I am always reminded of how far detached the cycling community is from the rest of our culture when it comes time to explain our crazy sport to an outsider. Thats what I had to do yesterday to a reporter from the local paper. He came by for a little while to get a story about my racing history and my plans for the rest for the rest of this season, including Mt. Snow. We talked for over an hour, mostly me telling him about how I got started in the sport, my first race, etc. There was one question that he asked me, "When you say mountain bike racing, do you mean like roads or fields...", that I thought was interesting. He really didn't know anything about the sport and the fact that he is mostly likely part of an overwhelming majority of people who understand nothing about the sport of mountain biking or cycing in general reminds me of just how much of a hidden subculture we are part of.

I didn't know Barry Wicks joined the Wiggles...

Visual Aids

Pics from Granogue-

Thanks MLK

I should take my tanlines more seriously...

Paint chips and pain faces

I've got dual race reports to cover since I've been slacking on the updates.

Tymor Park, race number 3 of the H2H Series went well. The course was killer as was the competition. Matt and I hit up the 3 hour drive together and after doing a little bit of homework on this guy, we both were concerned. World Cups...Top 20 at NORBAs, what? And don't forget fast Eddy the local legend. The start went off and Matt had a good spot sitting somewhere in the top 3 I think. I wasn't so lucky, between the bottle necking and the ridiculous passing the was going on, I was shoved back out of the top 10. Anger set in. I don't get angry too often, especially in bicycle races. Started passing people one by one as they blew up from the start and caught the lead group of 5 somewhere around halfway through the first lap. Still angry. Flew past all five of them on the next field climb with Matty jumping on my wheel. Hammered the rest of the climb and at the top a could see one guy a little ways back. Put my head back down. Lap 2, rain starts falling, hard. The trails turn to peanut butter within half a lap. Said guy is still just a little ways back. Put my head back down. Finished the last lap (not angry anymore) less than a minute ahead of the miscellaneous local rider with Matt in third. Yeah. Its good to have my old buddy back again. Packed up in the rain and went home.

Yesterday was Granogue. Its been at least 2 years since the last time I got to play there. Chris and Harlan both showed and Wes had his new stars and stripes kit. The ensuing event would most likely be fast. Its not often that I wish a race would have been longer but yesterday was one of those times. I didn't feel particularly bad but not particularly good either. Laps 1 and 2 were spent hanging out with Harlan with Brandon and Wes just up the road. Chris was a little farther. Starting the third lap, the legs opened up and I actually felt like a hadn't just come off of three 20 hour weeks. Managed to close in some time on Brandon and Wes but the finish just came a few miles to quick. 4th place. The MASS series continues its ultra competitive legacy.

In all of my summertime, unemployed boredom, my room is getting a fresh coat of paint. While moving all of my stuff out of the room and stripping the walls bare, I realized just how long my room has looked the same. I pulled one of the medals off the wall- Spring Mountain, 2001. For 7 years I've been looking at the same exact things in the same exact spots. The last time any of it was moved I had a naturally occurring falsetto. Time for something different. I think a lovely shade of chalkboard grey should suffice.

I should really start taking more pictures....

Good day.

Jenny and I went for a ride today. It was the most amazing time of my life and could probably be considered the best training ride yet this season.

Flat Tire Convention

What could have been...

It's interesting how the deflation of a tire feels quite similiar to the deflation of one's self at the moment the first indicative squish is felt.

I went into the French Crick race with the wanting nothing less than a win. I know the course better than anyone, where the important parts of the course were, and where the race could be decided. After all, I've been riding these trails since I was 12.

The first lap was controlled by the playground posse. Out of sight of the rest of the field and all feeling good, we exchanged falsetto remarks at the top of the first major climb. Carnage would insue on the following descent.

I blasted down the descent first with Brandon and Kyle just behind. Of the three of us, I would be the only one to finish the two lap race. I railed the roughest part of the descent and took off on the false flat section that came just before another fast downhill section to try and get some time. Hit the descent, through the first road crossing on the way to the second. Dropping down onto the road, I felt the first squish. Then I did what every other person does when they think they have a tire going down. Bounce on it. I pushed the rim straight through the tire to the pavement. You've got to kidding me.

Turning around, there was no one in sight for at least 20 seconds, but with the speed of these MASS races lately, there's no recovering from a sliced tire. All I could do was keep limping along until someone passed me and offered a CO2. If your asking yourself why I didn't just use my own, it's because I didn't have one. The last flat that I got in competition here on the east coast was back in the summer of 2006 at Michaux and I was hoping my luck would last. Kyle and Weston rolled past me on the next downhill with the latter tossing me his pump. A qiuck shot of air a shake was all it took for Stan's sealant to work its magic. I had more trouble figuring out how Wes's air gun worked. One minute gone.

With the tire hopefully sealed for the rest of the day, I gave chase to the 4 guys that had just passed me. I wondered why Brandon wasn't one of them. I caught Chris Beck within seconds and rode with him up most of the next climb. Just up the hill was Jeff Shalk. Towards the top of the climb is one steep part of the that not many people were riding, including Chris and Jeff. I hit it hard and made lots of time on both of them. By the top of the last final descent I had just passed Jeff and started looking for Kyle and Wes. Lap 2 was nothing but chaos as Jeff and I weaved through tens of sport riders with some of the hairriest passes I've ever made. We couldn't call our passes fast enough. By the time one of us called left or right, we were both by already. Halfway through the lap we passed Kyle who had suffered from a flat as well. By the end of the last lap, I had put nearly a minute between Jeff and I, putting me 2nd behind Wes. The rest of the playground posse suffered multiple flats and both hiked there way out of the woods. Rough day on the rubber. Thanks to Wes again for the help.

I followed Saturday up with a long ride and toured through the nicest roads in the county. A nice 85 miles with some larger climbs, a bike shop, good views, and a farmers market along the way.

Apple orchards with great views.

It's no Front Range vista but for around here, it doesn't get much nicer.

One for the money, two for Michaux

This weekend was the first big doubleheader of the season. The weekend kicked off on Friday with some trail work with Kuhn to prepare for the Rocktober Marathon scheduled for May 17. the two of us carried on all day with leaf blowers and hedge trimmers cleaning up parts of the course for everyone to enjoy. I also learned many lessons in the art of networking with people.


Saturday was the Cat Classic near Williamsport, PA. Previous years had a $500 purse for the win, pretty hefty for a local gig, but this year it was dropped to $300 for some reason. Either way, I was excited to get up do this race again. The race is held on a family owned farm/property with what I think are some of the best trails around. Soft, loamy, rocky trails with lots of steep climbing and over camber sections make for a sweet course. Toss in some overnight rain, four 7.5 mile laps, and some of the fastest guys on the east coast and you've got yourself a race. The super early, 9am start went off right on time and Kyle and I got out to an early lead. We rode pretty conservatively for the first 2 or 3 laps but kept putting solid chunks of time in the rest of the field. Lap 4 is when the racing really started between the two of us. Both of us getting tired as the race was nearing the 2.5 hour mark as we were just getting into our last lap, but I could tell the rocks were taking their toll on Hammy and he was starting to get a little sloppy through the heavier rock sections. (I have to give him props though, for not liking rocks a whole lot, he rode them very well for the first three laps) Going into the 4th lap I didn't want to attack him, rather just keep it as smooth as I could through the rougher parts and rail the rock gardens and put time on him there. It worked as I put about 2 minutes on him by the end of the race, finishing in just over 3 hours. Yeah, it was long...

After racing, collecting prize loot, and loitering for a few hours at a mall situated in the middle of nowhere, I got back to Ship just in time to clean everything and climb into bed to try and get a little rest before the first fiddy miler across the street at Michaux, the forest of destruction, where damage is inevitable. Whether its you or your machine, something will break by the end of the day. I woke up feeling surprisingly fresh and well rested (not really), skidded up to the start and took off on what would be a very uncomfortable 5 hours on the bike. The legs came and went in small 15 minutes bits but overall I wasn't feeling too into it. I suffered in for a sixth place finish which I guess into too bad for the circumstances. One spot off the podium, which continues the tradition of '07.

The Scott handled all the rocks of both events like a dream. Everthing is dialed in on it and I couldn't be happier with it. I'm loving it more and more ever time I sit on it. Cyclingnews just put out a review of the new Addict R1, check it out.

This weekend is Frech Crick, the home course, and I'm looking to tear some legs off.