In the books.

One down.

This weekend I finally competed in my first Time Trial, and my first Single Speed race. I had a blast!

In order to save some gas $$, Alden, Paula and I carpooled out to Yankee early Sunday morning. Alden's Sport men's class went off just after 11am, so we had to get on the road by 7:30. That meant a bit of time to kill for Paula and I racing in SS after 1pm. The rain started just after 10:30. It never came down very hard, but was pretty consistant throughout the day. The course had been dry, so the rain was a blessing in that respect, but it did prove to be a challange on the rocks and roots, and many people ate some dirt.

Hearing all the crash reports, I decided the smart plan was to stay upright and do the best I could on the flats and climbs.

Starting 2 by 2, I got the jump on my start partner to be sure I wouldn't have to deal with slow traffic out of the gate. He rode my tire for about the first mile and a half as we passed the rider who went off 30 sec. ahead of us. Gradually he fell off and I was alone. The climbs HURT. I'm not sure what it was, perhaps my lack of riding the week prior, but I was a slug up the hills. I'm sure the slippery conditions didn't help, but they weren't all to blame either. I had no problems cornering, thanks to my Kenda Blue Groove from Cycletherapy. I took it a little easy over some of the sketchier, wet-root infested downhills, but otherwise tried to just keep pushing throughout the course. At about the 7 mile mark I could hear someone approaching. I think he was an Elite rider that started late as he passed fairly strong. I did manage to catch him again as he walked the steep matted climb and I stayed on the bike (at least that answers the age old question of which is faster... ;) ). But he pulled away again quickly. I was alone again for the remainder of the race. I was pretty pleased with the consistancy of my output. There were a couple hills that I took a bit longer to recover from, but overall it wasn't bad. And on the bright side, I know it can be better.. (hellloooooo intervals).

With less than a mile to go I knew I was on pace for a good time. Friends Andy and Erin were in the woods to cheer us on, and the energy from them was just what I needed to finish strong! I was passed by one more Elite rider in the final hundred yards, but sprinted to get back on his wheel at the line. I finished in 51:57. That's 1:30 better than my previous best, and was good for 2nd in the Sport SS class. Not bad for a "just stay up" strategy! Things are looking good for the rest of the season. I'm still waiting for the overall results to see how I finished among the entire field. I'll be happy with top 1/2.

Great riding to everyone that raced this weekend!! Hope to see ya at Addison in 3 weeks!

soupy

It had to happen

Yep, it was about time.. I had a sucky ride today..

I knew things couldn't keep going the way they were. God forbid I go into race weekend feeling GOOD. Actually, I'm counting my blessings that I go this bad ride out of the way before the weekend.

I finally got ahold of some hammer gel, and followed Old Joe's liquid diet suggestions prior to riding. I didn't change my usualy diet enough to really cause me problems, just added the hammer gel water to make sure I had enough calories during the ride to keep from bonking.

I felt pretty good physically tonight, just way off mentally and technically. I'm blaming it on the shorts. I just picked up a pair of free-ride shorts, and I just wasn't comfortable in them. On top of that I had back problems for the first time this season, and just couldn't get any flow going.

There were some good moments, but lots of bad. Oh well. Like I said, I'm glad I got it out of the way.

I'm back.

Wow.. I almost forgot about this blog thing. It seems like ages since my last post. That's pretty sad.

Took the last couple of days off to let my back get better. Not sure what happened, but it was pretty messed up on Thursday. Feeling much better today.

I had intended to go ride an easy trail and just spin the legs, but ILRA seemed so far away this morning. And there was a ride going on at Maybury to mark the beginning of the season there, so there I went.

It was good to see those folks, and get a social ride in. After one lap with some of the tree famers, I went back out and did a couple more on my own. I've always liked Maybury, but it's a little bit of work. Lots of short, twisty climbs that definitly keep you on your toes.

After the ride the back was feeling much better, and I could feel the couple of days rest catching up with me. So I'm going to make sure to get in at least one more good ride this week, and a few days of spinning to prep for Yankee. Getting psyched!

Off to bed. Happy Easter!

Yankee II

It was a loooooong weekend....

I had a wedding to shoot in Chicago. I drove out to Chi Town on friday night, with the bike aboard. On the way home, stopped at Yankee springs to get in another pre-ride.

Many of those who had said they'd join me apparently blew their minds out at the (now) infamous Fireman Fritz's Fiesta of Fire (and glitter, apparently :D ) Andrea and Linda were the lone souls who would be making the trek from the East.. Unfortunately I was running behind, and didn't meet up with them at 1 when they arrived.. I did see them as the hit the trail, though, so I knew we'd meet eventually.

First lap started great. I was cranking at a good pace and making good turns. Seeing as how I'd spent the night before drinking myself, I hit the old camel bak early and often. Unfortunately, it only took two swigs to find it completely dry!! =S So I decided to dial it back a touch to make sure I didn't kill myself by dehydration. I still rode hard, though, and with the help of the taller gear I decided on, managed to better my best time from last week. And, amazingly, didn't feel too much the worse for wear despite the lack of water. I did run into Linda and Andrea on that ride, so I waited again for them in the parking lot and we chatted before our second laps.

The second was, expectedly, not as fast at the first, but still faster than last week, so I'm feeling pretty good. Upon returning to the lot, I ran into Danielle and Kevin. Danielle wasn't quite feeling done for the day, so she and I went out for another roughly half lap. I had intended to do a third cool down lap, but the half, fast paced lap was sufficient.

Andrea was thoughtfull enough to bring Oberon, so we chatted and snacked for a bit before departing. Paula was there with her Founder's teamates, and she joined in the post ride comraderie as well.

When all is said and done, I believe a good day was had by all. Looking forward to a fun race in two weeks. I have no expectations going into the race, other than to ride hard, and earn my beer! Hope to see some of y'all there!

soup

Great ride

Got to get out and enjoy the nice, mid 50's temps we had last night. Thursday's, 6pm has been designated the mysinglespeed.com group ride night. A bunch of us, and some gearies like Alden and The Jode met up and hit the trails.

I quickly remembered why I don't like no drop group rides. It's tough, b/c we need rides like that to get people who've never mt biked before into the sport, and feeling good about it. But, while I'm certainly no training machine, I really felt like I couldn't keep stopping like that.

So, Alden and I ended up hammering out the first lap after the 2mile hill climb. Again, like Yankee, I was feeling great in the corners, and even over the rough stuff. I never imagined I'd have so much fun on a rigid single speed. It really is like getting back to your roots, (:shudder: I hate roots... :D) and it's about feeling like a kid again.

While not O-ffical, I turned in a time roughly under 50 minutes lot to lot, which is close to my best from last year on a front suspended geared bike.. Feelin' pretty good about that. This is especially good b/c I ate like crap yesterday during work, and wasn't hydrated. So I know I can do better!

This weekend it's off to Chicago to shoot a wedding, then on the return trip it's Yankee Pre-Ride II.

Get out and ride!

soup

Where do I begin?

Man, what a day! I've been grinning from ear to ear since our ride today. Yankee Springs was in fantastic shape, and there riding was sweet!

Alden, Erin, Andy, and the Kerry and Cary (sp?) and I headed out from Novi at about 10:30 this morning.. The sky was ominous, but we were in good spirits. The drive was not nearly as long as expected, and we were on the trail by 1.

Our first lap was just a feeler, getting to know the trail, and for me, working off a significant hangover from my visit to the Mills the night before. Working on just 4 hours sleep, I needed a little time to get my legs. The pace was medium to high intensity at times, but there were several stops to allow us to re-group.

After stopping in the parking lot after lap1 to refuel, we headed out again, agreeing this time that it was every man/woman for him/herself, so we could each get a gauge on where we might be on race day. Somehow I got put up front, and soon decided to try not to relinquish the position. I'm much better being chased than chasing.

I haven't riden so well in years, if ever. I was laying the bike down in corners like I never have, leaving my fingers almost completely off the brakes at times. I was taking the rooty, but not terribly technical downhills also with no brake action, and soaking up the bumps with my needs and elbows. I suffered non of the head-shake that I used to when riding a rigid bike. Between the bigger, higher volume Kenda Blue Groove, and the handling skills I must have picked up over the years, it was fairly smooth riding, relatively speaking of course ;) I just couldn't stop smiling. I'm not sure if it was all due to the bike, but I certainly am loving the shit out of it right now!

About halfway through our "race pace" lap, there was a scare when Erin, who was glued to my tookus the whole time (she likes to play with me like a cat batting around a half dead mouse) had a moment of indecision trying to get around a tree smack dab in the middle of the trail. She made the unwise decision of trying to go around BOTH sides! I just heard the "Crack!" and then an obvious yelp of pain. Luckily, she had bent herself around the tree on her side, and not on her spine. The writhing on the ground was at least evidence that she had felling and movement in her extremities, and from that point it was just a matter of letting the pain and shock pass.

Soon, we were all together again, and back on the bikes (credit to Erin that she didn't walk it out right then!) Trying to shake of the scare and stiffness that had settled into my legs, I picked up the pace again. a couple miles later, and onle a couple from the finish, I came up on a rider on a geared bike who had actually stopped at the accident scene earlier. While I had obviously caught him, I was climbing pretty slow, not sure I could overtake him on the climb. He pulled to the side never the less and let me pass. Shortly after, we were back to the flats and some down hills, and I felt for sure there was no way I could keep ahead of him. I eventually offered to let him pass, and he said "you're good, I'm just gonna draft for a while"....

Draft my ass, I dropped him.... =] I sure didn't think I'd see the day where I dropped a geared, suspended rider while riding a fully ridged SS at 2:1. This might be a fun summer =]

As my quads toyed with the idea of seizing up on me and ruining my day, I finally finished. I was astonished to turn around and see Erin very close behind! Not only did she ride it out, she kicked some booty!

So, having throughly spent ourselves on two laps, and Erin in need of medicine (read: beer!) we decided to head south to K-Zoo, home of Bell's Brewery. There will NEVER be a better way to cap a day of riding than a pint of brewery fresh, 1st batch of the season Oberon on tap! I was quite sure I had died and gone to heaven!

Well, too late to make a long story short, but suffice it to say that a good day was had by all, even if not everyone had as enjoyable a ride. We hope to do it again soon!

Thank god for DST!

soup