Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Coolest24

This weekends race...keeping a close eye on diet/hydration/exercise/and sleep this week to prepare...here is a map of the course...will be Solo on my Single Speed...
The red is last years route, yellow this year.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Lemurian Shata Classic


Okay the story...wow where to start...this was truly an "EPIC" race that is worthy of at least the top 3 rides I've ever done...I know some of you will say well your not THAT experienced and traveld yet...okay, okay...but I've been around a little. Flume Trail Lake Tahoe, Mt. Snow Vermont, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware..and on the way home Utah and Colorado for good measures.


Now the start of the race was a mass start with 300+ riders...3 different courses.

1 - beginner 8 miler

2 - intermediate 20 miler

3 - expert long course 26 miler


I choose the long course cause everyone was writting about the 6 miles difference is SO INCREDIBLE you can't afford to miss it, well all my races have been over 20 since I arrived out here so what the heck...


We started in the parking lot by the lake and headed up the asphalt road approx. 1/4 mile, turn on to the main rd for approx another 1/4...then it was a turn into the fire road for the long butt kicking climb up this killer mountain (they call them hills out here)...well I did okay for at least half, then I had to succumb to the ole "hike-a-bike" for a bit...SSing it again this race...well at the top your greeted with our first descent...


Check out MTBR.com under forum, Lemurian and you will read the stories and expletives of the downhill, described anywhere from "dangerous, scary, awesome, fast, fun, amazing, brutal, have never seen anything like it, etc" I think everything you could say about DH was mentioned...it was steep, rocky, ruts, slippery loose granite, definently brake busting/burning...you could smell hot brakes...but most of all...I FRIGGIN LOVED IT!!!...


Then we all got to experience the sweetest single track you could ever imagine...pedal half dz. strokes, pump, coast....pedal, pump...coast, it was that flowing for 5-6 miles....fantastic...the I-9's were so cool through here as I approached other riders I just came up behind and coasted, the "rachet" sound bugged em and they let me by...great, thanks...the pace through here was awesome...


Had some fun, cool and refreshing water crossings...we had shade in the pines, open BIG sky and snow covered mountains in some areas that baked ya in the hot sun...it was absolutely breath taking...and YES I SMELLED THE ROSES...you have to LIVE IT while you race...I'm not a Pro, life is way to short not to see the views and soak it in...


Then....another....murderous...friggin...hillclimb...worse then the first one...look at the elevation chart below you'll see, we were just under 1,000' and climb to almost 3,000'...there were a couple spots I would have loved to see someone climb...saw lots of riders hiking...including myself...


But, what goes up (at least that high) must come down, yeeehawww...so down we came...they even had "X" runs and "XX" runs...those really made your eyes pop when you went over the ledge/drop...my favorite was at a water crossing that you literally dropped into...I yelled at a rider ..." rider-up" he backed out of the way and just as he said "i'd like to see this" I was dropping into it..my butt hit the backside of my rear tire, I probably couldn't stretch that far again if I wanted to...didn't "dab" though (love the 29er)...


There was a guy on the 2nd long climb that I couldn't stay with that I caught up to on the DH and we were flyin, I know he was trying to keep in front and I was just waiting for the end...well the end came at a parking lot for the RV's and I spotted one with just a short incline of approx 50' you came up into the RV camping area..dashed downhill through the parking lot to a 200-300 foot section of single track and poped out into the lower parking lot at the finish...well right at the little incline to the RV parking the guy pulled up with a cramp, darn if I din't cease the moment (hey ANY glory after this ride was worth it)...I didn't know where he was but on the SS I pedaled like a hammster DH to the finish...
Here is a local newspaper article, very cool:

This is actually a race I would consider Flyin back to next year...way more so than even Sea Otter Classic....


Now this coming weekend is the Coolest24...I'll be giving it a try on my SS too...this race is to benefit cancer survivors and victims...100% goes to non-profit... As just a few of you know, I lost my big sister last year in May to cancer so this race will mean alot to me (crying right now)...they are going to have a memory lane where they will post pictures of those lost..I have mailed my favorite picture of Cindy to them and can't wait to see it on the trail, in the meantime here it is, (see above)...I am going to get pictures of this strecth so I'll be posting that too...


C-ya all real soon


Sunday, April 27, 2008

Lemurian Shasta Classic







Here are a couple pictures from this past weekends race...story to follow, and check flickr for pictures.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Biker Ed


One of the guys at work drew this up...pretty cool, he used to be a tattoo artist...

Monday, April 21, 2008

Pictures from Sea Otter Janice Morris and Mike Laub

Check out my "flickr" link for new Sea Otter pictures...Janic Morris and Mike Laub have a seperate folder...check out Mike getting his Medal today...that was awesome he did TWO LAPS!!!! 38 miles...and came in a close 5th...way to go East Coast...Janice came in a tight 8th place...in her group all the ladies were group together pretty closely (she'll say otherwise, just being modest)...but it was great to see them and cheer them on, and likewise for me yesterday to get cheered on by a couple of fabulous back home folks...really made me home sick for some MASS racing!

Old Guys Rule!!!!

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Sea Otter...My Race Today










Well today was the big day for me...got up at 4:50am at the KOA, morning routine, packed up and headed for the race it's about 30 minutes away...it was FRIGGIN COLD this morning (I know I'm whimping out, back home it would be considered warm) but hey in the 40's is cold, and it was marine layered....and EXTREMELY WINDY...the wind was incredible30-50 mph gust. The warm up was pretty neat, the race started on the road course for the cars...any car buffs will know LAGUNA SECA, very cool race course...well everyone is out taking spins up the big hill climb of a course then racing back down...there were some pretty huge age groups...100+ racers in some age groups. Mine 50-54 had only 69 racers...and I finished....65th, yikes...had my first mechanical...wait'll you hear this one and the picture...anyways.

The race got started, you go for approx. 1/2 mile or so on the road course then turns off into the dirt...my pack was like "wolfs" heading out for a hunt...by the time we hit the dirt it was a long "snake" line... I even got "elbowed" and the guy didn't even look at me when I told him a thing or two...well just as you get on the dirt, ie fireroad...you go for about a 1/4 mile up then its a radical steep fireroad sprint down...speeds easily over 30mph...there are 2 little bumps, and as much as I love to get air I popped it good on the second one with my computer reading 34mph...got some awesome air...high...long...and then the gusty wind and...OH....SHIT...I'm laid out side ways...I know now what is coming, it felt like forever, then down I came laying out on my left side and slidin' in the gravel...ouch...rash like hell....and brother did it burn tonight in the shower!...well only one guy made it past me and I caught him by the bottom and then it was up for a ways. It turned into a single track and there was a slow leader in front of about 10 guys or so...we all pedaled close together till it opened up into a double track going up were myself and 2 other guys and we blasted by the bunch...then back down some fun single track into the "SAND PITS"...wow that is something else to pedal through, steep down and deep "wiggelly", steer ya where it wants to crap...made it through okay, there were a number of folks that would get bound up in it, some hurt there today too...then when we started up hill 82, very steep climb, it felt like I "sucked" my chain...I couldn't pedal...I looked down, chain still on, tried like hell to pedal, just couldn't do it...stopped tried to pedal it by hand and could barelly budge it...figured I'd start running up the hill till I found a good flat spot...in the meantime, I had the front pack of about 15 in site, me and the other two guys were charging hard....man the last 2 months of single speeding it has really paid off on the geared bike....anyways, those two guys were pulling away and some of the guys we had passed were gaining...when I stopped it turned out to be a set screw on my small sproket was backing out and hung up on the bottom bracket housing...well you can only see half the "hole" so I didn't have a wrench that could get into it...I tried squeezing it in with my leathermans...no luck..then got pissed and wedged my wrenches needle nose into the half hole and beat it with a rock...moved it enough where it was just literally a hair separation...jumped back on and started grinding up the hill in a bigger gear which seemed to keep it from gauging into the bottom bracket...by now the womens groups had caught me...spent the next 5-8 miles inching my way...caught a few of the guys...but man it was hard the set screw was dragging and really diggin a wonderfull groove, which I'm sure will cost me...but no way was I DNFing..my heart felt great, breathing good, legs okay, all in all feeling okay, just pissed off that anytime I pedaled it was like grinding up hill...I'm certain I would have done much better...oh well...I finished...was thrilled it was such a blast...good long climbs, felt my improvement...and best of all...I AM HEALTHY!!! No leg cramps either...lots of hydration ALL WEEK, with electrolytes...






Unfortunately for a numer of folks today it wasn't so good...I saw a guy on the down hill at a step jump (which I'll be posting alot of cool pics on) landed wrong right in front of me and you could here his leg "snap" and then his scream...he had an awful compound fracture of his shin bone...and I heard from a photographer that a downhiller was killed today as well...hit some air a little to high and wacked his head...could be a "legend" not sure...and there were many other shoulder, colar bones, bad scraps etc...considering, I did okay then.

Now just have to get the bike into the shop pronto for a good long REAL mountain bike race this next weekend in Northern California near Shasta and the Trinity Mountains...The race is the Lemurian Shast Classic 26 miles....

Oh and it was pretty cool just as I started, I was being cheered by another MASS racer...thanks much Janice...her and Mike have their races tomorrow morning so I'm going to head over there and cheer them on....they should really kick some butt on this course.

Later all..I'll try and upload some pictures to my flickr site but I'm in a camp ground with so-so internet connection speeds....in the meantime here are a couple.

Ed

Friday, April 18, 2008

Sea Otter Classic and My Condition

Well, it's that time of year and the annual Sea Otter Classic started today. It's held annually at Laguna Seca Park in Seaside California...It is one of the worlds largest mountain bike festival weekends and a major National Qualifier. They anticipate up to 10,000 entrants...THATS RIGHT NOT MIS-SPELLED..10,000...ENTRANTS, and up to 50,000 spectators...I'm told that most classes can and do have over 100 entrants per age group...after the start you race 1/2 way around the road car course to the backside then climb on a fire road to the top of a hill where it flattens out then dives into a single track and continues on for 20 miles amounting to 6850 elevation total...but they say it is amazing to be among the large group diving into the single track...at that point it behooves you to have sharp elbows, it gets VERY aggressive....there are a couple of the MASS racers coming out so I am VERY excited about seeing folks from back home...I saw pictures (I believe from last year) of Jerimiah Bishop out here, that would be cool to see him again....all classes except Pros do one lap...Pros do 2 laps 38-39 miles for the big guys....

Now my doctor story...I had a very unusal heart beat at my last race 2 weekends ago...after the first lap I didn't want to risk it so I DNF'd (for the first time) and went over to the Paramedics...they took my BP and it was 170 over 168...time to get the nitro and take it easy...watch the rest of my race from the sidelines and my BP got down to a more respectable 120 over 70...then I rested all last week, went to San Diego for the weekend...did a small easy 10 mile ride Monday, doctors appointment Tuesday, small easy 10 miler that night...feeling okay, then Wednesday a Cardiac Computed Tomography Angiogram...today the doctor called and it is all good...no calcium build up, all major arteries are clear and strong...told me it was probablly related to my intense schedule that week and just as happened to Ted, not enough hydration...he said I could resume my riding just "rachet" the "training" down a bit...so no more 6-7 days a week and only one hill burn climb a week...Since I've been out here in Cal. have nothing much to do in my spare time but ride, so my obsessive compulsive personality just takes over and watch out...So hopefully I'm not "too" rested for Sea Otter...heading there tomorrow do a little riding around, see the folks from back east, and watch the Beginners take off at 3pm...do some shopping too!!!
I'll let ya all know how my race goes later this weekend.

Thanks to my new team for sending out a jersey to wear for the race and "represent"...GO BIKE LINE!!!
Ed
"Old Guys Rule"

Monday, April 7, 2008

Race CCCX#5 Pictures




You can check out most of the pictures on the link "flickr" I have but here are a couple...the one of me running is probablly why I had a "blow" up in my race...:) Oppss forgot it's a "bike" race...I left the bike at the car...

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Blew Up in Race #5

My first DNF today! The race today was approx. 5 mile laps, 4 for sport...The first half was all up hill heading out then down hill the back half coming back. I got up the road then really started feeling it in the chest...by the time I got almost to the very top I felt like sh**...heart felt like it was beating way to fast for what I was doing...knowing the rest of the lap was downhill I figured I'd see how I felt by the bottom since it wasn't tough going down...well got to the bottom and just didn't want to take any chances...told the guys at the start finish I'm going to have to DNF...my first ever...but you know I want to be able to ride another day...I don't make a living at this so I can come back again...I pulled over to the medics and asked them to check my BP...it was 170 over 168 not good at all...beats were at 120, not bad there....so I did the right thing, who knows they could have been doing CPR on the next lap...I took it easy and watched the rest of the race...then went and got another reading it was now pretty normal 120/70...strangly I got a text message from a buddy who was in the ER for the exact same thing and he was racing too..."kismit", "karma"...I think last weeks riding got to me...Monday and Tuesday was intervals with 90-98% cadence for at least an hour...then Wednesday easy 25 mile ride, then Thurs. & Friday tried the Kennedy Climb, and yesterday went to Laguna Seca for a pre-ride...guess I really over did it for this Old Guy...well I'll be taking it easy this week with only an easy spin Wednesday, & probablly try and slip out to go to try out Demo Thursday then its down to San Diego for the weekend...next week will then be some easy riding...from here on out it will now be on my geared bike...getting ready for Sea Otter than Sonoma, Lemurian, and then a 8 hour race out past Folsom in May too...then a BIG maybe whether I'll still be here for the next CCCX race on the 24th of May...
I guess I've just been working so hard to try and catch up to the condition of all the riders out here that get to ride so much...I'll be checking in with a Doc this week to make sure everything is okay too...heard about the first race back home, looking forward to seeing the pictures and results, congrats to all, and my best goes out to my fellow "Old Guy" hoping he really doesn't join our "heart" club, just take care of yourself and I'll do the same...check out my "Flickr" link for pictures from today...since I sat out my race there are some sport class pictures too...miss ya all.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

The Burning Hill


This "Hill" is in Los Gatos California...this is about a 20 minute drive from my hotel, I discovered this from a message board site and has and will become my "training" hill...it is REALLY incredible. I made it in 53 minutes last night on my geared Cannodale Carbon Rush. That was the first time on my gears since the last week of January. The "wall warmups" and the "WALL" are SOOOO Steep. Interesting part is when your coming down though, on the wall you see the view WAYYYY below and it feels like your going to ride off a cliff...what a "ball buster"...and chest pain, whew! But as alot of the folks on the message board say that it does get easier and that they see improvement on their times, well we'll see about that, just hope I dont have a heart attack trying...If anyone finds me laying on the trail, my Nitro is on the key ring in my hydration pack...just don't try the mouth to mouth thing unless your pretty...:)

Friday, April 4, 2008

Ride on Kennedy Trail last night






WOW...what a ride...3+ miles of STEEP climbing...and on a SS, kicked my butt, and theres a guy that says he makes it to the top in 43 minutes which is even further than where I stoped..holy smokes!! It started getting dark on me and I didn't have my lights, plus they all say the Rangers are pretty strict out here...they supposedly even ticket you for going faster than 15mph...let me tell ya going down damn near burns out your pads...thank god mine aren't organic or I could have.