Not much going on here huh ? I originally started this blog to talk about biking and racing and training and other outdoor adventures. But since I don't train or race seriously anymore, general adventure stuff can just go in my other blog. So as a parting shot, here's my conclusions and analyses from this year.
Well let me just say that it was quite enjoyable not spending any time on intervals this year ! They had their time and place, and for about 4 years I got into it, meticulously recording my times and results, wearing a heart-rate monitor at all times, and even masochistically enjoying the pain they inflicted. So this year it was such a relief to just go out and ride ! Spent more time on the mountain bike too.
But I can also say that intervals do make you faster, just not in the way I expected. Since I mostly did them on flat or slightly inclined roads, I figured they must make me faster in mountain bike races that have little elevation gain - wrong ! The first few races I did this year did not have much climbing (Chainbreaker, Picketts), and whaddya know, with no training, I was still getting about the same results as the last few years with tons of training. Well, me thinks, training is for chumps ! But then came the races with lots of climbing, like Falls City and Jedi, and on these I was way behind what I could usually muster in previous years. I even used to think I was a 'natural climber' since I always kicked ass on climbs but never trained for it specifically. So yeah the conclusion is (without a *lot* of data I admit), that those flat-land hard intervals make you a better climber.
Let's see, in other biking-related news, man there's a lot of idiots out on the trails who have no clue about etiquette. If there's one rule that's easy to remember, even with limited brain-capacity, it's that 'uphill riders have the right of way'. You're riding down, someone is riding up, you're on narrow singletrack, you stop and pull over. No you do not try and squeeze by, just stop your bike and pull over. I've been hit twice this year by dorks who barely slow down and try to go around me. I think I will start keeping my elbows up, hopefully a good clean shot to the trachea will put them out of commission for a while and make them learn some manners. Yee-hah!
Oh, one last thing, I 'invented' this cool routine to prevent 'going to the gym' boredom. In past years, I've done gym work during the winter to get ready for biking season - like lift weights and do machine work - but I always got real tired of it after a few months, and was glad to abandon it once the weather was good enough to get back on the bike. This year I decided to keep going to the gym once a week even in the summer, just to use different muscles. Sometimes it was only once every ten days... and then I was going to drop it altogether as it grew tiresome. But then I decided to try something totally different : do as many different exercises as I could in less than 1 hour, maximum 2 sets per exercise, 12-15 reps, and alternate leg-work with upper body work. In the middle of the 2 sets, you go and setup for the next exercise, so you're never just sitting around. Then every week or so, you swap out 1 or more exercises for different ones, so you never get bored. It's kind of in between circuit training and regular weight training. Anyways, works for me - been doing it for about 4 months, about 3 times per week. What's it good for ? Not really sure yet....
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
MRT - ation
We're talking today with Cajun Mountain Bike Man, who recently moved up here from the Southern Bayou tribal areas.
So Cajun Man, I understand you've been doing quite a bit of biking around here, and yesterday you did the MRT (Mackenzie River Trail). That's quite a long trail...did you get an early start ? How was the drive over there ?
"Frustration"
Why, what caused that ?
"Defecation imposition"
Ah, I see, a call of nature while you were driving there. So did you pull over at a rest-stop?
"Construction, renovation!"
Oh they were doing some work on the rest-stop so it was closed...how long did you have to wait until the next one ?
"Destination"
Not until you got there, huh. Well I guess it was finally good to get that out of your system.
"Putrification, satisfaction"
Yes those porta-potties can be stinky.
Well, tell us about the trail - did you shuttle it and ride from the top ?
"Repetition"
Wow you did an out-of-back, impressive. How did you feel afterwards ?
"Regurgitation, hallucination"
Tired, huh. Well how was the drive back, more comfortable this time ?
"Exasperation"
Again ? What happened this time ?
"Pollution, procrastination"
Let me guess, you got stuck behind slow-moving trucks and other slow drivers. Well how do you deal with that ?
"Assassination!"
C'mon Cajun Man, you can't be serious...?
"Fabrication..."
Ok well you had me worried there for a second. What did you do when you got home ?
"Inebriation"
Sounds typical. Good talking to you Cajun Man, looking forward to your next adventure.
"Sensation! Confrontation! Miscalculation..."
Yes I'm sure it will be exciting...
So Cajun Man, I understand you've been doing quite a bit of biking around here, and yesterday you did the MRT (Mackenzie River Trail). That's quite a long trail...did you get an early start ? How was the drive over there ?
"Frustration"
Why, what caused that ?
"Defecation imposition"
Ah, I see, a call of nature while you were driving there. So did you pull over at a rest-stop?
"Construction, renovation!"
Oh they were doing some work on the rest-stop so it was closed...how long did you have to wait until the next one ?
"Destination"
Not until you got there, huh. Well I guess it was finally good to get that out of your system.
"Putrification, satisfaction"
Yes those porta-potties can be stinky.
Well, tell us about the trail - did you shuttle it and ride from the top ?
"Repetition"
Wow you did an out-of-back, impressive. How did you feel afterwards ?
"Regurgitation, hallucination"
Tired, huh. Well how was the drive back, more comfortable this time ?
"Exasperation"
Again ? What happened this time ?
"Pollution, procrastination"
Let me guess, you got stuck behind slow-moving trucks and other slow drivers. Well how do you deal with that ?
"Assassination!"
C'mon Cajun Man, you can't be serious...?
"Fabrication..."
Ok well you had me worried there for a second. What did you do when you got home ?
"Inebriation"
Sounds typical. Good talking to you Cajun Man, looking forward to your next adventure.
"Sensation! Confrontation! Miscalculation..."
Yes I'm sure it will be exciting...
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Raging against machines
Interesting ongoing article about bikes vs cars road rage :
http://www.velonews.com/article/83093/legally-speaking-with-bob-mionske---more-rage
Incidents are often triggered by one party trying to teach the other a lesson to pay for their transgression. For example a car buzzing a cyclist after the driver perceived the cyclist breaking some road rule. Previously, I would confront the driver aggressively, give them the finger, etc. But this usually only serves to continue the cycle of violence, escalating the aggression of the disturbed individual, and perhaps causing them to act even more violently against other cyclists. This type of response could be deemed selfish then, in that it makes you feel better for letting off steam, but endangers other cyclists in the long run. But then is a completely passive response the best option for society as a whole ? Won't the sick freak persist in endangering others, and therefore might it be somehow your duty to mitigate the dangers of this behaviour ? Well it's not your job to provide psychiatric treatment, so inaction is possibly the best thing, in that it is better for cyclists as a whole. Just hope the cops will nail the person for some other act which they commit due to the dark evil processes swirling around in their diseased brain. But now how to you dissipate that feeling that someone has 'gotten the better of you', if in fact you choose the selfless response of inaction ? Well the article describes how not letting the dark side take hold of you and escalating the conflict with a violent response, is in fact a victory. Here's some quotes :
My goal is to stay in control of my emotions. When a bad driver cuts me off because he is not paying attention or checking his mirrors, I am able to stay cool. Let someone else ‘teach him a lesson’-whatever I have to tell myself to get through those first critical moments without reacting. In those cases where it seems the bad and dangerous driving was intentionally directed at me-it is very difficult for me to control my knee jerk response to retaliate immediately. It feels like I am ‘giving in’ or in some other way ‘losing’. In order to change my reaction I had to change my perspective. If I lose my temper and escalate an antagonistic situation- what I am really doing is losing control. I try to equate losing my temper with being defeated, with ‘losing’. For me this is often enough to deter my dark side from emerging.
This kind of reframing of our interpretation and reaction to another is exactly what Dr. James recommends as a way of escaping the road rage trap—a trap that begins when we are endangered by another person, particularly when that endangerment is followed by an insult. At that moment, we are vulnerable to what Dr. James refers to as an “emotional hijacking,” with our rational mind being overwhelmed by our emotional limbic brain. The trick to be learned is to reduce your anger by reappraising the situation:
“Despite the seductive persuasiveness of self-righteous justification, you can compel yourself to reframe the anger-provoking event. Emotional intelligence provides you with an understanding of how anger escalates, how venting keeps it going, and how to deflate it through rational counterarguments. Negative emotions slowly dissipate as you force yourself to think positively and expect positive outcomes. The power of positive thinking lies in its ability to attract positive emotions such as empathy and forgiveness. These interpersonal and cooperative emotions in turn facilitate reappraisal of the anger-provoking event.”
Although there are immediate personal benefits to be gained by cultivating one’s “emotional intelligence”—a reduced likelihood of road rage escalation—there are other, long-term gains, both personal and social that are perhaps even more important. At the personal level, anger sustained over long periods has severe deleterious effects on our health; cultivating emotional intelligence helps us to let go of that anger, and thus, to avoid the negative impacts it would otherwise have on our health. At the social level, the gains are nothing less than the transformation of our driving culture—and with it, our cycling environment—, one driver at a time, from one that is anti-social (aggressive driving) and negative (defensive driving) to one that is pro-social, cooperative, and supportive.
http://www.velonews.com/article/83093/legally-speaking-with-bob-mionske---more-rage
Incidents are often triggered by one party trying to teach the other a lesson to pay for their transgression. For example a car buzzing a cyclist after the driver perceived the cyclist breaking some road rule. Previously, I would confront the driver aggressively, give them the finger, etc. But this usually only serves to continue the cycle of violence, escalating the aggression of the disturbed individual, and perhaps causing them to act even more violently against other cyclists. This type of response could be deemed selfish then, in that it makes you feel better for letting off steam, but endangers other cyclists in the long run. But then is a completely passive response the best option for society as a whole ? Won't the sick freak persist in endangering others, and therefore might it be somehow your duty to mitigate the dangers of this behaviour ? Well it's not your job to provide psychiatric treatment, so inaction is possibly the best thing, in that it is better for cyclists as a whole. Just hope the cops will nail the person for some other act which they commit due to the dark evil processes swirling around in their diseased brain. But now how to you dissipate that feeling that someone has 'gotten the better of you', if in fact you choose the selfless response of inaction ? Well the article describes how not letting the dark side take hold of you and escalating the conflict with a violent response, is in fact a victory. Here's some quotes :
My goal is to stay in control of my emotions. When a bad driver cuts me off because he is not paying attention or checking his mirrors, I am able to stay cool. Let someone else ‘teach him a lesson’-whatever I have to tell myself to get through those first critical moments without reacting. In those cases where it seems the bad and dangerous driving was intentionally directed at me-it is very difficult for me to control my knee jerk response to retaliate immediately. It feels like I am ‘giving in’ or in some other way ‘losing’. In order to change my reaction I had to change my perspective. If I lose my temper and escalate an antagonistic situation- what I am really doing is losing control. I try to equate losing my temper with being defeated, with ‘losing’. For me this is often enough to deter my dark side from emerging.
This kind of reframing of our interpretation and reaction to another is exactly what Dr. James recommends as a way of escaping the road rage trap—a trap that begins when we are endangered by another person, particularly when that endangerment is followed by an insult. At that moment, we are vulnerable to what Dr. James refers to as an “emotional hijacking,” with our rational mind being overwhelmed by our emotional limbic brain. The trick to be learned is to reduce your anger by reappraising the situation:
“Despite the seductive persuasiveness of self-righteous justification, you can compel yourself to reframe the anger-provoking event. Emotional intelligence provides you with an understanding of how anger escalates, how venting keeps it going, and how to deflate it through rational counterarguments. Negative emotions slowly dissipate as you force yourself to think positively and expect positive outcomes. The power of positive thinking lies in its ability to attract positive emotions such as empathy and forgiveness. These interpersonal and cooperative emotions in turn facilitate reappraisal of the anger-provoking event.”
Although there are immediate personal benefits to be gained by cultivating one’s “emotional intelligence”—a reduced likelihood of road rage escalation—there are other, long-term gains, both personal and social that are perhaps even more important. At the personal level, anger sustained over long periods has severe deleterious effects on our health; cultivating emotional intelligence helps us to let go of that anger, and thus, to avoid the negative impacts it would otherwise have on our health. At the social level, the gains are nothing less than the transformation of our driving culture—and with it, our cycling environment—, one driver at a time, from one that is anti-social (aggressive driving) and negative (defensive driving) to one that is pro-social, cooperative, and supportive.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Team ride
We rode our road bikes from Rob's house to Mount Bachelor - I had no idea there was 2700 vf of climbing involved, over 20 miles ! After 8 days of almost no exercise, it felt great to burn up the road - but I was feeling somewhat loopy at the top. There was the Big Yellow Bus Taxi waiting for us, with our mountain bikes inside - also inside were mountain bikers without road bikes.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Chasing the Ghost
A summer evening's solo ride, and in the shadows of the twisty descent, a flicker of light did catch my eye. Somewhere on the trail ahead, amongst the silent stalking pines, a flash of white then quickly gone. A trick of the light, a peripheral aberration ? But no, I'd seen this ethereal presence before, no stranger to me this shadow - with mocking lightness he effortlessly appears and flits away, and dares me to follow. Still I denied it, and returned to the dull singular purpose of driving forward, all-focused on speed and reaction and tunnel vision. But then again I see it - no longer any doubt - the Ghost shows himself once more. The Spectre has appeared oft of late, and now I know his name : Fleeting Youth - yes the wellspring of ageless denial is now starting to run dry. No longer can I ignore the signs - the Ghost prances away carelessly, and my dry attempts at pursuit no longer bear fruit. He eludes me frequently now, this vision of eternal energy. Yet there's something in this admission, some wisdom in the acknowledgement...perhaps letting go is the path to enlightenment. We shall see...
Monday, July 28, 2008
Oakridge Boys
We slogged up the Alpine access road for 15 miles and 6000 vertical feet, while shuttlers droned past us, probably taking as much time to arrange their vehicles as it did for us to climb. For most of the ascent a dense fog was draped upon us, with only occasional bursts of heatlamp sunshine.
Now, drenched with sweat and clouds, it was time for the glorious descent.
First came slow rolling grades and fields of bunchgrass
Then sustained, twisting, hand-fatigueing high-speed singletrack. Scant time for photo breaks here...
When it was done, a relaxing lunch-break, and then a seemingly endless discussion about how to properly finish the day. Some argued for shuttling a different downhill, others for calling it good and stuffing our faces with Foot-long's. Finally we settled on a short ride at Flat Creek, which the map showed was a 2.5 mile climb to good views, with an elevation gain of 1250 feet, which my tired brain calculated incorrectly as a moderate 5% grade. But of course it was really closer to 10%, and the steady steep climb in heat of the day nearly finished everyone off. The swooping downhill on the return leg re-energized us somewhat, and after that it was off to face-stuffing.
Now, drenched with sweat and clouds, it was time for the glorious descent.
First came slow rolling grades and fields of bunchgrass
Then sustained, twisting, hand-fatigueing high-speed singletrack. Scant time for photo breaks here...
When it was done, a relaxing lunch-break, and then a seemingly endless discussion about how to properly finish the day. Some argued for shuttling a different downhill, others for calling it good and stuffing our faces with Foot-long's. Finally we settled on a short ride at Flat Creek, which the map showed was a 2.5 mile climb to good views, with an elevation gain of 1250 feet, which my tired brain calculated incorrectly as a moderate 5% grade. But of course it was really closer to 10%, and the steady steep climb in heat of the day nearly finished everyone off. The swooping downhill on the return leg re-energized us somewhat, and after that it was off to face-stuffing.
Friday, July 25, 2008
14 hours of Umpqua
14.25 hours to be precise : that's how long it took us to ride the North Umpqua Trail in 1 day. It could have been shorter, but the notorious Sorensen Tire Jinx reared its ugly head yet again. In any case, victory was ours, and we accomplished the goal that was tossed around the campfire after our 2 day ride of the Umpqua last year.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
MRT Slice
Excellent ride on the MRT today. Buttery smooth conditions after a light drizzle, and still great grip on the lava rocks. Did an up-and-back from Deer Creek to Clear Lake. The Jet9 performed admirably : e.g. on the way back down through the twisty up-and-down lava section, I kept waiting for the tricky parts, staying totally focused so I could clean at all. But soon I was onto smooth trail again - hey, wtf happened to all those techy bits ?
What are you guys all smiling about ? No seriously, the riding wasn't that good was it ?
What are you guys all smiling about ? No seriously, the riding wasn't that good was it ?
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Never mind the Linkage, here's the Jet Pistol
Dang, after 3 days on sub-par wheeled metal, when I launched you forth today, did not you respond with uncanny acceleration and groovy trail-hugging vibes ? Was not I giddy with pent-up excitement that vented itself so excellently via the conduit of your gracious design ? And tho I thought little of taking us to the top so expeditiously, did not we set new records ? Aye Crafty Steed, so we did.
Jedi Mountain Bike Festival
I remember Cliff saying last year he wasn't planning on holding the 'Return on the Jedi' mountain bike race the following year, as turnout was low and it was too much work. But something changed his mind, because this year he and the Pistis crew went all out, providing 3 days of quality biking adventure in the Onion Mountain outback.
The setting for the venue was Sam Brown horse camp, a remote and uncrowded camping area that is reached from the Rogue River basin by traveling 13 miles up a winding single-lane road. Free camping and beautiful scenery - I think I've gone over this before in reports from the last 2 years.
The Pistis' (church related group who've gone especially nuts about mountain biking this year) set up the Blazing Saddles kitchen in the main pagoda, where they dispensed breakfast lunch and dinner from Thursday to Sunday : free for the volunteers, $5 a meal for the general racing public. 3 races were being held : a short track and SuperD on Saturday, and the main event - the grueling cross country race - on Sunday. Short track sees you spin around a short 1-mile loop of fire roads and single track, for as many laps as you can manage in the alloted time - usually around 45 minutes. SuperD is a cross-country downhill - nothing 2 technical - with a few climbs thrown in.
Leading up to the weekend, I had decided again to race the old (heavy) Giant. The fork for the Jet9 had been repaired, but with the suspect linkage, didn't want to have it break on the first of 3 days of riding and then be stuck with nothing to ride. But in a climbing course like the Jedi, with some 5500 vf of uphill, the Giant was going to be quite a bit slower - probably 10 or 15 minutes. Since I theoretically wouldn't be doing too well in the race, I figured may as well sign up for the short track and SuperD as well, since there was no sense in 'saving myself' for the XC race. Similarly, decided to do a ride on the way down on Friday, and probably another ride that evening, when would met up with the Sorenson's at the campground.
So hit Diamond Lake around noon on Friday, seeing there was a cool trail climbing up Mt. Bailey. A few thousand feet of gain, but probably wouldn't get that high due to snow and time restrictions. Sure enough, hit snow quite low down, but got in an enjoyable 1.5 hour exploratory ride.
Got to the race site campground late afternoon, had dinner and a couple of brews, and caught the shuttle to the top so we could do a practise run on the SuperD course. The top part of the course was all fireroads with loose rock - sketchy at high speeds - then it flattened out a bit, with a few climbs, then onto the twisty Jedi trail to the finish. Note to self : riding with a stomach full of spaghetti and beer is not a good idea.
Next morning, time for the short track. Cool little course, but sweltering heat abounds, and race gets delayed until it's baking at 11:30 am. People poke fun at my heavy bike, and in no time I'm in last place in the group of 15 or so. Feel gassed from the first climb, but end up not finishing dead last. So few participants, finish 3rd in my class and medal anyways. A few hours later, and it's downhill time. Another long slow ride up in the shuttle craft. Then a crazy Lemans running start and we're off. After the practise run yesterday, am feeling ballsy, and hammer it well down the sketchy rock roads, making it probably into the top 5. But then hit the flats ands subsequent up-gradient, and get swarmed by half-a-dozen climbers who blow past me and I never see again. Still, finish second in my class, and another medal. The great story is ChrisS and another guy who show up walking across the finish line an hour later, 3 flats and a broken chain between them.
Thunder and lighting make an appearance that night, but only a light sprinkle follows, so terrain still hot and dusty the next day (of course nothing like the real dust in Central OR). The main event is under way at 9am - still acceptable temps at this point. During the prologue loop - which winds its way through trails around the campground - including the famous deep creek crossings, I'm experiencing major sluggishness and overall fatigue, and I slow down and relax, knowing I'm going to be out here 3.5 hours anyways. Then start the 1 hour climb to the top - yep all systems are reporting efficiency levels way below normal - so at this point really stop racing, and decide to just enjoy the ride. ChrisS has gotten way ahead, climb for a bit with DerekF, but he too grows weary of my languid pace and soon moves on. Much later, I walk my bike up the last rocky bit to the top, and who do I see but ChrisS, engaged in what looks like major surgery on his bike. Apparently his Stan's has spewed forth, and he's trying to repair the subsequent evisceration. I stop and offer him tubes and air, but he's got enough of that (as opposed to yesterday, when he didn't have any :). So move in, thinking he'll probably catch me later once he's rolling.
I enjoy the awesome 3000 ft downhill, and resuscitate myself leisurely at the water station at the bottom. After this its only 1000ft of more climbing, onto the Jedi and done. I smirk disconsolately partway up the climb, as I see my elapsed time of 3 hours, 15 minutes, at which point I'd already crossed the finish line last year. Eventually get there, and I'm 33 minutes off last year's torrid pace ! Wow that's a big gap. I ponder how I could be so much slower, and arrive at a 'rule of 3rds' conclusion : 1/3 of it was because I was just whacked from all the riding and racing the previous 2 days, 1/3 was due to riding a bike that was 6 lbs heavier and less efficient, and the other 1/3 due to lack of training. There is some consolation that nobody in the expert class beat my time of 3:14 last year. And another amusing thing is somehow I'm only 1 point out of first place in the overall points classification for my class ! This is partly due to the Jedi being the State Champs race this year, which means double points. Too funny, considering I've missed a bunch of races this year, never been on the podium, etc.
But overall, a great weekend experience, and thanks to Pistis for going all out. They're even producing a DVD of the event : they had high-def video cams all over the place all weekend.
Almost forgot about another great episode of the ChrisS equipment malfunction saga : shortly after I saw him repairing his wheel, he finally got back on his bike, and then his carbon seat-post shattered, so he had to finish the race 'sans seat' - yikes ! And for extra good measure, he left the broken shards sticking out of the seat tube, just in case he had any misguided idea about trying to sit down after that. I'm telling you, these light-weight racing parts just ain't worth it ! :)
The setting for the venue was Sam Brown horse camp, a remote and uncrowded camping area that is reached from the Rogue River basin by traveling 13 miles up a winding single-lane road. Free camping and beautiful scenery - I think I've gone over this before in reports from the last 2 years.
The Pistis' (church related group who've gone especially nuts about mountain biking this year) set up the Blazing Saddles kitchen in the main pagoda, where they dispensed breakfast lunch and dinner from Thursday to Sunday : free for the volunteers, $5 a meal for the general racing public. 3 races were being held : a short track and SuperD on Saturday, and the main event - the grueling cross country race - on Sunday. Short track sees you spin around a short 1-mile loop of fire roads and single track, for as many laps as you can manage in the alloted time - usually around 45 minutes. SuperD is a cross-country downhill - nothing 2 technical - with a few climbs thrown in.
Leading up to the weekend, I had decided again to race the old (heavy) Giant. The fork for the Jet9 had been repaired, but with the suspect linkage, didn't want to have it break on the first of 3 days of riding and then be stuck with nothing to ride. But in a climbing course like the Jedi, with some 5500 vf of uphill, the Giant was going to be quite a bit slower - probably 10 or 15 minutes. Since I theoretically wouldn't be doing too well in the race, I figured may as well sign up for the short track and SuperD as well, since there was no sense in 'saving myself' for the XC race. Similarly, decided to do a ride on the way down on Friday, and probably another ride that evening, when would met up with the Sorenson's at the campground.
So hit Diamond Lake around noon on Friday, seeing there was a cool trail climbing up Mt. Bailey. A few thousand feet of gain, but probably wouldn't get that high due to snow and time restrictions. Sure enough, hit snow quite low down, but got in an enjoyable 1.5 hour exploratory ride.
Got to the race site campground late afternoon, had dinner and a couple of brews, and caught the shuttle to the top so we could do a practise run on the SuperD course. The top part of the course was all fireroads with loose rock - sketchy at high speeds - then it flattened out a bit, with a few climbs, then onto the twisty Jedi trail to the finish. Note to self : riding with a stomach full of spaghetti and beer is not a good idea.
Next morning, time for the short track. Cool little course, but sweltering heat abounds, and race gets delayed until it's baking at 11:30 am. People poke fun at my heavy bike, and in no time I'm in last place in the group of 15 or so. Feel gassed from the first climb, but end up not finishing dead last. So few participants, finish 3rd in my class and medal anyways. A few hours later, and it's downhill time. Another long slow ride up in the shuttle craft. Then a crazy Lemans running start and we're off. After the practise run yesterday, am feeling ballsy, and hammer it well down the sketchy rock roads, making it probably into the top 5. But then hit the flats ands subsequent up-gradient, and get swarmed by half-a-dozen climbers who blow past me and I never see again. Still, finish second in my class, and another medal. The great story is ChrisS and another guy who show up walking across the finish line an hour later, 3 flats and a broken chain between them.
Thunder and lighting make an appearance that night, but only a light sprinkle follows, so terrain still hot and dusty the next day (of course nothing like the real dust in Central OR). The main event is under way at 9am - still acceptable temps at this point. During the prologue loop - which winds its way through trails around the campground - including the famous deep creek crossings, I'm experiencing major sluggishness and overall fatigue, and I slow down and relax, knowing I'm going to be out here 3.5 hours anyways. Then start the 1 hour climb to the top - yep all systems are reporting efficiency levels way below normal - so at this point really stop racing, and decide to just enjoy the ride. ChrisS has gotten way ahead, climb for a bit with DerekF, but he too grows weary of my languid pace and soon moves on. Much later, I walk my bike up the last rocky bit to the top, and who do I see but ChrisS, engaged in what looks like major surgery on his bike. Apparently his Stan's has spewed forth, and he's trying to repair the subsequent evisceration. I stop and offer him tubes and air, but he's got enough of that (as opposed to yesterday, when he didn't have any :). So move in, thinking he'll probably catch me later once he's rolling.
I enjoy the awesome 3000 ft downhill, and resuscitate myself leisurely at the water station at the bottom. After this its only 1000ft of more climbing, onto the Jedi and done. I smirk disconsolately partway up the climb, as I see my elapsed time of 3 hours, 15 minutes, at which point I'd already crossed the finish line last year. Eventually get there, and I'm 33 minutes off last year's torrid pace ! Wow that's a big gap. I ponder how I could be so much slower, and arrive at a 'rule of 3rds' conclusion : 1/3 of it was because I was just whacked from all the riding and racing the previous 2 days, 1/3 was due to riding a bike that was 6 lbs heavier and less efficient, and the other 1/3 due to lack of training. There is some consolation that nobody in the expert class beat my time of 3:14 last year. And another amusing thing is somehow I'm only 1 point out of first place in the overall points classification for my class ! This is partly due to the Jedi being the State Champs race this year, which means double points. Too funny, considering I've missed a bunch of races this year, never been on the podium, etc.
But overall, a great weekend experience, and thanks to Pistis for going all out. They're even producing a DVD of the event : they had high-def video cams all over the place all weekend.
Almost forgot about another great episode of the ChrisS equipment malfunction saga : shortly after I saw him repairing his wheel, he finally got back on his bike, and then his carbon seat-post shattered, so he had to finish the race 'sans seat' - yikes ! And for extra good measure, he left the broken shards sticking out of the seat tube, just in case he had any misguided idea about trying to sit down after that. I'm telling you, these light-weight racing parts just ain't worth it ! :)
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Cracked tooth blown fork race
It was with some trepidation that I prepared for this year's Pickett's Charge race in Bend. My race bike was spending time in the shop, as its fork had been releasing copious amounts of oil, causing it to bottom out and otherwise generally malfunction. Additionally, there was a recall on part of the rear shock linkage, and it was recommended not to ride it until the manufacturors had remedied the situation. So I resurrected the old 31-pound Giant VT full suspension, and slapped some well-worn racing semi-slicks on to give it some decent acceleration (and consequent limited traction and braking). Seemed to work OK in test rides, though felt a mite skittish.
Then next bit of misery had to do with the teeth in my head, not on my chainrings. One had been paining me here and there for years, so finally decided to get some crown work done on it on Tuesday before the race. But this backfired, as it flaired up in major pain afterwards. Two more trips to the dentist that week, along with various prescriptions to kill the pain/inflamation. So cranky all week, and couldn't ride much as blood flow exacerbated the pain. Observed that increasing my alcohol intake to 4+ a night helped assuage the pain, however that probably wasn't going to make me any faster on Sunday. Then Saturday, after starting some new high dose adrenal inflammatory depressant drug, went to the gym to languidly move some pieces of metal around, and yanked something in my shoulder.
So started the race Sunday in pretty bad shape, with a bike I know is slower than my race bike, a throbbing toothache, and an ailing shoulder. But the upside of this is that I was totally relaxed, and didn't give a shit how I did.
The gun went off, and I nosed into the dust cloud created by the front pack. Actually the dust bowl effect wasn't that bad, having been mitigated somewhat by thundershowers the previous evening. The first of 2 20 mile laps went by rather quickly. Felt great and noticed my split time was good, even with the CIA technical section they added this year. Was having a blast - full suspension just plain makes racing more fun. Not much to report on this race : temps were great, no controversies, racers very courteous and allowing people to pass. Had a good surge at the end, and passed a couple people on the downhill, which is rare.
Then next bit of misery had to do with the teeth in my head, not on my chainrings. One had been paining me here and there for years, so finally decided to get some crown work done on it on Tuesday before the race. But this backfired, as it flaired up in major pain afterwards. Two more trips to the dentist that week, along with various prescriptions to kill the pain/inflamation. So cranky all week, and couldn't ride much as blood flow exacerbated the pain. Observed that increasing my alcohol intake to 4+ a night helped assuage the pain, however that probably wasn't going to make me any faster on Sunday. Then Saturday, after starting some new high dose adrenal inflammatory depressant drug, went to the gym to languidly move some pieces of metal around, and yanked something in my shoulder.
So started the race Sunday in pretty bad shape, with a bike I know is slower than my race bike, a throbbing toothache, and an ailing shoulder. But the upside of this is that I was totally relaxed, and didn't give a shit how I did.
The gun went off, and I nosed into the dust cloud created by the front pack. Actually the dust bowl effect wasn't that bad, having been mitigated somewhat by thundershowers the previous evening. The first of 2 20 mile laps went by rather quickly. Felt great and noticed my split time was good, even with the CIA technical section they added this year. Was having a blast - full suspension just plain makes racing more fun. Not much to report on this race : temps were great, no controversies, racers very courteous and allowing people to pass. Had a good surge at the end, and passed a couple people on the downhill, which is rare.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Things you can pull out of your dog's ass
was just one of the many interesting dinner conversation topics at Chris's house the evening after the Firecracker race. I guess we were tired and strung out after a 2.5 hour race with 4500 vf of climbing. The course was brutal and fun, with an awesome downhill - continuous from top to bottom - and a steep slog back up to the top on singletrack. We had to do 4 laps of the fun/pain cycle. I didn't preride the downhill, so it was all a surprise on the first lap - especially the table-top with an unexpected steep runout, which cause me to land too front-heavy and go flying over the bars, towards an old-growth tree that didn't look like a soft impact. Managed to twist my body and only graze the big old conifer, resulting in upper and lower body scrapes. Otherwise, was fortunately OK, and back on the bike in less than 30 seconds after untwisting my handlebars and re-railing the chain. Hmm, I better setup the rebound correctly on my rear shock, as the the crash shouldn't have happened under normal circumstances.
The Crash made me a bit hesitant afterwards, as lost confidence in my bike setup (I found out later something was wrong with my fork, as it was bottoming out on any sharp hit). Caught up to the people who passed me while I was down on next climb. But then for the next 2 laps got in this annoying cycle where people who were climbing faster than me passed me 2/3 of the way up the climb, then I would get stuck behind them and their feeble downhill skills for half the descent, virtually twiddling my thumbs waiting for a passing opportunity - there was no way to pass unless someone in front of you screwed up or crashed, as the downhill was continous narrow single track. This was the only failing of the course, and a critical one if you got caught behind the wrong people. I don't usually get pissed off or annoyed during a race, but I'll admit I was unhappy to not be getting full enjoyment out of the downhills. Losing time was secondary to loss of enjoyment :) Finally on last lap I had the downhill to myself and had smiley face syndrome, though was hard to hang onto the bars after 2.5 hours of racing. Actually almost missed the free ride, as a climber came up behind me just as I was entering the final downhill. Put over a minute on him on the final run - so the downhill times actually have some impact on final results, unlike most races. Ok enough whining :) Many people commented that I should have been more vocal, asking slower riders to pull over lest I run them over. Yeah maybe I try that next time - but these weren't like beginners, just slightly slower Experts, so not a big deal to me at the time. Anyways had I not crashed, I probably would have able to avoid being caught in the downhill slowdown cycle. Shit, are you still talking about this ? Shutup already !:) Now start working on slow-rider harpoon.
Official beer of the Kermit Green Jet9'ers
Post race hydration
Trail work next day
Post trail work hydration
Chainbreaker break
Mid ride log ring
The Crash made me a bit hesitant afterwards, as lost confidence in my bike setup (I found out later something was wrong with my fork, as it was bottoming out on any sharp hit). Caught up to the people who passed me while I was down on next climb. But then for the next 2 laps got in this annoying cycle where people who were climbing faster than me passed me 2/3 of the way up the climb, then I would get stuck behind them and their feeble downhill skills for half the descent, virtually twiddling my thumbs waiting for a passing opportunity - there was no way to pass unless someone in front of you screwed up or crashed, as the downhill was continous narrow single track. This was the only failing of the course, and a critical one if you got caught behind the wrong people. I don't usually get pissed off or annoyed during a race, but I'll admit I was unhappy to not be getting full enjoyment out of the downhills. Losing time was secondary to loss of enjoyment :) Finally on last lap I had the downhill to myself and had smiley face syndrome, though was hard to hang onto the bars after 2.5 hours of racing. Actually almost missed the free ride, as a climber came up behind me just as I was entering the final downhill. Put over a minute on him on the final run - so the downhill times actually have some impact on final results, unlike most races. Ok enough whining :) Many people commented that I should have been more vocal, asking slower riders to pull over lest I run them over. Yeah maybe I try that next time - but these weren't like beginners, just slightly slower Experts, so not a big deal to me at the time. Anyways had I not crashed, I probably would have able to avoid being caught in the downhill slowdown cycle. Shit, are you still talking about this ? Shutup already !:) Now start working on slow-rider harpoon.
Official beer of the Kermit Green Jet9'ers
Post race hydration
Trail work next day
Post trail work hydration
Chainbreaker break
Mid ride log ring
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Going Nowhere Fast
The skies have been pissing down rain here for a week now. This is highly unusual, and most unwelcome. I haven't been out on my mountain bike for almost 2 weeks (insert short violin solo). Got a race coming up this weekend, so needed to get some workouts in.
On Wednesday, I decided to leave work at 5pm if it wasn't raining, and take my road bike up and down the Butte beside my house for some hill climb intervals. At 4:59 pm, went to the window to ascertain the weather situation : some dark clouds, but no rain, and the streets were drying out from earlier rain. At 5:01 pm, exited the building, and it was pouring down rain - WTH ? But the deluge was localized, with no rain at the house, so out I went. Several minutes later, rain. It proceeded to rain hard for the next hour, while I gamely pounded up the steep hills. My 'all-weather' booties soon filled up with water, and each foot gained an additional 5 pounds (glass half full : better workout, right ?). After 4 climbs, dragged my soaked self home. (Insert cartoonish pouring out of 20 gallons of water from each boot).
Thurday, serious rain all day. Had optimistically packed my mountain bike, but no way Jose was I heading out for a sad soaked muddy ride. Upon arriving home, decided to ride the trainer in the garage. This is for me a most unhappy proposition, as I can't stand riding in one spot for an hour or more, with no distractions save for pounding loud workout music. In fact, I never last more than an hour, ejecting myself jubilantly from the enslaving device at that point. But gotta endure it somehow - no other choice. I make up some over-under type workout, where go very hard for a minute or 2, then tone it down a bit for double that time, then rest for the sum of the hard parts. Soon I'm sweating from every pore, the liquid dripping in a steady stream all over the bike and the floor. Man, don't remember ever sweating this much. Every time I take my hands off the bar for a breather, and then replace them, the water squishes out of the half-gloves I'm wearing. Soon I've saturated every towel and other pieces of clothing, from siphoning the sweat from my oozing head. Am I working too hard ? My heart rate monitor broke a year ago, so no feedback beyond the raspy breathing and pounding in the chest.
When it's all over, head back into the house, and holy shit is it freezing in there! Check the thermometer - room temperature... ? Take a shower, head back into the garage, and it's like entering a blast furnace ! My workout must have raised the temp in the garage by 20 degrees ! (insert some vague idea about recapturing energy to save on heating costs...)
On Wednesday, I decided to leave work at 5pm if it wasn't raining, and take my road bike up and down the Butte beside my house for some hill climb intervals. At 4:59 pm, went to the window to ascertain the weather situation : some dark clouds, but no rain, and the streets were drying out from earlier rain. At 5:01 pm, exited the building, and it was pouring down rain - WTH ? But the deluge was localized, with no rain at the house, so out I went. Several minutes later, rain. It proceeded to rain hard for the next hour, while I gamely pounded up the steep hills. My 'all-weather' booties soon filled up with water, and each foot gained an additional 5 pounds (glass half full : better workout, right ?). After 4 climbs, dragged my soaked self home. (Insert cartoonish pouring out of 20 gallons of water from each boot).
Thurday, serious rain all day. Had optimistically packed my mountain bike, but no way Jose was I heading out for a sad soaked muddy ride. Upon arriving home, decided to ride the trainer in the garage. This is for me a most unhappy proposition, as I can't stand riding in one spot for an hour or more, with no distractions save for pounding loud workout music. In fact, I never last more than an hour, ejecting myself jubilantly from the enslaving device at that point. But gotta endure it somehow - no other choice. I make up some over-under type workout, where go very hard for a minute or 2, then tone it down a bit for double that time, then rest for the sum of the hard parts. Soon I'm sweating from every pore, the liquid dripping in a steady stream all over the bike and the floor. Man, don't remember ever sweating this much. Every time I take my hands off the bar for a breather, and then replace them, the water squishes out of the half-gloves I'm wearing. Soon I've saturated every towel and other pieces of clothing, from siphoning the sweat from my oozing head. Am I working too hard ? My heart rate monitor broke a year ago, so no feedback beyond the raspy breathing and pounding in the chest.
When it's all over, head back into the house, and holy shit is it freezing in there! Check the thermometer - room temperature... ? Take a shower, head back into the garage, and it's like entering a blast furnace ! My workout must have raised the temp in the garage by 20 degrees ! (insert some vague idea about recapturing energy to save on heating costs...)
Monday, May 19, 2008
Bear Springs
Team WebCyclery/Niner headed up to the race Sunday morning, with 3 full-suspension Niners in the bed of Dan's pickup. Rob and my kermit-green Jet9's were eager to demonstrate their prowess once more, after their initial testing in the Chainbreaker last weekend. Dan was hoping to redeem himself after an early exit from that race, due to a brutal crash that ensued after his pedal clipped a large unseen rock whereupon he catapulted over the bars and made contact with the ground head first. Actually wait, Rob needed some redemption as well, as a maladjusted seat-post height had caused massive leg cramping, resulting in him not finishing the race either. I was also somewhat apprehensive, as I wondered if the good showing I'd had on this new bike was a fluke. Today's race would be quite a bit harder, and the potential for debilitating cramps much higher. I had a secret weapon though maybe : rummaging through some old boxes full of various race gels and bars, I had found this sample tube of electrolyte replacement I'd picked up at some race last year. Mix with 32 oz of water it said, and enjoy increased performance and eternal happiness - or something to that effect. Of course it's one of the major taboos to never try anything new on race day, but it tasted ok, so in it went.
The race start was the usual cluster-fuck, with a steep rutted hike-a-bike right after we'd turned off the road into the singletrack. Dozens of racers rubbed shoulders scrambling up awkwardly in stiff biking shoes, and several end-arounds were possible with quick-thinking creative route finding skills - I observed ChrisS execute a couple of these, and jump ahead several spots. Many sections of snow confused the issue as well. Soon we were spread out somewhat on the rolling singletrack, which helped dissipate some of the adrenalin. Not too long afterwards we crossed back over our initial trajectory, to the cheers of the roaring crowd - well all 8 of them. Another steep doubletrack climb, which was going to be difficult to clean due to the throng ahead of me. Oops, there goes one sideways, with a domino effect taking out a couple of riders. A minor karfuffle ensued, with much use of sailor language and use of the bike as a wacking device. Cooler heads managed just to prevail, and I was able to scoot around a large clot of walkers/wankers/wackers. Saw DanW ahead, but only briefly as he dropped his chain near the top (add foreshadowing music here:).
The singletrack was a blast, and the Jet9 was eating it up nicely. Got to the long talus field section, replete with large jagged rocks, and was hoping to drive the dually through there to see if I could make it. However a large group of riders just ahead had all dismounted it and were walking it, so I followed suit. Near the end of the section, some 'hero' came behind me still on his bike (or had just gotten back on) and attempted to call us to move over so he could ride through. Uh sorry buddy, when you see a big crowd like this in front of you walking, you've got to walk too. He attempted to ram through anyways, his tire catching the back of my leg. Ok, that's it, I turned around and popped him in the face. Just kidding :) well hopefully he got the message when we didn't all jump aside.
After a great downhill we hit a longish fireroad climb, and I saw the other Jet9 - with RobU aboard - just up ahead. Caught up to him, and that little extra effort seemed to initiate the nauseousness that dogged me for the rest of the race. Coulda been the new Electrolytes, or perhaps the 5 beers I'd consumed the night before. But overall felt great, even with the temps in the high 80's. Had been slurping go-juice at an accelerated rate all day, and sucking back more gels than usual, all in the hope of warding off the big 'C'. And mostly that seemed to work. Also noticed that riding a full suspension just makes a race more fun - I mean it was fun on the old DosNiner as well, as that thing sliced and diced it at a pretty high level - but this here ol' Jet9 just cranks it up to 11 mates !
Catch up to SpencerS, and am I hallucinating or are the cicadas just going insane around here ? No - it's Spence's Juicy7's with extra squeal appeal. Man those things are deafening ! After 10 minutes or so of languishing in his screech trail, I overtake him to put it all behind me, but he latches onto my pace and the painful high frequency sonic bath continues. RobU is also hanging with us, enjoying the sounds of nature too.
The race is almost over - or is it ? With all the corkscrew wacky windings of this crazy course, it's really hard to tell. They lopped off a few miles this year due to snow, so I'm figuring about 2.5 hours total - only half an hour to go. Usually this is a most excrutiating 30 minutes, and this year is no exception. At the start we had been warned that water levels are unusually high due to melting snow, and this will only be exacerbated by afternoon runoff with today's blazing sun. We hit the section with multiple dismounts and wading through water, and the cramps start hitting hard. I start whining/muttering about it aloud, and am comforted to hear the same stream of complaints from others in the vicinity. Am still hanging with Spence and Rob, and we get to watch each other crash spasmodically on the wet roots, and then try to remount with cramp-stiffened legs. Some of the sections are just crazy obstacle courses, with a couple of feet of icy cold stream water (actually felt real good on the throbbing swelling sore hot feet), interspersed with log sections that had been placed for us to hop on (and slide spectacularly off of:).
Now comes the steep climb out of the marshy madness, and as usual you can find pockets of exhausted riders taking a breather - maybe these are beginner or sport class riders - leaning on trees, massaging unresponsive limbs, etc. Around 10 minutes to go I announce, and Rob and I push ahead. I have sucked my Camelbak dry a few minutes before this, and hope I'm right. Soon enough the canal bank approaches, and then the ensuing road back up to the finish. Rob and I see no one behind us, and the Jet9's cruise to the finish together. Why such amicability ? Well we're in different age groups, otherwise @$%@$*%! :) No photographers are around to witness history in the making, but at least you've got me to tell you this here story. Another awesome Bear Springs - a truly classic single track battleground.
P.S. : now what of that mentioning of foreshadowing earlier on ? Well we see DanW at the finish, already changed from his biking attire... wtf did he go flying past us while we had our heads down commiserating in cramp-land ? Nope, chain-sucking and chain-dropping woes finally caused him to abandon ship - better luck next time Dano! But at least Team-Full-Susser-Niner gets 2 out of 3 finishes today, an improvement over the 1 for 3 last weekend.
The race start was the usual cluster-fuck, with a steep rutted hike-a-bike right after we'd turned off the road into the singletrack. Dozens of racers rubbed shoulders scrambling up awkwardly in stiff biking shoes, and several end-arounds were possible with quick-thinking creative route finding skills - I observed ChrisS execute a couple of these, and jump ahead several spots. Many sections of snow confused the issue as well. Soon we were spread out somewhat on the rolling singletrack, which helped dissipate some of the adrenalin. Not too long afterwards we crossed back over our initial trajectory, to the cheers of the roaring crowd - well all 8 of them. Another steep doubletrack climb, which was going to be difficult to clean due to the throng ahead of me. Oops, there goes one sideways, with a domino effect taking out a couple of riders. A minor karfuffle ensued, with much use of sailor language and use of the bike as a wacking device. Cooler heads managed just to prevail, and I was able to scoot around a large clot of walkers/wankers/wackers. Saw DanW ahead, but only briefly as he dropped his chain near the top (add foreshadowing music here:).
The singletrack was a blast, and the Jet9 was eating it up nicely. Got to the long talus field section, replete with large jagged rocks, and was hoping to drive the dually through there to see if I could make it. However a large group of riders just ahead had all dismounted it and were walking it, so I followed suit. Near the end of the section, some 'hero' came behind me still on his bike (or had just gotten back on) and attempted to call us to move over so he could ride through. Uh sorry buddy, when you see a big crowd like this in front of you walking, you've got to walk too. He attempted to ram through anyways, his tire catching the back of my leg. Ok, that's it, I turned around and popped him in the face. Just kidding :) well hopefully he got the message when we didn't all jump aside.
After a great downhill we hit a longish fireroad climb, and I saw the other Jet9 - with RobU aboard - just up ahead. Caught up to him, and that little extra effort seemed to initiate the nauseousness that dogged me for the rest of the race. Coulda been the new Electrolytes, or perhaps the 5 beers I'd consumed the night before. But overall felt great, even with the temps in the high 80's. Had been slurping go-juice at an accelerated rate all day, and sucking back more gels than usual, all in the hope of warding off the big 'C'. And mostly that seemed to work. Also noticed that riding a full suspension just makes a race more fun - I mean it was fun on the old DosNiner as well, as that thing sliced and diced it at a pretty high level - but this here ol' Jet9 just cranks it up to 11 mates !
Catch up to SpencerS, and am I hallucinating or are the cicadas just going insane around here ? No - it's Spence's Juicy7's with extra squeal appeal. Man those things are deafening ! After 10 minutes or so of languishing in his screech trail, I overtake him to put it all behind me, but he latches onto my pace and the painful high frequency sonic bath continues. RobU is also hanging with us, enjoying the sounds of nature too.
The race is almost over - or is it ? With all the corkscrew wacky windings of this crazy course, it's really hard to tell. They lopped off a few miles this year due to snow, so I'm figuring about 2.5 hours total - only half an hour to go. Usually this is a most excrutiating 30 minutes, and this year is no exception. At the start we had been warned that water levels are unusually high due to melting snow, and this will only be exacerbated by afternoon runoff with today's blazing sun. We hit the section with multiple dismounts and wading through water, and the cramps start hitting hard. I start whining/muttering about it aloud, and am comforted to hear the same stream of complaints from others in the vicinity. Am still hanging with Spence and Rob, and we get to watch each other crash spasmodically on the wet roots, and then try to remount with cramp-stiffened legs. Some of the sections are just crazy obstacle courses, with a couple of feet of icy cold stream water (actually felt real good on the throbbing swelling sore hot feet), interspersed with log sections that had been placed for us to hop on (and slide spectacularly off of:).
Now comes the steep climb out of the marshy madness, and as usual you can find pockets of exhausted riders taking a breather - maybe these are beginner or sport class riders - leaning on trees, massaging unresponsive limbs, etc. Around 10 minutes to go I announce, and Rob and I push ahead. I have sucked my Camelbak dry a few minutes before this, and hope I'm right. Soon enough the canal bank approaches, and then the ensuing road back up to the finish. Rob and I see no one behind us, and the Jet9's cruise to the finish together. Why such amicability ? Well we're in different age groups, otherwise @$%@$*%! :) No photographers are around to witness history in the making, but at least you've got me to tell you this here story. Another awesome Bear Springs - a truly classic single track battleground.
P.S. : now what of that mentioning of foreshadowing earlier on ? Well we see DanW at the finish, already changed from his biking attire... wtf did he go flying past us while we had our heads down commiserating in cramp-land ? Nope, chain-sucking and chain-dropping woes finally caused him to abandon ship - better luck next time Dano! But at least Team-Full-Susser-Niner gets 2 out of 3 finishes today, an improvement over the 1 for 3 last weekend.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Chainbreaker
Another dusty CB ? Showers were promised but not delivered.... but it wasn't too bad. And had the new Jet9 frame to try out, as the parts from my DosNiner had been tranferred over earlier in the week. Well this bike plain rocked - felt totally at home with the cockpit set up the same, and the buttery smooth ride even resulted in a 2-lap time that was less than 20 seconds off last years pace ! Wtf ? This non-training regimen might actually work ? Well, I think if I'd had to go another mile I might have collapsed, as all muscles went into rigor-mortis mode a few minutes after the race while I was spinning it out trying to de-lactic-acidate. Tried to drink a ton to ward off the crampies, and it worked for the most part, but with the cool temps couldn't assimilate much liquid - it started getting all sloshy in my stomachy - and had to reduce intake. Came across the line with over 20oz left, an annoying weight to have had to carry along the whole ride. But felt great - a little bit weary in middle of 2nd lap, and got passed a bit, but had a great finishing kick and passed a minor nemisis with less than 1k to go, who had called me out at some race last year, and thus is satisfying to beat.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Racing season is back...
Hohum... Time for the Ashland Spring Thaw. Actually this is usually a fun time - see people you haven't seen in a while, nice weather, etc. Decided to make a weekend of it, head over Fri nite, race Sat, and ride somewhere Sun.
[Hmm a week later and I still haven't finished this... writing about racing is now tiresome - it's the same old shit over and over. The races are still a blast, but the stories starting to repeat]
Anyhow I camped out Fri nite at my usual spot - well, been there once before - at the top of the pass on Route 66 between Klamath Falls and Ashland. The mega snow pack made me think I'd be camping on snow - and sure enough when hit the turn off at 10:30 pm or so, there were banks on either side of the dirt road that leads to the reservoir. They apparently plow it though, so kept going to see what I'd find. Well, tons of fishing cabins and other signs of habitation. Found a pullout on the West side of the fake lake on the other side of the road - spotted a somewhat dry and fairly even patch of ground up in the woods a bit, and setup the tent. It got cold quick, but had time to quaff a beer and play a little guitar under the stars.
During the night was serenaded by various wild bird sounds, especially at dawn when the waterfowl went nuts. Headed for race by 7am, and got there in time to get to the free parking slots. Awesome day shaping up as got ready for the early 9am slot.
As mentioned many days earlier, course reroute due to snowpack - so 2 laps of shortened course. Sounded a bit lame, but this was the best version yet, as got to do the awesome singletrack descent twice. 2200 feet of climbing up the fireroad each time was somewhat labourious, but worth it.
Was eager to see how I would fare with my new training regimen, or lack thereof. Sure enough, started to cramp on the 2nd lap, and had to go into survival mode on the climb. Still able to enjoy 2nd downhill though. I dropped into the bottom 3rd of the class, oh well.
So yeah my new training idea is to not do any training, which was growing tiresome. Unwilling to increase training time, in an attempt to compete for podium spots in the difficult Expert 40+ class, I decided to do no training, to see what this would feel like. Well, so far it feels like cramps ! The racing is just as intense - I go all out - but did not have much finishing kick. But it's not like I sit around on the potato, eating couches and playing video games - I'm still riding a bunch and getting in 8-10 hours of miscellaneous exercise a week. Just no weeks and weeks of doing intervals, sprints and whatnots. Well, I did do some intervals up Pilot Butte last week, like I do often during the year to measure fitness, and my times were down almost 8% from last year, which is quite a chunk of time if you extrapolate it over a 2 hour race - 10 minutes or so. I figured last year b4 Spring Thaw I'd put in 26 training days of long rides and intervals, and this year did about 6, of which 3 were kind of half-assed.
The post race raffle was annoying as didn't win anything, so felt like a loser. They had enough prizes to give everybody something, but often threw 3 or 4 prizes into 1, and then put even the winners back into the main draw for the grand prize bike frame.
Was hoping to hang in Ashland overnight, hit the Biker's Bash and maybe go riding somewhere the next day - but no plan developed, and going to ChrisS's house for dinner seemed like a better plan - so did that, and had a great ride the next day at Brice Creek - though the intense climbing did sear my legs good.
[Hmm a week later and I still haven't finished this... writing about racing is now tiresome - it's the same old shit over and over. The races are still a blast, but the stories starting to repeat]
Anyhow I camped out Fri nite at my usual spot - well, been there once before - at the top of the pass on Route 66 between Klamath Falls and Ashland. The mega snow pack made me think I'd be camping on snow - and sure enough when hit the turn off at 10:30 pm or so, there were banks on either side of the dirt road that leads to the reservoir. They apparently plow it though, so kept going to see what I'd find. Well, tons of fishing cabins and other signs of habitation. Found a pullout on the West side of the fake lake on the other side of the road - spotted a somewhat dry and fairly even patch of ground up in the woods a bit, and setup the tent. It got cold quick, but had time to quaff a beer and play a little guitar under the stars.
During the night was serenaded by various wild bird sounds, especially at dawn when the waterfowl went nuts. Headed for race by 7am, and got there in time to get to the free parking slots. Awesome day shaping up as got ready for the early 9am slot.
As mentioned many days earlier, course reroute due to snowpack - so 2 laps of shortened course. Sounded a bit lame, but this was the best version yet, as got to do the awesome singletrack descent twice. 2200 feet of climbing up the fireroad each time was somewhat labourious, but worth it.
Was eager to see how I would fare with my new training regimen, or lack thereof. Sure enough, started to cramp on the 2nd lap, and had to go into survival mode on the climb. Still able to enjoy 2nd downhill though. I dropped into the bottom 3rd of the class, oh well.
So yeah my new training idea is to not do any training, which was growing tiresome. Unwilling to increase training time, in an attempt to compete for podium spots in the difficult Expert 40+ class, I decided to do no training, to see what this would feel like. Well, so far it feels like cramps ! The racing is just as intense - I go all out - but did not have much finishing kick. But it's not like I sit around on the potato, eating couches and playing video games - I'm still riding a bunch and getting in 8-10 hours of miscellaneous exercise a week. Just no weeks and weeks of doing intervals, sprints and whatnots. Well, I did do some intervals up Pilot Butte last week, like I do often during the year to measure fitness, and my times were down almost 8% from last year, which is quite a chunk of time if you extrapolate it over a 2 hour race - 10 minutes or so. I figured last year b4 Spring Thaw I'd put in 26 training days of long rides and intervals, and this year did about 6, of which 3 were kind of half-assed.
The post race raffle was annoying as didn't win anything, so felt like a loser. They had enough prizes to give everybody something, but often threw 3 or 4 prizes into 1, and then put even the winners back into the main draw for the grand prize bike frame.
Was hoping to hang in Ashland overnight, hit the Biker's Bash and maybe go riding somewhere the next day - but no plan developed, and going to ChrisS's house for dinner seemed like a better plan - so did that, and had a great ride the next day at Brice Creek - though the intense climbing did sear my legs good.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Boring
Not much happening on this blog. But someone told me it got linked into some other sites, so I guess I should write something. In any case writing about biking has grown tiresome... It's more fun to actually do it of course. Kinda like masturbation vs sex I guess.
This morning, did a nice 15K ride.... on snow ! Yep the skiings still great but biking is sucking bad. But I realize that even a mediocre day on snow is still better than road biking. So I wouldn't mind actually skiing year round, as long as the snow wasn't present in the lower altitudes on the mountain bike trails.
Glad I'm not training for bike racing this year, otherwise I'd be majorly stressed out. Intervals on the road bike in 30-40F weather - yuk. Some mountain bike races have gotten postponed due to the extremely deep snow pack this year. The Spring Thaw happens in a week and a half, and in normal years there's usually some snow in the higher trails. This year they're going to have to reroute - I bet it's 6-feet deep up there now. I don't feel like doing this race, but according to my contract, I guess I have to :) Hmm, the things I have to do to get shop discounts, the savings of which get negated anyways by travel expenses to races...
This morning, did a nice 15K ride.... on snow ! Yep the skiings still great but biking is sucking bad. But I realize that even a mediocre day on snow is still better than road biking. So I wouldn't mind actually skiing year round, as long as the snow wasn't present in the lower altitudes on the mountain bike trails.
Glad I'm not training for bike racing this year, otherwise I'd be majorly stressed out. Intervals on the road bike in 30-40F weather - yuk. Some mountain bike races have gotten postponed due to the extremely deep snow pack this year. The Spring Thaw happens in a week and a half, and in normal years there's usually some snow in the higher trails. This year they're going to have to reroute - I bet it's 6-feet deep up there now. I don't feel like doing this race, but according to my contract, I guess I have to :) Hmm, the things I have to do to get shop discounts, the savings of which get negated anyways by travel expenses to races...
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Stop!
Stop with the snowing already - I've had enough ! Yes that was me back in early December, doing the snow dance at the SnowPark when we had a 1" base. I'm sorry, I won't wish for so much snow next time, I just got carried away. If this keeps up, the bike trails won't melt out until July ! Please stop it - I'm starting to feel the stirrings of Snow Madness.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Ice Ride
Since I mentioned biking season was over last post, and it was time to talk about ski adventures, what do you know I end up going for my first bike ride today in months.
I was getting an oil change on my car at lunch, so I decided to pack my bike, and go for a short ride while the work was getting done. The bike of choice of course is the IceJammer - hardtail with studded tires. I guessed there might be a few icy patches on the nearby Deschutes River Trail, so decided to check it out and see how the tires gripped. On the way there, encountered several frozen mini-ponds (in between a puddle and a pond), and on these flat icy surface the tires gripped well. Then hit a steep icy pot-holed climb, and made it up that too.
Got to the trail, and my eyes lit up at the huge expanses of solid ice. This was high quality ice too - a thick hard transparent layer. We had some heavy snow recently, then a thaw where everything got wet and slushy, and then a deep freeze. This was the kind of ice that ice climbers love. A very uneven surface too - pockmarked with frozen footprints.
Was railing along quite happily, the tires only slipping briefly every now and then, when came to the first long steep climb - a granny gear grunt-up. Amazingly, was climbing up this with minimal slippage. Right near the top was a little step up, where you have to torque the pedals pretty hard to get over it, and sometimes get off the seat a bit and transfer your weight forward. Since was already probably at the grip limits of the tires, decided to step off here, or risk a nasty clumsy spill on the ice. But as soon as my foot (clad in hiking boots), touched the ground (solid ice), down I went with painful suddenness, and started sliding down the incline along with the bike. Tried to get up a couple of times, but there was virtually zero grip on this slick solid ice. Now bruised and not so brash, I managed to make it up the hill by bushwacking up to the side of the trail. I guess if you've got studs on your tires, you need them on your boots too !
Hit a few sketchy downhill ice sections - these are really nerve racking, as any braking force has to be applied ever so slightly, lest the wheels lock up and go sideways. Studs work great as long as the tire is rolling - but when motionless, maybe only a couple of studs are gripping.
So now I need to buy studded boots and maybe studded gloves too. Hell, a studded body suit would probably be best ! Or I could just wait until Spring until I hit the trails again.
I was getting an oil change on my car at lunch, so I decided to pack my bike, and go for a short ride while the work was getting done. The bike of choice of course is the IceJammer - hardtail with studded tires. I guessed there might be a few icy patches on the nearby Deschutes River Trail, so decided to check it out and see how the tires gripped. On the way there, encountered several frozen mini-ponds (in between a puddle and a pond), and on these flat icy surface the tires gripped well. Then hit a steep icy pot-holed climb, and made it up that too.
Got to the trail, and my eyes lit up at the huge expanses of solid ice. This was high quality ice too - a thick hard transparent layer. We had some heavy snow recently, then a thaw where everything got wet and slushy, and then a deep freeze. This was the kind of ice that ice climbers love. A very uneven surface too - pockmarked with frozen footprints.
Was railing along quite happily, the tires only slipping briefly every now and then, when came to the first long steep climb - a granny gear grunt-up. Amazingly, was climbing up this with minimal slippage. Right near the top was a little step up, where you have to torque the pedals pretty hard to get over it, and sometimes get off the seat a bit and transfer your weight forward. Since was already probably at the grip limits of the tires, decided to step off here, or risk a nasty clumsy spill on the ice. But as soon as my foot (clad in hiking boots), touched the ground (solid ice), down I went with painful suddenness, and started sliding down the incline along with the bike. Tried to get up a couple of times, but there was virtually zero grip on this slick solid ice. Now bruised and not so brash, I managed to make it up the hill by bushwacking up to the side of the trail. I guess if you've got studs on your tires, you need them on your boots too !
Hit a few sketchy downhill ice sections - these are really nerve racking, as any braking force has to be applied ever so slightly, lest the wheels lock up and go sideways. Studs work great as long as the tire is rolling - but when motionless, maybe only a couple of studs are gripping.
So now I need to buy studded boots and maybe studded gloves too. Hell, a studded body suit would probably be best ! Or I could just wait until Spring until I hit the trails again.
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