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!