Almost Didn’t Make It

Lunchbox slept the whole way on our trip to Wilkesboro for the Southern Classic Series finale at Dark Mountain. That’s exactly what I wanted to do. Somehow though, we drug our asses out of bed and hit the road, even though I didn’t even feel like racing. My knee hurt, my stomach was upset, and I didn’t think that there was a chance in hell that I could place high enough to score some decent points for the overall standings. My mind wasn’t in it at all.


I discovered that I was in 3rd place overall and only 11 points out of second. I would have to score 4th or higher to make up that gap. At that point I just relegated myself to a 3rd place finish in the series. My goal was a top ten overall, and I had exceeded it. Damn it, I was giving up before the race. I even planned to take off very slowly when the race started.


That didn’t happen though. When we were given the signal, I took off quick. I got up to second, and tried to settle in as we hit the trail. Once we got on the first climb though, I started hurting. Legs, lungs, stomach…I was falling back fast. I let one guy go, then another. My buddy David was right behind me, and he rode with me for a bit. He seemed to be happy riding at my slow-ass pace…for a little while anyway. After a fast downhill, we came up on another climb. I told David I was getting slower, and that he should go on by. He resisted at first, but when he realized that I wasn’t kidding he took off. I had settled into 5th place, and I was okay with that.


I just pushed along, not even giving a shit if I caught anyone. Eventually I recovered, and started feeling much better. My stomach pain went away, and my legs started feeling pretty good. I saw a rider up ahead, and that motivated me to pick up the pace a little bit. Once I got closer I realized that it was someone in a different class. I stopped trying so hard after that.


Why the hell was I even out there? I could have sat on my ass and still ended up in 3rd overall. There wasn’t a damn thing wrong with that, right? I wouldn’t dare quit unless something broke and left my bike in a non-working state, but I saw no reason to “race.” That all changed about three miles in, when I spotted 4th place up ahead. It was David, and he was tired.


All of a sudden I started pushing. I asked if he was okay, and he said he was just a little tired. I had a sudden burst of energy and I passed him. He stuck with me for a long time, and I thought he had recovered. We came up to a long downhill section, and I let it go. I was trying to build a little gap before the next climb, but I couldn’t. I’m pretty fast on steep technical sections, but somehow I couldn’t get away. We finished the downhill and started climbing again, and somehow I still felt great. I pushed as hard as I could, and I zipped my ass right up the hill. I kept looking back, and he kept falling back. After a little while I didn’t see him anymore. Now, it was a race again.


One last downhill section, and I was looking forward to it. The plan? Pretty much go as fast as I can without crashing to put a big gap between me and David. I went a little too fast out there though, because I actually scared myself a little bit. It was okay though, because I was in total control. David told me (back when I passed him) that third place wasn’t far ahead. I started to wonder if I could really do it. Just then, I saw my pal D-Wayne on the side of the trail.


He wasn’t there to give me this beer, either.




Okay, he did give me that beer, but it was after the race. It was good too.


Where was I? Oh yeah, dragging out yet another race report. I’ll go ahead and cut it off here to save you the agony. We’ll meet back here tomorrow for the conclusion, okay? See y’all then.

Football Wasn’t The Only Thing

I told y’all last week that Lunchbox and I headed up to Washington to go to Redskins training camp, but since this isn’t a sports blog I won’t talk about that stuff. Besides, that’s not all we did up there. After watching our favorite team practice and hanging out with some of the players, we hopped on the Metro and headed into the city.



We decided to bring our skateboards along to tour our nation’s capital. Lunchbox was ready to get his skate on.



Our first stop: The White House. We wanted to see if the Secret Service would kick our asses out of there for skating in front of it.



Lunchbox skated around with no problems, so it was my turn.



See that? There is a uniformed Secret Service agent keeping an eye on me. There were lots of those guys watching us, but no one said a word. I guess Mr. President doesn’t mind skateboarders in front of the house. Awesome. There were plenty of people milling about, and lots of bicycles.







There were even agents on bicycles:



As you can see in the photos, it looked like a storm was about to shit on us. We decided that we would be able to get around the city much faster if we were on bicycles, so we grabbed a couple from a nearby Capital Bikeshare station. There is a handy little basket thingy on the front, which would perfect to haul our skateboards around in. This was Lunchbox’s first time on one, and he was having fun.



I kinda liked it too.



We saw all the usual stuff in a short amount of time. There is a little construction going on in front of the Lincoln Memorial.



He didn’t seem to mind though.



Here is an exclusive shot of the brand spankin’ new (not yet open to the public) Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial:



Yes, what trip to DC is complete without seeing the Washington Monument?



We stopped by the Capitol, but those lazy bastards were on summer vacation.



I even took Lunchbox on the now-kinda-famous middle-of-the-road bicycle lanes.



Along the way, we passed a locally well-known skate spot, Freedom Plaza. I skated there years ago, and now my kid finally gets a chance. We had the place to ourselves.







The storm never affected us. The sky got all dark and ugly, but it blew right over us without even raining a drop. It turned out to be a nice day, but it had to end. We basically did a week’s worth of stuff in two days, and we were worn the hell out. I’m glad we made the trip, but I think next time we’ll stay a little longer.


Speaking of trips, I have one more road trip coming up this weekend. Sunday is the Southern Classic Series finale at Dark Mountain up in Wilkesboro. I am ready, I guess. My new chain is good to go, and I hope I don’t break anything else. If I finish well, it looks like I may be on the podium for the overall series. I can’t let my guard down though, and I certainly can’t afford another mechanical issue. This evening I’ll probably be doing a lot of pre-race testing.


I’ll try to get a race report the day after this time, instead of waiting so long. If I get on the podium, it might be pretty interesting. Stay tuned.

I Was There

But for some reason I felt like I shouldn’t have been. I’m talking about the race report from last Sunday’s Sizzler in Greensboro, by the way. Since I’ve slept a few days since then, it may be a little difficult to remember the details. Here goes.


Sunday morning, the Dirty Party Cycle met us at the B-43 Worldwide Headquarters, and we headed north. It had rained all night, so I was kind of regretting my decision to race. The fact that it was an unfamiliar trail made it worse. We got there, and I found out that it had rained there, but that the trail was in pretty good shape. Well, except for the bridges. Those were super slick. Everyone I talked to warned me about how dangerous they were when wed and covered with mud, and I took note of it. I didn’t need to worry about that though, because I later found out that it would be out of my control.


After warming up, I was ready to go. My class had a pretty good turnout, which meant a lot of points for me if I could place well enough. I didn’t have high expectations though. I can afford to drop a few races and remain high in the standings, so I approached this race with caution. I would take it easy on the climb at the start, then try to pick off the other riders over the eighteen mile course. We took off.



I started riding at what I thought was a slower pace, but I started passing people. I decided to push it a little more, and I got all the way up to second place before we reached the top of the hill. Before I could pass the last guy though, I started hearing a funny noise coming from my drivetrain. My bike felt weird too, so I slowed down to see if I could spot anything while I was riding. When I did that, most of the pack went by me. I didn’t care though, because I knew I could catch back up if my bike was okay.


I didn’t see anything obvious, so I kept going. I pushed a little harder, and got right back into the pack. As we hit the singletrack, I mashed up a short but steep climb. The funny noise I was hearing was a little louder now, but I didn’t care. I said to myself at that point though, “I can’t remember the last time I replaced my chain.” Those words would bit me in the ass moments later.


After a little singletrack, I saw the bridges up ahead. I adjusted my speed before hitting the little downhill section right before them, and cleared the first one just fine. In between, I mashed a little to gain some extra speed to make an upcoming climb, and I heard a loud pop. My chain had broken, and it caused my rear wheel to lock up…right on the slippery bridge. I was violently thrown from my bike into the ditch, and got whacked in the tailbone by the nose of my seat. That shit hurt. At least it only broke two links from the quick link though.



I ran my bike up the hill, and tried to repair the chain. Since I had plenty of chain left, I knew I could fix it and get back in the race. The only problem was that I couldn’t find half of the quick link. I ran back down the hill and dug around on the side of the trail. After what seemed like forever, I found it. I ran back up the hill, put my chain back on, and I was on my way. My group was long gone, but I felt good enough to try to catch them. With three laps of racing, I had plenty of time. My problems weren’t finished though, because I started hearing that noise again. Shit.


After a few short climbs (which had me stressing the shit outta my repaired chain), The sound was getting worse. I stopped to take a look, and found that my chain was ready to break again, but in a different spot.



Without a spare quick link, I wouldn’t be able to fix that one. It was in the middle of the chain, and if it broke I would have to walk the rest of the race just to get out. That didn’t sound very appealing to me. However, I paid money to ride, I mean race out there, so I at least wanted to get one lap in. With the pack too far out of reach and pretty much a guaranteed DNF, I decided to ride slowly and carefully. At least I could enjoy myself out there, I thought.


I wasn’t mad about my situation at all. In fact, I enjoyed my ride. The trail was fun, and it was surprisingly dry (well, except for the bridges.) If I had a fully functioning bike, I probably would have finished the race in a respectable position. Since I was just out “joyriding”, I pulled over for other racers that came up behind me. I walked some of the longer climbs to make my chain last a little longer, and hauled as on the downhills (you know, because you don’t really need a chain for that stuff.) I even stopped to have a conversation with a local Bike Patroller. I was having fun in the middle of a race, without actually racing. I don’t want to do that all the time, but it was nice.


Eventually, I made it to the finish line. After only one lap (which took an hour), I called it quits. I hated to do that, but at least I didn’t break my chain again. If I would’ve had to walk a few miles to get of of there, I probably wouldn’t have been too happy about it. I wasn’t happy that I DNF’d though, but at least I didn’t have to walk out. Lunchbox did a good job of catching my disappointment with this photo:



It wasn’t that bad, and I could actually afford (points-wise) to drop the race. Besides, I could buy a new chain and fix it later. And that’s just what I did.



After the “race”, we stopped by a local shop and I picked up a new chain. Lunchbox and I weren’t going back home that day though, so I made sure I had a chain tool in my truck before we hit the road. I did, and I waited until we got to the hotel in D.C. to install the new chain.



Nothing like a little hotel room bike mechanic work, I guess. We hit up a local restaurant, and I drowned my sorrows with a tasty beverage.



I would live to ride another day. It’s a good thing, because there’s another race this weekend. I wasn’t thinking about that though, because we were on vacation. We had lots of fun stuff planned, and I couldn’t wait for the next morning to get going. Speaking of the next morning, I’ll talk about the rest of our adventures tomorrow.

Worn Out

After a long weekend, I'm back home. We got in late last night, so I'm way too tired to come up with anything good today. I still owe y'all a race report from Sunday, so I'll new back tomorrow with that. Sorry if you came here today looking for greatness. You're probably disappointed, but that's not really any different than a normal day around here, is it?

Road Trip

I'm actually not talking about the road bike this time. This weekend, it looks like I’ll be doing a lot of traveling. First things first, it’s back to racing. After a month-long break from the Southern Classic Series, I’ll be hitting the road once again. This time, I’ll be in Greensboro, NC for the Sizzler. This is another trail that I’ve never ridden before, so I’m pretty excited about going to a new place. It’s been a while since I’ve actually “raced” though, so I’ll have to remember what that’s like.


I’m not sure if I like having such a long break between races though. Sure, I got in some good rides in the meantime (and also got away on a vacation), but my skills may be a bit off. I keep having thoughts of getting dropped at the start, and damn near dying while I try to catch back up. I have a plan (for once), but I probably won’t stick to it. I’ll hopefully be able to hang with the main group on the first lap, and get a little familiar with the course. After that, I can go balls out for the next two laps. In reality, I’ll probably end up going balls out to keep up with the leaders at first and then burn out, having nothing left for the rest of the race. I guess we’ll see how it all plays out. Eighteen miles seems like a lot for some reason, but that’s probably because it will be at “race pace.”


The road trip doesn’t stop there though. After a couple of surprise vacation days and some last minute plans, Lunchbox and I are taking ourselves a little further north right after the race. We are returning to our nation’s capital (which is Washington, D.C. in case you’re a dumbass and don’t know what that is.) We’re going to visit some family, and most importantly, enjoy my other obsession…football. I don’t talk sports too much on here, but (in case you were unaware) I am a diehard Washington Redskins fan. Lunchbox and I are heading up there to attend the last day of training camp, and we’re pretty excited. We’ll get to watch them practice, and maybe Lunchbox can get a few autographs. After that we’ll run around D.C. and see the sights.


It was a last minute decision, and Little Miss Sunshine’s approval made it a reality (it was actually her idea.) She probably just wants the house to herself for a few days of peace and quiet, and she deserves it. Since Lunchbox was in Florida for the last few weeks I thought that a little father-son time was in order. The little lady was invited, but she politely declined. She’ll probably get some riding time in with her friends while I’m gone. Awesome.


What does that mean for the blog? Well, I should be back here on Wednesday morning, and most likely it will be some kind of race report from Greensboro. I won’t have time to post anything while we’re gallivanting all over Northern Virginia, so you’ll have to wait. Well, unless Mr. Shepherd want’s to pick up the slack on Monday and Tuesday.

I’m out, so I’ll see y’all next week. Don’t worry about me while I’m gone though, because a Stormtrooper has my back.

Taking It Easy

I believe that’s what I’ll do. I’ve been riding quite a bit, both on and off road. More on than off though, but who’s keeping track? Tuesday night I did a nice, leisurely family ride, but I still pushed it a little bit out there. I’m feeling much better on the trail now, and my bike is performing flawlessly. I had one small issue over the past few weeks, but that was remedied by a care package I received just da udda day.





The mystery package was from none other than George, and it contained something that I was sure could fix my issue.




Yes, a new Salsa seatpost collar. I had been using a quick-release style collar on my mountain bike, but my seatpost would slip a little bit every time I rode. Yeah, I’m pretty heavy, but I blamed it all on my equipment. George sells these at the Bike29 online store, and I just had to have one. He sent it out lickety split, and I installed it on my ride. After one test ride, I am convinced that my slipping seatpost issues are a thing of the past.


What else was in the package?





Stickers, my favorite. One of my duties as a team rider is to spread the love for Bike29, and these stickers help me do that. The Odell Brewing sticker was probably in there because George knows how much I love beer, and he thinks that there are a few blank spaces on my beer fridge. I can never have enough stickers, so I was happy. Well, until I saw the care package he sent to Sonya Looney.



(Photo stolen from her Facepage.)

Wow, she got some pretty cool stuff. Sure, I have socks and the other Bike29 paraphernalia, but I didn’t get any beer. Being a big fan of the India Pale Ale, I was left wondering what it would be like if I had a chance to try those. They look, well, yummy. I’m not mad at all that I didn’t get any beer. Hell, I didn’t even know you could send beer through the mail. I’ll have to try that sometime (get ready Mr. Shepherd.) Besides, she’s way more famous than I am (not to mention better looking), and it’s not like she’s close enough to Vermont to drive up there. I can, and probably will one of these days. Maybe I can bring up some North Carolina brews and make some kind of a trade. Looks like I should start planning a trip, and of course do a little beer shopping.


In other news, it looks like I am going out for yet another road ride tonight. This is a social-type ride with some locals. It takes place right next to where I work, so I can easily make it there. It should be fun, but not as fun as trail riding. It will be a little easier for me to get out on the road after work today, instead of packing up my shit and heading out to a trail. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

For Some Reason…

This:



Reminds me of these guys:





I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because I always have Star Wars on the brain. Hell, I hum Star Wars theme music when I’m all alone out on the trail sometimes. It’s a curse, and I’ve learned to deal with it. Another thing I’m having a hard time dealing with is my recent propensity to spend money on my road bike. Maybe it’s because I have all of the mountain bike stuff I currently need. It could just be the fact that I’m riding that skinny-wheeled thing a lot more. Either way, something’s gotta change.


My latest road bike upgrade was more of a necessity I guess. After riding for a few years on a stock seat, I started to think I needed to upgrade. It was basically a brick disguised as a seat, and my ass hurt every time I did any significant amount of riding. I had a hard time spending money on roadie stuff, but I guess I’m over that now. I decided to go with something I know and love, the WTB Silverado.





Yes, it’s white. Yes, that makes it more “roadie.” And yes, it makes me faster (just ask Dicky.) I like it, and my ass definitely likes it. It’s the same seat I have on my mountain bike, so I know I am guaranteed miles and miles of comfort. Did you notice something else about that photo?


Here, have a look in better lighting conditions:





Yes my friends, that is an Awesome Strap. After ditching the seat sack on my mountain bikes, I still had one on my road bike for some reason. It’s probably because I never really paid much attention to my road bike until recently, and seeing that seat sack hanging off of it really annoyed me. When I installed my new seat, away it went. Out with the shitty, in with the Awesome.


Just like the one on my mountain bike, I can cram a whole lotta shit in there. I have two road tubes, two tire levers, two CO2 cartridges, and an inflator. Everything fit in there just fine, and now my road bike is just that much more awesome. You know what else is awesome? The fine folks at Backcountry Research are sponsoring one of our local races:



The Cackalacky 500 is a night race at Lake Norman State Park, just north of Charlotte. It’s 500 minutes of racing, and it looks to be a fun event. The proceeds from the race go to our local club, the Tarheel Trailblazers. Big thanks to Backcountry Research for showing us North Carolina folks some love. We really dig it.


That’s it. I’m tired. The family and I had a great ride last night, followed by a good meal. It’s the simple things that matter most. Hell, I didn’t even bother to take pictures out there. At least I got on the mountain bike though. I’ll be back tomorrow, and I’ll do my best to lay off the roadie shit.