Preparing for the Pig

Well just one week away from the end of the GSC series and accomplishment of my overall goal I set back in January when I started training for this year. I finally got the Vertex-70 out and back on to the trail at the Pig, wow little different riding a 16.5" FS with 5" of travel then going to a 18" hardtail with 105mm fork. So I am getting used to the handling of the hardtail again and checking out the new sections of trail that were cut. I have my training plan all set out with a ride out at the Pig Saturday and then again Monday morning, Tuesday will be a Spin class during lunch and then back out to the Pig on Wednesday, with a recovery day on Thursday a training ride Friday evening and a Spin loosen up ride Saturday morning before the race. Quiet a bit of riding this week - just a good thing its getting close to the end of the season as the wife is getting about at the end of her patience for my obsessive behavior when it comes to MTB racing. anyway I have been getting in some good road riding as well trying to keep up the conditioning this past week the Tuesday group ride had a good pace with a overall pace of 19.3mph, it was a good thing the train came thru in Byron otherwise I probably wouldn't have seen the front of the group until the finish as they dropped me pretty good there for a while when they started doing the pace line. Anyway I will be switching out the Maxxis Ignitor with a High Roller for the race so I am going to do that tonight for the next week and get used to the handling of that tire, from what I read it has some great grip, very predictable and low rolling resistance so I am looking forward to seeing how that works out. I will be sporting The Bike Store new kit and for the race with the Ergon Team grips as well(gotta keep that color coordination). So if your out there at The Pig this week or Sunday I Will See You on the Trail!

GSC#7 Ft Mountain

Getting ready to go to the Dinning Out Friday evening

The Elusive Bruce is spotted at the GSC Event

Was hoping to get back to top of the podium with Gary absent but Steve was more determined

Getting ready for the start of the race

Well after a month off from the race scene it was back to the trail this weekend. This was a new trail for me as I have never rode Ft Mountain before and it was quite the challenge. I arrived up there late Saturday night and camped out with Steve and some other riders who were competing up there, BTW Ft Mountain has a great Camping area if your ever looking to go camping in the area. Anyway it took me longer to get there than expected so there was no opportunity for a pre-ride of the course and was just going to have to wing it for the race. Sunday weather was great for racing and we kicked off on the second wave around noon I was able to get a strong start I could tell this was going to be a challenge with how it started climbing early into the race. Anyway Steve must have been training something fierce cause he was climbing like a man on a mission, I was able to catch up to him at the end of the first lap right at the Start/Finish when he thought he had a mechanical but he managed to close up again about a mile into the first lap and just took the lead and away he went on the second lap. Anyway since I wasn't getting on the top of the podium I went for the cool points, ripping down the Power line Hill at the end of the course I was passing another racer doing 29+mph and got a little squirrely to put it mildly and somehow managed to recover, well Bruce was announcing the race and I guess it was impressive enough that he even held his breath for a second before announcing I had the good hands award for the save of the day. Well it was a good time overall, and a good work out and warm up to get ready for the Season Finally at The Pig. It is time to crank it back up a notch and make sure I am in top form as I plan on winning this race decisively. So if you happen to be out at The Pig over the next 10 days or so or if your racing in the event I Will See You on the Trail!

Back to the Spin Cycle again

Sporting The Bike Store before I get all dirty on the trail!


The Pregnant Zoe and the proud Dad........Anyone want a puppy?

Well after a couple of weeks of recovery and healing time it is back to training and getting ready for the next race at Ft Mountain. I started off the week getting rained out at The Pig trail on Sunday, I was disappointed in the new reroute on the trail I like the difficult, sometime treacherous downhill sections that are considered trail erosion to most I guess(I do not claim to be knowledgeable about trail building either btw). I try not to complain because I am rarely around for trail maintenance but sometimes it seems to me we try to tame down the trails so much that when I go somewhere that has some of the more mountainous terrain it is that much more difficult due to lack of opportunity to ride it here. That being the third such reroute around the more challenging areas of the trail since the storm. Enough of me complaining though I appreciate the work that everyone does on the trails to maintain them even if I don't agree with some of the changes. Well I managed to get a lap and a half in before the rains and see how the hip and knee felt which was pretty good. This morning I got in a 4 mile run and then hit the spin class during lunch. While not the funnest of ways to train it definitely helps with the training as it makes me push myself harder than if I am on a group ride our out by myself on the trail. I am also working on the diet as well trying to get myself back down to 140-142lbs for my race weight, I still have 3-5lbs to go. I plan on hitting the group ride on Wednesday and get a trail ride in Thursday. I will be taking Friday off and then heading up to Ft Mountain on Saturday so hopefully the training will get me ready to go on Sunday. I will be sporting the Army Kit for this race coming up but am looking forward to showing off the new Bike Store Kit it looks really sharp. So if your out there on Sunday I Will See You on the Trail!

Rockin the Pig

Not me....my son, 11yrs old and really not to keen on the riding scene had me wondering who was this kid on the bike in front of me as he went charging up hills and rolling thru some of the sketchy stuff. It was definitely one of those moments when I was so proud I was just smiling all the way thru the ride. That was until I decided to do my second lap, now I haven't ridden since the 22nd of June at the GSC #6 Race due to my leg injury and having some travel requirements. So all told a little over 14 days since I last turned the cranks the leg seemed to be healing OK still having some weird muscle issues at the point of impact on my upper thigh but still not hurting when I ride. Anyway I get no more than 2min into my ride and one of those don't know what hit ya happens and I go down right on the same spot, OUCH!

Well not to be refused that easily I get up shake it off and ride on, I had several motivating factors driving me. 1) No training last two weeks 2) CGS #7 coming up in 10 days 3)GSC #8 at the Pig Trail in just under a month. While I am not sure how my performance will be at Ft Mountain I am determined to win at the Pig at the Season Finale. That gives me 24 training days to get back into the shape I was in for the first half of the season. Being that the Pig Trail is more about speed than technical I figure some solid spin classes and maybe a couple of road/trainer rides and a weekly trip out to the Pig to memorize the trail and I should be ready to race.

So while it has been a nice break the past two weeks I had wished it wouldn't have been injury driven. From what I can tell I did damage to a muscle that is apparently not a primary cycling muscle but can cause some issues with the leg itself as my wife can attest to. Apparently a deep tissue bruise can lead to calcium deposits being left behind in the muscle after the blood clears if it has been pooled there for a length of time. Hopefully I did enough over the past two weeks to keep that from happening and am not causing more damage by riding(as long as I don't keep falling on it). If the calcium deposit is big enough it basically acts like a bone spur floating in the muscle and causes a cutting effect when it gets stuck in the muscle just right and can be fairly painful and requires surgery to remove it on occasion.

Well that has been alot of rambling about not much of interest to others but I figure it keeps my avid readers current on the excitement that is my life. So if you have plans to ride the Pig Trail this weekend or any weekend before the 3rd of August or our racing at either Ft Mountain or the Pig I Will See You on the Trail!