2010 Shenandoah Mountain 100

Pardon the tardiness of this post. I wrote most of it a while ago but...

Rolling happily up to the finishing line. Yes, I thought I was that cool that I took my hands off the handlebars.

There's something about riding in the back country... It's a totally different experience. Being out there in general is amazing, but I guess since riding in it is fairly new to me it just stands out. The SM100, while maybe not as "out there", and was certainly WAY more crowded then the Iron Mountain 100k, did it for me.

I can't really pick out a whole lot about my race (term used lightly since I never really felt like I was trying to race); I think most of it comes back as a blur aside from a few standout things. I immensely enjoyed my time riding though, and I have every hope and desire to go back and do it again; maybe next time with a solid understanding and a more serious goal for what I want to do out there.

First of all the scene is amazing. Matthew and I got out there in the early afternoon Saturday, set up camp, did some bike work with the assistance of Jonathon W (including major last minute changes generally severely recommended against... whoops!), and then joined by Evan E did a quick shake down ride out the start of the course. Over all on the ride I thought I felt pretty good, though when the other three opened it up a little coming back my legs quickly felt a bit tired and my lack of confidence on the sketchy, dusty and sandy corners glared a bit too bright for my liking. Luckily this section would be mostly uphill so at least the sketchy stuff would be somewhat less treacherous.

The race provided pasta dinner was excellent and as the weather grew chilly the DCMTB crew headed for the warmth of our sleeping bags. The next morning we woke to the sounds of a dirt bike racing through the campsite horn blaring at 5am, prepping us for the 6:30 start time. Aside from pulling on the bike shorts with cold chamois butt'r my prep went smoothly, though I felt a bit rushed as the start time loomed.

Now for my first and only major complaint of the day. The staged start, where people lined up based on their expected finish time; a great concept but like in running races, people just don't quite do it right. Matthew and I lined up at 11 hours, since that was essentially our goal finish time. It seemed like we were all alone though, with what seems like less then 100 of the starting 550+ riders being around or behind us. I have no better suggestion on how to line up the start though so my complaint here is really just more of a bicker, and hopefully next time I'll be lining up farther on up the line anyway.

So, the long fire road slog to open the race was a bit frustrating for me. It seemed like half the time was spent waiting while a group of riders four wide blocked a group of 20+ riders trying to go up faster. On the single I felt like I was wasting energy early on riding a pace I didn't feel comfortable with and putting myself behind people (possibly for a long time to come) that I didn't want to be behind. So, I wasted more energy punching it when I could to get by the big groups until finally things started to spread out a bit more.

I topped out the first climb uneventfully and began the first downhill. I don't remember a lot from the downhill over all but I did notice my rear rim making contact with rock a couple of times before we got to the bottom. So, instead of blowing through the first water aid station as I planned and like everyone else, I stopped for a pump, added a couple of quick pumps of air to the rear and went on my way just praying I didn't give myself a slow leak since I'd left my CO2 valve/mini pump sitting on the tailgate. Whoops!

The first of many long, slow, flat/slightly downhill sections for me.

Again, more of a blur in my mind as we rode Hankey Mountain for the first time, Chestnut Ridge, and Brailies (not sure in what order) though I remember a few fairly punishing downhills where I was on the verge of loosing control of the bike at times, others where i was comfortably flying, and still more where i was just squealing my brakes hoping to make it down in one piece.

On the climb between aid stations 3 and 4 I was stuck in a line of people that were all walking a fairly technical and steep bunch of trail. In the end I think we all hiked the final 15 minutes up the climb, and while I'm not quite sure how much I would've ridden without the hold up, I know I wouldn't have walked as much as I ended up walking there. Unfortunately, the hiking didn't provide the rest I might have hoped for either.

A few of the road sections proved to be some of the most difficult parts of the race for me as they continued for mile after monotonous mile. On the single speed I couldn't do much aside from a simple steady spin while geared riders flew by me on the slightly downward angled sections. This is the only time I was feeling uncomfortable on the bike the entire day since I couldn't stand to pedal with any effectiveness and likely the emotional hit of watching rider after rider pass by me only added fuel to the fire.

Eventually though the road gradually turned upwards and I was happy again. I caught up with Pooch who mentioned Klasmeier was just ahead and that added a bit of extra motivation for me. I got to the sharp right that turned quickly up towards aid 5 and MK was peeing in the bushes. As I made the turn he called out for me to wait up and as I hit the steeper slope I did for a short bit, but when I saw he still wasn't back to his bike after what was probably a few seconds but felt like minutes, I continued on my own up the hill at my pace figuring he'd understand with it being my first SM100 and everything. Upon his finish he told me, not too happily he'd needed water badly, so in hindsight my decision wasn't that of a team player and I'll be more mindful of situations like that in the future.

The climb to aid 5 was great for me. It was a steady, steep but not too steep climb and it allowed me to get in the zone and just keep going. I was riding well and still felt surprisingly strong some 70 miles into the race, passing people constantly, mostly those riding with gears. Aid 5 like all of the others was excellent and someone took my bike and filled my bottles while I grabbed some food. I was again in and out within a couple of minutes at most and the climb (apparently) continued upwards for a while though I don't really remember that.

There was a crazy fast dirt road down hill with big rollers and huge red mud puddles, one of which I of course hit and then it was the road back to Hankey mountain. Starting up Hankey I felt a slight twinge of dread, remembering from other peoples accounts how terrible it is late in the race but I zoned back out and kept pushing up. I think what made it not so bad was telling myself that it was going to get worse the entire way up the climb. When I topped out the climb I swore to myself there was more, that I was only at a false top out and I was saving some energy and mental effort for what I though was another five miles of killer rolling fire road and one final steep though not too long climb back into the camp ground.

Suddenly, I was in a random campground with the course entirely taped off, then it was a jeep road between tents and cabins and I finally realized where I was, not even a quarter mile from the finish. At that realization I started whoopin and hopping, speeding down into the field, over the rollers and up through the finish with a huge grin on my face. Best yet, I was in at 10:28, a full 30 minutes better then I hoped for and an hour and a half better then I planned for!

All in all a great experience for a first SM100 and first 100 even. Aside from the long road sections I was always comfortable in the saddle and the legs had plenty of juice. The recovery wasn't even nearly as bad as the last 50k I did and though my nutrition on the day wasn't perfect, it got me through at the effort level I was riding at with no problems.

Finished... and a bit confused.

So, in planning for my next attempt, aside from being a little better prepared going into the race, I think I want to make sure I'm strong enough to push a 32x19 and really be able to attack and enjoy the downhills. This year I swapped out to a 32x20 after planning on the 32x21 when Jonathon, who generally spins way more and better then me told me he was riding 20. Probably not the best idea the day before the race and I started questioning my wisdom midway through the race but the legs held out with no problems. The 32x19 would just be that much faster on the roads/flats and force that little extra bit of speed out of my on all the long steady climbs. Sweet.

Iron Mountain 100k

Aside from being practically in Tennessee, the Iron Mountain 100k was probably the best mountain bike race I've participated in. The town of Damascus, VA is tiny, littered with outdoor retailers and bike shops, sits just off the AT and is nestled in the Southern most section of the Appalachian mountain range still inside Virginia. I LOVE this town!

We camped in a tiny city park right along the peaceful stream running through the town and rode our bikes from their to the start of the race a couple of blocks away. I was extremely anxious before the start, this being my first true endurance mountain biking event and my first experience riding in the back country as well; my legs were literally shaking with anticipation.

The race started out with a few miles along the essentially flat Virginia Creeper Trail before pitching steeply up a tough loose and rutted climb. Jonathon W and I, both on single speeds dropped back to within the last 5 places during the creeper trail portion but quickly began to make up spots when the trail turned up. J rode much more aggressively then I did and passed a large number of people quickly up the first bit of steep climbing while I hung back and passed when I could easily do so.

The trails were tough but beautiful and I was able to make up a lot of places by the end (when we finally reached it) of the first climb. For a while I was steadily pacing myself with a handful of other single speeders, riding most of the trail and walking occasionally when things got either too steep or loose/rutted to keep the forward momentum going. The final descent down to the first aid station was incredible, enveloped in rhododendrons and fast and flowy around sweeping turns. I led a couple of guys down this decent and managed to pick off at least 2 or 3 other guys as well. I even managed to snag a compliment on my descending "skills" from one the guys following me down! (Glad he didn't see me later on in the race...)

At AS 1 I caught Jonathon who had to stop to refill bottles since he'd left his bladder at home and we set off on a long road section before the next set of singletrack. My memory of the next few portions is already a bit hazy a day later, but we continued riding more or less close together with J and I and a couple of other guys. Eventually Jonathon and I broke away on some steeper climbs and I even managed to get ahead and away of Jonathon for a bit. Then came my complete low point for the race.

I was ahead of Jonathon, maybe by as much as 30 seconds when I hit a fast, off camber and rocky descent that straight from the beginning scared the crap out of me. The rocks threw me everywhere and I was going too fast to feel like I was under control on the steeply off camber trail and eventually I just braked hard until I felt moderately under control. Of course this meant Jonathon was quickly catching me; so quickly in fact that he got to witness first hand my roll down the side of the mountain. A washed out heavily cambered section of trail spooked me big time and I basically came to a stop and tried to put a foot down... on the down side of the trail, realized too late how far down that was and rolled wheels over helmet 10 to 20 feet down the hill before coming to a stop in a pretzeled position and with my right calf cramping hard and stuck between my handle bars and my frame. Ouch!

I told J to go on and worked my way back up to the trail while 2 more guys passed, checking that I was alright, and then slowly and tenderly making my way down the remainder of the treacherous trail. I was worried about my calf, which felt like it might cramp hard at any second but I popped an S-Cap and drank a bunch of water and just paid close attention to its condition for the next few miles.

After the descent we hit a long steady gravel road climb where I just put my head down, stayed seated and tried to pedal as efficiently as possible. I managed to reel in the two geared riders that'd passed me on the down hill and then caught sight of Jonathon as I pulled into the next aid station before he set off on the next section of trail. I grabbed some water and a cup of coke and headed on along with another SS'er I'd been riding near all day. He was riding 32x18 vs my 32x21 and was walking when necessary so I quickly rode along and set back to my goal of trying to catch Jonathon.

Again, the order of the sections is a blur at this point but I basically rode a bunch on single track climbs, some sweet ridge-line trails, some more decents and then some more gravel road. This time the gravel was deeper and harder to ride without slipping and eventually I saw Jonathon up ahead. After a long chase with him in my sights I finally managed to catch and pass him. He was having an rough day, over heating and lacking in power after a week of severe back problems. Either way I'll take it as a good day anytime I can even hang with The Sweetone!

Next there was some more climbing and some more descending and some super sweet and semi-difficult ridge riding. The down hills were a TON of fun for the most part after the one super sketchy one earlier in the race. One reminded me of the fast and flowy Rosaryville trails on steroids and I was loving every second of it!

At the final Aid Station the volunteers informed me I was in 26th place overall and they believed possibly in 2nd SS! This gave me a bit of motivation for what they said was the final 9 miles of the course (and maybe a bit of distraction while day dreaming about getting a "podium" spot in my first endurance race... give me a break, it helped get through some of the tougher sections and kept the drive alive to try and hold off the close behind wheels of J and other SS'ers!)

I rode the majority of the race after passing Jonathon without seeing a single other rider until around 5 miles to go when a geared rider (who'd stopped and back tracked a 1/4 mile on foot early in the race to retrieve a pair of sun glasses he'd dropped) caught and passed me on the climbing and flat sections. I'd catch him back on the downhills but at this point in the race I knew I was slowing on the climbs, even walking some I knew I should be riding since it felt like I was probably wasting more energy trying to muscle my way up then if I walked them.

Even still I managed to hold anyone else off, and actually passed another geared rider who appeared to be having some mechanical difficulties with his bike. Down the final descent things got loose, rocky, rough and a bit sketchy with huge water bars crossing the trail but I just held on and tried not to lose control of the bike. I actually fully believed I had one more climb and descent and between every course marker was fretting I'd gotten off course and was going to have to turn around and climb everything I'd just screamed my way down.

Then, suddenly there was a big yellow finish sign with two volunteers standing by to write my number and record my time. Sweet. From there you rode back to the pavilion via the Virginia Creeper trail though in my super anxious pre-race state I missed the official directions and continued on the trail out of Damascus before turning around and heading back to the pavilion to find Jonathon.

We went and broke down our tents and packed up the car before returning to the pavilion for some burgers and pasta, checked the results and saw I *might* have taken 3rd SS though we'll see when the results are posted, and that Jonathon was barely 2 minutes behind me likely making up a good deal of time on those sketchy downhills, collected our drop bags, which neither of us actually used and hit the road (and Dairy Queen for some Blizzards!)

All in all a VERY successful day and an amazing time riding an incredible course. When all was said and done it looks like we hit about 8500 feet of climbing and descending and my official finishing time was around 6 hours 14 minutes. Not sure of the total actual mileage but Jonathon reports it should be in the 54 to 55 mile range based on last year. I forgot to start my garmin until a few miles in and it shut off sometime before I got back to the pavilion so I'm not sure exactly what it would would have reported either though I trust the elevation profile it reported through the elevation correction on Garmin Connect.

The 6 hour drive each way was quite rough, but maybe next year Aimee and I could work it into a trip down to spend some time with her folks, a mere 2 hours further down the road. I think the race was worth it, though its a bit of stretch as a quick 2 day trip.

Garmin Connect Report: Garmin Connect

Race Results (to come): Shenandoah Mountain Touring

2010 12 Hours of Lodi Farms

I've been putting off this race report, though really I have no good reason why. I wasn't entirely stoked with the outcome I suppose, though it was essentially what was expected. I also, and probably more importantly wasn't all that stoked about my own performance. Enough of that already though, on to the words you've all been waiting for! Dry race reporting from an amateur sport racer!

Jonathon Wheaton, Darren Biggs and I were teamed up on a three man single-speed team, with our main competition being against another DCMTB team comprised of "Cargo" Mike Pearce, Joel Gwadz(illa) and Kent "Solar" Baake (ok I made that last one up but it seemed wrong not to include a nickname for Kent and of course, solar fits!). On paper, they had us beat, just a bit on a head to head basis. Pearce is blazingly fast, and has a history of setting the fastest laps at races like this, Kent is just wily and fit and can just always ride a bike fast, and Joel is usually found standing atop the podium in the Clydesdale class.

We took hope in the poor condition of Joel's spare bike being used by Kent riding SS off road for the first time in his life and Pearce coming in late, feeling sick and nearly pulling out of the race. But, then Kent got the bike issues sorted out and Pearce showed up so, the cards were on the table.

Jon gave us a good solid starting lap, coming in as one of the first riders, behind Mike K riding first for the DCMTB 3 person expert team also consisting of Leland and Ilana and a few minutes ahead of Kent and I was up second with Joel hard on my heels. That first lap I rode my ass off and really stuck to it the whole way through. It was hot and I was drinking a lot of water but still I could feel my head over heating in the mid-nineties temperatures. A few miles in I managed to catch Leland when he misjudged a sharp downhill left and he dropped back a bit later after hitting a root he never saw as he followed close behind me.

The one place I really felt bad about on my first lap was down in a really twisty and tight but flat and smooth section where I was able to get up a lot speed but then entered the turns too hot. This was the one place and one time during the entire race that was actually passed by anyone, so it hurt that much worse, but I was so choppy here on the first lap I was probably wasting a lot of energy while still losing time on other rider.

I freaked a bit when I got back to the start finish and Darren wasn't there to take the baton, but really in the grand scheme of things it meant nothing; just a few seconds really before he showed up. Darren, unfortunately had the unenviable task of trying to hold off a hard charging Pearce and when Pearce caught him, it was going to be tough for us to mount a comeback.

Recovery was tough after that first lap and I (along with everyone else) was showing the signs of dehydration. Getting out on my second lap I worked to ride more smoothly then my first lap. I was also noticeably riding a bit slower and struggling just a bit more on some of the climbs. I still only walked one and that was due to a poor line over rooty terrain but still I could feel the fatigue from the first lap.

I rode the tight and twisty flat section much smoother this time and really came in feeling decent about my lap time though in the end I dropped a few minutes on my first lap time here. The third lap though was where the sh*t really hit the fan.

I was struggling everywhere now and turning the cranks was way harder then it should have been. Joel had started his lap ahead of me after Cargo Mike put in another blazing lap and combined with my own physical struggles I basically imploded. The lap was still in daylight and the temperature had even dropped off a bit but the way I was struggling simply compounded my dying drive. I think here I started to get into my head a bit too much which worked against my energy as well. I lost another 5 minutes from my second lap time.

My fourth lap I had started to feel better and thought I was riding pretty well, but I suppose the damage was already done. I wasn't blazing along in the night, but I was riding much more smoothly then my 3rd lap and thought I should be coming in around the same time as my third, though the darkness seemed to take more out of my lap then I realized.

There is a lesson for me in this race, though sorting out exactly what it is isn't something I've done yet. It may simply be to not go out quite as hard on my first lap of a 12+ hour relay so I save some energy for later though I think its more then that. I do think this course provided ample opportunities for me to waste energy trying to go hard in the wrong places due to the super tight and twisty nature of it.

I also swapped cogs after my first lap going from my 32x18 to 32x20. Maybe I would have actually been better off starting with the 32x20 and not killing my legs on my first lap with the harder gearing... Who knows.

It was fun riding with Jonathon and Darren no-less and as usual a pleasure listening to the antics of the various DCMTB regulars. MK's kids are a hoot and at least Emma has taken to calling me Paperclip permanently so this one seems to be here to stay.

12 Hours of Lodi Farms Results

Pictures

Hint: go to the creek crossing gallery and check out pictures 266 and 267. Awesome!

See Darren's report here.

Ride the Ridge

Mike K, Jon W, Leland and I all drove down to Dyke, VA for Ride the Ridge put on by the Blue Ridge School after Darren continually talked it up and said he'd be going. As we were
on our way down we got the email from Darren saying he wouldn't be making it after all. I'll just say the near mid-night phone call from the 4 of us at the cabin was well justified in our eyes, especially when the rain started on race morning.

Going into this race I was feeling pretty good, though overall I was unsure of where I stood. I knew my fitness was good from all the running but I've done very little biking so far this year, especially on the trails. Still though I thought if the power from running transfered as well as I hoped to the SS, I'd be in good shape and might even be able to keep pace with Jonathon; or at least stay near him.

We started off the race second, behind the expert/pros and along with the sport class racers and high schoolers and cruised across the grass fields to the start of the single track. Being on the SS was a bit of a bear here since it put me solidly in the mid-pack range which in turn led me to be stuck behind a large number of people bobbling and stopping on some pretty rideable technical stuff up to the first climb. Once things sorted out a bit I settled in and started working the climbs.

Overall I felt I was riding well to begin with and I was catching and passing lots of riders. I was rocking up the climbing sections including the first which the RD referred to as a punishing climb

but in general I began having a bit too much trouble on the rocky and technical sections of the trail. It got worse as I got tired naturally so after Jonathon had passed me fairly early on he only continued to put time between us, riding strong and likely clearing the obstacles with ease.

The downhills on the course were mush more choppy then I expected so while the additional of the front suspension was a tremendous help, I didn't feel like I was able to bomb the downhills quite as much as I'd been hoping to. The somewhat muddy trail conditions combined with near constant switchbacks led to a lack in sustained downhill speed and almost no ability to hold downhill momentum on the SS.

I ended up somewhere around 5th place SS on the day with Jonathon in 4th, though probably 10 minutes ahead of me. The garmin reported 3500' feet of elevation gain in just over 14 miles too so I feel pretty good about my climbing performance and overall power on the SS. Leland had some issues with his grips slipping off leading to some major issues on the climbing intensive and technical course (hence lots of wrenching and hard gripping on the handle bars). MK came into view a couple of times for me, pacing himself for the extra lap for expert/pro racers, but the rain, mud and cold got to him late in the race and he decided to pull out after 2 laps. Thank goodness too since we all would have been waiting around shivering for him to finish before we could leave.

Throughout most of the first lap and seemingly all of the second there was one person sticking to me that I just could not drop. They would catch up to me on a bunch of the more technical climbs and then I would drop them on some of the descents, always thinking I'd rid myself of them for good only to have them pop back up a few hundred meters down the trail. Towards the end of the second they were gaining steadily on me and then as I fumbled and stumbled over a particularly technical downhill/flat section they caught me.

Turned out it was a woman also on a single speed (whoops I'd said something to her earlier, referring to her as "man"! In my defense I didn't get much of a look at her at all so I was just assuming it was a dude since I hadn't seen many women out there in general). I let her pass quickly and then went to chasing her the remainder of the downhill, catching her on the brief road section with about a 1/4 of a mile to go.

I pulled up next to her and complimented her on her riding and catch in the technical junk. She let me lead into the short pine section before the final grassy section where she insisted we sprint for the line. I wasn't going to sprint but at her insistence I picked it up and spun in with her, not really wanting to beat her but not really wanting to "lose" either. In the end I think our wheels crossed essentially together, though likely she got the edge on me there. She was actually racing the open SS so technically in the "official" results I was likely 6th, but I'm going to say I was next after Jonathon anyway.

In the car on the way home I found out that women was actually ex-pro and mountain biking legend Sue Haywood! Wow! I know she's retired and all but still, in 2007 she set a course record at the SM100 en route to at least her 3rd consecutive win (8:11, 2nd place was 9:01) plus plenty more. I'd say its pretty awesome that I got the opportunity to ride with her in general. Good thing I didn't know who she was during the race or I probably would have been star struck and gotten overly self conscious and sucked up the technical stuff even more!

Weekend recap

I've been upping my running miles for the last few weeks/months, capping off my build up this past weekend with a 23 miler on the Potomac Heritage Trail. I wasn't breaking any land speed records (my total run time was right around 5 hours), but considering the terrain, my limited knowledge of the trail system and the self supported nature of the run I consider my progress on this one to be pretty good. Most of the trial was pretty rooty and rocky with some sections downright treacherous including some pretty serious rock scrambling up a water fall (Cass actually swam one portion of the scramble while I went up and over some boulders in the way).

In the end I basically covered the entire PHT from Roosevelt Island out to 495 and back with a few somewhat lengthy off-shoots mixed in for good measure. In some trail running advice forums I've been following lately I've seen an abundance of the attitude, "there are 2 types of trail runners; those who have (and continue to) fallen on occasion and those that will." Being as how I'd yet to take a trail running spill I kept my mouth shut so as not to jinx myself.

Saturday's run, turned out to be the one. Ironically enough, it wasn't any of the steep or technical tough spots in the trail that got me. Instead it was simply a damp log with a slightly downhill angle to it that took me by surprise as I planted my full weight on my left foot on top of it. The resulting slam down on my knee was worrisome for a minute but once the initial shock pain went away I was left with what amounted essentially to a skinned knee and maybe a little bruise.

15 miles later I was still going strong with no ill effects aside from the occasional strange look after finishing while stopping in a gas station for a drink and some ice for the bath tub at home.

Sunday an easy ride at Wakefield with Vinny and Chris (Leland) showed me just how tired my dogs really were and Monday's cloudy day saw me stuck in a rut with no motivation to leave the couch aside from a very small bit of bike work in the morning with Brian.

Some semi related tid bits:
-the thompson seatpost on the Jamis is perfect, w/ just the right amount of layback.
-I'm feeling good with wider and lighter FSA XC-190 bars on the Jamis and felt good slipping between tight trees at Wakefield on Sunday's ride.
-The WTB Weirwolf tires are feeling pretty supple, connecting well and definitely feel better on the front end in comparison to the stock ignitor's I've been riding.
-My Hardrock's held up nicely to their longest test yet and while the roots and rocks of the run really put them to the test, they seem to be able to handle the load with minimal forefoot discomfort for me.
-The redline is being built back up, now with my EA-30 riser bar off the Jamis, some flat bar brake levers I had lying around, my spare single speed crank set from the fixed gear I also had lying around, the matching ea30 seat post and wtb saddle from the Jamis (both lighter then the other stuff I had on the bike), new cheapo brake cables and housing and a Forte single speed conversion kit I picked up at Performance. I know I'd never be able to win a cross race on my converted SS with flat bar like Jonathon but at least now I can look somewhat like him (minus the tight skeleton skinsuit and podium candy of course). (Halloween is coming though and facial hair options are being considered).
-The fixed gear is finally mostly back together after nearly a year of languishing in the bike room and shed. Once I get a new spoke installed in the rear wheel (replacing the spoke that has been busted probably for well over 2 years) I will once again have a fully operational 'fixie' though now with much less friendly terrain to ride it on (considering it lived at Aimee's place on Capital Hill up until September).

And that's about it.

This coming weekend I'll be in Florida celebrating my high school buddy's demise... I mean wedding. He mentioned going sky diving the day before the wedding. Said something about making sure God gets the opportunity to correct his mistake if necessary... Not really sure what he means there.

A sad day for DCMTB

It appears one of the other new guys for DCMTB will be a short lived teammate. Alex whose a really cool, not mention fast dude is heading back West with the wife to the sunny little town of San Fransisco, California. Aside from some of the best governing and budgeting in the country, I'm not really sure at this point what draws them there but I'm sure they'll be very happy after leaving the coolest team, not to mention coast behind.

So, what does this mean for you? Well aside from not having the opportunity to get your butt whooped by one of the most unassuming and consistent riders I know in the local race scene, it means you might have the opportunity to own the custom built and painted Kona Unit Alex rode to victory in the 3 Man Single Speed class at the 2009 12 Hours of Lodi Farms! How cool is that???

No but seriously, this bike is nice, really nice, and Alex is unloading it for a song at $600 to lighten the load for the move. If you don't know him, Alex is a freak about bike cleanliness and maintenance. This bike has been weel maintained and loved, and Alex's smooth flowing riding style and maybe 160 lb frame mean any abuse this bike has taken has been minimal.

In Alex's words:

I'm throwing the SS up on the block, so if you know anyone that wants a SS for a good price let me know. It's a 26'in bike that's been ridden hard (ie..it's got some scratches and it squeaks in spots), but for $600/obo should be a sweet ride.

Basic breakdown is as follows:

18 in Kona Unit Frame (2003'ish/True Temper Plantinum OX repainted solid white)
Pace Carbon Fork
King hubs laced to Mavic 717 rims
King Cogs (16/19)
White Bros Eno crankset
Thomson stem and post
XTR rear V-brake/Avid mech disc front (have mounts for a xtr v-brake up front as well).

Shoot him a line at apebright at gmail dot com if you're interested and I'll throw up some pictures if I can get them.

Just keep simplifying it...

Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski rides a 1 x 10 setup on his Gary Fisher Superfly. Pretty cool, though somewhat surprising considering. Doesn't appear to be treating him too poorly though. May he'll keep moving in this direction and start rocking the limited edition Superfly SS next season.

Too bad it was my rear derailluer that busted and not my front even if there's no way I'm picking up Sram XX anytime soon.

W@W #3 - Ain't got no time

After showing up what I thought was fairly early last week I left work at 4 to get my car from Hains Point and head to Wakefield even earlier. Upon hearing about all lanes being closed on 395 S I decided to jump on the GW Parkway and ride it down to where I assumed it met 495. 1 hour and 45 minutes later I pulled up to Wakefield threw on my kit and rushed to registration. Guess the elevated heart rate sort of counts as a warmup right?


Despite my last row starting position for the second week in a row I managed a decent position coming out of the climb and into the single track; probably around the front of the mid-pack. I felt I was racing fairly smoothly and well, not as fast as the faster SS riders by far but better then last week. I was passing a few people here and there and consistently rolling people in.



Somewhere around half way through the second lap I took a spill topping out the power line climb before the woopty doo downhill section the photogs love. Not too big a deal in it's own as I was only passed by a couple of Masters racers in the field behind SS but the fall knocked the old single-ator loose and after about 5 minutes of tentative riding the chain lost all tension and fell off. From this point I worked my way coasting and scootering my way down to the creek crossing where I managed to borrow a 5mm to tighten the single-ator and get myself back on the bike.

Passed some folks, including at least one of two other SS'ers but definitely lost more then I regained. In reviewing Gary Ryar's pics from the evening I feel like I was an even better position before the issues then I realized though still that would only be maybe top 15. Once the results come out I'll be looking for the placement of rider # 407 since he was the last rider I passed from the SS race before my problems. 423 was just a bit behind me and I believe was the second SS rider to pass after I pulled off with my dropped chain.

-Photos courtesy of Gary Ryan - Another great set of shots for all of us to oogle over how cool we look in our superstar tights!
See the results and more pictures soon here.

W@W #2

I unfortunately missed the first W@W race this year since I was slacking on getting the Scalpel fixed up and only walked into The Family Bike Shop Tuesday night at 6:45 hoping to finally fix the rear brake on the Jamis... Tough luck in that the guys couldn't hang around late and the move to an Avid BB7 from my problematic Hayes Sole proved a bit more difficult since the two mounting brackets that came with the brake did not work on my frame. Things got sorted out the next day but instead of trying to rush to make the Sport race after work I rode at Patapsco instead with Bri and Cass.

Anyway, this week along with Darren and Mike I raced the Single Speed cat at 6. Got lined up in the back of the 20 racers began to wonder whether I'd be able to get by any of them before the finish of the race. My placement at the start gave me a swift kick to the shins as I got redirected by the traffic ahead into the gutter on the gravel road climb on the way to the single track. Eventually due to some bumping and brushing I even had to put a foot down and get going again about mid way up the hill. From there I took my spot, somewhere in the front of the middle.

Throughout the first lap or two I managed to pass a few other single speeders. I could feel the wear on my legs from the 20+ miler Tuesday at Rosaryville with Eric but still tried to pull out what my legs had. There were definitely times when I backed off and times when I didn't give it everything due to fatigue that could have been avoided, but overall I think I rode pretty well.

Kent came up on me pretty fast in his winning ride, followed shortly by Brian P. I saw and heard Brian telling me to keep moving and definitely picked up some motivation from him. We actually caught the SS guy in front of me together and as he let Brian pass I announced one more, though at that the guy grabbed Chris' wheel and didn't let me get around. For the remainder of the race I worked back on that guy over and over only to get dropped again, generally by my own doing by the way of sloppy riding though also some due to lapped traffic.

In the end I was all alone coming into the finish line, mostly relaxed knowing I wasn't fighting for any positions, just ready to be done. As I've said before, my technical riding skills are my biggest weakness since for the most part my fitness is there. Aside from my tired legs I never felt myself much at any kind of aerobic deficit but my cornering speeds and technical abilities were suspect throughout the race. I could definitely tell I've gotten faster and better technically from the last time I raced this race though 2 years ago so I am at least coming along.

In the end I finished in 10th place (out of 20 starters) though at least one person DNF'd that was in front of me (Darren dropped out after his rear hib slipped in the dropouts and caused his tire to rub constantly). About where I hoped to be, though after my terrible start I expected worse. Hopefully next week I can improve on this and actually beat Darren in a race we both finish. My goal for this week was simply to beat Darren... Mission (sort of) accomplished.

Congrats to Kent and Brian for going 1-2 in the Masters 35+ and currently standing 1-2 in the overall. Kent told me it was his first win there after racing W@W for 10 years. Pretty sweet; especially if he can hold on and take the overall in his 10th year as well.

12 Hours of Cranky Monkey - Low Expectations

DCMTB - 12 Hours of Cranky Monkey 2009 (-Alex)

On Friday night Leland and I were discussing how unprepared we felt for this race. Neither one of us had ridden much, if any since Big Bear two weeks prior and we both still had some bike issues that remained to be ironed out after that brutal race. Mine it turned out was to remain wrinkled and I set out Saturday morning with just the Jamis Dragon 29 SS conversion in the back of the truck.

Leland took the Le mans start and had me a little worried as he came through the run lap and then the bike lap solidly placed within the top 10. I knew he'd mentioned to me he was afraid he'd go out to hard and blow up super early so I called out to him to settle into a comfortable race pace once they got to the trails. An hour later I was out for my first lap on the unfamiliar course.

Apparently showing Vinny how many laps I was gonna ride. I'd equate it to when Babe Ruth pointed to the outfield... Uh, yeah ok... or predicting our placement before my second lap...

The quantico trails were loaded with short but steep little climbs all over, especially (or so it seemed) towards the end of the lap. There was one large fire road climb I never even attempted after seeing SS vet Jonathon W walking it in front of me and then a couple of sharp, steep switchbacks that weren't worth the wasted energy. Otherwise I was able to climb mostly everything on the 33x19.

The 3 Person Coed on top of it all - #1 overall team! Woot!

My laps went very smooth and consistent; forced to ride the same gear I just settled in and went. I managed to keep my mind in the game and grind out the tiring climbs even through the last lap and kept my lap time consistent. First lap was a sub 1:02 and my last was 1:04.02 with the inner 2 laps being right around 1:03. Very nice. I'm convinced I'm better off on the single speed for races like this one; not too hard to accomplish on a single speed but hard enough I'd be rocking the granny gear way too much and spinning way too easily while I "raced".

For a while we were battling it out for 3rd place in the 3 man open category though we soon were shown the way to 4th by the home team, USMC that had had a 30 minute mechanical early on. We held on for 4th though and stood aside the podium, which went 5 deep, to collect our Pint Glasses.

2/5ths of the podium ain't bad. Even Cass got in on the action.

In the end DCMTB rolled out with some hardware (or at least a number of pint glasses).
3 Person Coed - 1st Place (1st overall!)
3 Man Open - 1st Place (2nd overall!)
3 Man 35+ - 2nd Place (5th overall!)
2 Person Duo - 2nd Place (10th overall!) (split DCMTB/PVC team)
3 Person Coed - 6th Place
3 Man Open - 4th Place (13th overall)

Great race, tough venue and an excellent time!

All Pictures courtesy of Vince Gunville (except for the 1 he's in...) More here!

Who'd have guessed I'd be forced to demo an Ellsworth AGAIN?

Racing with DCMTB this year, the 24 Hours of Big Bear was a blast. I must admit the stigma that goes aloing with even just being associated with a team like DCMTB is pretty cool, especially at a race like this one. It's cool to be on a well respected and recognized team, even if those things don't necessarily apply to me.

Anyway, enough star/naval gazing. We turned out two teams for thgis year's race which included my 5 person coed team of Leland, Vince, Alex, Ilana and myself and a 4 man expert team consisting of Jonathon W, Mike K, Darren and Kent. All in all an awesome and supremely entertaining group of people to race and hang out with. We all did a preride on Friday which revealed a mucky but mostly ridable final 10 miles or so, though we missed out on riding the rerouted beginning few miles.

A friendly "pat on the back" during the campground lap.

I did the Leman's style start where we racked the bikes, ran a quater mile loop around the camp grounds, jumped on the bikes and rode the same loop then tore down to an entrance to the course. Here things got ridiculous as the freshly made trail was swampy and pretty rough to ride, especially with folks stopping in the line of 20 to 50 riders stacked up in front of me. Things finally opened up and spread out and I settled in to a comfortably hard pace for the 13+ mile loop.

After my lap we were in 5th in our division and Leland took it out for lap number two. Unfortunately a busted chain slowed his lap considerably and we found ourselves fighting back from 9th from there. Alex pulled the fasted DCMTB team lap and the second fastest lap for our dividsion with a 1:23 and Vince and Ilana both rode solid problem free laps as well.

Showing off the pythons(garden snakes) after my first lap. (Cleaning GU off my leg)

My second lap began just as it was getting dark and aside from 2 lost contacts within the first 5 minutes (I had spares in my bag) I was cruising along at a solid pace and passing people as went. I ran the rock garden and got to the big climb out and suddenly I heard a metallic ripping sound coming from the rear of my bike, stopped and saw my derrailluer hanging by the cable and chain. I tried to run it but the derrailluer was bouncing off the wheel so I shouldered it and walked the rocky sections and did my best to run the remaining 2 miles back to the start/finish.

When I finally got in I was ready to lose it from frustration but my teammates calmed me down and got me thinking rationally again (the bike nearly found it's way back into the woods superman style). After I dropped us from 7th back to 9th with that, the team rode solidly through the night and by the time I was mounted up and ready to ride my morning lap on board the Ellsworth Truth we were back fighting for 6th!

Aside from some additional saddle adjustments I didn't have time to make, the Truth rode like a dream. I had wanted to try the Evolve (again) but the Truth was available so that's what I rode and I was glad I did. I took the descents faster then I'd imagined I could and more comfortably and under control then any of my previous laps. Unfortunately the saddle position kept me losing time on the climbs. I did manage to catch a guy that had dropped me within 15 or 20 minutes of the start of my lap during the downhill before he pulled away again up the long fireroad climb after the descent.

The Truth - From Ellsworth Handcrafted Bikes

Leland followed my lap with a solid mechanical free lap followed by what Alex described as a terrible and slow lap (he still beat the rest of us...) while Ilana brought us home with a solid 7th place out of 16 teams. All in all about what I think we would have expected and really even better considering our troubles. If Leland and I had managed our few laps without mechanicals we'd likely have been racing for 3rd place and pulling out 15 laps total. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

Otherwise it was fun chatting with friends and catching up with Greg Cappelle from high school racing with the Proteus squad. Adam was out riding (for only the third time this year...?) and Eric was out offering support to his one person wrecking crew of support from Lodi, Liz.

Again another fun year at a great event. Heres hoping I won't need to demo an Ellsworth come next year's race though. Nothing personal of course!

Last year's Big Bear report...

A slightly different approach

Ever since Lodi Farms the Scalpel has basically been on the DL. The conditions there combined with parts that had passed their prime and my own poor excuse for mechanic skills kept the bike in the bike room just waiting for the latest QBP order to arrive. This week the QBP order arrived!

I decided to drop the triple ring set up and go for the simpler 2x9 (and yes, I made this decision before SRAM XX was announced) with a bash guard. I bash my ring much more then I should (though I have been getting much better with that). More importantly I almost never use the big ring on the Mountain bike and rarely really ever use the small ring for riding around here. So, why put a nice big ring on when I can instead protect my rings with a bash guard and just bump the size of my 2 smaller rings up a bit?

A little change of pace...

Enter the Race Face Team FR Ringset; 24-36-Lightweight Bash. Nice. Got to work on replacing the rings late this afternoon after a thorough cleaning of the road bike before quickly realizing I don't have the proper tool to remove my hollow tech crank arms and get at the small ring! 5:25 PM and Family Bike Shop just closed so I hustled my butt over to Proteus Bicycles to beg the use of their shop for a moment, with no beer in hand at that. They generously allowed me the use of their Park Tools combination crank/bottom bracket wrench (need to get myself one of those) and I was back in business. (BIG thanks goes out to Proteus for helping me out today!)

Yeah! I love shiney parts, even if they're rare on my mountain bikes...

Got everything all set up on the Scalpel including a new set of jockey wheels and took it out for a spin. SWEET! No chain suck, everything shifts perfectly and I even managed to correctly adjust the outer limit screw to keep the derailleur from trying to pop the chain out onto the bash guard! Now I just have to hope I haven't over geared myself for the 24 Hours of Big Bear course next weekend. Hopefully tomorrow morning's Shed/Gambrill ride with the team will give me some idea of what I can expect out there.

After a year of the blue tape the red looks a bit strange. I'll get used to it quickly I'm sure.

In other news I popped some new red bar tape on the road bike just for sh*ts and g*ggles. Now that my team kit is actually red I feel like I might as well keep my apparent favorite color scheme going...

1000 Words or more... Why my Smoky Ride was Epic

Since I waited so long to write this, it will likely be much shorter then if it was fresh in my mind. That's probably a good thing for my rambling post style.

Because of all the rain, what was supposed to be two days of big and long trail rides in the mountains of Tennessee turned into one long gravel road mountain ride on Friday. I took the following description from some guide online that I found after the planned trail ride ideas were washed out.

Rich Mountain and Parson Branch Bike Trails - Access this trail from US321 west of Townsend by turning south onto the road to Tuckaleechee Caverns, drive up Rich Mountain Rd (Old Cades Cove Rd) to Rich Mountain Gap and park at Great Smoky Mountains National Park boundary. From Rich Mountain Gap ride up the gravel Rich Mountain Road south 3.3 miles to a view of Cades Coves, descend 3.4 miles to the Cades Coves loop road, proceed west on the pavement to the Visitor Center at the southwest corner of the loop. Take the gravel road south to the Parson Branch gate ('bout 2 miles). Parson Branch road is closed til 2007. Climb the gravel Parson Branch Road through the rhododendron tunnels to the Gregory Bald trail head (3.3 miles), then descend to 129 (another 5 miles). This descent has many creek crossings. Whew! Now turn around and ride back to the Cades Coves loop. Turn right on the Cades Coves loop road. You can take Hyatt Lane or Sparks Lane as shortcuts across the Cove to the Rich Mountain road. Cumulative climb for this roundtrip is about 6000'. Rich Mountain trail is 7.7 miles (one way); Parson Branch trail is 10 miles (one way); Cades Cove trail is 11 miles.

The initial directions for getting to the ride start were a bit fuzzy since it gives a left where you should take a right and ignores a couple of intersections where I continued to follow the cavern signs. Finally found what appeared to be the correct hill but driving up Rich Mountain Rd I quickly decided I should be riding it and not driving up it half way as the directions dictate. So, I went back down to the base of the mountain, parked along the road slightly in some random person's field and headed on up the mountain. The moderate climb along the rough but paved road was full switch backs and great little mountain houses, many of which had excellent views between the trees.

Me, looking like a dork out at the top of Rich Mountain, a view across Cade's Cove behind me. Some day I'll learn to smile and maybe not look quite so much like an A$$!

After a couple of miles I found the designated Smoky Mt park boundary and continued onto the gravel road. The initial first climb ended up being just over 5 miles with about 1300 feet of climbing. Good steady effort, not killing it but not necessarily taking it easy either (at least for me).

Along the Cade's Cove Loop, just a bit before the rain came...

From the top it was a fast descent into Cade's Cove where I shared the road with what felt like more cars then when I ride in DC. At one point I noticed a Choose Civility bumper sticker and ended up meeting a family that lives down the road from where my folks used to live and from where I went to high school. Better yet, after chatting for a minute with the lady I found out they used to live right here in GHI, just down the street from where I now live. Small world I tell ya. This one probably begins to rival the time I saw three people I knew from home in MD while on a lay-over in London-Heathrow airport with the family... Ok, well maybe not rival it but ah well...

I kept on the route and eventually it became clear the it was going to rain. There were butterflies all over the road that apparently refused to move as I rode by, but I guess they flew away before the rain came. I thought maybe they knew the rain was on it's way and they sat there with their wings up and together while it rained though I'm not so sure about that considering how heavy the rain was.

Anyway, the rain came down... hard and heavy. Better yet the thunderstorm accompanying it came fast and close and after a strike within a quarter mile from me scared me off the bike into the shelter of a sign for Parson Branch road... aka standing out in the middle of the rain trying to keep the phone and camera dry in my bag... Eventually a park service employee pulled up but didn't offer me any shelter in his big old NPS truck. A couple of Georgia in a big old pick up with their dog did let me sit with them despite my sopping wet self. Turns out the guy was a little bit of a rider himself and actually had spent a couple of years volunteering at the Tour of Georgia! Very friendly and nice couple that I was VERY thankful to for allowing me to wait out the worst of the lightning soaking their leather interior.

Once I got out I headed up Parson Branch for a ways, essentially riding up a small stream rushing down the "unimproved" "road" as the moderate rain continued to fall. Eventually though the rain stopped and the Sun began to emerge again from behind the clouds. After a bit I realized just how behind schedule I was and that I was headed out and back along Parson's and I quickly decided to cut the remainder of the road out of my ride and head back towards the cove. Once back to the cove I continued along the loop mostly stuck behind dozens of cars with people pulling over occasionally to ogle the deer or a local turkey sunning it's feathers in the fields. At one point I pulled up to some folks watching a bear slowly amble into the woods across a field which was cool to see.

The GF Paragon Poses near the top of Rich Mountain looking out at Cade's Cove.

After that it was back to Rich Mountain road for the 3ish mile climb back to the top and the long and super fast descent down to my truck on the other side. My camera turned out to be dead, which I realized as I rode up Rich Mountain initially and tried to take a "before" picture for my ride. The cell camera stepped in and saved the day, though I could only get a few with the limited storage space on it. I also realized about three quarters of the way to the top of that first climb that my camel back had leaked nearly all of it's water out on the passenger seat. Apparently the bag's weight laying on top of the bite valve caused it to open and leak the entire way out to the ride. Sucks right? Luckily I was able to refill at a water fountain at the visitor center. However, I also brought my lap top since I have a wireless modem for my Internet access just in case I really needed help finding the ride... My lap top was under the camel back on the passenger seat.

Imagine the feeling of dread looming over me for the remainder of my ride after realizing nearly 3 liters of water had leaked out on top of my lap top. And then the rain and my phone and camera; I figured my tech days were over. Apparently the portable electronic device gods were smiling on me despite the weather gods' constant frowns and all my devices appear to be in perfect working order. Phew...That would have been one hell of an expensive bike ride.

On the drive back to Aimee's parent's house I drove directly through the severe thunderstorms that were threatening to get me again as I climbed out from the cove but luckily held off just long enough. The storm called for radio broadcasts of severe weather alert warnings describing quarter sized hail and multiple lightning strikes. I saw the lightning, sometimes 4 strikes in a row but didn't have the pleasure of experiencing the hail.

Saturday morning I returned the rental Paragon to the shop (River Sports on Sutherland Ave, in Knoxville - $30 per day rentals if you're ever in the area- Very cool shop with lots of other stuff as well, including a climbing center attached...) and begged for a rain check on the second day since I didn't want to get all muddy and destroy the local trails in the process. The granted my wishes so I now have even more of an excuse to get back down there and ride. Can't wait to get down and try out some of the actual single track they've got.

The guy from the shop, Justin I think also told me about the 12 hour race they are holding on June 6th. Unfortunately its a bit too soon for a return trip for Aimee and I but I think I just may add that to the calendar for next year. Sounds like a good time and appears to be a pretty affordable and personable event.

So, maybe it didn't end up short... or maybe we should all just be happy I didn't write this while it was really fresh in my mind!

Smoky Mountain Squallor

Big ride today down here in the Smoky Mountains. Got plenty to say but little energy to say it right now. For now though, my route. Was supposed to be a 30 miler with about 3000 feet of elevation gain but due to a later then desired start time and a serious thunderstorm with lighting within a quarter mile of me I cut it short. Apparently my route description wasn't quite correct... Turned out to be a 35 milder with about 3000 feet of elevation gain...

Photo by: Scott Basford from wikimedia.org

The rental Fisher Paragon was excellent, though the front shock I believe was set for someone much larger then I. This ride was just the kind of thing I needed/need to be doing these days. Absolutely beautiful!

12 Hours of Lodi - Team DCMTB Knobby Moose Knuckles

12 Hours of Lodi Farms 2009 - 3 Person Open Sport - 3rd Place

It was a really fun race, though the first lap was pretty brutal. It was hard to ride fast since there were so many sharp turns and sudden grade changes all over the course. Flow was a bit hard to come by the first lap but on the second I really got into a grove and started to enjoy myself. I put in some decent lap times and after my first lap was never passed again during the race.


In the middle of Ilana's second lap and our teams 6th it started to rain... hard. The trails went to almost entirely dry and packed dirt to muddy slop in a matter of minutes. I had the next lap in half light half dark and all rain and slop. Turned out to be not as bad as I expected aside from the finishing mile or two where it had already been in bad shape before the rain. Ilana finished up our 9th lap and her 3rd at around 11:40 PM or so and we were keeping a close eye on the two teams behind us in the standings.

One appearded to have given up and left their chip on the table while the other was an unknown. I stuck around the timing tent kitted up and ready to go in case they came in and were doing another lap. I was ready to go man to man but really I didn't want to ride another lap if I didn't need to. Most of the teams had called it quits earlier so the trails were practically empty and I wasn't looking forward to a lonely dark and sloppy hour and a half plus out there again. I did try to convince a couple of people to ride and I'd go with them but no dice.

Post slop lap: Still smilin! Those black tights really hide a lot of the dirt that was caked on them.

Turned out ok though when the clock struck 12 and the 4th place team hadn't rolled in on a 9th lap so back to camp to get dry and warm again. Placing was awesome though I still haven't gotten the chance to actually climb the podium! Some day. Watching the last few riders coming in during the award ceremony made me even more greatful I didn't have to go back out. All in all an awesome way to start off the season on the trails!

The other DCMTB team also did well with a devastating win over their competition in the 3 person single speed category. Darren, Alex and Eric did an awesome job of riding solid lap times despite the courses brutally sharp and steep climbs riding 9 laps and being able to stop riding early when they realized they were at least 1 lap and 2 hours ahead of the next team or something. Hats off to those boys for some serious domination on the field.

(*I'd also like to state that the 1st place 3 Person Open Sport team would have placed 2nd in the Expert race/overall. There was certainly some stiff competition out there!)

Let the season begin!

Was getting pretty excited for Lodi this weekend. Definitely ready for a real race (not really counting Snotcycle on this one). Really hoping the weather holds out so this doesn't turn into a dreadful race.

Feeling pretty good overall. Did a couple laps at Fountain Head Saturday with teammate Vince and Darren, Alex and Eric who will be riding single speed. Aside from the nasty heat felt pretty good. Last night the Rosie night ride confirmed that my new Light and Motion Stella 200N will do the job for my night lap. I may not be able to maintain my pace from day light hours though I likely wouldn't be doing that anyway towards the end of the race.

A bit excited and anxious at the same time that Aimee will be joining me for the over night event. Could be a total disaster (ie complete boredom and hatred of all things mtb racing) or could make for a really fun weekend. Here's hoping for the latter. Though if it continues this rain there may be a suggestion I suffer alone and without putting Aims through the misery of two wet and muddy dogs to go along with a tired wet and muddy boy friend.

How much damage could it Du?

I'm having a ridiculously hard time trying to decide whether or not to try my hand at the Off Road Duathlon Championship Saturday in Richmond, VA. On one hand it's 2 hours away in Richmond, VA and I haven't been specifically training for it, nor have I exactly tapered for it (today I ran at lunch and then put in 8 moderate mountain bike miles with Brian after work). I also don't have a good pair of trail runners and my two pairs of running shoes currently in use are somewhat less then stellar on technical terrain...

On the other hand, I've been consistantly running since the build up for the Cherry Blossom 10 miler, I've been riding and feeling really good on the mountain bike a bit lately and don't feel like I'd be at any big disadvantage there, I've got tomorrow to rest and well, shoes are shoes right? Considering next weekend I'm doing a 12 hour race I better be good to go on the mountain bike right?

Plus this is the National Championship Race, something I've never done, nor have I really ever considered doing before. It'd be pretty cool to see where I stack up against the competition on this too; so long as I don't get completely trampled to the ground and humbled beyond repair. I've got to feel at least somewhat good about myself going into next weekends' race...

So, I have 1 day to decide. If I do go, I'll get some cool swag... though I don't think I can let myself be swayed by that.

Its a big milestone

Brian and I ducked out of work early Friday and he earned his first battle scars.

In some of the inner Orange loops of the white loop (did that make sense?) there are a number of trench crossings which one right after the other which I personally didn't enjoy too much being unable to feel any flow what so ever on them. After a few times up and down I took a bypass around the last one and Brian behind me apparently decided to take it. I heard an exclaimed "Oh!" or something to that effect but figured he was just as shocked by the existence of yet another one of the crossings as I was and kept going. Ten minutes later when I pulled up and looked back he was no where to be seen... Whoops. Sorry brosef!

Like the tough guy that he is he simply brushed it off (carefully rinsed and picked out ever last piece of dirt he could find, wondering all the while if he should go to the hospital, and whining the rest of the ride about what immense pain he was in... Haha! j/k) got back on the bike and kept on riding. Another good session on a beautiful day. Brian is well on his way to collecting the kind of cuts and bruises that a mountain biker shows off with pride.

Here's to you mister "goes mountain biking runs into a tree, gets up and dusts himself off before jumping back on the bike and riding for another 2 hours" guy!

Unfortunately these scars will probably only last a month or so max, so we'll need to make sure he earns some more soon... Maybe Brian will have an urge to take on another tree in retaliation soon.

Catching up on some trail time

This past week I finally spent some time dedicated to biking. It started on Saturday last weekend when I spent a few hours helping out with some Rosaryville trail work, though no actual riding. Tuesday I made it out for the Rosie night ride which Eric generously stuck around to lead (despite having put in at least 32 hours of trail work over the previous 4 days including all day Tuesday.

The ride was great and the new Light and Motion Stella 200N worked out perfectly for the end of the ride when we finally needed to turn the lights on. Performs way better then even the combo of the Night Rider Road Rat and performance brand 10 watt light taped to the helmet... Yeah, I don't have much to compare it too of course.

Thursday I took the day off work to get some things looked at on the truck and then went back to Rosie for some more trail work mixed with some riding. Both were great and riding a final lap after the days work was done I could tell the trail was in way better condition then before hand. Paul and Eric put in some ridiculous amounts of time out there every year and I think everyone who rides there owes them a great big thank you for such a great place to ride.

This morning I got out for a few hours of Patrol riding at Black Hill Regional Park followed by a two and a half hour ride at Schaefer Farms with Brian. It was my first time at both places and each impressed me in their own ways. Black Hill is huge with a lot going on. Very nice park with some good easier rolling single track all around the park. Schaefer on the other hand was ridiculously fun. Lots of up and downs and some incredibly twisty and windy trails. Lots of logs and other play ground equipment add plenty of fun and challenge for everyone.

I also rode both endsof the Hoyles Mill connector trail today. The end at Black Hill on patrol and Brian and I crossed over for a few miles down the trail from Schaefer. Now just to put it all together.

The Saturday Ass Over Elbows Edition

Ouch... Yesterday Brian and I finally made it up to the Avalon area of Patapsco for some riding. We'd planned to head out to the Leesburg Bakers Dozen course but with rain on the way and a 1+ hour drive to get there I suggested we forget about that idea. Turns out we probably made the right choice. We finished up our ride just as the rain started to fall as it was.

The Avalon trails have been basically out of commission for a while from the precip and freeze thaw cycles so we'd been waiting to get up there. It was Brian's first time ever riding there and my first time in at least a year or maybe 2 aside from a short night ride before last year's Baker's Dozen. Riding smooth, relatively flat and easy trails like Rosey and Fairland lately it was really good to get out to the more technical and hilly Avalon system.

My face scrapped something on impact and something sliced through my ear a bit as well.

We parked in the Park'n Ride on 195 and dropped in to the park. The decent was super fast and I was feeling great on the bike. Just before we got to the small lot and tot lot area before the first climb of the day I noticed a large and jumpable looking rock along the side of the trail. I went back and told Brian I was going to try and jump it. Bad idea.

The helmet obviously took a solid hit for me.

I jumped it though as I was doing so knew I shouldn't be. The rock had a steeper face then I realized so I went up hard and the front wheel came down fast. It planted with the rest of the bike still in the vertical position I went over the handle bars cracked my head off a log or something and landed flat on my back on top of said log. By far my hardest crash in a long time, maybe even ever, and I have the broken helmet to prove it. Damn.

A couple of spots showing the helmet did it's job.

Since it was within the first 10 minutes of the ride that this happened, once I shook the cobwebs out of my head and determined I wasn't badly injured I decided to go on. Brian obliged and we ended up getting a great 2+ hour ride in on surprisingly rut free and hard packed, and dry trails. Despite the crash I wasn't overly cautious which surprised me, at least until our final descent down a particularly tight, twisty and rocky/rooty trail.

Once I got all the dried blood cleaned up and the cut to stop bleeding it really doesn't look all that bad. You can sort of see the start of the cut there on the front of the ear.

Today, well I'll just say I feel it. The back, neck and shoulders are pretty sore, though still not quite as bad as I expected. The 800 mg Ibuprofen and Vicadin knock off medicine I've got left over from my wisdom teeth extraction likely have something to do with that though. The way I work I'll probably be worse off tomorrow; my soreness is always on a two day delay. In the mean time I need to look into getting a new helmet soon; a fellow rider out there yesterday reminded me about the Rockburn race coming up this weekend which I'm signed up for.

Unfortunately I didn't actually take any good shots during the ride so the focus of this posts images is of course my wreck. I guess the post itself is a little crash centric as well. Ah well, it's just been a while since I got to talk about how badly I tried to hurt myself I guess.