#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!