Last weekends Rides!

Had a great weekend of riding...as some of you know Jennifer was back in San Diego for the week...took our grand daughter home...and then visited with our Daug and her Dad...so I had a ton of rides last week...Wednesdays was eventful with the bending of my rear I-9 rim, YIKES...so I am running a stock Rig rim for now, stronger for all the FUN rides (save the high dollar stuff for racing)...

On Friday night after work I raced up to Jim Thorpe State park to go riding with Randy, Phil, Brian, Gunnar, Jacob and Tim...camped out and rode Saturday. The weather was "blessed", the trails were rocky and technical, the boys had such sore butts from riding so much that one had to stand most of the ride, actually it was very hilarious, sorry for making fun of your pain but come on it was funny...besides your young and strong and can do it...there were some real challenges to some of the sections and we all had fun trying out our skills...we're all lucky Randy Bergey doesn't race...the man has skills!!!! Way to go Randy, and Phil what can we say, he is FAST! Now we see where the young guys get it from...then of course theres Old Me...:) Well I got to experience FLATS...yep my first on trail rides...and not just one, both and totally unprepared...after borrowing and leaving everyone depleted we got my flats fixed and then cut the ride short to get back to break camp, go into town resupply on "flat" material then go hit another trail....

The next area was a fast grassy fire road that just kept gradually going down till we hit a point of a late evening possible, so we had to turn around and head back up...well let me tell ya, Jacob diappeared on us, the guy BLAZED back to the cars, smoked us!

From there it was time to head home...the area was beautiful, I really do like PA...what a great state for riding!

Well on Sunday the Bike Line team (12-15) came down to our neck of the woods and we all rode Patapsco...had a great time, hopefully everyone else did too...thats what is so much fun about Patapsco, it offers a wide variety of riding levels...rocks, roots, climbs, trees, water and smooth fast...the group split up just after the beginning into a small slower pace and then the larger faster group up front, and by the end we all were together for the ride back to the cars...off to a local "dive" for a LOOOOOONNGG wait for food (Daniels, biker bar/resturant), took so long for food I didn't get to eat, had to go get Jennifer from the airport, which her flight was on time and I made it with approx. 5 minutes to spare...

Thanks to everyone for making the weeks worth of rides so enjoyable, the friendships are cherished.

Ed

Iron Hill Race

Yesterday was Iron Hill...which is in Delaware (just over the state line from Maryland)...last years race was SO HOT!!! I was a beginner racer last year and our race was the first which started at 8-9am, and yet it was already so hot and especially humid...sweating just getting out of the car...the later races had a lot of DNF's due to the heat. So this year turned out the opposite, very comfortable and Sport class started out last at 2pm...so we got the brunt of the days heat which was bearable....

I raced like hell to get there in time to change my race from sport SS to Enduro SS, unfortunately the promoters were having a day over "Panty Bunching"...when I asked another guy for Beginner master 1 needed to sign in (he had pre-reg) and the guy working the sign in table was more than a little perterbed that he was "late" and I wanted to do something so dramatic...HELLO IT WAS 8:40 AND THE RACE STARTED AT 9AM...the guy plugging in the names at the computer was very snotty about it, so I simply told them just forget it, I'll stick with what I originally signed up for...so I'll hang out and watch all the other races...BTW the guy who was the Beg. Mst 1 made it with 10 minutes to spare...

All the racers were flyin coming through the pit area, as each lap passed the enduro racers never seemed to waiver, they seem to all be doing really well...Rob and Hebe were flyin through the pits each lap...looked really focused!!!

Then our race was soon to start, I decided to do a short little pre-ride of the start 1-2 miles...well back into the woods and on a little climb, the chain started skipping like crazy, actually had to walk it back didn't have a tool and my soulcraft chain tensioner came loose from the hanger bolt...ran back to the car got my wrench and tighened it down...then had to fly down to the start line...go there and had a few min. to spare...

The start was pretty cool, we were in a grass field that then narrowed down to double track with tape on both sides...BUT...right at the end of the field when it narrowed there was a big tree trunk caution taped off, go to the left or go to the right...I felt and heard something behind me in my class start right about the trunk...after the race found out my team mate Holt did an endo at the tree trunk split, not sure how but it bunched up and knocked down approx. 4 other riders...

We headed into the woods, typical East coast Single Track...twisty, roots and FUN...there was a steep"dip" about 7-10 feet down and a crowd gathered encouraging riders to pull up and jump...I couldn't resist and got a yell out of the crowd...found out after the race almost all the Jr's jumped it, but just this old guy did..)

The first lap was fast and fluid...I didn't hear Holt behind me (which usually happens most races...he is so good at bideing his time then jumping on it and picking us off one by one)...I came up on 3 SSer's and made my way around, then on a hill climb my chain started skipping again...damn...I never bring my tools with me, just air and water, well fortunately I brought my tools and got it tightend back down just in time...I saw one of my competitors approaching the switch back turn...I jumped on it and got away...the first lap I climb'd all...when I got to the "Mega-Dip" (which is approx.40-50 foot giant "culvert" sttep down then shoot straight back up...well don't brake and peddal like hell to get up the other side..there is an easy bail half way up the exiting side which is an easier grade off to the right then crest and make a quick left to get back on main trail...so first lap I shot off the easy right...the other two laps I went straight up...

On the last lap at the back half of the course loop just after a little bridge crossing, the trail gose up a steep climb...just didn't have it or want to do it "grinding" so I jumped off and started running...ran past a guy on "gears" then I hear this ..."hey Ed"...OMG it's Holt and he is SPRINTING past me...I grabbed his camel pack in jest (and for fun) told him "hey how did you catch me?" I thought at this point of the race I was well ahead of anyone in my class that we all would be pretty well settled in to our own paces...well as I wrote earlier Holt is great at coming from behind and picking everyone off, he has the strength to do it...

I had a lap pace of:31:39/31:46/31:32....then Holt had 34:05/30:10/30:20...you can see that his first lap reflects the endo he suffered at the start...then slowly gained...we finished at:
Holt 9th - 1:34:36:84
Me 10th - 1:34:58:58
Andy 11th - 1:34:59:62

As you can see Andy and myself were very close...well the ending of the race was probably the most exciting of the day...on the last gradual long straight climb I was just catching up to Andy when we got to tthe top you make a right and go approx. 100 yards to the "Mega Dip", well I was panting by the top so I let him go ahead so we wouldn't be bunching or attempting passes at the mega dip...when I crested the top of the dip and started down I looked up and saw Andy "bonk" on the tree roots at the very top to the right I blasted and yelled ot "headache" ole Lineman saying for WATCH OUT, and I blasted just to his left...he realized it was me so he jump on it and we both sprinted down a open fire road which headed right towards the Pit/start/finish area...well I told Andy "go ahead young man...ya got me" my legs were BURNING...well we were turning the corner towards the pit straight away and I saw him slow just for a moment...so I pulled it out from deep down and gunned it...I wanted to squeeze off the left side knowing the turn coming up would put me on the inside...(age & wisdom over youth and strength, right!)..well I managed to squeeze by and take the turn, I heard someone yell for him to go...I knew I had him, he probably had to brake...we rounded the turn and then sprinted to the finish...and the result was the time difference was 1:04 seconds...

Andy's buddy and team mate 17 year old Chris Logan smoked the class for a first place with a time of 1:25:29:05 AWESOME time...I was in the 12 hour race last weekend with Chris...he did really well there too...second place went to a very strong Allen Gracey for a time of 1:26:08:95...he's one of the "old guys rule" group...

It turned out to be a great race for everyone, lots of fun...after wards was a SUPER BBQ and Pool party at a team mates....Thanks Kathleen, you have a fantastic place thanks for having us over, made for a perfect "capper" on a great day!!!

NEW VW

Got rid of the camper van but stayed with the Volkswagen Family (my first car was a '72 VW SuperBeetle)...Now its a 2008 GTI...fun little car, FAST (which we all know I like), no more 0-60mph in 1:30 like the van...more like seconds...heck the darn speedo goes to 180, of course it is governed to 130...MPG is pretty good too....at least 30 on highway....I lack the sleeping inside like the Van, but I still have all my camping gear and tent, that'll work, and I have doen a test fit too, and it fits...already have the roof mounted bike rack (love it) and all my biking gear in the trunk...pick'ed it up last Saturday and had the 12 hour race on Sunday...bike with both wheels off fit in the car with gear...(didn't have rack until Wednesday)...Love'in the hell out of it so far, all the "kids" like it!

The 12 hour race was great fun...there were approx. 60 riders, tons of SS even a super rider on a fixie...rode a few laps with him...20 years old and very strong to climb all the hills we had to do...TONS of climbing...by the 8th lap (8 hours into it) my legs were turning to jello trying to get up the hills...I have no idea how I finished up compared to others...I did 8 laps in 9 hours and change...they were going to call the last lap at 6:15 and there was threat of thunder, lighnening and rain apporx. 4-5pm, didn't really hit though...waiting on the results, will post when I get them and some pictures too...

12 Hour St Jude Childrens Hospital Race

This coming Sunday is the St Judes Childrens Hospital 12 Hour Race...I'll be doing it Solo on my SS...this is a fund raising event, so I hope all of you can give a little something for the kids...even though I think I'll be suffering, for me it will only be for 12 hours...but the the Kids who are hurting from many life threatening cancers and dieases live with pain every day...god bless them and their families...help me try and make a difference for them by going to the web site I set up and donating whatever you can...

http://www.active.com/donate/12HoursForStJude/emcdani5

To me riding for this cause or ANY cause for cancer is very personal and motivating...we all need to do what we can to help find a cure for the "MONSTER"... thanks so much...if any of ya can come out please do...it starts at 7:30am this Sunday August 10th at Patapsco state park...

Fun Ride Last Night

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!

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)!!!!

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!!