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.

Happy

So, I jump up off the ground, shove my water bottle back in the cage, and start running up the trail to get out of the way.  I hop back on the bike and now it's catch up time... way too early.  Of course I'm in my own head now, and anytime I feel any movement in the front wheel I automatically imagine going over the handlebars.  Ain't nobody got time for that while racing the Bouldergeist!

See more on Know Your Meme

Already we are catching riders from the waves ahead of us... maybe this will help me close the gap.  At times, I think I might be catching up, but a couple times I get caught behind riders just a little longer then I would have liked.  It's hard to tell exactly where you are on the course, and in relation to those you are chasing, because of the constant switchbacks.  I catch glimpses of the singlespeed field here and there - and they started 15 minutes before me.  I finally settled in, dropped the worry, and rode.  Since I couldn't accurately gauge the gap I decided to not overextend myself and instead try to keep my pace and see if I could catch someone falling off as I picked through the field ahead.  

The one bonus of the course bending back on itself so much is that it easier to keep at least someone in sight.  There always seemed to be someone ahead (or behind) to keep you motivated and moving.   I pushed myself to keep my speed up as well as I could.  Knowing that the garmins will surely inaccurately report my mileage I'm racing on time.  Looking at last year's results I knew that if I can finish around/under 1:10ish then I'll likely be in good standing.  

When we hit the gauntlet I felt a surge of energy.
(at about 40 seconds you get a view of a section of the gauntlet)

This is where I can capitalize on others mistakes.  I enter the "pre-gauntlet" (yes, there was a sign identifying it) and I see a rider ahead fumbling a bit.  I catch up to her and am looking ahead to see if there is a safe place to pass... there isn't.  I follow her as we enter.  She's keeping her pace and we are both staying on our wheels so I can't complain.  On the first switchback to the left she dismounts in the trail, forcing me off the bike.  I run up by her and hop back on the bike and attack the rocks.  I'm loving every second of it!!  I'm not annihilating the trail, but I'm clearing it.  I roll up to the last hard switchback and decide to jump off and run it.  I wasn't sure of the line and felt I didn't have the speed to just bust through.  I was a little disappointed on the decided dismount, but I was really happy with my riding through the majority of the gauntlet - a shout out to the Boneyard in really making me work on rock garden riding.

After the gauntlet was the first, and really only, respite.  A nice long, smooth, downhill run that gave me a chance to get a drink of water.  I hit a couple of hard strokes and coasted as I drank.  Quickly I rethought that strategy as this was an opportunity for speed.  So I jammed the bottle back down, shifted and hammered.  I used that pristine straight away for all she had and jumped back into the singletrack.

As I was catching more Cat 2 females I noticed a rider gaining on me.  He had been back there, but typically I had maintained a rider between us.  Finally there was no one between us.  I didn't recognize his jersey from the start line so I imagined he was the 40+ leader.  On a climbing switchback I yelled down to him to let me know if/when he wanted to pass.  He was content to follow.

I dabbed on a switchback allowing him to close in.  Clearing the next switchback I gave it to him, riding to the right I told him to take it.  He did, and thanked me.  I jumped on his wheel... briefly.  He took off, and suddenly I wondered why I hadn't called back to confirm he was the 40+ leader... what if he was in my class??  I was pretty sure he wasn't, but it was too late, he was pulling ahead and what I had left in me to try to grab back on didn't seem to be enough.  I pushed the thought out of my head and kept riding.

I was finally in no man's land.  I could no longer see him in front, and no one seemed to be behind.  Soon I enter one hell of a jump line.  It scared me at first because I wondered if I was off course... but no, below me I see the rider who got away and it looks like this the way to get to where he is.  Nothing I can do now, so I just ride.  I can't say I went balls to the wall on it - something about getting massive amounts of air during a race doesn't sit well with me... so I pump it to keep tires in the dirt as much as possible.

As I clear the jump line I can once again see riders on the switchbacks - but now I was more focused on those that were behind.  I didn't feel I would be able to catch anyone from my class at this point, but I wanted to make sure I didn't give up ground either.  I looked down at the garmins and it was around 56 minutes at this point.

Ok, best case scenario I have 10-15 minutes left... that is, if I've been riding well enough.  I think I have?  F it.  There isn't anything I can do now if I haven't, so I decided to ride it like I only have 10-15 minutes left.  That meant no letting off.  No leaving anything on the trail.  No coasting.  I see a female rider ahead, now I have the bait.  I use her as motivation and work my way up to her.  I'm behind her as we climb, and we just seem to keep on climbing.  We MUST be near the end by now.  She spins out on a short up and we dismount, she tells me to go ahead, and I do with a "thanks."  She jumps on my wheel and now it is up to me to set the pace.  We enter the dragon's tail and now I KNOW that we are close to the end as one of the racers at the start mentioned we finished out on the dragon's tail.  It is a fun little back and forth bermed downhill section.  Although I'm loving that gravity is once again my friend, I am dreading the climb back up to the finish.  I can finally see the start line through the woods and express my joy to a spectator - who can do nothing more than laugh.  

As I exit the woods Sean is there with my camera yelling "pro line."  If he hadn't been there I would have had a choice, but he was set up towards the "non-pro line" on the right so I was naturally going left - through the root drop.

Now I'm out in the grass looking at the last climb.  I don't see anyone ahead and do a quick gut check - just as I thought, nothing left in the tank to really bust it up the hill.  So I get my cadence up and work to just not loose speed on the hill.  I make it up to the top and cross the line, completely done.  Shortly there after the last rider I passed comes across and thanks me for pulling her through to the end.  I returned with thanking her for pushing me to finish hard!

One of the guys from my class comes up to me and congratulates me.  Huh?  "Looks like you snuck onto the podium!"  Really?  That isn't possible...  I'm happy at the thought, but it doesn't compute in my head.  My look must have given my doubt away and he says he is pretty sure, but maybe I should check.  I check the preliminary posting and I got 4th.  A little bit of a let down, only in the sense that 3rd had been dangled in front of me when I didn't think that would have been an option.  But I am happy with 4th, but more so I'm happy with my finishing time.  1:11 - right about where I wanted it to be.  I'm psyched I got 4th, but even more proud that I hit my goal.  

I finished that race just happy.  Happy to be riding, happy to be racing, happy to have been able to keep myself pedaling, happy to be riding with such great strangers - and happy that I got to race on such a great trail!!  

Looking forward to the next one!

Big Ring can BITE me!!

Literally.

I think it's time I took that bitch off and hucked it into a nearby river sewer grate.  It's somewhat fitting that it reared it injurious teeth again today.  See, it was the teeth of the big ring on the HiFi that initially led (helped at least) to the moniker "snakebite."  Saturday evening I was thinking that Eastwood is just fine, I don't need the snakebite nickname.  Legitimately, the night before the ride I was thinking of nixing snakebite.

Fast forward to yesterdays ride.  Not a mile into the singletrack and Sean loses a bottle in the trail.  I shout to him and stop to grab the bottle.  I'm standing in the trail, bike leaning on my leg and I bend forward to pick up the bottle.  Bike slips down my leg, teeth of the big ring SOMEHOW slice down the outside of my leg above the ankle.  FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUU (you know the rest).  I look, nothing.  A little scratch.  Then, blood gush commences.  A horrible thought flashes across my brain - ride ending injury?  No.  I won't let that be the truth.  I watch it.  No spurting.  Pick up the HiFi and push forward to give Sean his bottle back.  The pain isn't really noticeable and I try to forget about it.

The pain doesn't set in until after the ride.  The shower sucked and I gingerly cleaned it... without looking directly into the wound.  I uploaded the video that was shot before the skies opened up and drowned us with less than 2 miles left in the ride.  A mile or so down the trail after the injury we paused and I pulled my helmet off to capture the injury - figured it would make for a good cut scene in the action.

I thought I was going to puke when I saw it.

Damnit, does that need stitches?  I dunno.  But the Emergency Room is the last place I wanted to be sitting on a Sunday evening.  I could close it pretty easily with very little pressure so Annie ran out to get some butterfly bandages to see if that would do the job.  What's one more scare on a leg terrorized by pitiful big ring bites?

How were the trails?  Due to rain we only got through Warrior Creek - didn't get to play on Dark Mountain.  But I'll get into the trails tomorrow.  Right now we have to see about this wound.  I will say this, on the day that my New England brethren were taking on the Boneyard I was on what can only be considered the furthest thing from it... super hard packed, bermed, "rail that roller coaster" of a trail.  So, although I didn't feel the pain of the race, I felt my own pain - in honor of the Boneyard!*

courtesy of http://wrathoftheboneyard.blogspot.com/

*Sounds much better than a big ring biting you while picking up an ejected water bottle....

is it time?

Monday I took as a day off from the bike after the race on Sunday.  My body was tired and aching, but I still went to the gym!  I have also discovered a nice sized mystery bruise on the back of my left hip area... and a smaller one on my spine... and I wondered why my back was aching as I was coming across the finish??  Must have been a result of the mud hole crash.  Ah well.  Oh, and not to mention the intense blister I have on my left heal from hike-a-bike on dead legs...

Free to a loving home!

Tuesday my plans were fuzzy as I had a nice window of "between 10-2" for the Salvation Army to come pick up our stacked washer/dryer unit that has been taking up space in the kitchen.

We built a "real" sized laundry room downstairs and have since been trying to get rid of the unit in the kitchen so I can get busy working on another "job" for the summer... converting the space into storage of some sort (for cleaning supplies, pots/pans, or food... we shall see).

mmm project!!

So the tentative plan for Tuesday was to hit the gym as soon as said washer/dryer was picked up.  As for a ride, that would be dictated by previous said events (washer/dryer pick up and gym time).  They came and almost didn't take the unit because of a small scrape on it... apparently the Salvation Army is very particular when receiving a FREE working washer/dryer, but the driver suggested some nice white nail polish would make it good as far as he would be able to tell... so bingo bango the washer/dryer was gone at about 2 pm.  Leaving me to head to the gym.  I'm digging my new workout routine (with the higher reps and lower weight) as I can certainly feel the workout but without "getting me swole on" as they say in the great state of Georgia.  As previously mentioned, I need to do the opposite and slim down.  Still working on the diet - but that will be the goal for this week, figure out what I'm going to be doing nutritionally and get on that ASAP.  Perfect timing really as we need to hit the grocery store here soon.  After picking Annie up from work I headed over to the Fells for a spin.  I wanted to explore a bit of the southern fire roads as I'll need to know that section when I get my Fells Commute ride up and running.  I had a lot of fun over that - other than the dealing with traffic on the way and subsequently racing the sun to finish my ride...

Today I plan on hitting the Cutler Commute route to get those legs working again and to continue just stretching out my miles.  This time my plan is to get a full ride in at Cutler, so about 10 miles or so??

Random note... during the Boneyard I SWORE the course was switched and we rode through the Boneyard backwards... but apparently (thanks to the magic of the garmins) it wasn't at all, and the course was the same as the pre ride.... very strange how perspectives get mixed up/fuzzy...  kinda blows my mind really!!

Wrath of the

Boneyard Rookie Mistakes

Wow.

What a killer course. Longest 4(ish) mile lap there is!! Wasn't exactly the same course I pre-rode but I liked it. It was interesting coming upon the Boneyard in reverse, but it was still ridable (not saying I cleaned it, but those better than I surely crushed it).

I got some great riding in the previous week and determined I would slow down about 4 days before the race, and I did so. For some reason I thought to myself, a ride on Saturday when we got down to Connecticut would be perfect to get me ready. I had planned on hitting up Gay City State Park as I remembered a nice loop with some climbs and figured that would be a good ride... hey, I pre rode the course up at Willowdale the day before the race, so I figured a decent ride would be ok. I discovered that Gay City is charging to park ($7 in state vehicles, $15 out of state) which was ridiculous to pay to ride, so I headed down the street to Case Mountain. Lesson(s) learned. The day before a race with some decent elevation involved - DON'T climb your ass off! (The second, irrelevant to the race lesson, Case has some really sweet singletrack and some amazing downhill stuff!)

After a night of crappy sleep I got a late start and was a bit rushed getting all set up and off warming up. I ran into Fabian and noticed that the start had been changed around. I took off on the totally new, redesigned course, and instantly felt nothing in my legs. Not numb nothing, but nothing nothing. Not good at all. I was cleaning every short as I previewed the new beginning, but knew that when it came to the later climbs I would be in serious trouble... silly rookie.

Started the Cat 3 (30-39) with 9 riders, which was better than what had pre-registered, so that was good. My plan at the start was to just ride with the pack, not push ahead in the first lap as I didn't know how far my legs would take me. The course was in amazing shape having a perfect week of weather leading up, which made things nice, if not dusty. There were only a few mud holes here and there, and of course coming into the 3rd hole I apparently took the deepest route and ended up going over the handlebars. I felt ok and the bike was fine so I jumped up and got going. Lost a spot or two, but that didn't really matter because the sufferfest for me was long and hot. I thought we would beat the heat with a 9:30 start time, but boy was it brutal out there. I think it was really the course that was taking it out of me, but I think I continued sweating for a good hour, hour and a half AFTER my race was finished.

Once the race got going it seemed like the only time I was passing anyone (in my category) was due to mechanicals. Normally that isn't a victory, but with the way I was feeling I was happy to take those passes. I was also glad that I am now running tubeless as it seems like pinch flats were the number one killer out there.

Although I had nothing in my legs to start, and I felt like I was going to die finishing up the second lap (BIG THANKS goes out to the spectator giving me that encouragement to muster all I had left to finish strong!!) I liked the course!! While I was out taking pictures of the Cat 1 and Pros we chatted with some guys from the motorcycle club and when asked if we would come back next year I didn't hesitate in saying YES! The course kicked my ass, but I think a rematch is in order.

Annie came out to support me, which I absolutely love and am grateful for. And she even let me stay to take photos of the Cat1/Pros (who didn't go of until 2), but I wasn't the only one taking pictures... Annie got a couple shots of me while racing.

Waiting to be sent off (I'm in the Ireland jersey)

Off the start in the parade lap

Finishing the first lap (I felt like death)

I was surprised to see Annie on this quick climb shortly after finishing the first lap
(she scrambled through the woods to get here)

I'd like to say it was my surprise that caused me to get bounced off the trail...
but no, it was exhaustion

Finally the finish

Training??

So it's summer and I've gotten started on my "jobs" around the house. After the pre ride at the Boneyard I've also determined that I need to start getting serious about this racing thing.  I've always said that it would be awesome to be an actor - where it was "your job" to work out and be in shape - because you'd have the time to dedicate to it.  Well throughout the school year I didn't really have the time/motivation to really dedicate to training...  but what is my excuse now??

I don't have one, so I've decided to take advantage of the fact that I have the summer off and get back into the gym, figure out what I'm going to do about some sort of diet and DO IT, and ride ride ride.

Gym - I've adjusted my workouts around the fact that I'm "in season" by dropping weight and adding reps.  I'm keeping with the total body workout for each workout and have a 4 day cycle.  So I started back on "my program" on Sunday and have stuck with it, feel great but it made me think of the clip below.  It's fun to feel your different body parts ache as you move after a good workout... oh yeah, I do have muscles in my back!!

So hopefully this "Splicd.com" thing worked and you don't have to watch the whole clip to see the relevant part....

Diet - I'm still sifting through information to find an appropriate diet.  I do need to lose weight (which was not only reinforced, but smashed in my face, when I weighed myself at the gym).  I had great success shedding pounds on the "Belly Off" diet from Mens Health at the start of this past school year, but fell off of it after achieving my goal.  I enjoyed (and Annie was a great sport in putting up with it) the various menus, but could probably use something a little bit wider in options so it's not a repeated cycles ever 3-4 weeks.  I'm not sure I need to go to some super extreme diet at this point either though, I am only Cat 3... let's ease into this so I don't end up hating the whole experience.

Ride - I've been pretty good about getting out there.  Missing days where I'm wrecked, sick, or when the weather isn't cooperating.  But other than that I'm getting out there... and IT  IS  GREAT!!  I've been hitting Foxboro fairly frequently (it's my "training ground" for the Boneyard) and with each ride I'm cleaning obstacles I had trouble with the time before, bombing down rocky/loose rock covered declines faster and faster, railing corners with more confidence as I better position myself and am able to lean the bike over more and more... it's good stuff.

Mountain biking is so addictive for this very reason... with each ride on a familiar trail you are really able to gauge your improvements.  You can see yourself improving, which in turn builds your confidence, and this carries forward to push yourself to continue to challenge yourself as you step up your game.

The one thing I should have been doing this past week is really hitting the hills harder.  The climbing at the Boneyard, in my opinion, will be the most challenging aspect.  Sure there are technical spots, but if I'm focused I should be good with those - especially having seen everything already (HUGE advantage in my book).  But the climbs (especially the second time through) are going to be the real test I think.  The nice thing is any extended climb was pretty wide open, not too many obstacles to worry about, just grinding away.

I keep checking on BikeReg.com to see who has signed up, and thankfully people are registering, but it still seems a little sparse.  As it is now, I'm guaranteed to podium.  That is an odd thing... because even with a 3rd place finish, you are still last in your category, so it's kinda a win/lose situation.  I'll try not to focus on the number of riders in my field and just try to ride well and see where that lands me.  

4th of, the Boneyard

Happy 4th of July.  Hope everyone enjoys themselves, relaxes, has a cold one (or two) and manages to maintain all their digits - those illegal fireworks can get you!!

So I got to pre ride the Boneyard last Thursday.  Big thanks to Fabian (who is getting the course ready and led the ride) and to Craig and Charlie for showing a newbie how it's done.  Charlie and Craig ended up showing up for the 4:30 ride, which I had originally hoped would be Fabian and I before the fast guys came out to play, so I was a little nervous.

Craig stated he was out for a leisurely ride, and Charlie offered to wear a pink jersey to ease my nerves.  Great group of guys, and I really did enjoy riding with behind them : )  I got some good advice from all, which I greatly appreciate.  I had fun on the course, a great mix of technical features, climbs, and sweet descents.  I got hung up a few times... some stupid mistakes on my part, and some just plain technical trail.  Having seen the course I feel that I will have a good race.  I think the most challenging part on race day will be contending with other riders in technical areas.  But, I have a good idea of the trails I will ride to prepare for the race - working in a good mix of technical trails, distance, and climbs to be ready to rock the Boneyard.

The "boneyard" section of the trail wasn't nearly as scary as I had imagined, but will still present a challenge.  I'm still up in the air as to how I will tackle it during the race.  Opinions varied on the trail as to the best strategy to handle it on race day.  We'll see how I feel.  I didn't clean it on my two attempts (getting hung up in about the same section each time) but with momentum and a clear line it is doable.

As we got back to the finish/start area there was another rider waiting to join the ride, Neil.  We stopped to chat for a bit while Fabian jumped on his trials bike to lead the fast riders as they toured the course.  I bowed out as one lap was good for me, and I certainly didn't want to hang up the guys any further... plus, keeping up with a motorcycle???

I'm looking forward to the race.  But talking with Charlie and Craig, and seeing them in action, I certainly have a long road ahead of me in the race world.  I am not discouraged by it, but more refreshed that this is a sport where guys at the top of their game are happy riding with guys at the start of their journey.  I don't know if there is another sport out there like mountain biking, where no matter what level you are competing at there is such a shared sense of camaraderie amongst all competitors.

Thanks again guys!!

Boneyard!!

So I'm wrapping up my school year today with half a day... then it's full on summer!!  YA-BOYYEEE!!!

With the rest of the day I'll be grabbing the doggies and heading to my parents for a quick stop before hitting up Meriden for a preride.  I was super excited for the opportunity to preride as it seems a good part of the course is on private land, but then that excitement faded quickly and turned to sheer terror.  I got a message from the guy heading up the preride and he listed a couple other guys that would be riding with us... one name stood out - Charlie B.  I didn't need to google the other guys to know that I would be in way over my head with this.... YIKES.  But Fabian (who brought back the Wrath) was kind enough to ease my terror by offering to take me out ahead of the other guys... I'm sure it's as much for them as it is for me, as I would certainly not want to slow them down... but I'm super grateful for that.

I'm excited though.  I rode out at Foxboro yesterday (since I haven't been on the bike in a bit) and I got a nice dose of rocks!!  Just what I was looking for, get back to jamming through rock gardens to prepare for the adventure ahead.  Overall I think it might prove to be a good training ground - to be determined after the preride of course... but I feel with the climbs available, the rocks to be navigated and the mileage I can get, it might be just what I need.  I did take a couple "wrong turns" out there last night (it was much larger than I remembered) but with more time on the trails I think I can throw together a sweet ride.

It was a TOTALLY different experience riding there last night than it was my previous visit (which was about a year ago).  Number one difference would be riding the HiFi versus the 4300.  Of course I'd like to think that improved skill/fitness played a part, and I'm sure it did, but having the full suspension certainly saved me from the abuse you get riding a hardtail over there.  Although, as I was packing up my bike I chatted with two guys - one who was riding a RIGID hardtail... singlespeed.  All I could say to that was that he certainly must like punishment!

They have some group rides over there on Tuesdays that I will have to check out.  If I get into the swing of things I could be getting in on some Tuesday/Thursday fun with the group ride scene... sounds like a plan!

So I'll let you know how the preride goes next week.  In the meantime, enjoy the next installment of the Kingdom Trails adventures for Media Friday and have a fun and safe holiday weekend!!!

What time is it?

It's time to be a full time rider.  That's right boys and girls, it's summer!!

Today is the last day for the kiddies, and it couldn't come sooner.  Not because I am done with the school year (ok well, that is part of the reason) but because I have been severely slacking in the riding department... and let's not even talk about the gym scene.

It's time to start living the dream... rocking it daily like I'm a fully sponsored mountain biker.

Mountain biking and beer go together like Turkey and Corn, but no, I won't be taking the HiFi to the bar...

As my 5:30 wake up subsides and I no longer need to battle it out at the 93 split on a daily basis I typically become a chauffeur for my lovely wife - no reason to let me sleep in when I can drive her to work!!  But I'll use that to my advantage and get my butt in gear so after dropping her off at work I'll stop at the trails or the gym before returning home.

Now it won't be all fun and games, I will also have a list of chores and odd jobs to do around the place.  I am hopeful that I can stay focused, get back to cooking and eating right, get in the gym and back into shape, drop some pounds, and gain some respectable weekly milage on the trails.

Time to step things up as I head into the second half of my race season.

Oh yeah, race coming up sooner than I remembered.... looks like I've lined myself up to tackle the Wrath of the Boneyard.  If nothing else, I like the name!

Sweet poster!
(courtesy of Wrath of the Boneyard, Cross Country Mountain Bike Race Facebook page)

And the reality of it all.
(courtesy of Wrath of the Boneyard, Cross Country Mountain Bike Race Facebook page)