Short Week

It’s my Friday.  I shall celebrate.

Blogging has been easy this week (not like it’s that difficult to begin with.)  I was off Tuesday, and now I’m off tomorrow and a few days next week.  I need a break from work, and some alone time in the woods seems to be the right course of action.  I have a few rides planned while I’m gone, and I hope that each one of them is more fun than the next. 

I found that picture yesterday.  It’s from almost two years ago, but it’s one of my favorites.  It reminds me of how much fun I can have riding my bike, and that one in particular reminds me of how much fun racing used to be.  Maybe I can capture that again soon.

And I almost forgot, next Tuesday is my birthday.  That’s part of the reason I won’t be here.

That about sums it up.

Man, I can’t wait to get out in the woods.  It’s gonna be really cold here due to some Canadian Arctic Blast, but who gives a shit. 

Maybe blogging will resume to “normal” levels when I get back sometime next week.

I’m going into an Internet Hole.

Time Goes By

Are you tired of hearing about Single Speed USA or my busted shoulder yet? 

Who gives a shit. 

My shoulder is a little better, by the way.  Some good old fashion ice, stretching, and self-medication have been the key to help me return to whatever the hell normal is.  The numb feeling down my arm is a little bit less today, mostly because the swelling around the nerves in my shoulder has gone down a bit.  It’s gonna take a while to heal completely I know, but I can’t wait until the next time I can actually ride my bike in the woods.  I have something big coming up in a few weeks (announcement coming next week or so), and hopefully I’ll be able to actually ride something other than the road.  I also have at least two more races before the “season” is over, but I can’t commit to them right now.

What about SSUSA?

Yeah, it was fun.  I spent a shitload of (valuable?) blog space covering my journey to and from, the actual “race” itself, and all the other shit we did.  Was that enough? 

No.

Check out this video from 29nSNGL with the “lost footage.”

Lost footage?  Looks like they missed a lot of the good stuff, although there were a couple of shout outs to Drunk Cyclist in there.

Rad.

In other news, with no mountain biking in store for the weekend I’ll have to find some other stuff to get into.  The most important? 

Tomorrow is this little guy’s birthday:

Yup, Lunchbox celebrates his anniversary of escaping from the womb.  Since he’s driving my truck in the photo above, it’s safe to say that he’s not a kid anymore.  He’ll be seventeen, which means that the time has gone by faster than a jackrabbit on moonshine.  Before too long, he’ll be off to college starting his own life adventures I guess.  He’s a great kid, and I’m glad he’s been by my side all these years.

So tomorrow, we celebrate.

See y’all Tuesday.

Fifteen Years

Is a long time. Especially when you look back and see what’s been going on. The last fifteen years have been awesome though, and I’ll tell you why. Today is a special day to me. It’s the day when Lunchbox made his debut in this world. Fifteen years ago, I became a dad, and I am really proud of that. Lunchbox (a.k.a. Isaiah) is a great kid, and he’s been through it all with me. Good, bad, and ugly, he’s always been my right hand man. I am thankful for such a great son.



We do everything together, and it’s been like that since he was little. I’m taking it easy today, and pretty much making this one all about Lunchbox. Sorry, I don’t have any embarrassing baby photos or anything. Just the latest stuff I guess.














Happy Birthday, son.


See y’all tomorrow.

Have You Ever Had…

One of those perfect bike rides? You know, the one where everything just feels right? I got out to Sherman Branch yesterday after work, and had one of the greatest rides I’ve had on a mountain bike in a long time. No roadies on mountain bikes going for their personal best lap times and no mechanical issues...just plain fun.


I needed that. After having some stress (some I’ve mentioned and some I’m polite enough not to), it was just me, The Big O, and the trail. I should really do that more often. Tomorrow is yet another race, but I don’t feel any stress at all. Not the usual pre-race jitters, anyway. I am really excited, especially for Little Miss Sunshine. She’s probably nervous as hell, but she will be just fine. The Grind On The Greenway starts tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m., and we’re as ready as we can be.


Speaking of Little Miss Sunshine, today is her birthday. Unlike most of the people I know, I didn’t need The Facebooks to tell me that either. I can remember it for some reason on my own. What a way to celebrate your birthday, racing in your first endurance race. If you see her out there on the trail tomorrow, wish her the best. I’ll probably build her a cake or something.




Happy Birthday to Little Miss Sunshine, from me, Napoleon, and Pedro.


I’ll be back on Monday, complete with a race report from the Grind On The Greenway. It’s currently raining right now, so I wonder how the trail will hold up. The DPC with be there too (sharing the pit area with us), so it should be a fun day. Lunchbox won’t be back in time (like I said yesterday if you weren’t paying attention), so I have no idea if I’ll have any photos. I’ll come up with something. I do have a little stress from trying to figure out what I’m gonna wear. Maybe I’ll bust out my kilt again. Stay tuned.

It’s My Day

That’s cute, but 21 was a long time ago in a galaxy far far away...


Even though I turned another year older today, I’m not taking the day off from the blog. I actually like writing this stuff every day, and that’s why I’m still here. That being said, I’ll make this one short and sweet. I don’t have a whole lot to talk about anyway.


I’m hoping to go for a birthday night mountain bike ride or something, but I’m not sure if I will. Usually we go out to dinner so I can partake in mass quantities of food and drink, but since this is a weeknight we’ll probably just do it tomorrow evening. I’m really not sure what Little Miss Sunshine and Lunchbox have planned for me, so I guess I’ll have to play it by ear.


I know you came here to be entertained, and I owe you at least that much. There’s no need for me to go on and on about how old I am or how many presents I think I might get, so I’ll give you something else. Here’s a video that I “borrowed” from my friends over at Cane Creek Cycling Components. It features their Double Barrel shock and some sweet riding in Western North Carolina.






If that’s not enough for you, then here are a couple of hillbilly fellers with their take on a classic 80’s song.





Yeah, I know you liked that. It gave me a good chuckle. See y’all tomorrow.

Birthday, Medic Stuff, and More Bike Racing

First things first. Today is a special day for my son Isaiah, a.k.a. Lunchbox. He’s been with me here on Earth for 14 years now, so we’re getting ready to celebrate. I know, 14 years isn’t a long time, but they have been the best years of my life so far. He’s a great kid, and it’s a privilege to be his dad. Also, I can’t forget to mention all the work he does as the official B-43 photographer. When he’s armed with the camera, he makes sure to capture the action during all of our adventures. Tonight, in his honor, we’ll be heading out to dinner at one of those fancy Japanese flamin’ grill places.




Now, we’ll go back to the River’s Edge Mountain Bike Marathon. After the race started, I figured I would change my clothes and eventually see if I could get out on the trail for a bit. My knee was feeling a little better, so I hoped that I could meander around the course and offer my assistance to any downed/injured riders.


Before I got a chance to walk over to my truck, an injured rider came in. She had fallen on the Figure 8 loop, and dislocated her shoulder. When Little Miss Sunshine and I started helping her, a woman standing next to us asked if there were any medics on the scene. We said, “Yeah, us.” The lady responded by saying that she was a physician. Proper etiquette is to always yield to someone with higher training than you, so we let her take over. A woman who was with her said that she was a CMA (Certified Medical Assistant maybe?), and she tried to step in and help too. As a former EMT and current heart specialist, Little Miss Sunshine found this lady’s lack of knowledge a little disturbing. The whole scene was kind of odd actually, especially since the “doctor” seemed to have quite a bit of trouble getting the shoulder back in place. All we could do was stand by and try to help:



I really wanted to take over, but it wasn’t my place to tell a doctor how to treat a patient. I suffered this exact same injury a year and a half ago, and I had less trouble putting my own shoulder back in place. I knew I could help, but my hands were tied. I mentioned to Little Miss Sunshine that maybe our dear “doctor” was probably a dentist or something. She was part of a coed duo, and she said that her partner would take over when he came in. She seemed more interested in getting out on the course for her lap than anything else (or having someone relieve her from her struggle.) Just then, another rider came in with the same injury (or close anyway.) Little Miss Sunshine tended to him, and did an excellent job. Eventually, both riders will be okay, but their race was over. I decided to hurry up and get out on the trail in case anything else happened out there.


Before I left though, I saw a couple of my racing pals at the start/finish line. Here’s a photo of Rod, the other half of the coed duo that I mentioned yesterday:





Just as I turned around, the Space Cowboy came in from his first lap. I barely got a photo of him, since he was hauling ass and feeling mighty fine:



Here’s Mrs. MadSS coming in from her first lap:



I eventually got out on the course, and I stopped quite a bit. My knee was still hurting, so I camped out every so often to rest it, and to get some photos. Here’s my pal Chad toughing it out on his third lap:



A little while later (in a different location), The MadSS came through on what I think was his last lap. He was almost going too fast for my camera:



While I was out on the trail, I got word that yet another rider went down with a shoulder injury. I raced over to the Green Loop as fast as my knee would allow, completing the 3 mile section in record time. There were a couple of us looking for the downed rider, but we never found him. I guess he managed to get out under his own power. Left without a patient to treat, I headed back to the finish line just in time to catch a few of my friends coming through on their final lap.


Here's the Space Cowboy coming through at a high rate of speed, giving it his best:



When it was all over, some folks managed to grab some free beer before it ran out. The MadSS and his Mrs. were recovering by the man-made river with some frosty brew:



It looked like a fun, yet challenging race. I was bummed that I couldn’t race, but it was good to be out there helping the other racers. I’m proud of all my cycling friends that entered the race. They gave it their all and impressed the shit outta me. Maybe next year I’ll be able to join them for some torture. Until then, I’ll be working on getting my knee (and my bike) back into tip-top shape while I prepare for the next grueling adventure…the Tree Shaker. Oh fun.

Learned My Lesson

I guess this whole mountain bike “racing” thing I’m doing is a big lesson in and of itself, but yesterday it looks like I just took the hardest class. Last night’s race in the Summer Series was a bitch, to put it bluntly. What did I learn? Well, for starters, you can’t arrive on the scene at 5:45 for a race scheduled for 6:15 and expect to get in a proper warm-up. After getting to Renaissance last night, I barely had time to register, change my clothes, and take my bike for a quick spin in the parking lot. Even after doing all that, I forgot a few things. While heading over to attend the pre-race briefing, I realized that I had failed to affix my number to my bike. Mistake number one. Next (as I realized at the start line), I had forgotten to grab my music playing device. No big deal, right? Well, actually it is, since I have grown fond of having a soundtrack while I “race.” It helps me get through the “tough times” in the race. Mistake number two.


Anyway, even though it was plenty hot outside, I didn’t get warmed up properly. While I was waiting during the pre-race announcements, I began wondering if I was ready. I looked around, and most everyone else had been warming up, some even well before I arrived. This would later prove to be the biggest mistake of all. Nevertheless, I waited for the start.



Notice that I’m rocking the Diamondback jersey in the above photo. My buddy Doug (to the right of me in the photo) noticed too. He asked, “You’re not riding for Cane Creek anymore? What about Middle Ring Cycles?” I told him that I was doing my own thing now, but I still had the support of those fine people. In fact, I told him, I’m getting more love than ever before (somehow.) I guess I’m just trying to promote the whole B-43 thing these days. Don’t worry companies over there to the left, I still love ya.


Now, onto the actual race. The start line is at the bottom of a big gravel-covered hill, so when it was my turn to go, I took off and tried to keep up with the pack. Most of the guys in my “new and improved” class are way faster than me, but I tried to hang anyway. I actually didn’t do too bad and I entered the trail in about 7th place. Wow, I thought, I actually managed to stay competitive on a climb. I gave all the credit to The Big O, since I haven’t really been working too hard on my bike fitness. I would hang with the group for the first mile or so.


Suddenly, my lack of warm-up caught up to me. I got the now-familiar punched in the stomach feeling, and it hurt like hell. My pace slowed a lot, and the rest of the pack began passing me by one at a time. I decided to slow down and spin for a bit, since technically this was my warm-up and I needed to recover. I was in for a long race.


I suffered through the first section, watching as everyone passed me by. Every time I started to recover, I pushed harder, which of course led to more pain. When will I learn? When I came out to the big gravel hill again, I was hurting more. The hill seemed bigger this time, but I somehow managed to make it up. When I crossed the start/finish line, I started feeling a little better. I entered the second section and pushed hard. I spun out on one of the climbs, and that made me have to get off and walk. Shit. I never walk my bike during a race, so I figured I must be in big trouble. The highlight of that moment was when two women riders passed me by, and I took the opportunity to cheer them on. One of the riders, my friend Doc, was celebrating her birthday (by racing I guess.) I sang a quick happy birthday, which put a smile on her face. Well, at least I was having fun.


Also while I was in the second section, I passed a guy on the side of the trail that appeared to have a flat. Since I was going so slow, he had a chance to ask me if I had any CO2. I said yep, and proceeded to stop and grab one for him. He said, “You don’t have to stop.” I told him it didn’t matter, since I was have a shitty race anyway. I dug into my Awesome Strap, gave him his cartridge, and got back on my way. By the time I exited the trail, I was starting to feel great. I guess lap one was my warm up. I hit the trail again for lap two, hoping that I could make up for lost time. I was alone in my class, but I had plenty of company for the other riders in their own groups.


I gave up the spandex shorts, because well, it made me look like I was taking this shit too seriously.

I was really making good time, or so it seemed. The gap had grown too large for me to catch up, but it didn’t matter. I rode as fast as I could, and finished the race feeling good. I didn’t feel so good when I found out I got last place though (21st out of 21), but I quickly got over it. Next time, I’ll get out of work earlier so I can get in a good warm-up lap before I race. That was a hard lesson to learn, but I won’t forget it for sure. I guess I’m no spring chicken these days, and I’ll have to spend a little more time preparing my body for this kind of torture, er fun. Yay.


I may or may not be here tomorrow. I am doing a ride with the mayor of Charlotte (me and hopefully about a thousand other people) for Bike Charlotte bright and early in the morning. Maybe you’ll be lucky and I’ll give you a report when I finish it. If I do, it will be late morning/early afternoon. Oh yeah, don’t forget that this weekend is also the 6 Hour Grind On The Greenway in Fort Mill, SC. My second solo six hour race, and of course I’m not ready. I’ll share my pain on that one next week.