Dog Tired

And there will be no squatting to shit either.

Yup, I’m still going on about race number two in the Southern Classic Series at Hobby Park in Winston-Salem, NC. After narrowly avoiding a crash with some guy that wasn’t paying attention, I was heading out for lap two. Once again, I had to climb that giant asphalt hill, and this time it was much worse. Since I was all alone and not battling for position in the woods, I climbed even slower. It hurt like hell too. All I could do was suffer through it and get to the singletrack, where I thought I would fare better since I got to know the trail a bit on lap one.


Once I made it up that horrible climb, I was back in the woods all alone where I belonged. I kept catching glimpses of a couple of the guys in front of me, so that helped me creep along and not give up. I rolled the downhill sections much faster this time, and I felt like I had a lot more control. The climbs were still a problem though. It seemed like the harder I pedaled, the slower I got. It felt like there was something wrong with my bike, but I knew it was okay. It was my legs, and they didn’t want to work for me. Damn it.


After every switchback, I would see some guys in my class. I knew I could catch them, if only my legs would respond. Since I couldn’t climb worth a shit, I decided to go balls out on the downhill stuff, putting my own safety at risk. There are several rock and root drop-offs, and my big wheels helped me roll over them with ease. Later, I thought about that if I had been riding smaller wheels out there I would have gone over the handlebars. I had so much more control, even when I was riding out of control. The 29er stuff is here to stay for sure.


On the very last section on lap two, I was closing in on the guy ahead of me. I crept closer and closer, and I could see that he was struggling too. All I had to do was outlast him, and I could move up one place. As I was trying to catch him, I realized that he was the same guy from the last race that rode my wheel for most of the second lap. He eventually dropped off before the finish, so I thought that I would enjoy the same luxury during race number two.


I didn’t happen though. On the last little section of climbing, I noticed that I had lost some air in my rear tire. I didn’t want to stop and put a tube in it (even though I had a fully loaded Awesome Strap), so I just pushed through. When I came up on the approach to the start/finish line, I gunned it. Later, I found that he had only finished ten seconds in front of me. Shit.


When it was all said and done, I finished in 9th place. While that may sound better than last week’s 10th place finish, it was not. There were only 9 riders, so I was DFL. I gave it my all, and it wasn’t good enough. The only good thing about it was that I was only 11 minutes off of the winner. Well, I don’t know if that was good or not, but I guess it could have been worse.


Since Lunchbox and the DPC were along for the ride, they took their bikes out for a stroll too. I managed to capture the action after I “raced.”





I wasn’t as tired after the race as I was last week, but I felt worse during it than I did before. I’ll have to figure out what went wrong, so maybe next week things will be better. I don’t regret not riding the course beforehand, because that added a little excitement and “danger factor” to the race. One of these days I’ll learn not to go so hard at the start of a race though. It was still a good day to be on the bike, and it sure as shit beat sitting at home on the couch. Lunchbox will agree I’m sure.

Tickle Your Ass With A Feather

I mean, particularly nice weather.




After a long bout of shitty weather, it’s been really nice around here. The trails have dried out for the most part, and as far as I know they are all open (locally anyway.) On Saturday, Lunchbox and I took advantage of a gorgeous spring-like day and busted out our bikes for some fun at Sherman Branch. Since it was the day before the series finale of the Winter Series, we decided for a nice relaxing ride. Lunchbox was way ahead of me on the relaxing part.





Since this would be his first real ride on his new 29er (nicknamed Assassin from now on according to him), we wanted to take it somewhere that he could test it’s maneuverability. Sherman Branch is perfect for that, with the tight twisty turns and flowing singletrack. He was happy to finally get a decent ride in, and I was happy to document it.




This wasn’t an epic ride by any means, but it was fun to get out. I didn’t have much energy anyway, since being on call for my job had me up all night working just before we headed out. A ride was just what we needed. I had a good time too, as you can probably tell from my fake smile.





We had a great ride. I actually brought my GoPro HD HERO camera along, and played around with the angle of the chest strap mount. It didn’t do any good though, because the video still came out shitty. I thought I had it mounted up high enough, but I guess that since I am so hunched over on my bike I’ll never get it right. Time to use the helmet mount I guess. The footage was just like the last stuff I took (pretty much looking at my handlebars the whole time), so I probably won’t even bother to edit it. Well, maybe I will if I run out of shit to talk about on here.


It was good to get out and enjoy the weather though, even if I don’t have any video to show for it. I did take this really Awesome photo though, on one of our rest stops.





Have you ordered one of the new Awesome Straps yet? What the hell are you waiting for? I’ve already told you several times, so get with it.


In other news, I finally got to install an accessory I received a while back. Since I like beer and bikes so much, why not have the capability to enjoy both at the same time? George from Bike29 was kind enough to send me one of these:





Yes, now I can store beer in my bottle cages. When I want to grab a cold one while I ride I’ll be ready. Pretty snazzy, huh? You should run right over and pick one up for yourself too. Get it here. I’ll be back tomorrow and hopefully I can pull some more magical blogging material right outta my ass.

29er And Awesome Love, Among Other Things

So now that I've bored you to death the last few days with part of my upcoming race schedule for next season, I’ll change the subject a little bit.



This is my 29er, The Big O. You've seen it before, but whatever. It’s called The Big O because it has big wheels and it’s a Diamondback Overdrive. Since I’ve been riding it for a while though, the “O” could probably stand for something else because of the way it makes me feel on the trail (get your mind in the gutter to figure it out.) After making the transition to clown wheels full time, my riding ability has improved tremendously. I love how the bigger diameter wheels roll over everything easier, and the ability to keep my speed up is incredible. I will probably bust out the small, squishy bike every once in a while to play around, the The Big O will be my weapon of choice for most every ride from now on.





Why am I bringing this up? Because this is my blog and I can talk about random shit if I want to. Actually, when I rode last weekend with The Dirty Party Cycle, I watched and listened as he rejoiced over his 29er. His skills have improved, and even his confidence is way up. He kept talking about how great it was to have much bigger wheels and how much of a difference they made. I didn’t have to listen to him, since I could actually see it while he was riding. I’ve been riding bikes with The DPC since I started this shit, and while we’ve both gotten better over the years, making the jump to big wheels has definitely raised the bar.




One thing from our conversation that really stood out was when he mentioned that maybe bigger wheels would be even better. He said, “I wonder what would happen if we rode wheels larger than 29ers?” We both had a good laugh, but he was dead serious. While perusing The Internets da udda day, I stumbled upon an article from Guitar Ted. Here’s a photo of what I’m talking about:




Here is a link to the article:
A “Bigger” Big Wheel?


Holy shit that’s a big-wheeled bike. While I don’t see myself getting one of those beasts anytime soon, I totally understand the concept. If 29 inch wheels are better, then wouldn’t 36 inch wheels be super-better? Sure. Or probably. I don’t know. Maybe The Dirty Party Cycle can get one to try out. That would make for an interesting ride for sure. Either way, bigger wheels are better. Since you probably don’t want to look ridiculous on the trail, you should just go with the 29er for now. Go check out Bike29 and buy yourself something nice. You can keep George busy this holiday season, especially now that he has a brand-spankin’ new computer.


Back to the ride from last weekend, I forgot to mention that I actually did a little “product testing.” My new and improved Awesome Strap was along for the ride, but I forgot to give a report on it. That's because I actually forgot it was there. The new and improved design holds on much tighter than the previous model, so I didn’t worry about it for even a second. It didn’t move at all on my seatpost, but I wasn’t really surprised. The folks at Backcountry Research have done it again, making yet another awesome product. The old design worked well, but the new ones are better than perfect. I am a happy camper.




Did you order one yet? Why the hell not? You know I’m gonna keep talking about it, so just go ahead and get one. You can still get the Stocking Stuffer Vital Deal if you act now, or you can get the Whammer Deal. It would be the perfect gift for that saddle bag loving mountain biker on your Christmas list.

A Ride With The Kids

Sunday was yet another Tarheel Trailblazers Kids Ride at Sherman Branch. This could be the last one of the year (depending on the weather), so it was nice to get out and ride. Winter in fast approaching, but you wouldn’t know it that day. It was 70 degrees and sunny. Lunchbox was there to lead it, as usual:



Yep, he’s riding on my small-wheeled squishy bike. His bike is still in the shop, so he had to use my “loaner.” Although it’s a size XL (21”) frame, he looks a little big for it. I guess if you’re 6’ 1” at 14 years old you would look too big for anything. I think it may be time to get him on a 29er. We shall see.


Anyway, we didn’t have a huge turnout, but there were enough kids. In fact, our “usual” crowd was there. We headed out on the trail with Lunchbox in the lead, and everyone was tearing up the singletrack. Of course we stopped at the first jump, and the kids took turns hitting it. This is one of their favorites, and it showed:




Lunchbox has been taking some flying lessons, I see.






Even the Dirty Party Cycle got in on the action with his new 29er.



Since this group is the “usual” one, they had plenty of experience on the trail. So, we all moved along at a pretty good pace. That meant that I didn’t get too many opportunities to snap photos, but I did get out the camera during one relatively flat section.





When it was all over, we settled in at the picnic table for some refreshments. I know the kids like the ride, but they sure seem to like the cookies just as much:



Thanks to the help of one of our adult riders (thanks Jeanie!), I even got in one of the pictures:



Of course, it was another great ride. These kids rides are my favorite part of this mountain biking thing I do, and I’m happy to get them out on the trail. I hope we can squeeze in a few more before Old Man Winter comes along this year. The kids (or maybe the parents) don’t like riding in the cold, so we’ll end up putting these rides on hiatus when it gets cold outside.


After we all said our goodbyes, The Dirty Party Cycle, Luncbox, and I took another lap. I had to get some mileage in, and I think Lunchbox was really digging my bike anyway. Maybe I should have let him ride my big-wheeled bike. Nah, he’ll have to get his own. I guess I should start looking, huh? Christmas is just around the corner, so maybe he should ask Santa for one. At least it will keep him from trying to steal my bikes.