Press

Some one had the good idea to put my picture on their website...

http://www.granbyranch.com/mtnbike.asp

101 from the other side

Seeing things from the other side is always interesting. For interest, not racing the Wilderness 101 but instead heading up with my dad and working Aid #3. Spent all day pretty much lubing chains and making sure people where mechanically ready to continue to race. Pretty uneventful, but actually a lot of fun. Then I swept the leg from Aid 3 to Aid 4 with Tim and Raymond. It took us 3.5hrs with pulling arrows and riding slowly behind any stragglers. It was a lot of fun. That leg of the race contains all the best singletrack, so I was greeted with a chance to slowly ride some of the trails that I have only ridden in an oxygen deprived, mentally deficient racing state. Beautiful trail is exactly that. I am happy about this. But next year I want to race.

Off to Mt. Snow on thursday. Should be fun.

ER sampling

Nationals in Colorado went fairly well. 13th in the XC and 11th in the STXC. Both courses were fun and stupid hard. The short track was basically a mini xc, just climb, descend, and repeat over and over. Attacking up that climb to grab one more place was just about the hardest thing I have done on a bike.

Watching the Pro Men's and Women's short track races was amazing. Georgia Gould just walked away with the win in the Women's race. The men's race, though was much more hotly contested. Wells and JHK put on a good show until Adam Craig took them to grade school and taught them how to ride their bikes. An attack from 5th or 6th position to win the race? Phenomenal. Good job to Adam.

The drive home was just about as interesting as well. Just before we were about to leave I started reacting to some peanut butter that contaminated the jelly that I put on my bagel for breakfast. Zach's GPS directed us to the ER in Granby, where they hooked me up to the usual IV and gave me some steroid that set me straight. Then off to driving. Time we planned on leaving: 8:00AM. Time we actually left the Fraser Valley: 12:30PM.

About half way through Kansas we hit the mother of all thunderstorms. We pulled off for gas and dinner and were greeted by tornado warnings from the National Weather Service over the radio at the Subway. We grabbed a hotel for the night. Next morning, up and driving home. Arrived back in Carlisle at about 2:00AM.

Next day we went down to Brett's for our first ride back in PA. It was raining. I messed myself up. Slid my rear wheel out on a log, planted my face firmly on a mossy rock, gouged my knee through a sharp pointy rock. So one visit to the Carlisle Regional Medical Center ER and 5 stitches later I'm sitting in West Chester teaching my own mountain biking camp. I can ride again. That's all I care about.

Rocky Mountain High

I started to write something but it sounded like crap so here are things you really care about:

Some kids... what they're experiencing is one of a kind

From the top of Trail Ridge Rd. in Rocky Mountain N.P.

Tom likes alpine flowers

Mmmmm high strain rocks...

Bike likes Colorado

Team shot at the top of Heil Valley

Team recovery rdes

First above tree line excursion... snow in July

Mule Deer in a clearing

Bottle Peak View... I hiked this

Lots of things have happenned

The first thing that happenned was the usual Marysville Stage Race. This year's format was different: Night Team Time Trial, 12 hr team or 9 hr solo, short track.

Rode the NTTT solo, finished something in the solo class. Don't exactly remember. Maybe 12th or 15th. Saturday I was the usual stupid solo. 9hrs, 9 laps, finished 7th in the Open's Men class. I'm pretty happy with that. It should put me in better position in the series. Which I am going in for the win this year. I don't want just to podium anymore. I want the win. Thanks for all your encouragement Rob.

Congrats go out to all the kids on their two teams, who did a fantastic job showing up a lot of older more experienced racers. Also to Bacon, Tofu, Jerk, and Monkey for being awesome and helpful for everyone, especially the kids.

Chillin' with good friends

Best way to start a race

Jake hates running

Jake loves riding

The next weekend was our race, the Long Pine Classic. Ms. Geology came out and did a bang-up job running registration. And my mom and sister held down a checkpoint, making sure all racers got around the course safely. Thanks for the help. I did some setup in the morning, then raced the Expert Race. Ended up in the dick spot, just off the podium in 4th. Everyone had a good day. Congrats to Forest who won his first MASS race, absolutely crushing the Sport junior field. No pictures from this yet, too busy.

The next morning we lodaed up and headed out west. 34 some hours later we arrived at our house in Tabernash, Colorado. I broke the dishwasher, Fernando fixed the hot water heater, the fridge got a short, but other than that everything is amazing. Colorado is awesome.

Reminders...

Sign up for the Long Pine Classic!

Bike Reg page

That's all...

Crappy cancelled races ruining my day...

Let me just first say that I am appalled at mother nature this year. Not only has she delivered some downright awful weather during the week when I want to be riding my bike, but she repeatedly causes shine-only races to be cancelled. Boo. Just Boo.

I can't remember how long it's been since I posted up in here so here's the rundown. Posting hasn't happenned because of lack of access to the webnet. What has happenned is this:

Ms. Geology and I had an awesome time at World's End

The rock we were sitting on moved when I sat down... don't judge

I moved into my new house that next week. It is pretty n

ice. Big kitchen, good for cooking lots of foods.

Hitched a ride with The Bergy Mobile down to Harrisonburg, VA for the Massanutten Hoo-ha. It was my first race in a while, so I was mentally ready, but physically not. I DFLed I think. I haven't seen any results yet. And that's another thing, what is it with promoters this year refusing to put any information on their websites? Massanutten's website had start times and rough directions, that's about it. Burn's website didn't even include a start time. WTF...

Did get some nice pictures though... which I will have to post later because they are apparently not on my computer

Then I headed out to State College for a real race... the Stoopid 50

MMMMMMMM Stoopid 50, how I love thee. This year's edition was held out of the parking lot at Tussey Mtn. Ski Resort and included a bit more gravel road than last year. It did not dissappoint in awesome singletrack though. The first trail, only about 1.5 mi into the race, served up primo PA ridgetop singletrack replete with rocks and logs covered in tall grass that all but tickled your legs as you whizzed by. There were some good climbs and some awesome descents, and no hike-a-bike! Moderatly exciting at the very least. I managed to ride most of the course and finished in my fastest 50 mi time ever, 5:12:21, putting me in 42 overall and 25 in the Men Open Category. Some MASS Endurance points were acrued. Now if only they would post up series standings. Schalk blitzed the course in an amazing 3:53 (which may be the fastest 50 time in all of PA), with Eatough a few minutes back then Harlanator and Chris Beck. The finish was rather unorthodox as it ended immediately at the bottom of a wicked singletrack downhill. I damn near ran into Chris Scott as he was taking numbers. For a longer report head to the Team Blog. Some visuals:

Start stuff

Rolling into Aid #2 to exchange bottles

Next year... I go under 5 hrs...