The Soiled Chamois

Congrats!

2008-07-20T09:23:00.003-04:00

Little, post breakfast/pre-ride update. I was cruising the blogosphere and see that local fast as hell guy/Salsa rider is a National Champion! Congrats Gerry!

Check out his race report HERE! BTW I love the fact that G.P. is sporting Vans with the Stars & Bars. Nice!

Later. Time to dump and ride.

Mountain Goodness Baked Right In

2008-07-19T17:14:00.004-04:00

Headed up to Seven Springs for some more Two-4 course riding. It was just PERFECT conditions. Down here in the Dubya-Oh it was bout 90* and humid. Up on the mountain it was a warm, in the mid/low 80s, but NO humidity! It rocked!

The course was in PRIMO condition and was a blast to ride. I did two solid laps with no stops other than to drain the ol' chamois lizard and mark my turf so as to keep the bears at bay! ;) I took no pics today, it was all bizness. I wanted to get a feel for my pace, really try to learn the lines and fuel properly. I had some serious success in the Phillip Seymour Hoffman Memorial Rock Garden on the second half of the course (don't ask why I call it that, long story). I remembered some possible lines from last week's ride and tried them out with some kick ass success! I love the fact that A. 29" wheels kick ass through the rocks and B. The BEST line is NOT always the SMOOTHEST line. Sometimes your have to let your wheels use the rocks. MAKE the rocks your bitch. Keep your pedals moving and keep rolling. I was geeked. I've been riding this course for years and I have to admit that today was the first time since they changed the direction through the rock garden that I cleaned it. JOY!

Thankfully, there were no bear sightings today. I did a lot of whistling coming into blind corners, that's for sure. The Dos Niner rocked today and ran super smooth. I may have to flip the stem or add some spacers though. Last year I flipped and lowered it to get bit more of race feel. This year my back seems to be bothered by it. I'm gonna flip it back and see what happens. As long as I can keep the front wheel sticking to the ground on the climbs I should be fine. I get no back pain on the Mamasita, and I SWEAR I have the two bikes set up almost identical. Hmmmm.

Ran into Seven Springs Trail Gnome and Champion area native Matt after my ride. He was the man behind the new single track on the course. He clued me into some new single track that will most likely be part of the course in 2008 too. Thanks Matt!

Oh well, time for a couple Leg Humpers (or 5), some Mexican food, and some lovin' from Wifey.

Later.

Perfect?

2008-07-18T21:30:00.002-04:00

Every so often you get one of those days that is just perfect. Today was one of those days. There was no ride, but that didn't matter. All things just seemed "right". I was feeling good about my fitness, my diet, plans to ride tomorrow, Wifey, B-Man, etc. It was just great day.

Today was a perfect summer day to boot. The only thing putting shit in my knobbies was having to go to work. But once home, the night went a little like this... Play "guys" with B-Man (that's Spider Man, Sand Man, Venom, figures and a whole lot of violence), then out to get the Dos Niner all cleaned up and lubed for tomorrow's adventures. Then cook up some kick ass grub in the form of grilled chicken, zucchini, red potatoes and a big as a cancerous ball salad with extra veggies! Not to mention Wifey and I washed it down with some South Hampton Double Whites (too many??) and some Little Penguin. Mmmmmm.

As I cleaned my Dos Niner tonight and looked it over, I started to think that this is indeed the best frame I've ever had. And that includes two Ti frames (a Dean that sucked erect donkey dong and a Titus HCR that rocked, but had kiddie wheels).

I also thought about the sum of the parts on the Dos that makes it rock. The SRAM XO twists are the best ever and I hope to replace the Mamasita's X9 triggers with them ASAP. The Bikeman.com built wheels are the titz! They're Bontrager Mustang 29er hoops laced to Hope Pro II hubs. I love them so much that I said what the f*ck and ordered up a second pair for the Mamasita. BTW Big All at Bikeman.com said he has had 100% good luck with running Stans NoTubes with the Mustang rims. They might not have the hooch factor that Stans rims or others do, but they're dependable, light-ish and get the job done. Same with the Hope Pro II's. You might not dig they're loud "clickity-clack" through the woods, but they're light, dependable and priced right. Finally the '08 Fox 100 fork has been worth every APR% point that MasterCard throws my way! It is the BEST! I could not be more pleased with it. All in all a great bike. I damn lucky to roll it.

OK, OK enough is enough about bikes. Can't wait to hit dirt tomorrow. And I can't wait to fight some crime tonight. So.... Later!

Dirty Thursday (with Added Bike Lust for MY Pleasure!)

2008-07-17T20:45:00.007-04:00

Managed to get out on the bike for the 3rd day in a row (woot! woot!). Tonight it was a quick 1:30 at Boyce. I had planned on my normal 2 hours, but my legs were a little cooked, and since I'm an idiot and forgot the Deuter's bladder at home, I had to rely on one bottle to get me through the 88 degree heat. I was able to come of the trails and hit some of the park water fountains for refills, but trying to take in a bottle on tight, twisty single track is not the easiest thing in the world. So I was content to just do a lap and a half of trails on the tennis court side of the park and then make for home. I mean 5.5 hours in 3 days. I don't want to get TOO crazy! HA! Seriously, for me, that's some good weekday hours. Considering in 3 days I also worked about 24 hours and slept for 24! Hope to get more dirt miles in on Saturday.

Took the Mamasita out tonight. I love the Mamasita. It's quick, light as hell (except when it's sporting the XT/Delgado wheels that it currently does) and looks killer. I do have to admit though, my 37 year old body is so used to the Dos Niner that the Mamasita seems harsh. Lots of folks dismiss the 1" travel of the Dos Niner, but I can tell you, it REALLY does help! I also find myself finding the Dos Niner's slightly more laid back geometry more forgiving for my less than stellar handling abilities over a long ride.

So I find myself in sort of a hard tail lust quandary. The Mamasita is an XC race machine. I am not. I've been really looking at steel and Ti frames to try to satiate my hard tail fix. Ti of course is UBER expensive, but fits the most with what I'm looking for out of a hard tail- simple, compliant, and worry free as far as rust. But steel is calling my name for some reason. A quality steel frame can be built for way less, and reportedly has the same (some may say better) ride characteristics. It would require a little more T.L.C. to keep it rust free and looking good, but I think I can handle it.

So I've been casually talking with one or two builders about frames. Both are top notch and can ertainly build the exact frame I want. This is where it gets tricky (beyond the fact I have no blessing for new bikes via Wifey and no real cash plan, but I can still research, right??). I want a steel (or Ti) hard tail bike built to pretty much mirror the geometry of the Dos Niner/El Mariachi (They share geometry). SO, why the hell am I not just getting an El Mariachi??

I'm not 100% why the hell not!! The main reason I was looking custom was to make the bike a bit more "personal" and "soulful". The second reason I was looking custom was to avoid the E.B.B. But I find myself drawn to the E.M. 1st- It's freaking SWEET looking with a killer paint job and classy decals. 2nd I KNOW the geometry and I know I like it! 3rd- It's a Salsa!! And Salsa is damn good to me as is Bikeman.com. SO an E.M. could be had for a pretty good price. 4th- It would cut down the "risk factor". What if I don't like the weight or feel of steel? With a custom frame I just might find myself up shit creek with a custom frame. But El Mariachi has a pretty strong following and if steel wasn't "real" for me or the E.B.B. gave me fits, I could surely find it a loving home. I think it MIGHT be worth risking life with an E.B.B. to get a taste of steel before I go custom. But who knows? 5th- I like that it comes with a rigid fork. NOT that I would be doing too much riding with a rigid, but with light wheels, a rigid fork, and some skinny tires, this would make a killer "ghetto cross" rig for me!

I love being a bike geek. I MIGHT think about riding, racing, bikes and components more than I think about sex. OK, that might be a stretch, but I KNOW I think about it more than I think about beer!! The only bike geek gene I lack is the "mechanic gene". Tomorrow's debate- Endurance Rig 2009, The Dos Niner vs. The Big Mama!! :)

I'm also a big enough Bike Geek to man up and admit that even with Tour Douche #3 and his "small pharmacy" in the news, I will STILL watch the Tour through to the end. Because I believe that SOMEONE in the peleton isn't doping, and you never know if the next stage might be THEIR stage. I might be a fool, but I don't care, I'm a fool who digs bikes.

Later.

P.S. If anyone has an opinion on the ride qualities of steel vs. Ti vs. aluminum, feel free to share. Thanks.

NICE!!!!!

2008-07-17T07:46:00.002-04:00

Nice. Real F*CKING NICE!

Later.

Too Many Servers In My Life ;)

2008-07-16T21:15:00.003-04:00

Hit the 30 mile post work road loop tonight. It was a dog-ball hot, but not too bad. Still it was 3 bottle hot. Not that I plowed through thee bottles in 1:50, but I came damn close. I'll take dragging three bottles along on a ride over dressing in 5 layers of clothing for winter riding ANY day!

The other day I found myself thinking "hmmm, I haven't run into any freaking "oil and chipped" roads yet this summer". Well today was the day. The idiots that are PENN DOT oil and chipped one long stretch of road on my ride. To boot it was fresh, and deep with white gravel. It turned a 30+ MPH decent into a 15 MPH crawl, clutching the hoods and praying that the Ride Gods would deliver me safely to the bottom. Grrrrr!

Oh well, it happens every year. I refuse to get too pissed. I will just now just refer to it as the Italians refer to the gravel of the Monte Paschi Eroica race- le strade bianche ('the white roads') See, it's all on how you look at it. Plus calling it "strade bianche" lets you sound all up above it all and "worldly" instead of making you sound like a lycra clad jack off crying about how the state f*cked up one of your favorite roads.

I had to deal with with some slight cramping in the calves tonight too. Drat! HEED + Endurolyte Powder could not prevent them. The cramps tonight were some of the first I've had since I started hitting the Endurolyte Powder harder. Seems to work for the most part. I will say it makes any beverage pretty much taste like baby puked milk. If it works I don't care what the eph it tastes like. I think tonight was once again the result of over hydrating in the afternoon. Flushed all the nutrients before they could do their thing.

Fat Cyclist jersey's are now available for pre order from Twin-Six. These could be the best T6 designs yet for Fatties jerseys. Check them out!

One last thing- I've OFFICIALLY mastered Grilled Zucchini! I came close the other night, but tonight it was Onnnnnnnnnnnnn! The Zucchini, like the Turkey Meat Ball has become another one of my Culinary Bitches!

Later.

Bolts, Dirt & What Not

2008-07-15T21:04:00.004-04:00

I hit Tom's crib at lunch today. Needed to have him work his magic on a stripped rotor bolt. I tried ever tool in the box and could NOT get that epher off. Tom + vice grips + Liquid Wrench = a freed rotor and a now happy wheel and a happy rider. Thanks T.!
I was happy NO power tools were needed in the removal of the bolt. How the hell I "ham fisted" in there I have no idea?? Sometimes it's best that I don't attempt to make repairs/changes myself. I always f*ck it up and never learn from my mistakes. Consider this a public service announcement for you to thank your LBS mechanic or wrenching friends Don't treat them like shit. If you do your own wrenching, give yourself a nice pat on the back and buy yourself a beer.

With the Dos Niner now un-ghettofied and now sporting a matching pair of wheels, I hit Boyce tonight for 2 hours of single track and a hair over 16 miles. The trails were in great condition. There were a few trees down including a couple of whoppers. If someone even farts in the general direction of Boyce Park a freaking tree falls over. Oh well, hopefully a chainsaw happy "trail gnome" will take care of bizness.

A few miles in I ran into Don, a commenter here on the Chamois. Nice to finally meet him. I also ran into Glen and few of his riding buddies. Glen continues to ride a CX bike through twisty Boyce single track and makes his friends suffer. He doesn't even race Cross. He just does it for the challenge. I hate him. ;)

All in all, it was a sweet night in the saddle. The legs felt good, and the conditions were top notch. I even ran into a big gang of turkeys. They all looked much better than the decapitated one I saw (near my bear sighting) on Saturday, that's for sure.

Gotz to shop the old Dos back to Salsa Land tomorrow. I also need to order up new chain/cassette from Bikeman.com. The mixing of wheels and racing has left me with one nearly stretched chain and 1 or 2 fave gears a bit worse for wear. Nothing bad, but needs to happen soon.

There will be saddle time tomorrow, but I'm not sure what form it will take. Does it matter?

Later.

Birthdays, Boogers and Bolts

2008-07-14T20:30:00.000-04:00

I've come to wish you an unhappy birthday

because you're evil
and you lie
and if you should die
I may feel slightly sad
(But I won't cry)
"Unhappy Birthday", The Smiths

Yeah, It's my B. Day. A birthday when you're turning 37 is about as fun as changing your socks. Oh well. A birthday is better than Christmas I suppose.

Man, what a stage at the Tour today. One of the best I've seen in a while. Lots of riders who I dig in the front end and making moves. It was great to see Jens rocking hard today and my man Frank Shhhlllleck pushing hard and climbing like a man possessed by some Luxembourgian demon! It made for some great TV even knowing who won.

Frank pushing hard and showing us some Luxemboogers.
I would have loved to see him get the jersey today. Of course it would have
been friggin' BOSS to see Vande Velde in Yellow too.

Have to hit Master Tom's crib tomorrow to see if he can get the stripped rotor bolt out for me. DAMN! What a pain in the ass. Oh, well I'm sure he'll get it going and I'll be hitting some single track tomorrow night on the Dos Niner.

Had a great night behind the grill tonight (The Incinerator®). I did up some Grilled Zucchini. Very happy with the way it turned out. It was my first attempt at ever grilling it and it was freaking good. Little bit of E.V.O.O., some garlic, salt/pepper and lemon pepper. Mmmmmm. I wish I would have made more. There's alway tomorrow I guess.

Later.

You Know It's Been Too Long

2008-07-13T17:48:00.002-04:00

I know I repeat myself a lot here on this blog. I'm a man of routine. It's a Mahokey curse (along with a laundry list of other things). But today I was Googling some info pertaining to the title I ALMOST gave today's blog entry and found that I ALREADY USED IT LIKE 2 YEARS AGO!! WTF? I'm an idiot! I know, I know, you knew that! BUT you're reading this anyway!! So who's the idiot NOW?? Yeah, I KNOW it's STILL me!!! ;)

Anyway, the title was going to refer to the fact that today's weather was much like a fresh dog turd. All warm, steamy and just a bit wet. Despite today's dog turdish weather, I had good legs for my 40 mile loop. I somehow avoided the rain showers that moved through the area, and busted out a good loop with an average speed of 16.9 MPH. I used to do this loop closer to 17.5+ MPH, but that was pre-compact crank. Now sometimes going down hill I'm giving it all I got, but reach a limit on what speeds 50/12 will let me bust. I'm sure as hell not gonna bitch too much though, because my about to turn 37 year old body is loving 34/25!! HA!

I had a great week in the saddle (hour wise) I think I broke 10 hours, which for a working, married, shlep is pretty good. I would have liked to have done the WVMBA race today, but I don't want to lose sight of my season's goal- Bust 12+ laps at Seven Springs and carry enough mojo with me to do Iron Cross and some Month O'Muds.

I've broken my new rule of beer only on Friday &/or Saturday already! I blame Wifey (as usual). As you saw yesterday, she bought me a KILLER six pack of Belgies and Hoppy goodness. I'm calling it a post anniversary/pre birthday celebration. Plus alcohol is one of the 3 major keys (outside of love and a nice rack) to a successful marriage. What are the other two you ask? Easy, pornography and anti-depressants!! I'm KIDDING!! It's all love baby. But I gotta tell you, the other shit does help! HA!

Riccardo Riccò has to go. I totally dig and respect the fact that this 24 year old has now won 2 stages of the Tour BUT I CAN NOT hear his friggin' name without thinking of THIS!.....

I REALLY don't want to think about that. EVER!! I would rather think about JUST about anything else. Including- Bestiality, repeating high school, DNFing races, and hard core porn starring morbidly obese fat people and/or midgets.

Great weekend here. I hope you all had a good one and got in some nice mileage. Rest day tomorrow.

Later.

Seven Springs Recon #1: Ursus Americanus

2008-07-12T19:40:00.003-04:00

Headed up the mountain this morning. Damn I love going up there. I wish I had more opportunities to ride there. I've always said there are "mountain people" and "beach people". 98% of me is a "mountain person". The 2% "beach" part of me is just the part of going to the beach where I get an eye full of hot women in bikinis. I can do without the sand, ocean, crowds, cheezy boardwalks, and fat men in Speedos. A beach in the middle of nowhere, now that's something to think about, Better yet a cool mountain lake, surrounded by peaks and near some sweet single track. Now THAT is something to think about!

Anyway, I'm way off topic here. I love riding up on the mountain. When you ride there you become a better rider, there's no doubt. The Seven Springs race course could be the best at throwing you a kick ass loop that really shows off a multitude of PA terrain. I really have to ride there more. It's only about an hour from my house. Most of the local trail systems near my house take me 30+ minutes to get to. The added half hour just might be worth it to get my mountain fix on.

It was nice to be back on the Dos Niner. I missed it. I love the geometry of this frame. It's my fave Salsa I've had for sure. I will say that about 3/4 into my first lap I couldn't help but think how kick ass the new Big Mama will rock terrain like this. The thing with riding in place like this is that even when you get out of the single track and hit a steady double track climb, it's pretty much all rock.

The Dos Niner's 1" takes the edge off, and it's light weight is great for climbing, but I still found myself bouncing around and thinking the Big Mama's 100 mm will eat this shit up!! Don't get me wrong I KNOW there are guys that will fly around this course on a hard tail. I've done it myself. But after 2 laps the back is screaming for some cush. Sadly the Big Mama will not arrive until fall and won't get to taste '08 Seven Springs single track. Although there is rumor of a Salsa demo ride happening later this summer via the Goat. If it happens they MUST choose Seven Springs for the ride. Folks could ride the course and then hit the down hill park. Just my 2¢.

Back to the ride- I cruised the first lap pretty well, stopping for a couple pics and find my barrings for the course. They added in another new section of single track that dumps you out just before the climb pictured above. The new trail eliminates some energy sucking trail that has been part of the course the past couple years. I will say if it's a mud fest in '08 like it was in '06, the fresher trail is going to be ssssssssssslow going. Let's just hope it's nice and dry.

The new trails were titz and a nice change. Soon the trails hook up with the old stuff and before you know it it's time for the grassy climb across the ski slopes. I assume this is still part of the 2008 course. I pray it's not because it sucks harder than a hooker in a Navy ship yard. But I have the odd feeling that eliminating climbs in a mountain bike race is not on God's "to do" list. Oh well, It couldn't hurt to ask.

The pic above is when the climb actually gets out of the freaking granny gear, energy sucking grass. The good news is there's only about 300 yards of the ski slope left. The bad news is. NOW you have to granny gear it (if you're me) up the rocky, exposed climb. It's a gravel road, but the pieces of gravel are roughly the size of your fist or bigger.

A few minutes later you're back up to the second half of the course. Cruise on the flatish grass that is the pit area come race time. Under the lifts you go and see all the down hill riders taking the easy way up the mountain, so they can bomb back down it on their 45 lb. rigs.

I like to earn my down hills with a good taint rubbing climb. Off to the second part of the course and some nice rock gardens. This is where I think the 29er shines. The wheels fill in the gaps in the rocks and the Fox set at 100mm sucks up the mistakes, and I make many. I had some good success in the rock gardens today and only f*cked up a couple times.

My second lap was good for few reasons. I was feeling more at ease on the rocks, knew the better lines, and was just enjoying riding in the mountains. About 7 or 8 miles into my second lap I met Mr. Ursus Americanus, A.K.A. Rectus Openus Feecus Evacuateus, Or in layman's terms... A F*CKING BLACK BEAR!!!!!

This pic lifted off the Net shows about what it looked like. He/she was about 25 yards away from me on a section of double track. When I rounded the corner my first thought was "hey, a bear" then 1 second later I was like "F*CKING BEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Oddly it's reaction was about the same as mine. It was walking along, looked up, and almost had this look of "hey, a human.... F*CKING HUMAN!!" And then romped off into the woods. He was close enough that I could hear his paws hitting the ground when he ran. Nice. I have to say I was still less scared seeing a bear, than I would have been if I saw rattle snake. This now marks the THIRD bear I've seen in the PA mountains, but the first ever up around Seven Springs. It was pretty cool. Mountains rock!

After that it was some loud whistling for a few hundred feet to make sure there were no others or cubs around. Then off to the dreaded climb and the second half of the course. In the end I got 2 laps in and called it a day. The computer shit the bed due to a wire issue but I rode about 3.5 hours and put in what must have been about 23ish miles of riding. Anxious to get back up there. I'd like to get up for some night laps in couple weeks.

Once home Wifey and I exchanged our anniversary gifts. She got diamonds and I got something better....

So what more could I ask for from a Saturday? Kick ass trails, great weather, top notch beers and crime fighting with my #1 crime fighter.

Looks like the WVMBA race is a no go tomorrow for me, but I hope to get out on the road bike for a while. After today's rocky 23 miles, 40 on the road should feel damn easy. Not as fun, but easier! ;)

Later. I gotz beers to drink!

Friday (Flat?) Ballz & Dope

2008-07-11T20:43:00.004-04:00

It's Turkey Ball Friday!! Woot! Woot! Well, sort of. I've been weening myself off of inhaling a half pound of pasta 6 nights a week, trying to drop a few el-beez, so tonight the ballz got flattened and grilled along side a small portion of grilled red potatoes and big as a big road racer's ego salad with more veggies than my colon can possibly begin to comprehend. I also had a couple beers tonight which were my first since last Saturday. I've never been a "beer during the week" guy, but I found myself making excuses to have one or two through the week. Those calories add up, as does some of the other negative effects of too much "tea". I really didn't miss it, but I must say it was nice to have a couple Double Whites with my Ballz Burger and Red Pots. Mmmmm.

I may be the worst bike mechanic EVER! Tonight I wanted to make a simple rotor switch on my bikes and swap tires, so that I could run my light wheels on the Dos Niner when I visit the mountains tomorrow. Well f*ck me like rat! One of the rotor bolts is stripped and I can't get it off!! Fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff*ck. What should have taken me 20 minutes took a failed one hour. So after much sweating and cursing under my breath, I'm going uber ghetto and rolling the high(er) class Hope Pro II/Bontrager wheel on the rear and my Delgado/XT on the front. Not the prettiest, but who cares. The wide Salsa Delgado with a fat not phat 2.35 Panaracer Rampage up front will be damn nice for rolling over the rocks the WPA mountains will be throwing at me. The rear should remain snappy and have a the 2.1 Panaracer/IRD Fire Pro digging in the soil for me. So it's all good. I do still need to find out how to get a stripped rotor bolt off, but I'll save that for someone who's not a COMPLETE idiot like myself.

As you may have gathered from the above drivel, I'm heading up on the mountain tomorrow. Specifically to Seven Springs to do a few laps of the race course. Then, if I have time I might head down to the Foggy Goggle to check out what Speedgoat Bill and and the folks have going on. $2 beers, demos, bike geeks, what else is there?.....

Oh yeah, I know what else there is- Wifey and I will be celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary tomorrow. 11 years of UPs and downs and all the good and bad in between. But there's no one else I would rather go through all of that with than her. So, happy anniversary to us. If you would have asked either one of use two years ago if we would see 11 years, I think we both would have doubted it. BUT! When you love someone you work through things.You can't fool yourself into thinking that over the course of a lifetime there won't be bad times, fights, arguments, etc., It's a long haul. And I'm damn glad to have a great partner for it. OK, enough mush.

On July 4th I said "I'm anxious to see which rider is booted from the Tour first. Who will make the sport look like shit THIS year? I pray no one." Well, it only took ONE week to weed out our first Tour Douche Bag...

Yet another one of Lance's old teammates goes down. How many is this now?? Three? Four? Manuel Beltrán has become yet ONE more douche bag to make the sport look like shit. Thanks asshole! The thing that rubs my taint is WHY THE F*CK DOES LIQUISGAS GET TO CONTINUE??? Astana couldn't even show up?? The whole thing is f*cked. How stupid are these guys who continue to dope? You enter the biggest bike race in the world, know that they test, know that the organizers are getting even more strict, and you do it anyway? What the eph?? He should just be OUT. DONE. FIN. Lifetime ban for being a complete douche bag, a cheater and making our sport look like utter shit to the rest of the sporting world who thinks we're not "real" athletes. Grrrrrrr! OK, I'm done.

Oh well, that's enough ranting. Time to get some rest and get my gear ready for some fun on the mountain.

Later.

Fuzzy Seats, Taints & Pro Bonks

2008-07-10T21:07:00.003-04:00

As (sorta) planned, I did about 1:45 or so on the rail trail tonight. That's about like riding the trainer for 1:45 and only slightly more interesting. Actually it wasn't bad. The plan was just to do some steady tempo that really can't be had on a road bike in my area due to the amount of hills. The rail trail is a great place to just bare down and pedal as hard, or as casual as you want for however long you want.

So I rolled the Mamasita on the Hell Trail and pretty much turned the pedals non-stop for 1:45. I of course had to omit the 5 minutes I spent helping out a couple with a flat tire and no pump. I had hoped for 2 hours tonight, but it was a friggin' bitch getting to Boston tonight due to traffic and a high number of morons on the road. So I cut it short so I could get home to see the B-Man for a bit and grill some chicken.

It was kinda neat to see some of the folks on the trail. You see it all! Folks with the bar ends turned up, recumbent bikes, vintage mountain bike complete with old yellow Judy's, bmx-ers, obese guys on their 8 year old kid's Huffy, a dude stopped on the side of the trail "firing one up" (I kid you not). etc., etc.

My fave person of the night was a woman I saw when I was just starting. She looked to be about 65-ish or older, and was riding what looked to be a 3-speed with a big giant fuzzy seat. She was just finishing her ride, and was jotting some notes down in what looked to be log book of sorts. Who know's what she was jotting down? As I pedaled out of the parking lot looking like an over-dressed in lycra for the rail trail clad bike geek, she looked up, smiled and told me to have a good ride. Thanks fuzzy seat lady. I did.

I did have thoughts today of hitting Boyce instead of the R.T., so on my lunch hour I shot over to the park and check out trail conditions. I picked one of the usually dryer trails to take a walk down, but only got about 20' before the Vans started sinking in the mud. So I opted just to stick with my plan. It may have dried more by the evening, but I was sporting the Cross Marks and didn't really feel like testing their abilities in the mud tonight. Oh well, cheeks were in the saddle, I burned some calories and the legs got a work out. Rest day tomorrow and then some extended hours on the Dos Niner come Sssssaturday.

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I stole this link from Dave and Lynda's blog- www.dz-nuts.com. You must check it out. D.Z. has started up a little Taint saving business and is now pimping his own chamois cream. I couldn't tell you if the cream is any good, but I MUST HAVE ONE OF THESE SHIRTS! And of course I'll have to get Wifey one of THESE! ;)

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Check this vid from YouBoob®
of Julien Absalon at this year's World Championship...

Goes to show that even the #1 rider in the world can spend a race in the Suck-O-Sphere™ . Sadly if you put a Bikeman.com jersey and about an extra 70 pounds on him, you would get a good visualization of ME at a couple of my races this year! Good times. good times.

Later.

A Ride In The Womb

2008-07-09T21:11:00.006-04:00

It rained most of the day today, but cleared out by the afternoon. By 5 PM it was great. Just in time to get on the Campeon for a little under 2 hours and 30 miles of road riding in womb-like humidity. I'll take it for sure. Legs are coming back around and last week's resting is starting to pay off.

I'm in my third day of clean(er) eating. I'm watching the portion sizes of my weaknesses like pasta, beer (none), cheese, and cereals, and I'm eating more veggies, and more lean protein. I'm feeling reel good about it and give mucho credit to the Incinerator®. I'm totally diggin' the grilling lifestyle. So much easier to cook up quality lean meats with the grill. I can't wait to try out some tuna steaks soon.

Picked up the Dos Niner today. All spanky new and good to go. Thanks again to Salsa for replacing the frame under warranty and to Master Tom for taking the time to tear one Dos down and build another one up. Now I'm itching to ride it. Might have to get it up on the mountain this weekend for some recon. I'm also kicking around the idea of doing the WVMBA race this Sunday. Seems like a good length (one 18 mile loop) and it's for a good cause. Lot's of family "juggling" and "hoop jumping" may have to happen in order for me to do it, so I'm in no way 100%. More like 35%. It also depends how much I ride Saturday. Since I don't really race XC I have no expectations other than to ride 18 miles of new trail and see what happens. I see no reason to not ride Saturday. We shall see.

Did you see this finish from the
2008 Marathon World Championships?? Holy crap!

OR...

You can read a bit more about it from the two side HERE or HERE. To me it looked clean and that Sauser had done nothing but stand his ground. Seemed like Paulissen took the inside and then swerved back to avoid fans leaning over the barriers (the bald guy!). The UCI thought differently and gave the win to Paulissen. Oh well, shows what I know.

Time for bed. Hope to get some tempo work on the Mamasita tomorrow. Might hit the Hell Trail.

Later.

Builds Lusts, & Moose Knuckles

2008-07-08T19:59:00.005-04:00

A ride was supposed to happen tonight, but then I got word from my buddy Tom that he might be around tonight to build up the Dos Niner. So ride aborted and Soob packed with the Dos Niner (x2). Got a late afternoon call from T. that he and his son could not resist playing the back 9 again, and they were going to be late. I opted to drop the bike for him rather than wait. I headed home to catch up on some yard work so as to free up more ride time on the weekend. I missed out on helping with the build, but I did get my grass cut, a dead bird buried, and a kick ass dinner of grilled chicken, corn, salad, etc., etc., made. The road beckons tomorrow. (EDIT: T. called frame done. Pick up tomorrow. Nice!)

I wish TV commentators would stop calling time trial the "race of truth". I get it. I'm just tired of it. That all. OK, OK, now Bob Roll is Lance-turbating again. Grrrr. If I didn't have my back to the TV I would have to turn the sound down. I have no attention span for time trials. At least it's not a team time trial. That's even worse.

The Devil Will Make Work For Idle Hands To Do

I've been thinking about bikes again. Lusting I should say. There are so many bikes I would love to get cheeks on and some of which have not even been made yet. I of course love my Dos Niner, Campeon, and Mamasita, I look into the Salsa future and of course want to see what the Big Mama might ride like over 12 or 24 hours. I would someday like to have a La Cruz and I would love to see Salsa some day make a Ti Dos Niner or a steel, geared 29er with a regular bottom bracket (no e.b.b).

All of those are or could be or would be great bikes. I have a big soft spot for Salsa's because I've been riding them for 3+ years now, and I dig them the most. They're my peeps. But I also of course let my eyes wander towards other MFGs now and then. There are some other sweet rides out there. The Fisher Super Fly looks sweet and comes with an amazing parts package. Although full carbon mountain bike frames scare me more than a little bit. The 08 Cannondale F-29 is a huge improvement over the 1st generation one, comes with a sweet complete package and has some amazing welds for a production frame.

Outside the world of Salsa's steeds and the above mentioned offerings from big companies G.F. and the Big C, I think more than anything I lust a bike that can be made "my own" if that makes sense? I like the idea of in the future choosing either Ti or steel, picking my geometry, colors, finish, etc., Not a bike to necessarily be the "race bike" or be a $3,000 try to one up the Jones's frame. I would like it just to be "my bike". The bike that stays even when others come and go. The one you always go back to.

I bond with all my bikes. In my opinion they all have or have had their own personalities, handling, and characteristics that have made them "mine". Even if they are just one in million made. If I have the opportunity to have input in what I want from the bike, from the get go I might get borderline obsessed with it! I've owned 14 bikes/frames in about as many years. In the near future I can see working with someone like Walt Works, Quiring or Carver (Bikeman.coms owner Davis Carver's frame gig) on a frame. If nothing else someday I'd like to work with a painter to help make a bike that I KNOW I love more my own. "Customizing" a Dos Niner or Mamasita frame. Who knows if or when it will happen? But I like to think about it. Enough dirty thoughts, of lusting for steel, Ti, and hoochieness.

Time for bed, but first,
I leave you with this pic from Pez Cycling....

The look on Vaughter's face is priceless! HOLY MOOSE KNUCKLE!! Enter one sack of Chipolte Double Burritos. They can put a man on the moon, but they can't make a chamois for a pro that doesn't split his ballz in two. At least Lance never had that problem. (What? WHAT??????)

Later.

Whole Lot of Nothing

2008-07-07T19:57:00.004-04:00

A Monday after a long holiday weekend and the beginning of my first full week of work in some time. In other words it was about as welcomed as a double flat in with no tubes in the middle of Deliverance country. But the good news is that there is only 4 more days of work. Woot! Woot!

This Monday is also a rest day. Wifey hits the gym and I hang with B-Man. I also fired up the Incinerator® and cooked up a kick ass meal. Fresh corn, a big ass, 5 veggie, colon sweeping salad and a tasty big as a 34 tooth cog burger made with super lean ground beef. (Side Note On: Valverde needs to get a new hair cut. Eeesh. Looks like a chia-head Side Note Off). It was one of those "summer" meals. All sort of fresh veggies and some lean meat cooked outside. Mmmmm.

Tonight was the P.T.A.G. Trails Night at Boyce. I saw a bunch of folks heading there as I was leaving work. Hope they had a good turn out. There are some damn fine trails there and P.T.A.G. and P.O.R.C. do a sweet job working with the County to make sure the trails are maintained. Thanks.

Change is coming to Bikeman.com. They are going to be unveiling a revamped web site in the near future. Looks to be really cool and a welcomed update. I know team manager Big Al and others up north have been hard at work on it for some time. I'm sure customers are gonna dig it. Stay tuned.

Finally check out the new wheels I want...

I kicked around the idea of Scion Xb, another Element, or a Mazda 5, but I think it HAS to be the Tour caravan's Nestle Ricore Mobile. An estimated 45 MPG and a real looker. I'm on it. White = rice.

Time to enjoy some Al Trauwigless Tour coverage.

Later.

Making Hay Whilst Sun Shines

2008-07-06T19:07:00.005-04:00

I got in late last night (11:15?) after a night of enjoying a few quality beers (including a killer Heffe home brew) and some kick ass food at Y&M's house. I also needed to T.C.B and investigate a local crime wave with Wifey, so bed time wasn't until after Midnight. I think this may be first time my eyes have seen that time outside of a race in some time. How lame is it that staying out 'till 11 and staying up until midnight feels like hard living? Sad. Still had a great night though. With being up until Midnight I was unsure if a ride would happen today.

It did. We saw a few hours of sunshine today which is a few more than we've seen the past 3 or so days, so I was not going to waste a good ride day. So I hit up my Scottdale 40 Mile Loop. Legs felt better than they have in a week and I was enjoying quality saddle time on some great roads.

I'm feeling so much more motivated and positive than I was earlier in the week. I'm anxious to ease back into training, riding, and getting a bit more strict with my diet. I want to shed a few pounds and I think a combination of portion control, increased saddle time, and limiting any alcohol to 1 night a week is the ticket.

My new goal for ride photos is now the dive bars I see on my rides.
It was going to be road kill, but I feared a PETA backlash.
So Dive Bars it is. Here's the first installment...

The "Mark 1" is out in the middle of nowhere. I can't imagine a world that I would ever find myself in this bar. It must get crazy on a Saturday night's though. Oddly the sign says open. This was taken about 11 AM today. Come to think of it, it ALWAYS says "OPEN". Could it be open 24/7?? Nahhhh!!

No ride tomorrow. Just some rest, and bike prep stuff. I'm hoping to do a Tuesday/Wed/Thursday this week. I also need to find time to get my 07 Dos Niner stripped down and the 08 one built up.

I've had a few suck races this year, but I'd have to say that Hervé Duclos-Lassalle of the Cofidis team had a DAMN suck day in Stage One of the Tour. Crashing out about 45 miles into a 2000+ mile race has got to suck hard at dingus of bad race luck.

Oh well, it's humid as dog ballz in this office, so I'm retreating to the A/C.

Later.

Rolling 29" On Limestone

2008-07-05T14:15:00.000-04:00

Nice to be back on the bike. I still kept it low key. I busted out the Mamasita to roll 29 inches on 40 miles of hell trail lime stone. Felt good to spin the legs with a nice steady big ring effort. It was nice to ride in a location where I could sort of zone out and listen to my iPod for a change (I never ride with it on the road or trails).

I put on the Maxxis Cross Marks last night. Holy crap do those things roll fast. When Boyce finally dries out (if ever) they are gonna roll hella fast. I think just with the tire change I was gaining an easy 1.5 mph. Being a rider who is totally gay for single track and digs road rides, riding the rail trail can be lame at times. BUT today it felt nice. It felt good to burn calories, spend time listening to some new tunes and mentally map out my plan for rest of the season.

We have ACTUALLY seen some sun here today. A few slivers make it through the gray clouds every so often. I still got rained on for few minutes during my ride, but nothing too bad. Still much better than yesterday's wet bung hole sort of day.

Time to shuck some corn and then get ready to go over Y&Ms later with Wifey and B-Man.

Later.

4th Of July

2008-07-04T16:27:00.000-04:00

Rockin' and a-rollin', splishin' and a-splashin',

Over the horizon, what can it be? Looks like it's going to be a free country,
-"No More Kings", School House Rock

Happy 4th. Hope you're having fun, not blowing any digits off your hands and downing a burger or dog. Not much going on here today. The weather is so dark, rainy and dreary that I would be surprised if more than a few folks don't voluntarily suck on an M80 to "celebrate". It's currently 4 PM and so dark that B-Man's night light is on. WTF? Oh well, beats my past few 4th of July's where I've been sick.

Chose not to ride again today. Just chillin and taking some time off the bike. Hope to get out tomorrow for some hours. No real "festive" plans. Wifey, B-Man and I are doing some low key grillin' here today and tomorrow we're heading over to Y&M's house for some grilln' and beers via Yancy's Kegerator. Should be fun. I went to Home Depot today and FINALLY invested in a gas grill. I call it "The Incinerator".

Looking forward to cooking up some Turkey Burgers (Ground Turkey, Worcestershire Sauce, Egg, Bread Crumbs, Salt Pepper) and Veggie Dogs (Veggies & Dog). I also mixed up some Macaroni Salad (Mac, Hard Boiled Egg, Onion, Fat Free Mayo, Salt and Pepper). We're gonna cook up some corn too and of course enjoy a few Bell's Two Hearted Ales.

I'm going to enjoy today and tomorrow, because I'm going hard core on Sunday. I forced myself to get on the scale today. Something I hadn't done in a few months. I wasn't that shocked to see I'm up about 7 to 8 pounds from where I want to be. So I want to get on this before it gets out of hand. I'm sure of it is water retention and what not from not exercising and beer, but regardless of that, come Sunday miles will be increased, calories will be watched and I WILL be were I want come mid August.

Luckily I know where the biggest problem is. It's Beer. I love beer. It tastes great and there are so many quality craft brews to enjoy. I used to just have a few beers on Friday or Saturday. Now I find myself "rewarding" myself for a nice ride on Tuesday or Wednesday. Yikes! That needs to stop. The house is going "dry" starting Sunday. In order to ensure that I have NO desire for it, I plan to drink as much as I can this weekend without getting alcohol poisoning. I'm kidding of course.

The Tour starts tomorrow. I watched a small preview OnDemand today. Phil Liggett described the Alpe d'Huez climb as looking like a "half unraveled intestine over the Alpes." Jesus Christ Phil are your writing this shit yourself?? What's next, "the road to Paris resembles drizzled diarrhea over the hills of France"?

I'm anxious to see which rider is booted from the Tour first. Who will make the sport look like shit THIS year? I pray no one. Many cyclists won't watch the Tour. I can't help it. There are not many times (if ever) that I can come home from work or from a ride, turn on the TV and see cycling. Yeah I'll have to endure a million "born from jets" SAAB commercials (I had a SAAB once. It sucked. HARD!! If they make jets too, don't get on one!). I'll have to hear Al Trautwig being Al Trautwig) and continued Lance-turbation from Bob Roll, but you take what you can get when it comes to seeing cycling on TV in the U.S.. We are a nation that will televise a hot dog eating contest, ball room dancing and low life talk shows before we will televise the greatest sport on the face of the planet. So watch it now, before it's gone.

OK, I've killed enough time. Time to drink a few more beers and play with my new gas grill.

Later.

Two Niner's & Adjustments

2008-07-03T18:38:00.003-04:00

Ah, Friday. I mean Thursday. Nothing like working three days and then getting a three day weekend due to Independence Day tomorrow. Yeah, I had to work my ass off today due to shortened deadlines, but it went super fast and kept my mind off the fact that it's raining (again) and supposed to rain for like the next 150 days or so. Oh well. I needed more mushrooms to grow in my back yard.

Dos Niner V2.2 arrived in 15131 today. Sweet! OK, it's not really a new frame, and I would have rather NOT had to hit Salsa up for a warranty replacement, but a new frame is a new frame and it's still enough for some tingling in the nether regions.

I hope to have it all built up via Master Tom next week and get back to feeling that 1 inch in my rear. The frame is just so spanky looking. I know at times some folks find the Salsa graphics and color schemes a little garish. I loved my dark green Dos, but the 07 and 08 Orange Peelz versions says "I roll 'em big and and I'm here to party. Where's the tequila??" So I dig that vibe.

Speaking of Orange Peelz and Salsa. I've said to more than a few people that I hereby vote to make Orange the official color of Salsa Cycles. Bianchi has Celeste Green, Specialized their Big Red "S", Salsa should have "Anaranjado Orange". I mean take a look! Dos Niner, La Cruz, Big Mama, the old Las Cruces CX frame. It all points to someone at Salsa digging the color orange. And while I may dig the color of Titanium the most for a bike, followed by red and green, the fact that orange now says "Salsa Cycles" to me, moves the once reserved only for Halloween color WAY up on my list. Great frames great products, and damn good people behind the Big Orange S. I thank them for the replacement Dos Niner and look forward to rolling it soon. Now where DID I put that tequila??

Today I consulted with a person who's opinions and guidance I trust concerning where my '08 season should go from here. I laid out what's transpired and what I hope to achieve before the end of my 2008 season. The decision is now set. No more endurance racing until the Seven Springs 24 Hour Champion Challenge. It pains me to write that, but I know in my gut it's the right thing to do. Seven Springs is my Rushmore. It was my first Solo ever. The race has seen me do 11 laps, 10 laps, 4 laps (don't ask), and 9 laps. I need 12 or more in 2008. I demand that of myself. I hate my job, and 36% of my life. That's what I want from this season. So this weekend will be about fun rides (if possible), grillin' some meat and beer drinking with friends. Next week starts "The Season Part II". Goals of Seven Springs, and Iron Cross are in my skull. Time to make it happen.

Now I just need to think about whether I want to make some turkey ballz tonight, or save them for tomorrow. Might have to be tonight. I mean who the f*ck has meatballs on the 4th of July.

Now it's time for me AND you to go crack a beer and listen to this classic Pavement song to celebrate the July 4th holiday. Have a great weekend, don't blow any digits off with fireworks and get some miles in if the sun is shining where you are.

Later.

Random Wednesday

2008-07-02T18:58:00.004-04:00

Off the bike today. Keeping the feet off the pedals and the anus away from the saddle until Friday. Spent tonight getting my mental mojo on by mowing the grass, letting Wifey stretch out my back (it felt gggggood), and sipping a Two Hearted Ale. I'm a sucker for Bell's brews. Any brewer that sponsors a mountain bike team is aces in my book and their beers are 2nd to none. Damn good stuff. Two Hearted is some hoppy love making for the taste buds.

Lusting: I've been lusting some wheels too. I had had it in my mind that Salsa hoops/DT 240 hubs would be the way to go. But now after listening to Bob A. preach The Gospel According To Stan, I'm thinking a Stan's rim/Hope Pro II combo might be the ticket. I also saw the Bike 29 has a nice Stans/Chris King set up. Hmmm. I do worry about my ability to keep up on making the Stan goo hold air. Bob swears it's easy, but I don't know if he's 100% sure what an idiot I am.

The Tour of PA was in Pittsburgh on Sunday. I've now had two people at work ask me if that's the race I did over the weekend. Part of me wants to flip the f*ck out, but in a country that has Lance Armstrong getting more headlines for who he's sleeping with rather than his past Tour victories it's really no surprise. I had more people e mail me about that horrific bike accident down in Mexico a few weeks ago than EVER e mailed me about who won the Giro, or to ask how one of my races went. Sad. Expected. But sad.

I acquired the new Sloan the other day. It sucks. Music's not bad and I usually dig their Indie Pop A.M. radio friendly vibe, but The Naked Brothers Band has better lyrics than these guys. Eeesh. Bad. Un -listenable. On the other hand I TOTALLY dig the new Ladytron, Charlatans, and Spiritualized.

I'm really hoping to get out on dirt this weekend. I want to scout out some service roads and snow mobile trails off Rt. 31 to see what kind of big ass loop I can put together with the single track stuff over on Laural Mountain. I also want to get an extended tempo spin on the rail trail Just to get some steady pedaling. OR it would be nice to start hitting Seven Springs for some recon riding. Really I just want to get cheeks in the saddle. I don't care if it's a Vietnamese rickshaw!

Later.

Go With Your Gut/The End of Mourning

2008-07-01T20:22:00.008-04:00

I had a phone call with Wifey this morning went like this:

Me: Not sure what I'm doing tonight. I have the bike, so I think I'm gonna do a road ride. The more I think about it though, I don't know if I feel recovered enough, so I might just come home.

Wifey: I think it would do you good to get out and enjoy it finally NOT raining here.

Me: Yeah, maybe you're right. I'll see what I feel like come 5 o'clock.

I went. The plan was to spend as much time as I could in my little chaining and work on going ssslooow. I was spinning along the first few miles just fine. Then I hit the first moderate climb. Eeeesh I felt like I had frozen hams stapled to my thighs and midget on my back. Not good. I stuck with it though, avoided as many hills as I could and just went slow and easy. I feel so stupid when I'm just putzing along like that. I feel like every car could be a potential enemy. I feel sort of like a target for jag-offs when I'm not riding aggressively. But I knew it was a mistake to have gone at all and was in damage control.

I think I thought "hey I didn't ride the whole 12 hours, I should be good to go". How quickly we forget that the reason I didn't ride the whole 12 hours, was that my body was a dried up, exhausted, dehydrated ball of salty human suck. I did what I could, cut out a couple of the steeper hills and took a few flat roads. In the end I did a VERY slow 23 miles.

Wifey was right though, it was nice to be out in the sun and mid 70s temps and I think it was good to get my legs loose. But maybe I should have just done a rail trail ride or some time on the trainer. I'm gonna take it easy until the long holiday weekend and then try to get some miles in. Hopefully in the dirt.

The final insult to tonight's ride was when I got home. As I was getting the bike off the rack, I heard the unmistakable sound of a tire going flat. I checked the Campeon's tires. They were fine. DOH!! It's the SOOB!! Freaking nail in the tire!! Sheeeit. Luckily J&K down the street had someone there and I got the epher plugged PDQ. At least I didn't have to change a road tube!

_______________________________________________________

OK, OK, the "mourning period of race suck" is now officially over. No I didn't have some kick ass ride, or see ghostly images of Bob Roll in my cereal telling me that everything is A-OK. It's just time to come up with a plan. Yeah, it's been a suck season so far, barring good legs/bad gut at Leesburg and the M.A.S.S. French Creek 6 Hour (reduced to a 5 hour) Enduro. But hey, dems the breaks. Shit happens. You work with what you can control. Outside of that you just have to let the feecus fall where it may.

I'm done with "what if's" and crying in my craft brew. It's time to move on. But NOT just yet. I was THIS close (imagine my fingers doing the "this close thing") to laying out the casheesh for the Wilderness 101 today. I want to do the race. I dig the N.U.E. vibe and love the idea of riding for 100 big ones. BUT it's obvious that things aren't "gelling" right now for me. In the past couple months, I've had a f*cked up back, pink eye, strep throat, had to bail on Granouge, a Big Bear' suck fest, and finally a fun, but hot as Satan's taint, cramp filled, Cranky Monkey that resulted in a disappointing finish.

Through all of this I've tried to stay positive. BUT I've doing the mistake that just about every endurance athlete makes at least once in their racing. I've said "hey, I'm really sucking, I need to train MORE, I need to race MORE." NO!!!!!!!!!!!!! I need to take a break, regroup an focus on what I really want.

What do I really want? I want to do a good, respectable job at Seven Springs this year. I want to have enough desire left in me come October to FINALLY do Iron Cross. I want to do some of the Month of Mud races and let my local XC brothers kick my aging, sagging endurance racing ass. I want to keep the desire going to race, ride, and do my best. There are too many other things in life to burn you out and bring you down. I don't want something I love to become a chore.

So I'm taking a break from racing. I may not race again until Seven Springs. If I do it will be an XC race or more than likely The Six Hours of Power. If not, no big. I have some long rides planned up on the mountain, maybe take a trip somewhere new to ride, and hope to get together with some other riders.

I want to thank many of you for letting me vent my frustrations with myself over the past few days. Nobody wants to read about somebody bitching and moaning about themselves every day. Thanks for letting me think/write out loud, and also thanks for your many suggestions to end the funk. All appreciated.

The odd thing about this whole race was that, on race day after I threw in the towel. I felt good with my effort. It wasn't until I started for home the next day that it set in that I've yet to REALLY achieve that satisfied race feeling this year. I'm not taking about placing or winning. Just that feeling that I had good legs, and had fun pushing myself for 6/12/24 hours. I sort of had it at French Creek, but since then it's be funk-tastic.

Time to get out of this funk, recover this week and then focus on the rest of the season. There's too much riding and racing left this summer and fall to sit around crying about stupid race results.

Finally I found out that Dos Niner 2.2 is due in the hood come Thursday. So by this time next week I should be rolling a spanky new Salsa hoopty. Sucks to have to get a frame warrantied, but it rocks to have Salsa stand behind their frame and help me get a new one. Thanks. More on this later this week.

Later.

When In Doubt- Do Something Fun! Then Doubt

2008-06-30T18:05:00.002-04:00

When you are down and you feel like an open can of suck. When you look back at a race and see that your suck ass, cramp filled 5 lap performance earned you a stellar 17th place out of 30 or so. When you see that had you equaled or bettered last years laps you would have won or been in the top 3, what do you do?? Well you COULD sit around feeling like the above mentioned stale can of suck, but that isn't the best plan of attack. The best plan is to hook up with your favorite riding buddy and lay down some serious mileage (or mile) to blow the mental ass stank out.

So today I called B-Man into action!

That was just the sort of racing I needed today. Better than racing B-Man was witnessing his confidence in attempting "sixty-hundred nine thousand miles" in 100 minutes.

In the end we settled for a 1 mile round trip, with some stops for hydrating and looking at bugs. Then we went to W.O. park for some peanut butter sandwiches and time on the swing set. That was just the ticket I needed to take my mind of my current lack of racing mojo/ability.

Now that the fun of the day is over, I of course have crawled into the now twice mentioned open, stale, can of suck for the duration of the night. I felt like I gave it my all on Saturday. The heat and the cramps were just too much for me. I can't help that. Shit happens.I just need time to stop dwelling/whining and clear that shit out of my head. It will happen, I know that. I'd like to go ahead and sign up for the 101 tonight so as to save myself some casheesh before the entry fee goes up tomorrow. But I just can't guarantee that my "jo" will have it's "mo" by then. So I think I might just wait.

I've also thought about doing some W.V.M.B.A. races. BUT that leads me to my class entry dilemma. Expert Vet or Sport Vet? As I've said before, the last time I raced XC, I raced Sport. Since then I've competed in 4 hundies, seven Solo 24s, and several marathon, 6, 12 and 13 hour solo races. I feel like I would be sucking hard at the teet of Mama Sandbagger if I raced Sport, but I have to say my ballz out XC skills are indeed Sport Level at best. I have no problem not coming close to the podium with the Expert Vets, that I'm used to. But a DFL finish might be the nail in my mojos coffin (or I guess I should say EGO's coffin!). It may be wise just to get some long ass rides in up on the mountain (if if EVER stops raining here) and then see if the 101 is calling my name.

Time to make some dinner and gear up for a 3 day work week.

Later.