50 degrees/rain...Night?

Well, the cyclocross season is over for me. There s a possibility of a few more races in January or February but those will be more as a cure for cabin fever if I am feeling the need. With that, the riding style is changing into winter mode: Long and slow(ish). We had some unseasonably warm weather this week and I was looking forward to getting some time in the saddle but I was not sure how as I finally found a great job that would keep me until the late afternoon. Off road is generally a great cure for the daylight problem but the rain was falling and I was not too motivated for the mud, feeling lazy I guess.
Everett called and said we could meet and ride on the road and if we kept it short we could make it back to town before it got super dark. Long story short, we started the backside of Buffalo mountain in the super dark. I was a bit nervous, I had a rear blinker, Everett had a blinker and a front commuter light, Jason had nothing. There was almost no traffic and climbing that mountain in the dark was a cool feeling; fear and excitement at the same time. The decent was hairy and I was riding blind but still a neat new experience.
What do you follow up a night road ride with? Another night road ride, of course. This time we did not get out of town until almost 5 and it was dark in 30 minutes. I had better lighting this time with a good 6 watt halogen on the bars and that was a good call. This time the entire ride was in the pouring rain, 50 degrees and dark-not getting dark, not sort of dark-blackness. The fog was heavy and the rain eased a bit over buffalo. That was one of the coolest road rides I have done in recent times. I can't say I have done it all on the bike but I have done quite a bit and this was a 'first-time' feeling that I have not had in a long time.
What better way to follow up my first two night road riders? With a third. We hit it again for a colder night rider, but still taking advantage of the warm temps.

What a cool week on the bike. Not a ton of hours but getting 6 hours in December outside (in the dark) feels pretty good, especially going into the holiday week where riding takes a back seat. I hope I can ride this wave of motivation for some time and stay on the bike with a focus of getting ready for March and the first SERC race. The 2009 season is going to be outstanding and I would like to put forth an honest effort to race well, have fun and represent Everedy Endurance Cycling Team. Check the Everedy blog, I will be updating that soon to recap the team results from cyclocross.

Ride well, safe and strong.

Yeah, I know: no posts for three months

Well, no excuse for the lack of an update. Really I haven't had a ton of free time or much interesting news to pass along.
This weekend was the wrap-up of the local cyclocross series and I really have been waiting to post anything about it until it all played out. It was a great 'cross season for me and I was able to put up a few results I can be proud of. To keep it brief, I had to start the 'cross season in the lowest category as I have taken so much time away from racing that I am basically starting over. So the first two races of the year were Category 4 races, this is a competitive category but I knew that I needed to get the finishes to move up to the next racing category.
The first two Cat. 4 races were fun. It was back-to-back days of racing and the wins in both races came after some super fun sprint finishes. As fun as two wins were, I knew the work was ahead in Cat 3, after receiving my upgrade.
Cat 3 racing was intimidating at first. I have raced at that level before and been competitive but that was years ago and still am not the rider I used to be. But, its cyclocross and the playing field is leveled due to a need for fitness, bike handing, intelligent race tactics and the ability to flat-out suffer. I thought that as long as I rode hard and smart I could ride in the top 10.
The sum it up, the Cat 3 finishes looked like this: 4, 2, 4, 1. I was flabbergasted that I was finishing that well. Going into the last race the points race for the over all series lead was really close. Just to be that close to the over all lead after four races felt great, but I wanted to win it all (maybe a bit greedy). The last race would take a certain finishing order between myself and mike, the series leader, for me to get the points needed to take to series over-all win. In short, it didn't happen. As the race started I was paying close attention to to which rider was were and did what I could to get the finish to play out like I needed it to. I needed to win and have one rider between Mike and myself and that should have done enough. I realized at the half-way point in the race that even though I had a good lead, Mike was riding really Strong in second place. The over all series lead was not going to happen for me so I decided to enjoy the last race and rode one of my better races and won by...a good bit. Felt good to get a victory! Results

The MSG cyclocross series was great to be a part of. I still am amazed how popular it is and how may people continue to show up and race, and the people that travel for hours to be there. The promoters deserve so much credit for great courses and flawless administration of the series. It is easy to keep coming back to those races when there put on so well.

Cross is over. The 2008 season is closed for me. I might race another cross race or two but I don't know. For me I plan to take a step back from the bike and then focus on the 2009 season. I think I might give next year a honest effort. I have a unbelievable team to ride with that has offered me support at a level some pro riders don't get. It will be a busy but fun summer!

More updates to come and more regularly as school is out until January and I might get motivated to post up some other things that have been cooking.

Bike, Books, Bike, Books, Bike...

I did go up the Guest River Bike Rally in Coeburn, VA last weekend. What a calamity. I decided a good 40 mile ride in new surroundings that was only a 45 minute drive and $20 was well worth it. Here is where I must admit a sprinkle of arrogance. The ride organizer/promoter added a competitive edge to the ride by putting a time goal for the top finishers. I thought, since I have been riding fairly well in recent weeks, I would go up to this ride and have a good workout and a good finish. I really did not expect any of the area ‘fast guys’ to be there. Ha, wrong. I pulled into the parking lot, scanned the faces and realized this was not going to be a walk in the park. There were a handful of fellas from E. KY I know, one being my old college roommate, as well as some well-known names like Jeremy Keller and Dwaine Miller suiting up. I got ready to ride and to hurt.
The ride was really fun. There was a nice 1.5 mile (I think) climb that was steep about 20 miles in and that was the main deciding factor in the finishers. When Jeremy and Dwaine started to climb away from the group I bridged up to them but could not hold their pace. I was a bit disappointed that I could not hold on because I knew that if I could get over that mountain with them I had a shot at finishing with them. They are both stronger riders than me so it would have been a personal victory. As lactate threshold would have it I had to back off on the climb and was joined by Austin (roommate) and two others (Dave? and other dude). They were way a head of the rest of the group so we dug in and rode fairly hard. Austin and I were doing a lot of the work but could not bring back Jeremy and Dwaine (not a surprise). About 5 miles from the finish we were joined by a few other riders who (as it turned out) motor-paced a friendly vehicle up to us; not a big deal since this was not a race, and nothing was on the line. As it turns out I ended up in 5th after a sprint for third. I was pleased but the day was not over for me yet…
We did the awards and the customary bla bla bla that goes on after a race and then it was time to pack it up. I loaded up said my farewells and then fate (not appreciating my care-free attitude to the day), had apparently snuck into the back seat of my car during the ride, rose up and knocked the ever-loving crap out of me. Car won’t start.
Coeburn, VA, I remind you. My cell phone won’t work. The race promoter, who is by far one of the nicest people I have met in a long time, really helped out. He handed me his phone and offered all sorts of help. I called AAA, long story short, I was better off without them if I wanted to get my car back to Kingsport. Ashley was fortunately done with her ride by the time, I called and she headed north on the rescue mission. It was not the hour or so wait for Ashley, that was no bid deal, but the thunderstorm that was blowing in was actually making me laugh out loud at the situation at hand. We got home at 6 o’clock when I expected to be home at 2. My car got home at about 10 o’clock on the back of a truck, even though I could have left it in Coeburn for all I was concerned at that point. Not cheap. The race promoter even came back by to be sure Ashley made it and I was all taken care of, super guy, much appreciation.

I ended up going on a great ride on Monday with a group of usual suspects from the local group rides. It was a group of all ability levels and we had a well-paced ride on an excellent route. We rode about 50 miles and it included one of my favorite climbs (my favorite is always the last one I climbed) Spivey Mountain and we rode it in both directions, good times. Glad I went but one problem has transpired from that ride. I now know the route to a climb by the name of Indian Graves Gap, one of the hardest climbs in this region. I have caught my self thinking about it, even mapquesting route. I might have to succumb to the temptation and go ride that thing-it’s taunting me!

Off the bike is getting more interesting. The classes I am in are beginning to become more daunting. Anatomy and Physiology is like a 20 hour a week job, in and of itself. Man, it is tough. I can not believe how much information is thrown at us at that speed. I am finding a way to get some of in my head and have caught my self mentally reviewing bio-chemistry during rides, driving, and laying in bed. It is consuming me a bit but I guess that is not so bad. I am still adjusting myself to the way the material is ingested and understood. It is not abstract concepts, its information and that’s it. No writing, no research, no theoretical hypothesizing or analysis; read, retain, understand and regurgitate. It’s time consuming to say the least.

Slow weekend on the horizon. We are staying put again and really I only plan to watch the Browns game on Sunday, other than that, nothing. I imagine a bike or two and a bunch on time studying but those go without saying. Maybe I can sucker someone into riding over Indian Graves Gap with me tomorrow.

Until next time…

Cowering under a $350 stack of books

The bike has now taken a back seat, at least for a day or two, as I try to get back to being a college student. I have had a few classes now and I am fairly intimidated. It is not the concept of school that is frightening but the actual content that has me apprehensive. My first go-round produced a degree in a social science and I was compelled to that program because it was not a math or science (biological) oriented focus. So what better program to try on this “educational restart” plan than one that is primarily biological science based? Micro-biology? Who do I think I am? Healthcare here I come, I hope. Honestly, it is not too bad…yet. Only part-time and I have the resources and support to make it work. Now by next summer I may be singing a different tune.

Bike racing is dormant for a while. I am racing the weekend of September 7th but that’s about it unless I can sneak out to a few others. The ETSU race is that weekend so I will likely go give it a shot. The next significant bit of racing on the calendar is the cyclocross races starting in early October and then Hill of Truth 12 Hour race. I plan on training with a focus on the 12 hour race only because the preparation will make a bigger impact than at the cyclocross events, I think. However, I will be looking to shorten the length, or at least add in more intensity, to the rides one day a week. I need to get used to pure, undeniable, utter pain for cyclocross.

If I can make it to the Guest River Bike Rally this weekend I will offer up a report.

“It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education”- Albert Einstein

Great Weekend-Great Timing

This weekend at Tsali did a body good.
I have been exhausted the last two weeks. Since ORAMM I have been dragging tail on every ride and been a bit out of it when off the bike. I think the summer caught up with me after training pretty hard leading up to ORAMM and not resting too much after.
Either Greg or Scooby mentioned camping at Tsali and riding and relaxing in equal amounts. I was not sure at first but one look at the weather forecast and I could not resist inviting myself along. Man, I needed that. Laid back riding, the tame but fun trails of Tsali and no worries. Thanks to Greg, Melinda and Scooby for letting me crash the party-it was therapeutic.

You know-every time I am going to Tsali I catch so much heat from folks who think that place is antithesis of all things holy to mountain biking. I can understand where they are coming from, there are a plethora of crooked helmet, flat pedal, wal-mart warriors but I think the haters are missing something. Every time I ride the Tsali trail system I fall deeper in love with mountain biking. It is beautiful there and the trails are so much fun. Yeah, I know its not technical riding, so go faster-that will give you enough to focus on. I have raced fast XC, raced endurance and ridden with beginners for fun and that place gives justice to all aspects. (OK, OK I rode at Tsali back in the early 90's and it is where I first realized what the bike was all about-it is pretty special to me) The folks that don't like it there I think are in search of the holy grail, and might be passing up some great things along the way. I say to the haters: meet me there and lets see if it's "too easy" for you.

The fun begins

I really never thought I would get into the blog thing. I always thought that writing about myself was sort of self-serving and no one would really take much concern for what I had to write about. I guess I can say with solidarity that I was pressured into setting up a blog over the weekend-thanks Scooby and Greg.

I will admit I like the idea of publishing my view of the world. Maybe I have a mental picture of someone reading my thoughts and it having an affect on that person, or maybe I like the idea of writing about myself. Either way I can't loose.

My ideology for the creation and maintenance of this blog will be centered around the significant and mostly entertaining events that I want to share. As of late, that has been primarily cycling-related with some sprinkling of more 'real-life' decisions and situations I have been recently confronting.



Do me a favor, world of people that wonder onto my page, shoot me a reaction to What I Do.

Wellness to all