Greatest song ever

Would have to be Run DMC's "Walk this Way," which came on in internet radio I was listening to this morning at work. And no this was not the DMC/Aerosmith version, just straight up Run DMC. WOrd

My Year in Photos

Since the year for me, interms of racing is over, I decided to reminisce about what I accomplished this year. I have seen many people doing this over the past few weeks, which turns out to be alot of words, so I will be doing it in pictures!!!! As you know, they represent a thousand words, so this will be a novel.

The year started with many long cold days on the single speed mountain bike along many rails to trails in Northern VT.

Opener of the year was the Hardcore 24 out near Rochester, NY. It was a long travel to the race, pre ride showed that the course was non-techie climbs, followed by double track descents. Not my cup of tea, but it was fun. Til the race got canceled 9 hours into from a racer having a heart problem out on the course. First time this has ever happened at a race I was at, and hopefully the last. I didn't know the guy, but respect the heck out of him for what he was doing.

Here is another photo from the Hardcore 24. This was taken at about the same time the rider was found on the course having a heart attack. For me, this is how I want to go eventually, racing a 24 with my friends, in an awsome vibe to the event, and this is the last thing I see.

The second race of the year for me was the 12 Hours of Pats Peak, where I learned that you should not race a 12 hour on a single speed at a ski resort without adjusting your ratio!
The 24 hours of Great Glen came and went, with me winning the Single Speed race. My trusty pit person/photographer was racing with the Backcountry Magazine team, so I was racing mostly unsupported and no pictures! Bummer. But here is one from the podium. Notice me looking at the ground, it is scary up there!

This result means alot to me, as there was alot of big talk in early March about me winning the SS race here. I was super stoked to be there with all my friends on the course cheering me on, thanks, Jeff W., Andy S., Thom P., Kris, Lyster, Harry, and the other SS for all the support at the race and the good times, especially the 1 am beers with Mike!!!!


After this weekend, there was one last thing to do.
Bike tour! A nice overnight to the Champlain Islands. This was moments after we found that the ferry we were to take was on wind hold. So the 20 mile ride with a ferry turns into a 40 mile ride, across a big ole bridge, the getting caught into the most fierce rain storm I have seen since Montana. Thanks for the use of your porch, to the house that was for sale in South Hero.

Thats about it for the year. Afew solo 24s, a handful of local xc events, 2 cross races. Note to self don't try to race cross after training for solos, they don't work.

Enjoy the ride.

That time of the year

Since it is finally starting to look like fall here in the great north VT, my mind is slowly switching from bike riding to skiing. This is always a really hard time of the year, my body is beat, my mind is tired, but the trails are great and are calling me. I want to go roll all the singletrack that is out there before the snow falls. Sneak those last few rides that get ingrained in my mind. But my body is tired, I am trying to avoid getting sick, but the call is too strong to miss out.

Then there are days like this when I want to crawl into a hole and go to sleep. What really sucks, is I ate all the food I brought with me today by 10:30am. So it was loads of apples and coffee for the afternoon to keep me going.

I actually can't wait til November when we have the cold rain, so I won't want to ride more than my commute, but the snow will still suck so I won't make it to the mountains.

November, my one month of rest before the ski into bike season that I have been chasing the past few years.

Gratifying

is what it is to build some trail on Sunday, then go out and ride it in on Monday. Helped to add to the Mo-Flo trail on sunday with the Fellowship of the Wheel, a nice rolling piece of singletrack, that adds some more fun to the Flo trail.
When I went back to ride it on monday, a light rain was falling making all the leaves extra slick and the mud nice and slippery. Dabbed a few times around some corners that I shouldn't have, lowered the pressure in the front Kenda Nevegal, and helped alot. Running in the high teens, plush.
But as I feared, the cold and the rain caused me to practice for my Great Divide Race hopes and crap in the woods off the trail. Always fun thing to do in the rain.

Can't wait to head back with the Earl's crew and little David Diamond.

24 hours of Great Glen

A short little write up of the 24 hours of Great Glen that happened last weekend. This was the race that I was putting all my marbles in with, the race that I said in early spring that I would win. Those statements ussually bite me and people in the ass pretty hard, but as it turns out I could start being a fortune teller, as I was able to pull it out and race long and hard to take the win in the solo single speed category.

The competition was amazing. Dave (insert name) was never more than 45 minutes behind me and was somewhat of the slave driver that kept me riding though the night, when I ussually break down in a 24 at 10pm. Knowing he was there kept me motivated to keep trugding through the night. I was also that guy, who on Sunday morning was running the technical sections, and I mean running in the literal sense of the word also, which may have some reason why it is Friday and I am still spent.

All in all, everything worked great, no mechanicals, loads of positive vibes given and received, and no lookng back thinking I could have done something different, other than heading out at 11:55am Sunday for lap number 21 to be one up on second.

24 hours of GG

Passing my nemesis at 11:15 am sunday morning when he was going out under the tunnel to the other side of the road and I was heading back from that section where he told me I had it and to enjoy the last lap. Which is what I did, this was the lap that I had worked so hard to finish, the last lap of Great Glen withmy winning the solo single speed class. My nemesis was this guy Dave from the LIttelton Landsharks, we had a gentleman's race going from about 4pm saturday when we both were a lap up on everyone else, until the early morning time when we were within 30 minutes. There was not so much attacking, but slugging away at the course, me with a 34:20, him with a 32:24. Two polar opposite gear ratios, both suited for the course and the race. Without this competetion I highly doubt that I would have gotten my desired 20 laps in

The real surprising thing, and something that I learned alot about myself was that this was mostly self supported since my loyal pit crew was racing on the backcountymagazine.com team. So I was left up to my own demise of remembering to drink, eat and change some clothing, basically I was more in tuned with what was going on. With all that, no problems at all.

It was awsome to ride with everyone out there, Jeff W., Andy S., and Harry who won the solo 19-35, all those who I met at the Jay Challnge in 2004, where all this endurance stuff started. What sealed the deal for me was, going out at 12:30am for a night lap with Kris, since it was her first night lap ever, this was after my 30 minute rest, getting out there and putting this relaxed lap in put me one lap up and allowed me to sleep another 30 minutes.

Hardcore 24

So it has come and gone, too quickly some might say. The short end of it, the race got canceled at 8:58pm saturday night in response to an incident on the race course that took the life of another racer. There was no racer rage, noone got chopped for a line, no dangerouse performace inhancing drugs to be found, just another average guy like the rest of us, challenging his limits. Only thing was that he had a medical condition that made his limits much greater than the rest of ours, he faced his limits and unfortuanlly lost, or beat them as he was out there racing his bike having a whole blast of a time. I send condolences out to his family and Park Ave. Bike who was putting the event on, where he was a manager.

I wanted to do a race recap, not what I feel like writting tonight, more on that later, sometimes your personal goals and achievments have to be put on hold to think of others.

The one high point I want to share, last part of the lap, last lap, climbed to the top of the climb with a 12 year old kid, doing his first night lap, of his second 24 hour race ever, on a 29er. Plus the fact that he schooled me on the fire road decent.

j.