Hatteras Island

Kim and Oliver dropped me off at the beach as soon as we crossed the Wright Brothers Bridge and went in search of breakfast. The surf was small and glassy, with no wind and an incoming tide, I knew this was as good as it would get today, as the wind would surely pick up in the afternoon and chop up what little swell there is. There were about 5-8 guys in the lineup. The water was warm, and everyone out was just trunkin’ it. I watched several small schools of silversides jumping out of the water, I suppose chased by something larger. I caught a few short easy waves and saw a 12” dorsal a few yards outside me. Then, more dorsal, curving up and down, looking for a breakfast of their own. It felt so good to be back in the warm water, and catching the surf nice and mellow was a perfect start.

Kim popped her head over the dunes about 20 minutes later after a frustrating and unsuccessful search for breakfast. We rolled on down to Hatteras proper, with me a little mellower after the quick surf, but Kim still with her city game face on. As soon as we hit the National Seashore, our moods picked up, our shoulders relaxed, as we enter a different time and place.

The Cape Hatteras National Seashore is still different, even after decades of development in Nags Head to the north. Hatteras Island has a “country” feel to it, much like the “town and country” of Hawaii for surfers, with the developed Honolulu and the rural North Shore. Hatteras is still fairly rural, and only a few decades away from being pretty feral and roadless. Nags Head is definitely considered town.

I went out for another surf after dinner off the beach at the house, hoping to catch an evening glass-off. It was high tide and moving out towards low, and it was a bit breezy. But I went out anyway, knowing that every minute I sat out there, the tide was getting lower, the wind calmer, and the surf glassier. The big group of New York neighbors were watching me from their upper deck, and enjoying lots of Bud Light.

Paddling a fiberglass surfboard hurts my breastbones and pelvis bones, just like a bike saddle hurts the sit bones if you don’t ride often enough. I was already sore from the short morning session, and knew that this would make tomorrow even sorer. But, what the hell, I’m here, and all I had to do was walk to waves, marginal though they were, they were waves. I spent a long time not paddling after anything, just sitting there watching, no doubt making the NYers wonder what the hell I’m doing out there in the near darkness. Finally, a few come my way and I get a couple small short rides. For some reason, I remembered hearing how much sharks prefer the dawn and dusk times as I look up and down the beach see no other surfers out. I recall the sizes of a few sand(?) sharks I’ve seen caught on the beach here, and start to sketch my head out a little. Somehow I get past that, rode a couple more and headed in.

Sunday:
Headed up to the Buxton area this afternoon to see if the surf is any better up around the big curve in the island. I also wanted to check out the contest, the Eastern Surfing Association is having their 40^th annual Championships here all week. The surf down at our place in Frisco is small and very glassy with a light offshore breeze, but there’s just not enough juice in the swell to make it break well enough. I check the Frisco Pier on the way, and it’s not much better than at our house. Sometimes it is, since the pier catches a lot of sand and offers a break when nothing else is breaking.

I paddle out at the 3^rd groin in Buxton and spook a small school of fish as soon as I hit the water. The water here is much clearer and warmer than yesterday up north, and I can easily see the bottom at about 6-8 feet deep. It keeps making me think I can touch the bottom since it looks so close. With the contest 2 groins away, I expected this spot to be crowded, especially after seeing the SOBE and Monster sponsor trucks parked nearby. But, there’s only one other guy out in the lineup; long blond dreadlocks, long gray-blond beard. I paddle out past him, and sit closer to the takeoff zone near the groin and immediately realized my breach of etiquette. So, I just sat there a while, and let him grab a couple waves before I tried for any. After he had a half-dozen or so nice, long rides, I still hadn't caught anything. He asks me if I’m from Delaware too. I replied, “no, Pennsylvania”, and he inquired if I was always from PA. I gave him the quick rundown, Baltimore-Florida-and Virginia for the last ever. He had all he needed to know about my surf prowess, and my next few wave attempts confirmed that as well. He told me that he worked in a shop in Virginia Beach 14 days a month making high-end longboards and retro fish. He said he lived here the other 16 or 17 days a month. He was pretty specific about the 16 or 17 days. Finally, I started catching a few waves, and they were pretty good, with some clean, open face time, and almost some pocket time. Dreadlock guy rode a long one to the beach, dropped his board off, and grabbed a spear gun, snorkel, and mask, and spent an hour or so swimming up and down the groin looking for some fresh catch for dinner. I was the only one out until one of the “Delaware guys” paddled out and caught a few out near me. Later, another two paddled out, and I took that as a sign that I helped make the surf at least not look totally crappy. That doesn't happen too much to me.

Man, did it ever feel great to be surfing small, quality surf right there. I didn't really want to get out of the water but I wanted to save my arms, and check out the contest. The contest surfers really rip, and made the surf look spectacular, doing anything they wanted on their long rides. They were getting clean lefts off the 1st groin, and riding them a long way milking points from the judges. The judges sit 3 stories up, in an elaborate scaffolding structure, which is causing controversy with the National Park Service. The NPS doesn't allow any advertising, and the large sponsor banners and tents, and the judges platform doesn't exactly conform to most of the Park's management plan. After 39 years here at the lighthouse, there was a serious threat by the NPS to not allow the contest back here with banners. Of course, the contest can't really function without the sponsors and banners, so a 1-year agreement was settled, with the NPS staff on-hand inspecting all aspects of the operation and assessing the contests' impact on any non-surfing visitors to the Park.

Saturday looks promising

Here's the surf forecast for S-Turns from MagicSeaweed.com for the next few days. Atlantic surf is magnitudes more fickle than Appalachian snows, and I know that 3 days out, the most important of these variables, the wind is likely to change. But, Saturday sure looks good right now.

The surf is best when swell direction and wind direction oppose each other. A 3.5 ft wave height doesn't sound like much, but that is the height at the offshore buoy, and that long time period is an indicator of the consistency of the swell. Hopefully, Saturday will be a good first day of 7 more to come.

I doubt posting this will jinx me, since usually, just showing up jinxes the waves for me. Can't tell you how many times I've heard, "....you shoulda been here yesterday...." At least this time I have 8 days to get lucky, like last year, where we had ridable waves every day.

Anyone want to join us??

new trail

Went for a hike/run last night to scout out a new trail I heard about from an enduro source. I found it the hard way, from within the woods rather from the road. Now we have yet another new option in the Big Flat area.

Teaberry

Finished up the Michaux Endurance Series yesterday, and had another good day on the bike. All day of course. Some of the best trails in the Forest are in this race, including one which I never ride, Rocky Ridge. I don't know why I never ride it, it is freakin' awesome! Or, as Rich and Jes said, it's "just wrong". Those 8 finishing miles were the fun of the day for me. Of course it didn't hurt running into Buddy up there, and Travis and Bender standing in the woods with a beer in one hand and.... That is the kind of trail made for my steed and me. If it were tilted downhill, like Stooges, it woulda been hell, especially 5 hours in. But it wasn't, and it was sweet.

I was certainly fully cooked at the finish, glad to have it in the books, and glad to have another race season behind me. Yes, that's probably it for me in 2007. Sounds really odd to think that my next race is 7 months away. I've put in three 50-milers, two 100-Ks, one 100-miler, and, at the other end of the spectrum, four roundy-rounds.

Happy to have another safe season done. As I say, all this shit is fun and all, but it's only truly cool if I can still ride with Oliver the next day.

Seeing Travis and Bender, and Lee, Keefer, Kent, Jay, and Colgan at the aid stations also made me think that next year I need to put in my work time, and not be a 3-for again. Next year, look for me holding the beer somewhere in a happy place.

Benefit race for a downed friend

Long-time racer Joey Riddle had a nasty crash a couple weeks ago at the WVMBA Championships and messed up a lot of important bones. There's a benefit race and some raffles to help raise money for his new bills, which are certainly more than his Vicious SS required. I can't make the race, but I'm buying a bunch of raffle tickets. here's the link to the race. And here's the Riddle's blog

Jason's story

Here's a great post about the recent Shenandoah 100, and includes a nice bit of history of the race and of Gripped Films and creators Jason Berry and Ken Bell. They've made 4 great films that I know of, and I've owned them all, and lost (or loaned out permanently?) most of them. Jason has obviously stepped up his efforts to be more than a wannabe in this race. Nice result there Jason!

Shenandoah Mountain 100

My favorite day of every year starts with this view.

Another fun 100 miles in the bank. I had a good day, and got stronger (and stiffer) as the race went on. Was not 100% at the start, as I had some weird headaches and chills the day and night before the race. Had been spraying zinc for a few days as well just hoping/helping/wondering. I started fairly slow, and then had a minor mechanical going down Narrow Back as my handlebars slipped down a little cuz I didn't tighten my faceplate bolts tight enough. I fixed it quickly, but still watched about 50 folks roll on by.

Spent the rest of the day moving back on up through the pack, riding with friends, and mashing up the fireroads. Got to meet a few new friends on the course and at the party, including this guy. The party was good, possibly the strongest stage of the trifecta for me this year, and I think I reached my goal of a beer for every hour on the course for the first time. It's great to have long-term goals that take years to reach, but it feels better when you meet them, and this year, my drinking performance caught up to my biking performance. Certainly not enough to contend for the Rock Star award, but I was keeping those contenders within sight all night.

Thank you Chris Scott, Chris' family, Scud, SMBC, SBC, MORE, and everyone who makes this event the highlight of every cycling calendar. And special treats out to the fixy fools Tomi, Andy, Dominick, and Erin. Floyd said you all are "just stupid".

fueling my own stoke

Not that I'm looking past Shenandoah 100 or Teaberry, but these shots from the weekend on the Outer Banks (copped from Surfline) have me thinking about getting this lucky next month in Hatteras.

Wilderness Jam

Kim's old roommate and friends have been putting on this show for 8 years. It's conveniently, always, the weekend after Labor Day, when I'm usually ready for a party weekend that doesn't necessarily involve double-digit hours on the bike. Wilderness Jam 2007.

It's roots are in the Grateful Dead, and for a few years even included Vince Welnick, the Dead's last keyboard player. It's also attracted lots of jam, hippy, funky, bluegrass, folk and others of a kind variety. This year, looks like the Jefferson Starship veterans are the headliners. These shows are 2-day, 2-night events that are a lot like a mini-Dead show. If you missed, or miss, those Dead style shows, here's one of the places where it's still happening.

Wild 100

Saturday was the annual Wild 100 at Elk River Touring Center. Kim likes the laid-back vibe and gourmet style of Elk River, and has always come along for the fun. I hope she has as much fun as I do there.

The checkpoints were all in mostly familiar places, including the pain-in-the-ass bushwhack/hike-a-bike/shred your skin through the thorns and cowshit to Gay Sharp Knob. This was CP-1 this year, and I had my worst time ever trying to find it. I was following a piece of advice I gathered on the MORE forum, which was "head for the gap between the two knobs". Well, I tried exactly that, but maybe there are more than two knobs in view, and maybe I went up a drainage between the wrong two knobs. It didn't take too long for me to notice on the map that I shouldn't be headed due east at that point, and I doubled back to the barn area to start again. I was kind enough to let Tiffany Kenny and several others who followed me know I was changing my mind and going back down (they were about to keep going up without seeing me turn around). It then, still, took me way too long to get over that knob and onto the forest road. I was much much higher on the road than I needed to be, and wasted a lot of time gaining elevation pushing and dragging my bike, that I didn't need to gain. Tiffany, and many other folks that I'd been far ahead of on the opening climb easily got in and out of CP-1 before I did.

Luckily, that was all the excitement I had for the day, and the rest was pretty uneventful and was spent coming from behind from the mid-20s-30s after CP-1 to top-10 (I think). Buchness made the move of the day being the first to use Gauley Mountain Trail from 3 to 4, passing everyone ahead of him except for Benji. Most people took Tea Creek Mountain to Bannock Shoals. A few took Tea Creek Mountain to Turkey Point and got destroyed by that mile-long steep-ass hike-a-bike direct shot to CP-4. I took Bannock Shoals, even though I briefly considered walking up Turkey Point. Even though Bannock Shoals is a boring 4.5 mile climb, I always seem to fly up it and even recover some on my single-speed. I knew that hike-a-bikes like that one are about 1 MPH, and I figured I could spin up Bannock at around 8 MPH, so I went with my old favorite fireroad climb, and passed three guys going up. I saw Andy coming out of 4 on Boundary Trail, and I decided then to also come back out on Boundary rather than add in any more unnecessary singletrack climbing.

After that, it was off to the road races out to Props Run for CP-5, and then back to the Bear Pen shelter for 6, then home. A highlight was catching up to Jonathon Martin chilling with the guy working CP-6. I chilled for a while as well, then cruised out with Jon, who actually told me to lead as he was scorched from hiking up Turkey Point earlier on. I dropped Jon right away on the first hill out of 6, so I knew he was dying. I figured he'd surely scream by me on the gravel descent to home since he's one of the craziest descenders in West Virginia. But I never saw him until at the kegs, hurtin'.

the way to CP-1

While I was messing around here for 10-plus hours, the Michaux local crew were doing this biggy thingy.
Bummer to miss that. Next year, either Tomi & Jake need to come back to defend at the Wild, or pick a different weekend for this one. Shantytown was rockin' late into the night...

Pics courtesy of Bike Lane teamie Joe P

shorty beach trip

I took Oliver and his cousin Tiffany to visit other cousins who live at the beach. Jake and Ryder have lived at a beach for more than half their young lives. They surf year-round, can ride shortboards, longboards, bodyboards, skateboards, and snowboards. They pretty much spend every day on the beach.

The surf was pretty small and choppy on our sessions, barely even ridable, but still actually fun, and Tiffany tried surfing for her first time and even stood up on a few. No pics of the surf, though trust me, that it was nothing to look at anyways. But, like I said, it was still kinda fun and the few decent waves I got somehow made the hours of driving worth it.

How can a 5-second ride be worth so much? It's hard to grasp. As much as I totally love mountain biking and skiing, I think I'd give up both those sports completely for the chance to surf every day. A 5-second ride compares to a 5-hour mountain bike ride or a 5-minute run down a powder field. Yeah right, how the hell is that possible? It just is. But, length of time riding is not the only indicator of fun in surfing. I mean, even classic waves like Pipeline only last for about 10 seconds. And surfing is like 50% paddling, 49% sitting, and 1% riding. It just doesn't add up to much fun. Except that it does.

Did I mention that I totally suck at surfing too? Yes, I'm a beginner, and I've been a beginner since 1980. In 27 years you'd think I'd either become an intermediate, drown, or give it up. Well, you can see how easily rigid SSers give things up...

Can't wait for the Hatteras trip the week after Teaberry, when the boys will be competing in the Eastern Surfing Championships at the Light.

non-Wilderness ride

Spent the weekend down at Bryce visiting my father and old family friends and sneaked out at 0630 yesterday for a shorty dawn patrol on one of the newest trails built in the Lee District of the GWNF. It's the extension of the North Mountain Trail south of Barb Gap (which is south of Wolf Gap). I believe this trail can (or eventually will) link up with the Second Mtn network north of Rt 30 near Harrisonburg.


Sweet ridgetop pine needle surface, This was an unusually buffed section. Most of the trail was typical bony North Mountain terrain.

Twice to Heaven

I missed out on Single Speed Outlaw's trip to Buzzard Rocks this weekend, but I did manage to show some more folks our Heaven or Hell Trail in southern Michaux. Darius' brother was in town from State College Saturday afternoon, so we took a quick evening loop finishing on Heaven or Hell. That trail was heaven for Nabil. Here's a pic of Nabil from Darius' website.

Sunday Martin and I took the Cupcakes to that trail for the first time. After finally getting some rain overnight, the rocks were a bit sweaty and I was worried that the trail would be more like hell than heaven. It wasn't too bad, although it did cause me 2 crashes in places I've never crashed before. I think the Cupcakes liked it, especially Rich who sessioned each section until he got it. Travis and Tomi were nursing busted ribs and high$$ entry fees, so they didn't mess around as much as the rest of us. I think they'll be back though.

Now it's time for me to get some rest and recovery before the 100s.....
Can't believe it's almost August already....

Wakefield final

My Wakefield gearing experiment is officially over for the season. Feeling a little lazy, or maybe a little silly, for changing my gear twice/week for the past month, I just left my Michaux 32x20 on for this week's Weds. at Wakefield race. That's 4 gears lower than I'd been running. It made a huge difference, and I dropped way down the table and got to see the backsides of more friends than usual. And since this was the SSers drag race, that view was a little different than usual too.

pic swiped from Gwadzilla

Huge thanks to Potomac Velo Club for putting on this annual highlight of the bike community's season.

Wednesday Wakefield 3

After last week's rain out, we got it on again this week. A few hours before the race, my legs still got tired climbing the stairs. Was hoping for a magical Michaux bounce in a couple hours. Good pre-lap though, spent a couple times going over that log at the high spot of the woods, the one everyone goes around to the left. My log mentor, Barry O'Melinn has been telling me for years to hop that one in the races. It is the straighter line after all, and it's kinda clumsy going around it at speed. I tried it each lap, and I even got passed once there by Jonathon. Later on, I passed a lapped racer as he went around it. Didn't seem all that faster to me since I had to slow down some to get the wheel tap right, and I got passed there. I guess Barry just manuals it?? I'd like to see that.

I had the hole shot somehow as Jonathan washed out on the gravel 20 seconds into the race. I geared it past Pearce as I think he was looking back at Jon. Held 1st all the way thru the creek trail, then pulled aside and let Pearce go, and asked Nick if he wanted it too. That began my yo-yo between 3rd-5th-3rd-5th for the race. I was beaten by guys running 29ers with both lower, and higher gears, and Paul on his 2:1 26er. Same story every race. I'm beginning to think that gearing has much less to do with it than legs. If I make the last race, I think I'll just be leaving my Michaux gear on.

Cool shot of Kent over the second roller near dark. More pics from Ben here.

Michaux 100 pics

Some of Tomi's photos here

the hundie-K

A few more miles in the books now, and I'm enjoying my recovery day at the computer chair. Sooo, peeps did show up after all. How 'bout that? I think we had 60-some starters for the 100K. Not as many as the 100 for Maximus, but way better than the pre-reg site looked.

I had a good race. No flats, no mechanicals, no funny belly. I had one silly front wheel wash on Abby that had me laughing like, WTF was that....? I also took a couple of idiot lines on 3-Mile as if I'd never ridden that trail before. I hope Churtle didn't see me dab those...

Highlights

• smilin' for the action sports photogs Tomi and Jake
• Miller High Life courtesy of Tomi and Jake
• seeing Lee and Travis hunting for carnage at some of the more interesting sections
• some of the logs on Yellow Ridge
• Methodist Hill, even the climb out wasn't as sucky as I expected
  
• Canada Hollow, yummmy stuff here
  
• Grave Ridge at 50-miles in (maybe this should be a low-light?)
• riding with buddy Albert most of the day. he had more issues than I, otherwise, I'd have been solo much of the day
• riding w/ Cheryl, and then watching Michele and Cheryl duking it out for miles. I'm not sure where exactly I passed Michele for the last time, but she sure looked broken. Don't mess with Le Turtle out there...
  

Lowlights

• some of the logs on Yellow Ridge
• every inch of trail after Grave Ridge until crossing 233 again. that stuff really messed with my finishing mood
  

log jammin'

This has been my practice log for the past several months. It's at Wilson College, where I ride most evenings with Oliver and his buddy Brandon. I've been learning to clean this thing with sandals and flip-flops on. Though, on the advice of a friend, I got some Keens, which at least offer some toe protection.

I clean it about 6 outta 10 times usually, and tonight's attempts featured my worst endo yet. The kids howled at that. Good to not be clipped in for that one.

Here's another log feature at the Wilson equestrian center. Most of their log features are landscaped with flowers and boxwoods and such, so I stay away from those. But this one has some promise too.

is anyone coming to this party?

There's a big race in Michaux in a couple days. The longest mountain bike race ever held here, and I'm wondering how many peeps will be racing? I know a lot of my Virginia friends won't be making it. Many don't like the early 0700 start time, or they don't like the extra long distance (how many people have ever finished a "regular" Michaux race and wished it were longer?). Others don't like the feeling of not choosing the longest of the 3 (10, 25, or Monster), so they stay away from the 25 too.

And once again, there's a severe date conflict with another popular race, the one at Fair Hill. It's gonna be hard for the Balto-Philly-Delaware contingent to skip their local one-lap classic. That's a lot of folks that would ordinarily race Michaux. There's also an XTerra tri at Rocky Gap, MD that is taking a few of my Bike Lane team mates.

Then there's the Michaux locals, many of whom are helping out with the race instead of racing, as did many for the Spring version. For a variety of reasons, it could be a fairly slim field. The pre-registered list on BikeReg was certainly pretty small, though it also was for Maximus, and we did get a huge turnout on gameday.

One friend said, "...the world doesn't need another endurance race.." This is a friend from the group of six who have done every Shenandoah Mtn 100 since Chris started this business. Starting this year, Pennsylvania alone now has six 50-milers, one 100K, and the 101. Is this the future of our sport? I don't mind terribly if it is, though I certainly do have fun at the little sprints like Wednesday at Wakefield too.

Hope to ride with some friends on Sunday, come on out if you're on the fence.. Prove me wrong.

SS Outlaws

I spent some of Freedom Day riding with a band of Outlaws
in the Frederick Watershed. The Outlaws are a posse of uni-geared riders with an equal interest in advocacy, trail work, party rides, and racing. Their technical skills are at the top of the table, and their home turf is the 'Shed.

A couple days later, their leaders, Mister and Missus Outlaw came up for a shorty ride in southern Michaux. One found Heaven, one found Hell, a not unpleasant place.

a Watershed moment

Wow, I can't rave enough about how fun the trails are in the Frederick Watershed. I got a late e-mail to join my old GWNF crew on a Shed ride on Sunday and it was cool to get to finally ride again with peeps like the Barrys Quigley & O'Melinn, Dan, Junkins, Nancy, Kara, Tom & Julie, and Cowtilly. These are the people I learned to mountain bike the big stuff with, and I miss not riding with them now.

And those trails. In the past few months I've ridden many places with great trails. Besides Michaux, I've ridden the State College/Rothrock Stoopid stuff, the Rothrock Tussey Ridge trails, Rattling Creek Singletrack, the Stokesville area, Marysville, and Blue Knob. And hands down, the most fun is the Frederick Watershed. Not Gambrill, but, the 'Shed. It's like Abigail, Buckets, and Canada Hollow. And then there's that low-speed-techy trail into Little Canaan, which is a little like Heaven or Hell. Oohhh mannn, I wanna go back there right now....

The last 3 times I've ridden the Shed in past few years, I've always thought "...damn, why don't we ride here all the time.."? The fun:work ratio is so much higher than the GW and Michaux.

local, fast race

With most of the usual crew down at the Tour de Burg, I woke up on Saturday without a real bike plan for the weekend. I checked the MASS calendar on the fridge and saw that Kuhn's Marysville festival weekend was going on, and that the longer xc race was Saturday. And, it had a late afternoon start, which could work out perfectly for the homestead that day. I checked the pre-reg list and saw a bunch of Chambersburg friends Joel, Martin, Chuck and Cathy, plus Fat Marc, Huber and others, so it was an easy dunk decision, and only an hour away.

I lined up with the 10 single-speeders, and among friendly banter, Keith noticed that I seemed to be missing a lot of teeth from my rear cog. Yeah, I geared up for this course to a 32x17. Most of the 10 thought I was nuts. I got the hole shot and held onto 1st for a little while until Keith blew on by. A couple more quickly followed, and then I had comfy 4th for a long time with no immediate pressure on my wheel. But, really, this being the kind of fast, tight, twisty course, without a lot of hills, it was the kind of course where if you slowed down to blow your nose, a couple guys would come around you. I worked pretty hard to hold onto 4th, but it wasn't enough and I dropped back to 6th on the second of our three laps.

I thought I had a little more gas in me than I was using so I picked it up a bit, and some of the guys in front of me started coming back, like Keith, who looked in distress when I passed him. I passed a few more single-speeders and started thinking that I was now sitting in 1st or 2nd. There were several Enduro class racers riding single-speeds still on the course too, so I couldn't really tell for sure who I was passing. I kept going comfortably hard, harder than I usually go, thinking for a whole lap that I had one of the top spots on the wooden steps. I haven't seen a SSer behind me in a long time, and I knew I had several lapped riders buffering behind me as I casually finished out the race with a smug smile and a blog story already in my head. As I'm walking up the one steep section near the end of the race, I hear someone grunting behind me. I turn to see Keith mashing his way up that climb. I yell encouragement to him to clean it, and then I think, WTF, where did you come from? I thought you were done. Dammit Keith, you're efffing up the end of my story. I jump on his wheel and try to sit in and think of where I can use my bigger gear to jump around him or out-sprint him. We only have a little course left and I tried to make a move around the flat pond section, but I couldn't even get close. If anything, he gained another bike length or two in last hundred yards. Nice job Keith! He took 3rd, and I ended up with 4th. Obviously, the real first and second guys were nowhere to be seen by us.

What a race though. It was like Fountainhead or Quantico, and I worked it hard. Too hard perhaps, as I had trouble putting away 2 beers after the race.

Congrats to Martin for winning the young experts and to Cathy for putting in 5 laps in the Enduro. I certainly did not wish for any more than my 3 laps...

It was cool seeing Kevin Dillard, who made the trek up north to race and shoot. Here are a couple of his shots from the weekend. Another gratuitous narcissistic shot from his RAW gallery, and a cool one of Fat Marc and Chunky. Marc had another battle with zombies on Saturday.


Shooter vs. Shooter, here's a pic of Don Pagano who shoots a lot of the Michaux races.

Wednesday Wakefield 2

Here's a cool pic of The Pedalshop's Amy Marquis flying to her first win. Shot taken by Martin, who I haven't met, but I recognize his name from great photography of White Grass.

It's funny how much I like a race, where your finishing position can be decided within 30 seconds of the start. If you don't get the hole shot or close to it, you're likely to not move much for 3 laps. Last night I got the #2 hole and was comfortable behind Pearce. Actually, maybe too comfy, and too safe, because I started bunching up the guys behind me as I grooved and chilled on the flowy creek trail. As guys got up my wheel, I was awakened, and reminded that I was actually in a race, .... oh yeah, step on it. Four guys got around me and I settled in for happy 6th. Though even 6th didn't come easily as Frasketti and Aaron were bungee-ing off the back of me and nearly reeled me in at the end of the last lap.

My gear consultant Albert pre-rode the course Monday on a 34x16 and determined that it was the optimal gear. As he says, his bike "goes to 11". He gave me the clue in plenty of time to change my gear, but I didn't take it. Albert jumped up to 3rd from 6th last week, and I did the opposite. So, ....what will I run for the last 2 races?

race pics

Gary Ryan knows how to shoot mountain bike races. He knows our race courses, he knows the special spots on them, he knows the racers, and he really knows how to get the good shots. Whenever I see him out on the course, I usually try to do something goofy.

from last night's Wakefield #1

Thanks Gary!

Wednesday night battle

Took that wimpy gear off for the first Wednesday at Wakefield race last night. My gear consultant (Albert) told me a 2:1 or harder would be perfect for the flowy fast course with banked turns, twisty creek love, and Rich's classic IMBA switchbacks. On went the 32x16.

If you've never done this race, it's hard to explain how an 11-mile suburban race next to the Capital Beltway can be so ridiculously fun. But, I know. This grassroots series has been part of my summer life for many years, and I had a grin on my face the whole drive over from my office in Fairfax. Yes, having to occasionally check-in at work in Fairfax gives me a great excuse to get down there for the races. There were 275 racers last night, so I must not be the only one jonesin' for a midweek adrenaline fix.

I lined up on the front row and was 4th heading into the singletrack. That quickly became 3rd as RickyD faded fast, and I thought I might have a leisurely ride in for 3rd. But, if you take your foot off the gas at all, someone's gonna be up your wheel in no time, and Paul G. and then Jon got around me. So, now I'm a happy 5th, oh well. On the last lap Paul started to come back to me and I hammered it on the jeep trail hoping my larger wheels would pull me past him. I had to work pretty hard to keep Paul back there, even after he slid out on a turn, he was right back within distance. At the last creek crossing I saw Jason, who'd been leading, putting his chain back on (for apparently the 3rd time). He jumped on ahead of me and gapped me, but he dropped his chain again, and I passed him for 3rd as he was running into the finish chute. Bummer for Jason, as he woulda easily beat us all.

The Bike Lane and PedalShop had the usual stocked coolers of rehydration formula, and then it was on to Kilroys with the crew for food and liquids (I had to drink H2O). Made it back to Chambersburg a little after midnight, which isn't so bad considering I sometimes get home from Darius' later than that after weeknight rides (with a lot less water in me).

from last year's finale

Reasons why I love W@W:

• BMX in the woods
• lots of places to catch air
• the banked turns
• the month-long trash talkin' and psych jobs (you're gonna run those tires with that gear?)
• maxin' the heart rate for an hour
• railing the creek trail without touching the brakes
  
• the coolers
• the Kilroys laps
• 30 friendly SSers trying to kick your ass
• I get to wear a dress without a lot of nosey questions
  

changing gears 2

After that whiny self-reflective post, I got a lot of feedback. Much of it consisted of "use a bigger gear". So I took off the 22 and put on the 20. Started off at Big Flat yesterday with 13 people, and ended up with 4 of us, six hours later after an extra fun jaunt on 3-Mile Trail. That gear felt fine all day, and I kept up on the fireroads for the most part. It didn't seem to hurt any more than the lower gear, but we didn't do anything stupid like Dead Woman Hollow either.

I also got in a couple of pleasant, short, solo road rides last week. Well, as pleasant as the Gilbert Rd. climb can be. This makes me think that maybe I do care about fitness some after all. I know the key to bike fitness is road riding, and if I rode the road twice lately, hmm, maybe I just do care. Or, maybe it's the time of the season to ramp it up? Or, maybe I just wanted a bike ride without getting all beat to hell in the rocks? Nah, I like getting beat up, must be something else.

The road riding from Chambersburg can be sublime. Quiet, rolling farm and orchard roads, Mennonites working the fields, the vast emptiness of Letterkenny. In 2 hours, I think only 5 cars passed me from behind the other day. If I want more work than just rolling, I can climb up Gilbert into Buchanan State Forest and head down into Fulton County or up into the Shippensburg area.

This week is the beginning of the Wednesday at Wakefield series. I was the defending SS Chump for 2005, but sat just off the wood in 4th in 2006, as everyone else got wise to the bigger gear trick for that flat course. Ironically, I rode the biggest gear I could (34x15) at those races and was always up front. I hope to make most of these races since I'm always looking for reasons to drive back to put in a day in the office (my paycheck still comes from Virginia). Was hoping to be able to hit the post-race Kilroys laps at the bar, and then crash with Nick or someone, but now Kim has a 6 AM boot-camp at the YMCA on Thursday mornings, so I'm gonna need to be home for Oliver. I'm not sure what to do yet.., but maybe I'll see some old friends this week.

Ridin' to school

Kim and Oliver ride the pleasant few blocks to school.

changing gears

"Why does mommy's bike have gears? Gears just makes your chain mess up" Oliver Camp, yesterday.

Time for some self-reflection. That's what blogs are for right?? Looking at the results from the Stoopid, seeing where I placed, seeing some friends names I usually finish with, most of whom were above me in the table. Why, I wonder?

Most readers of my words know that I take these long races at party pace. This isn't the Weds. at Wakefield, or Fountainhead, where I have had a realistic shot at the podium. It's all about finishing a long ride with more friends than usual, not being too destroyed to party after the race, and be able to ride my bike the next day. But I do expect to finish fairly well, given how many of these that I've done, I'm only 155 lbs, have decent rock skills, and I ride a bike which makes me climb hills fast. Sure, I'm 45, but, so what...., I ain't the only one. If I have any actual "goal" in these 50s and 100s and XXs, it's to finish in the top quarter of the field. I think I've done that once in the SM100, the first year I rode my SS, with a 32x18. My only sub 10-hour finish there.

So, breakin' the table down into 15-minute finish increments, ignoring the sub 5-hour group, let's see where I might think I should've finished... The 5-5:15 group, Withers, Jamie, Litterbug, nah, I don't think so. The 5:15-5:30 crew, Pete, Travis, Kuhn, Tomi, Topher, Taylor and Martin. Nope, maybe on a fun ride in Michaux they'll let me hang, but not when a gun is involved. OK, so the 5:30-5:45 group of mostly guys I don't know. But I do know Keith, and I know I ain't as swift as he, even with a missed turn. 5:45-6:00?? Albert, Buddy the Leg Breaker, and FatMarc? Now that's familiar company. So I finished 3 minutes after that group and I'm giving myself a hard time??? Three minutes behind Brian Kenny who usually kills me at the Wild 100.

I guess I can get over it.
I guess, if I really want to get over it, I can swap out that wimpy 32x22 for something with a little more bite to it. Sure, that'll hurt a little more, but hey, then I'll get back 5 minutes sooner and have more time to drink beer.

Stoopid 50

The Nittany Mountain Bike folks, Wheelworks, Kevin Bergman, and Chris Scott put on a groovy singletrack fest covering 50-ish miles of some sweet trails yesterday up in Rothrock State Forest. As with all of Mumbles' races, this one was a high-quality affair, even without the hundred volunteers he's accustomed to having at the Shenandoah 100. This one seemed to be run by a small few, including Chris' parents (who just heard about it for the first time on Thursday), Kathy, and a couple others.

There was some problem with the power when we got to the venue, as in, no electricity because a t-storm the night before took down the distribution line to the camp. And no electric meant, no water pump. Which was a major bummer since this 4-H Camp venue was chosen mainly because it had good water. Darius played hero and re-wired the panel box to a generator to get power and water running, and a few minutes later the power company got the whole line running again (so Darius had to undo what he just done (with a now "hot" panel box).

Stayed up late with Shawn and Buck (why are the old guys always the last ones at the fire?)
Up at 6, three hours before the start,..... what to do?
Eat two breakfasts, have after breakfast sessions, have a sugary breakfast dessert, then have another, and then,...don't touch anything on my bike.
Full stomach, on the line...
Off slow & safe. A very non-SS-friendly start allows anyone with a big ring to get way ahead of me. I had quite a time working my way back into familiar company, and it took to about the first aid station.
Caught up to Darius on the way to AS-2 as he was working on the 3rd of his 4 mechanicals. Waited with him awhile, then we rode off together toward AS-2. On the road, Darius big rings it, stands up, drops me, and passes several others.
Caught Darius and Tiffany Kenny on a singletrack climb. Also caught up to 3 teammates from a team with blue jerseys and shared the most annoying hour-long game of leapfrog I've ever had in a race. Two of them were on SSs, and the guy on gears was acting as 'coach', yelling encouragement to one of the SSers like "get on it, you can do it...". Why in the hell was I leapfrogging single-speeders anyway? What was wrong with them? Or me? Just drop me please, or just stay the hell back when I drop you, or at least give me more than 5 seconds after I pass you for the 10th time....
I've known Tiffany from all the Wild 100s where we've spent some fireroad hours together, and when I caught up to her early on she said, with some polite concern, ".... so did you have a flat, or are you just pacing yourself..?" Just pacing my dear, and a very low gear, no worries...

Behind me, Darius was having his last and worst mechanical, a broken saddle. So he had to stand up for the remaining 15-20 miles. Yea, nice. Since he broke his chain 3 times over the weekend and replaced them with quik-links, he had very little chain to get up onto the large cogs. So he had to hammer too, while he was doing all that standing. Sounds familiar.

Darius gets the tough guy award for that performance, and for the fact that he had to drive home, unpack, re-pack for 2 weeks of work in Charlottesville, and then drive down to Richmond to spend the night. Tough.

I finished in 6:03, about 15 minutes faster than my Michaux time, which seemed to be a common thing. Consensus was that this course was harder, and had more singletrack than Michaux, so, how come our times are faster???

IMBA Virginia Mtn Bike Festival

Some pics around the Stokesville campground from the weekend. Got some good shorty rides in, and was really cool to see all the VA folks again (at least those not at the Giro).

Oliver and his cousin Tiffany had a blast playing with all the kids and in the river. Bikers had a blast playing on these features built by Rich Edwards and Dan Hudson. Rich and Dan will be coming to Raystown Lake later this year to start building the proposed 30-miles of flowy goods there, in PA.

the rock skinny

Here's a great shot (taken by Jamie) of Dean earnin' the tough guy award.

Rothrock

I headed up to the State College, Rothrock State Forest area this weekend for an annual event put on by Griz. We were joined by some of the Stoopid 50 organizing crew, some State College locals, Karl, fast Jamie , and his buddy, Dean, the Dutch Eagle. EDIT: Dean easily gets the tough guy award after eating it hard, endoing on an elevated skinny rock ladder that wasn't too well constructed, and wasn't scoped or spotted in advance. After his biff, and some reconstruction while we waited on a flat to be fixed, he hopped on and nailed it. The only one of us to even try it.

Ray gettin' skinny (not the same one Dean biffed on)

We rode some great trails, a lot of which will be in the Stoopid 50, at least the ones we rode on Saturday will be. Sunday we rode some classics like Tussey Ridge Trail, Wildcat, John Wert, and The Edge. I've only ridden up there for a couple of the 101s, and most of that riding was done with head down and tounge hanging, so I really didn't get to appeciate how cool some of those trails are. A lot of it reminded me of the sticky green, boggy parts of the Monongahela like Slatyfork, and most others were more like the high dry and bony GW Nat'l Forest. Tussey Ridge Trail was sublime, and the new trails we rode on Saturday are beyond my wordsmithy abilities to describe. I think the coolest of which was called Chicken Peter, and it was recently built by one of the guys on the ride. Incredible rock work, flowy, contours, groooovveee stuff. Every single guy uttered "wow" as soon they exited that trail, and singletrack salutes, promises of riches, beer, and future earnings were bestowed upon the master trail builder. Let's all hope this trail is in the 50!

the 4-H Camp near Penn-Roosevelt that we based from.

the windiest part of the loop is not the best spot for a safety meeting

custom holiday lights, Rothrock style

I met some more really cool PA mountain bikers. Hope to ride with them all again.

Help a friend fight the fight,

Go here to learn about brother Elk and his girlfriend Samantha's battle.
Go here to buy some tickets and win some swag. Like an IF rigid fork.

Michaux #1

This is a pretty wordy post for me, but a lot happened. I'm sure it'll take less time to read than it did to experience, so if you're inclined, endure and enjoy.

The word of the day was WOW.

Though it took about an hour less than I thought it would, it hurt a lot more than I thought it would.

http://singlespeeder.smugmug.com/

My Michaux adventure actually started on Weds night at 7:15 PM with a bonehead move involving my Subaru, and my bike laying on the ground behind the car (instead of it being on the roof where I thought it was). A HUGE thank you to the The Bike Lane's Loren for quickly building me a new rear wheel, and to JoeP for delivering it my house on Sat. night. Seriously, home delivery. The Bike Lane folks make us feel like we're pro riders or something. Thank you.

Seems both Joe and I have trouble falling asleep the night before these early, big races. I saw 4:30 on the clock before I finally fell asleep, and Joe said he saw 3:30. Oh well, just like Shenandoah I figured.... Oh yeah, and then Joe locked the keys inside of his car, right next to his front wheel and helmet. Nice, at 6:30 on a Sunday morning. I called a locksmith in town who actually answered the phone, he said he'd be here in 15 minutes. He was here in 10, and got the job done. For only $40.

I lined up at the start of the race well away from the front of a huge crowd of 100 Monsters. My strategy was to start slow, stay slow, ride with friends, and finish strong. I also wanted to try to conserve some energy for the fun sections of trail, and not blow myself on some meaningless fireroad grind or something. Have fun wherever possible is what I wanted, particularly, Grave, 3-Mile, and Rattlesnake. The pace around me was pretty much like a SM 100, more casual pace. At one point early on, Joe and I were joined by Albert and Andy for a while, which I thought was fun. But those guys didn't want to be as social and chatty as I, and they all dropped me. My PA friends were all way out in front, all of 'em, Dr. Tom, Tomi, Pete, Bender, Joel, Buck. I rode briefly with Martin and Cheryl, but Martin got out for good after Dead Woman. Albert dropped me for good standing up and hammering up the Dead Woman Hollow climb, mashing his SS in 2 gears harder than I had. Good for him. I thought Albert would eventually come back to me, but he never did and had a great finish. I had Joe in front of me and in my sights for about 35 miles. I'd see him turn into a tiny red & yellow dot way off ahead, and then he'd occasionally come back toward me.

Joe and I rolled into the 3-Mile Trail aid station together, w/ Cheryl close behind, and we got ready to enjoy one of the coolest stretches of trail. But, Joe dropped back, not having the gas to enjoy anything at this point. When you exit 3-Mile, you stare right at the face of a soul-crushing road climb to get you to Rattlesnake Ridge, another primo trail to enjoy. I don't think Joe liked this much either, and I pulled away. Joe caught me at the last aid station where I was having some Troegs Pale Ale with Travis and crew working the aid station. That beer was reaalll nice, even better than the Miller High Life at the previous stop. Joe rolled in, had a little beer, and we took off together. The last 7 miles were pretty easy, and a nice gentle climb. Gentle enough that I knew it suited Joe's bigger gear more than mine, and I just knew he'd catch me after I opened a little gap. He'd been trying to drop me all day. I kept trying to look over my shoulder without being too obvious. I never saw Joe, and he rolled across the line a minute or so after I. Right before the finish, I spotted the 2 McClain kids standing on a berm on the side of trail. They were welcoming the finishers with thrown objects, and I got a direct hit to the helmet and some giggles. Then they ran off to find Oliver yelling that 'daddy Camp' was done. Oliver immediately said, 'can we go home now...', to which I said, yeah sure, right after about 3 or 4 beers and a massage.....

Don't mess with this guy

Gratuitous, narcissistic intense glare shot. Taken by Kevin of velophotos.net. From the start line at Greenbrier, right before I crushed my field, coming in 18th out of 28. The Bike Lane is gonna start wanting their money back soon....

Greenbrier race and camp

I spent the last 3 days at Greenbrier for the race. I was there Friday helping mark the course, then took Oliver and his cousin Tiffany camping there Sat. night, and then raced the SS class yesterday afternoon. Was a fun weekend, but one crowded with other events I had to miss, like the big TravFest, a Buzzard Rocks/Veach Gap ride, and a family visit with an uncle I rarely see. I committed to the Greenbrier thing months ago, so I just stuck to the original plan.

The Greenbrier type course is hardly my forte, but it was cool seeing everyone again, and PVC does a great job putting on this race for such a small club. This year, with it being a UCI event for Olympic athletes, Jim was under enormous pressures and rules, and has been working on this event for a full year. He did a great job. An NBC news truck was out there, as well as reporters from the Hagerstown paper. Wonder how it will turn out for next year? And I wonder if fishermen will be allowed inside the ropes again for a UCI Elite race? How many World Cup mountain bike races can you think of where the pros are sharing a 2' wide lakeside trail with fishermen?


Here's Anne, mother of 2 little-uns, and co-owner of the Bike Lane, smiling in the middle of her Marathon race. Her 5-year-old boy had some tough comp. in the Kid's Race with that Levi kid, and those McClain boys.

My race was nice and uneventful, and slower than usual. I was a little hoarse, sunburned, and wore out from all the pre-race socializing (and climbing those parking lot hills). I rode a 32x22, 3 gears lower than the last 2 years, and it naturally made me slower. Not that I minded, I don't think I ever was at a spot where I thought "gee, I wish I had a harder gear right now..." I can't think of many 7-mile laps that can hurt as much as that course can. Even the rocky singletrack downhills, which usually are more my forte, were hard, and I often couldn't wait to get back climbing again. Yea, seriously. Somehow I think Michaux-50 is going to hurt less than that. Yeah, right, something's wrong with me.

sometimes I like Mondays

Sometimes I'm glad I have a job just so I can have some forced recovery. Otherwise, I'd be on trails every day, and would be whipped and sore every day instead of just a few days a week. And this is just the beginning of the season. It's now Tuesday night, and I finally feel relaxed, if not recovered.

I got out for an unexpected short Saturday exploratory ride when a friend offered to take Oliver and her boy to that famous restaurant/arcade. When I got home from riding, Kim and Lee Ann were chilling on the back porch, so it was "top off the boys" time for a couple more hours of riding and skootering the alleys and neighborhood, trying to drain the last energy out of the 4 and 5 year olds.

Sunday was a special treat ride. A place, everyone has described as "actually fun to ride", unlike what we're used to I guess. Tomi and Shawn planned a Rattling Creek ride and invited me along. The trails were fun. The premiere ridge trail of the system reminded me of the type of trail/terrain like Massanutten West, but without the big climb to get there. There was hardly any climbing of the sort we're used to. Nothing even close to a hike-a-bike. We rode about 22-25 miles (I'm guessing) on GW-like trails, with Schaeffer-like climbs. OK, probably tougher climbs than Schaeffer, but I can't think of a similar place., I kept waiting for the ride to get harder, but it never really did. I started over-riding everything, trying to bust moves on sections that didn't require any move. So, I was frequently landing off the trail or on a bad line, and dabbing very unnecessarily. I felt like an idiot putting a foot down anywhere on these trails. 'Twas also a good day for many breaks, and lounging in the sun at an overlook. The kind of peaceful rest that rarely comes on a Michaux ride.

When I got home from Tomi's, my excess energy was put to the test. Oliver and Kim had just woken up from napping, and it was time to play wear out the kid again. I didn't even put the bike away, just took it off the roof, gathered Oliver and 2 neighbor kids, and off we went on a ride around Wilson College, down to the fishing creek, down the dirt road, back thru the alleys, back to the house, back down the alleys again, home again, a little soccer, more kids join, more riding, more balls in the yard. Finally Oliver was coaxed into the neighbors picnic with a group of other kids, and I sat down for the first time, and finally downed some food in the garage, about 3 hours after getting home. Whipped good.

Was glad yesterday was a Monday.

gearin' back down

There's a lot of new signage in the western part of Michaux, though only on the drivable roads. Can anyone guess where this is?

I discovered that being out near Mt Cydonia sand quarry, the far point of the course, with 2 bottom to top climbs remaining, is no place to be without my lowest gear.

A group of us set out to scout the western part of the Monster loop yesterday. It'd be all the stuff after Dead Woman's Hollow and before 3-Mile Trail. We were 100% positive that we started off down the right road, Three Turn Rd. We had some discussion on whether we found Long Mountain Rd or not. We took it anyways, and stopped at an unmarked fork a little ways in. Two maps, one compass, five opinions, one flat, and a safety check later, we picked a course. Another turn or two finally led us onto terrain familiar to some, and a woods climb that most instantly recalled. We hit a "T" junction with what we thought was Tobacco Patch Trail, so we did what we were supposed to do at Tobacco Patch, turn left. Problem was, that wasn't Tobacco Patch, and was just some other un-mapped trail that took us right back to the base of that recognizable climb. No one was jumpin' at the bit to repeat that climb so we decided to take the roads and get back on course on Hogshead Rd.

Out of the woods we rolled, past the trailer homes, past the sand quarry, got a positive fix thanks to a street sign, and then immediately made another wrong decision. Seems the actual roads on the ground near the CCC dam, Big Pond Rd, Lane Rd, and Hogshead don't exactly match the map. So, up the wrong road we go, and not figuring that out until we hit Red's Trail, which we should've been coming down. So, we gave up on backtracking down the mountain (some not without a fight), and decided to just go ride the familiar fun stuff, 3-Mile, Rattlesnake, Lewis Rocks and call it a day. We missed Tobacco Patch, Buzzard Rocks, Hairy Springs, and Reds Trail. Bummer, mission not accomplished.

We rode 25 miles someone said, and took about 4 hours with our stops. Four hours?? And that was with a long road descent, and road climbs? Just how long is this 50 going to take? Those road climbs hurt! I thought I was going to have to walk the last bit of Big Pond Rd. Yikes, I don't want to be walkin' any road climbs, in any race. If that starts to happen, maybe I'll have to re-think this single-speed experiment. Back to the 32x22 for me!

50 miler

The first Michaux 50-miler looms a few weeks away.
The crew have done several rides there since the snow gave way. We've done 15, 20, 25 mile loops. These have taken at the very least, 3 hours. Everyone is talkin' about how long 50 miles is gonna take. I'm figuring about 3/4 of my Shen. Mtn 100 time (somewhere around 8 hours?). I hope it's not more than 3/4.

Bummer that's it's the same day as the 12-Hour Lodi race, I know a lot of Virginian friends won't be making the trip up for Michaux.

Buzzard Rocks pics

Nick Daniels, Nov 2004

Here are a couple shots from Buzzard Rocks Trail, GWNF near Front Royal. Been talking it up so much around here that I thought I better put up something. I got these 2 published in The Riders Eye. My first and only photos published any where. This trail is so photogenic, and under-ridden, that they'll probably publish any shot from there.

Barry O'Melinn, May 2005