back to base----ick sssss.

Lazy start to the day, no rush at all.

Huxster enjoying the morning sun.

LeTort morning freshness.
Wheeeeee, fun day in the saddle. No real plan other than to "go for a bike ride, and find someplace I've never been." So, I headed south thru Michaux to Caledonia.

Played with shadows and that long white ribbon.Nice fresh water stop.Just a boring 'rail trail.' This Turbo and my rump have become quite intimate since the days of racing as a Hokie.

Eventually then found White Church Rd. Nice road with some rolling orchard action, kinda rude in spots after spinnnnnning downhill for a long time from Shipp Rd. Bounced around the base of the mtn, got eager and ended up on Thompson Hollow Rd.
Decided to not find out where it intersected Three Turn Rd and doubled back to the known. Hit Walnut Bottom at the 4hr mark for a sugary snack.

You are what you eat. Look out Dorothy.
Spun her home along Pine and Adams before backtracking along the LeTort to Scalle's for a big bottle of Stone Ruination IPA takeout. Yep, just another shitty day in PeeYaY!.

Nothing to see here, please move along.

big air

Look out Rad Ross, I'm bringin it.

Some pics are up at the Michaux site.

random stuff

well, results are up from Sunday, looked 'em over.

shoulda coulda woulda
yadda yadda yadda.

kinda depressing to review, knowing where I was at & how I was feeling, on tap for a good finish, was ready to go deep to hold onto/really earn it. Pretty sure I coulda held on, crunch time bell had rung, the internal pep talk was happening, a couple cleansing breaths to get down to it, then the flat, blink of an eye. Figure the thorn, THAT THORN!!!!!!, arghhhh, had softened me up enough to precipitate the pinch, shoulda checked more thoroughly for a thorn first time around, AND the second, like maybe without my gloves on.....dumb ass. Tough way to relearn that lesson. Front tire is also flat as of sometime Tuesday, a twofer!

So, now I sit with probably still good to decent legs, what to do with them? Feeling burnt this week, nothing on the immediate horizon to motivate, so chillin' a week of recovery on the around town trails with the fixy, some short "let's get loose" spinning is all I'm motivated for. With the whirlwind of April, a step back seems like a good idea right now. Still fine tuning bars on the DBR, probably choppin' 'em down to 26" from 27", can feel the extra width binding me up between my shoulders and the angle of attack with my elbows is also kinda off with the big spread, not sure how that'll work for all day comfort.

Since I can't swing the original VA plan for numerous reasons, what to do, what to do?

Shot my mouth off Sunday apres' race about doing a Big Stupid Road Ride, throw the rear brake on and go fix myself on the local climbing routes, visit Perry County and put down an 80-100miler? Then follow up with something similar on Sunday?

or

Bang out some trailwork? The new Abby switchbacks got hammered by the horses and need more love.....

or

Fixy in Michaux all wknd? Big fatty from the house on Saturday, group thang on Sunday?

or

Maybe just a Saturday tune up out of Big Flat then sneak over to French Creek for the MASS race? Not 100% my scene, never been there and it is a single loop, short @ 18miles, but at least it's not laps and I'd be able to work out some remaining frustrations...... then that means picking a bike to race, Dos or Fixed?

Put up pics from Barry's Wedding on the Smug.

Put up pics from Travfest wknd also.

Also, sure most ya'll have seen this elsewhere by now,

Please Help Sam & Elk kick cancer's ass!

Help fight the good fight, donate to a damn good cause and maybe even win some blingy bike shwag!

Oh, and my Yeti ASR-sl is for back and for sale if'n ya know somebody....
$1300 gets you a med frame, the current team paint, brand new front triangle connected to a decent '05 carbon/alu rear end via a Fox RP3 with new seals and rings. I'd post a picture, but I'm lazy right now. Also have a set of front and rear Hayes hydro discs, make an offer....

peace.

ohhhh, man.

Well, today I did my best to back up my talk of smack. Had a 'goal' of top ten, played out the start to keep everbody honest. Good times rolling with Keefer and espoirs Brandon. Took my place in line at the tail end of the group with a biiiig gap behnd. nice, mission accomplished. Found a spot in the pecking order with Steve Schwartz and Reubane, then dangled off the back of the seperation, waiting to pick off those those might crack. Just outta sight on lower Graves, in sight on Woodrow, just watch and watch and tempo and cruise and ...and....and. damn that's a longish climb.

Niiiiice cat n mouse with Tour cousin Patrick McMillar, then the creek bed then silence behind until the rampaging Timmy D towed me up the very last bit of fire road love to 3 mile. Awesome flow thru the moto brap braaaAP session until Tim said good bye with a flat. Mr Crampy caught up to me shortly, then I flatted. Watched the SS freight train roll thru, trying to encourage Bucky, back on it and have the three of 'em in sight on Woodrow.

Then squishy squish squirrelyness in a corner and I'm going flat again. Figure a bad tube and watch a few others roll by. Chat with the moto rider, check realllllly qwik for a thorn, just in case, then in with a fresh tube and last two co2's. Roll across Rattlesnake just pulling in a couple of guys, damn, going flat again. mother fucker. one is a challenge, two is sometimes recoverable, but three with a patch as the only option, changes the perspective on the day. set up camp just before Rattlesnake v 2.0 and got to patching the tube, waiting for some charity air of some sort. Topher gets the all star award today, hooking up Tim with a tube for his fifth and air for my third, thanks for everything brother! So I got into the JRA mode after quick safety review with Mike and rolled off Rattlesnake into the shwoopy dry and fun nowhere loop option before stopping for a beer and a chat with Travis and the crew. Best damn Troeg's Pale I've ever had in my life! That's the only thing that got me home. Finished in the mid twenty's, dropping from top ten potential, rear tire was flat when I unloaded off the car, guess the patches held just enough. That's the way it goes, I liked my numbers, July looks a little more in focus now, despite my currently blurry vision.

Congrats to everybody that toed the line, it was good to share the trail today.

hells yeah

Wow, what a good time last night. Awesome wedding for Gretchen & Barry, beautiful day, no major snafus and good times on the dance floor.

Just off the roady, spinning out toxins, quick systems check. The work has been done, the smack has been talked, three weeks of brilliant sensations from the legs, the race to distract me from the wedding, the wedding to distract me from the race. Now I return my tux and my mood is tranquillo. Looking forward to joining up with the traveling carnival tomorrow, should be a good time.

Churches are fun places.

yeah

Two days off work, prepping for the wknd, best bud getting married on Friday, big season opener on Sunday. Imagine if I behave myself, these will be compatible events. Last wknd was good, scouted out the 50miler 'prologue' loop, interesting portion of singletrack in there. Then Travfest with Jake taking the Stump World Title, until the next round. Game was interrupt ted by a high stakes game of RPS over a nail dispute. Sunday ride was pretty damn good, exploring around LongPine and finding more good shit. Will get rest of pictures up on the Smug at some point.


other business:
I've heard lots of good reasons for not racing a precedent setting course on Sunday.

Ya'll are still a bunch of pussies.

Took a solid minute off my 10mile tt last night.
Icing on a perfectly baked cake.

NONresistable
NONcompatible
I'm not sayin' I'm the best.
I'm just sayin' that
I am fucking incredible.

-Biggie

smack

So.

Who's gonna go ride those manicured
girlygirl Douthat trails?

been there,
done that..

Who's gonna come play on the big boy course?

I know where I'll be,
and I feel like I'm ready to
fucking rip the cranks off
that sweet sweet Dos-9er.

Who wants to play?



beeyatch.

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