Riffing on JJ's NYR Post

JJ posted a while back about his resolution to "just be better". I've been thinking about that a bit lately as I have been watching from a distance another member (not founding, but member non-the-less) wonder about his future as and dedication to being a bike racer.

I've been getting better on a bike now for well over 30 years. As a kid I dreamed of racing bikes and in my mid teens I got my chance. I was lucky as there was a private school across the street from where I grew up (literally) that had a cycling team. I hung around enough and the coach asked me to ride with them a bit. As fate would have it I would break my leg very badly the next winter and by spring I was in need of some heavy rehab, and my cycling career began in earnest. I had a chance to race for two years with that team, and I got better each year. I had dreams of being great but then reality set in that being one of the top five junior riders in Maine didn't always translate into 7-11 having a contract waiting for you for your 18th birthday.

Still I got better. I raced on and off in college, a couple of incidents with cars that didn't share my enthusiasm for sharing the road tempered my desire to be a road rider. At the time I had had a mountain bike since '88, but didn't do much mountain biking, but being in Vermont in the early 90's I got a chance to ride that wave that was mountain bike fever, even landing a job at a great shop called Skirack. While my road riding languished a bit my mountain biking got better.

While working at Skirack I started getting a bit of a road itch again, and proform on bikes can make an itch a downright irritation that must be dealt with. So I picked up a Cannondale road bike and feel in love with the speed again. It was actually on a road ride (that involved a massive hail storm, a wrong turn that added 30+ miles to the ride, and a crash through a busy intersection that was very wet) that I made up my mind to call a girl to go out on a date with me. That date went very well, in fact I said to myself on that date that I would end up marrying that girl- and 16 years latter I still am married to her.

It was during that time that cycling had moved into not only a passion but part of my livlihood as well as a common theme between K and I. I talked her into buying her first mountain bike and into working at the Skirack as well. Soon she was railing around on a mountain bike with the same passion, and it wasn't long before I watched her take the most awful wreck I've had to watch while we were riding down the face of Jay Peak. She was pretty banged up, but survived. Soon she ended up with a road bike as well (those who live in North Conway may see it from time to time- a white Diamond Back with a Team Betty- Ride Like a Girl sticker on the top tube). But during this time my understanding of cycling and my appreciation for the history of the sport began to grow, and I guess in a way I got better.

Graduation, marriage, new jobs- soon I was running my own shop and was also the head wrench- I got a lot better at working on bikes.

Kids, house, another new job- soon I got good at squeezing in rides when I could and even got my hands dirty promoting events.

Another kid, another house, another new job- I got good at squeezing rides into even less time, and I got good a keeping our growing fleet of kids bikes and trailers working, and I even "owned" a bike race for awhile.

No more new kids, same house, another new job- I got bitten by the racing bug again. I found a new crew to ride with. Jay Challenge presented itself- I was back trying to be a racer again. Epic year of training, stories, and racing. I made some of the best friends I'll ever have- so I'm going with I was still getting better. Heck JJ and I even end up getting the opportunity to ride for Team Bikeman!

Still no more kids, and we still have the house, but now live in another house, and yet another new job- my infatuation with single speed and cyclocross has gotten to a point that I might require medication. I'm now in a place where I need to build trails to ride trails. I'm getting chances to expose kids to cycling, and remember that school that had a cycling team way back at the start of this? Well I work there now and am working on bringing a cycling team back in the coming years. So I'm still feeling like I'm getting better.


I guess my point is that we get better every year, as long as we get out and ride. We may not get faster, we may lose some technical skills, but all in all if we are riding we are getting better in some way. Now get out and ride.

DEA

A shake up of the fleet

It's that time of year when I start dreaming of what I will be riding next year. Unlike past years I don't have any designs on a new race bike. The Mamasita will continue to take up the role of SS race bike, the Chilli Con will serve in the cross department and the Primero will help me out with the handful of road events that I sign up for. However with my advancing age the time has come to bring gears back into the fold, at least part time, in the mountain bike side of the equation. Since I'm bringing back gears I should also consider suspension- so throw some squish under my hands and butt and we're in business.

The game plan is to own one of these:


This of course is the Salsa Big Mama. I'm still torn between the XT version vs the SRAM version. The hangup that I have is with the fork. I'm a big fan of Fox forks, and the SRAM version comes with a Rock Shock fork (or course). The reality is I wouldn't ever notice the difference- but I just had such good luck with the Fox on my SC Blur and the Kona that I had in the previous decade.

I of course still lust for a Big Dummy. But not sure if that is in the cards this year.

That being said I may be in the bike sales world for a bit. I'm looking at maybe (see how committed I am) to selling my Salsa El Mariachi SS. I will also be looking to sell a Trek WSD 1.2 woman's road bike (42cm). I built up K a cross bike spec'd with an older DA kit and with the number of wheels we have lying around and the fact that she puts in maybe 10 days a year on a bike I'm not sure if she needs two road style bikes. I'll get some photos and pricing thoughts pulled together soon, once I talk myself into actually saying goodbye to a bike. Usually JJ ends up with my retired bikes, but I don't see that being the case with this!

That's about it. Work is busy. Skiing is good.

Until next time, Ride on.

DEA

Resolutions

DEA's post made me think some today about the past 10 years. New Years Eve of 1999 we were with some friends at their condo in Vermont Skiing and enjoying ourselves waiting for the end of the computer age.

We still lived in Ohio at that time and I was still an Assistant County Prosecutor. A year later we moved to New Hampshire. About 5 months after moving my wife went to a women's 5 mile running race and I went along with our young son. I was introduced to this very nice woman who had done the race as well and who has a daughter about the same age as our son who went to the same daycare.

Her husband was not there as he was some sort of cyclist/athlete type. Apparently there was some sort of bike race that same day where not so bright folks ride bikes uphill for 21 miles for the fun of it. I was thinking that this dude must be pretty hard corps and a little too much for me. He arrived a little while later and I was introduced to DEA for the first time.

Wow, how things have changed.

I don't think I would have been able to predict how the past 10 years would have gone and come even close to how they actually played out. Not sure there's much I would like to change, except maybe a few specific crashes and trips to the ER.

Looking forward to the next decade???? I imagine I would do just as poorly guessing where I'll be in 2019 so I think that I should focus on the short term instead. So maybe I need a New Years Resolution to sort of set the agenda and see how I do in keeping to that and being a way to control and decide how things go over at least the short term.

A friend of mine said if you publish your new years resolution that it might make you more apt to stick with it since everyone knows what it was and will guilt you into doing or not doing what you said you would. So with the threat of widespread public humiliation I was thinking of some really good ones, but they were either too hard or too easy or unrealistic or just stupid.

So I am left with the resolution to just be better.

Happy New years

JJ

Getting Ready for 2010

Wow, 10 years ago we were all madly planning for the digital world as we knew it to end. So much for that! 1999 ended smoothly and 2000 rolled in and our computers with their MASSIVE 500 megabyte hard drives survived.

At the time I was still in the ski and bike industry and was thinking that I would end up being either a ski or bike rep. At the time I had been talking with Cannondale (they were just getting into the motorcycle and four wheeler business) and had also talked to this place called Seven down in MA. I couldn't be farther from where I thought (well I could but it sounds better to say that I couldn't be) but have ended up right back to where I grew up.

Ten years ago my fleet of personally owned bikes and skis was very small, due to the fact I had a fleet of demo bikes and skis at by beck and call. I do miss that! I also miss weighing 180 lbs without trying. Oh well.

As we shifted from 1999 to 2000 K and I had a 9 month old baby girl and that had meant that the days of K being my daily riding partner had ended.

I'm realizing that in those ten years a lot has changed, but a lot has stayed the same. I'm still a bit of a cycling fanatic. I still go into way too much detail when I try to explain how road cycling is a team sport. I still get all wide eyed when new bike parts end up in my possession. I still love the sensation of riding a bike, and in some ways I think I enjoy it even more as those hours on the trail or road are even more valuable to me.

Now when I go to races I have a three person pit crew. I now go to some races and help my oldest get ready to race. I have also settled into the reality that my "fast" days are behind me- now the battle begins to not get any slower!

Here is to what is ahead in 2010 and to all that has happened in this past decade. What a crazy time it has been.

DEA

Post TWAFHGGPT Blahhhhhs

The ride came and it went. I had a blast and I think those who went had a great time as well. But now that it is over I've had a bit of a cycling hangover and haven't touched my bike in almost two weeks. That is a long time for me, especially since ski season hasn't started yet (at least for me).

Part of it is that I've been a bit sick for the last week, but I think not being on the bike has contributed to the icky sickys sticking around longer than usual. It's also the end of the semester at work and things have been busy so I guess there are plenty of excuses for not getting out on two wheels.

Ok enough bitching. The 2010 season is only a couple weeks away from starting. All the big teams are rolling out their new kits and bikes and I'm sitting here with a bag full of TWAF t-shirts from 2006 that are still in their "new" condition. So here is my big idea- I really don't need all these t-shirts, but the inner capitalist in me has a hard time just giving them away. So let's make a deal. Offer up a trade, what you've got and how many TWAF t-shirts you want for it. This will either be very interesting or I'll hear crickets. Time will tell.

I other news Lance isn't building RadioShack around him. Riiiiiighhht, and he was happy riding second fiddle to Alberto last summer, leaving and vowing to come back and go for the win. I miss the days when he just put it out there he was going to France to win, granted that was a a decade ago- but this is Lance we are talking about- the Dick Clark of cycling.

Ok enough out of me, ride on and get your holiday shopping done would'da.

DEA

Photos from the TWAFHGGPT

Great letter on Velonews.com

(ripped without permission from velonews.com)

How ‘bout we all ride without brakes?

Dear Editors,
My pickup has a standard transmission, and with careful anticipation and shifting technique, I have found that I really don’t need brakes, so I ditched them. I have really good night vision, too, so I don’t turn my headlights on at night. I also note that both my creativity and my driving get better after 2 or 10 beers.

While “The Man” smothers my hipness by trying to criminalize my expressions of individuality, the true surprise stems from the “holier-than-thou” indignation of the other drivers on the road. It’s as if their lack of exemplary shifting skills and uncanny night vision gives them some sense of entitlement to dictate how I drive! What a downer!

Individuality should be valued and we should all have a choice regarding what kind of bikes we ride, but we have a responsibility to minimize risks when that choice has the potential to impact others. Riding in city traffic can be dangerous, and while I concede that most bike-on-car crash scenarios will turn out badly only for the cyclist, it’s not hard to imagine other cars or pedestrians becoming involved just because the cyclist couldn't stop three feet shorter.

I am sure that many riders could ride a fixie safely in traffic, just as I’m sure that many car drivers can drive safely at 180mph, but that said, who would want the speed limit raised to 180mph on the roads of their favorite weekend ride?

Victor Becker
Wellsboro, Pennsylvania

A Great TWAFHGGPT

A great day spent out on the gravel of Western Maine. JJ took some photos that either he or I will get posted soon.

The final roll call:

JJ
A1
DEA
NK
Chris Ames
Mike the Weeble (it just may stick)
Brian Roache aka Ginger Dirty Hippie Boy (not sure that this one will stick)

Mike the Weeble took out the top points for signs and KOM's, however that being said he was on a cross bike racing against SS guys, so on town lines he should have cleaned everyone's clocks- however A1 took a VERY impressive town line win at the end of the ride. Anyone who witnesses the sheer speed at which his legs were turning over in those lime green wind pants must have not known what to think. All I could think was a French Canadian that was OD'ing on amphetamines.

I think we all got at least one sign so nobody got skunked. NK had an "issue" which made it a typical TWAF type of ride. He had to bow out early, something about a Pats game (which we made it back for kick off), I think NK just needs to put in some time on the bike, which he will next summer- as he lives 300 yards away, he'll have no choice.

All in all a great time. Look for video from Mike the Weeble. Of if you are me, hope that you don't!

That's it from here.

DEA

It's the Final Countdown.....

The TWAFHGGPT is set for this Sunday. The weather looks to be cooperating and the grinding will take place.

Questions that have been coming my way:

Road/Cross/Mountain bike? Mountain or cross will work Road- only if you are Michelin Mike, and even that might be dangerous.

Is this a race? No, it's a ride. Nobody will be left to die. It's a fun laid back ride. The weather is looking good so hopefully the pace won't be dictated by a need to stay warm.

Will I get wet? Maybe, but if you are careful and it isn't raining or snowing you should be able to stay dry.

Should I bring a tube? Yes, preferably one that fits you wheel.

What should I bring for afterwards? Whatever you'd like. We'll the the grill ready to roll and there will be SOME beverages of various types- so bring what you'd like.

Is there a sagwagon? Sort of. JJ will ride at the back and push anyone along who doesn't feel like riding.

How long? About 20 miles, about two hours. Or it could be something entirely different.

What should I wear? Clothing. If temps are in the 40's- you'll want warmer gloves and shoe covers of some sort- an old pair of wool socks works well- but they will be sacrificed for the cause. A light wind jacket. A beanie under your helmet. A vest in your pack just in case. Tights.

Do I get a nick name? Oh you very well may.

That's it for now.

DEA

TWAF Holiday Gravel Grinder Promo

A Ride With K

The weather had me wondering if it really was November. Blue sky, mild temps, dry ground. Hmmmm, maybe there is something to this global climate change that has an upside (until it stops snowing, grumble, grumble).

I guilted my wife into going for a ride. At first she was enthused, then not so much. Then she was enthused, until I said we'd be out for over an hour. But she rallied and we headed out the door. The temps were comfortable, but she doesn't ride very often so she wasn't sure what to wear- it took a bit but soon we were moving and she was comfortable with the hat and glove selection and we began to pick of the kilometers.

This was her maiden voyage on the cross bike I had built up for her. Big Al and World Bikeman.com HQ had pointed me to a screaming deal on a KHS cross frame and an Origin 8 Carbon fork. I looked at it as a deal I couldn't pass up and used it as a good way to hang an older Dura Ace kit on a bike, and not have it be my bike- everyone wins!


Here is bike post ride (K manages to stay much cleaner than I do on a ride- how does she do that?)

Anyway we headed out on part of the TWAFHGGPT route and soon found an old car. Here Karen is checking it out, thinking it just needs a bit of work.



We tooled along enjoying the gravel and great weather, and I kept pointing up to where we were heading. K wasn't so sure and I kept expecting her to be way behind me and walking, but instead she was glued to my rear wheel and forced me to ride harder than I had planned- oh well.

We eventually got to the top and enjoyed some great views (unfortunatly the 15 day forecast says on TWAFHGGPT that we will have snow and clouds so maybe no view).

We ran into a group of four wheelers, and much to my surprise it was a group of women. Not sure why that surprised me, but it did- good to see them out having fun.

We tooled on down to Vacationland Campground and followed a snowmobile trail to another road that took us down the western side of Crystal lake. At first K thought for sure I was going to get us lost, so I asked her, "do I ever take you on routes where I'm not sure where I am going?" Her answer was just a look. Ok so maybe she has a point. But in this case I knew where we were.

We cruised it home and spent the rest of the day watching football, running around outside with the dogs and kids on the athletic fields that are empty right now as the kids are all home for Thanksgiving break, and then I found some Geary's Winter and the Pat's game and went into full on American Male mode.

It was great to get out with K and I think she'll do it again, as long as I promise to know where I'm going.

Ride On. DEA

State Lines

Getting the state line is not near as much fun when you are riding by yourself. Regardless Sunday afternoon was like a carbon copy of Saturday. Did another hour and twenty in the woods. Almost 1k of climbing over 10 miles.

JJ

DEA making me feel guilty

I was sitting on my couch watching the Ohio State/Michigan game when I saw the DEA had put up a post mentioning he was going for a ride. It was a beautiful Fall afternoon, unseasonably warm in fact. I hemmed and hawed about going so I txt'd A1 to see if he wanted to go. I figured that if he was in I would go. He was not. He had kid duty. I was on my own. It was about 3 and I thought I had about an hour and a half before sunset.


One goal of the ride was to avoid having to cross any significant water. I got the SS and started out. It was really a nice day. Hard to believe it was late November. I wore my blaze orange shirt over my jersey as it is full on deer season here in New Hampshire and I didn't want to end up on the hood of some pickup truck being mistaken for a trophy buck.

It was pretty quiet in the woods. Did not see any hunters but did see a couple pickups parked with no one inside so I knew there were some armed fellas in the woods with me. Always seems that my head is on a swivel when I know this.




The ride was good. A touch over 10 miles of riding in an hour and 17 minutes of riding with 935 feet of climbing. Even better, Ohio State beat Michigan and I didn't get my feet wet.

Hoping to get out tomorrow with A1, we shall see. Have to make a run to Sunday River to take my oldest there for a 3 day ski racing camp. Just doesn't seem like we should be skiing yet.

JJ

Thinking riding, writing skiing

It's that time of year when I need to transition into a ski writer for my weekly ski columns in the Mountain Ear (they usually end up over here a couple weeks later). Of course right now I am getting ready to head out for a ride while writing about skiing- it's sort of messing with my head. See I have a last minute goal to put in another 300 outdoor miles in before 2009 goes the way of fiscal respnosibility in Washington. This week looks to be in my favor as it'll be warm and skiing will be on hold, but I'm not planning on piling in 300 miles in a week. Once we get to cold temps and snow on the ground my two wheel desire will transition to a two plank desire and I'll be all about skiing for awhile (except for the Gravel Grind of course!)

With that said- today it's about the bike. So time to kit up and head out the door. I'm hoping I may get in some time on the trails tomorrow with JJ- time will tell, I'll just need to convince him that it isn't ski season just yet first!

DEA

Gravel Grind promo

Ok so I shot some video with my cell phone that will likely make you sick trying to watch, but figured I'd post it (unedited.

However- some great views and good gravel- keep the 6th open!

TWAF Holiday Gravel Grinder

Timing

Some might think I am accident prone, I like to think of it as giving 110% all the time and suffering the consequences. As a result of this, I have had much more than my share of injuries. From dislocated ankles, a couple knee surgeries, to multiple dislocations of both elbows and one elbow surgery, broken bone in my left elbow, an avulsion fracture in my left shoulder, 3rd degree AC joint separation, and 4 (maybe more, lost count) shoulder dislocations. Gravity hates me. Luckily for me I have gone a year or so now without another major crash (knock on wood) that has resulted in hospitalization. Problem is my left shoulder is such a mess at this point that it has trouble functioning properly. It looks funny as my collarbone doesn't connect to the shoulder anymore. It makes terrible noise when I use it. It is generally weaker than my right shoulder and structurally is unsound. So much so that I have actually dislocated my shoulder rolling over in bed and reaching for my alarm clock. Not a great way to wake ones self up in the morning.

Where this leaves me is deciding what to do about the shoulder. I spent some time last weekend talking with my orthopedic surgeon about options. See I don't even really have a primary care MD. I have a surgeon cause that's who I see most often. I don't get sick, I break myself instead.

So the Dr. tells me that with the mess I have for a shoulder that I can expect arthritis to start by the time I am 45. With my limited math skills, that is only a few years off. The second issue is that unless I resign myself to new sports like couch surfing I am going to continue to dislocate the shoulder and continue to make it worse. So I think I have reached the conclusion that I need to go under the knife, again. The surgery on the shoulder unfortunately has a 3 month recovery time.

3 months is a long time to be out of action. Particularly when your activities are dictated by the calendar and the weather. Warm dry weather is riding season, cold and snow is ski season. That leaves me mud season & black fly season as the most probable time to get cut. Last ski weekend of the year will most likely by March 27 & 28 at Sugarloaf. That would mean April, May & June would be rehab and I could be back at 100% or so in mid summer. Other options are to get it done now and miss this ski season or try to hold out and get it done at the end of next summer and then rehab in the fall and be ready for winder 2011. Wow that seems like a long ways off.

I sure hope we have a good winter.

JJ

And So Begins the Slide...

Actually the slide began about 17 years ago when I came to grips with the idea that I would never make the big time in either Nordic skiing or bike racing. Ever since then I've struggled with my inner American and justified those "Two all beef patties special sauce lettuce cheese pickles onions on a sesame seed bun" by getting out for a good ride or ski (depending on the Earth's current position relevant to the sun). As I got older and metabolism continued to find it's inner tortoise and my "means" gave me the opportunity to enjoy darker beers, I found that I needed things to scare me a bit to stay somewhat fit.

For a long time it was simply being at the beach without a shirt on, my how fat of 10 years ago would seem so ripped now! When that motivation gave way I found ski or bike races were good motivation. 50km ski races worked for a bit, until I theorized that since I've done them a few times in the past that I'm sure I can make it regardless of training. 24 hour bike racing worked for a bit, until I found that beer makes for great carbo loading and that the podium is overrated anyway.

Then I found the one thing that did sort of keep me on track- cyclocross. Despite the short nature of the races, the sheer volume of pain and the needed speed- I found there was no way to fake my way through them. Based on the my previous comment that the podium is overrated, I have relegated myself to being a mid to back of the pack racer, however you still need to bust ass just to make it around the course and to try to either not get lapped or at least not get lapped until the very end. Racing with your heart rate at 180 bpm for 45 minutes caused you to think that a bit of training is a good thing so that your wife doesn't have to find out that you might have forgotten to mail in that life insurance policy payment (don't worry honey, I did pay it- honest!)

This brings me to my point. My cross racing season has ended. Since then I've been conducting a scientific taste test between the various 12 pack samplers put out by Smutty Nose, Shipyard, and Long Trail (results forthcoming). My lights have been charged and my cold weather night riding kit sits at the ready- but the motivation has gone the way of fiscal responsibility in Washington. And so the slide begins.

Meaning I'm looking for a winter event, something to get me fired up. The Canadian Ski Marathon is one, as is the crazy ass Coureur de Bois 90km race that Dave Mark (original owner of the Red Jersey) is involved with out in Colorado. Or maybe it's finding an off-road stage race like the Trans-Sylvania Epic that takes place in the spring could do the trick. Who knows but I need to find something to get me fired up, especially since I've found I can doctor photos of myself in photoshop and past them to Facebook and help make myself look all fit- a great way to keep those high school and college buddies thinking that you're still getting it done in the gym.

In other news- working on the TWAF Holiday Gravel Grinder. I'm sure A1 and JJ will be in attendance. Doc Leband is hoping to make it as will Chris Ames and Brian Roche (I hope that by putting their names out on the interwebs they'll feel shamed into riding). I'm hoping to either Sunday Dec 6th or Sunday Dec 13th work- but we'll keep you posted.

Until then keep the rubber side down and ride safe.

DEA

Porky Gulch Classic

I showed up. I raced. I raced again. I showed up late. I raced with the big boys. I am now very tired.

More on that later.

DEA

Photos shot by world class photographer Ryan Triffitt.

Sunday Epic

I had big plans of riding Sunday with DEA over near his place in Maine. Unfortunately that didn't work out due to his work schedule. Luckily for me Chris was looking to do a ride this weekend so we made plans to ride from his house on Birch Hill. We each sent out invites to a bunch of folks, but as we got ready to roll out this morning, only Eric joined our trek. I had checked all my gear the night before and made sure I had my Garmin GPS packed as we planned to ride some stuff I have never been on before. I had my bike all ready and put the GPS into the mount on the bars and turned it on. It chirped and gave me a message, "Battery Low" was being shown on the screen. I said some choice words and took it off my bike and tossed it into my car. Its amazing how tech reliant I have become over the past 3 years riding with the GPS. I am always looking at it for distance traveled, elevation gained, speed and heart rate data. Without it I feel quite lost (not that I ever use it for directions), but it isn't always a bad thing.



Chris has a trail right from his front door that connects him to the Cedar Creek trail network. It was really windy last night and as a result most of the leaves that were on the trees were now on the ground. There were sections where it was actually hard to follow the trail. After a little over a mile into the ride Chris came upon a large pine that had blown down across the trail and tried to ride around it through a bunch of smaller downed branches. He made it almost the entire way around it and then he went down in one of those slow motion crashes that seem to happen and there's nothing you can do to stop it. He hit the ground pretty good and wacked a tree or branch or something like that as he impacted the ground. It left a pretty nasty mark on his lower leg just above his ankle. Luckily the damage all appeared to be internal. Either way it hurt a bunch. He walked it aff for a couple minutes and then we got going again.



After a good couple of loops in Cedar Creek we started the long climb up one of the National Forest fire roads to High Street which is not much more of a road than the WMNF fire road. This climb is a few miles of continuous gravel grind. Once you hit the gate at the end of the fire road and turn right onto High Street you have another mile plus of climbing up the end of the road and the beginning of the trail head to the Mineral Site Trail.

The trail had sections where it was deep with leaves and other areas where it was mostly pines and there were very few leaves on the ground which was a nice change. We had almost reached the trail known as Sherwood Forest when Chris caught a slick root beneath the leaves funny and went down. This time it seemed pretty clean and he had no further injuries from the crash. We got moving and started the fast entrance to Sherwood Forest. All three of us were flying along pretty well and then all of the sudden the trail was covered in a very deep blanket of leaves. The leaves made steering your bike much like steering a boat. Control was somewhat lacking. This trail is all downhill and has some really fun sections.

Eric and Chris, both better downhillers than I, which I attribute to my numerous ER visits, pulled ahead of me a bit. I then came into a switchback section and there was Chris, stopped in the middle of the trail. As I rolled up he flipped his bike over and showed my his rear wheel, it was flat, not low but completely flat. Eric was ahead of us and didn't hear us yell that we were stopped to change the flat tire. Once the tube was out we could see the slice in the tube that looked like it might have happened when he caught the root minutes before.



Chris pulled out his spare tube and pulled the wheel off and started to change the tube out. He started to re-inflate the tube once it was swapped and it just didn't seem to want to hold any air. He pulled the tube out of the tire and we examined it and found that alos had a hole in it. What we didn't know was if it had a hole in it before Chris put it into the tire or if it got the hole during the installation, either way it wouldn't hold air. Neither of us had a patch kit either.

Eric now came riding up as he realized that we were delayed due to something. We now had a problem, we had no more 26" tubes. Eric runs a 29er as do I and he runs a tubeless setup. I had a spare 29er tube and I pulled it out and tossed it to Chris as I figured it was better than walking. Unfortunately once Chris had it in place and started to inflate it he had the same issue with it as he did with his tube. We were now thinking he was going to be walking back home. Luckily for us two other riders came up the trail and were a great help and gave us a tube to use. This one held air. Yahoo. Unfortunate thing was that now we had no spare between the three of us.



Once we finished Sherwood Forest we had another fire road climb. A little less than a mile but by this point we were all feeling our legs a bit. The next trail section I think is called the Carol Reed Trail. It has a nice water crossing over a 2x10 that was a little sketchy. We all just went for it and made it without issue. I had not ridden this trail before so this was nice to ride. It was a twisty rocky rooty trail that had a gradual climb in elevation. We came to a junction of the Stoney Ridge Trail. We went to the left onto the Upper Stoney Ridge Trail This trail was nasty. It goes up and up and just when you think you are done, it turns and goes up some more.



I was very glad that Chris had said I would want a bike with gears today instead of my singlespeed. I was in full on granny gear mode and happy to have it. After a good bit of pretty slow climbing and a little hike-a-bike we came to some slick-rock.



This section I was told is known as the Whitehorse Ledge Trail. The slickrock was pretty cool and very steep. We climbed across it and then dipped back into the woods. I though we had seen what we were going to see. The climbing unfortunately was not over and we worked our way towards the southern end of Whitehorse Ledge.



I was riding the trail and it looked like it just went into the blue. As I approached the clearing Chris yelled out to make sure to turn and its a long way down if you go straight. I was going nice and slow and made my left turn to follow the top edge of the ledge.

This is what Whitehorse Ledge Looks like in a few weeks with a dusting of snow.



As you can see in the above shot there is some significant exposure up on top. It is pretty cool being up there. Here's a few Shots from the top with a view back to the East and North with Echo Lake below, and North Conway to the East.





Riding slickrock is not all that common around our area as it seems it is much more common in places like Moab. It was a lot of fun to ride across, something new for me for sure. I had a 3 hour time window when we left Chris' house and it was about 11AM when we hit the top of Whitehorse Ledge. We decided it was time for us to start back so I could make my 12PM appointment. No more than a half a mile into the ride, while on the Stoney Ridge Lollypop trail section it was my turn for some bad luck. I was descending with Chris behind me and I was off my saddle and was just beginning to get seated again and as my weight hit the seat it gave way.

I have been on a few rides where this has happened to other folks, DEA and NK for a couple, but it has never happened to me before today. One difference for me than what happened to DEA and NK was that I didn't break the seat post bolt that holds the saddle onto the top of the seatpost. I stopped and got off my bike and looked down. My saddle was sort of sitting on top of my rear tire askew. I picked it up and saw that it had broken clean off at the top of the carbon fiber seatpost.




The aluminum insert into the post that attaches to the saddle had snapped. We were still quite a few miles from Chris' house and I was looking at my watch knowing I had about 40 minutes to make it to his house and then to pick up my kid from lacrosse practice at noon.

I put the seatpost into my pack and bunjied the saddle to the back of my pack. I tried to ride as well as I could but you never realize how much you use the saddle of a bike when you ride, even when standing. Without it I was really struggling on the rocky rooty trails. The trail came to a clearing and I decided that if I was to head into the clearing I would be able to find pavement and then ride roads back to Chris' house. I left Chris and Eric and made my way towards the roads.

I got into my big ring so that I could peddle and have enough resistance to keep moving. After about 20 minutes of riding this way I was completely spent. I made the turn onto Birch Hill Road to Chris' place. It is all up hill to his house and I was suffering. I looked at my watch and saw that I had 15 minutes left. I figured I could walk the last steep section of the road and have about 8 minutes to make it.

As I walked I decided I should call my wife and tell her I was probably going to be a few minutes late due to all of our issues of the day. As I grabbed my phone I saw I had a text message which told me that I didn't have to pick up my kid. It was a huge relief. I walked the last couple hundred yards to the top and then got onto the peddles and coasted into Chris' driveway. As I rolled in I could see that Chris and Eric had beaten me back.

It was a long and very tough ride that was filled with a few unfortunate and unexpected things, but overall it was a lot of fun. Chris had his GPS and it said we had done about 15 miles and over 2,330 feet of climbing.

Now that its been a few hours since the ride, I am wicked tired, a good night for the hot tub me thinks.

JJ