Just like us!

Like that, but better.

Although she may not admit to it, Sonya Looney is famous.  She's a badass mountain biker kicking ass across the globe.  She has also proven herself to be a great ambassador for our sport.  More importantly, she is a cool, down to earth, funny as hell, mountain biker.  After all, she rides bikes, just like us!

As you can see, my wife commented on a photo I snapped during the group ride.  If you couldn't surmise from her comment, Jake Gyllenhaal is her celebrity crush.  I don't know if Sonya Looney is my celebrity crush (sorry to crush your hopes there Sonya, but you might have to fight Natalie Portman for that right, and we all know Natalie can take a punch) but she is officially good people.

PLUS, she has a mustache

JUST. LIKE. ME!

Let me tell you a story.  A couple of years ago I was readying for a pre-ride for a race up in Connecticut.  It was a course that I certainly wanted to pre-ride because it was going to be a tough race... after all, it was called "Wrath of the Boneyard."  I had originally thought that I would be pre-riding with the course designer for a no pressure ride.  As I arrive I find out that we would have company, one of which being a rider that I followed on the internet.  To say I was intimidated would be an understatement.  I didn't know what else to do other than introduce myself and tell him that I followed his blog.  He thanked me and offered to wear a pink jersey so that I wouldn't be so intimidated.  From that point I truly understood just how awesome mountain bikers are.  Here was this Cat 1 ass kicking rigid singlespeeder giving me (a cat 3 beginner) tips on line choice like we were old friends.  Where else can you find pros and beginners getting along as equals?

And that is who Sonya Looney is.  A down to earth mountain biker who would readily shed her fame in order to have a real interaction with another rider, of any level.  And that's when the other side of Sonya comes out.  The side you wouldn't imagine in a million years!  I won't share all the amazing gems that we heard last night, but I will leave you with this... if for no other reason then to prove that I did meet Sonya Looney.

Elephantiasis?

Maybe I'll talk about my race this weekend tomorrow... or maybe I'll tell you about the fried pickles.

Sonya

Sonya Looney is in town!

There is a shop ride scheduled tonight with Sonya Looney that TheMutt reminded me of at yesterday's race.  For some reason I was thinking that the ride with her was on Wednesday.  So today doesn't work out as well for me schedule wise to make the ride at 5, and 5:30 is pushing it - Sonya might see me changing in the parking lot!

Of course, the weather is now coming into play.  As you see from the picture above, Sonya has been welcomed to NC with rain.  The trails around Charlotte get rather particular when rain is involved and they often go into hibernation, so I'm not sure the ride will be on with last night's rain and the predicted thunderstorms this afternoon.

Then you have my legs.  My legs are feeling a bit beat after the race yesterday (which I will get into tomorrow).  So the decision is: do I bring my bike to work with the chance of it getting a nice long shower on the back of the pterodactyl as I drive around Gastonia and let the dice roll as to whether the ride will be called off or not OR do I just call it on account of my legs and try to sneak into the Dirt Divas' meeting tomorrow to meet Sonya there?

I like the third option as it also involves a side of fried pickles.

Locked in?

Media Fridays

We'll post videos or photos that will hopefully inspire trail shredding weekends.

I think my race decision has been finalized.

This is after a "test" run of sorts.  I hit up USNWC yesterday mimicking what my best guess of the course will be.  The trails were busy, so some sections were a little slower than I wanted - but that's ok, that happens in races too.

I had to pee almost the entire ride.  It was hard to not stop, and I even thought about trying the roadie approach at one point.

I had never before hit carpet on the Glow Worm.  I lived.

But Goat right after was killer.  I dry heaved three times as I was about 3/4 of the way up.  Maybe this isn't the right choice?

I was able to recover a little on the downhill and keep pushing through.  The ever deceiving grind back up towards Way Station was an absolute killer - had to stand the whole thing practically.

At the top I started feeling good and maxed out my spin cycle over to Way Station and was feeling good.... then I remembered I still had Toilet Bowl left to go.

Got through Toilet Bowl fine and finished up.

I had no idea what kind of finish I had, or if I would be able to be competitive in the race.  I did, at least, see that I got a whole bunch of PRs yesterday.

This morning I poured through past ride data.  Compared average speeds.  Compared bike performances.  Took into accounts stops on previous rides.

I looked at finishing times for previous years of the Riverfront Classic.  Which only confused me because either last year was full of insanely fast guys or they had a shorter course.  If I went off times from last year, I'd be 10th.  If I went off times from the year before, I'd be 2nd.

A lot of data to look at, a lot of inconclusiveness.  But, I'm locked in.  This will be the only race that I can confidently say I can ride this bike at, so I'm racing the Glow Worm on Sunday.    

Here's a view of last years race from the 40+ Sport (Cat2) field.

It's time

Well, I guess it's time.

I've been going back and forth on which bike to race this weekend and I think I've come to a conclusion.

Maybe it wasn't the best time to make the final decision, but as team "My neighbor has big testicles" was playing trivia last night it was unanimous that I race the Glow Worm this weekend at the Catawba Riverfront Classic.

Ok, now that you've gotten through link city, this is the plan.  This season I've seemed to go out for a solid ride on Thursdays, and usually at USNWC just because of ease of access.  This week it is also the location of the race, so today I get to do a sort of pre-ride while giving the Glow Worm the final shake down to see if I can actually compete with it the way it is.  I figure this is the best course to give it a shot at since I know the trails and have ridden it out there... so why the hell not.  Today I will figure out if the climbing to flat ratio is good enough to merit the 32x20 I've got going on because it will be a "run what you brung" type of scenario... the 20 is all I have at the moment.  Honestly, I don't think an 18 would be my friend on goat hill or the carpet climb so it's 20 or nothing.

Will I be fast enough to race... or slow like, well, you know...

If I feel like I can hit everything and come out with a respectable time then I'm down for Sunday.  Stay tuned.

things fall apart

I've had so much to say - but haven't been able to say it.  And that's no fault of yours, so I apologize for leaving you all alone the past two days.  Can you ever forgive me?

I wasn't able to be here Monday and Tuesday because of training.  No, not race training, work training. I'd MUCH rather be stuck in the garage on the trainer than at work trainings.  Although, I will say this one thing... at least the trainers were entertaining.  While the work training threw off my schedule and I was unable to find the time to get my posts done a lot of things will be left out or otherwise truncated.

Last week a number of things took the opportunity of riding away from me in a big way - so I made up for it Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  I almost made it out Sunday but my brother had a friend visiting for the weekend and I attended the farewell "brunch" instead of riding solo.

Recap of the rides.

Thursday - Fisher Farm.
I already talked about this a little.  But here goes another recap.  I wore a suit (more on that later).  The rear wheel fell off between laps.  Got to keep checking and tightening my shit up.

Friday - USNWC
(some) Trails were underwater.

The water had receded, but you can see the water line was up over the trail.

PR on Goat Hill, of course riding the Glow Worm.  Maybe I should race the Glow Worm out there on Sunday?  Although, the flats will kill me, but I'll make up for it on the climbs - serious inner arguments (still) going on as to which I'll race: Glow Worm v HiFi.

Swollen river in the background

Saturday - Booty(ish) Loop
Needed a quicker ride as my brother's friend was coming into town.  So after cleaning the house I hit the streets.  I didn't take the time to map out a route, because that can be a time suck for me, so I started on my "normal" "nice side of town" ride and stumbled into the Booty Loop.  I'd always been riding it "backwards" so I jumped on in the right direction and cranked away the miles.  There was a sweet water fountain out there on the route.

This is the second time I've seen citizens put up a water fountain in front of their homes (there is also a sweet water fountain in front of a home on our new street).  People down here rock.

Last night was the social ride.  I got out there early for once and hit up two "fast laps" before the group assembled.  But that wasn't before I found this.

Yup, the front chainring was loose as can be while still remaining on the crank and I was missing a bolt.  Perhaps that was the "gears popping" sound I had heard while out at the whitewater center.  I guess I need to tighten shit up on the regular.  I tightened the remaining bolts and was good to go.  I checked my seat as well since I KNEW that had been creaking and tightened it up.  The Glow Worm was silent and fast for the group ride, just the way I like it.

Lesson Of The Week - Check Your Shit.

Big Biking Lesson - Beer isn't an option when bike building, it's a requirement.  Proper torque can not be achieved without proper beer muscles.
 

Strava angers germans

Media Fridays

We'll post videos or photos that will hopefully inspire trail shredding weekends.

I hit up Fisher Farm yesterday on the Glow Worm.  I was in the area, actually right down the street from North Meck, but figured since I haven't ridden Fisher in a while, and North Meck is already singlespeed approved, I'd give FF a try.

Well, the trail must have sensed the strava engines revving up in the parking lot, because a tree "took one for the team" and went down across the trail, hanging about 3 feet high.

Of course I'm not hitting the trail with the sole mission of getting PRs and reaching for a KOM.  This is all just a transition leading us here: Angry Hitler

But, even with the obstacle present, and the necessary dismounting and walk around, I was still able to pull PRs for the trail.  Maybe my fitness has just been improving since the last time I rode out there in who knows how long... but it seems wherever I ride the Glow Worm I've got a new PR.  Coincidence?
  

Oh, and the bit of random?  After my second lap I stopped back at the pterodactyl and as I was leaning the bike against the bike rack the back wheel fell off!!  On that lap I had noticed a strange modulation and sound coming from the rear brake - but assumed it was just mud in the pads.  Nope, I guess the wheel was loose!!  Tightened up the bolts and the wheel was good.  I guess I need to keep checking everything to make sure it's snug as I break the Glow Worm in.  

Ok, so not super ride inspiring... but if you are local, hit the trails while you can.  Looks like more rain this weekend.  

2 v 0

Our national treasure known as Thom P posted up a little video today (which I can't share here because he's got some magical properties that bar me from figuring out how to embed it here...) that reminded me of something I wanted to mention.  If it hadn't been for the big TP, there would be no post today - so a round of applause for Thom.

What I wanted to reflect upon were my thoughts on the adjustment of going from a full suspension ride to a fully rigid one(9).

First big adjustment: NO front suspension.
Might sound harsh, but this was actually a welcomed change - weird I know.  On the Big Worm's maiden voyage I felt that the lack of front suspension helped me connect with the trail better and get into the berms with more confidence and speed.  On a trail going up or maintaining elevation there is no need for the front suspension - one can just loft the front tire over menacing roots and rocks.  Going downhill it's not so bad either.  Again, give your front end a little love and pick those lines quickly and precisely and you're good to go... sure your arms seem to get more of a workout than usual (which may be a function of lazy riding on the dual suspension) but it hasn't been a huge adjustment.  Or, maybe it's the big tractor tire I've got on there that helps.

So, when do you miss the front end suspension.  Haven't been missing it too much.  The weirdest riding experience sans front end suspension is when hitting little gully dips in the trail... you know, where the trail sharply dips and immediately comes back up at you.  That has been an interesting experience to ride without the front end soaking that up.  I've had to relearn the handling of those situations on the fly - and let me tell you, that can be a scary thing to learn at full speed.

Second big adjustment: the back wheel bounces!
My first impression was that I LOVE not having rear suspension (in some applications).  Climbing is even more fun then it was before!  That isn't a joke, I like climbing.  Not gravel grinds or forest roads that go on for miles on a super annoying incline that just keeps you in misery for extended periods of time.  But technical climbs that force you to motor on and find your way through the crap to get to the top - super sense of accomplishment!  I can look back and think to myself, I just laid a whooping on that trail - sucka!

The switch from dualie to zero has forced a change in positioning on the climbs.  You know, cause with one gear I'm standing more.  Inherently there is more balance to consider and weighting issues to ensure traction on the rear tire.  With the fully I would sit and spin more to account for bob.  I've experienced some loss of traction already on roots due to me being up and out of the saddle trying to fly up a hill.

But where I miss my rear suspension is in the gnarly stuff that the suspension would just eat up - allowing my rear wheel to stay grounded.  With nothing in the back, I actually have to think about the back wheel.  That's something I didn't realize until I felt the rear end go squirrely on me as roots and rocks were tossing my rear-end towards the sky.

Mind you, none of these are gripes... the Glow Worm is a super fast and maneuverable bike.  All of these "issues" can be overcome with rider adjustments.  They are just differences.  Do I love how on the HiFi I can point and shoot a decline over roots, rocks, and drops without too much concern - sure.  But I equally (if not more so) love the speed, connection, and "flickability" of the Glow Worm.

The Glow Worm keeps me focused and on my game cause the Glow Worm don't play!