They put them in a tree museum

Nothing makes me smile more than some good old-fashion de-forestation followed by some suburban sprawl. This is what I ran across on the ride yesterday afternoon just a few miles from home. Any takers on what it'll be....? CVS? WAWA's have been pretty popular lately. How bout Walmart? Who wants to drive 7 miles to the other one anyway? Would a Big Box Home and Garden Center be too ironic?

My Favorites

This year I've gotten a chance to ride a lot of new stuff from a bunch of new sponsors. Being about halfway through the racing schedule already, I've had ample time to put some miles on the new bike and develop some opinions the new gear. These are my opinions, raw and honest.

First up, the Scott Scale frameset. In a word- unbelievable. Light (990 grams), super stiff, and killer graphics to set it off from any other bike out there. The ride quality is smooth and buttery but punchy and rigid when it comes to put power to the pedals. The integrated seatmast I am a fan of, although I suppose it's not for everyone. From a racing standpoint it makes sense, just be sure before you cut.

Another first for this year are the Stans wheels and rotors. They're awesome too. Just about the lightest rims available and they're strong for sure. I've hit rim lots of times without denting them or knocking them out of true. The rotors have worked flawlessly for me. I've heard others complaining about brake fade and lack of power, neither of which I can relate to. They do squeal when they just wet but at 59g/39g each, I can live with it. Oh, did I mention how light they are?

In the hands and feet department are Ergon grips and Crankbrothers pedals. I was pretty excited to get my hands on the new GX model from Ergon and for good reason. The GX compound is noticably harder than the previous GR2 model which for me, gives a more secure handle on the bike, although I do think I"ll opt for the GR2 come 24 Hour Nats where the softer compound may be more understanding towards my hands in the wee hours of the morning.

The Candy 4Ti pedals from Crankbrothers have been stellar so far. Compared to all the other models that I've tried, these have lasted the longest. I don't feel as if Crankbrothers make the most durable pedals on the market (bearing life tends to be a bit short, and the wings are a bit fragile compared to most) but boy oh boy are they some of the lightest. For a race bike that doesn't see tons of miles, they're the perfect match. And Crankbrothers (and Ergon too) also has one of the best customer services in the industry so getting repairs is a sinch.

In the rubber department, it's been the Maxxis Crossmark for almost two full years now. Perfect tire for anything. No seriously, anything. And they make it in a 29". The new Monorail looks interesting though, I'll give them a try next.

July is getting closer by the minute...and so is my bedtime

Today was a milestone. One I always knew would come.

Jenny and I went on our first legitimate mountain bike ride together. Not only that, she is "training" for the Marysville XC race coming up in two weeks. The entire plan was supposed to be a suprise, but I am awesome at ruining suprises...and I foiled it. Once I found out, I couldn't possibly turn down an oppurtunity to get out on a ride with her so when spent the afternoon spinning around Green Lane. I can't deny the fact that I was truly impressed with her mad skills. On only her second experience on an off-road bicycle, she was rolling down water-bar descents and making a few rooty climbs. If she's not hooked by now, it won't take long.

Tomorrow I'll make a call to USA Cycling and try to pull some strings to have her added to the womens' Olympic Long Team roster.

I was doing so good!! What happened?

The frequency of my blogging lately had been unprecedented. Nearly every 2-3 days for several weeks. Just when my viewers were probably getting accustomed to reading my horribly told stories, I go and take a 10 day hiatus. For that I owe my viewers an apology. My duty as a blogger is to provide entertainment, insight, or just kill a few minutes of down time at work for those who venture onto to my page. All of which I have failed to do for the past 10 days. Again I apologize.

Let us please put this behind us and hopefully, in due time, I can regain the trust from my viewers that I fear I may have lost.

Since my last post I've raced twice. Both went well and played out nearly identical to one another. Last weekend was the forth race in the H2H series in New York. Matt and I drove up on Sunday morning to Stewart State Forest for the Dark Horse Gallop. The usual New York crew was there plus Christian Favata. He made me a little nervous only because I never raced him before. When we started the course was fast and the temps were high. The first lap I couldn't get the legs going and I was like 5th with Fast Eddy, Luis, and Maurice. Christian about 35 seconds up. Laps 2, 3, and 4 were all much better and I made time up on everyone. By the end of the 3rd lap, I had caught Christian and rode with him into the start of the 4th lap. Tired from chasing all day, he got a 10-15 second gap on the first and only real sustained climb of the course and held it to the finish.

As for yesterday's event at Neshaminy, replace Harlan Price for Christian and replay the same race. Two weeks, two second places and enough cash to stay unemployed for at least two more weeks. I'm not complaining. A little bit of recovery in the next couple weeks and Mt. Snow should be looking pretty good. Today marks the official beginning of the taper...and the butterflies.

One last thing. I am looking for a second Niterider Moab battery for the upcoming 24 Hour Nationals. If anyone has a battery that they could lend for the week I would be forever indebted to you.

A look back in time and something to look forward to

I was looking through some old race pics last night and came across a couple that brought back some memories. The original race photo- Spring Mountain Challenge, October 2000. My racing debut. Note the oversized cotton t-shirt, excessively long helmet strap, massive bar ends and seat bag, and the sneaker/toe strap combo. Unmistakable signs of a champion. I won the race. I was 12.

Exactly one year later, again at Spring Mountain. Continuing the tradition of oversized clothing, although I traded in my sweet Polar Bottle for a huge hydration pack. The tube looks to be about 3 feet long.

One my favorite shots. Seven Springs 24 Hour race of last year. Topping out on the final big climb approaching hour 25. I was just about to catch and attack the second place rider. Jenny looks pretty serious as she runs alongside trying to keep me going. It was miserable but I can't wait to do it again.Another shot from Seven Springs. Early evening as the sun starts going down. Right about the time where the enjoyment of the race starts to dissipate.

Something to look forward to- the Marysville Stage Race is only 3 weeks away. Arguably the best event in the Mid-Atlantic region is put on by arguably the best promoter in the country. It kicks off on Friday night with a Night-time Time Trial through the Oesterling farm. Saturday, which happens to be the day of my 21st anniversary of being alive, is the XC which is sure to be packed with the best riders around these parts. The grand finale on Sunday starts off bright and early with a mass start hill climb followed by the always fun short track later in the afternoon. There is also intermittent beer drinking for those interested, lots of food, camping, fireworks, and other miscellaneous fun. And a slow race. There seriously isn't any reason that you shouldn't be there. Prior commitments? I'm sure they'll get over it.

Mike Kuhn, race promoting genius. But what's he thinking with that thumb ring?

Philly- Where its not the heat...its the humidity

Seems like everyone's complaining about the heat, so I won't even bother. Sure it was hot, humid, and unpleasant but I rode nontheless. Saturday I started out on my usually Landis Store loop packed with lots of steep climbing, but I quickly got bored of it and took off towards the north. I looped around through Pricetown and Topton and eventually made my way out to Macungie before heading home. After 4 hours of staring at the searing pavement the heat was taking its toll so I haded for home. By the time I got home my head felt like it wanted to explode and an IV most likely wouldn't have been a bad idea. Instead, I drank some water, ate some food, and went to bed so I could do it again the next morning.

The next day Matt arrived early so we could make the trip down to Manyunk to meet Jenny for the Philly race. We made our way around the course to take some pics, get burritos, check out Bowman on the lead moto and Peter Hall in the Colavita team car, and then cruised home. I went bananas every time Bowman went by.

He looks uncomfortable

She looks confused

Matt rolling sans helmet around mile 113.

Just read this today. Looks like WADA's cool with cocaine...as long as your not racing that day. Whatever...

Testing- What does it all mean?

I am not a big fan of numbers. I count miles and time. Not much more than that. Power? No way. Heart rate? Barely.

Last July I won the overall GC of the Marysville Stage race and with it came a complimentary LT/VO2 max testing package from Cadence. Sounded pretty cool. Until I found out blood samples were taken. To me, any amount of blood, no matter how small, is too much and I kept me from scheduling the test for almost a year. With Jen interning for the summer, she kept pressing for me to take it. So I set it up and took it yesterday.

Overall, it wasn't bad at all but I'm glad I waited until a time where I had some fitness for it. I thought the whole thing was interesting and made it apparent to me how much easier training with power seems to be. The first test was the LT. Starting out an awkwardly easy wattage, a lactate sample is taken then the resistance is bumped up 50 watts. Three minutes of spinning and another sample. Another 25 watts, three minutes, and a sample. Keep jumping up in 25 watt intervals until a lactate reading over 4.0 is reached and you have your LT HR and power output. Mine came out to be 310 watts/168bpm and a power/weight ratio of 4.55w/kg.

Second was VO2 max. After being fitted with a facemask and a short warmup, resistance is started just below LT. In my case 275, and is increased by 25 watts every 60 seconds until you can't take it anymore. Kinda like a short track. Only starring at a wall with a suction cup on your face. The final readout on the screen was 400 watts and 80.4. Not quite sure what all of that means, but I think I'll stick to counting hours for a while. Jenny looked very professonal in her white lab coat and conducted all of the stabbings for blood.

Ergon product made it yesterday. The new shape of the GX2 feels really good. Just like the GR2's but a lot smaller profile through and through. The bar end feels a little bit smaller which I really like and the wing isn't quite as bulky in the palm of the hand. Mmm.

I am a lightswitch

On.

Off.

With the flick of a finger.

Saturday was off. Can't really remember ever having a good race at Sewell. Between mechanicals and bad legs for the past 7 years, its remained the redheaded stepchild of the schedule most years. The course is lots of fun, tight, twisty, and fast but I guess its pancake flat profile just doesn't suit me well. I prefer to climb. I started off well and stayed comfortable for the first lap sitting in third but the rest of the body wasn't having it and I faded back to 8th by the finish. Ehh. What I didn't have in strength though, I make up with style. Bart "the hook-up" was able to show up with the Scott van and set up a nice little demo area for folks to check out some bikes. 2 people even raced the demo's.
Sunday was on. A new venue for me, Lewis Morris park in northern NJ was the perfect place for a bicycle race. Matt and I went with a friend of Matt's who drove us to the race, supported us, and then bought us dinner. Thank you. The local New York crew was present, including local legend Fast Edy. Until this year no one has been able to take Edy down on his home courses (conveniently, every race course in the state is his home course). Also making appearances were Flyin Ryan, Luis, and one or two other people. Another killer course of the north: 15+mph averages over 35 miles. Even with a good amount of climbing. Fast. Rode the first lap with Edy, trying to get a look at all of his lines and then passed him going into the second. Rode the last 4 laps alone trying to stay smooth and steady and put about a minute on Edy each lap after that. Looking forward to racing here again.

For once, all pics are originals. No thievery needed.

One weekend, maybe two, off of racing to get re-pysched for a month packed with three nationals and a stage race. UPS tells me that the new grips from Ergon should be arriving today which should help. Oh man!