'nother day, 'nother epic.

got-up to western cycle on friday to pick-up the steel deluxe. When i scooped-up the rig Mark explained the intense process to rebuild the sid team fork. He also got my ancient XT rear hub on my training wheelset (mavic 3.1 UST's) running smooth again, that dude's been hookin' me up - need all the help i can get when it comes to maintenance. rolled home and hit the Fells for a short shake-down ride, make sure everything was mint for today's epic. 2mins into the ride, the skies opened-up and a nice warm rain began making its way through the fresh canopy. Instead of turning back, continued on the loop and enjoyed having the trails to myself, even stopped and just listened to the rain for a minute... at the end of the ride was confident that everything was ready for today's epic.

got a late start this morning, head little fuzzy from thom's b-day soiree. wheels rollin' at 10a. hammered 12m of road, andy doing a lot of pulling, he'd continue doing that all day. first section of trail (mill st) was super burly. hadn't been on the mtb in a while, took some pretty decent falls and quickly realized that my front fork wasn't un-locking. whoa. mark mentioned that he called RockShox tech support 2-3 times while doing warranty replacement and there was some confusion on amounts of oil, etc - something in that process must have gone awry. but, as usual, when something like this occurs, you got 2 choices. freak-out and bail, or go buddha on that shit, accept the situation and roll. Mill Street singletrack kicked my ass, but 2hours later was in a groove, really enjoying the almost-fully rigid ride (had about 20-30mm of travel). as the ride continued, developed a loose feel on the bars and my arms became the suspension and chased some real nice lines. andy was always waiting-up for me, but that's pretty standard on the uber-technical stuff, that dude rips.

ended-up cruising all the way to Cape Anne in Gloucester, rode a loop in Dogtown for the first time, real nice mix of smooth singletrack and technical rock gardens. on the way back, hit-up Ancient line, a trail that lives in infamy on the north shore, among a cpl other real nice pieces of trail. andy laid-down the power all the way back while i struggled to keep it going, but with andy taking long pulls on the road it was all about the 44-11 and we were rippin'! finished-up 7hrs after pulling-outta andy's driveway, great ride. 7 days of taper till Mohican. looking fwd to that! just need to stay off the sauce and not gain 2-3lbs in beer weight before...

warranty

Jamie called Bontrager and a new wheel commeth today! when he told them what wheel it was, they admitted it was crap and a new one was en route for delivery today. sucks my epic got ruined 'cuase of a bum wheel - but i got a new race lite wheel! sweet.

been riding the indoor and the drag suit (commuter), could be worse, could be stuck w/o any bike to ride. big headwinds have had me going at like 10mph home from work, but patience is a virtue or some such garbage. in other good warranty news, my brand-new rockshox sid team was leaking oil from the rebound, which has had the Steel Deluxe sidelined! but that part should arrive this wk, also thanks to jamie, just in time for this wknd's mtb epic. it's definitely time to get some mtb mojo back - been on the road way too much this season. once again, w/o the support of jamie and the fellas at western cycle, i'd be in serious trouble. those guys are the shit!

holy basso. but can he win 'em both?

rejected!

Saturday's epic started perfect. Sunny, temps in the high 50's/low 60's, bit of a headwind, but around here 10mph isn't anything to get worked-up about. Cruised right-through Lawrence and Methuen, 2 towns hit hard by the widespread flooding, and up into New Hampshire. low-hanging clouds and gusty winds kept building, but the rain mostly held-off. Learned a few important lessons about picking a route - the straightest route isn't always the best! Route 28 through MA up to Machester (about 50m) had absolutely zero shoulder and traffic whizzing-by at 60+mph. Never riding that road again!

Got across the surging Merrimack River in Manchester, NH and continued along its banks on 3A and 3 into Concord, where the route really starts to get more mellow, less traffic and nice steady rolling hills. sun would poke-out, then it'd cloud-up and rain for 2 mins. repeat. At mile 85 when i hit Franklin, the route becomes even more rustic and from there to Plymouth is one of my favorite rides. Legs felt great and I was stoked to be knocking-off the epic. i'd wanted to do this door-to-door ride for while, an itch that had to be scratched. The fueling plan was working (thanks for the hammer goo in the perpetum idea JM), but couldn't help but daydream of a turkey sandwich in Bristol, the only planned water stop of the ride.

At mile 92 a horrible noise exploded from my rear wheel while coasting down a roller. It was immediately apparent what was wrong - the freebody was shot. Knew it was a ticking time bomb, but figured if i could keep pedaling, could finish the ride. As I picked-up speed down a steep descent into Bristol, the chain dropped off the big ring and I couldn't pedal!, got on the brakes, but it wasn't in time! Two spokes blasted apart, the wheel flew out of true and at 30+mph was all over the road! I looked over at a car next to me wide-eyed, he's wide-eyed, wondering what this crack-head is doing, "AHHHGGGG". I come to a stop right in front of the sandwich place i'd been daydreaming about for 30miles, the ride ovah. rear wheel trashed.

disappointment aside, it was a great ride, really enjoyed it... and my bro-in-law hooked me with a ride from Bristol - and even had a cold bass ale waitin'. sweet-as.

trying not to rant

Why does OLN hate us? One day of Giro d'Italia coverage/week? if you want to watch it daily, you have to pay $19.99 to see it online. If you want to get OLN on cable, you have to pay for a package that costs like $50/month (at least here) then you don't even get coverage of one of the Classics? One of the largest cycling events in the world? WTF? I won't pay the bucks for the online coverage, but i will plop-down for the 2hr weekly wrap-up on OLN this sunday... and all will be well for that 2hrs.

Drove to work today. LAME! resting-up for the ride tomorrow, but more importantly, need some road and mtb bike help from Jamie. only way to get to the north shore before Western Cycle closes is to drive to work. LAME! Boston was recently voted the 5th worst city for road rage, i'm honestly surprised we're that low in the rankings. today's "effort" was horrible. 1hr 15mins of angry car-time (to go 9miles). LAME! The Onion (a fine news source) recently reported on a vehicle that could honestly "revolutionize the way we drive." You gotta check it out if you live in a top 5 road rage city.

But, the horrors of the drive will be worth it to have Jamie and the boys help me some some issues i don't got the tools or skillz to effectively handle - still a newbie when it comes to repairs - such as pressing Bruno's used Chris King (pink nonetheless) headset into the Ellsworth frame (he totally hooked me up w/that, who cares it it's used, King's last forever!). after seeing how much Truth's were going for on eBay, decided to keep that sucka' as the "trail bike" (it is a sweet, sweet frame!). if my back blows-out at a 24solo, will have one of the sweetest endurance machines in back-up,. so, it's time to retire the beat-down Giant NRS (and try to keep the IF Steel Deluxe in racing condition by using the Truth for everyday riding). After i strip-down the giant, plan is to bring it up to Brad's and shoot it full of holes in his backyard firing range - my first race bike has to go out in style! will need some solid background music to set the mood. maybe some old school Rage Against the Machine.

played darts at The Field w/Dr Mike last night. we kicked some serious dart booty until my beer buzz peaked and my aim fizzled. mike's more a pro drinker these days than i and carried us the last cpl games. beer has this weird effect on games of skill - you get better and better, then the buzz peaks, then you can't aim to save your life. we limped home at 11p, 3hrs earlier than we would have 5yrs ago, but you know what? i'm totally ok with that.

just because

sunappe road race sold-out. epic ride time! on backroads it's 130miles from our house to jenn's sister's place in campton, nh. while jenn has dropped me en route a few times, i've never attempted the full trek. am fired-up to give it a go. with the merrimack river way over flood stage - and the anticipated route crossing it twice (and through a cpl towns whose main streets are covered by 4 to 5' of water), things could get pretty interesting (aka, a lot longer than 130miles). plan for the day is to leave early, carry lots of baby-food (andy's word for Perpetuem), tools (definitely an extra tire), and if it's gonna be a long one, might as well continue working-on the fueling plan. Sustained Energy and Perpetuem keep making me naseous, but dish-out the smoothest energy and power. need to figure-out the perfect mix of baby-food and other foods. ALL sugars are out (if it ends in "-ose" it's out, including the beloved Luna bars - cliff bars are for suckers!). Roll w/a plain bagel, hammer bars, some hammer goo (but not too much), maybe a cpl bananas, just enough to get me through, hopefully all on my person - set-up a plan i can roll with at the Mohican (minus needing to fill-up the camelback once). then when i get to campton, there's a little b-day thing for my bro-in-law, great excuse to get shitty. can't beat that. ride all day, lots of beers that night.

nathan sent me a link to a short movie on last yr's 3rd place finisher at 24hrs of Dalton (chris gagnon). some real cool shots in there, only 7-8mins long. has me all fired-up to do a two-four! guess the pain from last yr has finally faded from memory (first thing i said after was, "never again!").

wet rat

my IT closet has become a drying rack. all it's done for 10 days is rain - and we're not talking about spring showers, this stuff is the real deal. if it was snow, we'd have like 10-15 feet on the ground. it'd be one of those bad tv disaster movies w/an actor you don't mind seeing get swept-away by a tidal wave (bill paxton? randy quaid?). got no complaints, though, could be worse. could be 32 degrees and raining. could have a wet basement like andy's. check-out his video - now that's some crazy shit! think i need to bring him more beer.

been riding the drag suit to work during the great flood, big difference being back on a 30+lb mtb w/kevlar tires. 45mins each way really sucks the strength from the sticks, but finally felt light on the pedals again today - even after hammering home hard last night, funny how that works sometimes. didn't mean to ride hard either, started nice and mellow along the charles river, wasn't raining, so pulled the neoprene booties and a layer up-top off. 20secs later it starts to pour. of course. was freezing within minutes and it was ON to get home. get to neighborhood, could turn right onto my street, but as usual, keep heading-up the hill, even soaked to the bone, have to get the efforts in, no such thing as making up for it later... but legs have been pretty dead past 2-3wks, not a lot of rest, but hopefully not too much either. this wknd want to set 'em free a bit, take a spot of rest, then a hard effort, need a race. time for a race.

Platenkill XC is 4hrs away, that's a monster drive for an xc... maybe i'll hit the road bike scene at the Sunappee Road Race. 46m will take less than 2hrs i'm guessing, but that's ok, since it's on saturday, can get a quality long, slow ride in on sunday morning... hmmm... never done a road race before. worry about someone taking me out, but it's probably me that's the danger! considering i never-evah ride in groups. wonder if hurley's rollin', he's gotz to be. maybe i can convince andy and get something going here...

whoa

so, it's been raining here. big time.

got-out for a couple hours today with andy, there was a scuba suit in play. the amout of water on the ground is unbelievable, must have been up to the hubs 20 times - to the handlebars once.

down georgia-way, my pops went for his first true singletrack ride today. said he loved it... and took his first fall - a nice endo on some singletrack - learning about disc brakes and dirt riding don't come on the first try, glad that the guy's all good and ready to get back out there!

Terrapass?

What is this Terrapass thing? Kinda looks like a money-making scheme, it's not a non-profit (not that all non-profits are "good"):

http://terrapass.com/index.html

Hmmm...

tgif

i rarely say this sort of thing, but thank f'ing god it's friday. server install this wk at work had me pretty frazzled, i'm the sole IT geek, so it can get kinda stressful when things don't work, ain't like i have anyone to ask for help. but, stage one of the switch (email) is done, two stages to go (phones and file server). exciting stuff, i bet everyone's super-psyched i'm writing about this crap. what's the suckiest is that the constant rain has had me trapped on the indoor trainer all week (minus the commute to work - i'll do that in any weather). the best thing about chamois-time is working-out all the stress, the indoor just doesn't have the same effect as cruising the open road (yeah right, here in boston!?) or the trail. but, have caught-up on some TV time while pedaling the pain machine. watched crouching tiger, hidden dragon (didn't cry at the end this time) and pale rider (clint's the man) - and caught most of the Sox / Yankees series at night - haven't stayed awake till the end of any, but there in spirit, catching zzzz's on the couch.

been going back and forth on what to do this wknd. been asking folk's opinions again on what to do... re-read the racing section of Friel's Mountain Bike Bible, which was great, got me focused on the 3 wk plan leading-up to Mohican. After reading Friel (and taking Nathan's advice into account) decided that i need to be in the saddle a whole bunch this weekend - but need to be having fun while doing it. Driving 2 hrs each way to a race and needing to do a cpl hrs of riding before and after (in the rain) to get the required saddle time just isn't where i want to be - and if you're mentally not with it, what's the point? i'd just want to be done - and that's not where i want to be with my riding right now. The mtb skillz are sloppy, have only been out a couple-few times, gone for one "epic", i need to hone those skills, get that quality mtb saddle time in. So, am heading-out for a mud and rain-soaked ride on Sunday with Andy. he's already dubbed it the CWE (Cold Wet Epic). Figure i'll hit-up the indoor-up tomorrow during the expected 6" of rain, do some hard LT's, try to simulate a little race action, then ride with andy for as long as we can stand it on Sunday. Those beers sure will taste good when we're done.

You know you've made the right decision in regards to riding when you're fired-up for the wknd's long (painful) efforts vs going into it wondering how much it's going to suck. When you go at it like that, you're gonna wind-up burned-out - and that's not a word i believe in.

nice day(s)

been pouring all day, wind is beating on the windows. checked weather.com to see what to wear on the ride home: 48 degrees, heavy rain, ne wind at 26mph, gusting to 38. nice day for a ride. figure, if you can't escape it, might as well go buddha and embrace it... forecast for next 5 days doesn't include one ray of sunshine. maybe i should race this wknd - it's always interesting to get out on the course when things are burly...

NECS #1, EFTA Glocester Grind Race Report

watching 24 (that jack bower is dreamy), this race report may be a bit disjointed...

with the main focus on the mohican 100, this weekend's race was barely on the radar, but that doesn't mean that when the gun goes off (more like, when the race director yells "GO") i didn't want to have a good one. plus i dropped $27 on the entry fee! this week i just stayed on the base training and eased it back a tad on fri/sat. not my typical taper, but better than hammering right through the race. usually on a xc race week i'll go hard on wed, easy thurs, take friday off, then cruise easy on sat. even with the minimal taper, i felt pretty decent on sat when i went for my usual day before "shake-down ride."

sunday was a perfect sunny day, temps in the mid 60's, felt a lot hotter with wheels rollin'. got to the race site early and cruised for 60mins on the road, 15-20mins of that with a good dude, mr dan walsh.

good fast start, settled-in behind the usual crew of fast dudes, legs felt fine, didn't have that extra go-go, but wasn't expecting it. thought i could just pace it out, stay steady. what i didn't expect was my inability to see the lines on the super-technical course. rocks rocks everywhere. had a hard time getting going. haven't been on the mtb too much this year, but have been out enough that there's no excuse. ended-up getting passed quite a bit on the first couple laps, took some hard falls chasing lines that just weren't there. by lap 3 i knew where the lines were, started getting in the flow. was riding real steady times, 33-35mins/lap, but as mo bruno of IF said in her race report, "wondering if I was still going forward at all or just bouncing up and down."

ended-up riding with a pack of vet II guys or maybe even masters. not sure if they were local dudes or guys who ride the whole circuit, but for the first time in the EFTA scene, wasn't thoroughly impressed with course etiquette. as one fellow would approach sport racers we were lapping he'd just yell "TRACK!" vs, "on your left." even if lapping someone give them some respect, they're probably in a lot more pain than you. yelling track means, "GET THE F OUT OF MY WAY" which just isn't cool. How 'bout, "on your left, good job, keep it up." that's sportsmanship.

on the 4th lap, about 1m from the finish there was this steep run-up of a climb. i got myself fired-up to charge it and went at it full bore in the 34-32, made it right to the top before stalling-out and falling back hard to the bottom of the climb! now i got a nice bruise on my right hip to match the road rash on my left. nice. but it's better to try and fail than not try at all.

overall, it was a good experience, opened things up, finished 6th in senior II, nothing special, but could be worse.

andy went for a monster ride with CCB instead, was tough decision to do the race vs the base miles, so am back at it hard today. squeezed in 3 hours, hopefully can get a bunch of hours this week, start setting-up the schedule for the mohican 100...

shout-out to all the folks who rocked the 12 hrs of lodi!

to race? to train? or both?

this sunday is the EFTA season opener, the Glocester Grind. from what i understand it's a typical coastal new england xc race. technical rocky singletrack, minor climbs, sandy fireroads, 4 short laps, 22-23 total miles. what i'm geeking-out about is whether i should continue to focus on the base miles with a 5-6 hour road ride on saturday, then an eaasy 2-3hrs on sunday? or train right through this race - something i usually don't do. i'm all about going into events in the best form i can muster (which isn't always much), but with the Mohican 100 4 weeks away, then the mont sainte anne marathon 2 wks later, need to go into that 2 week stretch carrying immense base fitness so i can taper for both events. have asked a few folks whose opinions in these matters is most excellent. across the board the answer has been to rock the EFTA - and train right through it. ouch. as thom mentioned, "you just can't fake efforts like this" and he's right.

i hope everyone else has a great wknd of rides! and good luck at Lodi jm.

Mohican 100!

All signed-up for the Mohican 100! Re-focused on the base miles, will skip this wknd's xc race to get some crazy saddle time w/Andy. Here's a little info from the website on the Mohican course:

"The Mohican 100 in North Central Ohio is refining the course and adding what riders want. This year should prove to be one of the more scenic 100s, already mostly tree covered and 93%+ dirt (the course is still being finalized).

This is a one lap RACE almost entirely in the 5,000 acre Mohican State Park and Foreststarting and ending at Ohio's crown jewel park lodge (adult beverages included with entry fee).

This course was designed in part by a veteran, experienced endurance racer keeping in mind all things loved and dreaded about other courses and assuring all the crap is excluded.

We have stream sections reminiscent of La Ruta de los Conquistadores in Costa Rica (Crocodiles, Giardia, E.Coli and bike thieves left out), a little hike a bike, rock gardens, a long fire road climb at the start to separate the field before the trail tightens down, some fire road recovery sections, "off limits / NO BIKES ALLOWED" trail (we got permission for the day), screaming fireroad descents, tree canopied Amish buggy trails that wind through pristene old growth forests, and some rail beds that have the rails removed, but the stones left in place! to test your stones!

Oh Yea!!! the BEST part, NEARLY 40 MILES OF SINGLE TRACK !!!! YEA, ALMOST HALF THE RACE! Maybe more, if we can find it.

SO even though Ohio isn't the first place that comes to mind when you think of epic mountain biking, take a que from George Clinton "clear your mind and let your ass follow" to the Mohican State Park.

- finisher mugs to finishers, fill 'em at the keg (that's what this brother is talking about!)
- cash and prizes based on entries
- guaranteed to hurt
- total altitude gain in excess of 11,000 feet."

--Garth Prosser, Team Cannondale

Met Garth at the Cohutta, good dude, he won't steer us wrong.

RANT: May 1st was the deadline for the cheap entry, paid a rediculous $8 active.com fee to get it there on time as i'd forgotten my checkbook at home and couldn't mail the entry on the 1st. $8 processing fee!? Come-on now.

Andy's signed-up, Parsons says he's in, Harvey's signed-up, will meet JM - and there's a rumour Lloyd Graves and Co could be rollin' - this is gonna be a sweet-as ride!

Other news: Riding home in the rain last, turned-off Memorial Drive in Harvard, went-down like a sack of trash into the roadway. Wheel just slipped-out on the wet bricks as i attempted to jump a curb into the street. luckily there was 100ft between me and the closest car, plenty of time for them to stop, but ripped-open the road rash from the Cohutta on the left knee and hip. My ego's also pretty beat-up too! Another reason to take 'er easy and ride defensively on the commute - it ain't no game being out there in traffic. One mistake is all it takes. First crash i can remember taking while commuting (minus this black ice thing a cpl winters ago)...

NORBA Nationals Snowed-Out

I'm sure that most of you with NORBA licenses already saw this... i couldn't care less that the venue is changing - and have my fingers crossed it changes to a place not at altitude soon. what's freaking me out is that this is the first yr we didn't fly west to snowboard - and it's the best damn yr in ... well, years! they have a base of 20' and can't hold a mtbike race in late august!? that's some crazy snow. will people ski right-on through the summer in the north facing bowls? is it that epic? crazy...

*********************************************************
2006 USA CYCLING MOUNTAIN BIKE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS TO BE RELOCATED

Colorado Springs, Colo. (May 2, 2006) - Due to massive snowfall on Mammoth Mountain this winter, USA Cycling will be relocating its 2006 Mountain Bike National Championships scheduled for July 20-23.

After a record 664 inches of snow fell this season, Mammoth Mountain has reported a base depth of nearly 20 feet as of May 1 - a figure that ultimately put the resort's ability to host a national championship-caliber event in jeopardy.

"Looking at our snowpack today, I can confidently say we are unable to host a mountain bike event to the quality we are all accustomed to,"commented Bill Cockroft, senior vice president of operations at Mammoth Mountain. "It was a difficult decision, but ultimately we believe we owe it to the mountain bike community to make sure the event continues at the level and standards expected by USA Cycling."

USA Cycling is currently negotiating with several venues to replace Mammoth Mountain and a decision is expected to be announced shortly. We will send out an announcement email when a venue is finalized.

The dates of the 2006 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships will remain unchanged.
********************************************************

In other news, check-out this freeride park opening-up 90mins north of Boston in Northfield, NH this summer. Easy to get to, right-off I93. I'm not into jumping off shit, but it could be a fun way to spend a day on a squishy bike - and i respect what these guys are doing here. it's almost impossible to make a living doing what you love - especially if it's riding a bike...

Doug's back!

Warning, this post has nothing to do with riding.

Red Sox reportedly reacquire Mirabelli

Watched Tim Wakefield pitch another fine game last week - and lose again. Josh Bard, our new back-up catcher can't seem to keep the dancin' knuckler in front of his body. It's a tough job to catch that crap - you have to be part hockey goalie, part cat. Wakefield being the stand-up guy he is, totally defended Bard's catching abilities, even after 10 past balls in 4 games... To me, Wakefield is the heart of this team (we all have to have a favorite player, right?) - and all of Red Sox Nation will breath a giant sigh of relief tonight if Mirabelli is sitting behind the plate... shit, maybe Wakefield will do what he does best against the Yankees - make 'em look like fools, swinging at balls that just aren't where they're supposed to be. At the very least Wake needs to make Damon look the fool. Guy couldn't shave or get a haircut with the Sox, but stuff a few extra bills in his pocket and he'll do anything you ask. And they say money doesn't buy love. But who cares about Damon, we got Coco! not a healthy Coco, but we got him... the best part of watching Wake is when he throws "the heat." guys are expecting this crazed knuckleball and instead Wake tosses a "85mph heater" right down the middle. the facial expressions are classic. the mouth hanging open is disbelief. "I let that go by!?"

baseball in the summer makes me happy. i can't explain it in any other way. it's a soap opera for sports fans.

18" Green & Yellow IFab Steel Deluxe - Stolen from Fairfax, CA

just got a note from Parsons that some asshole(s) broke into his garage in Marin County (Fairfax, CA) and stole his geared IF steel deluxe. 18", green and yellow paint job, xtr integrated paddle shifters, mavic sl wheels, monkey lite carbon risers, thomson stem and seatpost, king headset, fox F80x fork.
if you see this bike on eBay, on Craig's list, or at your favorite pawn shop, beat them stoopid Chuck Norris style, then eat their liver with some fava beans. what shit luck. i know finding a stolen bike is pretty impossible, but thought posting this was better than nothing. why do some people suck? damn. thom doesn't deserve this, he's a pure ride addict, it's not like he's the kind of guy that owns an Audi S6, a couple of ti bikes and drives all of them poorly - that's whos bikes should get stolen! kinda like a "bike tax" for the rich.