My bicycle has rockets

Last Year's Resolutions

2012-01-02T19:20:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking about my Last Year's Resolutions today. Last Year's Resolutions you ask? With the Mayan calendar ending 12/21/2012, this looks to be our last year of existence, hence Last Year's Resolutions.

My first, which is really two parts, is to increase my watts/kg ratio. Part one is to lose weight. As of this morning I weigh at least 30lbs heavier than I should, and have in the past. In order to do so I have to get my diet under control. With a family history of weight related health issues, this is really why I need to get my weight down. Part two of increasing my watt/kg ratio is to ride more. The great Eddy Merkx had a great idea for training, "Ride lots". In 2011 my mileage was one of the lowest since I started riding regularly in 2004. Not breaking the 3000 mile mark this year was sad. In past years I've had 1500 miles in the spring. This year I'm aiming at 5000 miles. I consider myself a cyclist, not a mountain biker, not a roadie, but a cyclist. I enjoy both disciplines and plan so pile the miles on in the dirt and pavement.

One reason I feel my mileage is down is the amount of time I spend driving. Which brings the third Last Year's resolution, stay home more. Given our geographic disposition, driving to even the closest trail system uses a minimum of two hours of the day. Factor in eating, stopping for gas, etc., a quick ride goes from two hours of travel and two hours of riding to a six hour trek. This means more road miles but it also means joining more of those rides it seems we always miss and hear the stories about. It won't be an end to all road trips but will cut back on the number of them.

Already on our 2012 agenda is a trip westward to the mountain biking mecca of Moab, the Boone Roubaix, Burnsville Metric, Mule Hell Roubaix, and 12 hours of Tsali. I'm sure there will be camping trips and other events added but that is the short and early list.

Happy Last Year!!!

Knocking out the cobwebs

2011-12-08T21:29:00.000-05:00

A few cobwebs have taken over here on my blog but I've felt like doing some writing lately so here we go. I have a few ideas for things I want to write about but those will wait. I'll start with the exciting part.

Earlier in 2011 I picked up a deal on a hardtail 29r. With a plan of doing longer races on relatively smooth trails, it seemed like the bike to have. For those conditions it still is. I sold my full suspension bike leaving myself with just the hardtail. After a trip on the rocks and roots of Iron Mtn my body took a beating and I felt the urge for a full suspension bike. I started the search for the new bike looking at the offerings of the local shops but none had the appeal I was looking for. I narrowed the choices down and had come to either a Yeti ASR5 Carbon or an Ibis Mojo SL. After a little more research I read too many stories of failures on the Yeti so I devoted my bike lust to the Ibis. A few were available online but I don't like the idea of buying a bike online.

On Black Friday Scott and I made a trip to Brevard for a ride at DuPont. On our way we stopped to take a look at the Mojo SL and SLR. The guys in the shop were extremely helpful. Changing out stems and seatposts to help the fit just for a parking lot demo. After some deliberation, we took home our Christmas presents. Scott the SLR and myself the SL.Spec'd with a full XT drivetrain, Forumla brakes, a Thomson seatpost, and wheels featuring Stan's Arch rims, the bike was nicely built ready for the trails.

While I've enjoyed the 29" bike, nothing handles the tight woods like a nice lightweight 26" bike. Weighing in at just over 26lbs isn't too shabby for a 140mm bike.Where this bike really shines is in the rocks and roots. The DW-Link suspension soaks up the bumps and makes you want to go faster. On one ride I rode a section over and over seeing how fast I could push into it. After three tries I still don't think I hit the limit.

This was also my first time riding a mountain bike with a 10spd drivetrain and also a Shimano drivetrain. While I've been a Sram user for several years, I can say nothing is wrong with either setup. The big difference I notice is the 11-36 cassette. On previous 26" bikes I had use a 34/22 chainrning setup but with the 11-36 cassette I'm tempted to try a 36/22 or 26/24.

Any bike will require a little customization to fit your setup. Whether it be different bars, grips, and saddle or just putting on some pedals they all need some tweaking. For me and this bike it involved a Thomson setback seatpost, which the guys at The Hub traded out at purchase, adjusting the saddle position and angle, putting my ancient pedals on, and converting the wheels to tubeless. The stock WTB Mutano tires are some of the easiest to setup tires I've ever used. They are a non-UST version and sealed on the first try. Now for my only gripe on the bike. In what I assume was an attempt at shedding some grams, I found super thin tubes in a 26x1.5/1.7 size inside the 2.4 tires. I'm lucky I hadn't flatted in the previously mentioned rock pounding. Adding Stan's sealant actually added weight to the wheel. It's a small trade off for the flat protection Stan's provides.

This weekend will be the Mojo's inaugural Iron Mtn trip and I can't wait to see how it goes.

ps... don't bother commenting "Where are the pictures?". You're lucky enough to have found new content on the blog. Want to see the bike? Let's ride.

ATMO

2011-03-03T09:57:00.000-05:00

Recently I've been hearing lots of people complaining about gas prices and the economy. So here's my 2cents...

People often say the President has done nothing to fix the economy. The problem isn't in the current President, the problem is in us. After WW2, we were told to spend money to help our economy grow, so we did and our economy grew. What also grew was our greed. We wanted more and we wanted it now. This along with the ease of getting a credit card or loan made us start spending more than we make. Once this happens people start defaulting on their credit and the banks take the hit. The banks also have a hand in the problem. They offer large loans to people who really can't afford it. Of course the greed of these people to buy the biggest house or car makes them use everything available to them. When the payments start going out, they end up in trouble.

Gas prices are a direct reflection of supply and demand. The oil and gas companies know that regardless of the cost, we will consume their product. As we demand more gas the oil companies raise rates, not due to manufacturing problems like they claim, but due to the fact they can. If we really want to lower gas prices, we all have to change our lifestyles. I see neighbors that drive less than 100yrds to another neighbors house. Why not walk? Lots of people drive vehicles that get low gas mileage because "they need a large vehicle since they have kids". Does that 12mpg SUV really seat your kids better than a 25mpg mini-van? No, but they aren't willing to give into the fact they aren't cooler than cool anymore but they are parents now. Think about the function of your vehicle, not about if it's a status symbol.

Many of these people in these situations want us to feel sorry for them. They complain about having to work 2 jobs to pay for their house, car, electric bill, etc. You got yourself into the situation, not me, now get yourself out of it. If you don't like paying $50 to fill your gas tank, sell it and get something more fuel efficient. One of my favorites is when people say they are out of work and broke. They go to the government looking for handouts but they don't go out looking for a job. The best part is when they then start complaining about government spending when they are the ones directly benefiting from it. I also see these people who are in debt over their heads get windfall money (tax return, gifts, etc) and rather than paying bills off, they go on a huge vacation or buy fancy TVs.

To really fix our problems, we need to stop overspending and consumerism. If we stop spending everything we make then our personal lives and country would benefit. I battle with it myself and do spend more than I should. It's one of my 2011 goals to put a stop to it for myself and hope others will too.

Ok, I'm stepping off my soapbox now.

Quarterly Report

2011-02-19T19:02:00.000-05:00

As usual, it's been awhile since I've blogged. Why? I just don't take the time to put my thoughts into type. Sure plenty of random thoughts cross my mind from time to time but Twitter would be better for that. My last blog was about my attempt at weight loss. With the holidays around things got bad. From the looks of that post I was 202lbs. Through the holidays I hovered closer to 215 again. I'm back on track, hopefully, again and on a decline.

Riding miles feel like they haven't accumulated like they did last year but I feel they have been quality miles. So far this year I've focused on climbing but need to switch to some endurance stuff. With my riding focus this year being on some endurance races, I'll need to start gaining some bigger mileage. The climbing will come around with weight loss.

The first race for the year will be April 2 at the 6 hours of Warrior Creek. I've done this race it's first two years and plan to continue doing it every year. Usually this is a duo race with Abby but she'll be vacationing with her sisters. Rather than finding another duo partner, I thought I'd rather give a solo effort a try. My goal is to survive 4 laps of the tasty singletrack.

Warrior Creek starts off a streak of busy weekends and lots of riding. Following 6WC on April 9 will be the Assault on the Carolinas, April 16 the Ocho 8hr, April 30 the Burnsville Metric, May 7 the Mull Hell, May 14 the Bike at Bays/NTMBA picnic, May 21 the 12hrs of Tsali, May 28 the Wilderness Road Ride, June 4 is Collie's Duncan Double, and June 11 will be the H8R 8hr. I'm tired from just typing that. With all those races, June-August will be some rest and rebuilding time to get ready for another series of races starting in September and running through December. Racing is going to be a good mix of mountain, road, and cyclocross. Of course the fun part is the camping trips and hanging out that go along with several of the events. There will also be camping trips thrown in there just for fun.

Until next time...

Back on track

2010-10-13T14:38:00.000-04:00

For those that haven't known me too long, there was a time I was 265lbs. At 5'10" that is way over weight. After trips to the doctor and medication for asthma, I realized the best treatment was to shed some weight. That was sometime around 2004. I started in the gym and 15 minutes on an elliptical trainer wore was all I could take. I stuck with it and pounds started coming off. Eventually 60 minutes of cardio was the norm with a weight regimen that included 3 sets of 100 sit-ups. After awhile weight loss began to slow and I realized a dietary change was in order. Once I got that figured out weight kept coming off. Between my time in they gym and time on the bike, I lined up for the 2005 Benges Revenge at 179lbs.

As time has gone on that 179lbs has increased. It seemed each year I wasn't quiet able to lose all my winter fat. In the spring of 2010 I was around 215lbs and hovered there most of the summer. I've already started dropping some pounds and have hit 202lbs. Winter seems to be the hardest time for weight loss with the holiday gorging but I'm going to make it happen. The goal is to be back at 180lbs for the April races I always like to do. Eventually I'd like to see that dip into the 170s. Sweets are my weakness, it's hard to pass up even the most basic piece of candy. I gotta make this happen

Big news

2010-09-30T22:21:00.000-04:00

So a lot has been going on since my last blog and it seems I haven't had time for anything. The biggest new of all came on Sept 7 when Abby and I got married. We made plans to fly out to Las Vegas, get married on top of the Stratosphere by Abby's friend David, and spend the week seeing the sights around Las Vegas. It's an amazing town and the best way I can describe it is that everything is BIG. Meals are big, the hotels are big... everything is just big. The week came and went way too fast. Las Vegas is a great place to visit and one week isn't enough to see everything. The highlights, other than the wedding, were seeing the Cirque du Soleil show "Love" and our scenic drive along Lake Mead on our way to Valley of Fire State Park. Love is a great show that is a tribute to The Beatles. The acrobatics and coreography were amazing. Valley of Fire was a very scenic trip. We saw rock formations and colors that were just amazing. Some people may find it strange but I really like looking at rocks.

Our original plan after getting back from Vegas was to spend Sunday packing for a week long camping trip in the Forks Area Trail System area in South Carolina. While we were in Vegas I was getting emails about a ride taking place at Bent Creek. We really wanted to see our friends and ride so we worked out the logistics to do it. Our plane landed around 9:45pm Saturday night, we hurried home and started packing the car. 2am rolls around and we're heading to bed. Fortunately we're still on Las Vegas time and it feels like 11pm to us. Leaving early the next morning was tough on short sleep but we did it. The ride and company at Bent Creek and following at Papas and Beer was worth the lack of sleep. We had made a reservation to stay in a nice hotel in Asheville for Sunday night at the Hotel Indigo. After getting a good nights sleep we spent a few hours roaming around downtown Asheville.

After roaming around Asheville we headed south for our campground, Peterson Campground near Appling, GA. Our site was lakeside and in a fairly quiet area of the campground. At one point I think it got too quiet. For some reason it felt particular creepy that night and then some suspicious activity really made it weird. After peaking out of the tent making sure things were ok we decided we wouldn't be able to sleep so we decided to sleep in the car with the doors locked. The riding in the area was a blast. The trails weren't technical but they were fast and swoopy with very little climbing. It's a spot I'd really like to head back to. Spring Break 2011 anyone?

So Las Vegas and it's oversize everything, really hit me hard. In the span of two weeks I managed to pack on about 8lbs. That includes the second week of eating reasonable and riding lots. I've began getting my diet back under control and have lost my vacation weight already. Now to lose the other 25-30lbs I've managed to put on over the last 3 years. The goal is 1 pound per week until I hit 180lbs or maybe more. We'll see how that goes. I'm thinking of some big plans for racing in 2011. Partly I'd like to do some moutain bike races such as the Tennesse Endurance Series and some local XC races. The roadie in me wants to concentrate on some road racing. Either way, I've got the bug for a new race bike but can't decide which way to go. A nice new carbon 29r is on my radar as well as a fast new road bike. Of course budget don't allow both so decisions must be made. Right now I'm leaning toward the mountain bike since the mountains are so much more fun but do I go for the bike I'm drooling over or the shop I prefer to deal with?

Though for the day

2010-08-15T21:44:00.000-04:00

Plastic bags come with warnings stating "This is not a toy. Do not place in cribs blah blah blah". We all know it's due to suffocation risks and having to protect children from parents dumb enough to allow kids to play with plastic bags. What kid wants to play with a plastic bag anyway? I never remember Mom coming home from the grocery store and all I wanted to put my head in a bag and tie it as tight as I could (although I do remember going on a date once that it did seem like a good idea). This is just rambling, now to my point. What about cardboard boxes? The kids could climb inside, close the lid, and then you seal it up thinking the clown bust you just sold on eBay that's shipping to Kansas is inside. Then they don't realize what happened for 2 weeks when they get negative feedback. Think about it.

Absent without Leave

2010-05-27T12:36:00.000-04:00

So I caught a little grief over the weekend due to my lack of blogging. Why haven't I been blogging? Nothing to blog about really. All that has really been going on is riding and work. Does anybody actually want to read how hard doing 5x3min intervals in zone 4 is or 6x15sec hill sprints are? Or would you rather hear about my day at work? It would go something like "reloaded 6 computers today and the room was way to freakin hot". The past two weekends however have been blog worthy but I haven't had the time to put the words in type.

On May 15 the NTMBA hosted our Second Annual Bike at Bays Day. It was another successful event with lots of new faces out to join us. The beginner ride had people of all ages and skill levels out tasting the trails at Bays Mountain. Texas Roadhouse provided food for all, several local bike shops donated raffle items, and two shops came with demos. Thanks to everyone that helped out.

Now for a random tangent that the raffle reminded me of. The term swag. We hear it used when describing events, ex. "we got lots of cool swag for the raffle". Swag is an acronym for "Stuff We All Get". Raffle prizes don't qualify since we don't all win the raffle. Swag is stuff that everyone gets. I remember hearing this comment in a bike mag back in the 90s and it's stuck with me since. Now back to our regularly scheduled blogging.

The weekend of May 22 had me heading to Hungry Mother State Park for the first Night Owl Mountain Bike race. This unique event has a 9pm start time. While the trails are fast and mostly smooth the race still packs a punch. Coming into the event I had hoped for a podium finish but after seeing the competition I hoped for a top 8. The race starts off with a brutal pace on the rolling trails beside the lake before heading up the painful CCC climb. The pace early on made me push a little harder than I should have. A smarter strategy would have been to pace the start a little better then make it up on the climb. Near the top of the CCC climb I could still see lights going up but realized these were the expert riders heading up to Molly's Knob. Once reaching the top of the climbing it has to turn downhill. Riding unfamiliar trails, in the dark, and at speed can be interesting. As I'm coming down I can tell I'm catching another rider. Once on the flat, rolling section back around the lake I settle into my comfortably fast pace... the fastest pace I feel I can go and not blow up. I'm working my way closer to the rider in front of me and he has a little mishap and I pass him. He stays close on my rear wheel until he breaks his chain on an uphill. As I'm making my way around the lake I can see another light ahead of me. First thought was to try picking the pace up and see if I can reel him in but soon realize the 100yrd gap is too much this late in the race. As I pull in I learn I've finished 6th place. My laptime was about what I expected so I consider it a success. The rest of the weekend we all hung out in the campground and enjoyed each other company. Some enjoyed each others company more than others but we'll leave details from the man cave alone. It was a great showing for the NTMBA at this event and hopefully that will keep the race alive.

The Night Owl race marked my last ride on my trusty Titus Motolite. We've had a good 3 years together but now I'm moving on. New to the stable is a 2010 Titus FTM Carbon. I'm still waiting on the final bits to get the build finished but here she is...

From the Peleton

2010-05-07T09:03:00.000-04:00

The racers line up, we leave the start area, cross the bridge and make a right turn through town. The ride through town is slightly ceremonious with riders saying their hellos and waving to the pedestrians on the street. As soon as we make the turn out of town the pace picks up with a strong rider pulling hard on the front. I knew I was feeling good and today would be my day to make some attacks and win some sprints.

Riding mid-pack was a better position for me than usual. Most rides I'm shuffled to the back due to too much chattering. There is one climb leading into the part of the race that most rewards sprinters like myself. I knew in order to follow my strategy for today's race I would have to stay with the leaders up this climb. I managed to stay with them until we neared the top when a sudden acceleration opened a small gap. I didn't panic, I knew the road would level off and I'd rejoin the leaders at that point.

We roll through another town and make a left turn at a traffic light. Traffic in town let a small group get away. As we make the turn I tell another rider we'll have to chase hard to catch the pack. It was about that time disaster struck. POP, ting, ting, ting... I feared the worse. Two teammates stopped with me and we saw the problem, a broken spoke. No problem, the team car will have be back on the road in less than 30 seconds.

Cue the sound of the record scratch. This is the point where reality sets in. There is no team car, there are no teammates. Sure we're riding in a pack of very good friends and that's what riding is all about. We have our fun racing up the climbs, usually regrouping after hard efforts, sprinting after our sprint points, and pushing a hard pace on our trip back to the start. In the end we're out there doing this for fun.

Abby joined me as I limped my bike home, wheel wobbling and rubbing the brake pad. I was somewhat disappointed in my wheels problems. I knew today was going to be my day in our Thursday night pack ride. I get home and change out wheels preparing for Saturday's ride. Next week I'll be back and prepared for battle.

Inspirado

2010-04-24T20:01:00.001-04:00

We've all heard it before. That person that claims "I'm too old to do that" when you say anything about exercising. There is a lady, not to far from our home, that I see out walking as I come home from work. This lady is probably in her 80's, and walks laps around her driveway with the assistance of her walker. So today, I'm on my way to pick up some food in the pouring rain and what do I see? This lady out walking laps in her driveway with an umbrella attached to her walker. If I had the means of taking her picture I would have stopped immediately. So for those people making excuses for not getting out and moving a little, put down your XBox controller, come down to BSG, and let me show you this inspirational lady. Age isn't an excuse, laziness is.

That Waskally Wabbit

2010-04-21T20:34:00.004-04:00

Sometimes the best performance is brought out by the proper motivation, the rabbit your chasing. This year has been the first year I've felt motivated to follow a set training schedule and actually ride indoors. The book "The Time Crunched Cyclist" by Chris Carmichael and Jim Rutberg was recommended to me. This plan calls for high intensity, low volume work outs in an 11 week format. We followed the plan to week 7 when the weather broke and we started riding outdoors. It's tough to do an interval set that calls for flat roads in our region and there are no flat roads. At least our 7 weeks makes me feel the best I've ever felt this early in the season.

One thing our previous plan left out was real mountain climbing. To be a successful rider in our area, you've got to be able to climb. I thought our best bet would be to start small and build to the longer climbs of our area. First on my agenda is Fox Gap. A 1 mile climb averaging 8% grades over rough roads.

Our first session on this climb left me hurting. I have been getting over a sinus infection that moved into my chest. At one point on the approach to the climb I had to get off the bike and nearly passed out from coughing so hard. Once on the climb my legs were weak but I kept Abby and Scott in sight. Nearing the top I tried to catch back up but didn't have the legs for it.

The next attempt I was feeling much better and set my lap timer to get a real time for the climb. The three of us started the climb together. Abby started picking the pace up so I did as well. About half way up Scott fell off our pace (but not by much). Abby attacked and pulled away to a decent lead. Much more of a lead and I wouldn't have even considered trying to catch her. Once we were nearing the top I new I had to make a move and hope she couldn't counter. I dropped a couple gears and took off. I held the pace as long as I could knowing I couldn't hold it all the way to the top. As I made the final turn to see the top I took a look back to see no one could catch me so I took it easy to the finish. I pressed the lap timer to see I turned 6:05.

So that leads me to today's ride. With Abby heading out of town today, it was just Scott and I. I knew I had been close to the 6 minute mark before and wanted to go after it. As we started up I pressed my lap timer but didn't pay attention to the time or distance to judge how close I would be to my goal. I went hard but as I reached the top I felt I still had a little left in the tank and could have gone a little harder. As I pressed the lap timer it revealed 6:23.

Our original plan had been for us to return via Rocky Fork but as we're heading back down Fox Gap we decided to climb Fox again. This time I knew I was going to put more into it, but didn't know how much I had left. I picked up the pace from the bottom hoping to gain 23 seconds. My heart rate stayed lower at the bottom this time than it did the first time. As we reached the top, it jumped to near max. I kept pushing hoping to break that 6 minute mark. As I crested the top I push the lap timmer to see 6:15. I guess not having that rabbit to chase slowed me down. I guess there's always next time.

The next two weekends bring a couple of road events, the Burnsville Metric and the Mule Hell Roubaix. Last year we averaged 19mph for the 62 mile course. This years rabbit will be to finish at 20mph (or better). Having never ridden Mule Hell it's hard to set a goal so it will just be to finish feeling I put in 110%.

a trip to the doctor

2010-04-01T08:22:00.002-04:00

So my semi annual sinus infection decides to come the week before the 6hr of Warrior Creek race. I hit it with the usual barrage of cold medicines and immunity builders but it didn't help, it settled in. Usually I try to let illness run its course but with the weekend hanging in the balance, I had to get aggressive with this one. So now my inspiration for today's blog.

8:00am: Call the doctor's office. Lady answers the phone and asks to put me on hold.
8:10am: The call disconnects.
8:10am: Call the doctor's office. Lady answers the phone and asks to put me on hold.
8:20am: The call disconnects.
8:20am: Call the doctor's office. Lady answers the phone and asks to put me on hold.
8:30am: The call disconnects.
8:30am: Call the doctor's office. Lady answers the phone and asks to put me on hold.
8:30am: I reply "I've called 3 times and each time I'm been put on hold just for it to disconnect me." This time she apologizes and asks how she can help me.

Of course they can't just put me in the schedule, they have to see if they can squeeze me in. So I tell myself I'm calling back in 45 minutes. To my surprise she calls back around 9:00 with a 9:40 appointment. So I get to the office, check in, and wait my turn. As I sit there I notice the lady toward the back and come back with a creme filled, chocolate covered doughnut. She's eating away and creme is going all over her face. The phone rings..."Cavalier Clinic, can you hold please?" More calls come in, she puts them on hold so she can eat her doughnut. Did this person make me wait on hold 30 minutes to eat doughnuts? As she finishes her doughnut and washes it down with a Diet Coke, she must be watching her figure, I'm tempted to ask if she put me on hold just like those people just so she could eat a doughnut. I tend to not complain about service places unless it's so bad it irritates me for more than 3 days.

Also as I'm sitting there, I over hear two older men discussing their oxygen tanks and the benefits of their systems. One was on a liquid oxygen tank that pushed air when he breathes. The other was on a steady feed of regular oxygen. As I'm hearing this I'm thankful I'm healthy and don't have to carry around an oxygen tank, don't have to give myself shots, and don't visit the doctor every month.

Feelin' Fine

2010-02-13T16:31:00.004-05:00

To begin today's message there is first some required viewing:

Now that you're back with me you have a summary of how I've felt lately. The TV and beer I can do without but it's the lack of outdoor activity that have made me something something. So yesterday I joined the ranks of folks that have decided to quit complaining about the cold and get out for a ride. While I was in the gym yesterday morning I had decided to rally some troops for a ride at Warriors Path but no one could be rallied. A road ride came onto the agenda. After piddling around the up into the afternoon I decided a road ride wasn't a good idea since there was a chance of ice on the roads. So I was thinking of a spin on the greenbelt until I remembered the fireroad heading up Little Stone Mtn.
From my door to the gate it's 2 miles and from there it's all uphill. I've heard there is an old fire tower up there and to take all lefts to get to it. Following that route I pedaled up. At the gate it read 1600ft. I finally reached a point where the snow was 4-5" deep (none was at the bottom) and what had been a rough road was now turning into singletrack. Factoring that I wasn't sure where I was heading, I was alone, it was getting colder, and it was already 4:15 I decided to turn around. From the gate to this point was about 4.5 miles. Getting back off the mountain is a quicker, but much colder, venture. Once I pulled back in to home I had covered almost 13 miles. The climb from the gate took me from 1600ft to over 3000ft. Now I'm just curious where those other turns would have taken me.

robot boxes

2010-02-07T11:43:00.003-05:00

I've recently been asked to blog more and I'm in the writing mood so here it goes. But what should I blog about? Here's a good topic "Why I don't blog more".

I suppose I could blog more if I could blog and drive. It seems like good blog topics always cross my mind while I'm driving. Typing and driving is definitely not safe. By the time I reach my destination it's either not convenient to blog or the topic has slipped my mind. Not that most people would want to hear me ramble about monster SUV's and the idiots behind the wheel of them. I suppose if someone made a Dictaphone that would transcribe my spoken words and post it for me could be a solution. That device would cost money, money I'd rather spend on bike parts or traveling.

Another reason is lack of topics. I could blog about my day... "another day at work staring at the darn robot boxes" or "another turkey sandwich for lunch today but it tastes funny, the turkey may have gone bad." Maybe I'll pack a camera to work one day just to show the little hole I work in and a thermometer to show how hot it is in there. Note: another idea I'll probably forget by the end of the day.

I suppose I could do a fictional blog. I can see it now... "saving that little penguin while cycling the North Pole made me feel all warm hearted inside." Then people would start asking questions about my bike setup for the snow and ice, if I wore electric gloves to keep my hands warm, etc. I'll scratch that idea.

I could blog about my dreams since I have some really messed up dreams. How many times do you have dreams about Gary Busey saving you from Columbian drug lords?

I just found the "Monetize" button at the top that lets me put ads on my blog for money. That could motivate me to blog more and with the extra income I'll find things to blog about. So maybe I'll blog more, maybe not. We'll see how this goes.

12hrs of Doom and Gloom

2009-11-02T10:13:00.002-05:00

This past weekend brought my return to the 12hrs of the Hill of Truth. In the past I've had to back out of this race due to various reasons since 2005. This year I said I'd be racing come hell or high water, a statement I'd later regret. I didn't make the original cut to race with my 2005 team Granny's Rotten Teeth but due to someone wussing out I was invited to race with them. Earlier in the week the weather forecast had gone from bad to good. Friday morning's forecast went back to bad but I was in denial.

I left work early to get on the road and setup in daylight. I entered the address for Haw Ridge into the Garmin and let it guide the way. I was nervous about following it's route since it kept me mostly off the interstate and took the scenic route. I pulled in around 3:45 and started getting the Element into RV mode. Most of us went out for a good dinner at Big Ed's Pizza in Oak Ridge. We were amazed to see how much skinny little Ian could pack away. The night went on and we started fading to bed fast. I held out as long as I could enjoying the nice weather and still in denial about the rain. Around 2am I woke up and had to open the sunroof since it was so warm in the car. Still no rain. Then around 3:30am I wake up again and hear it... the rain had reached us.

Saturday morning we were greeted by a growing pond and muck. We did the best we could to keep dry but it was a tough battle. Race time rolled around and Brad was our #1 man. As we saw riders coming in we saw how nasty the course was looking. When my lap rolled around it was hard to get moving and motivated. The course was slick so I just tried to be smooth and not crash. There were plenty of hike-a-bike sections. As I rolled in my clock showed 1:09 (theirs showed a much slower time). Our support crew has left as the rains continue. Luckily Melinda was there to take care of us. Hot beef stew is great after a chilly lap in the rain.

As the day turned to night I was ready for lap #2. We were comfortably in 2nd place and thought the gap to first wasn't obtainable without a mechanical or other problem from the leaders. I concentrated on staying smooth and not breaking something. The weather had cleared for the moment and I was treated with great views of bright red skies. No time to take them in, we were in a race after all. I hand off to Anthony and watch him take off. Once again Melinda has taken care of us and has hot food ready.

Anthony makes his way in with 1 dim headlight and hands off to Brad. A few minutes later we get a message that we've closed a 16 minute gap to 6 minutes. Brad finishes a good lap and hands off to Greg. We start checking times and find we've moved into the lead. Greg doesn't know this and it probably helped keep him smooth and in control. Now the strategy starts. It looks like Greg will finish his lap about 10 minutes before the cut-off. After the now 2nd place team comes in we find they will have to turn a 1:07 lap to get an 11th lap in. Their previous laps night laps had been in the 1:25+ range. Ready for anything to happen I gear up for a lap. Dreading a midnight finish I hope I don't have to go. We eventually work out the plan that I would ride up part of the course where I'd meet Anthony and with the miracle of cellular technology, we'd find out if they made the cut off or not. When Greg rolled in I took off. With a little mis-communication, I thought I'd be meeting Anthony at the top of the first big climb. When I saw him in the field I panicked and decided to finish our 11th lap. I dig my way through the field and reach the first hike-a-bike climb. At this point I thought "This sucks". I roll on down the trail with the thought of being the last man in stuck in my head. Then I developed my own strategy... wait in the powerline clearing and watch for riders lights heading out on course. At that point I'd have a good headstart on anyone behind me. As I see the 11:05 cut off time tick by I hadn't seen any riders come out so I head back to camp. I check in with race officials to let them know I hadn't completed that lap but was back safely and confirm we had won.

Overall it was a great weekend and it felt great to win. Hopefully we can repeat next year and I'll be able to turn some faster lap times.

Update

2009-10-12T08:58:00.002-04:00

It hasn't quiet been a year since I blogged last but pretty durned close. It's been a busy year of moving, riding, and getting beat down by the man. It seems every spring I make this list of races and events I want to attend then as the events get close I lose motivation to do them. Sometimes it's just being a cheapskate and avoiding entry fees and sometimes life just has other plans. This year I didn't even assemble such a list until October rolled around. After the Guest River Rally road ride, I found motivation to do some racing. October looked like a busy month to do some racing. The original plan was for MSG CX racing on Oct 4, the Iron Mtn XC Race or Ocho 8hr on Oct 17, the Fall Fear XC race on Oct 24, and the 12hrs of Hill of Truth on Oct31. Of course plans always change. The CX race was ditched just to go trail riding, it's more fun. The Oct 17 racing has been ditched to go hang out and ride with friends. Plans for Fall Fear and HoT are still solid. I did add the "Cry Me a River 6hr" near Durham, NC. Just by chance we were going to be in Raleigh that weekend so it just seemed like a good idea. This is my motivation to blog today...

My first thought was that I would do the 6hr solo mens category. After talking to Abby about it, she wanted to race too so we went for the Co-Ed Duo class. Friday we went out to pre-ride the course. It was typical Triangle area trails, short punchy climbs, mild rocks and roots, and tight winding trails. The course was about 6 miles so we decided to do 2 laps our first time out then do 1 lap each. Off the start I pushed myself into the front portion of the field to avoid the bottle necks in the tight first portion of the trail. Of course this made me blow up a little so half way through the lap I let a few riders by and kicked into recovery mode. Coming through finish area for my first lap I felt good and headed out for #2. The lap felt good and traffic was minimal at this point. I come in and hand off to Abby. She tells me my lap times were in the 45 minute range just as we expected. Off she goes for her 2 laps and I begin refueling. With my 45 min laps I expected Abby in the 47-48 minute range for her first lap. With a light rain falling I thought she might want a rain jacket. As I'm gathering up her jacket, some gels, etc I hear her yell and see her heading into the woods... several minutes earlier than I expected. Shortly after she goes through the standings are posted after the 2hr mark. My first two laps were in the mid-44 minute mark and Abby's first was in the low-43 minute. We were 20 minutes out of 1st and 15 minutes over 3rd. After Abby's second lap I see the leaders roll out about 1 minute ahead. I immediately get excited thinking they must have had a mechanical and she caught them. Somewhere mid lap the truth set in. 20 min gap the in the first 2 laps, 20 more minutes in the second two laps... we just got lapped by the leaders. I knew I was putting together a good lap so I stuck with it and rolled in mid-41 minutes. At the hand off Abby and I quickly discussed the fact we weren't chasing the leaders but had just been lapped. She went out for another great lap and brought it in with another consistent lap. By this point we've lapped 3rd place and are sitting comfortable in 2nd. I went out for my 4th lap and was on cruise control. No need to ride too hard. As I'm coming in I'm debating going again since Abby had told me she might not have another in her. I know we didn't need to get an 8th lap but it would have been cool. As I pull in I see Abby ready to trade off and go. She asked if we had to do another lap to stay in 2nd and I tell her no. At that point we mutually called it a day. We were both proud of our ride and lap times.

Our next race comes on Oct 24 at the Fall Fear in Marion, VA. Maybe I'll blog about that one too.

Long time coming

2008-11-05T09:38:00.005-05:00

I didn't realize it had been this long since my last attempt at blogging. So here goes my latest attempt...

Yesterday was the big day, yes election day. While some voted for change and other voted for the same ol' drill, I did my civic duties early in the morning and went for the seasons first night ride. The location was our local 3.25 mile loop at Bark Camp Lake. This loop is a great beginner loop since it is short enough to offer regular bail outs and easy enough to not be intimidating but technical enough to keep riders on their toes while teaching beginners new tricks. As we're getting ready to go, two other riders pulled into the parking area after finishing a lap. We chatted for a few minutes and it was great to meet some other locals with interest in mountain biking. We hit the trails around 5:30 and I thought we could get a lap in without lights. On the front side things were dry and fast, climbing is minimal around this loop so lap times are short. On this side there is a rocky dry creek crossing I've never cleaned. I've been feeling confident in the rocky tech stuff lately so I knew today was my day. I made the tight left turn into it, down two steps, across the rock walkway, wheelie my front wheel onto the top of the steps out, and a couple cranks strokes later I pop out making it feel easy. We continued around our loop making good time. One the backside the trees become more dense so the lights had to come on. The trails were more slick as the leaves seemed to be holding some moisture. Riding this area in the dark made things a little tricky since there are several sections of loose rock armored trail. The good thing is that going CCW they flow downhill. Once we reached the dam (basically finishing one lap) we decided to turn around and do a CW lap. This makes all those sections that flowed downhill, an uphill. One of the rock armor sections would be particularly tricky due to the steps at the top. Once we reached it I prepared mentally for that top step but my timing was all off and off I came. Oh well, another crux for another day. The rest of the trails were flowing smooth but going this direction does offer more climbing so speeds were slower. Once we're back on the front side and reached the creek crossing I cleaned earlier I knew the drill and was determined to cross it in the opposite direction. OK, drop down the steps, look ahead to the exit, go over the bars and pile up on the side of the trail. Wait, that isn't how it's supposed to go. I guess I should have paid a little more attention to the gap between rocks at the bottom of the steps, at least I landed in some really soft grass. The rest of the lap was uneventful but still very fun. Once back to the parking area we decided it was still early and we should go for one more lap. By this time the dark had really set in. Riding purely by our lights we thought our speeds would slow down. The toughest part about this lap was following where the trail went. We were a little more cautious, walking tech stuff we had ridden previously. Mainly it's a mental thing that obstacles are more difficult in the dark but in reality, they haven't changed since the sun went down. With another lap in our belts we decided it was time to call it an evening and pack it in. When all was said and done, we had about 10 miles covered in about 1:25 and lots of fun. So our night rides are now going to be a semi regular ride and hopefully we'll have new faces joining us.

slip slop

2008-01-28T08:48:00.000-05:00

Preparation for the 08 season are well underway. Outdoor rides have been few, only the IceMan Cometh ride on Jan 5th and this weekends trip to Bent Creek. IceMan was a fun, cold ride as it should be. Toward the end of the ride I felt drained. My legs could barely turn the pedals, I thought my legs were tired so I didn't say anything. Post ride maintenance shows the real problem, the non-drive side bearing in my bottom bracket had seized. The only thing turning was the plastic sleeve inside the bearing. The sleeve had also become very brittle I assume from the heat in the bearing. Thanks to another great deal from Brian at Hampton Trails, I'm now rocking some Race Face Evolve cranks and bottom bracket.
This weekends ride was another great trip to Bent Creek. I was sorta given the task of planning a route. Since I don't know my way around there too well the route was constantly changing. The ride started on hard frozen ground. Around noon everything started thawing and turned to a thick sloppy gooppy mess. Toward the end of the ride pedaling became hard again but it was due to mud buildup between the tires and frame. We finished up with a good food and brews at Mellow Mushroom and even made it home in time to get a little more of the house painting project done.
I hope to make my blog a weekly to bi-weekly post updating how riding and training is going.

Let the season begin

2007-12-18T13:48:00.000-05:00

As some people know, I hate the word training. To me it makes riding go from fun to work. I also realize that I have goals for the 2008 season and unless I won't meet those goals without some preparation. Training is now a necessary evil. So far it looks like a busy season ahead just from the race schedule, not to mention the other parts of life that tie you up. Here's the list of events as it stands right now:
March 22 - Assault on the Carolinas; Metric Century Road Ride
April 6 - Knobscorcher; XC Mountain Bike Race
April 19 - Cohutta 100; Endurance Mountain Bike Race
May 3 - 3 State 3 Mountain; Century Road Ride
May 17 - 12 Hours of Tsali; 12 Hour Mountain Bike Race
June 7,8 - Settlers Life Omnium; Road Race, Criterium, Time Trial (projected date)
June ?? - 12 Hours of Panther Creek; 12 Hour Mountain Bike Race (projected month)
July 13 - Tour de Possum Creek; Road Race (projected date)
July 20 - Off Road Assualt on Mount Mitchell; Endurance Mountain Bike Race
August 30 - Guest River Bike Rally; Road Race (projected date)
September 21 - Benges Revenge; Road Race (projected date)
October ?? - Fall Fear; XC Mountain Bike Race (projected month)
October 26 - 12 Hours of the Hill of Truth; 12 Hour Mountain Bike Race (projected date)

As the season gets closer I'll update how the training is going and how my state of mind is.

welcome and aloha

2007-09-27T13:19:00.000-04:00

This is my first attempt at blogging. Don't expect too much from it. I'll post comments, thoughts, or random things from time to time as I can.

For those who don't know me, I am a computer technician that is bored with his job. Someday I would like to go back to school but for the time being, I am stuck here. My hobbies include cycling... yeah, that is about it, just cycling. I enjoy mountain biking most but when summer is here I like to get the roadie groove on too.

So there you have it... my first blog.