All this fall week we planned on an epic ride for saturday morning. A nice 30+ miles. WEll about wednesay the weather man was telling us the remnants of a huricane were going to arrive on saturday. THe group ride of maybe 20 people was down to 2, DEA and me. I guess conditions were not ideal, high 30's and steady hard rain. DEA and I did about a 60 minute ride and I got to test out the new Reba Race fork and I also threw on an Avid BB7 disc brake up front. Wow what an upgrade. I had handling and stopping power. I felt somewhat like a sellout for not staying with the rigid fork, but not after the first descent when I looked back and did not see DEA. If I was a sellout, I was a smiling sellout. After that the ride was wet, and got progressively colder. Neither of us were feeling very peppy, for me cause I have not been riding the same amounts, for DEA, not sure his excuse. Hope for a night ride this week and maybe a commute on Wednesday. We'll see.
JJ
Monday, October 30, 2006
Weekend of riding
Got out on the bike a bit this weekend, and both days were in some very interesting weather.
A1, JJ and I had planned to ride on Saturday morning. We had planned to go real early and try to beat out the strom that was slated to roll in. JJ was on weatherman duty and called on Friday night to say don't worry about going early as we were going to get wet no matter what. This pushed back the planned start time to 8:30am. Originally we had planned to do a couple of hours that would take us to the top of Cranmore and eventually down Redtail, but with major rain in the forcast we chose to ride trails that can handle wet weather riding.
Saturday morning came and it was downright miserable conditions. I called A1 and he opted to be smart and stay in. So I headed up to meet JJ and we launched ourselved into Davis. JJ had a new Reba Race on the Mono 29'r and once the trail went downhill he was gone. So much for being able to keep up with him on the descents!
We headed out and did a good hour long route with some epic water crossings. It was cold and neither of us seemed to have much pep in our legs. We dragged ourselves out of the woods and JJ headed to the warmth of his house and headed down to Pine Tree to get in a bit more riding. I figured I was finally warmed up mine as well take advantage of it! Did just one lap and then started to loose feeling in my hands, so I headed back to the house to dry off. Pretty much layed low the rest of the day and the girls and I just sacked out and watched way too much TV.
Sunday rolled around and K descided to skip the cross race, so I was flying solo. I tossed the Belugas in the car for a potential post race hike and ski at Wildcat, loaded up both the Surly and the Kona on the car and headed up. The wind was nuking and it was raining and about 39 to 42 degrees out- perfect!
As I got up into Pinkham it switched from rain to snow and temps dropped just a touch to about 38. Got to GGTOC and there was blue ski for one minute then major snow the next- back and forth for the next couple of hours. My hat goes off to the beginner field as they all went out and braved the elements- and when Eli gave them the option of coming off a lap early they said no and kept on trucking- that was cool to see. Our race was up next and we were all hudled in the alcove not wanting to go out. I opted for warmth and had on thermal tights and a fleece jacket, hat and warm gloves. I chose to race on the Kona, so I was enjoying gears- but there are some shifting issues that need to be addressed. I found that I was able to hang with the big boys for a bit but once I got gapped the major wind made it tough to be out on my own. About half way through my back started to bother me and I slowed considerably. On the last lap Marc and I were battling a bit, I put in an effort going downhill into the second set of barriers and then proceeded to run into the barrier full speed and smash the inside of my right thigh on the back of my saddle. All I can say is it did hurt a lot and it still hurts a lot! Needless to say I was not moving very well after that- spending more time walking then riding and Marc caught, passed, and never looked back- oh well. DFL for me! Needless to say I wasn't up for hiking Wildcat after the race.
All this means I drove in today as my leg still really hurts. I hope I can work it out and get feeling good for Porky Gulch this weekend!
November is almost here!
DEA
A1, JJ and I had planned to ride on Saturday morning. We had planned to go real early and try to beat out the strom that was slated to roll in. JJ was on weatherman duty and called on Friday night to say don't worry about going early as we were going to get wet no matter what. This pushed back the planned start time to 8:30am. Originally we had planned to do a couple of hours that would take us to the top of Cranmore and eventually down Redtail, but with major rain in the forcast we chose to ride trails that can handle wet weather riding.
Saturday morning came and it was downright miserable conditions. I called A1 and he opted to be smart and stay in. So I headed up to meet JJ and we launched ourselved into Davis. JJ had a new Reba Race on the Mono 29'r and once the trail went downhill he was gone. So much for being able to keep up with him on the descents!
We headed out and did a good hour long route with some epic water crossings. It was cold and neither of us seemed to have much pep in our legs. We dragged ourselves out of the woods and JJ headed to the warmth of his house and headed down to Pine Tree to get in a bit more riding. I figured I was finally warmed up mine as well take advantage of it! Did just one lap and then started to loose feeling in my hands, so I headed back to the house to dry off. Pretty much layed low the rest of the day and the girls and I just sacked out and watched way too much TV.
Sunday rolled around and K descided to skip the cross race, so I was flying solo. I tossed the Belugas in the car for a potential post race hike and ski at Wildcat, loaded up both the Surly and the Kona on the car and headed up. The wind was nuking and it was raining and about 39 to 42 degrees out- perfect!
As I got up into Pinkham it switched from rain to snow and temps dropped just a touch to about 38. Got to GGTOC and there was blue ski for one minute then major snow the next- back and forth for the next couple of hours. My hat goes off to the beginner field as they all went out and braved the elements- and when Eli gave them the option of coming off a lap early they said no and kept on trucking- that was cool to see. Our race was up next and we were all hudled in the alcove not wanting to go out. I opted for warmth and had on thermal tights and a fleece jacket, hat and warm gloves. I chose to race on the Kona, so I was enjoying gears- but there are some shifting issues that need to be addressed. I found that I was able to hang with the big boys for a bit but once I got gapped the major wind made it tough to be out on my own. About half way through my back started to bother me and I slowed considerably. On the last lap Marc and I were battling a bit, I put in an effort going downhill into the second set of barriers and then proceeded to run into the barrier full speed and smash the inside of my right thigh on the back of my saddle. All I can say is it did hurt a lot and it still hurts a lot! Needless to say I was not moving very well after that- spending more time walking then riding and Marc caught, passed, and never looked back- oh well. DFL for me! Needless to say I wasn't up for hiking Wildcat after the race.
All this means I drove in today as my leg still really hurts. I hope I can work it out and get feeling good for Porky Gulch this weekend!
November is almost here!
DEA
Friday, October 27, 2006
Switching Gears
I woke up a 4:30 am with the intention of heading up to Wildcat to hike up the snowline and make a few turns on the Belugas. The issue was I would be going up solo on a bum ankle for the first turns of the year on gear that would force me to ski smooth, hmmm ten years ago it would have been a no brainer- but now I'm getting older and maybe wiser? Who knows- anyway I choose to not put myself into a situation where if I got hurt I'd be on my own and deserved of ridicule. Instead I went back to sleep and then had a very tough time waking up at 7am.
Here's a look over at Washington from Wildcat this AM:
Tomorrow we have plans to go out for a good ride in the AM before the weather gets really nasty. Of course if we wait for the nasty weather then we can claim Epic status. Of course we all know JJ doens't like to get his Yeti wet!
A1 is now talking about skipping buying a bike this fall and trying to talk TWAF into racing RAAM as a team- LOL, now that is funny. Good luck with that A1.
Third race of the GGTOC CX series is Sunday, then next week we've got Porky Gulch- should be fun! GGTOC- host of Porky Gulch
That does it this morning- get out and ride!
DEA
Here's a look over at Washington from Wildcat this AM:
Tomorrow we have plans to go out for a good ride in the AM before the weather gets really nasty. Of course if we wait for the nasty weather then we can claim Epic status. Of course we all know JJ doens't like to get his Yeti wet!
A1 is now talking about skipping buying a bike this fall and trying to talk TWAF into racing RAAM as a team- LOL, now that is funny. Good luck with that A1.
Third race of the GGTOC CX series is Sunday, then next week we've got Porky Gulch- should be fun! GGTOC- host of Porky Gulch
That does it this morning- get out and ride!
DEA
Monday, October 23, 2006
Damn I love bikes!
I just saw this, this will have to make its way into the quiver soon! What a cool concept, I can snag the groceries on my commute home- K will be psyched. Lillo and Emmazilla can snag rides as well. To get the whole story you'll have to check out one of the two following links:
the trailer
Surly- scroll down on this one
Now I want to get one of these and load up a couple CX bikes and spare wheels and roll up to one of the Verge races and ask which way to the pits! That would be classic. Could do that at Great Glen but then I'd have to ride up Pinkham first- ouch.
Anyway this stuff is cool and opens up some interesting ideas. Hmmmmmmmmm
DEA
the trailer
Surly- scroll down on this one
Now I want to get one of these and load up a couple CX bikes and spare wheels and roll up to one of the Verge races and ask which way to the pits! That would be classic. Could do that at Great Glen but then I'd have to ride up Pinkham first- ouch.
Anyway this stuff is cool and opens up some interesting ideas. Hmmmmmmmmm
DEA
Snow
It's here. Had the first ride of the fall season where the conditions just sucked- and it was great. K calls me around 7:55, "it's snowing, and I just saw town trucks with plows and they are sanding- don't ride in"- Ok I said.
Told Lillo to grab her bag and we headed out the door to the neighbors. She went inside and Sammy looked at me like I was nuts, "you two have a good day at school"
Off I went. It was raining pretty hard in ctr conway and the temps were cool, but I had on the snivel gear and was very comfortable. As I got closer to town the water drops switched over to snowflakes and the wet slop had built up a touch on the road. I was getting good splash and spray from the cars and knew that a few of the folks driving the other way (that I recognized) were shaking their heads wondering what I was thinking.
Ahhh the fun you can have commuting. Really no story here, just the reminder that getting out on your bike no matter what the weather is a good thing.
By the way I picked up a pair of those Knog single LED lights from Bikeman, someone I work with drove up behind me and was impressed my the light, even more so when he saw it in person. It's that time of year people- make sure your visible out there.
DEA
Told Lillo to grab her bag and we headed out the door to the neighbors. She went inside and Sammy looked at me like I was nuts, "you two have a good day at school"
Off I went. It was raining pretty hard in ctr conway and the temps were cool, but I had on the snivel gear and was very comfortable. As I got closer to town the water drops switched over to snowflakes and the wet slop had built up a touch on the road. I was getting good splash and spray from the cars and knew that a few of the folks driving the other way (that I recognized) were shaking their heads wondering what I was thinking.
Ahhh the fun you can have commuting. Really no story here, just the reminder that getting out on your bike no matter what the weather is a good thing.
By the way I picked up a pair of those Knog single LED lights from Bikeman, someone I work with drove up behind me and was impressed my the light, even more so when he saw it in person. It's that time of year people- make sure your visible out there.
DEA
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Race 2 at GGTOC
Nutty weekend up here in the Valley, can't wait to see if A1 has any stories about the two huge tents he had up on Friday night. Winds gusts over 60mph and a huge tent (something like 60x40 or something like that) just can't be good. Needless to say everytime I drove by his house this weekend his truck and trailer were gone, hmmm.
I took Saturday off from the bike, not cuz I wanted to but I had to finish the Ghetto Cross and also get the Kona ready for sale (more on that in a second). Plus we went down to K's folks house so it didn't leave anytime for any riding.
The Ghetto Cross came out great, I'm already thinking of how we could improve it, my first thought is to try and find a non-suspension corrected fork, It would lower the front end by a couple inches and in effect increase the headtube and seat tube angles, giving the handling a bit more snap- we'll have to see how that plays out!
The Kona came out great, finally got it all back together on Sunday morning just seconds before we left. I have to say now that it's all clean and the Spynergy's are mounted up with CX rubber it looks great and I'm not as anxious to get ride of it, which was good- cuz the guy who wanted to buy it had hurt his back and couldn't make the race- so now we'll have to see what I finally descide to do!
We rolled out of the house at 8am, Mount Washington had snow and it was in the lower 30's. Here's a shot of the mountain from this morning (MWWO cam pic):
We got up into Pinkham and there was snow on the ground, my skier senses started to tingle! We pulled into GGTOC and got the kids and bikes unloads, K got her number and went out to warm up. She came back in and realized how hard cross can be. See K is a runner, she used to be a biker but hasn't really ridden her bike much since we've had kids. I'm gonna guess that in the past year she's gotten as many miles as I get on a good day of training with JJ. Needless to say she had a number and was going to race. The beginner field was pretty good sized (by GGTOC standards) and they headed out for a good race. Sean Doherty (all of age 11) had won the early race last week and was anxious to do it again, he chased from the start to catch Steven Godby (who was on a super sweet carbon bike with carbon wheels- I'm guessing getting passed by an 11 year old on a borrowed mt bike didn't do much for his ego!) Needless to say Sean went to the front and stayed there. K did a good ride to place second in the womens division behind another first time crosser- Sandra Iacozili. Sandra's husband Carl is one of the owners of the Red Jersey in town.
K did a good ride but realized how hard, but how fun cross can be- looks like she's ready for next week!
The intermediate/elite race lined up at 11am, temps had moved up to about 40. I opted to rock the Surly SS again and quickly found myself working with a group of about five off the back after the first downhill. I did, however, make a positive improvement over last week where after the first set of barriers I would run to the top of the rise before remounting. I was surprised how much ground I would gain even over the guys who had geared down for that grade. It's slight but it's just tough to get rolling.
Pretty soon the groups had been set and I had Dan (Sean's dad) on my wheel for a lap or two. I was just about to suggest he take a turn in the wind when he put in an effort and dropped me in about 100 yards. So much for my shot at getting my nose out of the wind! Oh well. From that point on I wanted to stay ahead of Marc and a couple of other guys that were behind me, and try to stay on the lead lap. On lap 6 of 8 I started to have doubts that I would stay on the lead lap as at the two spots where there is two way traffic I saw the leader and he was gaining fast. Then on lap 7 I knew he was behind me and saw him catch Marc and the guy with him. I half was ready to let him catch me so that I could just finish, but then I realized that he would catch me right in the "stadium" where everyone was cheering if I did that- so I poured it on and basically sprinted the last kilometer to the start finish line- he got to within 50 meters but I went hard to hit the line to make sure I got out for my 8th lap. I was rather proud of myself until I realized I had really hit my limit to not get lapped and still had a lap to go. Of course I also realized that the guys that had been behind me had finished a lap down so no one was going to catch me. Put it in cruise and just get it done.
I ended up third in my group (intermediate) which made me happy. Now the question comes up- do I go with the Kona next week now that it's all decked out again? See what happens if I run a geared rig- can I stay with anyone that has been dropping me. Hmmmmmm we'll have to think on that one this week.
I'm hoping next week to see at least one other TWAF jersey out on course- hint, hint.....
DEA
I took Saturday off from the bike, not cuz I wanted to but I had to finish the Ghetto Cross and also get the Kona ready for sale (more on that in a second). Plus we went down to K's folks house so it didn't leave anytime for any riding.
The Ghetto Cross came out great, I'm already thinking of how we could improve it, my first thought is to try and find a non-suspension corrected fork, It would lower the front end by a couple inches and in effect increase the headtube and seat tube angles, giving the handling a bit more snap- we'll have to see how that plays out!
The Kona came out great, finally got it all back together on Sunday morning just seconds before we left. I have to say now that it's all clean and the Spynergy's are mounted up with CX rubber it looks great and I'm not as anxious to get ride of it, which was good- cuz the guy who wanted to buy it had hurt his back and couldn't make the race- so now we'll have to see what I finally descide to do!
We rolled out of the house at 8am, Mount Washington had snow and it was in the lower 30's. Here's a shot of the mountain from this morning (MWWO cam pic):
We got up into Pinkham and there was snow on the ground, my skier senses started to tingle! We pulled into GGTOC and got the kids and bikes unloads, K got her number and went out to warm up. She came back in and realized how hard cross can be. See K is a runner, she used to be a biker but hasn't really ridden her bike much since we've had kids. I'm gonna guess that in the past year she's gotten as many miles as I get on a good day of training with JJ. Needless to say she had a number and was going to race. The beginner field was pretty good sized (by GGTOC standards) and they headed out for a good race. Sean Doherty (all of age 11) had won the early race last week and was anxious to do it again, he chased from the start to catch Steven Godby (who was on a super sweet carbon bike with carbon wheels- I'm guessing getting passed by an 11 year old on a borrowed mt bike didn't do much for his ego!) Needless to say Sean went to the front and stayed there. K did a good ride to place second in the womens division behind another first time crosser- Sandra Iacozili. Sandra's husband Carl is one of the owners of the Red Jersey in town.
K did a good ride but realized how hard, but how fun cross can be- looks like she's ready for next week!
The intermediate/elite race lined up at 11am, temps had moved up to about 40. I opted to rock the Surly SS again and quickly found myself working with a group of about five off the back after the first downhill. I did, however, make a positive improvement over last week where after the first set of barriers I would run to the top of the rise before remounting. I was surprised how much ground I would gain even over the guys who had geared down for that grade. It's slight but it's just tough to get rolling.
Pretty soon the groups had been set and I had Dan (Sean's dad) on my wheel for a lap or two. I was just about to suggest he take a turn in the wind when he put in an effort and dropped me in about 100 yards. So much for my shot at getting my nose out of the wind! Oh well. From that point on I wanted to stay ahead of Marc and a couple of other guys that were behind me, and try to stay on the lead lap. On lap 6 of 8 I started to have doubts that I would stay on the lead lap as at the two spots where there is two way traffic I saw the leader and he was gaining fast. Then on lap 7 I knew he was behind me and saw him catch Marc and the guy with him. I half was ready to let him catch me so that I could just finish, but then I realized that he would catch me right in the "stadium" where everyone was cheering if I did that- so I poured it on and basically sprinted the last kilometer to the start finish line- he got to within 50 meters but I went hard to hit the line to make sure I got out for my 8th lap. I was rather proud of myself until I realized I had really hit my limit to not get lapped and still had a lap to go. Of course I also realized that the guys that had been behind me had finished a lap down so no one was going to catch me. Put it in cruise and just get it done.
I ended up third in my group (intermediate) which made me happy. Now the question comes up- do I go with the Kona next week now that it's all decked out again? See what happens if I run a geared rig- can I stay with anyone that has been dropping me. Hmmmmmm we'll have to think on that one this week.
I'm hoping next week to see at least one other TWAF jersey out on course- hint, hint.....
DEA
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Better late than never...
Finally got some pics developed from a disposable camera I planned to use during Jay. It only got used prior to the start. Sorta got distracted during the race not being able to think anymore.
Last shot is DEA's A$$ on a road ride.
JJ
Last shot is DEA's A$$ on a road ride.
JJ
Friday, October 20, 2006
The Ghetto-Cross project
Last night I had planned to go for a night ride, I'd been lazy and driven to work and didn't run- so I had pretty much bagged the whole day- so knowing a new episode of Smallville was on at 8 and that the Ghetto-Cross was in need of building, and the fact a big box had showed up from Bikeman- I skipped the ride and got greasy.
Here are the basics- K owns an older S-Works M2 mountain bike and a Cannondale R600 Compact (650c wheels) road bike- those would be the source of most of the parts. I had converted my old S-Works M2 over to a ridgid SS so that was where I stole the fork from. Plus I had a Kona Jake the Snake that I had stripped clean and am getting ready to rebuild so there was a good pile of parts.
So the bars and cranks got pulled from the Cannondale, the fork from my 26"SS, new tires from Bikeman, and I pulled out an old 42T chainring I spent a half hour on the grinding wheel.
Here are the pics:
The Cannondale striped
My SS with no fork
The super swank custom chainring gaurd
Side view of the Ghetto-cross
Front view of the Ghetto-cross
That is where the project stands, now I need to find a sub 100mm stem as the one on there is too long and I don't have anything any shorter, so a lunch time run around time today should solve that. I also picked up the Cyclocross Solutions DVD- I learned a bunch, I could really get into this foolish cross thing!
Legs felt great on the ride in. Raining but still pretty good temps. I picked up a set of those Knog lights- pretty cool. Their tiny but put out some good light. Also got new tires for my cross bike, those will go on tonight.
That's the skinny. Let's go for a ride!
DEA
Here are the basics- K owns an older S-Works M2 mountain bike and a Cannondale R600 Compact (650c wheels) road bike- those would be the source of most of the parts. I had converted my old S-Works M2 over to a ridgid SS so that was where I stole the fork from. Plus I had a Kona Jake the Snake that I had stripped clean and am getting ready to rebuild so there was a good pile of parts.
So the bars and cranks got pulled from the Cannondale, the fork from my 26"SS, new tires from Bikeman, and I pulled out an old 42T chainring I spent a half hour on the grinding wheel.
Here are the pics:
The Cannondale striped
My SS with no fork
The super swank custom chainring gaurd
Side view of the Ghetto-cross
Front view of the Ghetto-cross
That is where the project stands, now I need to find a sub 100mm stem as the one on there is too long and I don't have anything any shorter, so a lunch time run around time today should solve that. I also picked up the Cyclocross Solutions DVD- I learned a bunch, I could really get into this foolish cross thing!
Legs felt great on the ride in. Raining but still pretty good temps. I picked up a set of those Knog lights- pretty cool. Their tiny but put out some good light. Also got new tires for my cross bike, those will go on tonight.
That's the skinny. Let's go for a ride!
DEA
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Calling all Crossers
This Sunday will be week #2 for the Great Glen CX series. My wife is going to jump into the Beginer race sporting a soon to be cobbed together Ghetto-cross bike and hopefully she'll sport her TWAF jersey. Rumor has it A1 has snagged an old hard tail mtb for Sunday and I'm guessing JJ will race on his Monocog- so it's looking like TWAF will have good representation.
Then coming up in a few weeks (Nov 4th and 5th) the Porky Gulch Classic Stage Race will kick off with a two mile TT up the lower slopes of the Mount Washington Auto Road. The best part of that- you get to ride back down! Then we head to Story Land for a road crit inside the park- this is the best crit in the country- here's a link to Story Land- envision ripping around in here at 25+mph!
Story Land
Then Sunday is the cross race, it used to be my race but now it's park of the weekend and now I'm just a racer (which was my original goal). It's a kick ass weekend of racing and on the fun scale is right up there with the 24 HOGG.
If you want to sign up go here: Bike Reg
In other news an old friend of mine has hit the blogosphere, check out Hansi's blog (that's right PJ- Hansi has resurfaced): Hansi's Blog
Hansi is a sick puppy who had done a lot of crazy adventures and I'm sure he'll be putting up some interesting posts.
Night ride tonight anyone?
DEA
Then coming up in a few weeks (Nov 4th and 5th) the Porky Gulch Classic Stage Race will kick off with a two mile TT up the lower slopes of the Mount Washington Auto Road. The best part of that- you get to ride back down! Then we head to Story Land for a road crit inside the park- this is the best crit in the country- here's a link to Story Land- envision ripping around in here at 25+mph!
Story Land
Then Sunday is the cross race, it used to be my race but now it's park of the weekend and now I'm just a racer (which was my original goal). It's a kick ass weekend of racing and on the fun scale is right up there with the 24 HOGG.
If you want to sign up go here: Bike Reg
In other news an old friend of mine has hit the blogosphere, check out Hansi's blog (that's right PJ- Hansi has resurfaced): Hansi's Blog
Hansi is a sick puppy who had done a lot of crazy adventures and I'm sure he'll be putting up some interesting posts.
Night ride tonight anyone?
DEA
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
TWAF 2006 Season Race Results (updated)
Crank the Kanc
• Sven 13th place in Senior Division
• Dennis 33rd place in Veteran Division
• Abe 23rd place in Senior Division
Newton’s Revenge Hill Climb up Mt. Washington
• Josh 129/216
Importech Mountain Bike Summer Race Series
• Sven Bear Notch Race #1 - 2nd place
Cranmore Mountain Race #2 - 1st place
Thorne Pond Race #3 - 1st place
Fat Tire Fest at Bear Notch #4 - 4th place (Singlespeed)
1st Place Overall in Division for Series
• Dennis Thorne Pond Race #3 - 1st place
Fat Tire Fest at Bear Notch #4 - 2nd place
3rd Place Overall in Division for Series
• Nick Bear Notch Race #1 - 3rd place
• Abe Thorne Pond Race #3 - 2nd place
Dakine Mountain Bike Series at Great Glen Trails
• TWAF 1st Place Overall in Team Division for Series
4 - 1st Place finishes during Series
• Sven 2nd Place Overall in Mens Expert Division for Series
Week #1 - 1st place in Mens Expert Division
Week #2 - 1st place in Mens Expert Division
Week #3 - 2nd place in Mens Expert Division
Week #4 - 3rd place in Mens Expert Division
Week #5 - 2nd place in Mens Expert Division
Week #6 - 4th place in Mens Expert Division
• Dennis 2nd Place Overall in Mens Sport Division for Series
Week #1 - 2nd place in Mens Sport Division
Week #2 - 2nd place in Mens Sport Division
Week #3 - 1st place in Mens Sport Division
Week #4 - 3rd place in Mens Sport Division
Week #5 - 1st place in Mens Sport Division
Week #6 - 3rd place in Mens Sport Division
• Nick Week #1 - 4th place in Mens Sport Division
Week #3 - 4th place in Mens Sport Division
Week #4 - 4th place in Mens Sport Division
Week #5 - 8th place in Mens Sport Division
Jay Challenge MTB (72.4 miles with 14,000+ feet of climbing)
• Abe, Sven & Dennis all finished event in top 2/3 of racers (161 male racers)
• Abe - 11th in Male 30-34, 75th place overall
• Sven - 13th in Male 30-34- 82nd place overall
• Dennis - 25th in Male 35-39- 86th place overall
24 Hours of Great Glen
• TWAF (Sven, Nick, Abe & Josh) posted a 9th place finish in Mens Sport with
25 laps.
• TWAF 2 (Dennis & 4 others) placed 8th in the 5 Person Adult Co-Ed division
with 20 laps
JJ
• Sven 13th place in Senior Division
• Dennis 33rd place in Veteran Division
• Abe 23rd place in Senior Division
Newton’s Revenge Hill Climb up Mt. Washington
• Josh 129/216
Importech Mountain Bike Summer Race Series
• Sven Bear Notch Race #1 - 2nd place
Cranmore Mountain Race #2 - 1st place
Thorne Pond Race #3 - 1st place
Fat Tire Fest at Bear Notch #4 - 4th place (Singlespeed)
1st Place Overall in Division for Series
• Dennis Thorne Pond Race #3 - 1st place
Fat Tire Fest at Bear Notch #4 - 2nd place
3rd Place Overall in Division for Series
• Nick Bear Notch Race #1 - 3rd place
• Abe Thorne Pond Race #3 - 2nd place
Dakine Mountain Bike Series at Great Glen Trails
• TWAF 1st Place Overall in Team Division for Series
4 - 1st Place finishes during Series
• Sven 2nd Place Overall in Mens Expert Division for Series
Week #1 - 1st place in Mens Expert Division
Week #2 - 1st place in Mens Expert Division
Week #3 - 2nd place in Mens Expert Division
Week #4 - 3rd place in Mens Expert Division
Week #5 - 2nd place in Mens Expert Division
Week #6 - 4th place in Mens Expert Division
• Dennis 2nd Place Overall in Mens Sport Division for Series
Week #1 - 2nd place in Mens Sport Division
Week #2 - 2nd place in Mens Sport Division
Week #3 - 1st place in Mens Sport Division
Week #4 - 3rd place in Mens Sport Division
Week #5 - 1st place in Mens Sport Division
Week #6 - 3rd place in Mens Sport Division
• Nick Week #1 - 4th place in Mens Sport Division
Week #3 - 4th place in Mens Sport Division
Week #4 - 4th place in Mens Sport Division
Week #5 - 8th place in Mens Sport Division
Jay Challenge MTB (72.4 miles with 14,000+ feet of climbing)
• Abe, Sven & Dennis all finished event in top 2/3 of racers (161 male racers)
• Abe - 11th in Male 30-34, 75th place overall
• Sven - 13th in Male 30-34- 82nd place overall
• Dennis - 25th in Male 35-39- 86th place overall
24 Hours of Great Glen
• TWAF (Sven, Nick, Abe & Josh) posted a 9th place finish in Mens Sport with
25 laps.
• TWAF 2 (Dennis & 4 others) placed 8th in the 5 Person Adult Co-Ed division
with 20 laps
JJ
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
snake bite karma
It’s Tuesday. Not sure why I’m pointing that out, but I am. On the commute home last night I got a rear flat, not that getting a flat is news but it was comical (at least in my mind) how it all came about. I was on the cross bike riding the powerline, there is a section about fifty yards long that has a lot of roots. I’ve been trying to ride my cross tires at fairly low PSI- 38psi to 40psi- so I know snake bites are possible- but I wanted to hammer through this section of roots- just cuz. About half way through I bunny hop a section of roots land nice and smooth and am very proud of myself and laughing at my fear of snake bites. Fifty yards later there is a single root, a small root, I ride over it but didn’t really unweight the way I should have, I feel the rear wheel slam into the root and then the familiar lub-lub-lub of a rear wheel going soft and then flat. I pulled off and just started laughing. Looking back at the rough section I had cleaned and the lone root that had me now pulling out my 15mm wrench and tube and pump. Freakin karma- always keeps you in check.
Ordered the new tires for what will become K’s Ghetto-cross bike (a term ripped from this site: Ghetto Cross
Hopefully the parts will be in mid week so I’ve got time to tweak everything and strip all the bikes that need to be cannibalized. I also ordered a couple things for the Kona so that it can be put back together and ready for it’s (hopefully) new owner.
This weekend is the Catamount Cyclo-Cross weekend, which I’d love to head over for but it isn’t going to happen. We’ll race up at Great Glen on Sunday which should be fun.
Hopefully TWAF will get out for a few night rides this week- in the rain- just like all our training for Jay!
DEA
Ordered the new tires for what will become K’s Ghetto-cross bike (a term ripped from this site: Ghetto Cross
Hopefully the parts will be in mid week so I’ve got time to tweak everything and strip all the bikes that need to be cannibalized. I also ordered a couple things for the Kona so that it can be put back together and ready for it’s (hopefully) new owner.
This weekend is the Catamount Cyclo-Cross weekend, which I’d love to head over for but it isn’t going to happen. We’ll race up at Great Glen on Sunday which should be fun.
Hopefully TWAF will get out for a few night rides this week- in the rain- just like all our training for Jay!
DEA
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Cross season underway
The CX season is off to a bang, and my legs are feeling it! I raced over at Pineland in New Glouster Maine on Saturday for the first race of the Verge Series. It is an awsome venue and they host two days of cross each fall- it's worth checking out.
My race started at 9am, and it takes about an hour and a half to get there, so to ensure I had about an hour to warm up we left the house at 6:30am. The whole family went, so it was quite impressive to see all the girls up and adam and getting ready so early to go watch dad race his bike. The promise of course was a little vitamin G for the ride, little did they know they would have to wait almost an hour before we hit McD's. As much as I wanted a hashbrown and egg and sausage biscut I chose to pass and just went with a coffee and about two bites of sticky bun. But the girls dug in so the truck smelled like quality breakfast and I didn't get to eat any of it!
We got to Pinelands, the temp was about 38 and it was crystal clear. I walked into registration and somebody asked if I was Sven Cole, I said yes trying to figure out how the heck they knew that and came to find out her husband has raced the Rockpile Rampage and Porky Gulch in the past and is all fired up to race this year (good luck Marc!) Then once the conversation turns to Porky Gulch two other people started talking about it- looks like the word is getting out there this year- should be fun!
Anyway I finally get changed and grab the bike to head out on course, it was really nice, great flow and very single speed friendly. I ran a 38x17 and it worked quite well. There were only two spots- the paved downhill (spun out very fast) and one short pitch on a climb where I was having a tough time turning the gear. The warm up went pretty well and I quickly realized I really need to work on my cornering and or course dismount/remount. After the warm up I met up with K and the girls near the finish where the PA was, I was thinking it was a small field as I really didn't see anyone and figured that they should be staging already- finally I got nervous and asked and the guy yelled that they're staging the C's right now- final call up the hill and to get my butt moving. I stripped off my jacket and rushed to the start. The C's field had less then 50 racers, but they were starting the B Masters 30 seconds behind us and the B Masters 55+ 30 seconds behind them. I remember thinking that seemed strange to have the C's go out first with such a little gap- but hey these are top notch race organizors- what do I know!
We were off and the pace was fast and since we were going downhill on pavement I quickly started sliding back through the field. We transitioned onto grass and headed into the first barrier. I figure the best time to try and new technique is in a mass start race when you're going full speed- so I had heard that you should unclip your left foot first, then your right and scissor through- ok- I'll try that. Well all went well until my left foot slipped off as I was gliding at speed to the barrier- down I went onto my knees. Lucky for me the grass was still frosty and wet and I slid on my knees, bike still upright and was able to jump up on the fly- clear the barriers and remount without really losing to much ground- not bad I thought. Quickly we were off the bike again on this nasty off camber 90 degree turn that took you uphill for a steep grunt. Everyone was jumping off to run and then I hear someone say "here come the B's"- great. I jump back on my bike for a downhill on a jeep type road and all of the sudden I get swarmed by the fast B's and there yellin to get the hell out of the way, I trying to hold my line into a fast turn and I'm getting bumped on the right and having my line choped on the left- this isn't good. Fifteen years ago when I raced a lot of crits this type of crap would have gotten me juiced- but racing in the C's on a freezing Saturday morning, knowing my two girls and wife are waiting for me on the other side of the course I choose to play it safe- throw the eldows out to deflect and not try to force the choppers into the ditch. The rest of the first lap was pretty much like this the whole way as they sent over 100 riders out on the course in less then a minute, so it took some time for things to string out. Once it did I started to have some fun and get into the flow. At one point a girl in white sunglasses (that's all I could see as I was cross-eyed from a run-up) yelled- Go Sven Cole! I yelled back- "who is that?"- she said something but all I could hear was my heart pounding- so thanks for the cheering whoever you were! At another section of the course I was catching a guy who I'd been trading places with for two laps and a buddy of his who was watching started yelling at him that he had to catch back on cuz I only had one gear- that made me laugh and I gassed it a bit and opened a good gap that he never closed again.
I saw my girls on each lap, Lillo had a clipboard and was marking off my laps, every time by she'd say very nonchalantly "hi dad"- it cracked me up and I'd try to respond in the same tone saying "hi kiddo"- I got a couple looks for other racers each time. Lillo is in the red hat- about to say "hi dad":
On the last lap I really went hard on the last climb and caught quite a few people, of course I think I was the only one who was still sprinting for the line- buy hey if it's a race I'm going to snag every place I can!
In all it was a good race. I cleaned up and we headed to Freeport to kill some time before the men's elite race which was in the afternoon. When we got back we ran into Ward and chatted with him for awhile. We then headed to the barriers to watch. It blows my mind how fast and how smooth those guys are through the barriers. We also got to watch Jeremy Powers do his bunny hop through- which while very cool doesn't look to be any faster. Tim Johnson put on a show and won, so did his wife Lynn Bessette. Here's a shot of Jesse Anthony with Tim Johnson right behind him through the barriers on the third or fourth lap:
Sunday saw the first race of the Great Glen series. Really cool course, but much harder for me on a SS then Saturday. The downhills that you could make good time were steep enough that I was spun out fast and two of the climbs were close to max for me with the gear. The biggest issue I had was trying to get back up to speed once over the climbs. Ugg. The intermediate/elite field was huge- me, Jason P, Carl, Craig, and Dan (on a rigid mtn bike). We were off and I took up the fourth spot, blew the first remount (fell off the back of the bike) and then took up last place. I chased for the remainder of the first lap and eventually got back in front of Dan on the third lap. The course offered about 25 seconds of rest per lap (6:30ish laps)- so I was pretty cross eyed the entire time. Craig pretty much took off, Carl not to far off, Jason was about 30 seconds ahead of Dan and I and we were just seconds apart. As we came in for the bell lap Dan got in front of me, I jumped on his wheel and took advantage of some draft- but then my legs just cracked. I tried to go fast to keep Dan in site but it was all over. The last lap just hurt and I took up the rear of the group. Dan put in a big effort with half a lap to go and I thought for a moment he was going to catch Jason, but not quite. At the finish K asked me if it was time to consider gears- I don't think she liked seeing me DFL! It was super fun and K is going to start racing cross next week (so I've got a good project this week to build her a bike). Hopefully more TWAF reps will be on course!
See you on the trail.
DEA
My race started at 9am, and it takes about an hour and a half to get there, so to ensure I had about an hour to warm up we left the house at 6:30am. The whole family went, so it was quite impressive to see all the girls up and adam and getting ready so early to go watch dad race his bike. The promise of course was a little vitamin G for the ride, little did they know they would have to wait almost an hour before we hit McD's. As much as I wanted a hashbrown and egg and sausage biscut I chose to pass and just went with a coffee and about two bites of sticky bun. But the girls dug in so the truck smelled like quality breakfast and I didn't get to eat any of it!
We got to Pinelands, the temp was about 38 and it was crystal clear. I walked into registration and somebody asked if I was Sven Cole, I said yes trying to figure out how the heck they knew that and came to find out her husband has raced the Rockpile Rampage and Porky Gulch in the past and is all fired up to race this year (good luck Marc!) Then once the conversation turns to Porky Gulch two other people started talking about it- looks like the word is getting out there this year- should be fun!
Anyway I finally get changed and grab the bike to head out on course, it was really nice, great flow and very single speed friendly. I ran a 38x17 and it worked quite well. There were only two spots- the paved downhill (spun out very fast) and one short pitch on a climb where I was having a tough time turning the gear. The warm up went pretty well and I quickly realized I really need to work on my cornering and or course dismount/remount. After the warm up I met up with K and the girls near the finish where the PA was, I was thinking it was a small field as I really didn't see anyone and figured that they should be staging already- finally I got nervous and asked and the guy yelled that they're staging the C's right now- final call up the hill and to get my butt moving. I stripped off my jacket and rushed to the start. The C's field had less then 50 racers, but they were starting the B Masters 30 seconds behind us and the B Masters 55+ 30 seconds behind them. I remember thinking that seemed strange to have the C's go out first with such a little gap- but hey these are top notch race organizors- what do I know!
We were off and the pace was fast and since we were going downhill on pavement I quickly started sliding back through the field. We transitioned onto grass and headed into the first barrier. I figure the best time to try and new technique is in a mass start race when you're going full speed- so I had heard that you should unclip your left foot first, then your right and scissor through- ok- I'll try that. Well all went well until my left foot slipped off as I was gliding at speed to the barrier- down I went onto my knees. Lucky for me the grass was still frosty and wet and I slid on my knees, bike still upright and was able to jump up on the fly- clear the barriers and remount without really losing to much ground- not bad I thought. Quickly we were off the bike again on this nasty off camber 90 degree turn that took you uphill for a steep grunt. Everyone was jumping off to run and then I hear someone say "here come the B's"- great. I jump back on my bike for a downhill on a jeep type road and all of the sudden I get swarmed by the fast B's and there yellin to get the hell out of the way, I trying to hold my line into a fast turn and I'm getting bumped on the right and having my line choped on the left- this isn't good. Fifteen years ago when I raced a lot of crits this type of crap would have gotten me juiced- but racing in the C's on a freezing Saturday morning, knowing my two girls and wife are waiting for me on the other side of the course I choose to play it safe- throw the eldows out to deflect and not try to force the choppers into the ditch. The rest of the first lap was pretty much like this the whole way as they sent over 100 riders out on the course in less then a minute, so it took some time for things to string out. Once it did I started to have some fun and get into the flow. At one point a girl in white sunglasses (that's all I could see as I was cross-eyed from a run-up) yelled- Go Sven Cole! I yelled back- "who is that?"- she said something but all I could hear was my heart pounding- so thanks for the cheering whoever you were! At another section of the course I was catching a guy who I'd been trading places with for two laps and a buddy of his who was watching started yelling at him that he had to catch back on cuz I only had one gear- that made me laugh and I gassed it a bit and opened a good gap that he never closed again.
I saw my girls on each lap, Lillo had a clipboard and was marking off my laps, every time by she'd say very nonchalantly "hi dad"- it cracked me up and I'd try to respond in the same tone saying "hi kiddo"- I got a couple looks for other racers each time. Lillo is in the red hat- about to say "hi dad":
On the last lap I really went hard on the last climb and caught quite a few people, of course I think I was the only one who was still sprinting for the line- buy hey if it's a race I'm going to snag every place I can!
In all it was a good race. I cleaned up and we headed to Freeport to kill some time before the men's elite race which was in the afternoon. When we got back we ran into Ward and chatted with him for awhile. We then headed to the barriers to watch. It blows my mind how fast and how smooth those guys are through the barriers. We also got to watch Jeremy Powers do his bunny hop through- which while very cool doesn't look to be any faster. Tim Johnson put on a show and won, so did his wife Lynn Bessette. Here's a shot of Jesse Anthony with Tim Johnson right behind him through the barriers on the third or fourth lap:
Sunday saw the first race of the Great Glen series. Really cool course, but much harder for me on a SS then Saturday. The downhills that you could make good time were steep enough that I was spun out fast and two of the climbs were close to max for me with the gear. The biggest issue I had was trying to get back up to speed once over the climbs. Ugg. The intermediate/elite field was huge- me, Jason P, Carl, Craig, and Dan (on a rigid mtn bike). We were off and I took up the fourth spot, blew the first remount (fell off the back of the bike) and then took up last place. I chased for the remainder of the first lap and eventually got back in front of Dan on the third lap. The course offered about 25 seconds of rest per lap (6:30ish laps)- so I was pretty cross eyed the entire time. Craig pretty much took off, Carl not to far off, Jason was about 30 seconds ahead of Dan and I and we were just seconds apart. As we came in for the bell lap Dan got in front of me, I jumped on his wheel and took advantage of some draft- but then my legs just cracked. I tried to go fast to keep Dan in site but it was all over. The last lap just hurt and I took up the rear of the group. Dan put in a big effort with half a lap to go and I thought for a moment he was going to catch Jason, but not quite. At the finish K asked me if it was time to consider gears- I don't think she liked seeing me DFL! It was super fun and K is going to start racing cross next week (so I've got a good project this week to build her a bike). Hopefully more TWAF reps will be on course!
See you on the trail.
DEA
Thursday, October 12, 2006
First race of 07
Get your booties out, gloves on and insulated gear ready. Sweet!
From Dan, Director of Jay:
The web site will be updated in the next few weeks about the First winter MTB race on the East Coast.The date has been set for February 10th 2007
The course will take place on snowmobile trail. The distance will approximately be 30 miles
Registration should open Mid November
More details to follow
Hope to see you next February
Dan
The Jay Challenge
From Dan, Director of Jay:
The web site will be updated in the next few weeks about the First winter MTB race on the East Coast.The date has been set for February 10th 2007
The course will take place on snowmobile trail. The distance will approximately be 30 miles
Registration should open Mid November
More details to follow
Hope to see you next February
Dan
The Jay Challenge
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Let the upgrades begin....
As I said eariler, I wussed out and purchased a Reba Race fork. Well it arrived in the mail today. Looking forward to installing it and getting the feel od the 29er SS with a little squishyness on the front end. Maybe I'll be able to keep up with DEA now. Guess we will see. Doubt it as he still has better legs than I, not prettier, but definately smoother.
Monday, October 09, 2006
RJC/Importech Summer Series Final Results
So the results are finally in for the season. Due to schedules and what not, DEA was the only one of us able to make all 4 events. I was able to make the final two and A1 and NK one each. Here's the breakdown:
Sven took first place in his division for the series overall. Nice job DEA. Looks like a move up is in order for next year.
JJ tied for third in his division with only 2 of 4 events and missed second place by only one point. Really wish I had made at least one more of the races. Oh well, there's always next year.
Add these results to the Summer Series at Great Glen, the Jay Challenge, the 24Hrs of Great Glen and TWAF had a pretty nice inaugural season so far.
JJ
TWAF Rides Again
As DEA said, TWAF (less NK) got out for a night ride saturday night. It was a pretty late ride as we didn't get rolling til about 9:45PM. We did a longer ride that normal, but it wasn't a school night. We got in a good bit o climbing as we rode most of the hills we could find it seemed. Only issue was Karen's stew and the effect it was having on PJ. He was better off, as were we, if he was bringing up the rear. DEA and I rode it on our SS niners and PJ and A1 rode their geared kids bikes. It was prety chilly and as it was approaching 11:20PM we called it a night and headed in. It was nice to have the crew together.
The numbers:
Total time: 2hr, 28 mins
Moving time: 1hr 32 mins
Distance: 12.42 miles
Moving speed: 8.0
Elev. gain: 1,507 feet
Thanks to the Garmin Edge 305.
JJ
The numbers:
Total time: 2hr, 28 mins
Moving time: 1hr 32 mins
Distance: 12.42 miles
Moving speed: 8.0
Elev. gain: 1,507 feet
Thanks to the Garmin Edge 305.
JJ
Good weekend
Columbus Day is here and soon to be gone, it won't be long before skiing starts to take over the minds of TWAF, but we still have a good six plus weeks of riding before we can really start to jones to get on the hill.
This weekend saw PJ come over to do a bit of riding. We did a night ride on Saturday, in attendance: PJ, A1, JJ, and myself. We road out in Davis and reversed the Beaver Loop. We only lost PJ once and for the most part everyone stayed in one piece. It got cold at the end, and with the clock nearing 11pm we chose to ride back the last couple of miles on the road and skip the three water crossings that would have made already cold feet extremely cold. I think PJ may have been the only one who was warm, I wonder why:
On Saturday A1, PJ, my family and A1's family all hit the Red Fox Pub for a bit of brunch- good stuff. PJ and I then snuck out for a bit of a road ride. Beautiful weather but no matter where we went we ran into major traffic.
In other news we finally got new front steps. I tore off our old front steps in May, yup May. So instead of a shiney new IF frame coming on UPS I had this show up this morning instead:
That does if for now, gotta go feed the kids. Who's up for a night ride?
DEA
This weekend saw PJ come over to do a bit of riding. We did a night ride on Saturday, in attendance: PJ, A1, JJ, and myself. We road out in Davis and reversed the Beaver Loop. We only lost PJ once and for the most part everyone stayed in one piece. It got cold at the end, and with the clock nearing 11pm we chose to ride back the last couple of miles on the road and skip the three water crossings that would have made already cold feet extremely cold. I think PJ may have been the only one who was warm, I wonder why:
On Saturday A1, PJ, my family and A1's family all hit the Red Fox Pub for a bit of brunch- good stuff. PJ and I then snuck out for a bit of a road ride. Beautiful weather but no matter where we went we ran into major traffic.
In other news we finally got new front steps. I tore off our old front steps in May, yup May. So instead of a shiney new IF frame coming on UPS I had this show up this morning instead:
That does if for now, gotta go feed the kids. Who's up for a night ride?
DEA
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Wednesday Night Ride
We had hopes of putting a group together for a ride last night. As it turned out we had myself, DEA and A1. A smallish group I guess. We headed out and up Davis Hill Rd. to the trailhead and as we were climbing the hill I noticed the pace was a little more brisk than normal. As we dropped in DEA and A1 put some distance on me. Cheaters they are, riding bikes with suspension and all. After I made it down the descent I was able to catch back on. We decided to show A1 the Beaver Damn trail and headed out to do basically the same loop as we had on Monday night.
We continued our not so quiet riding hoping to spook any wildlife that might have been out there. Everyone made it across the beaver damn dry. My legs were suffering and so were my lungs. I checked my HR and I was pegged a couple times at 189. Not far of my max. I was in difficulty as we were not slowing down nor were we stopping to catch our breath. The trail after the beaver damn is pretty much just an uphill rock garden. I was grinding along but it was painful for sure. After that section we headed back to the ridge trail and then took the Minora trail which was a nice change and a while since we had ridden it that direction. After climbing back out and heading home we headed to my place for a couple post ride PBR's. Overall the ride had the feel of a training ride and not a fun night ride with friends.
The numbers:
Total time: 1hr, 1 mins
Moving time: 58 mins
Distance: 8.44 miles
Moving speed: 8.6
Elev. gain: 934 feet
Thanks to the Garmin Edge 305.
Looks like another night ride this Saturday for those of us without a social life, guess that is our social life. PJ is supposed to be coming to town. See ya on the trails.
JJ
We continued our not so quiet riding hoping to spook any wildlife that might have been out there. Everyone made it across the beaver damn dry. My legs were suffering and so were my lungs. I checked my HR and I was pegged a couple times at 189. Not far of my max. I was in difficulty as we were not slowing down nor were we stopping to catch our breath. The trail after the beaver damn is pretty much just an uphill rock garden. I was grinding along but it was painful for sure. After that section we headed back to the ridge trail and then took the Minora trail which was a nice change and a while since we had ridden it that direction. After climbing back out and heading home we headed to my place for a couple post ride PBR's. Overall the ride had the feel of a training ride and not a fun night ride with friends.
The numbers:
Total time: 1hr, 1 mins
Moving time: 58 mins
Distance: 8.44 miles
Moving speed: 8.6
Elev. gain: 934 feet
Thanks to the Garmin Edge 305.
Looks like another night ride this Saturday for those of us without a social life, guess that is our social life. PJ is supposed to be coming to town. See ya on the trails.
JJ
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Random
Night ride tonight (I hope) should be fun. I wonder if A1 will make it? Sounds like Nk is out- oh well.
Saw a cool sequence in Velonews by Chris Milliman with Jeremy Powers bunnyhopping. We're hoping the Chris can get over this way for a ride with TWAF. Check out his new 29er SS- holy s&^t that is nice looking! Chris's blog and Seven
I've got some weird bruises on my legs- not sure if I stacked it harder then I thought last week or if K has been beating me in my sleep with a golf club. Who knows.
I'm getting anxious to race CX soon. The GGTOC series starts soon their site there's a chance PJ may come over to race. I still have a Kona Jake the Snake available if someone wants a cross bike- let me know.
That's it at the moment.
DEA
Saw a cool sequence in Velonews by Chris Milliman with Jeremy Powers bunnyhopping. We're hoping the Chris can get over this way for a ride with TWAF. Check out his new 29er SS- holy s&^t that is nice looking! Chris's blog and Seven
I've got some weird bruises on my legs- not sure if I stacked it harder then I thought last week or if K has been beating me in my sleep with a golf club. Who knows.
I'm getting anxious to race CX soon. The GGTOC series starts soon their site there's a chance PJ may come over to race. I still have a Kona Jake the Snake available if someone wants a cross bike- let me know.
That's it at the moment.
DEA
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Interesting Stats comparing rides
So DEA and I rode a good loop on Saturday with a group of other guys. Then last night we went out and did basically the same loop.
Saturday stats:
Total time: 1hr, 54 mins
Moving time: 1hr, 9 mins
Distance: 9.43 miles
Moving speed: 8.2
Elev. gain: 1,159 feet
Monday stats:
Total time: 1hr, 5 mins
Moving time: 1hr, 0 mins
Distance: 8.37 miles
Moving speed: 8.2
Elev. gain: 1,048 feet
Basically we went as fast at night as during the day. Didn't stand around much at night though. Sorta shows how different rides can be depending on the crew you ride with. When we were rolling it was basically the same pace, day or night.
Who's up for another night ride, tis the season? Get your lights on the chargers and come on out.
JJ
Saturday stats:
Total time: 1hr, 54 mins
Moving time: 1hr, 9 mins
Distance: 9.43 miles
Moving speed: 8.2
Elev. gain: 1,159 feet
Monday stats:
Total time: 1hr, 5 mins
Moving time: 1hr, 0 mins
Distance: 8.37 miles
Moving speed: 8.2
Elev. gain: 1,048 feet
Basically we went as fast at night as during the day. Didn't stand around much at night though. Sorta shows how different rides can be depending on the crew you ride with. When we were rolling it was basically the same pace, day or night.
Who's up for another night ride, tis the season? Get your lights on the chargers and come on out.
JJ
Night Ride
JJ and I saddled up last night a bit after 9pm for a spin in the woods. We had hoped to drag A1 out but he was heading to bed early- must have been tired from all the tents (total side note but you can head over to Oktoberfest at Attitash this weekend and enjoy beer and hang out under one of A1's fine tents)
We dropped into the top of Davis Hill and rode the loop we spun this weekend. It was good, a slightly faster pace with fewer stops so the ride took about an hour less then our weekend rip. Neither of us went for a swim in the pond- which was a very good thing. Neither of us even tried the upper rock garden. Both of us made stupid noises trying to make sure that if a bear, moose, or skunk that might also be enjoying the trail knew we were coming. I think I need to find a small bell that I can just hang from my seat and see if that works (any suggestions out there?) When JJ and I used to ride geared bikes all the chain slap and shifting made plenty of noise- now that we're both on SS bikes they run damn quiet.
It was a great ride, can't wait to do it again. Any readers out there who are up for night rides in the Conway area drop us a comment and we'll try to connect.
ride on
DEA
We dropped into the top of Davis Hill and rode the loop we spun this weekend. It was good, a slightly faster pace with fewer stops so the ride took about an hour less then our weekend rip. Neither of us went for a swim in the pond- which was a very good thing. Neither of us even tried the upper rock garden. Both of us made stupid noises trying to make sure that if a bear, moose, or skunk that might also be enjoying the trail knew we were coming. I think I need to find a small bell that I can just hang from my seat and see if that works (any suggestions out there?) When JJ and I used to ride geared bikes all the chain slap and shifting made plenty of noise- now that we're both on SS bikes they run damn quiet.
It was a great ride, can't wait to do it again. Any readers out there who are up for night rides in the Conway area drop us a comment and we'll try to connect.
ride on
DEA
Monday, October 02, 2006
Did I wuss out?
So for the past month I have been riding a fully rigid 29er singlespeed. It is a blast , but there are times when I feel like my teeth are rattling out of my mouth and my arms are going numb. I have been toying with the idea of throwing a suspension fork on the bike. Part of me wants to keep the bike rigid. Well I broke down and have a Rock Shox Reba Race fork coming. We'll have to see how that works.
Here's a shot from the last race, the Fat Tire Festival at Bear Notch. Not sure why I look like a blowfish. Maybe I was holding my breath the whole time. Could explain my performance.
Got out for an early morning ride on Saturday with DEA and some other local fellas. Got to ride some new singletrack that neither DEA or I had ever been on before but had been right under our noses for the last few years. It was pretty nice and was called the Beaver Damn trail. Aptly so as you have to ride across the top of a beaver damn as part of the trail. As we came upon the damn it was a very beautiful sight with fog across the water with the sun burning through and fall colors in the trees. All of the sudden, one of the guys, Tim, was in the water. His front wheel had slipped and he went in. Up to his neck. He tried to get out and fell back in again. He was still clipped in. DEA and I were helpless, we stood and laughed as Tim got out of the water, standing there dripping. Knowing that as we started the ride it was only 36 degrees out. Basically glad it was not us that was now soaked to the bone. Amazingly enough Tim toughed it out and finished the ride. Not sure if I would have been able to do that. Aside from that it was a good ride and nice to find some new stuff in our back yard to ride.
JJ
Here's a shot from the last race, the Fat Tire Festival at Bear Notch. Not sure why I look like a blowfish. Maybe I was holding my breath the whole time. Could explain my performance.
Got out for an early morning ride on Saturday with DEA and some other local fellas. Got to ride some new singletrack that neither DEA or I had ever been on before but had been right under our noses for the last few years. It was pretty nice and was called the Beaver Damn trail. Aptly so as you have to ride across the top of a beaver damn as part of the trail. As we came upon the damn it was a very beautiful sight with fog across the water with the sun burning through and fall colors in the trees. All of the sudden, one of the guys, Tim, was in the water. His front wheel had slipped and he went in. Up to his neck. He tried to get out and fell back in again. He was still clipped in. DEA and I were helpless, we stood and laughed as Tim got out of the water, standing there dripping. Knowing that as we started the ride it was only 36 degrees out. Basically glad it was not us that was now soaked to the bone. Amazingly enough Tim toughed it out and finished the ride. Not sure if I would have been able to do that. Aside from that it was a good ride and nice to find some new stuff in our back yard to ride.
JJ
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