La Ruta de los Conquistadores Day 4

(See attached file: elevation_chart_stage_4_la_ruta_09.jpg)

Looking at the elevation profile for the final day the hills all seemed pretty short compared to the other days. The one small concern I had was the railroad tracks that I've been hearing so much about. It rained everyday that we've been here but today start off in a terenchal downpour. I got in the my usual position near the back of the pack but to my surprise I was right beside Roberto Heras. At the start I managed to stay with him and followed him to the front of the field. I was really happy because this was the first time I actually was in the lead group at the beginning. I was able to stay with them for about 35-40 minutes then I fell off the back. I was still riding pretty strong and the hills seemed to be normal less than two miles long. I made it to the first check point and everything was going great and I didn't bother stopping. As luck would have it things took a change for the worse. Going up a climb the pitch got pretty steep and I shifted into my granny ring up front and got chainsuck instantly. I stopped and pulled the chain out from between the frame and chainstay and was like WTF. I got back on and the chain was jumping all over in the back I stopped and looked for a kink but couldn't find it. So I just limped along on the climbs riding in the biggest cog in the back. When I finally reached checkpoint two I seen Tyson. He was there wrenching for a few people and I asked him to look at my chain, and he found the kink in like one second. I felt like such a dumdass for not be able to find it was happy that he did. So after a quick removal of the bad link I was on my way again. Shortly after that I hit the first section of the tracks. They didn't seem as bad as some of the tracks I ride on near my house. The railroad ties were made out of concrete and seemed a little closer together than usual. Then I got to the first bridge and couldn't be how slow people walked across them. At this point it was allot of on the tracks for a little then back off of them for a little. Not sure how many bridges we crossed but I was able to ride two of them. Funny thing is that I thought the tracks were not longer being used. I ran into a slow moving train in between two of the bridges, I felt lucky because I wasn't on the bridge like a few other were. After about 15 miles of tracks it was onto a dirt road the paralleled the ocean. After 5:24 I was finished even with all the troubles I had I finished OK 49 minutes back 6th in the vet class and maybe in the 25. I got cleaned up and was waiting for Ruth and getting a little nervous because I knew that she was going to have a hard time on the bridges. Then after a long wait she finally came rolling in and finished too. I'm planning on writing a little about my overall experience and post race thoughts but not sure if it will happen. Just don't feel like writing much now.'

J

La Ruta de los Conquistadores Day 3

(See attached file: day 3.bmp)

I'm not sure if I was getting used to getting up at 4:00 AM or what but getting ready this morning didn't seem as bad. We headed down to breakfast and I was dealt my first bit of adversity of the day. Up until today the breakfasts have always been a buffet with a descent selection of food. But not today there was some fruit, toast, cereal and eggs which would be fine if I liked eggs. I really don't like cereal but figured I'd give it a shot and that was when I found out just how disgusting the milk in Costa Rica is. So I ate a few bars that I had brought along and got on the shuttle hoping that the locals had the wheel they promised for Ruth. We got to the start and found them and everything was cool to go what a relief.
I've been hearing about today's stage all week long and how technical the downhill from the top of the volcano was. Looking at the elevation profile there was about a 20 mile climb to the top then a long downhill. It didn't look as steep as the climbs from the first two days but we would be climbing up to about 9700 feet. I got in my usual starting spot near the back of the back. It had rained everyday since we arrived but today was the first day we started in the rain. I had a good start and was riding pretty well. The road up was a gravel road that had some rocky sections and a couple of hike a bike sections. I was still passing people and not getting passed and got to check point number 1. It was only 12 miles in and I didn't even bother to stop. Shortly after that is when we turned onto the pavement for the last 10 miles of the climb. After a few miles on the pavement not sure if I slowed down or everyone else picked up the pace but I got past by allot of people. Then finally after 22 miles of climbing I made it to the second check point which was the top of the climb. I was pretty hungry and ate some stuff and put on my jacket. The downhill started out as a gravel road then quickly turned into a rutted up jeep rock with lots of softball sized rocks. The rain picked up and went from a light drizzle to a terenchal downpour. Funny thing is though this was the most fun I've had after 2-1/2 days of racing. It was also the first time when I thought having a 29er was an advantage and not a disadvantage. I past allot of people and found it funny by how much trouble they were having. After a few near misses with some horses and cows I reached checkpoint number three. That was the end of the rocks and ruts and it was back onto the pavement for about 4 more miles of downhill. It flattened out and there was about 8 more miles to the finish. Today I had my best finish about 1:15 behind the leaders 10th in the vet class and maybe in the top 35 overall. Ruth had a good day too and then it was off to get ready for the last day and the dreaded railroad tracks.

J

La Ruta de los Conquistadores Day 2

(See attached file: brake.jpg)

So after spending $60 for a new chain and having some time to lick my wounds from the first stage it was time to get ready for day 2. I forgot to mention that early during yesterday's stage that I had a small crash and broke my brake lever off. Lucky for me I was able to reattach it with some zip ties and some electrical tape. The checkpoints seemed well stocked and I decided to pack a little lighter for the second day. I also tried to study the elevation profile a little more, it helps knowing what's coming up next. Funny thing is just about everyone that I could talk to had different feeling and thoughts about the first day. Some thought the mud and hike a bike sections were super hard, others didn't think the climbs were to bad and didn't mind all of the pavement. For me I had mixed feelings about the first day, and I was hoping the second day was going to be a better for me. The climbs were hard and longer than anything I've ever ridden before but was disappointed with the lack of off road trail. But I was hoping the second day would be better than the first.
Thanks again to the super early and very insane start time of 6:00 I found myself near the back of the pack for the second time. Within the first half mile or so the lead group had separation from the part of the field I was in. I wasn't happy about it but there wasn't anything that I could do about it. Today's stage started off with a big climb early on the first few miles the grade was pretty tame. Then we turned off of the pavement onto a gravel road and it got steep quick. I'm not sure how accurate it is but I had my Garmin set to display the grade. It was going between 10% and 25% which is pretty steep. Then the surface changed from gravel to a very rough concrete with lots of rocks and broken bricks in it. Usually this would be a good thing but not today because it got steeper. I was already in my granny and didn't have many gears left in the back. I stayed on my bike and was riding but there were plenty of others that were already walking. I looked down at my Garmin and a couple of times the grade was 40%. I'm like WTF but finally I seen what appeared to be the end of this insanity only a few hundred feet away I seen lots of people standing and cheering. I made it and was happy thinking that worst was behind me now. I found out quickly that I was wrong and the first climb had 4 more sections like this. I rode as much of it as I could but had to walk some of the sections. Then we went back down quickly on some pavement and I reached the first check point and was feeling OK. Then is was up and down on shorter hills but not quite as steep but it was all pavement. At about hour three I had a mental meltdown of sorts and was like WTF. This sucks I'm riding my MTN bike on roads don't have a clue how much further or how much more climbing there is. At this point is when I just was content on finishing and no longer worried about were I was in the standings. Not sure how long I was in this state of mind. But then part way up a climb I caught up to a guy that was from Canada and spoke English. We worked together for a while and finally reached the last check point. After a short break I was ready to go and my mental lapse was gone. Then we hit a long off road downhill it was fun but was basically a long wide dirt jeep road that had a few rocks. At the bottom we went though a small village then up a few short pavement climbs to the finish. I was happy to be done but disappointed with another poor performance. 5:51 about two hours behind the leaders.
This is when things got a little interesting, I got to use the showers at the finish for the first time. Which basically sucked and what sucked even more was not having a towel. Then I was off to see the mechanics to try and get my tires changed for the next day. This would be super easy if we both spoke the same language. Then I seen Glenn from NC who we met a couple of days before. He was there supporting his wife Cricket who was racing and there friend Chris. I seen him and he said he left the last check and seen Ruth and she was doing OK and was ahead of Cricket. Then Cricket came across the finish line and I asked her if she seen Ruth anywhere and she said no. So after about an hour I'm starting to get worried wondering how Ruth left before Cricket and Cricket never past her and Ruth was still not back. Some of the event staff spoke a little English and they finally understood what I was trying to tell them. So I left with someone to head out and look for her. We finally seen one of the vehicles that were sweeping the course and they didn't she her either. Then we got a call on the radio and Ruth had just got in. When we got back I found out what had happened. Ruth missed a turn and on her way back onto course her freehub died and she had to walk the last 5 miles. That's why nobody seen her but she did get to have an exciting finish. When walking though town and getting close to the end she seen someone else that we met who was riding a motorcycle. He asked if she wanted towed to the finish and she said no because she wanted to finish. So he left and went to the finish and told them what happened. They said to go back and it would be OK to tow her into the finish because it's not safe to be walking though that part of town by yourself. So she came across the finish line doing 40.
Now we had to make a decision about what to do with her rear wheel. I took it apart and tried to fix it but didn't have any luck. There was a bike shop traveling with us that was pretty well stocked but very expensive. The cheapest wheelset they had was $200 and pretty crappy. The worst part about buying it was that we wouldn't even be able to take it home because it wouldn't fix in our luggage. So after searching and begging for hours we finally found a local that was working at the Giant booth that said she could borrow his sister's wheel for the rest of the race. Now it was time for a 30 minute shuttle ride to our hotel. This is when we ran into another little snag. We got our room key and went to the room and it already had people in it. While we were waiting everyone that came in after us was having the same problem. After the staff went and knocked on every door they found us an empty one it only took like 2 hours plus we got a roommate too. His name Phillip he spoke English and lived in Texas but was originally from Costa Rica. It was nice meeting someone form there to learn a little about the country. But it seemed like we didn't get to talk much because of mix-up and having to be ready to leave on the shuttle at 4:00 we had to get to bed early. Hoping the next day would better.

J

La Ruta de los Conquistadores Day 1

We left on 11/8 for the race and encountered our first setback early on. We left for the airport around 4:00 am and had to turn around after about 20 minutes after Ruth relieved she forgot her driver license. When we reached the turn around for the second time is when we realized that our 8:30 flights were really 6:15 flight. Somehow we managed to get to the airport in time and get on our flights but were scared that our luggage might not make it. I don't fly much and don't like to either. There's lots of reasons why the biggest is I don't like the idea of other people being in charge of my schedule among of things. Finally after four stops, three transfers and ten plus hours of traveling we arrived at the San Jose airport. We got lucky and only one piece of luggage didn't make it. After about 2 hours of trying to talk to someone about it that spoke very little English we were ready to get on our shuttle to Jaco.
It's didn't take me to long into the ride to realize a few things. First everyone drives like a freaking asshole and is constantly blowing there horn Second the hills were long and steep. After a long drive we finally made it to the hotel got checked in and went to bed. The next day we rented a car got lost but did manage to find our final destination which was a suspension bridge tour. It was OK but it's really hard to see anything when it's pouring. We did see two tree frogs and a toucan bird sorry but no pictures because of the rain. After that we drove down to a river crossing and were lucky enough to see two crocodiles.
The next morning at breakfast I seen Roberto Heras, Manny Prado, the Monavie-Cannondale team and lots of other fast looking people. The rest of our luggage finally showed up so we decided to try and ride some of the first stage. When we got to the first climb and I seen how steep it was like holy shit is that steep. I rarely use my granny gear but couldn't seem to get out of it on this climb. After about 5 miles it got flat but that didn't last to long then it was back to more climbing then finally after another 3 miles I reached the top. I was thinking to myself that wasn't to bad. So I turned around and headed back down. Not knowing the terrain or want the aid stations would be like. I decided to pack a little heavier than usual for the first day just to be safe. I was taking two water bottles, water in my camelback, enough food for all day, two tubes. I would find out later that I had plenty of everything but forgot one very important thing. I went to bed early for the stupid 5:00 start but it didn't go to well. I've been sick for what seems like forever and was coughing and hacking all night long and to make it worse someone kept yelling at me about it.

Wow does 3:30 come early after dragging myself out of bed it was time to try and eat and get ready. With about 30 minutes to it seemed like everyone was already lined up and ready to go. So with about 3 minutes to go I lined up at what seemed like the very back but I guess there was maybe 20 people behind me. Then it was on after about 60 seconds it cleared out enough for me to get on my bike and start riding. After a little bit of flat road we started into the climb and I thought everything was going good. I was passing people and nobody was passing me about a 1/4 mile up the first climb there were a ton of people already off and pushing there bikes. I made it the top in about an hour and was feeling great then we went down a gravel road for a bit. We turned of off it into some mud which wasn't to bad then we hit a steep rocky downhill and I passed allot of people that were walking. Then we were riding in a muddy trench like canal that was about 8 feet wide that had allot of drop-offs in it,. Then I came to checkpoint #1 and didn't even bother stopping.
Shortly after that is was my day took a turn for the worse. Up the next climb I started getting chain suck it wasn't too bad and I keep riding. Then it kept getting worse so I stopped and looked at it and seen I had a kink in my chain. I tried to straighten it out and it seemed a little better, but then it got worse. I decided the best thing to do would be try and take a link out. This is when I found what I forgot, I have a Topeak mutlitool that has the 2 black pieces on the side that can be used for tire levers. But side that has an allen wrench that is used for the chain tool was missing. After a frantic search through my camelback with no luck I continued on walking and riding when I could. Some times it's hard to get help from someone during a race but it's almost impossible when they speak a different language. Don't know how long it took but finally someone gave me a chain tool to use. But for some reason it didn't seem to work WTF, I couldn't get the pin in the tool to line up with the pin in the chain and it would just bend the chainlink more. I finally forced the chain apart and put in my spare quick link and was off. But the chain suck was still happening and upon further inspection I found another twisted link. I took it out but couldn't get the chain back together correctly because of the tool kept bending the links. But after a few more miles it really didn't matter much if your bike was useable or not. Because that's when I got to he mud that you see in the photos and hear so much about. Something I learned quickly is that don't put your bike down or try to ride it. It's only makes it heavier to carry. This section was about 5 or 6 miles long and I finally made it to the next aid station. After wasting serval minutes trying to get a chain tool from them with no luck I decided leave. My chain was skipping around allot and would only stay in the big gear in the back but I figured it was better than walking. Then I started up the big climb of the day. From what I remember it was all pavement and a little over 20 miles long and very steep at times. Finally after reaching the top we went down for a little bit then started back up a gravel road. That's when my chain finally broke and I started walking not sure how far I went but someone that spoke English asked if I needed help. I was so happy he let me use his chain tool and gave me a quick link and I was back in business. I knew the ending was getting close by looking at the mileage. There were still allot of hills but they were in short only about 1 or 2 miles long. Then finally after 8:38 of riding I could see the end.
The end of the first day was the best because the hotel was right at the finish which means not shuttle. After taking a shower and eating I looked at the results and was very disappointed. I didn't plan on winning but almost 3 hours back from the winners was a pretty bad feeling. I had some bad mechanicals but until they have a class for people that have mechanicals it really doesn't help much in the standings. Some good news was that Ruth finished too in 10:53 and everyone says the first day is the hardest. Funny thing is that is it was hard but it wasn't what I excepted it to be. I went to bed hoping to tomorrow would be a little better.

J

Marilla WVCXS #3

(See attached file: marilla.bmp)

This was the second year for the Marilla cyclocross race Carrera de los Muertos (the race of the dead) in a way the name was very fitting. We go to Morgantown Friday afternoon around 5:00. The weather was a pleasant surprise it was like 70 and Halloween was the next day. So we did a few laps on the Red Sled and the biggest change from last was the barrier placement and the spiral that was added. It took a few times but we finally found a line through it, but had no such luck trying to ride the "Hill of Death". We headed over to Gina and JR's place and got cleaned up and were just hanging out waiting to head out for dinner. After what seemed like a long wait we finally got confirmation from Gunnar that they decided not to go. We headed to Black Bear for some great food and a few beers.
The nice thing about staying close to the race the night before is you get some extra snooze time. It was nice waking up at 8:00 and only having a 5 minute drive the race thanks JR and Gina. When we arrived to Marilla Park the weather was nice almost 60 and a little overcast. The single speed, vets and women were the first group to go at 9:30. I was able to catch some of the race before having to get ready for the Tandumb rematch. It was pretty fun cheering people on and ringing the bell. Ruth had a good race and finished fourth in what we found out later to be the biggest women's field ever at a WVCX race.
It was perfect timing for the weather to change for the worse. As soon as the first race was over the rain started coming down. Racing in the mud used to ready bother me allot until I learned to relax and try and be more patient. The worst things about racing in the rain and mud are getting ready and the clean up. But it was time for the second race of the day was the B race it also included the clydesdales and the tandumds. We go off to a bad start and got caught behind allot of traffic. By the time we got to the spiral we didn't even have a chance to ride it because of all the traffic. Maybe we should have practiced that last night? But to late now then onto the next obstacle the gravelpit. Same problem here too we rode it last night and before the race with no problem but didn't even come close. The worst part about not riding the gravelpit is the rocks that get in your shoes and trying to get clipped in after you get out. Then it was onto the next dismount the Hill of Death. Of all the obstacles the Hill of Death seemed to be my favorite because it had all the people cheering. I couldn't believe how much worse the conditions of the course got after each lap. We tried to chase the Gunnar and Betsy but didn't seem to be having any luck. Not sure which lap it was but we started getting chain suck and chewing through the brake pads pretty fast. I would have loved to seen the look on Ruth's face when we were headed down to the Hill of Death and I said shit no brakes. But even with very little brake left I was able to slow down enough to get to the bottom safely. Finally we came through and the sign said one more lap. Somehow we managed not to get lapped and finally finished the our last lap.
Now it was time to get ready for the A race I kept asking myself why am I doing this? I just finished racing for almost an hour and I was changing and getting ready to do it again. The worst part was I only brought one pair of shoes and they were trashed from the first race. When it was time to line up there looked to be a descent sized field of about 25 people and plenty of fast people. I had an OK start but it got tight quick and it was hard to follow because of the rain and mud. On the first lap I was maybe 7th or 8th and then I picked a few people off and was in 5th. I was trying to catch up to Gunnar and Jason Cyr but wasn't having much luck. Then after about 30 minutes the race changed for me I went from being on the attack and trying to move up to not trying to be caught. Funny thing about the cool spiral was when you were in it was hard to tell how close you were to other riders. I wasn't sure either if it was faster to run it or ride it. I knew that Chris Mayhew was on my tail and it was hard to tell how close he was. As the race went on the Hill of Death could have been easily renamed to the Descent of Death. Every lap it was getting harder and harder trying to find a safe route down it. By the end I managed to stay in 5th I was happy to be down but wasn't looking forward to the aftermath of two muddy races. Thanks to Marc Glass, Gary Rodosta, the great sponsors and everyone else for the great time.

J

Month of Mud #5

(See attached file: MOM.jpg)

Finally it was here the final MOM race of the year at Moraine. I was excited and worried about being in first place in the single speed series. In the past I've been in contention for the overall going into the final race and always managed to screw it up somehow. I was hoping this year would be different. The morning went a little better than some but that would soon change. I only left 20 minutes later than planned and stopped to get a cup of coffee and everything was going good. Then with less than a half mile to go on 422 the day took a turn for the worse. I was more concerned about getting to the race than the speed I traveling. Luckily for me a nice PA State Trooper decided to stop me and point this out to me. So after that unexpected delay I was really getting there late. I hurried up got registered and then more bad news. When I got back to my car to get ready Team Echo was parked beside me. If you know Echo this requires no explanation. While getting dressed I heard 15 minutes to get lined up. So after a short quick warm-up I felt like crap and figured today was going to be a rough one. We lined up and rolled out on a neutral pace to the start.
It's always nice to get a call up so tried to make the most of it but came up short. After a short flat section we started up the first climb and I was feeling it and getting dropped. Then after a flat section we were headed up the second climb and I started feeling a little better and managed to be fourth into the single track. I worked my way up into third and felt like I was doing OK then it happened. I don't ride with headphones or listen to music much when I ride. Usually I can get a good song in my head and get in a groove. But today my mental playlist was broken. I got a bad song in my head and couldn't get it out of my head. The cover of Careless Whisper by Seether how does this song and group get any air time? Then I crossed the road and was headed into the big rock garden. I ride at Moraine at least twice a month and if I don't clear this entire section of trail I'm disappointed with myself. Not sure if it was the mental abuse from my playlist, the fresh leaves or the fact that I was running a tube in my rear tire but I couldn't ride any of it. After running and walking though it I got my playlist working again and caught up and passed to Tim. Then it came back and I'm not sure what happened but I crashed it was like I just fell over. Tim passed me and we rode together through the finish and headed out for the second lap. This is when I looked down and noticed my Garmin was missing and figured it came off during the crash. I started feeling a little better and past Tim then is was back. I got in the rocks and somehow took a really bad line and rock or something knocked my rear wheel out of the dropouts. While I was getting it straightened out Tim went past me. Then I crossed the road and was heading into the rock garden again. I was thinking to myself that there's no way it could me as much trouble as the first lap did. I soon proved that thinking to wrong and walked through it again. At this point I pretty much wanted to be done. I came to the area were I crashed on the first lap and decided to look for my Garmin. The only reason I stopped was because I was feeling lazy and knew it would be hard to get the motivation needed to go back and look for it after the race. But after some leaf picking I decided to move along and finish and come back for it.
By the time I reached the finish it wasn't great a race but it was OK 4th overall and 1st SS. I also had a huge relief because I knew that I had won the series finally. While I was waiting at the finish I was happy to Joe Fotia come rolling in he had allot of pressure going into this race. He was one point behind Frankie Ross at the beginning of today. So if he could beat Frankie he would have the tie breaker and the series win. I talked Joe into heading back with me to look for my Garmin and some leaf picking I got lucky and found it.
I was happy that the series turned like I planned for once. I also had a couple of other surprises waiting for me at the award ceremony. The big one was I got inducted into the Month of Mud Hall of Fame I'm really happy and honored about this. So that means I'm like famous or something now right? Almost but not quite my plaque has my name spelled wrong. So is it really me or someone else they meant to induct? Funny thing is that I like that it's spelled wrong. For as many races that I do my name always gets spelled wrong. It's my own fault for not listening to Sheriff Gary NO CORRECTIONS FOR SPELLING ERRORS PRINT BETTER NEXT TIME! I just want to say thanks to the Month of Mud crew and Rob Riddell who did an awesome job filling in some pretty big shoes. One more thing be sure to listen to the Sheriff.

J

Murrysville Cross

(See attached file: Murrysville.jpg)

I took advantage of last weekend being race free by doing a couple of long rides. Saturday I managed to get a nice 5 hour mountain bike ride in. Then on Sunday Ruth and me did a century on the Red Sled. Centuries are hard but I'm not sure why they seem even harder on the Sled.
The only bad thing about this weekend was that it was booked with local races. Saturday was the Murrrysville Cross which was cool but Sunday there was a conflict the MOM race at Moraine and the Raccoon Cross race. If I wasn't doing the MOM series I'm not sure which race I would chose. Saturday I was looking forward to the cross race even though I haven't ridden my cross bike since the Grove City race. I did this race last year and it was a blast fun course, well organized, muddy and cold. This year the biggest difference was that is was about 20 degrees warmer and I didn't do the Dirty Dozen the day before. I surprised myself and got there in enough time to get dressed and pre ride the course. The course was similar to last year with only a few changes but still seemed fun and challenging too. Using the I only have a single speed as an excuse I had decided early in the week to race the 35 plus race and if I felt OK after that I would race the 1/2/3 too.
It was finally time to get lined up and there was 23 people in my group and I got a spot on the second row. We took off up the pavement and turned into the muck and not long after that there was a crash which somehow I managed to avoid. I was in a group of like 5 people or so and getting close to the hill that I rode every time during the preride but as it would be no such like. The worst thing is having to dismount when your not planning on dismounting because your not ready and lose all your speed among other things. I continued to work my way through the field until Gunnar was the only one in front of me. We rode together for a little then I managed to get past him. I had a small gap after the first lap then starting into the second lap Gunnar past me. We traded places a couple of times on the second lap then that was it. I tried to catch him but never did and the only thing that changed was the lead he had on me. With two laps to go I was feeling pretty spent and was worrying more about getting caught than catching him. At the end I managed to stay in second and was happy to be done. Now it was time for the worst part of cross racing getting changed. It feels great to get out of the muddy clothes but it sucks knowing that you have to go hame and clean it up.
I came close to racing in the 1/2/3 race but decided against it with the hopes of saving a little for Sunday's MOM race. With nothing planned for the rest of the day I figured I would hangout and watch the other races that were going on. While waiting for the races to begin I ran into Gerry Pflug and he was planning on using his mountain bike for the race. I also seen Tim Carson and he was planning on racing a borrowed cross bike. Both of the decisions had me scratching my head. Both of these guys are super fast but after racing the course I thought a cross bike was the way to go for Gerry and felt Tim would be better on his mountain bike. Why the difference in bikes? Here's why it was a traditional cross course a little bit of road, some tight twisty turns, run ups, and super muddy. Gerry races allot of cross and practices allot too so I felt he would be better on a cross bike. Tim on the other hand only does a few cross races here and there and uses his mountain bike. So by not ever using this cross bike before I thought he would be a disadvantage. The race finally started and it was a pretty exciting race. Early on it was a two person race for first between Steevo and Mike Mihalik with other battles going on for the rest of the podium. Not sure when Gerry and Tim switched bikes but it seemed after they did they each made up a few positions. In the end Mike got Steevo, Gerry ended up 4th and Tim was 7th. Funny thing is I know some other people that race a little bit of cross and say there faster on there mountain bike than a cross bike. I tell them that might be true but that because they don't ride there cross bike enough. But now it was time to head home to get ready for Sunday.
Thanks to Fred Baldassare, Henry Dimminck, the Freddie Fu and AG3R teams and everyone else that was involved in the great time.

J

Month of Mud part #4

(See attached file: Grove City.jpg)
At this time of the year I feel like I should be taking a break from long rides and start focusing on cross. But with La Ruta coming up in November I feel torn between trying to race cross and doing long training rides. The hardest part for me about doing long training rides this time of year is the lack off daylight as I found out on Saturday's long ride. In an ideal world I would like to do my harder shorter workouts on Saturday then on Sunday do a long easier ride. But I'm still searching for that ideal world. I decided that I would do a long ride on Saturday and the MOM race on Sunday. After getting started a little later than planned I was out the door on the fixed gear at like 11:30. The plan was head down towards town then jump on the tracks and hit the Armstrong trail up to Tempelton and back. The idea of bringing a light never crossed my mind. Near Ford City I ran into Ruth she left about the same time but went straight to the trail. We stopped in Kittanning and got some water and food. I planned on riding north on the trail until for another hour or so then turn around and head back home. When I turned around it finally hit me. It's after 5:00 I have about 45 miles to get home it will take a little under 3 hours but it will be dark out in less than 2 hours. When I was getting close to Schenley I caught up to Ruth and it was getting pretty dark at that point. I told her that I would just ride ahead and get home first and come back with the car to pick her up. The worst thing about riding in the dark is finding that hole in the road that you for didn't know about and getting blinded by oncoming cars. I got home a little after 8:00 and was getting ready to go pick up Ruth (she thinks this makes her tough) but she called said she'd be OK riding home alone. After she got in it was time to start getting ready for the MOM race at Brady's.

Surprise I got to Brady's an hour before the start and was pretty happy about that. I got ready and did a pre riding to check out the course and then with little time to spare it was time to go. It's always cool to get a call up, but I also knew that it wouldn't help much. Because during the prolog around the horse arena I knew I was out gunned being on a SS. Just as I figured I think I was pretty far back in the pack when we started up the hill. I rode as hard as I could up the hill and passed allot of people. I think I was like 5th or 6th heading into the singletrack for the rest of the climb. At the top I passed a couple of more people and was in third. Funny thing was I figured after the long ride on Saturday that I would be climbing slow. But I seemed to be climbing good, but I was descending pretty slow. There was a few times I'd look back and nobody would be in sight then right after a downhill Joe would be right on my tail. In the end I got 1st SS and 3rd overall I was pretty happy with the results. This weekend I get a break from racing I was thinking about going to the Cross Your Heart and Hope to Die cross race but just going to stay home and put in some extra miles. Thanks again to the MOM crew.



J

Month of Mud part #3

The Grove City MOM race was the third of the series and the second and last cross race of the series. I really wasn't looking forward to this race because I was feeling crappy and sick all week. So I took is easy and reduced my hours but it didn't seem to help to much. The one thing that I was excited about was that it was going to be the Tandumb rematch. We got to the park with little time to spare as usual I was going through the over thinking of which gear to use. I decided to stick with the same gear as last week 42x19. It seemed to be a little heavy at Raccoon last week and was hoping it would OK here. At the start I found out that it was a little light on the road and got past by lots of people. After the prolog I started to make some up some ground and passed a few people. I could see Gerry and Steevo had a pretty big lead on everyone. I knew I had no chance of catching them. The gear felt OK in the woods and grass but I was getting crushed on the road. I was going back and forth with a few people on the first 4 laps. Then after about an hour it was over I finished 9 overall and was the first SS. I was hoping for a little better in the overall but whatever.

Now to the main event of the day the Tandumb rematch plus one more. It seemed like less pressure with three Tandumbs racing. Because when there was only two you could go from first to worst by one position change.The Shogrens learned something from the last race and had 26" mountain bike tires and wheels on. In the beginning on the prolog we were in third but passed Andrew and Maggie. It seemed like our barrier practice was paying off because we were keeping it close on the barriers. This race was going allot like the first race. We passed Gunnar and Betsy in the woods only to be passed on the road. There was one section that had a downed tree were we had a big advantage. We were riding the log on every lap and they were dismounting on it. But thanks to the hecklers the started riding it on the last two laps. We gave it our best shot and kept it close but in the end the Shogrens got the W. It was only by 12 seconds but as anyone that races cross knows that 12 seconds is allot. We never seen Andrew and Maggie after the beginning and found out later that they flatted. Now it was time to get cleaned up and head to the North Country Brewery for a few well deserved brews. Thanks again to the MOM crew and the rest of the fine sponsors.


J

Month of Mud part #2

(See attached file: Tandumb.bmp)

Even after a long day of racing and traveling on Saturday I was pretty excited about racing the 2nd MOM race at Raccoon. This was going to be my first cross race of the year and I wanted to see if my practice would pay off. We didn't get home Saturday until like 10:00 and got cleaned up and I did some last minute bike preparations. Sunday morning came way to early as usual. The plan was to get to the park by 8:30 to do some pre riding so I could pick my final gear and also wanted to practice some dismounts on the Red Sled. But as usual left late and then to top it off 10 minutes into the drive I seen I forgot my helmet. Finally we arrived at the park at like 9:15 got registered and dressed that didn't leave much time for any pre riding. I asked a few other SSers what gear they were using and changed my to a 42x19 which was the easiest I had with me. I did manage to squeeze in a full and got to the line. The field had about 40 people in it and I was very happy to get a call up. Then it was off I had a good start and after a couple laps I found myself in third. Which I was pretty happy with but after about 30 minutes of this pace I popped and had to slow down. By the end 4 people passed me and I was glad that there wasn't anymore. I would have liked to done a little better but after a long race the day before 7th overall and 2nd SS will have to do.

Now it was time to hurry up again and get on the Red Sled to do a little practice. If you think dismounts and run ups are hard on a regular bike try it on a tandem sometime. After a few dismounts and remounts it was time to go. Mechanicals always suck but somehow we managed to pop our chain off in like the first ten feet. I want to say THANKS to the Shogrens our only competition for the day that waited until we were up and going before taking off. We stayed pretty close to them on the first couple of laps. It was amazing how clean they're dismounts were. I think on lap 3 is when we started to make up some ground. This is also when I realized that we had a big advantage over them big and wide tires. We were making up lots of time because we could almost everything and they were walking allot due to there skinny little tires. Then on the 4th lap we go around them and held them off to get the win. It was fun and pretty intense racing on the Red Sled and thanks to everyone that was cheering us on. I noticed that Gunnar is already onto us and looking for a different wheel for his sled. But maybe he needs to look a little closer at the pictures to see the big advantage. I never noticed it until I looked at the pictures was that our pedals were out of sync. Stay tuned for next week's rematch at Grove City. I also need to say thanks to the MOM crew and Gary Dugovich for the awesome job like always.

J

Revenge of the Rattle Snake

(See attached file: ROTR.jpg)

Where should I begin? One thing I knew I had working against me from the start was the goal of by 6:30. We came pretty close and left at 7:15. It was wet, rainy, windy and chilly on the trip down. Almost seemed like the prefect storm for a race in Davis. The goal was to get to Davis by 10:00 for the 11:00 start and we were so close to making it. At 9:50 and only a 1/4 of a mile to go traffic was stopped at a 10:00 Ruth decided to jump on her bike and ride down to get us registered. Finally at 10:20 traffic started to move and I found somewhere to park and found out what the holdup was caused by. The Leaf Peepers Festival was a holding a 5K run with a huge turnout. So after a hectic scramble to get ready in the rain I was finally ready and headed down to the pre race meeting. That's when I heard something that I always hate hearing. " Make sure you take a map with you" we marked the course yesterday and you never know if anyone sabotaged it. I know it's hard to mark a course and when it's a 40 mile race it's even harder. So here's my problem the I have no map reading skills so if I'm off course I wouldn't know and wouldn't be able to get back on course. What I have learned in the past is always try to follow a local or at least someone that knows the way.

But at 11:00 on the dot it was race time and we were headed down route 32 for a little bit onto a gravel road. For the first 3-4 miles it seemed like a bad course for a single speed and I was wishing I had a little steeper gear. But finally I got into some single track and everything was going get until I realized that I was on Mountainside. If you ever rode this trail it's pretty hard to forget. I don't think it's to technical but it's a gentle downhill grade but it's littered with baby head rocks and just beats you up and without any rest until the end. Nearing the bottom I happened to see a couple of familiar faces TJ and Nick Waite were pulled over and fixing the flats together how special. Finally at the bottom I was looking forward to the long climb out. At the top of the climb was the first aid station and Matt said I was 5th. I was pretty happy cause up until then didn't have any idea where I was. This is were we turned onto Plantation trail another one of the world famous in Davis. At this point I was feeling pretty good. The trail was rocky, rooty and wet but for some reason I felt like I was riding pretty well. Funny thing is sometimes when you think your riding well your really not because you either get caught or dropped. But today at this point I was still catching and passing people. I passed three people and had the 4th in site and it turned out to be Rob Spreng after riding with him for a little I passed him. He stayed close and we passed someone hiking in the trail and he told us that aid station 2 was only about 1-1/2 away. I popped out on to route 32 and got to the aid station first and grabbed and fresh bottle and something to eat. As I was heading up the road I looked back and someone was right on my tail. I had to look twice because it wasn't Rob anymore it was Nick and Rob was right behind him. The three of us headed up the road together and then when the trail headed down I just was spun out and they were out of sight.

Something else that happened very soon is when all the technical skills that I seemed to have disappeared. The trail was freshly cut and at some points it felt like I never rode a bike before. It didn't come soon enough but I came to the 3rd aid station and didn't even stop. But I felt allot more comfortable because this is where we got onto to the State Championship course which I've raced before. I heard someone saying that we would be riding Moon Rocks in the opposite direction. I was hoping that it was going to be a little more rideable in this direction. But I can found out quickly that I was wrong. But all I knew is that I had to be getting close to the finish and finally after 4 hours of riding there it was. Just like that it was over I finished 3rd overall and first SS .

It seemed to rain for the entire race but as soon as you finish and stop you get cold really fast. So I quickly headed to the car and got cleaned up and grabbed something to eat. I also decided to move the car to the other side of town so when Ruth finished she wouldn't have to ride as far. Just as I was parking the car I looked over and was surprised to see her riding down the street. What happened is Betsy and her both missed a turn early on in the race and had to back track and got to aid station after the cutoff and were sent down route 32 to the finish. We were hanging out under the tent and had some great food from Sirianni's Cafe and some awesome beer from Mountain State Brewing Co. That's when Gunnar and Betsy talked us into racing the Red Sled at the Month of Mud cycle cross race at Raccoon Park on Sunday. Stay tuned to see how it turns out. Thanks Blackwater Bikes

J

Month of Mud Part #1

Way back in the day my first bike race ever was a Month of Mud race at Brady's Run. Don't even remember where I placed but I do remember that I had a good time. So after lots of racing I still always try and put some MOM races on my to do list. Now that the Month of Mud is all grown up it even has it's own web site www.monthofmud.org Sunday kicked off with the time trial at Bavington, I think this format works great for the course. While I was waiting to go out I seen Shane go out maybe like third. I was very surprised to see him coming down the road that you cross over in the first mile. I thought maybe he was lost or something. But upon further inspection I seen he had I nice gash on his forearm. He went over the bars early and was coming back to get it fixed up hope you have a speedy recovery Shane.

Lately I've only been riding my SS so I decided to race it. It was my turn to go and I felt OK but no great. I don't ride at Bavington to much so I only remember some of the highlights. It seemed like I was riding fast but not to smoothly and was being pretty sloppy in the corners. When I crossed the road for the last time I knew the end was close. When I finished I looked at my time and it seemed a little bit shorter than last years. I finished first SS and 4th overall with a time of 40:43 only 16 seconds better than last year.

This weekend should be a good one too. Planning on going to the Revenge of the Rattle Snake on Saturday it's the last WVMBA Ultra of the season. Then Sunday off to the MOM cross race at Raccoon to test my cross skills. For some reason I like racing on back to back days the hardest of it for seems to be the traveling.


J

Peanut Butter Festival

(See attached file: pbf.jpg)
It's that time of the year again the days are getting shorter the leaves are starting to change. So here in Western PA that could only mean one thing it's time for bike racing season taking center stage with some great local events. Last week was the Tour De Strongland which didn't work out to well for me. The 14th annual New Bethlehem Peanut Butter Festival was on Saturday and the Month of Month starts on Sunday. In year past these races always seemed to be the last races of the year for but that has changed. I'm planning on racing cross in to early December and also have the La Ruta coming up quickly in November.


Not sure how many times I did the PBF race maybe 5 or 6. I really enjoy this race for lots of reasons it's close to home, has a pretty laid back atmosphere, I get to catch of with people I don't see to often, and there's not much going on in New Bethlehem so the Peanut Butter Festival always takes center stage. The course had a few changes for this year. The start had a longer stretch on the road to get an little more separation and some new single track was also added. As usual the start was fast and hard but I managed to be the first into the single track. I always seem to remember bits and pieces of the course and the new single track was nice. After coming out of the new single track I came to a very familiar section the tunnel. The only bad thing about coming to the tunnel was until this point in the race it was dry with only few small puddles. Then not long after that it was onto the long double track climb it's not steep but it seems pretty long. I was very surprised by how many puddles and mud bogs there were. When you finally get to the end of the double track that's when it gets steep. Up though a grassy field onto a road that seems like it's someone's driveway then across a black topped road onto a gravel road back into the woods. I knew I was getting close to the end when I got to the stream crossing behind the school. Then back onto the road for a short uphill finish. I was really shocked when I crossed the finish line and looked at my time 1:04:29. I was pretty happy with that time if I remember correctly my time from last year was about 1:15. Waiting at the finish I seen Ruth come across and seen she also won.


We got cleaned up and headed over to Gumtown Park for the festival and to get something to eat. This was also the final race for the Bike the Wilds series too. When my name was called I was very surprised because they announced that my time was the new course record. Not sure what the old record was but I was very excited to break it. More good news was to follow too I came in third in the Bike the Wilds series and Ruth was second. If that wasn't enough fun for the day I planned on riding home after the race. I've always talked about doing this but never did it was 58 miles and about 3:30 hours. I think 2 hours would have been prefect I seemed to struggle a little more than I wanted too for the last hour and a half. I just want to say thanks to everyone involved for the good time.

Check out all the action here www.pbfmtbrace.com and www.fattirechallenge.com Next year the rumor is the Bike the Wilds will be a five race series including the Dash for Cash

J

Strongland and Weaklegged

It's the week after Labor Day so that means it's time for the Tour De Strongland. Finally a race that's only 20 miles from my house yippee. But for some reason I have to get up just as early as a race that's 150 miles from my house bummer. The short trip turned out to be my highlight of the day. This was one of the first races I ever did, way back in the day. I liked it then and still, do the course has changed allot since then for the better. I was feeling a little under the weather and even considered not going. But figured I already registered so I might as well go. I managed to get a great start and was the first into the single track but that didn't last to long. After about 5 minutes I felt really bad and was going to quit but figured I should at least finish because quitting sucks. This was one of the few races I did that I didn't even bother to look at the results or where I placed. Guess I'll file this race under a "Bad Day" and move on. Sunday was the Tour De Strongland road race. I pre registered for it to but felt really bad on Sunday morning so I opted to stay home glued to the couch. I hope it pays off.

J

Not Much

Funny thing about the Shenedoah 100 this year for is I did it did OK and don't have much to say about it. But here it goes anyhow. Ruth and me got to Stokesville Campground much later than we planned on Friday night it was close to 9:30. After driving around through the woods and finding several deadends we picked a spot out and setup camp. Then Saturday morning after some walking around in the daylight and some long and hard consideration we decided to pack up and move camp to a better location. After that we planned on going for about a 2 hour ride, then get a shower and head to Snowshoe for JR and Gina's wedding. But as it turned out that plan would soon change. Thinking that the wedding started at either 4:00 or 5:30 and it was about a 2 hour drive we have to leave around 2:00. We forgot the invitation at home and was calling some friends to confirm the time and guess what? We found out it started at 2:00 and it was already 12:30. We deicided to cut our ride short and get there as early as we could. I think we got there around 4:00 just in time to see everyone leaving the church and heading over to the reception. We had a good time at the reception and was very suprised by how nice JR looked all cleaned up. Unfortantly we planned on racing at the SMT 100 so that ment no beer for me or very little. But it still was allot of fun and our group which constied of the Shogrens, Chrissy McGill, and Ruth decided to leave around 7.

The trip back to Stokesville took a little longer back thanks to Hank. We got back and after talking to several people I decided to change my gear from a 32x19 to a 34x20 this turned out be almost a very smart decision. Going to bed I knew my biggest challenge of the day was going to be getting up and being ready for the 6:30 start. This goes back to my reasoning that it's not healthy to get up this early. This is confirmed by the fact that humans dont have good nightime vision. So we should be left sleeping until the sun comes out. But enough about that with about 7 minutes to go Ruth thought her front tire was low on air so when pumping it up the vavle broke and we hurried up and put in a new tube with 3 minutes to spare.

Wow we I rode up to the start I couldn't believe just how big of a pack 500 plus racers make. I found the best stop I could and squezed in. Then we were off and it was a pretty skechty start but I managed to stay out of trouble. Everything seemed to be going OK I felt pretty fresh and the bike felt OK too. I did this race once before in 2006 but for some reason couldn't rememeber to much of it. But just like in the Wilderness 101 there was plenty of back and fourth. I'd catch the same people in spots only to dropped or pass them only to regroup later. Finally when I the end was near I had some bike issues and ran in the last 2 miles or so. I was happy with a 5th place SS and 36 overall placing with a time of 8:32. That's all I got.

J

Back to Back

(See attached file: Templeton.bmp)

Last weekend I think maybe I reached a milestone. But either way I did something that I've never done before. I really don't like bragging about feats or accomplishments but I this one was a pretty cool and seemed note worthy. Are you ready? OK here it is back to back centuries. Saturday's was a trip on the road bike to Foxburg and back 5:20 ride time and about 5:50 total time and yes it was hot and humid. Sunday was an action packed fun day on "The Red Sled". We rode along the Allegheny river up to Templeton and back on the Armstrong Trail. We wanted to go a little further but was unsure if the trail ended or what the deal was. There were no trespassing sign up and bikes hanging from trees and that's when we decided to turn around. But it was nice to finally get a full century in on the Red Sled because we've been close several other time. About 7:00 or ride time and out for a little over 8 hours which included a little picnic like lunch from Gray Avenue Market in Templeton. Plus we got lucky because Sunday was just as hot and humid as Saturday.

J

Count em

(See attached file: ring.bmp)
OK it's hard to count them but it does have 34 teeth. Plus it's custom made by yours truly. I really wanted to switch my single speed over to a 34 tooth ring in the front it seems to make more sense. But I have a really nice pair of XTR 960 cranks that I have to put to use. Good thing that Shimano made them with a bolt pattern different from everyone else thanks you corporate assholes. This is just another reason I hate Shimano I think there quality is great but all the stupid none compatible bullshit pisses me off. So after searching long and hard for a 34 tooth ring for the 960 cranks with no luck. I decided to take advantage of working in a machine shop and make my own. I would rather had the option of just spending $50 and not spending more time at work but I had no choice and had to do it. SO SCREW YOU SHIMANO.


J

Big Bear Ultra

We headed down to Bear Big on Friday to avoid having to get up super early on Saturday for the Big Bear Ultra. Friday night we just hanging out and got to see an awesome fireworks show compliments of the WV Nightclub. No matter what I do morning always comes to early for me. But after struggling to get up and trying to get ready I finally was ready to go with 5 minutes to spare. That's when I seen lots of people that still weren't ready and I also found out that the start was getting pushed back until 8:30. I wasn't sure if this was good or bad but I did like the extra 30 minutes of down time. Either way it gave me some extra time to think about what I was getting myself into. I love the trails and terrain at BB but they're pretty relentless and unforgiving.

At the start I was getting nervous first because I was getting worried that I my gimp arm wasn't going to hold up. Then I seen Gerry Pflug was there and after reading the rumors on the internet about him being a bad ass on a bike and eating people I was pretty scared. I know Gerry pretty well and I can confirm he's bad ass on the bike, but I've never seen him eat anyone. But if your the owner of a buffet you should be worried if you see Gerry coming. I been racing a single speed lately because they're fun, seem better in the rocks and make you work a little harder sometimes. After some instructions from Mark about how the course was marked it was on. I figured it would be best just to ride my own race and not worry to much about my placement. It was pretty tight and congested in the beginning but I felt really good and was able to stay with the lead group. After about an hour or so of racing I was riding with Rob Spreng and found out that we were 2nd and 3rd. It was nice riding with him because I knew if I could stick with him that my pace was OK and it was nice having someone to chat with because I figured it was going to be a long day. Close to hour 2 is when nature called and I couldn't wait any longer and that's when I lost contact with Rob. Shortly after that is when the trail wasn't being as kind to me as before.

Finally I made it back to the start and this was about halfway though. I stopped and grabbed a water bottle, a red bull and a few fig newtons. Not soon after I left is when I was starting to get a little worried. I felt really good except for the gimp arm and knew that the trail was going to get a little rougher. I've ridden at BB allot but with all the new trails and the way the course was routed I was pretty confused on where I was. Finally I knew where I was and how much farther I had to go then on a downhill Steve Hill came flying down and I let him by. I rode with him for a little until he was out of sight. Soon I was on the last descent with the finish in sight. 44 miles and a little over 4-1/2 hours I finished fourth overall and first Single Speed I was really happy. Then I heard some even better news that at the halfway point Ruth was in second and not far behind Betsy. At the end Ruth was able to hold onto second. I wonder if the new bike has something to do with her improved performance lately?

I just want to say thanks to Mark, his crew and all the volunteers that made some awesome trails.


Justin

Long Time

I like to commute to work by bike and used to do it allot more. But there's several of reasons why I don't as often as I would like too. First I hate getting up early, second I hate getting up early, third and the biggest reason is I hate getting up early. I know I've been slacking on my commuting. So this morning I sucked it up and got up at 6:45 and rode to work. Some people don't this that's early but they're wrong. So I decided to see when the last time was that I commuted to work by bike. 9/17/2008 HOLY SHIT I can't believe it was that long ago. There was lots of other days between then and now that I commuted but I did it the lazy way and drove halfway. So I'm going to set the bar pretty low and try to commute at least once a week from now on.


J

W101

OK I was thinking this was the year that the Wilderness 101 was going to be kind to me. I've been doing lots of long rides and felt pretty confident this year. Also I was going to race a Single Speed, I figured I'm pretty slow on the downhills now so I didn't think it would be to bad. I also had a three goals first was getting top 5 in the SS class, have a better finish time than last year, and not have any major meltdowns. One of the biggest debates after I decided to race on a SS was what gear should I use? I had only three choices 32 x 20, 32 x 19, or 32 x18 after talking to some other SSers and remembering how hard some of the climbs were even with gears I chose a 32 x 19.


We got to Coburn on Friday around 7:30 and got our tent setup up had dinner and was just hanging out and went to bed. Before long I heard that old familiar sound of the gong which only means one thing get your lazy up and start to getting ready for today's big adventure. For me this is one of the hardest parts of the day. Getting up before the sun comes out just is really hard on me, plus trying to eat this early is a little troublesome too. After rushing around getting ready it was time to go. I was able to get lined up in a good spot and down the road we went. Then we made a left turn and the race started up the first long climb. The pace this year up the first climb was allot slower than last year. Then after about 1/4 mile I'm like WTF my fork decided to squat down and not work. I tried locking it out but still luck, I figured OK this won't be that bad. I keep the lead group in sight until we hit some flat sections and a few short downhills so I was feeling pretty good. Then before I knew it I was riding all alone then a group caught up to me and I stuck with them for a little until I fell off. At this point I was wishing that I had went with a 32 x 18 instead. But in the back of my head I thought it will be OK, this gear will be good when I get to the big climbs in the middle and end.


I was just cruising along by myself when I was caught by another group. I hung with them and we were rolling into check point #1. I never stop here because it's so early on. But there's a big climb leaving this check point and I felt good and passed allot of people up the climb. Then a long descent and some road then we hit the first piece of single track. It's only about 3 mile long but it seemed very slippery from the rain. At this point I was feeling pretty good both mentally and physically. I started up the next big gravel climb and seen allot of people ahead of me on the road. So this gave me a little motivation to try and catch them. I was very surprised that one of the first people I caught was Gunnar and he said that now I was now in 5th SS. We rode together for a little and Roger Masse soon caught us. Then when the road made the hard left I figured it's time to go and I bridged up to the next group and was able to get past them. Finally when we reached the top I was feeling good but that didn't last to long. The trail started heading downhill and so did I. About halfway down everyone that just I just worked hard to pass went railing past me. By the time I reached the bottom everyone was out of site. Once I was on the road I was spinning like crazy hoping I could catch a glimpse of someone but no such luck. At this point I was like it's OK and I was regretting the gear choice again that's when another group caught me and I tried to stick with them but was just spinning out and couldn't hang. Alone again I was thinking about quitting. Because I was getting frustrated about the fork and knew how much harder the trails were going to get. My arm already felt numb, cramping and was tried. So finally I rolled into checkpoint #2 and got some supplies and debated about quitting but figured WTF I might as while get my money's worth.


I left #2 and was pretty frustrated because I knew no matter how strong I rode the climbs it wasn't going to be enough. Because I was going so slow on the downhills. Going up the climb I didn't really care about getting to the top to quickly because I knew the downhill was pretty nasty and wasn't looking forward to it. But finally I reached the top and turned into the single track and to my surprise the trail was in the best shape I've ever seen it in. Usually this trail is very narrow only about 12" wide but this year is cut back and you see. What sucked is that I was going slower than ever down it. Then I had another WTF happen my rear brake seems to start squealing which I can deal with but it also causes the entire bike to vibrate. I'm not sure what the problem is but it's very annoying and to the point where I was riding using the front brake only. Finally I reach the bottom and get back on some gravel road and everything is OK for a little bit. Then I start thinking I'm only like 3-1/2 hours into this and my arm feels like crap, I'm walking on the rocky downhills, my fork's not working and my brakes just started acting up and I'm not even halfway. Finally I made it to checkpoint #3 and was sitting there and was really thinking about quitting. Funny thing is I've done this race before and never thought of quitting this early, but my legs also never felt this good at this point in the race. So I decided to press on and told myself relax and don't worry about placing just finish because DNF sucks. So after about 10 minutes of sitting around I left and started up the single track climb.

OK now things took a turn for the better, usually the climb out of #3 kicks my ass but this year I felt great and passed a few people. The single track at the top was well groomed I walked some sections but I still felt good. The only sections that worried me now was the climb out of #4 and the descent going into #5. But before I knew it I was at check point #4 refueled and headed up the climb. I was pleasantly surprised because I felt great on the climb. Finally made it through the climbing and hit the descent. I was really nervous because this descent has taken it's toll on me every year. But I just took it easy and walked a little and before I knew it was over onto some blacktop and then checkpoint #5 was in site. I left #5 feeling fine and knew that it was almost over. I hit the rail trail and spun as fast as I could then it was up over the last big climb. I finally hit the Fisherman's Trail and walked through that and was onto the road back to the park.

It was a long day but not crazy long 8:55 10th SS 48th overall. I know that usually I'm completely wrecked after this race but I felt pretty good at the end but I'm not sure why? Not sure if it was because I raced a SS and got more recovery or what but I was happy not to wreck like usual.

I was hoping Ruth was having a good race it was the first race on the new bike. She finished in 11:05 which was about an hour better than her best time but sadly her placing was her worst ever. I guess everyone must be getting faster.

J

End of an ERA

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I'm not sure but look closely and I think end of and ERA has come only time will tell.

J

Hazardous Terrain

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Hazardous Terrain

It really not that hazardous terrain but a few months ago someone fall off the ledge. So the dept of parks decided that a sign was needed to make everyone feel safe. But on another note this was one of our first tandem rides in woods. It seems to made easy trails hazardous so I thought the sign made sense today.

Justin

Born to Ride

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Here's little recap of the Shannock Valley and 6HOP races. OK finally feels like I'm getting back and track with racing and what not. This was going to be the first weekend with two races in a along time. We planned on going to the 6 Hours of Power on Sunday. The Shannock Valley race was on Saturday and it was on the way to the 6HOP. I've done it before but not sure how many times and when was the last time. It always seemed to conflict with something else. But I remember it was pretty short only like 10 miles, not to technical and very fast. We got there and registered and then got ready I seen allot of familiar faces that I haven't seen in a while. At the start they were happy almost 100 racers 95 to be exact. The weather didn't seem like July it was overcast and humid but only like 70 degrees.

As soon as we started I realized that the new chain I put on last night didn't match up to well with my cassette. After a few minutes I started to find which ones worked OK and which ones didn't. The race started on a paved road then we went some grass which looked like it was someone's yard. Back onto some blacktop and up a long climb then onto some double track dirt roads. Not long after this there was just three of us Travis, Shane and me. It had rained the night before it wasn't muddy but it was slick and there was lots of water puddles. The three of us rode together for a while then we started into some single track and Travis was leading. Soon the trail started going downhill and so did I that's when Travis put a little gap on me. Since I've broken my wrist I'm been really dogging it on the downhills and in the technical sections. There's lots of reasons I guess but the biggest ones are I don't want to test it and see it fail, and by not riding fast everything is off like my timing and reaction time. But with the little gap he had on me I managed to miss a turn. Lucky for me Shane was close and yelled at me that I was going the wrong way thanks Shane. After getting back on course I was riding behind Shane for a bit. Then he almost missed a turn and I got around him. I seen Travis a few times and also looked back and seen Shane a few times. But before anything else changed it was over and Travis won I was second and Shane was third.

I spun around for a little bit and then got back to the finish hoping to catch Ruth coming in. But she went to fast and I missed her finishing. But the good news she won the women's overall. We got cleaned up and headed over to the park where the awards were going to take place. There was also a festival going on with lots of good food and some small rides and games. That's when the rain started but it didn't last to long. So after some good food and a new trophy it was time to hit the road. www.runhigh.com has all the results

So were off I've been to Ellicottville 5 or 6 times and had a good idea on which way to go. There's a couple of different ways to go 79 to 90 to 86 to 219 I've never went that way because I really don't like driving on interstate. Another way is up 28 to 66 to 6 to 219 which is the way we usually go and it a scenic drive up thru the forest that never seemed to bad. The other way was the way my iphone and google maps sent us which about the worst way possible or at least it seemed that way. Up 28 to 80 to 219 and it was such a struggle just trying contain all the road rage I was getting. But during a bathroom pit stop is when we scored the mother load of free stuff. There's allot of things when the word "FREE" is put before are allot more appealing. So here's the list hot dogs, red neck hats, lighters, cans of pop, small snack sized bags of chips, and red neck tee shirts. I picked up a few can you guess which ones? If not that's OK my list was a hot dog, red neck hat, and some lighters. Ruth's list was small bag of chips and a can of pop.

After a drive that took an hour longer and was 30 miles longer we finally arrived Eillicottville. We met up with some of our neighbors for the weekend. We sent up our tent and I fixed my bike and got registered for the race. Ruth and me decided to team up together and do it as a duo. Then to Ellicottville Brewery for some food and a few beers. Then we went back and everyone was hanging and looking for extra clothes because it felt more like April than July. A few storms and some rain came during the night. But our tent kept us nice and dry unlike Tim Heck's.

No matter how much time I plan on having before a race I seem to be running behind. So I decided to do the run for our team seeing how I got there late I got lined up near the back of the pack for the Le Mans start. Off we went I noticed that it's allot harder to pass people running than riding. Maybe that's because I'm a much worse runner than biker? But either way I was near the back by the time I got to my bike. I took off up the climb and started passing people. A little more than halfway up I could finally see the lead group. I was able to work my way up to them before the top of the climb. I was in a small group as we started into the double track. Then I knew the single track was coming soon and I got into it first. Pretty soon it was Evan, some dude in a Cannondale kit and me riding the single track together. At this point I was thinking it would be cool to be the first one back. I also knew that the course finished on a long downhill. So my only chance was to put some time on them before the downhill. It seemed like I could put a small gap on them on some of the short uphills but they would make it back up on the downhills. Then we came out onto a gravel road and it was just Evan and me. He got around me as we were heading to some rocky single track. At this point he just rode away from me in the rocks and I was trying not to get caught be anyone else. But it happened on the last section of the downhill I got caught and came in third.
Now it was Ruth's turn to head out and she came back with a really fast lap too. Then I had good second lap and started getting ready for number three. My third lap was OK I felt good but my arm was starting to get fatigued. So I started checking the results and seen we had a good lead on second place. It also looked like if Ruth kept her lap time close there would be time for me to do one more lap. After looking at our lead unless Ruth had a big problem there would be no need for another lap. With three minutes left Ruth was coming down the last hill and I stopped her, and told not to cross until it was over. We won the mixed team class. Now for the hard part packing up and driving home. www.heartrateup.com


Justin

Bobcat on your left

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Bobcat on your left

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This past weekend plans changed again but it still turned out to be a good weekend. Early in the week the plan was go to the WVMBA in Davis on Sunday. But after putting the gash in my shin on Thursday I figured it would be best to skip the WVMBA race. For a few reasons the biggest being that every time I've done this race in the past and it always involves allot of going thru sanky stinky deep water bogs. While I was deciding what to do over the weekend I got a text from Jason said he was heading up to his cabin in Kennerdale. He had what sounded to be good plan Saturday a big ride at Kennerdale. Saturday night ride down to Emlenton for River Fest and fireworks. Then Sunday ride up to the Blue Canoe Brewery in Titusville for lunch round trip was a 104 he said.

Friday night we packed up and hit the road I was glad because it was a short drive only 90 minutes. We got to the cabin pretty late on Friday and I stayed up way to late and had way to much beer. Then Saturday morning got up had breakfast and headed out. The weather was prefect and trails were even better. I love riding Kennerdale with Jason and company because he makes some good loops. But the weather and trails only held up for about 90 minutes that's when the lighting and thunder started. We found a ledge that had some big rocks and was like tiny cave to hide under until the storm finally past. It went through pretty fast only about 30 minutes. We rode for about another 90 minutes or so then headed back to the cabin.

Everyone was just hanging out and waiting until it was time to head to Emlenton. I think it was about 7:00 when we left for our 8 mile trip to Emlenton. Ruth and me took the tandem which was pretty fun. The 8 miles turned out to be like 16 miles but it was no big deal. Emlenton is really no big either except on River Fest night. I've never been there before but tonight the streets were full and everyone seemed to have a beer in hand. After looking for a while we finally found a spot that we were hoping would give us a good view of the fireworks. Finally they started and our spot was OK too. I'm really not into fireworks and don't understand why some people get so excited about them either. But after about 5 minutes I had enough and was hoping that they would end soon. Finally the end came and we pedaled back to the cabin.

Sunday morning came and we ate and got ready to head out for the today's big adventure. I think we had 10 people and 9 bikes that sounds pretty cool. We only started 15 minutes later than planned and that's pretty good for such a big group. About 20 in we suffered our first mechanical Parker got a flat. It happened just as we were starting down a big hill going about 35. He had a sign of relief that nothing else happened. Once we got to the rail trail and were close to Franklin everyone jams on there brakes and someone said watch out for the kitten. After a better look the kitten turned out to be a baby Bobcat. It was cool but I really didn't want to stick around incase Mommy decided to show herself. After that it nothing else worth mentioning happened until we got to Titusville. That's when everyone's day was ruined the Blue Canoe was closed for electric repairs. What to do now? After riding around town for a little bit everyone decided that the buffet a Pizza Hut was our best opinion. So after a lunch of pizza and salad it was time to head back. Or so I thought we had to make one more stop on the edge of town to the DQ for Tim to get his milkshake.

On the way back we stopped at the BMX track which was pretty cool. I managed to get a few laps in on the tandem too. I did a warm up lap with Ian and then tried to clear the table tops with Ruth on the next lap but was unsuccessful. Then before long we almost back to Kennerdale and got to go through a long ass tunnel on the rail trail I think it's about a 1/4 long. It seemed that we were riding for a while with out seeing any light for either side. Then we finally were out and just had the last uphill grunt back to the cabin. After 90 some miles it became pretty clear to me and Ruth that tandems don't climb very well.

Also if anyone reads this I have a couple of favors that I must ask of you. First if you've ever been to the Blue Canoe Brewery in Titusville tell me is it worth the trip? Second if you see Tim Heck ask him why the heck was he carrying a huge scented candle around all day in his pannier bag?

Justin

RVR

Every time something happens to me I hear it way to much "WHEN WILL YOU EVER LEARN?" It's really not about learning to me. Because sometimes it seems like I learn something new almost everyday. To me it's more about balance and Risk Verse Reward. I think this can be applied to almost anything in life. So to put it simple no matter what your doing there's rewards to be had and risks to taken. My problem always seems to be finding the balance point of the two.

Last Thursday while riding at Hartwood with Echo and the Mogwhy I was presented with a RVR decision. Nearing the end of our ride we happened to see a nice log that someone built a ramp onto. The Mogwhy gave it a few attempts and was able to clear it and made it look easy. Echo tried a few times with no such luck, so while waiting and watching I did the math in my head. Make it and it will really good and if you fail no big deal. After I few attempts I keep getting to the highest point and would always stop. Then I built up some confidence and decided the reward would out weigh the risks. But even before I made it to the highest point it seemed like someone pushed my front tire off of the log. After I got up and started to go back to the start is when I noticed the huge gash in my shin. So I never got to the reward but found out about the risk. I'm happy because it could have been worse. Everyone said that it needed a few stiches, I agreed but hate the hospital. So after a quick stop to pick up some supplies we doctored it up and hoped for the best.

Justin

RVR #1

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RVR #2

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these guys are good

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No Dr needed

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After

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