the long ride home

Had a fantastic ride home yesterday. The temps were hovering around 40-45 all afternoon so Marcy shot me an e-mail to see if I could come home early so that we could go for a walk and test out our new Kelty pack for Brynna. Of course, with that thought in my head, there was no way that I was going to be able to stay until the end of the day. I ended up sneaking out at 3:30 to ride home and what a beautiful ride it was. My legs were feeling much better than they had during the morning commute, the sun was out, the air was crisp, it was great. As a result of the nice weather and my enthusiasm, I was able to trim off 5 minutes from my best time knocking it down from 47 mins to 42. That’s a pretty big chunk for such a short ride. This summer with my gearie and skinny tires I bet that I can get it down to around 35. We’ll see.

Woo hoo

Woo hoo!  I got my first morning commute of the year this morning.  It was 35 deg. when I rolled out of the driveway at 5:30 this morning.  35 is a tough temp for me because I can never decide what I should wear.  Its sort of too warm for the full cycling tights but not quite warm enough for my leg warmers.  I opted for the tights this morning just to be safe but turned out it was the wrong call.  I think that the leg warmers would have been better.  I did bring the leg warmers so those will get the call this afternoon for the ride home.  The upper body was tough too but I decided to go with a craft base layer followed by my bikeman long sleeve jersey with a thin (and I do mean thin) shell.  The upper body started to heat up a bit too but I was able to get the appropriate venting necessary to remain comfortable.  Sad to say, but this will be my biggest mileage day for quite some time.  Including the ride home I’ll get in 25-26 miles.  I’m behind where I was this time last year but given the circumstances I’m still pretty happy with how things are going.

The Marwi Titan light worked great mounted on my head and I think that is where it will stay from now on.  Its just too finicky to mount on the bars and I do prefer the light on my head to see where I’m looking anyway.

Bungee count this morning: 0!  It was dark the whole ride so if it wasn’t directly in my path, I wasn’t going to see it.

Marcy in her slick new lid and Brynna at Ranco-de-Nelson this Sunday before our frigid ride. 

Freakin busy so here

Freakin busy so here is a quick rundown of the weekend:

Cold but fun road/cx ride on Saturday (15 deg and sunny, yeah!)

Cold but cold mountain bike ride before the Sunday BLIZZARD! with Marcy, Daddio, Chancy-pants and Pete.  About 12 deg. when we left but it was the wind that killed us.  Friggin cold.

More to come…

f-ed up

Yesterday’s mountain bike ride was a bust.  Ever have one of those rides that nothing seems to go right?  Well, yesterday was that day for me.  To start it off, I hadn’t mounted the Titan on the bike before and that turned out to be more of a pain in the ass than I expected.  From now on, it’ll go on my head (which is where I prefer to have my light anyway).  Then I enter the trails and there are limbs and trees down all over the f-in place.  It looked like a war zone.  At first I thought somebody had put them there to keep people off of the trails because there were literally piles of branches in areas but after going about a half mile I realized the carnage was too great and it must have been last weeks windstorm that did the damage.  I just sort of walked over most of it figuring I’d come back and clean it some other time.  I continued on with the ride but started to get that bad feeling in my gut that something wasn’t right.  To top it off, I was riding like crap.  When I got to the first stream crossing and noticed that the ice wasn’t safe to cross I decided to throw in the towel.  There is a little natural damn that I usually cross but with the way I was feeling, I figured that I would just end up falling in the water and freezing my ass.  Better to be safe than sorry, especially when you’re riding alone.  So I turned back and cleaned up the first part of the trail instead so the ride wasn’t a total loss.  At least when I make it out next time the trail will be clear.

Yesterday's commute

Had a great ride home from work yesterday. It’s been a couple of weeks since I was last able to do so and it felt great. I got to test out my new light, the Marwi Titan, which gets two thumbs up and will do well to replace my burned out Marwi Pro-Elite. The last time that I used the pro-elite, one of the switches melted on me when I got home and was attempting to drain the battery. Thankfully, I had purchased the light from LL Bean so I was able to return it for a refund which in turn bought this new light. I had toyed with the idea of getting an HID light but just couldn’t rationalize the extra hundred clams especially since my schedule won’t allow any 24 hour races this year. The Titan should be prefect for me. The one thing that always bothered me about the Pro-Elite was that I never got to use both lights at once since the light output didn’t seem to change enough to make it work the decreased run time. The Titan will work better because it is a single light with three power setting (10w, 15w & 20w). I’ll most likely use the 15w most of the time, juice it up to 20w for tight single track and drop down to 10w for slow climbs. Overall, a pretty good package. Combine that with my Marwi Elite head lamp at 12w and I should be stylin.

Anyway, back on topic, during the ride home, I was chased by three dogs this time which made for some great interval work. There’s nothing like the fear of death to help you dig just that little bit deeper. For good measure at the end of the ride, I threw in a few sections of washed out dirt road and single track to spice things up. The Van Dessel with cyclocross tires did reasonably well but the ss road gearing was a touch high but mostly doable. I’ve been scoping out a way to add in a bunch of old abandoned road in the Schmid Preserve into my commute. Hopefully I’ll be able to link it all together in the next month or so. If I can, it’ll reduce my on-road miles by 4 or 5 and as a special bonus, the Schmid Preserve has some nice buff single track near the top of Mt. Hunger so if I’m feeling spry I’ll be able to dive into some of that as well. If all goes well, this could turn out to be one hell of a fun commute.



















From now on, during each commute I’m going to count the number of bungee cords that I see and report it here. I don’t know where they come from but they seem to be everywhere. Sort of like earthworms after a rain storm. When I commuted to Camden (30 miles) I would see anywhere from 5-10 on each ride and they usually were different each day. Yesterday’s count was only 1 but hey, the year is young.

Only a few more months and Brynna's helmet will fit...hopefully by then her neck will be strong enough to hold it up well. 

Here is a little Kerkove style photo shoot.

Done!

The Dos wheel build is done. I had a bit of trouble initially with the front wheel but the rear wheel went together in record time (for me at least) which is strange because rear wheels are supposed to be more difficult to build. Leave it to me to make the easy job hard and the hard job easy. Now, I just need to get the rest of the build kit and the ... ahem... frame so I can finish this up. 

Back in the saddle.

Marcy and I went on our first ride together in almost a year on Saturday. The last time was when she was 6 months pregnant and we didn't feel safe riding after that. Saturday graced us with near 50 deg temps so we scooted out for a quick spin around the bay. It was good to have her back. 

wheel build

 

I also did this over the weekend. Sixteen of us got together to get in some go-cart racing action. These mother f-ers were fast. It was a small indoor track but there were still able to reach 40-45mph on the front stretch. I've got some video to upload as well which I will do once I get a chance. Good times. 

Rancho-de-Nelson

Pretty good weekend this time around. On Saturday, I went up to Rancho-de-Nelson with Brynna and the pooch in tow so that B-girl could see the grand parents and Chance and I could see some trail time. It was about 35deg when we left so I wasn’t too sure what the trails would be like. There was about 3-4” of snow cover so there was the potential that it would be an neverending slog through wet snow and muck. Thankfully, for the most part, the ground underneath was firm enough to allow forward progress. Some of the hills were a bit formidable but just about everything was rideable. Not fast, mind you, but rideable. After about 1:45 of trail time and one extremely jammed chain that I needed to use a big stick to remove we rolled back into base camp. Chance and my parents dog Pete were sorry campers by this point and spent the remainder of the day playing dead.



















Sunday was spent at the inlaws but upon returning I popped a disc of “24” season three that we had received from netflix into the dvd player and rode the trainer through two action packed episodes. Its great to be able to get in you couch potato and trainer time all at once and shows like 24 have enough action to keep you motivated and you tend to find yourself picking up the pace without knowing it during exciting scenes.

I didn't get a chance to pick up my dos niner parts this weekend but hope to get over there sometime this week to pick up what has come in. I need to start building the wheels soon since it usually takes me about 2 weeks per given my time constraints and lack of skill. I usually end up with a good wheel but it takes a bit-o-time.

Can you say mucus?

Still sick damnit!  I did manage to get out for a walk yesterday afternoon and this morning to clear my head but that is about it.  Head colds suck but at least I’m not doing my impression of a double ended party favor like I did a month or so ago.  That was pure agony, but at least it was over with quickly.  I actually got a full nights sleep last night since wifey took the bullet with Brynna last night for me.

Yesterday was uneventful. I got a nice 30 min hike in with the pooch in the a.m., came home from work and did a cyclo-core workout while listening for the baby (who we're trying our damndest to get to sleep in her crib) and then got in another 40 mins of trainer/stretching afterwards while B-girl slept. Not exactly building a huge base right now but at least I know that when things start to work out and I'm able to get longer rides in, my body should be ready for it. I should at least have strong legs and core muscles considering these cyclo-core workouts are kicking my ass.

Seem to be coming down with a head cold right now, cough, stuffy, congested, sore throat. You name it up there and I've got it. Not being able to get a full nights sleep doesn't help matters either when it comes to kicking this sucker. Oh well, such is life.

Gonna be picking up a bunch of the parts for the Dos Niner this weekend. Can't wait.

..

No time today so here is a link from my friend and yours JMA Joe.
euphemisms . I especially like the comedic porn names at the bottom of the page.

He was too much of a “Fertile Delta” to post it himself.

ss sunday

I missed out on some really nice riding days recently but yesterday was able to squeeze in almost 2 hrs on the ss road rig with mad mike.  With me having big fat cyclo-cross tires on pumped to 60 psi and he having nice skinny road tires pumped to 100 psi, I had a bit of trouble keeping up but it turned out to be a nice hard ride with lots of high intensity bursts and plenty of medium intensity grinding.  I’m really digging the Van Dessel right now but it was in desperate need of some tlc so after the ride, I trued both wheels, lubed the chain, adjusted the brakes and attached the rear fender more securely.  Eventually I’d like to replace the canti brakes, they are rip-offs from my brother’s first mountain bike I believe and this bike deserves better.  I may end up putting a set of v’s on that I’m not using anymore.  They’re probably overkill for a bike like this but I’d rather have overkill and underkill as I do now.

..

While doing research for my DAMNelsons post today about nursery rhymes, I came across this beauty.

I love little pussy,Her coat is so warm,And if I don't hurt her,She'll do me no harm.So I'll not pull her tail,Nor drive her away,But pussy and I,Very gently will play.

Apparently this rhyme turns up in most major nursery rhyme books.  With stuff like this out there, it makes me wonder if what is on tv these days is so bad afterall.

On a cycling note, time was tight last night so I ended up doing the cyclo-core workout for 40 mins. while watching Brynna followed up by a 20 min spin on the trainer to finish things off.  This morning I was able to squeeze in most of the cyclo-core ab workout after my am jog with the pooch.  Hopefully this weekend will turn out nice so I can get a few road miles in as well.

--

Awesome ride yesterday.  Over the weekend we got a bunch of rain and then on Saturday night, the rain turned to sleet for several hours.  The after effect was about an inch of dense cover over the nice solid, frozen tundra.  The sleet on the ground had the look and sound of a sheet of Styrofoam and the only way that I can think to describe the sensation of riding on it is that it felt sort of like skiing on freshly groomed corduroy.  Everything felt effortless and turning grip rocked!  On some of the trails that consist mostly of pine needles, it was much easier and quicker to take the turns last night than it was all summer.  Interesting effect.  The single track sections totally rocked and I actually looped around a couple to do twice, they were so much fun.  Some of the double track sections left a bit to be desired because with so little snow cover the hoarfrost was out in force causing some pretty tough riding in sections.  Some sections were made even more interesting because of the amount of rain that we’ve received lately that is now ice.  It can be sketchy going downhill on a stream but its fun as hell to try to ride up one.  Of course, I roll most of the winter on a set of Nokian studded tires from our friends at Bikeman.  The one bummer on the ride was that at about 1:20 into the ride, my light started to go dim.  The light used to go for 2+ hours no problem but I guess I have been using it for 3-4 years now so the battery is probably just tired.  Thankfully I have almost $250 in gift certificates to LLBean where I bought the light originally so maybe I’ll get a replacement there.

Nothing good

Nothing to write about so here is today’s work menu:

1 plum
3 granny smith apples
10 prunes
Large handful of baby carrots
Quiche (homemade by marcy last night with spinach, turkey bacon and mushrooms)
Small handful of mixed nuts
1 non-fat yogurt
1 chocolate biscotti

Overall it’s a pretty healthy menu except of course for the biscotti and the bacon but you’ve gotta cut yourself some slack right?  If I don’t have a little something every day, I’ll end up pigging out and really screwing the pooch.

Speaking of the pooch, I plan on taking him down to dodge point tonight.  I don’t usually go there because of all of the hikers but this time of year, they’ve cleared out by 5 since its pitch black out by then.  Should be fun.

Thinking of doing this race this summer. Wanted to do the Wilderness 101 instead but it doesn't work with my race schedule. Maybe Jason knows of it since its sort of in his neck of the woods. Its put on by the same folks as the W101 which I've heard is great so it could be fun, plus, I've never ridden in PA before. Hmmm, methinks there might be a road trip in order for this summer.

Weekend recap

Another good ride home from work on Friday.  It was about 40 by the time that I hit the road so it was pretty nice.  Of course, with the sun down, the temp started to drop quickly and as a result my choice in hand wear became suspect but otherwise all was good.  The amazing fast dog didn’t chase me this time either but I was ready for him.  He’ll probably wait until some night that I’m not paying attention before he strikes again.  I also set a new p.r. for the ride.  Of course, I’ve only done the ride three times now and I’m still in pretty bad shape so the p.r.’s will probably keep on a-coming.  Didn’t get a chance for any real riding over the weekend but I did get in some trainer time and did the cyclo-core circuit again.  On Sunday, my legs were sore, abs not so much now so I guess I’ll have to kick it up a notch next time.

Laters

Cyclo-core

Wifey, oops I mean Santa, got me the Cyclo-Core DVD/CD's for Christmas. Initially I thought that it would be a video to watch while on the trainer but it turns out that its actually all off the bike exercises designed to build and strengthen your core muscles, legs and upper body and promote flexibility. Its actually turned out to be great. Having the new baby around the house hasn't allowed me to get to the gym in the winter as I usually so but cyclo-core has filled that gap. In anywhere between 15mins and 45 mins you can get one killer workout. The other night I did the ab workout and that dude had me begging for mercy. Seriously, if you can get through that whole workout without taking a rest, you're my hero. I was crying like a little girl. The body weight exercises rock too because all you need is a physioball and floor space. Good deal. It also has a set of workouts using dumbells but to be honest, with how worked I feel after the non-weighted workouts it'll be a while before I try it with weights. Hey, this is starting to sound like an info-mercial isn't it? They actually also have some 12 week offseason training plans that I would love to get my hands on but all my jing right now is going to the dos build. Maybe next year.

Dos Niner Build Kit

Here is the basic build as I see it now.  Some things may change slightly but overall I think that this is it.  Since the team is sponsored by Salsa and SRAM you’ll notice that they are heavily represented in this build.  I haven’t used some of this stuff before but I’m excited to try out the SRAM bits and the disc brakes!

COMPONENT     MAKE
Frame               Salsa Dos Niner  
Hubs               Hope p2
Rims               Salsa Delgado X
Spokes     
Fork               Rock Shox Reba Race
Seatpost   30.6mm     Thompson  
or Salsa shaft
Seat               Flite TT?
Stem               Salsa S.U.L.
Bar               Salsa Moto Ace flat bar
Grips               Salsa Juegos de Fuegos (blk)
Tires               WTB nanoraptor??? 2.1
Schwalbe lil albert??? 2.1
Headset          Chris King
Pedals               Time Atacs
Cables     
Cranks               TruVativ Stylo Team
Chain               SRAM PC-971
Front Der.          SRAM X-Gen
Rear Der.          SRAM XO
Shifters          SRAM XO Twist
Cassette          SRAM PG-990 11-34
Brakes               Avid BB7
Brake levers          Avid Speed Dial SL

Yesterday's commute

Things are looking up. I've actually been able to ride several times in the the last week! Yippee!!! Yesterday, I caught a ride in with wifey on her way to work (my new job is on her way in so we carpool almost every day now. bonus) with the VanDessel so that I could ride home. The weather was just about perfect, roughly 33deg and clear. That's sort of cold but for Maine at this time of year it feels downright balmy. I left the office at 4:45 so I got about 15 minutes of single speed fun before needing to turn the lights on. To be honest I was a bit nervous night road riding this time of year because nobody expects to see a bike out at that time but everybody was great and gave me lots of room. My one scary experience on the ride was at about the midway point (the ride takes 45-50 minutes). I caught a glimpse of motion out of the corner of my eye. It was dark so it was hard to tell for certain what it was. My gut told me that it was a dog running my way to rip my leg off. Turns out I was right. A couple of seconds later a white lab came streaking out of the driveway to my left at full speed about 10 feet from my back wheel. He actually wasn't showing any signs of aggression but I tend not to trust unfamiliar dogs while on the bike plus I needed some interval training so I immediately started to sprint. I sprinted for a good 10 seconds before taking the time to look back. I half expected him to be gone by the time I looked but he was still right there about 10 ft. back. Starting to panic, I put my head down for another 10 seconds. This time when I looked back I was sure that he would be gone but no! That bastard was still there. He had even managed to gain a few feet on me and was probably only 6-8 feet back. Crap, I thought, I can't keep this up much longer. Maybe I should just pull over, expose a leg, let him get a snack and let me be on my way. In a last ditch effort, I put my head down one last time and dug in for another 5 or so seconds. This time when I looked back, the pooch had given up chase and was barely visible. Phew. I honestly don't think that I could have gone again. The rest of the ride was uneventful but it was great to get out.

roughage

With the holidays past and the seemingly endless supply of fudge, cookies and pastries done its time to start dialing in the diet for the upcoming season. I'm working on upping my fiber content (which was fairly high to begin with but who couldn't use a bit more right?) since it helps me to curb my appetite and it scours the innards like a champ. The attached photo is a three bean soup that I make. The original recipe came from the can of one of the beans but I've refined it a bit. The recipe calls for a few pieces of bacon and a bunch of chicken broth that I prefer not to use so I omit the bacon altogether and cut the chicken broth in half and just substitute with more water and some more spices so that it isn't lacking in flavor. Basically its just kidney beans (light and dark) and cannelli beans, sun dried tomatoes, onions and a pant load of spinach. Good stuff and it really fills you up.

Had a great weekend of riding (at least for the winter). I managed to get in an hour on the trainer while watching the pats game. Who would've known that a football game would be such great motivation for the trainer. The hour went by super fast and I was able to work on cadence drills as well as some one footed pedaling to help smooth out that spin.

On Sunday I got to go for a 2+hr mountain bike ride. The trials were all snow covered but not so much that you couldn't ride. The whore frost (is that its real name?) was a bit of an issue in a few areas and caused some magnificent endos but overall the trails were great and we had a blast. The legs should be hurting today.

I also ordered a bunch of parts for the new dos niner on Friday. As it stands, I should be able to outfit the whole bike without a bit of shimano componetry. It'll be my first time useing a bunch of this stuff so I've got my fingers crossed.

cycling related posts at my damnelsons blog.

LINK 1

LINK 2

LINK 3

recovery

Well, its the time of year to ease up a bit and refresh for next season. As a result I'll be cutting back on my riding and writing. From now until things ramp up for next season I'll be down to one post a week. I'm sure that my legions of fans (or based on the hit counts about 5) will be ok in my absence. I do promise to put a bit more effort into my once-a-week posts now as well so what I'll lack in quantity, I'll more than make up for in quality (hopefully).

Had a very nice 1.5 hr ride yesterday with the pooch on the trails in Damariscotta. Some of the new trail that I've been working on a bit this summer is finally coming along and becoming very rideable and fun. Now that I've had a chance to ride it some myself I see a couple of changes that need to be made to make it flow better but overall its looking pretty good. I also scoped out an area for a new section of trail that should be pretty sweet. Its in a stand of mature pine trees with a little bit of undergrowth and lots of exposed ledge "spines" to route over for fun. I'm going to try to clear it out this fall so it'll be good to go for next year. Just hope that I don't get shot by a hunter in the process.

riding with pops

On Saturday my father's stock car race was rained out so I took the opportunity to sneak a mountain bike ride in. Marcy and I loaded up the fam and headed to my parents house so that I could ride on the park trails that are behind my parents place and so that Chance could run and pee with Pete, my parents dog. As I was getting ready to go I was suprised when my dad said that he wanted to go to. Little background here, my father just got a real mountain bike last summer. This is the first bike that he's owned since he was knee high to a grass hopper. Since getting the bike he has been getting out for a grand total of about 4-5 times a summer. For these reasons I was very suprised when he expressed interest in going. We live in the northeast and we have been getting buckets of rain recently so the trails (actually old dirt roads) were bound to be very wet and it was actually raining when we were getting ready. None the less he seemed excited to go so I was happy to oblidge. I obviously can't ride as fast as usual when he comes but thats ok cause I find bike rides a good way to catch up and enjoy each others company without one of us feeling the need to carry the conversation. Anyway, we got out for a very wet but not so muddy 1:15, chatted a bit and got some exercise. It was a good time and hopefully we'll get a chance to go out again before the snow falls.

grocery getter

Took this bad boy to the grocery store this weekend. It was actually quite fun pulling it behind the single speed. Brynna is still too young to ride in it for now so I figured I might as well get used to hauling it around. Its actually much narrower than I expected. Every time I got close to the edge of the pavement and expected the right wheel to drop off of the edge it was actually several inches from edge when I looked back. Maybe when summer rolls around I'll be able to take it on some of the wider trails around here. I might need some disc brakes for some of the downhills though.

grocery list:
1/2 gallon cookie dough ice cream
gallon milk
fifth vodka
cranberry juice
lime juice
tortilla chips

turned out to be a good night.

cyclocross

Well, cyclocross season startes in maine this weekend with the first race in the Verge series. I'm hoping to get over there to see some of the action but I'm not sure of the game plan yet. My daddy-o has his final stock car race of the season tomorrow as well and I'll be going to that if the weather cooperates but from the looks of it it'll be dumping buckets on us so I'll probably end up at the cx race instead. I hear that cx and rain = good times. We'll see.

The finished product

enter the information age

holly crap! I'm posting right now wirelessly from a wi-fi that I logged onto about a mile down the road from my house. Before yesterday we didn't even have e-mail access in our house and now all of a sudden we're connecting wirelessly. It must be pretty easy to do if this techno weenie can do it. Damn, I think that I'm going to get a nose bleed from my sudden rise in self importance. Dude I'm cool.

Cross training.

No time for training so I lift heavy stuff instead.


450 lbs of love

In place. Ugh, my back hurts.

This sucker just about broke my back and nearly pulled the skin off of my office boy hands. Its completely installed now so I'll have to post that pic. It should be a big help this winter with they way that oil prices are. Of course when you figure in how much this biznatch cost me it'll probably take about 10 years to pay for it. It'll be mighty purty though.

I've also been trying to run with the dog every morning if I can drag my ass out of bed at 5 am. Sometimes thats tough though when Brynna keeps me up to 12-1 am some nights.

The final exercise that really gets the burn going is to do walking lunges while trying to soothe the baby. They work to calm Brynna down and lunges always kick my ass. A couple of trips the length of the house is about all it takes and I'm crying more than she is.

hit the trails

Still no riding recently. The little bambino just won't allow it but I have found a way to get in some trail time none the less. We purchased a snuggli pack so that we can carry Brynna will going about our business and keeping our hands free. So, what I've started doing is after work I'll load up the car with Brynna, and chancy pants, drive over to the start of the trail down the road from the house, let the pooch run free and brynna and I will do some trail work. Its a very new section of trail that needs lots of raking/general clearing plus I'm putting in a few more routes to lengthen it a bit as well. Its not exactly riding but at least I know that its improving the trails for when I do get out plus I'm getting a bit of exercise and spending some time with Brynna. Plus it allows Marcy some free time to do as she pleases. All is good.

unusual site

Got back from my almost daily pilgrimage to the store this a.m. and what did I see on the back porch of the office??? A track bike leaning against the railing! I couldn't f'in believe it. I'm out of here in one week and one of the new hires is actually a rider. Damn my luck. Oh well, maybe he'll let me tool around on it a little bit before I leave.

Season wrap up.

On Sunday the Maine Mountain Bike Association held their awards ceremony. In what has now become tradition the awards banquet was preceded by a large group ride. This year it was held at Bradbury State Park. As I've mentioned before, Bradbury has been busy adding new single track to their already nice selection on the non-mountain side of the park. 30-40 souls showed at 10:30 to feast on some of these new trails. All in all we got in about 2:00 of riding. The group split into two rides, the "A" fast ride and the "B" less fast ride (but probably still fast considering that they were on the heels of the A ride in the beginning. One interesting thing that I noticed on the A ride was that a full 1/3 of the group was on single speed rigs and those riders tended to stay at the front of the group. Very interesting. I rode my single and did manage to stay at the front but I must admit that I got worked over pretty hard in doing so. I had all that I could do to keep the pace and did manage to eat one major dirt sammich on some of the twisty single track. I had been completely redlining to keep up with the leading rider (on a single speed of course) and in my bleary eyed state grabbed a bit too much front brake coming into a hard right hand turn. I did manage to do a nifty shoulder roll when I hit the ground and thus avoiding any horrendous injuries so all is good.

Immediately after the group ride (and a bit of cleaning up) it was off to Thatcher's for awards and beer. There was a good turnout for the awards portion as well with all of the available seating spoken for. After about 50 door prizes were handed out (I nabbed two) awards and thanks were given. The category awards this year consisted of a small marble award about the size of a playing card and a custom embroidered winter hat with Maine Mountain Bike Association along the edge. Pretty cool but a bit on the large side. The hat fits my bulbous melon quite well but I feel bad for anybody with a normal size head. Oh well, thems the breaks.

Thar she blows!

Good god, I just had my first simultaneous double take/shudder of the day. Went down to F&B this morning to get some breakfast and just about lost my appetite when I saw the fine specimen at the front register. I don't believe that I've seen that much facial hair on a woman EVER! I'm not talking about a little bit-o hair lip either, I'm talking about "bust out the weed wacker cause you're one step from Chewbacca" lip. Egad, I almost had to put my croissant back. Ick.

Sometimes you're the finger, sometimes you're the cornhole. 

Got dew?

What to do when you don't have enough time to sleep or ride? You hop on the dew wagon that's what. I got hooked on this smack while in college and can't seem to get the monkey off my back. On a good note, I've made so many entries into the mt dew x-box 360 competition that I'm bound to win one soon. Of course if I do I'll probably sell it on ebay or something and buy some bike stuff with the money. I already have an old playstation that I never use so whats the point in having another, more expensive console taking up space in my already fiercely messy bike room?

Look at this shit hole! Its got a real nice, homey 60's feel to it ya know?

You also surf for bike blogs to live vicariously through others. There are actually quite a few good ones out there and a bunch of pointless ones like this one right here. Can you believe that you're wasting your time reading this drivel?

Ride much?

I haven't been recently but hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in a ride this weekend with the pooch. There is a large group ride on Sunday before the awards banquet for MMBA but I'm not sure that I'll be able to make that. Too bad to since it'll be at Bradbury and they have some sweetness new trails that I'd love to rock on the single speed. Speaking of which, I think that I'm going to pretty much hang up the Fuel for the year and do most of my future rides on the rigid single. I get beat up more and work a bit harder with the single but that is perfect since my ride time will be tight anyway and this way I can still be spent after a shorter ride. That Fuel is just way too comfy for short rides.

All is not lost though. I have been getting out for a run most weekday mornings with chancy pants so if I do score a bike for a cyclocross race coming up I'll be able to handle the running portion of the race, I'll just have to figure out how to deal with the riding part...I can see my breakfast already. yummy

Damn these legs are sore!

Holy cupcakes are my legs sore. My run in with cramps from the race this Sunday has left me more than a bit tender just above my knees. Apparently three weeks of nearly no riding followed by a fast race can lead to very sore legs. Who woulda thunk it??? I'm actually more sore than I was after the two man 24 hr race that I did earlier in the summer. Doesn't seem to make sense. I had toyed with the thought of trying to do a cyclocross race or two this fall but I'm not so sure that is such a good idea now unless I start riding more... Hopefully I'll get some nice fall rides in though. Fall is my favorite time of year to ride, at least before hunting season starts and the woods fill with rednecks looking to shoot at anything that moves (I should know, I used to be one of them!). A bell on the bike and some blaze orange should do the trick though. Not too sure what to do with the pooch though since he looks and runs a lot like a short deer.

after the finish 

hot on al's heals 

the start line 

Final Race

Yesterday was the final race of the 05 mtb season for me. Coming into the race I thought that I only had to finish one place behind my main rival Big Al to get the overall series lead. I held a slight advantage coming in so felt good about my chances. Leading up to the race I had had very little training or sleep what with a three week old at home but I was hoping that I had enough residual fitness to get me through.

The race started off fast and furious as usual with Al getting a better start (also as usual). We ended up trading spots a few times during the race and it came down to a final move by al on the last lap going into the final technical single track section. My recent loss of fitness was catching up to me and cramps set in so I had nothing to counter the final move. We ended up finishing 2 & 3 for the day so I had met my pre-race goal of staying with him and finishing no more than one place behind him. Unfortunately my plan didn't work for the overall series points. If we had finished 1 & 2 I would have beat him by 4 points overall. By finishing 2 & 3 we ended up the season with the exact point total and since Al had won more races than I did through the season he is given the overall nod. No problems here, Al was certainly the best this year but I plan to throw down next year...

License plates

I've been contemplating possible riding influenced license plate. Here are a few that I've come up with so far.

1. rider, ryder etc
2. lv2rd
3. iride, iryde
4. bikeme (me being the abbreviation for maine)
5. bkbtch (might work better for a woman)
6. rideme (again me being the abbreviation for maine and my personal favorite)

Funny, when I just did a spell check a couple of funny suggestions came up:

for lv2rd they suggested labia, hmmm interesting.

for bikeme it suggested bikini, seems that spell check has a dirtier mind than I do. Very good suggestions.

Phew, I'm back. Don't ever let anyone tell you that having a baby isn't tiring. No I didn't pop that sucker out of my own pee-hole but the last two weeks have been tough with the odd and inconvenient hours that our new bundle of joy follows. Its been great though and nothing that I could really describe. If you wanna see some pics check out the dam nelsons link on the right.

Anyway, to prepare for the final race in the Maine series coming up this weekend I've been trying to squeeze in a few rides here and there. I won't be building any strength or speed at this point between the lack of sleep and only having a week before the race but I've still got to keep the legs moving and firing on all cylinders. With that in mind, I did a road tt on Sunday. TT's aren't really my thing since I prefer longer races and I don't have a properly set up tt bike but since the race was being held in my home town it seemed like a good way to get some quality intensity work in to wake up the legs after a week of little saddle time. I also got to try an unusual warm up for the race. I got up at 6:45, grabbed some breakfast and suited up. Rode my bike to registration (about 2 miles away), rode back to the house, did a couple sets of stair climbing repeats carrying the laundry up and down the basement stairs, folded some baby clothes (a man's work is never done I tell ya), rode to the race start, took in a couple miles of the course, shot the shit with a few riding buddies for 5-10 mins. and rolled to the line with two mintues to spare. The race went pretty well after the first few miles. I went off a little hot and felt it after the second mile and thought that I may blow my Quaker oats all over the road so I eased up a bit and soon felt much better and able to push some gear. I was only passed by one other rider which I feel to be a great success since there were some pretty haunch guys there. I put in what I felt to be a respectable time but wasn't able to stick around for official times and awards because I had Mr. Mom duties to attend to at home. Overall a good ride with some very good intensity. I'll try to grab a couple more rides this week to just keeps things in tune and I should be ready to throw down with Big Al this Sunday to see who bags the overall series points.

Kat

No riding for me lately, with Hurricane Katrina blowing through and the looming due date, I have been scrambling to get stuff done around the house. Well, mission accomplished. The baby's room is done except for a tiny bit of painting to be done. That means that I can finally get back out on the road for some more training. Today I'll be able to do the 30 mile ride home from work (not a long ride but a good workout when pinched for time since it kills two birds with one stone) and the same ride in tomorrow. Hopefully by Saturday the trails will be dried out enough to get a good spin in as well to open the legs up for the race on Sunday. This race was miserable for me last year so hopefully I'll have a better showing this time around. Of course if baby comes there will be no race but thats ok cause whats more important, a race I do for fun or the birth of your first child?

Must get more rides!

With the new arrival of baby nelson any day now, I've been trying to squeeze in as many rides as possible since they will be few and far between once Brynna shows up. This weekend I went on two nice mountain bike rides for a total of almost 5 hours. Saturday morning was spent riding with the pooch on the trails around the house. We started from a differnts spot so that the knuckelhead wouldn't spend the whole time in the beaver pond. It cuts out the best part of the single track but it was a nice change to have him stay with me the whole ride. We got in 2:15 of nice easy riding but mr. pants was dead tired. I don't think that he had stayed with me on a run in over two months so this was probably the first time that he ran continuously for more than an hour since then. Good boy.











Sunday I met up with Kevin, Bill, Casey and Scott at Bradbury State Park. I haven't been down there since the race this spring and apparently they have been hard at work. There was a new section of single track that was about 2 miles long and perfect for my chosen steed for the day, the single speed. With no real climbs but lots of spongy new trail the 32x18 was the perfect ratio. It was one of those days that you find yourself with a big goofy grin on your face because the riding is so sweet and the trail has such great flow. I know that the park is planning to keep adding new trails like these and have plans to expand far enough to connect to the Pineland Center over the next 5 or so years. I would guess that they have a solid 10-15 miles of trials now and by then it will most likely be closer to 30-50 miles. We may finally have a mountain biking mecca in our back yards.

I've got my next race this Sunday. I'm not sure if I'll be able to attend. Definitely not if Brynna shows up between now and then. I'm currently in the series points lead by a very slim margin over Al. I believe that if I finish in second or better in either of the last two races that I'll wrap it up. If I'm able to do both I should also be able to make a run for the master of mud award as well. The awaring of the master of mud is a bit more subjective but it would be nice to finish my serious racing (for a few years at least) with the distinction.

24 hrs of Great Glenn

Well, the 24 hour race at Great Glenn is over and not soon enough I might add. Rus and I finished fairly well with an easy second place in the two man division but since we won last year it was a bit of a let down. We both were suffering from intestinal distress during the overnight hours and pretty much mailed it in after about 4 am. We had a comfortable lead over third place and no chance of catching the leaders so we switched into damage control. I sort of regret that move now that I'm well rested and feel better but at the time we were both miserable and couldn't wait to be done.

Like we did last year, we have sworn to never do this race again as a two man, maybe a four or five person team but no chance of a two man again.

Well, last week I started thinking about maybe doing it solo next year. I must be retarded.

Sugarloaf

Well, this past weekend I finally got the elusive first win of the season in the Expert class. I had previously won a single speed race and a couple of small local races but that was it and I was starting to get frustrated. I've been finishing second to Big Gay Al for the last few races.

This weekend at Sugarloaf I felt that I had a shot at my first senior 2 win since Al would be at pedros and my legs were feeling good. For the last few races there has been a 16 yr old that has been getting screamingly fast and has managed to whup me in the last two races so my plan going into the race was to mark him, stay on his heels and make my move near the finish.

The race started well with me sitting in fourth right behind boy wonder and with a couple of pros off the front. I stayed on boy wonder's wheel for the first two laps feeling really strong and trying to decide at what point I was going to make my move. He seemed to suffer on the long opening climb so my updated plan was to let him pull me up the climb and 3/4 of the way up make my move before the single track and try to hold him off til the end. By the end of the second lap, we had passed the two pros because one had a flat and the other had his chain come off a couple of times so we began the final lap 1,2. As we hit the rollers that come before the main climb I notice that I'm not even working to stay with boy wonder now so I decide to make my move early. I shift up a couple of gears and power past him on one of the rollers. I decided to hump it until I was out of sight and then settle into a more reasonable tempo.

The move worked perfectly and I was off on my own at the front of the pack. 10 minutes later while I was working my way up the main climb I hear grunting behind me. I look back to see one of the pros on his single speed gaining on me. I know that I can't increase my tempo without blowing so I keep my pace and he soon passes me. Damn! I guess I can kiss the overall win goodbye. A few minutes later the pro that flatted comes up from behind and passes me like I'm sitting still! I'm still not too worried. These guys are not my real competition and there is no way that I can hang with them anyway so I let them go and concentrate on wining the overall in the expert class instead.

I crest the climb with nobody else in sight and start to hammer through all of the downhill singletrack and fireroad power sections. About a mile from the finish I catch up to single speed just before the last couple sections of single track. I hammer to bridge the final gap in hopes that I'll be able to pass him on one of the fast fireroad sections that he is unable to spin fast enough on to match my speed.

Apparently, I must have lit my last match crossing that final gap because once on I was on his wheel and we entered the singletrack I could only hold on for a minute or so and then he was gone. I finished 20 seconds behind him and I think about 2 minutes behind the winner and a solid 3 minutes ahead of the second place finishing expert. Probably my best finish of the year.

This should give me a good lead in points for the season but with our baby due in a couple of weeks I may miss the final two races. Hopefully I'll be able to do one or both in a sleep deprived state to at least pick up some points but we'll see.

Rest In Peace oh faithful one.

RIP

While preparing my 8500 for the 24 hr race this weekend I noticed a crack at the base of the seat tube. Trek will warranty it but there is no way that I'll get a replacement trek frame back in time to race on so my good friends at Bikeman are hooking me up with a sweet Salsa Moto Rapido frame instead. Salsa is a sponsor of ours so I'll finally be riding on a team rig.
Sweetness.