Finally - TRAIL TIME!!

Well the weather finally cooperated and I was able to get in a couple of days of Trail Riding out at Thompson. I was definitely having to work on a the handling skills just a little. I have missed getting out there in the dirt and worked out some suspension tuning issues while I was out there. This week has been some quality training time even if it has been on the trainer. The Real Axiom training courses work wonders for intervals since the course already have a set distance for the slopes on the segments of the climbs it makes it easier to work the intervals to the best possible training level. So I did some trainer time on Monday with intervals, Tuesday with steady spin pace, Wednesday I hit the trail, Thursday did some more intervals and Friday I got in three laps out at Thompson. That along with my steady regiment of PT has made this a pretty good week overall as far as training goes. I have managed to loose a couple of more pounds in the process so another 7lbs to race weight for the 12hrs of Ft Yargo.
On another note, the impending PCS to Korea and family relocating to Michigan I was fortunate enough to be contacted by someone already registered for the Lumberjack 100 who wasn't able to race and so now I am entered. This event is one of the stops for the National Ultra Endurance MTB Series so there are several big names to include Chris Eatough. It will be cool racing in that event I make sure to count how many times Chris laps me so I can tell everyone lol! So on June 20th I will be up in MI racing with the big boys trying not to look to slow. Since I will have already shipped the FS to Korea by that time looks like I will either be racing the HT Vertex-70 or the Trek Fuel EX-8 not sure which one to go with, will have to get a topo of the course to see. Well the rest of the month looks like this, 75mile road ride on Sunday, More trainer time during the week with another couple of days trail time to work on handling and technical skills and then conditions permitting a long trail ride out at Dauset next Sunday. The following week will be a prep time maybe a day or two on trail with a tune up and race prep for the bike some new tires and head out on Friday for Yargo for my second event in the sport class. Hopefully I will have a better finish than I did at Heritage Park I have prepared better for this event so I feel good about my chances. Anyway I am looking forward to more outdoor time on the trails, weather permitting so if your out there I Will See You on the Trail!

Another week without Trail Time

Well the weather just doesn't want to cooperate - rained all week until Friday and then decided to clear up. However with the amount of rain that was dropped during the week there was no way anyone should be hitting the trails unless they wanted to put some ruts in them. I managed to drop down to 8lbs away from my goal this week so I am seeing some progress. Friday was a wicked trainer ride on the "Col du Galibert" which was 21.7miles and 6852ft of elevation gain rough! I burned dang near 1500 calories and could only manage 250watts of power average took 1hr 54min with a 11.8mph average - Good Stuff! Today I hit the road again with Charles and Chad for a 50mile ride. Started early which was a good thing because the rain rolled in earlier than predicted. Kept a pretty good pace and had a enjoyable ride hopefully the weather will cooperate and I will be able to get some trail time in either Friday or Saturday. Here is some graphics from the ride today and if I managed to get out there this week I Will See You on the Trail!

Steady Training

Charles just getting up on the handlebars and cruising on a Sunday...digging the fancy red gloves
Chad says that a good traing regiment requires some high quality insect diet, and demonstrates how one goes about getting that diet
Is that a sharp looking bike right there or what?!

Well I have been able to keep a good training regiment going for the past week or so, just trying to keep my weight going in the right direction as well which seems to be the difficult part. I have managed to get in at least one workout a day with several days being a two-a-day workouts with a recovery day thrown in for good measure. Thursday night-Friday morning was a good high intensity day or 16 hours, I started Thursday night with a high intensity 45min climbing regiment on the Real Axiom Trainer, followed that with a 35min high intensity StairMaster session the next morning and then at lunch time hit a spin class for a good 45min high intensity work out. Took the following 42hrs off and then hit the road with Charles and Chad Sunday morning for a 36 mile road ride where Charles got my hear rate elevated with a few interval areas during the ride. It was a good ride and was early enough that the forecasted winds were not a factor to much at least. This week has started off well with a good effort spin session, another StairMaster morning and tomorrow morning I am taking the whole platoon in for Donna's spin class - sure to put even a strong rider to the test by the time she is finished, the guys will thank me for this NOT!
As for the weight, everyone says that last ten pounds is the hardest to loose which brings the question what do ya do when your at that last ten pounds when you start to diet? It is slow going I drop down to a 1/2lb below where I was previously only to bounce back up to where I originally started at the following day. It is difficult but I guess you just have to take the small steps as they come and stick with it hopefully by the time Ft Yargo rolls around I will be at my race weight which is 10lbs away right now. So I will keep working away at it and stick to the eating habits that seem to be helping and I should see the benefits. Well with the way the weather is acting this week I think any outdoor riding will be confined to the road and supplemented with some trainer time indoors as well. Hopefully the weather starts cooperating as I am looking forward to some trail time and working on the technical skills(which I need). So whether it is the road or the trail I Will See You on the Bike!

The Dublin 50, wait 55 oh no 59 mile ride

Well it was a choice between racing in Macon, or riding in Dublin out of the two I knew the race while challenging and fun I would be way out classed and my technical skills still aren't quite up to race level. So I thought I would just join Charles, his Dad, BK, Chad and a his brother, Bill and a couple of others for the century ride out at Dublin. We decided to do the 50 miler which then changed to 55 miler and then ultimately ended up at being 59 miles by the time we finished. It was a good ride through some really great scenic country and with some pretty good climbs and descents by the time it was over I had a pretty good workout in.
I figure since I am focusing on the endurance races this season I gain more from doing the long ride than competing in a XC race so I worked a couple of pulls at the start and at the end of the ride to get the HR up a little bit. Still working on my power endurance, on a few occasions I would start up the hill in front and end up in the back of the pack at the top of the hill. Hopefully the next month of StairMaster, spin class and riding laps out at Thompson to improve my technical skills will help make me a little more competitive come Ft Yargo. Not sure yet what this weekend will bring but hoping to find my way out to Dauset so if your out there I Will See You on the Trail!

Happy Snaps from Heritage Park

A couple of the shots this was one of the paticularly messy areas of the trail!

Heritage Park 6hr

Boy if I was as fast as this picture looks like I am I would be riding for a living!
Army Strong at least in the endurance part just need to work on that climbing strength
A few of the Macon Crew that were up for the race, hanging around the heater keeping warm

Well Today's event was outstanding, the weather was a balmy 39 degrees at the start and I am not to sure it got much warmer than that all day. I was able to wear snivel gear all day and was comfortable. There wasn't to much precipitation I would say it actually helped keep the trail just tacky enough to help the grip for 95% of the trail the one section it made nasty was exactly that boggy but it was only about 25ft across. As for my conditioning it definitely opened my eyes to the need to condition myself better and lose the extra half-a-bike I am carrying around. I managed to get 4 laps in but the climbs were killing me, I would tear down the hill only to get past coming back up the other side. The first lap had the usual parade lap followed by the inevitable back log at the first technical section of the single track and since I am no Jeff Kerkove I wasn't able to get to the front before we entered the single track. One particularly nasty section of roots sent me sideways into some rocks and bent the rear rotor so I had a enjoyable rubbing noise the rest of the day. The second lap wasn't too bad got to visit grandma a little more she was glad to see me, by lap 3 she was wondering if I had a gear of my own and by lap 4 granny was really tired of getting used and abused. The day ended with a total of 36 miles in about 5hrs and 15min, since they implemented the done at the 6hr mark and coming in after that doesn't count and I was running hr+ laps there was no sense in going out for a fifth lap which under last years rules I would have. They had Bruce out there doing some great announcing and some good photographers so there should be some good photos coming up. There was a strong group of OMBA riders out there doing some strong riding and having a good time, thanks to Mark for hooking us up with a good location at the start finish with a space under the pavilion. I am looking forward to doing the century ride this weekend with Charles from The Bike Store and getting in some mileage. I am going to focus on getting in some training time and make sure I am more competitive come The 12hrs of Yargo. Meanwhile I will be hitting the trail as time allows so if your out there I Will See You on the Trail!

Dirty Spokes Season Opener

The Only Pic I got from my 3 flat 2 mile hike, wasp stung round 3 of the Snake!

Well here it is the first of the 4 events I wanted to race in this season and the weather is as usual for the start of the season - rainy all weekend what better way to start off the endurance races?! Looking forward to starting this season in the Sport category however not sure I will be even close to as competitive as I was last year as my training regime was definitely less intense this off season than it was last year. Several factors impacted this not the least of them being the fact that I wasn't deployed,not that I would trade being home for more training time in the desert! Anyway I am looking forward to the race it should be a pretty good time regardless of the weather, running the Mud X on the rear and had to replace the front one with the Maxxis ignitor since I blew the sidewall at the Snake. Anyway i plan on getting there early on Saturday and hopefully get comfy with the fact that I will probably be muddy and soaked all day but I am looking forward to it so if your out there I Will See You on the Trail!

Life Outside the wheels

Well it has been a while since I posted but there have been more than a few events that have refocused my attention outside of cycling. Just prior to the 2nd Snake Creek TT I was informed of a family emergency in Arizona so shortly after DNFing half way thru that event I was on a plane out to Arizona. Unfortunately while I was out there my wife received a call from her family informing her of a family emergency on her side of the family. I guess these things really do happen in 3 because while I only had one family member with a issue she had two. Well that resulted in a return flight from Arizona followed two days later by a drive up to Michigan. These past weeks events have put life in perspective helping me to put things I get wrapped around the axle about in a different light.
Reapplying myself to my riding this week with a lighter approach for the rest of the season is my goal. I still plan on being competitive but I want to get back to having fun again while I am at it. Seems I have been so busy focusing on "training" that I forgot what got me started in the first place. The first time I went on a mountain bike ride I travelled up a fire road huffing and puffing while the rest of the group I was with rode a parallel single track that ran along the side of the hill we were gradually climbing. When we hit a creek about 4 miles up the road and the trail became rockier and a little steeper I thought "who in their right mind calls this fun?" After what seemed a eternity of rocks and climbing we hit a point where they decided to turn around.Downhill Arizona Style, it took me three tries to make it down this "major" drop

Going back down the road proved just as hard and a tad bit scarier(mind you we were just going over rocks in the trail not major drops). But as we continued down the trail I managed to keep myself upright, eventually ending up back out on the fire road we started going up. Travelling at what seemed like 40mph(I am pretty sure it might have been 15mph now)thinking "great I didn't have a heart attack going up the hill I am going to break my neck going down!" I survived that day and after a couple of more difficult rides and some encouraging by some guys who had been riding alot longer than me I was addicted. I remember the first time I put SPDs on for pedals, I was brilliant figuring "If I do this on the road at least I wont fall into some rocks or cactus or something hard" Shortly thereafter putting peroxide on my road rashed elbows palms and knees from falling on the soft asphalt when I couldn't get my foot unclipped at a stop. However the ride ended whether muddy or bloody, flat tires or broken frames, we always managed to have fun and always ended with a smile on our face(ok well not when we broke a frame). It was as if being 35yrs old and riding like a 16yr old kid made life seem a little less like the hectic grind of the day to day work and bills routine. Better than any day at the office the first ever 24hr event I participated in

That is the mind frame I want to get back to, not how I place but that I finish and have fun. If that produces a result that gets me on the podium then so be it and I will be glad for it. I will still ride to keep in shape and get faster and better, I will continue to go to spin classes and road ride since it is great exercise and I have always worked out in one way or another. When I hit the trails though it will be to enjoy the ride, catch some air, bomb down hills and enjoy the company more than to see how hard I can push it. So that is my renewed approach to riding this season, to approach it with the attitude I had when I first started and remember this is a recreational activity that should be a stress reliever not a stressor. There ends the sermon hopefully I will get out sometime this week for a ride at Thompson so if I do and your out there I Will See You on the Trail!The B E A Utiful effects of flying like superman while everyone else wants to mountain bike how could anyone not love this stuff?

Spinning in the Desert

Well this past couple of weeks have been somewhat uneventful as far as riding goes but that is about how it goes during the winter time. I spent the last week out in Las Vegas at Nellis AFB in support of some training, and while I didn't get down to the Strip I did manage to get to the gym for some training of my own. I managed to get in some solid work on the Stair Master and some time on the Spin Cycles. While I would have rather had a FS bike out there and a way to get out to the mountains I was flying over every day I had to settle for the gym so I managed to make it worth the effort. Well it had been almost two weeks since I had been out on the trail and I was itching to get some dirt on the bike so I headed out to Dauset on Super Bowl Sunday at about 0630hrs(thats 6:30am for all my civilian readers)to hit the trails, it was COLD! to say the least but not as cold as it had been in the past. So I put on the snivel gear and headed out, the trail was it pretty good shape and I could tell the areas where it had soaked up some pretty good rain. The Huff and Puff extender was in pretty rough shape so I made my best effort not to add to the ruts. I am going to do a full check out of the fork and rear shock this week before Snake Creek I want to have it dialed in as it was feeling kinda rough this weekend.
Speaking of biking stuff, since this is a biking blog, I have been signed up on Loop D' for a little over a year now this year I have been picked back up by Sock Guy and also have a new sponsor Endurance Training Center.com The have quite a bit that they offer so I am looking forward to using some of their products this year. It is definitely the time of year for me to start getting back into race shape I am currently back up around 154lbs so I need to get back into the aerobic and weight watching mode so I can drop the 14lbs and get back down to my race weight again. This year I am looking more to focusing on the endurance events and just hitting a couple of the series races for fun. Since it looks like I am heading to the land of the Morning Sun in July I am going to be limited to events I can compete in before June so that has me looking at a few events in particular, I am already competing in the Snake Creek TT all 3 this year,and the following
12hrs of Santos - 21st Feb
Dirty Spokes 6hrs of Heritage Park - 14th Mar
GSC 1 E. Macon - 22nd Mar
Cohutta 65mile"Big Frog" - 25 April
Dirty Spokes 12hrs of Yaro - 2nd May
12hrs of Tsali - 23 May
And possibly a event during the month of June if I can find one that fits the time frame before I have to get ready to head to Korea for the year. This events location may be somewhere in Michigan or depending I may just see if there is a event I would really like to do before I PCS. Well that is about it I will leave you with some pics from a frosty Sunday morning at Dauset, Charles and I plan on doing some trail riding Wednesday evening at Thompson so if your out there I Will See You on the Trail!

Weather Forcast Inaccuracy

Well was planning on going to Dauset this morning even got so far as Forsyth before I turned back around due to the amount of rainfall and when the locals that lived in the Jackson area said it had been raining all day yesterday on them figured the trail would be to nasty to try. Driving back home as I got back into the Macon area thought about stopping at the Pig but it seemed as though the weather decided to follow me home. Since it was forcasted to rain this afternoon and not this morning I was a little irritated with the outcome but will try again tomorrow for Dauset again and see if I can't get the ride in this time. So if your out there I Will See You on the Trail!

Verdict is in Sigma Rox!

Well it has been just over a couple of weeks and about 6 or 7 rides since I switched out the Trek Incite Team computer for the Sigma Rox9 and it was a very worthwhile switch. The computer itself has a plethera of functions that monitor everything from your speed to the tempatures during your ride. The display can be set up for various functions with the ability to switch from one view to another easily during a ride. The display is also easily readable regardles of the number of functions. The computer download functions are outstanding with the capability to send and recieve data and use your computer to input settings for the cycle computer.
The after ride capabilities and displays of training info are outstanding as you can select which functions to display and what mode you want to display from total training, averages, and mins and maximums during the ride. All displayed in a easily readable graph with adjustable zoom capablility. The memory storage can hold quite a few rides depending on the save settings you input. Overall it has been a very useful tracking tool in monitoring my rides and progresion in base training overall. Using the data downloaded on the laptop from the computer allows me to see where I am maintaining my RPMs, speed and heart rates during the rides to see if I am improving. Overall I am really happy with the switch if your interested in getting a quality computer that has all the functions you need and is fairly simple to use I would recommend the Sigma Rox 8 or 9. I would also recommend a good place to buy one at either of The Bike Store locations in Warner Robins or Macon. Well enough of the reviews I am thinging of hitting Dauset hopefully on Sunday so we will see depending on weather and if it works out I Will See You on the Trail!

Snake Creek TT Suckfest

Well approximately 2yrs, two deployments and several races later I returned to the place that I keep telling myself I am never coming back to - Snake Creek TT. Weather conditions were outstanding the weather channel hit it right on the head except the part about it raining all night the night before and being misty and raining all morning. Well morning of was decision time as far as apparel went since it was 44 degrees out and suppose to get warmer I went with the leg and arm warmers and left the foot warmers in the bag. What I should have done is sprayed my entire bike down with Pam no stick so the mud would shed off. Had a good drive up to the start with Monti and Chad and a couple other guys were I decided to go with Monti's idea of getting a early start before the other 250 riders who would be tearing up the trail ahead of me, well since they would all pass me by the 17 mile mark it really didn't matter to much.
I lined up with Jesse at the start and hung with him for about the first two miles and then away he went. After the first water crossing the feet were soaked all the way through. The weather not only made the trail into soup the humidity kept fogging up my glasses so I couldn't see worth s$!t so in the interest of time I just kept them off for the most part. I had decided to run the IRC Trail Bear 2.25 tires on the bike, this turned out to be a good idea for the most part since the trail was in such bad conditions they gave me grip in areas I would have probably spun out in with other tires. In the rock garden it was a different story the rocks were so slick that the tread was too tall to hold it just slipped. Either way was a good and bad thing depending on where I was on the trail for the most part it was a good thing.
To add to the list of issues somewhere in the first 7 miles or so I broke a clip off the right pedal so the cleat wouldn't clip in correctly. I went over a few rollers going downhill with my foot slipping around until I figured out I had to rotate the clip to one side to get clipped in. On a good note the energy product I was trying called Enervitene seemed to work really well. Especially on that hill right at the start of the second 17 miles I was able to pedal my way up that with some pretty good consistency.
Overall it was the same suckfest I had forgotten about two years earlier only worse with the weather included. I was about 15min slower this time than I was in the previous TT I completed. There is something about this trail that I just have to keep trying, it is the only trail I have ridden out here that I don't feel like I have come away going I did it right. I leave here feeling like it kicked my A$$ every time and so I have to keep coming back until I at least don't feel like I started Mountain Biking the day before I arrived there! So while I still HATE this trail and will tell anybody who ask the fact it is the toughest challenge I can think of including ORAMM. So I will continue to return until I have accomplished the goal of having a Good Ride at the Snake Creek TT. So until that time I Will See You on the Trail!

WHITE Christmas

Well it was a good Christmas visiting my in-laws up in the artic......I mean Michigan. Travel was interesting both on the way up and back as we ran into a snow storm on the way up and on the way back near zero visibility fog and heavy rain. I managed to get in two running days while I was up there considering the conditions the runs took a little longer than they would have down here. Anyway I am back at the house now and looking forward to the Snake Creek TT coming up on the 3rd so I am going to get in the New Years Day ride to get a few miles in before the TT which should be a good challenge to start the season with. So I will leave you with some pics of the White Christmas I enjoyed and I Will See You on the Trail!

B-E-Autiful Weather for a Road Ride

Well it is Great weather for spring, let alone the middle of December and a beautiful day for a ride which is exactly what we had today. Hit the road around 1430hrs for a 45miler enjoyed a casual pace for the most part with some good downhill sections I managed to hit 48mph going down the one hill it rocked! Tried out the new Sigma ROX 9.0 for the first time it is a great computer that monitors just about everything from speed to temperature. Have to work out the ride log setting since I didn't get it this ride but will be able to set it so I can do the graphical display for the transfer to the laptop so I can analyze the training. it should be a useful tool to get ready for this season. anyway this is short I am getting ready to head to MI for the week so I will be doing some cold weather running to keep in shape. so here are some picks and Merry Christmas to everyone. I Will See You on the Trail!

Hit and Miss riding

The sleeping herd of Dauschunds

The Three ladies of the herd

Working out the setup on the FS


Hello all, well it has been a while since I had anything to post and really don't have much to post today just want to keep the site a little updated. Since I have last posted I have trail rode once at Thompson - still working on the set up on my FS to get rid of some back pain - and hit the rode about a half a dozen times mostly short rides with a 50miler this past Sunday starting from The Bike Store. It was a good ride with just about a 17mph pace and was pretty enjoyable, since that was my first group ride in about 4 months I was just looking for a good cruising ride to loosen up the legs and get some pedalling in. Looking forward to the Snake Creek TT coming up in January, don't think it is going to be a better time - at least in January since my training regiment has been less than consistant or stellar! Either way I am looking forward to a good time up there and definitely bringing the Craft base layer stuff for the cold! On a more important note my wife has just about accomplished her first goal in her nursing carreer of graduating from the LPN program at CGTC! She has done a outstanding job and is going to be a great nurse. All her instructors have said the same thing as she displays how much she loves working in the field of nursing it is evident even as she goes through class. This is very important in the promoting of my career goal after I retire from the military of being a stay at home Dad and a Bike Bum, she is going to have to make enough to keep me in Rocky Mountain Bikes and top of the line accessories! Anyway training for the next week or so will have to consist of running (in the snow) as we are going up to Michigan (YEA!) for the holidays so should I not get the chance to post again before I go Have a Happy Holiday and when I get back I Will See You on the Bike!

Dauset Pics II

Dauset Pics

Our Fearless leader taking us through Huff and Puff!

Monte thought he would take a recovery day to ride slow enough so us mere mortals could keep him in sight(I however was unable to do that for any distance greater than a mile)

A few group pics before we headed out