tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51951215811264787222023-11-16T09:36:29.854-08:00Team MTBNJ RamblingsJames Pearlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02002305907067079922noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-21620386729654785992013-07-22T10:04:00.000-07:002013-07-22T10:06:12.061-07:00Utah's MTB Nationals Recap - Cat 1 35-39<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Nationals!<br />
<br />
And we're back. <br />
<br />
Life has been pretty ridiculous lately, so much so that I forgot to
recap my Lewis Morris race....So lets get that out of the way
first....it was hot, I had a good lap in a half, then I over heated and
melted down in spectacular fashion...I made it to the finish line at
walking speed. The usual result in the heat. <br />
<br />
So moving on. Once the heat arrives, its time for retirement. But this
year since the nationals were at Bear Creek and I just so happened to
qualify for them last year, I figured it was a good excuse to extend the
season a wee bit longer. I mentioned my desire to be able to throw
down for this race to Mr Myagi....He was not pleased, but he never seems
to run out of cars that need waxing...So back to work. After Lewis Morris I pretty much have had 1 or 2 quality training rides where I
walked away feeling happy with my performance. The heat combined with
hard efforts just does not work for me. Same results...good for an hour
or so, then I begin to overheat, get dizzy, black out, cramp, shit the
bed. So while my body might not be in May form, the Nationals course
seems right up my alley. <br />
<br />
I had never been to bear creek PA before outside of wedding, but yRob
once told me the they built this course just for me...Which I assumed he
meant, crazy technical and completely flat. He was correct about the
technical bit, but unfortunately bear creek is about as flat as a ski
hill....which it just so happens to be. Tad bit of climbing, like 1000'
every 6.5 mile lap. Last week Kirt and I decided to head out for a
pre-ride and have a look for ourselves. The course lived up to yRobs
description....pretty sure it is one of the most challenging XC courses I
have ever raced in terms of rocks and technical bits. It bascily goes
like this....Climb for 20 straight minutes, then descend for 10, climb
again for 5, then descend for another 10min. I gave this course a
rating of "goddam fantastic" Maybe the best xc course I have done. The
climbing involves many rocky sections, switchbacks, roots and only short
fire road stretches. Its about as pleasant as riding a bike up a ski
hill gets. The descending...thats where it gets awesome. Its brutal
rocky hell that reminds me alot of jungle, but more technical. Great
stuff!<br />
<br />
So after 3 laps, I felt much better about this race. It may be July and I'm burnt out, but I'm 100% confident that I can ride this course at a
speed that will keep me in the game. Plus of the 42 racers in my cat 1
class, there only only a handful from this area. Many are from all over
the country and I think that will most certainly work in my favor. <br />
<br />
Finally, the preface....<br />
<br />
Since the race is at 8am and the drive is 2ish hrs, I decided to get a
hotel and stay nearby. Paul and I drove out on Friday and decided to
stop in and check out the scene. I run into many of my fellow racers
from the area...we are all pretty stoked about the how tough this course
is, but not about the fact that its 119 degrees in the shade. <br />
<br />
So after wiping out the Hampton Inn buffet, Paul wiped out dunkin
donuts, then we made our way over. We met Kirt who thankfully decided
to spectate, feed me bottle and help out. <br />
<br />
<br />
After some warm up, I make my way to the line. The crowd is staggering....<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/1001185_10151704522638954_1926255179_n.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<br />
42 guys just in my 35-39 class and then there are at least 25-50 in
every other group. Sadly, I have not earned enough points for a call
up, so I proceed to line up tail end charlie. This sucks, but its going
to be a long race, so I figure it will be ok in the end. I make it the
first 100 yards clean and avoid any pile ups, but the leaders are just
blazing away. Its not always a bad thing if you are like me and subject
to overheating....I have killed myself several times trying to match a
sprint out of gate. So I just try to keep the bike upright and make my
way through the crowd. Its quite a spectacle I must say. It rained the
night before, so everything was greasy, people were riding in every
possible direction. I have never tested my ability to track stand so
much in a race. So I make the first few switch backs and get a look up
the mountain.....Its depressing how far back I am now. Ah well, too
late to worry about it. I just keep driving though the pack.
Thankfully I'm quite certain that the guys I was with were not
locals...They seemed to always pick the bad line, leaving the good line
open for me to pass. I look down at 13min in and see the leaders
coming out of the woods on a different part of the course. I marked
the time and figure out that in less than 20min, they now have 3min on
me. Its depressing, but whatever, ill just hope to be there in the end.
<br />
<br />
Near the top of the mountain on lap 1 I catch up to Steve mancuso. This
is good since steve is a great ambulance driver and moves people out
the way. I decided to stay with him and try to burn too many matches on
the first lap. Pace was good and with Steve's help we were making
steady progress cutting through the piles of bodies all over the place.
Its very difficult to pass on the last half of this course, so many
people off the trail, blowing lines, walking....at the really technical
bits, I'm basically just standing there waiting. But despite all of the
bodies, I will say that most guys were pretty good about moving over and
letting me pass in a timely fashion. Something new and unexpected was
the massive crowds of spectators cheering in the tough sections...So
awesome, it was a first for me. People calling out my name and cheering
me on...Loved every second of it. <br />
<br />
I cruise though on lap 1 already feeling the heat and the effort. I
find Kirt in the sea of hundreds of people feeding riders and grab a
bottle that is ice cold. I dont ever do this, im usually 100% camelback
now....I have to say, the bottles do have a few nice advantages when
its blazing hot. Not carrying the weight, extra cooling on your back,
and downing something ice cold was awesome. <br />
<br />
Lap 2<br />
<br />
Im still with Steve more or less and still trying to make my way through
a mass of people. There is great uphill run in this part of the course
that is about 100yards of rocks, covered in mud on a decent gradient.
It was a good spectator spot...I see a few guys already walking it and
as I approach and spectator yells to me "just run it man"...I erupt in
laughter...."RUN IT???" It lit a fire under me and I plowed though this
section like it was pavement. I passed Steve here and just try to find a
comfortable pace for the next 20min of uphill. Im feeling the heat
now, the dizziness is starting to creep up and im definitely losing
steam. At the top I finally have a little bit of daylight on the
downhill and I take full advantage. For the first part of the decent i
drill it and try to make up as much time as I can. Works great, but at
the switchbacks I again ran into a massive dogpile and have to more or
less stop. I noticed there was a guy yelling at everyone from behind me
to move....he was yelling as if someone had set him on fire....He
finally makes it around me, then crashes. On one of the off camber
turns I noticed someone walking...I called out "rider up" as i
approached...I then hit a root that introduced my face to the dirt in a
fraction of a second...I poped up and told the walker "rider down" ...We
had a good laugh before I rode off. Somewhere in here Lombardo passed
me and the timing could not have been better. I really made a point to
try and stay with John and keep the pace up. John gives me the pro tip
of opening my jersey...Normally this isnt something i would do to the
rest of the world, but its hot, fuck it. People run away screaming, but
man did it feel nice. <br />
<br />
1speed got a shot of me in the switchbacks<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/64091_10200921439909960_1054856310_n.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<br />
Finish lap 2 in about the same time as lap 1, Kirt again finds me and
delivers me a bottle and I try to imagine how im going to get up this
mountain one last time. After the first pitch I start thinking about
how I took my small ring off Ted (my Scalpel) and replaced it with one 38T single
ring....good idea dick head. Im still moving, but myself and everyone
around me were all pretty whipped and fighting the heat. Thankfully at
two locations on this climb were stations that had cups of ice cold
water....I took the opportunity to drown myself and it was amazing how
effective it was. At the top finally I tried to prep my brain for what
would be one last decent...this time with more daylight than the first
two laps. Its good and bad...good in that nobody is holding me up, bad
in that im dizzy as hell and riding over my head. I hit the crowd of
spectators near the tricky spots and it was a shot in arm. I take it
that many people were not making these since they being screaming at me
when I cleared both of them...Not sure..but man it was a real highlight
in my time of XC racing. So awesome. All of the pain of this race was
worth it for that few min of people yelling at me, really cool. <br />
<br />
For the rest of the lap I try to keep John in sight and stay as clean as
possible. the cramps are biting hard and im really cooked. Finally
make it to the finish line in 2:15min....my longest mountain bike race
of 2013.<br />
<br />
Kirt and Paul find me to let me know that I was in the top 10 somewhere
which was great news...In the end, i was 8th in my group. I believe it
was 42 or so starters, 28 finishers. I think I passed 100 people with
flat tires. I would have really loved a top 5, but in the end im pretty
happy with the day. Maybe with a better start I could have made up the
couple of minutes that would have gotten me there, or maybe I would
just blown up sooner, who knows. But it was a great race. Course was
fantastic, well organized, competition was top notch and the spectators
really took this race to another level of awesome. I would do it again
next week. <br />
<br />
<img alt="" border="0" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/1069924_10200921442270019_1760639468_n.jpg" /><br />
<br />
Very special thanks to my man Kirt for driving to PA at 5am and making
sure that I had a cold bottle of water every lap...this was absolutely
key to my race. Thanks again buddy!<br />
<br />
Also would like to send a shot out to Mr Myagi for keeping me going and
in the best form I can expect for July. Its a shitty job but he always
keeps me on track. If he had come to the race, I would have dumped a
gatorade cooler on his head. And this really goes for my whole team.
I'm fortunate to ride with some great people who all support me. <br />
<br />
And that's most likely a wrap to 2013 mountain bike racing season...I may
do another race or two, but anything else is just for fun. Ok, where's
my cross bike?
</div>
The Furry Woodland Creaturehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05419019963257566217noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-58866752899318134302013-06-26T10:02:00.000-07:002013-06-26T10:18:15.285-07:00Woody's Bearscat 50 RecapBig thanks to Black Bear for putting on an outstanding
event!<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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- Super fun course<o:p></o:p></div>
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- Excellent course marking<o:p></o:p></div>
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- Well-stocked aid station<o:p></o:p></div>
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- Best parking/pit config in the universe<o:p></o:p></div>
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- Awesome support crew all-around!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Congrats to all who finished or blew up trying! Great
recaps!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Is it too late for one more recap?...<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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My ride started in mellow Tour de Fat fashion with the one
& only MattyB. We stuck together and chatted it up for the first few
congested miles, but his roadie ass was having some trouble in the rocks, so he
eventually dropped back in the traffic and I lost track of him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Soon came upon teammate Ilya at the side of the trail around
mile 5 with a bloody face and his bike in pieces, so I stopped to lend a hand.
He had gone OTB multiple times already and broke his derailleur hanger on the
most recent. Magically, a fellow racer had given him a spare hanger, so Ilya
was scrambling to get back in the game.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: white;">
<!--EndFragment--><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HUKZx2EQWhE/UbCR7yXVIKI/AAAAAAAAA1E/CL9Kl8quOrI/w389-h533-no/Image1539943502-1-1.jpg" /></span></span></span><br />
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Matty rolled up while we were wrenching and offered to help,
but the job was nearly done so I encouraged him to keep chugging along.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Ilya and I got back on the trail and rolled together for the
next mile or so up Rattlesnake (I think). I couldn't resist hitting the
optional 3-step-up rock face line - my favorite feature of the whole course. It
burns a match, but well worth it for the fun challenge!<o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="background-color: white;">
<!--EndFragment--><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-E2-S1vcfTjA/UbCR6xzg10I/AAAAAAAAA00/HscW6eLA0nE/w321-h533-no/Image1574720759.png" /></span></span></span><br />
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We popped out on the fire road and I rejoined Matty while
Ilya charged on ahead. Then I realized that we were at the one hour mark, and
had only covered 6 miles, so I decided to step it up a notch and wished Matty
well. He seemed a bit frustrated and defeated, and I thought for sure he would
pull the plug or run out of time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The next 40 miles I was mostly solo, just bopping along at
an all-day pace, enjoying every mile of incredible singletrack and socializing
with whoever was willing to gab.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rolled up behind Craig (Nomad) at some point and enjoyed
spinning with him for a while until he insisted that I should be riding faster,
so I reluctantly pulled ahead.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Then I caught up to Jorba Norm who was riding as smoothly as
humanly possible while I was bumbling in the rock gardens, so I followed his
lead and we yakked about trail building.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Eventually made it to the pit area, and was surprised at how
many people were hanging around, already out of the race. Including a bunch of
my teammates; Iggy, Rob, Dave, Utah, Bill... Bummer! I grabbed fresh bottles,
filled my pockets with goodies, and was eager to get out for another lap of
kick-ass Waway trails.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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2nd lap was relatively lonely, but totally enjoyable. Plenty
of gas in the tank after the casual first lap, and there was zero trail
traffic, so I twisted the throttle a bit more this time around and pegged the
fun-o-meter. I alternated between salty chips and sugary Chomps, so my taste
buds were having a great ride too.<o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="background-color: white;">
<!--EndFragment--><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Mg4EAPY_mIE/UbCR8elnh3I/AAAAAAAAA1M/Klzav1i2z-4/w566-h206-no/Image1562257854-1.jpg" /></span></span></span><br />
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Of course, had to hit the 3-step-up line on Rattlesnake
again. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Eventually caught up to Pearl and he was looking strong, but
he said his arms were toast.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We rolled together for a short time and then he disappeared.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ditto with Dustin.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I finished my 2nd bottle just in time to arrive at the aid
station and the crew there was amazing! "What do you need, how can we help
you?" The snacks were delicious and the gatorade was icy cold. It felt
great to charge ahead with 2 full bottles and a belly full of grub, knowing I
had plenty to sustain me to the finish.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Around mile 40 my hands were getting pretty raw with painful
blisters, and I cussed myself for forgetting to use chamois butter in my
gloves, but it was bearable. If that was the worst of my woes, I've had no
right to complain.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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At some point, I grabbed some chips from my pocket and bit
down on something way harder than any potato. Apparently I had tossed Ilya's
broken hanger into that pocket a while back.<o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="background-color: white;">
<!--EndFragment--><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-jMwtkawiZZM/UbCQz34Y2OI/AAAAAAAAA0k/M8NAI25TIPs/w267-h356-no/20130602_155333-1.jpg" /></span></span></span><br />
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Towards the end, I 'battled it out' for a few miles with a
very strong woman who I think ended up on the podium. She dusted me on the
flatter fire roads and some of the descents, and she was a total master of the
gnarly stuff, but I was able to get ahead on the steeper climbs. I finished a
little ahead of her, but she started 5 minutes after me, so she totally won.
Mad props to her.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Yeah, that's right, the only person who I actually 'raced'
against was a woman.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Arriving at the finish was a mix of emotions...<o:p></o:p></div>
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- Relieved to be done.<o:p></o:p></div>
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- Proud to have finished and enjoyed the whole ride.<o:p></o:p></div>
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- Cheated that it was only 46ish miles, not 50.<o:p></o:p></div>
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- Excited to smell the food, hear the band playing and see
the party getting into full swing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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- Refreshed by the little rain spritz and wind that kicked
up for a few minutes just as I pulled across the line.<o:p></o:p></div>
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- Happy to see Liong the Legend, who had also just finished
(but I would have pushed a little harder if I knew he was so close ahead )<o:p></o:p></div>
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- Thankful for the cold chocolate milk that Chris Shilling
handed me out of nowhere. (Congrats to the Southie for killing it in the
northern rocks!)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Rolled back to the pit and started to get the scoop on how
the race went for others...<o:p></o:p></div>
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- Impressed that Ilya not only finished, but got 7th place.<o:p></o:p></div>
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- Surprised that Kirt managed to blow himself up and pulled
the plug.<o:p></o:p></div>
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- Not remotely surprised that Chris26er had a strong finish.<o:p></o:p></div>
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- Psyched to hear that Matty was still out pedaling on his
2nd lap, and soon he rolled through the finish.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Got cleaned up & joined the party,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Enjoyed hanging out with everyone in the perfect weather,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Applauded the well-earned podiums,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Called it a day.<o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="background-color: white;">
<!--EndFragment--><span style="color: black; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-SqI1uLQsgrk/UbCR7Tezq0I/AAAAAAAAA08/pHRmk2pkOZI/w562-h150-no/Image1553591776-1.jpg" /></span></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-10659234254348291892013-02-04T05:14:00.001-08:002013-03-18T10:51:42.957-07:00End of January, a Blog Post!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy 2013 fellow riders! Hope everyone has had a stellar start to 2013!</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
For MTBNJ, January hasn’t been as quiet as you might think. We’ve been busy planning out our 2013 race season. If you haven’t marked your calendar yet, here are our races and dates.<br />
3/2: Short Track Race #13/9: Short Track Race #23/16: Short Track Race #33/23: Short Track Race #46/30: Stewart Super Six Pack8/24: Mooch Madness<br />
Registration for the Stewart Super Six Pack is open! We are closing registration at 250, so don’t wait too long and miss out on the fun.<br />
<a href="https://www.bikereg.com/NET/18269/Stewart-Super-Six-Pack">https://www.bikereg.com/NET/18269/Stewart-Super-Six-Pack</a><br />
Here’s a video of last year’s Six Pack incase you’re wondering what fun you’ll be missing out on... <a href="http://vimeo.com/45416687">http://vimeo.com/45416687</a><br />
We are working out details for the Short Track series - and will update once registration is open and we have confirmed the courses/location.<br />
In other news, we’ve been busy riding, both road and trails. Some team members will be participating in the Hell of Hunterdon and Battenkill - so putting in miles now.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheSoGp-m1_wSuSwm0SMuUiJThz2USP0rVMdu99fqYWKyeokNLg2aM6oYTQQD9q4avJjT1r_ImBWblA2xaIHqLgwiWhQWuLJ_B1CmVpwG8yRqVbTU-Ng7XtUWj3Sf-JuAZsBnOdXJkU7vQ/s1600/mtb_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheSoGp-m1_wSuSwm0SMuUiJThz2USP0rVMdu99fqYWKyeokNLg2aM6oYTQQD9q4avJjT1r_ImBWblA2xaIHqLgwiWhQWuLJ_B1CmVpwG8yRqVbTU-Ng7XtUWj3Sf-JuAZsBnOdXJkU7vQ/s320/mtb_1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><br />
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We remind all riders to choose their riding locations appropriate for the weather conditions. Keep in mind that warmer temps can cause the trails to become rutted and sloppy. Help preserve the hard work our volunteers have done to make our trails what they are - choose the road or tow path instead.<br />
That’s it for January - see you next month!</div>
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<b style="background-color: white; font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-16132589258236718362013-01-09T06:56:00.002-08:002013-01-09T06:56:18.916-08:00Get your Calendars Out...
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Confirmed dates for our races - go ahead and "pen" them in. </div>
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3/2: Short Track Race #1</div>
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3/9: Short Track Race #2</div>
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3/16: Short Track Race #3</div>
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3/23: Short Track Race #4</div>
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6/30: Stewart Super Six Pack</div>
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8/24: Mooch Madness</div>
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See you then!</div>
James Pearlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02002305907067079922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-59235284147613304152013-01-02T07:34:00.000-08:002013-01-02T07:34:27.643-08:00A Year in Review<b id="internal-source-marker_0.9164645839482546" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We’re sorry there’s some dust collecting on our blog but don’t think we’ve gone into hiding. We’ve just been busy riding, racing, partying, having babies, and getting hitched (not necessarily in that order). Since 2012 is wrapping up, it might be nice to look back over the year and what went on with MTBNJ.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With a mild winter, many of us enjoyed warmer temps and building our base miles. We also started up the season in March with our Walt’s No-Frills Short Track Series. We’d like to think this was a hit as each race we saw more people coming out for a fun ride and awesome prizes.</span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ez1c4X6ZNRIdsQQNnmXdI2Cu76-FF_dooxHp9Ebqnr-FwCe8eQ0zwGGfadoATyKO-MHb3F-ytljWU8_Aj_Lg0XbIf-syIEeHx7VJ_WFjGhcDT0u7yxl6AtXKYkWR5xPrZBR1t-8LG50/s1600/2012-03-10_07-47-06_96.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ez1c4X6ZNRIdsQQNnmXdI2Cu76-FF_dooxHp9Ebqnr-FwCe8eQ0zwGGfadoATyKO-MHb3F-ytljWU8_Aj_Lg0XbIf-syIEeHx7VJ_WFjGhcDT0u7yxl6AtXKYkWR5xPrZBR1t-8LG50/s320/2012-03-10_07-47-06_96.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.9164645839482546" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spring was full of mountain bike and road races for the team, with lots of podiums and superb finishes. We were also busy planning our two summer races - Stewart Super Six Pack (SSSP) in July and Mooch Madness in August. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We earned a scorching day for our 2nd annual SSSP but that didn’t scare too many people away. </span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.9164645839482546" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Following the SSSP, we were introduced to guest team member, The Chair. So the story goes, Jeremy accidently left The Chair behind at the SSSP race, and some other teammates gladly took The Chair in. The Chair really got around during the month of July...</span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.9164645839482546" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We are happy to report that the Chair and Jeremy were reunited at the Darkhorse 40.</span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.9164645839482546" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">August we were able to host our 2nd annual Mooch Madness...sans hurricane this year. </span></b></div>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.9164645839482546" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the season changed to fall, some of us continued riding the trails and others raced CX. Lots of CX actually. We have been drafting ideas for the upcoming 2013 season and looking forward to it! </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From everyone at MTBNJ, we wish you a Happy New Year! Thanks for reading and we’ll see you (more often) in 2013.</span></b></div>
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James Pearlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02002305907067079922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-81466841344728699322012-10-29T09:40:00.002-07:002012-10-29T09:52:43.743-07:00HPCX & the Hurricane that Wasn'tHurricane Sandy & HPCX: A Love Story.<br />
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(not really)<br />
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I'm not going to tell you anything you don't already know about weather systems off the East Coast of the US right now. So I won't bother trying. Where we're at: As the week wore on it became abundantly clear from Al Roker & the Media Circus that there would be rain on Sunday. Or there wouldn't. They pretty much nail it with those kinds of predictions, which is why I guess it's easy to keep your job as long as you <i>sound</i> like you know what you're talking about. I don't know, didn't know, but now I do. There wasn't rain. But it was sort of almost chilly and there was a slight breeze coming off the lake near the race. Not exactly the epic conditions that the weather drones would have you believe, but not a sunny June morning either.<br />
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Fairly typical cross weather, I'd say.<br />
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It's nice to have the MAC series right in your backyard for this stop on the 8 race tour. For once, I didn't have to get a hotel the night before, or wake up at some absurd time and drive 2 hours to be there. The race was a mere hop down the NJ Turnpike, a small price to pay when some of the other races are in Baltimore, or Providence, or Mars, or what have you. Nice and close. I mean, relatively.<br />
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So naturally I spent the night in Pennsylvania.<br />
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When I woke up, it was chilly, then it was chilly and raining. Then it was chilly and pouring. So it goes. Bring on the mud. But as I drove over Jugtown Mountain, speeding down 78 to the East, the rain stopped, the skies...well, they stayed gray, and the ground was dry. Totally dry. Bonus, maybe it won't rain today? One can hope. As entertaining as it is to watch <i>others</i> race in the mud, it's not actually as awesome when you're in it. Maybe I'm soft.<br />
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Anyway, fast forward 4 hours and I'm lining up in the second row. I drew #910, which means that 5 people did not show up who are ahead of me in the standings. It also means that I still sort of have a shot at top 10 overall if I have a good race today. Those of you following at home know that I've set this top 10 thing as a goal of mine this year. Why? Dunno. Why not? Because it's something to aim for. A good race at HPCX means I have a fair shot at that goal. A bad race means I don't have to trek down to Maryland in 2 weeks. I think I'm ok with either of these at this point.<br />
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As we line up, I'm talking to the guys next to me. Eric (Kissena) introduces himself, and we talk out the majority of the line-up wait. He's a good sport, and answers my dumb questions in stride (do you mind if I clip in both feet and lean on you? etc). Chuck also introduces himself, and asks if I was the one who did the recap after Whirlybird for CX Magazine.<br />
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Look ma! I'm famous!<br />
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I know before the whistle blows I'm going to have a poor start to this race. So of course, the whistle blows and I have my best race start of the year. Up the hill, I'm sitting in a good place, maybe around 15th or so. Things shake out a bit and I'm sitting in 16th, feeling pretty good, not great, but pretty good. I like this course, all except for that climb part of it at the S/F. I'm sitting on wheels, finding a comfort zone, feeling solid and liking the course and how the day feels.<br />
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Feeling good that I might end up with one of my better races of the year here. Like. I like this.<br />
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So this is where we flashback to before the race...<br />
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...Eric has built me some wheels this week and shows with them on race day. Nice new stiff carbon wheels with the Clement PDXs on there. We throw the cassette on but find that it needs a spacer. A spacer? Really? What gives here? No big deal. We go with the new Clement on the front and stay with the Limus on the rear. It's a Franken-combo just like this Franken-storm we have coming up the coast, or down the coast, or out of the closet...<br />
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Everyone's got that, right?<br />
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Naturally, after 1 lap my rear tire starts to feel soft. Ok, it's ok, This is cross. THIS IS CROSS! We bottom out once in a while. Ok...maybe not this much. And boy these tires are washing out like crazy on the turns. Crap, the bike isn't going to work. Losing too much air. Maybe a lap goes by as the tire slowly bleeds out everything it has. Bumps are bumpier, and I start to come close to riding the rim. Turns are totally sketchy, and I feel like I'm on the verge of rolling the tire off at any second. Not good, this is not good.<br />
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So I come up to the barrier area where the team tent is setup and I start yelling "pit bike!"<br />
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Nothing. I'm looking at Utah and he has this look on his face like, "I see you saying something, but I have no idea what."<br />
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Finally, I think Brad or Pearl or maybe Utah figures it out and Utah runs over to the pit. Unfortunately I am past the pit by the time he gets there, and I have to go another 1/3 of a lp before I get to the other side. This is where we coin the term "bleeding". </div>
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Bleeding: Dropping from 16th to 22nd in 1/3 of a lap when riding on a mostly flat tire. However, I will say that we executed one of the cleanest pits in the history of MTBNJ, at least when not involving Fred and Ben. Well Fred riding, and Ben pitting. This was a solid pit, and I felt like we got this as right as we could. I get back on the bike and hear Mandi yell for me to get back up there. </div>
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I try. I really do. As you can see, I'm in a No Man's Land here...</div>
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But it's hard, I'm sort of sitting in this purgatory where you can't gain on anyone and nobody can gain on you and you're starting to hurt but it still feels good and you're having fun but you want to try to get that guy but he's just out of reach and this hill leading up to the S/F is so damn steep and...</div>
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4 laps to go? Ugh. </div>
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So we go 4 more laps. I try to ride at this point with no brakes most of the time. While this is undoubtedly fun, I almost eat it several times before I come to the conclusion that I need to be a little more selective in how I apply, or do not apply, my brakes. This is all well and good until I wind up finally washing out my front and landing in the dirt right before the barriers. Naturally this is where everyone is spectating, and everyone loves this, and yells at me. I get up and do my best to run it out through the barriers and up the hill.</div>
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At the top, Rich Bauch (Colavita) tells me I might not want to do that so often. I reply, "I'm here for your entertainment." Someone laughs somewhere. </div>
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In the last lap I am trying to catch the guy in 21st and also hold off 2 of the guys behind me. I am giving it all I have, and I think I have it covered. Not sure if I can catch 21 but as I round the corner to the end of the race, I tap the brakes and...my brake pads overshoot the brake track, get locked underneath it, and my bike promptly goes from 15 to 2 mph. I lightly pedal the bike, do more or less nothing, then say screw it and get off. I get passed by 3 more people.</div>
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I throw the bike on my shoulder and run the rest of the race. I cross the line, drop the bike, and stop right there. This isn't exactly how the race is supposed to go. But sometimes it does. I look up, and Kelly Cline is sitting there looking at me with that face, that one that sort of says, "Been there, at least you finished. What can you do?" I shrug my shoulders and mention something about the brake. As much as I want to throw the bike, it won't help. So I don't.</div>
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Overall, 25th. Given that I dropped 6 spots before the pit and 3 at the end, I'll take it. Not an ideal race but if you're going to have a mechanical, might as well line them all up in 1 day and get them out of the way. </div>
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So...Fair Hill? I guess we'll see. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-41115365711657249762012-10-08T04:22:00.001-07:002012-10-08T04:22:14.776-07:00The Providence 2 Day CX Festival, by NormHere I am, back for another cross recap. I won't be the first nor the last person to talk about the Providence weekend. But I may very well be the most mediocre, at least this week. Let me say, cross racing in the NJ series is fun and playful. The MAC is business. This series...is like international politics, or more specifically, like 1980's Cold War Era politics. Hard, fast, and intense.<br />
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Ok, so that analogy isn't really very airtight. But I think you get what I'm saying. If they remake Red Dawn into a movie about cross races, this is where they'll be for field research. What I'm trying to say is this. This #^@% is real. No, I mean like for real.<br />
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<b>Why go?</b><br />
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The short answer to this question is either "just because" or "why not?" The long answer to this question is because Eric & Allison invited me up, as they occasionally go to this race. And really I have no reason not to. Well, the driving, the tiring weekend, the expense...but you have to live a little, which is what this season is all about. Plus, once in a while it's nice to line up against national-level racers and see what you bring to the table.<br />
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As you'll soon see, in this metaphor I bring very little. Maybe like a napkin, or a pepper shaker, to the King's feast. Maybe I'm the meal.<br />
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So Friday night I pack up the car and start my journey to Providence. To be exact, we were going past Providence to the Cape, to our secret weekend hideout where Allison's family occasionally spends the summer weekends. I planned on talking about the wonderful phenomenon that is Connecticut traffic. But, you know, I'm not going to outline something that is already well-known, which is that 95 stinks. Traffic is a given, like dung heaps in a cow pasture.<br />
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Late Friday night, we get to our destination. A foreshadowing note: I have not had to pee in at least 6 hours. So I re-hydrate with 3 beers. This makes sense, right? I also have a PBJ sandwich right before bed. I'm a pro at this. Trust me.<br />
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<b>Day 1</b><br />
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I wake up and this is what I see out the back window:<br />
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In the end, one could make an argument that I should have stayed right there. But I don't, and we are off to the races a bit after 7:00, which brings us to the venue at a very early 7:53, at which point Allison rushes out to do a pre-ride lap, as her race is at 10:00. I don't remember if I did a lap then or not. But in all, I do 4 laps, and sit on the trainer for a bit. See last week's recap for my thoughts on how exciting this is.<br />
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How do I feel today? Flat. Just like Baltimore day #1. These long drives seem to leave me wrung out, and spit to the curb. Not a great way to start a race against the toughest field I have ever done. I am lining up with guys who are competitive in the MAC UCI races. Why am I here? I...don't have a good answer to that question.<br />
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Recently we have been talking about race starts on the team forum, and I am generally of the opinion that how you feel that day more or less dictates how you will start. Feel good? You'll easily sit in the envelope and hit the first turn. Feel like crap? You'll hang on like some tin cans tied to the bumper of the El Camino after a low-rent wedding.<br />
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Today, I am the tin can. All I am missing in this pic is the string attaching me to the bumper. Witness:<br />
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This was a tough race for me. One can only be left to wonder why, but things are what they are. At one point, the guy numbered 509 (9th seed in the race) is in front of me and I am about to pass. He decides he has had enough, and pulls off the course. To use the word jealous here does not do justice to how much I wanted to follow him. Again, witness that wonderful picture above to get an idea.<br />
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The course has 4 things of note. The first is a flyover, which you can see here. That's Fat Marc at the top:<br />
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Marc races the MAC 35+ with me, and we often spend some of the race together. In general, it goes like this:<br />
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* Marc starts fast, I do not<br />
* In about 3 laps, I start to reel him in for good<br />
* I pass him and sometimes make it stick, depending how I feel<br />
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Today I made it stick, but barely. The other course features were a set of man-made barriers, a set of 2 steps that were possibly rideable (I ran them in day 1, rode in day 2), and some concrete steps. The course was a mix of many things, some fun flow, punchy climbs, and of course turns and grass and painful accelerations out of the corners.<br />
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In the end, I am almost lapped by the junior winner, who started a few minutes before us. I cross the line before him but they pull me anyway. This is all well & good, since everyone behind me got lapped and the last lap would have been some form of torture as devised at Guantanamo Bay. I am content to not add a gratuitous lap to my race to prolong my agony.<br />
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I finish 39th, but they do not officially score me for whatever reason. That's fine, since nobody needs to know how badly I did. We can just keep that between you & I, dear reader.<br />
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That night, we eat lots of wonderful food, have a few drinks, and I saw a small mini-pint of ice cream in half to enjoy with Allison. Eric was too busy checking crossresults.com to pay much mind to our ice cream needs. So he lost out.<br />
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<b>Day 2</b><br />
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Day 2 always begs some tough questions like...<br />
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...do I really want to get out of bed?<br />
...where am I again?<br />
...why do I do this to myself?<br />
...wait, really, where am I?<br />
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...and so on. Sunday morning brings nothing new in this front. But I sleep in a little bit, then eat some apple pie for breakfast. I drop some Greek yogurt on top to give it the ice cream effect. It's good. I highly recommend pie for breakfast. This is cross after all, it totally goes. I decided to skip the beer for breakfast. Too Jim Morrison-ish.<br />
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Despite the dire forecast of cold, rain, mud, and general carnage, the day is crisp, clear, and beautiful.<br />
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I do feel better this morning. I don't know what that means, given the nature of these fields. Something I forgot to mention yesterday is this. The fields here are way stronger, but for some reason not nearly as deep. It's sort of like Battenkill in a way. People don't show up to race unless they belong, or have delusions that they think they belong. The top 50 guys are strong, then there are a few end-pack guys. But the usual pack fodder does not show, so you don't have the luxury of beating 50+ guys by default who don't belong. It's like every one of these guys is a seasoned cross racer.<br />
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Anyway, my start is better today, and I'm with the envelope fairly easily. I see Eric a few racers ahead, Marc, and...wait, who is this on the ground? Maurice? That's so odd. I pass him. So in consecutive weekends I have been ahead of both Roger Aspholm and Maurice. Odd, but I'll take it.<br />
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Like last week, he shortly passes me. And like last week, I try to stay on his wheel. I do a reasonable job for a while, but then...<br />
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My chain falls. This is kind of a mistake on my part. On the concrete steps I was in the small ring, and accidentally knocked it off on the run-up. This costs me 5 spots, and of course buckets of lost dignity as this is a crossing/observing spot. And given the road section is right here, I should have pre-shifted to the big ring to be ready for it. I won't call it a rookie mistake. But this is not something you should be doing in the 35+.<br />
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I felt good in this one. So then my chain fell off again, but this time got wedged between the chainring and frame. That was awesome. I'm pretty sure at least 618 people passed me here. I am frustrated now, but really there's not a lot I can do. I swear a few times, which does nothing. Eventually I get the chain out and back on, after swearing a few more times. I think swearing at bicycle parts, especially on a cross bike, is like playing classical music to your plants to help make them grow.<br />
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I then ride it out and try to catch a guy who I have already passed twice. Where is the justice in this? I don't manage to catch him, but we do sprint at the end of the race. I have to qualify the word "sprint" here, as what we were doing likely looked similar to the old people who walk the mall in the morning. I'm sure my average speed went down on the sprint. It was laughable.<br />
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Anyway, I finish 33rd, and actually get scored in this one. If I give myself a minute for the 2 dropped chains, that would get me to 20th, which is where I would have hoped to be. But I can't give myself a minute, so for the sake of making myself feel better, I'll say the dropped chain cost me 5 minutes, and I should have won the race.<br />
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Seems fair, no?<br />
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In the end, I never did get to meet Molly, which is a shame because I was looking forward to it. But it turns out that we went to the same college and grew up like 5 miles from each other, albeit 16 years apart, roughly. Small world, when it comes down to it. Though like some famous comic once said, I wouldn't want to paint it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-32551104085511252162012-09-30T10:32:00.000-07:002012-09-30T10:32:19.748-07:00Norm Does the Whirlybird<br />
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Whirlybird 2012, race #5 in the 2012 version of the MAC series, which is a mere 8 races this year for no good reason. Where are we? We are in Bensalem, PA. For those not intimately familar with this place, it's kinda not really anywhere. Regardless, I get to not really anywhere in about an hour from my parent's place up the river in PA, near Easton. At this god awful time of day, it only takes an hour. Getting home would be another story, which I wont tell here other than to say it can be summed up in a few words: cars & traffic lights. We've all been there.</span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I've set a goal for myself this year, to finish top 10 in the 35+ class in the MAC series. Now most people who do a series know that more often than not, the series is over after 2-3 races, and only 5 guys will end up doing the whole thing. But the 35+ is different. And people seem to keep going in this one. A top 10 would be an accomplishment, at least for this guy. I came into the series 15th, and managed to draw bib #110, putting me in the second row in the starting grid. With some of my competition up at Glouctester today, I know that things will be a little thinner in this race. But the bulk of the series leaders are there, which I guess at this point includes me, for better or worse. </span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So...since the series is my main goal this year, I came into this week off the Charm City double and did exactly zero rides this week. I put this in I Am Ted King's category of eating salad as a pre-race meal, listening to NPR on the warmup, and doing jumping jacks before your race. You know, sometimes life gets in the way. Life can be good like that. So we show up to the race, possibly the MAC race where I will have my best shot at a top 10, in absolutely no form, with no miles in my legs, and severely underslept. I did drink 2 beers the night before, since it was National Drink Beer Day and all. So I had that going for me. Which...well, you know. </span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But first, the team circus tent gets put up:</span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Yes, that is me sitting down with the blue hat on, doing absolutely nothing to warm up for the race. I figure, if you're going to something poorly, might as well do something poorly with absolute authority. Shortly after this picture was taken, I eat 4 fat-free fig newtons. I don't know what that has to do with anything. But it may help complete the puzzle. I also ate 2 PB & bagel sandwiches at 8:00 am. My race was at noon. I guess I had some coffee this morning too. You're writing all this down, right? No? Well that's ok, I got you covered. </span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So to warmup, I do the following:</span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">2 warm laps before the C race at 9</span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">1 warm lap before the 45/55 race at 10</span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">1 hot lap before the women's race at 11</span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Then I sit on the trainer until I get bored, maybe 20 minutes? I forget. It was boring. </span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Note</i>: after the first lap, the lack of an actual "whirylbird" is evident. So this means that 50% of the MAC series is now misnamed, HPCX & 2xNittany being the others. No matter, it has all the elements of a cross race, namely grass, tape, barriers, and 2 miles of course in an area that does not seem able to support that long of a course. So we're good. Titles are superficial anyway. </span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Flashing back to Charm City the week before...my race on day #1 was pretty poor, and I had come off a rest week, and did nothing really to warm up. So instead of doing more or less nothing, I warmup up properly today, both before and after eating the newtons. I drank some water and scientifically constructed sports drink at various points beetween 8 and 12. And I had 2 GUs. Given that I am up over 180 pounds right now, I figure those 50 grams of sugar are going to make or break my day. I consider eating 16 more, but decide I'm still going to need to fit into that dress come Monday morning when I need to go to work. </span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I wheel the pit bike over and Lance offers to tend the pit for me, which is nice. I get to the start grid and do a few race starts, and check out the prolog a bit. Then I do some circles like you will often see 10-15 minutes before the start of these races. Before long, enough of us have congregated and the officials blow whistles, look at their clipboards, say the same things we've all heard 243 times, and line us up to start the race. I am in the second row, all the way to the left. Roger Aspholm is in the same row, 2 riders to my right. I have as much of a right to be lining up with Roger as I have being on the court with Michael Jordan. I actually used to have a solid 3 point shot. So maybe I actually belong on court more than this starting line. </span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">No matter, you get the point. </span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">You may be thinking at this point, boy, this is awfully long for not even having started the race yet. Just hold on, it gets less exciting soon enough. </span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The whistle blows, and I feel really good, so I mash and stick up close to the top 10, which has been really hard for me so far this year. Either the warm-up is working, I'm getting used to this, or the week of not riding and staying up too late is some sort of magic potion to good race starts. I'm opting for the latter. </span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Soon I am on Roger's wheel, and I stick there as long as I can. This lasts about half a lap or so. When Roger zigs, I zig. When Roger zags, I zag. But when some douche flies up and dives a corner, slams into Roger, and knocks him to the ground, I decide not to fall down and follow him here. I ride on and pass Roger. Not for long, but I pass him nonetheless. I think I am sitting in 14th at this point. </span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Soon, Roger passes me, and I try to jump on his wheel again. It works for a little bit, but his acceleration out of corners is too much for me. I do end up sitting on some other guy's wheel for quite a while, and figure I'm content there, as I think I am going to be able to keep him in sight, and the waiting game of him cracking will pay off eventually. </span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But that never happens. Somewhere in the second lap he gaps me a little out of a corner, and I can't respond. He manages to bridge up to a Kissena guy, and they work together for a while, basically keeping a 6 second gap on me for what feels like forever. At the end of lap 2, they have firmly established that 6 second gap. I am in 15th. </span></div>
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<a href="http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/133967_10152138318070133_2081262058_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/133967_10152138318070133_2081262058_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Lap 3, nothing happens.</span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Lap 4, nothing happens. </span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Lap 5, nothing happens. </span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Lap 6, nothing happens. But Chris does inform me, "The guy ahead of you is an hour ahead. The guy behind you is an hour behind. Just ride it out."</span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So I ride it out. And I finish 15th. This is my best result in the MAC series to date. I came into the series in 15th, and 5 guys did not show. I figure this can only help my series standings overall. Maybe I get lucky and jump up to 13th after today. Or who knows, maybe 12th if I get more lucky. I guess we'll see in a few days when the series standings come out. I'm sure you'll all be waiting at the edge of your collective seats. </span></div>
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<span class="yiv144101202Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">So the moral of the story is this: don't ride, drink wine (yeah I left that out), stay up late, and have your best result of the year. I...hesitate to suggest everyone run out and do this. But science is science. And this is the data I have. Make of it what you will. </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-14263478208233741962012-09-18T09:45:00.002-07:002012-09-18T10:28:48.633-07:00Nittany Cross Weekend in PhotosMTBNJ had a huge gathering of people this weekend at the Trexlertown Veledrome for The Nittany CX Weekend. Good weather and a great course made for a great 2 day event. Words don't really describe these events well; You have to be here to enjoy them. Photos help though:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHqueNLc_zCejPIUMuB3ELKOw9fY4bCUkWpUVykT77P9sBaesUAj8Wq7J6Pi9wx1cxa-XESoeyMk6aI7vjvbq8a_k7gwRRA57PUqF4P1Jh3ql-__9igS9I46fm1tsBNI-PYC7DfUJmikk/s1600/10545_4276854514959_1292950665_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHqueNLc_zCejPIUMuB3ELKOw9fY4bCUkWpUVykT77P9sBaesUAj8Wq7J6Pi9wx1cxa-XESoeyMk6aI7vjvbq8a_k7gwRRA57PUqF4P1Jh3ql-__9igS9I46fm1tsBNI-PYC7DfUJmikk/s320/10545_4276854514959_1292950665_n.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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ChrisRU railing the corners on Day 2. Much drier grass meant much faster race.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKQxkc4t6wl6dK0jO0rt5DY__ZNCZj78KseU06XUrJtJ09OVQkj6WTMBDL0-EcR47O1tLItY6XZ7H1KR3PtCNRiV5FrgUWxW8rmj3n8tbfWcb8VHO-ou5WR6lPhtvLz6kwlyunNso56hQ/s1600/132830_4334311231954_1066650806_o.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKQxkc4t6wl6dK0jO0rt5DY__ZNCZj78KseU06XUrJtJ09OVQkj6WTMBDL0-EcR47O1tLItY6XZ7H1KR3PtCNRiV5FrgUWxW8rmj3n8tbfWcb8VHO-ou5WR6lPhtvLz6kwlyunNso56hQ/s320/132830_4334311231954_1066650806_o.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The MTBNJ tent in full swing on Day 1. Also doubled as a daycare for some. Base of operations had many special guest appearances.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7mY26tQW_KPHY6h62GStcwQttnRTt2jAZuRmu5JB73Y4BcTl2hajaE2cPr5yVV5MwZdFKKXcfAAYoiA_nMltG582DCnx8F90YZTXTJ63xuvZIFWYJzytAf0m0E6WMFAKPVkj_RKQnZmE/s1600/148822_4276931956895_395835285_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7mY26tQW_KPHY6h62GStcwQttnRTt2jAZuRmu5JB73Y4BcTl2hajaE2cPr5yVV5MwZdFKKXcfAAYoiA_nMltG582DCnx8F90YZTXTJ63xuvZIFWYJzytAf0m0E6WMFAKPVkj_RKQnZmE/s320/148822_4276931956895_395835285_n.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Norm suffered a bad start at Day 2, but picked his way through the pack for a great finish.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3s_iHBmN_8p85Estc53XSeqx6xVAsXEYNTBuS7GcX6JzeNBzvcKgKylbuhgkWsksXLZ940k_v-BVC473EgB_RG6pUnDBV-xZZzhvbXu75XjhxQYJe3bMuaVZZFSwTw-eLrk-VSxEN7g/s1600/316827_4330266810846_1840822627_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3s_iHBmN_8p85Estc53XSeqx6xVAsXEYNTBuS7GcX6JzeNBzvcKgKylbuhgkWsksXLZ940k_v-BVC473EgB_RG6pUnDBV-xZZzhvbXu75XjhxQYJe3bMuaVZZFSwTw-eLrk-VSxEN7g/s320/316827_4330266810846_1840822627_n.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Gotta eat; In between laps in the pits with Pearl and Norm.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5jGxa8WXbzOvKoXolLL9najYGZPQoSBtOe1rryyv5Gm2ukTc06TE3beiKFr1RAM5glyzjI9OlXTkBsQT0iG6gQgLdvNfyLzZdSLKFxdDnPhbCRFI8YOYPpw1Fap4RnffWG9Wd_x1Zf0/s1600/326395_10151136363079333_1972428113_o.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5jGxa8WXbzOvKoXolLL9najYGZPQoSBtOe1rryyv5Gm2ukTc06TE3beiKFr1RAM5glyzjI9OlXTkBsQT0iG6gQgLdvNfyLzZdSLKFxdDnPhbCRFI8YOYPpw1Fap4RnffWG9Wd_x1Zf0/s320/326395_10151136363079333_1972428113_o.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ilya had a messed up chain on Day 2, but finished strong.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAt8O5keVM2tCJba9k6RG7lNg4Y-42M-AUj_BHzLP4H_Q7nP9EHS9xYESAiuCwe0X5BaeWGF1toIlTqjOH4qyVpmPkfe1pu3QlXBp0eVVj47DPC6LbkfFNFl2XOU6wmEe_aVM0M5MAXbc/s1600/330524_10152103329450133_880940953_o.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAt8O5keVM2tCJba9k6RG7lNg4Y-42M-AUj_BHzLP4H_Q7nP9EHS9xYESAiuCwe0X5BaeWGF1toIlTqjOH4qyVpmPkfe1pu3QlXBp0eVVj47DPC6LbkfFNFl2XOU6wmEe_aVM0M5MAXbc/s320/330524_10152103329450133_880940953_o.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Jeremy and Pearl on Day 1 found the way to the main group, but only one finished with it.</div>
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Robin and Melissa in the mix.</div>
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The CX ladies after the 3/4 race on Day 2.</div>
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Allison seemed to be passing someone every lap on both days.</div>
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Eric stylin' over the infamous Nittany log feature on Day 2.</div>
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Jeremy over the barriers on Day 1.</div>
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4'11 and barriers? No problem. Mandi throwing her bike to the moon!</div>
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Note the shades; Mandi was in a tight battle the whole race with Michelle Lee; Great racing by both!</div>
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ChrisRU, Pearl and Brad on the only real climb of Day 2.</div>
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Brad on the run up; With two great finishes over the weekend.</div>
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Norm up and over; floating.</div>
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The highlight of the day is here, Capers on Day 2 uses his bike as a machete to cut through the competition.</div>
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Jeremy touched the podium both days, 2nd on Day 2.</div>
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One thing about cross is the whole weekend is a blast. Spending quality time with your buddies after you suffered for 40 minutes is what this whole sport is about. The MTBNJ tent will head south to Baltimore, MD for the second stop in the MAC Series, Charm City. Others will travel north for the Westwood CX race up in Harriman, NY. Where will you be?</div>
<br />James Pearlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02002305907067079922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-35927492185947979042012-06-06T06:58:00.000-07:002012-06-06T06:58:50.650-07:00Two Ways to Bearscat<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
Why do people do this ?
I have no idea, there is a point at every endurance race I've done
where I think to myself I should not sign up for a race like this again.
Sure enough though, as soon as they are over I can't wait for the next
one. Yesterday's race was much more brutal than last year's. The course was
awesome and Black Bear put on an awesome event, but the conditions were
rugged. So it goes.<br />
<br />
Day started off beautiful. Slightly cool, sunny, and seemingly perfect
for a race. Endurance races always seem more low key before hand, I love
the vibe. People aren't as "in the zone" warming up and things seem
more laid back than other formats. The game plan was to go self
supported for the race. With the 2 laps I would only stop at my cooler
on the lap turn to swap out supplies. That meant carrying 2 bottles of
Gu Brew on the bike and 1 bottle of water on my back. For foods I went
with Gu Chomps and Gels. I got my shit together and just rolled around
until the meeting.<br />
<br />
I was a little late to lineup so I was towards the back. I've done
enough of these to know your either out front or stuck in the caravan
that ends up forming as the trails bottleneck the field. I wasn't
planning on going out hard, but as the horn blow the pace wasn't too hot
so I was able to work my way through the crowd and get through some
traffic early. I settle in line as things start to gum up. Coming up to
first section that bobbles people up (the right hand turn into a
muddy/armored section) there is a long line of people seemingly happy to
wait their turn to get through. I decide to be a bit aggressive and
just ride around everyone. I probably passed about 20 people here.
Similar story at the rock bridge, people were fumbling around so I just
shouldered the bike and jogged my way through advancing a few places.<br />
<br />
To my surprise, traffic was pretty much non-existent after the bridge.
It was also very apparent early on that this was going to be a slick and
muddy race. My feet were completely soaked through within the first few
miles. For the first lap I found myself riding on and off with the same
2 guys, we chatted on and off trading spots repeatedly. We would fall
out of contact then end up crossing paths again. Having contact with
other racers helped to keep things moving along. I tried to race smart, I
didn't bother killing myself grinding though stuff, and opted to walk
some short sections if I thought it would be more efficient. I was able
to clean most everything I decided to ride, only getting hung up a few
times. Overall I thought my first lap was really uneventful. I thought I
paced solidly and felt good. I reach the road for the lap turn. I'm
pedalling along all dumb and happy, then BAM!, I almost get knocked off
my bike. Without warning, my legs cramped up so bad I almost ate it. I
think to myself its way to early for this, as I spin the rest of the way
to my cooler. Swap out my supplies, pound a can of coke, and off I go.<br />
<br />
As I head back into the woods I look at my Garmin and see that my first
lap was 3 hours. Wow. I wasn't expecting any stellar results but was
hoping to be a bit quicker than that, I now knew that I was in for a
really long day. The conditions were just a killer on keeping any speed
up and I was battling to keep the cramps away. The trails were greasy,
rocks were slick, and the fire roads didn't offer much relief as they
were bombed out with deep mud and bike swallowing bodies of water.<br />
<br />
I somehow managed to keep things steady on the second lap. I was
definitley feeling fatigued, spinning up the short punchy climbs that
rather than attacking them, and not being able to keep my speed as high
through the flats like I was on the first lap. I did an ok job eating
and drinking the first lap, but I don't think I ate enough and was now
paying for it. At some point the skys starting looking pretty ominous,
and thunder could be heard. Sure enough, it began raining on and off,
and did so for much of the second lap. I didn't really mind the rain, I
was already soaked so it didn't matter much.<br />
<br />
The first half of the lap went quickly, but I found myself bordering on
zombie mode after passing the aid station. The aid station to finish
seemed to go on forever. I was mostly by myself at this point, but got
some mental relief by being joined by Mitch for a brief spell, and then
Liong a bit later. I was happy to only be passed by those two and one
other rider between the aid station and finish. After what seems like an
eternity, I finally hit the pavement again, and even though no one is
near me, I make what I think is a strong finish. There are alot of
friendly faces along the road cheering me on down the home stretch,
which was awsome. As I cross the line, its 6 hours and 23 minutes since I
started. Good enough for 37th out of 109 starters.</div>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-33891368818595628092012-06-05T09:37:00.001-07:002012-06-05T09:37:25.955-07:00Iggy Does the BearscatMe and Kirt role into Wawayanda at about 7:45 am, for those keeping
score at home this is my 9th race this year. They park us along the road
heading toward the beach area. This makes for a very convenient pit as
you make the turn of the lap. Not having to drag my 500 lb. cooler two
miles up the road made me very happy. Also it gives you the opportunity
to kill two birds with one stone, when you're done your race and
changing out of your bib shorts you can stand there bare assed and cheer
other racers on at the same time.<br />
<br />
The warm up is more about trying to calm the jitters before the race
then about getting the legs ready to tear into the single track. We are
gonna be on our bikes for over 5 hrs. After some race instruction by
Jeff we line up by category and start the 50. <br />
<br />
The open men go off first and then us 45+ guys start 5 minutes behind
them. Me and teammate Clapper stay together with the plan to keep it
dialed back at tempo on the flats and fire road climbs but push a little
in the tech stuff to flow through the rocks. This worked until about
pickle were the course began to get gummed up with guys off there bikes.
With Clapper behind me I was riding aggressively yelling UP UP as I
approached people fumbling through rocky sections. UP UP is my nice way
of saying <i>get out of my way</i> and it seemed to work. I made it
through pickle and rattlesnake cleanly but when I looked back Clapper
was not with me any longer. <br />
<br />
Kris Weber became my riding partner up rattlesnake, he made an Aerosmith
reference when he mumbled rattlesnake shake. At the time I just heard
him say Aerosmith rattlesnake. Aerosmith Chip Away at the Stone would
have been more accurate at wayway. For the record Mama Kin is my
favorite Aerosmith song. Ok lets move on.<br />
<br />
So me and Weber are trading places back and forth for like the next 10
miles. Coming into sitting bear I decide to thrown it down, its so much
fun bombing down into it in this direction. I've done this section
enough times to know the lines but still dab in a few spots. Coming out
of sitting bear and heading toward the aid station I put a gap on Weber
and a few others that I was riding with. These guys find me again on the
climb up red, my chain popped off when I downshifted and they pedalled
by me. <br />
<br />
I put the chain back on the ring and continue the climb up red behind
Weber and crew. At the top I decide to pull out ahead and bomb the
downhill, another section I know well and feel confident with carrying
speed. As I take off Kris stays right behind me all the way to the
bottom and as we make the hard right to the punchy climb I hear Weber
yell from behind me have a good race Chris I'm out. But at first I
didn't know what the hell he said. After I continued on and realized he
wasn't behind me my brain pieced together Weber's message. After the
race he told me he double flatted, bummer.<br />
<br />
Alone again I roll the rest of the way solo and finally come to the
start finish. The last few miles of the lap seem to drag on forever, its
always more fun when you're riding with someone. At the start of the
next lapped I rolled along with one of the VTC/Bike tech guys, I didn't
get his name. But it made the time go quicker and we pushed a good tempo
pace to keep from lagging on the second lap. We stayed together until
the climb up to lookout, at the top my VTC friend was not in sight so I
bombed down and headed toward pickle. <br />
<br />
This time this section hurt more, I didn't have the energy to power
through the tech stuff and had to dial it back. Pickle then the climb up
rattlesnake took a lot more effort then the 1st lap. Despite the
fatigue I felt no cramps and was still passing people along the way. <br />
<br />
There were sections on the course that I saw no one for awhile and I
would panic until I saw an arrow indicating that I am was going the
right way. Occasionally I encouterd hikers that seemed befuddled. One
woman asked me inquisitively as I rode by <i>Is this the end ?</i> Not knowing what to say I shot back just as inquisitivley <i>of the world?</i><br />
<br />
Finally I caught up to someone in team colors, Santalucia. 26er is a
real good technical rider but his tank was running low and I ended up
passing him. As encoragement he gave me a heart felt <i>fuck you</i> as I
passed. This seemed to work, passing 26er made me feel good. He also
told me Kirt was about 1 or 2 minutes up the trail and he didn't think
there were many 45+ guys up ahead. Suddenly there seemed like light at
the end of the tunnel. <br />
<br />
So with thoughts of placing well in 45+ in my head I continued on
through fisherman's with renewed vigor. Coming out of the turn I hit the
gas and my chain just went clunk. I looked down and saw my derailleur
dragging on the ground and in and instant my strong finish was smashed.
Game over.<br />
<br />
I walked out to the fire road and wished 26er luck as he passed me and I
stood there with my useless bike. I took note of the time and waited
for the next 45+ guy to come through so I would be able to reference
myself with his finish. Clapper rolled by me 9 minutes later, which was
good enough for him to get 4th place at the finish line. <br />
<br />
So I guess I would have finished 4th if I didn't break my derailleur,
but I guess a lot of other guys who had mechanicals could have also said
the same thing. oh well. The funny thing is with very little endurance
training this year I was pretty much putting in the same finish I had as
last year, 4th place. The thing that helped me this year was I felt a
lot more comfortable in the tech stuff. I really enjoy the big 25mile
laps as well, it feels like your going on an adventure when you start
the lap. I wish they had this race again in the fall, it sucks that I
have to wait until next year to do this again.<br />
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Congrats Clapper<img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mtbnj.com/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" title="Big Grin" /><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-36349119143357057042012-05-22T02:22:00.001-07:002012-05-22T06:04:03.694-07:00Norm's Jungle<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I'm a roadie prick. You know this.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">They say the first step in addressing any problem is admitting it. I say they're out to lunch, and the first step in addressing any problem is to open a beer and think about it, preferrably on the deck or patio. If your problem just so happens to be beer, then drink wine or something. Don't ask me, I just try to ponder as much as possible these days.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><br />
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<a href="http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/561374_3779073791365_1112505435_3573780_1067990104_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/561374_3779073791365_1112505435_3573780_1067990104_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Ok, let's rewind a bit. Well, let's see. First the Earth cooled. And then the dinosaurs came, but they got too big and fat, so they all died and they turned into oil. And then the Arabs came and they bought Mercedes Benzes.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Wait, too far. Let's go back to the winter, when Utah said he wanted to peak for Jungle. We never bring up the W word. W implies you have more control of the situation that you do. When it comes down to it, you are merely a P. That would be pawn, in game of life. Like Mongo. You can only work hard, line things up, and step up to the line on race day. Most of the rest is up to chance. So the W word never comes up. But you can try to have things lined up for that single day. Because...you never know.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">So Utah's goal is Jungle, and as many of you either know or have figured out, I've been moving around the chess pieces on his board for a while now. This is his big day, so I want to show support and be there for him. This all begins a few weeks back when we go for a pre-ride of what we think the course may look like.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">In the rain.</span>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I had the SS that day and felt fine. It was our Tuesday ride which I'm used to by now. I seem to ride well on Tuesdays, which is funny, because most of you know that in general Tuesday sucks. Fast forward to the weekend, 1 week before the race. We meet again, this time with RU, young Rob, Jeremy, and Matty. Rob brought me an greatly undersized Jet 9 which I hated, then I did a lap on my SS which I hated some more. We knew the course by now and rode what the race was going to be.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After 2 laps, I was done. That night at the team gathering I declared I was out of this race. It made no sense. Why would I do this? Like I said in the start, I'm a roadie prick. Rocks and trees and stuff? No chance, this course will kick my ass. And what am I thinking riding an SS at this race? That's just asinine.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> I can support in a lawn chair. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Ok, so my race is over before it begins. But then this guy in Japan says that he'll make a deal. If he flies back the day before and races at 9:00 am, I have to race. Fine, I can't argue that. I'll bring the gears, dumb down expectations, and just try to make it a hard training ride. We pre-ride the course again, but this time I have gears, and I admit to Utah the gears make a big difference.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> In the back of my mind, expectations & goals start to build up. This happens. When we're not pondering on the patio, we usually think too much. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">
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<a href="http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/318017_3748863955525_1094118844_3521948_1692378028_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/318017_3748863955525_1094118844_3521948_1692378028_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span></div>
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</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I promise there's a race in here, somewhere.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">We watch the cat 2s go off real quick, then head back to the cars to sit down for a few minutes.<br /><br />Right before we roll we talk to Mike, Utah's biggest nemesis coming into the race. Shortly after we do a full lap pre-ride with Pearl. At his request, I do my best to keep Utah's mouth from ruining his pre-game, and we get out at about 9:35, which brings us back to the lot with about 10 minutes to spare. I want to be warm, and Utah is up for the long warm-up. I suffer from bad starts usually, and tend to warm-up too little. So I want to make this one longer than normal. In the end, it's just an experiment.<br /><br />We go off as the 4th class, and I think Lombardo is gone before I cross the start line. For as much as I saw him they may have started him on the course. Our class is deep, which is why I have no expectations on much of anything here. I want a top 10, which seems a reasonable goal for me. This is only the second time racing this bike, and my first non-SS race of the year. With the deep class maybe top 10 isn't reasonable, but I don't care.<br /><br />I get on Bill Romolino's wheel to start and on the fire road pass him, then get into Warthog in maybe 10th or so. The start hurts, but not as much as usual. Once in the woods I do my best to just follow a wheel, as I find that this keeps you on your game better. By the end of Warthog I am at the back of a fairly long train, and I see Pearl ahead and he pulls over to let us go. He was going to try to hold me off all race, but he only had a 1 minute head start, not 2.<br /><br />In the back of my mind I'm wondering who the first 30-39 racer is that will catch me. As I pass Luke, he is floored that I am ahead of Utah, which makes me laugh. Or blow a kiss, or whatever I did.</span><br />
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<a href="http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/577679_3786957468452_1112505435_3579735_263627949_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/577679_3786957468452_1112505435_3579735_263627949_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">All of the small spots that were tripping me up on the various pre-rides were not an issue today. The tight left that kicked me off every time, the first turn into Otter Slide, the big rock wedged in between the trees - none of these are an issue. Pre-riding is good. The only thing that got me was the end of that Tiger Pit, or whatever that uber rocky thing at the end was called. Cleaned it every time but the gravel at the end got me every single lap. Stupid gravel.<br /><br />Anyway, as I turn on to Boon on the first lap, I hear Utah behind me, "YOU GOT THIS!"<br /><br />Right, no pressure there. I do clean it and somehow gap him a little bit. We ride out the ST to the pavement and talk a little. He tells me he's pushing too hard, and I tell him to dial it back and make sure he paces properly. He says he will, then continues to push too hard by jumping ahead. I ride his wheel most of the rest of the lap. The rocky Tiger Pit end-lip gets me, and he gets a small gap, which he holds through the lap.<br /><br />As I ride through the S/F I get some yells and comments about how close to Utah I am. Well, at least for 1 lap. I know I won't be able to maintain this and he will. But for a lap, hey look, here I am!<br /><br />At the end of Warthog I engage in what I would call a little team strategy. I know Utah is out ahead, and he's being chased by Mancuso and another guy. So the longer I can stay ahead of him, the more likely Utah stays out ahead. At the base of Otter Slide Steve asks me in perhaps the kindest tone if I could find a chance to let him by. He also admits that it's not a great place to pass.<br /><br />I do my best to stay on my bike and hold them off. I manage to stay in front all the way up to the top, but they eventually get by and I follow them for a bit after that.<br /><br />Roll through lap 2 with less fanfare than lap 1.<br /><br />At the start of Warthog I catch 26er, who I had been seeing on & off for a while. He does his best to hold me off, but eventually he overcooks a line and ends up in the weeds. He gives up the fight there and pulls over and lets me go. As I pass he says, "Keep at it, Frank is right up ahead."<br /><br />Me, like an idiot, "Really?"<br /><br />"No."<br /><br />Ok ok, eat me. I keep riding, my legs hurt. Up Otter Slide, my legs hurt more and almost-sorta want to cramp. I go past Luke and he tells me I'm catching Utah. Uh oh, not good. I was afraid he cooked too much to start, but I hope he's got enough of a gap to hold it.<br /><br />As I run over the pipe, I know that 26er is behind me and is a solid 30 seconds behind me by now. At this point I know I just need to roll it out clean to hold server. I dial it back so I don't end up in the weeds, and roll out the lap. Other than the stupid Tiger Pit gravel, I ride it clean & easy, and roll through the S/F.<br /><br />I see Utah and ask, he shakes his head yes. He managed to hold it off, which is awesome. I end up 8th in a deep field, so I'm happy. I roll it out a bit with Iggy, then get dressed and hang out with the crew before heading home.<br /><br />But I'm still a roadie prick. Who likes to ponder.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-16145990907223953292012-05-21T07:01:00.000-07:002012-05-21T07:01:50.445-07:00UTAH WINS THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!!<img src="http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/522339_3936061808126_1477271490_4056098_864540192_n.jpg" /><br />
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As hannibal liked to say...I like it when a plan comes together. And truth be told, today was all a plan, put together many months ago....Every detail thought out at mental patient level. From my diet, to training, to my new bike....the goal was to win this race. Everything else was secondary. So by the time today came I had run every turn on this course, every rock, every tree, 1000 times. I certainly wasnt sure that I could win it, but I was sure that I had done every bit of homework possible. <br />
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This past week or so with the company of my team I think I did around 8 or so pre ride laps and initially i was pretty bummed about the removal of goat and animal chute. They are classic jungle death trails and once you master them, your ability to gap people in this race can be staggering. I felt that the real hard stuff was missing today and the harder the course is, the better for me. That said, it was still a great course and the road sections were pretty minimal and the majority of the course was my idea of a XC race. <br />
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So as I have mentioned many times in the past, Norm has been my go to for training advice and this week I really followed everything to the letter. Soon as I got on the bike this morning to start warming up, I felt as good as I ever have for a race. Norm, Pearl and I rolled around for a full lap to warm up and all systems were go. <br />
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Chat with the current king of my class Mike Merrit. He murdered blue and waywayanda with little or no pre riding so I feel I still have a pretty big task ahead of me today. He told me how he had never ridden at jungle before, ever. This usually is not a good formula for JH. Its just not like any other h2h course. Its brutal hell and there is a huge difference between doing everything on the course and doing everything at race pace. <br />
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Headed over to the start and lined up. This time we are lined up behind 40-49, 19-29, SS and Pro. Not a huge fan of this. Jungle is not the easiest place to pass at and with the tech section you tear though groups of people in minutes. So anytime, prep time is over...KILL!!!!!<br />
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We rocket off, someone stands up and pulls off the front, mike drops in, then Steve, then me. Pace is now death. We hit the fire road leading to the parking lot and the leader pulls off leaving Mike, Steve and I. No idea who is behind me and for the first time in a cat 1 race, I could give a shit...I see that mike is heading for the hard left into warthog at 110mph and since he hasnt ridden it before, this is going to get ugly. He loses the front end into the turn, but recovers quickly. We are now all wheel to wheel as we hit the ST. <br />
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Instantly we hit traffic and this is about the worst place to pass. Its monumentally important in the first 10min of a race to NOT let the leader gap you and fall off his wheel. Mike gets a couple of breaks and steve and I are struggling a bit to make our way though. Props to steve though, he was all over everyone and moving everyone out of the way in rapid form. And really I dont like doing this, but nothing was going to stop me from letting go of mikes wheel....thus I did trade a bit more paint that usual today.<br />
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Steve lets me by after a few min and I make my way to mikes wheel. The pace is super hard, but im feeling ok. I made a stupid move and passed someone in the weeds that would not move over...this knocked me off my bike for a second and caused my chain to drop. Really dumb and could have ended my day. Steve repasses me and I know have to peg it to catch back up. <br />
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Into the rocks we are now well into the 19-29 guys and im really struggling to make my way around and stay with mike. Mike is also have no trouble clearing whatever is in front of him with zero mistakes. Im thinking any tech advantage I might have could be moot....but otterslide is coming. <br />
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We hit the base and im close behind, steve right behind me. Mike has to run the start of the second switchback, but a gang of walkers keeps me from passing. I stay close and get ready to attack. Next switch back, mike has to jump off and thats it, I dropped the hammer. Put my head down and blew though the remaining part of the climb like I have done countless times. I see Iggy and let him know that I just got the lead...He cheers me on then sends me by. By the time I hit the tanks, i have opened a gap. <br />
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Rip the downhill hard! Pass Kirt who also cheers me on, then soon see Norm up ahead. about this time I look down and in 20min, my ave hr is now 170...this is nuts and will never hold. Im glad I did run into norm when i did because I could really use his level head right now. And Norm delivers as he usually does. I need to switch from insano CX pace, back to xc pace and this is not easy when you are being chased. I stay with him for a bit and try to ease up. We stay together until near the end of lap one, then i pull away a bit. <br />
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Hit the lap button<br />
31:35....christ...nearly 5min faster than my fastest pre ride lap...Just goes to show you what race pace does. <br />
Ave HR 169. Highest ever for a lap 1 for me. <br />
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I dont blow up like I used to anymore, but it was clear that I just drilled it at level stupid for 30min and now im going to have pay for that. I look back and I cant see anyone that looks to be in my class....so I try to ease up and calm it down. I pass Victor on the pavement and he latches onto my wheel though warthog. Kept it very clean and smooth this time and vic is keeping me pushing. Pass 26er and Eddie V who both give me props and send me on my way. <br />
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Otterslide...ug...Like and asshole I catch my bar, then fork on a sapling on the side of the trail and literally have to get off my bike and yank it off of it. Im fuming, angry utah pissed off now. Hate this...stupid mistakes that i assume are costing me tons of time. Anyway, I soon get my shit back together and hit the climb. Im really feeling the pain now...I pass luke and im pretty certain that if there is anyone on my tail, im now powerless to respond. Pace is still ok, but im well into the pain cave. <br />
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The downhill and following flats help me out a bit and I try to take it nice and easy for the rest of the lap. <br />
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Hit lap 3...lost a couple min, but still a solid 33:30 lap. So back of my head now is 30 or so more min of pain and its over. My legs have now gone from pain to numb and this helps. I make it to warthog still in the clear. Chris Ledonne lets me by at the start and I had a very clean, very smooth ride though this section. <br />
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Last time up otterslide and im in massive amounts of pain, but I still keep it clean. I look down at some point and see who I think is Mike Ahearn. Hes a ways down the hill, but im doing the math and I think its maybe 30sec to a min? No idea, but that was it for me. Locked out the fork, stood up and drilled it. I caught falcon on the top of the big drop and tried to stay right with him. <br />
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I pass and tell him to stay with me. He sticks right to my wheels and helps me greatly though the final 15min of the race. Yelling at me to pedal whenever I let up a bit and keeping my head in the game. By this time, im quite miserable and im thinking to myself that I never ever want to do another race again....usual stuff. The pain cave is not a fun place. But falcon is keeping my mind occupied. Hit the river crossing and I feel like if i can clean this, its over, I got it! Nailed it perfect! Hit the hill after and im certain that its over. <br />
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Roll the tunnel and finally....VICTORY!!!! (thanks for the pic robin!)<br />
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<img src="http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m615/skiphreaknj/Jungle%20Habitat%202012/2012-05-20_12-16-27_532-1.jpg" /><br />
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So my laps were 31:35, 33:31, 33:35. Not sure how I matched 2-3 together, but whatever. <br />
Finally! Its been since ringwood in 2009 since I got to stand on top of a podium. Since then, 2 brutal years of getting cut to pieces in cat 1. Not that I ever had any thought of giving up, but many times I have thought "these guys are just too fast and you will never get there" So it was a great feeling of payoff today for alot of hardwork.<br />
<br />
Cant say enough about my team and the part they played in my win today. Norm helping with training and focusing on what my goal is. Kirt, Bill, Iggy, Woody, Luke falcon, norm......the whole gang out there all winter putting group rides together. The A rides, the short track series...all were key to today. This team really is the best and made up of the best group of people I have ever been a part of. <br />
<br />
thanks for the pic iggy...cant wait to see how miserable I look in lukes pics<br />
<br />
<img src="http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/535218_3936062288138_1477271490_4056099_60936828_n.jpg" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-86502005601645772792012-05-15T02:10:00.000-07:002012-05-15T02:10:19.578-07:00Hunting on Hunter, by Glick<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Most people associate Hunter Mountain with skiing however Saturday
they held the first annual Hunter Mountain Spring Classic Road Race. The same
people that do Battenkill, Tour of the Dragons, Tour of the Catskills and a
handful of other ultra punishment road races put on this race. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I shared the ride up with Shawn Ericksen (Elite racing cat3) and
Alex Cooper (Tenafly Road Dawgs cat 4) on what was about as perfect weather
conditions and as beautifully clear sky as you could have. Sunny clear and cool
(60s ish). Walking over to registration I introduce them to my teammates Ben
and Kush, as they are both in these guys groups. The overall vibe was really
great and I have to think that the weather had everyone in particularly good
spirits. I was a bit surprised and glad to see Roger of Fincraft
there for his first race since his severe crash last season. Great to see
him back in racing action on a bike. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">This race is 80mi, 5k' of climbing and although not super hot it
was going to get a little warmer and regardless it’s a long way to go with no
water. I was concerned about being short a bottle but I wasn't going to carry
4. Ultimately it didn't turn out to be an issue and they did have a feed
station shortly after the lap 2 start where they handed out poland spring
bottles and I was able to snag one. Oh that reminds me, as I entered the
feed zone at the start of lap 2 I had my empty in my back pocket so I went
to toss it off the side of the road by the 300m to go sign so that I knew where
to find it later and my toss had such amazing aim that it actually hit the
post that the sign was mounted on sending it shooting back like a grenade
hitting one of those baseball practice thingys and launching it right back into
the pack. I held my breath for a few seconds praying I wasn't about to
take everybody down. Yikes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I'm not going to give a play by play but to summarize, the
front of my group stayed together for the most part all the way to the big
climb in the second lap which was around 65 miles in. At this point we were
down to 7 riders and this is where I began to struggle a bit. For the
first time I had to work harder to stay on and sure enough another rider and
myself came unhitched not far from the top. This was very physically and
mentally frustrating because I knew if I could just hang on for like 15-30
seconds longer I would be able to stay with the lead group probably to the end.
Amazing how a race 80 miles long comes down to critical seconds. When
we got over this I could see that someone else had popped also and was dangling
between the leaders and myself. I worked like a bastard to get to that person
fast enough before they totally popped so that we could work together and try
and get back on. But as I have experienced so many times this always seems
much more possible in your mind than in real life. We chased for 15 miles
and were never able to close that down but holy crap was that hard just to
maintain that gap of what eventually became like a minute. So close...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> In closing, overall it was a great race experience and
I would highly recommend this to anyone looking to do a long road
race that has 2 major things going for it logistically: first it is not
quite as early in the season as Bkill so you are likely to be in better shape
for a big event and second, it is significantly closer to get to than Bkill.
Course is also much easier on your body and equipment, there were holes but
they were clearly marked, nothing compared to Bkill terrain. In closing, this
is likely a not to miss event for the predictable future for me. Oh and lastly
can we make arrangements for the same weather next year?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-3088313423565677962012-05-09T03:53:00.001-07:002012-05-09T03:53:12.790-07:00Kirt Rocking it at Waway<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Waway. Clapp meet me at my house & we headed up to grab Iggy in Booton. Always better cruising up with people just makes the whole day more complete. Got there early enough to take our time getting ready & warmed up.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>Lap 1</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The prologue had me a bit worried but it turned out to be a non-factor. Hit the double track about 2/3 back from the front. The 1st little rocky up & the group is off & walking. Jump back on & decide I need to make a move, really lots of moves. I guess at this point I decide to just go for it. Lap 1 would be my make or break lap & second would be the try & hang on lap. I'm being super aggressive, which is not normally my thing & passing a bunch of people. Finally settle in behind Esteban who I know is always up there in the end. Hang on his wheel for a while, even pass him after Outlook. Didn't last long as he runs by me on 1 of the slimy ups & is gone. Felt good while it lasted. In sitting Bear I get a glimpse of Victor, new target. Get to about 30ft off him close to the S/F & decide to fuel up before I try & make the move.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiA5UqOcTa-m4oOka-4vEC3rpnl7sLT_WpvhZ5Vstlzl2wul9zmXTb474hjl3jcVsYSJbjF2EI-n-2U23cD_b94WATS-WweyfMNJI_qIXs-wnyOydss0rgK_9-Z9wrwFBfuDiVfYp1IDE/s1600/kirt+waway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiA5UqOcTa-m4oOka-4vEC3rpnl7sLT_WpvhZ5Vstlzl2wul9zmXTb474hjl3jcVsYSJbjF2EI-n-2U23cD_b94WATS-WweyfMNJI_qIXs-wnyOydss0rgK_9-Z9wrwFBfuDiVfYp1IDE/s320/kirt+waway.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>Lap 2</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Eat my gel (must bring the flask next time, just so much easier) pop a few Sportlegs & I'm off chasing him down again. Climbs & fireroads are uneventful. Come up on JimV at 1 point & crash trying to catch him, ouch #1. Back on the bike & I'm now chasing Jim again. Catch & pass him at 2 Bridges & then he passes me back on the next climb. I try to hang on which is a good thing as he pulls me to within 20 feet of Victor, bad thing is as he passes Victor, Victor try's chase Jim down, big gap again. Damn. We finally get into the ST & I pass Jim 1st as he's off on the rocky up. I'm clean on both & I close to the back of Victor's wheel. I'm riding clean & he is not so he just tells me to pass. Ok I'll take it because my legs didn't want to try a pass. Next I pass Mandell who's off the bike. I had decided at that point I was going to walk the Outlook climb as the cramping is getting worse. Get there & look back & Victor is closing. Damn I have to ride it now & I actually make it. Man did it hurt. I was so spent I crashed on the next rocky DH right in front of TomH (the bike patrol guys), ouch #2. Get back up & keep plugging away. I get to SB & the cramps are starting to get really bad. Mandell rides my wheel for a bit & finally passes. I stay with him until the last climb (MattyB's hangout) & he's gone as are my legs. I'm toast!!! Hit the end & couldn't be happier it's over. 8th out of 25. 2m off 7th & 3 off 6th. Not unhappy with that at all. All the faster guys beat me. I felt like I gave it everything I had & more. I'll keep working hard & hopefully can close the gap a little more each race.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Great seeing & hanging with everyone. I agree the whole scene was so much better with the format change. Congrats to Utah, Alex, Patty, Allison, Eric on the podiums, you guys earned it.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-81851232090266236452012-05-08T02:25:00.000-07:002012-05-08T02:25:37.908-07:00Eric's Completely Fabricated Wawayanda Race Recap<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>Sun:</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Waywayanda</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Aside from 2 short track races in March this was going to be my first real race effort for the year. It's been a busy few weeks so I wasn't quite sure what kind of form I'd be in when the horn went off. Also, this was going to be only my 3rd XC event ever (raced KVSP the past two years on a 26" sofa pillow with less than stellar results). Oh, and I rode a mountain bike maybe 5 times max during 2010 and 2011. Nonetheless I had set high expectations for myself. Like as high as you can set them. Probably not realistic but they say to visualize success, right?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">So how'd it go? Honestly all I can remember is that I got on my bike, felt like I was going to hurl for an hour, got off my bike. Instead I'll just make up a totally fictitious recap.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Warmup looks something like this: Stand around shivering in spandex for about 2 hours pushing the stroller while Allison is out racing. Brad is kind enough to poke sticks into the child's eyes while I ride a few hundred feet to warm up. Allison finishes her race, congratulate her, hand off the child and go ride a few hundred more feet.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Knowing that I want to be the first wheel or two going into the singletrack I pick a great spot in the staging area right at the back of my field. Horn goes off a minute after the 30-34 guys and were off. Weave through the pack and hit the road section in 5th and the voice inside my head says:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>"go to the front Eric. Pull everybody up the road and burn yourself up."</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">So I do. Dumb.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Hit the first climb in the lead with some guy right on my wheel. Figure it's a whole train. By this point we are deep into the 30-34 field and weaving through traffic like a truck driver high on a handful of cheap amphetamines. Finally look back and it's just one red dude and me and we've but a big dent into the field. Bobble a rocky section before the bog and red dude passes me then proceeds to go back to the future--full on 88mph-in-the-delorian style time warp. He puts about 20 seconds into me in as much time. At that point I know I'm racing for 2nd unless red dude ends up getting into a fight with Biff at the prom and his mom falls for him instead of for his dad.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><br />
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<a href="http://i422.photobucket.com/albums/pp309/mattybfat/waway%20race/IMG_0060.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i422.photobucket.com/albums/pp309/mattybfat/waway%20race/IMG_0060.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Middle of the race is a complete blur and I feel like just getting off and going for a hike instead. Asian dude that I know is in my field passes me on the fireroad which lights a fire in me. Shaved legs + nice calves = Roadie. Murder. He's off his bike on the next technical section but passes me again on the next climb and I think he's gone. Now I'm hurting again. At this point Lance has made his way up to me as I'm fading. We trade places for the last 5 miles. I gap him then drop my chain. He gaps me and I burn a match to catch up and so forth. Good battle.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Utah said during our Tuesday pre-ride that it's not about riding the technical stuff fast, its about being smooth. In cross my mantra is slow</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>is smooth and smooth is fast</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">. Somewhere during the race I decided that sloppy and erratic would be a better strategy and I proceeded to crash in spectacular fashion at least 3 times on sitting bear. One of the crashes dislodged my rear wheel from the dropouts. Another crash stopped my bike dead and somehow I was able to eject and land on my feet running downhill for about 20 yards. Like I said, smooth is fast, right?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">See Lance about 10-12 seconds ahead coming up on the last hill but I've got nothing left. I figured 4th place but Asian dude cramped somewhere and we passed him without knowing. 3rd. Podium. Not quite where I wanted to be but I'll take it.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Lessons learned. 1) Technical stuff looks a lot different at race pace. 2) Technical stuff is a lot harder when you can't see straight. 3) You need to ride a mountain bike on technical stuff if you want to be able to ride it fast. I feel like I have the fitness at this point but I really need to channel the flow.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #323232; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I'm flying back from Japan the evening before Jungle which should put me in top form to crush it there.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-82938047589384037772012-05-02T12:52:00.001-07:002012-05-22T06:06:51.109-07:00SSaP - The view from UtahFrom the one and only Utah; Taken directly from his blog on MTBNJ:<br />
<a href="http://gtluke.smugmug.com/Biking/2012-Singlespeed-a-polooza/2012-Singlespeed-a-polooza-1/22707103_L5PRGh#%21i=1819939249&k=LKbmRbG&lb=1&s=A" title=""><img alt="" src="http://gtluke.smugmug.com/Biking/2012-Singlespeed-a-polooza/2012-Singlespeed-a-polooza-1/i-LKbmRbG/0/M/DSC2486-M.jpg" title="" /></a>
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I feel that this race is kinda the start to the mountain biking season for me anyway. Its like the opening memorial bbq that starts the summer off. Anyway, as the previous 3, the course was awesome and the vibe is usual dark horse "out of the park" fun</div>
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Something new and really nice was the early packet pickup. Last week Norm and I were able to get our numbers at the shop and not have to run around before the race. This was really nice. Got out of the car, got dressed, got on the bike. Its perfect for someone like me who has severe "cant STFU syndrome"</div>
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This will be the first real test for my new carbon MT-056-R2D2-C3P0-XR4TI frame. I have been riding it a bit, but in races, all bets are off. I was hoping it would survive the beating. Plus it would be rolling on my new carbon utah/oishi wheelset. I felt confident on all of this stuff, but until you give it a real bench test, you never know. All set, ready to go...5lbs lighter than my karate monkey I used last year...somehow the hills still hurt though, go figure.</div>
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This is a true frank-n-bike. Fork is from lous old cannondale, brakes from my scalpel, cranks from my 09 stumpjumper, among other things. The guesses people had on the frame yesterday were pretty funny. A few people believed me when I said Jay got me a prototype cannondale frame and they didnt have time to paint it </div>
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So anyway, the race. Start warming up with norm...we did a couple laps though the first section of ST. Then we head and realize that they already called everyone up and we are in the wayway back. Thankfully the ladies were nice enough to let me get in line with Pearl and my friends....But at the start, we were still pretty far back. </div>
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I think about 30 sec into the start I got pegged in the eye with a stone and I said "F this" im out of dust cloud. I started weaving my way though like an ambulance driver. Finally I pull up next to fred and ilya and we sit a few guys off the front. James Harmon was setting the pace. This section is almost comical....we are all at near max speed and pretty just hanging out. </div>
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Get to the turn in, look down and we have averaged 19mph thus far...dam, didnt feel that fast. I settled in behind Fred, Ilya behind me. We were probably around 10th or so. My plan was to see if I could just stay with fred for a while at least, then not melt down when he pulls away and drops me. </div>
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Fred pulls us though the prolog and then following ST section like a champ. Pace was just perfect. We break out onto the road with the leaders up maybe 50yrds, 3 behind them, then me and Ilya. This was just awesome, its one of those race scenarios you always hope for...In a good spot and with your teammates. </div>
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We stayed right together with fred leading the way until the first walk up climb. The 3 guys in front of us all walk...I try to do this, but I cant...I make a light jog and go around these guys and get to the top first. We soon link up again, but now its just me fred and ilya. On the next run up, Sean Cavanaugh rides by me as i walk. Impressive for sure, but I know my back would have exploded if I tried this...not happening. Ilya and I soon track him down and its somewhere around I dont see fred anymore. Which was a bummer because we were having such a good together. But I figured he would be back. </div>
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Me sean and Ilya then start working together and pushing each other. Its working so well. Im not feeling that lull that happens sometimes when you're alone and trying to find motivation to kill yourself. We were taking turns leading in different sections... then finally out on new road, Ilya took over and threw down an awesome battenkill like pull at the front. We can still see Roger up ahead and he is now alone, maybe 30sec up or so. This is good for us. We discuss amongst ourselves how absolutely awesome it would be if we could track him down and its really helping us working together to move faster. </div>
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Got to the top of scofield on lap one, look down and see that we are ave. 13.9mph at this point...holy hell! On the downhill I lead and try to hold the pace at "tumbling boulder" </div>
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Finish lap 1 and sean tells me "we lost your buddy"...I look back and Ilya is gone. Sean think he rolled his tire. This was a bummer, we were working really well together and this would now get much harder. I lead though the rocky ST and out onto the road, look back and Ilya has made it back to us. SWEET!!! </div>
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We still see roger and every time we do, we just hit it harder and take turns pulling though sections. Sadly somewhere on the horse trail, sean flats and has to drop out of our group. Now its just Ilya and I. Were pretty sure were doing well...maybe like 7th 8th? No idea though...but top ten for sure. I knew there were guys in front of Roger, but i didnt know how many. </div>
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Second time at the walk up...I step off the bike with Ilya and instantly my calfs start cramping as I walk....I had to jog a bit as the walking was not going to work. Ilya soon catches back up and we roll over to Luke. I asked him how we were doing and he comes back with "4th place, roger is 70sec ahead!" HOLY SHIT!!!! The two of us were now totally stoked. Top 5 with probably 30min to go. Probably not going to be able to track down roger, but I WANT that top 5 so there is no way im going to let anyone else catch us. Thus we keep on it. Hit the next walk up and I again have to jog to fight off the cramps. I put a little space on Ilya here, then again with the next short run up. </div>
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The remaining ST I switch to my best TT mode, put my head down and grind. Back out to new road for the long stretch to scofield and I hit the climb as hard as I can hoping to maybe get lucky and see roger on the other side of the hill....Nope, he's gone. Hit scofield and just tried to hold the pace until the end....just cant wait to get to the finish line and confirm that I actually did pull off a top 5....because I still cant believe it! </div>
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Roll in and Roger greets me with congrats, as do james and josh who finish 1/2. Maddawg looks as stunned as I do and is wondering how he missed the other 12 guys who finished before me lol. He asks for a piss test, but my lawyer tells me to decline. Soon Ilya comes in, followed by Fred....True team effort if there ever was one. Reminded me of the great time I had last year with Bill and Norm at the DH40 and how I wish every race could go like these did. </div>
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Very big thanks to Fred, Ilya and Sean. Fred absolutely prevented me from doing anything stupid at the start and helped me settle into a solid pace. Then sean, Ilya and I just kept each other motivated trying to track down roger. It was about as fun as a race gets. </div>
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I must also give a special thanks to my mr miyagi, Norm. The "paint the fence" and "sand the floor" stuff might sound silly and mundane sometimes....but do it and make a point to do it correctly, dont ask questions and you see the results. </div>
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Im thinking this is probably my greatest bike racing effort to date.</div>
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Of course no DH race is complete without an after party and this one was better than ever. Cake for James Pearl, Norm plays Chris Berman and interviews me for sports center...great times!!! </div>
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And the home brew bike and wheels....If ever I put a caining on a bike, yesterday was that day. I beat the holy hell out of that thing for 27miles and it got me home. Love this thing!!!</div>
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James Pearlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02002305907067079922noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-68722070511265787932012-05-01T06:53:00.000-07:002012-05-22T06:06:33.711-07:00Singlespeed-A-Palooza - The Day After the HangoverNow that all the beer cans are cleaned up, hot dog breath is brushed out, dust is our of our pores and blue tape is wrapped up in the garbage bin, we can discuss what an awesome weekend the boys at <a href="http://www.darkhorsecycles.com/" target="_blank">Dark Horse Cycles</a> put on. If you are reading this you already know how big of an event this is. People travel from all over the east coast to throw down on some of the best singletrack NY has to offer. If you haven't ridden Stewart, you need to get out here. If you haven't raced a Dark Horse event, you really are missing out!<br />
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The last two years offered wet conditions and some sloppy riding. This year brought dust from the fire roads. The dry conditions brought smiles to faces and pain to legs. I personally have never gone this fast on my mountain bike before in a race.<br />
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The race is ultra competitive with such deep fields. Sure you remember the race and remember the super fast singletrack, but what is more memorable is crossing the finish line and hanging with 250+ like minded people you just shared 27 miles of racing with.<br />
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Robin had a mechanical and was the first one to the keg!</div>
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The Maddawg himself and Sport NJ Winner Mitch</div>
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The Scene</div>
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Jeremy, Jay and The Birthday boy</div>
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Open Menu Podium with Fred, Utah and Ilya 4th-6th</div>
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Bunch of MTBNJ regulars; Martin, Mitch, Dustin, Chris and Jay in Sport NJ</div>
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Look at that smile!</div>
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Fred and Jake really know how to enjoy each others company.</div>
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A Cake presented to Pearl for his birthday from George, Mayor of Dark Horse himself.</div>
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Ilya and the rest of the people who stayed around for the festivities got to enjoy some cake.</div>
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<b>Team Results</b></h3>
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<b>Open Men</b><br />
4th - Utah Joe<br />
5th - Ilya<br />
6th - Fred<br />
14th - Norm<br />
25th - Jeremy<br />
27th - Iggy<br />
38th - Chris26er<br />
41st - ChrisG<br />
43rd - RobG<br />
44th - Woody<br />
45th - Pearl<br />
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<b>Sport South Men</b><br />
10th - Capers<br />
12th - Matty<br />
14th - Jake<br />
30th - Brad<br />
Some reason Shaggz is not on this list. Will update.<br />
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<b>Sport Women</b><br />
5th - Dana<br />
7th - Patty<br />
DNF - Robin (Bending chainrings!)<br />
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<a href="http://www.darkhorsecycles.com/race-rumblings/98-singlespeed-2012.html" target="_blank">Here</a> are all the results, just incase. <span style="text-align: left;">Throughout the week we will let you know how the races went, stay tuned.</span><br />
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<br />James Pearlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02002305907067079922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-31647736637451174082012-04-20T02:18:00.000-07:002012-04-20T02:18:10.322-07:00Battenkill: Ben's View<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Last but certainly not least is long time race veteran Ben. He was in the cat 3 class with Fred, and like many, just before and through Meeting House was a tough spot in his race. This is the last of the 4 part Battenkill wrap-up series. Hopefully these series wrap-ups will be an ongoing theme in 2012 for the team.</i></span></div>
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I got up to Saratoga Springs on Friday in time to enjoy dinner and relax. My race began at 10:10 with Fred. Looking around the start, I knew only Fred and a Van Dessel guy, Zebulon Nelesen. Fred points out one of his CX buddies that I should look out for. I couldn't get too excited about that. There are about 120 guys to look out for.<br />
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I was comfy and riding among the top 20-30 for nearly 50 miles. Went just below my limit up Juniper Swamp Rd. I knew that would be required so I was just happy to have it behind me. I was just ahead of a small gap at the top but it all came back together quick.<br />
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The middle portions were non-eventful. 4 guys attacked going into the feed zone. Three joined them soon after. Knowing that was dangerous, a few racers including myself convinced others to pick up the pace. That group was likely off the front for 20 minutes before getting reabsorbed. <br />
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Through the middle of the race, we were catching dropped riders from earlier racers. There was a little confusion. Guys were barking about a break but the pace car was just ahead. Next time I look ahead and the pace car is gone. Two guys got away and I thought they were random riders from other races. That is one of my few gripes about this race. Towards the end, there are bodies everywhere.<br />
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We hit Wrights Rd which was a left turn onto a dirt climb around mile 44. I went straight to the limit knowing that the day was going to end for many at that point. I struggle over the top to hold onto wheels with about 10 guys in front of me. The next bit is a blur. A large group of +/- 30 riders reforms during a flatter portion of that climb. As we approached the second feed, things got strung out single file and I couldn't maintain it. As I entered the second feed zone, the group was exiting with a few riders dangling off the back like myself.</div>
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Other dangling dropped riders and I, made our way through Meeting House Rd. just ignoring each other. We were all suffering in different ways. I seemed to be the one struggling most going up while making up ground on flat and down portions or that rolling dirt road. I felt the heat hit me like a wall. </div>
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I recall cresting a rise and then descending on pavement towards a right turn. Three dropped riders were coming together about 10sec ahead of me. I look behind and see no one. Fvck, I need to close this gap NOW or I am done. Knowing the guys would slow through the turn, I busted ass and counted on some cornering skills to make the gap. I was going fast enough that I got nervous and the race marshals looked like they were about to crap themselves.</div>
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I catch the small group and we begin working. Some guy comes out of no where from behind and helps. One guy is not contributing so we begin a rotation and do our best to keep him from screwing up the effort. The lead group is just a 1/4 mile away. What a friggin tease! We work together as well as dropped riders can and were actually making up ground. It was actually very entertaining and suspenseful. <br />
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As the covered bridge adjacent to Stage Rd. came into site, we genuinely thanked one another for the effort and said, "Good luck!" I was literally 100' behind the wheel van as we all hit Stage Rd. Unfortunately, the lead group consisted of the best in my race or more rested riders than I who had been drafting. I had been working near my limit for 25 minutes [I]leading up to[/I] Stage Rd.<br />
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Once on Stage Rd., all bets were off. The leaders turned themselves inside out. The remaining riders in that pack were able to continue faster than me. I hate to say it but my goal was to be in that group at the base of Stage Rd. Then it would have been [I]mano a mano[/I] and I would earn whatever result I got.<br />
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I made it over Stage Rd. as fast as I could but only passed guys from other races. I dive bombed the descent after. Passing guys so fast I couldn't tell if they were in my race or not. On the flat run in to the finish, I was behind one of my chase companions and could not real him in. I turned myself inside out. Felt the tell-tale signs of cramping begin in one hamstring.<br />
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I finished 32nd of 107 starters. 3:10 behind the winner. I was expecting to be in the top 30 and was hoping for a top 20. 32nd is close enough. I would have been bummed if I had just gotten dropped and rode the rest in without a fight. As I said, the chase was pretty entertaining. I was pretty happy to make up ground on the approach to Stage Rd. As my tires went from pavement to dirt on Stage Rd., I knew they were all going to ride away from me again. I just put my head down, found my happy place, and rode the rest out.<br />
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You can see from my HR data where my race blew up at mile 45. I popped off the back about 1/2 way up that climb in the profile. My HR drops slightly as I form the chase. The remainder was just everything I had left.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-19092054265510858972012-04-19T16:21:00.001-07:002012-04-19T16:21:38.025-07:00Battenkill: A Picture (of Ilya) is Worth...<img src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/389588_10150728039084333_616184332_9035486_767265288_n.jpg" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-13242602664571146602012-04-19T02:08:00.000-07:002012-04-19T02:08:57.415-07:00Battenkill: Old Rob's View<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>First Maurice, then Capers, and today we have Rob, the older of the Robs on the team, thus the name. After surprising himself the year before with a 6th place finish Rob was eager to get back and improve upon that. But as with many things Battnkill-related, nothing is as you expect it. If nothing else, this is the race that keeps you guessing. </i></span></div>
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This is a really tough recap for me to start. I have so many different
ways of looking at this that I feel like I have a pinball banging around
the inside of my head. I felt like I was pretty well prepared for this
based on my experience of what the race was last year in my group. Right
off the bat this is lesson 1, “EVERY race is different, even if it is
the same class, venue, weather etc, you can not assume that the effort
and dynamics will be the same”. :Last year was my first time up there I
was really surprised at how tame the pace was in my group on the flats,
except for 4 guys that went off the front after the first major climb.
Other than that it was a controlled climbing race and who could out last
the next guy and the groups just got smaller and smaller as it went on.
Well this year was the opposite. I’ve gotten ahead of myself already.<br />
<br />
Friday I made sure I was hydrating a lot as I saw that temp was going to
be around 68 and felt that this was going to be a factor. Because of
this I got up like 3 or 4 times in the night to pee. Got up early and
didn’t feel like I had a fantastic rest but really not that bad. I do
normal routine stuff, stretch, dog stuff, etc and go to bathroom one
last time before I head out. While in the bathroom the light goes out. I
figure the bulb just blew but get this weird feeling like that scene in
Apollo 13 when the guy is in the shower the morning of the big launch
and his wedding band comes off and goes down the drain. I comfort myself
by thinking that although a lot of crazy shit happens between that
scene and him going to outer space and getting back to earth again
everything turns out ok. Get out of the bathroom and realize that the
power for the whole house is out. Ok this is strange.<br />
<br />
Take my stuff out the front door instead of the garage as opener won’t
work of course and head over to Paramus where I am meeting Jeff
(Gratefulrider) and will ditch my car and go together. He makes the trip
go fast by good conversation and also doing like 90 the whole time
except when slow down to pee 2x. His BMW suv thing is smooth. I think we
got there in like 20 minutes even though it should have taken 3.5
hours.<br />
<br />
We pull in to park next to some Tenafly guys I know and the 4 of us reg
then back to cars for a really slow prerace routine as Jeff’s race is in
like 2 hours and mine in 3. I eventually get my stuff on after eating a
little bit, Jeff is ready before me and rolls off. I am very indecisive
on what to eat ( major mistake?)I then roll out just to coast around
and look at the start area and then over to the finish and expo. I see
Zach Coop right after his finish and he is sitting on his bike with his
legs dangling down and leaning against a pole in pain. He says his both
legs are cramped and he can’t move. I give him a few sportslegs that I
had in my pocket and made a friend for life. With an hour to go I head
back to the car, eat a clif bar and drink some more, and do my pre race
warmup on the trainer. I feel good and my heart and legs are responding
and I feel I have good power with less perceived effort actually. I’m
thinking systems are a go. Get race ready and head over to start with
about 20min to go.<br />
<br />
Watch the women pros go off while talking to some of the guys lining up
for my race to try and get a read on people. I don’t recognize anyone
from last year. We roll out behind the pace car and I can feel the front
group coming into shape and who will likely be doing most of the work.
Pace starts to build much quicker than I expect so early but I figure
some of these guys may just be feeling it out. Within minutes I get hit
in the face with a big black bee that I guess is a wasp and it gets
stuck in the small space between my helmet and glasses and as I quickly
pull off my glasses to give it room to escape the bastard stings me
right at my eyebrow over my left eye. Next time I will hit myself with a
tennis racket and knock both of us out. I let out a couple of choice
words and the guy next to me asks if I was ok and if I was allergic
which I am fortunately not. It hurt though and I felt with my finger
like there was something in there and got it out and see blood on my
fingers. Great. Now I am just hoping it doesn’t swell up and or affect
my vision, which fortunately does not.<br />
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Through the covered bridge I’m in the front few and nothing really
changes just the same guys up front taking unorganized turns although
pace is still much faster than last year. A few guys ride off the front a
little for no reason and no one even discusses it. They all wind up in
the back at the next climb. Finally at Juniper things get more exciting
and pace picks up a lot near the top and I am right there and this is
the move and I am right in the center and we are gone. About 7-8 of us
off the front and we drop the pack like a rock. I am working but nothing
crazy and wasn’t even like the super hard Rocket Ride sections in my
mind. I do my share of work and am cautious of not overdoing it however
totally out of the blue after a while on a very minor rise in the road I
feel a twinge in my right calf. Alarm bells and whistles go off in my
head screaming DANGER DANGER, I’m like WTF???? I have never ever E V E R
cramped on my road bike. EVER. Of course on the MTB I have and it was
always hydration issues so I instantly started downing my bottles
thinking it must be the issue. I am unsure though because I drank a ton
the day before and all day. I start hiding right away to conserve and
loosen this up very nervously. I am more than a little concerned as they
come and go but eventually the calf seems ok. About 30 mi in we are
climbing and I get a twinge in my right upper quad climbing muscle and
now I am really concerned. I feel it contract a couple of times and feel
that it is going to lock up on me and I have to back off about 50’ from
the top. And there they went. I get over the top and it is a long
rolling section that even though I try and think I can hammer it I know I
am not getting back on and the gap gets bigger and bigger. Train is out
of the station.<br />
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I know we had a big gap on the field but I am thinking this is bad. 32mi
to go and I have to manage my body totally different from normal. I do
12 miles solo in the wind and then on a flat dirt section 5 guys come up
on me and say join on. At that moment it felt like an oasis in the
desert. I hop on and say thanks by telling them how many and how far
ahead the leaders are hoping that will count as payment to the cause
rather than take any pulls. We go for awhile and on another climb we
lose 2. So the 3 of us crank on through the worst of the bad dirt road
sections. I tend to be the fastest downhills and get ahead but that’s
only because I am looking for every bit of help from gravity I can get.
One section where the dirt was super loose and washed out, (you know the
kind where you don’t really steer and just let the bike go where it
wants to) my momentum carried me all the way across the road onto the
grass and I just rode on the grass. The 2 guys I was still with followed
me on the grass and thought it was intentional and said that it was a
great idea. I didn’t tell them I didn’t get there on purpose. <br />
<br />
Approaching that double tiered dirt climb that crosses a road the
stronger of the 3 of us moves ahead and I can’t stay on his wheel and
neither can the other guy (in green). I think he realizes he is doing
all the work and that we were not going to be much help anyway. I see
him go over the top as green guy and I start to climb it. My quad starts
twitching really bad here and when the second tier starts I am feeling
it increase. Then right in the middle of that second tier BAM! Full out
mandatory Alcatraz style FN lock down. Can’t move right leg but somehow
get my foot out of the pedal and get my foot down without tipping over
and just stand there afraid to move while grinding my teeth. I grab my
quad and it feels like concrete. There were some spectators and a woman
runs over and starts to tell me to walk it off but I know if I move a
smidgen right now it will be worse. I ask her to fill my bottles as she
has a big Poland spring bottle. I don’t move for about 4.5 minutes
(according to my Garmin) and finally it releases and I can walk. She
tells me if I can just get to the top there is a downhill and recovery
time afterwards. I walk to the top and eat a bunch of gels and wash it
down with almost a full bottle and remount. <br />
<br />
While in lock down mode I notice a few guys pass me but I have no idea
if they are my group or some of the previous that we had caught when I
was in the lead group but truthfully I don’t care. I am just trying to
figure out how to finish this without another massive lock up like that
as it is terrifying to me. I still have decent power amazingly when on
the flats and can carry some speed. I make it to the last feed station
and toss all my bottles again and take a bunch of the green ones at the
top of the zone. Now all I can think about is Stage road and how the F
am I going to make it up that without cramping. I am with a couple of
guys at this point and I shift into my easiest gear even before the
climb starts and they take off up it. I concentrate completely on just
turning the pedals as easy as I possibly can and amazingly I am passing
people who had attacked this and are blowing up. I even see a guy zig
zagging the road. I get to the top and I am just so super happy to not
have cramped. Coming down the other side feels great and I am really
relieved. When the road straightens I can see far in the distance the
green guy from before and I know he is in my group. I watch him from a
distance and realize that very slowly but surely I am closing the gap on
him. </div>
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I get in the drops and concentrate on maintaining the best pace I can
and although he is still far off I am closing on him. When I get within a
couple of hundred feet I am just hoping he doesn’t’ turn around. I get
about 20’ behind him and ease up a drop because I don’t want to get on
his wheel and turn this into a final spring as I am not sprinting, no
damn way. But I am thinking I don’t want him riding my wheel either and
passing me at the end so I stay back a bit and then increase my pace so
that when I pass him it is fast enough that if he doesn’t see me coming
he won’t be able to surge and get on my wheel. This goes exactly as
planned and I am dangling like 20’ in front of him and I hear him shift
and breathing hard but I keep him off my wheel and I basically outlast
him to the finish.<br />
<br />
11th place in 3:25, this is 10 min faster than last year even wth the near 5 minute stop.<br />
I am still trying to figure out my cramping issue. Now I think it ended
up being a serious nutrition F up and I was carb depleted. I felt a
significant change after downing those gels and heading into Stage road.
I did not eat enough “real food” the day of the race as it was really
tough timing with the early drive, the drive itself and then not wanting
to eat a real meal 2 hours before the race and feel like I was full. I
also reviewed my Garmin info and even though that fist 1.5 hours had a
pretty hot pace and my HR was pretty up there for a road race
especially, I never really felt like I was even close to the edge. This
definitely was not like one of those times where you are riding with
much faster people and you say to yourself, no way can I maintain this I
predict blow up in x minutes or seconds. My perceived effort did not
feel at the max. The next day my entire body felt like it had been
through the ringer. This is another clue that it was not just legs
getting tired. In fact my legs aren’t even super sore today except where
I think my groin muscle got a little tweaked during the big lock down
cramp. So we live and learn yet a little more….<br />
<br />
The takeaway: so this is the part that I am now really kind of confused
about. Last year I knew that my plan for this year was to make sure that
I was ready to go with the breakaway group which I was and did. However
the irony is that (yes this is Monday morning quarterback talk) had I
just stayed with the pack and outlasted others (like last year) I would
have likely wound up with a similar or possibly better result actually
with a lot less pain and suffering. Granted my time would have been
slower. I guess here I am making the same mistake and assuming again
that next year will be just like this year which was supposed to be
lesson #1 in the first paragraph. I do fully understand now why the pack
stays together in these kind of races the same way Zebras do….
Survival.
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-69709415035985998222012-04-18T03:19:00.003-07:002012-04-18T13:16:08.935-07:00Battenkill: Capers' View<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-size: x-small;"><i>Yesterday we sa a recap from a long-time road racing veteran in Maurice. Today, the opposite end of the spectrum. This was Eric's first road race ever. No crits, no local road races, maybe not even any shop rides. Feet first, head first - no matter which way you look at it he went right to the deep end of the poop. Here is his view.</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-size: 17px;">Battenkill - My first road race. Words can't describe
the anxiousness I had the week leading up to this one. It was all I could think
about. I'v'e participated in group rides, centuries and countless long road
rides with lots of elevation, but not in the form of a race. My race experience
is primarily on dirt, grass and mud. This is a whole different game with
different rules and strategy. I didn't come out expecting to win, in fact I
predicted that I'd probably end up mid pack. I was treating this more as a
learning experience.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-size: 17px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-size: 13pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span">I don't want to draw this out so I'll get right to my
race. I started in the front, I think I was the 2nd or third guy back when we
rolled out. The neutral start was something Iv'e never experienced before. Much
more gentleman like than the "READY-SET-GO!!!!!" balls out starts in
MTB and Cross. I was glad to warm up the legs and get a feel everyone around
me. Seemed like we just coasted for the first 5-6 miles. Most of us were
chit-chatting as we cruised steadily up 313, the only thing we were missing was
tea. Shortly after the covered bridge everyone put their game faces on and we
eased into a hotter pace. The race officially began on the Perry Hill Rd.
Climb. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-size: 13pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Perry Hill rd. was the first of many climbs that would
start filtering out the group. I knew it would happen eventually but didn't
plan on getting spit out the back of the lead group that early on. And by the
time we began climbing up Juniper Swamp, the lead group was already pulling
ahead. Oh well, thats racing. The rest of us got pretty strung out into 2's and
3's and each successive hill broke everyone up even more. Now we're in chase
mode fruitlessly trying to catch the leaders but this was not to be. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-size: 13pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span">From here on out I found myself jumping from group to
group and also riding solo in the wind at times. The elevation combined with
the varying skill levels of my fellow Cat5 racers made it difficult to keep a
solid paceline going for any extended period. The wind was strong at times and
I burned a lot of matches chasing down groups I'd see in the distance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-size: 13pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span">I was pleasantly surprised to see my girlfriend Megan
with her hand out with a water bottle for me at feed zone 1. I did not expect
her to do this but man, she's on top of it! She executed a perfect hand off and
I was happy to know I wouldn't dehydrate! I rode with a group of 4 guys for he
next 20 miles or so. At this point, I know I'm probably about mid pack. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-size: 13pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Feed zone 2 near Meeting house road. Megan was there
again with another bottle for me and a banana already opened. Man, she's good!
Meeting house road was extremely dusty with large loose rocks. Racers were
flatting everywhere. I got passed by the over 35 lead group as well as their
support vehicle. They kicked up a sand storm as they flew by. It seemed like Meeting
House road is where the race became a death march for many. This is where I saw
the most racers from different fields and everyone looked like hell. The sun
exposure, heat and dust gave this road a real desert like feel. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-size: 13pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span">By now, I'm cramping everywhere and my lower back is
killing me. Weakened by this, my avg speed is dropping. Hit the pavement after
meeting house and cruise as best as I could working with another guy in the 35+
Cat all the way to Stage rd. Stage road…Oi, that was a doozey. I read that it
pitches up 3 times and not to be fooled into thinking it's over until you hit
pavement. Glad that I opted for an 11/27 cassette. I look over my shoulder and
notice 4 guys that are in my field. I didn't wan't to loose any more spots so I
hit the gas. By the time I crested Stage road I knew I was home free. I put the
pedal to the metal and gave it all I had (which wasn't much) from this point
on. Surprisingly I was taken out by a guy in my field with less than 1 mile to
go. Unfortunately, I did not have it i me to chase so I let him go. Fnished 23
of 42 starters, 39 finishers Cat 5 blue with a time of 3:24. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-size: 13pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Final thoughts:
The production was top notch and much more elaborate than any race Iv'e
done in the past. This was a great experience, top to bottom and I will
definitely return for another shot next year. Maybe even train specifically for
it and make it a priority. </span></span><o:p></o:p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-38446220962530777212012-04-17T09:41:00.000-07:002012-04-17T09:41:51.567-07:00Battenkill: Maurice's View<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Here is a view of the Battenkill race, through Maurice's eyes. The week before the race, Maurice had been a bit sick and like many of us, wondered if going up to the race was a good idea at all. Of course he did, and here is his story. This picks up the morning of the race, a few hours before his start... </i></span></div>
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Ate some pasta and caramel pork (very salty) and we headed for the start. We got there at 8 (1/2 before the start...), just enough time to get ready and head to the line. The thermometer in the car still hadn't gone above 40, but I decided to go bare legged and medium embro as I knew it would warm up. Worked out well enough.</div>
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My goal as I lined up was to finish, and hopefully not get dropped by the pack. After 'cross season I was seriously burned out and had a hard time getting back into training. There was not much time to prepare for this race so Ben let me do it my way: rode as much as I could, with lots of hills. I also worked on dropping weight: when training time is limited it is a great way to make up for lack of fitness when it's hilly. Should work well for MTB also.</div>
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About 2 miles after the start Bobby Lea goes off the front. I thought that would be it. The first time up Juniper Swamp I felt ok and went from back to mid-pack. The second time I decided to move further up and actually stayed there despite Justin Lindine drilling it hard.</div>
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Up until mid-point the pace remained rather mild. There would be accelerations but nothing serious. I made sure to hide in the pack, happy enough to still be there. A couple times it really itched to go, but sure enough we reeled in every move.</div>
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Can't remember the name of the roads or sections (I didn't study the map...) but at some point there was a left-right on a bridge, and a steep hill fairly loose. I knew that would hurt and would be followed by more hills so I made sure to stay near the front. It worked well enough that I crested the last hill driving the pace.</div>
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Another hill came up and I knew this is where things would take shape. One guy attacked and every one followed. I countered towards the top and made a gap. The eventual winner bridged up and we went. Another guy came up and the three of us opened about a minute. For the longest time the gap stayed there. I was feeling ok, still a long way to go but this was the move. Eventually we saw glimpses of Bobby Lea. Then we caught him (surprised to ride behind the opening car). Then we dropped him. Still not sure if he had planned that or what since he was racing the next day...</div>
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Shortly before feed #2 in a slightly uphill dirt section the eventual winner upped the pace and we couldn't keep up. He just powered away, nice... Took a bottle and then the two of us worked on staying where we were. Eventually I blew up and couldn't follow my break companion. On Meeting House road I could still see the two ahead, but I was spent. What a deceiving section, a straight dirt road with 2 hills in a row where you can see for miles. The last 15 miles I rode by myself, trying to stay where I was.</div>
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This was taken more or less in the timeline here.</div>
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Eventually I got to Stage Road and started the climb. 5 chasers went by me at the steepest point and I couldn't latch on to their wheels. Crested that, and my legs were screaming... The last 5 km were the longest, slightly uphill and windy. I did not want to turn back but did so inside the last km to see no one was in sight. Good enough for 8th and 80 miles in 3h30.</div>
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I ate 2 gels and drank 2 bottles. The second bottle on the bike I never even touched... This is bad and I need to work on that, especially as the weather warms up and with having lost weight. I had ice cream after the race.</div>
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Sunday I went for a ride with the home crew (wife and daughter) and my legs felt like concrete.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-7996002535989980232012-03-27T05:51:00.000-07:002012-03-27T05:51:09.658-07:00Walter's Short Track Recap<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Mooch ST Series<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Short Track series kicked off on March 3 with the 1<sup>st</sup>
Walter’s No Frills ST race. The
1.5 mile course located on the Boy Scout property at Allamuchy was the same one
used last fall for the premier of short track racing in NJ. After positive
feed- back we decided to stay with the same course for the spring series for
the 1<sup>st</sup> 3 races then use a newly built track built over the winter
for the 4<sup>th</sup> race. We dropped the Bagels and Bacon title and went
with Walters No Frills. This title
reflects our goal going into the spring ST; keep it simple while getting into
race shape on the cheap.<br />
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<i>(Norm: On that note, we're always looking for new & exciting names for our races. If we do a fall series there may be free pickle juice for all racers.)</i><br />
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The 4 Saturdays in March grew each week in racing intensity. We saw some excitement over the weeks
from the top 3 finishers in the crazy men class , Rob Lichtenwalner, Jesse
Epstein and Jonathan Lombardo.
Strong finishes from Ed Ceccolini, Rich Wolter, Matt Miller, Jonathnan Lombardo and
Utah Joe kept the series battle raging up until the end. The last race in the
series saw an appearance from Mike Montalbano lining up for the final showdown.
Last weeks ST winner Ed Ceccolini (fast Eddy) gave Mike a fight to the finish
but Mike was able to pull out a win getting to the line 8 seconds before fast
Eddy. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As the crazy men class grew every week so did the women’s
and men’s sport class. The MTBNJ ladies were consitant in there races and
getting faster each week with Robin Everson, Patty Bender and Mandi Tabbit
finishing 1-3<sup>rd</sup> in the series. It was nice to see the field grow by
the 4<sup>th</sup> ST race, thanks for your support ladies!<br />
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The silly sport class grew as the weeks went on thanks to
William Lorenzo for spreading the word. The first ST race saw 11 racers while
the last one was at 60 <i>(Norm: these numbers are not real, no clue where Iggy got them)</i>, thanks guys! Congrats to Doug Alpers, Willy and Greg
Heller for placing top 3 in the Silly Sport Class.</div>
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While we don’t have an official slogan, motto or mission
statement for team MTBNJ , if we
did it would say something like <i>who we are off the bike is what makes us
winners (Norm: Actually, I prefer "Beer & ice cream for dinner, thanks!")</i>. At the close of our ST race series I am happy to be a part
of a team that made this series a success. Norm and Matty Bender were instrumental in making this
happen as was Chris Ruiz <i>(Norm: Let's not forget his lovely sidekick, Kayla)</i>, who came through all aces in the scoring. Carson, Mandi
and Robin, with Shaggz floating in between scoring and registration to keep
things flowing, handled registration smoothly. Filling in the gaps to take care
of all the other race prep was done by the team who came together to make this
event as enjoyable to work as it was to race.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We look forward to seeing everyone at the MTBNJ Stewart
6-Pack on July 1!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.bikereg.com/Net/15383">https://www.bikereg.com/Net/15383</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>James Pearlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02002305907067079922noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5195121581126478722.post-15793351855105231632012-03-08T05:24:00.002-08:002012-03-08T05:25:06.546-08:00Do Short Track!<center><iframe frameborder="0" height="281" src="https://contour.com/stories/spring-short-track-race-1/embed?map=false&width=500px&height=281px" width="500"></iframe></center><br />
Just incase you missed the first race; You may miss out on the second if you are reading this. At the time of this posting, the Open class has 4 remaining and the Sport class has 7 remaining! Ladies have plenty of spots to shred.<br />
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<a href="https://www.bikereg.com/Net/15550" target="_blank">Walter's No-Frills Spring Short Track Series #2</a>James Pearlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02002305907067079922noreply@blogger.com0