The Late

Howdy partners! Solid week of great weather has me weak in the knees from all that fresh air!! I know you all got out and enjoyed yourselves in mother nature! I accomplished my first real mtb rides in, well, a long time! Friday in The Wiss for some fun with my roadie-convert friend JPR, then again today in French Creek. Took the XTC 29er out and it ate up the rocks and roots and probably saved me a few times from losing some skin along with pride and dignity.

Saturday was a hoot and holler as I rode the TCX in the Monkey Knife Fight. What a great ride, and some steep dirt climbs to boot! Will definitely be back for that one next year! Did I mention steep dirt road climbs??!?!

This week will keep the good times rolling with a stop in State College, followed by a job interview (GASP!), and more two-wheeled shenanigans. And I'm gonna pistol-whip the next person who says the word shenanigans!

I should probably add more pictures to these posts.......

So...I'm a bike racer....

Time to ring the keg for another round of fitness prep brought to me by the one and only Cody Waite. Serve me another plate of raw self-masochistic anaerobic two-wheeled punishment please (with onions to make the eyes tear)!

I was supposed to race this weekend, but (pause for dramatic effect) the fields are FULL!!!! Wait, what? Seriously? A mtb race in the Mid-Atlantic has filled it's rider capacity? Is this the truth? Should I be maxing out my credit card on early pre-reg's for every race on my schedule? Answer: no. Turns out the field limits are pretty tiny. Bummer, so looks like I'll be lining up for the MASS Team Relay on April 3rd with my new team, Giant Mid-Atlantic. I wonder what sort of costumed gimickry we will come up with? Only time will tell.....

And now for the KOSHER SPRING CLASSIC WRAP-UP!!

We rode, we finished, I took two seconds in a row, then wimped out on the final stage. Next year baby......

Seriously, did you think I'd go into some maniacal detailed account of the events which have come to be known as the Spring Classic? How gullible you have become.

Rule #1 of Spring Classic: You don't talk about Spring Classic. Guess I broke rule #1, currently watching my back. Until next year.......

Hey Blog, how YOU doin?

The past few weeks have been a combination of having nothing to write about and having too much to write about. Mix that together and you get what I present to you today. The snow that was dumped on us is almost completely gone, save for a few small patches here and there that don't catch the sun. It was fun to see so much of the white stuff again, but it really does put a damper on things and is a general nuisance the longer it sticks around. I definitely won't miss shoveling it either, like one of my elderly neighbors said, "why doesn't somebody call Al Gore and tell him to come shovel this global warming?". Actually, I heard a lot of people say that same thing, is it a quote from T.V. or something?

To help pass the time in the snow, I helped a friend move-in and paint a new house. It's a great house, about 100 years old and built solid. It's got an old cottage feel, with wood flooring throughout and small details that give the place a unique character. Doing work on the house made me want to buy a house of my own so I could have that feeling all to myself, but that's still a few years off. Until then, I'll just hang out over there and raid the fridge, boo-yah!

The latest reports from the Department of Homeland Fitness and Competition indicate that my early season form is coming along nicely and I am eager to get to the first race of the year. Unfortunately, since my previously scheduled first race has filled (that's a first!) I may be delaying my start until the first weekend in April. Not a bad thing, will actually give me a little more preperation time, and help me wrangle up my equipment for the season and get it ready to go. For the first time in a long time, I won't be on a 26" hardtail, and will be riding a 29" hardtail (Giant XTC 29er) and a 26" full suspension (Giant Anthem X). I can't count how many times last year I found myself working harder over terrain to keep up with someone on a 29er or a FS bike, regardless of line choice. Equipment truly does matter at a certain point, and I'm probably slightly beyond that point now.

OH yeah, almost forgot about the Championship Roller Racing event! This was too cool! I had always wanted to hit one of these up, in fact, I'll save that for another post......

The Spring Classic is almost complete. 'The Beginning' was an epic venture through snow and dangerous roads. 'Part Duh' was a georgeous day that teased many into staying on towards the end, only to be spit out like flavorless chewing gum on The Wall. 'The Climax' is this Sunday, and should bring more epic conditions, with rain, wet roads, and a classic finish down Forbidden Drive and up to Water Tower. I'll save the recap for next week.

Looks like rain outside, hope you were able to enjoy the weather earlier this week. Sushi Buffet tomorrow, Boo-yah!