Houghtling's Hounds (Dashunds)

Well another Christmas and another Dashund to and to the collection introducing Oscar "The Cat Slayer" Duncan Houghtling. Hopefully he will pay off in the future as we have a long hair miniature female we plan on mating him with so we will see. As far as the riding goes had to do some research on lower back pain and riding and do some adjustments to the handlebar height to see if that will help, don't need to be doing the Snake Creek TT and having a sore back a hour into it. Looking forward to the New Years day ride with the CGC rinding my Vertex hardtail with some Kenda slicks recommended by Charles at my local LBS . Should be a pretty good time, Also now that they gave us Tuesday off as a Federal Holiday looks like I will probably do some trail time thinking about trying out E. Macon haven't been there in a while. If anyone has ridden there recently and has a trail update or status would love to hear it. I have adjusted my schedule to still have a chance to be competitive in the GSC Series will have to make races 4-8 and fit in the make up in Clemson S.C. to be eligible for the Series I will only have one endurance race during that time so I am going to focus my training on strength and speed to be competitive. Since I will have about 20 weeks of nothing but training time hopefully I can make the most of it so if some of the more knowledgeable and experienced riders out there actually read my post and have some training tips for me I am all ears! Well that is about it for now I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and has a Safe and Happy New Year and I Will See You on the Trail!

Hard Tail - Hard on the Tail

If that doesn't say customer loyalty I don't know what does!

Well I figure since I paid for it and sold the FS ETSX-30(No not the new ETSX-70) frame I had that I might as well ride it. So I took the Vertex-70 Hardtail out to Thomson on Sunday and again tonight, and it is definitely a learning endeavor. I enjoy the fact that it is lighter and faster on the less technical portions of the trail however I miss the ability to point and go down the hills or thru the rough stuff. Not that this is a totally bad thing I could use some work on my ability to pick the best line thru some of the trail, and another unexpected surprise is the way it flys thru the ditch and up the hill on the end of the trail I was surprised to find I could still jump thru there like I do on the FS and not have the feel of a much harder impact - momentum truly is a good thing at times! I am looking forward to doing the 1st Snake Creek Time Trial in January - Yes I am going to attempt to do the 34 mile course again, this year hopefully a little bit faster. I have only that and the Thomson day rides that I can participate in before I go back to work for my Uncle and have to miss the start of the season but I plan on packing the hardtail and have some better training this time while I am gone as opposed to just riding a stationary bike this time! Anyway I hope to keep up my current consistent work out schedule which is primarily cardio with some strength training going thru the next month and then get into a good training regiment for about 16 weeks and try to fulfill some of the goals I set earlier, obviously the 12hrs of Razorback is out so I wish you all luck and I will be working from a deficit when I get back as I will have missed the first 3 races of the season. Just more motivation to train harder to see if I can't accomplish the goals I set for myself for this year regardless of the adjustments. Looking to ride this weekend hopefully Dauset, not sure what day or time,(More than likely early) but if you happen to be out there as well then I Will See You on the Trail!

Cold Mornings!

Well this week has been a pretty good one for cardio training I have managed to get at least one 30min session in everyday this week with a couple of 5 mile plus runs and some high intensity training sessions in between as well as riding a couple of laps on Wensday out at Thompson. The first lap I did without a light and had to keep up with Brady and then borrowed Jasons light and rode a second lap with Brady again. Then to the shock of most OMBA members I attended a meeting!! I think Mark almost fell out of his chair! There seemed to be a preccupation with wood and how much we could get...........for Thompson Day that is. Anyway much conversation about the planning for the weekends events which sound like it will be a fun weekend with something for everyone. Anyway I am not sure where I will be riding this weekend but think I will be riding the Vertex, it has been hanging out in the garage for the past two weekends however I am leaning towards riding out at E. Macon, havent been out there lately and there was some mention of doing some trail maintenance on it anyway however I may just go ride the Pig...decisions, decisions. Well where ever it ends up being it will be early either Saturday or midday on Sunday and if you happen to be there where and when I am....I Will See You on the Trail!

Good Ride at Arrowhead

Well Sunday was a good ride with a good group felt bad for David hope your doing ok if your reading that was quite a wreck. Good couple of laps though was pretty much riding alone the first lap and was a good group ride the second lap though. Just been doing PT the last couple of days and have a PT test on thursday so will see about riding on Friday hopefully. Will be doing the group trail work this Saturday and then Going out to see Charles race at Macon on Sunday so will be a busy weekend without much riding though. Still trying to sell the ETSX-30 Frame on Ebay so if anyone is interested 2 days left. Also have a Saris Bones 3 Rack for sale as well so if anyone is interested in that as well post a comment and let me know. Other than that nothing too exciting going on just needing to get some miles in and work on the cardio conditioning depending on how long we are working at Thompson might have to do a lap or two as a reward for hard work so if your there I will See You on the Trail!

Ridding Arizona

Well back again from Az had a good week out at my old stomping ground. Flew out there on Tuesday morning and was riding the trails by Tuesday at 3pm! Rented a Stumpy from Sun and Spokes and hit the trails. I was a little slower than I remember being, of course being at near sea level for the last year and then going back to 5300 ft elevation will have a impact however I was able to climb the hills anyway, I think the 31lbs bike might have helped keep my traction on the climbs, man that stumpy was heavy! Well rode Tuesday and Wensday while I was out there it was pretty enjoyable hitting some downhills where I actually had to get back off the seat and work some hard technical rocky sections. The drawback being all those thorny branches and bush that are out there on the trail those I haven't missed since I have been out here so there is a trade off. Well got back here on Friday and have just been tooling around I need to get serious about putting in some training time and getting myself back in shape so I can be ready for this season, primarly the first big goal I have for the 12hrs of Razorback. Anyway I am going to get in a couple of rides this week with my PT as well so I should get a good start, if you happen to be out on the trail, or I end up on the road this week I Will See You on the Trail(or Road)

Pig Trail and Hard Tail

Well it was a little warmer this morning at the Pig Trail than it was last week at Dauset but it was still a little chilly. I started off on a bad note forgot my jersey but remembered a base layer so I ended up throwing a T-shirt over that for riding. Took both the Vertex and the ETSX out with me today the plan was to do a lap with each figured I would start with the Vertex check out how a hardtail felt on the trail and then compare on how I rode with the ETSX. The first thing I noticed at first was all the bumps on the trail, wow hadn't felt those before! Some of the noticeable differences of course as everyone knows it climbed somewhat better, standing going up Chandlers Challenge, was able to get going pretty quick through some of the flat trail as well. The trail was a little wet and I did notice that through the turns it seemed like I was on a gyro as I peddled the bike through the turn it would rotate-slide the rear tire from the torque I guess pretty cool actually. All in all it was a good lap and I felt pretty good at the finish I had taken it easy picking out the lines in the technical sections so I didn't get myself in trouble first time on the Vertex.

Hopped on the ETSX -70(TrailBlazer) for the second lap and enjoyed that good old fashion full suspension romp through the woods didn't push it all that hard still just enjoying the ride and working the technical skills a little bit hitting a couple of the hills doing repeats. Finished up around 10am and called it good - bikes still need to be cleaned up and are still on the back of the car but I will get to them soon enough. Would have liked to have rode out at Arrowhead with the group from IMBA and OMBA but had other plans with the family so missed out on that but I am going to try and make the December Meeting, we will see so far I have a pretty bad track record as far as supporting the group events and meetings but hopefully I can change that this year. Anyway I will probably make it out to the trail again next weekend I am thinking I will try Arrowhead and see how the hardtail feels there so if you happen to be up early and out riding - I will See You on the Trail!

Todays 2nd lap 8.5miles, Time 50:17, Avg Speed 10.1

Riding yesterday Running today

WOW did that hurt this morning!! Yesterday about 0830 I was out at Dauset a chilly 38 degrees when I started and I was the first one on the trail so there was a few webs but not many. Rode the full 17.9 mile loop, you can tell the sections that aren't getting rode that much by the leaves covering the section, which helped to add to the difficulty of the technical sections by hiding the lines. I did a casual lap my first go around started seeing some other riders as I was getting closer to the end of my lap and the temps where picking up. After the first lap I got a power bar and stretched out some and went back out for a second lap the thought process being that 2 laps equals the distance of Snake Creek even though it doesnt match the difficulty it would give me a baseline to start from and see how much I need to work to reach my goal for the time trials. First lap ran 1hr 52min, 9.4mph avg, 17.9 miles my second lap ran 1hr 57min 9.1mph avg. Anyway after that I had to get up this morning and do PT with the company and so I stretched out this morning and ran 3.5 miles, not to brag but normally I can smoke just about anyone in the company however today I was having trouble just keeping up a good pace so I will need to get a little better in my conditioning. Getting ready to take a trip out to Gods Country (Arizona) and will be packing some riding gear with me I should be able to get a bike to ride either from the LBS or some of my old riding buddies and hit some of my old stomping grounds out there which will be sweet!! nothing like hitting a 2mile stretch of uphill trail and 12 miles of awesome down hill single track unfortunately I will have to do some work out there as well! Well other than that just waiting on the frame to come in so that Charles can put it all together and I can get some pictures of the ETSX-30 and get that posted to sell. Well I will wrap it up here not sure when or where I will be riding this weekend but if you happen to be out there I will See you on The Trail!

Time to get back to Training

Well it is that time of the year again, starting this month with some base training, doing some lifting and cardio training on the eliptical. Figured out my Goals for the season the year and they are as follows:

Goal 1. Win the overall Championship for the GSC MTB Series 30-39 beginner Group.
Goal 2. Finish in top 3 at 12hrs of Razorback 12hrs of Dauset and 13hrs of Santos solo Cat.
Goal 3. Complete the Snake Creek Time Trial in under 4.5hrs
Sounds lofty I know but I figure I shouldn't be suffering from a break in my season this year so I might stand a chance to accomplish them and as I was once told by a High School coach(Yes that was a long, long time ago) "It is better to shoot for the stars and drag your feet in the treetops than to shoot for the treetops and drag your feet in the mud."
I also have a new hardtail that I am going to start riding- see if that cant help improve not only my technical skills but my times on some of the faster courses we ride around here like the Pig trail. Also to use possibly doing some road miles. The new bike is a Rocky Mountain Vertex-70 So if there is anybody out there that is looking for a full suspension Mountain Bike Frame I have a 2003 ETSX-30 18" One of the HOTTEST Epic/Marathon XC Racing bikes EVER. Hand built with pride in CANADA.

If you don't know Rocky Mountain, they are one of the highest quality bicycle builders in the world. ALL their bikes are built right here in North America NOT Taiwan or China. Just check out the beautiful welds.

This framset is a 2003 model.. and is signed by the actual welder that welded the frame. It is a size 18" so it should fit anyone in the 5' 7" to 6' 0" range. The paint job is a Red, Black & Dark Grey Moondust and is clearcoated. The stickers are UNDER the clear coat. This frame retailed for around $1000 plus. The welds are perfect, the alignment is perfect. LOVE THE RIDE!!

You will have no problem, using normal high end parts, building this bike as a sub-27 lb bike. Frame weight is 6.5 lbs ACTUAL including rear shock (I weighed it).

The ETSX - or Energy Transfer System - suspension creates a plush and responsive feel through the use of co-rotating wishbone linkages - technology adapted from Formula One race car swingarms. The finely tuned virtual pivot trajectory moves the rear wheel on a near-vertical path, with minimized chain growth through the pedaling portion of travel. This bike is virtually bob-free. The Cloud Nine Shock creates a plush and responsive ride.

CHECK OUT THE REVIEWS ON MTBR.COM
FEATURES
Custom Easton tubing for uncompromised frame quality.
Adjustable rear travel: 3.5", 4", 4.5".
Cam-actuated quick release on travel adjustment for ease of operation.
Rocky Mountain hand built quality.
All frames faced and chased for perfect build integrity.

For more details including all meaurements please visit, www.bikes.com. ALSO: 26.8mm seatpost, 31.8mm clamp, 1.25" top pull front derrailleur.
with a Cloud Nine rear shock, less than a year old, and new rear swing arms and pivot bearings

Well I have carried on long enough so I will wrap it up here I am planning on going to Dauset early Sunday, probably freeze my butt off for the first hour or so but should be plenty warm after a lap. So if anyone is interested or heading out there anyway I will See You on The Trail!

Missing the Good old Days

I know it has been a while since I posted, also since I rode, I did enjoy a good ride on Sunday last week with the group and did some miles on my own Dauset. Didn't get any riding in this past week barely any workouts at all, managed one workout on the eliptical on Friday and hopefully can get a more consistant schedule starting this week. I guess it isn't all that bad since this was my transitional month after the month of racing I did, so the off time at least fell on a time when I can have a excuse for it. Anyway I am going to try and get a ride in tomorrow at Thompson if I get off work early enough they have been keeping me busy there which is also accounting for much of why I haven't been riding during the week much. I am Developing a weight training program to get started working toward next season using the Joe Friel Mountain Bikers Training Bible there is alot of good info in that book. Other than that nothing too new the Saris Cycle-on Bike rack is, to quote Jesse an, "Awesome looking Rack!" which it is and it also works great as well very stable and when in the stowed position I still can open the hatchback on my Saturn Vue Well hopefully it wont be as long next time between either my post or my rides so if I do manage to make it out there as I plan , and not forgetting Saturdays night ride I Will See You on the Trail!

Three up, Three down

Three for Three who wants to Downhill?? I have managed to wreck the last three riders who have ridden with me on a downhill sections, I haven't really done anything to cause them to wreck it just seems to happen the latest victim while riding at E. Macon. Now don't get me wrong I don't think Jeff D. would even think of what I refer to as downhill as anything more than a slight grade but I consider anything that gets me going 26mph as a pretty good downhill. Anyway a while back I mentioned that the verdict was still out on the Hope Mono M4's I can honestly say they kick butt. I haven't had any problems with the pads or squeaking and the levers are self adjusting and work great. Once I contacted them about a warped rotor they were quick to send a replacement without needing the one I had sent back. However don't take that as totally the brake, if you read the reviews on MTBR they definitely need to be set up correctly, Charles did a great job on that -- Thanks Charles. On another item, while it cost a few bucks after just two days of using it the Saris Cycle-On Racks are great not only do the hold the bikes steady and away from the vehicle the rack folds up and since it has the hitch arm it is far enough away from the hatch back I can open it without having to remove the rack so that is a big plus. Well just saw the post on OMBA for Sunday ride at Dauset maybe? Time TBD so if your not doing anything and looking for a ride Hopefully I will See You on the Trail!

Missing the Trail

Well it has been a week without a ride, ok not a full week but 5 days. Sure I have done some running even got in a day of lifting but it just doesn't compare to a good ride on the trail. I am looking forward to starting a program of training during the off season but not sure whether I want to squeeze in one more endurance race or call it good for this year. The 12hrs of Truth in TN looks like it might be a worthwhile drive for a last Solo event of the year, just not sure if work schedule will be flexible enough to allow me to be in half way decent shape to ride it we will see. Should be picking up the Saris Cycle-On racks this week from The Bike Store as well as a new bike for the son ever since he rode Moms Trek Fuel 70(the same one she took on the tree at Thompson on) he just can't ride the WalMart special anymore get I spoiled him at a early age. So he is getting a Giant hopefully he learns to be a little more graceful than his Mom! Anyway regardless of how I decide to go I am looking forward to doing some cross-training and seeing if I cant improve my strength and speed training see if I can't win a couple of lap races next season and improve my finishes in the endurance races I am already looking forward to Snake Creek and Razor Back. I guess my shortened race season has left me wanting more as opposed to burned out however I am not quite sure about the CycloCross riding so I think I will watch a couple and see about maybe even riding in a race. Well for the Punctuation Police that have been monitoring my postings as of late should be satisfied with my use of periods as I created a few more sentences than I usually do. Well Hopefully this weekend I can get out and ride a trail, not sure which but will figure it out so where ever it is I will See You on the Trail.

5min on trail=4hrs in Emergency Room

So we are out at Thompson, along with several other riders. The wife and I unload the bikes she has been looking forward to riding since she had the surgery on her wrist and finally here we are, ready to rol out on the trail. We head out on the trail and are taking the shortcuts for the easy route trying to take it easy since the wife hasn't rode in about 3 months. Well we have no choice but to go down the 3 drops and I yell back to the wife "Going down 3 drops, be carefull!" now the first time we rode this together I told her to she should walk it to which she took that as a challenge and rode it. This time apparently she took what I said as "Going down 3 drops keep up!" Well half way down the drops one of them was paticularly nasty as it was washed out, without going into to much detail she went superwoman and took on a tree and lost. Fortunately for us a couple of other riders where there, to those guys - Thanks for helping with the bikes and getting them back for us as well as stopping to help initially. Walked the wife back to the truck on one leg she couldn't support any weight on her left leg so it was straight to the hospital for X-Rays and crutches. She has here first trail wounds a couple of good rashes and scratches on both arms and is going to have a dandy of a bruise on her thigh but being the trooper she is, she is still looking forward to healing up and getting back out there, maybe next time I will convince her to walk down the drops versus ride them, but knowing her I doubt it. Anyway I am looking at a trailer hitch rack for the Vue, the Saris is a good rack however I don't care for the way it holds the Mountain Bikes, it would be great for road bikes or even hard tail Mountain bikes but it doesn't quite work for full suspension Mountain Bikes so, if anyone is interested in a 3 bike carrier Saris Bones Bike rack let me know I will cut a good deal. Well I may get back out to Thompson early Sunday morning so if anyone is out there I will See You on the Trail!

The Joy of Riding

Riding, simply out there enjoying the trail. Not training for a race, not racing for laps or time just plain riding. Today, for the first time since I came back to the states over a month and a half ago I did just that out at Dauset, it was the best ride I remember having in a while. Charles and I headed out there about 7am this morning and arrived around 8am there was this Deer....well I will let Charles tell that part but we headed out to the trail ran a lap in the direction of the 12hrs course and then took a break and headed back out I took the lead (Charles had caught plenty of spider webs on his lap!)and we put another 16 miles on the trail up and down Huff and Puff, through just about every black arrow turn I could find jumping every drop I could and cruising through the fast stuff it was a day the type of day you think of when you plan a full days ride. Not worrying about anything and just letting the bike and the trail roll out in front of you. I did have to make sure I had a run down Pine Mountain that is the best downhill section out there and we rode up it on Charle's lap so I had to make up for it by going down it. I am still smiling from that ride it was a blast. Work will probably keep me busy for the next few months so I expect to have limited riding time however I am considering looking for a hardtail frame and putting road tires on it and doing some(can't believe I am about to say this!) Road Riding, maybe that will help me get some distance and speed training in this winter. Anyway I am taking it easy for the next 2 weeks just do my usual running and PT work outs get riding in when I can at least one ride on the weekends so hopefully I can get a ride in during the week as well but we will see. Well that is about it for now just a B E A utiful day riding today and looking forward to more here in the near future before it gets cold and wet so hopefully I will See You on the Trail

4hrs of pure Pig pleasure!

It was a good morning for a race, Charles put together a good race course with a good start setup to give everyone a chance to spread out and race through the course. Anyway started out kinda slow and was pretty much at the back of the pack but not to far, cause I had GofastPops behind me but not for long as I appeared to be holding him up, I figured I could let him go on the first lap and catch him later - yea I was wrong about that as the old man on the singlespeed pretty much schooled me and finished 3 spots ahead of me as I finished in 15th with 7 laps. It was a good ride with everyone racing in one group and competing against people from all classes made me glad I race beginner series! I felt pretty good being able to finish 7 laps in the time frame which kept me up with 12 riders in front of me as the top 3 where the only ones who did 8 laps. I am looking forward to this weekend and the 24hrs of Pisgah should be pretty fun and is the last of my month long race weekends and will probably be the last event I do for a little while unless of course somebody needs a teamate for another event but I am looking forward to some down time and just training and riding for fun, hitting dauset and some other areas. Well not much else going on and its late so I will wrap it up Good Job Charles on the Race I look forward to riding it again next year and Good job to all the riders and I will See You on the Trail!

John Brown you Sadistic $#@!*#!

Well 12hrs and 9 laps later I was done, I say 12 because while I could have made the cutoff, was there 2min before the time I waited it out. I was pretty wasted and wasn't to confident my light would last the hour it would take me to finish that last lap my LED light had already ran out on me so I had no backup. The Start was nice and casual walked up with Don, Jesse and the rest of the guys doing the 6hr race, Mark was the only motivated individual who actually ran to the start. First 4 laps were pretty good had split the competition with Magic Mountain riding it twice and walking it twice, it did cost me a $60 pair of shorts though as I lost my line on one of the two laps I had to walk when I started riding it and fell over on a rock and almost off the hill tearing the shorts. Upon completing the 4th lap I was pretty sure I was about to go into heat exhaustion so I stopped for a lunch break and some cold water from the wife. I couldn't have done this without her I would have burned myself out and not had the support I needed for food and fluids to keep going. Once it became later in the afternoon and started cooling down the laps became a little easier I found that just kept my cadence at a nice spin and saved my legs for John Brown which was some nasty technical section that I would say rivaled the Rock Gardens of the Snake Creek!
Well I did what I set out to completed the race and while I fell 3 laps short of my original goal I am satisfied with what I did complete and how I did it since realistically my training was not what I needed to be fully prepared for the 13hr race. Congrats to the Girls for the 1st Place Team finish and to Angie, Sarah, Diane and Steve on the 3rd place, Mark did good with 11 laps and a 5th place he was motivated enough to go back out on that last lap of the night unlike me however I am pretty happy with a 8th place finish. I am looking forward to the 4hrs of Pork this Sunday, have Charles making sure I didn't bang up the TrailBlazer to bad not like he has a whole lot of time with putting together the race this weekend! Well enough of my rambling Happy B-Day to the Old Fart and make sure you post that picture worthy bruise man that is sweet!! I will hopefully get out to ride the Pig this Friday just as a refresher and if your out there then I will See you on the Trail!

Smoked Like a Cheap Cigar

Well not quite the race results I was hoping for but there was a good side to the 8th Place finish out of 12 at the Pig. After bumming about the 7 guys who finished between 2-6min in front of me I checked out the standings and discovered the same individuals were the top six in the class and had competed in at least 7 out of the 8 races this season so that made me feel better about the finish seeing as it was my first race since the 1st GSC race and I had only been back on the trails for 2 weeks. Anyway the race was fun I enjoyed the trail and the support was great! Thanks to all the volunteers out there on race day and who fixed the trail up before the race it was great. What was really cool was the soldiers that were out there on the trail for the Race, they were down from Fort Benning on medical hold before they completed basic training, all of them are training for 11B which for those of you that don't know is infantry, I had my Army Jersey on and these guys parked out on the top of Chandlers Challenge and provided the motivation I needed to ensure I didn't walk up the hill both laps it rocked!! Not sure if the Drill SGT is a biker or what but when I was talking to him and the troops he said the saw the flyer and decided to get the soldiers out of the barracks for the day and brought them down pretty cool in my opinion! Anyway I am getting ready for my first solo event this weekend as long as Ernesto doesn't ruin the 13hrs of Santos Checked out the tent and got the 130mm fork put on the TrailBlazer to ensure a pluuuussshhh ride on the trail still taking the Optygen and hydrating as much as possible. Got the new bike rack in today and tried it out seems to fit pretty good if your looking for a trunk or hatch back rack the Saris Bones rack is a good one I know The Bike Store has one in stock for someone needing a two bike rack. I am planning to go out to Thompson tomorrow and ride a couple of laps to loosen up between PT all week and riding tomorrow I figure I should be ok I will be out there in time to preride on Saturday since the race isn't until Sunday just trying to stay loose in between races, I have one every weekend through the 24hrs of Pisgah before I call it a short season Well I have gone on long enough thanks for reading and if you happen to be out there tomorrow or Riding at Santos On Sunday I will See You on the Trail!

Back to Work

Well after enjoying my R&R time since I returned, riding the trails, buying new cars, getting ready for the race on Sunday it is now time to return to work. Looking forward to it, son and wife already back in school need to get back to being productive here. Rode out at Thompson last night must have arrived there shortly after it rained however the trail seemed to soak it up pretty well and the only really slick part was the roots. Ran two laps around the trail and am getting closer to my times before I left so that was good to see. Trying out a endurance enhancing product called Optygen from First Endurance loading phase has me taking 6 capsules every morning for a week - I don't blink until lunch I am so wired, add to cups of coffee and I am ready to bounce off the walls! Not sure if that is a intended affect but it is there none the less. Signed up for the begginer class at the last GSC Race at the Pig so will be looking forward to trying out the new bike in the race. Still looking at bike racks Charles is looking into Saris for me to see what I will need without breaking my bank. Well weather permitting head out to the trail one more time tomorrow before the race and run some time laps see how its looking and stretch the legs out so if Your out there about that time I will See You on the Trail!

Sunday Rides and Roof Rack Shock

Plenty of these out there Sunday Morning!

Well was the first one out at the Pig Sunday morning so I got to play web catcher on the first lap. Not sure but I think the spiders are conspiring to see if they can get enough webs in a row they can cacoon the first rider thru working together! The trail clean up and taping was good easy to find your way around and the work done to level out a small tricky area was pretty good, there is a switchback turn that could use some tape just to identify it little tricky and kinda hidden, since I wasn't there to help prep I will just say thanks to those that did and I will come out on Saturday to help with prep then, the trail looks great. Still getting used to the TrailBlazer, but definitely seem to be able to handle it a little better in the tight areas and technical stuff still debating on the fork change will probably leave it for the Pig race and change it out for the 13hrs of Santos. Now on to the Roof Rack, looking at the prices for those setups and going into sticker shock, didn't realize they where so expensive, doing some shopping around may look at ebay, anyone having recommendations based on there usage is welcome to provide feedback here as I am still looking for a good deal on a good rack. Well this week I will be getting ready for the race using the guidance provided by Joe Friel in his book The Mountain Bikers Training BibleI will need all the help I can get, the four months on the stationary bike didn't do much to help my times on the trail I am finding out so we will see how it turns out. Will be doing some limited race focused riding this week so if your out and about at the same time I will See you on the Trail!

Value vs Vanity

Well it is done, the easily recognizable beautiful green fully loaded - Gas guzzling Chevy Silverado is gone. Traded to make way for the fuel pump friendly and more financially viable Saturn Vue, guess I can't have my bikes and the Silverado, so I had to choose, and to tell ya the truth I like the fact that I can drive from Bonaire to Macon and not burn $20 in gas so I am sure I will be able to adjust. Anyway I had another revelation last night as well it appears that the measurements were incorrect that I have been believing these past three years and I have been riding a 18" Frame,(those that know how short I am can attest to that being entirely to big of a frame for me) so that has shed some light on to why adding the extra 25mm of fork on to that has caused me some grief handling the bike thru the turns, at least that would seem to make sense to me in my limited knowledge of handling and suspension on forks and steering. So I am tossing around the idea of switching the 130mm over to the new 16.5" frame I bought and see if that maybe hits a happy medium with what I am used to riding and what I should be riding and have now, plus that would even out the front and rear to 5" of travel all the way around. Not sure how much difference it will make as there is only 1 degree if difference in the head angle of the two frames but I am leaning towards doing it anyway. Will probably owe Charles another 12 pack of Sweet Water or Sierra Nevada as he will have to change over the Hopes on the front fork for me well not to much new have to get a new bike rack for the Vue looking for a roof top rack, wife doesn't want me sticking a bike rack on the hatchback and I don't have a trailer hitch but for what they are asking for the Thule System I could probably buy the trailer hitch mount and get a rack for the same amount just wouldn't be used for anything but the bikes(The Vue has a four cylinder, power vs economy, guess who won). Anyway I will be out at the Pig tomorrow bright and early hope someone beats me out there don't feel like web catching on the first lap but may have to suck it up. So if your up and feeling motivated to ride I will See you on the Trail!

TrailBlazing at Thompson

Verdict is still out on whether the Bling-Bling was worth the $Cha-Ching$ for these beauties
Well once again back out to old faithful on Monday Morning this time on the TrailBlazer. Could be just me but definitely a noticable difference in the ride between a 2005 Marzocchi MX Pro ETA 130mm fork (can't have a blog w/o a link, Charles would be disappointed!) and the 2003 MX Pro ETA 105mm fork, stuck the turns much better and just seemed more in control overall, could be that I have ridden that for the last three years and am use to it or it could be the overall bike setup - whatever it is I have to say I like the shorter travel better on that aspect of the ride. However,(there is always a however) I must need to adjust the air or compression on the 105mm because I definitely maxed the travel on it!(zip tie on the left stanchion said so!) not sure if I did that on the three drops or that B E A utiful drop in at the end of the downhill run on the backside regardless neither of which are so radical I should be using that much travel, in my opinion but maybe. Course all my talk may just be to see if maybe I want to actually try out the multi knob, need a degree in pnuematic engineering with a minor in hydraulics, to set correctlyFox Float 130mm XTT. Well heading out to the Pig tomorrow with Charles and a whole bike gang of people to get some laps in out there hopefully 3 and might even go tool around Thompson tonight just for some seat time and some S&G's not pushing it to hard just working the handling skills hopefully won't be eating to much dust come the 27th out at the Pig. Looks like Sunday will be my ride day for this weekend so somewhere in one of those days hopefully I will See You on the Trail!

Yea I know she's adorable and she knows it, Anyway it was a good week back went out to the Pig with Charles, Andrew and Steve, got there late cause I overslept but did a lap on my own on the TrailBlazer, sweet bike and great trail, that is going to be a fun race, bike is lighter and smaller than I am used to but that is probably a good thing since everything I have read or been told is that I am riding a frame to big and to tell you the truth I can handle the new bike better even though it is supposedly the same size frame however, the triangle and geometry are noticable different. I would say the ETSX-70 Bonfire is built more for racing than the 2003 ETSX-30is. However I took old faithful out to Thompson on Thursday and did two laps around that trail to test out the handling skills again, the cut that they put into the 3 drops hill is wicked fast coming out of there and their is a nice drop off on the left side of the hill just after that climb Don added last winter, that is sweet, maxed out the travel on the 130mm Bomber I put on the bike before I left. Still getting my skills fine tuned but managed to stay on the bike and upright thru the two laps just ran a little slower than I am used to but figured that would be the case when all I rode all summer was a stationary! Well hopefully will get another day out at the Pig again this week and might shoot to get out to E. Macon as well, with a Dauset ride either Saturday or Sunday so hopefully somewhere in there I will See You on the Trail!

I'm Back in the Saddle Again!

Thats right folks he's back!! Well it is good to be home and looking forward to riding again, hitting th Pig in the morning with Charles and some friends can't wait to see how the TrailBlazer handles I know I said I was going to refresh my skills on the Rock but just can't wait to ride the new bike so I am taking it out there and giving it a spin. It is good to be back home and while the humidity is a kicker man is it great to see green again. We will have to see if all the wieght training and the stationary riding paid off can't believe I was able to wait three days to go riding but after 4 months I guess that isn't that long. Anyway glad to be back and will try to keep my avid readers entertained and informed of my riding adventures, mishaps and success's. As always I will see You on the Trail!

Not Long Now

Well getting closer to being able to ride the bike seems like the shorter time gets out here the longer the days are! I am looking forward to getting home and seeing the family and riding the new bike. Can't wait for the first race after I get back feels like I am starting a new season just hope I kept in good enough shape over here, I know I tried! Did a fun run last night(thats a oxymoron) but managed to knock out a 3 mile loop in 20:40 not bad considering the heat and humidity we were enjoying at 9pm when it started. Reached my goal for the 420lbs on the leg press as part of the strength training I have been doing out here hopefully I can transfer that into some improved sprints and climbing abilities when I get back. The new bike is looking great wife keeps sending me pics and teasing me with the bike porn will have her post some here while I am still gone. Hope everyone is having some good rides - good luck and have fun at the 12hrs of Dauset and yes I am jealous of everyone riding in that! Well that is about it for now so take care and I will see you on the Trail soon!

Another hard day in the desert

Well it was another rough day here woke up went to the pool, swam 30 laps and hung out for a while, went to chow kept myself busy for a couple of hours and then went to my ab class for a 30 min smoke session, kept myself busy for few more hours and then went to the gym for some lifting. Will be riding tomorrow probably hit the pool again just to relax, if it was for the stationary bike sucking so bad I would say I am training better out here then I was at home! Working through some base training here which I will have to quickly transition to race mode with minimum time upon my return so we will see if it pays off. Counting days till I Will See Ya'll on the Trail

were there's a will theres a internet connection

Hello all from far a way land still. I have managed to find a way to access the blogger!! This should definitely help me pass the time until I am home, anyway still training as best I can and Charles keeps sending me motivational pics of his rides and the races. The temps are starting to get up there during the day now so it should help on those few hot days that will be left upon my return. Looking forward to running in the 4hr race at the Pig Trail being put on by Charles in September that is if I have anything left after the 13hrs at Santos! Well I know it is short but I should be able to post weekly that is about it for now have to go watch the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. Eventually I will See ya on the Trail!

New Bike

Hello again from far, far away land! I know, I know my avid blog readers have been without any good reading in awhile but I have been out of the loop for a couple of months now and will be so for a little while longer as well. I am suffering badly being stuck somewhere there is no mountain biking and no mountains to bike on! Meanwhile back at the ranch the new ETSX-70 Bonfire is being constructed from the ground up by the LBS and starting to take shape, I have given my buddy Charles, (the extremely competent mechanic at the LBS) the challenging task of setting up the Hope Mono M4’s that I bought for the bike and if anybody reads mtbr.com you know from the reviews that isn’t a easy task. Speaking of the new bike of course I have to spec it out for ya so here we go. Rocky Mountain Special Edition ETSX-70 Bonfire 16.5” frame, Mavic XM 819 UST Disc Rims, Hope Pro II hubs with DT Swiss double butted spokes and gold nipples, Hope Mono M4 disc brakes, Continental Vertical Pro UST tires 2.3’s( reviews say they are thin more like a 2.1 so we will see), Shimano XT 760 Crankset & cassette, Shimano XTR 952 rear derailleur(last of the good regular shift, I hate rapid rise) XTR960 front derailleur, XTR 952 shifters(also hate brake/shifter combos), Easton EC70 seatpost and handlebars(low-rise), Race Face Dues XC stem, Chris King Gold Headset(whats with all the gold stuff?, check out the frame you’ll understand) Marzocchi MX Pro w/ETA 105mm fork, WTB Speed Gel seat and Yeti Grips(yellow). Yep it is a beauty, hence forth known as TrailBlazer now if only the rider can become half as good as the sum of the parts and be around for a full season (before he turns 40) I might have a chance to put together a decent one. I am looking forward to trying it out at the Pig Trail Race for the first time in August and then on to Santos for the 13hr race which I still plan on solo riding. Training on a stationary definitely sucks but been getting in some good cross training and lifting hopefully it pays of. Well that is all for now I will post again upon my return or if there are some more interesting pics to post but until then have fun riding and eventually I will See You on the Trail.

Smokin!

Well it was a warm one but what did I expect going out to ride at 2:30 at Thompson with 84 degree temps! Rode 3 laps at a fair pace wasn't trying to kill myself but still managed to lay the bike down in the culvert at about 20mph, gotta remember to keep the bike straight up and down when catching some air or bad things happen! Anyway got back up and did it again just to get it right and finished the lap. Good to hear that most everyone that went to the Bakers Dozen did pretty good even with the weather. Saturday I went up to Atlanta Performance Bike and order "The Bike" along with the components to build it, which in turn broke "The Bank"(no hyperlink here need to keep what money I have!)but it should be a sweet ride. Charles has the distinct priviledge of building it in the shop and should be posting plenty of pics as he goes however I gotta warn ya its going to be racey so make sure you cover the kids eyes! Well I will have to manage some cross training and stationary time for the next 12 Nextel Cup races (Those of you that follow NASCAR know how long that is) until I return but hopefully that will keep me in shape so when I do get back with a little trail time I will be ready for Santos but until then I will try to keep track of the blogs and post when I can So Enjoy your summer and when I get back I will See ya on the Trail!

ETSX Bonfire

This is the top of the line in Home Security Miniture Dashunds, will chew off any ankle protection you got!


Well I was planning on waiting till I was back to do it but....the Guys at Rocky said they only had 4 of the ETSX Bonfire frames left so looks like I will be ordering it before I go play in the sandbox! While it will not be quite the ETSX Team(90) bike that Charles was teasing me with it should be a sweet ride by the time I have it built. Good luck to all those going out to Bakers Dozen (sorry I had to Bail on ya'll you know I would be there if I could)this weekend take pics I will be checking in when I can and posting if possible while I am gone so keep me up to date! Anyway I will be taking the Mountain Bikers Training Bible with me so I can keep in shape while I am over there in anticipation of coming back and adding some dust to some individuals diet plan(one in paticular who provides me with words of motivation at every opportunity!) So until then keep riding and when I get back I will See you on the Trail!

Happy Easter

Gotta love the Easter Bunny that a Cool Jersey or what?!

Well it was a good Easter at the Houghtling house. If you haven't seen what the Easter Bunny does for the other 364 days of the year go to Jeff Kerkove and check out the video! She was much nicer to me and left me a Great looking Jersey with a note reading "A great looking jersey for a Great looking guy!" Love that bunny! anyway had a great day relaxing around the house with the family. Hope everyone had as good a Easter, and for those of us riding in the Bakers Dozen keep our fingers crossed for good weather! Well until later I will See you on the Trail!

B.E.A utiful day at Dauset

The Rocky before the Chickasaw Race, gotta keep it comfortable in the room

Well after a enjoyable Easter Egg hunt at Publix I headed out to Dauset to get in some good laps one last time before the Bakers Dozen Ran into Dean who had already had two full laps on the trail and was doing a third short one before he left I headed out for my two full length laps and then some. There was quite a few riders in the area so I figured I would hook up wit someone, however after I had done the Huff and Puff section and headed out to the back end of Dauset trails I started coming up on people going the opposite directions-not sure if that was in practice for the race or not as I do remember someone saying that last years route was ran in reverse of the normal riding course. Since it had been a while since I had been out there I was keeping a eye out on the arrows to make sure I was going in the right direction. I came up on the last 3 miles of the trail and wasn't sure which way to go, that three way intersection of trail, anyway three other riders were going by at the time and I thought to ask them, they were kind enough to let me hang with them - note to self group of riders with Carbon frames, v-brakes to keep weight down, short travel front forks,(Charles is laughing right about now he knows whats coming) thats right they were expert category riders(don't ever ask a expert if he races sport they get offended!) so while it was the quickest 1/10th of a mile I ever did I didn't hang with them long! but long enough to realize where I needed to go. Anyway finished the first lap added some more water to the camelback as it was a warm one today out there and headed off for the second lap. had a good second lap as well since I didn't run into any trees and managed to climb huff and puff without stopping. Did both laps in about a hour and fifty mins each, I figure not bad for the 17 mile lap so we will see how I do on my first 13hr solo event will be out for a ride at Thompson on Wednesday and then heading out to the Race on Friday to do a preride. So any of my readers with some good solo experience and suggestions for food during the ride I would love to have some input for what to pack and have on standby to keep me going. Thanks for reading and as always I will See ya on the Trail!

Bombs Away!

Not her, But isn't she about the most B E A utiful Dashund you ever saw?
Well I haven't had the chance to ride it yet but it is on, the new Marzocchi MX PRO w/ETA Bomber 120mm of travel, in response to Bills question, "What are you going to jump out of trees with that?" Well no, but if I did want to I could! So I am looking forward to giving it the initial ride out at Thompson tomorrow. Also looking into the post deployment reward which may have to be purchased prior to return if I want to get one is the ETSX Bonfire which from what I found out today run about $2000. Amazing that this is the same individual that 3yrs ago would have laughed in your face at the mere suggestion of paying even a $1000 for a bike let alone twice that for the frame! Must be that I suffer from that OAD Overactive Adrenaline Disorder and that Mountain Biking is the fix. Still it is money well spent considering not that many years ago I was spending that annually on cigarettes and if I still had that nasty habit I would probably be spending more at current cost! However that not withstanding the overall cost of the beauty I am dreaming up is somewhere in the area of $3500+time+labor. But I look forward to seeing how it comes out once I do get it built. Counting down the days until my summer vacation - going to miss the riding but hopefully on my down time I can put the Mountain Bikers Training Bible to good use and do some strength training on my off days and maintain my cardio until I return. Well I was hoping to get out to Dauset this weekend and get some long training in on Saturday early in preparation for the Bakers Dozen which is my first solo endurance event so if any of ya'll want to join me drop me a note otherwise hopefully either tomorrow evening at Thompson or Saturday at Dauset I will See ya on the Trail! Thanks for reading

Slow week

The boy has Dads talent for falling off the bike that is for sure!

Well after a good race much online trash talking on Sunday and Monday, and then back to the Grind I am finally getting back to the blog. Missed a Tuesday night ride out at the Pig - hate it when work interferes with the important things in life! However since it didn't get dark until 8pm I could have gone out after I got off but I was lazy, sorry Budrock. Missed the OMBA meeting and ride on Wednsday due to flying late so I didn't get a ride in until Thursday night. Now I went out around 8pm to Thompson and had the light it was just getting dark so all by my lonesome I decide what the heck and away I go. Well it had been just about a month since I was out there so some wear and tear and a couple of rains did little to change the trail but those annoying hanging branches seemed to be everywhere! I have a Niterider Rage HID so I can light up the woods pretty good but the darker it got the harder those little bastards where to see so I caught a couple of them right in the face. Anyway to make a long story short after one lap my risk assesment was pretty high so I called it a night. I did manage to get back out there today and turn two normal and one reverse lap and had a good work out. Thompson just seems to leave something to be desired after riding E. Macon for the past three weeks, it is still a great technical trail but I miss the speed I could carry out at Macon. Anyway I have mandatory fun Army style tommorrow and then some home improvement after that. Looking to go out early to Arrowhead on Sunday and get a few laps in out there and then hopefully but in about 6hrs worth of riding at Dauset the following weekend in preparation for the Bakers Dozen. Thats about it for now so thanks for reading and I will See ya on the Trail!

Sandbag??....That's not my Sandbag

Well at least if I was, there were others doing it better than me! Anyway today was a great race day, while I didn't get quite the finish I wanted out of it I did run my race times and came in a respectable 7th place in the beginner class. I started slow so I was stuck behind the pack on the first lap had to do some passing there and ran the hill the first lap but still managed a sub 31 minute lap and a 32 and change on the second one, so I was happy with my times disappointed with the results. But I will still keep up the training and see how I do at my next challenge-my first attempt at a solo 13hr event the Bakers Dozen. This was a great event and everyone who volunteered and helped run it so we could race it-Thank you I had a great time and look forward to doing it again Congrats to Charles and Noah on there 2nd and 3rd place finishes, and to all the others out there good racing. Tomorrow or Tuesday I am planning on taking the bike in and getting the new fork put on looking forward to seeing how that rides. Well not to much else to say and it is late so thanks for reading and I will See ya on the Trail.

Breaking in the Trek

Well we finally got the Trek out on the trail. For the wife's second ride I took her out to E. Macon for a ride(insert evil grin here) and for only here second trail ride she did great! I think we have a future downhiller, she's not to fond of the climbing but is as fearless as a rookie NASCAR driver on the downhills. I was trying to take it easy on her and she was about to run me over! She is definitely enjoying the Fuel 70 more than the Giant Warp DS3 as it weighs about 10lbs less! We did a half a lap and called it good I went out to the BMX track and worked on my technique(you should fall down laughing here!)to see if I can carry some speed thru there on Sunday as that is going to be a critical point in the start to clear some room on the single track. Saw some familiar faces out there today as well as some new ones and am definitely looking forward to Sunday. Will be taking the bike into the Shop tomorrow for a last minute tune up making sure it won't have any issues unless I cause them(wife refers to me as George of the Jungle-and there are a lot of trees out there!). Well going to rest tomorrow and Saturday, do some stretching, so if your racing on Sunday I will See ya on the Trail!

Getting Ready

Today was a pretty good ride did a two lap race pace with a third lap thrown in after a 7min rest for good measure. Ordered a new MX Pro w/ETA fork will be installing that after the E. Macon race can't wait anyway going to do one more race pace day of training and taper off for the race on Sunday. Me and Jeff were discussing the first lap burn that always seems to slow ya down from not getting warmed up enough today out at the trail. Since I don't have the talent to warrant a travelling entourage I figure I will have to get out there a little early do a short section of the trail get in a climb to get the muscles loosened up so I can't get a better first lap time. This isn't new to me I have been in sports (long time a go in a high school far,far away) so I know the importance of a good warm up just need tips to accomplish this for this type of racing so please feel free to comment any suggestions. Well that is about it I am getting pysched for the race can't wait. The pic is from this past weekend at Chickasaw just having a blast! Thanks for reading and I will See ya on the Trail!

Top Ten

Well I did it first non endurance time lap race finished 7th with a 50:36 9 mile lap could have done better but laid the bike down in a turn on mile 6 probably lost a min there and was passed by four other riders before I could get back up to speed. However I accomplished my goal of finishing in the top ten for my group beginner 30-39 age group. Definitely a confidence builder for this weekends race in Macon hope I can break the top five there should be able to since I am so familar with the trail. The Sport group had just started when I left I am sure them and the experts were turning some fast laps they had to do 2 and 3 laps per respective group that is some tough riding there. The trail was really clean and not near as technical as E.Macon is so that is a heads up for anyone reading who hasn't ridden it yet in this beginners humble opinion the two laps around Macon will be tougher than the single lap around Chickasaw but the length was a good train up for the two laps at Macon. Anyway once it is posted offically I will look for some pics as well to add to the site, until then thanks for reading and I will See you on the Trail!

Fast Course!

Well I arrived here around 3pm today and was able to make it out to Chickasaw around 4pm to get in a preride lap - man this is going to be one fast course!! Hope I can keep up the downhills are great just some off camber turns and climbs that might give me some trouble however I did make all the climbs w/o to much trouble so should be ok for tomorrow. Based off the lap today I should be able to run a sub 51 min lap so will see what happens and will update(hopefully with pictures from the new digital camera) on Monday! Till then See ya on the Trail!!

Off to the Chickasaw Trace Challenge

Well I am off to the races - not sure if the reasoning is sound but what the heck drive 6 hours for a 9 mile race but judging from the course it looks like it will be fun plus I am staying a extra day for the relaxation and possibly to do a second fun lap after the race depending on if I have anything left. Judging from the times last year a 50 min lap should get me a top ten finish. Off the subject of riding I completed my checkride so I am officially trained to go play in the sandbox for a few months-hate it when work interferes with riding! no mountains in the sandbox, but the positive spin on that is when I get back I will be able to build "The Bike" yes folks picture it with a Marzocchi MX Pro w/ETA and XT and XTR and the all important(first time ever)Chris King rear hub!! hopefully Charles will be around to help me build it. Well enough of the dreaming so hopefully I will do well this weekend build some confidence for next weekend in Macon I am looking forward to racing with all the riders I have met in the past 7 months I have been here in GA it is great to be part of a group of people who enjoy riding as much as I do if not more. Well I will let ya'll know how it goes this weekend and if not before Sunday then on Sunday, I will see ya on the Trail.

Sunday Riding, Monday NASCAR

Well if that isn't a reversal of roles however while it may have rained enough in Atlanta to postpone the race there we still managed a good morning of work on the trail and then a couple of laps after to see the fruits of everyone who has put in effort to get the trail ready for the race and I gotta say.....SWEET!, a little bit of sand but nothing unbearable and pretty fast as well if we could grade out the BMX track in the turns that would be awesome. Took two laps and did a pretty good 33 min lap on the second one 5.1 miles and 23.2 max speed so overall not too bad hopefully good enough to get a top 10 or better in the beginner class. Went for a run today, good ol ARMY PT did about 6 miles and called it good after 75 4-count flutter kicks for some ab work. Well that is about it thinking I will go back out to E. Macon tomorrow for a couple of laps and take it easy for the rest of the week to prepare for the race in Columbia TN hopefully that will be a confidence builder. So until then thanks for reading and I will See Ya on The Trail!

Link Words

Well let see how does one create a direct link from references used in a posting? since I bought the wifes Trek at The Bike Store Ah ha I seem to have this down now! OK so if I want to link a word to a site I just highlight the word or phrase and then click the insert link tool now I am cooking with grass...no wait that is gas. So for a better pic of the new bike.... you got it click the word....well enough of me being silly, If your going out to the trail work group at E. Macon tomorrow I will see you there and as Always see you on the trail!

Before

AFTER

The New addition

Well the new addition to the Bike Family living in my Garage is here welcome the Trek Fuel 70 and now the wife is in on the addiction! Well at least for now she says she just wants to do casual riding and doesn't see getting as hooked as me (hehehehe, evil grin insert here! yea right!) soon I will be buying upgrades and paying registration fees for the two of us! but at least were doing things together once we get her hooked then it is onto the son- just getting of age to start testing the waters, trails and trees whatever is out there here is the before bike,what I started on, she got as a handme down and then the after what we walked out of The Bike store with today................well after many attempts it appears the pics don't want to load once again defeated by a mechanical device well lets se if I can do this another way!

Click heals together three times and say............

"there's no hill I can't climb," well that would be the fairy tale version but we will see if the man really can make the shoes. Since the trusty and noticeably worn specialized red riders where starting to lose parts of the sole I decided to invest in a new pair of shoes so after reading Jeff Kerkove's review of the Diadora Team MTB Carbon fiber shoes and seeing the Diadora Team MTB shoes on sale 50% off at Performance.com I went ahead and bought a pair and boy are they a pair of attention getters anyway looking forward to getting them dirty hopefully tomorrow afternoon out at E. Macon By the way if there is anyone looking I have a 2003 Giant Warp DS, 9 speed with Marzocchi (sp) fork 130mm and Shimano components through out that I am selling for the bargain price of $250 this is a full suspension 36lber with about 5 inches of travel all around so if you or anyone you know might be interested drop me a line. Until then, or tomorrow, I will see ya on the trail!

Blogging and Riding, Riding and Blogging

Well yesterday I finally got brave and decided to try to make my site a little more user friendly. As well as provide some links for others to the sites that I enjoy visiting that belong not only to those I ride with but who have in one way or another made my riding experience more enjoyable since I have arrived in Georgia, while giving them some taste of the riding I enjoyed out west. Of course I couldn't forget to put in a couple of links to my favorite money pit (If Bill sold stock in the Bike Store I am sure I would own a few shares, though not as much as others I am sure!), my Username sake Rocky Mountain as I can't say enough about their bikes and customer service. Anyway enough about my simple venture into adjusting my site as I continue to learn more by reading the book "Blogging for Dummies" I should continue to improve on the page so stay tuned for more colorful adjustments in the future hopefully. Today I went out to E. Macon again and put in three solid laps even with all the rain last night and this morning that trail was great it could use a little clean up Jay ended up pulling a deadfall out of the trail on our first lap and I cleared a couple of branches as I went but all in all still real clean. Put in lap times between 31-33 min on all laps had a top speed of 23.5 on the last lap(will see if I can't get that up over 25mph before the race) and around a 9mph average for all three laps, I actually turned my fastest time on the third lap! was pretty well smoked at that point so headed back to the house. I am planning on making it out there on Thursday for the afterwork ride as well but will have to see as I have to go up to Ft Benning to qualify on the 9mm that day. Just for S&G's I am going to go up to Columbia, TN and race the Chickasaw Trace Classic Mountain Bike race on the 26th so will let you know how that goes or if there is anyone else planning on going let me know I am just trying to get in as much racing as I can before I have to go play in the sand! Until then I plan on riding pretty much out in either E. Macon or hitting Arrowhead so if your out there riding I will See ya On the Trail!

East Macon - Nice Place to ride

Today I rode out at East Macon for the first time, as I was heading out there I was wondering if I needed to buy pepper spray for the dogs or get a club for my steering wheel based off the previous info I had read and the mental picture I had painted. However as I arrived out there I found instead a great trail and from my first impression a fairly nice park complex - amazing the difference between reality and assumptions! Anyway I arrived out there at about 8:30 am and found someone (Dean) had already headed out on the trail. So based off the directions I had received from Jeff I headed off down the trail and started riding not long after I came across Dean raking a section of the trail and talked to him for a bit and got some clarification on which way to go and headed off again(feeling a little guilty about not having a rake to help him out but not for long!) The trail was in great condition and even the sandy sections where fairly moderate. From what I hear they are a bear when they are dry(speaking of bears I will probably be switching to the 2.25 TrailBears for the race just for a little better handling of aforementioned sand). After the first lap I found Dean at his car putting up his rake and ready to ride another rider( didn't get her name) was there to do some trail maintenance as well and a third rider Joey also showed up( drove all the way from Atlanta!). So the three of us set off to do the actual race course, BMX track and all in the race direction Dean led on what I assumed was a standard hardtail cross country bike until we started discussing bikes at which point he mentioned that the beast he was riding was a 40lbs BMX downhill monster (wait a minute I was just huffing and puffing keeping up with him going up a hill on my 27.5lbs ETSX-30?!) we ran that lap pretty good pace Joey was doing great considering he had just been recuperating from a broken leg, knee and.....Well just one wicked injury. We decided to do one more after that and I led out for that lap and decided to see what I could push for a time on my third don't know for sure what it was but Dean said I did pretty good so hopefully I can hold my own for my first beginner race. Overall the downhills where fast with good lines to get through, some good technical climbs with tight lines around the roots and the sand was manageable, there was one tight left turn at the bottom of a gradual downhill that I will need to work on my exit thru it to keep some speed up but overall a good fast trail. Looking to ride it at least once a week until the race if not more so if your out there I will see ya on the trail!

The Snake Bite!

Well my apology's to all my avid readers about how long it has been since I posted I was being lazy. Anyway Saturday was the big day my first and only attempt, this year at least, at the Snake. I arrived in Dalton on Friday wanted to be well rested for the ride, and ate at Red Lobster, the meal was on the house but that is a story for another day. Anyway Saturday morning rolled around and found me cold at a brisk 37 degrees out and feeling a little off from the prior nights meal but we load up anyway and away we go 32 miles down the road to the trail head where we would began this epic adventure. Along the way I start talking to another rider who just so happen to be from AZ (Gods Country) and had ridden a epic 66 miler in the White Mountains the same year I did to which he compared this ride and said "This trail is tougher than the 66 miler was" didn't sit well with me - it took me just short of 10hrs to complete that epic which was by the way my first ever. Anyway we arrive at the trail head and unload where I run into Grant (who had written that outstanding review after his first ride making me question my sanity for attempting the 32 miler!) Anyway it was nice to know I had friends out there even though I would not see him again until I finished the start wasn't to bad a couple of creek crossings that were cool to say the least but for the most part the trail was dry and steady climbing, and continuing to climb, and then climbing some more, about two miles into it my ill prepared leg muscles( I say this because they must have been to start burning this early) started feeling the climb, not a good sign and relates back to aforementioned dinner at Red Lobster. Anyway I start working through that and the trail kinda winds and climbs some more with minimal downhill for the first 8 miles during which I was passed by all those starting after me. At the first good downhill one of the event workers was there so I chatted as to the direction of the trail and how nice it was that they reversed it this year to create a better "challenge" for the riders to which he informed me that in his vast experience, the last 8 were some of the most technical he had ever ridden, oh happy happy joy joy! So it is off down the camping road for a short stint and then up the climbing single track again not sure how long that went for anyway there was about 2 miles of single track downhill to the first Sag point where Debbie, Grants wife greeted us with powerade, bananas and cheese and peanut butter crackers, also with the relieving news that the second half wasn't as bad as people made it out to be. With this in mind I took off again, climbing once more and wondering how funny she thought she was?! Shortly though I began to see her point as it leveled out and even had a nice two mile of downhill single track through the woods and when it did climb not all that bad on a fairly steady level area. Now as I approached mile marker 8(that is 8 left) I started looking for the forewarned nasty trail and while it was somewhat technical and challenging I would have to say it was some of the more enjoyable part of the ride good rocks and challenging lines with some level and downhill parts as well as climb. The last downhill segment of mile 28-29 was steep and fast and had a great 6 foot drop into a rutted section of trail that you just had to point and go glad I enjoyed it because that was soon coming to a end! Mile 29 and here comes the epic part climbing out on a steep hill up to the rocks, which weren't suppose to be bad until mile 31, well lets just say when mile 31 hit I began suffering from a major case of tourettes syndrome! Good thing I was one of the last ones out there- no one to offend as the rocks passed so did one foul epithet after another from my lips this continued right up until mile 32 where I was dumped back out on a road for a two mile down hill, which was nice but I would have preferred a nice single track downhill as reward for all this effort! Anyway crossing the line 5hrs and 32 mins after I started and behind someone who had a flat on the first 16 and broke a rear derailluer on the second 18 was kinda demoralizing but it was a victory just to finish on my first attempt so I took that small victory and vowed that if possible I would ride all three time trials next year!

Snake Creek here I come

Well after a week of being lazy and not updating the blog here I am getting ready to head up north to Dalton tomorrow to ride the Snake. Not sure if I am dreading this more or looking forward to it after Grant's write up on the 32 mile course but never know till ya try. I now have a new derailleur hanger, derailleur, and suspension linkage all installed(Thanks Charles) and test ridden so hopefully I will have better luck with the mechanical side of the house than I had at Razorback. Did some light riding this week with a good run and some elliptical time thrown in to keep loose so hopefully I will be well rested but not rusty for Saturday. According to the MSN weather it is suppose to be clear and dry, a little chilly but not too bad so a perfect day for the ride should draw quite a few riders plus the Litespeed they are giving away as well would be nice to have a hard tail never seriously considered riding one but a Litespeed I could give it a try. Anyway that is about it for now so I will get going here as always See ya on the trail!

derailluers, hangers, and more

Well since I have returned on Sunday that was the last day I have ridden but I have been on the internet and on the phone between Rocky Mountain, Performance Bike. com and Ebay I should be broke for a while! Rocky has done a outstanding job taking care of me with the derailluer hanger issue sending me 3 of them to replace the one I bent like it was cool as well they are hooking me up with upgraded rear suspension arms for the ETSX at least a upgrade for my 2003 model, great customer service with these guys seeing as the closest dealer is up in Atlanta nice that they work direct with the riders. Looks like I will also have to replace the rear derailluer as well at least to relegate the current one to a back up if needed. works out good though with Rocky sending me three hangers and having a spare rear derailluer( might have two depending on how things pan out on Ebay) I can just have prebuilt replacements take off the hanger arm derailluer and all and slap the replacement on there takes two screws and quick link on the chain and your ready to roll! So anyway after torquing down the current hanger arm this afternoon I shall be shooting for riding friday afternoon and Sunday morning if the weather cooperates so hopefully this set will hang in there and work for me. Need to get some workout time in with the Time Trial coming up next weekend at Snake Creek 32 miler that outta be a kicker! Nothing to exciting other than that, once I get the camera developed should have a couple of pics for the site from Razorback. NASCAR season is upon us as well so I will make sure to harrass any Jeff Gordon fans each time he wrecks and Brag loudly each time Dale Jr. wins! Until then if you hit Thompson, or Arrowhead I will see ya on the trail!

Razorback bite

Well after much preparation and looking forward to the 12 hrs of Razorback there we were - BEA-utiful day, prerace ride preparation all done smoothly and just chomping at the bit to go racing. Well I started out lead lap enjoyable little 1/4 mile run to the bike and then off we go- at least for the first hundred yards and then the cattipillar begins, the first two miles had a lot of stop and go with the back up but it wasn't two bad was working my way thru the field little by little just making moves when I could. Mile 3 and we are off to the races baby, passing and moving hooking it up at every opportunity so by mile 7 I am sure I have to be close to the front at least definitely in the top half and then as fate would have it rolling thru a sharp right hand turn to a rooty uphill I spot a rider getting stuck, no problem a little harder to the right around the tree and the rider and I am----oh no what is that jammed thru the long cage and up into the rear derailluer sticking into my wheel but a nice big branch!#%$*!!?*! (by the way did I mention I suffer from a mild case of tourettes when riding?) so about 15 min later and the majority of the field later I manage to make the bike rideable and cross the line at a 1hr and 14min Well to make a long story short the repair job didn't take and 1/2 mile into my second lap the spring screw went missing leaving me with 3 gears and no chain tension making for a 1hr 48min second and final lap. Lessons learned always bring a spare derailluer to the race and never let someone else tell ya "oh yea I fixed it". My apologies to my teamates on burning up the daylight and for the next 12 hr race I figure I will go a two person team or solo just not enough time in a 12 hr for a four person team. Anyway I am replacing the derailluer hopefully the derailluer hanger is salvagable because there is no authorized Rocky Mountain Dealer within 70 miles of here and then it is off to the Snake Creek Time Trials on the 4th of March were hopefully I will have better mechanical luck. While the racing for me may not have been all that great the group was a good group to ride with Dave, Courtney, and Ryan and hanging out with all the riders from the area was cool. Also I rode Santos on Sunday before departing figured since we were there might as well enjoy some of the riding and see what the race might have to offer, man there is alot of trail out there! Anyway I should be out at Thompson and possibly Arrowhead this weekend so as usual I will see ya on the trail!

Florida to Arizona

Well here it is Race weekend - a year ago it was the same thing just at a 24 hr race in Az, this year a 12 yr in Florida if variety is the spice of life then I should be Cajun! I am psyched for this looking forward to a great race and at the same time thinking of my riding buddies in Arizona racing in the 24 hrs of Old Pueblo, that is a awesome race course and race event! Well keeping this short just dropping a note if your interested in the kind of terrain and riding we do out there check out the site www.gearmashers.com will give you a idea of some of the guys out there - not much different from anywhere I suppose just enjoying a common love of mountain biking and sharing good times with like minded people-anyway if your going to Razorback this weekend I will see ya on the trail! (and hopefully while I am passing ya!)

T-3 and counting

Well 3 more days till race day fans, 4 if your counting the Daytona 500 which I will have to watch on tape again this year- these event coordinators have to consider NASCAR schedule when putting these 12 and 24 hr races together! Anyway I am stoked! The bike is cleaned and ready to go the weather is looking better and I am looking forward to a good time. Rebuilt the pedals yesterday as well as some regular maintenance and once I get the new tires in will be putting those on with some STANS and should be ready to go. I am going to have to pass on the hardcore training Charles is going to be up to on Wednesday there work calls - Sorry Charles but you put in a lap out there for me and I will see if I can make it next time! Took the wife out to dinner tonight at Johnny Carinos, the place was packed but not as bad as Olive Garden, no chocolates - went with the candles cheaper and last longer! She loved it anyway! Well if your out there sooner or later I will see ya on the trail!

Panaracer/ Imitation

These are the Panaracers being sold on PricePoint if you are considering buying the Panaracer Fire XC Pro make sure you check the label on the tire the smaller print in a flame design is a OEM tire not the actual factory made tire it has half the TPI count and is heavier than the actual Panaracer Fire XC Pro which will have the Large print on the sidewall without the flame outline on it- Just so you know in case your looking , this version cost about half the price of the original but your getting a low quality product.

Race Prep time

Well it is fast approaching race time and I can't wait. Of course for those of us watching the weather once again it is holding true to form for a February race, at least for now the 10 day forecast is calling for a chance of showers, bringing back the dreaded memories of the 24 hours in the Old Pueblo where it rained for 18 of the 24 hrs! Just hope we can have better luck this year than we did last! Anyway got in some good riding last week getting back to form after three weeks of no riding but good cardio at about 5500 ft elevation and hiking in the mountains. That was some good change up training and helped out with getting the legs a shock. After hearing from several people about the Snake Creek I am looking forward to the March weekend where I will finally get my shot at the 32 miler and see if I can cross the line in decent time frame, hopefully the weather will be cooperating there better than it did in February! Anyway it is off to Dauset tomorrow for a team ride and planning session and then a easy ride at Thompson on Wednesday and then off to Razorback on Friday so if it is tomorrow, Wednesday, Friday or Saturday at some point I will see ya on the trail!

Long Cold days

Well it has been 27 long days away and I am finally back. Washington may be some beautiful riding country during the summer but it is some seriously cold snowy heavy pack moving, snow shoe wearing, artic sleeping bag nights country during January! And for a boy from Arizona, the last place I want to be! Anyway I made it through what has been some of the funnest training in my short military career - that is sarcasm your hearing in my tone there. Picked up the bike on Friday Charles kept it stored for me while I was away and will hopefully put in a couple of laps out at Thompson tomorrow and a trip to Dauset this weekend before I head up to Razorback on the 18th can't wait to get rolling up there! Anyway hopefully I will have the chance to get a couple of races in at the beginning of the season. Hopefully the training I did for the last three weeks at about 5,000 ft altitude climbing the mountains will improve my riding time down here at Sea level well thats all for now and as I venture back out to ride I will see ya on the trail.

When work interferes with Riding

Well so much for IDIDARIDE, and the next two weeks of training- however I should be getting quite a workout in the Cascades( at least I think those are the mountains up in Washington, the state) doing some high speed military training! Anyway I will be back in time to tune up for Razorback and am looking forward to that. Rode a lap out at Arrowhead on Sunday that trail is looking good thanks to the Clean-up being done by Eddie and the rest of the volunteers from OMBA. Did a two hour spinner today at about a 140 average HR then had to run 3 miles for PT and decided to finish it off with a two lap sprint out at Thomson - I think I will just stretch out tommorow. The plan is to ride Wendsday night, hopefully hit Arrowhead friday day and participate Saturday morning in the Ronnie Thomson appreciation day so if somewhere in there I happen to run into ya- I'll see ya on the trail.

Back to the Grind again

Well as many people are doing the same thing as I am today-returning to work, I am moved to express the new license plate holder my wife got me for Christmas- "Work Sucks, I'm going Mountain Bike Riding!" Ah well it was a good two weeks off and as always I will see ya on the trail.

Starting the New Year with a BANG!

Well at least thats what I thought it sounded like when the rear tire went, guess 55lbs on some worn out STAN's tubeless was to much. Anyway after a quick repair (thanks for the tube Bill I will square that away with you this week) I enjoyed a easy paced 23 mile road ride on the Rocky, however being the true Mountain Biker I am I couldn't leave it at that so I headed out to Thomson and managed to squeeze in a lap right before the rain let loose. Probably better that I went with the moderate group for a road ride on a full suspension mountain bike I don't think I would have managed well against the roadies! It was a good start to the year and possibly a motivator to actually get out there and ride a road bike - but don't hold your breath! not to mention the fact that I kept getting passed by the tandum bikers talk about your downhill momentum there! Well I am looking forward to getting some training in before IDIDARIDE and training with teamates for Razorback. As always- See ya on the trail