Floating

Not sure what it's been as of late, but I've been floating day-to-day, not feeling as grounded as I normally like.  Working to get the team together for 2011, staying focused and on-track with my preparation for the 2011 season, staying focused while at work so I can keep paying the bills and save money for my traveling next year.

Some pretty cool news:  I'll be in my good friend Chris's wedding next year in August/September.  It's in Germany, so I'll be brushing up on my dialect.  Germany:  you're on notice, get ready!

Raging and ruined

As I played wingman for my roommate at the bar last night, I kept thinking about going to sleep.  I wasn't tired, but I wanted to have a good day Sunday, and not have it squandered by waking up late, eating breakfast at lunch time, and getting back from my ride in time for dinner and laundry.  Ultimately, that is what happened, and instead of getting a number, I got a girl's facebook.  This cracks me up!

I know a few people who have deleted their facebook, and I'm starting to think it's not a bad idea.  What do you think?

Return of the blog: Drive me to the podium

It's always nice to end the season on a high note!

Just for being a swell guy, the organizers of the Campmor/H2H mountain bike race series decided to let me stand on the top step of the podium at their awards banquet this past Sunday.  Thanks guys!

That's a season-long smile, in case you were wondering.

I haven't made it to any 'cross races thus far.  Just not feeling it after that long mtb season.  I'll have my shot at cyclocross glory next year I'm sure.

Doing a little 'cross training at the range.

I've managed to keep craziness to a minimum as of late, which is helping me stay relaxed and focused on training as the weather gets colder.

As the weather gets cold, the fences get burned.

Off-season team obligations have been keeping me busy though.  I definitely prefer racing over schmoozing, but the schmoozing helps the racing!  Did I spell 'schmooze' right?  Somebody check urban dictionary....

Speaking of, I actually added a word to that recently, check IT.

I'll come up with a more interesting post next time, just wanted to post pics of me on a podium.  Dig it.

Scene From My Two Eyes: Part 2

Raced my last mountain bike race of 2010 last weekend.  It was the Campmor/H2H series finals, and I wrapped up the series overall with a 5th place finish.  To be honest, I was finished before the race even started, and unfortunately raced that way.  Now I'm entering my second full rest week, and finally starting to crave some form of exercise.  Maybe I'll do some 24oz. curls tomorrow as preperation for some cyclocross races!

Prettyboy damn is pretty cool!  Still have yet to walk to the bottom of those stairs....

Will be on one of these next year quite a bit.  Hoping that I find some good deals on flights!

We were going 85, but still no flaming tire tracks.  Bummer.

Petrified dog hides in closet during thunderstorms.  Farts on my favorite shoes.

Should I or shound't I.....

I did.

The darndest things show up on my white board at work.

Warmth on a cool crisp night in the Poconos.  That really was an ugly fence.

Scene from my two eyes: Part 1

Have been taking a mini-break for the past few weeks since the Rattling Creek Marathon. A lot of easy rides, which means more opportunities to take pictures and capture those scenes from a memory. Enjoy visual stimulation:

Stopped during my ride briefly and noticed this little guy just chillin.

I remember the days when I didn't have a washer & dryer......

Poor stanley survived the fall, but not the impact.......

It's a fixer-upper for sure, but the location is great!

Complete with trail-side parking.......

And besides, it's in better condition than this one.

Blog Post

The sport riders have pretty sweet bikes these days.

In the middle of a rest week. A REAL rest week. Normally I have about 5 hrs on the bike by now. This week, 2. And it will only be roughly 3 after Friday.

Peoples hanging out under the tent at Neshaminy.

I was pretty floored after this past weekend. Did Weav's Prettyboy ride, starting at Oregon Ridge and going around some great countryside in Maryland. I'll definitely be back to that loop soon. Sunday I drove up into Pennsyltucky for the Rattling Creek 50 miler. It was epic. I rode slow. Finished 7th out of who knows how many. Didn't get a T-shirt, but had fun.

Last weekend I raced in NY, the Taconic 909, part of the Campmor/H2H regional race series. BAD ASS course. A little long, which came as a surprise on race-day. Took second behind Super-Aaron. Made up some ground on the series leader, Maurice. I'm gunning for YOU Mo!

A well-deserved podium.

Also snuck in a race at Neshaminy, which was the site of my first ever mountain bike race back in High School. Seeing as it was the weekend after my debacle at the Bear Creek Kenda Cup, I knew I wasn't going to be super sharp. I had good speed, but the fitness was a little unsteady, and ended up battling for 6th with Harlan. Just managed to squeek it out.

Guess who..........

That's all I got for now! Next post will probably be about non-cycling related topics. Just a guess.

Records of enjoyment, sparks of life.

When it comes to food and the seasons, my favorite combination is cherries in the summer. Though the odd thing is that you'll probably never see me sitting next to a bowl of cherries. But you will definitely see me sitting next to a bowl of these.......

How many times are you out and see something interesting, something that is worthy of recording, remembering, showing friends, and dare I say, posting on facebook? Hopefully the answer is too many times to count. If the answer is hardly ever, you should learn how to open your eyes properly and see the crazy shit around us. It's amazing, appalling, hilarious, and sobering. Sometimes it can drive you over the edge.....

'It' helps me understand why I love riding my bike, a sort of white-wash to the things that are going on around me. It's amazing the degree of mental relaxation that occurs amongst the physical stress I push upon myself. You have to stop sometimes to soak it all in.

But riding my bike isn't all about relaxing and fun ALL the time. Sometimes I am productive on the bike. For instance, I went house hunting the other day. My goal was to price out some fixer-uppers. What do you think of this one?

Or maybe this one?

Oh well, guess I'll keep hunting.....

Condensed.

Tiger Woods ain't got nothing on this fist-pump. It was a good day......

So I spent the past week prepping and massaging my back so that I could race the Bear Creek Kenda Cup pain-free on Sunday. Goal accomplished.

I took a detour Friday up to State College to check in with Richie Rich and get a replacement for my damaged rear wheel. Mission accomplished.

I pre-rode the XC course on Saturday so I could strategize a little for the race without being too surprised with the course. Roger, 10-4.

I even got a good night's sleep Saturday evening and felt ready for the world Sunday morning.

Showed up to the race, and there was a bit of 'dead air' at the venue. Not sure if it was the weather or the seeming lack of people, but I was there to bike game. Game on.

I started the race conservatively, but this caught up to me at the top of the longer climb to the ski-lift where Double-A moved to the front and took to the tech descent first, gapping us slowly and surely. I waited patiently behind the group and made some moves into third by the end of the first lap, about a minute down on him, 20 seconds back from second. I kept it steady and reeled in second, but came unclipped in some rocks and had to chase back on. Just as I was about to hook up, I washed my front tire in some soft, loamy soil. Ooops!

back to chasing, I just about hooked up again for the pass and then noticed I was going flat. Quickly shot some CO2 in and the tire sealed. Got close to second AGAIN and then Psssssssfffff, sidewall tear. This time I had to stop, get the tire half-off and put a tube in. My tires are a little tight, so this is a process, and I got passed by a rider during this 'process'. No worries, as it was my teammate Matt. If I'm going to get passed in any situation, I always prefer it to be a teammate, especially when it's a podium spot! I finished up and got going again, reeling Matt in but for the last time on the day I lost my PSI's. I still had a few miles to go in the last lap so I ran/rode in, getting passed slowly along the way, finishing 7th on the day. Guess that's not so bad considering!

Of note, all that excitement was condensed into the final lap. Cwaaaazy!

Time to recoup, regroup, and look forward to the next few races.

Hugs and Kisses!

#120. Not too exciting

Walked to the basement to look at my rear wheel again. Went to Michaux on Sunday to get some solid training miles in and just survive the day. Ended up with a taco'd rear wheel and bum shifting. I think the derrailure is ok, just slipped the cable. Gonna head up to State College and pick up another wheel from the good people at Stan's on Friday. Hopefully I'll have a pristine bike by Saturday morning. My back is pretty sore still though, and that's been my achilles heal at times. Been stretching, massaging, and reciting voodoo chants in hopes that it will be back to normal come Sunday. Pretty please....

Short Jewish Man Wins Mountain BIke Race, Details at 10.......

Stay classy

.....and boy did it hurt. Literally, it hurt bad! I cramped hard 3/4 into the race and almost had to pull out. Luckily I know some slick breathing techniques that help calm me down and it helped the cramps go away. I rolled in with almost 2 minutes on the second place rider. Not too shabby.

I like this step, I think I'll revisit it again.......

Now that I've got a win in, I'm hoping to keep the momentum going until the August 1st Bear Creek Kenda Cup. Awesome course, and it's part of the regional MARC series which I have a mathematical chance of winning. Gotta be on my 'A+' game there, as I'll be fighting Double-A for that series, and probably the race win, not to mention all the other super fast guys that will no doubt be there. Should be fun! Stay tuned.......

In non-cycling related news, I'm 2 days away from paycheck #1. Yay. Also, I bought an iPhone 4 today. Well....I actually ordered one, and it will be here next week. Double-Yay! Time for Mangoe slices.

Finishing in a blaze of confusion

This phrase copyright by Ricky Bobby, Inc.

As I rode the final two-thirds of the race by myself, passing sport and beginner racers and muttering slurs of encouragement, I didn't think about much other than to keep pedaling and stay focused. I know, pretty boring. Some minor leg-cramps started setting in towards the end, due to the steep hike-a-bike earlier in the day, and my pace suffered a little as a result, but I kept on chugging. Then, with what was apparently only about 250m to go, the rider that was chasing me finally caught me. Drats, I thought. We started up the final climb, and at the top, I surged to go over first, not realizing that the finish was at the top. The rider who caught me figured out the situation and just managed to come around me for the win. This rider has many names, Shaaron, Double-A, Euro-Aaron, or just plain Aaron Snyder. Either way, he made me feel like an idiot as we descended down to the road and informed me that the finish was at the top. Stupidity set in yet again, a familiar feeling.

Matt staring at the trees while Chris does his best Captain Morgan pose.

So that's two second-places in a row now. Time to step it up a notch and throw down for the first 'W' of the season. Haven't had a legitimate win for a while, so I'm fairly certain it will feel good. If it doesn't, I will quit racing immediately.

Living life on the wire...

Getting ready to plow the field of life.........

It's been one week in Baltimore and I'm slowly getting used to the grind again. Not much to report on, other than roughly 40 hours of my week getting spent in a cubicle reading up on work-related topics. Rather boring, but I'm scheduled to start working on real project-related tasks this coming week, so that should help perk things up.

Bike Gaming at the Lewis Morris Challenge.

My last race was symbolic in that it represented the last gasp of a free man. But was I really free? Spending my days on my own time, but in reality I was constantly looking over my shoulder to see when the day would come when it all ended. I actually squeezed out more than my share of fun from my time off from work, so I can't complain.

Just.....one......more......step......

I did fairly well at that last race, and am hoping that my new work/training schedule hasn't hindered my fitness too much. It certainly has hindered my sleeping pattern, but I'm pretty sure I'll be back on track after this weekend. For America's Birthday, I'll be racing the Long Pine Classic in my old stomping grounds of Michaux State Forest. It's a one-lapper, so I'm reluctantly breaking out the camelback. Definitely no expectations at this one!

Hoo-Ha'd, the Aftermath Edition

Still finishing up the decompression from this past weekend's spectacular racing at the Massanutten Hoo-Ha US Cup Triple Crown. All-in-all, it was a solid weekend, just squeaking in the top-10 in every race, and finishing 7th overall in the Pro Triple Crown weekend standings. Even got my pic posted on cyclingnews.com!

Straight outta cyclingnews y'all!

The course(s) was awesome, and played to my strengths, and allowed me to work on my weaknesses as well without hindering my results. What DID hinder my results was the heat and humidity, but everyone had to deal with that one.

Keeping watch on Double-A during the short-track.

One of the Giant 'Full-Timers' made the trip to Virginia, and Kelli won the short-track, cross-country, and the weekend overall. It was the first time meeting one of the Factory riders, and we were all psyched for the chance to race together.

Ahead of me, the car in it's typical mid-race-weekend state.........

....and to the right, Carolyn hanging on the sidewalk playing with her food.

Sorry for the lack of energy and emotion in this post, I've been focused on getting ready for my move to Baltimore and new job starting Monday. Gonna swing by the H2H race in Morristown, NJ this weekend to shake the rust off, see you there? OK, time to get back to it!

Hoo-HAHA!!!!

This is just the beginning........

Getting the gear together for a bike game excursion down south. It's Hoo-Ha time!!

After last year's crash in the opening miles of the race, I'll have to admit I'm gunning for a good result this year. No playin! But unlike last year, there's even more fun to be had with Super-D and Short-Track thrown in the mix on Saturday. I might even break out the full-face for giggles. Oh, and I have an iPod now for the drive, AND my CD player in the car magically started working again on Monday after over 2 years of bed-shitting. Seriously, 2 years. I gathered what's left of my CD collection and plan on getting my groove on while on my way to the race this weekend. Take THAT radio!

You get the idea......

Amidst the packing and bike prepping float memories of last weekend's C3=100 century ride at Curt's Cyclery in Nazareth, PA to benefit the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. It was a huge success with over 100 riders pedaling miles for a great cause. HUGE thanks to Curt's and my teammate Matt who put this on, and here's looking forward to next year!

The gathering of the masses at Curt's. GMA front and center!

Sexy bike, sweet shop!

In more boring news, it looks as though I'm on my way to Baltimore once again. I got myself a job, one that pays even! I'll be looking for places to live next week, and will be starting work on the 28th. Let me know if you know of a bike-friendly house with a room to rent, good times will ensue.

This guy's got the right idea! But he probably won't have a job for long.....

Cold, wet, and anxious

Wow, I actually look like a bike racer in this picture!

Wowee wow! After a slew of hot days on the bike, the last two were a little shock to the system, especially today. 4 hours of cool wet miles left me begging for a hot shower and a soft pillow. Starting to come back around now, while watching the Philly International Cycling Championship on TV.

While all those silly roadies were out doing laps around Philthadelphia, beating themselves to death up 'The Wall' and Lemon Hill, I was flogging myself down in Delaware at the Iron Hill Challenge. Not my favorite race, due to its lack of vertical and absence of technicality, but since I've been on good form and improving week-to-week, I was more motivated to toe the line than normal.

I'm pretty sure this is early in the race, as I don't look disheveled.......

As I alluded to at the start of this post, it had been rather warm until recently. Sunday's race day weather was no exception, and being in Delaware it added high humidity to the mix, creating a soupy feel to the atmosphere. I'm pretty darn sure everyone there felt like cold poop on a bent twig, myself included, and excitement at the race start was at a minimum. That is, until the race director told us during the instructions/announcements that the race would end early if there was lightning (there was the possibility of thunderstorms on the day). The collective field of Elite/Expert riders sent their prayers to the heavens for this to happen, but alas the weather held firm.

The beginning of the race was a blur, with lots of elbows and jockeying that made my mangina cramp and I ended up hitting the singletrack in the middle of the Elite/Open field of 30 riders. I sat in for a few as we bypassed the 'Mega Dip' and the normal mid-pack accordion affect did its job of annoying the bejeebus out of me. Once we hit the first real uphill, I saw my opportunity and took off in pursuit of the leaders, whom I unfortunately never caught. But I had a fun time trying, and ended up 4th on the day.

A rare look at my pain face. I try hard to hide it, but it was hard on Sunday!

Gonna go watch me some Flyers hockey action on the tube, hopefully the trails are dry enough tomorrow for some Belmont action.