Iggy Does the Bearscat

Me 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.

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.

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 get out of my way 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Is this the end ? Not knowing what to say I shot back just as inquisitivley of the world?

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 fuck you 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.

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.

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.

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.


Congrats Clapper

Singlespeed-A-Palooza - The Day After the Hangover

Now 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 Dark Horse Cycles 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!

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.


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.

Robin had a mechanical and was the first one to the keg!

The Maddawg himself and Sport NJ Winner Mitch

The Scene

Jeremy, Jay and The Birthday boy

Open Menu Podium with Fred, Utah and Ilya 4th-6th

Bunch of MTBNJ regulars; Martin, Mitch, Dustin, Chris and Jay in Sport NJ

Look at that smile!

Fred and Jake really know how to enjoy each others company.

A Cake presented to Pearl for his birthday from George, Mayor of Dark Horse himself.

Ilya and the rest of the people who stayed around for the festivities got to enjoy some cake.

Team Results

Open Men
4th - Utah Joe
5th - Ilya
6th - Fred
14th - Norm
25th - Jeremy
27th - Iggy
38th - Chris26er
41st - ChrisG
43rd - RobG
44th - Woody
45th - Pearl

Sport South Men
10th - Capers
12th - Matty
14th - Jake
30th - Brad
Some reason Shaggz is not on this list. Will update.

Sport Women
5th - Dana
7th - Patty
DNF - Robin (Bending chainrings!)

Here are all the results, just incase. Throughout the week we will let you know how the races went, stay tuned.

A Time of Thanks (by Pooriggy)

I love this time of year, bike races are winding down, the weather is still good for getting out and it’s the kick off of the holiday season…which means less work and more time to bike and spend with family. Mountain biking is now more about going out on an adventure and less about training for the next race.

This was a different Thanksgiving for me this year. Instead of going to the in-laws for the usual turkey dinner I spent the day at the hospital. My dad had esophagus cancer 4 yrs ago and due to complications from the operation to remove the cancer his lungs are in poor condition. Thursday it got to a point that he had to go to the hospital so he could be put on a respirator. In the past 4yrs I have become somewhat numb to events like these, I mean I hope for the best but am ready for whatever comes at me. These days I try to focus on being there for my mom, she needs the support.

My support for dealing with things like this is getting out on my bike with friends. As we all know getting out on the bike can turn one’s mood around and help us to make the best out of any situation. The day after Thanksgiving I spent the morning mountain biking with Utah and Falco at Ringwood State Park. No matter what crap goes on in our life cycling seems to make everything feel better. I am grateful to have my health and buddies to share a ride at one of my favorite parks in NJ.

We met at Ryerson School and rolled out at 7:45 as other cars began to filter into the parking lot for post Thanksgiving rides. Despite the frosty grass and cool temp’s it didn’t take long for the climb up warm-puppy to warm us up. With Falco up front we got into a nice rhythm as we headed out toward Shepard’s lake on Skylands trail. Our 29” wheels flowed over rocks (with an occasional dab) that seemed to be created by the geological process. Its hard to believe these trails where built by Jorba, they feel so natural.

Bombing down a fire road Falco ripped his sidewall and got a hole in his back tire. Yes the boy works at a bike shop and was too lazy to set up his tire tubeless. No worries he uses a Gu pack as a boot on the sidewall and has a spare tube, oops wait he has a hole in his spare. Utah pulls out his spare tube from his bag of tricks and discovers that his has a hole as well. This reminds me of HS days of carrying condoms around in my wallet that break before they ever see any use. I pulled out my condom and gave it to Falco, no hole…good to go.

After the Shepard’s lake area I have no idea where I am, but I do know we are heading toward the old boy scout area on some of the most technical trails of Ringwood. By the amount of fresh leaves on the ground you can see that this is the path less traveled. The rocks are now more randomly placed and menacing. At one point my hand slips off my handlebars while going down a rock and I start heading over the bars only to be saved by my stomach hitting the bars. I think it may have been better if I went over, ouch!

The old BSA area brings back some fuzzy memories for me; I camped here in the late 70’s as a scout. It’s tough for me to recall this area on a bike; if I had more time I’d hike around here to jar my memory. I’ll settle for a picture instead.

The ride back to the school from this area is incredible. Some sections are crazy rocky, some are floweee rocky and some offer great views. This section beat me up some more and I started to get sloppy as my body began to get tired on the uphill technical stuff. After descending the downhill rocky switchbacks we came upon a stream crossing that Falco picked the perfect line across. Utah aimed for that line but slid off a rock and his front tire sank into 3 feet of water. This is never a good thing; he did his best to stay dry but ended up doing the backstroke in the current. Which I must say the stream crossings where certainly at high tide this time of year. Luckily we didn’t have far to peddle to make it back to the cars.

Rolling back to the school in less then 2.5hrs we managed to cover about 14 miles. My Garmin 500 is never 100% accurate in the woods. This ride was exactly what I needed to deal with stuff that life throws at you. From time to time everyone has unpleasant things to deal with but we can all be thankful for our family, friends and the opportunity to get out on a bike and enjoy ourselves. Keep on bikin!

Six Hours Cathedral pines. through the eyes of a Capers

Couldn't have asked for a better day for 6+ hours racing mountain bikes on Long Island, in the middle of November. As expected, this year's Six Hours Of Cathedral Pines was a real treat and an opportunity to shake things up a bit while in the midst of cyclocross season. This would be my second year participating in this event and I couldn't be more stoked to race it again.

Hit the road around 6AM with teammates Rob Perazzo, Dana Napurano and Chris Brawley (Pooriggy). We crammed 4 bodies, 5 bikes and a ton miscellaneous shit onto and inside Rob's little Toyota.




Arrived at Cathedral Pines County Park about an hour before the start. We hooked up with Kirt and Dave Clapp at the gate so that we could all park and pit together. Shortly after, the Gozicks rolled up.

I don't see much value in warming up before long format races like these, so my pre race ritual became a bit more laid back than normal. I picked up my number, kitted up, ate and cruised around to check out the scene. Chatted it up with several friends and teammates. The vibe was good.

After the pre-race meeting, all 300 or so of us lined up for a mass start. I picked a spot towards the front and shot the shit with my buddy Dan Brodeen. As we were talking, the gun went off without warning, taking us completely by surprise. Unprepared for this, I leaped onto my saddle cyclocross-style and pedaled like a madman up the prologue. As with any race, I did my best to pick through the riffraff to secure a decent position towards the front, leading up to the singletrack.


The Mass start is as crazy as you've heard - Photo by Jennifer Carlson

There was a bit of congestion as we entered the woods but thats unavoidable considering the volume of riders. There were some hang-ups on the first series of hills but I managed to dodge & pass those folks and kept pedaling. I wasted no time jumping ahead of riders that were not moving fast enough and by about 25 minutes in, settled into a nice groove with a group of about 8 guys. We hammered out the remainder of the first lap which ended up being 51 minutes exactly.

I continued riding with this group for just about the entire second lap, always keeping someones wheel a couple feet in front of mine. Half way through lap 2, I spot my teammate Rob and he takes the lead for a while. we pushed the pace a little bit harder and banged out a 49 minute 2nd lap. I'm feeling pretty good at this point. While passing through the transition area, I pull up alongside Rob, we exchange pleasantries and I take the lead into the singletrack. Always a good feeling when you have a friend to ride with. Rob stayed relatively close behind and was never out of site. By now the group had mostly broken up into smaller pods of 2's and 3's as we continued to hammer through the sweet, flowy Long Island singletrack.

I kept a consistent effort, onwards through the next several laps but It wasn't before long that something evil began lurking within my legs. I have never experienced this before in a race, and that evil was the cramp monster! The cramping was relentless and hung around for the remainder of the race. The only way to suppress the pain was to pedal faster. Slowing down only caused my legs to lock up. At times I found myself shifting to an easier gear to spin a faster cadence. Nevertheless, I fought through it and did my best to maintain momentum. I still had plenty of gas in the tank.

I really had to force myself to eat every time I came around through the transition area. I didn't want to loose any time so my stops were 30 seconds or less. I mostly ate on the go, which was rather difficult with solid foods. Nearly choked on a cliff bar. That was ugly.

At the end of Lap 5, Chris (Pooriggy) catches up to Rob and I. We all pass through the transition area together. My cramps are at their climax right now. I downed almost an entire bottle of water, a banana and a package of chomp blocks. Chris Takes off and thats the last I see of him. Rob decides he doesn't want to ride anymore and bails right then and there. This is OK for him as the registration numbers were so low for his age group that at this point, he wins by default! I congratulate him and take off for lap 6.

For the next 2 laps, I find myself mostly riding solo with the occasional wheel sucker latching on. Dialed into autopilot mode, my bike rails the twisty turns with speed and finesse. I am quite literally in that special place called "the zone". James Brown's "Get on the Good Foot" is on repeat in my brain and my groove is unstoppable. By now many of the other racers are really beginning to fade, none of which were racers in my class. I 'm passing folks like like crazy. Well, passing as courteously as one could. We're all here to have a good time so I did my best not to be a jerk.

Towards the end of lap 7, I look down at my Garmin and see that I have passed the 6 hour mark, so an 8th lap isn't going to happen. I have a huge gap on the next rider in my field behead me so I ease up and cruise the last mile or so to the finish line. I end up wrapping it up with 7 laps at 6:11 and a 5th place finish. Not a bad day!
It wasn't until I dismounted that it hit me how beat up my body felt. It's the good kind of soreness though, the kind you earn!

I was pleased to learn that every single one of my teammates threw down strong finishes in their respective classes. Outstanding! Quite a few podiums were had for MTBNJ..


Results

Rob Perazzo 1/1, Cat 1 Male 19 to 29 Laps 5, Time 4:18:26.9
Dana Napurano 3/5, Cat 2 Female 30 to 39 Laps 5, Time 5:51:12.6
Eric Capers 5/23, Cat 2 Male 30 to 39 Laps 7, Time 6:11:11.6
Chris Brawley 3/27 Singlespeed Open. Laps 7, Time 6:02:22.7
Chris Gozick 7/27 Singlespeed Open. Laps 7, Time 6:17:09.3

Kirt Mills 3/19 Male Duo Relay Laps 8, Time 6:38:19.5
David Clapp 3/19 Male Duo Relay Laps 8, Time 6:38:19.5


ChrisG - Photo by Wayne Lewis


Dana - Photo by Anthony Benavides


Capers - Anthony Benavides


Iggy on cruise control - Photo by Jennifer Carlson


Kirt doing his part - Photo by Wayne Lewis


RobP drinkin' up - Photo by Jennifer Carlson


Part of the crew enjoying the delicious post-race chili.

Ramwood/Ringapo Extravaganza

Cast of Characters

Chris B (Iggy), Chris S (26er), Dave & John (Igg's pals), The Falcon (Rob P), and me (Woody).











The Plan

Beats the hell out of me!...I caught a rumor that Upper Skyline at 8am was The Place to Be.

The Weather

Perfection!

What a great day to be out riding…Temps were in the 30's to start, but a blazing sun made it feel downright toasty while gearing up in the lot.







We warmed up so quickly that Iggy decided to take a swim in the first creek crossing about 5 minutes into the ride. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the camera out in time.

It got up to around 55 degrees and the sky was Disney Cartoon Blue.







The Ride

(I can never remember the names of the trails up there, so I’ll channel The Falcon here)
We started at the upper Skyline lot, took Red to Yellow to Green to New Red into Ringwood. Then we hit Renegade, up Warm Puppy to Skylands and a bunch of the race course, took Green down into Bear Swamp, and then Cannonball back to the lot.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/126975891


























These trails serve up a kick-ass combination of techy challenge and crazy-fun flow. New Red is just amazing! I can’t imagine how many hours went into building that trail – an insane amount of bench cutting and rock work – huge props go out to all involved in that effort.

Our pace was pretty hot while we were moving, but there were lots of stops to clear deadfall.







26er was having some drivetrain and braking issues, but the Bike Doctor got him squared away lickity split.







And, of course, no Ringwood/Ramapo ride would be complete without some hike-a-bike.







All in all, a great ride, an awesome day to be out playing in the woods, and a real fun time hangin with the boys!

Resizeable pics and more of 'em here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/38008833@N03/sets/72157628069217584/.