kung fu

kung faux box cutta part 1

kung faux box cutta part 2

kung faux box cutta part 3

fired-up to rock the mohican one-o-o box cutta style!

(thnks to drunkcyclist for links)

Coyote Hill XC - Race Report

hit-up the 4th in the northeast race series, my first real xc of the year. here's the skinny:

sat: slapped some '07 bling-bling xtr dual control levers and brakes on the steel deluxe in about 45mins, they'll be fine, right?

sun: late start to the race, got a touch lost and took a class 4 road that had jenn laughing pretty good while i manuvered the subbie through some pretty wild spots. seneca chose to nap.

at coyote hill was great to catch-up with mo and matt, harry and mike. good peoples. mo went-on to take 3rd in the open women's field, while harry snagged 6th in a large 19-29 expert field.

17 men in the open field, got a bad start, kept shifting my new rapid-rise xtr levers the opposite direction, who the hell puts new equipment on the night before? but, wanted to field test it before this wknd's Mohican 100, been meaning to use this stuff for a month.

everyone was battling hard for their spot. i rode stiffly across the technical 5mile loop, mis-shifting the new rapid-rise stuff less and less as the laps ticked-by, getting more into the flow of the course. rolling terrain with plenty of off-camber roots, tight corners, and high-speed corridors to have the 2hrs whiz by. finished-up in 6th place, 5mins off pace. i apologize to anyone i may have barked at out on the course, gary goodvibes was not my copilot on sunday.

mo having some fun.
thnks to mtbmind for photos. check-out their site for other race photos and whatnot.

race season has begun - for realzy - almost

headed over to the catamount outdoor cntr for some cx style mtb racin' on sunday. it'd been raining off and on in the valley for days, my legs completely shit the bed earlier in the week, so between not wanting to ride in the rain - and having legs that felt like poo -the wkly hrs were pretty low. got-out for a cpl hrs saturday, felt well rested and was ready to open up the engine for the 1st time this yr come sunday, sunday, sunday.

as i cruised out of the mad river valley, rain clouds split and rays of sun began reaching-down onto distant mtns - a streak here and there, one suddenly hitting the road and car. nice! by the time i'd registered and kitted-up, had 15mins till race start. got a monster 10min warm-up in, found a spot in the 2nd row. went on a mass open-field start, the field strung-out straight and true in less than 1k. the course was 5k on open fields w/a cpl little hills to make a move on, and about 1/2 mile of singletrack. a cpl local roadie pros broke the race apart from the gun, eventually taking 1st and 2nd (i think, never saw the results) on their cx bikes. settled into a nice rthym by the end of the 2nd lap, gave-up marking the attacks of a young Ford rider and settled into pace with a cpl other guys, fighting for 5th place. was feeling really fiesty by the middle of the 3rd lap and made a move into a downhill corner, both tires went-out, and i found myself munching grass. quickly re-mounted, and realized the chain had gotten sucked back onto itself in front, pulling and bending my rear hanger. took a deep breath and calmly extricated the chain, bent the derailluer back and was free to play catch-up within 90 secs or so. it was time to let loose, pound on the pedals! good times. by the finish i was staring at the jerseys of the guys i'd be "battling" with before the fall. don't think the race took more than an hour, was glad to get the high intensity effort in and remind myself that the most aggressive line isn't always the smartest, a lesson i need to be retaught a cpl-few times a year.

(stole this pic from the catamount homepage, every post needs a visual, right?).

this sunday is coyote hill xc, the 4th of the northeast xc race series, but the 1st in VT. from here until the end of september, there's plenty to do on wknds, glad to have the mtb racing season back in action.

just riding along

been getting my ride on. headed-out in search of some singletrack, up bragg hill rd into fayston. yeah, crappy view.


i like the casual placement of the old sink, stove and bathtub.


saturday's ride w/mike turned into a bit of a bushwack. yes, we are "riding" mtbikes here. you can kinda see mike's red jersey through the trees. was fun to go play in the woods, get lost for a bit, then of course pop-out exactly where we started.

been into camel's hump forest a cpl times now, looking for more than snowmobile trails or sections of fireroad referred to as mtbike trails. where are you singletrack!?


on monday headed up the other side of the valley, "my" side, in search of a route over Scrag Mtn:


the trail went from fireroad to unridable pretty quick:


then to a "no trespassing" sign. a map i snagged shows a route over Scrag Mtn, gonna keep trying until i scope it out. there's a long along the top of the Northfield Range, gotta be a trail up there, cpl other routes to scope - hopefully not more bushwacking - at least not while being shot at or chased by wild dogs, though the dog thing does get the pedals turning.


bailed off Scrag and headed to what's already becoming "old reliable", the trails of "Dennyland." Being new to the Valley, i have no idea why they're named dennyland... little maze(s) of singletrack.


and back in Boston today. it's an insane contradiction, being back here in the city, riding my 15-20mile route from the north shore to the south end. gotta keep thoughts of home at bay and focus on this lunatic drivers!

first taste of singletrack

all these recent posts, feast or famine.

figured the trails in the lower valley had to be dry by now, mikey j pointed me to the nearest trailhead, about a mile from the house. the patch of woods isn't huge, but i put together a cpl nice 60min loops on dry ridgelines to swampy lowlands, smooth flowing stuff, to rooty technical hills. the day after a long ride was the perfect time to explore, scoping lightly tracked trails into stands of trees, the ribbon disappearing into the leaves, search about, get back on track. left a cpl patches unexplored, a stick ripped the rear brake line out 20mins into the ride, was a pretty wild ride after that. more sun and temps in the 70's have me stoked to get-out later today. head-down to the summer bike shop, stark mtn bike works and chat those guys up at lunch, as the trails near my house are great, but they're just a teeny-tiny patch compared to what's here. so much to explore.

great raffle for a great cause

From a fellow IF racer and blogger...

If you’ve been reading my [Two Wheeled Locust] blog for awhile, you may recall that my girlfriend Samantha is an ovarian cancer survivor. She has been in remission for close to two years and is doing quite well.

Over the past year, Samantha has been raising money for ovarian cancer research through the HERA Foundation. Her latest fundraising efforts involve a partnership with the promoters of the Escape from Granouge MTB race in northern Delaware on May 20th. (Race details are here). Props are due to the race promoters (in particular, Fatmarc) for agreeing to donate a portion of the race entry fees to the HERA Foundation. The attached press release has some additional information about the event and fundraiser.

We will also be conducting a prize raffle at the race. The grand prize is a custom Independent Fabrication rigid fork. There are plenty of other great prizes as well, including an entry to the Stoopid 50 race in State College on June 10th, Hoss riding gear, Solo24 DVDs, and a pair of Maxxis Ignitor 29er tires. Chances are $5.00 each and 100% of the proceeds will be donated to HERA.

Raffle tickets are available in advance through BikeReg here. And of course, we will be selling tickets at the event throughout the day. You do not need to be present at the event to win.

I’d appreciate it if you could help spread the work by posting something on your blog. If you have any questions/comments/feedback, please let me know.

Many thanks,
Elk

good one

was given the green light to ride home from a family visit in campton, nh on sunday. a beautiful sunny sunday morning with family interrupted by my gearing-up for a 100m trek across the spines of nh and vt. but, jenn was adamant about me going, gettin' my ride on. having her support is everything.

headed south on rt 3 down towards plymouth, nh. the route was about as direct as possible, always to the north/west, minus a cpl 4-5m southbound stretches, like the first 5m. as i turned to the north outside plymouth, a 20+mph headwind startled me into the realization that this may not be a pleasure romp through the hilly farms of northern new england!

the first 3hrs went uneventfully, legs fresh from a couple days off. the route i'd chosen through NH was on good, wide roads, aka, windy roads. was glad to cruise into Oxford, NH on the border of VT, knew the roads in vt would be narrower, slightly sketchier, but sheltered. Grabbed some water at a small store and was told of a massive fire across the bridge in Fairlee, possibly blocking my route:



a brisk wind had the thick black smoke and fiery soot blowing the opposite direction, turned off the camera to ride through it in concentration. it seemed like the entire town had assembled to watch the greedy blaze, some of them standing in the smoke, oblivious, awestruck, devastated, maybe all. within minutes the fire had doubled in size, forced into it by wind. i rode quickly through smoke thicker than the heaviest fog, 100yr-old beams snapping and cracking like kindling in a woodstove, ash mixing with the smoke, some of it ablaze.

doesn't look like a massive fire from a mile or two away, but i doubt there's much left of that building today:


followed rolling river valleys, crossing from one to the other on seated climbs. i knew the ridges would keep getting larger as i traveled west through vermont. soon enough, the fire was a memory. the legs felt good and i was mostly stoked, but also missing the family, wondering what in the hell i was doing out here, scenic pastures dotting the wooded hills, a strong sun nullifying the cool headwind, ample rivers and streams to keep one company. due to a late start, the fire, inner-doubts, wind, and a broken chain, was feeling behind schedule and didn't stop to take much rest (camera is good excuse to rest), pushed-on, racing a clock that didn't need to be raced, unsure of mileage w/o a bike computer. it wasn't until i saw the ski runs of Sugarbush and Mad River Glen from Route 64, with only the Northfield Range (Roxbury Gap) blocking my way that i relaxed.

nice thing about riding for 6 1/2hrs through the mtns, there's a always a nice spot to take a rest around the next bend, or maybe the next:


while worn-out today, am excited to get-out for a sun drenched hr or two. there's still great earn-your-turn skiing in the valley and all i've done is cycle the past 6-8wks! feeling a hike up mt ellen today after work, can't wait.

the daily

perfect sunny day. bit of a breeze, hid from it on the dirt roads, didn't ride too much of this:


and didn't go through here:


but saw lots of stuff, like this ... um, sugarshack:


made some calls.
headed up.





and put the camera away.

saw lots of cyclists out today, more sun tomorow. who knows, maybe the mtbike will emerge sooner than i thought? but for the next cpl of days, it's all about the skinnies, cpl good ones planned.

creepy doll

was doing some spring cleaning in our woods and spotted a strange pink plastic object...

brought it up to the house for inspection...



"she" now guards the front of our house lawn jockey style from unexpected visitors - but the creepy crotch hole wasn't enough to keep the Jehovahs Witnesses at bay - they pushed through and gave jenn some pamphlets yesterday. for all we know they were attracted by "her". my neighbor commented, "seen that thing while sugaring for a cpl yrs and was too spooked to touch it." no crap. took me a full 5mins to get-up the nerve to touch it, then bring it up to the house - threw it in the trashcan in the garage and started having horror-movie flashbacks, couldn't have it in the house, that's how they get ya! who knows, maybe i can get water to flow outta that crotch hole into a goldfish pond or something.

it is good

this is a ride.

the weather finally broke in vermont. plenty of clouds and spring rains, but with temps in the 50's, the riding has been great. so many new roads to explore. time disappears when i'm out. earie how quickly it goes by, it's a totally new experience. in boston, most of my riding was commuting - then wknd rides on roads full of those fleeing the city, whizzing by, impatient for their destination. found salvation during mtb rides w/andy on the north shore, romps in the busy Fells kept me sane, but in vermont, i'm a child again, desperate to be outside. so much to see, to absorb. before the weather broke, i'd plan rides only in our valley - up and down one side, across the Mad River and up and down the other - plenty of options, but without great distance, the sense of adventure was not great. with nice temps and non-frozen feet i've been exploring beyond, a sense of adventure rises in the chest.

found myself on a dirt cut-through to moretown gap last wk, passed a gaggle of fellas drinking coors light in their pickups miles from anything. they waved and remarked on the sanity of my skinny tires, told me they were fixing an odemeter, not just sitting around in the middle of nowhere drinking. like i could care? or don't do the same? road narrowed, rugged, to muddy ruts. "not recommended for winter travel" it mentioned. pitch's increased, ruts deepened. got a touch freaked, sliding sideways, chunks of mud flying-up, was smiling like a fool shortly after when back on the gravel. with so much room to roam, i can't imagine being bored - and i haven't been on the trails yet! i feel very lucky to have found such a place to live, to raise a family. i'm very lucky to have a wonderful wife who understands my need to explore - and at the end of each "trip" there is nothing i want more than to be home with them. vermont has awakened me. throughout my life 7a always came too early, now 6a can't come soon enough. not a minute can be wasted.

then back in boston for work. the ride from swampscott to downtown through saugus, lynn, everett is such a stark contrast. an hour feels like much more, the smell of gas and oil permeating the air in everett, cars and trucks gunnin' it to make a sketchy pass only to stop at the next red light as i cruise past and up the road into the next batch of commuting chaos where bostonians fight each other to the death for a car length. the ride back to swampscott is better. the reward of the ocean in a quiet new england seaside town.