ride junkie

retired

2009-05-28T21:27:00.001-04:00

my blogging is retired. see ya'll out on the trails!

Danny MacAskill

2009-04-22T08:02:00.002-04:00

ever enough?

2009-04-22T07:29:00.003-04:00

got a liter of coffee by my side,

this day is cruisin' by quicker than i can get stuff done.

as usual, time is at a premium, but longer days are delivering more of it.

trails are drying, but leaves and blow-downs thick, days and weeks of raking are needed.

a 2hr mtb ride on sat turned into a 4hr bushwack;

should have brought a rake and hiking boots,

should know this stuff by now!

been taking seneca to school in the Chariot,

ditching it there and riding to work.

it's almost 60mins total ride time each way,

not very exciting ride time, but any ride time away from the indoor is good ride time!

hours are shorter this yr, will they be "enough?"
enough to defend a win i never thought possible?

the weather refuses to break into spring,

then again, 50's and misty is spring in VT.

we'll go from winter to summer in a blink,

the leaves will pop and it'll be on,

and i'll lament (again) how i should have ridden more in march and april.
but, (there's always a "but!") when the sun does shine, the snowpack beckons;
the spring boarding has been fantastic;
hard to spin when the lines are still so good!

burn-out struck hard this yr.

big rides in late feb and march wore me out,

a chest infection took hold on a cold 6hr ride and wouldn't let go.

it's been a month and just now feeling fine.

the legs are a' firing, the body willing.

will this be a good yr!?

of course.

but will it be a good yr on the bike?

battenkill

2009-04-12T20:50:00.002-04:00

no time for the blog, barely time to ride. been a touch burned-out the past cpl wks, riding in the cold just isn't doing it for me these days. i worked winter over pretty good, came into spring ready to ride, but just ain't into it right now and when i am, it ain't worth bragging about.

battenkill is next sat, pretty stoked about that. hoping 3wks of riding for half as much as planned has me "rested." course sounds awesome, i'll let the offical posting speak for itself. for now i'm hoping the battenkill breaks me out of this ride depression i got going-on. a cpl wks of sun and temps above 50 would help too!

Battenkill: 2009
By Anthony Mitchell
OK, so there is 1800 feet missing this time around. It has gone from 4500 in 2008 to 2700 feet of total
climbing in 2009. Guess what – It ain’t no easier. The added miles and the extra dirt changes the nature
of the course and you will probably be GLAD those 1800 feet are gone. Not as much climbing, but more
areas where the pitch goes into the double digits and more dirt to rob your momentum.
The first 10 miles are uneventful and with continuous but slight uphill pressure (maybe 1-2% average)
with an abrupt end to pleasantness with the mini-monster (400 meters, 18%) of Juniper Swamp
slamming you about mile 10. The race will viciously split at this point. Juniper Swamp is and always will
be a hallmark of the Battenkill. It can really knock you off your bike. Even if you have the legs to climb,
watch out – this hill has teeth and just might find another way to take you out of the saddle.
After the top of Juniper Swamp, the race really begins to sort itself out. There is 5 mile rolling down-hill
terrain that will keep working you hard on so as to not lose contact or even harder to catch on.
Everybody will be desperately trying to catch a wheel or maintain an advantage. Few large groups will
be coming off the crest and individuals will be strung out. Some will get back together, but this is a GC
influencing area of the course. Afterward, a steady and shallow 4-mile ascent sets you up for a lightning
fast downhill with a moderately severe s-turn in the middle. The pitch of this hill is enough to get you
over 50mph. Next to come is a 5-mile flat section that passes through the village of Salem where riders
can regroup and recover a bit. The road is flat enough to allow a small group to swallow up solo riders
unless they have a big advantage. DON’T BE A HERO HERE. Joe Bean Road is coming and you do not
want to be tired.
Mile 25 is marked by the curvy stair step 2.5-mile Joe Bean Road. This is a tough, tricky climb that can
easily deceive you into believing you are going to get a wee bit of rest when you see what appears to be
a break in the pitch only to realize you hit a false peak and the hill keeps pushing skyward. Many short
sections of between 12 and 15% grade can be found on this hill, each one taunting and insulting you. At
the top, you get a descent that is good pavement for a mile, then changes to dirt for the remaining two
[Ferguson Road]. History indicates that this road is a bit sandy and treacherous despite being relatively
straight. Potholes and loose gravel are waiting there just for you. From there, you are greeted by 10
miles of rolling downhill road into the village of Greenwich. Draft and recover. Let the heroes do the
work. It is easy to go fast here and everyone likely will be.
The village of Greenwich will be a short visit, with two left hand turns fairly close to each other. They
are both downhill, 90-degree turns. Opposing traffic is a huge concern here. Enjoy the spectators. They
seem to enjoy having the racers pass through.
We are now approaching the part that will challenge the weak minded rider’s mettle. It is going to hurt.
It is going to hurt a lot. You had better have had enough water and food by now, because it is officially
too late to do anything if you are in bad shape. You have just over a mile left before the pain begins.
Trust me, there is no guessing, you will know when it starts.
At about mile 40, you are taken behind Willard Mountain, where you are treated to shallow uphill
sections with steep risers every quarter to half mile. For a brief moment there is pavement but when it
switches back to dirt on Mountain road, even the downhill portions are work – they are technically
demanding and can ruin the day of an inexperienced or tired rider. Stay focused. Taking a corner going
downhill on dirt can get a bit nasty. The entire portion at this part of the race demands every bit of
focus you can muster.
Mile 50 by the topography seems to get easy - - Not So Fast! There are a few difficult spots to navigate
that will test your nerve and your skill. Speed on a descent can easily be lost when you slam into a tree.
Sharp technical drops and corners keep it tense. Don’t even think you are getting a break when the road
turns downward. There will be a two miles of easy stuff in a bit, but be afraid, be very afraid. What is
next is not too much by itself, but after what you have been through, it is enough to have a rider seeing
stars.
The final climb at Stage road (55 miles in) starts with a very rude reminder that you are racing the
Battenkill. The beautiful image of the covered bridge you just passed is ruined by an instant 15% grade
up a dirt hill. This is Stage Road. Stage Road follows the format of uphill pressure (3-6% average)
littered with 50 meter of 10-15 %+ grade. There are six or seven repeats of this before getting to the
top. Where the road isn’t dirt, it is rough. You are always working. The weak will perish here. Do not
be surprised to pass racers who took off earlier and bonked. This final hill is going to make big changes
in the GC.
The final descent is consistent, non-technical and on good pavement. It is fast and straight. If you have
energy left, meter it closely, and hold the best speed you can. There are 5 miles left. Time Trial if solo or
hold a wheel if not. One small rise will greet you at the bottom, but that is it. It is time to go for it.
Finish strong and try to look good. Win or not, you accomplished something just by finishing strong.
The one thing that can be said about this course, it definitely is worthy of the reputation the Tour of the
Battenkill has developed over the past few years. Those wanting an early season challenge will not be
left cold. Come prepared and pour your heart out. The challenge, the character and even the cruelty
are definitely, definitely worth the effort.

first day of spring

2009-03-23T07:07:00.002-04:00

winter rides are all about making sure i'm ready come spring - and this yr it worked-out great - sat was mar 21st, spring came rolling-in at 744a and i was ready for a big one. had to carry some extra supplies - a small backpack (empty camelback) for extra clothes and tools, a 6hr ride across roads w/infrequent cell coverage and limited traffic isn't the smartest idea.

sat was a perfect bluebird day, 14 degrees at 7a, but worked its way over freezing by noon. i waited on it to warm-up a bit, got a late start, found myself pushing the early climbs hard, by mile 40-50 was headed into a deep bonk, but sunny skies kept me from completely hating my bike (or myself) once the pain set in. i certainly spent a lot of time thinking about why i do this stupid stuff, why i put myself out in the cold on a beautiful early spring day. i could be soaking-up the sun w/jenn and seneca, instead i was out pushing endless climbs to what end, for what goal?, then i remembered the goal... the feeling of accomplishment that courses through racers not like a drug, but as a drug - earning the right to stand on the top step. hopefully. maybe. if i train hard enough, if the bike holds together, if the body holds together... but i'm getting ahead of myself, it's only the first day of spring!

this ride kicks off w/a slight uphill grade on a mix of dirt and pavement from my house to the bottom of roxbury gap. the gap wasn't bad, i know it so well that it passes quickly, but the slick-as shit dirt descent intermixed w/massive heaves and frozen ruts was gnarly. i'd already taken a spill a few miles back, was tense and tight on the descent, when pavement finally rolled under the tires i raised my arms, pumped the fists and shouted-out like i'd just won the Giro, Jimi (Hendrix) blaring away in the headphones.

got a few mile reprieve up rt 12 before heading-up another nasty climb on rt 64. it seems to go on and on before heading-down into williamstown for a cpl mile break before another 1000ft climb over to chelsea and rt 110 which runs along the scenic First Branch of the White River before i started climbing again up rt 113 towards west fairlee on broken pavement, skipping and hopping across it on 110-115psi tires, not the most comfy way to ride, but better than stopping every hr to fix a flat. i entered a dark place here, so many miles from the end, so many behind, the body hurting, doubts and worries flooding the head so loudly that music became useless and i turned it off, instead focusing on the positive, searching the landscape for interesting farmhouses and views, letting the mind wander and play in an effort to forget the now.

by the time i hit rt 244 around fairlee lake, i was wicked glad to be done w/those 3 monster climbs, but my water was gone and all i could think about was reaching the vt/nh border for a rest stop and big ass sandwhich. 10m later i crawled into Oxford and found myself w/a hankering for egg salad, an unusual choice to say the least, but i've learned that it's best to listen to the body, feed it what it wants and see what happens (this approach is successful about half the time!). the first 60miles had taken 4hrs, but i had a promise to keep that i'd arrive by 4'ish, so it was definitely time to suck it up and hammer this beeyatch out!

got back on the road w/a full stomach, but ready to puke-out eggs, mayo, and potato chips, and way cold from the 15min stop and chomp. time for a safety break. the entire ride had been about sweat management, taking layers on and off, off and on. the body warmed-up quick, but the desire to puke stuck w/me until the power returned on 25A up and around the incredibly scenic Mt Cube on pavement so riddled w/frost heaves that it was no wonder that i saw zero cars along this entire stretch, my neck and arms were beginning to talk to me - but luckily when the power returned on the climb it came-on gangbusters - going up the slight grade was almost effortless - the power of egg salad is not to be underestimated!!! the last 40m flew-by, with at least 20m of it running down along Pond Brook and Baker River into Plymouth towards the ragin' Pemigewasset. i pushed-on up rt 3, bonking hard as i reached my sister-in-law's house (on-time!), happy to set-up a chair next to the fridge, pulling anything even slightly resembling food into my mouth, chasing it down w/giant gulps of beer, some of it slopping and dripping down the corners of my mouth, going totally animal on it.

one monster ride down, only about 30 to go. they only get better from here, can't wait for the next one. have to put-out a big thanks to my LBS FitWerx for setting me up w/a new-to-me (free) front derailluer that got my falling apart road bike rolling again - and for a comfy and power-maximizing fit on my rig, their fit services are the best upgrade i ever invested in - check 'em out in peabody ma or waitsfield vt...

1-0-0 . 1

2009-03-20T07:25:00.001-04:00

the day before a big ride, especially early in the season, is always exciting. after a winter of indoor trainer and studded tire, freeze-my-feet off rides followed by a few wks of mild temps (and longer spins), the fitness seems to be returning. constant soreness is a good indicator that i'm doing all i can (or that i'm getting old and not stretching). that aside, it's time to turn up the volume, it's time to get this party started w/a solid century. tomorrow's route is a favorite, the 100.1m backroad trek from waitsfield, vt to campton, nh. 3 big ass climbs to get out of vermont, then tired legs pushing hard across 50-60m of rolling terrain. early morning temps barely above 10 certainly aren't optimal, but at least the dirt gaps will be nice and hard vs a soft mucky mess - and by the time it warms above freezing i should be crossing onto the smooth roads of NH... i love the day-before feeling before a big ride - on a day you know will be sunny and bright - on a route you love - for the first time (or anytime) of the year... the season is on!

sun!

2009-03-16T15:32:00.003-04:00

"Democrat Elijah Cummings on AIG announcing $160 million in bonuses for top execs after receiving $180 BILLION in bailout money:

"It's like, OK, you got to help me screw you. And by the way I'm going to take your money and I'm going to slap you with it." "

"There are a lot of terrible things that have happened in the last 18 months, but what's happened at AIG is the most outrageous", said Mr Summers.

crazy stuff. almost as crazy as this break in the weather! sun, sun, sun. no time to write, just time to ride, work, hang w/the fam, and of course, drink beers. beginning to feel fit, can't wait for this season to kick-off at the battenkill road race on april 18th...

pow!

2009-02-23T20:39:00.005-05:00

my ride streak ended at 10 or 11, but was replaced w/an unbelievable 4 day powder streak. we've gotten 6' of snow in the last 4-5 days; in unfrequently traveled glades it is bottomless, elsewhere just epic. where are we again!? talked daren into driving over from the north conway area to enjoy today's pow-pow feast only to have both mtns shut-down for wind. we rose above, strapped on packs and got-in some amazing tracks. unfortunately, life calls and my powder streak will end at 4 days... might as well start-up that riding streak again, battenkill will be here before i'm ready...

9 days in a row!

2009-02-18T08:07:00.001-05:00

no complaints today!
it was the 5th consecutive day i rode outside and the 9th day i'd ridden in a row!
warm temps melted-off a lot of our valley snowpack, but left us with amazing dirt road and snowmobile trail riding (below 1500 feet).
feeling like a bike racer again, at least a mtnbike racer, not sure what it takes to feel like a roadie.
but, talking 'bout being a roadie, just got into the Battenkill masters 30+.
that should thoroughly kick my ass.

my road bike (lemond carbon/steel) group is shot, drivetrain shot, 5+yrs of hard use. can't decide between shimano and sram... any inputs from cyberspace?

i leave my office driveway, head west and within a mile am climbing roxbury gap:

riding at dusk can get a bit brisk, but great views help the chill.
these days, 20 degrees feels balmy.

compressed

2009-02-11T21:01:00.005-05:00

regular trainer time at 8,9,10p is never fun.
it's desperation.
must stay in shape.
must wind down.

as usual, been multi-tasking on the indoor,
lots of studying, some work,
too much to do right now,
gotta make sure i really enjoy those down days,
sometimes it can be hard to let go, to relax.
when's spring!?

but not complaining, at least not trying to.
there are a few, if not a dozen powder days left,
then tuckerman's.
can't wait for that one.
old school crew. new school. who the f knows what school. crazy mother effers mixed all in.

and the rescue heli at the ready for the boneheads.

time

2009-02-03T22:46:00.001-05:00

it's crazy.
the older i get, the better it gets.
time can be tight,
but so much more is accomplished.
the problem is, time is rarely not present...

among other things, bike riding removes time - once the route is known.
set paths deliver us in a timely fashion to our destination, the mind is left to wander and graze.
this morning's ride was a reminder of how much i miss losing time;
losing myself, and in so doing, being refreshed.

winter is the toughest season.
time shrinks with the sun,
rides are buried under drifts of snow.
stresses build like faults.

amazing off-piste ski/snowboard runs certainly help, last wknd's run was incredible.
it's only tuesday and i'm already daydreaming of the next journey into the steep basin that lies on the eastern flanks of our ridge...
but, the outdoor rides must increase - and a commitment to xc skiing fully explored.
gliding across fields, churning-up hills, and holding-on for life on descents could be just the ticket for losing some time...

snow

2009-01-30T22:01:00.004-05:00

since it's not (bike) riding season, i haven't felt compelled to write in the blog, but the jonsing has begun - the need for ribbons of dirt, long climbs, and technical descents has set into my thoughts, except when out on the snow - it can temporarily quench the need to pedal. luckily, deep (for us east coasters!) untracked lines are plentiful outside the resort boundry if you know where to look - or are willing to explore. i rarely take my hands out of the gloves to snap a shot in the stuff and when a mature grove of trees opens up a few dozen perfect turns, stopping to take a photo is the last thing i'm thinking about! here's a crazy bear-den "breathing hole" mikey-j pointed-out on last wk's woods-woods run:

our main ski bowl is protected black bear habitat, pretty wild to bump into one hibernating... mike's a great companion for these off-piste adventures, always willing to go deeper, and in the scrub pines at elevation, break trail on his tele's for my snowboard; the board's not the best tool for the job in that stuff, but it sure is fun when things open up. we stumbled into a river bed shortly after the below shot, a magical natural halfpipe - the best 2-3 dozen turns i may lay-down all season - or at least until tomorrow morning when we head-out looking for new lines.

and then there are my snow rippin' neighbors! - a bunch of guys of similar age who love to ski/ride - it is sweet having so many passionate outdoorsfolk right out the door!

snow aside, bike time has been decent (barely acceptable) for this time of yr. i ride to work once or twice a week, temperature rarely matters, -10 is about my limit, and after getting-out for a cpl ass-freezing rides like that, 20 degree temps are downright balmy! it's all about the gear. if you can ski/board, you can ride yer bike. indoor trainer time has been in effect, maybe 4-5hrs/wk, just enough spinning to keep the legs going, the muscle memory there. time is tight and by the time i get onto the indoor at 8 or 9p, i just spin easy, watch a movie, try to unwind from the day... saturdays are my "big" ride days - my usual 10, 12, or 15m massive vertical dirt (ice and snow) ride w/the studded tires. around here riding in the winter is a trip, you yearn for the 45+min warming climbs and dread the freezing 5-10min descents. the other day i got home, pulled-off my shell and the entire inside was coated w/a layer of ice. those thin wicking layers really work!

my winter riding gear:
smartwool socks (medium weight).
winter bike shoes - or shoes with good covers.
toe warmers if below zero.
craft or ibex winter riding pants.
a pair of chamois.
one silkweight long sleeve capilene shirt.
one silkweight long-sleeve zip-neck wool shirt.
one long sleeve winter jersey (good wicking one).
single layer shell w/pit zips.
craft head/face cover.
fleece hat.
helmet.
mittens - not gloves - gloves if it's 20-25 or above.

and you're ready for temps down to -10 or so for at least 90mins... riding in the winter is ... better than not riding at all! it's all about the gear. i don't think i bought a single item mentioned above - over the yrs, at xmas, b-day, etc, this stuff has slowly built-up. thanks dad, thanks jenn, i'm finally able to ride in the winter in total comfort. i'm hanging w/seneca this morning while jenn rips-up the powder, but already day-dreaming of this afternoon's snow-ride, but first, i think seneca and i will head-out for some sledding. "weeee daddy!"

Bushism

2009-01-08T11:23:00.002-05:00

"I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office." - George W. Bush, Washington DC, 12 May, 2008

Thanks Bubba. Truly inspirational.

'08, over and done

2009-01-05T22:18:00.002-05:00

it's over. 2008. my nearly 3 month break is over. time to get pedaling for '09; back to cramming it all in. work. school. training. family. sleep. and some partying. after the break riding is fun again, sometimes even on the trainer. but not tonight. my legs are hurting, hard to ignore the pain w/typing or youtube, had to grab a beer. it works for me.

'08 was a weird ass yr on the bike.
late start to training,
poor results all season,
but riding more than ever, probably too much for racing.
eased-up in mid august and was flying after that.

got to ride for 7-8 days on the colorado trail w/andy, tim and glen.
wicked!
andy's a good bro, the best, and getting to know tim and glen on the trail was great.
go team.
we found our weaknesses, or at least i did.
the high mtns were, for me, insanely beautiful while wildly overwhelming.
cloud banks had me spooked, thunder uneasy.
but the views.
and the climbs.
and the hour long descents were incredible.
couldn't have asked for better company or weather.
we just didn't know shit.
and it was a blast.
need to write that story-up one of these days.
a cpl of andy and tim's pics:

was out for at least 90mins sunday w shawn p,
perfect weather for it, dirt roads nice and firm.
but 16 degrees takes a lot out of you.
i needed a long nap by the fire to get me going again after that one.

this yr's plan isn't much different that last yrs, but need a new goal. ideas are appreciated! maybe work on my road license a bit, defend the 50, maybe a cpl local xterra's, or back into the NUE 100 mile series? it is the perfect distance... but after colorado, i'm looking for longer days in the saddle. glen mentioned kokapelli, sounds good to me, but early for me... babble, babble, babble. time to get to bed.

winter break

2008-12-20T21:42:00.008-05:00

i've had indoor trainer writer's-block and more notably, indoor trainer rider's block. since almost all my posts, no matter the season, take place on the trainer, this blog has been sidelined.

school is over until jan 12, i was totally burned-out by the end. a lot on the plate for next semester, but 4 wks off should be enough time to get psyched-up for it. been recovering with snowboarding, learning to xc/skate ski, and whining about my steadily declining bike fitness.

three months have past since the great swell of the season's peak crested. i'm in the trough of it now. luckily i haven't hit shore yet, the ride hopefully has one more crest, even though i complain to anyone who'll listen that i'm a donut. jenn's been patient with it so far, but it's only december and the swell is a long ways off and this is her 7th or 8th "wave." it's almost time to start kicking into the next one, a 10p sat night ride in my boxers kicking things off t-nite. definitely weird.

early season on south didn't dissapoint once, crazy stuff considering the crazy weather. i hear some mid-week days got firm, but i was on edgable, riping, fun stuff since turkeyDay, cpl powder days, some man-made powder days:

mellow woods lines opened-up early, haven't been in much since. 2nd day out down lew's line had me bugged-out a bit; next time around was laughing and letting-out spontaneous yee-Haws!

have been keeping-up with the sunday (8a) morning snowboard runs, cpl other days in-between. solid day w/chris (loomis) last sat, crazy conditions, perfect for a snowboard. the ice storm that crushed lower ne mostly spared us, a fine freezing mist formed a crumbly crust over 8" of powder. we'd lean way bag, legs burning and shatter through it, ripping almost anyline we wanted w/the reistance of the ice crackling under and behind us, perfect day for a snowboard, skis more difficult to keep up, so it was practically all ours - on chris's birthday nonetheless.

it's wild that just about everyone in the neighborhood skis/rides, all rip, most with a unique style. my style has changed a lot, smoothed-out from neighbor's tips and teniques, i've picked-up a lot from bill's flowing, movement orientented surf-style, he's gliding, it's sounds easier than it is. the word "gliding" almost presupposes that the task is easy, when instead it is a fluid flowing balancing act of muscle reflex action and reaction. this year i've been trying to go a bit bigger and have found that it takes fresh legs for landing; unfortunately, tired legs are capable of take-off. it's been fun trying, the rush is there in the air.

why rip your knees off or cross decks when you can dangle in comfort? ingenous!

andy took a much needed vacation day for mt ellen's opener.

a crushed blood vessel in his leg was a pissa! crazy injury, out for the day 3 runs into it.

andy's sent some photos since, a foot swollen-up like a salami. before this wknd i was 0-3 on wknds destroyed due to injury when traveling w/andy, i'm still in the red on that debt. hope you heal-up quick and glad you made it out in one piece! it was good to get together.

dec 25th update:
i've been meaning to finish this post for days. currently squeezing-in some indoor time while seneca naps, xmas day or not, a little exercise hits the spot - and the mtn is looking cold and firm today... after 4 days of fantastic powder! it's been a good last few days. merry christmas, happy holidays and may the new year kick some serious ass.

powder day!?

2008-11-24T20:10:00.000-05:00

magic snow. on friday you could see the cloud line hanging across the much higher western ridge, moisture getting run-out of the air and stretching for only a mile or two as a wall of cloud before dissipating into rolling squalls, blue sky in spots above our house on the eastern slopes only a few miles from a solid dump in the mtns. saturday it clouded up and snowed in earnest up high, then on sunday blue skis greeted us in the morning. i was all smiles knowing a patch of powder may still be left for those desperate enough - and a minivan packed full of fanatics would be by shortly to take me to it. with only a few runs open the lower groomed slopes were crowded, but one moguled black was ready; the organgrinder was sweet! snow guns were going full bore, making the snow thick; get too far forward on the board and it'd take you down in a spiraling cartwheel, too far back and you're flying full-out, legs not quite ready this early in the season to get on the brakes. 2hrs was enough for my first day...

stick season

2008-11-13T15:34:00.004-05:00

things have been hectic, not a lot of riding, it's weird without it, without the quiet time, the efforts, the need to eat everything, but it's coming back around. i started working here

and steady cx bike rides of early fall disappeared under a sea of chores, school, work, and plenty of solid socializing to make the previously mentioned flow great; but once again, come fall, i couldn't find time to race cx; seems like a waste of fitness, a whole season's worth of rides turned to potatoes in a month.

but, life is re-sorted and it's nice to be riding more than before; the commute doesn't suck one bit. a few miles of dirt rd to a few miles of winding back road pavement, open views of the mtns the whole way. while i was away from riding the past month, leaves were exchanged for bare branches; stick season is on.

waiting on the snow now. more anxious than i can remember. and i'm psyched to be psyched for it; it's fun, like a kid waiting on xmas.

hunting season is on, trails closed. dirt routes that were warm-ups in summer are full work-outs now. rollers have become climbs... and so it goes full circle once again. soon, i'll be really out of shape and dreaming of ramping it back up. maybe i am already. it always seems to happen naturally. ride when i can. ride more. then some more. then even more. race here. race there. enjoy big fitness. life catches up. no time to ride. then it starts all over...

sanctum

2008-10-13T08:52:00.002-04:00

last week, on a quick mid-day ride on singletrack that's quickly disappearing under a layer of orange, red, brown and yellow leaves, I stopped to find my way, the path hard to discern through the stand of mature maples and beech - and found myself entranced by a sound rarely heard - the quiet rustling of leaves as they fell in a steady shower from the branches, 30, 40, 50 feet up. all around me they fell, a steady shower of color, backlight by another bluebird day, shining and fluttering to the ground. in these moments, a little bit of peace is found, a sanctum from the daily grind. my church and my god. the camera, at home as usual, wouldn't have captured the moment as it was as much inside as out. instead, the moment sits in my mind, to be dwelled upon as the stresses of the week mount - and w/everything to be done, the calm of that moment will be called upon a lot this week.

a long fall walk w/jenn and seneca yesterday morning, then a cpl hr bike ride together in the afternoon, seneca in the chariot, smiling and laughing, pushing me to sprint the hills, "faster daddy, faster!" "WHHEEEEEE!" we took the adventurous route, just the 3 of us on one-lane class 4 roads, the leaves bursting w/color. what a great day. another moment to put away and dwell upon during the stresses of the week.

a(nother) BIG Kahuna!

2008-10-05T22:50:00.006-04:00

my head is still clearing, my legs still aching. 103 riders set-out to conquer the fabled trails of boston's north shore; crippler, ancient line, g-spot (to name a few). beverly to gloucester all on singletrack, not a lot of miles, but this isn't ordinary singletrack. the night before andy, thom, daren, brad, ken and i decided emptying andy's fridge of beer, including the hard lemonades that have been sitting waaaay in the back since '89, was a great idea - and it was - until 7a the next morning - after hitting the sheets at 4. but we were all smiles on this one. even when running into the woods to rid ourselves of the poison or managing bonks that became frequent and harsh come afternoon. these are the trails - and the guys - i learned to ride a bike with. insanely technical rock gardens that resemble bouldering fields more than mtnbike trails, mingled w/flowing ribbons of dirt punctuated by steep climbs and brown-eyed brake descents. if your stomach isn't against the back of your seat, you're not far enough back. awesome stuff. we had all sorts of bikes out there - from fully rigid ss, to 6" travel, we "rocked" the kahuna, arriving nearly last to lobsta'land for the haddock we'd been dreaming about since 7a... good times. thanks for another great ride! and thanks to andy (and his neighbor's patience) for the pre-kahuna party! can't wait for next yr.

6hrs of windshield time was well worth it.

9a head count. montserrat train station. beverly.
daren. all smiles, to the end.

brad survived the biggest, baddest bonk ever conceived, but he found the power to sprint when he saw the lobsta'land sign!
thom. ss. rigid. root66 series champ. dreamy.

red rocks, great view.

lobsta' land!

The VT 50! race report

2008-09-29T09:00:00.017-04:00

i won the fifty!!
i'm in bike racer la-la land.
i should be reading Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground for my 230p class,
but i simply cannot concentrate.
memories of the fifty keep floating to the surface.
it doesn't seem real.
the fifty has been the goal all season,
for a cpl seasons.
i told jenn that if i won the fifty, i could "retire" from bike racing.
of course, when i said that, i didn't really think i'd do it.
i'd have to ride so far above my ability,
it was too much of a reach,
too many things would have to go right...

8500 ft of climbing over 50miles, this course never lets-up!

the wk leading-up to the race i slept a ton, rode for maybe 5hrs, tried to eat right, tried not to split too much wood, and tried not to geek-out about my bike, which is almost impossible when you're a bike freak. when it became clear a tropical storm was gonna dump its load on the event, i headed to bike29 in waterbury to talk tires w/a true tire guru, george (the owner). we talked rubba for almost an hour - and in the end i went with his suggested combo - a wtb prowler sl 2.1 in rear and a bontrater jones xc in front. to make this tire combo really rock, i paired 'em up w/a new set of stans 355's w/american classic hubs, shaving at least 8 ounces of rotational weight from the bike. i felt this change immediately, the bike was livelier and simply easier to pedal. i had a bit of an issue getting the prowler to seal-up on the rim and was kinda freakin' about it, even hopping-off to check the pressure twice during the race, but it held-up great, rolled fast, and stuck to the wet roots like crazy - maybe the best wet / mud tire i've ever ridden, thanks george!

camped-out w/andy (sanidas), (christopher) igleheart, tim (cook), and matt. matt earned rock-star status for tossing-down a lot of beers, then killin' it on his ss sunday. good folks to chill w/before a race, no talk of the race, just shooting the shit.

i woke-up at 1a, ready to go. 3hrs later i hopped out of bed (ie, the back of my car) and knew the legs were there, they felt springy, i was alert (even w/o java!). it was gonna be a good day. the 6 bagels i forced myself to eat over the previous 2 days (on top of my normal pre-race eating regimine) had the fuel tanks maxed. added to that were 3 Airborne tablets per day (all wk) to fight-off a cold i had tingling my throat all wk, i was energized. a cup of dank, dark coffee and a bunch of oatmeal later, we were in the parking lot of the fifty, gearing-up in balmy 55-60 temps, the heavy rains had held-off, a mist sat in the valleys and on top of the ridges, the air was thick with moisture.

615, the sun hadn't risen yet, 600+ riders were staged for the start. from the gun will latendre took off. fast. (EDIT: i've been told it wasn't Will, but john foley who was the early rocket, couldn't tell w/the black windjacket on), john foley, greg montello, kurt schmid, chris gagnon, thom parsons, kristopher dennan, myself, maybe a cpl others made chase. i can't remember a fifty ever starting this fast. when we hit the first hill, Will attacked it like he was shot-out of a cannon - my legs were there, already burning, but i figured, if i'm gonna go for it, i gotta stay w/the 2 time defending champ - within minutes it was down to kristopher, will and i, the sound of our breathing and creaking gear changes mixing w/the mellow tones of dew dripping from the trees above and the crunching of wet leaves under the tires.

for the first 25 miles Will crushed the climbs, and i would reel him back in on the descents, sometimes dennan (EDIT: i thought i'd ridden those early miles w/Will and Tyler, it was kristopher dennan not tyler) would go w/him on his attacks. but dennan had forgetton his water btls and by mile 30 was zonked - we had skipped every aid station but one, and dennan had subsisted on a tiny cup of water every 5-7 miles. it was not enough. he'd rally after getting btl feeds at mile 31. he was riding incredibly strong and may have been there at the end if he'd remembered those btls. i was worried about that guy for those first 30m; i guessed his approach was similar to mine, a vermont mtn goat "hiding-out" in his training cave all season, not all burned-out on racing like most folks this time of year.

when we hit the singletrack at mile 30, which dominates the race until the end, Will graciously let me take the lead, his skills on the technical damn fine, but i was a touch quicker on the corners and the descents. he was strong enough to have gotten in front, forced his pace, but not his style, instead he chased. i'd open a small gap, only to have him right back on me. i don't think we were ever more than 100 feet apart the entire race. it was wicked intense. attack after attack. and in the back of my mind i knew there was a possee of strong dudes behind us, waiting for us to slow, to see us in the distance, so Will and I kept the pressure up from the gun to the finish; we never once sat-up on a fireroad to eat a bar and chat, it was more of a hurried grab into a pocket, the other person would push and it was back to business - and it showed in our finishing time, how much of a gap we created on the rest of the field.

the wet dirt roads, muddy double track, and slick singletrack roots were eating away at our strength - this wasn't an buffed-out uber-dry gonna-set-the-record fifty course. with 4m to go, after the last aid station i rubbed wheels w/Will and went-down, he attacked (or maybe not, by now every acceleration felt like an attack), which makes sense, we'd both "attacked" about 100 times by now, we both wanted it. i quickly closed the gap and made my own attack. we must have changed the lead 10 times in those final 4 miles up and across mt ascutney. our attacks were growing shorter and feebler, the final miles were a wicked climb, legs toasted, it was becoming clear this was gonna come-down to the final descent. will grabbed the lead at the 1m to go sign, i clung-on, reminding myself again and again that he'd won this thing twice in a row, it was "my turn", i wanted it more. i buried myself. the pain had been there all race, rarely let-up, but it never was a bother, the desire to win was greater than i can ever remember, surpassing everything else my body was saying. with 1/2m to go we shot-out onto the ski slope and both flew-off the mowed course and down the slope, totally out of control. we cranked back up insanely fast, my head was spinning, sooo shot, and into the trees one last time, i right behind, waiting for the last stretch of ski slope that leads into the finishing descent to make my final attack. as we hit the grass for the last time i swung around w/everything i've ever put into the bike, the 44x11 churning away, the rigid fork flexing like crazy through the water bars, hit the final bridge before the 100m straight-away descent to the finish and found myself flying through the air sideways, hitting the grass, sliding for what seemed like an endless distance, screaming "NOOOOO" in my head, thinking i'd lost the race. i was up in a flash and alone - will had taken his own monster wipe-out on the previous corner, allowing me to speed down the straight away, arms raised, fists pumping, finishing first! in 4:30, 12 minutes faster than my personal best, and in a lot worse conditions. i simply rode outside of myself, beyond my ability - it was crazy!

and that's my story. it was awesome. epic. amazing. Will was a great guy to race against, all class, incredibly tough. thom took 5th overall on his ss! greg in the top 10, andy not far outside that on his ss. thom and andy would have both taken podium honors for ss if they had signed-up as ss, but w/ss starting in the 3rd wave, behind 200 people, it makes for a lot less fun... thanks to miriam (and amy) for being out there, cheering me on - and to jenn for putting-up w/me all yr w/this insane bike racing addiction i got going... to IF for the Ti 29'er Deluxe, and to Igle for the rigid fork, that thing rocks!

50k and 50m runners are mixed w/the bikers in the results, so it's kinda confusing...

will letandre and family:

pics lifted from vermont50.com linked sites.

mmracing team launch - Wheelworks, Belmont MA

2008-09-26T13:28:00.002-04:00

check it out all you bostonians:

"There are big changes afoot for team Matt and Mo. Please come celebrate the kick off of the cyclocross season with a team launch party at Wheelworks in Belmont on Friday October 3rd from 7-10 pm.

We've got an incredible new sponsor to announce and raffle prizes from our dedicated sponsors. There will be beer from Harpoon and prizes from Embrocation Magazine, Chinook, Michelin, Mad Alchemy Embrocations,
Pedros, Bowchies, the Atomic Cafe and a rapidly growing list.

Can't make the event? You can still buy raffle tickets through BikeReg

For more info, email me or go to www.mmracing.org."

fall

2008-09-22T08:25:00.007-04:00

fired-up the woodstove this morning,
leaves are turning,
ribbons of singletrack are sprinkled w/color.
summer goes fast in vermont,
not complaining,
but not ready to get the board waxed.

hunting season heralds the official end of mtnbiking for me.
at least until i own a bright orange bike.
but, still have 6 weeks of dirt,
no reason to dwell on the end.
this is the best riding of the season.
full of fitness,
the skills fresh,
it comes easy,
the flow tapped into w/o thought.

been thinking about the great rides of fall.
the vermont 50 is this wknd, by far my favorite event of the year.
then the Kahuna, maybe the greatest group ride ever conceived.
wonder if brad and daren will make it down.

decided to go into a massive 2 week taper,
maybe a bit too much beer drinking,
like to think of it as glycogen loading.
figure the season is just about over,
might as well go into the 50 way rested.
and w/a cpl lbs of extra power.
as an old friend who sold weight-loss pills told his extra-sized customers,
"think of all that fat as a giant battery,
we gotta tap into your power!"

enough blabbering,
time to go split and stack wood before class.
splitting wood is great in that you get heat from it a cpl-few times -
in the cutting, splitting, stacking - and burning of it.
or at least that's what i've been told.
i like the positive slant on it.
but, i won't be doing much of it 2nd half of the wk.
the vt50 taper includes the arms.
the rigid gauntlet has been thrown!
(by thom and andy).
as i said to them,
"aahhhh shit,
gotta step up!"
but to the ss?

new mtb cats announced by usa cycling

2008-09-15T10:40:00.003-04:00

most of you have probably already seen this. those on high in colorado springs have decided there will be no more beginner, sport, expert, semi and pro, now it's 3,2,1,pro. makes sense. bigger fields at national events, more chaos for national caliber pros and up-and-comers. why not? my only comment is that they should just force all semi-pros to become pros (to get the field sizes up) instead of giving us a choice between 1 (age class splits) and pro. or at least added a "NO SANDBAGGIN!" comment or something. maybe something like, "if you sandbag, we will be forced to tattoo the letter L (for 'loser') to your forehead for the rest of the calendar yr."

instead they said:
“We want bigger pro fields in the National Calendar events so our racers can better prepare for international competition like World Cups and World Championships,” said Fisher. “Our pro fields are tiny compared to our European counterparts. We have the numbers in terms of ridership, but we’ve been referring to them as Semi-Pros.”

so be it. i don't care if i'm labeled a pro, a semi-pro, or a bowl of jello, i'm gonna race the same. the only difference will be at the occasional NMBS race i do, where i'll be riding my ass off to not get lapped. kinda like getting chased by a grizzly bear. well, not really. bad analogy. too much homework to do right now to think of a good one!

groovy-uvy?

2008-09-11T07:30:00.003-04:00

veiw from my art class

i'm told uvm, where i'm going back to school, unfortunately not rodney dangerfield style, is not the pot smoking mushroom eating college mecca that it once was, aka, Groovy-uvy. personally, i'd rather compete for grades w/folks who are stoned, but word on the cobbles is that uvm has made some big improvements. new facilities, building updates, smaller classes, a focus on diversity, excellent online tools; overall, a well-balanced education comparable to that of a smaller liberal arts college. at 33, i'm a bit past joining a frat and instead have found myself in the sweet spot for getting my learn on; have been savoring the experience, and have found the other students accepting of my presence - and their perspective(s) on topics fresh. so far, due to entrance requirements, i've taken (or am taking) psychology, philosophy/religion, art, geology, english (sci-fi and fantasy!), and finally Java programming, my first computer science class (my major) - and i'm only in my 2nd semester. this mix has (and is) truly richening my perspective and been incredibly interesting. of course, front-loading all my electives is going to make future semesters extra challenging, but so be it, them's the rules for sneaking-in the back door. if only i could get in the way-way-back machine, 15 years worth, and smack some sense into the teenage me, life would be a whole lot easier right now - and my career a few yrs ahead. some things you (I!) can only learn the hard way.

on a sidenote, tim cook, one of the fellas i rode across colorado with, is now an assistant professor at uvm, a strange coincidence. yesterday i was chatting w/a classmate and she mentioned her geology prof was a younger guy. of course, it turned-out to be tim, who she said was kickin' some geo butt, keeping it interesting. sweet! i can't imagine teaching a 200 person lecture class (and making it interesting) is an easy task. i suppose, if you can ride the colorado trail smiling the whole time, you can tackle a lecture hall!

tim and andy kickin' it at 12,000 ft colorado style.

enough about getting my learn on, today i need to get my interval on. in boston, when bike commuting, intervals were commonplace, it was called "trying not to get killed." in rural vt, i actually need to plan workouts sometimes. as anyone who trains understands, intervals are no fun, made worse by afflicting them upon yourself by yourself. i'm not into hrm's, so i just do them until i want to puke. kinda like splitting and stacking wood which i do until i want to poke my eyes out.

enough of this ramblin', time to get to work!

Millstone Grind race report

2008-09-07T21:20:00.008-04:00

the millstone grind course was superb; classic new england singletrack, rooty, rocky stuff. great fun, test of skills, hard to ride on "the limit", had to be in control, cheating corners usually had me dabbing or on the ground, baby-heads would jump-up and grab a pedal, but mostly i was loving the ride - the rigid fork was great, really fun in the rollers, pump-track riding. worries evaporated and my only regret was forgetting my gloves at home. a last minute 2nd wrap of gel tape on the bars was great, almost completely eliminated the usual vibrations and subsequent hand numbness. the lack of long, rocky descents helped a lot too as those are usually the downfall of the rigid fork. on friday's pre-ride, the course was crazy-dry. rain showers sat changed things-up a bit, bridges got slick, as did roots and goat climbs. skid turns and rear root-slides were in order, this was old-school ne singletrack at its best.

i took the lead into the singletrack from the gun. as i pushed the pace, i'd make mistakes, wasn't riding very cleanly when nearing the limit. my rear tire wasn,t hooking-up at all, so stopped on a dab to let-out at least 5lbs of air - and begin the chase. with the tire hooking-up i was crusing, having a great ride. by the middle of the 2nd lap it was apparent my max speed was slower than ethan and peter's. brook had missed the start, but found us somewhere on the 2nd lap as we wrapped back and forth. those 3 slipped away, leaving me in no-man's-land for the next 20+ miles.

i tried to keep the pace high. heavy traffic into the 3rd lap had me anxious, trying to move-up, stay steady and smooth, keeping the power down, hoping to see brook, ethan or peter in the distance, but folks were everywhere on the narrow singletrack. late in the 3rd lap, on an attempt to pass a slower rider, i managerd knock the guy off the trail. i slowed and apologized - and realized i needed to take it easy, that the guys in front were dealing w/the same situation, ride hard when appropriate. from then on, when the trail was clear i'd hit the gas, work hard, then take rest when gearing-up for a pass. the system worked well, but made for a slightly casual race at times, then i'd snap out of it and push hard until the next pass or technical pick-the-clean-line-or-crash horribly section. the junior field was huge, really great to see so many "new" riders out there crushing it. in the end, i couldn't bring anyone back and finished-up in 3rd, 6mins back from ethan in 1st. it would have been 4th if brook had checked the website and seen the start time change, instead he was out there killing it unofficial-like.

thanks guys (andy, et all) for putting-on such a great race! i heard efta will be picking the event up next yr, congrats on a job well done. and congrats to my buddy shawn who took 3rd in vet expert. this being his 2nd yr racing, that guy is on a mission to get fast fast.

results

video from pre-race news clip.

rigid

2008-09-06T16:01:00.004-04:00

the Millstone Grind is tomorrow - 34m of good 'ole fashion technical, swooping, twisty-turny vermont singletrack. pre-rode the course last night w/shawn and can sum-up the 8.4m loop up in one work - AWESOME! maybe two words - FRIGGIN' AWESOME!

i am kinda freaked about racing rigid, have never raced rigid - and a 34m "marathon" event is an ... interesting way to try it out! but, figure if i can ride smooth and strong for 34m of true vt singletrack, then i can ride rigid (and be competitive) at the vt 50. trail riding rigid is one thing - and i love it, feel truly connected to the terrain - but racing is a whole 'nother thing - the speed and effort produced, riding at your limit, totally changes how you (and the bike) react...

the ti deluxe 29'er definitely takes the edge off the bumps, with a nice soft tire up front (maxxis ignitor 2.1), it feels nice, like i have a whole 10mm of travel! kinda like bringing a spoon to a knife fight. but hey, if you know how to wield that spoon.. and igleheart's rigid fork bends and absorbs best when at high speed - it takes putting a lot of force into the fork to get a lot of it. faster is better. am nervous, but totally stoked to try this set-up out for realzy.

time to go sharpen my spoon.

Green Mtn Stage Race Report : Going to School :

2008-09-03T07:55:00.008-04:00

when a big 'ole bike race comes to town (GMSR), and you like racing bikes, it makes sense to race yer bike! but, i needed proof i knew how (to race road); at least a cat 4 license. i asked my regional usa cycling rep for a cat 3. denied. asked for a 4. approved. since i don't have any real road racing experience, figured the 4 made sense... and was hoping to really crush it! i won't lie, i wanted to win this freakin' race.

to help me out, my dad let me ride his BRAND new IF SSR road bike (he got to ride it for a most excellent century ride we did together the wknd before). the SSR is an amazing ride. the stainless steel is crazy light, insanely strong, is moderately priced, and looks crazy cool to boot. it readily absorbs road (and dirt road) vibration while staying stiff and snappy. one sweet ass ride! i got it fit by FitWerx and immediately felt like this bike had been made for me to reveal in and on.

prologue: ITT, warren, vt, 5.7m.
kinda nervous, been sick a bunch, haven't raced much or well past cpl months, wasn't sure if my legs even still functioned, it'd been sooo long since i'd had proof of fitness. but, the sweet mix of climbing and rollers route was on MY roads, a definite advantage. i think. warmed-up for an hour, then 15:30 secs later grinded across the finish, the final steep climb churning my breaths into deep ragged gasps, the taste of blood in my throat, it was all i had - and good enough for 6th overall, 30sec back from 1st. relief. not in 1st, but not too far back either...

stage 1: circuit race, hinesburg vt, 64m.
cloudy, 70, light wind, perfect for racin' bikes. my first true road stage, definitely needed to learn the ropes. quick. was loving it from the gun. started way in the back due to a last minute leak, but quickly moved fwd and went for first break of the day. it failed quick. i played around a bit, riding close to the front, pushing the climb. the sound of the wheels whizzing, the closeness of the riders was wicked, a lot different than a 100m mtnbike race! full of energy and excitement, the SSR whispering in my ears, i went for the sprint line at 500m (first lap) and was denied w/100m to go. little too far out to rock it alone. felt like i went to school on this stage, learned how it worked, how the field flowed around you, surging fwd early in the race, then stable as legs grew weary. w/5k to go, on a false-flat downhill road section the crashes began in earnest. cpl guys clipped wheels right in front of me at 25-30, not sure how i escaped the mayhem, but i did w/a skid and a hop. after that i stayed to the right and moved fwd, after which there were 3 more crashes. so, this is road racing, eh? guys simply weren't riding straight lines anymore. tired, figgity, nervous, anxious, all it takes is a few folks feeling this way to cause trouble. finished w/the group and up a place or two in the GC, buzzed i'd survived my first real race! it cost me $56 for a new tire, but it's better than a trip to the ER which a cpl guys got to enjoy.

stage 2: mad river road race, warren, vt, 75m.
a perfect sunny day, light breeze, hardly a cloud. i'd been looking fwd to riding this stage since moving to the valley. we kept the pace civilized throughout the day, a little push on Brandon Gap, but a mellow recovery allowed (most?) everyone to catch back on. at mile 35-40'ish i moved to the front to help "chase"-down a break, i don't know much about pacelines and a cpl guys got me squared away on what to do. 20m later when we hit the dirt of bristol notch i jumped back out front, wanting to stay safe, see the holes. then we waited for App Gap, riding at 16mph for a while, chatting a bit. everyone was nervous about the climb, a cpl guys went off the front, but i wasn't going to chase 'em down, knew the climb would take care of things. one dilhole went around the double yellow and when called-out on it, gave the group the middle finger. nice. he would finish way back. LAME!! finally, w/5k to go, it was on. Dan Chabanov was the first to ride off, followed by 5-6 others, including Matt Buckley in yellow, i right behind, focusing on riding at the same tempo all the way up the climb vs hitting it hard early then dieing-off. there was no game plan but steady, full-on effort. unfortunately, it wasn't enough to catch Dan, i needed about 500ft more of vert to do that as i was slowly grinding up to him over the last kilometer. honestly, i wanted to win this stage, but was happy to settle for a spot on the podium, albeit on the 2nd step, and into 3rd on the GC... but was certainly jealous not to be in yellow!

stage 3: burlington crit, 34 1k laps.
another amazing, perfect sunny day. the route was a 1k technical 6 corner course in downtown burlington , full of cracked blacktop and sewer covers, w/lake champlain as a backdrop. i got a call-up and used it to stay up front until the GC time bonus sprint on lap 25. my efforts earned me 4secs, needed 40 to take 1st GC, 20 for 2nd. within a lap or two i slammed a pothole and my rear wheel moved out of the drops a tad, my rear brake jammed-up a bit, but not enough to stop progress, just drag. i wasn't sure if i should stop at tech support and try to use the "free lap" rule or ride it out. i tried messing w/my brake at 25-30mph, not a good idea for keeping fingers, or not killing your competitors - and soon was at the back of the field, w/20 to go. this wasn't good, not good at all. the guy in 4th GC was way up the road and a minor crash could take me off the podium. i focused on ignoring the brake, riding smooth, and used the mtnbike/cx skills to wiggle my way up the field on the tighter corners, then hammered w/the dragging brake up the straight, frequently outside the slipstream, just powering through the race, looking for #711, making sure he was within sight. before i knew it the race was over and i finished within the pack, moving into 2nd for GC due to a flat tire for matt. not a very exciting way to take 2nd, but that's bike racing, sometimes you're on the receiving end of shit luck, but sometimes not!

kevin, bruno, tom, and thomas rockin' the cat 1-2 race for IF.

bruno and kevin entertained seneca every afternoon:

also want to thank jenn's sister carole for driving 2hrs to help us out w/seneca on sat, and to my dad for all his hard work taking care of things. jenn had an enormous project to work-on over Labor Day, late nights, early mornings (to let me sleep), so things were a bit chaotic in the house during the race - and we needed all the help we got.

and so, now i have enough points for cat 3, looking fwd to doing my 2nd career road race next labor day. maybe next time on my own SSR...

dad's killin' it

2008-08-28T20:33:00.003-04:00

my dad's been hanging in VT, destroying projects for us, getting his spin on. i had a great ride w/him for the mad river century. perfect day, 75, sunny, nice breeze at our backs for the home stretch. then instead of relaxing at the house, going for rides, he's been crushing projects. i can't be slacking in front of j sr, been doing my best to keep up.

have been in a weird place since the hampshire 100k. been taking it easy, not rest weeks, not riding a ton, but not much rest either, too much to be done; keeping-up w/dad, wood splittin', winter looms kinda stuff. and there's this race i'd like to crush. or 2. so, been trying to ride smart, rest-up, sleep as much as seneca will let us.

my results this season have been sporadic, few and poor. sept opens-up a whole new season of racing, looking fwd to going into it feeling good, fresh. this wknd's GMSR, never done a stage race, rarely a road race, could be just what i need to mix it up. then next wk is millstone grind mtb, my first rigid ss race, just another way to mix it up, who knows, maybe i'll like it.

what i am liking is the bike fitting i got from fit werx in waitsfield, smooth things out, get more power.

Hampshire 100k

2008-08-18T10:34:00.004-04:00

yesterday may be one of the most horrible experiences i've had on a bicycle. harry went for it from the gun, winning in strong fashion in 6hrs and 10mins later - sweet!

my race started w/an upset stomach, seneca had the flu last wknd, i've been feeling low all wk but figured it'd pass by sunday. minutes into the race i was nauseous, but figured it was due to a late breakfast and fast initial pace. the legs felt pretty good, but having Harry (Precourt) and Chris (Gagnon) doing most of the early work helped the legs feel good. I was able to drink some fluids early-on, but the stomach was in rough shape. at mile 15-20 i decided i had to eat, just couldn't wait any longer, bonking was in sight. within 15mins of chowing i was all done. by mile 25 i was really cooked. everything just fell apart - power was gone and nausea gave way to full-on yaking. i crawled along for another 20miles hoping things would turn around and they never did. my saving grace was ginger ale at the aid stations, it was the only thing i could keep down, including water. i'd take a sip of water and get sick - i'd have to swirl it around in my mouth to wet the pallet then spit it back out. Ugly day for me. BUT, on a good note, it was a great day in the saddle for Harry - he won in convincing fashion, doing the early work, then pulling away for the win, including patching a flat or two.

the course was a bit rough, not much flow, a lot of fresh cut. i can handle sandy rail-trails if i know i'm gonna get a big singletrack buffet later, but it just wasn't so. maybe i've just been spoiled by the singletrack up here in central/northern vermont... on a good note, the race was very well run, the folks friendly, the camping perfect (and free), and the route marked superbly.

the IF road squad made an appearance w/5 members entering the race. good guys, hadn't met any of them (besides bruno and montello) before... it was their 4th race of the wk - a training ride. i gots respect for those guys.

i need to rest it appears. my body is simply shutting-down when the heart rate gets above resting rate. i'm not sure if it's the flu-bug from seneca or just too much riding and no rest the past few months... my dad is coming-up for a century ride this wknd, then the GMSR the wknd after, my first evah big road race. i hate rest, it feels like i'm getting fat and slow... but should have rested the wk i got back from canada, but like a fool, i rode in the rain everyday - usually for nearly 3hrs - on some pretty tough rolling terrain. fool. a little rest then would probably have been just the thing i needed...

low pressure

2008-08-11T08:12:00.006-04:00

the low pressure systems just won't budge, the rains have been persistent, following us up into new brunswick then back home again. a bunch of old friends were up this wknd, good times were had and the sun finally broke free for saturday afternoon (on my riding day off of course). I'm not complaining one bit, was stoked for some sun, it just figures that as dr mike and his lady rolled out mid-day sunday that sky was boiling once again and thunder rumbling all about. riding inside just wasn't gonna happen, not again, too much of that crap the past 10 days. of course, i could take all this rain as a sign and just work on the house, but the racer in me is desperate to turn the "base miles" of the co trail into power and speed. if i thought for one moment this season that i wasn't a real racer anymore, those thoughts are gone, replaced by a desire to do intervals and hill repeats on a quite dirt slope where haggard breathing and blood pounding in my ears is almost like music, a pain symphony. the season is already coming to a close, but there are a cpl more months of good racing to be had and a desire to crank-up the speed is unquenchable. this happens every year at different times. duration gets cut back by 25-50% and it feels really great to open it up.

time to go for the daily spin. of course it's raining again. at least there's a race on the horizon to begin tapering down for - the hampshire 100k this sunday.

it feels like this was soooo long ago, but it's only been 2wks:

Blueberry Ride

2008-08-02T20:45:00.001-04:00

Colorado feels like a million miles and a thousand days away as I sit on an old dock jutting into Cassidy Lake, New Brunswick Canada. Its planks, white paint flecked and peeling, sit atop ancient rusting steel dollys, possibly previously used to cart massive trays of food to inmates in some mental institution. It would seem fitting. Now retired and rusting their days away in a small spring fed lake near the Bay of Fundy, serving one last function. Eventually the flecking paint and rust particles will make their way down the 30 miles of creeks and streams into the Bay, exit into the deep ocean, dillute into particles and molecules and possibly someday make their way back onto dry ground as rain drops, maybe even falling on the head of some intrepid traveler on the CO Trail who is probably just a little bit nuts for making the journey.

It's been 3 full days since arriving back from Colorado, our trail experience a tale for another day, when better internet connection allows for pics... the climbs were enormous, the air thin, the weather impeccable, the company most excellent. I learned many things about myself, including a deep fear of high mtn lightning and an unquenchable desire to never eat an odwalla bar again. There are a hearty few out racing the Colorado Trail as I write this, some have even completed their journey, others nearing the end. I cannot follow their progress nor properly post my own experiences due to 1999 internet connection speeds here in the woods of the Atlantic Provinces, but I really don't feel ready to do so. I'm thoroughly enjoying this short vacation from my vacation. My old mtnbike sits alongside the rustic cabin, to be taken for a spin or left to sit in the rain if I wish.

The hills here don't rise tall, but they never stop rolling, rarely a flat. With legs born of a 50+hr wk of Colorado riding I decided to sprint the 65-70k of dirt and highway down to the Bay of Fundy and back. With little food or water on board, I was damn hungry by hour 2, then I saw them. Blueberry bushes. Everywhere. I stopped and chomped like a bear fattening-up for winter. I couldn't get enough until my stomach told my legs to back away from the berries. 2 berry stops later and I was back on Cassidy Lake sipping a cold Labatts and wondering how long the magic legs will last. Maybe until the 50 (the vermont 50 that is); it'd sure be fun to really crush that one. It's been a dream for a log time; but nothing like the feeling of an early morning dream, when wakefullness mixes with sleep, that the CO Trail has left in my being. The high mtn passes, the endless descents, the long sleepless nights of a day's adrenaline mixing w/longing. I plot my return in silent moments, my thoughts returning to the highs, ignorning the lows. I wonder what Andy's doing?

last minute chaos

2008-07-20T22:09:00.001-04:00

time to roll the co trail!
should be epic.
40lbs of gear, 23lbs of bike, 8lbs of water.
maybe too much, but the more i eat and drink the lighter the load gets.
until the next re-supply.
beauty and grandeur of the high mtns will hopefully dispel feelings of sufferation.
i'm stoked to find-out!
but will desperately miss seneca and jenn while away.
and that's a good thing.
when getting home is as good as the journey's away.

fat man on a bicycle

2008-07-14T09:52:00.006-04:00

I've been riding fully loaded, testing-out the panniers, looking for weaknesses. Andy mentioned that any gear strapped-down is bound to fall-off, couldn't agree more after 4 days of rides. I slapped 35lbs of random stuff (a dictionary, clothes, a hammer, you know, whatever was laying about in my garage) into the panniers for testing, plus the panniers weigh 5lbs. the weight feels fine on climbs if you like pedaling at 3mph in the grannie gear while getting eaten alive by mosquitoes and dive-bombed by horse flies, but on loose logging roads and technical singletrack it's pain - a little taste of what it must feel like to be a fat man on a bicycle. pain.

My goal is to sort through my gear and get the weight down to under 30 (including the panniers, food, and water) before the trip. I'm more than a bit jealous w/Glenn and Tim's special ultra-light panniers made from sail cloth. My Arkel panniers are tough to rationalize, but they sure are sweet! they pop on and off in seconds, have fully waterproof interior sacks, full side zips, side pocket for camelback, top pocket for tools, outer shell for wet smelly stuff to dry... but they weigh 5lbs!

I realized I don't need a front rack, but am thinking about slapping it on in case we need to haul a case of beer or a pizza from a town into the backcountry... maybe i'm just being silly, but it seems like a damn good reason!

Got a HUGE hook-up from Brad Beveridge yesterday, his Fox 29'er fork w/the proper offset for my bike - an $800 borrow. I owe big brad in a big way. The nerves and tendons in my hands are gonna be thanking Brad for yrs to come for not having to do the CO Trail rigid! Years ago, it was Brad who introduced me to Andy, Justin, and Daren, opening-up the north shore ride scene to me - those guys taught me how to ride a bicycle - and are still doing me huge favors today.

group ride

2008-07-11T08:03:00.004-04:00

w/the co trail ride looming, the thursday afternoon group ride out of stark mtn bikes (waitsfield, vt), hit the spot. training can take the fun out of riding, nothing a group ride can't fix. 8 guys on the ride yesterday, solid riders and peoples, but one casualty, hope everything's ok there. a lack of rain has the trails riding insanely fast - as is the new Ti Deluxe 29'er. a cpl long technical descents i'd hold back on when alone i could take some chances on last night and it was great! the 29'er rolls over so much more, handles well in the corners, and at speed the rigid fork flexes a bunch more. was able to follow the squishy bikes down, something i'd never have been able to do on the 26'er rigid - and usually not on the 26'er w/80mm up front. i am 100% sold on the 29'er - it's the shit! i also slapped a carbon bar and a 2.3 wtb exiwolf tire up front, they both helped absorb the bumps making last night's ride one of the best fully rigid rides i've ever been on! thanks guys. (should have taken a few pics besides the above pic of the final rays of the day, next time).

been doing some loaded rides on the 29'er for the trail; only the essentials:

cpl more rides before shipping this bad boy off to denver... really should test those panniers soon! but can't quite commit to the weight they represent. still thinking i should switch to two waterproof sacks...

new bikes are cool

2008-06-30T19:22:00.012-04:00

sitting on the back porch, not wanting to go inside, read, watch the sox.
humidity has dropped out of the air.
masses of clouds drift apart, quickly disappear w/the sun's warmth, sparkle in its last streaks.

keep thinking 'bout the trail.
the Colorado trail.

3hrs/day of training.
i doubt it will be enough.
but it will be enough.
there will certainly be many "moments";
"moments" being something in the past.
when you're going through them they can go unnoticed.
maybe not.
but when you come-out on the other side, you only want to be back in that moment;
or desperately out of it.
the ups and downs, the incredible buzz and the incredible bonk.
"moments" are the reason andy gave me for doing 100 milers.
best reason i've ever heard.
for yrs mine was improvement.
but i don't enjoy beating people;
but i do enjoy winning.
a paradox in esteem?

finally feelin' good.
did devil's washbowl route 30mins too fast today.
felt slow, but finished-up quick.
the 29'er is a magic carpet.
big wheels keep on turning.

only have middle ring for now;
at first the 1x1 w/29'er wheels was surprisingly tough;
6hrs into riding the new rig, feels great.
stand at different points, sit at others.

bars are too high, too wide, too aluminum, easily solved.
too much sweep, focuses energy into my palms, down into the elbows.

ti is cool.
and new drivetrains.
and new saddles.
it climbs like a dream and i look forward to sitting down.
hard to beat that.
can't wait for tomorrow's test ride.

Big Wheels - IF Ti Deluxe 29'er

2008-06-29T21:11:00.013-04:00

this bike is insane!

set-up the "bike shop" in front of the sox game sat night since the living rm is cleared-out for painting (notice the blue painter's tape in other pics to hold cables on). this is the 3rd or 4th bike i've built from the frame-up, but the first one i've done outside of andy's basement (ie, w/o him building!). it's amazing what happens when you read the directions and have solid local bike shops like Stark Mtn and FitWerx.

the last box of parts arrived friday. a lot taken off the steel deluxe, other items sold to pay for new stuff, a bike in the planning for over a yr is finally born! i like to call it my first 10-yr rig, but that's probably being a bit ambitious. it's my 6th mtbike since 1995... is it the best? got-out for a 3yr shake-down yesterday ride to figure that out.

igleheart's custom 29'er fork w/51 offset. this bike has a lot of "trail" and handles unbelievable well. need to tweak the cockpit a bit, but i'm stoked!

it just rolls over everything. feel like i'm sitting-up way high, but that doesn't effect balance or handling. looking fwd to getting to know these big wheels over the next cpl wks, the final prep rides b4 the co trail. the racks go on today!

thanks for IF for taking some extra time on the geometry, to bruno of IFRacing for getting me parts, to Andy and Igle for the wheels and that killer fork, and to the local bike shops, FitWerx and Stark Mtn for last minute parts/tweaks. i love it when a bike come together. almost as much as riding one.

IF Ti Deluxe 29'er - custom geometry (all their bikes are custom)
Stans Arch Hoops w/Mavic hubs (for touring)
Hutchinson Python rubba
XT cranks and cassette (11x32)
XTR dual-control shifters/brakes
Easton (soon-to-be carbon) bars
Igelheart custom rigid fork - 51 offset
XTR pedals
Thomson seatpost and stem
Fiz'ik Aliante Saddle
King headset

Old Man Mtn Racks
Arkel Panniers

Colorado Trail in 26 days!

2008-06-27T09:45:00.005-04:00

i just looked at the calendar to see what races i could sneak-in before the co trail and realized the trip is only 26 days away! insanely stoked! i haven't been doing much high tempo (interval) riding, instead been going for steady hrs, day after day, feel like i've been doing the right things to be ready. flat legs have had me riding a lot less hrs the past cpl wks, but they also seem to be coming back around. going on good, fun rides helps too, vs riding for training hrs. and talking about fun rides, i finally hooked-up w/the local mad river thurs night ride. met some folks and had a blast. solid riders, excellent skills. and rode some great new-to-me trails.

my arkel panniers arrived a cpl wks ago and i keep freaking-out on how heavy they are. i've decided to run front and back racks, but not sure i need the pimp panniers vs strapping a cpl dry bags to the racks - it'd save 3-4lbs. that's almost 2 liters of johnnie! (btw, i like that when you type "johnnie" into google, it takes you right to johnnie walker scotch). but, i also don't want to have anything on my back, so the extra size of these panniers would be great - just wish they were flyweight...

andy's running a the same size panniers, but that guy is a watts machine who never whines about weight, while i'm always thinking 'bout ditching a few ounces...

all this babbling about the co trail has me thinking i need to do a cpl things for that, cross a cpl items of the list. enough of this blogging nonsense!

this pic from the co trail "race" website has me all fired-up:

Putney (West Hill) XC - Race Report

2008-06-23T21:49:00.002-04:00

trying to skip the usual long-winded race report and cut to the chase on this one. my 2nd xc of the yr and my 2nd 10th place finish. 10th is where the cool kids finish, didn't ya' know?

cpl days before the race i asked thom-e-p if he'd mind snaggin' my IFRacing clothing from his shop, one of our main sponsors. being the super nice guy he is, he rigged-up quite a carrying system for the 40 pair of socks i ordered:
wicked! thanks thom, i owe ya'. being the super-nice guy i am, i proceeded to haze him on the starting line. he IS wearing the leader's jersey. it wasn't too many yrs ago that thom's green IF jersey was my main barometer for performance - a few yrs passed, some really fun races in-between - and this yr that guy's taken it to the next level! and now his leader's jersey is my barometer (once again). unfortunately, the guy was just fried-out on sunday, but that's his story to tell...

i'll keep the rest of this short. yeah right. i raced my bike. i tried to go really fast, but was short of the leaders by about a minute per lap. not my best performance, but certainly not my worst. On saturday, my legs were absolutely GOLDEN! unstoppable. i couldn't even feel my legs. maybe i rode a touch too hard sat, but that could also have been the blistering pace up front on sunday! i just didn't seem to have all my power, even dropping into the grannie gear here and there - i haven't used the grannie since my sport class days... who the hell knows. this racing/training business seems like voodoo magic sometimes. jenn said it best when i got home, "you're not racing enough to complain about it, get out there!"

the Putney course is awesome! fast, good climbs, banked turns, cpl technical sections thrown-in. by the middle of the 1st lap a group of 6 or 7 was in a congo-line up front, with a chase group of about the same about 30secs back. we stayed like this for a while, before splintering. i managed to break-free, but couldn't reel anyone in. i keep thinking, "they'll pop, they'll come back to me." greg carpenter did for about half a lap before recovering and ripping a wicked line to pass me like i was riding a tricycle. instead, by the 3rd lap, 2 fellas gapped-up to me, one of them was my buddy Harry Precourt - another steller human. once he got around me going into the 4th lap there was no catching him - i'd grind-up only be dropped on a descent! that guy was railing it; it was a major break-out race i was stoked to witness it. way to go dude. i put in a huge effort on the final climb, but one glance back by harry had him hammering it out to the line a few secs up on me. the results were tight, good stuff, fun racing! i hate dangling alone all race, this one was constant contact, ease-up and you're gonna get passed... i just had a wicked case of dejavu. weird.

jenn's away this upcoming wknd and i'm with the kiddo, but i've got the green light to get a babysitter so i can race Mt Snow. hmmm... is it worth the gas, the $ for the babysitter??? hmmm...

one issue i've been having big-time this yr is my back. i need to do something different as the usual soreness has been distractingly painful... yoga?

thnks for driving shawn! and way to go Mo Bruno-Roy on her win! wicked.

tequila

2008-06-20T08:03:00.007-04:00

current weather pattern brings-on clouds and rain every afternoon, a lot like its gonna be out on the colorado trail... the views are a groovy when mist, clouds, and strips of sun mix.

last night a game of poker went late, the tequila was flowing smooth, piles of brats disappeared. not feeling so hot this morning. and i wonder why i can't get-down to race-weight this yr. it's worth it. was a good time - and i'm such a sucker i feel bad for taking everyone's money. but only a little. those xt cranks just got paid for!

getting stoked for putney xc this wknd. it'll be the Steel Deluxe's last race, hope i can send her out on a good note. have had the rigid fork on almost all spring, really enjoy riding technical singletrack rigid, feel fully connected to the trail; it may even improve handling skills, who knows. but can i hang in a race on a rigid 26'er?

and should have the Ti Deluxe 29'er built-up next wk! once i move to that, i'll have no choice, i'll be racing rigid until gary fisher's death-grip on 51 offset 29'er forks ends. time to man-up. and the Deluxe will be off for a re-paint before auction... if anyone's looking for a sweet steel hardtail, you can even pick the color!

holy crapola i feel rough this morning. nothing a good ride can't fix.

R

2008-06-17T14:26:00.003-04:00

i'm all done, the legs are cooked. my plan of riding for a cpl hrs/day to rest-up for the wknd appears to be pretty stupid. guess i need some real rest to make this work.

love to ride

2008-06-17T07:16:00.004-04:00

the past cpl wks have been incredible. nice weather and dependable legs, day after day. the initial plan was to put-in around 60hrs of spinning over 3wks as i kinda skipped the base phase this yr. by day 14 (last friday) i'd done almost 40hrs and my legs were cooked. a bit too much vertical and hard (fun) days on the mtnbike. the last 2 days of efforts were 545a starts w/shawn and on friday he was feeling good while i was cooked and chasing, but it was great. i'm stoked to have a cpl people who are of a similar mindset to ride with up here: one more hill; one more loop!

i decided to back-off the base plan and rest-up this wk before hitting a NORBA Root66 race this wknd. jenn and i had a nice wknd together (no bikes) and i'm feeling pretty stiff, so the goal is to just loosen-up with 2hr rides all wk, then hopefully be ripping by this wknd. who knows. all i know is that i'm becoming more and more of an epic ride freak and less of a racer with every passing perfect day here in the mad river valley of vermont... and with the CO Trail Tour only a month away, a desire to ride and ride and ride is unquenchable. who the hell wants to taper for an xc!?

there isn't anyone else i'd rather be with on a wknd off (or anytime)...

break

2008-06-06T07:24:00.004-04:00

i'm gonna take a blogging break while i squeeze-in some extra riding. miles simply disappear under dirty knobby tires here. enclosed by nature, flowy singletrack and long climbs on old logging roads ticks 'em away like candy. no photos, no words, do it justice. time to enjoy.

steady

2008-06-05T11:31:00.004-04:00

finding 5+hr chunks of time to ride is tough. finding 2-3hrs/day i can manage. steady riding is what i'll have going for me come july 21 when we hit the CO Trail. for now, i'm just riding around and around the mtns of vt...

couple beaver checking me out
slapped-down a few thousand ft of climbing this morning w/shawn. 545a ride time is like "making" time.
have been dodging and weavin' past cpl days to avoid killing hundreds of these little guys on the trails.

long ones

2008-06-02T14:17:00.007-04:00

got-out for 4-5hrs w/jason a yesterday. a loop up and down perry hill, great flowing stuff, a little technical mixed-in, well-rewarded climbs. amazing trail work/maintenance. bike29 is involved in a lot of it (most? all?). then onto dirt, class 4's and v.a.s.t. trails for a duxbury/camel's hump loop, then back over to perry hill for another singletrack loop before calling it a day. jason sniffed-out this old bridge coming-down camel's hump. jason seems willing to explore just about any off-shoot trail, always looking for ribbons off the fireroads. good stuff, good company for a long mtb ride.

hopefully will be out there w/full panniers soon. need to work-out the kinks well before CO. at the very least need to get more 6-8hr rides vs 3-4hr ones. been crunching the numbers. 535m and 60k of vertical in 7 days is 76m/day with 8500k of vert/day. doesn't sound so bad. if it were for a cpl days. not sure how the body will react to 7 days of it. we actually have 8 days, but figure planning for 7 gives us some float. or time to get our drink-on in durango. now those will be some tasty beers.

colorado trail

2008-05-30T17:07:00.010-04:00

things have a way of working-out sometimes.

last fall andy mentioned doing the 535m Colorado Trail self-supported "race." it was too long of a trip to realisticly ask jenn to watch seneca for w ith work and all. then recently andy, tim, & glen cook decided they weren't going to race, but tour. andy dropped this change of plans on jenn the other night and she says, "you should do it, the ride with andy." and that was that. now i'm hurriedly ordering components, racks, panniers, maps, plus making plans, pick-ups, drop-offs, flights, all that. when andy told me about the CTR, i was stoked, but knew it would take a miracle to get-away from reality. i guess, this is my reality. jenn is calling it a 'vision quest.' maybe it is. it's been almost 10yrs since the last one w/zoof.

Boulder Pass, August 1999

xc races are being scratched for dirt epics, 7wks till we hit the trailhead outside denver en-route to durango. figure i can squeeze-in more miles (and cut-down on fuel) by doing all errands by bike. seems like i should have been doing that all along!

if anyone lives up vt-north way and wants to do a dirt epic this sunday, lemme know.

a cool wind was howling the other day under a warm sun, clouds formed off the mtn tops, but sunny in the valleys. a great day for a gap-attack.

Coyote Hill Short Track / Hill Climb / XC - Race Report

2008-05-26T20:20:00.014-04:00

This was my first wknd of mtnbike racing since last labor day. i “missed” the stress and anxiety that builds days before a race, the poor sleeping, the weird eating habits and concerns, last minute bike repairs, but then the feeling of achievement upon completion, and maybe the most - the camaraderie of race day. since this was my first in a while, and two days of racing vs one, prepare for a long read (or enjoy your usual brief skim).

Saturday. Jenn and Seneca joined me for the trip out to coyote hill, where the trails are sometimes buttery smooth, but mostly challenging rolling NE singletrack. The kind of stuff that you can get on top of and feel great riding, or fall apart on and suffer horribly! If you’re like me, usually you get to do both during a 2hr race!

short track:

saturday. my first time doing short, figured it was like cx - and it was. great weather for racing, 60 degrees, windy, warm sun mostly hiding. put on layers. take-off layers. repeat. thom, greg, and i pre-rode most of the xc course, did a cpl laps of the short-track course, then a lap up the hill climb before staging. nice and warmed-up, we lined-up with a 15? 20? pro/semi-pros/experts. from the gun it was on! full-out or close to it, my breath came in deep ragged breaths, heaving desperately for air. i was surprised to find myself in 4th or 5^th into the first cpl laps.

the course wound-up a short climb, through a series of turns, including a nice high banked S, across a short technical bridge, through the start/finish, then back-up the hill. Again. And again. I focused on riding fast smooth lines through the turns, being clean and smooth on the short technical, then hitting the hill in biggest gear possible, sometimes standing, other times pulling-up from the saddle through the bars.

10mins into the race it was clear the short climb was the deciding factor. i was able to "break" free w/Jenn and Seneca cheering on the climb, but I was too anerobic to smile or say anything other than “ouch” as I went by. Seneca cheered me on in her little cute voice with chants of “go dog go!” (a favorite night-time read). it was super great to have them out there, a cpl long days for jenn while i messed around. jenn's optimism and joy are reflected in seneca, they brighten every moment and give meaning.

i knew it wouldn't be long before i saw thom parsons (ibc), and sure enough he slowly ground-up, swooping around me w/3 to go. As he closed-in, I gasped “go aaawaaay” as I thought I was in 1^st, having forgotten about the strong greg carpenter (maxxis) way out in front. literally never saw the guy. thom can get on top of whatever gear he's running and he held me off on each of my pitiful seeming attacks, placing me in 3^rd for the event. i crossed the line a happy guy, pleased to have survived my first effort in respectable fashion. Go dog go!

hill climb:

we waited for 30mins or so before going-off every 30secs up the hill climb. it was about a mile long w/2 short descents, a mini reverse Super D course. i started 4th or 5th and tried to keep the lead weights masquerading as my legs cranking-up the hill. I don’t think they ever felt so heavy, but I figure everyone’s legs felt equally as shitty! i made-up time on the short fireroad descent, tucking no-brakes back into the climb, now on brent's heels. we soon passed thom who was crazy over-geared for the steeps on his ss, but he was a good sport about it, grinding away at about 20-30RPM. ouch! the small field size worked to my advantage and i took the event w/my 5min effort. a 1st and a 3rd, not a bad way to kick-off the '08 season. oh wait, i've still got the xc tomorrow! Crap!

XC:

sunday dawned picture-perfect. deep blue skies w/fluffy white clouds floating on a breeze just gusty enough to keep the black flies from attacking in droves. instead they dive-bombed your eyes and ears luke skywalker style, going for the weak spots. I love spring in NE. seriously. Black flies and all. Spring = dirt. Spring = racing w/good chaps (and gals!). Good stuff. Linnea, colin, greg, and thom crashed at our place sat night, we had a great breakfast, then split-up for the trip back to coyote hill for the main event. Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

Big field for a regional race, over 20. i went-off a “bit” (aka, stupid fast) strong, really hammering the climb, fighting for 3rd into the singletrack. i was a bit deeper into the pain cave than i'd have liked, and hoped a stiff back would loosen-up w/the legs. the first section of singletrack was dreamy, fast flowing stuff, a fantastic reward for the initial climb. too soon it was over and the real mtnbiking began in a section of lumpy fresh cut which lead into section after section of good 'ole fashion technical mtnbiking. very few breaks on this course, you had to be on your game and at first, I was, albeit riding a bit wild due to going-out too hard.

the anerobic riding makes me go kinda trail blind, i can't look too far ahead, and soon went down hard on a sharp sandy 90 degree downhill corner, ripping the ust Hutchinson bulldog off the rim. I re-inflated it, but in haste didn't remove leaves which hindered it from fully sealing. found myself w/a flabby tire pretty quick. a group of 4 bridged-up to me; i stayed in front through the start/finish, jenn/seneca cheering w/btl, up to the fireroad climb reaching for the co2 and nozzle, jumped-off for quick repair, hoping to get on the back of the train rollin’ by. good re-inflation this time, ride hard to get back-on, knowing i could rest a bit on the swoopy stuff, even let-out an occasional "yippee!"

A big part of mtnbiking is not loosing your head when stuff goes wrong… and remembering that stuff goes wrong not because the course jumps out and grabs your bike, throwing you to the earth unceremoniously, but because of how you're riding, then changing your riding style accordingly. i slowed-up a bit, regained my "vision", and was soon riding just as fast, but cleaner smoother lines.

i found myself riding w/ sean c, always looking over our shoulders for thom; and soon enough he appeared, looking strong, blasting past us after the 2nd lap on his march up the field to a very solid 3rd. nice racing thom!

i fell back a bit on the 3rd lap, musing too much on the monkey knife fight happening deep in my back, twangs down the back of my legs, why didn't i stretch and cool-down yesterday!? then i clicked, snapped. If I’m already in pain, why not go all the way? duh. had to re-remember this after 8months off. i buried myself and slowly ground back-up to sean and a cpl others, but was riding sloppy lines to do it. on the same 90 degree downhill sandy corner i had ripped the tire off the rim on on the 1^st lap, I did it again on the 4th! so much for that desperate rally.

i had no more air and proceeded to run. a co2 happened to fall out of a racer's pocket about a mile later and i thankfully scooped it up and got the tire aired-up for the ride to the finish. i was glad to have fought-off the pain demons and finished as strong as possible.

i was completely shot at the end of the race, it's been awhile since i've felt quite that awful. if you believe you should be riding up front'ish, you do it until you blow, or at least i do. and blow up i did. jenn loaded me into the car and hauled me off, but my day wasn't quite done yet. i had one more stop to make; throw-up on the side of the road 20mins into the drive, which brought cheers from a cpl passing cars w/bikes and number plates on them. Later, I rewarded myself w/some general tsao’s chicken, a cpl long trails, and a screening of star wars.

thank you jenn for doing btl hand-ups for me and 6 others ! and seneca for a 2nd day of "goooo dog go!" seeing them there makes me a happy guy.

thom, colin, and greg looking tough after sat's hill climb...

finally -

2008-05-21T16:12:00.005-04:00

- a race! coyote hill this wknd. short track and hill climb sat, xc on sun. my first race since labor day of last yr. crazy. i wonder how the legs and lungs will do...

unfortunately, no ss for me this wknd, gonna go at it w/some borrowed gears, thnks shawn. my new IF ti deluxe ss 29'er frame is so mocking me right now. no fork, no wheels, no cranks, kinda tough to race it like that. to get rollin', i need to sell my steel deluxe, but i need my steel deluxe to train and race on. or at least i think i do.

i had a political/life short soapbox in here earlier today, about how lucky i am to live here, politics. but have done a rare blog revision... wasn't into it. i'm not usually into doing revisions here, this is first-draft country.

finally got my ass out for some trail work w/john atkinson last night. that guy is a trail building / maintaining machine (i'm tired today). w/o folks like that in the valley, it would be way less super-awesome. so, wed night trail sessions are in the calendar for twice a month, with catamount races the other 2 wed /month. better to be doing some trail work than none, am glad to be doing it.

i hadn't put words to it before. couldn't agree more. good stuff on that there blog of thom's.

singletrack

2008-05-16T21:17:00.005-04:00

stay steady, go fast, speed conquers all obstacles. the singletrack here ranges from challenging rocky-rooty lines to the smoothest buffed-out banked turn rippers you can imagine. one thing all this great riding has in common is the dedicated folks who build and maintain the trails. thank you, thank you, thank you. but that is not enough. the more i ride, the more i realize i need to take time to work on these trails beyond moving dead fall off the lines when riding. trail work is the price of isolation, only so many of us here and so many quiet lines to be maintained. in 3hrs of riding today i saw one person (which is rare) and 1 set of tracks - and was maybe 10m from home at the farthest point. if i ever complain about living here, slap the stupid off me.

tough to get the groceries home in winter on the class IV roads, unless you own...

Two great IF Raffles!

2008-05-14T16:19:00.002-04:00

From Mark Elsasser of Team Green:

"I’m hoping you can help spread the word about an Ovarian Cancer fundraiser my girlfriend Samantha and I have organized in conjunction with the Escape from Granouge MTB race on May 24th. Part of the fundraiser is a raffle with the grand prize being a custom IF fork. We are selling raffle tickets in advance via BikeReg. Here’s the link. The raffle benefits the Hera Foundation."

Samantha is a cancer survivor and this is a great way to win an amazing fork, while doing good. A win-win. Can't beat that.

Here's another one:

Click here and buy a raffle ticket to win an IF frameset and support IF Racing. Wicked! This is a raffle for an Independent Fabrication STEEL frame. The winner will get a custom steel frame from Independent Fabrication, with the option to upgrade to Titanium, SSR or XS for additional cost. The proceeds of this raffle go to IF Racing and benefit our racing teams and the charities we support.

righteous

2008-05-11T21:16:00.006-04:00

beautiful wknd to ride.
had 3hrs this morning, so kicked the App/Lincoln Gap loop. it's a real nice ride w/2 righteous climbs.

bumped into this guy (below) on my way down the App Gap. in person, i thought he was a giant bull moose, but looking at the pics, he doesn't seem so giant... standing so close to such a large animal tends to affect one's (my) judgement! i kept telling myself as i fiddled w/my phone(camera) that i could out-ride him... yeah right.

training

2008-05-07T07:37:00.005-04:00

with the start of my racing season fast approaching, and a "promise" that i'd write a bit more about what i do for training, i decided to babble-on about it this morning in an effort to delay studying for my Final Pysch exam.

in jan-feb i started gearing-up for daily riding, putting-in 25hrs in jan, mostly on the indoor, w/plenty of snowboarding mixed in, and some big clothes outdoor rides w/the studs. then 35hrs in feb w/some hill and snow rides; 40 solid hrs in march including plenty of hills and at least 15-20hrs of indoor spinning. 50 quality hrs in april w/the indoor rides as rest days, then 60+hrs this may. during race season 50hr wks are the norm, unless there is a lot of racing to be done, then more taper days. my base is still shakey and i'd really like to get 60+hrs this may before my season begins in earnest...

one missing element from my non-program program is rest wks. i'm terrible at taking time off. if i'm not hobbling around the house w/tired legs i feel like i didn't do enough, so i ride harder. time is always tight so my training has evolved into almost constant medium to medium-high intensity (ie., climbing hills), but never includes rest... i just don't enjoy it. for me, training is an organic experience. i ride how i feel... training is ingrained into my being. i started swim racing at age 7, messed around w/baseball for a cpl yrs (i was terrible), got back into swimming, then into competitive running for 6yrs, then competitive partying before finding cycling in my mid 20's. since then, i've simply felt my way through training, leaning upon yrs of experience to guide me naturally... i wonder if i could be doing more w/my time if i followed a plan based around HR zones, blah, blah, blah, but i dread that. i dread removing the natural flow of my training process; removing this need to work myself into the ground, then rest-up before a race and have the golden legs emerge in an almost mystical fashion. but it's not mystical, it's what works for me, however backwards and against standard methodology it may be...

i have to miss a cpl big races this yr due to family stuff, weddings, visits, etc (and i'm not complaining, i look fwd to those events), which makes me think my "organic" training method is perfect. if i can't dedicate myself to racing the way some others can, why take the "fun" out of training?

and of course, there's the part of me that wonders why i keep doing this at all? why not just buy a 6" travel bike, use my free lift serve pass and ride the downhill/xc at sugarbush all summer!? 'cause i'm a freak, i suppose, like all the other bike racin' freaks out there, from beginner to pro...

dirt!

2008-05-05T08:57:00.005-04:00

there sure is a lot of epic dirt routes up this way. headed-out for a few hrs with shawn on sunday. rainy weather broke near the end and this crazy yellow orb appeared above our heads, warming our backs. shawn's knowledge of dirt routes coupled with what i know have massive epic dirt routes developing. i'm stoked to have found someone to train with locally (when schedules allow) - it's a heck of a lot more fun and will push us both harder.

with the snow disappearing fast on the mtns, many valley residents appear to be hanging-up their skis and getting in the saddle. a month ago i may have seen one other person when riding, now folks are everywhere!

i've mentioned to almost anyone who'd listen that the mad river valley could be an amazing destination spot for mtnbikers, which could potentially help the summer economy here. Sugarbush is kicking the lift assist under the guidance of john atkinson, but there's so much xc to be had here too! the biggest issue is no trail markers. but that's about to change. john is also mrv's trail guru and is gearing-up to mark a bunch of trails - and heads-up the charge on trail maintenance as well. i need to help him and the other dedicated valley residents who do all the hard work on the trails. training can be a selfish act, any "free" time i have, i'm looking to use to ride... but if you don't give back, you're kinda lame. i do my best to do basic maintenance when out training, moving obstacles from the trail, etc, but it's time to step-up for a cpl wknd sessions...

enough of this typing nonsense, time to crank-out some work so i can go ride this afternoon!

never quite enough ...

2008-04-29T19:27:00.005-04:00

the past cpl wks have been great riding. little rain early this wk didn't put too much of a damper on things, needed to dry-out from the big wknd with my old school friends anyway. as usual, the big hrs haven't come through quite as planned. 15hr wks turn into 12, but it's hard to complain when you're busy w/trying to make a buck, the kiddo, and school - and still finding time to ride. this wk i was hoping for 20hrs, which is about as many as i can possibly squeeze into a wk and not fail life, but it's looking rough. picking finals wk (for UVM) for doing a 20 wasn't the best choice, but as an old boss used to say, "you get the most done when you're the busiest." yup. and i'm counting on getting a lot of the hrs this wknd on a massive Gap Attack! maybe the 20 will happen, especially if i'm especially slow doing that massive ride.

cpl stubborn patches of snow still left in my yard, just melt already!

decided this yr, now that we live in VT and do all sorts of tough-guy chores like splitting this massive stack of logs for the wood stove, the gym is no longer necessary. old school. anyone for a caber toss?

Lincoln Gap is open! Kinda.

2008-04-23T22:03:00.003-04:00

The weather here has been incredible since last Wednesday - 70's, plenty of sun w/low relative humidity. Last night at dinner Jenn looks me over and says, "hey, you're tan!" since i've been sneaking-out during the day to ride instead of painting the house, i've been trying to hide my non-pasty whiteness. oh well, the non-painted house was a giveaway on my whereabouts anyway!

since my bike broke during the Inferno i couldn't do the planned century ride home to VT last Sunday, so instead have been getting as much time each day as possible w/o blowing-off responsibilities. right now that means 2-3 hours per day at mostly moderate tempos. On Tuesday, decided to hit-up one of my favorite rides up App and Lincoln Gaps. Lincoln is the ass-kicker of the Gaps, 20% grades, heart beating so loudly in your ears for the last pitches it seems that it's gonna blast out of your chest and lay beating on the warm pavement. I digress, once over App, turned onto Lincoln Rd which informed me "ROAD CLOSED TO WARREN." Hmmm... Road closed to cars, not to bikes, right!? Not sure what river runs along Lincoln Rd, but it is a beautiful ride, one of the nicest stretches on the East Coast, too bad it's only 4-5m long... Pass two more signs that tell me ROAD CLOSED TO WARREN and begin to get a bit nervous. my time is tight, i certainly don't have time to go all the way around on App or Middlebury Gap, it's Lincoln or nothing!

I turn onto Lincoln Gap and begin the climb. the dirt and gravel is soft, have to stay seated and avoid the sticks and such that haven't been cleaned-off the road yet... around every turn i look for snow, hoping not to see it... after the agonizing final pitches, i reach the top and as soon as I crest the South face, see the knee-deep snowpack on the North side of the Gap. Oh well, knew there was a reason for the closing. time is tight so i jump-off and begin to run the snow. it's fun at first until i get out of control and totally wipe-out on the steep descent, sliding for 50-100 ft, desperately holding onto the bike so i don't lose it over an embankment. within 5-10mins of scrambling, a ribbon of pavement is open on the side of the road w/a cpl snow patches to blast through. 10mins after that i'm back on Rt 100 in Warren, smiling from the screaming descent and stoked to probably be the first person to ride Lincoln Gap in 2008. but that's hard to say - there are a lot of bike freaks up this way!

Tuckerman's! Inferno Race Report

2008-04-20T22:32:00.003-04:00

Tuckerman's Ravine

brie takin' a swig from the team btl. justin rockin' the mullet, sean on right

team x-ray
sean, alan, brie, justin, myself, plus erika, aspen, and tyne - and we had a solid posse for the inferno. i'll skip the how-do-you do's and get to the race.

dropped alan off at 630a saturday for the 7a start on a nice, sunny cold-ass morning. he jumped-out for his warm-up and i was off in search of bagels and coffee. an hour later i was riding to the kayak take-out in a cpl layers, trying to warm-up the legs. i felt great minus a desperate yearning for starbucks or equally strong java. if you got the addiction, always bring them beans!! the local convenient store was not packing the heat. back to the race, so i'm heading to the kayak take-out and see alan humming along in the lead of the 8 mile running leg, 3-4 guys close behind. he looked intense, was spending a bit of time in the cave.

20mins later i'm stretching a bit and chat for a minute w/ steve piotrow, the cyclist alan mentioned would be on me like white on ... a white rhino? moments later, team EMS rolls through in first, then 60-90secs? later steve roars-off in 2nd. sean tags me into the mix 20-3osecs back from steve after a strong 6 mile kayak.

steve rides super smooth and my early attempts to close the gap were crushed on the first good climb. once on rt 16 i settled down, focused on the cadence, and enjoyed a borrowed gu. steve had opened the gap to 90secs or so and i really needed to focus; smooth-out my mashing and let the legs open-up.

with 5m? to go, the legs were definitely feeling better, stronger, and someone told me i was closing the gap. it was time to dig, i stood, went for the big ring, and the chain dropped-off the top - a regular occurrence on my 5yr-old training bike. in training, dropping the chain is no big deal, in a TT it's a bit different. a cpl heavy pedal strokes later and i'm on the side of the road with the front derailleur's chain guide stuck in the rear derailleur. disaster! been racing long enough to know that there's no need to panic. assessed the situation, couldn't rip the chain guide off w/o breaking the chain, so managed to get the guide back onto the bolt, but the clip broke off that kept it attached. who knows how much time elapsed, time seems to stop when these things happen. 3mins? 5mins? i was totally losing this race for us!! instead of pulling us into 2nd, i'm dropping us into the abyss.

a cpl guys pulled-over and asked if i needed help, i decline, ride 1/2 mile and the guide falls off and i'm back to fixing. they pulled-up again, this time w/duct tape. a cpl pieces later, many thanks, and i'm off, now in fourth place and really chasing, spinning like mad w/only the little ring in front to use. those two guys were the shit, thanks!! the last 3 miles went-by in what felt like seconds, was really fired-up now, mucho adrenaline had me hammering like a mad-man, needed 4-5 miles more of climbing to make the most of it! i tagged justin and he was off like a shot up the hiking/running/scrambling leg to the bottom of Tuckerman's where Brie was waiting to hike the bowl and ski the gates to the finish.

i tell a fellow racer what happened to my derailleur, a judge overhears and tells me we're disqualified for accepting outside assistance. i'm no cheater and agree that if thems the rules, thems the rules. i begin looking for my car which justin had stashed earlier and bump into alan, sean, and erika and tell them we're dq'd... everyone was so stoked. kidding.

turns-out we weren't dq'd, but honestly, i wasn't very upset, it was waaay too nice a day to get worked-up. the sun was so warm, clear blue skies, no wind. alan and i find the car, get changed and soon are hiking-up Tuck's in shorts, snowboard strapped on, a 12-pack in the pack for a little team celebration. justin pulled-off a monster hike and Brie rocked the ski, bringing us back into 3rd place. After the race Brie and Tyne hiked to the summit for a run, while i managed to get a 3/4 run in while looking for everyone, sporting shorts, a tank top, and a can of PBR. alan ended-up getting delayed by some doggie day-care, but eventually we all found each other in the bowl for a celebratory shot, big grins, and smiles. to top it off, the shelbourne ski trail was ridable to pinkham notch! pretty damn sweet day.

spring corn

2008-04-18T10:22:00.004-04:00

70, sunny, snowpack fleeing fast in the valley, but still plenty to be had up on the mtn. got-out for a cpl hours of spring skiing yesterday and conditions were incredible! so soft, could blast into bumps and get the occasional face-shot, the whole mtn open, some grassy knolls here and there, but no complaints, great conditions.

bumped into a neighbor in the parking lot, so spent the afternoon riding w/bill, an old-school snowboarder, been at it a lot longer than i - and he rides a hell of a lot better on equipment most would scoff at than i do on my new deck. he surfs the moguls and can turn-up the heat and let 'er rip, taking the high line across the bumps, or slow it down and mellow-out, surfin' the snow. i was freakin' a little that i was working the legs a bit much before saturday's Inferno bike sprint, so took Bill's advice to pace myself a bit and ended-up having a lot more fun cruising than charging. got some proper mentoring yesterday from a guy who knows a lot more than i do about balancing it out. "who needs a vacation?" [when you live here]. couldn't agree more. great last day on the hill! what a season! from the first powder storm in mid-nov, to short sleeves and sun in mid-april. as usual, was biking all march, so missed some good days, can't do it all, at least haven't figured-out how to yet. there's always next yr.

shorts

2008-04-12T23:14:00.004-04:00

today was a real treat. mid-50's, partly sunny until 3 or 4p. expected cold rain for a planned long one, instead got to ride with shorts and a long sleeve. it's nice to be surprised. in a good way.

big melt

2008-04-11T13:09:00.002-04:00

it's on. can finally see some of the yard poking-through the snowpack. been riding a bunch, can't complain at all, even with rain in the forecast for the entire wknd. rain = melt and that is good.

Mud Season, Sugarbush Adv Games, Epic Ride!

2008-04-09T08:29:00.007-04:00

The best thing about mud season is that it means warm weather and ribbons of dirt aren't far off... warm temps early this wk are a bit of trickery, with nastiness (i.e, snow) in the forecast for the wknd. oh well. For now, i'll keep making the drive to andy's on the north shore of boston for some of the best dirt in NE. Thanks for planning a great ride Andy! I don't think i've ever been out with 11 people before, minus in more "official" events... It was great to spin, relax, and chit-chat for the first 6-7 hours, but after a long stop at a store we were really hoping was open, with the feet and hands frozen, a cool misty rain drifting over us on a downright cold wind, it was time to pick-up the pace and get our asses home! But, a cpl beaver dams and many miles of trail still awaited us... the group dynamic was shattered, but that is bound to happen on a 9hr ride. Met a cpl new folks, great riders, and got to see a lot of old friends. I didn't have much food on me and ended-up eating a ton of Larabars that Tal had for hands-on marketing purposes. those things are solid, no refined sugars, check 'em out. I'm sold. Thanks Tal.

But, before Sunday's epic could go-down I had to throw-down an 8m TT for the Sugarbush Adventure Games on team X-Ray. Our team was so friggin' stacked, it was silly. Alan busted-out the fastest run of the day, putting us into the lead right away. Sean, a freaky-fast make-class-V rapids look like ripples on a pond Kyaker, followed-up with the fastest trip down the Mad River, then handed-off to me, our not-so-fast endurance cyclist. I got my engine going as hard as it goes, drooling, head-down, trying to stay in some semblance of an aero-position for the first 5m of course where the road rolls through town. the final 3m were mostly climbing and by the final 1/2m, up through the parking lot of Mt Ellen, i was dry heaving, barely able to hear or speak. Good times and good enough to open our lead-up a little bit more. Eliah, a very talented cross country skier ripped the final leg of the race apart for Team X-Ray and we took the event by quite a sizable margin. For Sean, who'd been dying to win this event (with a team) for years, it was extra sweet. For me, it was a great way to open-up the engine early season.

As a team, we've got one more event on the calendar, a little longer/tougher one to boot - the Inferno! Justin, the overall solo winner of the Sugarbush Adv Games is jumping on-board for that and will be doing the hike-up to Tuck's, and another new teammate, his friend Brie, will be doing the ski down Tuckerman's. I'm optimistic about our chances for the win, but will have a bit of nerves as i'm probably the weakest link...

THEN, to finish-off the "wknd" right, on Monday, Andy, Skip, and I took a ~30m road ride. For me, an out-of-shape Vermonter, it was a total hammer-fest. Andy and Skip where chatting and i was at 100% effort. 3 great days of riding. Just need to stop typing this silly post, get my studying down and out the door for another great ride today before class!! see ya out there.

(the snow is friggin' persistant this yr!!)

facebook

2008-03-31T12:01:00.003-04:00

i just discovered facebook.com. i'm kinda freaked-out that so many people i know are in it and that i'm behind the times. must be getting old. don't really have the time to f with it, but who wants to be left-out of a social networking thinga-majimmy? L.

if i can throw a leg onto the pain machine today, it'll be 12 days of riding in a row. best bought of training i've done since august, good to be back at it, good to be stiff and sore. need to stop wasting time on the computer, if i'm typing i should be on the trainer doing it! the only thing i've learned from racing is, if you want to do it well, you can't waste time - and that goes for everything.

2 months

2008-03-25T22:50:00.014-04:00

NE mtbike racing starts mid-april.
i tell myself i won't bother till mid-may, but it could be tough to ignore.

here,
the snowpack is deep.
the riding cold and dreary at times,
but better than not riding at all.
frozen feet and cables cuts rides short.
at least for me.
where's spring!?
oh yeah, in boston.
andy says it's been beautiful.
i was my idea to move to northern vt.
not their fault,
but that doesn't help the jealousy!

hard to get fit early,
but plenty of time later.
have to fight-off the cabin fever,
as spring will be that much better when it finally rolls-through town.

back to thinking about racing.
just can't stop.

one of my all-day favorite pics. two great guys (and riders) battling it out. that big red tire of Skip's is hard to miss as it rolls over you. race after race. he comes at you like a freight train, engine roaring. thom is more stealth as he rolls over ya'. which he does race after race!

the drug

2008-03-19T15:04:00.004-04:00

spend a lot of time thinking about why i race. why i ride is easy, why i race is a tough one... but it came to me on sunday as i grinded-up appalacian gap in the slush, a friend laughing from his car window, skis on top. i saw him again 5mins later at the base of mad river glen and stopped. he laughed said that my 23c tires should "cut through the ice and snow like knives" up higher on the pass. they did not. point is, i'm happiest when climbing the biggest hill and i finally figured out why. drugs. drugs pouring from my brain into my body, spurring me on to get it done, a buzz only outdone by the feeling one gets when finishing a race. at least a race in which you didn't get your ass kicked. ive always known about the drugs, but only the other day realized i was fully under their grasp... learning you're an addict, a junkie! is tough to accept.

i put a lot of time (and effort i guess) and some money into acquiring this buzz. what's funny is that before racing it cost me about $200 for an old beater mtbike i'd ride 10m to work and some clothes to do it in. with racing it's about being competitive and that takes a good sponsor and a pocket full of benjamins.

with the season approaching and i no where near form, i begin to wonder if the buzz of the race, the lack of walking around money, etc, is worth it. is it worth racing when i got all this great riding out the door? problem is, eventually, the snows will melt and the urge will be unstoppable... for now i can wonder and pretend that i can quit this drug anytime i want. doubt does that to you.

jenn told me this morning i could ride the century to her sister's next wknd. i nodded appreciately all the while thinking, "whew!, now i don't have to beg like a dog!"

sunshine?

2008-03-17T07:09:00.000-04:00

last week or two it's been hard to catch a ride when the sun's been out. schedule's tight, get yer ride-on when ya' can. of course, it's sunny today and i've got no time to spin! maybe i can get creative and make it happen. writing this blog post isn't helping my time mngmt!

with time tight, if i've only got two hrs, figure i might as well hit it hard. point the bike up a big hill and ride. not sure if this training approach will work-out come racing season, but it's what i got time for - and really fun.

north shore

2008-03-11T21:53:00.004-04:00

the snowpack is deep.
needed some dirt!
headed to some of the best biking new england has to offer.
i love it here. there.
drove hard, rode hard, bonked, day 1.
perfect weather, brad rockin' the hardtail,
andy going big, thom borrowed, skip skipping,
barry saving my life,
here's day 2, andy riding along

survived. barely.
day 2. should be breakfast, closer to lunch.
munchin day-old fake crabmeat sushi.
lloyd?
on the wall.
is that...
lloyd?

inspired.
inspiring.
andy and i headed-out.
plenty of sun.
in greenwood, bumped into josh who mentioned a new kicker among other things.
andy bumps into it a few mins later...

so glad to have gotten out!
thnks for not running me over barry.
i owe you.

friday night(s)

2008-03-07T21:34:00.000-05:00

not a lot of time to mess around with these days. not that many years ago i'd have thought riding the indoor trainer on a friday night at 9p was pretty wacked. not anymore.

i am jonsing for some dirt! preferable in rolling ribbons, punctuated by blown-out fireroad ascents and insanely technical singletrack.

you see, i'm on "spring break," the mid-term breather, and i'm hitting the dirt with the home team, heading to boston's north shore sunday morning. stoked. it's looking like a double header! even got a nice new conti explorer 2.3 for the front, nice and forgiving, opens big fat lines through the rough stuff... am stoked!

fired-up!

2008-02-25T09:58:00.001-05:00

this killer video i found on the msg boards has me all fired-up for spring. i'd been asking around about this old ski hill on the other side of the Northfield range and am stoked to find it's got some great riding on it too. Am fired-up to ride from waitsfield to those trails come spring, get some new mostly-dirt long ride loops laid down. so much dirt to ride up here!!

10

2008-02-25T08:37:00.002-05:00

the riding has been just about perfect the since last monday's R. temps dropped, turned the dirt roads to rock. our driveway could easily host a game of hockey. the studded tires hook-up great, fast rolling in comparison to sloggin' through packed powder. the key is getting outside before the warming late winter sun beats down and slushes 'em up... the rest of the time, which is to say, most of the time, i'm huddled over my computer and textbooks in the basement, spinning in the cool dimness while rays of sun occasionally slant down through the cracks in our porch, powering through the grime built-up on a window sitting inches above the ground. but, at least i've got a trainer. and a basement. and an old dirty window. and a cpl IFab bikes with xtr. and a beautiful wife. adorable daughter. cuddly dog. i digress. the riding. first time since labor day that i've gotten 10hrs in a week. am beginning to feel a bit more optimistic about regaining the form i had in '07. can finally think about racing again, it's been way too long of a lay-off, by april it'll have been 8 months since i've raced. that's crazy! where in the hell did the time go?

thinking 'bout building a super secret new bike for this yr. in depth pics and description of my Steel Deluxe to be posted, as it's for sale! it's loaded. full group of 2007 XTR with Mavic SLR wheelset. Pimp.

infamy

2008-02-25T07:33:00.003-05:00

jenn got onto the front page of our local paper. for a whole week she was infamous (she's the one in green/yellow). she also mentioned the women she rolled with ripped! not unusual in this ski town. rippin' is genetic here.

gravity fed. mostly.

2008-02-20T08:56:00.005-05:00

good adventure in big basin on sat morn, perfect snow conditions. i rarely take my camera on outdoor adventures (even though that's why i bought it). unfortunately, a $90 digicam takes $90pics... that being said, here's mike working like a dog for some powder turns. while we were in big basin, a cpl other friends were 20m to the south on a sweet backcountry peak grabbing adventure. it ain't hard finding a place to play around here, it's finding the time!

then i cut-loose and partied like a rock star. until like 9p. it was the leg's b-day and i let him down. i think they mostly made-up for it by decorating my comatose person throughout the evening, luckily sans black sharpie. i did get to illustrate how to sleep w/o dropping your beer. i have this weird magic sleeping grip on beer btls, you simply can't peel one out of my fingers.

next day found us all out skiing/riding in spring-like conditions, warm temps, heavy rains. it was the end of a 10-year ski/ride hiatus for thom and miriam. within a run or two thom was busting 180's and miriam was skiing like she hadn't missed a day. of course i didn't have my camera...

getting 'er done

2008-02-13T22:42:00.004-05:00

back on the pain machine. added a "study console" to the mix. knew there was a way to double-up on things. study stuff. ride lots.

sneakers

2008-02-10T22:08:00.000-05:00

so little time, crappy weather, the pain machine (indoor trainer) sits gathering dust, just not into it. the sneakers have been a freedom, a quick way to get some exercise, be outside, put the stress of the day aside. who knows, maybe i'll even stay fit for the spring when the legs can spin, the mind wander. nasty ice makes the chore of running a bit more interesting, and the views on the route are always worth the effort. some days can't get-out until after work. i leave the driveway, headlamp on, reflectors around bronte's neck, and head up and out our ice-covered dirt road. we turn onto slushy pavement and up a short climb to the old town common, now just a small patch of grass where two roads intersect. the pavement is the worst part of the run and it's always a relief to hit the dirt of the common road. cruise under the wide tree canopy of the van trapp's farm, the cows and sheep inside for much of the winter - and quickly out into the open fields, the stars blazing, the big dipper laying low in the sky, partially hiding behind scrag mtn. the road dips down for a 1/2 mile, then back up, a long open space with the mtns, fields, and stars all around. i turn at the bottom and begin heading home. to the west, the lights of groomers working the slopes of sugarbush gleam against the white strips of snow. by the time we hit our road again, i'm either dragging ass or sprinting, depending on the earlier day's efforts. sneakers aren't always bad...

Hardbucks

2008-01-30T09:49:00.000-05:00

from my bro andy in iraq. he's a good man.

the coffee must be safe! imagine what the barrier around the bar must look like...

snowbike

2008-01-16T08:51:00.000-05:00

jenn did a photoshoot for the new IFab Grassroots website she's designing... here are a cpl cool bike pics:

------------------------------------

the weather has been perfect for riding outside. a warm spell turned the dirt roads to muck, but this week temps are back down and the dirt is perfect.

for the past cpl yrs, the winter bike set-up is rigid fork, (studded) Nokian Extreme 2.1 in front, Hakkapelitta 1.95 in the rear w/ultra-light tubes to make climbing enjoyable...

I find riding the mtb on frozen dirt roads is good for the handling skills. Even w/studs the bike handles a bit loose on frozen terrain, pockets of soft snow resemble sand in summer. but getting-on in the winter is great. great to be outside. great to see everything in winter-mode, as you see the landscape so much differently from the saddle, i really soak it in... and i feel sharper in singletrack come spring! but, i got a lot of snowbike time before riding ribbons of dirt...

Clothes and layering are key as usual, lots of thin layers with plenty of zippers and a shell w/pit zips. My usual early winter route is 13.5m w/3000ft of climbing, being able to climb and descend in comfort has taken a while to master, but now that i've gotten the layers figured-out, i'm loving the winter riding! Last winter, my first in Vermont, was a tough learning curve...

enough talking about snowbiking, it's time to get on it!

'08

2008-01-15T07:12:00.000-05:00

Since 2007 was to be the last year i was to procrastinate. ever. i decided it was ok to procrastinate one last time and do these new years resolutions a little late. i mean, seriously, i'll totally make-up for it. i won't be procrastinating anymore. time itself will be my bitch.

And the resolutions are:

No more procrastinating. Starting tomorrow.
Join local cycling clubs, meet other local riders, go on group rides.
No more beer. in excess. "no more beer" on it's own is just crazy. on second thought, this one's out.
Ride faster.
Eat more donuts.
Wake-up earlier.
Bring my camera more often.
Be more sensitive to other humans and dogs and stuff.
Get less mechanicals!
Put together a sick 100 mile mtb route here in the Mad River Valley, then get some folks up here to do a test run.

'08 is going to be the hardest year yet for me to find time to ride. '07 found me away from home for 4-5days for each 100mile race, then skipping local xc races to spend time at home with our new little one or catch-up on chores. i utilized my free time almost exclusively for riding - even during the late winter powder storms...

this winter, would rather be outside than riding in the basement on the trainer. have to remember that i don't "owe" cycling anything even though it can feel that way once you get into it. and with the addition of 3 classes at UVM, time will be tight, but i have to believe riding/racing is doable - and that it can be done w/o shortchanging my family-time... or work. or school.

Since i mentioned in a previous post that in '08 i'd discuss how i train, etc, here's how the first cpl weeks of the year went:

First wk of Jan:
Mon-Fri: Planned 60mins/day trainer. Averaged closer to 45.
Sat-Sun: Planned 3hr trainer session. Instead, went for a solid snowshoe w/my neighbor john up Scrag Mtn, then sledded-down as much as we could. john's an animal, breaking into jogs, breaking trail. The 6-10 feet of fluffy snow hung from the trees and pushed the trail up into their boughs. It was a winter-wonderland hike - and a sick all-body workout that rejuvenated the spirit and got me fired-up to play outside more this winter.

Second wk of Jan:
Mon-Fri: Planned 60mins/day trainer. Mon-Wed got the 60, the Thurs-Fri got 40min or so.
Sat: Planned 3hr trainer. Instead hiked up Burnt Rock w/Mikey-J. warm temps had melted the snowpack into a crust - a crust you'd occasionally posthole through w/o the showshoes above 1500ft or so. At 2000-2500ft the tops of the trees were encrusted in ice and sparkled brilliantly as the sun's early rays spread across the conifers. soon, big fat drops of water began to fall like a light rain. of course no camera for me as usual...
Sun: 3hrs of tele skiing.

'08 Races:
Start racing mid-to-late May.
Race closer-to-home (which means less 100milers).
Root 66 Series.
An EFTA race or 2.
Wilderness 101
Hampshire 100k
Vermont 50

dumpin'!

2007-12-31T08:45:00.000-05:00

after a brief warm spell w/some R, then wet snow, the mtn has packed-down nice and the trees are skiing/riding sweet! woke-up to steadily falling snow, 2-3 more days of it forecast, couldn't ask for better!

andy cruised-up on fri/sat for some runs w/my bro-in-law chris. both guys hadn't been out in 2yrs, so i helped them warm-up the legs w/the steepest stuff on the hill before hitting the trees for a monster woods run into Slidebrook. from Lincoln Peak you only get to ski 1/3 - 1/2 of the Slidebrook vertical, from Mt Ellen you're out for an epic adventure (at least through the routes i "know"). there's glades skiing, then there's skiing in the woods-woods. andy was all smiles while chris plowed through small unsuspecting saplings, the furry flaps of his flat shimmering w/speed, his face marked in concentration. really good times. thnks for rolling-up guys.

spent saturday w/another ex-skier on the comeback trail, his first day out in years. david ripped it up, pushing the legs till they were mashed potatoes. then sunday afternoon w/nat and mikey-j, back in the trees, searching for the untracked lines... a binding on my board has been loose/broken since Nov, got that fixed w/a zip-tie and the difference was incredible. instead of shooting the line around the drops, was able to take the high road, have some good fun. amazing what a difference functioning equipment makes! now just need to get a board that has edges or onto my teles...

today i'm chillin' w/little miss s, watching the snow fall from the windows vs the lift. no complaints, w/steady snow in the forecast, wednesday's shaping-up to be something special! and i might just be able to sneak-out for a cpl hrs this morning w/the help of our friends. w/2 kids and one in the oven, they won't even notice seneca runnin' about their house. right?

epic black diamond

2007-12-18T17:16:00.000-05:00

when off-piste and/or in trees so thick you have to turn sideways to sneak through, nail that turn, then another and another, unpacked snow laying on the limbs of small pines, ready to collapse underneath if you slow or adjust. into patches of windblown thick and heavy, keep those tips up, then into untracked soft powder, make a cpl turns and hope you don't go down, digging-out doesn't just take time, it sucks future runs from the legs... snuck-in a cpl EBD runs/moments w/Mikey-J, then a cpl more yesterday w/his buddy Nat. good times, it's why i like playing in the snow. and thnks daren for the uncopyrighted use of your term for bad-ass skiing/riding - i know you're busy doing the same type of runs out your way!

just learned that my 5yr-old deck is shot, untunable. i've know it since the beginning of last season, slowly compensating for its 100% lack of edges, how loose and unstable in the tail it'd become. the idea of a new deck is exciting, if i only had a cpl dollars to spare, which i don't. to be able to bomb the cruisers and dig into the hardpack vs just slide across and hope for some snow on the other side... a little spring in the moguls and trees would be nice too.

calm before the storm

2007-12-16T07:46:00.000-05:00

conditions are epic!

day 6

2007-12-06T07:49:00.000-05:00

conditions on the mtn have been incredible. "there's no noise" jenn says in awe. no scraping of dull edges. powder caches everywhere, many untracked lines on castelrock all day yesterday, well worth the 30min hike/ski over. did the first lap at 930-10a w/mikey-j, broke trail, middle earth was full of wind-blow, still light enough to dive down mid-thigh then pull up before getting sucked under on the water bars. bobbing in and out like a dolphin. i'm definitely not used to this powder! more snow on friday night?

snow!

2007-12-03T07:05:00.000-05:00

oh yeah, it is a'dumpin'! looking like more than a foot, less than 2. aspirations of late "lunches" on the mtn are brewing. this is why we live here, or, at least, one of the reasons. what's crazy, is that while driving-up a big climb this morning, i found myself thinking, "it's gonna be a while before i can bike on this." snow is falling hard, we live 5m from two of the best ski resorts in NE...

after getting a little warning from a friend after the last post, i wanted to say that i never ride through someones property on purpose, or pass a "no trespassing" sign. i do occasionally get lost or follow a trail/road that just happens to exit through a yard or whatnot - and the more i ride the dirt in the valley, the more infrequently the mistakes occur. sorry if i've invaded your privacy by mistake. and no more taking pictures of the places i accidentally get lost in...

changes

2007-11-29T07:53:00.000-05:00

yesterday's ride was a good one. the sun came out and a planned lunch-time indoor trainer session found me putting-on the layers and layers of clothes necessary for a comfy early-season spin on dirt and class 4 roads in 25 degree temps. thin snow cover has been down for almost 3wks, but the ground hasn't frozen through, leaving big pockets of water to freeze onto the bike and shoes...

i mentioned before wanting to make changes to the blog... it seems like just posting random rides here and there isn't that productive... in '05 and '06 i wrote a lot of long race reports as i moved through the ranks of expert into semi-pro. in '07 the posts grew less wordy and less frequent... i began to explore the "why?" of racing as i've begun to see that my yearly hrs have reached a peak - and thus my results have as well... why continue racing once you reach the peak? unless i can find a cpl hundred more hrs per yr, i'm not going to get much faster... because it's fun. that's what i learned in '07, i really enjoy the "moments" a race gives you in hindsight...

in '08 i'd like to change the blog. i'd like to add gps maps of where i'm riding here in vermont for others to use when they come to the mad river valley. the trails here are incredible, but barely mapped. with sugarbush adding lift-assist mtbiking back to the mix, this area could become a major destination - mapping all the trails in the area would be a great benefit to those looking to ride beyond the mtn...

i'd like to add more concise training and fueling info. when i started into racing, then endurance, finding a fueling plan was a big challenge... one now almost solved. but, there's always room for improvement...

i'd like to add a lot of things... to make the blog something more than my random ramblings about great rides i've been on... ideas are welcome.

burning it off

2007-11-26T12:18:00.000-05:00

winter has come early to the valley and no one is complaining. trying to mix it up and keep some semblance of fitness (on the bike) while also getting-in runs at the 'bush. after eating and drinking for 3 days straight, decided to get-out for a spin...

the (a) view
the roads
the bike
the freak

choices

2007-11-18T20:41:00.001-05:00

in order to get-out for this:

didn't do any of this:

not complaining.

sugarbush is looking good, top-to-bottom, 10-day forecast is solid, rock it when you can. hit it up yesterday w/some of the neighborhood crew, found mikey-j end of day. more of the same t-day, minus mj, he was doing the right thing, splittin' wood, dreaming of powder days... pulled the deuce today, out early on the bike while the dirt roads were still frozen, then up to the hill for some runs. i am cooked. everyone around here rips, lots of chasing. good to be tired after a day of goofing-out.

huge props

2007-11-18T08:38:00.000-05:00

wanted to send a big shout-out to andy for kicking ass down at La Ruta (on his SS). big props to harry, dr rog, tim d, dicky, reenie, tom, and the rest of the folks we've met while riding our bikes all day. amazing ride guys and girls. tons of pics and write-ups on cyclingnews.com

and yes, i am taking a bit of a bloggin' break. winter's on here, dirt roads turning to mud, singletrack buried under snow... while andy and the rest were sweating it out up volcanos, i was boarding. bluebird day today, good day for some pics from the top of lincoln peak. gonna be a good day.

end of one season, start of another...

2007-11-08T19:16:00.000-05:00

after-work rides are at a premium, lights now required. been maximizing daylight, but early NE winter is here and with it the light is gone. 0nly 40'ish days till the shortest day of the year... snow has fallen above 1000-1200 feet, pretty stoked to see the mtns in white, will it be enough for some turkey-day turns!?

late season epic

2007-10-29T20:46:00.000-04:00

andy and roger rolled-up early sat to tackle the Gaps, put the finishing touches on a long season of work and play, what some would call training.

saturday. wet, cool weather, wood stove burning all day, drive andy and roger down to hancock, no easy way home, especially not when climbing mtns all day. sweating, steaming hot, then freezing cold on the descents. they ride up the road in layers and layers of clothes as i stand in the rain with Seneca, steady at first, building to torrents throughout the day, but that's andy's story... rain was heavy enough for sean and whitney to go creeking!

sunday. my wkly hrs have been slim, little worried about cutting it... but my riding has been great fun the past 8wks, big speed, big power, no work. nothing beats late season... then your buddies roll-up for a late season beat-down, the kind of wknd bike freaks dream about. rain. sleet. snow. 20k of elevation. back to the ride. with jenn away at Kripalu got a huge favor from mike and sarah on sunday, seneca was in good hands, time for me to play, thanks guys. fast forward 5 hours, best part of the day - up a steep wall of mud and running water, roger pushes hard to the top, smiles and exclaims, "that was horrible!", smiles some more, laughs, says again, "i mean, horrible!", still laughing. that's one solid dude. those who enjoy and thrive from overcoming such obstacles are always worth meeting, knowing. those who laugh it off in true, honest, earnest enjoyment, are truly unique. am lucky to know more than a cpl folks like that now...

had to steal one pic from andy's blog. he got some great pics in terrible conditions! temps rose over 40 early in the day, then sunk to the 30's by 2-3p. anticipated rain showers came as sleet and snow. crazy way to train for la ruta! super-cool day of riding with a cpl great folks. thanks for rolling and keeping me company up here. was going crazy sitting on all this great dirt w/no one to ride it with!!!!

the views alone here aren't always great, it's how the sun and clouds, the elements, play with the the views that is remarkable. difficult to describe the beauty, taken in wide and deep doses it is hard to distill to a few words. here, a snow flurry blows our way, but never reaches us...

playing catch-up

2007-10-14T21:16:00.000-04:00

the leaves have peaked, the mtns are showing a dusting of white, time on the bike has become of no importance. no races. no worries of miles on the drivetrain or hours in the legs and somehow i feel more invigorated than ever. after a season of making withdrawals from family time, it's been good to make some deposits, hopefully enough that by next may, when the goals have been set and the racing begun, it's with a happier heart than this past year. i tried to cram too much in, too many days away from home - and by the end of it, my legs were willing, but my heart knew the truth - and as i look back on the season, it's with missed opportunities to rage the local scene in lieu of the big ones many miles away... why travel for multiple days when i could travel and race 4 or 5 times locally? the goals for next season have begun to ferment, soon they will be a cheap wine.

one more year. that's what i'm thinking. it's not that i ride because i have to or should, i enjoy it, every minute - at least in retrospect. this is a hobby - a simple selfish pursuit of personal limitations. i presume that most people don't need to race. most people don't need to constantly test themselves and ask, "can i do this better?" they are confident enough to know that they can go faster, it's simply not necessary to find-out how fast... but not me. at the age of 32, my body still recovers well and quickly, it's not quite time to hang-up the testing, the questioning... maybe i'll do this forever...

as this time of year rolls around, the questions arise anew. why do i race? why do i want to train? i know it is for me and me alone, that no one cares beyond the moment of the outcome... it is for me and me alone. and that is the hardest part. her eyes. those big blue eyes demanding my time, my attention, the best of me, not the leftovers... but racing defines me. defines me beyond the ordinary hi's and hello's, "what do you do's?" ... one thing i like about vermont is few people ask you what you do for a living... i hate that. you meet someone for the first time and they ask you the dreaded, "so, what do you do for work?" question. they need to define you. meet me first. then a cpl more times. let's go for a ride or a ski. not because i want to sprint up or down a hill faster, but to simplify life. move. struggle. overcome. sprint. fly. scramble. do you laugh when you fall or curse? that's what defines you.

jonathon bruck photgraphy

KAHUNA!

2007-10-08T20:06:00.000-04:00

very few times this yr have i ridden for fun, or with friends, too much training, not enough laughs. the kahuna was a well needed, hopefully well deserved, 30+mile tromp through some of the gnarliest, trickest, most bad-ass trails on the planet. well, that last statement is a stretch, let's just stick to New England. almost 80 mtnbike fanatics converged upon Beverly early saturday morning to embark on the quest. Cloudy skies blew-out and as we crested Red Rock to soak-in the view of the ocean across Cape Ann, there wasn't a guy or girl not smilin'... a huge thanks to the organizers of this ride! i could write a ton about this ride, but i don't got time! Andy's got some pics posted, thom took a bunch, maybe to be posted... enormous thanks to Daren Mourneau for letting me ride his pimped-out Wraith. His design, his bike, his way - it rocked - my first ride on a "big bike" ever - and it saved my ass again and again. usually i come home from one of these rides covered in blood, not this time! you point it and shoot the line. AWESOME!

thanks to Mikey-J for riding down to the north shore w/me - and conquering his first Kahuna on his trusty IFab Steel Deluxe.

a walk or two

2007-10-08T09:34:00.000-04:00

vt50 pics

2007-10-02T21:31:00.001-04:00

since i couldn't get an entry to the vt50, i rolled-down and handed btls to my good friends, andy and thom. greg had his own thing going, while Brad tromped through the woods via his sneakers, had to hit the road and missed his finish, sorry brad! here are the cpl pics that came-out mostly non-blurry. got myself a fancy camera and have no friggin' clue how to use it. need not stray from "Full Auto!" thom crushed it, 6th overall and 2nd in SS with andy hot on his heels, 3rd in SS, greg took the long way, went blind, was miraculously healed and came to the finish not long after. nice racin' fellas! i've tried very hard to stay mellow about not getting into the race, but i'm still very, very bummed, probably why posting these cpl sorry pics has taken so long - and maybe why 90% of the pics i took came-out so blurry you'd think i was drunk. maybe i was.

revising?

2007-09-26T20:07:00.000-04:00

maybe my new thing is revising a post over a period of time, see what it turns into, cpl mins here and there.

temps are warm after the first frost, trails dry and fast, but leaves now falling. at 1000ft there's a sprinkling, by 1500 the trail is almost covered, by 2000 the trail is hard to discern. today's spin took me to the valley floor and north (downstream) for a mile before turning up the west slope onto pavement, then dirt, snowmobile, 10mins into the ride and onto the singletrack climb. this is one of my favorites. winding along a brook. up a cpl hard-charge climbs. flowing into a series of switchbacks through a stand of widely spaced beech, thickly growing ferns now partially covered by a mix of yellow and orange leaves. the trail dips and rolls a few times before turning back up the hill, a short reprieve to the effort.

after 20'ish mins of huffing i'm out onto a steep dirt road, another cpl-few mins of huffing and i'm back in the woods, now on carriage road, at times overgrown to singletrack, at others, a car length wide. with things so dry it's loose on the steeps, hardly a puddle to be found, even w/recent rains.

the descent begins, eventually dumping out into fields above Bragg hill, the reward of all the effort - a vast view down the valley. the western ridge rising sharply up, mother nature's snow machine, down the well-known slopes and steeps, then across to the fields on the lower eastern slopes of the northfield range which rises-up more casually than it's neighbor 10miles to the west. one of the best views in the valley and i'm flowing on a well-worn ribbon around the top of a few fields, glancing up as much as possible, soaking it in, this life. after a short but good filling, i'm cruising down, too soon onto a hardpacked dirt road, open fields still granting a wide view. cruise easy for a minute or two before turning back onto singletrack.

this section is well-used, roughed-up, but sweet for it - it's a downhill - it should be roughed-up. 5-10mins, back on the valley floor, head east on rt 17, away from Phen Basin and Appalachian Gap, turn up rt 100 before climbing the east valley wall for home. door-to-door in not too many minutes at all. can't wait to tie all the sections i know into one ride...

Vermont 50

2007-09-23T20:51:00.000-04:00

not being able to race this year's vermont 50 is a real bummer. the race sold-out in less than 25mins, 825 slots. i was out riding, found myself running late, home at 725p, registration opened at 7pm, figured it was plenty of time. no dice. sold-out. all done. crazy. my pleas for late entrance to no avail, i'm not venting here, mike silverman does a great job w/this event, has handled the onset of immense popularity from mtnbikers in a way befitting his vision for the event.

the course lures us. 8000 feet of climbing over 50miles of quiet dirt roads, tremendous singletrack, stunning views, and plenty of challenge. by this time of the season, plenty of base in the legs, the 50 feels as much like an xc as it does an endurance event, it's truly the best of both. the best race i've ever done, one i hope to do again. and again. and the proceeds all go to Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sport, no prize money here.

different subject. blogging. i haven't been doing it very much, am kinda done w/it to a certain extent. when i read earlier posts, they seem to be written by someone else, they do not do the experience justice, they are almost always unedited first drafts and sloppy at best. i'm feeling a move is in order, an excuse to make (big) changes to what i'm posting online.

shenenandoah 100, a race report

2007-09-12T21:47:00.000-04:00

friday night, whilst sharing a room w/andy in allentown halfway through a monster drive, lloyd, floyd, chris, ramponi, and others were enjoying each other's company over a cpl-few pints somewhere outside harrisonburg, va. as harvey mentioned in a post, the floyd factor is on, but after rubbing elbows, i'm not sure what the floyd factor is... the picture that most sticks in my mind from the weekend is winner jeff schalk struggling to open the winner's champagne, hands it to floyd for the honors. the cork pops and floyd lightly sprays a crowd of a few hundred, not wearing yellow in paris, but blue cotton in backwoods virginia, as down-to-earth as anyone i've met.

pre-5a wake-up, strong coffee, struggle to eat, wait for ramponi's energy to flow into my pysche. the campground awakens around us, the sun quick to rise, time moves quick on race morning, soon we're lined-up shoulder to shoulder.

manage to roll my front tire off the rim while still in the campground, ride the mostly flat old ust a few miles out onto the fireroad, until the field thins, man this is a fast start to a hundie!, have the co2 loaded and in my hand before hitting the brakes, get 20-30psi in there and back in the saddle quick, not enough air to get the bead back onto the rim, have to repeat the procedure a cpl time until things hold, running low on co2's, tripping on that until a group of 6 forms around sue haywood after the first big singletrack climb. she's flying, doing all the pulling, so i do a long turn then float to the back, can't seem to recover, is it me or sue's pace!? she's flying. aid 2 goes by. aid 3. the group is down to 4, then i'm dropped. it's a matter of self preservation, go hard now and suffer later or take a deep breath, find my tempo, and wait for shenandoah mtn...

the miles tick slowly by, some great pieces of singletrack, ripping descents! aid 4. can't see anyone in front or behind, where are the other 470 folks riding this race!? btw, the volunteers in this event are incredible - thankyou!

on to aid 5 and shenandoah mtn, the road begins to drag, i downshift, look around, no one notices, so i downshift again, just can't get things going. out of nowhere harvey appears, he's pumped, riding strong, magic legs driving his bus. after the race he's talking about the views off shenandoah, the flowers, the scenary... what flowers!? i was deep in the cave, a cpl riders push past before aid 5. this mtn doesn't quit, across the ridge through thick fields offering stunning views, don't see much but dirt and pain.

then we descend. and descend. and descend. i've stopped using the rear brake as a solution to tendonitis in my right arm, its flowing now, feeling good, make-up time for the first time in 30miles, 15-20m to go, time to decide if i'm gonna let bored legs dictate my ride or fight it to the end. grab Jens Nielsen's wheel, try to hang-on as he guides his rig to its 7th shenandoah 100.

jens ditches me up the final fireroad climb, pass a cpl others, but greg turner holds me off, i believe he's 51!, but he makes a wrong turn in the campground, i'm pushing hard w/mashed-potato legs, this is all i got, where is that beer!?, then see a tent, it's right there! a smile finally crosses my face, barely. this has been a hard one. a personal journey, an amazing ride ... the legs weren't there, but fight through it and rip a good time on a dry, fast course. 16th in 8:24.

andy has an incredible ride, blasting 20-30mins from his 2006 time - on his ss - for 3rd in the class! i think he's found his calling. dude's an animal. harlan takes second after an interesting day playing yo-yo w/floyd, harvey in 13th, his legs and attitude incredible, a great ride, buck, lloyd, ramponi, swamper, jeff, and patrick all wearing green, a sea of green... thnks to chris scott, his family, his volunteers, this event is the shit! i'm no rockstar and go down in a swirl of beer and whiskey well before midnight, good times, thanks to all those involved once again.

jonathon bruck photography, great pics of the event... had to borrow this one of andy coming across the finish, this dude is pumped! and he should be - first time on an ss and he grabs podium!!!

there's so much more to say... as a season of epics winds to a close and a long winter awaits, the woodstove already burning up here in vermont... too much to say... anyone who rides w/these epic races as a goal knows what i'm saying. it's time to have some fun and ride w/friends. see ya' at the kahuna!

shen one-o-o

2007-09-04T08:25:00.000-04:00

what a race! recovering from the beating, will try to write-up a race report worth reading in the next cpl days. huge thnks to chris scott for organizing such an incredible event! ya' know what i'm saying mon? thnks andy, and thanks to all the IF crew for another real good time w/good people, plus all the new folks we met along the way.

"I'M GONNA RIDE MY BIKE ALLLLLL DAY! YEEAAHHHH!" -m.r.

results news

preppin' for another hundie

2007-08-31T09:04:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-27T23:50:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-15T07:57:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-10T07:41:00.000-04:00

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

2007-08-01T16:20:00.000-04:00

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.

Mt Snow, Nationals

2007-07-26T20:57:00.001-04:00

when nationals comes to town, you gotta go. pre-4a wake-up and 2+hr drive down, registered, out warming-up by 7-715, cool temps perfect for a race, 3 days of steady rain has finally blown-out, but reminders of it everywhere. 753a, at staging, Harry (and Kay) appear, grab my btls. line-up in the 3rd row half in a puddle, take what you can get. we're off, easing into position, the first little climb is wide and steep shattering the pack and sending us into singletrack barely battling, 2 riders are completely off the front and blow the field to pieces.

find myself right outside the top 5, surprised, seeing the lines just fine, try to settle-down and enjoy the ride, so much floats through my head early in a race - most of it distracting. as the race continues, the chatter subsides equally to how good the legs feel, focus is found, inner peace by concentration and success? when tired or bonking the chatter picks back up, but i digress, back to the race.

off the bike 5-10mins into the race. the technical climb is unridable, ankle-deep mud in places, try to run, make a pass when possible. my head is ringing, "this is a cross race on crack!", continue-on, drums beating-out a rhythm above. for those not familiar w/mt snow, a cpl folks hike-up before each xc and pound-out a steady beat, rain or shine, they are the shit.

grind up the fireroad portion of the climb, super slick in spots, aim for traction, for rocks, the piranha [hutchinson 2.0 ust] on the rear isn't pleased and sulks its way around the course, but manages. as we crest i don't fight too hard for placement into the woods for the long technical descent and begin the long slipe-and-slide down. riding it out, not braking (much), let the bike cut-through wheel-deep mud, rooty, rocky stuff, have to let it flow like water, one mistake leads to another and you're too far off line, i panic, crash directly onto the hip w/stitches, let-out a rediculous cave-man yell. at least i got the fall (i was fearing) out of the way early. pain brings nausea, the chatter in my head gets louder, must focus and get back into the race, on the bike, sliding, little too cautious, slow is bad in these conditions, gotta have enough speed to get the wimpy 80mm forks over the big obstacles, i miss my line, brake too much and slide sideways into the woods. stop. focus. back on the bike in secs, this time letting it roll a bit better, by the btm my hands are numb from too-tight a grip, but the noise in my head is gone and by the fireroad climb of the 2nd lap can see 5-6 riders in front, pass a cpl into the woods, know i need to make my moves on the climb, the descent is a test of survival for me today.

lose a spot to brooke scatchard on the descent (and time to everyone in front), i find myself right behind brooke's 29'er at every race it seems. pound the pedals through the start/finish and up to Harry at the feed zone. there are pretty much NO spectators out for friday's 8am semi-pro mudfest, definitely didn't feel like nationals, am grateful to harry (and kay) for waking-up early and standing in the mud, especially considering harry's race was 9hrs later and i had to bolt for home... L.

catch brooke on the climb, but don't bother trying to squeeze by, i know he can put 30-60secs on me in the descent, so let him go and focus on my race as we wind back down the mtn. as we turn corners on the descent Spotters blow whistles letting spectators know you're coming (even when there are no spectators). the whistles also let racers know how big gaps are. brooke's gap goes out of earshot while a hardy ss'ers grows near. i emerge from the woods w/a 5-10 sec gap on my ss friend and take advantage of my barely functioning gears, pounding on the pedals to the finish, legs screaming. 9th place, a blistering average speed of 7mph! not bad for my first time out (at nationals) as a semi-pro. am stoked. it's been a hard cpl wks, been hammering nails in the sun and getting the rides in, beat-down by sunset, glad to see it come together for this one. would have liked to be 60secs faster on each descent, but still wouldn't have gotten me onto the podium, there's always next yr!

congrats to thom for his podium in the open ss and to mo for winning ANOTHER stars and stripes jersey, this time on her mtbike! harry fought it out in the U23 race, haven't heard his report... thanks for the pics and btls harry, you are the man.

here i am explaining to harry and kay why i'm awesome.

Nationals

2007-07-19T19:20:00.000-04:00

been raining lots, looks better down south at mt snow, but still planning for a mudfest - time to bust-out a "big" tire for the front - kinda wish i had a 2.3 laying about... lots going-on, hard to find as much time (to ride) as i'd like, then the whole stitches thing, been taking it easy, riding the road. i'll either be silly rested and have a good one or be completely flat - either way, mt snow's technical descent will be wicked w/all this rain - hoping i remember how to ride my mtbike! looking to use Nats as a spring board for a hard 9-10 day training block, then a 7-day taper for the wilderness 101. sounds simple now, but once life and work gets mixed-in, plans can fall apart pretty quick, as they have the past 2-3wks... but, where there's a negative, there's always a positive - while only getting about 10hrs/wk in, it's been quality - and i'm feeling nice and rested, best way to go into an over-reaching phase... would be even better to go into the phase w/a solid race result tomorrow (8am!) at mt snow. now, should i mount those seracs or roll with a 2.0 bulldog. decisions, decisions... or eff it and go to bed, got to wake-up at 4a for the drive down there. lame!