Le Tour

Le Tour begins tommorow. Regardless of the doping drama the race is still a HUGE spectacle and immensely entertaining.

Check out Martin Dugard's wonderfully written blog at Active. With a mix of 3 parts travelogue and 1 part race coverage it conveys the feeling of physically being at the Tour, following the circus.

The race goes up the col d'Aubisque during stage 16. This photo is of one of the tunnels on the Aubisque. This is the 'easier' side...well not that easy because you first have to climb the col de Soulor. It's a beautiful climb and a treacherous descent. Exposure is common and guardrails are not. Throw in sheep and horses wandering onto the road and the fog common to the area and the sketch levels goes way up.

This year the race goes up the harder side with a rare finish at the summit. This is the last mountain stage of the race so it could be exciting, unless someone already has the race locked up.



I've really got the jones to get back over to follow the race. It's an experience of a lifetime on many levels. Mel and I went in 03 and 04. 2003 was the very early days of this blog and I didn't document the trip. However, in 2004 I posted almost daily (or at least formatted emails home onto the blog after the fact). The July 2004 archives are here. I still enjoy going back and reading them to get a taste of the energy of the adventure.

Even following the race from home it's going to be an exciting month. Set your Tivo, bookmark your favorite sites, and enjoy Le Tour!

Mud and Cowbells

79 days until Charm City 'Cross.

26 days until the first official 'Cross practice.

It's definitely time to stock up on parts and gear.

If you're not racing road it's not too soon to start some easy running or to get re-acquainted with your bike and do some dismounts.

Mud and Cowbells has an excellent post to get you primed for the season and ready for CX practice with instructions on building port-o-barriers.

Molly at Race.cx also has some inspiring words to get you pumped for cyclocross.

I wish someone around here ran a weeknight Short Track XC series through the Summer leading up to the season. Even an informal practice race would be cool. Hmmmmm.

direct from France

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom

New toys from fmb.

A pair of 'mud' treads and a pair of 'file' treads (with some nice side knobs).

Thank you Francois!

Happy 4th

Independence Day
Crabs
Beer

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Cascade Falls

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Cascade

fresh

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It's that time of year. The wild raspberries are out there for the picking. I brought along a sandwich baggie to pick a bunch of ripe ones.

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.

filtering through the canopy

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom

Melanie took this camera-phone photo of me coming down the trail. The light coming through the trees made for some cool lighting effects in the woods this evening.

prego-mtb

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Moving a little slower
and taking it ez on the sketch
but still gettin-r-done!

beam me up

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Funky light
on the trails
tonight

rootz

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom

My riding roots are right here in Avalon. I remember my first rides on these trails. There was plenty of crashing and hoofing it up hills.

Speaking of 'amateur hour' we passed two guys riding the trails sans helmet.

Back from the beach

I'm back from a lazy week in Southern Shores on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I shuffled my schedule around to make this a rest week. My legs had been pretty beat up so they needed the break...and riding on the roads down there would not have been fun.

This was an old-school week with a whole lot of sitting on the beach, taking naps, reading books, hanging out with family, eating good food, and drinking good beer. The weather was ideal and after the first day the surf settled down to family friendly levels.

Everyone had fun.



We dug a bunch of holes in the sand.
And chased seagulls (otherwise known as doo-doo's).
And played with an assortment of trucks.
It was a fun and relaxing week.

Needless to say by the time we returned home I was jonesing for a ride.

I got out for solid rides on Saturday and Sunday hitting the bone-dry trails of Avalon. After a week off it took a while to find my lungs, but by Sunday afternoon I was feeling good.

It was a perfect weekend for riding with mild temps and low humidity. There were a lot of riders out there enjoying themselves. I ran into the Singlespeed Outlaw and some of his crew a couple of times on Saturday.

I chickened out on the last steep, loose, stair-step descent down to the dam on the Baltimore Co. side. I went over the bars and cracked a helmet on that trail last year and now it's in my head.

I firmly believe in the saying, "When in doubt, dismount", but I need to ride that section to get over my fears. It's steep and has a lot of rocks, but I've ridden it before. At some point I'll nut-up and ride it again, but until then I don't feel too bad about walking it.

Anyway, it's back to the work grind and an attempt to build some 'cross fitness before the baby is born. I just rebuilt my cx bike so that I can do some early AM workouts over in Rockburn Park. With any luck I'll still have enough in the tank to help out my teammates in some late-season events. My personal goals are for the 2008 season.

beer. beach.

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom

God of Thunder

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom

All day today I was looking forward to my after-work ride.

I made it home, suited up, filled a bottle, ate a big handful of chocolate covered coffee beans, and rolled down the driveway.

The weather was threatening, but it looked like the storm was going to miss us to the North.

I rolled through Rockburn and crossed Landing Rd. into Avalon. As I crossed the road between parks the storm hit.

Thunder
Lightning
Heavy Rain
And even some hail

It was game-on.

I hammered up the log trail and worked my way over to the other Landing Rd. trailhead. The water was flowing down the trail, but the dirt was so packed down and dry that there was no mud.

The lightning was getting intense and the rain wasn't letting up so I chose to ride the road through Grovemont before dropping back into Rockburn and heading home.

It was only a 40 minute ride, but it was fast!

I got some good intensity work and I didn't get struck by lightening so all in all it was a good day on the bike.

First 'Cross race of the year

First 'cross race of the year

Kaibab Monster 'Cross

120 miles of forest roads and singletrack on the Kaibab Plateau in Arizona. The Kaibab Plateau is a National Forest that overlooks the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

We did a trip there last June and the riding is incredible.

I'd love to do this one, but Arizona is a long road trip for a bike ride.

Though the milkshakes and cookies at the store in Jacob Lake might make it worth it!

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom

Skateboarding?

According to Cyclingnews, the UCI is trying to get skateboarding added to the 2012 London Olympics.

I beg your pardon?

I like skateboarding and I wouldn't mind seeing it in the Olympics.

What I don't understand is why the UCI, the Union Cycliste Internationale, is involved. Shouldn't they be more interested in keeping cycling events from being removed (500m and Kilo TT) from the Olympics? Or maybe getting Cyclocross added to the Winter Olympics?

Cyclocross would fit well with a February Olympics. They could incorporate some snow into the track to accentuate the Winter motif.

The skateboarders should work on promoting skateboarding.
The cyclists should work on promoting cycling.
That would seem to make sense.
But the UCI has a history of not making much sense.

Townie

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom

I spotted this bike in downtown Baltimore today.

What a thing of beauty.

Speaking of underwear...

I put mine on backwards this morning.
And didn't notice until a minute ago when I went to take a leak.

Once again I woke up at the ass-crack of dawn and mounted Rita for some early morning trail time. At some point during the night it must have rained a little bit because the roads and ground were wet.

I think the trails would have been fine, but I decided to stay off of them thinking they could use some alone time and a bit of sunlight before being disturbed by bike tires.

Instead, I did short intervals around my neighborhood.

Boring.

But still better than punishing my ass
On the trainer
In the basement.

I will wear my undies backwards for the balance of the day as a testament to the fact that I am not normal. Nor do I aspire to be normal. I'm left-handed. Ha!

FM-B, an alternative to Dugast

Now's the time to stock up on tires for 'cross season. In fact, Cyclocrossworld has already gone through a shipment from Dugast. High quality handmade 'cross tubulars are usually in short supply...and for good reason. I rode a set of 34mm Rhino's last season and they were phenomenal.
Good tires help compensate for lack of natural ability and training time! 8-)

Another manufacturer is trying to fill some of the supply shortage. A guy named Francois M. has set up shop. As I understand it he is a former employee of Dugast who has gone out on his own.

Though I haven't heard any first-hand accounts of how the tires ride they appear to be very similar to Dugast tubies in terms of materials and construction.

Check out the website for a look at their cyclocross selections. If I get confirmation that the quality is good I'll be placing an order.

Making the most of days

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom

Back in the day time on the beach was spent reading, chilling, and catching waves (on the rare occasions when there were waves worth catching).

Nowadays this photo shows what I see. And "Play DaDa" is what I hear. So I dig sand, chase seagulls, and splash in the surf. And it's really amazingly cool.

We just got back from a quick trip to Sarasota (Siesta Key) to visit family and hang out on the beach for a few days.

This meant a few days off the bike letting the legs recover. To balance that out I hit it hard last week, waking up early and riding the trails at 5am.

Getting out of bed for a pre-dawn patrol ride is rough, but once rolling it's a wondrous experience. The trails are devoid of human intrusion. It's just me, some rabbits, and the occasional fox on the prowl. Even Bambi is still asleep.

Lights are obligatory for the first half of the ride. Though the sky is dark, with each passing minute the horizon hints at the coming day. That deep, murky blue of first light is hypnotizing and somehow comforting as I connect with a small patch of lighted singletrack amid the dark and lonely woods.

With each pedalstroke I become more awake and tuned into my surroundings. It doesn't take long. Focus is critical when riding at night and with focus comes flow. Flow is a word that is perhaps overused when waxing on mountain biking, but that's ok. It captures the essence of that feeling of rider, bike, and trail becoming one. It's a sweet feeling. Sublime, blissful, orgasmic. Yup, those words all capture the spirit of the thing. Apologies to Reg Dunlop and Dickie Dunn.

By the second half of my loop there's enough light emerging from the sky to make the artificial illumination from my Nite Rider mostly redundant. In the denser sections of the woods that's debatable so I keep it on.

Rolling out of the singletrack and back into my neighborhood I notice that the day has begun. Runners are humping up the road and the early birds are already in their cars on the way to work. I can't help but feel that I know some secret code for happiness that all these other people are oblivious to. After a morning ride I'm ready to tackle the bullshit of the day with a smile.

I was looking forward to continuing the morning rides this week, but a bunch of rain has changed those plans. I've even considered riding the trainer, but I'm not that desperate yet! It looks like I'll be riding the pavement this evening, but the weather is looking decent through the weekend.

I'm hoping to resume the pre-dawn rides as soon as the trails dry out. What better way to start the day than with a mountain bike ride, followed by a triple-shot from the Gaggia.

Siesta Key

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Fun in the sand on Siesta key

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

The watchful hosemaster

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom

I made it home from the race (more on that later) at 1:45 and spent the afternoon working (playing) in the yard.

The working part was mulching and watering trees. Mr. T is big into fire engines so he got to play the part of fireman working the hose. We both got pretty wet, but the trees received plenty of much needed water.

After the yardwork we kicked back and played in the sandbox.Sitting in the shade shoveling sand was relaxing and much appreciated by my tired legs.

By 5:30 we were all hungry and I was craving nachos. I poured a beer and fired up the grill.
Shortly thereafter we were sitting at the table on the deck eating BBQ Chicken nachos with fresh corn on the cob. Guacamole and BBQ sauce...mmmm. A second beer had me feeling nice. The two-beer buzz is a wonderful thing.

After a full day of non-stop activity sleep came easily.

me=biker

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Originally uploadd by cbnystrom.

Here's a photo from the ride home. I dropped down into Patapsco State Park and rode the paved Grist Mill bike path before climbing back out of the valley via Bonnie Branch and Beechwood.

Part of my 'interview' made the TV. It's here.

The reporter posted a web story that refers to me as a biker. I'm cool with that.

It looks like I'm doing Granogue this weekend. I've been wanting to race my mtb there for a while. I'll be riding my singlespeed, but I'm trying to decide whether to race my age group (35-39) or the SS class.
I've done very few XC mtb races so I'm not sure what to do and I don't have great expectations either way. I do expect to have fun.

Bike To Work Day 2007

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

My semi-regular bike commuting season kicked off today with Bike To Work Day. My commute from Ellicott City into downtown Baltimore is about 14 miles each way.

My place of employment is not too supportive of bike commuting or anything not related to the bottom line. In the photo you can see the one and only bike rack for our 35 story building. There's probably one bike rack spot for every 200+ people in the building. Gee. Plus, we're business dress (suit & tie) Monday through Thursday most of the year. They act like they're doing you some huge favor when they announce business casual dress from Memorial Day to Labor Day...and threaten to take it away if somebody's slacks aren't pressed. Give me a fucking break.

Anyway, the ride in was awesome. I've been off the bike all week so the initial climb out of the Patapsco River valley was painful. After a bit the legs opened up and felt pretty good.

After hauling ass through the muy sketchy west side of downtown I rolled up to city hall for the bike to work day rally. Free t-shirts, tasty Caribou coffee, and pastries from Whole Foods were in full effect. We heard several speakers discuss bicycle transportation advocacy. It's really cool to see so many people committed and working hard to have an effect on our car-centric public policy. Between the speakers and the coffee I was fired up.

Paul K. (from the Wed. SS rides) and I were interviewed by channel 13. The reporter was pretty excited about the whole ride-your-bike-to-work concept and asked us why we did it. I forgot to mention the beer angle. darn.

Now I'm at work hoping that my ride home is not in the rain.

TGIF.

word.

Afternoon at the creek

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

What's not to love about playing by the creek on a gorgeous afternoon?

Wading in the water

Throwing rocks

Digging in the sand

Getting dirty

Breathing fresh air

Unplugged (except for mobile phone to snap photos)

Outdoors!

This was followed up by grilling out, dinner on the deck, and a couple of tasty Raison d'Etre's from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery.

To quote Melanie, "I wish every Mother's Day could be like this."

Happy Mother's Day

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

We had a fantastic Mother's Day babysitter ride. With the sun shining and the temperature around 70 conditions were perfect.

Here's Melanie riding up one of the tunnel climbs (Soapstone I think).

This afternoon we're headed into the park for a picnic and some fun playing in the creek.

More Mulch

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

Thursday evening my trusty assistant/protege/#1 son (seen here atop ever shrinking Mt. Mulch) and I rolled up our sleeves and shoveled more much.

Wednesday was another babysitter ride on dry and dusty trails. After all of the twists and turns at Lodi many of the Avalon trails seemed interminably straight.

I was thinking that some re-routes to crease the singletrack would slow things down and up the savoriness of some already stellar dirt.

Something else I continue to notice is that there are a lot of riders that are either certified assholes or just unfriendly.
I've had more people bomb down a trail without slowing or yielding an inch when I'm riding in the other direction. If I don't pull of the trail completely we will collide and end up bloodied.

In a similar vein there seem to be more people that will not respond in any way to a friendly greeting. WTF? I can see not acknowledging the stranger that approaches you on the sidewalk downtown, but we're both out on mountain bikes in the woods. We're like minded freaks, right?

It's not all bad. I'm still meeting plenty of kind folks out on the trails. I just worry that as a community we're losing our sense of tribe, our esprit de corps.

I suggest more post-ride beers.

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.

Mulch

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

I took Monday off to recover from Lodi and have some quality family time. I didn't do much recovering, but I did have a wonderful family day.

I had a big load of mulch delivered in the driveway. My most excellent helper and I spend several hours shoveling, wheelbarrowing, and spreading it around the yard.

My upper body was already sore from muscling a singlespeed around the trails and after a day of yard work it's officially cooked.

After a day of playing in the dirt we all went out for some hard-earned mexican food. The kid gets his own order of guacamole...and he finishes it. That's my boy. 8-)

Camp Lodi

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

Here's our compound at Lodi. It was a ghetto set-up of EZ-Up's and tarps hooked up to cars.

This photo was taken from my phone around dinnertime on Saturday. I think it was still raining. I'll have a write-up posted soon.

Attack on Car Culture - WSJ

Wall Street Journal

In today's (fri. 5/4) WSJ there's a very cool piece titled "Building a Better Bike Lane - Bike-friendly cities in Europe are launching a new attack on car culture. Can the U.S. catch up?" by Nancy Keates. It's on the front page of the Weekend Journal section.

You have to be a subscriber to view it online, but if you can get your hands on a hard copy of the paper you should check it out. It's a big story with some nice photos and a couple of useful tables (one about bike-friendly cities in the U.S. and the other about where to buy Dutch-style bikes).

Check check check it ouuuuut!

Growing!

Some stats at age 2
37.5 inches tall (95th percentile)
30 lbs. (75th percentile)

Balance

On the bike riding front, this week was one of zen-like balance.

Fun vs. Suffering
Smiling vs. Drooling
Enjoying the scenery vs. Tunnel-vision

One adds to the appreciation of the other.
Too much of one leads to burnout.
All things in balance.
Word.

On Tuesday we lined up a babysitter allowing us to get out on the trails together.
We rode a casual pace, catching up and enjoying being out in the woods. Leaves and foliage that had only been hinted at on Sunday seemed to have busted out into full existence overnight.

We loosened up sore muscles and stretched the legs on a few of the climbs, but overall it was a relaxing, social ride. It's really nice to share that with the love of your life.

Leaving work on Wednesday I scrambled home in order to meet up with the Singlespeed Outlaw crew for their weekly ride. Traffic had me running late so I hammered from my driveway across the Park and over toward the Rolling Rd. trailhead, making it to the base of the entrance trail in under 30 minutes. I was winded from the effort so I rode slowly up the trail trying to recover before meeting up with the ride. I knew this ride was going to be fast so I was a bit nervous. Halfway up to the road I heard the sound of a train of riders bombing down the trail.

Sure enough, it was a band of singlespeeders out to rock the trails. I joined the group and did my best to hang on. The speed on the downhills had me pushing my limits. That was cool. I enjoy trying to follow and learn from riders that are on a different level. We zipped over to the HoCo side and headed up the steep water-bar climb. Joe and RickyD were putting the hurt on us! I was cross-eyed and trying to muscle my way up the trail.

Once up on the ridge we flew around the singletrack, railing turns and flowing with the trails. I was nose-to-stem and breathing hard trying to maintain the pace, but damn it was fun!

I peeled off from the group over by Landing Rd. in order to get home for dinner. I’m guessing the speed and suffering levels remained high as those guys were heading back over to the Hilton/Hilltop area to ride the re-route from last weekend.

I’m going to try to make this ride on a more regular basis. There’s nothing like chasing fast guys around the trails to build fitness and technical skills.

Earlier in the week I was on the fence about Lodi. Now I’m committed and fired up to do the race. Perkins and I are planning to race the Duo class on singlespeeds, but RickyD might decide to join us for the 3-person SS class. The competition there looks tough, but it would be cool to give it a go. It’ll be fun to hang out and race with a bunch of mtb and ‘cross friends that will be there.

Two

Two is a big number for us this year.

Birthday cake is good.



New bikes are always fun. Note the sweet Leopard motif.

A very good day

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

Creek

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!

Birthday Burrito!

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

2nd birthday dinner at Chipotle

Cap

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

Logjammin'

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

29 in. wheels

Big tree

I'll need more than a few white russians to sack up and try to ride over this beast.

pushing aside my worries

Chaos, uncertainty, and anxiety permeate my mind on many fronts: work, financial security, and our current geo-political cluster-f#ck among them.

Subprime lending and the over-supply of credit will have real consequences...and not just for the poor saps that reached too far to rip down a bigger casa. Our leaders in the executive branch continue to pull off mind-blowing displays of incompetence/criminality. We continue to piss away lives and money in Iraq. Work is at least entertaining for all of the usual ridiculousness, but it's a downer for the same reasons.

Aside from all that bullshit I'm really happy! 8-)

A big part of the way that I deal with stress is to ride my bike. It's good for the body, mind, and soul.

Unfortunately, it's not looking good for riding this weekend. Crap weather is moving in quickly.
This could potentially get me down, but my legs are due for a bit of rest. I rode the trainer briefly this morning, but my ass was not into it. I don't understand how I can feel perfectly comfortable riding a bike for hours and hours outside, but 45 minutes on the trainer is torture on the 'ol taint. I tweaked my saddle position and angle 4 times this morning and nothing felt right.

It'll be a great weekend anyway...food, family, & fun...starting with dinner at our favorite mexican joint tonight! When the weather gets back in synch with the calendar I'll be back outside on the bike hungry to ride.

Happy Child

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

Here's our hard hat wearing dump truck driver delivering a load of imaginary dirt from the kitchen to the family room.

It's incredible watching someone grow from a newborn to an interesting, curious, loving, and FUN individual...easily the most rewarding thing I've ever experienced.

Haircut #2

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

Haircut #2 at Cartoon Cuts

sonogram

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

Baby #2 is a Boy!

Due to arrive at the beginning of September.

2 boys will save us a lot on clothing. 8-)

Panic

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

Widespread Panic played the Hippodrome in Baltimore Wednesday night. Beautiful venue with excellent sound and plenty of bars. The show was solid overall with a couple of hot moments.

The first set in particular was big...Chilly Water > Jack > Chilly Water was nasty, dirty, and LOUD.

Back in-tha-day I'd hit every show within a 5 hour drive, but nowadays it's down to once a year. I'm perfectly ok with that. It was nice to have a night out. Beers after work, sushi, and a coupla jack & coke's during the show.

I'm looking forward to hanging with the family tonight and getting to bed EARLY!

What a weekend

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

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.

The kid loves chocolate chip pancakes

But, honestly, who doesn't like chocolate chip pancakes?

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

fighting weight

I did not have a plan to drop the usual 0ff-season weight gain.

I was just going to let it happen naturally as warmer weather led to more riding.

Well, nature decided to make it happen quicker. Somehow I lucked into getting the stomach nasties. Two days of puking and peeing out my ass have left me 5 lbs lighter and fully cleansed.
Sweet. Insta-diet!

As a bonus my appetite is way down so I'm eating quite a bit less.

In a month I should be down to fighting weight.

Norovirus: It's a brutal way to drop some weight, but it works!

I've got the fever!

Sunday was a day for Spring fever.

I might have overdone it.

I rolled around on my way-overgeared fixie for 2 hours with secret-training-Sean and Chris.

The rest of the day (before and after) was spent gardening. My super-helper/protege and I planted a row of hedges along the back of our yard and an azalea in front of the compost bin.

We shoveled, wheel-barrowed, moved dirt, played with worms, and threw rocks in the creek.
That's good stuff.

Later, he helped Mom wash bikes. He's pretty handy with the hose and a sponge. In a few years I'll put him to work in the pits at 'cross races. 8-)

We wired up some outdoor speakers on the deck so we can listen to tunes out back. C'est tous bon.

Spring fever is good for the soul.

It's also tough on the body. The riding (grinding) and shoveling have me sore all over.

Dinosaur tracks

Saturday was a rainy. A perfect family day. After a breakfast of pancakes we rolled downtown to the Maryland Science Center. They have a kid's room that is really cool. There's a big water table, trains, building blocks, and other fun exhibits for the 6 and under crowd.

In the main exhibit hall there's a large dinosaur exhibit...another winner. Here's a shot of a big dinosaur fan checking out a dino footprint.

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

Go away

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

Matty z. is not happy about mofo's riding the trails when they are muddy...among other things.

Family self-portrait

At a small airport outside of Atlanta watching planes and helicopters take off.

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

One more snow ride

One more snow ride for the season. For a Winter that started off on the mild side it's really piled on with a blast from February through mid-March. We got the best snow riding I've ever seen.

Now warm temps have returned so the thaw is on. Hopefully the trails will dry up quickly before they get too torn up by assholes riding in the mud.

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

Not bad

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

Not bad, but we'll need a solid week of dry weather to really dry things out.

Wow

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

Quote: "Oh...Wow!"

Home Depot is always good entertainment...tractors, tools, and lumber. What more could a kid want?

part deux

woohoo! 8-)

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

k-dub

There's a nice piece in today's Wall Street Journal about musical freek and Fredericksburg, VA native Keller Williams.
WSJ
Thursday, 2/22/07
D7

Or at www.wsj.com but you have to be a subscriber.

fast & frozen

It was nice while it lasted.

From Friday to Monday we had a Winter version of slickrock. With temps in the 50's it's gone now. The trails will be wet and muddy for a while now. The upside is that riding the road will be tolerable with Spring on the horizon.

It's amazing that we had some of the most incredible conditions ever and I only saw a few other riders on the trails all weekend. They come out of the woodwork to ride when it's muddy (as long as it's not cold!) but give 'em once-in-a-decade trails and they stay home.

I'm glad the timing worked out over a long weekend, but if it had been mid-week I would have taken a couple of half-day snowdays to ride. It was that good.

I hope we see these conditions again next Winter...every Winter!

Alas, it's time to put some slicks on the 'cross bike.

baltimore sun: Chris Eatough

bloomberg.com - Michael Lewis on those who think they can do whatever the fuck they want...Wall St.

gigglewatts

Today's ride was all about the gigglewatts. I was pumping them out, having so much fun that I was giggling.

Trail conditions right now are a once-a-decade phenomenon. The snow/sleet has frozen solid producing a surface similar to slickrock. It's smooth, fast, and surprisingly grippy. You still have to use caution and run lower pressure, but traction is pretty good. Now, if you get off your bike and walk you'll be on your ass, so stay on the bike!

I had a nice ride this morning hitting most of Patapsco Avalon. The trails are only a guide as you can pick your own lines to ride the killer frozen contours in the woods. I had fun, though I did take a swim in a creek over on the Hilton/Hilltop side. Both hands and both feet went under when I lost traction transitioning from ice to an icy rock. It was chilly!

I hope these conditions last a couple of more days. The frozen 'slickrock' makes for a completely different riding experience. I want to get a little bit more because it could be another 10 years before it's this way again.

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

up yours Sven

A creative "2nd Place" salute



I thought this gift back in 2000 was plenty, but Groenendaal wants more. Very classy.

fellas night out

Fellas night out at La Fiesta for tasty enchiladas, guacamole, & cerveza (or milk).
The aquarium is a big draw for the little fella.
I'm hoping to ride some frozen trails in the morning. We'll see.

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Originally uploaded by cbnystrom.

Changes are afoot

from the Beeeb - A change for the better in French café culture. nice! No need to inhale Gauloise smoke if you just want to sit there and drink your coffee. Prior restraint!

Crossbabble recently reported on a pretty significant Cyclocross rules change for Nationals starting this year. It appears that men will need to be a cat 1 or 2 and women will need to be cat 1-3 in order to race in CX national championships. Given the huge growth in the fields this makes sense, though it'll have some consequences:

-Like a lot of people trying to cat up (me included) so that they can race Natz. I think I can make a case for the upgrade, but it's marginal. I've got about half the official upgrade points I need. I could have tried to do more smaller races like the VA series, but getting upgrade points has never been a priority for me. But if I want to race Nationals I don't have a choice. Hopefully, the upgrade coordinator will buy into my story.

-Which will mean more people in the Elite or Masters fields at local races...and thus smaller B fields. UCI events will still have the 2/3 (old B) race. My season is up in the air, but I'll probably race Masters if I get the upgrade to cat 2. I'd get smoked in the local A races, but it would be good training so that's an option too. This might help move some people out of the huge B fields. But it might just move them into the equally large Masters fields.

-Bigger B fields at Nationals. Could they possibly be any bigger? Probably not.

-Or maybe fewer people bothering to go to Nationals if all they can do is a B race.

Anyway it's a good rule change (even if I don't get the upgrade). I just want to be able to do some good races and soak up the 'cross vibe.