Marc leaving the log stunt.
Posted by Hello
Saturday, May 07, 2005
1, 2 John broke the buckle on My Shoe.
I didn't ride at Fair Hill much over the winter and early part of spring. It was kind of forgotten. This week I made two trips to Fair Hill, one on Thursday night for 2:30 and one today for almost 3 hours. This place is awesome I will not forget about it again. Today found Marc (www.fatmarc.com), John Cleary and myself. We rolled out of Marc's house at 8:30 planning on 3 hours of a steady but moderate pace. The trails were great and we were having a blast. I don't think it was a moderate pace more like a hammer fest. But that was cool with me, I was hoping for 3 hard rides this week. I can see a drastic improvement in Marc's fitness, he says he is not where he wants to be yet but he is getting close. I have to tell you if he gets any closer he's going to be tough to keep up with.
We came upon a little stunt and all of us rode down it, I had to try twice. Marc and John rode up it. I gave it one attempt and got onto it but didn't put it together so I took pictures while John and Marc made it look easy. Later while we were going down one of the fast downhills along the fence, Marc stopped and warned of a guy and his dog. I made a feeble attempt to warn John but he didn't hear me. Next thing I know I hear "OH SHIT", as John crashes into the back of me. He didn't hit me hard and I didn't go down but He did. We gathered our thoughts checked our bikes and continued on. After 2 hours John had to get home so it was just Marc and I.
He wanted to hit the climbs that were at the end of the race course. These are 3 tough climbs especially 2:30 hours into the ride. We were both tired but it was worth it. When Marc and I got back to his house I started to get changed and noticed the buckle on my brand new Sidi shoes was broken. I couldn't get it undone so I had to force my shoe off. It had to happen when John crashed into me. It wasn't a big deal though because my old shoes had the same buckles and I was able to change it and it is all good now.
Well I am tired and need to stretch, but I am still looking forward to French Creek tomorrow.
We came upon a little stunt and all of us rode down it, I had to try twice. Marc and John rode up it. I gave it one attempt and got onto it but didn't put it together so I took pictures while John and Marc made it look easy. Later while we were going down one of the fast downhills along the fence, Marc stopped and warned of a guy and his dog. I made a feeble attempt to warn John but he didn't hear me. Next thing I know I hear "OH SHIT", as John crashes into the back of me. He didn't hit me hard and I didn't go down but He did. We gathered our thoughts checked our bikes and continued on. After 2 hours John had to get home so it was just Marc and I.
He wanted to hit the climbs that were at the end of the race course. These are 3 tough climbs especially 2:30 hours into the ride. We were both tired but it was worth it. When Marc and I got back to his house I started to get changed and noticed the buckle on my brand new Sidi shoes was broken. I couldn't get it undone so I had to force my shoe off. It had to happen when John crashed into me. It wasn't a big deal though because my old shoes had the same buckles and I was able to change it and it is all good now.
Well I am tired and need to stretch, but I am still looking forward to French Creek tomorrow.
Friday, May 06, 2005
Theory of the Slinky Effect
Whenever I ride I make it a point to be in the front. I like to ridr second wheel when I can, if not I like to be leading. I know Matt is the same way. The reason for this is when you ride at the back, even if it is only 3 people you become a victim of the slinky effect. Last night Matt and i got to Fair Hill about 4:45 and headed out for a warm up before the group ride at 5:30. It was good, we did a short loop and swung back to the lot to see if anybidy else showed up. Todd pulled in, and SS dan showed up , bit he had his road bike. Turns out his SS had 2 flats so it was road ride or no ride. Todd led us through Little Egypt. Fatmrc is right, you can't stay with him on the downhills. We always got right back on when the hills came though. We flew around Little Egypt, as we were climbing the road on our way back Todd Attacked, I went to counter and he cut me off. I had to back off and swing to the other side but I still got him in the end, but this was a sign of things to come.
We went back to the lot and nobody else showed up so we took off. Todd took us down some older stuff that I hadn't ridde in a long time. It was a blast. I was lucky to be riding second wheel. Matt on the other hand was suffering from the " Slinky Effect". It is when the guy up front throws down a big burst then suddenly backs off. By the time this gets to the last guy he doesn't have the same amount of time to react so he is slamming on the brakes then trying to take off from almost a dead stop. The result is really tired legs and lungs. Towards the end of the ride Todd took a bit of a tumble, we had a laugh and carried on. We hit Crack Head Bob and Todd was off the front and Matt was a little off the back. We regrouped and convinced Matt to take 5 bridges back instead of the double track, we even said we would go easy. No such luck, apperently Todd was feeling good and took off. Matt had recovered a bit and we all just Hammered. Todd took us on a new trail that was really cool. After that we were going down hill and Todd tried to pass Matt on the inside and got tangled up and went down again. Now I have been riding with Todd for years and i think I have seen him fall only one other time, and tonight it was twice. After that Matt was leading and I guess was no longer a victim of the slinky effect because he took off.
When it was all said and done we rode for 2 1/2 hours at a blistering pace. Man it was an awesome ride. I can't wait for another dose of Fair Hill saturday and French Creek on Sunday. It should be a good weekend.
We went back to the lot and nobody else showed up so we took off. Todd took us down some older stuff that I hadn't ridde in a long time. It was a blast. I was lucky to be riding second wheel. Matt on the other hand was suffering from the " Slinky Effect". It is when the guy up front throws down a big burst then suddenly backs off. By the time this gets to the last guy he doesn't have the same amount of time to react so he is slamming on the brakes then trying to take off from almost a dead stop. The result is really tired legs and lungs. Towards the end of the ride Todd took a bit of a tumble, we had a laugh and carried on. We hit Crack Head Bob and Todd was off the front and Matt was a little off the back. We regrouped and convinced Matt to take 5 bridges back instead of the double track, we even said we would go easy. No such luck, apperently Todd was feeling good and took off. Matt had recovered a bit and we all just Hammered. Todd took us on a new trail that was really cool. After that we were going down hill and Todd tried to pass Matt on the inside and got tangled up and went down again. Now I have been riding with Todd for years and i think I have seen him fall only one other time, and tonight it was twice. After that Matt was leading and I guess was no longer a victim of the slinky effect because he took off.
When it was all said and done we rode for 2 1/2 hours at a blistering pace. Man it was an awesome ride. I can't wait for another dose of Fair Hill saturday and French Creek on Sunday. It should be a good weekend.
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Fun Ride! and Fajitatas
After work today I headed for White Clay to try and get in a couple of hours. I wasn't sure how much it rained there last night but I was hopoing for dry trails. The trails were great, a couple of puddles but no real mud. My legs were a little tired, let me rephrase that, my legs were really fucking tired. As long as I didn't try to push it too hard I was OK, but as soon as I tried to put down any power, OUCH. So I just took advantage of the nice trails and had a fun ride. I hope I feel better on the bike soon.
Now for the fajita part. We had some home made venison fajitas for dinner tonight. Man, they were really good. Nothing like some spicy food and a couple of Stone IPAs after a good ride. Well I don't have anything else so Later Dudes.
Now for the fajita part. We had some home made venison fajitas for dinner tonight. Man, they were really good. Nothing like some spicy food and a couple of Stone IPAs after a good ride. Well I don't have anything else so Later Dudes.
Monday, May 02, 2005
Race + Mud = bad day for me
This weekend was a busy one to say the least. Saturday we had to go out and set up and mark the Granogue race course. Lucky for us it decided to rain all day. The course was in pretty good shape and I thought it would hold up if the rain wasn't too severe. As I was laying in bed saturday night I heard the sky open up. I was over come by a feeling of dread. You see I never do well in the mud, I never have and probably never will. So I laid awake for hours hoping to hear the rain stop and the wind pick up. According to weather forecast, it was supposed to stop raining by Midnight and become clear and windy. I should have known. Weather forecasters are never right, and when I took the dogs out at 5:30 am and should not have been surprised that it was raining. I had the old, "WHY ME" thoughts, knowing it was going to be really muddy. This did not bode well for me.
Might I digress fro a moment. Putting on a quality mountain bike race takes a tremendous amount of work. We put in countless hours getting the course in perfect condition, only to have mother nature change it in the course of 12 hours.
Luckily the rain did stop at about 8:30, and we shortened the beginners lap but made them do 2. It seemed to work out well. By the time the sport racers went off the sun was starting to come out and the course was a little better. Now it was time for me to warm up and race.
A lot of really fast guys came out today. Travis(superfast guy from Pittsburg), Nick Shafer, superfast cat 2 roady, Topher a really fast hippy, And as we were getting ready to rolll up, Ransom Weaver showed up to race SS. Don't get me wrong I was thrilled to see 11 SS racing with me, but Man there were a lot of fats guys out today. We also had the usual suspects, Matty T, who had an ahsma attack then flatted and had to DNF, man I felt bad for him I know how much he was looking forward to this race, Mark ( Peterman reality tour), John Brown(nice guy on the Vicious), Tim, from Guys, and of course Gentle Ben Yoder. I must say this is a great group of people to race with every week.
The race started really fucking fast. I have never gone up the start road that fast before. I felt pretty good though and the leaders were in sight for the first 15 minutes or so. I had to back off because the pace was too much for me. I settled in and was doing OK. Not far into my second lap I noticed my bottle cage was loose, I tried to just let it go but it was in the way so I had to stop and take it off. While I was doing this 2 guys went by me. I was pissed and charged after them, BIG mistake, I bonked hard. That pissed me off even more because I knew I was faster than both of them. I decided to settle in and just ride. The cool part was the course had dried out a lot and I was able to ride almost the whole third lap. I was digging the climbs but Deputy's woods was horrible. Wit out a doubt the hardest part of the course. The mud just sucked the life out of you and made you want to cry.
At one point I was riding in front of Tim Messersmith, he is a superfast master who now races semi pro for Trek. Tim is a very talented cyclist but he is kind of an arrogant bastard, but he gave me a pretty good complement. He said " You ride that Single Speed very well". He eventually dropped me. Much to my surprise I caught him again on the big climb up Weymoths. This gave me a little boost just before the end. The race finished up a long road cilmb and I was able to pass 2 guys on gears on my way to an 8th place finish. I wasn't too upset, but I was hurting like I never hurt before. This was the hardest race I have ever done not my best but definitely the hardest.
Might I digress fro a moment. Putting on a quality mountain bike race takes a tremendous amount of work. We put in countless hours getting the course in perfect condition, only to have mother nature change it in the course of 12 hours.
Luckily the rain did stop at about 8:30, and we shortened the beginners lap but made them do 2. It seemed to work out well. By the time the sport racers went off the sun was starting to come out and the course was a little better. Now it was time for me to warm up and race.
A lot of really fast guys came out today. Travis(superfast guy from Pittsburg), Nick Shafer, superfast cat 2 roady, Topher a really fast hippy, And as we were getting ready to rolll up, Ransom Weaver showed up to race SS. Don't get me wrong I was thrilled to see 11 SS racing with me, but Man there were a lot of fats guys out today. We also had the usual suspects, Matty T, who had an ahsma attack then flatted and had to DNF, man I felt bad for him I know how much he was looking forward to this race, Mark ( Peterman reality tour), John Brown(nice guy on the Vicious), Tim, from Guys, and of course Gentle Ben Yoder. I must say this is a great group of people to race with every week.
The race started really fucking fast. I have never gone up the start road that fast before. I felt pretty good though and the leaders were in sight for the first 15 minutes or so. I had to back off because the pace was too much for me. I settled in and was doing OK. Not far into my second lap I noticed my bottle cage was loose, I tried to just let it go but it was in the way so I had to stop and take it off. While I was doing this 2 guys went by me. I was pissed and charged after them, BIG mistake, I bonked hard. That pissed me off even more because I knew I was faster than both of them. I decided to settle in and just ride. The cool part was the course had dried out a lot and I was able to ride almost the whole third lap. I was digging the climbs but Deputy's woods was horrible. Wit out a doubt the hardest part of the course. The mud just sucked the life out of you and made you want to cry.
At one point I was riding in front of Tim Messersmith, he is a superfast master who now races semi pro for Trek. Tim is a very talented cyclist but he is kind of an arrogant bastard, but he gave me a pretty good complement. He said " You ride that Single Speed very well". He eventually dropped me. Much to my surprise I caught him again on the big climb up Weymoths. This gave me a little boost just before the end. The race finished up a long road cilmb and I was able to pass 2 guys on gears on my way to an 8th place finish. I wasn't too upset, but I was hurting like I never hurt before. This was the hardest race I have ever done not my best but definitely the hardest.
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