Solo Ride

Got up early this morning before the kids to put some miles in. Decided to park the road bike and put some miles on the mtn bike this morning. I left the house about 7:00 and headed towards Orion Oaks. Only ended up doing a small section of trail since there was a lot of dew still on the grass surrounding the trails. I was coated from head to toe with sand by the time I made it out. Not really how I wanted to start off a ride. On my way out of the park I saw a buck looking into the park through the fence. Since it was so early in the year, his horns were still in velvet. I think he'll develop into a nice six pointer by this fall. I'm sure he'll hide away in one of the surrounding subs where you can't hunt. He ended up bolting across Baldwin Rd when he saw me. The on coming traffic had to put on the brakes while he safely crossed to the other side.

Figure I'd head down to Rochester next to check out the trails at Bloomer and Stony Creek. Not sure what event was going on along the Paint Creek Trail, but I ran into a huge group of runners on my way down. Bloomer was a little greasy, so I ended up doing some of the higher ground trails before making my way over to Stony Creek. I didn't even do the full trail out at Stony like I had planned. After running through the pines and the roller coaster section, I headed out to the main parking area. I ended up running into Loyd, another RBS team rider, in the lot. He said that while he and Jim were riding the trails that morning, Jim was stung by a bee in the face while going through the open fields. Sounds like Jim had a pretty bad reaction. They ended up having an ambulance come out to address the bad reaction he was having. Makes me wonder if I should start carrying one of those epipens with me. After hearing that story, I decided to just head back towards Addison Oaks with Loyd's group and work my way home from there. All in all it was great to get out and put some miles long miles in today. Best wishes to a speedy recovery Jim!

Long Weekend, ...Let's Ride!

That's exactly what I did not do... I spent most of my weekend working around the house. Bummer! What kind of project would take all weekend you ask...

Two words for you... "Retaining Wall".... It was good cross training! Next weekend will be taken up with the patio pavers... What fun!

Before:

During...

Hired help... (O;

After:

(Two and a half very long days latter)

Trek 5.2 Pro

Finally... , got the picture uploaded! I have a few rides in and am amazed on how rigid and comfortable this bike is. Forty mile rides aren't so painful any more. Now I just need to find more free time.

Bloomer XC Video

This is what I love about the sport. The people, the trails, the scenery, ...oh, and the crashes! Hopefully everyone walked away with no serious injuries. Just good memories!
Put together by the good fellas out at Masher's Media for your entertainment:




To see more:
http://www.mashersmedia.com/?TabId=67

Another addition to the family?...

Went for a ride this afternoon out at Stony. Did a few loops around the lake. Man, was it ever windy! I would normally just hit the back roads on a day like today, but I couldn't resist taking out the new ride I picked up from the shop last week. I give you a hint: It has lots of carbon fiber.... I'll post some pics latter.

Bloomer XC

It was a great time at Bloomer last Sunday. That's if you ignore the two hours of pain I went through that day. It was a little cold out when we lined up at the starting line, but that made it perfect race weather. You could say that I was "well rested" that morning since I didn't ride all week with everything going on at work and home. I still can't tell how I'm going to perform until I start a race. I would have to say that I was definitely going through the pre-race jitters prior to the race. Once we were a few miles into the course and into the first section of single track, I was feeling a whole lot better. With the few reroutes in place, the trail was in great shape for the most part. We had a couple of small mud holes, but nothing that bad. I was feeling strong for the first two laps of the race and was keeping a strong pace going. The last two laps were a different story. Even though I could feel the fatigue setting in, I kept on pushing myself. I definitely need to work on a few weaknesses before the Stony Creek Marathon. (Placed 9th out of 17 riders in my class) With two races under my belt in the expert class, I'd have to say that I'm glad that I made the move up this year. I have pushed myself harder than ever and as a result, I have noticed fitness gains out on the trail. It's going to be an interesting year to see how far I can go!

It's SNOWING, but what the heck...

Didn't quite know what to think this morning when I saw the snow on the ground. I ended up loading up the gear after eating and driving down to see the trail system for my self. Not too many people were there when I arrived. Kind of what I expected with the way the weather was. I went for a walk down the trail and was actually surprised at how well the trail was holding up with all the rain that we did have in the last few days. I was however still on the fence about racing at all in those conditions. I talked with a few others that were there before finally making up my mind. It was good to see a few faces that I hadn't seen since last year. My biggest worry of the day was over dressing. It wasn't about being in a higher class, or the mileage. I over heated at the Iceman last year and didn't want to make the same mistake today. ...and luck would have it, I pinned the layering combination right on.
All in all, the day went great! I was a little slower than some on the first lap, but was feeling good on my second lap. I'll blame it on the 30 degree temps. In the end, I finished 9th out of 13 in my class. One thing I noticed today, specifically about the guy I lined up with, was there are some incredibly strong riders out there. This guy pulled as we left the start, and kept pulling all through the trail system. Maybe when I grow up, I'll be just as fast!!! (O;



Can you spot the differences between the next two pics?

Before the race:

After the race: