preppin' for another hundie

wish i could fired-up about this one the way i was for the wilderness 101. that was the race, the big one, the one i'd visualized since march, riding-up roxbury gap on the cross bike through nasty muddy slush freezing into layer upon layer on the booties... went into the season with one major goal - a top 10 overall finish in the NUE 100m endurance series, hoping to be close to the top 5... but then the seatpost snapped and my season goal was crushed. w/only time to schedule 4 of the races and dnf'ing one, it was ovah - and now that i'm packing-up my gear for shen, it isn't with the same zeal, nervousness, and excitement that usually proceeds such an event. the 12hr drive looms, the green mtn stage race is going-off out my front door, what am i driving down there for?... for a little bit of redemption i suppose, to cash-in all those deposits of pain laid-down this spring and summer... i truly love these events, as andy would say, "more moments." moments of doubt, of joy, the sense of accomplishment - or failure.

so now i need to adjust my thinking and make Shen the Big One! gotta get fired up!!! lots of quality in the legs and this wk, lots of rest. been on the cutting, splitting, stacking wood training plan and feeling good. tendonitis in my right arm has been an issue since starting carpentry work a cpl months ago... excuses, excuses... but it is worrisome. training w/the tendonitis is fine as i can stop and shake-out my hand, get feeling into my fingers, but in races you gotta be on the ball... just takes more focus to ride w/an impairment... need to find the focus, get fired-up!!!!

The Pinnacle

made a last minute trip to The Pinnacle, EFTA NECS #8 this wknd. it being my 5th wedding anniversary i was surprised at the opportunity however unfortunate the circustance. see, miriam also decided to attend the event, albeit with a wound in her leg comparable to a shark or grizzly bear attack. we had to see how miriam was doing, and drat, there's a race involved.

been having good legs all week, pushing hard, shenandoah 100 on the near horizon, last chance to lay-down some quality. a large nail made waste to my only road rims on a ride w/sean up middlebury and app gaps the wknd prior and had been forced solely onto the mtbike, ripping it up and down the Valley walls on singletrack sweeter than any i've ever ridden. hadn't had time to get-out on the singletrack much this summer. just like in winter, can't believe how quick the season flies by, but as usual, find the time before it's too late. smooth and flowing switchbacks through stands of wide Beech, prime black bear habitat, to well laid-out descents through root and rock gardens that i probably shouldn't be bombing alone. nature is so close on these rides, the perfect flow so frequently just out of reach. tuesday, it finally came together on trails not previously explored. good legs help. by wednesday i'd dragged Sean the same way, made a new turn steep down the opposite fall line, soon into blow-downs and junk, ghost trails, then the long hike up the way we'd come... only way to learn unmarked trails is to ride 'em all, even the shitty ones...

but really, the riding is just a subtext to it all, sometimes selfish, other times redemptive, pure, necessary. middle ground is there, been trying to find it, keep to it.

sunday. the pinnacle. pj and crew organize and run great events, build and maintain the trails - and rip it up out there! good folks, this is a favorite race. the singletrack is unrelenting, the climbs for realzy, and the downhills downright epic.

lined-up w/the best in new england, stacked field! had a nice start but felt it quick, soon eased-into it behind 5 others, moody and o'keefe breaking-off the front. schmid and i found ourselves trading places, my hands so numb on the technical descent of the first climb that i wondered how the hell i was gonna do this race, but as i relaxed, so did the grip and by the 2nd descent was in more of a groove on these fantastic trails, yet not anyway near the flow. hit the last descent and i'm over the bars, pedal clipped a rock, somehow land on my feet before summersaulting hard to the ground. back up and to the bike, looks fine, on and pedaling, right foot won't clip in, won't clip in, won't clip in... yup, busted. 2nd pair of crankbros pedals to bust this yr, i'm done w/em. ordered a set of heavier, stauncher shimanos today.

since i was out of it, the rest of the race is thom's tale to tell. can't help but give a quick summary, that dude had a great ride! steady and strong, had a feeling after the first 20-30mins of tough singletrack that i'd see thom before we rode all 27miles of course, gnarly trails and tough climbs are that guy's specialty. nice one. was also great to see how well miriam was doing, spirits high.

GG24

2a, there isn't a hint of moon, starlight on the fireroads, which isn't much, HID casting a long and wide beam, legs pump and churn, out of the saddle on the climbs, on the technical singletrack aim for the middle, the full suspension line, my steel IF hardtail bucking, a flying ghost to the solo riders, many of them deep into their suffering, when will morning come?, the night air refreshing and invigorating, the competition stiff, chasing, can i pull our team a minute or two closer?, john foley somewhere in front, is he standing on the climbs?, did he dab on that pile of off-camber roots as i just did?, got to get it flowing, past a group of racers who've pulled over to let me by up the narrow rocky climb, back onto the fireroad, see the 6m sign, 2.25m to go, push, push, then flying down a well-laid ribbon of moist dirt on the fireroad, "a luge track" as foley calls it, see the entrance to final technical singletrack, stay in middle ring, have to bang this one out, push, push, steep and technical here, "ahhhgggg", in pants, "rider, rider!" to the those pushing their bikes, across the ridge and down hard to the left into a steep overworn descent, out into a massive stand of birch where even at this hr a few spectators clap and whistle, back into the trees, quickly through last piece of flowing singletrack, out into the field, through the skills course, let a little air rip on a burm, through it and mash around the pond, this sprint is always a cpl hundred ft longer than i remember, the bright lights of the tent almost blinding, there's greg, hand-out for the baton, he seems unhurried, but once on the course he is nothing short of a tazmanian devil.

finishing loop
morning
andy


greg

thom and greg, waiting for andy to finish-up
all done
harry takes it! 1st 19-39 soloist, 2nd out of 55 solo competitors, he's cooked! sweet, nice job h-bomb, you the man, fought through bad lights, off the bike for over an hr working it out, fights back for the win!
jason achlich works it out on the ss, winning the ss solo class! nice one dude.
me, harrry and andy, after 24hrs of racin'
igleheart having a laugh
our splits, nice and steady, minus a night-lap issue w/bad lights, everyone did their part, rode as hard as they could, we all had a bad lap or two, but fought back to kill it... and have to mention thom's efforts on his SS - unbelievable!

but it wasn't quite enough for the win! taking 2nd overall to chris, matt, john and... can't remember his name. they took a cpl minute lead early in the night and never gave it up, nice racin' fellas, no mistakes from their camp. thanks andy, thom, and greg for a great one. that was by far the "easiest" 24hr race i've done - it's all about the company! you guys are the shit. thanks to igleheart for dinner and the support, like the use of his lights, w/o'em we'd have been effed. thnks to mike precourt for being the man. miriam, if you read this silliness, get well, heal-up quick and let's ride!

Wilderness 101

fri. made the drive to amish country w/andy, harry and thom, the seven cycles van motoring nearby, skip, lloyd, kerry, greg, and mike aboard - all good folks, all bringing a totally unique personality and reason for loving being on their bikes all day - mike's love was clearest as he yelled and sang, "i'm gonna ride my bike all day, bike all day!!!" during the opening miles. and after hanging w/mike, can't stop yelling, "wet melba toast!"

we pile-out of air conditioned comfort into the stifling heat of coburn, pa, sweating just standing around, so i move slow and drink lots. problem solved, but inadvertantly make everyone wait on me for a mass pre-ride. quick 4-5m jaunt on the technical fisherman's path, chit-chat, jeez these rocks are big... feeling good about saturday.

7a start, not as humid this morning, we're all taking it nice and easy, cpl miles into it i sense we're picking-up, paranoid ab0ut getting stuck back like at mohican, start to make my way forward, 250'ish folks out here, lots of good spirits, slowly move past mike singing the joys of all-day riding. we begin to climb and find myself working harder, eventually see that we're reeling-in someone who's gone off the front, happens a cpl more times. keep moving up, not looking to push the pace, just cruising, see the usual suspects, some not-so-usual, we're all waiting for the singletrack, the big climbs, the hand-numbing descents, the fun!

the road begins to head down to the left and i'm 2nd or 3rd wheel, pull ahead, needed to drive this bus at least once, screaming down, old piranha's not hooking-up well, tap the brakes, need to shed some speed and hear a loud "yip-yip-yeah!" behind, slide to the outside and jb rolls through the corner full-tilt, big smile, me sliding way right barely holding-on. not sure how you couldn't be having fun! past aid 1 and into the first big climb. tinker, josh, harlan, jb, and sam do their thing, take it off the front, i wish harlan the best of luck as he moves along. if you didn't already know, harlan lays it down and breaks the course record! w/ jb also breaking the course record, a mere 5mins in front. harlan certainly has been doing his homework, jb mentions in his race report that harlan picked-up a gear or two this yr, no doubt!

a number of chase groups form, i try to take it easy on the climbs, lots of work ahead of us today, patience always pays. a cpl big climbs and surprisingly tough, fast, super damn fun descents later i find myself working in the midst of a mixed group (ss and geared) of local tough guys, greg, andy. a move is made at the btm of little shingletown, not sure where we are so i work hard to close the 10-15 sec gap, grab greg en route, get-on, group slows. ha.

we all stop at aid 2 and re-load. smaller groups form, find my climbing cadence, which means riding alone, watching as guys come back or move up, constantly yo-yo'ing. take a spill on a high-speed corner, tire simply not hooking-up, rip hip back open, later find that my pump was all f'ed and i had 45psi vs 32 in the front tire, kinda a big difference, one i should have caught. blame the fall on andy's line, wasn't his fault, just pissed-off. up quick and through aid 3. enter a nice singletrack climb, the climbs just don't seem steep today, everything feels so right. cpl miles into it i lay-down a touch more power, have been eating/drinking on schedule, riding conservatively, but experienced enough (finally) to know it can change at any second, need to stay on pace till it's time (last 10m), sitting right where i want to be, somewhere between 8th-12th position, hard to know exactly. start playing with the trail, having a blast. the descent gets pretty narrow, ravine to the right, sandy, scary, make it down and let-out a "whooop!" - that's the best, involuntary "whoops!" good stuff. these trails are gnarly, nice and technical, but good flow, can really roll. the rock types are sharper down here than in new england, more sand, see more folks flatted than any race in memory.

a mile later (mile 60 something), SNAP! my seatpost sheers-off at the seat-tube. hun!? what!? really!? it's sheared-off right at the seat-tube. i try to remove it, no way, then try to push the broken piece down with the seatpost, no go, start banging the seatpost down w/a rock... no dice. a few mins have gone by, cpl riders. i put the seatpost in my camelback and move-on, my race is over, around the corner is greg. flat tire. he's not into it. mentions he's gonna wait for thom and ride w/him. andy rolls-up looking strong. soon we're rolling, i keep-up for a while, then andy is gone, then greg. my feet are burning from standing on the pedals, wasn't bad for the first cpl miles, but by aid 4 (mile 70'ish), i realize this is really over, the sag wagon awaits! sucky.

i felt no guilt in drinking many beers, but do feel bad for telling folks that my fireroad whipe-out was andy's fault. old, bald tires, bad air. not good air. bad air. too much air.

am definitely bummed how things turned-out, was focused on having a good one here and being in the overall top 10 for the 100 miler series... practically took my entire bike apart for maintenance, but never checked the seatpost... next up, the SM100. may not ride so conservatively there, got nothing to lose!

the taper

milkin' the taper. trying to find excuses to sit, on the computer downloading windows updates all day. could unload on how much gates is a pisshead, but it's been done to death. then load and update all the other software necessary to run a small IT / graphic/web design shop from the house. tedious. good for a taper day. ups guy isn't here yet... 420, wonder what he's doing? ordered cpl things i'd like to ride b4 sat 7a... or i could just call it a day, crack a beer and enjoy the taper...

see ya' at the 101.