Sightings.

It was cold, 33 or so out, but it was nice and sunny!

Blue M&M


Mossy trails

I stopped to put my lightweight gloves on out in the country and this little guy couldn't decide if he wanted to come over or not, and a car had to stop for him! I decided for him by scooping him up, and he took a look at the Felt!

I ride a big bike, this tree was HUGE, like 8 FT in diameter.

Blowing the Dust off, AKA Clearing Cobwebs

Not a ton of things happened on the bike front in these past two months. As the leaves fell away from the warm days and into the short cold ones i found myself unmotivated and largely off the bike. Aside from some good long rides and some Blue Ridge Cup races where i surprised myself, there was little saddle time.

My last 'real' race of the year started with a trip to Richmond, where one of my former co-workers who ventured to the heart of the confederacy and i rode around and he showed me some of the cool old stuff there. The next day was the Tidewater Challenge where i had succeeded in obtaining the singlespeed state champion title. Not wanting to leave that early, and also wanting to save myself for the later pro race, i opted out. It didn't matter anyway as i had become infected by the wild hog flu, or some sort of flu. Warming up, my heartrate was unusually high, and i had a sore throat, etc. I attributed it to my friend's cat, but as i settled into 4-5 place i started to feel like garbage more and more. My heartrate was 255 at one point! I quit the race, my first DNF of the year, and a sour way to end the season, but i was in for it and it just got worse on the drive home.

I obtained a power meter or two and am looking to train more seriously this year than in the past. This happens every year, and i seem to get faster every year too! Training started this past week, and things are looking good. Next year will include far more road races (i did one quasi road race this year.) Looking to turn that Cat 4 into a 3 or a 2! Well, we'll see how it goes.

Patiently waiting on the race series' schedules to come out, as there are a ton to choose from! West Virginia series, Mid Atlantic Super Series, Chris Scott races, 100 milers, Michaux races, and the Virginia series. Try to carpool a bit more hopefully, and don't forget road races, I'm guessing up in PA or DC area? That is an investigation in progress.

Did some serious off-road road riding this week when i decided i wanted to climb up a mountain and it turned from rocky fire road to really rocky double track! But i was already that far, so i kept climbing while the bear hunters watched me ride through mud on 23c tires! It was great, aside from loosening up some spokes on my new powertap wheel. No harm done though, just needed some breaking in! I dabbed once at a 3 foot deep creek crossing. While trying to negotiate a algae covered log across the creek (i was walking) i slipped and got a hot foot, but then wizened up and used the bike as a crutch, while giving it a bath in cool, er cold mountain water.

Now i am in the process of looking up races to do this winter to keep me somewhat sharp, and i have been in the process of getting ready for a 5 hour ride outside in the cold, maybe if my hands aren't too cold i will take some pictures to post up here. I am also going to make my training log public as i am coaching myself now. I will post the link on the right side of the page. My hours, workouts, and power files will be there.

Falltime

During and after my recovery from being sick, I got to some races. The first being the WVMBA final in Morgantown, WV. Feeling kind of like garbage, but wanting to visit friends and race. The race started up a road climb and i was glad i was still fit enough to feel ok there, but the real test started in the woods. Rolling through the singletrack on Shogren's wheel, with TJ Platt leading, i felt fine for about 10 minutes. Then something grabbed the bars from me and i went face first into the ground, landing on my shoulder and collarbone as well. Stunned and upset, i got up quickly but couldn't do anything. A guy who crashed behind me grabbed my bike and put it off to the side. When i gained my wits, i set off at a furious pace to catch the leaders. Made some mistakes and about 30 minutes later, realized i was in trouble. i wasn't blown, but almost. I ran out of water somewhere around halfway, and the finish couldn't have come soon enough. What a way to end the series, a disappointing 6th, 10 minutes back!?

But that is how MTB racing goes sometimes, i am glad that i didn't break my body or my bike, and i had a great cheeseburger dinner courtesy of my great host family in town.


Fast forward a few weeks to this past Tuesday, which was the second Blue Ridge Cyclocross, here in town. My first for the year. It is east VS. west, and Charlottsville (AKA the Foof) had to be shut down. With Jeremiah and Nick Waite here, as well as Andy, I knew we were in good shape. The pace was brutal, and at first i wondered why i was getting passed, but then i remembered my lack of fitness! After about 30 minutes in i started feeling good, and just wanted to maintain my 5th place. Mission accomplished, came in 5th about 3-4? minutes back from the pro train. Didn't feel bad about that. Hopefully some fitness will be gained from that.

This weekend is the Poor Mountain Hillclimb down in Roanoke. Time to find the skinniest tires for my bike (i wish i had a cross' bike!) and climb into the sky for 40-45 minutes. Maybe i can notch up a win?

This weekend....

Is in question. I have been sick since friday and i am not feeling it, but i still desire to race, just don't want to look like a slumlord...nibble on this...

Shenandoah 100 Recap.

This past Sunday i completed and competed in my first 100 mile off road race, also known as an Ultra-Endurance MTB race...

I must say, hearing people talk about these for a few years now, i never could understand why you would want to race 100 miles on your mountain bike. It just seemed like it would be long and slow.

So i got to the campsite around 8pm the night before and signed up. I got some Hammer gel from Chris Scott, the organizer, and decided that drop bags were not needed. My rear tire on my bike was leaking a bit, and reason for some concern , but i went to bed around 11pm.

The race started at 6:30am and i was lined up in the front row basically, ready to race. No warm up needed, this is 100 miles! The race started at a brisk pace, but i wanted to get into the woods ASAP so i stayed with the leaders up the first climb, having to back it off a bit towards the top, because my heart rate monitor wasn't working and it would be a long day to blow up!

This particular race has about 12,000 feet of climbing, and i would tend to stay on the climbs with people, then drop them on the downhills. This could have worked against me in some sections as i was left exposed on many roads, but live and learn, i wanted to rip downhills!

Around mile 50-60 was really tough, i had seemingly blown up and was being passed by all sorts of people on the dirt road to aid station 5, before the climb. I decided to limit the damage and back off, eat and hopefully recover a bit. Lucky for me, by station 5 i was ready to go again, and dropped 4 of the guys who caught me up the the highest point in the race. From there on it was easy, and i came in at 8:13 in 24th place. I was hoping to do sub 8, but next year this is a realistic goal.

I did however, win as the fastest local (Jeremiah does not count!!) and i got me a picture on the interwebs !

It was fun, and i do now understand why these events are so popular. Chris runs a great race, and the atmosphere is super cool. It was great seeing friends from back home. Dennis of EBS fame did well for himself and beat his old time by about 1/2 hour!

Surprisingly, i don't feel tired, and i am about to go for a hard ride, later!

Yeah awesome.

It's about time for some awesome to hit this blog like an egg on a frying pan, or a little woodland creature under the tire of a ridiculous SUV. That's right folks, a big fat splat of, er... awesome?

Well it has arrived in the form of late summer and fall racing. After a month hiatus from racing, i am back for some throw down time. Ride the rocks was OK, but last week in WV i felt really good, then i got lost from the lead group that consisted of three of us, and finished up in 3rd about 10 minutes back. That sucks, but that's racing, and especially racing in WV. Where the heck am i?

So, debating whether i want to race this weekend in Charleston, or hang around these parts and get ready for the SM100...If i decide to do it. It is in my backyard, but i am no 'endurance specialist.' That is an excuse, the real reason is the $170 to enter! But if i go, i hope to be around 9 hours.

More importantly, there are some sweet races on the horizon. WV series champs, where hometown favorites will go for the gold, the Chain Stretcher in Peekskill, NY which i regrettably missed last year, Maybe some racing back in WNY, and the Blue Ridge Cup!

FUN!

MASS Ride the Rocks

This past Sunday was a Mid Atlantic super Series race up in PA. Not having raced since a spectacular blowup in WV, i decided i should get back to racing before some big races hit this late summer and fall. The race was called "Ride the Rocks" and was to feature "substantial climbing" This was laughed at my myself and fellow racer Ryan F, as Harrisonburg would surely embarrass any race course with these claims.

With a stacked Elite field and temperatures in the 90s we started at around 12:30. It would be two 10 mile laps or the rockiest terrain i have ever raced on. Not large rocks mind you, just small ones that constantly jar your whole body. Uphills as well, filled with rocks. I had decided to try pacing myself here after the blowup, a sort of test to see if pacing is real.

Well, i started the race feeling pretty sluggish, and slowly picked up speed. My seconds lap was slower than my first, but not a huge difference. 3 minutes or so. I usually drop a bit more than that in the last lap, but even if i fell 5 minutes off pace in the last lap, my first lap effort is that much faster. So the jury is sort of out on that one, but i caught some guys on the last lap!

So 9th place. I will take it against that field. Some good payout, and some racing to get me ready for the next few weekends!