another great memorial day weekend down at stokesville. rolled down early with jason and then led a (thankfully) small group around a dowell's draft/braley pond figure 8. mostly folks i knew, but i got to ride with liz, of ride like a girl fame, and blacknell. i've said it here before, but dowell's and braley are two of my favorite rides anywhere, and doing both in one day is always fun.
saturday night was the potluck and campfire. heather picked out some good beers at work (including breckenridge small-batch double hopped IPA, stone ruination IPA) and between those, a tasty IPA from shenadoah brewing company, and tequila at Joe Penano's campsite, we were in a very festive mood saturday night.
sunday matt, jamie, and i set out with camps, buchness, and junkins and a couple of other riders for a turn up lyne trail and down wolf ridge. the ride up lyne is one of the hardest climbs in the forest, and never fun. i was able to clean about as much as i ever can, but is wasn't disappointed.
after finishing the wolf ridge downhill matt, jamie, and i split off from the group - which was heading up narrowback to check out some new trails - with lou and rose and headed back to the campground. on the way back in we passed heather so i hung a 180 and we rode around the dirt roads a bit and then made our way back.
the rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and rehydrating and playing around a bit in the skills park that dan and rich from IMBA set up. i tried a couple of the skinnies and drops, and the teeter toter.
monday morning after breakfast we broke camp and hit the road, stopping in gainesville to see mitch and amy and pick up a chair we were buying from their store.
overall i felt like i was climbing well and riding ok on the downhills. the new bike was right at home on these trails. the tires felt a little overweight at times (kenda negeval 2.35s) for rides with this much climbing, but made up for it on the downhills.
i guess i'll always be comparing my riding to two years ago, since that was kind of a breakout year for me. i'm not sure where i compare. i don't 'feel' as fast (going up or down) but then memories are always better than the real thing, so it's hard to really compare. i'm still having just as much fun though.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
i'm not an expert... yet
"i don't think i'm an expert yet"... i said that to gwadz yesterday, as he passed me about a 1/3rd of the way around my last lap of the granogue course... i was trying to be a bit of a smartass, joking about how i was suffering, but after talking to a few people after the race and the more i think about it the more i see another side to what i said. i may not have the legs of the guys at the sharp end of the race (though this weekend's other activities may have had some effects on my performance) but that doesn't mean i'm going back to sport. to paraphrase something that eric roman said to me after the race - racing with people that are faster makes you faster, you rise to the occasion. ok, now on to the story...
2 nights of carousing in philly may not be the best way to get ready for a mountain bike race... but thats what i did this weekend. we spent friday night and saturday up in philly celebrating various events (not to excess, but i certainly wasn't being a "serious bike racer" this weekend) and then sunday morning drove down from there to granogue. we arrived with just enough time for me to check in and get ready to race, but not in enough time to get any warmup at all.
well organized lineup, and we're right behind the "elite" class with lots of other fast older experts lined up behind us. i recognize a couple of guys who've also made the move up from sport this year, and then we're off... fast. the start was faster than i expected, and by the time we hit dirt i'm all the way in the back. we stacked up a bit heading into the singletrack, but not for long. i'm hurting. my complete lack of a warm-up has left my legs cold and they're very quickly filled with lactic acid. once the field strings out i settle into a good pace and start getting passed by the leaders of the fields that started behind us.
the course was tough, but fun... dry in the sun, but greasy mud in the woods. plenty of wet roots looking to throw you off the side of the trail and lots of rocks trying to stop your wheels from turning. i did manage to pass a couple of people by staying on the bike on some of the technical climbs when other people where getting hung up and getting off the bike. we looped back through the start finish area half way through the lap, by way of a long field climb, and i saw heather at the top cheering me on and taking pictures which liftd my spirits a little.
the 2nd half of the course though, seemed interminable and was, combined with the constant stream of people passing me, a little demoralizing. i was making the technical climbs on the first half of the course, but not the second half, and they just kept coming. the lead in to the finish was a long road climb and by the top of it i didn't think that my legs had another two laps in them. on top of that, one of the few riders in my class that i'd managed to pass got around me and i wasn't able to stay with them.
but on the 2nd lap things started to turn around. as the various classes merged into one i found myself with rider that i could hang with for a little longer instead of hearing them behind me and then seeing them fly off into the distance. after a shaky start to the lap i started to ride better and made a couple of techincal climbs that i hadn't made the first lap, and that were forcing everyone else off their bikes. just before the end of the 2nd lap i took a beer handup to tide me up the final road climb.
the last lap started in the same manner as the second had ended, feeling a little better. tired but not exhausted, still riding fairly well. some tiny roots managed to trip me up every lap when other more difficult sections i'd ride with no problems at all. just before the halfway point of the lap i heard a rider coming behind me and out of the corner of my eye glimpsed the red & black of a city bikes jersey. it was joel, the one rider i'd really wanted to stay in front of (a little personal challenge), but alas, this was not to be the day for that.
just as he was about to pass i spot mike scardaville in the distance, but getting closer. joel may have passed me (and from a start a couple minutes behind me) but now i've got a new target. on the long grassy climb i catch and pass mike and focus on trying to stay ahead of him for the last half lap of the race.
by this time i've got the flow of the course down, and it's easier to pace myself... i ride from one section to another, knowing the finish is closing in. the back half of the lap wasn't as good the 3rd time around, with technical skills suffering from exhaustion just like the rest of my body. one last trip through the beer station and PBR has never tasted so good.
2 nights of carousing in philly may not be the best way to get ready for a mountain bike race... but thats what i did this weekend. we spent friday night and saturday up in philly celebrating various events (not to excess, but i certainly wasn't being a "serious bike racer" this weekend) and then sunday morning drove down from there to granogue. we arrived with just enough time for me to check in and get ready to race, but not in enough time to get any warmup at all.
well organized lineup, and we're right behind the "elite" class with lots of other fast older experts lined up behind us. i recognize a couple of guys who've also made the move up from sport this year, and then we're off... fast. the start was faster than i expected, and by the time we hit dirt i'm all the way in the back. we stacked up a bit heading into the singletrack, but not for long. i'm hurting. my complete lack of a warm-up has left my legs cold and they're very quickly filled with lactic acid. once the field strings out i settle into a good pace and start getting passed by the leaders of the fields that started behind us.
the course was tough, but fun... dry in the sun, but greasy mud in the woods. plenty of wet roots looking to throw you off the side of the trail and lots of rocks trying to stop your wheels from turning. i did manage to pass a couple of people by staying on the bike on some of the technical climbs when other people where getting hung up and getting off the bike. we looped back through the start finish area half way through the lap, by way of a long field climb, and i saw heather at the top cheering me on and taking pictures which liftd my spirits a little.
the 2nd half of the course though, seemed interminable and was, combined with the constant stream of people passing me, a little demoralizing. i was making the technical climbs on the first half of the course, but not the second half, and they just kept coming. the lead in to the finish was a long road climb and by the top of it i didn't think that my legs had another two laps in them. on top of that, one of the few riders in my class that i'd managed to pass got around me and i wasn't able to stay with them.
but on the 2nd lap things started to turn around. as the various classes merged into one i found myself with rider that i could hang with for a little longer instead of hearing them behind me and then seeing them fly off into the distance. after a shaky start to the lap i started to ride better and made a couple of techincal climbs that i hadn't made the first lap, and that were forcing everyone else off their bikes. just before the end of the 2nd lap i took a beer handup to tide me up the final road climb.
the last lap started in the same manner as the second had ended, feeling a little better. tired but not exhausted, still riding fairly well. some tiny roots managed to trip me up every lap when other more difficult sections i'd ride with no problems at all. just before the halfway point of the lap i heard a rider coming behind me and out of the corner of my eye glimpsed the red & black of a city bikes jersey. it was joel, the one rider i'd really wanted to stay in front of (a little personal challenge), but alas, this was not to be the day for that.
just as he was about to pass i spot mike scardaville in the distance, but getting closer. joel may have passed me (and from a start a couple minutes behind me) but now i've got a new target. on the long grassy climb i catch and pass mike and focus on trying to stay ahead of him for the last half lap of the race.
by this time i've got the flow of the course down, and it's easier to pace myself... i ride from one section to another, knowing the finish is closing in. the back half of the lap wasn't as good the 3rd time around, with technical skills suffering from exhaustion just like the rest of my body. one last trip through the beer station and PBR has never tasted so good.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
rain?
a couple of weeks ago i had to bail out of the 24 hour team for conyers... family conflicts came up, but we managed to get a really strong team together to head down to georgia this weekend: mike will be leading the team again, with kent, steve, and jonathan rounding out the crew. here's hoping they ride strong and have some good luck.
the expected family activities in dc ended up mostly vanishing and some celebrations popped up in philly so we're headed up to the city of brotherly love this weekend and it looks like i'll get a race in this weekend. i'm registered for expert at granogue right now, and even though it's looking like there's a chance of rain this weekend i'm still looking forward to it. of course i'm second guessing my bike and tire choice... assuming dry weather i was going to ride the epic with larsen TTs, but now bigger tires seem like they might be a better idea.
i've been hitting the mountain bike hard recently... lots of riding, lots of fun, feeling good. my brother's home from school for a couple weeks before heading down to florida and then on vacation so i got in a ride with him yesterday and we're going to try and ride again tommorow, and heather's been riding a bit to get ready for the IMBA festival at stokesville and she's getting a lot more confident. all kinds of rides recently... easy sunday at avalon w/heather, jason, and maili, alone a schaeffer on sunday pushing at race pace, an fun and fast ride w/jj at wakefield.
the imba festival is in a week and a half, then big bear 2 weeks later... good times just waiting to be had.
the expected family activities in dc ended up mostly vanishing and some celebrations popped up in philly so we're headed up to the city of brotherly love this weekend and it looks like i'll get a race in this weekend. i'm registered for expert at granogue right now, and even though it's looking like there's a chance of rain this weekend i'm still looking forward to it. of course i'm second guessing my bike and tire choice... assuming dry weather i was going to ride the epic with larsen TTs, but now bigger tires seem like they might be a better idea.
i've been hitting the mountain bike hard recently... lots of riding, lots of fun, feeling good. my brother's home from school for a couple weeks before heading down to florida and then on vacation so i got in a ride with him yesterday and we're going to try and ride again tommorow, and heather's been riding a bit to get ready for the IMBA festival at stokesville and she's getting a lot more confident. all kinds of rides recently... easy sunday at avalon w/heather, jason, and maili, alone a schaeffer on sunday pushing at race pace, an fun and fast ride w/jj at wakefield.
the imba festival is in a week and a half, then big bear 2 weeks later... good times just waiting to be had.
Monday, May 07, 2007
balance...
jason tries the new subterranean line at salamander rock with unfavorable results
recently i've been looking for a better balance... a balance between racing and riding. too much racing and i miss just riding, but not enough racing and i miss that.
last year i hurt myself (broken collarbone) coming into race season and went straight from training on the road to racing in the middle of the summer. this year i spent time that i would have normally spent doing some mountain biking to get ready for the race season buying and moving into a new house. before the 24 hours of vail lake i'd trained a lot on the road, but only been out for a mountain bike ride a handful of times.
i enjoy racing... when i started racing a couple of years ago i found a competitve streak that i never knew i had. it's made me challenge myself more (mentally and physically) than anything i've ever done and it got me into shape.
sometimes, though, you just want to get out into the backcountry and ride all day, down little twisty trails with friends.
this past weekend (and this week) riding won. i rode with tommy, mike, bunky, and the rest of that crew at avalon on saturday, then with stoner up at the watershed on sunday. one of the best weekends i've had on a bike in a while. yesterday i got up to schaeffer after work and rode around for an hour and half... chased some people, pushed hard in the turns, had a blast.
i think i'm going to race the marathon (4hr) at granogue next weekend, then we've got the VA IMBA festival in stokesville the weekend after. after that there are friends coming into town and then the 24 hours of big bear.
ride, race, ride, race... the balance is coming.
last year i hurt myself (broken collarbone) coming into race season and went straight from training on the road to racing in the middle of the summer. this year i spent time that i would have normally spent doing some mountain biking to get ready for the race season buying and moving into a new house. before the 24 hours of vail lake i'd trained a lot on the road, but only been out for a mountain bike ride a handful of times.
i enjoy racing... when i started racing a couple of years ago i found a competitve streak that i never knew i had. it's made me challenge myself more (mentally and physically) than anything i've ever done and it got me into shape.
sometimes, though, you just want to get out into the backcountry and ride all day, down little twisty trails with friends.
this past weekend (and this week) riding won. i rode with tommy, mike, bunky, and the rest of that crew at avalon on saturday, then with stoner up at the watershed on sunday. one of the best weekends i've had on a bike in a while. yesterday i got up to schaeffer after work and rode around for an hour and half... chased some people, pushed hard in the turns, had a blast.
i think i'm going to race the marathon (4hr) at granogue next weekend, then we've got the VA IMBA festival in stokesville the weekend after. after that there are friends coming into town and then the 24 hours of big bear.
ride, race, ride, race... the balance is coming.
Friday, May 04, 2007
refermentation
i'd thought about racing lodi this weekend, since i can't do the 24 hours of conyers, but in the end i decided against it. i've never had good luck at lodi, but that's something i've blogged about before. truth is there are just too many things i want to get done around the house. chores that have been lingering since we moved in and have already been put of for racing.
enough of that joe, time to get on to the beer...
thursday night we went down to the national geographic headquarters on 16th street for one of their national geographic live events. this was actually the 2nd we've been to. the first was on cheese and was a lot of fun, but this one was on beer and was, not surprisingly, even better.
garrett oliver, brewmaster of brooklyn brewery and author of the brewmaster's table, led us through 12 beers, all fully refermented (often called "bottle-conditioned" or "cask-conditioned"). refermentation refers to letting the beer ferment a 2nd time to develop carbonation naturally, rather than being force carbonated with pressurized CO2. bottle conditioning lets the beers mature with age, and also captures more of the tastes and odors of fermentation, generally making for more complex tasting beers.
here's a quick rundown of what we tasted, with as much commentary as i can make out in my notes.
New Glarus Copper Tank Weissbier (New Glarus, Wisconsin) - warm copper color, warm & round mouthfeel. strong caramelized bananna with hints of chocolate and vanilla...
Mahr's Ungespudetsbier (Bamburg, Germany) - strong honey aroma; honey flavor but more subdued than expected, slightly yeasty and floury. low carbonation: ungespundetsbier literally means "un-bunged" as the casks are opened after refermentation and much of the carbonation is lost.
Schneider Wiesen Edel-Weiss (Munich, Germany) - light and fruity aroma; low phenols, hoppy for a weissbier (uses american cascade hops). lighter, sharper, and crisper tasting that most weissbiers.
1809 Berliner Weiss (Weihestaphen, Germany) - yikes! sour and sharp, lemony. based on a recipe from 1809 this is much less sour than contemporary berliner weiss and this beer is not flavored with any syrup, as most others are. tart and refreshing.
Saison D'Epautre (Blaugies, Belgium) - slightly sour with fruity aroma, earty, malty, dry
Thirez Blonde (Esquelbecq, France - herbal, fruity, dry. apples
Brooklyn Local 1 (Brooklyn, New York) - light sparkly fruit aroma, brewed with pilsner malt and sugar from mauritius. light and slightly spicy but watch out it's a belgian strong golden ale and packs at punch at 9% abv
DeuS (Buggenhout, Belgium) - very little aroma, but what's there is slightly spicy/herby. meaty apple-y, super ultra dry. cherry and ginger aftertaste. made in the methode champenoise.
Russian River Supplication (Santa Rosa, California) - alcohol and fruit aroma. soured with bretanomyces and lactobaccilus and more, aged in pinot barrels. very sour and fruity, sour cherries, very pleasant.
Trappist Achel Extra (Achel, Belguim) - deep flavor, malty w/fruity notes. coffee, fig, raisins. dry.
Scires (Montegioco, Italy) - deep red color, 40 lbs/cherries per 2 kegs. mild sourness, very easy to drink.
Thornbridge Jaipur IPA (Ashford in the Water, England) - hoppy aroma, mild flavor. sweet, delicate, flowery, hoppy body.
enough of that joe, time to get on to the beer...
thursday night we went down to the national geographic headquarters on 16th street for one of their national geographic live events. this was actually the 2nd we've been to. the first was on cheese and was a lot of fun, but this one was on beer and was, not surprisingly, even better.
garrett oliver, brewmaster of brooklyn brewery and author of the brewmaster's table, led us through 12 beers, all fully refermented (often called "bottle-conditioned" or "cask-conditioned"). refermentation refers to letting the beer ferment a 2nd time to develop carbonation naturally, rather than being force carbonated with pressurized CO2. bottle conditioning lets the beers mature with age, and also captures more of the tastes and odors of fermentation, generally making for more complex tasting beers.
here's a quick rundown of what we tasted, with as much commentary as i can make out in my notes.
New Glarus Copper Tank Weissbier (New Glarus, Wisconsin) - warm copper color, warm & round mouthfeel. strong caramelized bananna with hints of chocolate and vanilla...
Mahr's Ungespudetsbier (Bamburg, Germany) - strong honey aroma; honey flavor but more subdued than expected, slightly yeasty and floury. low carbonation: ungespundetsbier literally means "un-bunged" as the casks are opened after refermentation and much of the carbonation is lost.
Schneider Wiesen Edel-Weiss (Munich, Germany) - light and fruity aroma; low phenols, hoppy for a weissbier (uses american cascade hops). lighter, sharper, and crisper tasting that most weissbiers.
1809 Berliner Weiss (Weihestaphen, Germany) - yikes! sour and sharp, lemony. based on a recipe from 1809 this is much less sour than contemporary berliner weiss and this beer is not flavored with any syrup, as most others are. tart and refreshing.
Saison D'Epautre (Blaugies, Belgium) - slightly sour with fruity aroma, earty, malty, dry
Thirez Blonde (Esquelbecq, France - herbal, fruity, dry. apples
Brooklyn Local 1 (Brooklyn, New York) - light sparkly fruit aroma, brewed with pilsner malt and sugar from mauritius. light and slightly spicy but watch out it's a belgian strong golden ale and packs at punch at 9% abv
DeuS (Buggenhout, Belgium) - very little aroma, but what's there is slightly spicy/herby. meaty apple-y, super ultra dry. cherry and ginger aftertaste. made in the methode champenoise.
Russian River Supplication (Santa Rosa, California) - alcohol and fruit aroma. soured with bretanomyces and lactobaccilus and more, aged in pinot barrels. very sour and fruity, sour cherries, very pleasant.
Trappist Achel Extra (Achel, Belguim) - deep flavor, malty w/fruity notes. coffee, fig, raisins. dry.
Scires (Montegioco, Italy) - deep red color, 40 lbs/cherries per 2 kegs. mild sourness, very easy to drink.
Thornbridge Jaipur IPA (Ashford in the Water, England) - hoppy aroma, mild flavor. sweet, delicate, flowery, hoppy body.
Monday, April 30, 2007
new ride...
dismemberment plan on friday night. they put on a show that anyone would be proud of, let alone a band that hasn't been on stage together in 4 years.
took my new bike out to elizabeth furnace saturday with tommy, mike, and pete... there's some tweaking to be done, but she's a real nice ride. fireroad to mudhole gap to bear wallow (up & back down). i didn't do many "big" rides last year, the kind with 4 mile downhills and lots of ricks, so i'm feeling pretty out of practice.
sunday was a garden day. tried to buy a lawnmower, but home depot only had the really cheap ones and the really expensive ones. we need to find one soon, as the lawn needs a haircut almost as badly as i do. after that we went over to behnke and picked up more plants for the garden and some herbs for the herb garden. we both love cooking with fresh herbs, but it gets expensive to keep buying them. i'm going to give peppers another try this year, since we've got somewhere to put them and good sun.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
the 24 hours of vail lake
friday morning i flew into a cloudy san diego and started hearing countless people talk about how it was going to rain all weekend. a little rain on friday was assumed to be good for us as it would help cut the dust on the course, but 24 hour racing in the rain is pretty miserable.
as i left the rental lot a few spots of rain started hitting the rental minivan's windshield but they petered out as i drove over to bike tours san diego, a shop that's run by a friend of mike and as such a convenient place for us to ship our bikes to and meet up once we got off our respective flights. while mike and i were getting the bikes assembled and ready to go the rain started again and slowly turned into torrential downpours. after the bike shop we headed out to find the whole foods and get our food for the weekend and REI to pick up some fuel for our stoves.
by the time we reached vail lake campgrounds, just outside temecula, ca, the rain had mostly petered out but the skies were still gloomy. mike & reconnoitered the venue and waited for matt & katie to arrive. mike had some digestive issues going on, but just after matt & katie arrived they cleared up (i'll let him fill in the details). once they we went back down into town to have some dinner.
saturday morning
after a breakfast of coffee, pancakes, and oatmeal mike, matt, and i went down to the start/finish to scope out the scene down there. after we had a look around and had a quick chat with laird (knight, the race promoter) we took off along the course (in jeans and most of us without helmets) so get a feel for it. we rode the first 2 miles, down to the bottom of the dam(n) climb then doubled back just in time for the captains meeting. as the meeting was ending, kemler pulled in and we headed back to the campground. riding order was chosen as matt, mike, me, kemler.
lap 1
after matt turned in a 58 minute first lap (with the run) and mike notched a 56 minute 2nd lap i went out for my first lap. the first two miles of the course were a mellow rolling fireroad climb leading to the dam(n) climb - a lung-busting mile of climbing straight up the ridge. steep in places, but never to technical. this time up there was a lot of middle ring with a couple of short bailouts into the granny gear in steeper sections. as the race went on there was more and more granny gear and less and less middle ring.
at the top of the climb you turn left and and start descending, first along the sides of the ridge, and then after about a mile you pop onto the top of the ridge and ride along the spine for a couple of miles of super swoopy riding. the trail was right on top of the ridge and completely exposed, drop-offs on either side. the trail went up & down in short steep climbs and descents but flowed so well that you could coast most of the way up the other side of each dip. there were a couple of technical climbs, but nothing that you couldn't let the brakes off and let the bike roll.
once you dropped of the end of the ridge the course doubled back and rode back up into the valley next to the ridge and then climbed back up to the ridge, through a saddle, up a quick hike a bike, and then down the next ridge (more super-swoopy singletrack here). the pattern repeated a couple more times, up the valley, back down the ridge until the campsite came into
view for the last time and you drop onto a doubletrack trail that you could hammer in the big ring, then onto the road and into the start/finish.
my first lap was a blast, plain and simple. i pushed hard on the dam(n) climb and passed a half dozen racers the rode the downhill comfortably. back to the tent in under 56 minutes and sent kemler on his way.
lap 2
kemler (who hasn't been on a mountain bike in 2 years)) turned in a solid 1:04 and we started our 2nd rotation. matt beat his first lap time - not surprising since his first lap had the lemans start tacked onto it, and mike matched his first lap. i went out strong and did my 2nd lap within a couple of minutes of my first lap but was starting to suffer by the end. i was more comfortable on the downhills, legs starting to hurt a little on the short steep climbs toward the end. hand off to brian at the end who did our last no-lights lap of the race, then cleaned up a bit and came back to the start/finish for some deep muscle stimulation massage and a burger.
lap 3
first night lap, still climbing ok, but lots more granny on the damn climb and later in the course. tentative on the downhills, issues getting my light aimed just right. my lume is generally pretty good, but the helmet mount sucks so i had to reattach it midway through the lap. towards the end of the lap i realize that it's not the light that's aimed wrong, it's the cap i'm wearing under my helmet that's causing the shadow that's bugging me so i flip the brim up and ride the rest of the lap with ease. funny thing is, i've had the same realization of at least 3 or 4 night rides. one of these days it'll finally sink in.
lap 4
night lap number 2. managed to catch a little sleep between laps 3 & 4, which helped, but i managed to psyche myself out about the 3 semi-technical downhill sections. i had a technical incident at the transition. after mike came in and handed off i jogged over to my bike, turned the bar light and then the helmet light, except it did come on. nothing, nada, zip, zilch. check the connections, still nothing. so i end up riding back to camp and changing to a spare battery, wasting 5 or 6 minutes. the rest of the lap was fairly unspectacular. get back to camp and have some oatmeal and hit the sack as soon as i can to get as much rest as possible before my next lap. 1:15 including the trip back to base camp for the new battery.
lap 5
by daybreak we've dropped a couple places, down to 7th. bad luck mostly... mike had a bad transition, kemler had a crash that hurt his knee and left him a little dazed. as mike comes in from his 5th lap he tells me to take it easy, i figured this was because kemler was out. i rode the lap at what i considered a comfortable pace, but occasionally the competitive side of my personality comes out. if i see someone ahead, and i see that i'm making up ground i'll push a little harder and try to catch them. i managed to pass the 2 teams ahead of us, both of whom i'd sat around talking to in the fire pit by the start finish. 1:02
lap 6
we're back to sixth and we've got my lap and matt's left to go. the team ahead of us comes in just ahead of mike and i follow their rider out of the transition tent. i shadow him for a while, but start to sense some weakness, so as soon as we start the ride out to the damn climb i pass him and start to push a little. the 2 miles to the damn are a gentle but fast climb, i figure that if i can hit the damn climb far enough ahead of him he won't be able to chase me down and i can give matt a cushion for his last lap. knowing that this was it for me i put it all on the line this lap, pushed as hard as i could for every inch of the course, probably rode the downhills faster than any lap before. finished under an hour, a little over 59 and a half minutes. the rider i'd followed out of the transition on the previous lap had dropped another place, but i'd also put another minute into the new 6th place team
the end
matt put it all on the line and finished his 7th lap in 59 and half minutes, holding 5th place for us and finishing the race 15 seconds ahead of 6th place. so, in the end: 1st place men's expert; 5th place overall. a great course, great teammates, great fun.
as i left the rental lot a few spots of rain started hitting the rental minivan's windshield but they petered out as i drove over to bike tours san diego, a shop that's run by a friend of mike and as such a convenient place for us to ship our bikes to and meet up once we got off our respective flights. while mike and i were getting the bikes assembled and ready to go the rain started again and slowly turned into torrential downpours. after the bike shop we headed out to find the whole foods and get our food for the weekend and REI to pick up some fuel for our stoves.
by the time we reached vail lake campgrounds, just outside temecula, ca, the rain had mostly petered out but the skies were still gloomy. mike & reconnoitered the venue and waited for matt & katie to arrive. mike had some digestive issues going on, but just after matt & katie arrived they cleared up (i'll let him fill in the details). once they we went back down into town to have some dinner.
saturday morning
after a breakfast of coffee, pancakes, and oatmeal mike, matt, and i went down to the start/finish to scope out the scene down there. after we had a look around and had a quick chat with laird (knight, the race promoter) we took off along the course (in jeans and most of us without helmets) so get a feel for it. we rode the first 2 miles, down to the bottom of the dam(n) climb then doubled back just in time for the captains meeting. as the meeting was ending, kemler pulled in and we headed back to the campground. riding order was chosen as matt, mike, me, kemler.
lap 1
after matt turned in a 58 minute first lap (with the run) and mike notched a 56 minute 2nd lap i went out for my first lap. the first two miles of the course were a mellow rolling fireroad climb leading to the dam(n) climb - a lung-busting mile of climbing straight up the ridge. steep in places, but never to technical. this time up there was a lot of middle ring with a couple of short bailouts into the granny gear in steeper sections. as the race went on there was more and more granny gear and less and less middle ring.
at the top of the climb you turn left and and start descending, first along the sides of the ridge, and then after about a mile you pop onto the top of the ridge and ride along the spine for a couple of miles of super swoopy riding. the trail was right on top of the ridge and completely exposed, drop-offs on either side. the trail went up & down in short steep climbs and descents but flowed so well that you could coast most of the way up the other side of each dip. there were a couple of technical climbs, but nothing that you couldn't let the brakes off and let the bike roll.
once you dropped of the end of the ridge the course doubled back and rode back up into the valley next to the ridge and then climbed back up to the ridge, through a saddle, up a quick hike a bike, and then down the next ridge (more super-swoopy singletrack here). the pattern repeated a couple more times, up the valley, back down the ridge until the campsite came into
view for the last time and you drop onto a doubletrack trail that you could hammer in the big ring, then onto the road and into the start/finish.
my first lap was a blast, plain and simple. i pushed hard on the dam(n) climb and passed a half dozen racers the rode the downhill comfortably. back to the tent in under 56 minutes and sent kemler on his way.
lap 2
kemler (who hasn't been on a mountain bike in 2 years)) turned in a solid 1:04 and we started our 2nd rotation. matt beat his first lap time - not surprising since his first lap had the lemans start tacked onto it, and mike matched his first lap. i went out strong and did my 2nd lap within a couple of minutes of my first lap but was starting to suffer by the end. i was more comfortable on the downhills, legs starting to hurt a little on the short steep climbs toward the end. hand off to brian at the end who did our last no-lights lap of the race, then cleaned up a bit and came back to the start/finish for some deep muscle stimulation massage and a burger.
lap 3
first night lap, still climbing ok, but lots more granny on the damn climb and later in the course. tentative on the downhills, issues getting my light aimed just right. my lume is generally pretty good, but the helmet mount sucks so i had to reattach it midway through the lap. towards the end of the lap i realize that it's not the light that's aimed wrong, it's the cap i'm wearing under my helmet that's causing the shadow that's bugging me so i flip the brim up and ride the rest of the lap with ease. funny thing is, i've had the same realization of at least 3 or 4 night rides. one of these days it'll finally sink in.
lap 4
night lap number 2. managed to catch a little sleep between laps 3 & 4, which helped, but i managed to psyche myself out about the 3 semi-technical downhill sections. i had a technical incident at the transition. after mike came in and handed off i jogged over to my bike, turned the bar light and then the helmet light, except it did come on. nothing, nada, zip, zilch. check the connections, still nothing. so i end up riding back to camp and changing to a spare battery, wasting 5 or 6 minutes. the rest of the lap was fairly unspectacular. get back to camp and have some oatmeal and hit the sack as soon as i can to get as much rest as possible before my next lap. 1:15 including the trip back to base camp for the new battery.
lap 5
by daybreak we've dropped a couple places, down to 7th. bad luck mostly... mike had a bad transition, kemler had a crash that hurt his knee and left him a little dazed. as mike comes in from his 5th lap he tells me to take it easy, i figured this was because kemler was out. i rode the lap at what i considered a comfortable pace, but occasionally the competitive side of my personality comes out. if i see someone ahead, and i see that i'm making up ground i'll push a little harder and try to catch them. i managed to pass the 2 teams ahead of us, both of whom i'd sat around talking to in the fire pit by the start finish. 1:02
lap 6
we're back to sixth and we've got my lap and matt's left to go. the team ahead of us comes in just ahead of mike and i follow their rider out of the transition tent. i shadow him for a while, but start to sense some weakness, so as soon as we start the ride out to the damn climb i pass him and start to push a little. the 2 miles to the damn are a gentle but fast climb, i figure that if i can hit the damn climb far enough ahead of him he won't be able to chase me down and i can give matt a cushion for his last lap. knowing that this was it for me i put it all on the line this lap, pushed as hard as i could for every inch of the course, probably rode the downhills faster than any lap before. finished under an hour, a little over 59 and a half minutes. the rider i'd followed out of the transition on the previous lap had dropped another place, but i'd also put another minute into the new 6th place team
the end
matt put it all on the line and finished his 7th lap in 59 and half minutes, holding 5th place for us and finishing the race 15 seconds ahead of 6th place. so, in the end: 1st place men's expert; 5th place overall. a great course, great teammates, great fun.
Friday, April 27, 2007
24solo
went to the dc premiere of 24 solo last night... it was really good, so go see it tonight or buy the dvd. take your non-cycling friends/loved ones/enemies if you want to convice them of how crazy you are.
yes, there is a post coming about the 24 hours of vail lake (nee temecula) but it's taking way longer than expected. short story: awesome course, fun times... we took 1st in mens expert, 5th overall. the battle for 5th kept going all night and came down to 15 seconds at the end. congrats to all the competitors and congrats to laird knight and granny gear.
yes, there is a post coming about the 24 hours of vail lake (nee temecula) but it's taking way longer than expected. short story: awesome course, fun times... we took 1st in mens expert, 5th overall. the battle for 5th kept going all night and came down to 15 seconds at the end. congrats to all the competitors and congrats to laird knight and granny gear.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
tick tick tick...
flight: booked
airport shuttle: booked
rental car: reserved
bike: shipped and already at the shop in san diego
bags: almost packed
directions to whole foods & rei in san diego: printed
all systems are go for temecula and i'm starting to get antsy.
we were panicking as late as last week trying to get the team sorted out for this weekend, but brian kemler - citybikes team captain from before i was on the team - is flying down from san francisco to be our fourth man. so it's me, mike, matty, and brian for this weekend.
there's going to be a little rain tommorow out there, which should help settle the dust. temps look good, i just need to make sure i pick up some sunscreen - the weather around here hasn't give us much chance to build up those farmer's tans yet.
if you want to check in on us during the race there are real-time results on the granny gear website. i'd post a direct link, but the 2007 system isn't live yet and i can't be sure it'll be correct.
even though i'm a virginia tech alum ('98) i haven't said anything here about the shootings yet. i started writing something yesterday but couldn't quite find a way to say what i wanted to and really, there's very little that i can add to what's already out there. let the victims families and friends, and the community have some time and space to grieve and come to terms with this in their own ways. i haven't felt this much like a hokie for a long time.
airport shuttle: booked
rental car: reserved
bike: shipped and already at the shop in san diego
bags: almost packed
directions to whole foods & rei in san diego: printed
all systems are go for temecula and i'm starting to get antsy.
we were panicking as late as last week trying to get the team sorted out for this weekend, but brian kemler - citybikes team captain from before i was on the team - is flying down from san francisco to be our fourth man. so it's me, mike, matty, and brian for this weekend.
there's going to be a little rain tommorow out there, which should help settle the dust. temps look good, i just need to make sure i pick up some sunscreen - the weather around here hasn't give us much chance to build up those farmer's tans yet.
if you want to check in on us during the race there are real-time results on the granny gear website. i'd post a direct link, but the 2007 system isn't live yet and i can't be sure it'll be correct.
even though i'm a virginia tech alum ('98) i haven't said anything here about the shootings yet. i started writing something yesterday but couldn't quite find a way to say what i wanted to and really, there's very little that i can add to what's already out there. let the victims families and friends, and the community have some time and space to grieve and come to terms with this in their own ways. i haven't felt this much like a hokie for a long time.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
7 days to 24 hours
this time next sunday night the 24 hours of vail lake (temecula, ca) will be done and i'll have a real gauge of how the season is starting... right now the bike is at the shop waiting to be packed to ship to california and the doubts are setting in.
training started well this year, plenty of base miles, lots of good rides on the road. the last month's been pretty crazy with moving and i've been lucky to get out on the bike a couple times a week... when i have time, temperatures fall and the skies open.
how will it go? who knows. i've only been a mountain bike a couple of times this year but what the hell, it'll be fun. heck, it'll be worth the trip just for the weather.
training started well this year, plenty of base miles, lots of good rides on the road. the last month's been pretty crazy with moving and i've been lucky to get out on the bike a couple times a week... when i have time, temperatures fall and the skies open.
how will it go? who knows. i've only been a mountain bike a couple of times this year but what the hell, it'll be fun. heck, it'll be worth the trip just for the weather.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
bike to work...
i figured our new house was just far from the office enough to make riding to work worth it over walking so i gave it a try this morning. no special gear, except for my shoes, helmet, and a pair of gloves... i just threw a lock and a pair of regular shoes in my laptop bag and pedaled the spot the 3/4 mile up bonifant to work. no, it's not exactly a hardcore ride to work: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=847653
Thursday, March 29, 2007
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