the jay cometh

holy shit i'm getting fired-up for the Jay. this is it. the last big race of the mtb season (for me). with a baby on the way (aug 29!?), it's all about being home and making sure i don't miss anything important after this.

been waiting on hutchinson piranhas all season through the grassroots gig, never got 'em, so finally ponied-up $85 for a set. since seeing the tread pattern at the Sea Ottah i've coveted these tires. pretty light, fast-rollers, small side-knobs for cornering - but tall enough treads to get some bite.

when new rubber arrives (as it did yesterday), i pump 'em up to 45-50psi and go for a spin. as the tires slip on the technical stuff, i'll stop and let a lb or two of air out until i find just the right pressure. what blew me away about the piranhas is that i never stopped to let air out and in 2hrs of technical trail riding, put a foot down only a cpl times. it was dry out, minimal mud, interested to see how they do in the rain - or flying-down jay peak at 40mph. really wanted them for Dalton as a shake-down, but it just didn't work-out. so far this season i've chosen moderately aggressive tires for the enduros, which really wasn't needed. what i needed was a fast rollah - and i got 'em.

squeezed-out 20hrs last wk (as did Andy), capped it off with an 8hr north shore ride, felt surprisingly good all wk - and am enjoying the massive taper this wk. hoping the golden legs make an appearance soon. would help if i kept the hrs down this wk, but just don't want to get off the bike! have gone for a lot of rides this season when i didn't want to, now i want to and i'm supposed to be tapering-down. D'oh!

have set realistic, yet challenging goals for the Jay. the entrant list is a who's-who of New England racers - and one west coast legend - Tinker! that's right - there's a good chance i'll be rubbin' dreads w/Tinker at the starting line. i've been growing my hair out all season, but it's still got a long way to go to match the big man's. of course, once the gun goes off, that'll be the last i see of Tinker's dreads...