Cedar Creek

Sunday morning I went for a ride over in Cedar Creek in North Conway. It has dried out pretty well considering the rain we had earlier this summer. I rode with Chris and we headed out from his house. First we rode Energizer and then some more of the usual tight twisty singletrack through the pine barons. When we popped out onto the fire roade we were surprised to see that some work had been done on the road and the usuallywet area at the end of a small pond was actually passable by cars with a nice new colvert in place. We then headed up the long fire road climb to the Mineral SIte parking lot and then decided to check out the High School Trail. I had never ridden it before and it was pretty nice. Some climbing but lots of descending witht he last section almost like a pump-track.

We ended back on the fire road and rode back tot hte top and out past the mineral sites to Sherwood Forest. At the gully Chris decided totake a run a clearing the climb out of it.

He got close but ran out of gas at the top. After that we headed down the very fast/fun downhill section and back to the bottom. Overall we got almost 2 hours of riding in on a very nice Summer Sunday morning.

JJ

Guess I was right

About Scott and Columbia.

Just don't ask me to pick PowerBall numbers.

DEA

Hmmmmm

It's fun to try and read between the lines- first this story about Giant being the bike sponsor for Rabobank and saying nothing regarding Team Columbia.

Then this story about Scott dumping their sponsorship of Scott-American Beef (of course I'd dump that sponsorship too- not only the doping issues- but a crappy team name)

Sooooo- how long until Team Columbia announces they are racing on Scott?

my random thought of the day.

DEA

Red Jersey Summer Series, Race #3: Cranmore Mountain

Thursday Night, Aug, 21, was the third race in the 4 race Summer Series put on by the Red Jersey. The race was held at Cranmore Mountain Resort and is always know for not being a flat race. It usually has some very good climbing and will punish people.

I got to the race and brought both my SS and my geared bike and I wasn't sure what I was going to ride. I pre-rode the course on my geared bike and was confident that the SS was going to stay on the bike rack. The climbing was pretty tough but what made it worse was that the first climb has some real sloppy sections to it and that trying to stand and climb on the SS was not going to work for me. After my inspection lap I got a drink and lined up at the start.

My class was set for 2 laps and as we set off the pace was pretty fast. I knew a few of the folks in my class and tried to keep in contact with those that were ahead of me. After making the initial climb we came to a very wet section that I decided would be faster to run that to try to ride so I got off and began to run up the ski slope some. I like skiing down much better than pushing a bike up. After s short section of singletrack we exited the woods and rode up the ski trail a bit more before turning directly down hill for a couple hundred yards in some very wet and quickly deteriorating grass/mud.

We continued a traverse across the ski area as we approached the tubing area and again headed uphill. This was a much better climb as far as conditions went as it was dry. The only problem was it was steeper and longer and had a lot of loose rocks to contend with. I was running my bike as a 2x9 so I had no granny gear to bail to and had to climb in a bigger gear than many folks and it allowed me to pass a few. We then dropped into some fun singletrack downhill sections that were pretty freshly cut, when they get ridden in more they will be real nice.

As we finished the first lap and started the second I could tell that my legs and lungs were still suffering from the recent 24 Hour Race as there just was not a lot of gas in the tank. About half way through my second lap a friend of mine who I had been in front of passed me and I was just not able to catch him. He was descending with a lot more confidence that I was and he ended up getting me by about 10 seconds.

At the end of it all I was surprised to hear my name called as they were announcing the podium spots, but I finished in third place. With the fourth and final race, the "Fat Tire Fest" coming in a couple weeks I think I am still in the running for a top three for the season series in my class.

JJ

Cross season on the horizon

Tomorrow night marks the end of the GGTOC summer series, Eli will be in rare form as he ties the awards in with an Olympic theme- I really should video tape it as it will be good.

Then it's off the race bike for awhile (not that this year I really ever spent much time in a racing mood) and we begin to look at the cyclocross season. With the new job, I'm not sure what my fall schedule will be like- I'm hoping cross racing will be a good fit. All I know is that parents weekend is the same weekend as Gloucester so I assume I won't race both days- but maybe I'll get in one day at least.

About the only race I know for sure will be Porky Gulch- and I can't wait for that.

That's it for now.

later,

DEA

blogging

I've been messing around with using blogger to handle some of the sports information here at Bridgton Academy, it'll be interesting to see how this works. Now I've got to put analytics under the blogs and also work on getting Jott dialed in for the coaches. Of course now that I'm all hopped up on Jott they start charging for the service- oh well. I guess there is still a free service, but it is much more limited.

Here is Wolverine Football and then Wolverine Soccer- keep in mind- these are works in progress!

Yes, I'll get back to riding my bike soon- I hope!

later,

dea

Just checking in. It's...

Just checking in. It's a beautiful day. I didn't get out for a ride last night. No race. But hopefully A1 and JJ did. So, I have to see if they put up some good times. listen

Powered by Jott

Feeling Lazy

A1 called me this morning to see if I was racing tonight over at Cranmore for the Summer Series. I'm not sure if I'm up for racing tonight. That is such a strange feeling, but I'm just sort of spent right now.

The bad part is that I haven't been riding that much lately, of course I walk up and down the hill on campus about 10 times a day and that is starting to take it's toll!

The football and soccer kids are here now, so campus has a bit more life. I saw one kid roll out of here on a road bike- hmm maybe a new riding partner. Still trying to feel out the trails over this way, so anyone that knows the trails of North Bridgton, ME- let me know!

That's it for now. Maybe a race report tomorrow- we'll have to see.


later,


dea

2008 24 Hours of Great Glen

I missed last year's race due to some broken bones and whatnot last summer, but I made it to the Race this year. I was doing the Solo Singlespeed thing with DEA and A1. More so with DEA and A1 had some crazy idea about actually racing and competing. The weather here in New England this summer has been somewhat damp. I have a half built ark in the yard if that tells ya anything. As a result the singletrack sections of the racecourse were expected to be a mess.



I had an opportunity to pre-ride sections of the course a few days before the race and some of it was so bad that they were actually removed from the race course. Unfortunately the rain didn't let up until the day of the race. We were spared getting rained on during the race however.



DEA and I set up camp in the solo area and A1 set up his RV compound in the main camping area. All three of us were at the back of the pack when the Le Mans start having decided that we did not want to get too caught up in the mess that happens when the race starts and all the racers bunch up and actually end up walking due to the congestion that happens on course. We thought it might be better to hang back and let things work themselves out before we ended up in the middle of it all. We were not racing on teams and doing the solo thing so the race was a lot more than a lap or two at a time; a marathon, not a sprint.



We rode the first 3 laps together and DEA and I decided to pit and recharge with some fluids and food. A1 was being supported by his wife and powered along. DEA and I did another lap and took another break and got some real food. It was about this time I think that DEA was starting to have some cramping issues. I was feeling pretty good and was riding at my own pace. While eating in the main tent, the timing board actually showed A1, myself and DEA running 1,2,3 in the Solo Singlespeed category. It was cool to see, but unfortunately was not long lived.

After eating, DEA and I headed out for another lap, Lap #5 at this point. It was about 6PM or so and the light was starting to be an issue, it would be the last lap without lights. DEA was having some major cramping issues and as we came int the start/finish area he headed to the pits for the night. He was very disappointed and perplexed as to why he was having these issues. I got my lights set up and headed out.



By this time it was dark in the woods and was getting even slicker than it was before. I was rolling along thinking I would complete this lap (#6) and do 2 more before taking a longer break and get a bit of sleep maybe. I was half way through my lap and was in a singletrack section known as "Whiplash." This is a trail that I have ridden many many times in both directions and know it pretty well. For the first 5 laps I had ridden most of it except for a couple of short sections that were just about unrideable. Well the 6th lap would be different, as I came into a spot that I had been riding all day I came over a large granite boulder and and my front wheel came down it was a few inches to the wrong side and stopped rolling. My weight started to shift forward. I could see that the front wheel was not rolling but was becoming a pivot and the bike I was on was starting to go up and I was about to go over the bars. I know that most anyone who has crashed anything, be it a bike or on skis, or anything else has those moments where everything slows down and its sort of a slow motion type of crash, but you are stuck knowing whats about to happen and can not do anything bout it. I was having one of those crashes.



Unfortunately the ground was not nice soft loam, it was a granite rock garden with a foot and a half of sloppy mud. I hit head first. Actually directly on my head. I could feel as my head went under the water (well muddy black slurry of a liquid). It then hit bottom as my neck absorbed the impact that was not taken by the helmet. The rest of me kept moving forward and slammed into the sloppy rocks. I was under water when I came to a stop. I quickly did a quick damage assessment. I had a some pain in my left elbow, but I knew that I had not fractured or dislocated it again. My shoulder seemed to be OK and all I could tell was that my right leg had some cuts of some sort.



I got up and saw that I could not see. My whole head had a layer of sludge on it and I wear contacts. I was afraid to open my eyes and then not be able to see at all. I opened them slowly and was able to see that my light was still on my head but not near as bright as before. I got out of the middle of the trail and walked about 20 yards. I needed to get my eyes cleaned a but better but my hands were like the rest of me, covered in an ooze. I took the nozzle from my camelback in one hand and with my left hand I pressed on the back of the pack trying to make an eyewash. I squirted my face and eyes as well as I could. I shook my head as I tried to clean it off. I had nothing to wipe off with.

I then wiped off my light as well as I could and then walked the rest of this section of trail. My neck was starting to get sore and I could tell that I had some good cuts on my legs. I was also starting to get a bit cold as I was soaked. I kept moving along, but my confidence was gone and I was just trying to make it back to camp at this point. I ended up waling a fair amount of the lap but got back to camp at about 8:45PM.

As I rolled into camp DEA was sitting there talking with Ward Solar. I walked up and they could see that I was a mess. I was muddy, and I stunk. I decided that with the way I felt I was done for the night. I stripped down, took a shower and got cleaned up. DEA and I broke out a beer and called it a night. I surveyed my bike and it looked like it did a lot better than I did in the crash. I then looked at my helmet. I wanted to see if my HID light was trashed. Lucky for me it looked like it got some scratches but no major impacts. About 2 1/2 inches from where the light was mounted however, my helmet was showing some signs of damage.

I could see that It had hit hard and as I inspected closer I could see that it was broken. The internal frame of the helmet had fractured and was done. I guess it did its job, but this helmet had been on its last ride. It reconfirmed my decision to hit the sack.

At about 6AM I woke up and started to move around. My left elbow was very sore, as its the one I dislocated and fractured last summer. My right leg was pretty banged up and my neck was very sore. DEA was stirring at the same time and we went over to the main tent to get some breakfast and see how A1 was doing. After eating and talking with some folks for a while we headed back to camp seeing that A1 was actually leading the Solo SS category but had someone close behind him.

I think both of us were waiting for the other to say lets go and ride for a bit. At about 9AM we rolled out. I was currently in 4th place and DEA was in 5th. I knew that I had no chance at 3rd as I was 4 laps down at that point. We hit the trails and each of us were trying to see how it was going to go as we each had our own issues. For the first 2 laps we rode together with each of us feeling better in sections and not as good in others. As we pitted to begin the 3rd lap of the morning, I ate some more and refilled my water bottle. DEA who was a lap down headed out about 5 minutes before I did. I was about 11:20 and I knew that there was only time for one more lap so there was no real hurry on the final lap.

I decided to take it a bit easier ans I was stiffening up some. I could see DEA off in front of me from time to time but decided that there was no point in trying to chase him down. I came across a couple of people I knew and rolled along with them for a bit as I made my way around the sloppy, muddy, messy course. I was about halfway through the lap when I heard the cannon go off signalling that the race was over. I was about a half hour away from the line at that point and made it safely in.

I was pretty spent as I crossed the line. It was a relief to finish but a disappointmnt as well. Without that crash, maybe I could have been top 3, who knows. I ended up in 4th place wih 9 total laps. DEA was 5th with 8 laps. A1 did us both proud as he placed first with 16 Solo Singlespeed Laps.

Garmin Edge Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s) 24:28:54
Moving Time (h:m:s) 9:30:01
8:12 pace
Distance (mi ) 69.39
Moving Speed (mph) 7.3 avg.
32.7 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +10,918 / -10,917
Avg. Heart Rate 113 bpm

Temperature (°F) 44.5°F avg.
51.8°F high
Wind Speed ( mph) W 11.8 avg.
W 21.9 max.

Lap(#) Time(m:s) Distance(mi ) M Spd(mph) HR Avg Max Energy(Cal)
1 59:44 7.52 26.2 163 178 772
2 60:03 7.52 24.8 158 178 710
3 61:07 7.72 26.6 156 178 849
4 64:55 7.74 24.6 147 174 810
5 63:14 7.83 25.9 150 171 909
6 65:20 7.48 21.7 140 164 852
7 63:13 7.66 25.7 135 161 876
8 62:16 7.59 25.7 143 159 874
9 66:26 7.61 23.9 140 160 776

JJ

Rain

Woke us this morning, nice morning. Then it started raining. Imagine that- rain this summer! I just read that we've gotten close to 13 inches of rain this summer- interesting.

So I haven't really touched the bike since last weekend. I went for a short road spin on Monday with my mother and then a short spin on Tuesday with my daughter for the weekly series- but nothing to see if I could actually pedal fast. Maybe tomorrow morning.

I don't have a great deal to report. I'm settling into the new job- but I can't say I have a great routine down just yet. Soon.

Today we're going over to the Conway house to try and do a "final clean", I don't think it will be a final clean- but it will get it alot further then it is now.

Alright- still need to go pull bike crap out of the car from last weekend- mmmmm that should smell good!

DEA

Ugh

Well it's over, the 24 Hours of Great Glen are now behind us. For some of TWAF it was a good weekend- for others not so good. I should take that back- out racing or riding your bike is always a good time, so lets just say the weekend didn't go as planned for some of us.

On a very high note- A1 took the top step in the Solo Single Speed. Last year he said he wanted to make the podium this year, I have to admit that I wasn't sure if we would- then he goes and won the whole thing! The kid is stupid strong and his wife made damn sure he finished what he set out to do- 16 laps in hellish conditions. Hats off the A1- he may need to be kicked out of TWAF as there is no way anyone will ever believe he is Weak and Feeble!

JJ had a good race, in other words no trip to the ER. He did fall down and bump his head (LOL) I'll let him explain. But he put in a 9 lap effort.

I on the other hand spent more time in camp then on course. Not sure what the issue was but I was cramping in ways that just wasn't fun. I ended with 8 laps and that was only because JJ nursed me around for a couple laps in the morning to get my legs spinning again. I had been fully prepared to finish with 6 and call it a year.

The course- well it had a touch of mud on it. Kinda like Ricco having a "touch" of EPO in his system. It will be interesting to see if the course ever dries out, and when it does- what does it look like.

Not much else to report at the moment- just tired and the legs feel a bit off today (wonder why). Time to get back to work.


DEA

Great Glen Trail Summer Series Race #4

Tuesday night was the 4th race of the 8 week Summer Series at Great Glen Trails. I had talked with DEA a couple days before hand about what bike he was riding and he had said he was running his singlespeed for the race to get ready for the 24HR race on the 9th & 10th of August. It sounded like a good idea to me so I brought my El Mariachi up for the race and left the geared bike at home (in pieces hanging on the work stand).

When I arrived I decided to take a warmup lap and I was feeling pretty solid. I did not see DEA but his car was in the lot. I asked the starter and was told that he was out on course already.

I decided to head out while I was still warm and got ready to go.

I was running a 32x20 setup and it wasn't long before I was spun out. I knew there would soon be places where I would be happy I had it. Overall I felt pretty good for the race lap and came across the line happy with the ride. I finished the lap in 24:14 mins, which was good enough for 4th place in my division, only a few seonds out of third. One nice thing was that I had the fastest singlespeed time of the night. Gotta take whatever small victory I can. Our team for the race ended up placing second for the night.

Garmin Edge Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s) 1:02:33
7:05 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 0:53:32
6:04 pace
Distance (mi ) 8.82
Moving Speed (mph) 9.9 avg. 44.7 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +1,228 / -1,242

Avg. Heart Rate
154 bpm
Zone 4.2

Temperature (°F)
48.2°F avg.
48.2°F high
Wind Speed ( mph)
W 37.6 avg.
W 39.1 max.

Good night of racing at Great Glen. One more race til the

24 Hrs of Great Glen this coming weekend. Not sure I'm ready, actually pretty sure I'm not ready. Oh well, its just pain.

JJ

Converting the Dos Niner to SS

I finished my conversion of the Dos Niner to a SS for the 24 Hours of Great Glen. Figured I wanted the benefit of the soft-tail for the race and the lightness of the scandium as well. I didn't have any crank bolts short enough so DEA lent me some this afternoon and I mounted up the 32 tooth chainring up front.





Then I put the Surley Singulator on as my chain tensioner. It is pretty slick. I think I should be able to swap out rear wheels with different size cogs and not have to deal with chain length issues.

Once all the old drivetrain was stripped off and the SS setup was in place the bike looks pretty lean. All I need is a carbon fork!! Going out for a test ride tomorrow morning to make sure the setup is race ready for next weekend.

JJ

Hollister State Park, NY

A little late, but a couple weekends ago I was at my parent's house in Springwater, NY and got out for a ride at http://www.wnymba.org/trails.php?trail=8 Hollister Spencer State Park. There are some great trails with good climbs tight singletrack there and I was having a blast until I had a major flat tire.

One of those blowouts that sounds like someone just took a rifle shot at ya. BOOM, instant flat tire! I had a spare tub in my pack and swapped it out and was ready to start refilling it when the head of my pump came apart and I realized that it was broken. I was able to get about 15psi into it and took it very easy as I rode back to my car where I had a floorpump and an extra mini-pump. Once I was back and got the tire up to pressure I was back on the trails.

I got about 2:25 worth of riding in and saw a pretty cool lightening strike that hit a big tree. Amazing power, wouldn't have wanted to be close by when it hit. Ouch.

If you ever find yourself in Wester NY, check out this park for a good ride or a good xc-ski int he winter.

JJ