitter," which I am pretty sure you have to be a dude and been wronged by the crotchial seam of your Levis to understand. Where was I? Oh yeah, the Log Splitter (giggle)...

With the race being a point to point, logistics were an issue for the 'Splitter, but the race folks came trough with place to park for folks that was an easy 5 mile road ride to the start and a not so easy 5ish mile ride back to the car after the race. So that was taken care of. Thank Loggers!

There were a good deal of folks at the race, which was cool to see. The race started in a field and went into some XC ski trails for the first ten miles or so. The trails were pretty flat and fast, with some sand pits (of course) to make things interesting. Eventually the course took a turn onto dirt roads and sand bogged snowmobile trails. There were a couple spots were folks (including me) had to get off and run/walk to get through the deep sand. It was like riding on a beach, with no ocean/lake around.

The speeds were fast though and often I would look down to see myself going 15 mph or more. Then we finally hit some solid ground and singletrack as we approached Hanson Hills. The single track was super fun and my legs were feeling awesome! I of course was NO threat for a win or top 10, but I was feeling SO much better than last week's race at Boyne!

I was really in a grove when I looked up and was not sure I was on the right trail. Not sure how that happened. I slowed a bit and then saw a due way up ahead, and could breath a sigh of relief. Soon though I was bombing down a section of singletrack and the trail split. One buff trail went left, on newer looking trail went right. F*CK! "Which way do I go??" I thought. I kept going on the newer looking trail. "This doesn't seem right," I thought, so I turned around and went back to the split. There I waited for 2 folks that I JUST passed to come down the hill to consult. We agreed to go left. It seemed correct and luckily they let me pass and I put the hammer down.

We started climbing a bit and the trails were super fun. Then all of the sudden I found myself on the wrong side of the tape. HOW THE F*CK??? I back tracked and soon found a dude I passed about 4 minutes ago coming at me. I followed him back up and too the correct turn. DAMN!! Again, I had to put the hammer down to get back the time.

Before I knew it I found myself at the top of Hanson, and I remembered these trails from the Hanson Hills 100 back in May. Fun stuff down to the bottom. But we weren't done! There was about 3 miles of lumpy, bumpy fresh trail to ride before we hit the double track back to the finish. I passed a few riders (most from the beginners that were no back on our part of the course) and then pushed to the finish. Done.

I finished in about 2:01, 38th place out of 80ish (at least that's what I saw on the paper being passed around, I will have to double check again). The legs felt great, the Spearfish was AMAZING! I can NOT say enough about how much I love racing/riding that bike.

Shorts Brewing was on hand with a couple barrels of free beer and it would NOT go to waste. I had one quick cup and then rode back to the car. Changed, grabbed a sticky bun from the farm store that let us park on their property, thank the old man owner, and then drove back down to Hanson for a couple more beers, awards, and good conversation with some fellow racers.

I needed this race. Sure I wasn't in the money, but I never really think I will be. There were no classes here just one big ass Men's Open, so I feel good about 38th out of 80ish especially with a couple wrong turns and backtracking. (B-Man disagrees though. Brat!).

Great weather, good riding, good people, and great beer. That is a day my friends. I love racing my bike! Er.. I men RIDING my bike. ;)

Later.

It was pretty damn good.

Shit was good today. Good work, good family, and damn good riding. Sweet. No ride on Friday, race on Saturday, f*ck around Saturday night. Good times. This 40 year old shit ain't so bad so long as folks got your back. And they do, thank you kindly.

Later.

Getting Too Old For (Some) Of This Stuff

Before I made a descision on a race this weekend, I wanted to go down to ride the trails at Ithaca-- AKA the Jailhouse Trail. Being new to the area I have no idea why it's called that. Anyway, I didn't really know how to get there, so I had to ask my friend Chris. He had the best directions, that really say a bit about the area we live it

"Get off at the Ithaca exit. Turn left at the stop sign. Go straight through town. Over the railroad tracks and past the grain elevator. Continue past some houses. The fairgrounds will be on your right. There will be a sign and a big tree marking the entry to the trail."

And he was right...

I figured I would do 4 or 5 laps, see the trails and then call it a day. Of course I didn't realize I was supposed to bring my time trial bike. Ooops!

I would have to make do with the Spearfish for the day. Oh well. The trail was easy enough to follow, super twisty I mean SUPER twisty as you can tell by the sign. You can also tell by the sign it is SUPER short.

I did one lap and felt my way around, enjoyed the buff singletrack, the twists, turns and copious amounts of roots. The trails are fun, and keep you on your toes for sure. Just not that long. By the end of the second lap I was bored, and knew I would probably opt out of Saturday's race there. No way I can do this for 6 hours without upping the meds.


On my 3rd lap I decided I needed to try something new, so I attempted my first teeter totter ever in my 39.364.12 years of existence. I did it, but it wasn't pretty. I think I took too much speed into it, and didn't get enough weight back. The result was that when my tire hit, it sort of gave me slight whiplash! Ha! Oh well, at least I didn't crash! I recordeded it just in case I broke my neck, at least there would be a record of how my dumb ass did it. LOL!

After I finished off the lap, I was done. Felt like I hardly got a real ride in, but just decided that I would call today an "active recovery day from doing stuff."

The trails were fun, just wish there had been more. I am going to opt for the 28 mile Log Splitter race on Saturday instead. Get a good race effort in, come home and might have time to caterwaul with Wifey for a bit if we can get a sitter or something. We have a couple things to celebrate this week, including our 14th anniversary (on Tuesday). God knows how we've done it, but we done did it. I will take full credit for our marital sucess of course. Yeah right!!

OK, I need to go use a heating pad on my neck and put in writing that I will leave the "stunt" obstacles to the kids. LOL!

Later.

Racing, Hamsters and Wieners

OK, time to talk a bit about my racing this year (I so know you care). Some good, some bad.

I have raced more this year than I did ALL of last year for sure. Take a look...

2010 Races:

9 Hours of Cranky Monkey - mid pack felt good.
Mohican 100K - DNF, freehub broke 5 miles in.
Hilly Billy Roubaix - (way) back of the pack, cramped, felt like shit.

Then in early August I got my second DVT in 2 years, 1 day later we found out we were going to have to move to Michigan. DVT + stress + madness + anger + stress = season over.

Fast forward to 2011... I vowed to race more, lose that stress weight that I drank , ate and drank on, and try to get my head on straight. Early season success at the weight loss and motivation had me pretty stoked on the season and it showed in my mid packness (top placings are a thing of the past for me, I'm all about mid pack though).

This is '11 so far...

Barry-Roubaix 35 Mile - mid pack as expected 25 degrees
Yankee Springs XC TT - mid pack somewhere as expected
Rust Shaker XC -mid to upper pack (small vet expert class)
Stony Creek 6 hour - mid pack
Hanson Hills 100 - mid pack
Lumberjack 100 - DNF after 2 laps (about 66 miles) - no legs, no desire.
Boyne Marathon (40 miles) - no legs, no desire, possible DFL*.

By the time the Lumberjack rolled around I was feeling sort of like a sloth on the bike again. My will to watch my food and drink intake fell away and I DNFed at the 'Jack. I did get to hang out with some good friends from back home and from my new home here in Michigan, so that was still sort of cool. OK, not "sort of cool," really cool.

This past weekend at the Boyne Marathon I felt like total shit. Worse than I did all of last year on the bike, and that is saying something!! I finished though and did not opt to DNF, so that was a small victory right there, but still it sucked ball. Much was my fault on some equiptment choices, but for the most part I just sucked and my brain was not in it to "race." *EDIT: It appears I did not finish DFL in my class. Sort of.... OK, I was DFL of the racers in my class who finished. LOL! There was 13 of us. I finished 8th others DNFed. Still not mid pack though. Ha!

I sort of briefly thought about chucking the season after Boyne, or taking a break for a month or so. But instead I have decided to take my balls by the vice grips and get back to where I was earlier in the season. Get miles in, watch what I eat, and limit any beers to the weekend only. I also want to keep racing and not let myself "take a break." For someone like me taking a break just turns into being a slug and before you know it, it's freaking January and I am bitching that I should have raced more, done more in the summer, blah, blah, blah.

OK, so back to 2011 and talking of wheels...

This weekend is the Ithaca 6/12 hour. It's only like 40 minutes from my house. I would do the 6 hour (Noon to 6 PM) and try to get some more points in the endurance series. BUT the course is only 5.5 miles long. UGGGGG!! While I hear it's tight singletrack with a ton of roots (perfect for the Spearfish and keeping the mind occupied), I just do NOT know if I feel like going in 5.5 mile circles for 6 hours. 12 hours is out of the question and I would rather shoot myself in the groin with a potato gun.

Not sure if I feel like being a hamster.
(Insert Richard Gere joke here)

My other option is the Log Splitter; a 28 mile point to point XC race up in Grayling, MI. This would be cool, but it does pose some slight logistical issues with the whole point to point thing and the timing of getting my ass up there, packet pick up, drive to course, ride 8 miles to the start, etc., Seems like it could be doable. The added bonus is that it's sponsored by Shorts Brewing. I dig me some Shorts and there is talk of some free post race refreshments.

Orrrrr.... I might not do either, and try to explore more of the NCT. Either way, I will be on the bike and getting some miles in. But then again that really wouldn't be racing would it? Hmmm.

Speaking of miles in, I got a nice 56.5 mile gravel ride in today.

I was going to do 45 to 50, but ended at 55. Thank God I packed a 3rd bottle, 'cause I drained them all! By the time I made it back into town I was a rolling salt lick. It was like an oven out there today, It was only around 80 (so they say), but it felt a LOT hotter. I felt great though, burned a TON of calories, and earned my 2 cups of post ride Rice Krispies! LOL!

On one stretch I didn't know what to expect, in about a half mile I passed one dead cat, two dead snakes, and a piece of a deer's leg. I was looking over my shoulder for sure! I was also chased my a wiener dog. Little f*cker was pissed at me. I had to stop because I was afraid he was going to get run over! No one wants a wiener dog in their rear derailleur. His owner had to come get him, because every time I took off he would follow me. She was glad I did though, thanked me, and although we looked about the same age she called me "sir." After that I contemplated going back and running the wiener dog over (twice).

OK, time to get some rest, think about a ride and work tomorrow. Today's ride went longer than I thought, so I need to make up some work tomorrow, or later tonight. Curse you vile home office.

Later.

Boyne Marathon Recap: The Quest For DFL

I don't know where to even start on this one, so I guess I will just go with the beginning...

Saturday was the Boyne Marathon, the course was roughly four 10 mile loops. I had never ridden the trails at Boyne Mountain, which is about two hours north of MP (just about every race is 2 hours north, south, east or west of MP), so I didn't really know what to expect. The reports from my local riding friends was that there was a lot of climbing, and that the course was a "a real ball buster" to quote my friend Chris.

So what did I take away from all this shared pre-race info? There's a lot of climbing blah, blah, blah, blah... Now while there was a lot of climbing (for any race, not just from a Michiganders view of climbing which is USUALLY about 400 feet of elevation gain), the "ball buster" part is the part of I should have been paying attention to. But I didn't and thought "sounds like a race for the hard tail." I would regret this decision all day long, along with my choice of tires, tire pressures, use of hydration pack, nutrition, my existence at the race, on earth etc., etc.,

The thing about a marathon race of 40ish miles, and one that is giving bonus points for the MMBA XC Championship Series, it attracts the long, slowish, riders like me who dig the endurance races, but also the super fast 140 pound XC guys looking to stockpile some points and make the the rest of us (OK, me) look like fools. I knew that a mid pack finish would take everything I had. If you haven't guessed by now, I left everything I had at home.

I spent some time warming up on the road on the Ti El Mariachi, talked with some friends, ran into an XXC Magazine contributor and a couple of mag fans (one sporting one of the mag's fine cycling caps, thank you very much). I could tell just in my warm up that I was not digging the hydration pack on my back, but I knew that if I didn't wear it, I might not drink enough and with the temps going into the mid 80s that would sort of be important. Damn.

Soon we were being lined up in our start waves. I was racing the 40+ expert group, so my wave was about the 4th to go off. I stood there slack jawed at the speed in which the Elite Men took off. "oh boy..."

4, 3, 2, 1, GO!

Off we went, I settled into the back of the 40+ pack of about 15 riders. As soon as we hit the singletrack I knew that I had way to much air in my tires, I was bouncing all over the trail and losing the back of the pack. Soon we hit a long flat, twisty section with deep sand, and I watched the pack pull away, and I would be by myself until I started getting passed what I presume were Sport racers! About this time I prayed that my derailleur would just blow apart or that a random 16 ton weight would fall from the sky and put me out of my misery. Neither happened.

I wasn't even to the first REAL singletrack part of the race and my back was killing me (a continuing issue for me on the bike), and I was fighting the DNF Demons, you know the ones that say "dude your day is so over, finish the lap, pack up and go home." These demons would pester me for many hours to come. I fucking hate them.

I continued to be all over the trail, and vowed that as soon as we hit an open area I would let some air out of the tires. Turns out the first open area I felt comfortable with stopping at was at the base of a steep climb up a paved golf cart path. Not wanting to stop at the base of a climb, I threw on the lock out, and got out of the saddle for about 80% of the climb. It wasn't a speed thing, it was a comfort thing- getting out of the saddle allowed me to stretch out my back and use some different muscles.

At the top of the climb it was into more singletrack- "shit, I forgot to lower the air pressure." The single track would lollipop back to the cart path soon, so I stopped and did it then. Not sure if my Stan's valves are going or what, but getting air in AND out is a real pain in my growing ass of late. Took forever just to let out some PSI.

OK, back into the singletrack, WHOOO MAMA, shit got steep! Apparently this section used to be part of a downhill course, and it was apparent. Steep, tight switchbacks, exposed roots, rocks, sandy wash outs, eeeesh! I haven't ridden ANYTHING likes this since I moved here. It would have been a blast if I wasn't in so much freaking pain! LOL!

Once to the bottom it was some twisty singletrack back to the start/finish. As I approached the line I thought "I'm bagging this, I suck today, the course is killing me, and I'm not having any fun."

Then I went out for lap #2.

Things were thinning out a bit on the second lap, and somehow I ended up leapfrogging with one of the Expert Women (worse things to leapfrog with I suppose? Like a bunch of sailors or something...). I would pass her on the climbs, she would catch up in the singletrack, back and forth we went. Knowing my race was over before it really began, I would often let her pass, she always thanked me, and say she would see me in a couple minutes (which I would). On one pass she said "you don't have to let me pass, after all it's your race too." I couldn't help but laugh at the thought that. I was hardly racing at this point and I continued to let her pass when she needed to. Plus I got to watch her do a sweet endo over the bars on the descent! She was fine, so don't give me shit! It was sweet though.

I was anxious to reach the paved climb again and take in some food, I also knew that soon after the climb, and ball busting descent was some flat singletrack, some minor relief and a possible end to this misery that I got myself into.

I pedaled through the singletrack, stretching my back when I could. It didn't really help. As I approached the line I thought "I'm bagging this, I suck today, the course is killing me, and I'm not having any fun."

Then I went out for lap #3.

I stopped along the trail where I had my bottles stashed and grabbed some Advil and ditched my pack. "Fuck it, I know where I can hydrate now, no use hauling this piece of shit around on my back." (hydration packs are the work of the devil himself, it's a fact, just look in the Bible). I stuck a tube and Co2 in my jersey pocket, grabbed a 2nd bottle and took off.

There was a LITTLE bit of relief during lap #3. The Advil worked for about 1/2 of that lap, and it felt great to ditch the pack. Things were thinning out even more now. About 3/4 through my 3rd lap I heard "can I get a pass Jason?" It was uber fast Michigander Jordan Wakely on his singlespeed lapping me on his way to the win (can someone get that boy a sponsorship deal??). Great, lapped! Soon after this I passed that Expert woman on a climb and never really saw her again. Strange.

I was FINALLY getting the course a bit dialed in, and wasn't as all over the trail as I was earlier in the race. Still I kept thinking "WHY THE HELL DIDN'T I RACE MY SPEARFISH????" along with "WHY DIDN'T I RACE THE 3 LAP CLYDESDALE RACE???" As I approached the line I thought "I'm bagging this, I suck today, the course is killing me, and I'm not having any fun."

Then I went out for lap #4. The final lap.

Not sure how I got here? I thought about quitting from the .01 mile mark of the first lap. I just didn't have any legs, any mojo and seemingly left any of my sub par to begin with skills at home with my Spearfish.

As I rode the last lap I was pretty sure I was probably the ONLY person left out on the course. I was about 1/2 way in and had yet to pass a racer or be passed. "Wow, this has DFL written all over it!" I thought. Up ahead, what is that? What do I see?? IT'S A RACER! It was a big boned dude limping and pushing his bike... I asked if he was OK and he replied that he was cramping big time. "Been fighting off the cramps all day too dude, good luck!" I yelled back to him.

It wasn't until the top of the paved climb that I saw any other racers, and even then it was just one or two nearing the descent. I still had a mile or so to go before I lollipopped back. Again I thought "Wow, this has DFL written all over it!"

Finally to the descent... I cleaned it all a 4th and final time, smiled through the pain, and got my self to the finish line. As I approached the line I thought "I wanted to bag this, I sucked today, the course killed me, and I didn't have fun. But I finished this fucker!!!"

I crossed the line, found out I won a prize in the raffle (hey, I can always use another t shirt to update my wardrobe) and chatted with some friends about the brutality of the course and how much fun it was (I forgot pretty quick I suppose).

Not sure if I was DFL in my class or not. The results weren't updated when I split, but I have a gut feeling that I was. Oh well, I will take the satisfaction of pushing myself to finish and a possible DFL place over a DNF or worse- the DNS.

Surely there will be better races in my future, and surely there will be worse races, but at least there are races.

Later.

Rides, Promos, and Time Wasting

Yesterday I rode out on the gravel and dirt roads of central Mich., and that was great, but today my loins ached for some singletrack. The closest quality singletrack is the Mid Michigan Community College trails just a fast 80+ mph drive up 127. So that is where I ended up.

I learned my lesson more than once (twice) that me on hardtail at MMCC does NOT equal fun. So I went with my "go to" ride; the Salsa Spearfish. The 'fish just eats up the lumpy-assed singletrack at Mid-Mich. I heart the Spearfish.

I planned on two laps and time to shoot some XXC Magazine promo video. I feel that the video is sort of like a Lady Gaga video without Lady Gaga, shit music and ugly chicks. But WITH a fat magazine publisher, good music, sweet bikes and fun singletrack. Here is a look at the final product...

Think of it sort of like a commercial, except with no budget and most likely NO ONE taking the bate and checking out a kick ass magazine. HA!

This is about all I got. Gotta cook some food, chill, get ready for a big off the bike/on the work day tomorrow, and the Boyne Marathon on Saturday. God I feel SOOOOO unprepared to race. Which means that only GOOD things can come from racing.

Later.

Shortish

Back to riding and to work today. Since I can't ride to work (Wifey frowns upon me riding my bike in the house), I get up work, then ride, then work. Makes me feel like I sort of ride to work, but it's more like I ride AT work. Not complaining, that's for sure.

I got chased by 3 dogs today, which is always nice. The first dog was mean, growling and showing me his big ol' sack ripping teeth, and of COURSE the owner says "oh, just keep riding he won't hurt you," NO THANKS LADY! When the dog is away from me, not growling and not staring at my chamois pad like it's a stinky sweat soaked hot dog bun... THEN I will ride away.

The 2nd dog encounter (pic above) was a "two for one." These dogs were pretty harmless, and I just kept riding and snapped a sweet pics of Fido(s).

I rode on the El Mariachi today. I would like to race it at Boyne on Saturday, so I figured the more time I spend on it the better. I was glad I did, since I ran into some trucks spreading fresh dirt and gravel and got stuck riding through some pretty deep dirt. It was nice to have some 2.1s beneath me rather than CX tires.

I took a new to me direction on one part of my loop and ended up not knowing where the hell I was for a mile or so. Not lost so much as just disoriented a bit, but I just kept turning left, and things started looking familiar. No big, but I was a bit worried if I went TOO far out of my way, my water supply would run out and I would be forced to drink out of some cow's well water. Thankfully that didn't happen.

Ended up sort of as planned with about 2:25 of riding in, which is about normal for me during the week. Weather was freaking AWESOME! Low 80s, a breeze (of course), and lots and lots of bright sunshine. Sun is like taking freaking double Lexapro® enema mixed up with triple gin and tonic.

Once I got out of the lumpy rollers and knew where I was

(back to the flat ass roads) I vlogged a bit.

Once home it was work, lunch with Wifey, work, and then soccer practice with the B-Man (AKA Tenacious-B when on the pitch). OK, time to grill some burgs, eat some beans, and light the dutch oven.

Later.

Back!

Back! Well, sort of. Back in Michigan, back in Mount Pleasant, and giddy to get back to work and back to riding. Racing coming up this Saturday- The Boyne Marathon. My buddy Chris clued me in to check the standing to see I am currently 4th in the Geezer 40+ Class (out of about 40 racer types). Hope to get some more points this Saturday's marathon and then the 6 Hour at Ithaca. I could get more points by doing the 12, but Ithaca is a short course, and I sort of suck, so I can't imagine riding it for 12 hours.

Wifey, B-Man and I made all our reservations for our trip to the U.P. in August. I will be racing the Ore To Shore, then we will be going on to explore of Canada, I mean the U.P. over in Copper Harbor area. Really anxious to not only check out the riding in the U.P., but also the area in general. Back in the 60's my father was in the Air Force and stationed outside of Marquette, MI. Pretty sure my high school art teacher was from the area too. I have heard a lot of great things about it, so I am anxious to check it out. There being racing and riding there just ups the cool factor for the vacation.

OK, time to relax in my own crib, enjoy a Torpedo, and get ready to get back to the routine of living, riding, and working here in M.P that I have grown to love (for now).

Later.

Checking In (Nothing To See Here)

Whirlwind of feecus going on since I blathered last. Me and the unit (Wifey and B-Man) headed home to WPA for a few days to see some family. I wasn't going to bring the bike and but then Wifey made some sort of all to true prediction about me being a dick to be around if I didn't get a ride in, and refused to continue our crime fighting if I didn't. So I did. And damn glad I did. Not just because there was a crime wave that needed taken care of, but also because I have not ridden in the mountains of PA since early last fall. I wasn't sure I would have the time to squeeze in a trip, but it was worth a shot.

My sister, nephew, Wifey and B-Man were going to one of the local amusement parks for the day. I would rather set fire to myself than go to such a place. Wifey knowing my hate, and my willingness to set myself ablaze, gave me the full on go ahead to go for a ride instead. WOOT!

I didn't bring a CameBak, just a couple bottlesd, so a long ride in 86 degree heat and humidity would be out of the question, but I figured that a ride from 31 over to Seven Spring, a lap of the course and back could be a possibility.

*As you will note there are no photos in this post. I took some, but my lap top ran out of juice, I forgot my charger, and am forced to use my father inlaws PC notebook (HOW THE F*CK DO PEOPLE USE PCs??, WHAT A PAIN IN THE ASS!).

I was a tad worried about the ride. I haven't climbed anything remotely like what I was going to be climbing today in some time. I also have not ridden rocky singletrack in a while either. Would I have to walk the climbs? Would I crash in the rocks?

After some riding on Fire Tower Rd. and down Jones Mill I made my way over to the killer gravel climb up the back side of Seven Springs resort. This is a bitch of a climb that last year I would often find myself in my granny gear spinning up as Aaron and D-POW shot up the thing on freaking single speeds. Today I am happy to report that I made the whole damn thing in my middle ring, did most of it standing and powering up and gave myself a huge flat ass Michigander pat on the back for doing so. I guess the constant power required on Michigan dirt roads and singletrack paid off in some freaky way. I will say that I did hit this climb way earlier into the ride than I used to. I had only ridden about 8 miles when I hit the climb, as where in the past I often had about 20 with some climbing already in my legs. But I'm still gonna back pat. It's really all I got right now.

Once to the top it was into the singletrack, over the rocks with no problem and on with the rest of the 24 hour course. I have probably ridden this course litterly hundreds of times, so it was sort of a good choice to reacquaint myself with the PA rocks. They posed no problem, and I had a great time riding.

I used the El Mariachi and that bike was just awesome. Lots of folks think that a FS is the best bike for the rocks, and while they definitely have their advantages, the El M does fantastic, since I am out of the saddle and able to flick the bike around a bit easier.

There is an even newer section (to me) of singletrack at the top of the rocky quad type trail. It is SUPER fresh and lumpy. Not sure why they added this part in, maybe due to some property sales up closer to ther road? I love singletrack, but this course is already sort of a slow 24 hour course and many sport riders and slow expert riders (see me) may even have trouble completing a night lap without running out of light, especially if you have a mechanical. Having said that, I won't be racing it... so bring on more singletrack! LOL!

Soon I was back to the gravel road, and heading back on Fire Tower to the xB. I was sweating like a damn fool, almost out of water, and glad that I didn't bite off more than I could chew today. I was also glad with my performance. Sure the ride was only 25 miles, but it had more climbing than I have probably done since I moved to Michigan last fall!

On the way home I stopped at the Six Pack shop for what I believe is the best pepperoni roll in all of the world. They were out. Crap!! So I had to pull a D-POW and get some beef jerky. It sucked.

Still a couple days left here in the 'Burgh. It was nice to get a ride in, and nice to see family, but I am ready to get back to central Michigan. Strange how quickly one can become attached to an area, even stranger for me, since I was in full on bitch mode about having to move there in the first place. Oh, the life of a malcontent.

Later.

Not sure why this stupid PC won't allow me to spell check, format type, etc., ? Stupid PC. Bill Gates can suck it. Nerd!