"It's not that bicycling is so important, it is that everything else is equally unimportant."

Sweet Cheeks Brings Home the Bronze!  
After a long exhausting drive down, beer and a campfire was the perfect remedy. Several of us stayed up late, drank homebrew, got to know each other, and generally had a good time all around. It was finally time for bed, which meant finally setting up my tent. The gravel felt great...

We were lucky that Team Mom and Team Dad were letting us crash at their campsites. These people were incredible! Best support group I have ever seen. When I awoke early on Saturday morning, the crew was already up and cooking breakfast. They requested that we tell them our rider line-ups and that's how we would be served breakfast - pancakes and sausage...so good.

This left us to worry about our race. I attached my fenders and then changed out my tires. The WTB Weirwolves seemed to be a great tire, but when it came to the mud they just weren't giving me the traction I was looking for. I settled on the Kenda Blue Groove 2.3 up front and the Kenda Kharma DTC 2.0 in the rear. Then it was on to the pre-race meeting, supposed to start at 10:30am, but started more like 11:00am. Nothing really important in the meeting, more of how to check-in/out between laps and a whole lot of pushing the race sponsors. Rolled back to camp to make sure Joe Whitehair was ready to race. He had never done the first lap in a race like this and had been spared the LeManz style start - until now. We all did some last minute checks and then accompanied Joe (who is in silver blouse and black mini skirt) to the starting line. With cameras in hand, we were ready. There is a countdown and boom, off they go. Joe is doing just fine on the running, up a steep hill and down, grabs his bike and he is off up the hill again. Get some pictures of him clearing the first muddy singletrack section until he is out of site on the fire road. Now it's back to camp for the rest of us to get ready for our laps. Joe gets back in just over an hour and Joe P. is next in the line up. He is a little longer than Joe W., but not by much. I'm psyched to finally get out on the trail for the first time. This is my first time at Snowshoe and my first time at a 24 hour race.

I don my City Bikes jersey and special "Team Sweet Cheeks" shorts. I'm standing in the tent waiting for Joe P. and downing my first gel of the day. He comes cruising down and gives me the baton, then swipes his card, I swipe my card and I'm running to get on the bike. I start my long climb up the prolog hill. Once at the top it's back down on singletrack. This little section lets me know whats in store - lots of slippery exposed roots, rocks, and nasty mud. I take a left onto the fire road and start spinning my way towards the next singletrack section. I turn right into the singletrack and start plugging away. The course starts off fast and I'm hammering it out. There are huge sections of 6" deep mud that is only broken up by the protruding rocks and misaligned roots. I wouldn't normally say the trail is all that technical, but with the addition of the mud it was. At one point there was a steep downhill right turn with lots of big rocks in the way. I tried to clear the whole section, but didn't clear the rock I was aiming for. Bike stopped and over the bars I go. I recover quickly and finish out the section and get to the next fire road section. It starts out as a fairly gradual climb, but gets steep quick. Taking advice from my fellow teammates, I didn't kill myself trying to pedal the whole thing. I rode until I was going to slow and then jumped off and ran to the next flat section before jumping back on the bike. I managed to finish the rest of the hill, which puts you just behind the start/finish area. Then it's more singletrack along the campsites with cheering fans. The fans give me a rush and I'm pushing hard when I see a ton of people up in front of me.

Everyone is sitting on the boulders surrounding the upcoming downhill. If your gonna wreck going downhill, this would be the place. The powerline downhill is a rutted out trail that weaves between the rocks, only made more technical by the mud. I hit it full speed and am able to clear most of the technical stuff by just going right over it. The bike feels phenomenal and the downhill gave me a much needed adrenaline rush after climbing the last hill. At the bottom of the hill there are several connected bridges and then your back into the woods for some more muddy singletrack action. This time the rocks were bigger and the trail had a slight uphill to it. Easy enough now, but that slight uphill would haunt me in my later laps.

Once out of the woods again, we start on another fire road. It's fairly flat and totally manageable. We make a right turn and finally start to head back up the mountain. The climb is long, but I'm able to stay seated most of the time and get to the first switchback. The road then gets much steeper and I'm off and running again. At the next switchback I jump back on my bike and manage to pedal to the top with lot's of mashing. I get about a 100 yards into the Hi-Wall (it's literally like trying to pedal up the side of a wall) before I'm off and hiking up to the top. I didn't see anyone clear the Wall the entire race. Once the Wall starts to flatten back out I'm able to finish out riding to the top, up and over the crest and back into the woods.

The next section of trail was quite fun, nothing was too steep, but it was definitely technical. The wooded singletrack finally pops you out and down the hill to the start/finish. The downhill is totally deceiving and makes you think your fresh enough to go straight into a second lap. Luckily my teammate Ricky d. was there on time and ready to go. Ricky was sick for more than a week prior to the race and we were glad he could make it. All in all, my first lap was just under 1:15.

I headed back to camp and got some grub, cleaned up myself and the bike, and grabbed some fresh clothes. My second lap turned out to be just like my first lap and I was in at 1:15 again. I switched places with Ricky so he could go 3rd and I would go 4th so he didn't have to carry his lights with him. I was fine with this as I got to do the sunset lap. Problem was Ricky wanted to switch back to 4th rider the next set of laps, which meant I only got about 2 hours in between my 2nd and 3rd laps. This would not help my 3rd lap.

My 3rd lap was under the blanket of darkness. It will go down as my worst lap and probably my most painful. The mud had formed into some thick peanut butter like substance and I spent the better part of the lap running/walking instead of riding. I slipped several times and dinged my forearms and ankle pretty good. It wasn't a good pain, I was tired and hungry and I needed a break. I pulled a 1:35 lap, but I was done and was able to get some much needed rest before the next lap.

Everyone took their laps and by the time I was getting ready to start my 4th lap, the sun was almost up. I opted to take off my helmet light and only take my bar light. It was a good lap, the sunrise lap. It made me really appreciate being out there. I rode almost everything and basically kept repeating old 80's tunes in my head, only broken by the constant repeating of Joe W.'s voice telling me to keep pedaling. I managed to better my last time by 15 minutes.

Now close to the end of the race we can figure out where we stand. We figure we can each put in one more lap, but Ricky probably wouldn't get out for his final one as it would be real close to noon. There is a quicky scurry that we might be in second, but it was all a cruel joke. We are solidly in 3rd place and we just need to finish out the race. A quick cut adjustment to my shorts and I'm out for my 5th and final lap. Knowing that I don't need to finish before noon has me taking it fairly easy and just trying to not hurt myself. I'm talking with a lot of other racers and just having a good time. Everyone shows up to cheer for me as I bomb down the powerline hill for the last time. By this time there is running water streaming down the trail, evidently from the bike wash station at the top.

This was about the half way point and I was pushing it pretty good. If I had kept up the pace I probably would have come in just under the noon wire and Ricky would have to go out. Being that Ricky "was" sick and didn't really feel like doing another lap (already showered) and I knew I just needed to finish, I sort of lost the motivation to go all out. I stopped just before the end to adjust my mullet and Elvis glasses before shooting down between the mesh walls and into the start/finish tent. It was 12:10 and I did a 1:24 final lap. It felt great to be done and Joe W. true to his word had an ice cold brew waiting for me at the end.

We took some group pictures, then back to camp to clean, pack up, and get some grub. The awards ceremony was at 3:30pm (wish it was a little earlier) and basically the only people left were the winners. City Bikes had a great showing at the race and put two teams on the podium. Team Sweet Cheeks pulled 3rd in the singlespeed/rigid category with a total of 19 laps. It was my first podium and it felt damn good! We all received shop aprons with our placing and division on them and some swag - Cane Creek bar ends and grips.

Thanks to all my teammates who did an excellent job of riding and were always on time to the tent. Special thanks to Ricky for making it out even though he felt like poo, I think he worked out all his bugs by the end though. Thanks to City Bikes for hooking me with a bunch of last minute stuff the day before the race and a huge thanks to Team Mom and Dad for all the support, food, beer, and a great time overall!

The ride home was uneventful and consisted of a much better drive and striving to stay awake.

DT
posted by DT at 11:47:00 AM
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The Journey  
Friday morning came quick and I had barely packed a thing. I had planned on working in the morning and then heading out to Snowshoe later that afternoon, but the hopes of catching the 5pm pre-ride had me skipping work to get things ready to leave at 11:00am and riding down with Joe P. instead. I scrambled to get things ready, took Buster to Dog-ma so he could run with the pack for a few days, fought some early morning traffic, and finally was done around 11:30am, just in time for Joe P. to pick me up. After packing the car with the overkill of packing I did, we headed out to Snowshoe at noon.

Traffic was fairly light and we made pulled into Harrisonburg, VA in under 2 hours. We stopped to get fueled up on BW3's wings and some SNPA. Our bartender/waitress evidently lived in the same dorm as me freshman year at JMU and we swapped a few college stories and reminisced how cool (cruel) we all were. After the quick path down memory lane, we were back on the road.

It was about this time Scud called and told us just to take 28 off of 250. So I read back the directions to him and all was good. Rolling along 250, we almost miss 28, but a quick u-turn and we're all straight...on 28 North...which is the opposite direction of Snowshoe. We find this out while buying a pizza about 100 miles up 28. Nothing to do, but go back another 100 miles and then finish out the trip. We pulled into Snowshoe at 9:30pm...it was a long, interesting drive. We saw shanty towns connected by tarps, two random girls on the side of the street in prom dresses, and a girl carrying a canoe with nothing but leaves covering her - well you get the picture. WV can be strange like that.

Finally at Snowshoe we hit up registration to find where we are camped. Only problem is we're not sure who the campsite is actually under. We do however know which camp they are in so we drive to that area. Within a few minutes we see a singlespeed 1x1 and know we have found camp! We pull in, grab a beer of homebrew from the keg, sit down, and finally enjoy our 200 mile pizza.

DT
posted by DT at 5:14:18 PM
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Wednesdays @ Wakefield  
The Wednesday night race was rained out, but it went down on Thursday night. Because of the rain I didn't ride all week, not since my previous race, the Cranky Monkey.

The race was held at Wakefield, but the course was different than the Cranky Monkey. The loops were shorter and we did three laps instead of two. At first I didn't think I was going to make it as I got out of work late and didn't make it there until 5:40pm and the race starts at 6:00pm. I quickly tried to change out the pedal that Crank Brothers overnighted as a warranty replacement, but it turns out they sent me a left pedal and I need a right. Put the old pedal back on and head on up to the starting line.

Pretty big group of singlespeeders and a majority are guys who can race in expert, they just prefer the singlespeed category. Off the line everyone was sprinting. Laps 1 and 2 were pretty uneventful. I started out at the back of the pack because that's where I usually line up for the sprint take off. By the end of the first lap I had managed to pass a couple of people, but most of them were still directly right behind me going into the second lap. Joe Foley stayed on back wheel for a bit until heading uphill into the racetrack trails, where he passed me. The field got a lot more spread out as the second lap continued on.

My third lap was much like my second, only a little slower. The hills got tougher and I had to walk the tops a bit. Things were going along good until the power lines climb and my front wheel let go on some sand and quickly threw me to the ground, faceplant style. Not really hurt, but definitely stunned. Took me a second to shake it off and get back on the bike. Continued on to the power lines downhill, a nice singletrack drop in next to the service road and was able to catch up to some people from other categories that had passed me when I went down. Once we hit the 495 fence trails I sprinted to the finish.

I came in 13th out of 17. Not exactly sure of my final time as PVC saw fit not to record the final lap times of half the fields...maybe they were having timing issues - Results.

DT
posted by DT at 4:51:03 PM
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Team Sweet Cheeks  
The stage is set for this weekends race, 24 Hours of Snowshoe. Our team consists of two City Bikers - Ricky D. and myself, and two other non-affiliated riders. Both of which are very strong riders - Joe Whitehair (Single Speed Outlaw) and Joe Penano (the Asian Wonder/Little Ricky).

Everything seems to be in order. The bike is working, still has a creek coming from the left side crank/bb area. Can't figure it out, probably gonna have to pull the crank off again (not a big deal). Made a few phone calls today to get things moving - called Crank Brothers who sent me a left pedal to replace my right, simple miscommunication I guess so they are overnighting it. Called City Bikes to let them know Avid (really just SRAM now) would be sending a pair of polygon rotors their way this week to replace my wavy rotors. Jesse called me back minutes later to let me know they came in right after we got off the phone. Finally made a call to Hammerhead Bikes who is running a sale on Kenda tires, $50/pair, and you can mix and match styles/sizes. Having them overnight a Blue Groove 2.5, Nevegal 2.1, Cortez 2.4, and a Karma DTC 2.0. So with the rotors coming in today and the tires and pedal coming in tomorrow, I should have everything I need for the bike ready to go with me on Friday to WV.

Now just to figure out how early I can drop Buster off at Dog-Ma Daycare. Hope to see everyone down there, should be a fun party, I mean race...Go Team Sweet Cheeks!

DT
posted by DT at 10:12:00 AM
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Cranky Monkey #1  
The race was on Sunday, but I actually started on Saturday...

Saturday was a Pay Dirt trail maintenance day at Wakefield, meaning if you came to the scheduled trail work day and worked the whole time you would receive 7 points towards your race point total. This worked in my favor last year as I was able to make it to all 3 work days and gather 21 points, helping me to come in a 5th place tie in the singlespeed category. This year we built some boardwalk trail to go over a long mud section, carried heavy buckets of sand/stone to fill in trail holes, and built a boardwalk bridge lined with tree stumps to fix a spot of service road where a truck had gotten stuck and left big gaping holes.

After trail work it was straight home, shower up, and head out to my Uncle Rob's 60th birthday cookout - complete with beer pong!

Sunday morning came all too quick. Luckily the singlespeed class went off at 10:30am, probably later than that. I had gotten everything together the night before so I was ready to roll. All I did was wakeup, brush my teeth, and out the door I went.

When I got there I got my number from the pre-registration table and then headed to the start area. Jim Harmon, the race director gave a very long detailed speech about the course, where to turn, etc. I seriously doubt anyone was listening as no one could remember all that. We eventually split into our groups and they let us go.

The singlespeed class took off fast right out of the gate. I knew I couldn't keep up the pace and was already dead after an uphill sprint start. Tried to recover on the road before cutting into the Bowl trail area. This trail starts off at a slight downgrade and you end up near the front of the park and start to work your way on some new singletrack that leads back to the top of the Bowl. The trail was now super slick and mud holes were appearing. I found out quickly that my 2.5F/2.1R WTB Weirwolf combination wasn't going to work so hot in these conditions. After every mashed stroke of the pedal the bike would almost stop rolling, just in time for the next mashing to begin. The bike felt like it had gained 10 lbs. in mere seconds. Leaning back, pulling hard on the bars and mashing the cranks, I soon reached the top and was on my way back to the road and over to the bridge we built the day before.

Plenty of flat trail here to catch my breath and recover now that I'm not riding a fixie. We then cut back onto the race track trails and start to climb up a trail I usually only ride down. I made it up the hill, but was pretty much used up once I hit the top. Once to the top we headed down the other side, then back up, then back down, then back up again. On the final time down there was a nice chance for air on a drop in and provided some much needed adrenalin before switching over to the creek trail. I played a cat and mouse game with a few sport people throughout the race as most of the singlespeed class was gone.

Then it was up and over the powerlines hump and into a nice singletrack downhill next to the loose rock service road. We then cut into the narrow strip of trees along 495 and pushed our way over dips and roots and up a quick steep to come out right in front of the finish line.

Lap 2 was pretty much a rehash of lap 1, except I had to walk a section of the first big hill on the race track trails. This is where Foley pushed on past me. Near the end of the lap I hooked up with an old riding buddy, Lee Diehr, who was running sport class. I picked up his rear wheel and pushed him faster than he was going before. Some friendly banter between friends and then a nice sprint to the finish where I pulled him in on my rear tire.

A goood race overall, 17th/19. I was tired from the beer pong the night before, but blame my lack of lungs for my performance. I'm still not where I want to be, but that's a good thing.

After the race, they did awards and gave out swag (good swag, not stuff the Bike Lane didn't have a use for anymore). I heard the guy who won Sport was a total sandbagger (probably would have placed in the top 5 of expert) and a rude loudmouth to boot. So naturally some people weren't happy when he also took some choice swag and 2 pizzas home with him. Me, I got no swag, but I did score a Papa's cheese pizza out of the leftovers. I also helped to clear the course of tape and flags afterwards.

Good day, good weather, a fine time for racing.

DT
posted by DT at 10:10:50 AM
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Good Friends + Good Beer = Good Ride  
Great ride last night. I got there a little late since I somehow messed up the time on my watch. I thought it was 6:15pm and it was already 6:30pm, the time the ride was starting. I got a phone call and told them to just loop back by the parking lot at 7:00pm. Then I was out the door and on my way.

Once there, I got a chance to talk to Bob who has been living in Atlanta for the last few months since relocating their for his job. After a quick chat we hit the trails, riding the new section from the parking lot as I did last night, but continuing on across the service road and along the fence next to 495. From there we decided to just head over to Accotink and get some good riding in before dark. Cruised through the parking lots, across the bridge and up the hill into the neighborhood. A quick jaunt on the paved streets put us back onto the Cinder trail so we could get back to the singletrack. More riding ensued and the trails were in great condition. It rained the night before, but it just made the trails tacky instead of dusty.

We took a moment to pause in an empty field. Lee managed to fall off his bike just sitting there, an old habit of mine...then we headed to the small rock garden. Ricky made a point to take it really slow and try to hop through it. He made it about 3/4 of the way, but couldn't do the whole thing. I tried it, but was far less successful than he. But I could manage to ride very slowly through it and used my hops to push the bike over the bigger rocks. Definitely a skill I need to work on more.

More lovely singletrack was ridden and logs were jumped. A lesson on riding logs smoothly came to a head, which of course prompted more log pile riding. We rode over to the large double hill, some went to the side, but Bob and I took on the hill and mashed our way up. From there it was just a quick singletrack spin over to the dam. Joe Foley was getting frisky and looking for some derby action and almost caught me not paying attention. I dabbed, but took the hit well considering Joe doesn't weigh 120lbs...a fun game of tire rubbing ensued (because it's not like we can switch each other into granny gear). We had a nice sprint along the cinder trail back to the cars, good for the heart.

After convening at the lot, we headed over to Kilroys for some SNPAs and grub. More conversation about Bob possibly moving to Colorado Springs...awesome another person to visit. A good time was had by all and the beers were cold, not much else to say.

DT
posted by DT at 3:28:10 PM
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Training Rides  
Monday after Xterra I took the whole day/night easy. No real activity to speak of other than biking to/from work on my daily commute. My calf muscles were still unbelievable tight.

Tuesday I caught up with Gary and we went for an easy Zone 1 spin around Wakefield. We decided to hit up some of the new singletrack sections MORE has put in recently. The singletrack was sweet and my legs were finally starting to stretch out. That's one thing the mountain bike does a lot better than my compact track bike does, stretch me out. We did a loop directly off the service road that ends at the power station. Then we headed over to the Bowl area to see how those new trails were doing.

They had to create some new singletrack to replace what they were losing by putting in another softball field. Luckily a large section to be used for this project was already a parking lot and an under-used playground area, so we were able to keep most of the existing singletrack.

The new trail has been implemented well. Instead of going straight up/down the hill side as it did before, the trail meanders from side to side and uses several switch backs to get you back to the top. It makes for a longer trail, easier to maintain, and yet still offers a tough hill. After messing around in the Bowl we headed back to the parking lot to hook up with the beginner ride that was getting ready to start at 6:30pm.

We had already ridden for more than an hour when got back to the parking lot and I was only supposed to do 1:30, but other than the thick humidity I was feeling great and decided to extend my ride a bit longer and go with the group.

We started off riding the creek trail at a slowish pace. I tried to take a jump into the creek bed, but coming off the sidewall I saw a nice log where I would be landing. Got squirely on the landing and ended up in too much soft sand and rolled it - laying on my back with the bike still clipped to me, ha. Then it was just some more riding along the creek trail, up to the power lines and then back down to the creek trail again. Tried the jump again coming from the opposite way this time and did a nice wheelie drop onto the more compact sand surface of the creek. Good times.

Back to the parking lot to drop off some people and then we all headed back over to the Bowl. Not as exciting as the first time over there, but still fun none the less. By now it's starting to drizzle and we head back to the lot. Just enough time to pack everything up before the rain comes down.

It was a good night for riding, the trails were in great shape, and now my legs feel much better having been properly stretched out.

Tonight Bob is coming into town and I think we are getting a small group ride together and hopefully some beers afterwards.

DT
posted by DT at 4:49:33 PM
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Xterra Pics  

I just uploaded all the pics that Kristin took of me at Xterra. She did a great job shooting and editing them.

DT

posted by DT at 4:34:37 PM
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Pain runs deep, but pride runs deeper  
We pull into the parking lot, only $4 for all day. A steal compared to the DC area. It also puts us 100 yards from Brown's Island. With help from Kristin, we manage to carry all my gear over to the transition area. I'm lucky enough to find a spot in the middle and right next to Scud's (MORE president) bike. Layout everything I will need, running shoes at the bottom and biking stuff on top of that. Then I head over to sign-in and get my green colored swim cap, signifying my 25-29 age group listing. After running into a few people I missed the day before, I get into my swim gear, give Kristin a quick kiss, and then I'm off to the swim start.

The river waters were high, so the swim got moved from the original layout. They let the pros off first and man were they ever fast! I was in the third wave to be released. By this time the pros were out of the water, but it was still crowded. I stood at the back of the wave as I was hopeing to miss out on getting kicked in the head. I stepped into the water right as the 10 second count down started, next thing I know the whistle is blowing and everyone takes off. I push out into the water and start my stroke. Trying to keep steady and not go real fast off the bat. Long sliding strokes is the secret. With one lap of two down, I start to speed things up. I'm swimming at about the middle of the pack I think. Still getting kicked and slapped occaisionally, but not as bad as I thought it would be. The worst was the rocks that were just beneath the surface. I only caught my knee once, but it was enough to stop and take notice before taking off again. At the end of the swim, it seemed people were running in the waist deep water to shore. I kept swimming until the water was too low and then ran it in. Back on Bell Isle I ran to the make shift transition area where we were allowed to leave a pair of running shoes. I left the only thing I had which was a heavy pair of broken sandles. Lucky to have those! We ended up having to run 3/4 mile from that transition area over to the real transition are where we would get our bike. While running over I could feel my calf muscles twitching already. I practiced going from swim to bike and bike to run, never swim to run and it was making a difference. I wasn't used to this change and my muscles did not like it.

At the main transition area I put on my City Bikes jersey, my socks, bike shoes, helmet, grabbed my bike off the rack and headed on out. Now that I'm on familiar territory, my legs are starting to get moving. I ride on the road path until an automatic dismount and run over a suspended bridge takes us over to Bell Isle. The route takes us around the center and then cuts up into the middle where the singletrack is. This is where it got crowded and I managed to pass a lot of people due to the fact that I can ride and hop over log piles up to about waist high. The tech stuff went fast though and soon enough I found myself bombing the downhill out to the service road again. I passed several people on the short downhill and tried to cut too far to the side while turning and spun out a little when I hit the gravel service road, but recovered with a true bmx slide manuever.

The service road goes off Bell Isle and up to some railroad tracks where we took a right and headed down to the side of the river. I think there was about 3 miles of flat service road before really hitting the riverside singletrack known as Buttermilk. I was surprised I could keep pace and that a lot of people were not big ringing it. The 34x17 gearing I was using proved to be just about right, even on the flats. We ducked into some singletrack and I'm following a few people real close. I know there is a root about one foot from the water in the middle of a turn that was tough the night before and most people wouldn't be able to ride it. Unfortunately there is a huge tree in the way to go around these people, so it was all about the running cross dismount and pushing through. I think I passed 3 people in that one spot.

We quickly came back to more service road stuff and were soon upon the 6 story step pedestrian structure that we had to run up. This put a hurting on my already tired calf muscles, but I stayed in with the pack. Crossed a concrete bridge and back to singletrack leading up. I pushed hard and was able to pass several people on the hills, at least until I came to a narrow section and people were already walking or just spinning. I had to jump off and run my bike to the top and get going again. It went like this through most of the bike. I didn't get passed too much, but occaisionally running up some of the tougher hills took it's toll and I ended up having to stretch my calf muscles at the tops of a few hils. The downhills we did have were steep and techy, which were great for me. I passed several people everytime we pointed down, sometimes getting a little extra air for the spectators. My favorite section was probably this roller coaster like downhill that went from one side of a valley and back to the other. It's like the wave section at Schaffer, only 10 times bigger! Fast speed with 20-30 foot side walls, like riding a half-pipe.

I was however disappointed that there were mandatory dismounts for everyone in certain areas. There was an 8" high concrete curb which went straight into a downhill so the other side of the curb had about a 2 foot drop. It was easily rideable, but we were required to get off and walk and it's harder to walk down the hill than it is to ride it. We had a couple of water crossings and a tunnel ride through. One of the more nerve racking sections would have to be the concrete bridge. You have to make a hard right turn to get onto it, it being a 24" wide strip of concrete with a 20' drop on either side! A lot of people walked, and again this is one of those spots I was able to ride and pass people.

We eventually work our way back over to Bell Isle and over the suspended bridge, back to the road and back into the transition area. I'm feeling really good at this point. I strip off my bike shoes to put on my running shoes and realize I've had my goggles around my neck the entire bike leg...whoops. As I start to run away I see Kristin and get some much needed screams and support. I take off and my legs aren't feeling too bad.

Out of the transition area we immediately start to climb, first a set of steps, then up a street. Next we are running down the side of a bridge. The day has been mostly overcast, but of course the sun has decided to peek out now that we aren't covered by trees. We hit the first water station about a mile into the run and I really need it. I take a moment to stop, drink a cup of water, splash one on my head, and stretch out my legs. The next running section is quite cool. We actually ran along the top of the flood wall overlooking the river. More steps than I would have liked, but gave me a chance to stretch the calf muscles again.

Once we got off the flood wall, it was back to trails, only this trail went straight up. They call it the Aztec ruins since it's a retaining wall with railroad ties that you have to climb up. I chose to climb on the left instead of the right. On the right there were more ties and it was more like steps, on the left there were steps, but a lot less so the distance between steps was bigger, about 3 feet. At the top it was back to running as usual. We headed back out to the streets and got another aid station. This was about 2 miles into the run and was great because they had both water and the Xterra version of gatorade. One cup of each and another 2 cups of water on my head and I'm good to go. After some more on street running, we finally make it over to the woods and duck onto the trails. This is short lived though and we are back on the service roads we used during the bike.

We don't see another aid station until 4 miles into the run. I repeat my hydrating formula and continue on, taking a second to stretch and talk and thank the volunteers. Now we get to the trail running. Much of it is the bike trail, but with a mile and half to go, we start crossing the James River by leaping from rock to rock. Then it's time to get wet. You have to run through several sections of rock that are completely submersed under water. The crew has removed the muck from the rocks and a thick brown line shows where to run. I make it across the river without slipping, but I know have a mile left of running in water logged shoes. Now on Bell Isle, we run up into the heart of the singletrack where the bike course ran earlier. I'm almost done and pushing hard. I lift my left leg to leap over a log pile when I get a fierce cramp in my calf muscle. I catch it just before it's full on, but I have to sit down on a log and stretch for a few minutes to get the tightness to go away so it won't immediately seize up on me. After stretching I start a slower paced jog and soon enough I'm heading for the suspension bridge leading to the mainland. Over the bridge, down to the street and I'm on my way to the finish line. It's not far now, I can see the Xterra tents. As I run onto Brown's Island I'm praying I don't cramp again. My muscles are firing off like their main purpose was to twitch and cramp. I run past Kristin who is taking pictures of me and can barely muster a "hey". About 200 yards from the finish I have to reach down and pull my toes up to stretch my muscle. Then it's a quick dash to the finish.

I'm done! The announcer is trying to talk to me and ask me questions, but I'm pretty much speechless. All I want is some water and food, which Xterra has a tent filled with liquids, cookies, bagels, etc. When it was all said and done, I'm glad I did it. I don't know how soon I'll be taking up the triathlon torch again, but it was a blast and a total body workout. It's amazing just how far you can push yourself and your body. In the end I met my goal of finishing in under 4 hours. My splits are as follows:

0.62 Mile Swim (including 3/4 mile run to transition): 28:19
18.0 Mile Bike: 2:00:51 - about 9mph
6.2 Mile Run: 1:23:37 - about 13:29 minutes per mile

Overall Time: 3:52:47

Good enough to put me 59th out of 75 people in the 25-29 age category.

Overall Results

Thanks to Kristin for supporting me during the whole race. It always gave me the boost I needed when I saw her cheering me on. Also thanks to all the volunteers who made this race so great! I should be back next year, hopefully with better fitness and stonger running skills.

DT
posted by DT at 11:50:01 AM
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Pre-Xterra  
This race weekend started off a bit different than most. I would be traveling to Richmond, VA a whole day before the actual race. This meant I had to have everything I needed and ready a whole day before the race. I woke up early on Saturday and immediately made a list of stuff: Triathlon gear (swim, bike, run), race nutrition stuff (Hammer Gel, Accelerade, etc.), all the stuff needed for bringing the dog (leash, food, toys), and then just a change of clothes for myself. Surprisingly enough, I had the car packed and was ready to roll before Kristin had even finished getting dressed. This is a very rare case indeed as my genes prevent me from being on time or ahead of anyone else when getting ready or leaving to be somewhere. With everyone ready and everything packed, we headed out around 12:30pm for Richmond.

The idea was to first go by and register at the Xterra booth. Parking was easily found, a great and welcomed surprise. We walked from a lot over to Brown's Island where registration was setup and were greeted by security telling us no dogs allowed on the island. Kristin held onto the dog while I ran onto the island and registered. Meanwhile Kristin was getting more mad about not allowing dogs. It's a big thing when your a dog person for dogs not to be allowed at places, especially outdoor ones such as this. Pets do become a part of the family and Buster is currently my only child...Anyway, I registered, got my packet with race info, t-shirt, and my number - #430. I took that as a good sign as it's Kristin's birthday - April 30.

I missed everyone I was going to hook up with for a pre-ride of the course, so after registering we headed to Rodney's house where we would be staying for the weekend. Things kind of sucked for the next hour or so as no one was at the house, I didn't have Rodney's work or cell number, and with a lack of food, Kristin was getting a little grumpy. After making a few phone calls, I headed over to a friends parents house who had a number for one of Rodney's friends who had his cell number. Called left a message, then went and got the lunch of champions at Wendy's. With lunch in hand we headed back over to Rodney's house and his parents were now home, so everything was back to normal and everyone was happy and stress free. Rodney got home shortly after and we all sat on the deck and caught up with each other. It's always good to catch up with an old friend. Decided to finally go back and do a short pre-ride of the bike section around 6pm, since registration ended at 5pm and the trails were probably not as crowded.

I got my bike together and rode on out while Kristin and Rodney hung out by the river. I skipped the Bell Isle trails as I know them pretty well. Over to Buttermilk and it was a lot of service road stuff before the actual trails. The singletrack was nice and fast. The previous day's rain had only made them tacky and not muddy. Not real technical, but that was probably from what I have been riding as of late - there were no rocks really to speak of, ha. The course wasn't marked real well and I got lost a couple of times, but nothing real bad. I rode for about 40 minutes or so before hitting the parking lot again.

Rodney and I then hit Ukrops for some tasty steaks and sides. Also picked up a bag of White House rolls...freakishly good, my favorite rolls. That night we grilled out and drank lots of coke. The first time in a while that I haven't drank the night before a race...

We were all tired and went to bed quickly. I was up early, my nerves were flaring up, which meant I was hungry. Upstairs Fred (Rodney's dad) had prepared scrambeled eggs with bacon in them. Just what I needed! After that, we got everything together and made our way over to Xterra around 9:30am...a whole hour before my race was to start!

DT
posted by DT at 11:14:30 AM
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It's Back!  
I got the call from City Bikes yesterday that my bike was fixed and ready to go. I dropped it off on Tuesday afternoon, so not a bad turnaround. The main reason it was in the shop was for them to fix (compression olive stuck in lever) and rebleed my Avid Juicy disc brakes. They called me early Thursday before lunch so I was able to pick it up on my lunch break.

Now here is why I love this shop - when I get there I see Jesse working on my wheel. Evidently he is just trying to get my rear hub adjusted and tight (which requires some weird hex wrench that I've already forgotten). But yea, so in addition to my disc brakes, they went ahead and tightened up my headset, adjusted the slop out of my front hub and tightened up my rear hub, rotated my spiderless chainring to the correct stance (had to be turned 180 degrees) and tightened it up (it was loose going in), trued the rotors (I know my rear was f'd), and to top it all off they cleaned and lubed the chain. Then Jesse also sold me the CK front hub adjustment tool (the actual shop one), which happened to be the only one they had in the shop. Now if that's not service, then I don't know what the hell is.

I also have a lead now on where my creak is coming from. It's definitely on the non-drive side. So it's either the crank, the bottom bracket loose in the ebb, or the combination loosening up the ebb. I think I can eliminate the ebb slipping, it doesn't feel like that and that would happen on both sides. So tonight I might pull the left side crank and remove that side of the bottom bracket, grease everything and tighten it up and see if that does anything. Be nice to finally be creak free.

But yea, got the bike back yesterday and couldn't really head off for a ride since my parents were supposed to be coming over to the house. Turns out they didn't get there until 11:30pm, I probably could have gone for a ride... I did however ride around my house, literally, right along the fence line. Buster loved it because he could run at full speed and only had to watch out for my wheels. After a 20 minute sprint around the house, I headed back in to feed Buster (never feed a dog right *before* high acitivity, they will puke everywhere). Not going on a long ride was probably good though, finally got all my clothes out of trash bags and into my closet or what passes as my closet. My clothes have to stay in the spare bedroom because I like to be able to see my clothes out in the open. Kristin on the other hand wishes to never see them, ha. So after that I finished up cleaning and put our final few boxes to go through in the computer/craft room out of the way. The house is really shaping up now and once we get a couch and lazy-boy I think it will be done.

Kristin gets home at 11:15pm and my parents, true to our family genes arrived at 11:30pm - only 2:30 hours after the planned time. After playing catch up and doing a house tour it was time for bed. In bed by 1:00am, and back up at 5:00am to drive my parents to National airport. It was nice driving on the GW Parkway with no traffic and at sunrise. Another should of had the camera moment.

Two days until Xterra and I'm getting super excited!

DT
posted by DT at 12:48:27 PM
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Daily Commute  
So my daily commute might be short, but I thank God for it everyday. Those who don't bike commute just won't get it. Those who do and are past the "shiny new" phase and have ventured into the driving rain moments or the 90+ temps where the humidity makes it feel 100+ moments, they know what I'm talking about.

I'm lucky in that I have two choices in how to get to work. If I wanted I could go uphill both ways or downhill both ways. I usually go uphill since my commute is short, but today on my way home for lunch I cruised the downhill option. The breeze made the stifling hot air feel much better. By the time I got home for lunch and was letting the dog out for a little romp, all I could think about was how great it felt to be outside. Back inside, I quickly fixed my lunch and went to sit, eat, and watch the dog outside.

While outside it occured to me why I bike commute. It's not really that I want to "do my part", although that does give a certain satisfaction, but I'm one man not an army and I'm not starting any revolutions. No, it's the simple fact I get to be outside, stretching my muscles, and taking a break from the world. Looking at it I know each morning when I roll into work that I'm fresh and ready for the day to start. Likewise, when I ride home for lunch I know it's time for a break and that riding back to work, I will arrive refreshed and renewed. Not to mention riding home from work in the evening, it's just the mental break I need to start my night. Good vibes all around.

DT
posted by DT at 3:57:04 PM
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Running Fool  
Last night I was supposed to swim an easy 1k swim. After getting out of work late and being that I was already firmly planted on the couch next to Kristin, it was evident I was going to the pool. Instead I moved my swim by a day and decided to do my run. I was supposed to do an Trail Run for 30 minutes with 4 Taper repeats (short sprint with 3-4 minute recovery).

So I got my butt off the couch and put the dog on his leash and off we went around 7:15pm. Kristin said she would start dinner just before 7:45pm so it would be close to being ready when I was done. Out the door and on the sidewalk, not exactly a trail run, but hey I ran in the grass most of the time. Headed up Lisle Ave. and up to Rt.7 where I picked up Magarity St., which put me back down by my house. At this point we ran by the house and headed to Griffith St. and took a right. About 3 blocks down we took a left on Leonard St. and found a random park at the end of the dead end street.

The last house before the street was not fenced in and had 3 dogs hanging out, at least until they saw Buster. Then they started the violent barking and snarls. Buster kept his cool, but wanted to go over and play. I kept him tight on the leash. Two issues I have with that house:
1) I hate aggressive dogs. I think they give bad impressions and even worse can mentally/physically damage otherwise normal dogs to the point that dog might snap for no given reason.
2) No owners to be found. I don't even let Buster roam around outside the house by himself and we have a completely fenced in yard. I think that shows complete lack of responsibility on the owners part and might even be why the dogs are so aggressive.

Anyway, they didn't attack and we just kept on running into the random park. Turns out it's called Pimmit View. It's a really small park, maybe 50 feet wide or so in most parts. A creek runs through the middle and it's lined with trees. The whole path is paved and has several options to get back out to the streets. You can easily see the houses. Buster and I do a loop around the park then I give him some cool down time in the creek. He quickly dips his head in the water and pushes water into the air where he can bite it. Then using his paws he makes water splashes, which he then tries to eat. Yea, he's funny like that, wish I had the camera.

After a little play time and another loop we head back towards the house and get in another good final sprint on an uphill. The whole run was about 35 minutes, but with the play time it was right on the money. Pretty good for not having a watch...

DT
posted by DT at 12:44:59 PM
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Rain, Rain, Go Away  
So this past week has been pretty much a bust for getting out on the dirt. I went to the Thursday night MORE ride at Wakefield/Accotink last week, but without my bike. I needed to collect some checks from my 24 Hours of Snowshoe team. I decided last minute to take the dog with me since I knew I didn't have enough time to ride. After collecting the checks, Buster and I took a run on the new singletrack that was created for the Cranky Monkey Race series. We probably only did 2 miles total, but it was really hot outside and I didn't want Buster to get dehydrated.

Now I didn't ride Thursday night, because I had a ton of stuff to do at the house, but if I had thought about how completely horrible the weathermen in this area are, I would have rode. According to the local news (all of them), Friday through Sunday was supposed to be sunny and clear, with showers coming late on Sunday night. Turns out those showers showed up 3 days early. I mean, non-technically speaking, it's either going to rain OR it's not going to rain - you have a 50/50 chance if your a guessing man. How is it then that these people are so horrible at their jobs that week after week and year after year, they can't come up with an educated guess where they are right more than 60% of the time??? What if you were only 60% effective at your job? Your ass would get fired, that's what, either that or your very lucky.

Anyway, it's now Tuesday, the sun is shining, and I want to go for a ride real bad! Only right now I have Mike from City Bikes Chevy Chase store putting the smack down on my hydro brakes, not to mention a couple of smaller things - tightening the headset, tightening the chainring...see the pattern, damn State College rocks, ha. It should be ready to roll late Thursday or early Friday, perfect timing for my Richmond Xterra Off-Road Triathlon this Sunday. I guess this will give me time to really work on my swim and run, which I have been neglecting as of late.

This little break from riding will also give me a chance to contact Avid about their rotor design to see if they will send me a pair of round rotors, instead of the wavy design. I also just sent an email to Crank Brothers about denting the cage on Candy pedals. Hopefully I get a quick response. We'll see how that goes as I can't find my receipt...

So tonight is an easy 1k swim at the pool, then maybe mix some Accelerade up to put in the fridge. It always taste better cold...

Also, big thanks to Joel Gwadz for putting me in his Friends link. Check out his views and rants on life and cycling at his blog, Gwadzilla. Then when your done taking all that in, head over to Gary's rants at rant-o-riffic.

DT
posted by DT at 3:30:41 PM
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Schaffer Night Ride  
I did the (monthly) Wednesday night Schaffer night ride last night. Another good ride headed up by Erin Gay. Gary was able to stop by my place around 6:30ish to give me a lift. Not driving is great! When he got there I was still doing some last minute adjustments - put in the 27.2-29.4 seatpost shim so I could use my Thomson post, big difference over the generic 29.4 I was using - no creaking! Tightened up all my bolts and loaded everything into the truck. We got out of there around 7pm.

Got to the parking lot and started getting dressed. Then it was time to readjust my seat position as it looked like it was in downhiller mode, pointing to the sky.

Everyone lined up at the trailhead and broke into three groups, fast, casual, and super casual. Gary jumped in with the super casual ride since he hasn't been riding a lot lately. I jumped in with the fast group, not because I'm fast, but because I want to try and get faster. Erin Gay was leading the fast group (6 of us) on his cross bike. Evidently his two other bikes are at the powdercoater, either that or he just wanted to make me look really bad, ha.

We blazed off from the parking lot at lightening pace. There are a lot of logs at Schaffer, but lucky for me there is almost always a bypass, which is important when trying to keep up a blistering pace on a fixie. It's been a while since I last rode Schaffer and I barely remember the trails and with it's tight twisty singletrack and hanging off the back a little, it was sometimes hard to see the difference between the trail and the leaves.

15 minutes into the ride my seat comes loose. I deal with it until we come to a section where everyone can stop and wait for me tighten it back up. In my hurry I tightened it with an extreme downslope, not as bad as pointing up, but still not very comfortable. I rode it like this for at least half the ride until we came upon the super casual group at a 4 way crossing. We took a break to chat and I took the opportunity to set my seat right. After this I led the group on a short section of singletrack before someone lost their battery light. When we all regrouped I was again at the back of the pack. We headed back to the parking lot to fix the battery issue.

Once in the parking lot, I was able to rest a second and recover, something you don't get a lot of when pushing hard on a fixie with people who can easily best you. When we got back on the trails we did the White Loop. The group took off fast again and I thought I could keep up, but that was a pipe dream, my legs just didn't have much more in them. I didn't get too far behind, but far enough I was riding by myself most of the loop. They were cool though and waited for me several times. I probably got back to the parking lot a minute or two after they did. At the end I was having a rough go. Lot's of stupid mistakes brought on by being tired - like checking my front brake on a downhill turn...yea, bike stopped alright, ha...only I kept going.

All in all a really good ride and I'm glad I rode with the fast group. Helps me to improve my speed/skills, while at the same time reminding me what it's like to be the slower guy. Even though you know your slower, don't be afraid to step up to the faster group...it's a learning curve.

DT
posted by DT at 1:06:09 PM
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East Coast North American Single Speed Championships of the Universe Part Deux  
This is a long one - it was 7 stages...

It began on a cool Sunday morning. Temps were in the mid 60's and rising with a slight breeze in the air. Everyone was gathering in the parking lot area when we were all gathered up and lead out on a fire road. This fire road would lead us to the beginning of Stage 1. We broke from the fire road and joined the singletrack and up we went. It wasn't too steep, not nearly as steep as last year's hike-a-bike, but just enough to get the lungs burning. We reached the top fairly quickly and everyone flipped their bikes over and headed to the summit. Eric Roman addressed the crowd, gave a few safety pointers, then dropped his helmet to signal the start of the race. There was a mad dash to get to the bikes. Enough people were there this year that people were still running to their bikes as others were taking off, about 85 total.

Stage 1 consisted of the Lemans-style start and then went immediately to 2.5 miles of the best ridge top singletrack, Tussey Mountain Trail. Riding on this trail is amazing. Your enveloped in green foliage and the laurel are in bloom. As great as these distractions are, you can't keep your eyes off the trail for too long taking in the spectacular ridge views or you risk being thrown down. There are rock gardens hidden everywhere along the trail, making for a very interesting ride. It didn't take long before I found myself passing several people who were unable to negotiate the rocks. Each rock garden I passed through only fueled me to push harder through the next. I'm in the zone and the next thing I hear is the familiar ring of a cow bell and young kids cheering us on. A quick glance and smile was all I could give or risk breaking my concentration and going down in the last few tricky gardens. Round the corner into a clearing, yell out my number "4", then make a right turn and descend down the ridge back to the fire road. I'm no where near the front of the pack, but damn that felt good!

Everyone groups back up at the fire road, getting water and food from the truck that will be meeting us throughout the day. These people were our saviors! Nice to have such great volunteers. Now it's time to ride to the beginning of Stage 2.

Stage 2, also known as "So that's where I left my lungs". It's the first real climb of the day and I decide to ride this stage instead of race. This is all on gravel fire road and we gain 700 feet in a mile and a half of riding. I'm feeling good enough to take a gander at the Bear Meadows view about two-thirds of the way up while still pedaling slowly away. I made it to the top just about the time the lead racers were finishing.

At the end of this stage we all climbed a little more and headed over to where our first true downhill stage would occur.

Stage 3 is a looong downhill. It's not particularly steep, but it has it's moments. It's more technical than anything.

We start in a two up time trial. I line up against Scud (about twice my age, but can still kick my butt at will). Roman started the countdown...10...5, 4, 3...and over comes Scud's elbow to push me over and he's off! I gather myself and go into full sprint mode. Just push past him before ducking into the Croyle Run singletrack. The first part is a slight climb into some flats with rocks littering the trail and it's already getting really twisty. I can hear Scud pushing hard just behind me so I try and step it up a notch to gain some ground before hitting the downhill. As we start the downhill, I'm feeling strong, don't even need to let my lungs recover from pushing hard in the beginning. A quick glance back and no Scud in sight. I'm pushing the downhill as hard as I can and trying to keep my speed through all the tight corners and float over the rocks.

About two-thirds of the way down the trail gets really narrow and really tight. In a corner, I stray a little wide by about 8" and end up catching my foot on a log covered up in the bush just off the trail. My bike immediately stops and I'm airborn! I'm not sure if I hit a tree or just the ground really hard, but I definitely hit my forearm. I take a couple seconds to gather myself and get my wits, then run back to the back, someone passes me, then I ride on. Takes me 50 yards or so to get back in the groove and up to speed. Another minute and I can see the fire road and people gathering at the end. Full speed out of the singletrack, down a little hill, and out to the road and pull on the brakes.

I step out of the way of anyone else shooting out of the trail and lay my bike down. Checking out my arm, I have a massive hematoma. It's lumping about an inch off my arm and blood is at a slow ooze. Thankfully the support crew had an ice pack to put on it. After several minutes of ice, I'm back on the bike and heading to the next stage...

Stage 4 is a two and a half mile climb up Gettis Ridge Rd. This stage is pretty uneventful except for the fact that I made the whole climb without stopping. Last year's race I stopped several times on the way up, but this year I was able to continue my slow spin to the top. I didn't race this stage, just like the previous climbing stage since I'm still a wuss. We basically climb what we just rode down, only on fire road.

Stage 5 is one of the most memorable, Wild Cat Gap. Roman reminds all the riders "WARNING - if anything so far has made you think that maybe you aren't the next Red Bull superstar, then take a pass on this stage". And with good reason...this trail drops 600 feet in three-quarters of a mile. That's hellaciously steep! That's steep enough to make hiking down it hard without using the trees to help you down. On top of that, the steepness ends in a nasty rock garden about 30 yards long. It's lined with boulders and makes it a pefect spectator spot.

So I drop into the trail and immediately it gets real steep. I'm trying to go as fast as I can and stay on the verge of control. My ass is so far back I'm basically touching my rear wheel and my seat is firmly in my gut. There is this rush that comes from knowing you could lose it at any moment, but for now, your hanging on. I clear one steep section and enter a fairly level area and pull off real quick just to stop and adjust myself before dropping back in. As I approach, I can hear the crowds oohing and aahing ending with the "oooohhh" when that person eventually bites it hard in the rock garden. I come around another corner and there it is!

I look at the flow as I'm heading in to the garden and decide to take the bigger rock line, which requires a bigger drop off, but looks to be a better line overall. Drop the rock, rolling through and getting bounced all over. Keep myself upright until I pass through the rock garden only to bite it crossing a small stream. Of course I faceplant into a rock and roll into the stream, but by this time everyone was watching the next person entering the garden and I'm safe from the "ooohhh". I grab my bike and take a spot on the sidelines watching the rest of the racers take their lines. There are some great wrecks, but even better recoveries.

Stage 6 starts off as a short climb on fire road and then we cut off on Old Laurel Run Trail. It's a wicked bench cut ride, littered with logs and rocks to keep you on your toes. At times the trees seeem to close in on you and there is much exposure on your left. This singletrack is classic State College and is a technical beast. About half way down I stop to check on Scud who thought he could take out a tree with his collar bone. Luckily he is ok (broke his collar bones 4 times previously) and just shaken. We wait for a group of racers to pass us, and then we start the rest of our descent. Once we reach the bottom, everyone is gathering for what will be the last stage of the day!

Stage 7 is the true technical stage of the race. You get points by simply finishing the stage without putting a foot down. If you dab, your out! Only two people were able to complete this entire stage in the previous year. I lined up near the back of the line to give my legs a chance to rest before hitting the course full force. It starts with a really technical rock garden, just long enough to make you wonder if it's ever gonna end. After that you continue on, through a stream, and down to three narrow bridges. The angle of approach is super tight.

It's my turn and I press into my pedals. It's an all or nothing effort. I push as hard as I can again trying to read the best line. Today was my day for picking lines. I somehow made it around the big rock that stumped most who tried it. I was rocking the rock garden! Next up was the stream crossing, no problem. Then the bridges. A quick snap and I was riding over the first bridge. Then on to the second bridge, but trying to line up I somehow got unclipped from both pedals and was moving too slow to keep the bike upright. I had to touch a foot down! Then I rode over the other next two bridges without issue. I was so close!

I'm not sure how many people made it, but it was super tough! We then headed on out to the pavilion to finish the race, hand out awards, drink good beer, and eat bbq. To pick the overall winner, Roman took the top 7 men and top 3 women and pitted them against each other in a go-kart race. There was one catch, he left an 11th place wild-card spot open. Who was awarded this spot, none other than me! I was the only person to complete the entire race on a fixed gear bike, and cleaning all the rock gardens was the just the cream on top. Being the wild-card I was last to pick my go-kart. It wasn't fast, but I was able to push anyone into the wall. A couple of times I just slowed down and waited for the next group of people to come upon me so I could get some more bumping. It was a blast. In the end, a roadie named Chip who built his singlespeed the night before, won the entire race. What did he win...

Roman started the awards soon after. He presented Chip with his prize...the title to Eric Roman's broken down Hyundai! Hilarious! Next he called out the rest of the winners and each took a prize from the swag table. He then handed out a special prize to the fixed gear rider of the day (me). It was a fixed gear mountain hub, machined by Level Components. It's awesome, the fixed cog bolts onto the hub, no more stripped threads. Then it was a free for all on the swag table and I think everyone got something.

Scud bbq'd up some burgers and dogs for everyone and beer was provided by Autos, a Pale Ale I think. A great ending to a great day. See you next year Eric!

File with all the links to my pictures during the race.

DT
posted by DT at 3:54:45 PM
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MORE Memorial Day Camping Trip  
Saturday turned out to be a long day. I got up early to finish packing the car and then headed out to pick up Trevor in MD. He was really close to 95, so no big deal, can always use the company anyway. Then we set out to State College, PA for the MORE Memorial Day camping trip.

Pulled into the campsite just before 1pm. The crew was just getting ready to go ride so I passed on putting up my tent in order to finish setting up my bike. This time I only had to replace my chain, which by the way is super easy using a power-link from SRAM. Did that, then made sure all the bolts were tight. Everything was good except for a squeaky bottom bracket. We hit the trails of Rothrock State Park around 1:30pm.

Going by the Purple Lizard map, we headed out onto some fire road, which turned into double track. For the first part of the ride, it was all uphill. Once up to the top we were rewarded with some singletrack into another section of double track that seemed to go down for miles. This would be my first introduction to long downhills on a fixed gear, pedaling like a madman.

Once to the gate, we did a hike-a-bike down a steep hiker only trail, MST. Once we found the spur trail off the MST, we were able to bike again. This was all singletrack with a slight downhill grade and a ton of rock gardens. The rock gardens proved to be a great technical challenge, but even better preparation for tomorrow...

Once off the singletrack, we picked up a fire road. This was the fire road from hell. We gained roughly 1200+ feet in just under 3 miles of fire road. There was plenty of walking had by all. At the top we climbed a little more on singletrack I call the paint scraper. The bushes were thick and mother nature was trying to take the trail back as it's own.

This lead to the last section of the day - a steep downhill singletrack. It was so steep, I actually had to stop and walk a section, because even when I was sitting on my tire I was leaning too far forward. It was even hard to walk this section without going over. After about 100 ft. I was able to hop back on and ride it out. Steep and fast on loose rock, pretty exciting!

All that was left was to take the fire road back to the campsite. All in all, a great deal of trail, lots of climbing, and a good re-introduction to State College trails. I think we did just under 15 miles.

You can find pics here.

DT
posted by DT at 3:18:36 PM
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