Pickle and I were out practicing with the zombie dismemberment devices today and have most of the nasty overhanging flora cut back so that you all don't scratch you poor wittle arms on the briars. Heimster was out again and though he looks like he got in a bit of a scuffle with a zombie last weekend was adding yet more volunteer time to the cause. Had young Zach out on the course too and he and Howdy were experimenting with the possibility of crushing zombies with the large rolls of hay scattered about the joint. Pops was out all day on the big orange machine patrolling for marauding bands of zombies and Kris has yet to find any zombies pre-registered for the event.
All in all I think that we're pretty much safe for the weekend though the small pond just off the house is looking a little nasty so who knows what might crawl outta there.
BTW, if you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about go visit fatmarc.com and catch the hell up.
Gas powered hedge trimmers rock.
I can't wait for Sunday at about 5 PM.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
MASS GOTS TALENT???
Who wants to get in on this talent show gig? Saturday night after the band. Open mic. With celebrity judges. Get your act together and let me know your coming and its on. Remeber that there is also some liquid courage available on Sat night so email me and let me know that you're doing it!
Stage Race Q&A
A couple Q's that have come up recently and my answers...
TIMING CHIPS??
Dear Mike
The sensors we had on our bikes at the Danville race proved to be a problem for some racers. They sometimes break off when you crash. I know of 3 cases of that happening. One was a friend of mine and he refused to pay the $35 they wanted for it. These sensors are used for road bike races and our new race timers probably used them in the past for that. I think it might be an even bigger problem for racers like myself who plan on doing all 4 races. Maybe taping them on would help.
Thanks. I believe they have some ankle straps availble and they can be zip tied on as well. However, the racers are responsible for the sensors and will be signing a form that designates this.
I kinda hate to do it because I'm pretty happy go lucky about things mostly, but I am going to be a hard ass about it and I will not count people who do not return the sensors in the results nor will I allow them to race future HSC events until the sensor is returned or paid for.
XC IN STAGE RACE REG??
I am a little confused. I signed my son up for the stagerace which I thought included the cross country but now I am not sure. Idont want to get there and have to sign up and pay late fees. Thanks
Hey there, - yes, if you reg'd for the stage race it includes the XC too!
TIMING CHIPS??
Dear Mike
The sensors we had on our bikes at the Danville race proved to be a problem for some racers. They sometimes break off when you crash. I know of 3 cases of that happening. One was a friend of mine and he refused to pay the $35 they wanted for it. These sensors are used for road bike races and our new race timers probably used them in the past for that. I think it might be an even bigger problem for racers like myself who plan on doing all 4 races. Maybe taping them on would help.
Thanks. I believe they have some ankle straps availble and they can be zip tied on as well. However, the racers are responsible for the sensors and will be signing a form that designates this.
I kinda hate to do it because I'm pretty happy go lucky about things mostly, but I am going to be a hard ass about it and I will not count people who do not return the sensors in the results nor will I allow them to race future HSC events until the sensor is returned or paid for.
XC IN STAGE RACE REG??
I am a little confused. I signed my son up for the stagerace which I thought included the cross country but now I am not sure. Idont want to get there and have to sign up and pay late fees. Thanks
Hey there, - yes, if you reg'd for the stage race it includes the XC too!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
This is freakin' cool
Did you see this yet? Its on the race website at www.highspeedcycling.com -- can you guess what the t's will look like? Big big thanks to Zach Williams at Red Tettemer for this cool design.
Stage Race Coming SOON!
Stage Race Coming SOON!
Race to the Stage Race and Festival
Seems like my stage race is actually in the day's leading up to the stage race. The prologue is over and now the main stages begin as we finish cleaning and setting the course for this coming weekend's events.
The Heimbone made the trip out on Friday to help with the course and gave poppa Kuhn a hand clearing part of the hill climb course and getting the leaf blower out on the twisty turny bits adjacent to the big field. Howdy did what is probably the final mowing of the camping areas and we're ready to set the stakes this coming week. I'm expecting the World Cup boys to come armed with various implements of destruction this Wed night to do the final cutting back of the overgrowth. Also, I got the night ITT course marked with those reflective arrows and did a test run on the XC, ITT, and Hill Climb courses.
The HC course has been slightly improved since last year with some road work on the upper dirt portions offering a few more line choices when the going gets steep and a bit of fill making the final bit on the farm slightly more manageable.
The XC and ITT courses are riding super fast right now. The trails almost seemed pavement fast due to the sunny and dry conditions we've had recently, but the front wheel definitely wants to wash out if you get off the hard packed course.
This weather keeps up and we're going to have some very fast times.
The Heimbone made the trip out on Friday to help with the course and gave poppa Kuhn a hand clearing part of the hill climb course and getting the leaf blower out on the twisty turny bits adjacent to the big field. Howdy did what is probably the final mowing of the camping areas and we're ready to set the stakes this coming week. I'm expecting the World Cup boys to come armed with various implements of destruction this Wed night to do the final cutting back of the overgrowth. Also, I got the night ITT course marked with those reflective arrows and did a test run on the XC, ITT, and Hill Climb courses.
The HC course has been slightly improved since last year with some road work on the upper dirt portions offering a few more line choices when the going gets steep and a bit of fill making the final bit on the farm slightly more manageable.
The XC and ITT courses are riding super fast right now. The trails almost seemed pavement fast due to the sunny and dry conditions we've had recently, but the front wheel definitely wants to wash out if you get off the hard packed course.
This weather keeps up and we're going to have some very fast times.
Friday, June 22, 2007
How big is it?
Some of my VisitPA.com team bubs, Hebe and Wes, came out yesterday to lend me and pops a hand with some course work. Those of you who seem to think I have too many logs on this course can thank these boys for taking a few of 'em out of your way. After we finished up the boys put in a lap on the course and Hebe's fancy dancy GPS thing said, "Wes & I doubled back on a few areas, but not much more than 1/4-1/3 of a mile. Distance was 6.59 miles. Elevation gain was 1045 ft. Thanks for dinner, that was very nice."
6 and a halfish miles and 1000 feet of elevation per lap. I'm glad I'm not doing the endurance race.
If we get the 90 degree + weather next weekend its looking like - Beginners - 1 lap, Sports - 2 laps, Experts 3 laps (for the most part).
Yummy, yum, yums
Kyle Hammaker's folks and family members do all the cookin' for the stage race weekend and use the funds they raise to help offset some of Kyle's race expenses as he travels around the country. Here is the menu for next weekend:
HOT DOGS.................1.00
BURGERS...................2.50
BAR-BQ PORK SANDWICH......3.00
CHICKEN SANDWICH..........3.50
FRENCH FRIES.............1.25
BAKED POTATOES............1.50
PASTA SALAD...............1.50
PASTA DINNER..............7.00
ANGEL HAIR PASTA W/MEATBALLS
PENNE PASTA W/ALFREDO SAUCE AND CHICKEN
served Friday and Saturday night
PANCAKE AND SAUSAGE BREAKFAST..4.00
SAUSAGE AND EGG SANDWICH.......3.50
ICY COLD DRINKS
BOTTLED WATER..........60
CANNED SODA............60
GATORADE...............1.25
HOT DOGS.................1.00
BURGERS...................2.50
BAR-BQ PORK SANDWICH......3.00
CHICKEN SANDWICH..........3.50
FRENCH FRIES.............1.25
BAKED POTATOES............1.50
PASTA SALAD...............1.50
PASTA DINNER..............7.00
ANGEL HAIR PASTA W/MEATBALLS
PENNE PASTA W/ALFREDO SAUCE AND CHICKEN
served Friday and Saturday night
PANCAKE AND SAUSAGE BREAKFAST..4.00
SAUSAGE AND EGG SANDWICH.......3.50
ICY COLD DRINKS
BOTTLED WATER..........60
CANNED SODA............60
GATORADE...............1.25
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Stage Race Update
A little over a week to go to the stage race and things are falling into place. If any of you have a desire to do a little course work, a few of us will be at the farm Thur and Fri this week to do some trimmin' and rakin' and markin'. Drop me an email at kuhndog1 at earthlink dot net if you wanna help out a bit.
Please remember that the only pre-riding of the course is on Wednesday evenings as part of the World Cup Ski and Cycle (Mechanicsburg, PA) group ride complete with waiver. If you want to get in on the the ride next week - or any of the rides the rest of this summer - give Lee, Dave, or Greg a call at 717-730-9402. Also be sure to tell 'em thanks for supporting this event! They rule!
Please remember that the only pre-riding of the course is on Wednesday evenings as part of the World Cup Ski and Cycle (Mechanicsburg, PA) group ride complete with waiver. If you want to get in on the the ride next week - or any of the rides the rest of this summer - give Lee, Dave, or Greg a call at 717-730-9402. Also be sure to tell 'em thanks for supporting this event! They rule!
Monday, June 18, 2007
Saturday, June 16, 2007
The view from the VUE
Coming to you live from the VUE en route to the hotel in Cleveland on the way home. This mobile internet deal is pretty sweet, no? Levi has all the cool toys.
Speaking of cool toys, forgot to mention that I grabbed some new gear for the bike for this race. I put some of those Rotor rings on the bike the other day to try and I stole Ray's old wheels from Zack. Zack doesn't have his 29er yet so he hasn't had use for the hoops. On the day I borrowed the wheels he and his wife Christa welcomed their first kid into this world -- Gavin was born on Thursday and Z won't be on his mtn bike ever again so I'll probably hang onto those wheels for safe keeping.
Got into Mannistee later yesterday afternoon and put 10 miles or so on the course. Lots of twists and turns and basically nothing else. The climbs are mostly short punchy ones which are the opposite of my favorite kind of climbs. Actually, climbs in general are the opposite of my favorite types of climbs, but these are particularly in opposition. Can't say lots of twists are turns for 100 miles are really my thing either, but we'll give 'er hell.
Ran into Ernesto on the ride fresh off his 2nd at Big Bear 24 Hour Solo last weekend. I was hoping he was actually not-so-fresh off of the effort, but he rode a solid race today...more below.
Grabbed a room for the evening. Michelle wanted to camp. Us tough guys said that we'd prefer feather beds. We settled on Super 8, which is sort of like camping inside. It was fine really, but it did not come with the choice of soft or firm pillows or the "no handguns allowed inside" sign as did our lovely Holiday Inn from night one - so we were roughing it a bit.
Early morning this AM to get to the race on time and then stood in line for one of the four port-a-johns available to racers until start time. If you don't know, port-a-john rental joints will tell you 1 toilet per 100 people per day. So, the promoter was probably about right - 400/4 = 100 --- EXCEPT that all 250 racers and their support staffers needed to visit the joints at exactly the same time this morning. Note to promoter - get some more freakin' toilets.
Race started at a nice clip and I was sitting on the back of the front group of 9, but I'm still thinking I'm not really fit enough to take chances and dig deep early so I layed off the gas and drifted back a bit. The next group caught me soon after and I did the same thing. Gaaaaahhh, I don't know, maybe I'm too concerned with the points chase and I should give it a little more early on to see if I can hang onto it and move up a few places. So now I'm riding outside the top 20 and settling in to my pace.
Turned out my pace just wasn't quite enough today and I finished outside the top 10 in about 14th (we didn't stick around to find out for sure). Levi's day ended early with a crank arm that parted ways with his bike about a lap and a half into the race. Michelle kicked some serious ass and came home in 3rd. Like I said, she's the tough one on this trip.
Just pulled into the HIXpress and I'm going to bed. Final leg of this thing tomorrow.
Speaking of cool toys, forgot to mention that I grabbed some new gear for the bike for this race. I put some of those Rotor rings on the bike the other day to try and I stole Ray's old wheels from Zack. Zack doesn't have his 29er yet so he hasn't had use for the hoops. On the day I borrowed the wheels he and his wife Christa welcomed their first kid into this world -- Gavin was born on Thursday and Z won't be on his mtn bike ever again so I'll probably hang onto those wheels for safe keeping.
Got into Mannistee later yesterday afternoon and put 10 miles or so on the course. Lots of twists and turns and basically nothing else. The climbs are mostly short punchy ones which are the opposite of my favorite kind of climbs. Actually, climbs in general are the opposite of my favorite types of climbs, but these are particularly in opposition. Can't say lots of twists are turns for 100 miles are really my thing either, but we'll give 'er hell.
Ran into Ernesto on the ride fresh off his 2nd at Big Bear 24 Hour Solo last weekend. I was hoping he was actually not-so-fresh off of the effort, but he rode a solid race today...more below.
Grabbed a room for the evening. Michelle wanted to camp. Us tough guys said that we'd prefer feather beds. We settled on Super 8, which is sort of like camping inside. It was fine really, but it did not come with the choice of soft or firm pillows or the "no handguns allowed inside" sign as did our lovely Holiday Inn from night one - so we were roughing it a bit.
Early morning this AM to get to the race on time and then stood in line for one of the four port-a-johns available to racers until start time. If you don't know, port-a-john rental joints will tell you 1 toilet per 100 people per day. So, the promoter was probably about right - 400/4 = 100 --- EXCEPT that all 250 racers and their support staffers needed to visit the joints at exactly the same time this morning. Note to promoter - get some more freakin' toilets.
Race started at a nice clip and I was sitting on the back of the front group of 9, but I'm still thinking I'm not really fit enough to take chances and dig deep early so I layed off the gas and drifted back a bit. The next group caught me soon after and I did the same thing. Gaaaaahhh, I don't know, maybe I'm too concerned with the points chase and I should give it a little more early on to see if I can hang onto it and move up a few places. So now I'm riding outside the top 20 and settling in to my pace.
Turned out my pace just wasn't quite enough today and I finished outside the top 10 in about 14th (we didn't stick around to find out for sure). Levi's day ended early with a crank arm that parted ways with his bike about a lap and a half into the race. Michelle kicked some serious ass and came home in 3rd. Like I said, she's the tough one on this trip.
Just pulled into the HIXpress and I'm going to bed. Final leg of this thing tomorrow.
Friday, June 15, 2007
On the road again
Half way there and hanging near Cleveland. Did the typical 1 hour later than I planned to leave departure since we're definitely operating on KST (Kuhn Standard Time), hit a bit o' traffic on 80 - where one must question why there need be 200 foot long construction zones every 3 miles - before grabbing Michelle and smooth sailing since.
The big excitement on the trip has been the design, fabrication, and construction of a credit card retrieval system. As if the VUE isn't sucking up enough of my hard earned cash it ate my credit card not long after our departure from Allentown. In order to get it back we had to, much like that deal on pinnochio, delve into the belly of the beast to get it back. We did it the hard way first and Levi was considering pulling apart the vehicle bit by bit. Yet another triumph of duct tape.
Toaster waffles and OJ for breakfast...that's all devoured and its time to go.
Travel accommodations and breakfast for our show provided by Holiday Inn Express. Yapping provided by me.
The big excitement on the trip has been the design, fabrication, and construction of a credit card retrieval system. As if the VUE isn't sucking up enough of my hard earned cash it ate my credit card not long after our departure from Allentown. In order to get it back we had to, much like that deal on pinnochio, delve into the belly of the beast to get it back. We did it the hard way first and Levi was considering pulling apart the vehicle bit by bit. Yet another triumph of duct tape.
Toaster waffles and OJ for breakfast...that's all devoured and its time to go.
Travel accommodations and breakfast for our show provided by Holiday Inn Express. Yapping provided by me.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Michigan
Leaving for MI today and the Lumberjack 100. Taking two traveling companions with me and buggin' out late this afternoon. Lots to get done before we leave, but looking forward to the trip. It has been a pretty long time since I piled in car with other bike nuts and drove some ridiculous amount of miles in order to race my bike. Looks like it'll be about a 12 hour haul to get there - half today and half tomorrow will hopefully bring us into Mannistee with time to check out a bit of the course and stretch the legs on Friday. Here goes nuthin.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Righties on this side, Lefties on that
"Sorry, I don't mean to be a complete ass (just mostly an ass), but I think this is ridiculous...with the title of "expert" should come the realization that you're there to RACE your bike, not be guaranteed a prize for finishing.
Beginner and sport level racing is for growing the sport -- that is the FUN for them. Expert level racing is for competition and getting your ass kicked so that you get faster. In expert level competition the competition and racing hard should be what is FUN!! It should be drive to push yourself harder and further than you thought you could. Expert level racing should be about facing other fit racers on the start line and giving it everything you've got to win. Expert racing should not be about showing up with expectation that just by finishing you'll get a prize or get on the podium. That is not what expert is for."
The above is a bit from an email I wrote to the other MASS promoters regarding yet another call to split expert racers up into even more categories.
Perhaps I'm annoyed because in the past two days I've spent hours and hours trying to get bikereg set up for the stage race weekend with the 32 separate categories we run in the MASS races plus the 4 enduro categories plus the stage race weekend options for a total of 2.7 million different options.
I know that it feels really great to do well and get on the podium in a race. Its been a long time since I've been anywhere near the top of a race on my own and it is really frustrating to put in time and energy and not get what you hope out of it. But, where is the satisfaction for experienced competitors in finishing 5th out of 5, or even 1st out of 5?? You put in all that hard work and then to have a result gift wrapped for you before you even start isn't very satisfying really. It also doesn't fool anyone - your friends can read between the lines. Yea, it looks nice on a resume and it might give your team more points in the team rankings, but why work so hard for something that you're guaranteed to get just for showing up? You might as well eat donuts for every meal and just ride the races to finish --- it doesn't matter at all since there is no competition. Don't you want to know that even if you got your ass handed to you that you rode harder than you thought you could and did things you didn't think you could do? That doesn't happen if you're not pushed for it.
If you're not getting satisfaction from the effort you put forth and you need external reinforcement by finishing on what amounts to a basically false podium or receiving an award then don't do this racing thing. Ride your bike and enjoy the outdoors and stay fit and healthy, but don't race for prizes.
Race for you -- not for what you might be given, but rather for what you might learn about yourself.
Beginner and sport level racing is for growing the sport -- that is the FUN for them. Expert level racing is for competition and getting your ass kicked so that you get faster. In expert level competition the competition and racing hard should be what is FUN!! It should be drive to push yourself harder and further than you thought you could. Expert level racing should be about facing other fit racers on the start line and giving it everything you've got to win. Expert racing should not be about showing up with expectation that just by finishing you'll get a prize or get on the podium. That is not what expert is for."
The above is a bit from an email I wrote to the other MASS promoters regarding yet another call to split expert racers up into even more categories.
Perhaps I'm annoyed because in the past two days I've spent hours and hours trying to get bikereg set up for the stage race weekend with the 32 separate categories we run in the MASS races plus the 4 enduro categories plus the stage race weekend options for a total of 2.7 million different options.
I know that it feels really great to do well and get on the podium in a race. Its been a long time since I've been anywhere near the top of a race on my own and it is really frustrating to put in time and energy and not get what you hope out of it. But, where is the satisfaction for experienced competitors in finishing 5th out of 5, or even 1st out of 5?? You put in all that hard work and then to have a result gift wrapped for you before you even start isn't very satisfying really. It also doesn't fool anyone - your friends can read between the lines. Yea, it looks nice on a resume and it might give your team more points in the team rankings, but why work so hard for something that you're guaranteed to get just for showing up? You might as well eat donuts for every meal and just ride the races to finish --- it doesn't matter at all since there is no competition. Don't you want to know that even if you got your ass handed to you that you rode harder than you thought you could and did things you didn't think you could do? That doesn't happen if you're not pushed for it.
If you're not getting satisfaction from the effort you put forth and you need external reinforcement by finishing on what amounts to a basically false podium or receiving an award then don't do this racing thing. Ride your bike and enjoy the outdoors and stay fit and healthy, but don't race for prizes.
Race for you -- not for what you might be given, but rather for what you might learn about yourself.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Did I mention...
that the date has changed for the Rocktober Challenge Marathon and it is now scheduled for Sunday September 9? The date change moves it the to day after one of my all time favorite races - the Laurel Classic in Tioga State Forest near Wellsboro - and combining the two events would make a pretty sweet late season get away weekend. It'd be tuff too. I can almost guarantee XRay will do the double. Now if I can only find a way to get to both... You can even plan your trip through these nice folks.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Stoopid is as Stoopid does
I'm pretty pumped after yesterday. Did a long 50 miles in Rothrock yesterday in the Stoopid 50 MTB Marathon. First off, the boys at Mt Nittany Wheelworks and Shenandoah Mtn Touring did another bang up job on a cool event. Them bubsers rawk. Plus it was pretty sweet to 120+ riders give this thing a go as its a new avenue for the MASS and having the riders come out and support it was beautiful. I'm hopeful we'll see similar if not larger turnouts at the rest of the MASS single lap marathons. Yes, the events are a little remotely located, but they sure are worth the drive. Thanks Chris, Frank, Jim, Harry and all the rest!!
It was a butt-kicking 50 miles with lots of beautifully made, but pain inducing singletrack -- the entire NMBA crew does a heck of a job with new trails and even the stuff that was cut recently rode pretty well. The best part of the day was catching up with a bunch of great people I'm not getting to see nearly often enough these days.
Of course my VisitPA.com teammates were there and Wes and Ray put on a great show to finish 3rd and 4th overall (taking home 1st and 2nd in the SS class at the same time). And before I go any further - congrats to Brandon and Aaron for smokin' it today! Ry would have put in a solid ride too as he was tuned up for this race, but a little house moving incident has Bubser suffering from a bad back now. Chip K was putting in some miles before taking on TransRockies and is worried that he'll now have to drag Ry's carcass all over the Canadian mountains for the week. Some of the boys from Gettysburg came up to spy on the marathon goings on in Rothrock to make sure that Michaux is still king of killing riders and Keefer ended up with a nice top 10 spot. Good to catch up a bit with Buck, Tom, and Shawn while my slave work crew at Marysville - Andy and Craig - had sweet rides too. Well, Andy did anyway with a 6th overall while Craig musta just been drinking beer. Taylord was riding great and its good to know that he's not suffering from the Freshman 15 and I'm glad to see (no-longer-quite-as) Young Nick P out riding, though with his impending departure for Boulder I guess we won't see him too much more. Of course Marc and Buddy represented and it was great to catch up with them after the goings-on. I even ran into the Henry Clan sporting some vintage Team Harrisburg gear out poaching the well marked course. I miss seeing these guys week in and week out and while I coulda hung out and run on at the mouth for hours I did ride a bit...
That part went fine. I started with a plan to not ride too hard as 100 last weekend plus 100 next weekend had me a bit concerned and I just wanted to have fun on this one. I was riding very comfortably in 6th or 7th about 2 hours in when things started to deflate. My Watch Them Blow tires and tubes let me down for the last time with a slow leak. I rode it for a bit while chatting with Keefer and then stopped to change it. The brand new tube went in and promptly came right back out as it already had a hole in it. Back in goes the original and I pump 'er up as hard as I can get it. Another 5 minutes on the bike finds Scott, Dave, and Linda Henry hanging out at their truck and so I stopped to see if they had a floor pump. We chatted a bit while I re-inflated. I rolled out and not two minutes later was in aid station 2 (DOH!). I then probably looked pretty stoopid as I completely deflated what appeared to be a perfectly good tube and changed it AGAIN.
By this time I've moved entirely into fun mode and ride the next couple hours with a few hard efforts here and there, but also hanging a bit with Taylor and Topher and a few other folks. I took some breaks here and there and in general reveled in a gorgeous day in the woods. Don't get me wrong, more than one time I came around a corner to see more and more rocks stretching to the horizon and mumbled unseemly things about the Stoopid course and its designers as I was certainly lacking flow and mo' on the rocks. But, I don't think I over exerted for next weekend which was the main goal. I'll put in a couple efforts on Monday and Tuesday and then taper into the weekend...we'll see I guess. Next up -- more HSC event news!
It was a butt-kicking 50 miles with lots of beautifully made, but pain inducing singletrack -- the entire NMBA crew does a heck of a job with new trails and even the stuff that was cut recently rode pretty well. The best part of the day was catching up with a bunch of great people I'm not getting to see nearly often enough these days.
Of course my VisitPA.com teammates were there and Wes and Ray put on a great show to finish 3rd and 4th overall (taking home 1st and 2nd in the SS class at the same time). And before I go any further - congrats to Brandon and Aaron for smokin' it today! Ry would have put in a solid ride too as he was tuned up for this race, but a little house moving incident has Bubser suffering from a bad back now. Chip K was putting in some miles before taking on TransRockies and is worried that he'll now have to drag Ry's carcass all over the Canadian mountains for the week. Some of the boys from Gettysburg came up to spy on the marathon goings on in Rothrock to make sure that Michaux is still king of killing riders and Keefer ended up with a nice top 10 spot. Good to catch up a bit with Buck, Tom, and Shawn while my slave work crew at Marysville - Andy and Craig - had sweet rides too. Well, Andy did anyway with a 6th overall while Craig musta just been drinking beer. Taylord was riding great and its good to know that he's not suffering from the Freshman 15 and I'm glad to see (no-longer-quite-as) Young Nick P out riding, though with his impending departure for Boulder I guess we won't see him too much more. Of course Marc and Buddy represented and it was great to catch up with them after the goings-on. I even ran into the Henry Clan sporting some vintage Team Harrisburg gear out poaching the well marked course. I miss seeing these guys week in and week out and while I coulda hung out and run on at the mouth for hours I did ride a bit...
That part went fine. I started with a plan to not ride too hard as 100 last weekend plus 100 next weekend had me a bit concerned and I just wanted to have fun on this one. I was riding very comfortably in 6th or 7th about 2 hours in when things started to deflate. My Watch Them Blow tires and tubes let me down for the last time with a slow leak. I rode it for a bit while chatting with Keefer and then stopped to change it. The brand new tube went in and promptly came right back out as it already had a hole in it. Back in goes the original and I pump 'er up as hard as I can get it. Another 5 minutes on the bike finds Scott, Dave, and Linda Henry hanging out at their truck and so I stopped to see if they had a floor pump. We chatted a bit while I re-inflated. I rolled out and not two minutes later was in aid station 2 (DOH!). I then probably looked pretty stoopid as I completely deflated what appeared to be a perfectly good tube and changed it AGAIN.
By this time I've moved entirely into fun mode and ride the next couple hours with a few hard efforts here and there, but also hanging a bit with Taylor and Topher and a few other folks. I took some breaks here and there and in general reveled in a gorgeous day in the woods. Don't get me wrong, more than one time I came around a corner to see more and more rocks stretching to the horizon and mumbled unseemly things about the Stoopid course and its designers as I was certainly lacking flow and mo' on the rocks. But, I don't think I over exerted for next weekend which was the main goal. I'll put in a couple efforts on Monday and Tuesday and then taper into the weekend...we'll see I guess. Next up -- more HSC event news!
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Friday, June 08, 2007
Insomnia or just avoidance behavior
I don't know what it is, but I can't seem to go to sleep -- ever. Its 12:15 in the AM, I'm supposed to be to work at 9, check out some friends at the TT at 8, drive to state college tomorrow evening to race 50 miles off-road on Sunday, and not only have I not eaten dinner yet, but there is a bike that needs cleaned and some bags that need packed. I do this a lot. I'm up late ALL the time. 3 am last night, 2 am the night before... I've been like this for as long as I can remember. Mom would tuck me in and turn off the lights and as soon as that door closed I'd turn on the flashlight, hide under the covers, and read for hours until I fell asleep with the flashlight on and the book on the pillow. This burned up a lot of batteries by the way.
Its not that I physically can't sleep, it's that I'm not interested in going to bed (but man do I love to sleep once I'm there). And its not as if anything overly stimulating has to be happening in that space between my ears to keep me up either. Anything that distracts me from going to bed is enough - changing some stuff around on the blog is the culprit this time. At the same time I don't find these hours to always be productive (though its not unusual for me to build training for my athletes this time of day). It could just as easily be that I'm trying to figure out the solution to the Rubik's cube, which is really useful since I don't even have a Rubik's cube. Too bad I can't use this time for good. Curing cancer. World peace. Hell, Kris would be happy if I'd just clean the house.
Its not that I physically can't sleep, it's that I'm not interested in going to bed (but man do I love to sleep once I'm there). And its not as if anything overly stimulating has to be happening in that space between my ears to keep me up either. Anything that distracts me from going to bed is enough - changing some stuff around on the blog is the culprit this time. At the same time I don't find these hours to always be productive (though its not unusual for me to build training for my athletes this time of day). It could just as easily be that I'm trying to figure out the solution to the Rubik's cube, which is really useful since I don't even have a Rubik's cube. Too bad I can't use this time for good. Curing cancer. World peace. Hell, Kris would be happy if I'd just clean the house.
HSC Event Updates
Within the next 24 hours reg info for the VisitPA.com Mountain Bike Stage Race and Festival Weekend, 50 Rattling Miles MTB Marathon, and the Rocktober Challenge MTB Marathon will be active on bikereg.com. Let your friends know and send me money.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Turn left at the big rock
Looks like things are moving along for the Lumberjack in MI in two weeks. I've duped a different friend into going out to do the race so that I can have someone drive while I sleep. I've tried driving and sleeping at the same time and found that it usually doesn't work out that well.
This one is a 4 x 25 mile lap course so a little different than my previous 100s and a format I'm a little less excited about only because one of the things I really enjoy about 100s is the adventure part of a big single lap. Yes the courses are well marked so you know you're headed in the right direction, but there is something enjoyable (to me) about being in the middle of one of these things and thinking to myself, "I have absolutely no idea where I am or how to get to where I'm supposed to go."
I get a kick out of the "safety net" that marathon mtb promoters attempt to use by handing out maps with registration. Keeping in mind that we're typically out in the middle of frickin' nowhere and an awful lot of dirt roads don't have signs at trail intersections -- or road intersections for that matter. Even if there are intersection signs the course maps are not only shrunk way down in order to fit on an 81/2 x 11 sheet of paper (remember, its a 100 mile lap!) but also often appear to be copies of copies and are basically illegible. Add to this the fact that if you're looking at the map you're probably pretty far off course and therefore have to figure out where the hell you might be on the map to even begin to find your way back - and given that you can't read the map that is almost impossible. Finally, finish this off with the fact that you might not want to talk to the locals - cue banjo - and you're pretty screwed, but at least you have a map. Of course, as a promoter myself I'd do exactly the same thing since its a damn fine way to help cover one's ass.
Of course, the courses don't typically change a lot year to year and so after you've done a particular 100 once you (sort of) know the course, but the adventure aspect is still there. Who else wants to drive me to MI and do one of these things (even if it is a lap race)? I could use more nap time.
This one is a 4 x 25 mile lap course so a little different than my previous 100s and a format I'm a little less excited about only because one of the things I really enjoy about 100s is the adventure part of a big single lap. Yes the courses are well marked so you know you're headed in the right direction, but there is something enjoyable (to me) about being in the middle of one of these things and thinking to myself, "I have absolutely no idea where I am or how to get to where I'm supposed to go."
I get a kick out of the "safety net" that marathon mtb promoters attempt to use by handing out maps with registration. Keeping in mind that we're typically out in the middle of frickin' nowhere and an awful lot of dirt roads don't have signs at trail intersections -- or road intersections for that matter. Even if there are intersection signs the course maps are not only shrunk way down in order to fit on an 81/2 x 11 sheet of paper (remember, its a 100 mile lap!) but also often appear to be copies of copies and are basically illegible. Add to this the fact that if you're looking at the map you're probably pretty far off course and therefore have to figure out where the hell you might be on the map to even begin to find your way back - and given that you can't read the map that is almost impossible. Finally, finish this off with the fact that you might not want to talk to the locals - cue banjo - and you're pretty screwed, but at least you have a map. Of course, as a promoter myself I'd do exactly the same thing since its a damn fine way to help cover one's ass.
Of course, the courses don't typically change a lot year to year and so after you've done a particular 100 once you (sort of) know the course, but the adventure aspect is still there. Who else wants to drive me to MI and do one of these things (even if it is a lap race)? I could use more nap time.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Mohican 100
A little more on the Mohican 100 since no one asked.
The Wilderness 101 is still tops in my book, but the Mohican was a really nice ride. It was well worth the drive and is one I'll certainly put on the schedule for next year. The singletrack - the Mohican state park mountain bike trail network in particular - was a lot of fun for the most part and while I've been gun shy on this race in the past due to course marking concerns I found the course pretty darn well marked.
The race started hard. A neutral-ish start (neutral-ish is when the lead moto goes hard enough to actually split the group on the way to the start and then doesn't stop to allow everyone to regroup..) contributed to an early pace that was a good bit harder than I'm used to 100s starting. I'm thinking to myself, "self, your ass is going to get kicked today," but I set my pace and give the old, "those guys are going to blow up and come back to me" speech to myself to get back on top things, tuned up the diesel, and settled in for a long day at the office.
Nate D and I rode together for an hour or two at the start of this thing as it was his first 100 and I was definitely willing to pass along my "knowledge" of these things to him (mostly though it was just a ploy to have someone to share the driving, tolls, gas, and room expenses). We had some fun riding together until nature called and Nate answered and we didn't see each other for about 7 more hours - musta been a long conversation. Some of this early riding took us along trails that were just spectacular. One section in particular was nothing but ferns as far as you could see through the woods with just a winding singletrack barely splitting the scenery. Super sweet.
I did end up riding a good bit with Jeff from VT riding for IF. J & I were PDQ thru CP2 B4 I crashed hard and spent a long time trying to catch back up. I rung my bell pretty well on the crash (thought breakfast was coming back to visit for 30 min or so) and that contributed to a second crash just before checkpoint 3. And I do mean JUST before the checkpoint. I didn't realize how close the CP was and as I was a little, umm, frustrated by my loss of focus and subsequent dirt surfing I released a little steam after the impact. Well, as I stood up and looked down at the top of the tent and the 15 or so people helping out it was pretty obvious that the expletive that escaped my lips was heard by all. This of course led to some smiles and chuckles as I rolled the last 50 yards down the hill, smiles from me too as this seems to be something that happens to me now and then. Crash hard, curse loudly, pick self up, remount, ride 50 feet around a blind turn and there are 20 people. Wonderful. I'm such a dumbass.
It is here that I actually realize why the race started so hard. See there was a 100 miler and a 100K going on today and we all started at the same time. I didn't really think about it much, but had figured the 100Kers would start after the 100milerers. Since this was not the case it quickly became apparent, even to my slightly concussed noggin, that if half the group you're starting with is racing just over half as far they'll probably go out a bit faster than you. The motivator was that if many of those guys were 100K racers I was doing a heck of a lot better than I thought and began to contemplate a possible decent finish...up to this point I was figuring I was around 20th-25th. With the 100Kers in the picture maybe a top 10 was possible.
Jeff and I saw each other off and on throughout the day - he'd get a little ahead, then I'd get a little ahead, then we'd spend some time pacelining...you go through such ups and downs during the course of one of these 8 hour gigs that it really has to be your pace as just a little too much at any time can really doom you later.
I thought I'd actually rid myself of Jeff after CP4 with about 20 miles to go as I just sort of set my pace and road away from him. I spent a good bit of the time from there to CP5 by myself and caught one rider on the crazy fishing trail that was just a few miles from the finish line. At this point I thought I was home free as I was feeling pretty good. Then I started to cramp. Dammit!! 97 miles into the freakin' race and I start to cramp. Then we hit the mud. Now there had been a little wet in the woods all day, but this was deep and sometimes very sticky mud. And I was cramping. And guess who comes up from behind. Yep, there is my new friend Jeff. He catches me just before the final big obstacle - the Dam. We come into the base of the Dam and all I see in front of me is a 5 story tall wall of dirt with a little tiny ribbon of trail leading to a staircase. Did I mention my legs were cramping? So now Jeff and I are walking up the Dam and I'm doing my best to hide any sort of impending full on leg locking writhing in agony cramps from him hoping that they might miraculously pass. Of course they don't and Jeff is able to put about 20 seconds into me as I struggle to get back on the bike. With maybe 3 miles to go we hit the last decent hill and the only way I'm able to ride my bike is to stand up. I found that by standing I could ward off the leg cramps and so, for the last 10 minutes of the race I'm mostly standing on my pedals trying to keep Jeff close. While he does get me on the line I'm still pretty happy to roll across in 9th.
I meant to write it in this blog after Cohutta back in April that I should perhaps train for these things and I'll say it again. That's two top 10s with not much in the way of training well for 'em and with getting a bit too fat before this last one. Lumberjack is in two weeks so there isn't much I can do before then, but I do love the 101 so maybe I can pull my stuff together by August and actually look to be truly prepared for it. That would be something new.
It certainly seems that Ryan, Garth, and the rest of the crew responded well to previous concerns. While breakfast left a bit to be desired the post race food was yummy and plentiful and that's all I need (well, a little ice cream after a 100 wouldn't hurt).
BTW, my sum total of knowledge for these sorts of events? Sleep a bunch leading up to it. Ride your pace. Eat (and drink) a lot. I'm really good at the riding steady and I love to eat. As Meatloaf said, "Two outta three ain't bad."
The Wilderness 101 is still tops in my book, but the Mohican was a really nice ride. It was well worth the drive and is one I'll certainly put on the schedule for next year. The singletrack - the Mohican state park mountain bike trail network in particular - was a lot of fun for the most part and while I've been gun shy on this race in the past due to course marking concerns I found the course pretty darn well marked.
The race started hard. A neutral-ish start (neutral-ish is when the lead moto goes hard enough to actually split the group on the way to the start and then doesn't stop to allow everyone to regroup..) contributed to an early pace that was a good bit harder than I'm used to 100s starting. I'm thinking to myself, "self, your ass is going to get kicked today," but I set my pace and give the old, "those guys are going to blow up and come back to me" speech to myself to get back on top things, tuned up the diesel, and settled in for a long day at the office.
Nate D and I rode together for an hour or two at the start of this thing as it was his first 100 and I was definitely willing to pass along my "knowledge" of these things to him (mostly though it was just a ploy to have someone to share the driving, tolls, gas, and room expenses). We had some fun riding together until nature called and Nate answered and we didn't see each other for about 7 more hours - musta been a long conversation. Some of this early riding took us along trails that were just spectacular. One section in particular was nothing but ferns as far as you could see through the woods with just a winding singletrack barely splitting the scenery. Super sweet.
I did end up riding a good bit with Jeff from VT riding for IF. J & I were PDQ thru CP2 B4 I crashed hard and spent a long time trying to catch back up. I rung my bell pretty well on the crash (thought breakfast was coming back to visit for 30 min or so) and that contributed to a second crash just before checkpoint 3. And I do mean JUST before the checkpoint. I didn't realize how close the CP was and as I was a little, umm, frustrated by my loss of focus and subsequent dirt surfing I released a little steam after the impact. Well, as I stood up and looked down at the top of the tent and the 15 or so people helping out it was pretty obvious that the expletive that escaped my lips was heard by all. This of course led to some smiles and chuckles as I rolled the last 50 yards down the hill, smiles from me too as this seems to be something that happens to me now and then. Crash hard, curse loudly, pick self up, remount, ride 50 feet around a blind turn and there are 20 people. Wonderful. I'm such a dumbass.
It is here that I actually realize why the race started so hard. See there was a 100 miler and a 100K going on today and we all started at the same time. I didn't really think about it much, but had figured the 100Kers would start after the 100milerers. Since this was not the case it quickly became apparent, even to my slightly concussed noggin, that if half the group you're starting with is racing just over half as far they'll probably go out a bit faster than you. The motivator was that if many of those guys were 100K racers I was doing a heck of a lot better than I thought and began to contemplate a possible decent finish...up to this point I was figuring I was around 20th-25th. With the 100Kers in the picture maybe a top 10 was possible.
Jeff and I saw each other off and on throughout the day - he'd get a little ahead, then I'd get a little ahead, then we'd spend some time pacelining...you go through such ups and downs during the course of one of these 8 hour gigs that it really has to be your pace as just a little too much at any time can really doom you later.
I thought I'd actually rid myself of Jeff after CP4 with about 20 miles to go as I just sort of set my pace and road away from him. I spent a good bit of the time from there to CP5 by myself and caught one rider on the crazy fishing trail that was just a few miles from the finish line. At this point I thought I was home free as I was feeling pretty good. Then I started to cramp. Dammit!! 97 miles into the freakin' race and I start to cramp. Then we hit the mud. Now there had been a little wet in the woods all day, but this was deep and sometimes very sticky mud. And I was cramping. And guess who comes up from behind. Yep, there is my new friend Jeff. He catches me just before the final big obstacle - the Dam. We come into the base of the Dam and all I see in front of me is a 5 story tall wall of dirt with a little tiny ribbon of trail leading to a staircase. Did I mention my legs were cramping? So now Jeff and I are walking up the Dam and I'm doing my best to hide any sort of impending full on leg locking writhing in agony cramps from him hoping that they might miraculously pass. Of course they don't and Jeff is able to put about 20 seconds into me as I struggle to get back on the bike. With maybe 3 miles to go we hit the last decent hill and the only way I'm able to ride my bike is to stand up. I found that by standing I could ward off the leg cramps and so, for the last 10 minutes of the race I'm mostly standing on my pedals trying to keep Jeff close. While he does get me on the line I'm still pretty happy to roll across in 9th.
I meant to write it in this blog after Cohutta back in April that I should perhaps train for these things and I'll say it again. That's two top 10s with not much in the way of training well for 'em and with getting a bit too fat before this last one. Lumberjack is in two weeks so there isn't much I can do before then, but I do love the 101 so maybe I can pull my stuff together by August and actually look to be truly prepared for it. That would be something new.
It certainly seems that Ryan, Garth, and the rest of the crew responded well to previous concerns. While breakfast left a bit to be desired the post race food was yummy and plentiful and that's all I need (well, a little ice cream after a 100 wouldn't hurt).
BTW, my sum total of knowledge for these sorts of events? Sleep a bunch leading up to it. Ride your pace. Eat (and drink) a lot. I'm really good at the riding steady and I love to eat. As Meatloaf said, "Two outta three ain't bad."
MMM, ribs
Nate D and I took the fast VUE to Ohio this weekend for the second of the NUE Series events - the Mohican 100 - and enjoyed a bit over 8 hours of sweet trails and sweltering heat. That's two down for me and since I've now somehow or other squeaked another top 10 finish out of a 100 I guess I better get plans together for a trip to MI for the Lumberjack in two weeks.
I'm pretty sure that I cracked a rib yesterday too. Seems that I'm having trouble breathing deeply and I crashed hard enough yesterday to see stars, earn myself a splitting headache for 30 or so minutes (which reactivated on crash #2) , and get nauseous. 2+2 = cracked rib me thinks. Should make the Stoopid that much more. More later.
I'm pretty sure that I cracked a rib yesterday too. Seems that I'm having trouble breathing deeply and I crashed hard enough yesterday to see stars, earn myself a splitting headache for 30 or so minutes (which reactivated on crash #2) , and get nauseous. 2+2 = cracked rib me thinks. Should make the Stoopid that much more. More later.
HSC events
Wondering whats happening with the upcoming HSC summer events? Me too. I'm thinking its probably time I should do something on them. There actually is a lot of stuff done behind the scenes already, its just that I always have these grandiose plans to make everything look all pro and stuff and end up shoving it out the door at the last minute. I'm quite sure the door will hit me in the ass again.
Look for info on the VisitPA.com MTB Stage Race and the Lykens and RB Winter Marathons this week.
Look for info on the VisitPA.com MTB Stage Race and the Lykens and RB Winter Marathons this week.
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