The Talented Side 

As you know, when you have kids, certain traits are passed on from the parents. With Brynna, I passed on the creative stuff and the goofy (ie - annoying) behavior. Marcy passed on her anal retentiveness (do not move that scrap of paper! IT NEEDS TO BE THERE!), hopefully her brains and (again hopefully) her ability to think in a linear fashion instead of my ADD approach to daily life. In this video that B wrote, directed and filmed B shows all of the traits that I passed on. Especially when you consider that I can't sing on key either.

Riding With the Massa 

It's gotten pretty rare for Marcy and I to ride together. We both enjoy it but with a kid, full time jobs and what not, it's just difficult to pull it off. Thankfully, sometimes the stars align and we're given a window of opportunity. That happened last weekend when the father-in-law took the spud for not one but TWO nights. Rejoice! Marcy and I took full advantage to get our first Camden ride of the year in.

There is good news and bad news in Camden these days.  The town and the local land trust are working together to create new trails which is sweet.  The sad part is that they are also putting in some cross country ski trails right smack dab in the middle of Camden's finest singletrack.  Three or so miles of primo stuff built (actually built with bench cuts and everything) are gone forever.  The good news is that they are adding trails back rather quickly and the new stuff is fun as well.  Marcy and I did the new outer loop for lap one and it is sure to please.

Note, I didn't doctor this photo to get Marcy's skin to glow.  

That's just what us Mainers call "spring skin".

After our first loop, Marcy headed off to town to spend my prize gift certificate from last year's Runoff at Maine Sport Outfitters while I made a run to the top and tried to piece together some of the old decimated singletrack.  The ride to the top is still sweet but I almost cried when I saw what happened to the lower trails.

This photo has nothing to do with the weekend's ride but these were some tasty sweet potato tacos that Marcy made last night.  Yummers.

Oh, and do any of you ever wonder what your co-workers think of you?  Well, yesterday one of mine said he saw a video over the weekend that made him immediately think of me.  Everyone in the office watched it (including my boss) and agreed wholeheartedly.  I don't know if I should be proud or ashamed.  Check it.

Faster! Faster!

If there is one thing that I know at this point of the early spring season, it's that I need to get faster. Fast. I mentioned that I was going to the fastest road ride in the state a couple of weeks ago. What I failed to mention afterwards was just how horribly it went and how quickly I was dropped. No worries though because I'm a sucker for punishment and I'll be back as soon as my schedule allows (maybe next week) and at some point this summer I'll be able to hang. Hopefully. In the meantime, I'm trying to hang with the fastest mountain bike group ride in the state. I can ALMOST hang there since there is more than pure fitness required and I do, in fact, have a modest amount of technical skill but it's oh so hard watching Sebastian and Mr. Freye pull away from me after every regroup. Fast fuckers. 

Earth Day 

Earth Day was Sunday but it was supposed to be pissing rain all day so I decided to do my deed to the planet by doing trail work and instilling a love of being outside with my daughter and a couple of her friends on Saturday instead.  A quick trip to the Schmid Preserve for some trail work and a nice walk were in order.  Mission accomplished.

I figured that it being Earth Day and all, I'd show how I re-purposed my Kona King Kahuna bike box.  Kids love big cardboard boxes and I like doing shit with utility knives.  Match made in heaven (as long as the kid isn't already in the box...)

On the actual Earth Day, I did what any self respecting hack bike racer would do, I mounted up 3 tubeless wheels.  Two of the wheels are Marcy's new Hope P2/Stans Crest wheels that I just built up and one was an experiment with my Easton wheels.  They aren't technically tubeless compatible but I found that they aired up quite easily with a stans 26'er rim strip and just a bit of fiddling.  I initially tried some 29'er strips but they were far too loose.  I haven't ridden them yet but two days later they still have air.  I consider that a success.

Another Quickie

Only time for another quick video today.  This one is from the same ride as yesterday's short but in a techie downhill-ish section.  Boney fun.  Oh, and you get to see Kevin almost fall after hitting a 4" rock AFTER riding the tech downhill.  My friends make good blog fodder.

Yesterday, I did my first Cyclemainia Wednesday night mountain bike ride with Sparky and the gang on the Cape Elizabeth trails.  It's hard to describe the ride but let's just say it's sort of like getting gang raped by rocks, roots and skinsuit wearing buffoons.  Video to follow once I've had time to edit (ie: never).

Been Away 

 Hey all. Posting has been sparse as usual recently partially because I'm lazy and partially because we were away on a mini family vacation. My buddy and I did sneak a couple of rides in while away. Ringwood State Park in nothern Joisey (New Jersey for you unhip folks) is the shit. Bone rattling, bowel loosening, prostate hemorrhaging awesomeness. I have a bunch of video to go through including not one, not two, but three endo's by kevin (rare form indeed) but nary a moment to spare to do so right now so I'll drop this one on you for starters.  It gives you a sense of what the trails are like and, as a bonus, shows one of Kevin's endos right at the very end.  Enjoy.

Trail map.  We barely touched what it had to offer in 2 hours of riding.

More Than I Can Chew

It'll come as no big surprise to any of you but I feel like I'm behind the 8-ball this year.  To be honest, I (and probably most other working stiffs) do every year but this year I have semi-measureable proof.  The Paris Roubaix race usually marks my first serious group road ride.  One that I typically ride 30-ish miles to, do the 30 mile group ride and then slink home.  Years past I've felt comfortable doing some version of this ride.  This year the idea never even entered my mind.  Ruh, roh.

Well, its time to either shit or get off the pot.  If something doesn't happen soon, the early season will be lost so I've gone and done something stupid.  Stupid like planning to attend the state's fastest group road ride tonight.  Here's the description:

This is the fastest large group road ride in the state of Maine.  This is not a beginner event (there are no waits). All are welcome to attend. The ride is 48.5 miles and covers the bigger hill climbs in Southern Maine. The race pace* (23-27mph+) is close to a Cat III race. Neutral start until Libby’s Ice Cream shop.  Several sprints on this route include town line sprints, top of climb sprints and final Rt. 88 sprint. It is a very fun ride and great for training. The pack is usually 30-40 riders large. Starts the first Tuesday of April through the last Tuesday in August – every week leaving at 5:30 from Cyclemania. Expect a 3-hour ride. ALL TRAFFIC LAWS OBEYED.

Click HERE for the route map.

*Race Pace: This refers to hard efforts for the fittest riders with appropriate bike skills.  Riders are expected to be fully self-sufficient. If you flat, get dropped, or get lost then tough.  This is the level of effort to expect if you join the race team members on a team ride. (Expect no less than a Cat 3 ride level.)

Sounds like fun. Except for the fast pace, hills and three hour ride ride time.  All things that I haven't done yet this season.  Check in tomorrow to see if I survived...

Trail Destroyers 

We have these things called chickens.  Tick eating, egg supplying chickens.  At least that is what I expected.  What I hadn't counted on was their trail destruction capabilities.  They don't range too far from the house but the 300' radius around the house gets hit hahd.  Wicked hahd by their scratching and pecking.  In most locales, this wouldn't be that much of a problem but on my home trails, I have close to three miles of trail in 17 acres.  That requires trails in every nook and cranny of the property.  Some of it within the 300' circle of death.

 Take a trail like this:

Cleaned up at the end of the fall.  Stayed leaf and mostly litter free all winter.  Then these bandits go by and no more trail.  Notice any trail after B's ass?  Me neither.

Stupid, delicious chickens.

Suck-O 

Sorry to be out of touch for so long. The normal excuses apply but I have one more to add to the list, a "business" trip. There was some learning involved but there was also lots of getting down to business as well. A host with a healthy expense account will do that. I ran the first couple of days there but eventually the booze and lack of sleep got the better of me. I did ride one day but not in my normal sense.

That right there ladies and gentlemen was one of the best bull riding sessions of anyone there that night. Good enough to get my some high fives from the bull operator and some spectators. I was so good that I'm still sore from it 5 freaking days later. I used muscles that aren't intended to be used outside of the porn film industry and those muscles are still very, very angry that they were used on a bull. Lest you think it was easy, here are a couple of vids of my buds going as well.

Tim. Let's just face it, he's just not cut out for bull riding. Unless he's on bottom.

 Matt. Our gracious host fares slightly better but breaks his old man specs in the process.

 I sure do wish I had my go-pro with me.  the footage would have been thrilling.

The Rim

I just noticed that, for some reason, yesterday my rim photo and link got dropped (accidentally deleted by yours truly) so here it is again.  Carver's new carbon 29'er rim.  450 grams (about 20 grams lighter than a stans arch) and rock solid.  You can read more about them here.

I don't think they are available to the public just yet but they should be by summer.  Pair this stiff rim to the already stiff front end of the King Kahuna, some DT Swiss 240s thru-bolt hubs and some super secret black spokes and I should be tracking like a missile this summer.

Kahuna!!!!!

Monday after work I got extra special permission to go for a quick ride.  On the drive over I was a mess of emotions. 

First, I was happy.

 Then, I was sad. 

Then I was giddy!

What was causing this emotional roller coaster?  Well, it’s possible it was this svelte little vixen.

That’s right boy and girl (I’ve lowered my expectations for blog readership drastically) the long awaited delivery of my 2012 race steed, the Kona King Kahuna, had arrived.   

When I first ordered the bike, I had plans to swap a bunch of parts like the house brand bar, stem, seat post, the x7 bits and the wheels but after much introspection and some discussions with team manager extraordinaire, Big Gay (probably not because he’s married although it could be a marriage of convenience) Al, I decided that it wasn’t worth the hundreds of dollars it would take to get marginal (if any) performance improvements and the tiny weight improvement.  Instead, I’m keeping her pretty much as is and saving my pennies for the swank wheel build I’ve been planning.  Years ago I swore off carbon in mountain bikes so it now makes perfect sense that I’d have a full carbon bike with carbon wheels on the way.  Yeah, perfect sense.  I should run for office.

(carver rim photo)

My first ride was to be a short one, basically just enough to start dialing in the fit.  I’ll get into all of that later but first, my initial ride impressions.  1. The bike feels pretty light.  I don’t know the actual weight because I’m not a weight weenie but it felt light enough for me.  2. The front end with the tapered head tube and thru-axle was STIFF and I loved it.  I’ve been told in the past that a thru-axle is the way to go but I poo-pood it because it seemed like too much of a pain in the ass for race day but it looks like I’ll be eating my poo and happily running TA.  3.  I have a hard time lofting the rear wheel over logs.  I’m sure this is just a timing thing that I need to work out with the bike but it was an odd feeling.  4.  I was too much of a weenie to really push things on my first ride on my new beloved lest I fall and scratch her.

Breaking Trail

This week, for my morning "workout" I've forgone running and started some spring trail work instead.  Spring's wet trails have inspired me to rework a couple of sections to avoid the nastiest areas and I'm also reworking a few areas to improve flow and one new section to complete the loop without hitting any trails twice.  This week's weather has made trail work primo and will save me a bunch of time come April when I need to be "training" for realz.

The unnaturally warm temps also gave me the opportunity to do something that I hadn't intended for another month.  That's commute from Edgecomb to the Portland office.  The new shower at the office was just installed so I needed to take advantage.  Originally, I had planned on doing the whole 47 mile commute by bike but when I really thought it through, I realized that the 47 mile ride home from work (I'd drive down in the morning) would be fine, the ride in less than 9 hours later would be too much for me this early in the season.  Peak summer form?  I could probably swing it.  Mid-March flabbiness?  Not so much.  So, instead, I drove 15 miles to Freeport, parked in the municipal lot (changed in the car within 50' of an LLBean security officer) and rode home totaling 33 miles each way.  I think next time I'll park in the same spot but lengthen my ride home by getting off of route 1 more but at least that gives me a more reasonable commute in the morning. 

Boring post?  You betcha but what did you expect really???

Spring Has Sprung 

Before the weekend, I hadn't been outside on my road bike all year.  I'm not sure why, but I just didn't have the urge to hit the roads.  It couldn't have been the temperatures since this winter was so moderate but something was happening in my head that kept me to the trails instead.  Maybe it's that damn snowbike that I love so much.  It figures that my least expensive bike would be one of my favorites.

Anyway, over the weekend, I dusted off the road steed and did not one but two road rides.  Saturday with my buds down in Falmouth and Sunday with a guy who I just met who's working in the Habbah, Greg.  Saturday's ride was short and nice.  A good way to start the road season.  Sunday's ride was longer and much harder.  The pace was quicker but not THAT taxing but I was an idiot and had no fuel with me for the ride so with about 10 miles to go I HIT THE FREAKING WALL.  Sad really since I was only at about 35 miles but at least it gives me plenty of room for improvement.

spring has also had an effect on B.  As yesterday's post showed, she also spent some time on two wheels this weekend.  She just started riding in without training wheels in January and has about 3 rides under her belt so I was very happy to hear that she attempted her first curb "hop" on Sunday while out with Marcy.  On attempt one, she got her front wheel up but stalled on the rear wheel.  Attempt two didn't fare so well:

She's already asked me to take her mountain biking so, who knows, she may hit some dirt this summer.

Shaping Up

 B washing her feet and picking toe jam mid ride. 

 (my personal training secret!)

Both 2012 and my svelte(r) body are starting to shape up.  As most of you know, at the end of last season I upgraded to Elite in the EFTA series and then got my arse spanked in the season finale.  I expect things to be much the same for most of the 2012 campaign.  Hopefully I'll have a few standout races that I'll finish well in (mostly because nobody else bothers to show up...) but those are likely to be few and far between but that's ok, it's my first season with the big boys so it's expected.

In addition to the EFTA schedule,  I've got a few other doozies in mind.  Of course there will be the Bradbury 12 so that Alby and I can try to swat the Freye's again and, if I can convince Marcy that I'm not an overly competitive prick (note to self, don't let Marcy see last post), maybe we'll team up for the Millstone 12. 

2012 also sees me returning to the Hampshire 100 now that it's part of the NUE series.  I didn't do it the last two years since it's the same weekend as the Off Road Tri but I'm hoping that with a bit more preparation, I can race both days and not completely die as surely there will be some big boys in town to throw down. 

And then there's the race I'm most looking forward to/dreading.  SSUSA.  I didn't really intend to do the race this year but when I checked registration a while back and saw that it was sold out, I just had to put my name on the waiting list.  Just because.  Well, last week I got an e-mail from Ms. Wissel that a spot had opened and before you knew it, I was signed up for will likely be my death sentence.  I guess I need to start riding SS some again this year.

I Call This Blog Racin Rick For a Reason

There is a non insignificant part of my personality that makes me a highly competitive person. Not that I'm good at everything, just that I want to be the king of everything. Put me on a bike and I want to be the first person to get to wherever we're going. Strap on hiking boots and I'll try to beat you to the top of the mountain. Want to have sex? Guess who's finishing first??? Well, this whole part of me started when I was a wee lad and my father raced stock cars. Not just raced but won. A lot. That and growing up in a house full of guys (four including my dad who is just a big kid)led to an inordinate amount of competitions. That was a long way of saying that I'll race anything and go-carts are occasionally one of the things. Thankfully, I'm the best of my friends but, sadly, the slowest of my family.

Last weekend for example.  Fast carts.  Indoor track.  Go-pro camera.  Fun stuff. For the record, that is my youngest brother who I'm trading paint with.  He generally beats me because he's more willing to ram me to get by.  Also, he's a dick.

 

Proof!

Came outside the other day to find trash strewn all over the place.  What could have caused this?  We were BAFFLED until B busted out the fingerprint dusting kit (aka frost) and discovered the hand print above.  F-ing raccoons.   

Ever hear the term, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree?  Well, it's not exactly the same thing but in the Nelson household, the turd doesn't fall far from the horses ass. As we all know, I'm a bit of an attention whore and will do just about anything for blog fodder (until one of my clients sees this crap and then I'm D-O-N-E).  I've also single handedly made pointing a camera at yourself an art form.  B has never read my blog or gone riding with me but, somehow, I've handed the horses ass gene down anyway.  Observe:

You've got to admit, that is undoubtedly the best song you've ever heard about three quarters.  

Beating the Storm 

With the snowpocolypse descending upon Maine, I decided to beat it to the punch this morning and get a quick ride in before the snow accumulations got deep enough to make riding difficult (although, I may try to ride in the new 6-8" tonight as well). Two laps around the home trails had me satisfied (enough at least) that the day wasn't lost. There is nothing like getting out when the snow has just started falling. Everything is quiet except for the crunch of the tires and the hiss of snow (they were almost like small pellets) hitting the leaves on the trees. Good way to start the day.

Time Flies 

When you have no time.

Things have been progressing somewhat nicely in RR Land but you wouldn't know it by my blog posts.  Sadly, with everything else going on, there has been precious little time for blogging.  That's really sad because I've got a metric shit ton of video to edit and upload but haven't the time to do it.

As the snow is leaving the great state of Maine, my riding hours are slowly picking up.  Generally, this time of year, I'd be on the road or snowmobile trails.  The snowmobile trails are shite right now and for some reason, I can't bring myself to ride on the road right now.  I'm not 100% sure of the reason but me thinks it might be partially about this little vixen:

sure, she's a little wide in the hips but once you get her going, 

she's fun to throw around and do dirty things with  

I'm officially loving riding the Salsa Mukluk.  There is just something fun about the lumbering beast (unless you're on pavement in which case riding a white hot fork business end up would be more enjoyable) and it makes me sad that the snow is leaving.  That's ok though because she also does a nice job of dealing with mud floating over much of it (not that there is much in Edgecomb).  Next year, she'll be sporting studded tires so nothing will hold her back.

Speaking of her back.  Ever seen a tramp stamp on a truck?  Well, now I have.

Or creepy cards with two faces prancing around on ice?  Sadly, I've seen that too but at least it was while spending some quality time with my favorite flesh eating zombie (photo at top of page).

Or me building kitchen cabinets?  Well, I'm officially seeing that again as well.  As I think I mentioned earlier, I can't ride my new bike until our upper cabinets are installed.  Spring is coming rather quickly so I'd better get crackin on these bad boys. 

I'm a Jerk 

In the video below, I'm going to pretend that I didn't know with near 100% certainty that my brother was going to eat shit on the ice just so that I could capture it on camera. Not only did I not warn him about the ice until he was already on it but I also broke the "make sure they aren't hurt before you laugh and mock" rule by laughing my ass off before he had even stopped skidding. You can tell that there is concern in my voice.

We're brothers, he'll get over it...

go pro