New Lid

Since Maxxis is such a generous sponsor this year, thought I would rock their colors on the new helmet. Now if only mother nature would play nice I could get a ride in. Thankfully Saturday, Sunday and Monday look to be very nice.

Not so Mellow

Met up with the group doing the Mellow Monday ride again yesterday. Then I decided to show everyone how bad of a rider I actually am and fell over while attempting a log pile. Dolt! The onlookers from behind were fairly convinced I would have been able to pull a complete barrel roll had the ground not gotten in the way. Just means I will have to take my stunts to much greater heights.

The rest of the ride went without a hitch. Even made it up a steep climb while big ringing it. A few weeks ago it took me borrowing Jay's El Mariachi to successfully ascend to the top. Note to self, "The big ring is where it is at!"

A Good Whipping

Everyone needs a good whipping every now and again. Not being too impressed by my level of cardio I have decided to start riding to and from work once again as I did last year. Well that and now there is incentive from the company to use "alternate" transportation. Either way, three days in a row and my legs are a bit tired. Maybe it's not just my cardio that needs work. Or maybe I should allow a little more time to get to work so I am not doing a 16 mile time trial twice a day. With the forecasters calling for afternoon T-Storms today, it sounds like the perfect day to rest the legs. Especially since I got caught in one last week. And may I say it was not fun. But that is just me!

Changed my eating habits a bit. No more candy for awhile and instead trying to eat a bit healthier. Fruit and veggies for my daily snacks for me!

Have Friday and Saturday off this weekend (and it cannot come soon enough) so I plan on getting in some serious saddle time in. If only I had the drivetrain issues fixed on the Turner life would be great. Guess I'll just have to ride the BUSS.

Mellow Mondays

With the return of the longer/warmer day comes the return of the Famed Mellow Monday ride at Powhite Park. The idea behind the ride is everyone is welcome: fast or slow, expert or beginner. The pace is as slow as the slowest person all the while stopping to chat, play on TTF's or work on a skill in which we think we could use help on.

Showed up for the ride to see the scenery had changed just a bit since the last time I rode at Powhite. Guess they are reworking the sewage pipes or something for the surrounding neighborhoods. The signs say they are almost done. We will see!

Forgot my shoes on the front porch. Duh! Good thing I had a spare pair of shoes in the trunk. I used a piece of heavy equipment that was laying around to dig for some brass and made myself a set of cleats. I apologize to my feet for stuffing you like a sausage into those shoes.

Got a chance to give Jay's El Mariachi a spin up a climb. Let me tell you, something to rolling with the big wheels fully rigid. Point and shoot! Up the climb you go.


I thought it would only be nice to let Jay and Lisa fool around on the Turner. Damn they are fast! Sorry for the blurry pics, the camara couldn't keep up.

Greenbriar - Race Report

Headed up for the Maryland State Championships yesterday. Held in the Greenbriar State Park in North Western Maryland. I was a bit worried about this race as I have only ridden in the actual mountains once in my life let alone raced in them.

The race promoters had provided an elevation profile and I had devised the following game plan. Go out slow so I don't blow up my legs on the first lap and so I don't send myself off of a ledge.


Plan was working like a charm so I thought until the end of the second lap when Steve Shwartz came barreling by me. He won the Baker's Dozen just a week earlier. I asked him if he was the leader and he told me he was until he got lost in the woods and was now in 20th or so. That put me in 21st.


Kept my pace and was feeling strong. Just kept the pedals turning and the riders ahead of me kept falling back. The line in Days of Thunder came to mind. "I'm going faster. They are going slower!" Oh so true as my lap times were consistent.


Lap 5 came around I had just passed another rider and began to climb once again. And then I heard the POP! Ping! Ping! and I was spinning my legs freely. Chain broke! I jumped off the bike trying to get the chain free from the bike but to no avail. It had wedged itself between the crank and bb spindle more than once. It appeared more damage to the bike would occur if I tried to jerk it out than I was willing to do so I began what turned out to run the bike out. 4.5k later I finished the lap and turned in my number. DNF!

I take away a few positives however. As the rider I had just passed came by me while I was running, I took note of his bib number so I would have an idea of where I might have been able to finish had I not broken the chain. He finished 6th so that leads me to believe I would have had a decent finish in the works. Oh what could have been. The other positive is that I raced in a mountainous setting and didn't kill myself. I must say it is far from the somewhat smooth singletrack that I am used to racing around on here in the 804.

Back to one's roots

Every once in awhile, things happen in one's life to take 'em back to where to all started. About a week ago a co-worker (DaLaw) and I were talking about our middle school soccer team we played on together while attending Providence Middle School. One of the things that came to both of our minds while talking about it was a set of sprints our coach used to make us do called "niners" Nope sorry guys these have nothing to do 29" wheels or single speeds. Well single speed maybe as you had to be full out the entire time running these. Ah I remember doing about a million of these during the course of a season. We would start on a touch line run errr sprint to the opposite touchline, sprint back to where we started and then back to the opposite touchline once again. All that had to be done in 30 seconds. We were then graciously given a 30 second rest period and we had to repeat the run two more times for a total of three times or 9 trips across the field. One set of 9 equaled one "niner".

Fast forward to today or this past Thursday. I was asked if I could help out again this year, with a seminar for the Gym teachers of Chesterfield County Schools. Having done it last year I it was an immediate "YES!" The school system has been trying to introduce cycling into their criteria for the past three years ever since they received a huge grant.

The first group of teachers came outside to where our station was setup and low and behold who is it, Coach Mclean himself! It was great to see him again and be able to catch up and reminisce! I snuck away for a little photo op and here it is. He is on the right in the red. If you cannot tell your right from your left, I will give you a hint. He has the same hair style as I.

Leesburg Baker's Dozen

Let me just begin with a little history of this race. This is the first year of hopefully many to come that the race took place. It was as the name depicts a 13 hour race. It's located on a working farm in Leesburg, VA just a few miles south of the Point of Rocks bridge and right on the Potomac River.

So as you know from the previous posts I made it up there on Friday for a few laps as the farm was open for the afternoon. Took the time to look at a couple of different lines through the couple of rock drop offs. The first one was about mile and a half in and was roll-able but found it to be faster if I put into practice the cyclocross skills I learned over the many cross races I did this past winter. The course was mostly flat with only a couple very short steep climbs and proved to be a very fast ~7.5 mile course.

Saturday morning comes along and I am starting to mentally prepare myself for the anguish I was about to put myself through. Taking the same approach I had in the 18 hour race last summer I started almost dead last and just rode my pace. After the first lap I was sitting 29th of 31 or so as I only passed a couple of solo riders at the very end of the lap. No worries they will begin to drop off the longer the day goes right?

The traffic began to thin a bit on lap two and even more on lap three. I decided to pick the pace up a bit so I didn't fall too far behind the leaders. Being a chaser by nature, I began to pick one rider off after another. Lap 5 or 6 I stop for a PBJ and ask Dad to check the standings to see where I was sitting as I thought I had made a strong push towards the front. Low and behold it wasn't that strong as I had only picked up positions on half the field and was now sitting in 16th.

A bit disappointed at where I was standing, Dad had to remind me that I was less than 4 hours in. He also told me it appeared many of the riders were beginning to tire as they rolled through the pits. Whether this was true or not I don't know but it worked and I jumped back on the bike and heading out for a few more laps.

After completing those couple of laps I rolled into the pits complaining of my upper back hurting. Sat in the chair for a few minutes while I ate another sandwich and once again mounted the bike. The thing about endurance racing is you do not get a chance to really dwell on any one part of your body hurting for any length of time because as soon as you do some other part begins to hurt even worse and takes your mind off of it onto the new pain.

The night began to come closer and I began to move up ever so slowly. I remember sitting in the pit a couple of laps later, again chomping down on a PBJ when mom's cell rings. It's Dad up at the scorer's table. I had just made the comment, thinking I was still mid-pack or so, "I wish I was closer to the front. Maybe I would be a little more motivated to get back out there." Thats when I hear Mom say, "Well get back out there. You are in third" That comment made me choke on the Cytomax I just squirted into my mouth. Jumping back on the bike I head back out for what ended up being two of my fastest (actual riding time) laps. The taste of blood was in my mouth and I was hunting the leaders. OK so not really. I was really trying to run from 4th, 5th and 6th as we were all on the same lap and already 2 laps down to the eventual winner Steve Schwartz of Titus Cycles.

As the sun began to set, I couldn't help but to notice that it seemed everyone was already grabbing their lights before heading out again. "I'll need my light next lap" "You sure you don't want it now?" "Nope, It will make me ride faster if I am racing daylight." Off I went and back I got before the sun set. Grabbed my light and headed back out.

The last couple of hours in the dark are really a blur as I was fighting the dreaded bonk for the last three laps. My night laps were slower than I would have liked but I got to the point were I could turn over the cranks no more. Somewhere along those laps I surrendered 3rd place and finished in 4th place.

I am satisfied with my finish and loved the ride of the Turner. I find myself in a weird spot where I am in shape but yet still out of shape. Make sense? No? Oh well! The plan of racing on Sunday as well at Poor Farm feel through as my arms and hands hurt like no other afterwards. Such a wuss I know!