Still Healing!!!

Well I had to go to the chiropractor yesterday to get worked over since I was in quite a bit of pain from the wreck Monday night. Of course I didn't get to see the wreck but it didn't seem like I should have gotten hurt so bad. I know, some of the guys are thinking "man, what a pansy". That's okay, I been called a puss before........but I don't care what my wife says about me. My shoulder feels really good today, I'm still limiting the range of movement with it but it's doing really good. My groin and hip are still pretty sore today, when I got up this morning it was really tight. It didn't help that after I got up I had to go outside and hop in my cold pickup to go to work and then when I got to work I had to go into the freezer to get things pulled out for the day. I popped some Ibuprofen and of course I am on my feet all day so it loosened up pretty quick. Felt good most of the day, that is until I got home and sat down for a while. More Ibuprofen and I'm good to go again.

Ice Capedes

I went out with Coach, Denny, James, and Stoney for a snow covered gravel road ride this afternoon, the gravel sections were really fun to ride once you got a feel for them. It was a lot of fun to get out and ride with a group. The ride heading out of town was a bit sketchy with some slush sections that would let your front wheel drift and float instead of roll through. The first downhill after we left Coach's house was a bit intense for me, I almost got my skirt caught in the chain (it had to be creating drag because everyone was pulling away from me). Everything was going really well until we hit the ice covered paved section of blacktop, the majority of us hit the ground early on this section. Denny was the first to go down, the bike just slid out from under him (I know, how does a bike slide on a solid sheet of ice?). Not long after that James went down very quickly......did I mention that he was right in front of me and it sure is hard to react when your riding on ice. I hit his leg and the impact shot intense pain into my left shoulder, it felt like the ball joint had shifted in the socket and then released when I finally got up. After I hit James' leg I quickly went down on my right hip and upper arm, I have a pretty good strawberry on my hip but the pain is in my shoulder. It is the same pain I had when I went down on Humpty Dumpty and also when I bit it hard on the service road (the impact pushing my arms into my shoulders), it wasn't as bad this time but it was still extreme pain. It took me much longer to get up than anyone else, I must have been auditioning for a drama or something. If that was my best catlike reflexes then I must be that 35 lb cat that just lays next to the window and soaks in the sun. Denny went down again a bit later, I think he hurt his thumb pretty good and James called a little bit ago to check on me and said that he hurt his wrist. I rode very cautiously until we got to gravel again and then had to ride into the wind (it was great training). Every time I would grip my handlebars tight while trying to accelerate I had pain shooting through my left shoulder, it wasn't very pleasant. The ride through town was the worst for me, it was dark and most of the streets were ice (it took me a long time to get home).

Did I mention that Stoney was on a single speed? I bet his legs are feeling it right about now.

Bitter Christmas?

Well another Christmas Day has come and gone, most people anxiously await this time of year whether it's for family gatherings, the holiday spirit, or maybe just for presents. I personally can't stand this time of year, I have a real bitter attitude during the holiday season. It's my choice to be that way but working in retail can do that to a person, I get tired of having to work when people are off and spending time with family and friends. Sure the moneys good but that only gets you so far, most people make memories every year from a special gathering instead nowadays I would rather just sit at home because by the time I get off I am exhausted and then have to get up early to do it all over again. Now at least I didn't have to work Christmas Day, my sister-in-law did have to, Molly told me I would have to quit if that was the case. I know I'm pissing and moaning but hey, it's my blog and I can do what I want to.

I do enjoy watching the kids open presents, I remember being that age and the excitement was intense, so much that I could hardly wait for Christmas morning. I must have been a bad boy this year because Santa (that fat bastard) didn't leave a Gary Fisher Superfly 100 under my tree this year, must not have been able to get those 29" wheels down my chimney......hey, I don't have a chimney.

Passive And Aggressive

Personalities......your either one or the other, and I am the one that most people view as the weaker...passive. Like anyone I can be aggressive but most of the time I am very laid back. I have heard that we get our personality by the age of 2 and having children of my own it is very interesting to see how similar and how different each of them are in different areas. I would not dare try to change my kids personality because that is who they are and this is who I am whether I or anyone else likes it or not.

Sometimes the ability to be more aggressive comes with being more comfortable, this can also turn around and bite you in the ass if your not careful. I have proof of that, it's a little section known as "Humpty Dumpty". If your reading this I'm sure you know the story but I'll refresh you. Denny and I were pre riding the course for RIM at crowder, we weren't riding all that fast in fact we were just having a good time. Well that was until I started the downhill toward Humpty Dumped Me, I was feeling good and letting my Epic eat up some trail until I launched off the first drop and stuck my front wheel into the next water bar (while I was in the air I remember thinking Oh crap....I am going a little too fast). I am still amazed at how much can go through an individuals head in such a short amount of time. When I hit that bar I started a front wheelie (in a bouncing fashion), after the second or third bounce I quickly came to terms with the fact that I was going to eat it big time (this all had to happen in just about 1 second). I remember grabbing for brake but you can squeeze your rear brake as hard as you want but if your rear tire is nowhere near the ground it doesn't matter so in a panic I grabbed the front brake......it doesn't take a genius to figure out what happen next (I'm pretty sure I would have endoed anyway but I just sped up the process). I remember slamming my left shoulder into the ground and my body went tumbling over my head, if that wasn't bad enough my legs were still wrapped around my bike. That was the first revolution, on the next one my bike broke free from my body and kept tumbling down the hill until it came to a sudden stop into a tree, my helmet caught another water bar and got wedged and I rolled slowly over the top of it (I remember thinking I might break my neck). I quickly got up thinking I could shake it off but very quickly found myself back on the ground, I was feeling severe pain in several areas of my body and was very shaken. Denny checked on me and then recovered my bike from down the hill. I don't know how long it took me to recover enough to get back on my bike but I'm sure it was a little while. When I finally got back on I found out very quickly that my front wheel was "jacked up" and was unable to ride the bike.

It is important to get back into the saddle after something like that and I did that two days later, I was able to borrow a wheel for the race and competed in the 12 hr solo division. I took that section a lot slower than I usually do especially on my last lap which was in the dark and in the pouring rain!!! It took over 2 weeks for the swelling to go down in my upper arm and shoulder, I'm glad it wasn't worse.

I'm glad that section of trail already had a name, I hear there is a section at Swope that was named after my riding partner that day....."Jaw Breaker"!!!!

Warmth

There's just something about warmth, it is something that brings comfort, it soothes, and it relaxes your body and your mind. Maybe it's sitting on the couch under a blanket or sitting in front of the fireplace or soaking in a hot tub, wherever or whatever it is it usually makes us all feel better. I enjoy a cup of coffee but for me there's nothing quite like the first cup of the day, with the steam pouring out of the top of the cup and feeling the soothing liquid warm me for the inside out. I know when I am not feeling well the thing that makes me feel the best is sitting on the floor of the shower and pulling my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around my legs and laying my head on my knees and letting the warm water just pour over my head and body, again it soothes and relaxes when nothing else seems to help.

I try to do as much cold weather riding as I possibly can, partly to maintain fitness but also I know my body is burning extra calories trying to stay warm. Warmth or the lack there of can make for a great ride or make it a miserable time on the road or trails. I have pushed the envelope a bit too far a couple times, even with some really good cold weather gear, I have had some severe pain due to my digits getting too cold. I'm sure we are all about the same, it's our fingers and toes that feel it the most, I haven't purchased winter shoes so I have paid the price before and probably will again in the future. I do have some good gear that makes a big difference and I know my limits so I try not to get over eager and step out too far if I know it spells disaster with the cold (there are other options available). Tonight I tried a very thin pair of socks under my wool socks but even though they were thin it didn't leave enough dead air space to trap some heat and allowed the cold air to shoot through to my toes. I have a couple pair of really nice wool socks and the combination of a pair of them with my fleece lined shoe covers it usually makes for a mostly comfortable ride, my toes are usually cold when I'm done but not frozen. It's not as good as winter shoes but I'll ride with what I have for right now. I do have a really nice pair of gloves that do a great job, I did have some cold fingers on one bitter cold ride a couple weeks ago but for the most part my fingers stay warm. Tonight was really pretty comfortable temperatures so it really wasn't an issue, I would prefer to be sweating my tail off in the middle of July but it was still pleasant.

Beware on the trails.

Just a heads up that if you see an "innocent" squirrel while your out riding the trails you might keep your eyes peeled for this guy. I don't know how many there are that are undercover but there has to be at least this one, it has to be real because I found it on the internet.

Meat And Potatoes

This post has nothing to do about cycling, other than the fact that I get so pissed off at myself for eating a bunch of food and not getting as many workouts as I would like. When I am in a routine.....a good routine I do very well, I am focused and my habits and performance echo each other. I know it is a mindset, I just have to continue to treat my body like it's summer time and get after burning calories. I know for me it is hard to maintain a routine when my schedule changes day to day, I may work at 3 am. one day and 4 a.m. the next and then 6 a.m. the next. It sure makes it hard on your system when I am eating at all different times of the day and my body is wore out early in the day on an early shift, especially when the kids don't get to bed until a certain time. It isn't always tough but some days it is pretty rough.

Okay I think I'll go kick the shit out of myself for eating to much......again.

Hardest Spin Yet

Last night Mark had spin class amped up big time, it was a painful experience. There was NO recovery for the whole class. We did time trial pace at lactic threshold for a fairly long song and then about 2 minutes of risers (15 sec up, 15 down for the 2 minutes) and then right back into the fast time trial pace and so on and so on. I would catch myself backing off so I would have to get after it again, my left calf was on the verge of cramping......stupid drinking coffee all day!!! It was good to sweat my tail off again......spin class is kinda like riding a bike, some things you just don't forget (no wait....it has to be your bull....). Some of you might not get that reference.

Had a really good turnout last night too, there was even a special presentation at class!!!!

No Guts....No Glory

So if I don't have the guts to ride outside today, does that mean there is no glory? Well, there will be no glory today!!! I don't mind some pain and torture but it is a bit extreme for safety today. I plan to be at the Y tonight, I have got to get my routine dialed back in.....my legs are begging for some pain (they might think again after I'm done!!).

My fingers and toes are tingling

I knew I couldn't make it to spin class tonight since Brady has his Christmas program at school tonight so I decided I was going for a ride this afternoon. People kept coming into the store today and saying how cold it was and that it was starting to flurry outside, that wasn't very promising for my plans. When I left work it was cold but I didn't think it was too awful bad so I went home and started prepping for a road ride. I layered very well and got to put my new Specialized Sub Zero gloves with a fleece liner to their biggest test yet, my fingertips were frozen. These gloves are great but I tend to get cold very easily and when riding into the wind the cold air got to my fingers, basically my index finger and middle finger on my left hand and my little finger on my right hand. I rotate my fingers between my palm and handlebar while I ride to block direct wind and this helps but I couldn't fight off the cold the whole time. I stopped 3 times to warm up my hands, it wasn't a big deal, just took a little longer to get home. Actually the last stop I realized my fingers weren't cold, they were on fire from heating back up....OUCH!!! By this time my toes were getting cold and when I got back home they were very cold....not frozen but very cold. Another 20 min or so and they would have been in some serious pain. I layered well and was comfortable everywhere else on my body.

I rode on Monday and avg 20.1 on the loop, I rode hard but didn't go all out so I was pleased with that performance. Today was a different story, I avg 17.6 and it was not pleasing....I had to dig deep in the toliet to pull that one out. But today was not about numbers it was about spending time on the bike and burning calories.

Taking Some Steps

Okay, I know I just posted about an hour or two ago but I decided to take some steps to make me feel like I should ride more. I went down to the basement and gave myself my buzz cut, went upstairs and shaved my face and then shaved my legs. It had been a while since I had shaved my legs, it was like I had starred in a cheap movie....."Star Wars: Return of the Yeti"!!!

I feel like a biker again!!!

Blurred Thoughts?????

I have definitely neglected this blog for a few weeks, it seems that I have not been focused on much of anything here lately. I feel as though I am being pulled in 20 different directions with no "true direction" in front of me. With a barrage of things that have been happening, seemingly all at the same time, I find myself unfocused and full of stress and worry.....not a good combination. Do you ever feel like your life is in a downward spiral? I know each of us has a purpose, but when things get hazy it seems difficult to hold a line.

I did take a hiatus from heavy riding to deer hunt for about 10 days, it did me good to sit in a tree for hours at a time alone with my thoughts but it also linked itself to allowing myself to drift into the "what if?" thoughts. Molly has been battling this stomach issue for quite some time and with no real answers sometimes the scary thoughts try to creep into your head, I won't write out the thoughts but I'm sure you get the idea. I know she is in good hands, she has been doing really well this past week, it's just frustrating (especially for her) that we haven't gotten it 100% taken care of.....yet!!!

I haven't been able to ride much with her being less than 100% for several days and me being needed at home more, I am happy to fulfill my responsibilities but not being able to relinquish the added stress makes things a bit tougher. I feel as though I have put a couple pounds back on, that doesn't scare me because I know how to take it off, but it does piss me off big time!!!!!

I miss racing, not because I am overly fast or all that good but because that is the best training out there. It is so hard to simulate (at least for me) race speed and intensity while training, and only getting a ride in here and maybe there my fitness isn't anything near what it was. I know that a person needs to have a bit of rest to recharge the batteries, I just hadn't planned on taking this kind of break. I'm not sure what 2010 has lined up for me, I may not be racing as much as I would like but I plan to ride even more than before. I have some training workouts that I had thought about over the summer that I need to commit to print and schedule myself a workout plan. I need to be more goal oriented with everything, riding included, I need to "plan my work, and work my plan". I would like to do Lumberjack again this year, I have even thought about going single speed but there are so many big ring sections that it makes it hard for me to commit to one gear. I hit the whole range on gears the past two years at Lumberjack, cranking the big ring and grinding the granny gear (especially the last lap) on those long ass climbs, I'm not even sure what gear ratio I would run. I would have to contact every single speed racer that I could to find out what ratio they ran. I would really like to buy a new geared 29er and race it but I don't think that will happen in the next several months, but you never know!!! If I ride the same bike for quite some time that is okay too because I have an awesome bike (it's just hard to make some of those switchbacks with the training wheels on).

Rest Week I Guess

Well anyone that knows me very well knows that I like to hunt and tomorrow is opening day of deer season and I'm pretty excited about it. We have a lot of people getting together and a lot of food and anyone that knows me very well knows that I like food. We had an awesome meal tonight and I had about 2.5 meals worth, and of course I am furious with myself right now. I know that the meals to come will be awesome as well, some incredible soups, lasagna, roast and some homemade apple pie, homemade brownies, homemade banana nut bread (now all we need is Margie's cinnamon bread....yummmm).

I'll be up early tomorrow and sitting in a tree, what I like to do when I'm not riding my bikes. I won't be doing much on the bike for the next several days so I need to try and find a way to burn some calories........we'll see what happens!!

Indian Creek was fast and fun!!

I was able to get out and do some mountain biking the past couple days, Fri morning went out and rode and then again Sat afternoon. Fri the breeze was a touch cool so I put on arm warmers and it wasn't long before I was sliding them down my arms and wasn't long after that I was taking them off completely. Sat afternoon it was already very warm so obviously I knew how to dress, it sure is nice to wear shorts and a short sleeve jersey and sweat in November. Both days I started at the campground loop and did the short section to the connector over to the boat ramp, then headed North to Lot 17 and made the return trip and finished up the campground loop. My computer shows that at 15.6 miles, it was really fast with the dry weather and the trails being freshly blown. I thought about going out today and do a road ride because I didn't have a lot of time but just couldn't squeeze it in. I'm not overly upset since I did a road ride Mon, spin class Tue, off day Wed, spin class Thur, mtb Fri, mtb Sat.

Getting Back In A Groove

I need to find my groove again now that the Berryman is over, I have noticed that my body is playing catch up as far as calories go because it just seems I can't eat enough. I hope to get out of that stage in the next day or so, I remember doing this after Lumberjack as well (I do enjoy eating!!).

Went to spin class tonight, Mark had us doing long climbs with rapid descents and short flat sections. We did this three times, man I love climbing workouts!! Tim wasn't there tonight so that gave all of us in the class a chance to talk about him.

STUPID GOSSIP!!!

Berryman Epic Recap

Well let me start off by saying that this race was truly an epic, by every standard in my opinion. Molly and I arrived late Friday evening and ran into Doug and Denny driving out to get a signal to try and call us, when we stopped you could hear the water running down along the side of the road. As it turned out the water was well out of the banks of the river and was up over the road near the turn off to our cabin. We got upto the cabin and everyone was already there: Doug and Jeri, Denny and Margie, and Jim Cummins. We got our luggage in and sat around the rest of the evening just talking and having a good time, it was very relaxing. Sat morning was a very cold morning, the tour riders were getting ready to start their ride and they were bundled up. Since the water was out the resort had flatbed trailers that the riders jumped on with their bikes and were hauled across the river, it was over waist deep at this point and had actually come down. We watched and laughed because we knew we needed to get across to preride and we were not sure what we would encounter the next morning for the start of our race.

We went back to the cabin and ate breakfast and then we prepped our bikes and headed down to the water, after a short discussion Denny said he would drive his truck across the water with us in the back. We made it thru the water fine and parked on the other side and started a 2.5 mile climb up a gravel road. We met up with 4 guys from Arkansas and after a haul we did not see the trail head, so we rode a bit further and still did not see it. We opted to ride down to the truck and drive til we found it and then start riding from there, turns out we were only about 200 yds from the trail head when we turned around. We went into the singletrack and it was very moderate climbing to start as we were well up the hillside already and then some fast downhill. We dropped into a bottom, crossed a small creek and then hit the first steep climb that really wasn't short, it did lessen in intesity but the climbing continued. We rode, and rode, and rode some more, I finally looked and my computer was a little over 10 miles and I knew we had to ride back to the truck. I wasn't looking for a long preride but I guess I should have known better!!! We rode to the first check station and Doug started back into the singletrack, we all stopped and called him back wanting to know how far he was intending on riding. Doug is a stud and can ride several miles and be fine for the next day but I didn't want to ride a lot further. We ended up going back to the check station and asked some campers the best way back to the resort. At the check station we had just crossed Brazil Creek which meant what? that's right, we were at the bottom of a hill so we had to climb out. We had a paved climb that I swear went on forever and when we thought we were there it kept going, and going, and finally...oh crap no it kept going. I know it's hard to believe but I can be a smart a$$ sometimes and as we were climbing as a group I yelled to Denny "Hey, get out of your big ring". All the Arkansas guys whipped their heads around to look at his ring situation and of course I started laughing, Denny ended up looking down because he thought maybe I was serious at first. When we got to the top of the hill we found the gravel road that eventually took us to the truck, approx 20.5 miles of preride and I was very tired.

Sun morning we got our gear ready and noticed that the resort truck was pulling the flatbed again so we made our way down to the start area. Shortly after arriving we saw the truck come back with no trailer and we knew we would not have a ride across the cold water. It was warmer that morning but still very chilly, I was shivering down on the start plus anyone that has raced with me knows that the 15-30 minutes prior to the race start is the time I hate the most. I can't stand the waiting part, I just want to get started with the pain of it all. Finally the race started and we had a makeshift bridge (the flatbed) that got us across the river. I rode the gravel climb pretty good, riding solid in the climbs and pushing in the flats so I was able to pass a few people before the singletrack. I love endurance racing but I still never know just how much to hold back so I have enough to finish strong. I was riding pretty comfortable but yet at a steady pace. Denny caught up with me shortly after the first check station and we rode together to the second station that was at the 21 mile mark. My sensor on my computer had moved and I had no idea how far I had gone....which sucked. A few miles after the second check station my bike was making some funky noise so I tried to locate the noise but was unsuccessful. Denny had pulled ahead of me by this point so I just settled into a good pace but soon started feeling the early signs of cramping. I backed off a bit but knew I needed to keep some good pace going. I was frustrated that I have had a couple cramping issues this year and I felt like I had prepared my body for this issue but still was feeling it, but that's just part of racing. A few miles later I could not get my bike to shift into the small ring, that is big trouble on this course as it was climb, climb, climb. I made some barrel adjustments on the fly and got back into business, the only problem is I over adjusted and when I hit the gravel road I went for the big ring and jumped the chain off the sprocket. I finally got to the last check station and the girls said that Denny had just left a few minutes prior. I was sure that I would catch him since I have done several endurance races and this was his first and he was carrying a fast pace but it turned out that he actually gained time on me. The last leg was rutted out and had some good drops over rocks and roots, it was a blast to ride. It would have been even more fun if I wasn't so tired and if it wasn't so wet. Also I had locked out my front shock on the earlier gravel section and forgot to unlock it, now I know why my arms were taking a beating on the downhills. Denny had an awesome race and finished almost 13 minutes ahead of me. I had some mechanical issues but he out rode me, plain and simple. I can't really complain because I still turned in a good time of 6 hr 19 min 50 sec and finished 54th out of 120+ racers. Even with some rough conditions there were 4 riders that were fast enough to beat the old record.

Berryman Epic Packing

It never ceases to amaze me how much stuff I can pack for a bike race, especially when I will be a long way from home. I know that I will not need everything I pack, in fact I will not need most of it but I want it on hand just in case. At least I will be driving my own van and I can pack it with whatever I want. This trip is taking extra planning since I am using 2 camelbaks (a different race strategy this go round), and my first time taking advantage of a drop bag.

I have early shifts the next 2 days so I guess I should start getting ready for bed.

A Legend Retires

It can be argued that Chris Eatough is the best endurance mountain bike racer in history, he is a six time 24 hr solo world champion (in consecutive years). He is also a 5 time 24 hr solo national champion as well as the winner of the 2007 NUE series (100 mile races). He has 10 victories in 100 mile races and several top 5 finishes as well. Chris was suppose to race at the 2009 national 24 hr solo race earlier this month at the 24 hr of Moab but I could not find his name on the start sheet. He had announced that this would be his last race as a professional and he would be focusing on his coaching career as well as testing new product lines for Trek.

I feel very fortunate to have raced against Chris on 2 occasions, both of which were at the Lumberjack 100. I'm sure he was shaking in his cycling shoes when we toed the line, at our first meeting he was a pro and I was still racing beginner. He lapped me at approx mile 40 on a 25 mile course which meant he was at mile 65. This past year I was at mile 50 before I let him around me, he had 75 miles under his belt and still looked fresh, when I got to the 75 mile mark I laid on the ground to stretch my back out before heading out for the last 25 miles.

I purchased a Trek Volkswagon team jersey on our first trip to Lumberjack and after the race at the post race party I had the opportunity to approach him and ask for his autograph. He was sitting at a table with other pro racers and I felt totally out of my league but asked anyway. He is a super nice guy and was happy to sign it, I now have it framed and it is one of my favorite possessions.

My favorite Chris Eatough quote: "There's a cutoff for this race?"

What A Minute

I am not apposed to wearing a little bit of pink when I ride, in fact I have a pair of pink wool socks that I love to wear, but this just crosses the line. Actually it looks like it fits inside the line........that's disturbing (but funny!!!).

I am hoping to get a gravel ride in tomorrow, mileage will depend on time restraints. I really need to ride tomorrow since I am missing spin class again, especially since I have been eating like a horse (stupid oats).

Boys And Toys

I hate to say it but I haven't been getting the miles in that I am used to, I did go out and ride the loop tonight in the 42 degree temps (it really wasn't too bad). I have been wanting to get some 6 plus hr rides in to prepare for Berryman but it just hasn't happened, I'll still ride hard but I am just not where I want to be right now fitness wise. I have been spending some time off the bike trying to help Molly since she has been ill for almost 2 months now, hopefully since the scope yesterday we can get things totally figured out and get back to our lives. I have also been getting some things ready for my other passion, deer season. My two oldest kids have shown interest in going with me and my Dad, of course I won't let them carry a gun yet but they can still go and experience the hunt. My Dad, Brother, Sister-in-law, and myself went out and worked on deer stands Sun afternoon (I really wanted to ride but I knew time was running out for stand work) and we got 9 of the 10 stands at one farm completed and ready to go. I went out and shot my rifle today and checked 3 of the 9 stands at the other farm, actually there are only 2 stands left to check since my Dad has been working on them also. I would have liked to shot more rounds today but at a little over $2 a shot it really adds up.

Great Conditioning Ride Today

I went on a 4 hr ride with Coach today but didn't have the performance that I wanted, I ended up on the edge of bonking when it was all said and done.....maybe I was over the edge. I didn't take my camelbak (bad idea) and then ended up leaving my Hammer Gel in the truck. I started off running too much tire pressure, add a few soft spots with wet tires and that made for a rough start. After letting a little air out of my rear tire I was riding better. We started at the campground and headed up to lot 17 and then took the grass service roads over to N Poosey. The grass roads were not cut super short so it took a lot of power to get thru and it isn't a short distance to get there either, the return trip was worse because we were tired and riding straight into a strong headwind. Once over at N Poosey Coach took me on a trail that I hadn't been on before, he told me there was a steep hill on it but I had no idea what I was in for. We came up over the top and my eyes got HUGE and my rear squeezed tight!!! I tried to take the outside line but saw real quick if I dropped in it would not be good so I stopped and watched Coach finish his descent. He turned around to see me at the top of the hill and yells "what are you doing?" I told him I took a bad line so he yelled "well go back and do it again". I have to admit it was very nerve racking, as I rolled up to it Coach yelled "keep your weight back". I rolled over the edge and rolled over a small rock toward the top and was committed to the ride down. I feathered the brakes but didn't let myself go too fast, it would be real easy to get out of control (and I like control). I was behind my saddle completely and my rear was hitting my back tire and I still felt like I could go over the handle bars if not careful. When I got to the bottom Coach said "Turn around and look at it" so I did and then he smiles and says "Good thing you rode it before you saw that isn't it?" It was intense, the more I ride it I hope it is no big deal, it was obvious it was no big deal to him and probably not to several of our riders but it shook me up a bit.

We went to another hill that Coach said he hadn't been able to climb for years, it was a doosey. We ended up throwing off some rocks that were momentum killers and it was easy to see what line you needed to take. Coach ended up climbing up the hard part, I only made it up about 1/3 of the way before I spun out. I tried several times but kept spinning out, it was pretty soft. I think if it was dry it is very climbable now. I walked my bike up the rocky section and then turned around and rode down, now that was fun!! We went back up all the way to the top of the service road and then rode all the way down together, now I know about more places to go and play.....if I can remember how to get there.

I'm going to feel that in the morning.

Went out and did the Monday night ride and just going thru town I could tell that the ride was going to hurt. When we hit old 190 I asked James if someone was bleeding because it was obvious Coach could taste blood. I don't know what we avg for the ride (my computer hadn't been reset) but we were hauling tail the whole way. The last climb going up Springhill toward Fair st was super painful tonight, that hill is usually tough but tonight it was brutal. I stayed with James until half way up and then he dropped me like I was standing still, and no offense to James but I don't think he sped up (I just all but stopped I think).

Rolfe was back on the bike tonight, I was good to see him again. He was suffering but he rode really well.

Missed Racing This Weekend

There was some serious cross racing this weekend in Parkville and I had to miss it, turns out I make more money working than racing.....oh wait, I don't make any money racing. I sure hate missing out on the races, the experience gained is a huge thing to miss out on. Also in my opinion, racing is the best training, you can't always put out the same effort on the practice course as you can going head to head with dozens of competitors. No one out there to cheer you on like the races, (can you wait a minute, I need to ring my cowbell). There now I feel a little bit better, okay I really don't but there will be other days for me to race. The Berryman Epic is 3 weeks from today, I still haven't done much in the way of long rides to be top notch. I am not worried about the distance (55 miles) but I hate not being at my best for a race. I guess I can't be at my best for them all, I would just like to be at my best for at least one. I am looking at the Berryman Epic more as a fun race for me, I will be competing with mostly expert level riders so I can't expect to finish high in the rankings. Kind of like racing the Lumberjack, mostly expert riders except for the PRO RIDERS, I was just glad to make it farther along this year before the pros lapped me!!

A Little Cross Practice Tonight

I went out to the Kline cross course tonight and did some laps, really only had one awesome lap, the rest were good but not great. I would rather ride with someone else so we help push each other. I did catch some air on one of the mounds, that was a blast, especially on a cross bike!! I am working on a new dismount, so far I like it much better than the step thru. I can carry more speed into the barriers and I can actually slide off my pedal into a stride, still needs some practice. I think that is one of those things that it doesn't matter how much you have done cross, you always need to practice (just like anything I guess).

Kid In A Candy Store

I felt like a kid in a candy store today, yep I went to a bike shop!!! Actually I wasn't too tempted to purchase items as I was there to get some repair work done. I thought I needed to get the brakes bled but they just needed new pads, especially the front pads (they were almost to the metal). I broke a hanger last night and evidently bent my cage on my rear derailleur also, he worked on it a bit and it is shifting much better now. Now I just need to get back out and ride some more, last night was a perfect night for riding.....hopefully we can get some more days like that soon.

Good Ride/Rough Ride

Mark and I headed out to Indian Creek tonight to get some trail miles in, I had just got my new Armadillo tires put on and wanted to get some riding on them. We started out at the 510 parking lot and headed North, we saw another guy riding that we didn't recognize so we talked to him and he is from Kirksville. He said this was the second time he had made the trip over because their trails were in such bad shape, I remember Coach mentioning how bad of shape those trails were in also. Things were going great, I was riding well and feeling great and I was only about50-60 yds from getting to the service road when I heard a loud "POP" and my cranks spun through, I knew exactly what had happened but looked to make sure. Sure enough, I had broke my hanger. That makes 4 hangers that I have broken now, it is frustrating but that is what they are designed to do. I didn't see exactly what I pulled into the chain but I'm sure it was a stick of some sort. After that my cable tension was all jacked up, I did some barrel adjustments and got it a lot better until a steep climb and I dropped my chain into my spokes. A few more adjustments and it still isn't perfect but better, I think I just need to take all the slack out of the cable and start over.

Even with the issues on the trail it was a great night to ride and was a lot of fun being out on the trail. The trails were in really good shape, super dry and super fast, that is until the rain moves in tonight.

First Cyclocross Race

Well I decided to do my first cross race this past Sunday in Lenexa, KS. I was a bit nervous since I was new to the whole thing, I have raced several MTB races and figured the venue would be familiar to me (which it was) but I was really nervous about the race itself. Denny and I did a couple preride laps together and the course had several very tight switchbacks throughout the 1.99 mile lap, it seemed like once you got through a turn and tried to accelerate you were into the next turn. There were a few places where you could really crank up the amps and make a move which proved effective during the race. There were two sets of barriers on the course, the first was on a run up, this was an area that really put a hurt on me, the second set was just before the end of the lap. There was also a sand pit that most everyone ran through, I heard that a couple people were able to ride it but it was deep sand that just grabbed ahold of your wheels and wouldn't let go.

The start of the race was a bit chaotic with 57 starters in the Men's Cat 4 class, Denny and I were on the front of the start which helped us get ahead of many riders although there were several that shot past us on the start. It took about half a lap to start getting away from the bunched up groups but I was riding with someone the whole race. The first lap took a while to get a feel for the turns since the first half was so bunched up. The second lap was a blast, I was able to make up some ground on some riders and was getting a feel for the turns. The third lap was one of the most painful things I can remember, climbing past the start line on that lap all I could think was I have to keep this up for 2 more laps......ouch!!!! I think I slowed a bit during this lap and gave up a couple spots. The fourth lap was painful and refreshing, I think since I knew the faster I got done with the lap the faster I would be done with the race. There was 5 of us going at it the whole last lap, I was the fourth in the group and dropped to fifth at one point but was able to get back to fourth and drop the other rider. With 3 turns to go I made my move on the turn but the other rider made a great move to cut me off which forced me outside on the next turn and took away the better line. He made to and through the last set of barriers before I did and I sprinted to the finish and came up about 1-2 ft off his back wheel. I finished 11th out of 57, I was very pleased with the race and the results. It was a great learning experience as well.

I'm Back

I haven't did any blogging since early May and I have had a few people ask me if I had stopped, so I decided to get back on the blog. I have made a new layout for this blog and pretty much abandoned my old one, I will probably make changes along the way but at least I am up and running again.