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!