The ultimate convertible...the only way to see the Smokies

I am not much of a photographer. I dont claim to take a picture because of its relationship to the negative and positive space. I dont make something out of an image that doesnt exist. I take pictures as just a simple memento of any time spent in a given place at a moment in time.

When I am on my bike, I normally dont carry a camera, but on very rare

occasions (you would have a better chance of catching me walking around my house nude while vacuuming and cleaning while listening to The Cars Greatest Hits...wait, something sounds vaguely familiar about that) I do break one out.

I found a new "playground" for my Ferrous this year. I nice little fireroad that just happens to be the longest and steepest off road section in the Carolinas-lucky me, eh? Words cant describe it, so here is the elevation chart.

As you can see, you get tall real quick. Now, since this blog is about my misadventures on the ss, it must be noted that 90% of the time, I was standing; Which isnt bad until you realize that 90% of the time you are standing.

These climbs had an average grade of 8.3%...bleek! Thats right fun indeed. I did manage to get my first HC climb out of this mess, though. The great thing about climbing these mountains is the view you get from the top. Ahhh yes, it is indeed worth it. It managed to rain the first time I went up, but I got lucky the second time around, yes as if once wasnt enough. The gravel grinder takes you to the top of the Blue Ridge Parkway were you see some amazing views.

Of course, a 14 miles climb means only one thing...a 14 miles decent. Now, normally this would be a blast, but this is a forest access road which means there is the occasional truck or car coming up the mountain, so you have to be super careful around the multiple 180° turns. I think I even unclipped and did a few little classic MT Tam drifts on the corners.

I will leave you with one last pic from Mingo Falls. I took this standing right underneath it. These are amazing falls. We hikes up to the top on what could be best described as unclimbable trails that were near vertical.

This is my home away from home. I cant imagine going anywhere else, nor do I need to. One day, this will BE home.

Better Late than...Later

Just some nice pics (Swim, Bike, Run Photography) from our 2nd place finish at the 12 hours of Cranky Monkey. I even made my Facebook debut on SBR's Facebook page...The SS Moron does not engage in such Tom Foolery as Facebook.

And we are off...

Yes, it is another trip to Cherokee, NC. Not going to bore you with any details, but it is a riders paradise; road or mountain. This yea, my goal is to find road lesser traveled with tons of elevation. One that I am going for is a little section from rt 19 to the top of Seffacoo road. This little jaunt takes you from a "mere" 2000 ft to 3784 ft...in just over 4 miles-ouch. I am not even sure why I want to do this. My fear is that it leads to somebody's home that doesnt like cyclists. I imagine seeing signs like..."we eat cyclists", or "we like cyclists HANGING around here." Yeah, maybe a little paranoid, but it is NC and in the middle of nowhere. It has been a little damp down below as told to me by my inside sources in Bryson City, so I may be on the road bike a little more this year.

My goal is to come away with 30,000-40,000 ft in the 2 weeks I will be there. I

am guessing I will be worn out by the end as well. Not sure if I will make the Clingmans Dome trip as it has not been in the cards in the last two years with two failed attempts due to a tornado and bad weather. It is a nice 4,800ft + climb to the top with no flats...all climbing, bleek.

I am really looking forward to breaking my 45 year old body this year.

Baseball Rules

Well tonight was the best game ever. No, I am talking EVER! Coming into this game, we had won 7 straight games. Our pitching staff is walking less and getting more outs. We are hitting and making key plays in the field, too.

Tonight we played the second best team in the league and 2 games away from the championship; so this game meant everything. My son has not been able to catch because of his thumb that he injured in a travel game a few weeks back, so that cut us short a bit.

The first inning looked like real bad news. 3 hits and 4 walks lead to a 4-0 deficit. By the third inning it was 4-3 and looking to be a good game. The 4th inning saw thew wheels come off the cart. 7 walks and 3 hits lead to a 13-3 killing. My son came in and did what he does best-shut the door. He pitched the last 2 innings and allowed 1 hit with 2 k's and no runs. Now I have been doing this long enough to know that anything is possible, but to be down 13-3 going into the last inning. Well, to keep a long story from being really long, our team scored 9 runs and won with a walk off single. I have never seen a group of kids get so excited at the outcome of a game before. I am so proud of the way they kept their heads up and came through and didnt give up; wouldnt it be nice to be a kid again and have that mentality?

I am super proud to have a son like Alex. I played ball all the way through college and I cant tell you how it feels to see your son play. Not only does he play, but for 9 years old, he is an amazing player. He catches, plays the field and is a dominating pitcher. How dominating, well I will tell you. Better yet, here are his numbers.

3-0 record, 3 saves, 34 innings, 9 hits, 5 walks, 67 strikeouts. I love to watch him pitch. He has great mechanics and rarely ever walks a batter. He has great command and doesnt just throw the ball; he locates his pitches.

The championship game is next and I cant wait to see how these guys play and no matter what happens, I am really proud to have coached these guys and watch them progress. Go get em guys!

Missed it by that much

Well, one of my favorite TV actors said it best...Missed it by that much. Don Adams was the best Get Smart ever. One of my favorite all time shows. Yep, it was close saturday at the 12 hours of Cranky Monkey at Quantico.

I havent been training in any sort of manner; just going and riding hard some days and riding easy on others-perfect recipe for success. Eh, I am 45, I have accomplished quite a bit in the last 4 years and I am ok with that. Anyway, as you might know, I have a new team mate in Liz Hunter. We met up at our first race at Bakers and took 3rd so we decided to hook up again and hit the super challenging trails at Quantico Marine Corps Base. This is one of those course that on one hand you love it becuase it will challenge you and your fitness level and on the other hand you hate it because there is climbing at every turn; 1503 ft per lap to be exact. Each lap is about 9.5 miles of pitted downhills and steep climbs.

This time it was Liz's turn to do the first lap and she did what she does best, nice consistent lap times. I on the other hand like to go out and hammer the first lap and try to make the other teams dig deeper than they normally would. I turned in a scorching 51:14 which was good for 10th fastest overall. Now of course, this comes at a price. I know that my lap times would be about 2-3 minutes slower as I went, but this strategy always seems to work for me.

We were in between first and second all day. The cool thing about these enduro races is that you get to chat with the competition and talk about everything, but also get to feel out were they stand and how they feel. The strategy really doesnt come into play until around 4:00 or 5:00. You have to really get your lap times in check and keep track of your competition.

By lap 9, we were ahead by 4 minutes, but the guy from the other team turned in a crazy 56:00 and cut our lead to just 18 seconds by our 10th lap. Of course, your legs are screaming and you are tired at this point. I started to really cramp up on my 4th lap and turned in a respectable 1:00 lap time. So this put us in a real precarious position because we now could possibly end up in third if we werent careful. My last lap was pain squared. I started get those dreaded inner thigh cramps right at mile one; not going to be fun. I really had to focus on not thinking of the cramps that felt like I was being squeezed by a boa constrictor. These can be a little more tolerable on a geared bike, but when you are trying to mash up a hill out of the saddle on the ss, you cant hide the fact that your legs are exploding right underneath you. My goal was to hunt down the first place team and I thought I would have seen her earlier during the lap, but didnt catch her until mile 7. I saw her walking up one of the 11%+ grade climbs. I had to reach and dig deep for some yet untapped power that my body was saving for just such a spot...wasnt there. I struggled up the first of the last 4 climbs and at this point, it was a foot race now. She was tired and I was tired. We would both mount at the apex and hammer as fast as we could, and then at the 3rd climb, she dismounted and there was that reserve power, or maybe that thing they call perseverance through pain thing. I hammered my 32x18 up that freikin' gravel grinder my left leg just stopped working. I had to do some single legged speed work for about 100 yards to recover and didnt see her until the end. Somehow I finished with a decent 1:01. It wasnt enough to take back enough time to regain 1st, but that was what racing is about; hammering through the pain and digging deep when you cant turn the cranks anymore. Luckily Liz held her ground and we finished up in second by a good size margin.

I have to say that was the most exciting race I have been in. Down to the last lap and really pushing when you cant push anymore. Liz is awesome. I am glad that I have had the chance to race with her and we have two podium spots in two attempts. I am really looking forward to hooking up for yet again another chance for that first place spot.

Ooops...12 Hours of Quantico Cranky Monkey Race

Tomorrow is the 12 hours of Cranky Monkey; anything else to say, well I will be doing another duo co-ed with my Bakers Dozen teammate, Liz. I didnt race last year due to body malfunctions and such. The year before, Will Hunt and I won the 2 male open. The year before we finished 2nd.

I havent been on the mountain bike since may. I think I will do great. Oh, this is a mountain bike race...I forgot. I am a little nervous about this one because of my dirt vacation. I have been riding my road bike, and that counts for something. I am not going to go out and do another 49 minute first lap like 2011-sure. If we average 1:00 per lap, that 12 laps and good enough for a
top 3.

Anyway, this will be short just because I have some shopping and sleep to be doing.

New Friends...Same people

Yes, my title is makes sense. Even if it doesnt, it is my space to write whatever I want, in the manner I choose to write it; so there...hmmff. This whole life thing can be a really funny, if not hectic and strange at times, but overall pretty funny. I mean, you can meet people over the course of your life that are just random hand shakes or pointless bantering (sounds familiar, eh?). I have had conversations with people for hours and come away with nothing but a headache and nothing gained.

Then you meet people that share some common interests and you may chat a bit, but never really go beyond that until (low, timpani build up TO A CRESCENDO!) BIKES! Yes, bikes. You find yourself talking about bass lines and drum beats and you find out that bikes, not just any bikes, single speed bikes becomes a common bond.

Ryan is one of the bass players (an excellent bass player) at my church. We sort of talked here and there at times, but nothing to involved. He found out I worked at a bike store and it has blossomed into a great cycling, musician, graphics kinda fun to ride with thing. The best part is, Ryan is buying one of my SS's and is on his way to finding the joys and yes, maybe even a little pain of mountain biking! Yes it is ok to cheer and sing the singlespeed national anthem. Wait, you dont the SSNA? Just check out "New World Order" by Ministry. Thats it. Period.

Anyway, He is super stoked on become an official dirt merchant. Ben was our small group leader and he is also a SS aficionado. We have been riding together a few times in the last week and it has been super cool. His cycling needs and wants are a bit on hold due to buying a house, but he is itching to do some mods to his Redline Monocog.

I really look forward to gettin out with these guys on the dirt and showing them the ways of the Singlespeed Moron. It just goes to show how a seemingly meaningless conversation can lead to something bigger. So get out and ride and meet some new friends that just might be people you have already known.

I am still alive

It has been a while, but I am still here. I am riding the road bike more and taking a break from racing for a bit. I have abandoned any "real" training structure, but still maintaining a somewhat-if haphazard- attempt at keeping my overall fitness level up to snuff. Surprisingly, I am riding stronger than I ever have right now. I am mixing in my son's baseball schedule and my daughter's ballet schedule and my softball schedule with my riding time and it is working out nicely.

I recently landed a nice sponsorship from Hammer Nutrition as well. I am really psyched about this. I have been using there stuff for a while, but now I am really starting to understand the whole science behind the supplements. If you havent tried their stuff, give it a go. Also give them a call and tell them a little bit about yourself and maybe they will hook you up as well. They are great people to deal with.

I am racing the 12 hours of Cranky Monkey with my lovely teammate Liz again for another chance at a podium spot in the co-ed division; we took 3rd at Bakers. She recently old me she is ready for a singlespeed build up. Wait, I have to wipe the tears from my eyes and catch my breath. Ok, anyway things are going very well for me right now and I am aggressively going after certain segments to push my limits a bit more; with the help of my friend Bruce who is back to riding our shop ride on saturdays. I really enjoy riding with Bruce. He pushes me to ride harder and even though I dont always want to, I know it is good for me.

So real quick, our baseball team is now 3-3 after thursdays 8-1 victory over Rosedale. My son is having a crazy awesome season so far. He is 2-0 with 39 strikeouts in 15 innings and has allowed only 5 hits with 1 walk. He is batting a solid .300 with 12 stolen bases too. I am having quite the season myself-especially since I havent played since 2001. Thats right, an .857 average. I have only been playing every other week, and that is fine with me.

So, thats it right now. Hopefully I can keep this momentum going into Quantico.http://www.hammernutrition.com/

Bakers Dozen, 3rd place, Pain and This Co-Ed thing is pretty cool

Funny how these endurance races go. You cant wait for 9am to start and by 4 or 5pm, you cant wait for 10pm to come.

First off, my son entered the junior race. This was his first "real" mountain bike race. He was super excited and I was too. I was a little worried because this was his first ride without me there to coach and watch; he was on his own.

They went off and he was gone. Of course, all sorts of things were going through my head; Is he ok? How does he feel? The first group of kids came through, but not Alex. the second group came in, still no Alex; six riders in. So I rode to the top of the last climb-which is pretty long for these little guys and there all saw him exiting the woods spinning those little legs on his SS (all of the kids but one were older and had they all had geared bikes). I was encouraging him to keep pushing and rode with him the rest of the way to the finish. I have never seen my son so tired. I was so proud of him. He rode hard and finished strong. So he finished 8th out of 12, and he was happy...so was I.

This years Bakers had a lot of first for me personally. My first co-ed endeavor. My first co-ed endeavor with someone that I have never met and my first real feeling that I just dont recover as quick as I did. 

I really didnt know what to expect this year. I was riding with someone who I

Yes, a geared bike with suspension

never rode with with before, let alone met. My last race at Patapsco was miserable even though I finished 5th (mercy placement?), who knows. My fitness level seems fine on the road, but my mountain bike rides are not impressive at all. I have been having lower back pains as of late and my wrist still hasnt felt good from bowling 6 weeks ago; do we really have to get old? 

Liz asked me if I would go first and I said sure (I hate going first). Sure enough, 1/2 mile into the race, I got nabbed by the people who lined up near the front that should have been. First, there was a bottle neck into the pines, and then-I still cant believe this-but a guy stopped to walk over a 6" log. I lost 1 minute just from that. It was my fault for not getting closer to the front, but man that really ticks me off. Then, up the first small climb, the same thing-people walking. We decided to do doubles and I couldnt wait to get past the first lap. 

Only 12 hours and 35 minutes to go...

During my 2nd lap, the pain in my back and wrist started to rear its ugly head and it started right at the worst part of the course. Try this, get on a pogo stick that doesnt have any pogo and try to bounce as hard as you can and maintain it while going uphill for about 5 minutes straight. Yep that is the best way to describe this section. Now do it 8 more times. 

I started feeling a bit better on my 3rd and 4th laps, but my arse was raw already, I mean grater raw. My wife-bless her heart-ran to Wal Mart and got some baby lotion and man that was a God send.  

My 5th lap came undone. I still dont know how it happened, but about 3.5 miles in, I burped 75% of the air from my rear tire. I was screwed. I ran fro about 2.5 miles and finally gave up, until some young kid doing solo gave me his pump and I was back in business. My lap time was a dismal 50:00.

At this point, we where in 4th place; about 8 minutes from 3rd. Liz was turning in some pretty consistent 46-47 minute times. Doing doubles was working for her as well as for me. I was really proud of how we were doing at this point. My flat made it more of a chore to get back.

Up the wall

My next 2 laps where very good, I felt much better, although my power just wasnt there and my hr was low. The pain in my back was really getting to mw at this point. When I came in, I went to check the new results and we moved back into 3rd by 2 minutes. I had gained 10 minutes with my two faster laps.

The two teams in front were pro teams, so I was pretty darn happy where we stood. Liz came in and said she was ready fro single laps-so was I. We had gained more time on 4th and sat comfortable in 3rd by 20 minutes. 

My first night lap was really good, not great but good enough. At this point, this is where strategy comes into play. Liz came in at 9:09 and I had to back before ten in order for us to make sure that we stayed in 3rd, if I didnt the 4th place team may have the opportunity to go out and finish one more lap.

I struggled the entire lap, I was done. I was hurting and just wanted for it to be over. I kept looking at my Garmin as if to try to slow down the time, amazing...I couldnt do it. With about a mile and a half to go, I had 9 minutes to get back. I was sweating bullets at this point. I was feeling like crap. Then I got this sudden urge to kick myself and get past the pain and mash the pedals. I got back to the tent at 9:57. That might have been the fastest I rode all day. 

Jack White inspired...

Liz went off and sealed our 3rd place spot. We were both pretty tired and glad it was over. We ended up with 18 laps, only one behind the pro teams, so I am ok with that. we both rode hard and both wanted a podium spot. We finished 1 lap and 22 minutes in front of 4th. 

Liz was super excited and I am really happy that she got a chance to be on the podium and I am glad I had the chance to share it with her. I didnt have a particularly great race personally, but we did well as a team, and that is what matters.

Bakers Dozen with my blind racer date partner thing

Now, I have never been on a blind date; of course I really havent been on a date since 1987. I have raced Bakers for the last 4 years. It is a fun course and weather can be anywhere from 40° to 75° ( I am hoping for 75°). I have done a 2 man 2x's, solo singlespeed and this year will be my first ever co-ed adventure. This doesnt really have anything at all to with dating.

What would normally happen is that you team up with someone you know or at least know through friends. This is a bit unusual in the fact that I have know idea who Elizabeth Hunter is! My friend and SS racing nemesis John Houghton asked if I knew anyone interested in a 2 person co-ed for Bakers and I said me! I was signed up for solo SS ,but I had so much fun riding with my friend Blake Bricker doing a 2 man (we finished 3rd in the male open-we would have been 1st in the 2 person geezer cat), that I thought this would be a blast. I have never done a co-ed race so I am really looking forward to it.

I have been following Elizabeth on Strava and her me, and we look to be in the top 5 from what I have seen of the list. She is a strong rider. Her only fault? She doesnt ride a SS. Oh well, nobody is perfect. She raced there last year, but says she wants to be competitive this year so she is looking forward to it as well.

Hopefully this year I dont suffer from a concussion and get Rhabdo. My wife still thinks I am an idiot for finishing the race. Idiot? I had to remind her that is Moron. Idiot denotes a completely different "type" of moron. I like to consider myself the more intelligent form of moron. I will let Elizabeth form her own opinion. Who knows, this may become a habit and we become the greatest blind co-ed team ever...

Feeling Good

Well, it was bound to happen. I really did try to stay on track, I did. I tried to maintain focus and tell myself that this is working. Fooey! I am abandoning any structured training. A friend had to remind me that there is no"fun" in training; only raining.

Two weeks ago, I had my last soda; a Dr. Pepper I believe. I also started training in a different arena-diet. I have been monitoring what, when and how I eat. The first week was rough, but this week I feel like new. I mean after a day of hills, I take an easy day afterwards. The new me; I ride hard the next day as well; a real rebel. Oh, wait...I did the second day on the Ferrous SS.

I woke up this morning not quite sure what to expect and headed out to Patapsco. I really thought after the first 1/2 mile 10.5% grade gravel grinder, I would be kapoot, but not only did I feel good, bit moved up to 4th overall (1st in the 45+ age group) on this climb; not what I was expecting. So I continued to ride hard for the rest of the ride for the most part.

Yesterdays road ride yielded a max HR of 193. I have been a bit concerned that I havent reached 200, but thats ok. Todays ride on the ss saw it climb to 195. I was pretty stoked in the fact that I was maintaining 183+ for 3 minutes straight on different occasions.

Yesterdays road ride was a bit strange. I had lower back soreness and tired

legs at the end, so I really shouldnt have had to much-if any gas left in the tank for today. Man, good food is good fuel. I am a true believer in this whole chocolate milk as a recovery drink too. I didnt have any muscle soreness at all today, nor right now. I really wish I had felt like this last week during the race. Oh well, Bakers is next week and I will be teaming up with Elizabeth Hunter for a co-ed make up. I have done the SS solo, 2 man so now this. What is great about this is that I havent even met her! I am a Strava stalker though, so I take a peak now and then.

So I am looking forward to this whole new me thing. What the heck, I am 45 years old, I can do what I want.

Over and Out...

AFC Sugar Hill and a dismal 5th

This will be a very short entry because I am not real happy about my performance. In a nutshell, I had the most miserable race ever-and I knew it right from the start. No power and lower back spasms near the end of the race; not a good sign. I struggled through the entire race and worse yet, there was nothing I could do about it. How I managed to nab the 5th spot is a miracle. Either everyone else felt as bad as I did, or they all had pity on my 45 year old haggard body. I finished six minutes slower than last year, which in all honesty really surprised me; I thought it was slower than that. Strangely enough, everybody's times were way off from last year as well; I guess everyone was feeling blah.

So, I am glad that this one is in the books and I am going to get in the tub and sulk a bit.

No Race, but a day of fun with the kids

Well, the AFC Sugar Hill Race was postponed for a chance of rain which never occurred. It really sucks because this was my taper week for this race now it is sort of screwed up. I was ready and looked to claim another podium spot. I was really dying to ride today, so I gave the kids a choice of a hike or bike; they chose wisely!

We headed out to Gunpowder to check out the trails and take some pics. It is the first time this year I have had them both on the trails together. I figured this would add some competition to the ride-I am so sneaky. It is funny to watch these two together; they are very competitive with each other, especially when I praise one. Before I get a chance to praise the other, they try to out do the others' praise-hilarious.

Gunpowder is a great place to take kids to ride. It is nice rolling doubletrack and singletrack. It does have rocks and roots in spots, so you have to be careful. I have to say, I wasnt expecting them to do as well as they did, but they rocked that trail today. I was really proud of both of them. I never forget to tell them either-they eat it up.

We ended up doing 8 miles in 1hr and 11 minutes-not to bad. What was most important was they had fun and we spent another great day outside (not in front of a computer or tv).

Note to parents-it is never too late to get out with your kids. They will grow up before you know it and you dont want to be that parent that says "I wish...".

I love the fact that like to ride. Not just ride, but ride the trails and see how much fun it is. We take a lot of breaks to check out the scenery (something I dont get a chance to do on my training rides) and learn a little bit about each other too.

So, race cancelled, but it couldnt have been a better day. A day with the Bug and P-zero; yeah, nicknames-dont ask. I have 3 kids, but one is all growed up and bike riding is not on her to do list, but thats ok-she is still a super cool artistic kid. One day I will get her out there. I will have to play the guilt trip on her or something.

It really doesnt get any better than this now does it?

Sugar Hill Pre Game Show

Thats right folks, it's time for the 5th annual AFC Sugar Hill Race. Where fun is had for all (unless you consider redlining in the first 5 minutes fun)! We will see great displays of courage (pride) and determination (cutthroat tactics) on the trails on saturday (unless it rains). Yes folks, with 3000ft of elevation and 22.3 miles, this should be a doozy.

Yes, I have been doing this race since its inception. I love to hate this race. Why? One; it is early in the season and two; it is early in the season and the waterbars climb has your heart rate in zone 9z at the very beginning and there is not alot of places to kick back and relax; climbing is on the menu for today.

I have progressively gotten better here every year. In 2009, I finished 8th well behind first place-to be fair, I really didnt train in 2009, I just went out and rode till I puked. In 2010, I finished 7th with a better showing and 3 minutes faster. 2011, I had my best race thus far. I was actually in the lead for the first two laps and just couldnt hold on at the end and ended up 3rd. This was the first year it was run in the opposite direction which had 3x's the climbing. Last year was pretty good. I finished six minutes faster than 2011 and ended up 4th. Though my placement was one place lower, my time is what I was super pleased with. I really noticed a big improvement in my overall fitness level. This year I feel I am in the best shape ever. My goal is to finish sub 2 hour (2:02 last year). I think it is doable being that I have 58,000 more feet of climbing and have done a boat load of endurance miles to boot.

I feel pretty tight right now and this week I have been doing E2 riding. Last year I made a crucial error and 3 days before the race, went out and hammered the course for 3 laps and then some. It was fun I have to admit, though.

The forecast is showing rain, so we shall see how this whole thing plays out.

Just some perspective, maam

Well, last year at this time on was on my way to what I thought was going to be a pretty good season; I dare say even my best. Then things happened and the wheel fell off the cart so to speak.

It is funny how certain things matter more to someone; even things that arent that important in the grand scheme of things. I mean, I could lose my job, and yet it wouldnt be as bad as not finishing a race as well as expected. Sure, it would suck for a bit, but you move on. Now you may say that my priorities are outta wack; maybe so, but to me a job can be had at anytime, maybe not one that you would consider palatable, but a job none the less. Cycling is what makes up who most of us are-at least cyclists anyway...duh. I mean, every january you cant wait to get going and start training and pushing your body beyond what you ever thought was possible. You dont get up monday morning and treat your job the same way you would approach your cycling goals for that same day-be honest. We live to ride... literally. I am fortunate enough to work doing the thing I love to do outside of work.

There are days were I sit and think long and hard about racing and what it means to me and is it worth the effort every year to push myself to get better even as I get older. Yes. Do the jitters every go away as I line up with guys that are younger and faster than me? No. Is it worth it to go out at every race and try to hang with these guys knowing that some are in better shape than myself and push even harder than I should? Yes. Is it worth it at the end of every race knowing I raced a great race and proved I can still do this and do it reasonably well? Most definitely. Is it worth it to go and push myself against guys half my age and beat most if not all of them? Hell yes!

I dont like to lose...period, but even finishing 3rd or 5th is not losing; you finished-and trust me, some races you win if you do just that. I see mountain bike racing differently than most do I think, though. When I go to race, I dont ever go with the assumption of winning. I know, "Why the hell do you go then" you say. Here is my take. Mountain bikers are unique in the fact that, unlike most roadies, it isnt about cut throat tactics that are meant to demoralize ones efforts. It isnt about how expensive your ride is or even what you wear. Mountain bike racing is about pushing yourself to the limits of pain you cant imagine. When you pass someone or get passed, they hurt as much if not more than you do. It comes down to who can tolerate the pain longer.

When I race, I go to beat me...thats it. I dont care what anyone else is doing or has done, I go knowing I trained hard and if I did everything right, I will place in my usual top 3-5 (with a win sprinkled in here and there). I have learned in the past the hard way that if you spend too much time wondering and scoping out the competition, you end up going down a long path of disappointments. I am fortunate to have a wife that digs me but doesnt care for racing-but she is there every race and that makes all the difference in how I race most of the time.

Now, I am not saying that you should ignore what everyone else is doing, you have to peak in every once in a while, but dont get caught up in the logistic stuff; worry about you and everything will be fine. My goals at every race are to exceed my times from the previous year. So far, I have done that and more. I know at some point in my life, that aint gonna happen as much, but I will ride the fun coaster until it derails.

So, somehow that went more to the racing aspect of riding than I originally planned, but its my blog. In a nutshell, get out and ride and sometimes ride hard and if Joe Hammertime shows you up, thats ok. Just ride your ride.

Goals

I would not classify myself as a long term goal setter. They are just to hard to accomplish with everyday life. You set yourself up to get a big punch in the gut most of the time and then you feel guilty about something that was never attainable from the start. Aim low, finish high-my motto. I mean, I am 45-not that I am saying that is old, but  you never know when the legs will start to head south and you will be forced to make some adjustments in your riding style. So long term goals aint for me brotha. I do have a few cycling goals that I really do try to accomplish each year, though; not many but enough to keep from disappointment.

The first one is to try and stick to a training plan. That has really only happened once, and that would be this year so far. I have been putting in a lot of endurance miles and really concentrating on keeping my heart rate in the proper zones; so far, so good.

The second goal is to finish in the top 5 in every race. Now, funny thing is as I have gotten older, this has become "easier." Now I am not saying that it is easier physically so much as it is mentally, but racing against people half your age requires some adjustments to the way I have thought and acted about racing in general. My main goal during each race is not necessarily to beat a certain individual, but to better my times from the previous year(s) races. If I can accomplish that, I know I will finish well. Now, I have been getting faster after I turned 40 and taking some good chunks of time from year to year; how long this will last... who knows.

The last goal and most important for me is not letting my nerves get the best of me. I will try to say this without sounding arrogant, but I consider myself a pretty fast rider. I am certainly not the fastest, but I can hang with some pretty fast people. Anyway, "how am I gonna do" or "I am super nervous about who I am racing against," never fails to enter my daily thought patterns at least a few days before a race. I have yet to conquer this goal. I may have to conjure up some secret formulated drink that takes away butterfly's and replaces them with some teen angst mixed with a little Henry Rollins and a dash of zippity do da just for good luck.

So, remember to aim low and you will always finish better than you thought.

I have a Problem

Yes, I have a serious problem; I love to ride my bike(s). Problem you say, that isnt a problem. You would be correct in saying so. No, my real problem is wanting more bikes so I can love to ride my bike(s) even more. Working at a shop does not make it any easier either. Saturday I succumbed to my desires once again. My friend Daniel had a Redline Flight Monocog 29er frame that just happened to my size. Of course it is another steel ride. I ended up trading my Fox fork for it; the Singlespeed Moron only goes rigid. It seems that you can never have enough horses in the stable. I outfitted this one with some extra stuff laying around; RXL wheels, Stylo OCT crank Elixer CR brakes and of course a Cane Creek 100 headset (as with every bike I own). All told comes in at 22.5 lbs. The top tube comes in 2 inches shorter than my Ferrous or my Superfly ss's, so I mounted a 120mm stem-never thought I would ever use one of those again, but it worked out nicely.

I took it out for a short ride on sunday and was really blown away on how quick this bike is. I attribute most of it to the short wheelbase. Look closely and you can see how close the rear wheel is to the seat tube. I could really feel how quick it was when mashing on the pedals; it just moved. I got this bike to be my "beater" bike. You know, the bike that you dont care if something happens to it? I dont have one of those and it looks like that will continue. This rides to nice to be that bike. The only issue I had (caught it before my actual ride) was when applying the rear brake, the torque from the brake would cause the wheel to hit the left chain stay. My remedy was to take a nut and bolt and place it in the gap between the sliders and the frame and POOF, problem solved. I know this should not happen, but I got it second hand.

If you are looking for a pretty nice frame, give this one a look. This one is a 2009, so I assume the sliding dropouts are fixed on the current models. Pretty funny how things work out. My first SS was a Flight monocog 26er ss in the non ferrous version.

So my problem doesnt seem to have a cure. I tried more cowbell, but that just made me dance. I tried listening to The Cure, but that just made me sad in a good way. So, I will continue to ride and collect. Look at it this way, the more I collect, the more ideas you will have for purchases. Think of me as a free ss consultant.

Catching up with my previous passion

Well, I decided to break out the drawing utensils and put them to the test. I havent done a pencil illustration in about 15 years. So how better to throw an anniversary party than to do a quick portrait of my oldest daughter. Well, this was drawn from a photo when she was 9. Portraits are the most difficult when they are family members just because you know every shape and curve and any deviation from that sticks out like a soar thumb.

Freehand drawings are super difficult because you have nothing to go by other than your eyes and being able to transfer that without anything but, well your eyes. I dont ever use projectors or grids or anything. Anyway, off to visit the sandman and dream of another day where I draw something else...maybe someday.

I thought I was done with School?

I am 45 years old, 3 kids a wife and work full time...time to go back to school. Well, not that kind of school. I have been to Park Tool School and recently to level 1 fit school.

It has been a great experience to go to some of the different vendors such as Sram, Cane Creek, Park Tool, FSA, Fox and Mavic. They all offer unique and not so unique products. It was a great opportunity to catch up with some of the people behind the products, too. Ed at Sram is one of the best out there for sure; just a great guy to sit and chat with.

Getting a chance to rebuild Fox and Rock Shox forks to keep the skills sharp makes for a great opportunity to share and learn knowledge from and with others. Of course, you cant discount the schwag either. T-shirts and hats from Sram and a very cool headset toolkit from Cane Creek. I love seminars...

Today I spent time with Richard Schwinn from Waterford/Gunnar and Chris Nurre from Fit Kit Systems. Lots of knowledge and lots of numbers! I love numbers! I got a chance to meet some cool people from all over the country and swap stories and just good ole fashioned bike banter. I got a free fitting myself and was dialed in pretty close. My saddle height was 5-8 mm off, so not bad. So, I am an official Level 1 graduate. I am going back next year to finish level 2 and 3.

It has been a good year so far in every aspect of my life. Cant wait to see what comes down the road next. Hopefully it isnt a truck driving on the wrong side of the road.

Loyalty...and it isnt mans best friend

What could be better; my logo design at the shop I work for (a tad bit different, but what better advertisement than this) on the back of Ralph's calf.

Ralph is a super nice guy that has bought a few custom bikes from our shop including a Gunnar and Waterford, and some others as well. I have to say that this is THE DEFINITIVE example of customer loyalty without question. I havent yet decided to get my skin poked and stuck by the one thing I fear most, but this makes me feel the dark powers within urging me to take the leap...nah.

This is how you know you are doing things right at any shop. I wanted to tease him and say that  "Wow Ralph, that is freikin' awesome, but what is Sanitation Jello?" Anyway, it is a good thing that he got it on his calf; he is the kind of guy that would be just crazy enough to get it on his arse, and that would be a picture you would not see here.

You Rock Ralph, but this doesnt mean you get free stuff!