roots

just posted little troll over on MTBR, check back in the morn to see if we got any bites.

discussion is based around the recently released NUE Series schedule.

There's a little post about the probable champion coming from the east, possibly due to the venues being skewed east of the mighty Mississippi, travel an proximity and all.

my troll was polite......


but wah, wah, fuckin wah! Yeah, the series is scewed to the East, cuz this is where the action is at! We are the trend setters. Fucking inflated big mountain Rocky Mtn/Cali/Utah putz ego chodes with their fucking roundy round NORBA Pro bullshitsupersportageclass41-42.5dyslexicclassserieschampionbullllllllSHIT.

East Coast is the home of 24hr racing.

We are the home of 100 milers.

This year I was at two hundreds, a 100k, three fifties, and skipped another three fifties along with some off the radar roundy round 6/8/12/18/24's....all within three hours drive. Then there's the VT50, hearing good thngs about Allamuchy, NJ, and the events down thru NC (gotta get down to Si & Dicky's end of the ridge) which fill up a calendar and empty a piggybank quick.

Champions live here.

I've been able to do at least one Stage Race a year, for the last 5 or 6 after missing the first five or six. Long live the Grand Tours!!!!!

But, they do have the GDR out there, and the self supported scene is booming, props. The grand open spaces help a lot with that, if only the AT were legal!!!!! woh, that'd be a sick ride/hike.....awwww shit, here's a sick thought for Mr. MathewMathewson to think about when he's bored with the GDR. Parallel the AT on legal terrain....I mean shit, even I know enough to link up a shit load of ridglines that would follow the AT from southern Virginia to at least Jim Thorpe....think about it....from Mt Davis area to Blacksburg somehow, sleep, out Audy Murphy to Dragon's Back to New Castle to The Pines in Craig County, follow the Rt18/220 corridor thru the country to Clifton Forge to Douthat, sleep. Press on to Braley's Pond/Stokesville, sleep. Then either skip up to Davis, but that's kind of limited for northern travel, so instead roll up over Reddish, hit up the Schloss then across the Potomac Gap into Frederick or cross valley at the 'burg....Massanutten Ridge north to Port Royal, sneaking into the 'Shed somehow, probably a night's sleep involveed there...across the Mason-Dixson into Michaux to Tuscarrora, sleep, skip over to State College and then State Forest Corridor to Williamsport and call it a success??? But then you're into the PA Grand Canyon, just a hopskipjump over the NY border, where to from there? westish into the Allegheny, there's gotta be some type of nature corridor up along the Great Lakes to Tug Hill neighborhood and on into the Adirondaks, then linkin' shit up the whole way cross VT and NH to Maine. And fuck, from Southern Va, not too far to NC, then just following Appalacia down into GA.....yo Chris, you takin' notes? sheeit, you've already thought about it, beeyatch.

So yeah, anyway, second Storm King down the hatch,
maps all over the floor,and yeah, why shouldn't
the NUE be Eastern biased?

I just don't get it.

happy Halloween

Careful out there, There're monsters amongst the trees!

BOO!

end of a tradition.

bonus Saturday

Snuck out the door with the fixy,

heading for unexplored territory.

An ohhhh so rare drive to ride day on the skinny tires for me,

55 sounds better than 130+ to see new sights. Park at the 225/325 intersection,

backtrack south then out along Stoney Creek. Pavement ends, follow the 19miles of dirt

then cinder rail trail up thru Stoney Valley. 2% love up the valley for 15ish to Rausch Gap. Snack on a Mad Elf and roll out the northern gamelands access like Alice from a tunnel. Onto the tarmac for the left hand to the kick in the teeth

climb up over and down the north side pitchiness

with sketchy lack of quality brake to 325. Turn a left for 25 miles of rolling paved fall beauty past

the resevoir, slummin' big time over the final hour. Calamari, a crab cake sandwich and beer from the

Stoney Creek Inn helped soothe the mental wounds.

Lovin' the close to home adventure.

friday night.

harvest season, full tilt. Mad Elf freshly released, 11% love.

Numbers, love numbers for some reason. Because they're defined, objective? You know their meaning, there's no nuance. Everybody knows 2. 3. 17. 78. 1st. last. My training programme. Nowadays it's coinsidered old school. I have a heart rate gizmo. Got it from Stubbie on trade for a Whisperlite stove, back in '97ish. It still works, 3 zones. Recovery, workin' & stoopid zones. It has a stopwatch. I track my training thru elapsed saddle time. I'm on my third Mad Elf. So, mtn rides that I log as 6hrs, might only have 4.5hrs of actual ride time....but, that 1.5hrs is time not spent on the couch. It's still time out in the elements, eating, fixing, waiting...still burning calroies, so I count it. I'm back to counting my 'base' as 1000 miles on the road, not sure when it starts though. Some years' I've called it at 65hrs combined mtn and rd, some yrs I've hoped to have 420 by 4/20. wait, phone call, train derailed....

taptaptap.....

goals. the drive, how do we do it? keep that fire in the belly stoked. I'm 37, way past 'going pro.' so, keep yearning for the thought unreachable? why? why why why....numbers.

the spreadsheet. I keep a spreadsheet, it's simple. it tallys my weekly hours, and that's it. other than secondary notes of results of note at events of note, which are all of my 'events.' This year I'm glad I have the sheets. There's the spancer thing, they've requested you include a recent list. I've got that, a list of pointless achievements riding a bike that doesn't coast. We all have our follies. so, yeah, send this oddball some of your shit, like being a carny freakshow. {Race MC}And here's the winners of the day....rousing cheers......oh, and this dumbass actually finished on a bike that doesn't coast.....golf clap.{/RaceMC} why? more with less? I can't win otherwise, so I'll just show how I'm more stoopid than you? I don't like to race for 23rd........why? maybe I really do just like the pain.

but the numbers, they surprised me. the sheet runs from late January to now, late October. this is the final week of record keeping. well, I still have my log/journal (yeah, even beyond this blog, you oughtta read that for some insight...but this post might be a good start) and that'll keep going until I get a new one for Christmas from my mom, it's Farside, love it! then we start it again, Jan 1. There's that number, 1. And so I tallied my season total.....drumroll.....440hrs over 38weeks. This week will add another 5+tomorrow & Sunday, so probably 12-14...call it 450 over 39 weeks. About 280 on a mtn bike, the rest on the skinny tire fixy. What surprised me, is that my previous high tally was the 370 from last year, with only 75 of that on the road bike...what's that mean? Is that the lure of the fix, or just increased dedication due to stupid goals and chit?

Who knows. I can say that I liked the results of the additional time.....9th ss at the Stoopid50, 100% fixing le Tour, fixed course record of 9:23 as 14th place ss at the W101 and my white whale, nailing the sub 10 with a 9:30/9th place ss/fixy time standard at the Shen100. Then rolling it all onto a coasty bike and sneaking out a 2nd place at the Teaberry50.

450/370=1.21

21% more work, for what? maybe a 5% increase in performance? 450/39 = 11.5 11.5hrs per week on the saddle of a bike, 11.5/5 = 2.3hrs per day. 5 days per week X 1.5hrs of gearing up and gearing down pre/post ride = 7.5 hrs.

11.5 + 7.5 = 19hrs

19 hours per week. That's a fucking part time job. That I spend money that I earn at my regular job to do. The worn out bits. The worn out kit. The travel. The entry. This year I brought home a grand total of $175 in prize money, that covers one race wknd, maybe. But I have two fixed gear course records, and a precedent setting ride at le Tour, and NOBODY can take that away from me. priceless, or something. when people ask me at a cocktail party, 'what do you do?' I stammer for an answer, is it acceptable to simply say,

I'm a cyclist.

cuz that's what I am.
that's what I do.
I ride a bike.
I love to ride bikes.
I always have,
I always will.
bicycles are freedom.
why is it that sooo many people just don't get it?

And now, I think about next year. I dream about a hopeful ski season around the corner, but I think about next year. I looked at the NUE podium this year. I wonder what it would be like to stand on top of it? What's it take? I think I have it figured out physically. The rest is the logistics, the travel, the budget. To Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee....maybe UT if urging to chase points, that could be a fun trip. Of course I'll be at the 101 and S100, that's a given.

Or there's this Colorado stage thing. Claiming to be "the first epic mtn bike stage race in the USA." .........whatever.

Guess they've never heard of le Tour or il Giro, probably for the better. Annoying, and that's marketing, but shit, I'd go to it, if I could swing the entry, and I'd race it on a fix, and yeah I'm talking trash and yeah I'll show them fuckers what's up.....all I need is a number plate.....how do I do that? 25 solos from what I hear, guess that'll be an oh so pro roster. Who wants to see a spectacle? put me in, bitch.

damn, my beer glass is empty, the Mad Elf strikes again.

peace out,
T

milkin' it

Got home from the WV, did the reverse gear shuffle and the road called me in the afternoon. Just an ez spin down to the lakes, checking out the progression of color. Looking for a local peak within the next week, once these grey clouds roll out.....last night's 2hr spin was a bit less colorful in the dusk.

Laurel Lake

Mtn Creek

Fuller Lake

Sparkling fresh kit.Rolling home

Dug a little deeper into the sponsership game, organizing thoughts, hopes and dreams for that Beyond Clothing dilly. Have never done this sponsership thang before, beyond the 20% off help from the local shops here and there over the years, oh, there was a Salsa stem hookup thru Eastcoasters back in '91. Should be interesting if this comes together........

a quote, or something.

ya know, we all like the pain. and
if you tell yourself that you don't,
you're fucking kidding yourself.
-Benji (at the top pf Bennet's Gap)

I'm leaning hard towards gearing
up the Dos, it's a lazy time of year
for me. It's tourist season,
and I'm tired.

big water.

god damn.

Billabong Odyssey

Mike Parsons towed into a 70-foot wave.

Gnarlyberrylicousness

Final long term planned 'event' of the year,

WV Fall Classique Wknd.Lots of email exchanged, plans bounced and settled

on the fly. Zoned with Larry on the 81 commute

and missed the turn at Strasburg. Jumped cross country at NewMarket and discovered

Lost River State Park on the way to Moorefield, looks like

good stuff for the skinny tires.

Mtn rush hour.Rolled in 40 minutes off schedule and kitted up quick

for the shuttling of 17 odd characters to the top

of the Gnarly. 6.5ish hours to get across the 25miles of Gnarly North Fork

love, with a slummin' spin of 15 on the tarmac to sleep

with the legend of Princess Snowbird. The views were incredible and the riding off the charts. Doses of color and techy love added a special flavor. 'burgian MVP's Sue, Tim & Carp hooked up a fat stash

of burritos to heat by the fire. Full bellies, harvest

celebrations and flowing beer invented the game of

Fire Jenga(tm), until the man showed up with written warnings. Tag team of fresh Cupcakes did up an incredible breakfast

spread to fuel the assault of Spruce Knob on Sunday. 45mile parcours opened with a 3 hour rolling climb

of paved to dirt. Special treat was the hc climb

up Bennet Gap, stteeeep. Roller coaster flow of Lower Timber was next before

the final gravel push to the top of Spruce for the

entrance to 20miles of trail bliss. Huckleberry & High Meadows & Allegheny all delivered the goods.Beyond expectations. Camera hit max capacity in the High Meadows, so no

swimin' hole shots or permanent record of the

tighhhhhhht off camber of the Allegheny.

Merry Blissmas everybody!

Thanks to all involved for each pitching in

with their own unique talents/resources.

Takes more than just luck to pull it all off.

Full picture set is up on the Smug.

peace.

anticipation

Look out WV, here we come!

Just one of the many vistas we'll see on Saturday:

Then camp out in the shadow of Seneca:

Maybe take a swim in here on Sunday:

big hills

looking for a bit of winter inspiration?

new book coming out, looks good:

Ski the 14ers

changes

Met so many cool peeps over
the summer, finally updating
my links to reflect.

Good stuff in there if you're
not already familiar.

One big bike crazy family!

Iron Cross V

Whooowheeee, that was a fun way to 'volunteer.' Got to spend the day in the lead vehicle w/ Kuhndawg and Hannah from England, I was tasked with snapping pictures. The race was good, glad I wasn't out there in the mix, my suffermask has been shelved for the season. Chris Beck did his best to represent on the 69er mtb, but the Brits were a pretty tough bunch. Six time 3-Peaks winner Rob Jebb threw down on the WigWam run up and left everyone in the dust. Gaps pretty much grew from that point on.

Some of my favorite pics:

Early break.

Ross Delaplane, haven't seen this guy in 15years, go Hokies!!!Andy Pearce from across the pond, bottom of Lippencote.
Harlan chasing.
Stu and Chris after WigWam
Rob on the Woodrow headwall.
Justin Lindine, off of Woodrow.
Splish splash, Fast Albert

Rest of the pics on the Smug.

swappin'

Went to T-town.

calm before the storm.

what an incredible celebration of bike.

all the niches in the hizzouse.

Selling bits and knicks and not quite worn out out pieces to anyone and everyone. The cute little trendy fixie hipsters, buying the used carbon riser bar to cut down for his Oury gripped fixy even though his sweet hip chick says "ewww, that's ugly". That late day fella who happens to just need a brake cable and happily buys an old front v brake cable still in mud caked housing w/ that goofy loop as it was stripped off the DBR when replaced by discs, $1. Lots of one and two and five dollar dealin'. Enough to make the head spin and hard to shut it down after 6-8hours of being on, buzzzzzz. Parted ways with the LeMond roadie, and now this cat ain't presently got no bikes with gears on 'em. Dos can go shifty, and if the cranky tired knee has it's say, that'll happen soon enough. Picked up some nice kit at the swap, turning over some of the day's take. Full Mapei euro roady kit, Jersey & bibs, sweet, $20.

Suck it Carp.Fake wool (label = 100% acryllic) orange styley jersey to

ward off errant arrows over the next few weeks, $10.

Topped a good day with a good guy hook up of some uber-swank Sugoi footies & knicker bib. Thanks Swithers, bring on the cold, bitch. What a blast! Glad I went, forgot how much fun it is, and how surprisingly tiring a day it can be, especially on 4 hours sleep. wah, wah, wahwahwah, yeah, I know.

Working now on sorting Iron Cross pics, should be up on the Smug sometime soon.....teasers:

Which way Michelle?

A very fast Brit, he won.

A very fast lady (she won).

Details later w/ link to the Gallery at the Smug when loaded up.

peace out.