Birthday ride
Melanie was a Christmas eve baby. Despite the best intentions her birthday has often been overshadowed by the holidays.
This year will hopefully be the start of an annual tradition, the birthday ride. Though a lot of people were already out of town for Christmas we got a great crew out to ride and celebrate.
John (old bashturd), Perkins, Harshman, Auer, and Morgan joined Melanie and I while our babysitter took over kid duty.
With temps close to 50 and good trail conditions we were bound to have a good ride...and we did. I end up doing a lot of my rides solo. That's fine, especially when I'm training but I really love a good social group ride. Sharing a nice trail ride with friends is satisfying. I think it helps me to better appreciate the quality of riding we have here.
We sampled tasty trails (and plenty of logs) on both sides of the Park over two and a half hours before returning home. Once there, we dug into yummy bowls of chili, complemented by corn bread, cupcakes, and recovery beverages.
Fun times. In fact, I think we'll be doing more of these chili & beer rides this winter.
Happy Birthday Honey!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Rolling party
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Trail hike
Yesterday we went for a walk on some of the Avalon trails. Melanie is jonesing for a ride, but it'll be more than a month before she'll be cleared to ride. She needed a taste of trails to satisfy her craving for singletrack. Here's a short photo essay of our hike.
On the way in from the small Landing Rd trailhead.
Here's the little practice skinny that I built. Freeride for weenies.
Dropping down to the creek you get some fast swoopy turns with some trail-protecting rocks as you transition from the dirt to the water.
Log trail creek...not much rain = not much water in the creek = dry feet
This is one of the many fun logs on the log trail. It's also the toughest as it is on a hill. The rest are not too challenging, but they are good for working on your log-hopping form. East coast baby!
Climbing back up towards Landing. This part of the trail has some nice high speed curves. Of course, they're only high speed when you're going downhill.
Thor walked most of the way, but he wanted a lift for the last part of the climb.
The last log on the log trail (or first, depending on which way you are riding).
Living adjacent to some primo mtb trails is not a luxury, it's an essential.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
demolition
The Park demolished the jumps & stunts on the 'Lewis & Clark' trail yesterday. This photo shows the carnage of one of the jumps.
I only hit a handful of the easier jumps and a few of the less-sketchy skinnies. I was way too chicken to hit this step-up gap jump...but I enjoyed the challenge of learning how to ride the free-ride stuff. Oh well. Large-scale unauthorized traibuilding is whack.
There's an effort to get some official IMBA built goodies at Avalon. That would rock, but I'm not holding my breath.
I rode my 'cross bike for the first time since Nationals earlier this week. Initially I was just going to tool around Rockburn since I'm on a rest week (and I'm nursing a summer cold). However, it felt so good to be on the bike that I crossed Landing into Avalon to shred some singletrack.
It was all good for a few minutes until I punctured my front p.o.s. Tufo tubular on a root. The sealant tried to plug the hole, but it had been in there since September and was probably pretty dried up.
I rode the slowly deflating front tire for a couple of miles, making haste to get back home, but it didn't hold. I ended up having to shoulder the bike and run/hike the last mile and a half back to my house. That led to nasty blisters on each heel. Ouch.
At least I got my first 'run' of the year in. The rest of my running will be done in the appropriate shoes.
And the Tufos will be peeled off the rims and replaced with more pimpy treads handmade by Francois Marie!
Monday, July 02, 2007
fresh
With temps in the 70's, sun in the sky, and the humidity non-existent I found a way to get the afternoon free for a ride. I lubed the chain, put new cleats on my shoes, and rolled down the driveway.
This was the best ride I've had in months.
I listened to a discussion about Sicily on Travel with Rick Steves.
I listened to one of Kevin Smith's SMODCAST's (the one about eating poo)
I listened to Dark Side of the Moon.
I listened to the wind in the trees and the water in the creeks.
I had a mind-meld with the trails and was entranced by the flow.
I didn't completely suck on the climbs.
I rode a couple of the gnarlier downhills with nary a butt-pucker.
I felt fresh. I felt good.
Yeah.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
filtering through the canopy
rootz
Speaking of 'amateur hour' we passed two guys riding the trails sans helmet.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Escape from Granogue
Granogue mountain bike race
Sunday, May 20, 2007
I’m a bike rider, not really a bike racer. I got into bike racing too late to really be any good at it. Don’t get me wrong…I enjoy racing. I’m competitive and I like to push myself. Racing is a good way to do that.
I try to be a bike racer during ‘cross season, but other than that I just like riding my bike. Most of the time I’m riding my mountain bike. And for quite a while now the bike of choice has been my singlespeed.
I did my one XC mountain bike race for the year on Sunday at Granogue. I chose this race for a few reasons:
1. The Granogue Estate is a magnificent place for a bike race.
2. fatMarc & the DCCofD have a big role in promoting the race. That automatically qualifies it as a top-notch event.
3. The timing fit my schedule...or maybe I made it fit my schedule because of reasons 1 & 2.
The course was a tough one with a lot of climbing and a lot of tricky singletrack. Slick mud and rocks were also also in abundance. The difficult nature of the race made it a test of fitness and bike handling...specifically, bike handling while cross-eyed and swallowing back vomit.
I raced the Sport Singlespeed class running a 32x20 gear on a 29er. That's the gear I ride so that's the gear I would race. Plus, it's the only gear I've got.
I arrived early, took care of registration business, and got on my bike to do a thorough warm-up. Immediately both of my pedals were doing bad things. The pedal bodies sliding off of the spindles, a not ucommon occurence with Crank Brothers Candy pedals after about 6 months of riding. This would not be a good course on which to have just a skinny metal spindle for a pedal. Come to think of it NO course would be good for this!
Fellow killer B 'cross comrade Rob Campbell tried to come to my rescue. He attempted to rebuild the pedals on the spot, but they were toast.
I was freaking out. Luckily Tom McDaniel saved my day by letting me borrow the Egg Beaters off of his Moots. Now I had pedals, but only 10 minutes to warm-up.
I did the short opening climb a couple of times and that was my warm-up. I was just happy to have unbroken pedals so I didn't care.
At the start I thought I was going fast since I was spinning out my gear, but within 10 seconds I went from the front to the back. I was undergeared and/or underlegged for the start.As we made the turn onto the grass Fort James saw me at the back and yelled at me to move up!
I picked off a bunch of guys on the opening climb and then used my larger size to get by a few more skinny guys on the ensuing downhill.
Once onto the singletrack I had to jam on the brakes as many of the riders in front of me had trouble staying on their bikes. The trail was tight and moderately technical. It made for a logjam.
The rest of the first lap I would ride hard for a while and then have to sit behind slower riders on the tight singletrack sections. This was really frustrating, but in a way it was ok because it gave me time to recover. Eventually the traffic thinned out and I was able to ride relatively smoothly the rest of the race.
The front guys had gotten away cleanly during the initial singletrack logjam but I managed to work my way up to finish 5th, my first podium in an cross-country mountain bike race.
My bike was a joy to ride. The 29er wheels soaked up the bumps and tracked amazingly well on the off-camber slippery bits.
I felt ok all race...I never felt great, but never felt terrible either. I'm really happy with how the race went considering that the lack of racing in my legs.
The only bummer for me is that I missed the Beer stop. In my oxygen-deprived condition I never saw it.
All in all it was a fun day at the best bike racing venue on the East Coast.
photo courtesy of Bill Deputy at www.mbcx.com
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
12 Hours of Lodi Farm
Since last year's race I've had the 12 Hours of Lodi Farm on my radar, but it wasn't until a few days before the event that I decided to race this year. I lucked into a couple of super teammates (Chris Perkins and Ricky deLeyos) that had also been on the fence about racing.
As a team we got along great and ran a smooth race. What makes for a good team performance in an endurance race?
*Solid and consistent lap times
*Seamless transitions
*Positive attitudes
*No mechanical or light issues
Check. That pretty much sums up our performance. And we had a lot of fun.
We finished 2nd in the 3-person Singlespeed class. The winners, a bunch of Spot Brand Whores, were on another level. Nobody else was close. fatMarc, Bob, & Matt are not only fast, they're great guys. Though Marc did give me a merciless beatdown going up the first climb sometime Sunday morning. 8-) There's no shame in losing to them. To quote the inimitable Walter Sobchak, "...worthy fuckin' adversary."
Behind them there was a tight battle all race long for 2nd, 3rd, & 4th place. We were camped with our buddies Jonathan, Trevor, and Bob from the Family Bike Shop team and Gwadzilla's team was also nearby. We kept close tabs on each other and engaged in some friendly bantering throughout the race. We were the beneficiary of some light and transition issues that those guys experienced, but that's part of endurance racing.
In any event, it was a good battle that had all of us riding hard from start to finish...and that really made things fun. In the end we all sat down to drink a beer and toast a good race.
Here are some random thoughts from the race:
Slips & negative splits
The rain made the first few laps slippery, but the course firmed up and dried out very quickly. In fact, lap times kept getting faster, even as the legs got more tired.
Bonehead deadhead
I forgot my helmet at home, but Trevor came through with an old school lid sporting a steal-your-face sticker. Thanks Trevor!
Field party
On the first part of the course there was redneck field party, complete with pick-up truck, trans am (camaro?), bonfire, classic rock, and a dog. I was chased by the dog on my first two laps as the revelers laughed their asses off. It was all in good fun. By the time of my sunrise lap the fire was smouldering, people were passed out in the cars, and the ground was littered with beer cans.
A moment of clarity
Hyperion Espresso provided coffee for the event and it was good. After the sunrise lap I was cold and my stomach was funky. I grabbed a cup of hot coffee, a roll of TP, and a few Cottonelle wipes and headed for the port-o-john. After building a cushiony nest on the seat I relaxed, worked out my stomach issues, and drank my coffee. When I opened the door the sun was shining and I had a bright new outlook!
I love my bike!
This race reinforced my enthusiasm for riding a singlespeed. I felt much faster with 1 gear than I did with 27 last year. There was nothing to think about but turning the pedals and driving the bike. The 29er wheels rolled over all the roots like a full suspension rig. The WTB ExiWolf 2.3 tires had no problem with the mud or slick roots. I just felt a seamless connection between me, the bike, and the trails.
The Vibe
The atmosphere at Lodi is just the right mix of competitive racing and fun. People are friendly and supportive. It just seems like everyone is on the same vibe. A big contingent of friends from the DCCofD were there kicking ass. They even had the trailer & Tom McDaniel running support. That crew is all about ~community~ and RIDING REALLY FRIGGIN FAST. They do things right. Hat's off to the promoter and everyone in attendance for creating a temporary utopian mountain bike village in the middle of the Virginia woods.
And lastly a gratuitous self-photo so Mom can see me racing my bike.
Photo courtesy of Gary
Here is his gallery from the race.
And here is his blog.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
A very good day
This is how my weekend closed out, sitting by the creek throwing rocks in the water. Rooting around in creeks getting dirty was one of my favorite things to do when I was a kid. Sharing this with my son was really cool.
Before chilling at the creek I helped out with trailwork over at Patapsco. I showed up late, but still got to help out cutting trail, moving dirt, and (most importantly) drinking beer. We rerouted a section of damaged trail over on the Hilton/Hilltop side. The new singletrack is a big improvement and it has plenty of technical bits.
The crew of volunteers that does trail work is amazing. Good people dedicated to the proposition of sweet trail and good times. They put in a lot of hard, unheralded work that benefits all trail users (exept for the jackasses riding 4-wheelers in the Park!).
After the work session there was a cookout/beer session over by the tire park. Clipper City donated a keg of Red Sky at Night Saison, a tasty Belgian style beer. It was a nice afternoon for downing a few of these.
I did get in some solid riding too, including a 3 hour Avalon tour with Melanie and friends. What an awesome ride! There were a lot of smiles and grins.
Now I need to decide whether I'm doing Lodi next weekend. There are a lot of what-have-you's to consider.
Either way I'll be on my bike because riding bikes is the f-ing bomb!
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Logjammin'
Big tree
I'll need more than a few white russians to sack up and try to ride over this beast.
Monday, April 02, 2007
What a weekend
What a weekend.
On Saturday we had a babysitter (Grandma) so we met up with some buds for a mountain bike ride over in Avalon. Me, Mel, Bob & Di, John, Perkins, and SuperDave hit most of our favorite trails. This was a fun, social ride, but we still covered some ground.
Later in the day we got a bunch of landscaping stuff done around the yard and the 3 of us put away a bag of white cheddar popcorn.
We missed the expected rain on Sunday so I got out early to meet up with Bob, Perkins, and SuperDave for a spirited ride around the trails. This included playing around on the jumps and stunts. I was the only one that didn't hit the deck, but that's because I was only doing the small jumps and e-z skinnnies.
It was fun & by the end my legs were feeling back-to-back longish rides on Rita. That bike is so much fun to ride. Viva la singlespeed!
In the afternoon the kid and I cruised over to the playground and hit it hard on the swings and slides. His climbing has really taken off in the last few weeks. I still spot him, but he's doing it all on his own.
To cap off a wonderful Spring weekend we hit up El Salto for a Mexican feast! Word.
