Video Daze

In an effort to take the easy way out today, I put together another video. During the weekend of the Burn24, I got in a few laps. On Sunday, I remembered that I have a camera to record my adventures. After running it for the entire lap, I ended up with plenty of footage. I put together a quick video clip to post up for today, and I’ll get to the good stuff later.

Hey, it’s Friday, so I’m taking it easy. Check it out, then go have yourself a weekend.

Into The Night

While Lunchbox and I waited for Little Miss Sunshine to come back from her lap, we knew it would be getting dark soon. Instead of wasting time changing back into my riding clothes to get out on the trail for more photos, we came up with a plan. I remembered a spot where the trail comes out with a view of the parking lot. We high-tailed it over there and I got a practice shot.



After a very short while, she came by. It was a lot quicker than I expected, so I didn’t really have time to get the camera ready. This is all I got:



She was flying down the trail, and had a huge smile on her face. With race jitters no longer a factor, she disappeared into the mountain. With no more opportunities to photograph her without actually riding the trail, I rode around the camp to shoot the shit with my cycling pals. After checking the time, I setup shop at the bottom of the last downhill section. I waited, but I had no idea how long it would be. Every person coming down the trail was going so fast that it was hard to tell who it was. After recognizing a familiar face, I snapped a photo of the Bike Shop Girl.



The sun was setting, which meant that the trail was getting dark. A look out into the field would make you think that there was plenty of light:



But, the trail was much different:



I knew that Little Miss Sunshine would be okay, since she had plenty of high-powered lighting attached to her person and her bike. However, the darkness made it increasingly difficult to see anyone until after they went by. Suddenly, a familiar voice shouted out, “She’s coming down right behind me!” It was the Space Cowboy, fresh off another one of his solo laps. He was right, because moments later I got this photo:



I hopped on my bike, and hauled ass to the finish line. I got there first, since the racers had to take the long way. LMS had caught up to the Gangster of Love (c’mon, you all know that Steve Miller Band song), and I got them both crossing the finish line.



She survived, even smiling as she crossed the finish line. She had a good lap, and capped off a day of riding for her team. We hung out with the ladies for a bit, but Lunchbox and I had to head back to Charlotte for the night to take care of our dogs and get some sleep.



I would return in the morning, but it was a little late to see the Mrs. ride her second lap. She was determined to ride in the daylight, and she did it. She crashed and acquired a few more cuts, scrapes, and bruises, but it was all worth it. The end result? They all had a blast. A few people got hurt, but they will all ride again. They camped, they rode, they swapped stories, and in the end the ladies survived their first 24 hour endurance race. The icing on the cake was the fact that they got on the podium, for a third place finish.




The other Diva team got second, and they worked hard for it too. It was cool to watch the ladies give it their all. I’m also thankful to them for letting me hang around all weekend for support. It was fun to be a spectator, since I don’t get to do it very often.


I got in a few rides out there myself, so maybe I can share that pretty soon. Well, with only one day left in the week I guess I had better get my shit together. See you tomorrow.

24 Hours Of Fun And Suffering

This is not my race report, but since I was there I figured what the hell. Little Miss Sunshine and her team of Dirt Diva were all doing their first 24 hour race. It was a big deal, since none of them have ever done anything close to that. With a difficult course, tons of people on the course, and nerves getting in the way, it would be a challenge for everyone involved. I was happy to be there for support, and to watch these ladies give it their all.




Lunchbox and I arrived at Tent City around 11:00 a.m., just in time to see everyone getting ready for the 12:00 p.m. start. It would be a Le mans-type start, with the riders running a lap around the campsite before they hopped on their bikes. I found a few of our locals there, including last year’s winner Eric Hagerty:



The Space Cowboy was there, doing his first-ever 24 Hour Solo race:



The MadSS was present and accounted for, enjoying the short run before he tortured himself with his one-geared bike on the mountain:



I even caught a glimpse of the elusive Bike Shop Girl as she got ready to head out on the course.



As the first group took off, we headed back to camp. The Dirt Divas pit area was full of activity, since there were two five person teams in the mix. Little Miss Sunshine was set to go out last, so she chatted it up with the rest of the women. Lunchbox was standing by too:



After what seemed like only a few minutes, Eric came in for a pit stop.



It had rained quite a bit in the days leading up to the race, so I heard that the trail was a little sloppy. Most of the riders didn’t look too bad though, so I figured it would dry up fairly quickly. Despite the slightly sloppy conditions, Dirt Diva Patty Smith (from the other team) came flying by the pit area. She completed her first lap at a quick pace.



The MadSS was all smiles after completing one lap, even though he got beat by a small child that wasn’t even racing:





So yeah, things were going okay for the most part. One of the women on the 2nd Diva team had a little mishap on her lap, so it took a while longer than expected. After finding out that she would be okay though, all the women were relieved. One by one, they took their turn out on the course. No one was setting any super-fast record lap times, but they all went out there and gave it what they had. That’s all you can ask for, if you ask me. Wait, what are we asking?


Anyway, Little Miss Sunshine got her chance to get out on the course. She was ready, but after sitting in the sun all day waiting for her turn I was a little worried. I had my bike with me to get around the pit area, so I decided to follow her as she took off from the start/finish line.





She was full of energy, and I didn’t realize how fast she was going. I wasn’t really dressed for riding, so trying to pedal a bike with eggbeaters and flip-flops proved to be difficult. She dropped me, which was a good thing since she was racing and I was not.









We would have to wait for her return. I’ll pick up where I left off tomorrow.

Why I Do This

I don’t have a lot of time this morning for a big, flashy blog post, so I figured I would take a few minutes to reflect on some things I learned over the weekend. As you may know, Saturday was the start of the Burn24 up in Wilkesboro. I didn’t race in it, but it sure felt like I did. I hung out there pretty much all weekend, although I didn’t camp out overnight (I drove back and forth from Charlotte both days.) I still had a good time though.


I showed up to support Little Miss Sunshine and her Dirt Diva teammates, and also to get in a ride or two. Also, I got to hang out with a lot of my cycling friends out there. That’s one of my favorite things about these events: the people. I haven’t always been a social butterfly, but I’ve made a lot of friends from this mountain biking stuff, and they are good people. I look forward to seeing them at each and every event, even if I’m not racing.


While I talked to these folks and watched most of them race (some were there just for support like me), I realized why I go out and race. It’s not because I’m actually good at it, or because I am a fierce competitor. It’s not because I want to collect sponsors and be famous on the Internets. It’s not because I have nothing better to do than to spend my money on bikes, entry fees, and gas to travel all over the place. After watching people race over the weekend, I learned the main reason why I do this stuff.


I like what these races force you to do. You push yourself harder than you would sitting behind a desk at work, or when you’re out mowing the lawn or whatever it is you do. I saw all kinds of people out there competing, with abilities ranging from professionals, all the way down to beginners (and even kids.) Every single one of them had something to prove, and they had to push themselves in their own way.


Some of these people have years of training that makes it seem effortless, but even they have to work hard during these events just to get a podium spot. As for the beginners, some of them are just trying to survive their first race (or even a lap.) Each one of them has the same drive, albeit for different reasons. That made me proud to be a part of the mountain biking community, and maybe it will help me the next time I’m out there working hard on the race course. Who knows, maybe I’ll even be able to inspire someone to race for the first time.


That’s pretty much all I have for today. I’ll be back tomorrow with some sort of recap of the Burn 24. I got some photos, and even went for a few laps myself. Maybe that will give me enough to talk about for the rest of the week.

Big Brew (Ha-Ha)

It’s been a while since I’ve talked specifically about beer on here, but don’t think I quit drinking it. I love beer almost as much as I love bikes. In fact, if I rode as much as I drank, then I could compete on the pro circuit. Nah, that still wouldn’t happen.


Anyway, today’s post is mostly aboot beer. I say “aboot” because the brew pictured about came damn near all the way from Canada. Little Miss Sunshine just returned from a trip to Buffalo, NY, which is pretty much Canada as far as I’m concerned. Even though she went without me, she did manage to bring back some souvenirs. I’ll start with the first I guess.


The one in the jug (and the glass) is from the Ellicottville Brewing Company. It is a black IPA, called Black Hops. For you gaming nerds, Lunchbox approved the name Call of Brewery, Black Hops. I don’t have much more information about it, probably because Little Miss Sunshine drank too much of it while she was there filling up a growler for me. It is really good though, even though I don’t normally go for darker beers. It has a nice, full body, and it’s a little sweet. That is, until you get to the end. It has a nice, hoppy finish. That’s just the way I like it, because you should all know by now that I like really bitter beer. I guess you can’t get it here locally, so if you’re ever in the area (I hear they have some good mountain biking trails), then I suggest you stop by and get some. They also sell food there, so you don’t have to get liquored up on an empty stomach.


Next up is of course more beer, this time in the bottled variety:




I have one six-pack each of Southern Tier IPA, and 2X IPA (which is a double IPA in case you don’t know math that well.) Good stuff, but not super hoppy. The IPA is actually closer to a Pale Ale, but it has a good flavor. It’s a good summertime ale, and I enjoyed some after mowing the yard in 90 degree heat. I think these two breweries are somehow related, and you can tell that they are all of high quality. Since I can’t get any around here, I kinda wish I had more. I would even share some with Dicky if he was gonna be in town. It will be gone before he gets back, so he is already a loser.

The 2X IPA is stronger, but I wouldn’t call it a “double.” It’s definitely hoppy, but it won’t knock you on your ass with the alcohol content like a lot of double IPAs. It’s nice and light too, and I also enjoyed one on a hot day. I think these two breweries are related somehow, but I forgot the story. Anyway, this stuff is good enough for a beer snob like me, so I’m sure it’s good enough for the masses. Head on up to Southern Canada and get you some.


I know you don’t just come here for the beer, so I’ll talk about bike stuff for a second. First off, I got a little love from the folks over at Cane Creek, in the form of some goodies. Some of my favorite things (besides beer and bikes) are stickers and hats, so I am really happy about my latest acquisition.







My beer fridge is gonna look awesome.


In other bike news, Little Miss Sunshine has a big race this weekend. She is teaming up with a few of her Dirt Diva friends to race at the Burn24 up in Wilkesboro. She enjoyed her first crack at endurance racing so much that she is gonna attempt it for twenty four hours in the mountains. I’ll be up there this weekend to support her, and Lunchbox will be hanging out too. We’ll get to shoot the shit with all of our cycling pals, and hopefully be able to get a ride in on some of the other trails out there. I can’t wait. I know she is probably nervous, but she’ll do fine. I’ll probably have a report on Tuesday morning. Yeah, I said Tuesday, since Monday is a holiday and I’m not working. Have a good weekend. Go drink some beer and ride your bike, ‘cause that’s what I’m gonna do.


Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Little Miss Sunshine has been testing a new bike. Let's hope she likes it. Here is the spy shot:



Big wheels. Nice.

Snakes On A Trail

I still have some video left from the Ride With Me Series. Well, there is only one left. The best part about that last section was the multitude of snakes I found during the ride. In hindsight, I should have left in the snake wrangling part for you to see, but honestly I had way too much footage left. It wasn’t that exciting anyway. I had to get this guy off the trail so he wouldn’t get hurt:





I almost ran over him, and when I stopped he wouldn’t move any further off the trail. I tried to tell him that someone could still run over his tail, but it didn’t matter. He was pretty nice though, and didn’t seem to mind me moving him further into the woods. I said goodbye and headed down the trail.


Not long after that, I nearly ran over two more. These guys got the hell out of my way though.



After I took their picture, they took refuge under that log.



Just as well, since I didn’t want to have to move them myself. They watched me as I hopped on my bike and rode away.


Anyway, this post isn’t all about snakes. I did mention some video, so I guess I can show it to you. It’s quite a bit longer than the others in the series, so much that I had to use two different songs. I did that so I wouldn’t have to drag it out into another segment. This one is actually my favorite, especially the beginning. Check it out:





Yup, good times. I’ll be back tomorrow to talk about my other favorite subject, beer. I have some new brew that needs drinking, and of course a discussion about it is in order. Cheers!

My Mechanic Has Taken A Vacation

Damn you R2. Just when things start to get busy around here, you take off and mix it up with the ladies. Those are ladies in that photo, right? It’s hard to tell since they are machines. Anyway, I would fire his ass, but since I’m not really paying him I shouldn’t complain. I can handle the workload I guess, but I have to pay closer attention to what I’m doing.


Since I’ve been having issues with chains a-dropping on my 1X9 setup, it was time to figure out what was going on. With the chain watcher thingy in the way, it’s supposed to prevent the chain from dropping, but actually it just made it more difficult to put back on when it did fall off. I think I may have figured out the proper placement though.



I moved it down a little further, and placed it a little closer to the crankset. I did some on the workstand testing, and I couldn’t get the chain to fall down in there no matter how hard I tried. I left as little room as possible.



I think this might be the sweet spot. I did the same to Lunchbox’s bike too, but we haven’t had a chance to test it out on the trail. I’m pretty confident that it will work just fine. I have a little bit of riding planned this week, so I’ll hopefully be back here with a success story. If it does indeed work, then I guess The Dirty Party Cycle will be bringing his bike for some adjustments as well.


The next item on the agenda was something I was unsure about. I’ve been rocking my Cane Creek Ergo 2 Bar Ends for about a year now, and I like them. Well, when I remembered to use them anyway. They are great for climbing, but most of the time I never switched my hand position to use them for that. Plus, my hands would hurt sometimes when they pressed up against them (in the normal hand position), so I started to feel like they were in the way. I noticed that the last few rides I’ve done that I didn’t even use them once. It was time to get them off of there.



I liked them, I really did. I just figured that I would try riding without them for a while though, just to see if I would miss them. Besides, it did save me a little weight when I replaced them with the standard Lizard Skins lock rings.



Even without R2D2 doing all the work, things still went well under the supervision of my pal Boba Fett. He’s a real ball buster, so there was no chance of me slipping up.


I got some other odds and ends wrapped up, and then my pal Space Cowboy dropped by for a visit. We had to setup his new tubeless tires on his primary ride, and then get his spare bike back together. He plans on using it in case of an emergency only, which is a good thing because I’m the one who put it together. That shit could fall apart at any time, and I don’t want to be the one responsible for him having another DNF. He was taking plenty of pictures while I did all the work, so I expect that he will put them on his blog in the near future. You know, as soon as he is done blogging about his wedding and stuff.

I’m out. Y’all just relax here until I come back tomorrow.