Went out last night with the Tuesday Night gang at Patapsco...what a blast...Patrick our ride leader took us on a technical section that was so much fun!!! Tons of tree climbs, and some very interesting log "highways"...that were intersparsed with stumps to climb up on and ride over...I did it!!! That's what I'm talkin bout!! Gettting back to riding for fun...this is a "No Drop" ride every Tuesday Night at 4:30pm at the Rockburn Park ball field (I think) #7/9..then we head out over to Patapsco...spend about 3 hours and just explore....It's a fun group of folks, big bikes, light bikes, SS's, fast riders, slow riders, all mixes...those fastest stop at intersections and then when everyone arrives it's off we go again...now we need to get together afterwards for a "bite" or BBQ, that would top the night off well...
BUT MAN IT WAS FUN TO JUST BE OUT WITH NO PRESSURES AND JUST HAVING A GOOD TIME!!!!!
Can't wait for another ride like that tonight too....
Later, keep the rubber side down!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
New Converted SS & Cranky Monkey Race
I converted my new Superfly last month to a 1x9 now this past weekend took it one step further and converted it to a 1x1 Single Speed...Rides pretty nicely if I do say so...Got it done Saturday night, tested it in the alley, and left early morning to Wakefield for the first in a series at the Cranky Monkey...pre-rode the day before on the Rig SS and it was a fun fast course...but Sunday during the race, just didn't even feel like being there...had no fun...legs felt fine, was a bit to hot for my liking, but all in all just didn't feel like RACING...just wanted to ride for the joy of it and that wasn't there...so after a pretty good first lap of 31 minutes for 6 miles I pulled the Plug and DNF'd myself...
As you can see by the sidebar I have had a LOT of races this year so far and I'm just feeling a little burned out with "competition"....going to do some fun rides, like the Tuesday night ride at Patapsco, and go up to Iron Hill this Wednesday, but no racing until Iron Hill..JUST FUN...need to capture the joy of it all again...so I'll see some of ya on the trails and the rest at Iron Hill...callme if ya just want to go ride and PLAY...(still got the kid thing going though)!!!!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Mt Snow Vermont - National MTB Championships
This year marked my 2nd year qualifying for Nationals...wasn't as fun as last years "Mud Fest"...:) Just the opposite....hot and humid....this year I moved up from Beginner to Sport Class and from the young guys group of 40-49 to now in the 50+. We had 17 start in our group and one DNF'd. A number of the guys were from the Northeast (ie NH, MA, VT, RI) and there were two from FLA (placing 2nd and 4th), one ea. from (CA, WI, PA, TX) three from VA and then me the only Marylander...I finished in 8th with a time of 1:26:53, the leader had a 1:16, then 2nd finished with a 1:20...considerably better than last year where I finished in 10th and yet off the leader by over 35 minutes (of course we all know that Scott Tedro from Sho-Air is a sand bagger).
The course was switched up a little from last year...from the start the prolog section consisted of the same steep start, but then it continued up and just stopped at a gravel road then turned and came back down...really missed the woods that it dumped us into last year...the wood section last year really separated many...then it was back to the start finish area to continue up the 2.5+ mile climb!!!!
Lets not forget that on the down hill coming back into the start/finish area the "BUMP" was still on the hill from last year... it would "kick" your rear end up if you weren't ready for it and some would take a tremendous endo if not careful...well we named that section the "Kill Phil Hill Bump"...after our buddy Phil Erlinger, he bit it good there last year!
On the "monster" climb they kept you out in the open on the gravel roads much more than last year too...really would have preferred to be in the woods more...I did hear that the course is just so worn out after all the years of abuse. The hill climb is where it really separates the pack...ultimately determines the winner...on my second lap it was very cool to hear a rider coming up from behind me asking..."is that you Cableguy?" to my surprise it was RJ2 from the bay area in CA...he raced beginner in the CCCX series I was in while back in CA this past winter...of course he passed me up...I kept him in site for most of the climb, then on the DH figured I could catch him (he wasn't in my group but still a target to focus on)...we were half way down the DH...I was getting within a few bike lengths of him when we came up on a REALLY slow rider (was going over the rocks like he had never seen a DH, probably from Nebraska)RJ2 yelled out and then squirted to his left, I was going to follow suit when he turned into that line...I steered right quickly and folded my front on a rock sending me right over the top...funny after all the falls I have taken while riding and the "scuffs" getting a little blood...I never figured I'd get blood where I did...ON MY EAR...when I went down I hit the upper right corner of my helmet and MY RIGHT EAR on a rock...strange...well my right foot stayed clipped in and twisted along with the bike right around my back and to the left....needless to say my calf and quad locked up good....I let out a scream and the guy that cut me off was SO APOLOGETIC...thinking I got hurt he was saying how sorry he was...I jumped back up as fast as I could and got back on it...told the guy that cut me off "thanks"..he just waited till I went by...I didn't catch RJ2, but got close 7 seconds behind him!!! Great time seeing ya RJ2!!!
For the Sport class they cut our laps by one...we were suppose to race for three laps, never did find out the exact reason why they cut ours and a few other classes I understand they cut too...I think I could have done three, would have been very hard, but it really would have separated our group big time...all in all it was a blast!!!
On Sunday morning they had the Super D race...it is a mass LeMans style start, throw in a couple short uphill sections to separate the XC from the DH'ers and then a ton of fast ripping DH's and you have a Super D...I told everybody for 2 days that I would not do it...I always go beyond my skill level trying to push it DH and wind up breaking something on ME (not my bike)...well the kids finally got to me, (thanks Gunnar)...he talked me into it Sat afternoon, so I registered. The pre-run we got in right before the race had me a little worried, there were a lot of places where I could see myself getting out of control trying to push it, and could get very hurt...so during the race I took it easier than maybe I should have but hey, I finished without getting hurt and had a blast...there is something to be said about going DH fast with no peddaling...very FUN...finished 11th out of 16 with one DNF...had a time of 10:33:27, the leader of our group did it in 8:44:10...maybe next year I'll take a different bike and all the body "armour", then let it all fly!
Had such a great time this year staying in the hotel by the lake/mountain...did a lot of swimming and hot tubbing, met a bunch of great people...funny how I still had a few come up to me that knew who I was (I was told it's cause I'm all over the internet, and that I should use that time to train instead, I'd probably be expert class buy now...NOT!)
Well look forward to next year, thanks to everyone, would love to name you all but there are so many to say hi, thanks, miss ya...major thanks though goes out to all my team mates that were in attendance...made some great new friends that I hope will continue to grow and we can have fun together...now off to the next race!!
The course was switched up a little from last year...from the start the prolog section consisted of the same steep start, but then it continued up and just stopped at a gravel road then turned and came back down...really missed the woods that it dumped us into last year...the wood section last year really separated many...then it was back to the start finish area to continue up the 2.5+ mile climb!!!!
Lets not forget that on the down hill coming back into the start/finish area the "BUMP" was still on the hill from last year... it would "kick" your rear end up if you weren't ready for it and some would take a tremendous endo if not careful...well we named that section the "Kill Phil Hill Bump"...after our buddy Phil Erlinger, he bit it good there last year!
On the "monster" climb they kept you out in the open on the gravel roads much more than last year too...really would have preferred to be in the woods more...I did hear that the course is just so worn out after all the years of abuse. The hill climb is where it really separates the pack...ultimately determines the winner...on my second lap it was very cool to hear a rider coming up from behind me asking..."is that you Cableguy?" to my surprise it was RJ2 from the bay area in CA...he raced beginner in the CCCX series I was in while back in CA this past winter...of course he passed me up...I kept him in site for most of the climb, then on the DH figured I could catch him (he wasn't in my group but still a target to focus on)...we were half way down the DH...I was getting within a few bike lengths of him when we came up on a REALLY slow rider (was going over the rocks like he had never seen a DH, probably from Nebraska)RJ2 yelled out and then squirted to his left, I was going to follow suit when he turned into that line...I steered right quickly and folded my front on a rock sending me right over the top...funny after all the falls I have taken while riding and the "scuffs" getting a little blood...I never figured I'd get blood where I did...ON MY EAR...when I went down I hit the upper right corner of my helmet and MY RIGHT EAR on a rock...strange...well my right foot stayed clipped in and twisted along with the bike right around my back and to the left....needless to say my calf and quad locked up good....I let out a scream and the guy that cut me off was SO APOLOGETIC...thinking I got hurt he was saying how sorry he was...I jumped back up as fast as I could and got back on it...told the guy that cut me off "thanks"..he just waited till I went by...I didn't catch RJ2, but got close 7 seconds behind him!!! Great time seeing ya RJ2!!!
For the Sport class they cut our laps by one...we were suppose to race for three laps, never did find out the exact reason why they cut ours and a few other classes I understand they cut too...I think I could have done three, would have been very hard, but it really would have separated our group big time...all in all it was a blast!!!
On Sunday morning they had the Super D race...it is a mass LeMans style start, throw in a couple short uphill sections to separate the XC from the DH'ers and then a ton of fast ripping DH's and you have a Super D...I told everybody for 2 days that I would not do it...I always go beyond my skill level trying to push it DH and wind up breaking something on ME (not my bike)...well the kids finally got to me, (thanks Gunnar)...he talked me into it Sat afternoon, so I registered. The pre-run we got in right before the race had me a little worried, there were a lot of places where I could see myself getting out of control trying to push it, and could get very hurt...so during the race I took it easier than maybe I should have but hey, I finished without getting hurt and had a blast...there is something to be said about going DH fast with no peddaling...very FUN...finished 11th out of 16 with one DNF...had a time of 10:33:27, the leader of our group did it in 8:44:10...maybe next year I'll take a different bike and all the body "armour", then let it all fly!
Had such a great time this year staying in the hotel by the lake/mountain...did a lot of swimming and hot tubbing, met a bunch of great people...funny how I still had a few come up to me that knew who I was (I was told it's cause I'm all over the internet, and that I should use that time to train instead, I'd probably be expert class buy now...NOT!)
Well look forward to next year, thanks to everyone, would love to name you all but there are so many to say hi, thanks, miss ya...major thanks though goes out to all my team mates that were in attendance...made some great new friends that I hope will continue to grow and we can have fun together...now off to the next race!!
Monday, July 21, 2008
DTS Fairhill Classic
Photo by Tom BorrowsThe weekend of 7/13/08 was Fair Hill Classic, which is the longest course of the year and is very fast as well...just like last year it was a good scoorcher out too...The turn out is always so HUGE at Fair Hill due to it's central location to ALL the states...and it is just so damn fun!!!! Great seeing a lot of folks I haven't seen since last year, and once again meeting many more new friends...The Single Speed group saw a very large turnout (all the other classes did too, Fair Hill draws a lot of non-MASS members) we had 26 in the group...the course was 22 miles...Fair Hill is a perfect course for Single Speeders...from the start I hung with fellow team mate Holt Benner for approx. 5-6 miles, then on a little tree climb a rider in front of us "clipped" out...conversely Holt pulled away while I was to deal with getting around the guy...at this point I never caught back up to Holt...when I reached the top of a climb, I saw Holt heading back down adjacent on the gravel road...Fair Hill had a few climbs but nothing that would "break" ya...Lung Buster Trail was tough but doable...the three water stations were great on such a hot day...one of the water stops was actually a "soaker" stop, guys in speedos with water cannons....what a relief!
After "Crack Head Bob" (which is approx. 2+ miles in length, but you only travel 1/4-to 1/2 mile...very twisty)...it was a relatively short ride to the finish, about 3 miles remained...I got behind a fellow SS'er and we pushed it to the end...he was pulling away at points, and when I'd try and attack my quads AND calves would completely lock up...never had cramps like this before...funny at the start line Holt was telling me about the very same thing happening to him the year before...JINKS...at one point every time I tried to stand and "grind" the legs locked and I would scream in pain causing the SS'er in front of me to go faster...well just before arriving at the edge of the woods towards the finish stretch I caught up to him, we "popped" out of the woods onto the pavement he climbed up to the finish "chute" pulling away, I dug deep, squeezed through the pain, (see picture above) and was pulling up, when all of a sudden he just stopped pedaling to coast across the line...thats when I punched it and just by half a tire length beat him across the finish line...when I came to a stop I had to fall to the ground cause of the cramping...
After "Crack Head Bob" (which is approx. 2+ miles in length, but you only travel 1/4-to 1/2 mile...very twisty)...it was a relatively short ride to the finish, about 3 miles remained...I got behind a fellow SS'er and we pushed it to the end...he was pulling away at points, and when I'd try and attack my quads AND calves would completely lock up...never had cramps like this before...funny at the start line Holt was telling me about the very same thing happening to him the year before...JINKS...at one point every time I tried to stand and "grind" the legs locked and I would scream in pain causing the SS'er in front of me to go faster...well just before arriving at the edge of the woods towards the finish stretch I caught up to him, we "popped" out of the woods onto the pavement he climbed up to the finish "chute" pulling away, I dug deep, squeezed through the pain, (see picture above) and was pulling up, when all of a sudden he just stopped pedaling to coast across the line...thats when I punched it and just by half a tire length beat him across the finish line...when I came to a stop I had to fall to the ground cause of the cramping...
I went over to thank him for the challenge, he said..."dude, you didn't have to do that, I'm not in your class"...WHAT!!! I looked down and his number plate was not my SS catagory...he was merely riding a SS just in his age group, though...oh well, you should ALWAYS push hard till you cross the line no matter what, shaved some seconds off anyways...
I finished 15th out of 26th or 107th out of 206 over all sport class....my time was 2:05:03, the leaders time was; 1:47...the young guns were really "smokin" today...
Thats what keeps me motivated is the age of the guys in my group...I'm 50 and most of the others average mid 20's to mid 30's, with a couple three in the 40's...if I can get ahead of any of the younger guys thats a successful race for me!!
Thats what keeps me motivated is the age of the guys in my group...I'm 50 and most of the others average mid 20's to mid 30's, with a couple three in the 40's...if I can get ahead of any of the younger guys thats a successful race for me!!
Fair Hill is always a great place to ride, the Delaware Trail Spinners do a superb job of keeping the trails up and organizing a great race venue..thanks to all of the volunteers that made it so enjoyable...and the team commaderie after the event is what makes doing this the best part.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Marysville Stage Race Weekend 4th of July
The Marysville Stage race is always a super weekend...this year I camped in the RV field which was a little hotter than up in the tree area by the first parking lot...decided on this change primarily because the signs posted at the entrance to the Osterling Farm said "one night" stay to the left by the first parking lot..."two night" stay straight ahead down by the "venue"...so following directions I camped in the RV area...it still turned out to be a fun spot...close to everything was nice...especially the FOOD...man I couldn't get enough that weekend, haven't felt like that in a while, just wanted to continuously eat (and the food and selections were great...ditto with the staff too!)
The event started out with the Friday night Time Trail...and this year I had GOOD LIGHTS...no more pin style flashlights, they were real HID bike lights...one for the helmet and one for the bar...as I was awaiting my turn, I was staning next to one of the up and coming JR racers who had the kind of set up I did last year...I just couldn't let him go out that way so I loaned him my bar light...he faired well, thank goodness....I had a blast on the trail too...fun to be able to see, the course was shorter and faster than last years...it turned out to be only a little over 3 miles...we ran down along the creek going backwards as opposed to the XC race...I finished okay in the overall Sport 'A' position 15 out of 29.
Prior to Marysville race I was reading on the MASS forum about the race rules and there was mention that you need to race the stages on the bike you are raceing in the XC...well I race SS so I guess I had to race SS in all the events...therefore thats the only bike I took...as per the following conversation in the forum:
BShow wrote:
"In the stage race final results, when you say age groups are scored against each other for the "extra" MASS race, does that include singlespeed?All sport senior 1's will be scored against each other, all senior 2's will be scored against each other... what about the singles? I assume a single geared bike must be used for ALL events to qualify?"
"Yes, that includes SS. Yes, we decided a few year's ago that if a person wants to count the stage race in the SS series they have to use an SS in all stage race events. We expect SSers to self police on this one and let us know if anything is amiss."
See you soon,kuhn
This would put me in SPORT A group throughout the weekend...don't know which is worse, I've usually been in SPORT B which consist of the Jr.s, masters and women...the JR's kill me...you've got Gunnar and Jacob blowing us all away...never raced in the 'A' group and thats the SR's, Vet's and Clydales...young 20 somethings kicking it too...HELL GETTING OLDER YOU KNOW...
So, whew, it made for some interesting events...in the Night time trail the SS'ers finished up Ryan Gerlach 1st and me 2nd...
Next event was Saturday's XC...the course had a few different "flavors" this year..not really to bad for SS'ing...oh, and BTW the weather reports earlier in the week were expecting rain on and off throughout the weekend, all we had was a little Friday night after the race, and slight early in the am....other wise a clear weekend....
Just prior to the start of the race I noticed my left foot "floating" just a bit to much...I borrowed an allen from Matt at the Bike Line tent and checked my "cleats"...all was well there, hmmmm...my left pedal looks funny, it's sticking out further than normal...grabed it and it moved in and out..damn..the body of the crank brother candys was loose...I took the end cap off and the tiny nut was gone and the little bearings were just "floating" around in there...damn...frantically looked around for another pedal...no one had one, oh well I am not DNF'ing!!!!
Off to the start...everyone I could ask I did for a pedal, no such luck...during the race it felt very loose at times but it was holding...
I had one good crash in the race...going DH, just about to go between 2 trees, there was a fat root right in the middle of the trail prior to "splitting" the trees...well my front tire "DIDN'T" go where I wanted it to...it slipped over the root and buckled under...I went over the bars slamming my right side into the big tree on the right and my left knee hit the tree on the left...then a tire ran into my back...there were 4 riders "screeching" to a halt to avoid me...had to jump up fast to get out of the way, and brother did my hip hurt...(I still have a nasty purple/yellow bruise with a knot in it too)...I let the 4 go by then jumped back on it...sore now but still grinding away...(this was into my 2nd lap)...now I am just about 2-3 miles out ready to climb out of the hay field up the first of only a couple big hill climbs, when WHAM goes the pedal...came right off...now I have just a spike sticking out (very dangerous looking)...it only scraped my left calf twice no stab wounds...the climbs were impossible with the pedal this way, way to slippery..straights or DH not to bad once I could find the grooves in the tread of my shoes...going into the finish area I was "one foot" pedaling...
Finished in 7th out of 11, pretty good time too...I still get a kick out of the fact I'm the old man of the SS group...being 50 and the others mostly in their 20's-30's, with a couple of 40's...so 4 guys got beat by an old man twice their age...:)
Saturday evening was fun...good food, live music, and tricycle races...I didn't participate in those, not my luck, I break to easy.
Sunday morning started off with the Hill Climb...last year I did it as a beginner, we "gently" rode to our start area across the highway up onto the asphalt road at the base of the climb...this yr being in sport we started at the venues start/finish area...The Pro/Experts were in front then the Sport groups...it was a MASS start...they added some new areas to the ride this year, with a creek crossing right into a very steep what turned out for most "hike-a-bike"...then we went behind a house and out onto the asphalt road...then...the long climb up the mountain started...I guess I was the only Sport class SS'er...there were a couple in the Pro/Expert group...it was tough...I certainly did some hike-a-bike stretches...Jakes Mom was on the trail and got a picture of me walking...made a funn comment..."Jake said you'd be walking about now"...meaning since I was on a SS...my finish was a respectable 18th out of 21 in 26:25...
The fun then began for the blast DH...at least this year it was better controlled...last year was a BONZI affair...
We all got a little break before the Short Track race began...This was going to prove very interesting...I've never considered a short track on a SS...and in Group 'A'...whew...it actually went pretty well...I really passed a few folks, couldn't believe that...I figured by the end of the race I would come in last and be passed by everyone...well it wasn't to be...near the end it was fun "hunting" down Phil Erlinger...I finally caught hime with only, I think 3 laps to go...passed him and it barely lasted one lap...I just couldn't keep spinning like a hammster for so long I had a 20 cog on (way to big for this race)...Phil passed me back with at least another lap to go...I kept him in my sites but couldn't close the gap...ended up passing 2 of my fellow team mates on the beginning of the last lap...coming into the home stretch, I saw Phil glance back and look at me...hehehehehe...he poured it on then...when I crossed the finish just 5 seconds behind him in 16th out of 24 he said "there was know way I was going to be embarassed by a SS'er beating me!"...we had to crack up...:)
So the weekend event was great...My young JR Buddies did superb...Gunnar taking 1st overall in all his event's and Jacob in 2nd...these guys are such a great addition to the future of the sport...us older folks were talking about how cool it's going to be to see them in about 4-6 years lined up in the Pro/Expert group...we'll all be cheering them on and pushing them hard...
It sure is nice to be home racing and enjoying the company of all my friends new and old...thanks to everyone for everything you do!!!!!!!!!!!
The event started out with the Friday night Time Trail...and this year I had GOOD LIGHTS...no more pin style flashlights, they were real HID bike lights...one for the helmet and one for the bar...as I was awaiting my turn, I was staning next to one of the up and coming JR racers who had the kind of set up I did last year...I just couldn't let him go out that way so I loaned him my bar light...he faired well, thank goodness....I had a blast on the trail too...fun to be able to see, the course was shorter and faster than last years...it turned out to be only a little over 3 miles...we ran down along the creek going backwards as opposed to the XC race...I finished okay in the overall Sport 'A' position 15 out of 29.
Prior to Marysville race I was reading on the MASS forum about the race rules and there was mention that you need to race the stages on the bike you are raceing in the XC...well I race SS so I guess I had to race SS in all the events...therefore thats the only bike I took...as per the following conversation in the forum:
BShow wrote:
"In the stage race final results, when you say age groups are scored against each other for the "extra" MASS race, does that include singlespeed?All sport senior 1's will be scored against each other, all senior 2's will be scored against each other... what about the singles? I assume a single geared bike must be used for ALL events to qualify?"
"Yes, that includes SS. Yes, we decided a few year's ago that if a person wants to count the stage race in the SS series they have to use an SS in all stage race events. We expect SSers to self police on this one and let us know if anything is amiss."
See you soon,kuhn
This would put me in SPORT A group throughout the weekend...don't know which is worse, I've usually been in SPORT B which consist of the Jr.s, masters and women...the JR's kill me...you've got Gunnar and Jacob blowing us all away...never raced in the 'A' group and thats the SR's, Vet's and Clydales...young 20 somethings kicking it too...HELL GETTING OLDER YOU KNOW...
So, whew, it made for some interesting events...in the Night time trail the SS'ers finished up Ryan Gerlach 1st and me 2nd...
Next event was Saturday's XC...the course had a few different "flavors" this year..not really to bad for SS'ing...oh, and BTW the weather reports earlier in the week were expecting rain on and off throughout the weekend, all we had was a little Friday night after the race, and slight early in the am....other wise a clear weekend....
Just prior to the start of the race I noticed my left foot "floating" just a bit to much...I borrowed an allen from Matt at the Bike Line tent and checked my "cleats"...all was well there, hmmmm...my left pedal looks funny, it's sticking out further than normal...grabed it and it moved in and out..damn..the body of the crank brother candys was loose...I took the end cap off and the tiny nut was gone and the little bearings were just "floating" around in there...damn...frantically looked around for another pedal...no one had one, oh well I am not DNF'ing!!!!
Off to the start...everyone I could ask I did for a pedal, no such luck...during the race it felt very loose at times but it was holding...
I had one good crash in the race...going DH, just about to go between 2 trees, there was a fat root right in the middle of the trail prior to "splitting" the trees...well my front tire "DIDN'T" go where I wanted it to...it slipped over the root and buckled under...I went over the bars slamming my right side into the big tree on the right and my left knee hit the tree on the left...then a tire ran into my back...there were 4 riders "screeching" to a halt to avoid me...had to jump up fast to get out of the way, and brother did my hip hurt...(I still have a nasty purple/yellow bruise with a knot in it too)...I let the 4 go by then jumped back on it...sore now but still grinding away...(this was into my 2nd lap)...now I am just about 2-3 miles out ready to climb out of the hay field up the first of only a couple big hill climbs, when WHAM goes the pedal...came right off...now I have just a spike sticking out (very dangerous looking)...it only scraped my left calf twice no stab wounds...the climbs were impossible with the pedal this way, way to slippery..straights or DH not to bad once I could find the grooves in the tread of my shoes...going into the finish area I was "one foot" pedaling...
Finished in 7th out of 11, pretty good time too...I still get a kick out of the fact I'm the old man of the SS group...being 50 and the others mostly in their 20's-30's, with a couple of 40's...so 4 guys got beat by an old man twice their age...:)
Saturday evening was fun...good food, live music, and tricycle races...I didn't participate in those, not my luck, I break to easy.
Sunday morning started off with the Hill Climb...last year I did it as a beginner, we "gently" rode to our start area across the highway up onto the asphalt road at the base of the climb...this yr being in sport we started at the venues start/finish area...The Pro/Experts were in front then the Sport groups...it was a MASS start...they added some new areas to the ride this year, with a creek crossing right into a very steep what turned out for most "hike-a-bike"...then we went behind a house and out onto the asphalt road...then...the long climb up the mountain started...I guess I was the only Sport class SS'er...there were a couple in the Pro/Expert group...it was tough...I certainly did some hike-a-bike stretches...Jakes Mom was on the trail and got a picture of me walking...made a funn comment..."Jake said you'd be walking about now"...meaning since I was on a SS...my finish was a respectable 18th out of 21 in 26:25...
The fun then began for the blast DH...at least this year it was better controlled...last year was a BONZI affair...
We all got a little break before the Short Track race began...This was going to prove very interesting...I've never considered a short track on a SS...and in Group 'A'...whew...it actually went pretty well...I really passed a few folks, couldn't believe that...I figured by the end of the race I would come in last and be passed by everyone...well it wasn't to be...near the end it was fun "hunting" down Phil Erlinger...I finally caught hime with only, I think 3 laps to go...passed him and it barely lasted one lap...I just couldn't keep spinning like a hammster for so long I had a 20 cog on (way to big for this race)...Phil passed me back with at least another lap to go...I kept him in my sites but couldn't close the gap...ended up passing 2 of my fellow team mates on the beginning of the last lap...coming into the home stretch, I saw Phil glance back and look at me...hehehehehe...he poured it on then...when I crossed the finish just 5 seconds behind him in 16th out of 24 he said "there was know way I was going to be embarassed by a SS'er beating me!"...we had to crack up...:)
So the weekend event was great...My young JR Buddies did superb...Gunnar taking 1st overall in all his event's and Jacob in 2nd...these guys are such a great addition to the future of the sport...us older folks were talking about how cool it's going to be to see them in about 4-6 years lined up in the Pro/Expert group...we'll all be cheering them on and pushing them hard...
It sure is nice to be home racing and enjoying the company of all my friends new and old...thanks to everyone for everything you do!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Guys Neshaminy Race 6/22
It's been awhile since I have posted about my races, and some of you might be missing it, and it gets harder as time goes by to remember the exciting details...Neshaminy is considered by most a technical race...primarily due to ALL THE LOG crosssings...there are tons of them...your upper body feels like it got more of a workout than your legs the next day...don't get me wrong it is a blast during the race. It lends to so many opportunities for mistakes to be made and either you can take advantage or someone else takes advantage of you if you "burp"....
They had a very different opening this year. As usual we started in the field, but this time they added a prolog that you only saw during the beginning and not the other laps...to me it screwed me up as to where we were when we laped....oh yeah and they dropped a lap on us this year, for most it was a good thing. Funny I ran into a guy that raced in Master one last year in Beginner with me and now he is racing Sport Open Single Speed...He was in front of me at during the first lap, so I ear marked him for my pace and goal...it sure took awhile but made it around him, then I stuck to the tire of a young man in my class that rode pretty darn strong...impressed with his hill climbing...one of my team mates from Bike Line was on my tire during the first lap and the start of the second lap decided to take over and brother did he...he blasted past at least 4 other riders and we were going up hill!!!!
The day was threatening rain/thunder and lightening, and it just held off for the race...GREAT...but whew was it hot and humid...which made it rough, I had gotten used to bottles out in Cali...but on the last couple races the terrain really does not lend itself easily to bottles....and I really had loved not wearing a pack...I'm going to have to pick my races as to pack or bottle...I got pretty thirsty during this one, and of course lost most of my bottles...if it wasn't a log climb, or rock it was a tree root that would knock it out of my hand...thirst aside...during the second lap I decided to hang as best I can with Ryan Gerlach another SS in my class...near the end there were moments on the climbs that he would pull away, but then I'd finally be on his tire again...then another hill and his pulling away...I recognized the ending so I really wanted to stay right with him and make it a fun sprint for the finish...there was a little DH with a sweep to the left, right around the corner was a big tree that was sawed in half for the trail to go through...Ryan shot around the corner probably 30-50 feet in front, when I dipped around my front tire washed out right before the tree split....I barely hit the ground and was back up running to get back on the bike...just as I did I could see I was now 50-75 feet back....righ at the top of the hill you went through the opening of a guard rail and made a hairpin turn to dash down the fence line (flat in the grass) sharp left then a short sprint to the finish....needless to say Ryan took the turn at the guard rail just seconds in front...when I made the hair pin I screwed up and went way to wide nearly running into a bystander...straightened out and by then Ryan was down near the end of the grass straight about to make the sharp left to the sprint...I pushed it as fast as I could peddle my 32x20 gear set up...(felt like a hammster in a wheel)...turn the left to see Ryan crossing the finish...close but no cigar...Ryan had me beat by 4 seconds...GREAT FINISH....made for a great race to pick fellow competitors out and then work to catch them...
This race placed me in 11th overall for the SPORT SS group...I say thats not to bad since I missed the seasons first 4 races...don't think I can gain to much more ground because of that though...
They had a very different opening this year. As usual we started in the field, but this time they added a prolog that you only saw during the beginning and not the other laps...to me it screwed me up as to where we were when we laped....oh yeah and they dropped a lap on us this year, for most it was a good thing. Funny I ran into a guy that raced in Master one last year in Beginner with me and now he is racing Sport Open Single Speed...He was in front of me at during the first lap, so I ear marked him for my pace and goal...it sure took awhile but made it around him, then I stuck to the tire of a young man in my class that rode pretty darn strong...impressed with his hill climbing...one of my team mates from Bike Line was on my tire during the first lap and the start of the second lap decided to take over and brother did he...he blasted past at least 4 other riders and we were going up hill!!!!
The day was threatening rain/thunder and lightening, and it just held off for the race...GREAT...but whew was it hot and humid...which made it rough, I had gotten used to bottles out in Cali...but on the last couple races the terrain really does not lend itself easily to bottles....and I really had loved not wearing a pack...I'm going to have to pick my races as to pack or bottle...I got pretty thirsty during this one, and of course lost most of my bottles...if it wasn't a log climb, or rock it was a tree root that would knock it out of my hand...thirst aside...during the second lap I decided to hang as best I can with Ryan Gerlach another SS in my class...near the end there were moments on the climbs that he would pull away, but then I'd finally be on his tire again...then another hill and his pulling away...I recognized the ending so I really wanted to stay right with him and make it a fun sprint for the finish...there was a little DH with a sweep to the left, right around the corner was a big tree that was sawed in half for the trail to go through...Ryan shot around the corner probably 30-50 feet in front, when I dipped around my front tire washed out right before the tree split....I barely hit the ground and was back up running to get back on the bike...just as I did I could see I was now 50-75 feet back....righ at the top of the hill you went through the opening of a guard rail and made a hairpin turn to dash down the fence line (flat in the grass) sharp left then a short sprint to the finish....needless to say Ryan took the turn at the guard rail just seconds in front...when I made the hair pin I screwed up and went way to wide nearly running into a bystander...straightened out and by then Ryan was down near the end of the grass straight about to make the sharp left to the sprint...I pushed it as fast as I could peddle my 32x20 gear set up...(felt like a hammster in a wheel)...turn the left to see Ryan crossing the finish...close but no cigar...Ryan had me beat by 4 seconds...GREAT FINISH....made for a great race to pick fellow competitors out and then work to catch them...
This race placed me in 11th overall for the SPORT SS group...I say thats not to bad since I missed the seasons first 4 races...don't think I can gain to much more ground because of that though...
Monday, July 7, 2008
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