Jesus was a blackman, Jesus was batman, No! That was Bruce Wayne
(Editor's Note: a few months ago, Markie moved from the rocky lowlands of the Mid Atlantic to the flatlands of Illinois.)Well I have been gone from D.C. for a a while and I have to say that I miss all of you and the MD trails. I know I owe a lot of you emails, photos, beer and probably much more, but
here is a start.
So there should be photos of the Lodi winners. Lodi - I am only beginning to forgive myself for that now. Blowing up 5 laps and 5 hours into a 12 hour race isn't really much use. I was third when I retired, way behind Ricky. I have never felt so bad on a bike and forcing myself to do another lap whilst completely blown up really was not a good idea. It has taken until recently to get any confidence back in my fitness and it still has not been long enough to make me want to do the SM100. If there were big hills here to train on I wouldn't be able to not use that as an excuse.
The best bike story I have so far happened this weekend. I have met a few riding buddies here already and I much prefer hitting the trails with company, So when Jeff called me on Saturday to tell me he couldn't play on Sunday because his Heckler's drivetrain was knackered, I offered to let him ride my one-week old redline 29er. Normally when I get a new bike I want to ride it all the time, but I finally got wheels for my IF cyclocross bike and I was itching to ride it, too. It took almost two months waiting for the wheels from speedgoat, but when they finally arrived I could not have been happier. So a quick trip to the
LBS to get a nice Phil Wood bottom bracket for the White cranks, and Sunday was a go.
Jeff picks me up at 6:00 am, takes one look at the bike and says, "Don't tell anyone about this!" See Jeff is, or rather was, a confirmed singlespeed hater and definite lover of gears, despite his chain breaking three times on the previous weekend's ride. We get to the trail, hook up with another rider at random and ride. Jeff only had an hour and a half to ride, but an hour and a half comes and goes and Jeff just wants to keep riding and riding and riding..... I guess that someone finally sees the light:
So Jeff called today to let me be the first to know that he is getting a
Gary Fisher Rig. Right now I feel like I am one of the disciples, spreading the good word of the SS lifestyle; I too was once a sinner and coveted gears, swore I would never give them up. But If I am a disciple, does that make this guy Jessus?
Here is how it all looks on the
Illinois MTB board.
bicycle ink at the bike shop
W@W III
I've posted my photos from last night's
Wednesdays at Wakefield #3.
The Snotrocket motivational shot:
And my favorite action-air shot of the night:
The shots in the gallery are, as usual, lo-fi versions. If you see something you like, email me (gmr2048 at yahoo dot com) and I should be able to get you a bigger/better version.
-gary
How to motivate Snotrocket
happened upon this on Tom's blog... look out Ricky, he was special forces and he's gunning for you!
ORAMM Aftermath
Folks have been asking me how last Sunday's ORAMM (Off Road Assault on Mount Mitchell) was. Basically, it's a tough race with a heckuvalot of climbing. I'm a bit busy this week so the race report will have to wait a few days, but for now I'll just say I'm glad I went. I recommend it, especially if you like uphills!
Skillz....
Wow, where has
she been all my life?
If only I were single.... ;o)
W@W #2 photos up
(Title: "Prelude to endo")
I've posted my (unprocessed) shots from W@W #2. You can see them
here.
Fading daylight kept the number of "good" shots lower than W@W #1.
Please post this link around to the usual message boards and mailing lists and such. If you see something you like, let me know (gmr2048 at yahoo dot com). There's a *chance* I'll be able to get you a bigger, better copy. If you want to read my whining about fading daylight, crappy flashs and the like,
my blog is the place to be.
-gary
One of Those Days
I'm bumming. Last night was the second of the
Wednesdays @ Wakefield races and I didn't have a good run at it. I had high hopes for this race since I did fairly well for myself at the first of the series a month ago. Instead, I'm sporting a sore face, black and blue leg, scraped knee, but mostly, a bruised ego.
The start was crowded. Seems most folks have figured out a good holeshot usually means good endings because you don't crowd up as much. The hillclimb that is supposed to string us all out, didn't. We were clumped together tighter than a clusterf*ck. People were running into each other. Ten seconds into the race and it was already not going so good. I get cut off so badly on the right side that I veer all the way to the left to get around and I almost get taken out by a stationary pole in the middle of the trail.
Then two minutes into the race there was a crash on a short downhill where there was no option of riding off to the side, so guys started piledriving into each other. Someone rammed into me and I could hear the smashing of bodies and bikes. I didn't look back. I just untangled from the mess, and sprinted to try to catch the lead pack. I spin my ass off in the stream section then pop out onto a fairly wide trail that will soon spit us back into the woods, followed by some tight singletrack with little opportunity to pass. This is my chance to get up there to contend.
I rev the legs up to get by as many people as I can. I pass one guy. Then another. When I tried to pass another guy on his right, he assumed folks were trying to pass on his left. He veered right. We locked bars. We both
kersplatted on the trail. I took a digger with my face and chest.
We both jump up apologizing profusely. He for cutting me off, me for not giving warning. Neither of our faults. It's racing. I get the wind knocked out of me so I hunch over my bars for a few seconds to catch my breath. I feel dripping on my face, wondering if it's blood. I've had at least 30 stitches in my mug from
faceplants before. Wipe, look, and it's clear. Just sweat. A quick glance over the rest of my parts and I notice I'm bleeding a bit from the knee. Whatever. Gotta keep moving.
I jump back on the bike. Ouch. Bruise and charlie horse, left leg. Must have hit it with the end of the Jones bar. I step off to massage it a little and get it moving again. I hop back on. Oh wait. Stem facing 30 degrees from North. Out comes the Allen wrench to straighten it out. I get it figured out quick and jump back on. Wait again. WTF? Major rubbing and bike won't go. I hop off again and look at the rear wheel and spin it. Looks good. Wheel's straight and brake pads didn't shift out of place. Pick up the front and try to spin it. It doesn't move. The tire is steadfastly held in place by the left fork leg. I unclamp the skewer, set the front of the bike down, and reclamp it. I noticed it shifted a lot. Good. No problems with it bumping out of true (or so I thought). Hop back on bike again and try to go. No dice. Wheel spun about a quarter turn and is stopped abruptly by the tire hitting fork again. I know what I have to do.
I take the wheel out, spin it briefly to find the high spots. I place it on the ground and step on the opposing sides of the wheel where the high spots are. I pick it up and spin it to see if it improved. Barely. I flip the wheel over and try the bounce-truing again on the high spots. I throw the wheel back into the fork, clamp down and try to take off. Tire still hitting fork solidly. Left leg cramps from where the bar struck it. Dammit! Race over. I hoof it back. The second DNF since I started racing a dozen years ago. Bummer.
Up next? The
ORAMM (Off Road Assault on Mount Mitchell) down in North Carolina this Sunday. 11,000 feet of climbing in 55 miles. I did no research on this race, but for comparison's sake, the
SM100 is 14,000 feet of elevation in 100 miles. Just figured I have vacation and I might as well use it. Why not do a race 10 hours away? Heh.
I just hope my legs're not smarting as much as they are right now. Three days to get over it and get the bike back in working order.
Buck up, Ricky, buck up.
FG 101
I must have been asleep when this was being taught...
Starting you on your wayCheck out Martina
Rockin' the Ring
Joe took us on a bit of a ride last weekend on the Massanutten Ring Trail. Check his
July 5, '06 entry for the shiz.
Pic by Joe Whitehair.
DC area weather
June 24 - rain.
June 25 - rain all day.
June 26 - more rain.
June 27 - afternoon thunder storms.
June 28 - brief thunder storm.
June 30 - sunny.
July 1 - riding?
