9 Hours of Cranky Monkey, @ Rocky Gap.

 Not long after Our 6 hour race, Marc asked about doing the 9 hour at Rocky gap. The course description sounded fun, plus we would be doing a 3 man team. We have always had pretty good luck at these races, this one would be the exception.

 Marc went first and put down a good first lap despite finishing on a flat. My first laps went well, and I even passed the only team in front of us. Travis came next with second place right there. This was going to be an all day battle. Then our luck started to run out. Marc was on the leaders wheel and getting ready to make his move when he flatted. That was happening to a lot of folks out there. Travis had chain suck issues on his second lap. I went out for my 3RD lap. I wasn't feeling great but was still having a decent lap, then I flatted.

 Just like that we went from being in the hunt to 8TH. I was pissed at myself for being to aggressive on the descent, but we kept racing hard and managed to finish 4TH.

  Giving the solo racers there due, and spreading the word of T 6 Metal
It was a great day of racing and a lot of fun. Congrats to the Bike line boys, Scott, Travis and Chris on there second place finish.

Go register for Granogue NOW...

Cheers,
Buddy

Iron Hill and Such...

  The first place I ever rode a mountain bike was Iron Hill. It was also the first park I learned my way around. I have always liked racing there, and I've had good days and bad days.

 This past Sunday I raced the 4 hour marathon single speed. Things started well. I hit the single track in 5th and feeling pretty good. It didn't take long to caught behind the back of the 45+ group. It took a while but, I finally got through them. I was riding with Mark Weaver.

 We had a good pace going and started moving up. Lap 1 went by quick. Lap 2 was more of the same, but I soon realized I was going a little harder than I wanted to. I backed off the 3RD lap and lost contact with Mark. I was still feeling OK so I just tried to maintain.

 I got caught by a couple of guys, and I caught and passed a guy, so now I was in 7TH. I finished lap 5 and was really starting to hurt. By lap 6 I actually walked a little. I finished up lap 6 with ample time to get in a 7TH. I didn't want to do another, but I wanted to finish this race.

  I did finish and I did stay in 7TH. Not bad, but I know I can do better. It was a good day on a tough course. In the end it was 35 miles with 5000 feet of climbing.

 I also had to replace my geared frame. The Ventana broke, so I now have a Breezer Lightning 29er. Steel is still real baby.

 Next up, 9 Hours of Cranky Monkey with Marc and Travis.

Cheers,
Buddy

Just Riding Along...

 So not much has been going on. I have been trying to get out on the bike as much as possible, which isn't that much. I do have 2 races coming up soon. Iron Hill 4 hour marathon and 9 Hours of Cranky Monkey with Fatmarc and Travis. I feel like I'm going pretty good, but not quite good enough. I've been able to get a few laps around Iron Hill, and today I got a nice 70 miles on the road with Marc, Dennis and Charlie. Marc had a nice loop laid out. Plenty of hills and plenty of wind.

  I've also been trying to get in some climbing, unfortunately the weather hasn't been cooperating, so I've been going to the gym with Bob. Its not as good as outside, but it is a good work out.

 Cheers,
Buddy

Not Bad For March...

About 3-4 weeks ago Marc sent out an email looking for someone to do a 6 hour race with. Not knowing anything about the course or venue, I quickly responded yes.

 Yesterday we were on the road by 6:00 am with a goal of a top 10 finish and with some luck squeaking into  the top 5. Marc got a great start and finished 3rd on the first lap. This set me up for a nice clear path. I felt great on lap 1. I even caught a dozen or so 3 hour racers that started a half hour after us.

 Marc goes out and lays down another solid lap. I take off and still felt pretty good, but that didn't last long. Not sure if it was the cold air, or hard efforts in March, but I started to feel the pangs of leg cramps. Sure enough on one short steep little stretch they struck I managed to work through them, but knew my next lap was going to hurt.

 Marc comes in from his third and final lap and tells me to stay steady and finish this thing off. This time my legs hurt from the start, I was hoping they would loosen a bit, but know such luck. The cramps reared their ugly head once again. Being on a single speed, it was hard to go easy and get rid of them. I found I had to stay in the saddle on the hills to keep them at bay.

 I was managing fine until the end of the lap when a guy passed me just before the field heading to the finish. It took me a few minutes to realize, he was in our class. Fuck, I put my head down and bridged back up to him. I heard Marc yell, "You have to get this". My legs were on the verge of locking up, but I attacked anyway. Some how I got a small gap, and the guy didn't seem to respond and slipped in 7 seconds ahead of him which turned out to be the winning move.

  As I laid on the ground with my legs screaming from cramps, Marc says that sprint was for second. I thought we won, but wasn't sure. After we saw the results and found out we won, neither of us could believe it. Not what we expected racing in March, but I will certainly take it. Congrats to Mayhew and Eric as well as Jen and Melissa, who were part of our little compound, for taking the win in there classes as well.

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Cheers,

Buddy

Whirlwind Weekend...

So, I haven't posted in a while. Been real busy working on the house, more on that in a later post. I did get the opportunity to slip away for some winter hiking in the Adirondacks and Vermont. This was a no rest, no sleep, lots of driving and hiking weekend. I picked up Steve and Lee Friday night at 11:30 pm and we drove up to Adirondack Lodge. We took turns driving and trying to nap. We were on the trail by 7:30am for the long approach to Mt. McNaughton. This is the bastard step child of the ADK 46ers. It is not required, but to purest like Steve, it is. The approach is about 8 miles of rolling terrain, then tip toe around the ponds and your at the base. Now for the bushwhack to the summit. This was tough, we had about a mile to the summit with about 1800' of elevation, pretty steep. there were some spots where I wasn't sure I would make and I let my frustration out, but in the end we hit the summit.

 

 You can almost see Lee. This was the view for most of the ascent.

 

 I was really hurting at the top, and knew the trip back to the car was going to be tough. I was doing OK for the first 4 miles, but then things started to go south fast, and it seemed like the last 4 miles were all up hill. But, we made it back, it was dark,but we made it. I can say I have never been that shattered before, I was not looking forward to hiking again on Sunday.

 

 We Went into Lake Placid for dinner then to our room for some much needed sleep. After a fine breakfast at the Noonmark, we made the drive to Mt. Stratton in Vermont. This was going to be a much easier day. The only negative was the wind, and the snow squaw at the start. The hike was 7 miles round trip with only 1700' of gain. Not very steep compared to the day before. We actually made quick work of it. At the top there was a fire tower, even though the wind was blowing hard we climbed it. Up on the tower you could feel the 65-75mph gusts, I always had 2 hands on the railing.

 

 The descent was pretty easy then it was time for the long drive home. I pulled into my driveway at 9:00pm. We crammed a lot into a very short period of time. I still haven't recovered from it.

 

  Looking forward to New Hampshire in March. I hope to squeeze something in between now and then.

 

Cheers,

Buddy

ADK Fall Trip...

 When Steve mentioned a trip to the Adirondacks in November, I was excited. The plan was leave Thursday after work. Hike in from the Garden to Johns Brook lodge area and grab a lean to.

 

After a bit of traffic and a bad decision to leave the highway, we finally got to the garden and hit the trail about 10:00 pm. I had hiked this trail in February, and in the day light. This time, it was dark, wet and a light mist was falling. Despite all that I was happy to be there. We got to the area where the lean to was supposed to be, but it was not there. We wondered around for a good 45 minutes looking for it. No luck. Next option, hike to the Bushnell Falls lean to, another 1.3 miles.

 

 

 Finally, at 1:15am, we got to ur home for the next couple days. We quickly set up camp, got water and crashed.

 

This was about the only hint of blue sky we would see.

 The plan on Friday was to first climb Mt. Marcy, then Little Haystack and Mt. Haystack. It was still a very light rain when we started off. the trails were wet  and the higher we got, started to become snow covered. It made for slow going, well that and the fact that I am out of shape.



 

 After a quick snack, it was time to hit the top of the highest mountain in the Adirondacks. The climb up to Marcy wasn't too bad, although I wish I had crampons instead of micro spikes.

It was however, Winter conditions with zero visibility.



 

After a short pause to enjoy our summit, it was time to move on. Back down then on to Haystack. This was a whole different story. The climb up to Haystack was a lot more technical, actually, it was a bit scary in spots.

 

 If you have never been to ADK, let me try to describe the terrain. the trails are very steep, and nothing but rocks with a lot of water flowing over and through them. Throw in some snow, and it was pretty treacherous.

 

 I was starting to get tired and almost didn't go for the summit of Haystack. We had stopped for a minute and I have to admit I was pretty nervous. Haystack was an opposing sight, but we pressed on.

 

I don't know if you can get the proper perspective from this photo, but that yellow paint marks the trail.
  It was a lot windier on Haystack, but still no visibility. Steve tried to describe what I should be seeing, but it wasn't the same.

 We decided to take a different way down. I was not at all comfortable going down the trail we came up. The alternate route was only .2 miles longer and supposed to be a bit safer. It actually turned out to be a lot longer time wise and no easier. The one thing I learned about hiking ADK this time of year, was how fast the conditions change as you gain or lose elevation. We would go from wet muddy trails, to treacherous snow covered rocks, to ice.  After 9.5 hours and just over 12 miles we made back to our lean to.

 We no longer had it to ourselves though. A fellow hiker had moved in while we were away. Turned out to be a really nice guy, who knew a whole lot about the park.

After dinner, and a few beers it was time for me to call it a night. As soon as I crawled into my bag, I was pretty much out.

 



 

 The hike out the next morning was really nice. It was wild to see the trail conditions change from snow, to no snow just by losing a few hundred feet of elevation. It was a great trip, but by the time we hit the car, I was really happy to be leaving.

 

 Of course we stopped at the Noon Mark diner for breakfast. If you have eaten there you would agree, it is the best breakfast on the planet. Plus I had to bring home one of there famous pies. Thanks to Steve for guiding me around, and waiting for my slow ass.

 

 I'm not sure when I will make it back to the Adirondacks, but I am looking forward to it already.

 

Cheers,

Buddy

Looong overdue post...

 I t has been a very long time since I posted anything. I really have no reason. It's been a pretty up and down summer. I've had various injuries and illness' that put a damper on my race plans.
 I did make it to the Rattling 50 in Lykens PA. I have ridden these trails a few times and always enjoyed them. The race told a different story. The weather was not real hot, but it was real humid.  started off feeling pretty good, but I tried to keep it nice and steady. I thought I was drinking enough, but I guess by the excruciating cramps I had, I wasn't. I spent 30-40 minutes on the side of the trail trying to make them go away.
In the end it was all I could do to finish.

 Today was my 3rd Livestrong ride with Liz. Since she is just getting over Pneumonia, her plan was to do the 45 mile ride. I was going to ride with her to the split, then do the 100. Then I remembered, this ride isn't about me, it's about Liz, Todd and the many survivors and victims of this horrible disease. I really enjoy this ride, and I can't imagine doing even 1 mile by myself. Thanks to weather gods as well today. Cloudy and cool all day.

 Next up the SM100. I am riding gears for the first time. That should be interesting.

Cheers,
Buddy