today

last night, forecast = shit
this morn, forecast = no quite so bad.
let's do a test. solid radar blobs
still out in WV, so at least 4-5hour
window is open. look thru the bits of kit.
time to really test the wool. hi 40's/low 50's
grey looking day. base, Sugoi merino,
then Swobo shortsleeve and TomiCOG
long sleeve woolly. leave the windproof
shite on the pile.
hourish in, grey sky turns light to heavy
misty, enough to puddle here an there,
but not falling rain. off and on, outer
never feeling beyond damp, core always
toasty. comfort is off the charts.

remove the weather and let the legs be
the source of discomfort. leg speed, leg
speed, leg speed, working on cadence.
upping the tempo pace, but not quite
working it, rock solid steady gunning.

pics early in the ride, then enough turns
finally mean vague directional, low cloud
deck means no bearings, finally rolling
thru Roxbury, remember passing thru
Newburg from a differnet than usual
direction. Rowe Run? Is it fishable
springfed limestone? Sweet foot bridge.
Also saw Orrstown for the first time.


Hannah Rd, Clearfield Rd, Mt Rd, 533,
433, 641, Letterkenny and Chambersburg
called out on the green signs. It all blends,
just pedal, then try to do the math after the
2.5hour dissappearing act. Where am I?
Bouncing south eastish and eventually
bump the Molly Pitcher Hway, left turn
and Shippensburg limits in a couple miles.

Plug in the RadioHead liveness via NPR
and turn those pedals, Cleversburg, Walnut
Bottom and Pine Rd into a tedious SEish breeze.
Kings Gap and back n forth into out of the
drizzley mist, just get me home, 5 would be
nice, but tempo work will pay off more than ez
spinning, look for the 2?+ on the mph gauge.
Done w/ pictures, done with eating, this
is where the work is done, pedal and work
the numbing burn thru the legs, changing
stroke thru the terrain and tempo...draggin,
scraping, kicking it over, pulling against
a slowly developing core, using all of the
body's resources in this struggle against
wind and gravity. Do the work, reopen
forgotten channels.

Finally hit the railroad tracks, then to the T,
then the right hander and sit up after clearing the
stoplight ahead of schedule. Another 5ish in
the books, mid 70's on the odo, another step
in that direction. Time to go work on that get
me home inspiring Thai infused coma.

that sound

pedaling along Piney,
finally find meditative pace
after exploratory 'shwackin.

Feels good to be putting
some scenery behind me.
Lost in the rhythmn,
mind wanders, searches.
Finds a nugget to replay.

Showing a picture to a
friend, Huxley's tag falls
into the embarrassingly
open underwear drawer.

tingle jingle.

the sounds strikes a chord.
it's the sound I'd wake up to.
it's the sound I'd come home to.
it's the sound I'd look forward to
after a hard day in the saddle,
rolling back into camp.

it's that sound.

one of those sounds, immediately
familiar, always comforting. don't
focus on it in the moment, other
things have my attention.

but now, lost in the pedals, let the
ball unwind and chase it to the core.
hearing it, recognizing that its absence
is what's hard to take, realizing the
time passed since last heard.

eventually look at this messy pile
of string and begin to wind it back
up carefully, even more tidy than
last time, and put it back on the shelf.

singletrack's coming.

pioneer lost

fuck.
RIP Shane.

step 2.

step 1.

write it down. I'm visual,
I need to see things, in
order to see things, to
sometimes really see
things.

Spent Saturday's recovery
Thai dinner looking thru
old journals. 4:30 deserted
restaurant, quiet.

Puts the mind at ease,
it always seems like so
much more than it is.

Knowledge is key,
the knowing, listening
to the body. Journals
are neat, windows to the
past, handful of jotted
words bringing back
day after day after day
in the saddle.

some years lean, non-existent.
some were simple daily
hours on the desk blotter,
coordinated with a spreadsheet.

just hours and thoughts.
hours are solid, words
are the sensations, the
moods, the inspiration.

it's all the data I need.

basics.

it's a long road ahead.

"Where do you ride? when?...
who do you ride with?"
she asks.

I stammer....

"Are you a loner?"
poke.
owwww.

'yeah. I am.' says the quiet
voice in my head.
a recluse, a hermit.
guarded, always..

"are you a loner?"

I am Lone Wolf.
a Tourrettes pronouncement
as he spectated the off the front
parade, spit to the back timed speciale'
at the '07 tour. Lone Wolf, it resonates.

it lifts my spirit,
when the white line
has you beat down.
that memory, the good
times. they keep the pedals turning.

I ride with all of my failures.
I ride with all of my successes.
I ride constantly along this line.

sacrifice now.

reap the benefits later.

so many lonely miles,
rewarded by the communal
traveling circus. so stoked
to be finding a neglected rythmn.


It's how I roll.

check myself

before I wreck myself.
shit gets in my head.
shit gets in my head.
shit gets to me.

back to basics.
feed the fire in the belly.
back on the track.
into the programme.

how to attack this.
how to approach this.

chase those dragons.
or simply go in prepared.
and ride it out with a
smile on the face.

it's not 'can I?'
it's how thin is it?
how will that affect
the motor.

i don't know.
back on it today, really
wanted to ride dirt from
the doorstep, recent
illness vetos that idea.

skinny tires? hmmmm,
haven't ridden those since
once over the Holidaze, then
Sept before that. maybe a
spin down thru
Michaux is in order.

arrogant prick.

yep, that's me, I admit it.

I'm an asshole, or can be, well, am,
sometimes. don't always like to be,
but yaknow? ya just gotta say
it, gotta be it. We'll see where
it goes, been awhile since I've
been that guy.

but god damn it. don't fucking
come into my backyard, and pretend
to know what's going on. don't fucking
blast your shit on teh interwebz, and
expect 100% adulation.

fucking grow a pair. And don't fucking
call me out on my experience. fuck you,
you fucking bike bling, color matching, can't
fucking ride out of your own way piece of
shit. stop dumbing down our trails, quit
turning logs to square the trail, quit
ripping down saplings 'cuz they're a bit
too close for your comfort. fucking ride
the hand your dealt, and if you can't....

get. better.

yeah, I'm being an egotistical, non humble
arrogant prick, but who of us doesn't
harbor these thoughts. liar if you don't or
didn't.....I guess the key is to not say it out
loud.

I'M THE GREATEST FUCKING
CYCLIST IN THE WORLD!!!!!

you tell yourself this every day you kit up.
you believe it every time you clip in.
you have to, it's the key to the pain cave.

but fuck it, I'm in the mood to fucking
scream, cuz I wanna, I'm fired up!
I'm formulatin' a plan, figuring shit out.

looked at the calender, looked at the
weekends, thought of the options, been
thinking some more, looking for crests
and valleys and timing. Bought plane
tix today, July 2 thru 12. No beloved Tour,
but high thin air instead, taking it to
a different stage, a new audience.

Prep...look close, plotting out the programme:

spring is here

And I'm battling the change of season,
transitional cold/cough thing.

Now that I'm wanting to ride into
the sunset, I won't let myself, can't.
Now that the Breck blogwar is over,
now that I have a plan,
now is when I'm down.

typical.

so, instead of further pursuit of the
perfect spin. I toiled in the yard for a bit.
Finally raked the leaves, then looked
to the garden spot. Grab the spade,
turn over the dirt until I get dizzy,
yay Nyquil!
Spy something in the soil, a carrot?
BINGO! I actually did grow carrot
bigger than my thumb last year!!!!!
Didn't taste too bad, considering the
recent hibernation. Also found an
onion bulb, it has a new home in the
corner spot now.

And one of my favorite flowers is
blooming, every spring she comes up.


It's that time, can't wait to pedal.

oh yeah, I also updated the
linkage over there ---->

done sweating.

Official results are in,

I'm going to Colorado!!!!!!

thankyouthankyouthankyou for
the votes/support/tolerance
of my spam. The slutting was
beginning to wear on me

I think Sally said it best:


Final Tally:
5764 Team Dicky, aka Rich Dillen, Charlotte, NC
5520 Tomi McMillar, Carlisle, PA
5385 Jen Hanks, Salt Lake City, UT
5009 Heather Szabo and Mary Monroe, Lafayette and Durango, CO

thinking

Dave put up a good post.
This was near the closing...

"Us enduro nuts do things with our bodies evolution didn’t prepare us for. If we’re gonna be bull-headed about it we better get smart!"

Totally in sync with his age vs diet vs recovery
thoughts, but here's the thing....I think that as
enduro nuts, we actually are tapping into
what we've evolved to do, into what keeps evolution
rolling, our survival. How fit for survival are the
83%ers sitting in their fucking cubes? Wandering
thru life thinking a half hour of 'cardio' is enough
to be physically fit? Fit for what? Cube fodder I
guess,

What happened wayyyy back in the day, when
we weren't luxurious lap livin'? When you and
your tribe had to trek for days on empty bellies.
When you had to push into that place that we
now voluntarily seek thru the spinning of pedals?
When you're 'riding on instinct' just trying to get home?

oooo, woww, whee!!!! we ride bikes, fast!
trivial on the surface, but when you start digging
into those lonely white line thoughts, that pedaling
induced trance of one foot thru the other flow....

well, there are many answers to the question, why?
every time you think you might have an answer which
you could believe was finally, truly, the answer....a new
approach to the question emerges.

onward.

yeah, back on it.

40+ in thorpe, 7hrs following Elk's wheel.
LEft the legs a bit tapped for more pre-ride
love, 4 to go 20 couple.....sweet toughness,
wrinkles looking smaller. missed the apres'
MASH happy hour, couldn't find the venue,
so went home to warmth and food.

Pics from Sat:

<

WooHOOOO!

Am I officially a spacnered rider now?

spring fiddy

happens all the time,
try to pre ride the entire
loop....only accomplished
a full pull once, the 100k.

this year, was asked for input
on a route, I brainstormed a
vision, scribbled up a map,
literally. have the front
portion figured out, just
needs a bit of feet on the
ground type work, but it's
goooood.

second half, is a doozy.
I hope the powers that be
run with it, incredible new
trail discovered, rumors
confirmed. needs traffic,
maybe a snip here or there,
some quality, light handed
moto tilling would be superb....

then a standard local's fare up
in the neighborhood of Canyon
before working creekside back to
Michaux Rd.

If this loop happens,
ya'll are gonna earn it.

So, attempted to just ride it out
on Sunday w/ Elk. We were both
quite satisfied with the 6.5 hour
ride, 5 of it rolling...a flat, two beers,
sandwiches, March tempo pacing.
We covered 35, bailed after Canyon,
know when to say when.

I'm edumacated guessing that the
full parcours will stretch to low-mid
40's, could easily hit the pure 50 w/
inclusion of some classics like My Fave
&/or Grave's.

But I think the primitive
nature of this route will have
any finisher satisfied.

Here are all the pics I took!!!

Bikes:

Elk getting freshies:

I would be slacking

If I didn't hammer this one. more. time.

VOTE

FOR

ME!!!!

saw tallies yesterday, I'm up to third,
39 votes outta second, 132 buffer over 4th,
239 over 5th. Top four go, I'd like a bigger
cushion, better for pushin' ya know.

thanks, oh last day to vote, Monday the 16th!

and, if you've been under a rock lately,
this is about the Breck Epic.

the end.

ski seasons end.
bike season, never,
just a hiatus now & then.

can always go biking.
can always brave the
elements and find
some path to follow.

skiing, not so much.
skiing is not always an
option. from now-ish,
until maybe next November,
skiing won't be a local option.

Luckily, I have no complaints
about the season, tickled the
40day tally again, upped my
game another little notch.
slayed some sweet pow,
shared some incredible tours,
and stayed in one piece, no
niggling tweaks or goofyness
to nurse.

to keep chasing it now ups
the ante for potential peril.

recognize a new fitness plateau,
ripping the bumpy vert with minimal
stoppage, if any on some laps,
catch the breath on the lift. Burn it,
soak it in, ski social laps w/ friends,
but mostly solitary, leaving the
tracks you want, at the pace
you enjoy. and call it day kinda
early, enjoy a slopeside burger
and Nugget.

lots of pedaling in store tomorrow,
putting ideas to the test.....

happy Friday!

found here, via the 'ziila.

winding down

yeah, seasonal winds are blowing, and I've been blowing it off, or so it feels. I know looking at the logs, this is where it usually begins, daylight savings over the wknd. daylong scouting mission planned. NATO Telefest was on my mind, reality took hold. Extreme solo driving short turn around, plus $$$ that could mostly cover the Durango plane tix = stay local.

slush puppie fest at roundtop, then hit the trails Sunday for route and systems shakedown, take an inventory of sorts. wishing I had clue on how the Breck voting was shaking out...keep pimping it, shamelessly hit up MTBR today, jumping thru hoops for what? A week of epiques @ 10k+on a fixed? Stages look reasonable thru my denying one eyed squint...so, beyond the altitude thing, just a week's worth of 6hr lunch rides...right?

bring. it.

mindset.

yeah, that last push up B'ville was taxing.
yeah, efforts were made. test out the value
of anaerobic bump runs vs 32:19 grunts,
all 600ft of vert nonstop vs beyond false flat
tempo. snow a sweet blessing, ease from
ski, to winter ride mixing then spring condish
soon enough. sensing a smooth trasition, spring
race loop is gonna be $$$$$!.

peakchures: