Mill Grind Marathon

Always exciting to ride in a new location, even better is to race at that local, since the promoter will highlight the best trails. Rolling up to the venue was downright cold for September. On my way to registration are many of the regulars from the Catamount Weekly series, as is the Littleton Bike and Fitness crew, all of who are racing in the SS category. All who are also dangerously fast and mentally tough.

The line up for the start had us somewhat confused. Elites, SSs, and then the experts at 2 minute intervals? The race was 35 miles, basically 4 laps on a 8.5 mile loop. Most of the SSers were talking about a neutral lap to warm up and have fun. Not a chance.

Start: off we go. I didn't excatly attack from the gun, but I did make an effort to be the first into the woods so I could have a clean line in the singletrack. By all accounts I had a 10 second lead after the 800 meter grass field opener. Might have been my effort, might have been the larger gear I was riding.

The course was amazing. Each lap was about 7.5 miles of tight technical Vermont singletrack, with about 1 mile of doubletrack and dirt road. I like these numbers.

Towards the end of the first lap I start to pick my way through the trail end of the elites, while a handful of the seasoned experts come up past me. Having the experts come through was nice so I could hook up onto their wheels and pull me along until we came to a open section where suspension and gears come into play. Also not too sure where my fitness was, so I was more trail riding, not racing, as I don't want to burn all my matches.

For a majority of the race I rode my own pace, crusing along the woods, talking with the folks I knew. Either I was slowing down, or LBF Shark Jamie was accelerating through the race, but he gave me a good surprise half way through the last lap. As I was walking up a short steep hill, I hear a bike come up and a chain explode. Look back, there is Jamie cursing at his chain tensioner on his converted SS. A quick match is lite under my ass and I am cyclocrossing mounting my bike and hitting race pace. 24 hour race mode is back into play, I create anger in my mind that I can translate into pedaling the dern bike.

The next section of trail is a sweet section of singletrack that double backs on itself many times, all along this I am passing folks, while everytime I come around a switchback Jamie is there. I think I have about 10 seconds on him. Coming up to a short climb, I look back as I crest the top and see I have opened up a gap again. Focus back to not crashing and having fun, but pedalling faster than before.

Coming up a double track climb and see the shadow of the Man. Dan Delarose the promoter from Jay Challenge was grinding his FIXIE up one of the last climbs. Chit chat with him for a handfull of seconds, enough for words of encouragment, joking words, and broken french cursing a flat tire. Dan rules.

Into the finsihing loop, look back, have atleast 15 seconds so I can sit up and enjoy a nice solo win. It was great to have so many fast folks there to ride along with. Every person I met on the trail was super stoked to be riding such awsome trails. Not words of anger asking for a passing line. Great venue and I look forward to it next year!

Tour Mode

Took a condensed version of my Chittenden County tour today. Cut it short since we finally have summer head and humidity. Also I slipped on a root and shot my knee into the top edge of a Thomson stem, leaving me cripple on the group with what felt like a shattered kneecap.

View from the lunch spot. Amazing little trail that no-one visits.


The approach.

The Snack Spot
Exit.

Catamount: June 4 2008

Got to Catamount Outdoor Center really early, as I wanted to pre-ride the new course. On the woods side, pretty flat, some awsome new technical singletrack, so fresh you could smell it. Between the fact I am "resting," funny feeling tummy, and a general desire to relax I opt out of the 4 lap race for the three. Line up in the back, let all the other racers go and take up my roll as the last rider. Form a "group" with two guys I used to work with on their SS and my lady. Pedaling along faster than a cruise, but not so much it was painful along the mud track. We all get broken up along the new section of trail.

I am riding with Nat representing bike29.com enjoying chit chatting. First lap done, Rose Long is cheering not racing.....she told me it would be fixed next week.

Then things get fun on the second lap. Pass and ride with a little guy ripping up the 3 lap race, turns out he was 12, and killing it. Rode with him for abit, high-fived, and rode along to cheer on more people. Fun lap, motivated some peoples, found some sweet jumps along the course.

Lap three, as I stopped to do some trail work on the new section of trail, the little man caught up to me again. He is infront of me, clearing all the new technical singletrack. Pop out onto the fireroads again, he motors into the next uphill section scattered with roots and rocks. On his wheel as he clears all of it, while passing abunch of other folks walking up this section, he gets cheers from Ed and I who are following him, as well as the folks in the woods.

Ed and I "block" others so he can come into the finish without getting stampeeded by some of the other mid-pack racers who might not be as impressed by him.

One more high-five from Ed and I as he plops down with his mom to ravage a bagel and coke.

Thanks to bikeman.com for the threads to make me look like a pro racer to this guy and hopefully inspire him to ride some more!

Some folks don't want to play nice.

Up early, and out the door. Needed to drop some e-bay items off at Fed-Ex. Done, faced with the decision to drop the trailer off at home and relax or ride. Ride wins. Head south down to Shelburne, normal loops mildly routine. Rolling in style, commuter cross check, upright handlebars, t-shirt and man-pris, being followed by B.O.B hauling nothing. Climbing a small rise in the road some other bike riders from Foundations U-23 Development Team pass me. I thought it would be nice to get a draft back into town. I hop into the pace line, rolling on a bike that would have made Grant Peterson proud being trailed by B.O.B. Needless to say they were not to talkative with me.

It was a fun ride back into town.

Flower Power MTB Race 5.18.2008

Finish first semester of graduate classes on a high note. Check.
Put bike racing on the back burner for the spring in favor is school and a ski trip. Check.
Have many miles in my legs. Check.
Find a new way to make this whole thing harder. Check.

Motivation to race has been low. Motivation to ride has be very high. Hobbled together a new frankenbike that has been getting alot of my attention recently. Take a Surly 1x1, slap on a front disc brake, find some low profile 29er tires, put on a fairly stiff geared fixed cog. The result is my new to me MTB fixed gear machine. Not the best use of this wonderful frame, but boy is it fun.

Fast forward to the morning of the 18th, first race of the year at Catamount Outdoor Center here in the Burlington area. My lady was going to race, and so should I. See all the bike people I miss from the long winter of skiing.

Signed up for the single speed race on the fixed gear demon. At the start no one else had registered, so I bump myself up to the 4 lap open race. Loads of fast people, a handful of single speeds. Line up dead last as I know I will be lagging today.

Start.
Spin spin spin.
First climb, short steep, turn the 34x17 over as fast as possible, pass many as a result.
Saying hi, words of encouragement. I am know at Catamount to be one who constantly talking during the race.
First downhill; open, fast, washboards at the bottom. Hold on for dear life as to not get bucked off.
Get passed by many.
Find my place, lead my group into the singletrack, followed by another Bikeman.com person???
Get in a great group of kids on the local development team, have fun teaching them about racing, and sportsmanship.
Lose the sprint at the end to one of the mop haired youngsters. Congratulate him on his sprint and tactics after the race.
Hopefully will use that tactic down the road as well.
Lose myself in racing. Enjoying it for what it is, a chance to push your own limits no matter what they be.
Many old and new faces out there.
That motivation to race and be out with others is back! Even though I will most likely be racing the fixie many more days this year.
The kicker, finished 8 minuted back from the 4 lap winner.

Bolton Valley TR 12/09/07

With the amazing amount of snow that we have received in the past week, the mountains are skiing like it is mid-March. Which is sweet, since I really like skiing on natural snow in the woods. But have you ever seen non-natural snow in the woods???

From my trip up Timberline on Wednesday night, Kris and I decided to skin up Timberline Sunday morning to check things out. Few other people rolled into the parking lot as we were starting out, three ladies, all who commented on Kris's Rossignol Rip Ckick Skiis. Mellow skin up, I had enough time to pull my skins and ski back down to Kris. Which confirmed that the snow has got even better. Met back up at the top with a nice view of Burlington in the distance, shared a thermos of coffee/hot chocolate, a homegrown Mocha. As we are having our snack, another group passes us on the way to the top. Another comment on the Rip Chick skis.

We hop back into the skis, drop into the 7-up Woods off of Bolton Valley. It is a tight entrance, until we start our traverse out left in search of untracked snow. This led to a 3 foot rock face when I decided I needed to jump off of it. First try faceplant. Second try stick it. Kris follows suit into a nice powder pillow. From our vantage point the trees open up into a beautiful birch glade, with many rollers and pillows to play on. Kris got the confidence to start dropping smaller drops, and I had a blast using the widely spaced trees as gates to rip around.

All in all a great day to be on the slopes, an do something I would call training!

Bolton night skiing.

And not the night skiing under the big lights, led headlamp lights!

So I went up to Bolton last night with my neighbor and a few of his friends for some nighttime teleski action. In the last storm cycle they totalled about 30 inches of new snow ontop of the base that was up there. With the last foot being nice light fluffy powder, so light when we skied it, the snow would fall like it was just coming down for the first time. Skined up TImberline to the mid-station droppped into the trail on far skiers left, debated and we headed into the woods. Really tight at the top and it sorta sucked skiing that with a small led headlamp with a light beam about 15 feet. Traverse farther skiers left, it opens up into am amazing birch glade, untracked, so we all had fresh snow in these nicely spaced trees. The effect of this super light snow and a headlamp was awsome, total without. The only negative point we had was it was not steep enough with all the snow!!!! Best run of the year thus far.

Next lap, skin all the way to the top of Timberline, drop into lost boyz. One or two people beat us to that, but plenty of freshies to go around. Steeper, with some roller/drops that sneak up on you in the dark. Nothing like big powder turn, to nothing below you to a poof of powder when you land, all in the dark!!! Easily one of the best runs of the year to come. Four super solid skiers just ripping in the dark on amazing snow.