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!