Back To Back Weekend

Went up to Randy & Gunnars cabin this weekend for a couple races...the first race was on Saturday at Wellsboro...the 15th Annual Laurel Mountain Classic...Gunnar kept teasing me about ALL the STEEP climbing that was invloved...he wasn't teasing, there was..whew!!! Rather tough on SS and just 10 days after surgery, 21 miles too...the location was perfect, central northern PA...just on the edge of the Hurricane, so we only received a slight drizzle AFTER the race...This race featured the Single Speed class as OPEN for sport/expert, yikes, felt strange looking back at the Sport pack, and being up front with all those expert riders for the MASS start...heck I was right behind Ray from Visit PA team, didn't last when the "horn" went off, hahaha...

More to follow, I'm tired right now, just had to get something up for now, will write some more tomorrow...BTW thanks, Randy & Gunnar, your great friends!!! Todays race made my 29th of the season!!

Well I'm back...I've been to the doctor to check out why my thigh swelling hasn't gone down (actually grew a little)..well it seems to be full of blood, so he may want to go back in and "suck" it out...find out more on Thursday...

The Laurel Mt Classic was everything everyone said it was...very grass roots, steep, variety, (ie water, logs, rocks)...but you know in a good way, it seemed to flow, never got to the point where it was to much for too long, just the right amount...the weather was okay...it didn't rain during the race, and the sun wasn't out, but it made it very humid, your sweat couldn't evaporate (consequently, wouldn't allow your body to cool)...but brother the descents on this ride would certainly cool ya off with the speed you could get...
The "Stinger" was something else...VERY STEEP DH...sat way back and just pretty much "slid" through...tapping off the brake just in time to make corrections in the direction...
then came the "GREEN MONSTER" everyone was talking about...a grassy hill with a single track in the middle and it just kept rising, just when you thought it was going to top out you came over another little rise to see it going further...must have lasted 15 plus min.s... you know though every time there is a lot of climbing there is always the reward of some kind of DH...one little short burst of DH under the power lines was a grassy descent which had a hidin little "bump"...it had a very bad angle to it...saw it at the last second, yanked my front end up tied to bunny hop the ass end at the last second and "whew" cleared it...could have been a very nasty endo...I heard someone did get hurt there...

The end of the race was FANTASTIC...it was a "Super D" all the way..at least 2+ miles of DH Single Track, mostly smooth, a few rock sections (but going so damn fast just skimmed right over them, passed approx 3-4 riders by yelling out "hot rider" and they'd pull over, thank god cause I had some great 30+mph speed going here...it was actually so long my arms were starting to tire and I was wondering if you really could get tired of DH...hahahaha...NEVER, but whew tough on the arms...there was one little dip which I saw at the last second braked HARD, then let off and jumped it the best I could and got back on the pedals as fast as I could to get the speed back up...then boom...right out onto the dirt road where we started, round the corner and a "squirt" to the finish...no one behind me and no one in front...but I still pedalled it out like a hammster...always finish in a sprint even if by your self!!!

We then headed back to the cabin....more again in a day or so....

Spent another great night at the cabin...very cool place way up near the top of a mountain.

BTW on the drive north from Baltimore I discovered that the front tire holders on a Thule bike rack don't hold up well over 100+MPH...they want to come off, the tire holder flopped back some and one tire actually came a little loose, so in the car they went...the bike holds firmly though...

Sunday we got up early for a long drive over to Ringwood New Jersey for another race..yep a glutten for punishment. Looking back I really shouldn't have done this race, or for that matter either, simply because I thought my leg would be fine well....it may be the unerlying reason for the "GIANT" blood blister now...but oh well, I am "hard" headed....the day turned out perfect htough and the location was awesome, right next to a lake. You would never know that we're only 30 miles outside New York City in "gods" country. The race was 2 laps of (they said) 7 miles, my computer read 8+ miles...the course started out on a fire road relatively flat, then a gradual climb at te end of the road, slowly turning into double then single track...and it kept getting rockier and rockier as we went...so much so that I stopped enjoying myself and so did my leg when I endod and hit it...ouch...so by the time I finished the first lap I had it!!! I pulled out and waited for Gunnar...he did really good, Gunnar got 2nd place, way to go...

We saw some familar faces and spent some time talking to them...Aaron Synder, Rob L. and Matt...Great guys...Aarons a very good ambassador for the sport...he goes out of his way to approach, encourage and talk to the young racers, nice to see...thanks Aaron...

A few things I took out of this weekend (and even at this age we all still continue to learn)...1. trust you doctor and your gut feelings 2. Pre-ride, not knowing the course and selecting the wrong gear on a SS will "kill" ya :) 3. If it's not fun, DON'T DO IT...save yourself for another day :)

Have fun all!!! Keep the rubber side down!!! And help others along the trails, who knows it may be you sometime that needs the help...KARMA!!!