Gran Prix of Cyclocross weekend part 1

Just a spectator this weekend. Hauled my ass out of bed and over to Stage Fort Park on Saturday just in time for the start of the B Men's race. Sorry I missed the early women's race, I much prefer watching girls race.

Full on drag race to start the men's B

The early leaders of the killer B's

Thom P shouldering his pink ss 'cross bike

A Train of Vets on their first lap. Richard Feldman (DurancCycleworks)followed by Dale Knapp (Kona), Chris Peck (Fiordifrutta) and Roger Aspholm (Westwood Velo). Aspholm went on to win by 10 seconds.

I.F.'s Bruno leading a couple riders including Paul Curley

best seat in the house

(from the rock) overlooking the mechanic pit and the sand trap (in the distance)

Birds eye view of the switchback section
Lyne Bessette dominated Saturday's elite women
Georgia Gould and Katerina Nash (both of team Luna Chix) were hot on Lyne's heels the entire race.

Wendy Simms (Kona) placed 4th in elite and was named most aggressive rider


Christopher Horner had a strong race in elite men's category

Here is the start of the Elite men's race Saturday with Andy Jacques-Maynes (California Giant Strawberries/Specialized) leading #8 Matt White (FiordiFrutta Elite Cycling Team) then Ryan Trebon (Kona), Tim Johnson (Cannondale, Cyclocross World) and 88 other bad asses.

Adam Craig (Giant Bicycles) works the tempo with Mathieu Toulouse (Maxxis),Mark McCormack (Clif Bar), Andy Jacques-Maynes (California Giant Strawberries/Specialized) in tow.

Jesse Anthony (cliff bar) grabbed the win for the u23 catagory
Tim Johnson (Cannondale- Cyclocrossworld) pushes the pace on the stretch, Trebon (Kona) uses the draft to recharge while Barry Wicks fights to catch up.
If I could ask Ryan Trebon one question... "You're an incredible cyclist, but have you ever heard of basketball?"

Here are the results from Saturday's races.

Do Over!

Like when you were twelve years old playing kickball. Your friend rolls the red jelly ball toward you at home plate. As you step up to plant it over the fence you accidentally take your eyes off the bouncing ball for a split second and Whifff !! like Charlie Brown getting owned by that bitch Lucy. What does a twelve year old exclaim? "Do Over!" After all, there's no strike count in kick ball.

Jeff came up to the north shore last evening amidst his busy daddy schedule to check out the ECV 'cross practice. We suited up at my house and rolled over to the trails on my usual warm-up pace. (I now see fault with warming up at high intensity). After a one mile asphalt sprint we rode a short piece of trail and met up with 30 'cross riders on their practice laps.
Thinking my legs are ready to dismount and jump a barrier I unclipped, cross my right leg over the top tube and awkwardly step over the off chamber and up hill barrier and wham! Pain. lots of shooting pain near groin muscles. Almost went to the ground. Looking up the hill and there are a dozen riders watching my stumble up the embankment. I want, no, I NEED a do over!
Stand on top of the hill like nothing is Wrong but there is. I tell Jeff, "pulled my leg" but meant my leg is on f*#kin fire! Not saying much else I roll with my tail between my legs into the single track to maybe spin out the pain. I put power to the pedals and the engine room instinctively shuts down. Not good.
I don't want to waste Jeff's time out here, time is a precious commodity for a new father.. so I tell him to do some laps while try and work out what I hope is just a massive cramp and not a torn muscle. Jeff's not buying what I'm selling, he's a good friend (the best actually) and won't leave. We spin a slow lap and my leg feels better, then to add insult to injury- I get a flat. Nice. My only reaction is to laugh as I limp a mile down the trail to my spare tube.

It's probably important to remember that I'm not super human. Just haven't been near kryptonite in a while. I spent the evening on the couch with various bags of frozen veggies stuffed where they don't belong.

btw, had no idea this existed. I think they need a "do over"

Zero yard work accomplished

Woke up at the crack of dawn to get a not so sloppy hour of riding on my rigid Igleheart (I nicknamed the boneshaker) before the rain moved in this morning. Started to pour around 9am and don't think it stopped all day. I wouldn't know...between answering pages from work and watching the Pat's kill the Bengales. I haven't been off the couch since returning from the woods.
No guilt. I got a good hard effort in with CCB yesterday. A large group of us left Topsfield and headed north to points unknown, to me at least. I'm still new to their club and don't know the routes, or the guys all that well. I did see a 'Plastow 2 mi' sign about the time we turned around to head back on our 70mi loop.
The back roads of northeast Massachusetts and southern NH in late September make for the perfect setting for a group ride. Cool weather brought out the long sleeves and wind vests, the colors of changing season were all around us. Small rolling climbs and open fields. Friendly conversation. Was all about getting familiar with personalities and abilities and tendencies of people I hardly know but they know well. In all a great ride and I didn't get spoken to or yelled at once! Although Pucci wasn't there. kidding!
Near the end my legs were twitching to sprint - so I mixed it up with a fior di fruitta rider on a few hard pulls. That coupled with my 6 mile cool-down spin home was the icing on the cake. Thanks for the ride ccb.

ECV cross practice

So, I had my first go at Cyclo-cross last night. Way different than endurance mtb! ECV practices cross on Wednesday nights about a mile from my house so I spun over to watch and learn a few things. Jesse Anthony and Lyne Bessette along with Paul Boudreau with ECV heading up the practice. Who better to learn from than a couple of pro's?
I stood out like a sore thumb on my rigid mountain bike among 30 others on their 'cross bikes - but it did the trick. The guys and girls from ECV and a few other teams welcomed me into their practice session happily.
I knew a few guys from CCB - Andy and Sean and a fellow Igleheart rider, Glen Cook showed me some pointers. We did some laps around the 1.5 mile course that ECV had set up. Ran some drills to practice dismounting/mounting while jumping over 12 inch barriers. Last we practiced sprint starts on asphalt for 90 meters. Almost puked riding home after 3 or 4 of the high speed sprints. In all a great experience, glad I went over...I have a much better understanding of what 'cross is all about.

Screwing around

Christopher Igleheart was kind enough to kick me down one of his beautifully simple forks for a good price yesterday. While I installed the mat black steel fork I had to ask myself, why? Why am I taking my plush 100mm fox shock off for what is going to undoubtedly be a painfest of an experience? But I'm doing it anyway.
Bike gear it self seems to be cyclic. One season I'm riding a 7 inch dh bike, the next a 5 inch freerider and now I'm back to where I started 10 years ago..on a rigid steel rig. I can only hope by spring I'll be on a dual 4 inch carbon rocket.

My road wheels mount up nicely. Would like to take'r out for a spin but no brakes with out the rotors... Maybe time to look around for a set of 29er wheels.

loving the ride

The commute to/from work via bike is the best part of every day. I prefer the ride home. September has afforded enough day light and fair temps to allow a fairly mello pace in the afternoon. There are days that my legs don't feel like turning at 190 rpm, so I spin slow and enjoy the view. Things I'd miss unless cruising in the open air.

Today was especially sweet. Left home wearing a chamois and a cotton T and a pack with a rain layer just in case it rained...and it did. Within 10 minutes I was riding in a slight shower. But the weather girl said mostly sunny? - guess thats why I had the rain coat. Was not enough of a storm to get soaked. The water was evaporating as fast as it was hitting my cotton shirt. Perfect temp at 60 degrees, no wind.
On the ride home I did something that I haven't done in 6 months. I put on two layers to keep warm. Shit, autumn is here...but for some reason I can't wait for the cooler months. Change is good. Nothing can stop it so just accept it - or move. Bring on October and November!

In the beginning of this season I wondered if I'd suffer from burn-out by the end. Answer is a definitive: No. (For one thing I only did one race a month.) I can't wait to convert my Igleheart to a rigid 700c cross bike and take on a new challenge.
I missed out on this weekend's vt50 (where Jeff and Thom kicked some SERIOUS ASS!) Not being there was a total lack of planning on my behalf. But missing that race has fueled the need to race again soon.

Playing with fire

Bees actually, but what's worse - gett'in burned or getting attacked by yellow jackets?
Invited my friend Bill over for some expert advice on landscaping my front disaster of a lawn. Riding every weekend during the summer doesn"t help weed the planting beds nor does it leave time to prune overgrown rhododendrons.
Could have just left well enough alone but feel responsible not to bring the property values down in my part of suburbia. Billy gave Lesli some great ideas. #1 rip out the big-old ugly ass bushes on either side of the ranch. Gave me an excuse to use the willys and a cable to extract the root-ball after cutting down the yews. Wish the damn cable didn't break and shoot like a metal whip at the tail gate of my antique suv, my fault. I'm over the carnage, what's a little paint any how? five years ago it would have been a big deal.
After a couple cold ones I'm removing cement blocks that were half burried and entangled in weeds and grass and wham! wham! wham! I'm getting stung in the face, ear, and side of the neck. Took a sec. to figure out what's happening. Never saw the little f**kers but heard 'em. My neighbor (Mary) had just stepped out for her car to the sight of me dancing round the lawn swearing like the father in "a Christmas story". - what the...Rack n frak, u little sons a... ahhgh!! all the while swatting at the buzzing pests with a shovel. real nice. Should have taken Harvey's advice and went for a ride.
So that was yesterday.. This is today. I'm not giving up, put my head down and drive thru this project bees or no bees.
Forgot all about yesterdays pain and went right back at it. Shoveling loads of dirt and weeds into my wheelbarrow and then, Buzzzzz buz buzzz. Swarming in a flying mass of yellow and black above a bush. After a minute they returned to their borrow. I went to the garage and grabbed a can of Raid. "Sorry guys", as I soaked the area with poison. No more bees..went back to work removing cement blocks. Every now and they looking at their hole, nothing...that was easy.
10 minutes later I disturb their underground nest again but this time the motherload emerge. Dom and Gus (my dogs) can't identify the danger quick enough and are coated with stinging bees. Poor Dom was hit bad. The yellow jackets stick to his long hair like velcro, they burrow in for the kill. I swatted 20 or 30 off his long black coat but he was getting wailed. I look over to Gus, he is dragging his face on the ground trying to rub out the pain after being bit several times on the snout.
This is war. Tomorrow I hit up the hardware store for a bee bomb.

why no discs?

I don't have big bucks to spend on a sport that I know little about. 'Cross has always seemed like a strange off shoot to me, not road biking but more so than mountain biking. Racing around in a park? Dis-mounting, mounting, dropbars, shouldering the bike, running, running? My legs? I have not used those running muscles in a year...shit, do I really want to do this?
Just need a way to keep a high level of activity through the fall. Not only to hang on to fitness but I've grown to like my 4000 calorie/day diet. Wanted to convert the Igleheart frame, yeah- Chrostopher built the rear stay bridge up and out of the way to accept 700c wheels...just need a ridgid fork..and whalla, cyclo-cross...kinda. But then I hear that the UCI has a rule concerning disc brakes? Gotta have canti's? Seems a little old fashion.
I have a book titled, Cyclo-cross training and technique by Simon Burney...my Mom gave it to me about 15 years ago. Maybe I give it a read now.

Surprise!

One of the last great weekends for summer '06. Did it up right with a surprise Birthday Bash for my wife Lesli. Yes, she was surprised. I was fearful a month ago when picking the date..was the weather going to cooperate or was it going to be 55 and raining?

Here is Chef Matt placing the finish touches before we torture the little guys.

Thanks to the Puleo's for loaning me their giant Lobster cooker! This is the only way to cook! Put all ingredients in a huge stainless steel bowl, cover with tin-foil, light the flame and crack a cold beer - An hour and a half later serve to a couple dozen friends.

Smells ready!

Put on your bib, it's time to get messy!

And Messy we got! There is no clean way to eat Lobster...I guess a lobster roll, but not quite as fun as ripping the lobster body apart and sucking every last bit of meat out of the legs and claws is how to enjoy crustations.

We ate for hours and then relaxed on the deck as people said their goodbyes. It was great seeing Donna and Nick again. I know we have met a few times in Westfield at family reunions. Donna is my great cousin...Let's see how that works, my great grandmother's - sister's - daughter. I guess people come out of the wood work when they hear lobster bake! I'm kidding of coarse Donna. Hope to see you and Nick again soon.

Taylor, Kyle and Mason on the trampoline. When I heard "More Mud!" I went over to investigate but my presence with the camera only encouraged them to throw more globs of mud on the tramp and get dirtier.

nothing like kids being kids - coming from a guy that still gets this dirty.

Thanks for a good laugh Taylor, but I don't think Lianne enjoyed doing the laundry the next morning. :-o

would'a - should'a - could'a

What was I thinking on 05/25/06 at 7:00 pm. Why was I not in front of my computer while 850 other riders were? Where was I? What was I doing? Why does this race sell out in minutes? Did I realize then, that I really would want to race this one this year?

Shenandoah Mountain 100

I roll up to the starting line which is in a wide open field, 200 meters across. 400 mountain bike racers ready to get their pain on. Chris Scott stands above the long stretched out ribbon of riders to tell us a few last tid bits of advice on his killer creation, which is this race coarse. A dirt bike kicks to life and the two stroke winds away switching gears. The wave of riders shout and holler, the Clicking sound of clipless pedals engaging, cat-calls, hoots and whistles. Wer're off!
Down a dirt road we snake. Hundreds of riders shoulder to shoulder, bike racers surround me. Concentrating on keeping upright and out of the wheel in front of me. I look in the distance to see the lead group pulling away already, their red shirts popping above the rolling double track every couple minutes. I see a few familiar faces in the B group around me. A little voice in my head can't wait till this race breaks up a little and I can relax and get into a groove.
The start of this race is perfect. Long stretch of dirt and gravel before we hit a rocky, technical singletrack named Cookie trail. My rear tire pops out of the drop out and I stop to see why it feels like the rear stay is broken. Skip comes by me while I'm sidelined. He's got major concentration as he pushes his 34x16. The rocky single track leads into a technical climb named Lynn that is a total ass kicker. Held my concentration up the switchback granny climb and it soon spilled out to a gravel road for a few miles of recovery.
There, I rolled with some more familiar faces and the leaders of the ss race. The road turned to dirt with a left turn and we went up on some rolling climbs. This is the road we would finish the race on in a few hours I'd later realize.
At Aid 3 I stopped for a minute to refuel. When I rolled around the gate and stopped in front of the aid table I felt like a nascar driver pitting. Straddling my bike I was asked if I'd like lube? Sure, I hoped off, a guy took my bike and cleaned the chain and rings with a rag and placed a fresh thin coat of oil on the chain. I watched and drank two bottles and refilled my camel back. Left Aid 3 with a huge smile having felt the love of the support crew from SM100.
Heading up to a section called Braley Pond. This would be some of the best rolling trail that I'd ever ridden, but riders had to earn the privilege first by peddling (what felt like an hour and a half up) to the summit. I wish I had a helmet camera to share this section of Braley's. I don't have a computer on my bike, so no idea as to the speed obtained on this ripping singletrack, but felt close to 40 mph. Momentum and gravity pulling you along and the only thing slowing you down is the pain in your fingers as you try to hold your line in the corners.
Shortly before Aid 4 I was passed by Rich Labombard as I careened into a tree. I managed to slow just before making contact with the small pine. Luckily that would be my only crash of the day.
Entered Aid 4 with Rich. We both received first class treatment once again. I caught a glimpse of Thom P rolling in as we rolled away, I knew it wouldn't be long before that guy would be passing me. Now on the section that Kerry and Harlan warned was brutal...the 17 mile climb up to aid 5 and the summit of Shenandoah Mountain.
Perfect timing meeting with Rich. We spun on the false flat gravel roads big ring'in it. Staying away from Thom p for as long as we could. Done with the miles of false flats, we turn hard right up the mountain. No more big ring, I stand while mashing the middle. Trying to use the biggest gear I could push.
Aid 5 was again what I now expected..."can I lube your bike sir?" "Sure, I'll be over here relaxing for a minute." They had pizza at aid 5 for those who could stomach it. Was a great idea for those that were going to be hitting this spot hungry at supper time. I settled for pb+j and a half a banana and 4 dixey's of coke. Man, that coke hit the spot! The sugar and caffeine had my legs pumping like pistons over the long ridge summit of Shenandoah.
The trail finally pitched down and the single track was gnarly. I had to pull over for a minute as my head was swimming...wish I had more coke...or was this the after effects of the sugar and caffeine cocktail? Took a sec. to regroup and unwrapped a pb+j I had stowed in my jersey pocket. Ate it in one bite and screwed chewing.
Wham! Flat front tire! Damn! Adrenaline pumped through my brain as I repaired the puncture on the side of the mountain trail. Harvey Minton sped by and we spoke for the first time in the race. Shortly after Thom appeared on the down hill. He stopped and helped with my flat front as I handed him a spare C02 cartrige. He was gone after the brief encounter and I inflated my repaired wheel and set out to catch the now second place SS'er Thom Parsons.
The backside of Shenandoah lasted for miles and was awesome. I'd go back tomorrow just to ride this mountain again.
The remainder of the race was rolling double track and then it was over! 9 hours and 11 minutes for 32nd place. One bad-ass race with some bad-ass racers. Thanks Chris Scott and everyone involved. See you next year.

Heading to Harrisonburg

I'd never been to Harrisonburg Virginia, but I'm going back first chance I get. There's a different breed of cyclists down there, crazier than I've EVER seen...and I like crazy. Large contingent of singlespeeders in the race 10 of them were racing fixed gear! I am a geared rider but have huge respect for SS'er (and of coarse Everyone out there). I partially credit mother nature in forming the athletes native to Virginia. Those guys and girls are truly blessed with some kick ass terrain...lots of climbing and a ton of fast descents.
We left Boston for Virginia on Friday. Skip Brown piloted the Seven Cycles van 600 miles down Rt. 81 while 5 of us (Kerry Combs, Lloyd Graves, Thom Parsons, Rich Labombard) ate and gabbed, and ate more and enjoyed the first class comfort of the van. I hadn't had the pleasure of meeting Rich and Lloyd before this excursion but feel the bunch of us are friends after spending time rolling down the interstate. Looking on my internet phone periodically I was disturbed to see hurricane Ernesto sitting over Virginia in no hurry to move north.
We hit the wall of the storm Friday night entering Harrisonburg. It was dark, wet and stormy. We stopped for a bite at Luigi's for some incredibly tasty pizza. Lloyd and I went conservative and split a simple Zorba while Rich and Skip went to town on a 14 topping combo...Those boys weren't fooling around. We rolled on the final few miles to the campground where we would hurriedly set up camp in the pouring rain and sleep in flowing rivers of pooling water in our tents. As Thom said, "it wasn't bad, like being in a wet suit...once I warmed up the water in my sleeping bag it kept me warm all night".
Disaster almost struck as I guided Skip backing the van in the camp ground. I learned that even small branches should be avoided as one nearly ripped my bike off the roof..It did break the rack but the bike was spared. Who better than Lloyd Graves to assess the damage. No visible cracks in the Igleheart frame or fox shock, although this incident was fresh in my mind hours later as I roared down Shenandoah Mountain hoping my rig would stay glued together.
Saturday morning was clear and beautiful. After breakfast the six of us mounted up and hit the Cookie Trail for a couple hours of preride. Thom showed us <-- he could remove rocks from his shoe without stopping. Preriding portions of the course was invaluable having never ridden this race. We warmed up on a gravel road for a few miles and heard a couple blasting gun shots and barking hunting dogs at work in the woods. As we were passed by a truck on the road I noticed that the two hunters inside were using a radio homing device to locate their hounds. Had no idea that Hunting had such technology.
Hanging at camp Saturday afternoon this little guy kept us entertained as he perfected his skills on the waterbar jumps. I tracked down his father to tell him that his son is going to be a daredevil mountain-biker in a few years.
That night while we enjoyed a spaghetti dinner and Old Dominion Beer I was reacquainted with an old friend from Allspeed bike shop. Mr. Jeff Herrick and I shared a few stories about riding out'a Gary Bush's shop with Daren Mourneau and the boys. Great times from back in the days of early epics for me and everyone involved.
After we carbo loaded on beer and pasta Kerry and Harlan shared their advice on the race while we looked at the race map, Thom and I carefully listened. This would prove to be the single most beneficial ten minute conversation all weekend. Kerry and Harlan knew the race like their own back yard (hell I think it is Harlan's). This course run down along with the preride earlier was what my nervous mind needed to settle down for the night and grab some ZZZ's up at camp. Wrapped in my sleepingbag a couple hours later, their advice on sections of numerous long climbs, descents and stretching fireroads sunk in and I had the course layed out in my dreams.
Wide eyed and hungry for an all day epic we rose at 5:00 am from our toasty cocoons. Eating oatmeal and sipping on strong coffee that Lloyd had brewed.

It was go time.

I like to tell my self that it's not a race..instead, we get to ride all day.

gatto go, more on the race later.

Tipping the scales

Lesli and I spent some time at my parent's camp this weekend. Relaxing time around the camp fire, knocked a couple cold beers back with my Dad. Good times, glad we got up north to visit and check out what we'd been missing.

We hung out till the afternoon on Sunday, walked off breakfast and hit the highway for a rainy drive south.

The two hour cruise gave me time to think about bike set-up for sm100, which tires and wheels to run, and then remembered that my bike is in complete disrepair...

I picked through my junk pile of drivetrain parts and came up with two badly glazed discs. I guess I took them off cause they squealed more than they stopped. Don't know if this will work but I'll give it a try...better than spending $50 on new ones.Freshly honed thanks to my Ryobe Dual action sander. No more shiny rings..

On to tire/wheel set-up... I have been running Mavic XL with tubeless tires but had an awful ride the other day in the Fells with the skinny UST 1.95 Karmas. Conditions were slippery and these narrow Kenda's are better on dry hardpack. I am thinking the sm100 will be wet...or maybe that's just images from the 2003 SM100 movie that are stuck in my head.

So, how much lighter are my 717 / DT Hugi 240s wheels with tires mounted? Where I could come up with a cheap and accurate scale to weigh out some parts?...but then again, do I want to spend $$ on a scale?

Answer...make my own.

A 30 inch long piece of scrap trim with a hole in the middle...perfect! Ok, so what we have here is better than a digi metric scale. On the left is my 717/Hugi 240s wheel with Hutchinson Bulldog 2.1 ,with tube. On the right is the tubeless XL with 1.95 Karma. The difference in weight comes down to exactly an extra disk and two bolts... or about 125 grams. Tell me I had some time on my hands last night, you'd be correct! In the middle of my experiment the lights went out and I continued to conduct trails with help from my myo 3.

The rear wheel yielded similar results:

Weight Weenie didn't have info on how much half a Sram 980 cassette weighed but this is how the rear wheels measured up... I'd say at least 150 grams. Might stick with the tubeless setup for the rear because of the advantages of running lower air pressure.

Lights came back on and Lesli was almost done making her famous vegetarian chilly..enough bike geekiness for tonight.

Pebble Beach dive

Feeling a bit burned out on the bike this week. Commuted a couple times to work and an early morning single track session or two thrown in to mix things up. Undecided weather to ride in today, looks like rain late..weather.com says "watch for wet turf" - not like I'm golfing?

Met Peter Ernst at dusk for an amazing dive last night at Pebble beach, Rockport Ma. Entry was tricky because of the "ankle breakers" (fist-size smooth stones) that cover the beach. Walking on the thick layer of stones with 100 pounds of gear strapped to your back takes patience.
Air temps at 72 and water temp at 64 - perfect new england diving. I like diving in a wet suit (as opposed to a dry suit) out of simplicity and hope to dive once a week through December.
Peter lived in Thailand for 5 years and dove multiple times a week (lucky bastard) so he makes a great dive buddy.
We surface swam 30 yards and submerged at about 7:30. Spent some time on the first reef terrorizing lobsters..not hurting 'em just capture and release. I still don't have a lobster license but should, didn't take any of coarse. Tonight would have been the perfect night to collect some bugs. I caught and released about 10-12 keepers as did Peter.
We swam to the second and larger reef and slowly inspected under every rock and in every gap. This reef was teeming with life. Saw what I thought was a pipe fish but turned out to be a rock gunnel. We followed a sea raven , but saw no lumpfish this time out.
We turned at the second reef with 1500 psi and slowly headed back. When we finally reached the beach I looked at the dive data on my computer... 71 minutes of bottom time! This was originally to be 25 out and 25 minutes back but we got delayed looking at the second reef. Thats a long dive. Was a comfortable one. My 7mm Henderson along with the chicken vest kept me toasty.
Gotta schedule a dive with Barry soon...the three of us would have a great time.

Deadline ride

Jeff managed to drag Thom P. out of bed super early (for Thom's standards) for an absolute Rip yesterday. The two steel wielding riders arrived at my house at 8:15 and we were off and pedaling by 8:35. A mellow 10 mile spin on the road for 45 minutes through Wenham, Essex and up into Manchester to Mill st and we entered the woods and hit up some techy single track.
Three riders is the perfect number when you need to keep it rolling. We had a One O'clock dead line that we had to meet or a certain Mrs. Whittingham was going to be leaving for a birthday party solo..and that wouldn't have been a good thing.
We flew through Mill st single track and up the back side of B+T's for a tour of Bruce and Tom's on hardtails. Not the appropriate weapon of choice for the free-ride Mecca of the north shore but we made due...and glad we did, it has been a long time since riding some of these challenges.
After making the most in B+T's we hit the road and re-entered the woods at Red Rock. Rounded Haskell Pond and made the climb to Pipeline. Having Tom behind me on these short but challenging climbs was nerve rattling. I'd hear the single speeder revving up his turbine to gain speed in order to crush a climb and didn't want to be in his path. Having gears, Jeff and I pick our way up a steep technical climb but Thom's SS approach involves massive amounts of Mo-Mo-Momentum.
Now, 11:30 and running short on time we agree that stopping to rest is no longer in the game plan. Doubtfull that we can make it home by the 1:00 deadline we rocket down pipeline. At the end it was decision time, Jeff and I look at each other while standing on School st...Ancient line or the road slog home...? Ancient line!
The three of us tear down the low lieing single track section of rock strewn swamp known as Ancient Line faster than a speeding locomotive. Full-on race pace near the end of the trail, a wipe out would have been fugly, thankfully everyone kept their shite together.
12:42 ! We still had time to hit up shiftlever hill and out through Gordon College. Back at my house at 1:02...hows that for timing!
31.5 miles, 3:20 rolling, 1:10 stopped (eating PB+J and playing on stunts in B+T's), 31.6 max speed, 9.4 overall average with 6.3 rolling average. Thanks for a great ride boys.

Fresh?

How can this be? A few of us rode an epic a month ago, stashed some PB+J's, bananas, water and other goodies in the woods 'bout the half way mark. After the epic I scooted around and collected our refuse, empty water gallons, cooler, and half-eaten bag of Fritos .
Today, after having a RIP of a commute home, stepped in the door and I proceeded to eat anything in my kitchen...but there was slim to no pick'ins :(
So, I reluctantly reach for the half bag of Fritos that I should have thrown out after that rain soaked ride...but I didn't. I put them on top of the frig and there they sat, for a month..till today.
The ingredients say, "Whole corn, Corn oil, salt. No Preservatives"
That's cause I guess they don't need any - cause the chips were as fresh as the day they rolled out'a the factory! If I die tomorrow you'll know why.

on more impressive news..the ditty bops are a couple of extremely complicated, very talented, severely twisted and adventurous girls touring the country via bike and playing their folk music. you go girls! Nice adventure.

Talk about adventure... Give it up for Roz! But did you have to go to Pakistan to race your bike?

I'll share this story from an email with Roz after Delta Airlines lost her bike and luggage while connecting through JFK..."Oh my god, I came close to smacking someone. They didn't end up delivering my luggage when they were supposed to, so I got in at 1am last night (before I am to go riding in the AM) to find that my luggage still had not arrived. I flipped. I called China Airlines, and tried to be pushy, but they could barely understand me. So, I stooped low. I went and got one of the Thai prostitutes in the lobby to speak to me in English (while she was waiting for her fat white old male client) and translate it into Thai for the front desk guy (whose english was not so great). He then helped me get my bags delivered at 4am. It was great. Those girls really will do anything, I guess. I didn't pay her, though, I thought that would really lack class on my part :)."

Daren's FC101 on Ebay

For the guy that owns everything...why not get him a Vintage English Military Vehicle? You won't get stuck going to the next xc race, or anywhere else for that matter... no bike rack needed, just throw your rig in the back and hose it out after. Or you could pick up where Daren left off and open your own lift-assist mountain bike service!

What a pain in the...

...Neck!

Went for a dive Sunday with a guy from work. We've been forever talking about diving together and finally did it. Old garden beach in Rockport...Was the first time there and I'll definitely go back. But next time with a lobster license! Lots and Lots of "bugs" - that's Maine speak for lobst'a !
Also, won't make this mistake again...My BCD w/ weights and tank must weigh 'round 90 freekin pounds. So what did I do? (no, didn't drop it on my toe) picked it up and slung it over my shoulder macho man style like it was a camel back and totally screwed up my neck. Didn't notice till this morning but cannot look to the far right or left w/o sharp pains that feel like someone is stabbing me with an icepick. Lesson learned...Put the equipment on in the water!


The water was a balmy 68 degrees at the surface and 66 at 30 feet and with a 7mm wet suit and chicken vest feels like diving in 85 degree water. Not a deep dive, great visibility at 15-20 feet (good for new england) fun looking in the rocks for Lobsters, crabs, pipe fish, huge moon snails, and anything that was swimming around.
The last dive I had in Rockport (two weeks ago) the water was an uncomfortable 52 degrees and I only lasted 32 minutes and couldn't wait to get out! Dry suits are too much $$ for me to bother with..would much rather another bike in my stable.

That's us diving with the dive society from Undersea divers from Beverly, Ma.

Savoring summer

A couple weeks ago I made a deal with myself to commute to work via bike (as much as the weather would allow) for the months of August and September. This week has Rocked! Sunny and warm and dry and the seven day forecast looks balmy! The round trip is 46 miles a day...sweet way to pick up 230 miles a week and save some $$ on gas. I'll certainly look back to this particular week sometime around Christmas when it's 33 degrees + raining and let out a big sigh.

The days are already getting shorter, summer is passing by. Why can't it be August all year 'round? Got to make every day count!

It's official...I signed up for my next race. Going to be weird racing with out my main partner in crime - also known as the Ride Junkie. Gonna miss you on this trip Jeff but you'll have your hands full by Sept 3rd.

When I got to work today I was greeted by quite a scene. News vans with satellite dishes pointed skyward. News anchors reporting live from the airport parking lot..it's how I overheard the newest terrorist plan to blow-up planes with liquid bombs? WTF?
Like air travel wasn't hard enough up till now.

Now for a bit of humor- Out law in spandex is some funny stuff. - thanks to Lesli for sharing.

Time to reflect

What a week! warm, dry and sunny. I snapped this shot of Wenham lake while passing on my commute home yesterday.

Oh wait...

that's better.

Grounds for Divorce?

and now, the rest of the story...

Jay Peak - Race Report

This year I felt confident to go back and face my demons at Jay Peak. Two years ago this race beat me to a pulp..Uncontrollable cramps that forced me to the fetal position and cry for mama on the finish line. That painful memory had faded but I knew this year was going to be a real ass-kicker. As I type on the keyboard my back side feels like I went 3 rounds with Hulk Hogan as he kicked me no less than 900 times with steel toe boots square in the buttock...that's what I get for riding a hardtail for 8 hours in northern Vermont singletrack.

Jen, Jeff, Bronte and I rolled up to Sarah and Mike's place in central Vermont on Friday. Extremely nice of the Jordans to feed us a home cooked meal and let us crash the night. Mike has been training for the Jay mtb race for the better part of 2006 and by the looks of him at the finish, with a big smile on and a beer in hand his training was a success.


Didn't know what to expect of the race course after driving through couple of full-on down pours but they turned out to be localized flooding. (Yeah, flooding..like the sides of dirt roads washed away down four feet on each side!)
So after eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches for dinner we called it a night and the dreams (more like nightmares) of descending down Jay Peak unraveled from my tired cerebellum. I had time to summon memories from my 2004 experience on Jay and the troubles I got my self into. I vowed never to be in that much pain EVER again so I laid in my motel bed calculating my strategy... to eat lots of bananas and cliff bars and drink gallons of Gatorade and water the entire race was the master plan...sounds easy right?


The morning was upon us, Jeff took charge of instant coffee and oatmeal. We ate up and nervously headed down to the start line (which was directly three flights down - schweet!). Start of the race was delayed for 30-45 minutes, when Dan (the race organizer) stood on a table with a megaphone announcing the pre-race info he again reiterated how brutal the last 12 miles were going to be...sorry Dan...it was the final 22 miles for me. Then Dan told of us of Tinkers' bad luck with the stupid Airline losing his bike!?

The race starts and It's my kind of race! 200+ mountain bikers lumber out of the start gate and proceed to climb Jay Peak. No hurry or sprinting. Just a friendly ascent for 40 minutes. I was surprised to be in the top ten on the summit along with Jeff. Legs felt great, no burn. Heart rate through the roof (180+) all the way to the summit.

Now for the decent. Took it very conservatively remembering my thoughts just hours before. I love to rip down mountains but prefer to do it on a downhill rig with pads and a full face helmet. My ass was hanging soo far back it may have touched (more than once) on the rear tire. The smell of burning brake pads in the air and screeching rotors could be heard from every direction. It was on!

The 40 minute ascent took 5 minutes to descend back to the tram house and rip past spectators on our way out'a town and points unknown. Jeff had let it loose on the downhill from Jay and was tearing up the stretch of hilly asphalt that was the race course. We turned into the woods after a brief stretch on the road and I lost sight of Whittingham. We were united a little while later about mile thirteen on a tight and twisty jeep road heading downhill at about 30-35 mph. Might have been the most fun I'd have all day..Hard-packed dirt double track and banked corners. Hooting and hollering we ripped up the jeep trail, this was great...then a rear flat. Jeff offered assistance but I was prepared for such emergencies. Two competitors sped by as I threw a tube in my rear wheel and inflated.

Back on course within 3 minutes I caught up with Alec (one of the guys that past me). We rode together for a while in search of the elusive Mr. Whittingham. Alec (who I called Alp D'hez) is a self proclaimed roadie who just came back from riding the Alp D'hez stage two weeks ago. Cool! So Alp and I traded off pulling for a while but I lost him at an aid station. Drinking and eating was the plan and I had help on course by none other than a guy that knows this race. Mr Harry Precourt was an essential part of the rest stops. Harry was at every damn stop shoving cliff bars at me and filling my bottles and camel back. Who's the man? - Harry's the man. I know he'd rather be racing on the bike with all of us but after running the mountain marathon the previous day (not to mension hiking 2200 + miles on the A-T) he was taking it easy and helping Whit and myself.
Some great winding single-track through out this race with burley granny gear climbing. I rode along side another competitor for hours, nick-named him flower-power due to his flowered shirt (real name Tyler Merritt). Flower power and I had some good times out there, at that point I couldn't give a shit if he past me or if I past him...it just didn't seem like a race for a big portion of this ride.

Lots of concentration needed in the woods to keep it rubber side down, the road was a welcome sight after any of the numerous wooded sections...and vice verse when it came to the road. Some road (and dirt road) sections were brutally hot and long. But nothing as much as the final dirt road ascent that seemed to last for ever.

It was Shortly before the final ascent that Jeff and I met back up at aid station 10. It was classic..meeting back up for the first time in hours, Alp D'hez right on my tail with Flower power closing in...The ladies, Jen and Sarah and her kids there..Mike Precourt shooting mad amounts of pictures with a high tech camera.

It was now the four of us; Alec, flower-power, Jeff and myself...and now it was a race again. Didn't want to get dropped on the dirt roads but didn't want to push it to the point of puke knowing Dan's advice on this section. Forced another cliff bar, spilt more red Gatorade down my gullet and mushed on up the road in our four person train. Alp opened a gap 3/4 up the mountain but this hill seemed endless..I didn't want to attack till the decent but was forced to respond to this now 20 sec. advance by Alp D'hez. I left Jeff and the now ailing flower power to attempt to grab Alp's wheel. Didn't make the pass till the bottom of the decent in the woods..perfect timing. Put on the after-burners in a muddy bog-crossing and stood on the pedals up and over a small rise. Alp was history.

After a ridiculous hike-a-bike section (where I was cursing Dan's name numerous times) with a stream crossing under a bridge? and through the golf course it was just Jeff and I. That brother was back! Alp and Flower Power no where to be seen. Couldn't have planned this grudge match better...this was after all a grudge match between friends. Earlier this year I beat Jeff down in Tennessee and then he beat me in Ohio. This was the final tie breaker that turned into a tie for third place over all. I had hopes for a top five finish but didn't think it would be here at Jay... What a day. Couldn't have predicted such an event in a million years.


After the awards Jeff and I hung around and talked to David Tinker Juarez about RAAM and 24 hour racing. He's a down to earth guy that just rides his bike - alot. David was phyced to race at Jay and was let down by the airlines' screw up...he did however have plans to ride the course on Monday when/if his bike arrived. He'd just follow the dirt marks left behind by 250 riders. Good plan...wish my legs had some power left for a ride with the legend but that simply wasn't the case.

Jay Prep

The foundation is layed for an explosive race. Just finished my first ever twenty hour training week:

three hour solo MTB
four commuting days in steamy 90+ degree heat
an eight hour mtb epic on Sunday.
+/- 250 miles in seven days (180 road, 70 mountain)...now starts the taper.

Sunday's ride was perfect. Relaxed pace was the secret to our success in cleaning nearly every trail on the north shore...next time we'll start at Red Dot and get'em all!

Kerry, Harry, Jeff and I set out at 9 am to reach a cooler full of food, water and a six pack of beers that Jeff and I had ditched in the woods in Gloucester. The weather wasn't the best at 100% humidity but low(ish) temps in the 70's made conditions comfortable.

Most memorable parts of the epic for me:
Being surprised by Harry's arrival for the ride...(he just finished the A-T two weeks ago and hasn't been on a mountain bike since October!)
Asking the group (after 6 Hours on single track) if they'd rather hit the road for an hour spin home...and Kerry asking if we could ride Ancient line again!...so we did.
No camera on the trail to capture the action because of rain...but Jeff's phone somehow lived to dial another day after he forgot it was in his jersey pocket durring the entire ride...Downpour and all.
Post epic cook-out where Jeff and I ate One Pound Burgers and watched Floyd bring home Yellow in the individual TT in the tour de France!

An Email from Kerry describing her favorite moments:
Highlights: lunch, of course..Harry crawling up side of rock...standing at ledge near teeter-totter looking down...watching you riding over those ramps..pouring rain on pipeline..ancient line X2...all the mushrooms and moss..seeing the couple without helmets to mention a few.

good stuff..thanks for the ride.

Confession

I feel bad but I'll post this anyhow...Is anyone one of the lucky thousands to travel on the airlines with their bike?...did you take along some C02 cartridges just in case you flat during your vacation? Did you unpack your neatly packed rig to find the TSA had ripped it apart and confiscated your lube and C02 cartriges...well sorry. But I found where they dispose them...

no, I don't work for the TSA.

scoot'in

No racing for me this weekend...Relaxed Saturday and spent some time in the water with Lesli and the boys and then went to a cook-out with Marko Dirks and his family later in the day. Good food, Thanks to Oscar and Erin for inviting us to the party. good times.
Needed a couple days off the bike...body is beat down from a few quality rides last week. Like Jeff, my brain doesn't see the good lines in the woods when tired...so what's the point of riding.
Went out Sunday on a solo mission to see if my body had recovered...it had not. Felt pretty weak through Gordon woods so I popped out at Pine st, skipping Ancient Line and rode up 127 to Gloucester and reentered the woods at red rock. My brain came around and I started to have some good times on Rez Dog and Pipe Line. The tubeless shit that George gave me rocks! That brother hooked me with 5 or 6 tubeless tires and a pair of XL wheels! Thanks again George. Had a Maxxis high roller up front and the IRC Mibro 2.1 in back. Crazy traction and comfortable ride at 37 psi...don't want to run'em too low and damage the rim. 37 seems good.
Got to save my legs for a planned epic comming the weekend of the 22nd-23rd. Should be a rip! I hear Harry Precourt is rolling up for this one! Going to start assembling a good crew for a 5 or 6 hour kahuna. Only took 9 hours last November with Jeff and John H...cause we took an extended trail-side break to eat, and eat...and eat.

Now the big news for the weekend:

Lesli has been researching scooters (I call them mopeds) for over a month... She wants to leave the SUV at home a few times a week and commute to work + run some errands around town. Yesterday, in a moment of weakness on my part, we went down to Cycles 128 for a closer look knowing this would only lead to us buying one...so we did, a used Honda metropolitan 49cc scooter. Fun little toy..just wish we had good weather year round to get the most out of it's 100+ mpg!! yup..that's right..I was amazed too...but not amazed enough to buy one for myself. She loves it. I dig pink flame helmet.

The whole neighborhood came out for a ride infact!

Kate was a natural.

Mean Jean was not, hat's off to her for getting back on after a little mishap with the throttle.

Good 'ole, Don gave it a try. That's the spirit!

Scott was too cool for the pink flame helmet.

I was trying to find the cranks

First grocery run complete..now let's eat!

Decisions...Decisions...

Got a HOT weekend on tap with a few different riding options...but what ride makes the most sense? - (stupid actually to be this worried about riding a bicycle)

Daulton probably...but don't want to but a full year Norba license (that I won't use again) just to ride a 30 mile race...but a good race indeed...
Pat's Peak 6 or 12 hour would fill the riding void but a muddy course coupled with the fact that I'd be rolling totally solo doesn't sound all that fun...
Kerry's 100 mile epic starting in Arlington, GBF, BCT, ending in Ipswich is a great plan but is a logistical pain in the butt for me...
Super road epic to Mom and Dad's camp?? 95 degree heat and 100 + miles of road...maybe not..

Good to have choices but nothing here is jumping out at me...ugh...

Last night's adventures in the Fells went according to plan. Jeff stayed on the bike and kept his pinky finger out of harms way. We rode some burley-ass lines on the red trail, hike-a-bike'd it on the white trail for a bit and spun da legs out on fire road...perfect 2 hours of after work riding.

George hooked me in a BIG way with a set of Mavic XL's that needed some TLC. The rear got a new hoop and spokes and the front needed to be tweeked back into shape. Rode'em for the first time last evening...IRC Mibro at 37 psi were amazing!! I've been riding tubed tires for years at 40+ psi to avoid pinch-flats therefore giving up comfort and traction, tubeless may just be the way to go...Thanks for the kick-down G !

All out in Moody Park

Fun, fast and technical. I had never done Moody Park, although I thought I had raced there years back but would have remembered the infamous "gravity cavity". Jeff, Thom and I rolled out at 12:30 for our warm-up lap after arriving to the venue a bit on the late side. Did a casual spin around the 4+ mile single track getting familiar with a few mud-holes and tricky spots. We reached the end of our warm-up and were cutting it close to the start time of 1:00, when we arrived at the S/F line got stuck in the way back behind 20 or so other senior II experts...Seemed like a bunch of racers came out for this one.

The race started and I tried to muscle my way up to Jeff and Thom but got held back three or four riders off Jeff's wheel. Forced to practice patience and pick smart lines through the mud and rocks and look for opportunities to pass for half a lap. Now up to Jeff's back wheel looking to hang with the brother but Jeffy proved to be faster on the slick as snot winding downhill and slipped out'a sight. Didn't realize till an hour and a half later that Jeff was riding with a bone-deep gash in his pinky finger and bleeding like a stuck pig.

I held my position for the remaining 3 laps and had fun rocketing up the gravity cavity. Thanks to Roz and Mike Deak for cheering me on while climbing the sandy slopes and to Jen Whittingham in the grassy field atop the final climb of each lap. Always good to hear some friendly shouts of encouragement.

The entire race I thought about Thom pushing his one-geared IF Deluxe and how truly efficient he must have been riding because I only saw that dude on the start line. I attempted to ride my third lap in 34-18 exclusively but found my thumb on the shifter when the going got tough. I am intrigued with the thought of an SS and a new challenge but know how much it will kick my ass at first.

Got home pretty late after the kind medical staff at the Claremont NH emergency room sewed up Whit's finger...which proved a better location to receive a few stitches then the other mountain bike racer who we witnessed slowly limping out of the ER after taking a shot to the mid section.

In all a great way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon in New England despite an 11th place finish but there was a strong field of racer types out there. I did a few things right and a few things wrong, basically got schooled but in a good way.

Got it!

Found the good route to work. Peabody to the out skirts of Lynn and Saugus. Now just need to eliminate rt 107 cause it smells like trash.

Just a'nother day at the beach

Lesli and I had our first ride on Iglehearts' custom tandem yesterday, I like to call it "Big Blue".

Huge fun...this is going to be habit forming for sure.

After a brief riding lesson around the block we were tandem pro's. Communication was essential when slowing, turning and shifting. The shifting part being the most critical...really had to plan ahead of hills and traffic because Big 'ol Blue wasn't the smoothest shifting rig I'd ever pedaled.

We strapped the GPS to the rear handlebar to monitor our progress and to see how scary fast we could get her on the down hills. - only managed to get her up to 27 mph but was plenty fast for Les. I bet if couple guys were riding this thing (Jeff) and we could get her up to near 50 mph.

Spun over to Singing Beach for a slushy and some ocean breezes on this extremely humid day in the north east. On the cruise away from the beach Lesli remarked how easy it was to pedal the monstrous rig...that's because I was doing all the pushing honey...but I liked the work out. Today my body is burnt, legs and ass are as sore as if I'd rode a century. Wonder if this is how you fathers out there feel after pulling your kids around in a bike trailer?