Mississippi MTB Racer

bamacross 9...brookside mudder

2012-01-15T18:01:00.000-08:00

Brookside....what else can you say but perfect place for cross racing. the terrain is so varied with all sorts of natural options for cross. each race has been different and all have been fun. I will say for the record, i liked the 1st race the best!

Today was the 9th race of the series and I'm thinking I'm in the running for 3rd place overall in the 1-2's. I say I'm thinking because i don't know...nor will i worry about it. i will race the next and last race like all others...go hard and do the best i can..results will work themselves out. plus, i am sort of transitioning over to mtb season and having been doing a lil more volume with less intensity since the last race over a month ago so it's no surprise that the engine ran low towards the end of the race.

Quick recap...the race was muddy. very muddy! i was hopeful but the mud would be a major equalizer throughout. there were about 11 of us in the 1-2's. The first lap was chaos... WIll missed a pedal on the gun, then missed a turn before it was marked, Omar snapped a chain, Andrew(new to the 1-2's)took a flier in the first muddy section, and overall the field was blown apart because of the mud. i would find myself in 4th coming through the start/finish. I immediately went around Boyd and bridged up to the top 2 riders. we would ride together for the next few laps while our bikes got more and more muddy. at some point, i bobbled a bit in the mud and fell off the wheel of the leaders. that would end up haunting me at the end of the race. Lackey, the #2 guy and the closest to me in the points, would stay on Will's wheel and get a free ride for a couple laps while i had to work and fight solo. by the snd to last lap, i had pulled all but :05sec back and really though i would take him....but i never could close it down and rolled through the finish about that same distance back. fired up about the results, about my fitness, and equipment....but really would have been stoked to get 2nd. Ahhhh....

little housekeeping

2012-01-01T12:13:00.000-08:00

just needed some freshing up on the blog info...

In honor of the contest i won on the Orbea Facebook page for the muddest pic, i thought i would change my header pic out and showcase another pic from that race...and reminise for a sec...this race was the 2nd or 3rd SERC race in 2009 when i was shooting for the overall. Anyway, this race was a mudfest with simply horrid conditions...cold, very wet, peanut butter mud everywhere, and unrideable climbs that had to be run. I flourished! i was able to stay upright and have zero issues on the bike. i rode away from Andy Johnston and bridged up to Craig Evens, who got dq'd which was also a first, and took the win! it was huge to me!!

I also added the early draft of the mtb schedule for 2012. there are some races that might be added during the year. I will also add a cx schedule later.

Another change are some pics below...i raced for two teams this year one, Red Mtn Wheelman for road and mtb and then Team Momentum for cross. i wanted to get both jerseys on the site until i get some more offical type of representation. I have other companys support me like BBC, Orbea Bikes, Schwalbe Tires, Feedback Sports with Squirt Lube, and Revolution Cycles. None are huge major sponsors but they all help me accomplish my goals and for that i thanks them all!!

Another huge hope for me this year is my new relationship with Coach Drew Edsall. I expect big things working with him this year. I plan to follow his plan to a "T" and trust in his program. More to come on this!!!

Rapha 500

2012-01-01T10:01:00.000-08:00

i love social media and i love that most cyclist are mostly dorks about riding data and Strava has brought the best of these worlds together for me. Check it out if you haven't already.

Anyway, they have "Challenges" that they host along with a sponsors that establish a goal and then help track the data from any and ever rider who is on Strava and who wants to join. The Rapha500 is the second challenge i have partaken in. the first was during Thanksgiving and the goal was to burn 5000cal during the 4 or 5 day weekend. i had a good shot at it, but got a stomach bug that Saturday and couldnt ride Sat or Sun which killer my shot.

However the Rapha500 came at a perfect time for me. I had the full week off work and really had only one intention while i was off work....RIDE! Ride lots! with all the cross specific workouts, short days, dance, basketball, work, oh and life...training has been quality but certainly no quantity. most i have been on the bike since September was about 8hrs in any given week. Not enough if ya ask me!

the plan....ride the 500k/310miles...in the 9 days and enjoy every minute of it. the plan was to ride it all on the cross bike with nobbies or the mtb bike. no easy miles would count. plus i love my cross bike! a quick ride break down...

Rapha 1 = 39 mile loop around bham in chilly 42degree temps to start if off.
Rapha 2 = 48 mile ride n MS with Max. easiest ride of week. leisure ride w/ breaks.
Rapha 3 = 45.5 mile loop in MS...non stop rain. tempo pace ride the full time!
Rapha 4 = 61 mile loop in MS around hills. felt good. longest ride
Rapha 5 = 40 mile loop in MS. chilled ride and just enjoyed the sunshine
Rapha 6 = 30 mile mtb ride at OM with Omar. solid workout!
Rapha 7 = 43 mile worlds loop with Jerry. mild pace in perfect weather
Rapha 8 = 25 mile mtb at OM with Momentum team. another great workout and was feeling it.

overall stats...ride time 22hrs/335.5miles/16k ft of climbing/12k cal burned.

Fun times!!

Brookside 4

2011-12-22T08:37:00.001-08:00

It’s funny how a week can change your motivation. I went from racing in Gadsden the previous weekend, not enjoying the mud at, and not really wanting to get dirty (I know…nancy style) to racing Brookside where I knew the mud would be much worse and was really looking forward to it. You see, on the mtb, I normally relish the nasty conditions. I’m typically a lil heavier than the common mtb racer so I sink in a bit and can control the bike a lil better. Plus the trails I learned to ride on were usually muddy n nasty so it comes natural. Plus….I can easily get fired up by watching other racers and just before I left the house for Brookside, I watched the men’s World Cup in Namur which had me ready for the nasty conditions.

On to the race itself…normally I like to ride the course a time or two before the race as part of my warm up but since I had pre ridden it the night before and wanted to keep the bike as clean as possible until race time, I decided to warm up on the trainer instead. After a nice 25min controlled warm up with a few :30 openers I rolled to the start line. The 1-2 field was small with only about 9 racers with several of the usual suspects not there. After role call we got a :10 countdown. The start was fast and as expected Will took the hole shot and set a fast pace that would quickly separate him from the group. Oddly enough, I found myself sitting in 3rd wheel feeling very comfortable. Things stayed together for the most part thru the 1st lap. coming thru the 2nd lap I was able to stay on Kevin’s wheel and pull away from the rest of the field. We would ride together for the next couple laps but he eventually would gap me a bit. I was still sitting in 3rd very comfortable and was riding all the mud with pretty good form. Then with 2 laps to go, I noticed Omar, who unlike himself had falling off the pace in the beginning, was starting to get closer and closer…and even though we are on the same team, I was trying to stay away from him for that podium spot. Unfortunately, my the middle of that lap, he caught me after I had made a few mistakes. We rode together for the rest of that lap and half of the last lap but again, in the same spot, I bobbled and he got a small gap on me and went on to take the 3rd spot that I wanted so bad! Good for him though as he rode a smarter race conserving energy until the end where it matters most.

The conditions were epic…lots of mud and sand, several run ups, and some fast power sections. My biggest issue was mud build up in the pedals n cleats. I was having major issues getting back in the pedals after the sand pit and it cost me several seconds on each lap but all n all….it was a great day to be racing!!

Back at it...

2011-12-16T20:13:00.000-08:00

Wow...life has changed since my last post. I moved to Birmingham, I'm working for a different TV station, working with a new coach, sponsored by a new shop, racing with new teams, and getting coached by Drew Edsell. Did I mention things things have changed?

On the racing side of my world....I have fallen in love with another style of racing. Cyclocross!!! I got the fever and the only cure is more cross racing! Bamacross is our local state series...local...guess I'm a local from Alabama now...but it's a 10 race series that are all mostly with in 30min of bham which has been awesome. I started off as a cat 3 due to zero experience in cx but after 4 Bamacross races and one GA cx race I had 2 W's, one 2nd, and an 18th due to tire issues. So a mandatory upgrade was forced and I moved up to the 1-2's. It's where I belonged anyway. It's been hard and the compo is stiff but I'm glad I'm there.

On the training side....a got hooked up with a new coach Drew Edsall. He's been great so far. Keeping things very dialed in and specific. It's been hard because the job and kids keep me busy and I have to keep my training very specific with short days and limited time on the bike right now. We are using HIT method and incorporating intervals in most all of my rides. Ez or hard that's all it boils down too.

The one thing I'm most excited about is the week of vacation coming up after Christmas. Coach and I have a huge block of training planned and I simply can't wait. I love riding my bike and can't wait to enjoy some heavy volume for a change.

The 2012 racing schedule is just about finalized and I'll post it up as soon as I get things laid in. At this point the first goal of the year is the newly formed East Coast Triple Crown. Love the concept and love that one of the venues is at Oak Mtn.

Bamacross 8 is this Sunday and the goal....to beat Micheal Lackey!

first combo day

2010-08-16T19:02:00.000-07:00

well, now that the goal of the season is over and behind me...and thank the lord above that it is...i am excited about my new direction racing goals are headed. i have been racing xc for years and now, i will shift my focus to mtb endurance racing. and the road to the goals in the endurance is really what i am excited about. the goals...yeah, i am such a dork and planning fruit cake [side note, charlie just walked in here and loved on me...i love that little man] that i already have plans laid out for September...12 moths away...the main goal is mtb nationals in Bend, OR in mid September 2011. i know..it's a major goal...but i think it will be a blast. and i really think that my boy max could get himself a star's and stripes jersey.

anyway, the goal to get there is what is really got my stoked. because of my new job, the workout hours aren't nearly as flexible as then have been in the last few years..it really sux...but, because of this, i have had to adjust everything. one, i wont be able to ride near as much as i need to, to be ready for racing season by march. so, i will run a bunch...prolly build up to about 4x's a week during Dec, Jan, and Feb....once daylight savings hit, i will start riding more...but...i plan on doing several duathlon's in March and April AND doing some early season endurance stuff too...like Ouachita Challenge, Big Frog 65, Syllamo Revenge, and maybe one more somewhere..i will throw a few xc races in late in the summer to help the high end speed. It really works out perfect. just as the days are gettin longer i will have plenty of time to get all the miles in...while the days are short, i will run during the week and ride on the weekends...prolly only drop to 2 rides a week, at the least...cont go without my bike for too long!

also, doing some late seasons firsts this year...my first charity ride, MS150 in Jackson, MS, 75miles each day; Gunter's Grunt and Grind in late October which will be my first triathlon...off road run, mtb ride, paddle..cant wait. should be a blast; mid November will be my first duathlon at oak mtn..mtb ride, trail run, mtb ride!

today was my first combo workout day...rode the mtb for an hour then immediately jumped on the trail run for 25 min. felt good for taking 4 days off before today.

more details to come....

i suck at blogs

2010-08-04T19:17:00.000-07:00

yeah, it's been while...but i have been doing the same thing. but now, i work alot more. lots has changed though. i live in birmingham. the riding is much different here...all the way around. one word to describe it..."MORE"...more riders, more hills, more groups, more TRAILS, more....it's great in that regard. It's more difficult too! the fast guys are real fast.

the road riding is great. it has taken several rides and will take many more but im starting to learn my away to a degree on the bike. i have been out many days exploring rides and looking for climbs. i want to climb better and there are plenty hills here. I have found 2 mile long climbs that gain 700ft, which is twice of hattiesburg, and where i live is right in the guts of the hills. my little local loop that i do on week days is great. it's 14 miles with one 1.5mile/650ft climb, some rollers, one long down hill and then flat back to the start. i have also hooked up with several groups. there all kinds of groups to hook up with. i have sough out the faster paced rides and more aggressive groups and have paid for it. i crashed for the first time ever in the big tuesday world ride. super fast, drop your ass, ride. the first time i went on this ride, i got gaped...bridged back, they attacked again i was smoked! got dropped and had to grab a wheel to find my way home. the 2nd time, i crashed! broke my frame and tore my legs up. ended up crashing another dude too and messed him up. i haven't been back to that ride yet. there's a great saturday morning group that rides and they are freaking fit and fast. last ride was 55 miles with 4k ft climbing at almost a 20 mph avg. i was dropped on this too by the leading trio.

i have been to all the trails around here now...4 trail systems all within 30 minutes. Oak Mtn is 15, Trusville is 20, Tannehill is 30, and the Jewish Community Center trails is a 10 min bike ride away. i love this! lots of options to ride...but oak mtn is hard to pass up every time. i got out there for 2 red loops last saturday and damn those trials are nice. i haven't really meet any mtb'ers but all in do time.

so far things are good on the bike side of my world. the other side...lots have changed...but all good. the post will be coming more often. im about to race the last xc of importance to me for quite some time. i will still race 2 MS xc races this year just to finish off the MS state champion but really will be moving towards endurance mtb races, off road duathlons, and some road racing. i think the winter will be hard for me to train like i need to to be ready my march next year so im planning on working into mbt racing form much later in the year and shoot for Fools Gold 100 and the national mtb marathon race in Bend, OR. which are both in later august and early september. perfect!! really excited for the change. much needed to keep the fitness up and motivation too!

Monte Sano for the 5th SERC

2010-05-04T18:59:00.000-07:00

i cant believe i haven't been here to ride yet. they have a great little state park in Huntsville, which is a very cool town, that has some great trails with lots of miles to explore. this was the first time the SERC has hosted a race here and i can saw it was a great place for a race.

we decided to stay in a cabin at the park just to make things easier on race day. the cabin was a great idea, just wish it was a little larger. it was basically one room. not to mention that our jr racer, jerry...aka "mayo" woke up Saturday morning throwing up and would continue to do so for the rest of the day...no way he was racing. the forecast for the weekend sucked all week and as the weekend got closer it got worse. i wanted to at least pre ride the course while it was dry so we headed up Friday night to ride early Saturday morning. we ended up heading out about 10a and hit the trails. wow...they were awesome...lots of rock, more rock than any race course i have ever raced and i knew it was going to ruff! there wasn't much climbing but the climbing on the trails were tecky and there was a mile long road climb in the en of the course...kinda strange..it was an old abandon mtn road but it was cool. after the ride we tooled around town, grabbed some food and checked out the local bike shops.

Sunday morning greeted us with...dry skies...only 30 miles north was getting pounded with rain...but none at the park. we didn't race until 1130a so it was a restless morning to say the least. but once it was an hour out...it was go time...max and i got dressed up and ready then headed out to warm up. we did out thing for about 25 min and then headed to the line. the classes were small...I'm telling you the weather forecast scared away everyone. we had 9 in our class but with several strong riders. the gun went off and the pace was fast...i entered the woods 4th and was riding right behind sibly. things were good and i was feeling fine...then we hit the first true rocky downhill section. not sure what happened but my handling skillz didn't make the race. i was all over the place and with in minutes i bobbled and lost time, then again and got passed...i pushed hard...and bobbled more and more and more...it became comical..i actually laughed at one point right after several cuzzwords! i cut couldn't get it together all lap...and really through out the race. i came thro the 1st lap WAY back and knew it, so the plan was to ride smooth and stay steady...i would say i did that. i only last 1 min off my 1st lap time and didn't eff up much at all, maybe 3 times...the last lap was just a lap...i pushed hard, for me, but the lower back was throbbing and no one was insight. heck i raced the entire time alone..never really saw anyone until the end of the last lap...and the last lap would also bring the RAIN..and alot of it. and low and behold, just before the long road climb, i caught the 4th place rider...i couldn't believe it. i rode up to him, we exchanged pleasantries, and then i went past him...he jumped on my wheel and as we got on the pavement, i tested him...no attack, just upped my pace..and he was fading so i increased my pace a little more and dropped him. i would ride on it feeling better, back not hurting as much, and glad to be done.

story of the weekend....jerry, aka "mayo"..ended up racing after pucking all day Saturday and not eating anything...and would lead the race until he got lost...but would still end up in 3rd! His ole man, George would pull a 2nd place and my hommie max would land 3rd after almost 2 full weeks off the bike! great weekend all in all!

US Cup/SERC/GA State Series

2010-04-27T18:58:00.000-07:00

this past weekend was strange but loads of fun! lots of first for me on a race weekend...but not good first...first time i watched a pro crit at night in the rain, first time i hung out with Lena, first time i stood up all night the night before a race, first time i didn't eat a good dinner before a race, and...first time i didn't pre ride the course.

the combo of all those didn't help my cause out at all.

it rained all day on Saturday so i decided not to pre ride and stay clean. i still had planned to ride the trainer for a bit but opted out of that too. we went to watch the Athens twilight crit sat night and it was awesome. those dudes are so fast. anyway because it was packed out there was no quality food to be had...i ended up with a gyro and fries...not the dinner I'm used to before a race.

Sunday brought dry an sunny skies but the trails were messed up pretty good. still very ridable but nasty. and because there was no pre reg on sat, all the racers had to pre reg Sunday before the race...made for a long line and a delayed and shortened warm up. i also had to set my bottle feeders up...and made a mistake but wouldn't find out until later...at the start line i noticed our field was stacked with quality riders. i knew it was going to be a battle.

the gun went off and away we went...fast and steady...i entered the woods 4th behind Sibly, Johnston, and Alison(ba from FL)...dudes fell off me pretty quickly and soon it was just us 4 rolling together. after about half a lap were joined by Shey and he was rolling fast. about that time Sibly attacked all of us and would set a blistering pace for the rest of the first lap. we all 5 came through the finish of lap 1 together...as we entered the feed zone, i realized my mistake...my bottles were too far off the path and i had to veer way off to get my feed...and ended up crashing..in the feed zone. not only did it hurt but it was super embarrassing...wreck right in front of everyone...argh! i also lost contact with the group and had to fight hard to bridge back up...maybe too hard...and right as i got to them, i went down again...by the time i got up and back moving forward they were gone and i would never see them again.

i pushed hard but could tell the power was fading. i had only brought one gel and that had been gone since the first lap. i was now in conserve mode but stay steady. i came through the 2nd lap knowing that this last lap would be all about survival! i again had to swerve off course to get my feed and again almost wrecked again...but stayed upright. the last last lap seemed to take forever...i though i had last 10 min on the last lap but only dropped 5min off my first lap's pace, which isn't great but not too bad for as bad as i was feeling. you know you're not having fun when things are in slow motion...the races i feel great on, they fly by...this lap...drug on...and on...and on! Plus my back was killing me...not sure why...it really hasn't bothered me all season and it was in full effect Sunday. i still managed to hold on to 5th place and would still make the podium but not by much.

BTW...dude on the #2 box isnt the dude who raced us...this is the stand in...Allison is super fit and fast!

after looking at the lap times...the 3 guys behind me all had faster lap times on the 3rd lap than me...thank goodness i held on!

this week is recover and get ready for Huntsville, AL.

knobscorcher 2010

2010-04-15T19:28:00.000-07:00

i knew this weekend was going to be better than the last race weekends...cause it was going to be dry and sunny! plus i love the course and the venue.

as for the weekend...we had a blast. Max and i drove up friday to Athens, TN and crashed at the nastiest room I've stayed in, in awhile. we woke early and finished the drive.

the Burgers always have a knack of making old course new. and this past weekend at Tasli, NC was no different. the had switched the course all up with lap 1 being 18 miles and lap 2 being 12 miles and a bunch more climbing vs. last year. we only rode the 1st lap for the pre ride..of course we took it easy and keep the effort as low as possible on the climbs and our ride time was 1:35...long!

sunday morning brought the normal race jitters as always but i love those...i think it's one of the reasons i love racn! the start was crucial...only a short sprint up hill to a tight entrance to the trails and then it was ripping fast for 3+miles=no place to pass! luckie i had the start i wanted and entered the woods 5th and we were off..smoking down the trails. a group of about 10 were all together until the first major climb and then it all blew apart and the real racing started. nathen silbley, a super fast dude, blasted off the front and andy chased followed by some dude in a blue jersey then me. sometime shortly we were all joined by Omar. it flew by me and joined the front guys, i was 5th at this point. on this course, i can almost always can pull the :20 seconds i lose on the climbs back on the downhills so i never worry to much about getting gaped on the climbs but these dudes were just as fast so i had to work hard to bridge and it took me several miles to get them even in sight. i did bridge up to the 2nd chase group which was everyone but andy...and he was gone! sibley dropped soon after that due to a leak and as that happened omar took off...i chased him and dropped the dude in the blue. i kept him in sight for a while but he slowly pulled away...and by the end of the last 1st lap he had a minute on me and the dude in the blue had caught back up with me...and i was hurting. dude in the blue would drop me on the 1st big climb and would end up putting 1:40 by the end of the race. i was passing the mid packers of the groups that started before us but i was dragging ass. what should have taken :53+/- minutes took me an hour...i was 8 min down on 1st place...i should have been 2nd! came in 4th.

oh yeah...the new kits came in and i got a tech-T along with them...rock stars baby!

round 2

2010-03-30T07:45:00.000-07:00

the 2nd round of the SERC was this weekend in Columbia, TN. this race is on a great trail that is maintained year around...and Saturday on the pre ride that was evident! the trail was flying and was really fun! unfortunately the rain moved as predicted Saturday night and dropped plenty of moisture to destroy the chance of some fast lap times. it dropped about 2-3 inches and rained right up until the racing started. the temps we're bad at all...but the damage was brutal.

the course was horrid...just full of sticky, nasty mud and throughout the entire course...no place had missed out.

the race went well for me though...i tried to keep it steady and upright while maintain the little momentum that i was caring. when we started out it was wetness through the field but as soon as we hit the trails...bam!!!...muddy as hell...and as i said, non stop. i entered the trails 5th place behind andy johnston. the leader was gone...the other 4 of us were together for a bit. 2nd place slipped gears at one point and was gone and not much longer did the other guys fade back and outta sight. i hung on to andy's wheel like glue! i knew he is faster and was content to sit on. about mid way through lap 1, he went down in a slick turn and i went by....i didn't attack but just rode my pace...and i did create a gap but by the time we were just about to come out of the woods, he bridged up and we went through together for lap one.

as we entered the trails for lap 2, i bobbled pretty bad on a downhill section and lost contact...it seemed he put some effort down b/c i was riding the same pace but wasn't pulling him back. i did put my nose down and rode...hard as possible without sacrificing my handling skillz! it worked work b/c by the time we were came back out of the woods for the end of lap 2, i had bridged back up to him...i felt great! wasn't tired and had one lap to go!

i would enter the woods for the 3rd lap in front of andy and just rode my race. i slowly pulled away from him and before long he was out of sight. the lap seemed to fly by and as i passed racers in other classes and got closer to the last 15 minutes of racing...i rode up on a dude getting his tyre fixed...i mean right as i came up, he finished his work and come up behind me and went right around me...now, i knew that he was the leader of my cat but he didn't know what class i was...so he ask and i told him...he took off! i couldn't hold his wheel but just stayed steady and drove forward...he was quickly out of sight until the long, flat section of trail that ran along a field. I could tell i was gaining back on him...but was it fast enough? there was only a mile left...but as we entered the last little climb before the end of the single track, i bridged up to him and went right by...he was shot! i took off...and pulled off the victory!

come to find out they would DQ the 2nd place guy because he got some outside assistance for his flat...wow?

The Hammer!!!

2010-03-25T06:28:00.000-07:00

i have been riding the trails at clear springs rec area in the hommichitto national forest for years...honestly, besides the renegade trails in hattiesburg, before the ones we have now were even an option, i only rode at clear springs! i have been going there since 1997, i even remember when Richardson creek trail was being built...hand made by Shane Kelly...that dude knew how to build a trail!

the old skool hammer race went on before i had really started racing and i have been wanting to race it since...i know those trails like they were my hometown trails and was super excited to hear that it was being brought to life this year in the sercs!

the trails have been getting beat up pretty bad over the last few years because of lack of a normal trail maintenance crew, the forest service sucking ass at taking care of them, and bad weather on the 24hocs...all in all...they have sorta sucked for the last few years. but i will give the race organizers all the props and was super pumped to hear the word of how great they were riding the week leading up to the race. but as always, it rained the night before the race and a brutal cold front moved in bringing epic conditions for MS mtb racing in late March...sleat/snow mix with temps in the low 30's...coupled with some pretty muddy trails to top it off.

the race started with a steep but rather short paved climb to the trails...once we hit the trails it was fun but hard...they were riding pretty damn good but slick in some spots and really gumbo'ie in some places for 20-50 meters. scott got a gap on me thru the first section of trails so i had to work to bridge back...and i did by lap 1 half way point, but that's the best i would do...strange though...as i felt good and knew i would get to his wheel and we'd go from there...but something happened...not sure if it was lack of concentration or if i got complacent but for some reason as soon as i was within 5 meters of his wheel, i sorta relaxed and slipped back and by the end of the first lap, he had regained :30 on me. I entered the second lap with full intentions to bridge back up but i had a horrible start. i pushed hard up the first steep climb and sorta blew, then i was sloppy going thru some of the trails and just couldn't get it going...the body was working hard but not going fast. I went down once and had several bobbles...and by the time i went thru for lap 2, i had lost another minute and a half...so going into the 3rd and final lap, i was 2 min down and knew i would be catching scott...so i tried to stay steady and keep moving forward. i wasn't hurting too bad but the body was getting cold and the trails were a lil more slick in some spots...i would end up crossing the finish line 4 min back...lost another 2 min on the last lap and wasn't happy.

learning, learning, learning!!!!!

hopefully the 2nd round of the SERC will go better for me and i can improve on my 5th place from 2 weeks ago.

is facebook killing blogs and fourms?

2010-03-18T11:45:00.000-07:00

this same question was asked on our local forum msmtb.org...and im wondering if the same could be asked for my blog. before i was on facebook, i was updating this at least once a week but since starting my FB account, i've only been here a few times total...i guess im a slacker and need to just step up with doing my duties...

well.......the season has started! i cant even express how stoked i get during this time. i mean when you work your ass off in the off season lifting, running, xtraining, then riding, riding, riding...in cold weather, late or early, and sometimes inside(yuk)...by the time the season starts it just feels good to throw down! i love racing. i still get the jitters before races...10 years later!..i love it, not sure there's anything else in the world that do that to me.

race 1 and 2 are in the bags already....1st ever xc race in Hattiesburg was first on tap, Tuffburg! the course is fast...not much climbing but tight and twisty. The overall turnout was great but the cat 1 class was small, with only 10 total races and only 3 in my age group. We all started together and geez...i slipped a pedal, had drive train issues and almost fell over off the start. Nice. once i got up right, i had already had lost 50 meters on kuppersmith, who was my main compo on the day...so i had to gun it! we went into the single track 1-2 but I never really caught back onto his wheel...within 20 meters the entire time until he snapped his chain 3/4's threw lap one. I felt his pain but could do nothing for him...i just kept going. At about half way threw the 2nd lap, i saw him back on the chase...i gunned it to maintain the lead...i would never see kuppersmith again. (i later learned he snapped another chain) i finished lap 2 feeling good. the 3rd lap seemed to fly by! I knew i had a sizable lead on 2nd place so i slowly shut the engine down on the 4th and final lap...i would say the effort went back about 30%...the effort would have dropped regardless b/c your boy was getting tired...but overall felt good.

race 2 was the first SERC race and always a good way to test early season fitness levels. i had come off a fairly ez week of training so i was ready to race. I felt good on the pre ride laps on Saturday and was excited to race...the course was fast...several short punchy climbs with some tecky sections and fast flats! Race day greeted us with perfect weather and a dry trail. after a 30 min warm up i headed to the line to size up the compo...it was think. I saw Andy the sandbagger johnston, andy mills, a few cannonade kits, several extremely tan racers from south FL who have just come off the FL state champ series and the coconut cup in deep south FL, the field size was a lil smaller than i thought it would be. only 18ish toed the line in the cat 1 master's with me...once the gun went off, it was on! i entered the trail about 7th place. the top 3 dudes were about 10 meters off the front immediately! about a 4 man chase group with me in 3rd position were just behind the leaders. andy mills was just in front of me and dropped his chain and fell off. the 3 of us kept on together. as we came out on the flats at the end of lap 1 dude behind me went around, i should have followed, but stayed put not wanting to blow on lap 1 of 5...but by the time we came through the 1st lap, the cannonade rider i was pacing was fading so i went by going into lap two. My power was good so i tried to be aggressive and ride fast, not having my HR monitor or clock working i had no idea where i was with numbers so i just rode...thru laps 2 n 3 i could tell i was slowly pulling riders closer to me...but i just wasn't doing it fast enough...then just as i was going into the last lap, i caught 4th place, the guys who passed me late in lap 1, so i tried to up the pace and drop him...well, he jumped on my wheel...i rode steady and and as smooth as i could...but he stayed with me. then on the back of the course, there was a climb that was easier to run, so i thought i would try and attack there...run up, hammer through the bottom, and take it home free...well, i attacked and got the gap i wanted...about 10 bike lengths through the woods...but my HR was red lined and i was out for a sec...as we climbed the last climb before the he rode right back up to my wheel...i knew i was in trouble! as we came out to the open flats, he went i around...i grabbed his wheel...i stayed there until we got into a small section where the winds were a lil strong and he attacked again. i tried to go but couldn't...i stayed about 5 seconds behind him...until the line. i was bummed that i could close the gap down. I will say that i rode a faster lap on my 5th vs. my 3rd and 4th...so that's good. my power was steady and i felt good overall...just don't have the high end speed yet.

more to come...below are a few pics...

my crappy start at tuffburg

tight lil bridge/mud crossing in tuffburg

going thru for my laps at the SERC

only one day left...

2010-01-23T18:28:00.000-08:00

and the last week of base will be over! kinda sad...

Friday saw the last 2-a-day of the week...workout 1) was a solid strength workout...did the 300 workout along with some other upper body moves to round off the full 60 min. the body was slow at first but started to feel great by the time i was in mid workout. workout 2) was a mtb ride on the ss...half the ride was in the day the other half was in the dark. effort was a lil harder that i wanted but with a group and on the ss...the effort was laid down...just low z3 but still not z1.

Saturday was awesome!!! long ride planned and long ride accomplished! the plan was for 4hrs and i was meeting a few guys to ride with...i had mapped out a great "new" loop for us to try but got denied by butch...he's older and usually takes charge...so, we nixed my route and went on a normal ol ride around town. we ended up getting back to the cars with only 2:45 ride time and 50 miles...the others crapped out but i had to muscle on...i mashed out another 25 miles in 1:15...and nailed the plan!

now my legs are feeling it.....

Sunday is a little shorter of a ride but with 3x Z4 intervals...it's going to hurt!!

hill sprints

2010-01-21T15:53:00.000-08:00

was on the agenda today. i needed 2.5 hrs of total ride time and 3 sets of :15 hill sprints at max power.

the weather was freaking awesome!! 70 degrees and sunny...but windy too. gusts up to 20mph. i was able to wear just a kit and lite base layer...felt great.

the workout was good. i found a good hill to perform the sprints on and was able do them without worry of traffic. i think the whole time i was out there i only saw 5 cars...i mean over the course of the ride...5....not much! i felt good...but the left leg is giving me fits...the knee cap in front still is tender and behind the knee on the outside, i have strained something on wednesday tempo ride...but the fitness is progressing nicely...i think?

so far this week...

2010-01-20T19:02:00.001-08:00

i have been able to nail ever workout that was planned.

monday...i actually squeezed in an extra workout on top of the hour of strength work that was planned. the day was so nice i decided to get a mtb ride in...just recovery pace but i still got an 1:15 ride in that wasn't on the schedule! since i rode late in the afternoon, i had to go straight to the gym afterwards...and since i knew i was going to be doing a full out strength workout on tuesday, i decided to focus solely on my core...i got a full 45 min of solid core in.

tuesday...i woke up early to make sure i got the ride in, headed over to the trails by day break and had another great 1:15 mtb ride. the pace was again chill but a really great way to start a tuesday off. that afternoon, i headed to the gym to see what i could get in to...pushed out the 300 workout in about 35 min and finished out the rest of the hour doing some kettle bell swings, dips, triceps, and a few medicine ball moves...all in all...a hella good workout...and since im typing this on wednesday, i can say i am nice and sore because of it.

wednesday...again i had to get the ride in early because i had work obligations throughout the day and i knew rain was going to move in to the area in the afternoon...and it did. the ride planned was 2hrs with a 60 min z3 tempo...and i nailed it! i got to the trace about 630a and stayed on the trace the entire time...went down to usm for the warm up and then turned back and started the tempo...i felt good. the legs turned over a nice cadence of 90+rpm's and i averaged 21mph for the hour tempo. the pace felt good and steady.

so for the week total...6:15 total work time...so we're ahead of schedule. thursday's ride is the longest of the weekdays topping out at 2.5hrs...mostly recovery pace but i do have 3 sets of short hill sprints planned...

training

2010-01-17T19:45:00.000-08:00

things have been going good...had the training camp last weekend with the team and had a blast. we took it to oak mtn for the weekend with a lose plan of how things were going to go...and for the first time in awhile, they went the way i wanted! all dudes, no ladies! killer 3+hr mtb ride each day! several 1554's after each ride! awesome 3 mile hike! great company! i had a blast and got in over 8.5hrs of training! the guys got along great and we really seemed to vibe well together. i think 2010 racing season is going to be a blast! on a presonal note...nothing seemed hard...the rides and hikes felt easy. the body is feeling great right now.

this past week the training went as planned for the most part...missed out on a little overall time (bout an 1.5hr short) but weather and work mess shiz up sometimes. Saturday's ride was cut out and i had to sub some cardio at the gym...i ended up running for 5 miles and hammered out the total body elliptical for another 1.5hr...but still ended up 30-45 min short of the days goal. all the weekdays workouts went well...it's hard to get away from work for 2hr rides right now...im having to be diligent with time and split up workouts. on the flip side, sunday's ride was great! 4hrs with 3500 ft of climbing! i felt like i could have gone for another 2 hrs too!

this upcoming week is going to be hard! 17.5hrs of total training...and with work as busy as it is...going to be tuff...i'll post up everyday this week with workout details for each day...if i nail this weeks planned total, it will be the most ever work in one weeks time!

the team...Malt Racing...is coming together nicely. we have secured some new sponsors and have the team line up hammered out. The team design is decided on and being submitted this week. Everyone is working out race planes for next year and the buzz is starting to get louder...i love it!

I have a good feeling about this year!!!

2010

2010-01-02T20:01:00.000-08:00

holy moley...did 12 months just go by? really?

2009 brought many great things to my life...my most successful year at work, family stayed healthy, sis and i made amends, racing season was awesome, and im still doing it all. hopefully 2010 will see many of the same success and less of the headaches.

Goals for the bike 2010...
1. defend SERC
2. podium BUMP and Mellow Classic
3. MS State Champ

now these are goals for ON the bike...i have a few goals for off the bike but about the bike...

1. help host skool of hard nox 50 race
2. obtain level 2 usa coaching certificate

On the training side...really...I think its been going good. I have been hitting it for about 10 weeks. First two were "prep' weeks; last 8 have been base I and II...been going good but not great. I do feel strong and in good shape. The first 8 weeks were perfect...running, lifting, riding strong and long, had one good block on thanksgiving weekend...and the gym workouts were going awesome. i could feel me getting stronger...but the week of Christmas, my second block, Bam...I got very sick after a brutal 5 out of 6 day block with 4 of the rides being 3.5hrs or longer. Funny thing...I know EXACTLY when i caught my cold...Sat after the 4hr ride...went shopping all day, up on the feet, no recovery, didn't eat right...BAM! Live and Learn!!! So needless to say the last 10 days have been less than perfect...I've had to take several days off, AND the days i did train the effort was lite and pace was ez. Obviously, it's a blessing...i was getting over trained and if i hadn't HAD to take off i would be in for a blah type season. I'm going to ease back into training this week and get it going again for Base III.

This month could shape up to be a great 4 weeks...if the weather will stay somewhat dry and i can stay healthy...I have tempos, longer intervals, and speed work becoming involved in the program. February will start the "build" phase...the effort will go up and the volume will go down. I will have a few C races in late Feb before the 1st SERC in mid March. The plan is to build all through early April and then be hitting stride mid April and be gunning in May/early June! we'll see? I would like to do well at the national races...never been on those big podiums!

I'm also going to be doing a few, few...road races this year. Probably just 3, but it should be fun...I'm undecided in one thing...should i cat up to 3? i don't know....i have raced about 5 cat 4 races and probably have the fitness to keep up with the cat 3's....regardless, I'm going to be trying a few out...training only...but id like to good at the state champ in late June...? we'll see.

I'm really just as excited about the upcoming year as i ever have been. my buddy, max, is "claiming" to be locked into the SERC with me...i hope so! I love traveling with him plus he's a great friend and racer! Plus....I cant do it by myself...too expensive!

Enough for now...I'm going to try and start updating every few days...holla!

great end to the week

2009-12-20T20:35:00.000-08:00

this week was good but not great. i missed a few strength workouts which messed up my over all planned time of 15.5hrs. i rode the bike a lil more than planned but the strength sessions are important right now...i wont be lifting much more after the new year...at least nothing heavy or hard! all leg strength work will be moved to "on" the bike and except for a few short core/strength workouts no more gym time...but i am going to try really hard to continue the core workouts a couple times a week during the racing season.

so how did the week end...well, 2 killer endurance rides of 4 and 3.5hrs! saturday started off chilly but beautiful. the ride took me from the house to the Trace to Military rd to purvis to oloh to bay creek to tatum salt dome and back home...70 miles and 3400ft of climbing! sunday, again started at the house and to the Trace at USM but then hooked up with the normal sunday group ride. the pace was good but just too many stops! i was out there for 5hrs and ended up with only 3.5hrs ride time...i just like to ride...not stop! still ended up with some good endurance paced miles and had good company...which always counts for something.

the upcoming week is heavy! lots of training, lots of riding, lots of family time! im off most of the week from work and plan on logging in as much as i can. the plan...17.5hrs total...with 14 on the bike...we'll see...nasty weather looks to moving in mid week which could see me heading into the gym for some xtraining but hopefully that will only be for a day or so. and i really need some quality dirt time...i havent been in the woods for more than an hour since thanksgiving weekend...i nee some singletrack time pronto!

starting off good...

2009-12-08T14:43:00.000-08:00

this week with the training. it's good to keep the body guessing on the workouts so i have been mixing a bunch of new movements into my workouts. the newest weapon has been the kettle bell. it seems to fry my mid and lower back, sides, and hips...all good for biking. Thursday has Big Gear intervals planned for the first time this off season...but i like those...HR stays low and the muscles simple burn...you can almost feel yourself getting stronger. and as for friday this week... im going to try and do the 300 workout...8 different movements with a set number of reps per move...you complete all number of reps in the least amount of sets as possible for each move before going forward...it should cook me for sure.

sunday last weekend saw me heading down to Mobile, AL do join a ride being hosted by Infinity Bikes and Herring Gas. The plan was for a chill paced 70 mile loop with an attack zone towards the end finished by a hill sprint...then a casual stroll back into to town...the ride was great. we had good weather...chilly....but nice....about 40 folks started the ride...the effort was chill for the most part but on the last hills some effort was being laid down and in the attack zone...well that was just plan fun as hell! it was flat with a tailwind...and we were moving about 27mph...i threw down an attack and knew my legs were going get me for it...and i pushed on the climb for about half of it...and then my legs were questioning me again...HR was way too high and the PE wasn't...er, back it down...

ended up being a great ride with beers and pizza afterwards...thanks scott for the ride!

mission complete

2009-11-30T14:34:00.000-08:00

sorry...no pictures to so with the post...i really need a new camera

finished out the weekend with 4 rides and 12hrs.

turkey day ride was shorter than i wanted but a great road ride...2.5hrs at a nice casual pace

friday was another road ride and a little longer one...ended with 3hrs and just a tad under 60 mile

saturday was 3hr mtb ride at clear springs...rode all 3 trails with no stopping...great workout and perfect weather.

sunday was the combo day! 3.5hrs on the mtb bike but a mix of terrain...about half pavement half single track...killer workout and a nice way to end the weekend.

total....great first real weekend of training! it was nice to get some longer rides in and the legs felt great. hopefully this is the start of another great season.

thanksgiving weekend equals

2009-11-25T16:12:00.000-08:00

the perfect recipe for the four day training block i have been wanting to do. To me...what better way to truly jump start the base miles than 12+hours in 4 days! Uh, not to mention the plethora of food that will be overflowing at every house i go to as we make our rounds for turkey day. And of course the leftovers that accompany large meals...for 2 days after...there will be plenty to eat to help the recovery of the miles laid down.

The plan, besides eating too much, is to ride at least 12hrs...thursday will be the shortest ride with the most structure...2.5hrs with some big gear tempos thrown in on the trace. After that the plan is flexible...i haven't been able to get any sort of commitment from anyone on whether they can meet...so...I will ride Friday or Saturday somewhere off road...the other day will be a long road ride. Sunday my hommie wesson is coming down to ride...the plan is to ride the mtb's from my house to the trails and back and be out for 3.5hrs. LSD!!!

I'll keep ya posted.

thoughts of a 29er....

2009-11-20T21:19:00.000-08:00

had a great ride today at the ridgeland trails. meet up with wesson and rode just about 2hrs...mostly chill pace but threw in some fun at the very end...thanks hommie, it was fun! the trails are in great shape...every ride has new signs of improvement! great cycling community up in there!

the workouts this week have been on point. i ended up taking monday off...it was the first day off in over 16days! I started right where i left off...Tuesday was a nice 6 mile trail run with some strength work too; Wednesday i got a hard core leg strength workout in the gym and then went straight on the bike for a nice ride...in the long run i think the ride really paid off in reducing the post workout soreness; Thursday was another strength/core workout with only a 20 min cardio session; Friday...solid mtb ride! at this point, i'm looking forward to the ride on sunday...saturday looks like it's going to be WET all day so i'll be working out inside...sunday will be a long road ride...cant wait!

so....for the title...for some reason i have been thinking about racing a hardtail 29er...i think it might be a good fit for the type of trails around here. lots of options of makes and models out there...

week one down...

2009-11-16T19:37:00.000-08:00

this past week was the first week of the "base" season. lot's of different workouts...running, weight lifting, lots of core, and some other stuff just to keep things fresh. it was a great week for a few reasons...one...the weather! what wonderful weather we've been having...mostly mid 70's and sunny! work is very flexible too right now, so it's enabling me to workout during the day and enjoy it...i'm getting spoiled...its going to get tuff when the new year gets here and the new budgets are in place and days are short and training schedules are HEAVY....guess i'll keep taking advantage of my situation now while i have it!!!

the week was full of workouts...monday and tuesday i was running...got about 12 miles total all on the single track trails in town...i really dig trail running...i think im going to try and continue some running all year...i also lifted some weights on tuesday. Wednesday was the first ride of the week...nothing hard, just rode the oiz to the trails and back about hour40...very easy spin. thursday was a combo day with weights n the a.m and xtraining in the p.m..and friday pretty much of the same...core workout in the a.m and an hour on the ss in the evening-great way to glide into the weekend! sat was the 3rd ride of the week...2:45 on the oiz..mixture of dirt roads, logging roads, and pavement and sunday being much of the same but only for 2:20...ended the week with a total of 12:40 work time.

that's week one of my 4 week plan...2 more building weeks then one recover week...the last working week, next week, of this month will be sweet...really looking forward to it...praying that the weather stays nice for me...will be a 4 day block training session! The goal is to get a minimum of 12 hrs of ride time. The plan is to go camp at the Nox or Oak Mtn...and RIDE, drink some cold beers, and watch a fire burn.

not much....

2009-11-02T09:05:00.000-08:00

been very chilled out the last few weeks with the training.

the last race of the year for me was the McGee Lungbuster in Ridgeland, MS on October 18th. It was the last race of the SCRCS and probably one of my favorite courses to ride and race on, so a good way to end the season. The race course had been extended by about 3/4 of a mile per lap with some added climbing and technical sections to make for more of a challenging course and i think the mission was accomplished!

as far as prep work going into the race...um...i think it would be safe to say there was none...i hadn't done a xc race effort since the last SERC race which was on August 2nd and hadn't been doing any intervals or tempos during my rides, so needless to say the top end speed wasn't there for this race. not that i was worried because this was strictly for fun and to support the scene in MS...but i still wanted to compete and have a solid performance in front of my home state folks...

the race started fast and i knew immediately that i was in trouble...but i just tried to stay smooth and ride fast. The group was small but fast and i tried to stay up front but to no avail as betz wanted to push the pace from the gun...by the time we got to the first climb he had a 30 sec gap on us and would build upon that until the finish...he whipped us all. Tre and i would ride all of lap 1 and most of lap 2 together...until he had a mechanical and fell back some...i pushed on and started to really get into a groove...looking back, i probably pushed it too hard towards the end of lap 2 and the beginning of the final lap...and by the time i got to the climbs...i was shot! i tried to take on some calories and keep the cadence high but ever pedal stroke became harder and harder...and what was once a good gap on 3rd place was fading fast...once i made it to the tt course, which is the last 3ish miles of the xc loop and takes about 13 minutes became a fight!!! Scott Borne was riding hard and gaining on me...fast...every turn he was closer and then at the last climb...he bridged up and was o my back tire...DAMN....it was going to end in a sprint...first time a race has ended like this for me...and it was brutal...we came out to the open and both floored it! i inched him out by about a half a wheel!

great race and super fun!

now...things are slow and unstructured...i took a full 7 days off after the race and it was nice to do nothing but chill with the family, enjoy some football and REST!!

last week and this week are prep weeks for the upcoming off season program...running a bunch, lifting weights and working on the core, and doing some other cross training stuff has kept me busy....trying to do about 11hrs of total exercises each week. the official "off season" plan starts in a week and should be a good one.

something new this year will be the absence of LW Coaching...even though last year was by far the most successful season to date for me and i had the best results i've ever had in the cat 1 class AND that i obtained my #1 goal of winning the SERC overall i still cant justify the cost of a coach. SO instead, i have been educating myself through past experience, things i learned from LW last year, and readings form Joe Friel i will be back to self coaching for 2010. im excited about the challenge of it and hope the results will be even better than last years!! only time will tell...

more to come as the base training unfolds.....

whats up and whats not

2009-09-28T13:09:00.000-07:00

word to the g's out there.

racing season is over for me and it's a love/hate feeling. i love to race so much that once it's over i feel like i have broken up with my girlfriend and sorta wonder around wondering what to do with myself. Since the racing season is laid out so far in advance i have specific goals and training plans to help meet those goals...but now...no goals...just build on the fitness from this year and have fun.

i call this time of the year my PREP time. i still ride several times a week but not near as structured. But I also start working out in several other ways too. Running is the main focus of my cross training for now...doing about 3 days a week with a mix of slower trail runs and sprint type workouts. I have been loving some trail running, just like mtb, i think it's more about being in the woods vs. anywhere else. And then about every 3rd day of running, i have my "field day"...which is more structured running with effort...one day will be plyometrics movements, agility moves, and sprints. While another may be 100yr or 1/4 mile runs around 70% of max...just for good measure. It's fun and different and l use to love to run when i was younger. I'm also focusing on my core. Lot's of palliates, stretching, abs and lower back work....probably 3+ a week. And just for good measure strength training. Always a good thing. Over the years i have moved into multi muscle movements to work more than one muscle group at a time. For me and mtb racing...there is no need for bulk, it's all about functionality.

the goal is to work this prep time for about 6-8 more weeks. By Thanksgiving, i will start to be all bike with some strength and core work but only a small percentage.

i'm also stoked to be in this time because USM students are in school and that means ultimate Frisbee every Thursday night for hours...that's a good way to stay in shape. 2hrs running around with kids in their early 20's...i wear em down!

anyway...things are good in the workout world for me...feeling good and hope to keep getting better.

Black Bear Rampage

2009-09-14T13:24:00.001-07:00

what began as a thread on msmtb.org soon turned into a bonified training race for me. i had no intention on doing this race but because of having to cancel a few races in late October i decided that this would be fun to do plus be a good way to get me back going for the last 2 xc races of the year. all though i know the trail system well this race would prove to a first on a few fronts...

1. 44mile continuous course vs. the normal 10mile xc loop

2. SS race...since my geared bike is out of commission right now

3. racn on a hard tail...

4. road trippin with Betz...

5. sighted a black bear and her cub.

Let me just say this...it was one of the toughest races i have ever done...44 miles, 4300ft of climbing, 95% singletrack, self supported, one freaking gear(34x17)...really...almost every climb i had to stand and crank...the lower back and quads were fried by mile 30 and i was in complete survival mode after that...i tried to eat and drink as much as possible but the cramps were inevitable...the standing up, the churning of the gear(no spinning) and probably lack of proper preparation all lead to what were contributors to what were some horrible quad cramps.

The race started up a long, steep paved road and i tried to stay with the front guys. i pushed too hard and saw me leaving my comfort zone early on. I entered the woods 2nd and flew through the first section of trails. I was joined by 3 other ss racers before we reached the first sag stop. we crossed the bridge and started climbing again. i dropped off one fella's pace and the others settled in behind me. we stayed like that...with the 2nd place guy(team motor mile) about:20 in front and then us 3 chasers...eventually one of them(team tomato)came around me on one of the climbs and took up the chase. that left me and who i will call niner, cause that's the type bike he was on, to ride together and see if we can pull them back. Niner and i would yoyo with each other the rest of the race...he would drop me on climbs and i would pull him back on the rollers and flats...things stayed like this until the last major climb...that's when things got interesting...as we rolled on to the last bit of pavement that brought us to the bottom of boyd's gap, I saw the 2nd(MM) and 3rd(tomato) guys just starting the climb in the woods...we were less than a min back with about 8 miles to go...the last climb was steep and tuff! all 4 of us were walking at this point...my legs were cramping so bad that towards the top of the steepest climb i had to stop...littlerly...i had to stop, pour some of my water on them, stretch, and just stand still just to let them chill out for a sec...needless to say i had to let niner go by. i lost sight of all of them and was hurting...bad...but tried to keep moving. i found that if i kept my legs really bent i could walk/jog with out them locking up stiff, so off i went...probably lost :30 to niner...but i knew that the last few miles were fast rolling trails so i just drilled it as hard as my legs would go...after a few miles i caught back up to niner...as always he didn't hesitate to let me by...so i went...and again as hard as i could...it wasn't until the last intersection, where the trail ended and there was about .25 mile road climb left did i see the tomato...aka 3rd place...i couldn't stand so i just pinned it as hard as i could go...HR hit 185bpm and i motored by him to steal 3rd place by one second.

It was a great rest of the day...soaked in the river, drank some beverages, collected some awards, and had lots of laughs on the way home!

great race!!

Betz did pretty well himself....

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Untitled ....file of the race course.

Shared via AddThis

week off....WTF?

2009-08-30T08:06:00.000-07:00

well this week is the first time in a LONG time that i went on vacation and didn't bring my bike. reason was two fold...one, i got sick just before i came to the beach and the dr told me to take at least 3 days off...and two, i was planning on some down time anyway(maybe not quite 5 days) but never the less some time off before i geared up for the end of the season.

BUT....I'm ready to get back on my two wheeled delight and get the wind in my face, blood in the legs, and get ready for the last 3 races of the year.

Black Bear Rampage is the newest addition to the schedule...since i'm not participating in the 24HOCS for the first time since it began back in 2004(more on that later)...lots of newness yet familiarity is what attracted me to this venue...the race is at the Tanasi trails, which I'm very familiar with and love camping around there but i'll be racing the ss for the first time ever and it's a 44 miler so those two new elements should make for some new memories. several of our local racing crew are making the trip too...wesson is driving w/ me, betz is coming, and the boyz from Boardtown...so it should be fun!

That will only leave 2 more xc races...The Clear Creek Challenge in Oxford, MS and the SCRCS championship race in Ridgeland, MS. I hope to have the new frame in to contest the Cat 1 races but might be doing the ss races instead...playing it by ear for now...i'm not in the overall running for the series so the races will be strictly for fun and early off season training.

24HOCS...wtf! not going be doing this race for the first time since it started...it's a total double edged sword for me...

one side = i love this race. i love the format. i love the trails. my team has won 2x's and came in second last year by only 3min after 24hrs...being one man down for 18hrs of the race. I had to roll 8 laps last year...but it was fun!

other side = i hate the cold at night. i hate the lack of sleep. i'm pissed that ALL of my team mates fell out for one reason or another...one flaked out like a girl, one had family obligations, and one broke his shoulder blade...

but this has allowed me to race the rampage and start my off season training earlier that i had planned. which is good cause i have a awesome off season planned for this year.

i'll be back on the bike tomorrow!

Fools Gold 50 weekend report...vesenice!

2009-08-18T19:30:00.000-07:00

this weekend has been a shinning star on my schedule since i made it out in the first of the year. wesson is the one who brought the idea up of doing this race and it made perfect sense...after the SERC was over and new trails/race to try out. Ive only done a few 50 mile races before this but some of my XC races are only 12-13 miles shorter so the distance isn't that intimidating. we left out thursday night after work just to get a head start...needless to say we got a little behind schedule and missed the gate closing at Cheaha State Park where we were going to stay...so back to Anniston for the night.

Friday...was super laid back all day. we only had 2 things to do...ride and pick up the race packets. We headed to Chicopee close to Gainsville, GA to ride what would turn out to be some of the sweetest single track trails i have ever ridden. the trails were built and are maintained by SORBA and they know what they are doing when it comes to trails...there was about 5 trails all unique to itself, some fast and swooping, others rocky and technical. Places where roots were the trail or the complete opposite 4 foot bench cut trails following the contour of the land to the T. we ended up with a little over 2hrs and 23 miles. After the ride we headed over to Dahlonega to grab the room and head to the shop to pick up the race packets. We ate dinner and had to make a few other stops which drug on and by the time we finished up getting things completely dialed in...food, sag stop drop bags, drinks, bikes, cloths, etc...we hit the sac at a smooth 11:30p....

Saturday...wake up....4:45a...OUCH, WTF!!! we had decided to make smoothies for breakfast instead of trying to down food that early. I have trouble getting food down before 8a much less 6a...we blended up some good stuff and sucked down a few cups. I also made a large cup coffee to drink on the way over to the venue which was about 25 min away. It was dark when we arrived at the starting area. The race was one large 50 mile loop w/ a good mix of single track, double track and dirt roads. we dropped our sag bags off and chilled for about 45 min before we suited up and got the heads right. We started at 7:15a. The race started off with a 1o mile, 2k ft climb...i was cold as could be when the gun went off...no way i could start fast...i eased in to a pace over the first 15 min of the climb but the legs felt good. I slowly picked up the pace as i climbed and before long i was rolling by folks...i would say i was 40 deep on the start of the climb by the end, an hour later, i had passed over 25 guys. the downhills were blazing fast and the single track was super fast. The two really large climbs were in the first 30 miles the last 20 miles were more up and down. The slow start was perfect for me...I was in a rhythm throughout the race! I continued to pass dudes until about mile 30ish...i maybe picked a few off but not many. I stuck to my fuel schedule and finished strong. I had no idea where i was during the race...ever...but when i finished, i notice there were only a few guys around and so i asked...6th. sweet!! my finish time was 4:24, 36minutes faster than my goal time. Wesson had a goo race too! finished top 60. longest he has ever been on a bike! the rest of the day was chill...we drank, relaxed in the pool, ate a lot, and went to sleep early!

Sunday...we woke both feeling good and decided to act on our instincts and go ride some more. wesson has a good knowledge of the trials round the area so he thought that Blankets Creek would be good. And he was right! the trial system had 4 trials...one was a biggner trials and fast. There was an intermendant type trial which was fast and prefectly manucuried. The last two trials were both tough but very different. the first was super rocky and technical but not much climbing. the other was one of the coolest, benchcut, erfectly designed trails i have ever ridden. you could hold your speed both up and down it...one of the climbs had one of the coolest sections that was man made and must have taken hours to build. the ride was shorter compared to the last two days, only at 1:45 ride time but still a great workout.

we had more food and more laughs on the way home! it was a great 3 days of riding and having fun!!! thanks wesson.

BTW...i really enjoyed the longer races...maybe more to come?

SERC #10 Fontana Dam Jam, NC

2009-08-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

alas the final race was upon me...a day that i had been working towards since March the 3rd. The goal...finish top 3 overall. Up to this year, my best finish at the SERC's was 6th out of 8 racers. I knew i had my work cut out for me from the get go...but the year has gone almost perfect...besides the 2 Kenda Cups which i sucked nuts at...the SERC's have gone good.

I knew leading up to the race the conditions were going to be wet and nasty. So i borrowed some aggressive tyres from Max and started to get myself mental ready. Muddy races are also so dicey...your bike my ride well, it may not. Saturdays pre ride was awesome...the trails were tacky but perfect...but that perfect that if any more rain hits them they will blow...well it rained a bunch...all Sat night and all sun morning until about 1 lap left and then the sun popped out and it was beautiful! which was good thing cause i had a 9hr drive home.
little Jerry in his race.
going into the race i was the point leader and only Cesar was close enough to pass me for the overall so the plan was to mark him and beat him.

the race started good...until the first climb, which was about 3oo meters off the start...ALL the riders were having to dismount and run due to the trail being too slick to ride. And of course...my shoes "boa cord" snapped immediately...sweet, running in mud with a shoe that keeps coming off...nice. But I pushed on and the first lap went good...running 4th and about a minute up on Cesar. the second was a little tougher...all the climbs but 2 were unridable so running became more part of the game...I don't run...and the quads and calf's were cramping every time i would jump off and try to run...plus the fn shoe was becoming a bigger problem as it became looser. But i managed to stave off any other racers and had built up a 5 min lead on Cesar...going into the last i knew it was all about damage control. the bike was starting to mess up...brakes were failing and chain suck and drivetrian issues were starting to become more frequent. I got passed on the first climb and tried to stick with Noah but he was riding strong and i dropped of his pace. i swear it felt like i was dragging something up the climbs...non stop resistance! by the time i hit the long, steep rocky climb i knew i had in the bad if i could just finish it off. My last lap was almost an hour long...it was only 7.25 miles long...but I would manage to finish 6th on the day and pull the overall off!

a tad bit muddy

george and jerry let me crash with them since all my folks backed out for one reason or another so thanks again for the hospitality! you boyz rock! below is little jerry in 3rd overall!jerry and watching the sat night stxc race.
and so that's it for the SERC! and i'm already planning for next year and figuring out how to get better....

big week

2009-07-27T10:15:00.000-07:00

getting pretty amped about this weekends race in Fontana, NC! it's going to be a hard race even though it's short in distance...it'll make up for that in steep climbs and technical descents. if i remember correctly it's about a 6 mile loop w/ 1300ft of climbing. FUN...? at least i'm points leader now...i just got to mark ceazer throughout the race and try to beat him.

this past week was good and bad as far as training...i had good workouts when i was on the bike but basically missed 2 days...Wednesday was suppose to be an easy 1.5hr on the mtb...max wrecked and broke his shoulder about 10 min into the ride and sunday's 2.5hr ride got cut short due to the nasty rain that moved in on us. the rset of the weeks ride were great.

this week will be a few fine tuning rides with some recovery mixed in....can't wait until sunday!

called out

2009-07-17T12:11:00.000-07:00

by mother nature that is...just about at the mid way point of the ride the bottom dropped out. it poured rain...as wesson would say..."Frog choker"...and it was indeed. still had a good ride just a little more clean up to do...bike and body are muddy and water logged.

it's been a pretty chill week for me. nothing but hour long rides with no effort all week...some mtb some road...tomorrow is another LT test for me so that should be some solid effort laid down. then sunday is a little longer ride at 1.5hrs but still nothing big. Next week is a solid week though...several days with effort(hill sprints and tempo rides) as well as more time on the bike. All build up for Fontana's XC. I really need to have a good ride that day. Only 1 point separates me from second...lucky i have the lead but regardless, I'll need to have a good ride and some luck to stay on top.

I plan to change gears a little once that race is over. I think i'm going to slowly transition over to the my base training and have a long, extended base season. I will still do lots of tempo work but only short hard intervals on the weeks of the remanding xc races...just to remind the legs how to go that hard. I really need to improve my endurance...i tend to fade at the end of the races so i need to work on that...my speed is good...i just lose power towards the end of the day so that's what my focus is on.

always got to improve...

Cheaha Mountain Trails - Anniston, AL

2009-07-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

this was the 9th race of the SERC series and is always a very technical and challenging course. It's basically down the mtn, across the bottom, and then back up. It's shorter than most races but just as hard. The laps are only 6 miles but have about 850 ft of climbing each go around.

For me, I wanted two things to happen...stay steady throughout out the race and gain some points on Cesar(dude who is 2nd overall). Mission accomplished! I was able to stay steady on the climbs which is great and then take some time on the descents.

the first lap saw me enter the woods in 4th position. I maintained this until one dude dropped his chain and I slid around him into 3rd. The pace was fast but not hard so this allowed Noah(another guy who is 4th overall) to bridge up to us. On the way up the climb, Nathan(dude who always wins) dropped us. But I could also tell that Cesar wasn't riding as strong as he normally does...and since there was really no where to pass, i just conserved the energy and stayed behind him. It wasn't until we had gone through the transition area and were about to enter the trail that I made my move. I knew I was faster on the way down so I wanted to attack there and try to maintain any gap i got on the climb. And I got a gap...about :30 just on the first half of the DH...the 3rd and 4th lap would stay status quote. I ended up 2nd and was super happy!

wow...what hasn't happened since my last post...??

2009-06-29T10:58:00.000-07:00

first, to all my trustee followers(like 2 of you) i'm sorry for not posting since before Bump and Grind. I wanted better things to post about but it hasn't happened so I'll just give you some news starting with most recent happenings....

SERC#8 Raccoon Mtn....i love this race but it's got to be one the hardest races of the year. We do 3 laps of the extremely rocky, rooty, and technical trail which has about 1200 ft of climbing over the 12.2 miles...yeah 3 of em...totaling out about 36.6 miles and 3600 ft...all big numbers by my standards of xc racing.

I was feeling good in the days leading up to the weekend so the optimism level was high...but the BBQ ribs and chocolate cake I ate for dinner(both 1st timers b4 a race) didn't sit well on the tummy. I woke race day with a nasty upset stomach...i wasn't able to eat any breakfast...i knew that would b my downfall...and it was. Lap 1 went great, felt good and was sitting about5th and 1 min off the lead. Lap 2 saw that gap grow to the leader and i had also been joined by two other riders for the beginning of lap 3...one dude dropped us and i hung on to the other...until about 4 miles left...then up one of the last climbs and techy sections another dude caught me...Noah...he has never been close to me all year but straight passed and dropped me. I had hit the wall big time. Just had to keep moving forward...only lost 2pts to Ceazer for the overall so that was good...but I needed some extra fuel in the tank. I took 4.5 shots of hammer gel and it wasn't enough. Overall it was still a fun weekend and a great race.

SERC#7 Dauset Trails...this race was my kinda racing. course had tight sections with roots and not a bunch of long climbs. The race went great...I was never out of the top 5...the two leaders got off fast but then 4 of us took chase. by lap 2 it was down to 3 in the chase, and by the final lap it was just two of us...I took the lead going into the trails on lap 3 and never gave it back. I was able to stave off any attacks from my other guy and ended up with about 45 sec on 4th. It was a great race and lots of fun!

SERC#6 Clemson, SC...this trail is hard...lots of climbing...but fun! I had a good ride but not the strongest of the year. Because of the climbing the racers were busted up quickly and I rode most of the 30 miles by myself. I ended up taking 4th but it was a small group so no podium.

BUMB n GRIND...this was a hard one...i really had targeted this race since the beginning of the year as my "A" race. so all training was building up for this...uh, not!! i never felt good...not bad but not fresh. the legs were flat and just didn't come to play. i guess the good thing looking back was that my 2nd lap was only 2 min slower than my first...it's just my first lap was slow! My goal was 2:25...i figured it would take a sub 2:20 to win it and my goal time would be good enough for a top 3...and it would have been...too bad i was 7 min off my goal. good times anyway watching the pros race!

Only 4.5 days till BUMP!

2009-05-26T19:39:00.001-07:00

Really super stoked! not cause it's a on the pro tour, or cause it's a kenda kup, maybe a little b/c of the UCI status, and maybe cause of the olympians, BUT mainly because the is my favorite trails in the southeast!! And the fact that i get to do it twice as fast as i can go...well that's just great!

I do have mixed emotions this year about the Pro Course that the racers will race this year...it's an abbreviated version to say the least...a 6/3 mile loop that;s going be run somehow, I think backyards up jonshon's mtn. the mixed emotion you ask? well....

1. The Pro: It's perfect for the spectators. We'll all be able to track up in the woods, take pics, yell..."go,go,go"....and we'll try to catch a solid buzz doing it. It's be a blast for me and others in that sense...

2. The Con: It BLOWS for the racers themselves...they all would probably much rather be cranking the full 17 mile loop, enjoying the kick assness of blood rock and the gnarly DH that follows...no they get this little 6 mile loop with some good single track for sure, but not the race we'll have...they get robber of the all around best trail in the Southeast!

Off the soapbox for sure....

Training has been nice and consistent. I had an extra day of rest last week due to not feeling well and lots of rain on Saturday, which stunk, cause it was going be a fun ride. But besides that, everything should be right on track. I fell rested...legs don't feel great...kinda just there...but fresh. I got two days of short intervals coming up to fire the system up again...jeah! Looking forward to Sunday!

nasty weekend

2009-05-18T11:42:00.000-07:00

well, i was told not to race this past weekend...

so saturday when i got to the trail and hammered out my lap around the course, i decided/talked into racing the ss...justification...shorter distance, not as deep of an effort, later start time...

the course was awesome. fast, tight, climbing, descending, technical, and dry...i was looking forward to the ss race.

sunday morning we woke to LOTS of rain. ummm, scratch the racing!..now it was clear...being told not to race and then mutha nature seconding that by blasting the course with about 1.5inches of rain made it an easy decision. NO race.

while i was really bummed not to be racing it was fun to watch the race and bring a bike home that's still clean and in working order.

next up........ BUMP N GRIND.

more post leading up to it i promise.

debris

2009-05-09T19:01:00.000-07:00

the plan was to head to the nox for a training ride on the course for rockcruscher. it was deemed that too much rain had fallen and the trails were better left alone for the weekend. after looking around i decided that clear springs was our best shot for dry trails. this was a good call...the trials were dry for the most part...a few holes but nothing to speak of.

The entrance to the trails was a different story...

the entire area is flooded...and it's all due to lack of ANY attention paid to these trails by the forest service. there is a 12ft long beaver dam is blocking it up.
A little tlc and this area would be dry and go to go again...this district sucks!

Cause there are plenty of these around and there's no reason to give them more places to hang out with us on the trails.
did i mentions debris...b making a detour around the first downed tree

there was small debris...
there was huge debris

there was super old growth that was destroyed by the storm that cam thru this place a week ago...lots of trees snapped right in half. and then some uprooted.

debris bridges...

i left the camera in the car for the last lap...i went on a different trial and the downed trees on it were worse that Richardson's creek...pretty amazing what some wind can do.

the ride itself was good...the workout was worthy of any...3.5hrs with about 3400ft of climbing. managed to keep the body working hard and maximized the HR during the ride...felt great to get on the trails and bike for more than an hr and a half...

one more day of riding to top the 4 day block off...tomorrow will be some lite recovery spin on the trace...then monday starts the new program!

Late race report...

2009-05-07T19:43:00.000-07:00

the weekend was suppose to be the best one of the year so far...

this was the first race weekend the family has joined me on the race weekend adventures. we planned, or should i say i planned the whole weekend out...traveling, sunshine, outdoor adventure, fishing, camping, riding, racing...it was going to be great!

muthu nature had other plans...like rain the entire time except for about 4 total hours....it started on us Friday morning in bham and quit about at Tuscaloosa sunday afternoon. Luckily it was actually pretty nice when we pulled in to the White Water Center on Friday about noon...so i opted to ride immediately and hope to beat the rain. While this proved to be a good decision...the trails were already a little wet but overall in great shape.

a little climbing to start things off...

fairly wet everywhere...lots of moss growing on the benchcut...

the best shot for sure...this is as clear as the sky's would be all weekend.

The loop was nice and I was looking forward to the race for sure. We loaded the kiddies up and went to grab the keys and directions to our cabin. it ended up being about 25 minutes from the white water center just on the edge of the cohutta wilderness and about 10 min blue ridge, ga. Nice area for sure. The cabin was fine, nothing spacial but the kids loved it. the stocked trout creek behind it was nice and would ended up being some fun!

The rain showed up about 630 friday night and fell steady and sometimes hard ALL night long. We woke up to it too...so I decided not to ride the course again on Saturday and instead go exploring around on the local dirt roads. the ride was fun...i would have liked to keep riding for a while to be honest...and of course it was raining on me the entire time

Saturday night and into Sunday morning just brought more rain...we loaded up and headed to the race...running late...and feeling strange, just not fresh...even though I should have been. The rain joined us the entire time we warm up so i don;t think the body ever really ever got "warm" and for some reason it took Dave forever to get the ball rolling...so I had cooled all the way down by the time GO came around...but once it did come...

we were off. the course was tough. and because of all the rain, the had cut the river view trail out and added more straight up climbing. the lap was shortened by about 2 miles...but more in your face climbing. no recovery until the top...this would, in my opinion, be the down fall for me...i was wanting to use the rolling terrain to gain ground and recovery from hill climbing...and taking that part out didn't help me at all.

Once we started climbing hard core, I fell off the pace immediately. I tried my hardest to minimize my loses on the way up with the intentions of gaining some of that back on the downhill and hopefully finding my rhythm for lap # 2. I pushed the pace hard on the downhill, maybe a little too hard cause I busted my arse once...but came through the transition about 35 sec off the chase group. I worked hard climbing on lap 2 but just had no help from the legs. They were so flat...as I started the 3rd lap, the climb seemed so long...it was raining pretty hard by this time too and I was cooked...the trails had water coming down them like we were riding in a ditch. it was nice...i got passed a bunch on the 3rd lap...dropped a few spots to my age class dudes and to the 40+ group...nothing I could do. I busted it a few more time...several actually. I was glad that race was over when it did finale end.

I ended up in 10th about 6 minutes off my goal time. Brad finished 17th. The damage this race caused my bike was fun too...like I had no breaks on lap 3...they were gone!

not the report I wanted ot be giving on the first ever Kenda Cup East. it's funny how sometimes you just ain't got it and sunday was a day like that for me...I did fall out of 1st overall in the series by 4 pts. I'm ok though...5 more races is plenty of time to make that up...I hope.

Ft Yargo/SERC#4 pre ride and race report

2009-04-27T11:37:00.001-07:00

man, oh man...things went perfect! i don't think i could have asked for a better weekend.

Saturday: not my normal routine for a race weekend...as I had to attend my youngest niece's bday party in Birmingham, AL on Sat morning...so the family decided to drive to her house on Friday night and be there for the morning events. things went fine except Charlie, my baby, didn't feel like sleeping much past about 2 in the morning...needless to say, no one got much sleep that night...no biggie, just called for extra large cups of coffee in the a.m. the party was great and the first half of the day flew by...Brad and I had planned it so that he could pick me up in Bham around noon and we could head over to GA for the race...we got to the trails about 5p local time, which is extremely late for us to get a pre ride in...normally we do this before lunch...the course was good...lots of open areas to use for whatever...passing, recovery, eating...several punchy climbs with 3 in the last few miles, and some nice flowing sections...and one very techy area with several little drops thru tight trees...tuff stuff! turned the pride in about an hr. I had pics but the camera didn't have memory card so...nothing to show...we got some grub and called it a night early!

Sunday...RACE DAY!!! since i was coming into this race with loose expectations and a full 10 days of training leading up to the weekend so i was hoping for a good finish but that's it...i warmed up like normal...found a little rd climb and some short sections of singletrack to ride...tooled around for about 25 min to get the legs going...i was feeling really good and fresh...at the start, i noticed the 200's were in full effect...we counted 28 dudes i think...biggest field to date for me as a cat1! i knew the start was important...about 100yrd off the start, it turned 90 degrees to the right and up thru the transition area...about 4ft wide...then into the trails...i did what i wanted to do and that was to get in the top 7...i was 5th...the start was fast...about 3 guys broke away with about a 10 sec gap on the chase group(i was here) through the 1st section of trails then on to the first climb...i tried to close the gap on the hill and did some but not enough...another guy came around me and took up the chase. i grabbed his wheel and off we went...we dropped the other 2 guys that were in the chase group at this point too...as we entered the tecky section, i dropped into a little dip at an angle and burped my tyre...i got worried...it was low for sure but ad not gone too low...i decided to keep on riding and not fix it...could be good could be bad...i just adjusted my riding style...sat further back on the bike thru turns and had to hit the dips square...i did end up falling once and putting a foot down twice because of it but that's it...so back to the race...Cesar and I were able to bridge back up to the 3 leaders before the 1st lap was over...so the 5 of us rolled thru together on lap 1...nothing really eventful happened thru lap 2 except the leader and heavy favorite, Nathan Sibyl, burped his tyre in the exact same place i did and had to stop to fix it. the 4 of us went on...with Cesar taking the lead for the rest of the 2nd lap. again, we all came thru together(Cesar on front, 4 n tow, thru transition area)...but that's when it all broke apart...as we went through the feed zone and rounded the first corner, 2nd place guy launched a huge attack and it splintered the group...Cesar dropped and i assumed 3rd place behind another rider and we gave chase...it wasn't long before dude in front of me was slowing...he asked if i wanted to come around and I went without hesitation...i didn't gun it, i just stayed steady...but the guy in front was gone...i continued to distance myself from the guys behind me but really didn't know if i was gaining any ground on the leader...until i started seeing him...i knew i was going to catch him on one of the last open areas...as i came out of the woods, i saw him...at this point he was 50yrd in front of me...again, i didn't gun it...just stayed right where i was...and immediately i bridged up to him once we got back in the woods...he didn't even try to keep me behind him...just pulled over and said "you want by?" and i said yep and kept on rolling! Now at this point...i was the leader on the course and i was feeling great...not tired, not cramping...quite the opposite...i was still able to stand up and power up climbs...i just started talking shit to myself...like...this is your race, and DON'T look over your shoulder...ya know stuff to keep you focused...I also think I was smiling endlessly because i knew i was going to win for the first time ever!!!!

And so i did...crossed the line 1st with about a minute on the second place guy!!! I wasn't sure how i would top the 3rd place finish at Tasli, NC a few weeks ago...but i do now...with the big "W" in what was my largest field to date!

tick, tick, tick...

2009-04-23T14:26:00.000-07:00

come on time...let's getta moving! i'm ready for the weekend to get here...

which means the racing can resume.

i have had a solid past 10 days of training building up to the next 2 weekends and i'm ready to get it on!

bad weather cut thrus

2009-04-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

was the theme of the saturday's ride...b, wesson, and i went out to get a few hrs of single track in...it was muddy from the rain that night so i thought the ss would be in order...and it was perfect! ended up with a little less than 2.5hrs ride time...and plenty of mud on the bike.

look how clean we were before the ride

what it might look like if you were triping out on some LSD while riding a bike...

letting wesson give me a tour of some new lines to take...

random pics happen...when i'm trying to snap action shots and the camera sucks...you get this...

the ride in pics...

2009-04-17T14:56:00.000-07:00

the start...10 miles on the trace!

up a small climb on a back road...

riding a brand new section of pavement close to the USM reserch plant.

nomal sight on the back roads...ole barns, farm eqiupment, and tires...

I hate this connector road...lots of traffic

gotta love a tailwind on the way home

Last stetch of road with some wildflowers growing

final got my camera back

2009-04-16T20:29:00.001-07:00

and should have taken some pics of the last few days...yesterday was WNW(WednesdayNIght Worlds) which has become a stxc fun race every week in the Ridgeland Trails. Yesterday was my first take on it...and it was fun. there were about 7 guys toe the line for the pain and suffering. fast and slobber come to mind...Chase Dudley and i rode together for the most part...i attacked a few time and got small gaps but as i would easy off he would bridge up and attack...it was fun! Great workout...can;t wait to get up there again!

today was hill intervals...the body has been trying to get sick...but i got a shot and some pills to help the cause and decided, with a push from wesson, to go ahead and do the planned ride. and felt pretty good for the most part. i did cut each set down by 1 interval but still ended up with 1.5 hrs and some good efforts laid down!

here are some old pics form the serc#2 in columbia....

instead of a pre ride on the course we rode on some sweet paved trails around nashville

neighborhoods were nice and the ride was fun.

the night b4 the race...doing some tyre swapping and last min adjustments.

litte jerry hamming out the last bit of his race and on his way to a 1st in his age 3rd overall

wesson off the start...looking good.

happy easter

2009-04-12T13:22:00.000-07:00

you know you've made the wrond decision when 20 min into the decision, the regret of the decision is all that you think about...today's decision to ride early and skip church was wrong! i figured that wouldn't be any big deal to anybody...and probably in the scheme of things, it's not THAT big a deal...but to the wife, it was! she didn't really even have to say anything to me about it...i knew! the entire ride my mind was consumed with thoughts of family and that i should be doing the ride after the Easter festivities.

while i still did lunch and the Easter egg hunt with the kiddies and fam and celebrated the sis n laws bday...and put two of the babies down for their nap...i still had an strange feeling of letdown...all good though...you live and you learn...won't make that mistake again.

the ride...was actually great! took the oiz out today...did some exploring on some new dirt roads, got some pavement in, got some single track in...fun ride! i felt great...ended up with about 30 miles total and 2+hrs...now the recovery week is over. monday will start the next 2 week build leading up to Ducktown, TN and the Kenda Cup East #1/SERC#5 race!!!

disobeyed

2009-04-11T13:51:00.000-07:00

i've been know to do that a time or two in my life...and today was no exception. the plan was to ride 1.5 hrs with a 20 min LT test...didn't feel like doing that...2 reasons...1. i know i'm getting faster therefore I don't need to kill my self trying to reassure what i already know and 2. i wanted to ride a bit longer since it was beautiful today and i haven't got to ride a bunch this week.

so, instead...i headed out for a nice 2hr ride with some hills and 2x z4-5 10 min tempos mixed in. it felt great out there today. sunshine, rolling hills, legs felt good, ribs felt pretty good, tempos went perfect...just what i wanted! ended up with about 40 miles and 2k of climbing...the avg spd for the tempos was 23mph so not too bad for the open road??

hopefully i will be getting my camera back form wesson soon and i can start getting some pics rolling again.

next race for me ain't for another 2 weeks so a little building on the fitness and speed will be in order leading up to the 4th SERC...the May starts...which has your boy racing 7 times in 12 weeks! wow!!!

awesome race report

2009-04-06T13:52:00.000-07:00

feeling great today! yesterday was my first "A" race of the year. i have been building every week leading up to this weekend and last week was really the first true tapered week. I only had about 6 hrs of ride time in the 5 days leading up to the race...i was nervous but have faith that coach knows best.

the weekend was great...brad had booked us a cabin about 8 minutes away from the race area so traveling to and fro wasn't an issue. B and I decided to leave out Friday midday so that Saturday was nice and chill...and chill it was. We got to the cabin Fri night about 9p and just relaxed and hit the sac early. Saturday morning greeted us with temps in the mid 60's and plenty of sun! B and i went to the NOC and ate breakfast at the River's End...blueberry pancakes were the fuel of choice for the day, and they were good stuff! afterwards, we headed out to the trail for a pre ride and to test the legs...by mid ride, i was pleasantly surprised that the hardest climb had been cut out this year...being the flatlander that i am, i loved the change. the course was fast and fun!
we also ran into our father and son combo...george and jerry...and invited them to stay at the cabin and join us for some grub at the local Italian restaurant...they accepted and we had a fun, very chill evening.

morning of the race...i started off with some fresh brewed coffee and a couple of beagles and honey to get the body going...i was feeling good, well rested, well feed, and ready to go! B and I relaxed around the cabin till about 10a, then we packed up and headed out to the trails. We had to set out the self feeders up in the feed zone which was about a 20 min walk round trip so by the time we got back, it was time to get suited up and start the warm up process. I rolled up the paved drive for my warm up...about 14 min of easy spinning then added a few short efforts to top off the 25 min warm up...headed over to the start line and waited for the gun to go off...after a huge pro group went, then the cat 1 seniors, then us...3, 2, 1...GO!!! We were off...the start was mild going up the climb but got rolling pretty good just before the single track...i entered the woods in 5th place...perfect! after about a mile, the front man pulled off and the 4 of us went around him...but that 4 man group quickly split into 2x 2 man groups...2 leaders then the 2 man group i was in...we stayed steady all thru the 1st 13.5 mile loop and actually bridged up to the leaders just as we came thru the transition area...immediately the 2 leaders put in an attack and gaped us. James(the other guy) and I went back to work...now the game begins...he was climbing way better than me...each time we would hit the water bar climb, he would gap me, but I would bridge up on the downhills and tight single track...so I knew, if I was going to beat him to the finish I was going to have to have some time on him once we hit the finishing spur...there was a nasty, steep and technical climb that also was followed a triple step up jeep road climb...so, as the end of the 2nd 13.5 mile loop started to get closer, i could tell that James was slowing so I decided to throw down an attack about a mile before the end of the 2nd loop...i slowly pulled away from him...not much but a little bit every second. I made my way to the last challenge of the day...the last climb! everyone was walking it...i didn't try to do any different...i jumped off and tried to run....whoops...the legs didn't agree with that decision...both quads immediately started to cramp and lock up...not too bad, but bad enough to hurt and remind me what cramps felt like! I mustered up some strength to get back on the bike and push through the cramps and pain...i just kept telling myself...stay strong, almost there...by this time, i couldn't see the dude behind me, so I just kept moving forward...I also knew that if i finished i would be posting my best result as a Cat 1 at the SERC....and that's how it ended...3rd place!

What a fantastic feeling afterwards...i just sat there smiling...no one to celebrate with, no one to talk about the ride/race, but the overwhelming feeling of joy and satisfaction was enough! I can only hope that i can keep building on this fitness and form and carry it until Oak Mtn.

race report

2009-03-30T19:08:00.000-07:00

the weekend was fun and the race was tough. this will be brief...

the morning of the race was a brisk 41 degrees, hella wind and moist conditions...always great to have adverse conditions to help out with the pain and suffering of a race. we ate breakfast at Wesson's mom's house...bagels and eggs...to fuel the system. since we were about 30 minutes from the race and Wesson was racing his ss, his start time was 2hrs before ours...ouch for everybody...we had to wait for him to finish then he had to wait for us to finish...made for a long day!!!

the course was changed some from the last few years...the start had us riding out on to a field with a nice hill to break it up the group but the catch for today was the 25+mph headwind that was blasting straight into our face! so anyway...i tried to stay out of the wind but keep good positioning...i think i was about 7th going into the woods...i passed several folks in the first few miles then settled into a nice rhythm...about 20 seconds behind the leaders and with one guy in tow. things stayed just like this for the remainder of lap one...the second lap was just about the same...only i got towed around the 2nd lap, until dude got a little tired and i took over the lead...i tried to bridge up to the leaders over the last couple miles of the second lap...but...i think i burned up a few too many matches while trying to bridge up...the section of the trail that i was trying this move on was a open and flat section and a large section was in a field that the dreaded wind was just killing me...i could feel the power dropping...once we went into the woods just before the transition i knew i was in trouble...as we were going through the start/finish line, 2 fellas caught me. I knew i had to stick to their wheels to have a chance...BUT...again, the wind was zapping my power...i stuck to them up the hill but lost contact going back into the woods for the last time. I watched them slowly pull away...nothing i could do by try and maintain! And even that wasn't happening...the heart rate was way low...hovering around 165bpm...normal race pace for me is 174...!!! towards the end of the lap, i started getting passed...alot...and by the time i dragged my body across the finish line, i had dropped 4 positions on the last lap...which landed me 7th place about 6.5 min back off the leader.

the guys who i rode with on laps 1 and 2 finished 2nd and 4th on the day...so for me to look at the race from an optimistic standpoint...had i only dropped a couple minutes on the 3rd lap, top 5 was very doable! i truly believe i'm stronger than what the placement shows...i didn't eat enough of the right stuff leading up to the weekend, didn't drink enough liquids in the few days leading up to the weekend, and my sleep was lame! i got to regroup this week, rest some, train some, eat and drink a bunch, and get some good sleep...then try and hammer this weekends race...Knobscorcher!!!

almost the weekend.

2009-03-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

Fairly laid back week this week...short track practice on Wed, 30/30's on Friday, tues/thurs for recovery, and a few strength/core workouts and some regeneration work...coach has laid out a nice week leading up to back to back weekends of important racing.

This weekend will be round 2 of the SERC in Columbia, TN at the Chickasaw Trace trails. This course is normally blazing fast with hard packed dirt and a few climbs. With all the rain this week, it'll be interesting to see what the trails are like. I'm leaning on changing the tyres out for a more aggressive tread...thinking about the Michelin XCR AT's...they are a little more heavy than the pythons but way better grip in nasty conditions...I'll make the call Sat night after the pre ride. Last time I raced this course it was the first expert race...I got blasted! I think i came in 19th out of 21 racers...I cramped so bad on the last lap that i dropped 10 min compared to my first 2 laps...i'll try and negate that this go around! Goal...top 7 finish!

Next weekends race is the 3rd round of the SERC in Bryson, NC at the Tasli trails aka...Knobscorcher. Can't wait! Should be an epic race for sure...more to come on this the closer it gets.

race report

2009-03-23T18:40:00.000-07:00

it was a good day. got the call from wesson saturday afternoon saying that he was in for the sunday day trip of racing down at the boug for the second race of the SCRCS.

i meet up with b and wesson at 7a at the waffle house to carpool down to mobile, al which is about 1:30 min drive. we had a blast on the way down telling jokes and bullshit that you talk about before the race...all the extra excuse of why we didn't do good if we didn't do good...

legs felt a little tender in the morning on the way down but the body felt good. the scene was good when we got down there...lots of folks, a spacey walk for the kiddies, local folks at the beach, lots of disc golfers...

the warm up went well but super chill...rode the first starting section of the trail and tooled around the park a little, mostly just to get some blood flowing. the same line up of guys showed up at the race as did a few weeks ago at BBB so i new what i was up against. kuppersmith took the hole shot like i knew he would but unlike last race, i thought i would test the legs and just go...so i took the second position going into the woods, then it was tre and b.lee rounding out the top 4...out of that, i'm not sure. after the first mile, i knew the legs were going to be solid. kuppersmith and i got a small gap on tre but he was never far behind...and eventually bridged back up to us as we started ran into the cat 1 19-29 fellas. after we passed the main group of them kuppersmith laid down an attack, i followed with no problem...we gaped tre again and didn't see him again. we rode smooth thru the first lap. grabbed a new bottle(a little more on that later) took a shot of hammer gel as did he and we went back into the woods. after the firs section, i took the lead. we hammered out that lap and caught the 1st place cat 1 racer and dropped him. the rest of that lap and the majority of the last lap was just us riding hard. once we came to the end of the race, he put in a little attack but cramped...i didn't attack, i could/should have...cause once we eased of the pace for just a few seconds and came out of the woods to enter the finish area, he went again. i wasn't ready and could keep his wheel...he got me at the line by a bikes length....3rd was about 4:30 back.

i feel great about the race...i was coming off 2 weeks of a building phase in the training plan and didn't even plan on doing this race until the a day before. the legs felt good, the HR was steady but not too high, handling skills are coming back, and most importantly to me...the ability to keep the lap times the same...maybe only 1 min off from 1st thu 3rd laps.

pics to come...

it's on tomorrow

2009-03-21T16:54:00.000-07:00

decided that i'm going racing tomorrow. I have been tinkering around with the idea of heading down to the second race in the SCRCS, Back to the B0uge...which is held in Mobile, AL at Chickasabouge St. Park.

All week but have kept my training just the same...gone hard 3 out of the last 4 days and have been working hard in a build mode for 12 days with only 1 off the bike. Feeln good but can tell the legs are tired.

It'll be a good test...if I can stay steady the entire race, it'll be a success. Results don't matter! Good thing's...race course is shorter in distance than most and not much climbing but with some small rollers.

we'll see....

todays ride was simple...1.5 hr ride time with 5x 1 min full speed sprints. All 5 intervals went well. I could tell the last 2 the power had dropped some...wasn't going as fast as the first 3...it's all gravy though...that's what training is all about.

On my way back in form the ride...

hill repeats

2009-03-19T07:30:00.000-07:00

yesterdays workout was 3, 2, and 1 min hill sprints. I truly love this workout...it allows me to go as hard as i want to and go up hill...i like the way it works the legs and hart rate...hard and high!

The graph didn't show up as large as I wanted...but you get the drift on the non stop ups and downs for the HR and the elevation...

you may also notice the abnormal jump in the very beginning of the ride...the garmin 305 ain't always the most reliable computer in the world...i'd say it's about 85% on the mark.

the hills aren't too long here so for me to find a hill that will last 3 min when i'm going full speed is hard to do...the one i have been using is about 2.5 min at full speed, so i tag on about :30 sec of a false flat run up to the hill...it seems to work pretty good.

the actual hill is perfect for the 2's and 1's...no run up needed...just start at the most noticeable rise in the pavement and drill it!

need some help getn a feed?

2009-03-16T18:52:00.000-07:00

since b rad and i travel to most of the out of state races by ourselves and we both race in the same cat we are always in need of a feed. I saw this idea in a magazine several months ago and think it might the the trick to grabbing a full bottle during a race. I do say full not fresh cause it will be warmed by the sun but a full bottle is better than no bottle.

For my pole...I took an old real estate sign pole to use for the stand. It's about 4.5 ft tall with a pointed end and it's metal so it's nice and sturdy.For the cup...i took a 3 inch PVC clean out valve with a cap to seal it off. Nice and simple and h2o bottles fit perfectly.

Next...i took my drill and put 2 holes in the bottom of the cap...space out to match the pole ends and insert...

Now...the reason i stop the assembly process at this point...the cap is deep enough that the entire top will slot right into place and be sturdy enough to hold up....BUT i can hammer the stake into the ground if its rock or hard, then slot the top and bottle in place.

Lastly...I screw the top of the clean out value on to the cap and pow!!!

Instant feeder!!!!

I had 2 poles so i made two feeders.

Well it's monday and i'm thinking about racing...surprise, surprise!!!

Back to the Bouge is happening this weekend and I have had no plans about doing it...until today. I got screwed out of a race weekend before last at Gainsville, FL with a stomach virus. I need another race effort workout in before I hit the next 2 SERC's...especially Knobscorcher!!!!

I'm not going to tapper at all. I will train right thru the race IF i do decide to go.

Plus, I was thinking about trying out the new feeder!!!

old hardtail but new single speed

2009-03-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

thats the great thing about old hardtail frames...its a diamond in the rough! i have help on to my old trek 8500 hardtail as backup rig for the 24hocs and to use on my urban rides. But decided last year that with the addition of the new Oiz, i needed a ss to use when the trails were nasty and just to have different ride!

it's mostly old parts off the fuel that i have been racing for the last several years with the exception of some ss specific parts. yesterday was my first ride on it...i have it geared with a 34x17 and that was perfect for my local trails...no hills...but may need to adjust that ratio when i head to the hilly trails around here.

also, USM performed a control burn on the land that our trails are on and for the most part the trails were not affected. it did change the scenery quite a bit...for now at least! give us a few spring showers and some warm weather and this place will be green again!

SERC#1 Gainsville, FL...RALPHIE...???

2009-03-10T20:07:00.000-07:00

well...not what i was gunning for to say the least. not to drag the story line out too much, I'll just say that Friday night I got a call from the wife...1st call around 9p...one kid was throwing up...2nd call around 11p...another kid was throwing up...3rd call around 1p...all the kids are sick. By 6p Saturday, i was felling bad, by midnight i was throwing up. I didn't race this weekend.

BUT...Saturday morning and the pre ride was awesome! the trails were very cool. the were tight ans technical. lots of short punchy climbs. the trails are located in and around a old rock quarry. very unique setting. B rad and I had a blast pre riding the course...we turned 2 laps.

this was a huge pipe we rode thru.B rad rolling thru behind me.

this was one of the dug out sections that we rode down in to.

The water was so blue...we could see turtles and fish swimming around.

some of the upper woodsy areas...they were fast and very similar to the MS trails.

the trails weaved thru these huge rocks...pretty sweet.

just a little recovery

2009-03-05T18:09:00.000-08:00

coach has had me doing short rides with short burst of effort but mostly recovery pace. she also has me doing 3 strength training sessions that are mostly focused on core and stretching.

i headed out to the rails to trails to get the 30 min spin on...weather was about 68 degrees and sunny. the legs felt great! light and snappy...compared to Tuesday's ride the legs felt 100x's better.

as i got closer the the location of our local single track i noticed lots of smoke...

nothing like riding in a cloud of smoke...like puffing on a cig while riding...not fun!

this is a close up of one of the entrances to the trails...humm...good? bad? work...you bet!

I leave out tomorrow afternoon to head towards the 1st SERC of the year...Gainesville, FL! Weather looks great and I'm feeling pretty good at the moment. I have a short ride planned for Friday morning with some 90 sec efforts mixed in there for good measure.

Race report to come!

SCRCS #1 Briar-Badlands-Battle

2009-03-03T16:14:00.000-08:00

the first race of the 09 campaign is in the books. everything went according to my plan...i had intended it to be as easy of a race as possible and although i wouldn't call it easy, cause no race is, it was just what I wanted.

the plan was to stay in contact with the lead/chase group until the last lap of the race and make a move, if any, there.

about ten folks showed up in my age group with several of them being first timers. scott kuppersmith of herring gas, showed up and laid the hammer down from the get go.

for some reason i wasn't paying attention at the starting line and got a late jump...so i had to play a little catch up right out of the box...

i always like to be in the front group when entering the woods and i managed to work my way into 5th...

scott went off the front and jojo followed, then a group of 3 (betz, b.lee and me) was established, behind that i really dunno...scott quickly dropped jojo as we dropped b. lee...over the course of a few miles, jojo slowly faded back to betz and i and tre bridged up...the small climb would end up being the fate of chase group...one the first go around, jojo dropped off the pace at the crest of the climb...then betz took the lead with tre and i in tow...on the 2nd lap, betz fell off the pace at the crest of the climb...tre took the lead and i followed...i decided that just before the start of the 3rd and final lap i would give it a go on my own...
i never saw scott again but finished 2nd...

the bike was great, the course was dry for the most part...not my favorite course by any means but a good workout!

wesson took a big 3rd place in the ss division!!! b rad before the egg beater took a beatin and broke off the spindle!

1st pre ride of the year...

2009-02-28T14:47:00.000-08:00

and I hope its not some sort of foreshadowing of things to come...

the weather had been great for the last several days...so what do you think happens the morning of the pre ride...it pours rain...i mean enough to create 6ft long 3inch deep puddles...the only good thing is it's not nasty muddy crap on the bottom, just water...but the sand is the killer here...that's all the soil is...SAND.

so, brad and i do what we do...got suited up and went out for a ride. it was nasty fo sho...BUT with more folks, as we were the first to pre ride, ride the course today it should dry up and with no more rain, 20mph winds, and hopefully some sun, I;m sure things will be solid for the race tomorrow.

this race is a abnormal due to it being only about 45 minutes from the la casa. which makes it nice for when your bike is trashed and nasty and you need to give it some tlc and have her ready for the ride tomorrow.

The 09 campaign gets kicked off tomorrow. For some reason I am more pumped up about this year than in the past...I really don't even know why I'm so stoked...could be cause I've trained hard this off season and I'm ready to race, could be cause the new sponsor and the new rig "The Oiz", or could be cause I'm going back out on the rode for the SERC with B rad and the SERC's races are always such the epitome of southern grassroots xc mtb racing at it's best! I simply am fired up...

race report coming soon...probably Monday...I'm a slacker after hard efforts!

last bit of effort before the race

2009-02-26T19:07:00.000-08:00

coach had me doing the last bit of effort today before the weekend. she wanted me to do 3x race start practices which are 1 min full out then settle into a nice, high z4-5a effort...i love these! i normally do the ride a little more structured but today i went to the race course with max to ride. i decided to do the first bit of effort just out on the course...so that's what i did...about 40 min's in the ride, i drilled it for 11 min...cooled down for about 15 min. by that time i was back at the starting line so i drilled the second and last effort of the day...ended up with 2 solid tempos and an 1:45 over all ride time.

My first warm up race of the season is this sunday at the Bethel trails in MS and is part of the SCRCS. The course for this weekend is long and fast...bad thing is there is NO recovery out there...it will be non stop peddling the entire time...all 35 miles!

i'm ready. just a couple of light rides tomorrow and Saturday then it's go time. this season will be fun...i've had a great off season program and feel really right where i wanna be. it's still a long way away from my major goals for the year, so no pressure at this point.

Goal # 2 = Finish top 5 overall at SERC

Goal # 1 = Top 3 at Bump N Grind!

I've never been on the podium at this race...it's the largest xc race i do every year and i love the course...so maybe this is my year!?! It's part of the ProXC and Kenda Cup East series...I can't wait!

T minus 14 days

2009-02-16T09:21:00.000-08:00

Coach had 2x 2.5hr rides planned this weekend for me...one with effort, one without...

I wanted to hammer out the 2.5hr effort off road but due to the rain on friday/sat am, i decided to keep clean and go hill hunting...

My 21 mile out-n-back route won for the suffer fest! This route has some great hills to climb...

Those are just a few of the killer climbs...the overall ride details would net me...2:31rt, 51 miles, 2600 ft of climbing, with an avg HR of 156...and some semi sore legs.

this was my turn around, the beautiful town of Baxterville, MS...not a bunch going on here.

Sunday called for the same ride time but with no effort...I was to keep the HR in z1-2...which i did.

For the first time in awhile i gathered a few fellas to ride with me. It was fun for the first 1.5hrs but then they all went they're own way home and i was left to finish the ride alone...like normal.

The end of the ride...great day...64degrees and sunny...can you say almost spring time?

the weekend was great, even though i missed riding off road, i was still treated to some great road riding!

started the new race plan this week...

2009-02-11T19:59:00.000-08:00

today i was accompanied by Sam, a riding buddy, who trains a lot but for tri's...??? But he's good to ride with. I told him i was doing a very specific workout and he said he was in so, i told him to meet me about quarter till 4.

the workout today was brutal, coach had me doing hill sprints...4 sets each of 3, 2, and 1 min intervals...ouch! i went WAY to hard(190 HR) on the first 3 min interval and paid for it by the 4th one...but after about 9 min of full recovery i felt a ton better.

i was able to really power out the 2 min reps. they felt good and so did i. on the first 3 min intervals, sam stuck on my wheel...not on the 2's or 1's though. it made me feel good.

i felt good after the ride. i rehydrate like coach waned me to, cause tomorrow is another tough workout...race starts...fun!

No plans just riding!

2009-02-08T15:28:00.000-08:00

I decided to ride the Oiz again to continue getting more comfortable on it. I did a combo of road/gravel/singletrack riding today...a little exploration to keep it fun.

Here are some pics and thoughts...

Notice the little boy of the right rigging up his fishing pole...that was your boy about 17yrs ago...as soon as i could get out of the house, i was fishing....i even probably fished right where he was at one point...got to love some fishing!

I have pasted "Dunaway Lane" for years...today i decided to go down it. I found some gravel roads, 4wheeler trails and this sweet little swimming hole with a zip slide...not sure if i'd give it a go now, but 10yrs ago, you bet! Or maybe i would have just brought my girlfriend out there and made out all day!
Nice side shot of the Oiz. It was supposed to be a zoom in shot going thru the frame looking down at the Trace...you can sorta see it...this is a great section of trail that runs parallel to the Rails to Trails...good for folks to see us riding and get exposure to the trials themselves.
Once again...i'm not sure shot when I'm sitting still much less on the move. This is a new section of trail that has made a nice figure 8 loop...
We had some nasty areas in the lower part of the trails so the boys built a fabulous bridge to help out. Nice job! How you like that BOR sticker on that bike?
In this same area of trails, it seems like there is a abundance of skulls...no humans yet...but give us time to build more trials and you never know what'll turn up. I think we're calling this area of the trails...Death Vally. I guess if i were an injured animal, this would be a nice place to cal it quits...nice rolling terrain, plenty of undergrowth to hide under, plenty of water to sip till you pass...i think it would be down right pleasant to die here...

Ah, the quite stroll on the Trace before i head back out on to the open road. it's always such a great place to ride...

bonita...means pretty in spanish

2009-02-07T22:41:00.000-08:00

a good ride today at the Bonita lakes trails in Meridian, MS. i use to ride these trails weekly...the ride brought some good memories back for sure...some great single track to enjoy on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. you;ll notice the downed trees...they're from the last several years of nasty storms that seem to happen all too often.

The M Town overlook...it's not that great but hey, it's an overlook in MS...what else can you ask for?
Today's ride was simple...ride with no set agenda for about an hour and some change and that's just what i did. tomorrow's ride will be a little longer but not much in the effort dept. I'll be riding almost everyday over the next week but not too much effort. Coach is building my new race plan so I'll kinda just maintaining/recovering until she's ready.

recovery week ahead

2009-02-02T06:43:00.000-08:00

ahh...so much satisfaction happened this weekend!

I guess you could say i'm starting to learn a new term..."time management"...this weekend was a test of whats to come as the family grows. Saturday started with amanda and i having to go separate ways due to parties and practice...she took the 2 babies to a baby shower with her moms and I had to bring carter to soccer practice. Then I had to fit in my 3hr ride, so I dropped the boy off at my moms and immediately jumped on the bike...it was a great day for a ride...60 deg with plenty of sunshine...rode with a fella from Bham AL that i meet friday night at a party.

As soon as i finished the ride, straight to the house to refuel and help decorate the house for caroline's birthday party...which was great! (i'll post pics soon) Then after that party was over at 5p, we had to head to my parents to celebrate amanda and my sisters birthday!

After one last stop at the sister n law's house we headed home. shew...that was a long sat!

Sunday was much more laid back! Woke up with the kiddies and fixed the family breakfast. After I got them all settled and full i got my self ready for the 4hr ride.

I decided to ride the Oiz on the road just to get more use to the way the bike rides...so off i went...the first 2 hrs were on the rd...then i explored some dirt roads for about 35 min to break it up...well...that would prove to be a bad idea. Just as i exited the dirt, i heard a hiss...no biggie, i got a spare tube...so i stopped to fix the flat. What caused the flat...a damn fish bone!(should have taken a pic) i was all ready to fill the tube with air but...the damn Big Air i had didn't work! I started to walk...long story short...dude picked me up and gave me a ride to the house, thank god for good ole' southern folks! As soon as i got back to the house, I jumped on the road bike for about 1:45 min and finished off the 4hrs.

Then it was SUPA BOWL time!!! I picked the Steelers pre season to go to the big show...oh yeah...hella bragging rights!!!

thought of the day..."Why I didn't document the weekends rides with pics, i just don't know...but i will from now on!"

ORBEA OIZ

2009-01-29T18:45:00.000-08:00

Well, the new bike is great. I have gotten to ride it twice one at Oak Mtn and once here at the local trails. I am truly trying to be as critical as I can with this bike because I love my old bike and know it handled good and was, for the most part, fast. The bike is fast. It seemed to stick to the ground more than the Fuel...where the Fuel would bounce thru tight up and loop de loops and commit type trails the oiz feels like it rides the trail better.

The new combo of uni's this year will be fun. I have two kits to chose from now...

The supa sweet, classic, great fitting, simple look with the Orbea Continental Team Kit. It The bibs are really nice with a good feeling chamois. They fit perfect. The jersey is probably one size too big but i can only tell it in the chest when I'm leaning over, no biggie. I also have 2 of these.

Over all... A-

Then I have the supa fly, no doubt about bad ass, original style, hincapie, sleeveless lovin BOR kit. This kit has been s staple around the south for several years...and if you wear it you got to bring it. So I hope to keep that spirit alive. The yin and the yang...is I only one kit...the yang...it's sleeveless!

Over all A-

And the kits combined look just as good!!! I could see this becoming a popular look for 09!

The Oiz came with the new Mavic Crossmax SLR wheel set. I have been sporting the 07 crossmax wheels for, well 2 yrs, and I have loved them. I have had no trouble with them and I suspect that these will yield the same results but at a lighter weight. The have huge beefy hubs and are machined a little more this year...looks just cool as ever!

The Rock Shox World Cup Sid is a nice touch too! This is the first time I have had a remote lock out on the front, and I can't wait to use it on some fire roads! It also is adjustable...100/80 mm option...I have it fully opened at 100mm with 25 % sag in it...it tracks like a motorcycle! Awesome.

The rear design on this bike is what I just stare at...it just looks cool, rides great, eliminates the need for a lot of moving parts...it just works. It truly rides like a hard tail until I hit a large enough bump that it engages the travel...otherwise it rides like a hardtail. I can stand up and hammer and I feel no bob. Now that is something that wasn't happening on the fuel...at all! But don't get me wrong...it descends just as fast as the fuel. I bombed the downhill at oak mtn with absolutly no trouble at all.

The Orbea Oiz is bar none the baddest bike I have ever ridden...I have only owned 4 real mountain bikes...but I ride enough to feel like i got a good grasp on how a race bike should feel. This bike feels good, especially when you're going fast.

nice weekend and good things ahead!

2009-01-18T20:04:00.000-08:00

This weekend was good times! B rad, Wesson and I have been planning on doing a small training weekend for awhile but with cold the hard freeze we got this Friday/Saturday, the fact that the campgrounds were closed, and that wesson couldn't find overnight kinel for his dogs, we decided to stay in Jackson and have a sleepover at wessons and hit up the ridgeland trails back to back days.

Sat's plan was a 2.45 hr ride with 3x 20 min z4 tempos...i only got 2hrs in w/ 2x 20 tempos...i had 2 flats and just decided to call it a day.

I did hike up in the woods for about 45 min looking at the new section of trails that j.polk is building...SWEET!

Sun's plan was 3hr ride time with pretty solid effort through out the entire ride...or a "c" race...since there's no races around i just warmed up for about 30 min, then slowly increased my effort for the next 3 laps around the race loop...ended up goofing off the last 20 min of the ride so i only probably pushed the pace for about 2hrs..still felt good and worked afterwards!

NOW...for the goods...i got these pics from Josh, my orbea rep! It's on the way...got plans with Glenn and some of the team to break it in right this upcoming weekend over in some epic GA trails...more to come on that!

2009-01-15T19:30:00.000-08:00

WOW...so the new news for me is...a new bike sponsor!

Orbea! The have stepped up and hooked your boy up with a great deal for 2009.

I am supa stoked that I will be riding a full carbon Oiz this year. It will be the raw carbon frame with the world cup build. It will be without a doubt the baddest bike i have ever sat on!

In addition to the new Orbea, I will be riding with a new shop this year too. Bicycle Outfitter out of Douglasville, GA. Glenn, the owner is a awesome dude with a passion for only the good things in life. He will also be helping me with gear during the year.

Many reports to come on the bike...it has been ordered and shouldn't be too long before I'm blazing on a new rig! AWE JEAH!!!!

a little late ride report...short with pics...

2009-01-07T19:29:00.000-08:00

For the last 2 years, I have taken a joseph trip...to nothin but chill on my own time and ride kick ass trails. Last year I discovered Racoon Mtn in the Nooga, hit up Tanasi in TN and rode Oak Mtn and Lake Lurleen which are both in Bama.

This year I decided to head over to Arkansas to the Ouachita Mountains to ride some brand new trails and check out Hot Springs.

I left out on early Thursday moning...it was damn near like this for about 5 out of the 7hrs on the road. Hot Springs was my town of destination.

Since the fog slowed me down and i had a stop in Jackson to pick up some extra gear so as i pulled in town it was getting dark quick...the first ride on the radar was Cedar Glades. It was short and fun!

The weather was chilly and the ground was wet...

I instantly noticed the rocks everywhere!

The light left me quickly...got about 2:15 ride time. Nice trails with a great switch back climb.
That night I crashed at the local campgrounds just on the fringe of town. I stayed in the truck and had a nice rainfall to send me off to dream land. I woke up to this awesome sight of a huge rock wall and sweet little stream.
I drove around town in the day to check it out and drove up to the top of a lookout tower to get a nice view of the area.

Then went downtown Hot Springs which was really cool. Old buildings with lots of history.
Theis is bath house row.

They have real hot springs.

After I hit up the local bike shop to pick up a few last things and get some local advice on what the next trail should be... Little Blakely or Vista Trails

Vista was the decision...great trail system. The Vista is an out and back trail that's about 14 miles. The trails started by winding in and out the Lake Ouachita.

Nice long ROCKY climbs.

It was a great ride...about 3:15 ride time.

There was a section of tree cutting that took away a little but not too much.
The last day of the trip was the Womble. I have been wanting to ride this trail from start to finish for awhile...so this was my chance. B rad made it over for this one, since it too is a point to point trail i needed either a friend to ride with me so we can have a car parked at the end of the trail of I had to arrange a shuttle. We started at the south trail head at North Fork Lake. The trail had mile markers and we started at mile 37 and went backwards...I had a flat sometime before this pic was taken, but this is the second flat...

B rad going to work on the tyre

Damn, it's a large tear in the side wall...what to do? Suck down a hammer gel and use the package as a patch kit.

After about 3:30 hrs of riding we were rewarding with some fantastic single track that was running around some ridges and was only about 2 ft wide...it was impressive. Then we got to this overlook...I would say about 600 ft up. It was great.

The B rad took the goofy pic of me happy and tired. From this point the ride was almost over...we ended up with about 4:20 min ride time from start to finish with about 36 miles, 4500 ft of climbing and a hell of an adventure with a great friend!

Amandas in New York!

2008-12-13T19:11:00.000-08:00

My wife is in New York right now and my mom has the kids so it is freaking quite tonight at the house....and has been for a few days. She left out Thursday. The same day it SNOWED! Yeah, i said that..we got about 3 inches on thur am...i will post pics later...amanda took my camera!

I missed Wednesday workout due to a cramping stomach...which fucked me big time this week...cause, i missed monday's workout too.

This new program is tough...it's not too hard any one day but the accumulative grind day in day out is supa tough. Normally I ride 5 days a week...now i;m riding 5-6 days with 2-4 days of ST with no days off...and with my shitty diet and full time life (3 kids and full time job) it's tough!

So I pushed Wed workout of cruise interval to Thursday, in place of the prescribed sprint workout. So I had back to back 2 a days on Thursday and Friday...which I knocked out.

Today's workout was 2 hrs with a :40 min tempo inside the ride. I left out from the house and headed to the trace. It's just to easy to do any steady, long tempo on...just so slight of an incline and no traffic makes for a perfect place for a non stop effort.

Heading up to Ridgeland in the morning to get in the planned 3hrs in with wesson and brad...should be fun.

last weeks worth of pics and post.

2008-12-07T20:18:00.000-08:00

My am workouts start with a 10 minute jog with my shit for brains dog...riley, he's the only one up...its cold outside right now...about 25

I turned my Saturday's recovery ride into a fun trail ride on the new hattiesburg single track.
Just in case i forget how to be a good person while i'm out riding

More nice pics from the trails in hatt. I had to do both weekend rides in the woods, so lots of pics on the trails....

nice and sunny day in south hattiesburg...

from my knees view....

Pics on the way to trails via the trace...

Pics on the way from the trails...keep the flag flying!

a view from my other knee on the way to to the trail...quite and peaceful.

The depot i park at to ride to the trails...it gives me about a :10 min warm up and cool down. to the trails.

I was using the kid as a prop...needed to make sure the mtn hardware jacket still holding up...so i let him try it out in the shower...it passed the test and made for a fun event for carter.

And i'm not sure why this pic is so small but it's my angle...caroline!

test #2

2008-12-03T19:44:00.000-08:00

GEEZZ...today didn't go anything like i planned...

plan was to get ON the bike by 330p, at the latest 4...didn't happen

plan was to get a solid 45 minute warm up...didn't happen

plan was to improve on my 20 minute tt time and distance...didn't happen

i guess hindsight is always 20/20...i know see why coach had an hour of yoga planned for me on monday instead of an hour of intense plyometric movements including a ton of squats, lungs, scissor jumps, and other lower body stuff along with a brutal core workout...all which has left my legs, lower back, hips, and glute supa sore...it's a good thing in the long run and i'll do the workout again just not on test week. Not to mention I had 2adaytuesday scheduled with an hour of strength training in the morning and an hour ten bike ride focused on pedaling skills that end with 8 set of one legged drills that always set the hips off the hizzie...!

I did not improve and it hurt like hell...but i will pay no attention...i will keep hammering away...and love every minute of it!!!

get some from the burg

2008-12-01T19:56:00.000-08:00

I know i suck at trying to do this daily...i thought saturday was the last date i was on here but it was tuesday!

To be short and sweet with this post, since it has to backtrack 5 days, I'll only let in on the exciting stuff...wtf?

Wendesday I had a simple 1.5 hr ride with a 30 min z3 tempo inside it. Even thougth I had half day off i messedd around until it was too late to ride outside so i busted out the rollas and got it done...that's about the longest i can handle inside ridin! Arse starts a hurtn!

I went out Way too late Wednesday night...like 3am! Grandparents held on to the kids so the misses and i went out and watched the Glitta Boyz played at the BOCO so we wet out guns a blazzin! it was fun, no pics! needless to say there was no riding on T day!

Friday went well, off work again so I got the two workouts that were planned back to back...it made for a nice 2 hr and some change workout...i did the hr ride first, which was mild at best, then got the hr of ST and core work.

Saturday was nasty...windy...rainy...luckly not that cold...and I had a 4 hr ride planned. Great! I decided to just pull out the hardtail and put on the Patagonia rainjacket, which performed awesome, and headed out....i made the best of the ride. Getting about an hour of singletrack time in and about 3 hrs out on the open road....ended up a nice ride.

The beatuiful power plants!

Sunday was a beautiful day to say the least...but just a little windy!

I had 2x 20 minute tempos to be done at 55-65 rpm so i headed over to the trace to hammer them out...it such a perfect place to do any controled type ride...48 miles of paved trail...some places even have some slight elevation change! As i was hammering the first tempo out, I nailed this stick on the trail...it was hiding like a ninja! Don't get me wrong, the trails are normally clean but we had storms all Friday and Saturday...

This was at the end of the 2nd tempo...felling good! I love those slow cadence drills...that deep burn feels so good!

Tuesdays for 2adazs

2008-11-25T20:07:00.000-08:00

CTuesday mornings always seem to come a little early...MNF is always a hit in the dabbs household...and last night I decided that a little toddy would make the nite just right...then i woke up this morning..

workout #1... 6:25a I was out the door for my, much to my anticipation, for my early 10 minute warm up run...then back to the poor mans gym for a sweet little 55 min strentgh training sessions...felt good, better than expected!

Off to work for a god for sakin boaring ass day at WDAM...

workout #2...coach had a 1:10 ride planned with some low HR work focused on high cadence and pedal stroke...inside the ride was 10x :10 sec max spin/:50 sec recovery; 8x 1 min spin ups/1 min easy spin; 8x 1 min left leg @ 90 rpm/1 min right leg@ 90 rpm/1 min both @95 rpm...the first sets are easy...the 3 set is a mutha...those one legged drills at that high of a spin is really tough, especialy on the last 4 reps durning the last :20 seconds, OUCH!!!! It hurts SO good!

Sunday and Monday...

2008-11-25T08:02:00.000-08:00

Sunday's plan was 2.5 hrs with 2x 15 min tempos at 60-70 rpms in Z2/3...the tempos are suppose to be done up a steady hill...but in Hattiesburg, MS, they're are no such things as long hills...longest one I have found in toughberg is about 5 minutes! So i have been trying to find different roads that keep going up but it's not happening...i will be moving the tempos to the trace from now on!

These pics are just the normal scenery I get to see out on the open road...I do love my country roads...hardly ever see any cars out her, especialy on the Sunday mornings...

This pic show the far away site of the Heritage Eagle Man Triathlon...my buddy won it...Sam Hudson!

More beautiful country side with blue skies and the cows of course!

This is the ass end of the 2nd 15 minutes tempo...great roads but just not quite long or steep enough...but what a great day for riding!

After the ride, I had to squeeze in an hour of yoga/stretching to finish up my week...so what better way than get that in while watching my Colts beat the Bolts for their 5th straight win!

Gettum Payton!

Carter decided to get in his mom's makeup so I made him pose for a few pics to blackmail him with when he gets older...I love being a dad! He's such a great son...I think this weekend I might try him out in the woods for a night and see what happens...mom thinks he'll get scared...I think he'll snuggle up to me in my sleeping bag and be prefect!

Monday's are kinda like a day off...so all that was planned was about 30 minutes of stability work and about 30 minutes of ST...I managed to get about 45 minutes of work...I was tired and just didn't feel like getting the last 15 in...more to come about Tuesday soon!

Gotta LOVE mtb rides on Saturdays

2008-11-22T20:58:00.000-08:00

The Saturday planned ride was simple...3:15 on the mtb mostly in z2 some z3...weather was perfect so wesson, betz and i decided to meet at ridgeland and ride a little...they were good sports about riding...hell i couldn't even keep up with betz on the hills, he was on his ss and had to go ahead and go...i had to keep my hr under wraps to keep within coach's plans.

The trails are awesome...sorry so much of my mug...that's my boy wesson behind me sporting his hunter orange, gun shots were going off in the morning when we got there...my defense to hunters is just to keep my trap running as much as possible.

I love dogs that will run the trails with their owner...this pooch was running for hours out on the trails today...good stuff

Just a mice view from my knee...love the dirty south trails!

A little workout info...HR and elevation...can you read this?

My two oldest babies...sharing a seat...but only for a minute, Carter, the boy, is in the process of getting really upset that sister Caroline, is cramping his style...they're great!

Gearing up for the weekend

2008-11-20T16:33:00.000-08:00

Oh what fun rollas are...it's easy to talk about it today, the day after the torture took place and another ride has replaced the foul memories of the 1.5 hrs that was prescribed by coach...the ride was going to be done outside but temps and late work hours force it me inside, or at least the garage! I had to warm up for 45 min then a nice z3 20 min tempo at 95-105 rpm...nailed it! Got a good sweat on too...at this time of year and training are at a premium, cool temps and low efforts keep the sweat at bay for the most part...tonight was a nice on fo sho!

A little side shot of the garage and my bike haven at my house...i love biking! How do you like the jersey...it reminds me of some good ole times before kids and a real job...road trip to kaliforna form the berg was off the hizzy fo reazza fo shizzy!

Today's workout was to be 1.5 hrs with 10x spin ups to 120 rpm in the smallest gear...not my favorite type ride fo sho but it, done...and the weather today was fabulous! It got up to about 74 today and nuttin but sunshine...made for a great way to end the day! I rode on the trace today which was very quite and perfect for the plan today!

Tuesday the 2 a day

2008-11-18T18:21:00.001-08:00

Today was my true second 2 a day...i love saying that! It makes me feel so goal oriented and professional...cause why else would someone who does this training and racing thing on the side just for fun be already putting in 2 a days in November 08 for races that aren't happening until March 09 at the earliest...it's like my boy wesson and i were talking about...I just love training! Call me crazy but i love the structure it provides and I just love to ride and workout so it works???

This morning was my 1st attempt to getting up early to do 1 of the workouts planned today...I set the alarm for 6a...after 2 swats at the snooze I pulled myself out of bed around 6:20 and by 6:30 I was out the door for a 10 minute jog to warm up then back to the garage to do my 50 minutes of strength training...it went well! Starting to get stronger already!

Tonight's ride was short and very controlled! Only 1:10 rt scheduled but structured out the arse...10x 1 min max cadence sets, 8x 2 min spin ups, and 8x 3 min 1 leg drills...it went really smooth until the last few sets of the 1 legged drills...i could barely finish them...the hips were done...the felt just helpless after a while...good stuff!

I got very cold towards the end of the ride...only about 50 degrees but i was under dressed and brought the wrong gloves...my hands were frozen...hey i'm from south MS i don't do cold weather...i'll need to make a mental note to bring back up cloths in the car!

last few days

2008-11-18T08:32:00.001-08:00

The weekend was fun. They're always too short but always fun! There was very little planned in the dabbs household for the weekend except for 2 rides(not very long), R and R, and FOOTBALL...i know, I like to participate in sports with spandex but i love to watch big dudes try and decapitate each other...i love the primal instinct that FB has inside the game...plus the battle in the trenches is the best!

Saturday was suppose to be 2.45 hrs on the mtb and had planned to meet with B Rad in Jackson to ride Ridgeland...but rain on Friday killed that for me...so at about 11a i got going...with winds in the 25+mph range and temps around 50 I headed out on the road. It was a pleasant 50 miler with not much activity happening...just spinning in z2 and putting some miles in...good times!

Sunday was not much more eventful...I love cooking breakfast for the family on the weekends, actually starting to do it more than just weekends...I figure mom cooks dinner and likes to sleep in so I can lend a hand here and there... ;-)
I got out on the road around 11:30a to get my 2.15 hrs in. I was to include 2x 10 min tempos at a slow cadence up a small hill...since the HR wasn't working i had to guesstimate the effort i was using but i think i got it pretty close...the cadence stayed around 65 rpm which was right on...could feel the burn in the hips and quads...

Monday was back to work and a pretty laxed day as far as training was concerned...just an hour of yoga...um, what? I am about as flexible as metal pole...the ole power lifter in me just don't bend in strange positions...but i'm always up for a challenge...i think.?. I warmed up for about 5-8 minutes then went into a series of flexibility positions...some felt good, some were easy, some sucked and hurt...i didn;t do those to long...like not at all. Ended up with about 35 minutes of pure yoga...i think i will monitor this and might start incorporating Pilate's and stretching to help out with hot spots...

So far so good...I'll post later o Tuesday's workout!

easy friday...i guess

2008-11-14T17:05:00.000-08:00

i was enjoying today off from work...i love not working!

yesterday's workout was very interesting...i have never done one legged drills before so it was new and fun...

plan was 1 hours with 7 sets of...30 sec R, 30 sec L, 1 minute both...increasing rpm by 5 each set...and that's what i did...last set was hard...found lots of dead spots in the pedal stroke at 115 rpm with one leg...hamstrings were tight afterwards...but nice sweat as i did the workout on rollers.

today...was another two a day...with an hour of strength training and 30 minutes on the rollers afterwards...the strength workout was suppose to be an hour but even with 3 sets of the planned workout it only took me 40/45 minutes...but i did ride for 40 minutes by mistake...

another good day but only 5 days down out of 13 weeks...got a ways to go!!!

weekends planned rides should give me another 5 hours on the bike...my favorite!!!!!

First 2 a Day!

2008-11-12T20:24:00.001-08:00

Today was my first planned two a days...with a 1:30 z2 ride for a little recovery and my first planned strengthsession! I think i passed the test well and am ready to slow ratchet it up...little by little though...

The Ride...! It was done at lunch since I had morning meetings and afternoon shoots. I had planned to get out on the bike @ 11 but ran almost an hour late...got to be more timely. And by the time i got out the rain was on it's way...i got sprinkled on some but it wasn't until the last 20 minutes that i got poured on...thanks goodness it wasn't very cold, only about 65*.

The workout...! I was prescribed a series of upper body and core/stability exercises that would sure to not disappoint! I thought it would be pretty easy, it always seems that way after the first set...but anyway...it ended up being a nice 50 minute workout.

I am starting the workouts out a little slow since i'm either on the bike, doing yoga, or strength training 7 days a week...i mean, i'm still sore from Monday's workout! So i felt today's stuff about like tomorrow will be another day in the "slow and take it easy" mode for the work hours...got to keep the priorities, right?...bike then work! I promise to have pics soon!

Off season starts

2008-11-11T19:03:00.000-08:00

Started the off seaon this week. Went with a pre built program from LW Coaching this year to change things up some. Yesterday was the 1st day of 91 days of specific training set up to help build my base up to help me not kick the rear spanked out of state! The real reason I went with a pre built plan is to take the guess work out of it for me. I have been doing my training on my own for several years and since i got the 3 little ones, who you will hear more about, and the whole job thing...i figured i would let someone else think for me plus they know what they're talking about more than i do!

Yesterday was a an hour of strength training with 30 minutes of stability work and 30 minutes of core work...it was tough. There were several exercises that I did that were new to me....but they felt great. I;m sore today, the day after...

Today was the lactate test. which would be found out thru a 20 minute TT...ouch! that wa my first tt all year...maybe even 2! It hurt...but i laid it all out...avg hr was 179bpm...hope i didn't set my self up for a brutal 13 weeks with max effort going based on this test...only time will tell!

24 HOCS

2008-11-07T18:06:00.000-08:00

wow...my legs hurt today!

This is my 5th year to enjoy this race! I have been doing it since it was around and Brian's right...it keeps getting better and better! I have done it solo once(never again) and been on teams the 4 times. Either way is super tough both mentally and physically!

My first year was the horrid 72 hours of rain at clear springs...those of you who were there, i don’t to remind you but for those who weren't, let me just say that it rained for the 2 days leading up to the race and rained the whole time during the race...we also were doing 13 mile laps at the time...my team DNF'd due to lack of proper equipment...my brakes ripped through my rims cause my brake pads had completely disintegrated and were exposing the staples which acted like knives cutting through warm butter...it sucked!

My solo attempt was the next year...it was brutal! I ended up riding with someone who had done several solo races, so I thought I would just hold his wheel...mistake! After riding 9 out of the first 12 hours...I was completely shot! I sat down and never got back up!

Now, I'll give you all my perspective on this whole 24 hour deal from my team's point of view for this year... We have had great luck over the past several years at this race...Indian Cycle has taken the 1st place trophy home for the last two! We have had a core group of riders who have been on those teams, but some of them decided to back out for whatever reason...! So this year I had to make a new team...before anybody had dropped off the team for this year, I had one goal, get the core together, make it stronger and WIN! With that in mind, I called my good buddy wesson and asked him if he wanted to ride or help this year...he gladly answered "help"...so he was to be our team mom...the other racers were to be Max, Brad, myself, and the newest addition...BETZ! I knew that with that group of 4, we would be unbeatable...lots of good speed, lots of experience and some first time motivation coming from Betz...well...First, Max backed out...ok, I'll get Wesson back on the team, cause he was there last year and did great plus he's got such a great outlook on things, he makes a shitty situation funny! Wesson didn't really want to but stepped up to the plate and did a great job! Then, Brad dropped out...good lord...so I called Tanner, who was on the team last year and had done great but I knew he hadn't been riding as much but still decided to ask anyway...he said yes and was fired up...it's easy to be fired up 3 weeks before hand! So there you have it, our team was finally formed...Me(6x 24 hours races), Betz(newbie to 24 hour race), tanner(2x 24 hour race), and Wesson(3x 24 hour race)...The La-a Blazzers! The days leading up to the race were fun. We are all compiling lists of stuff we need/wanted and delegating them out to one another...that list was pretty funny! there was lots of talks about the what's, when's, and how's but for the most part it's pretty simple...racers go one after the other with ABSOLUTLY no down time at the transition area! (more to come on this) So Saturday finally gets here and we all show up about the same time at the campground...with a ton of stuff...way too much, but that's a good thing at these types of races! Since I was team captain, I guess, I had elected Betz to go first, me second, tanner 3rd, and Wesson last...but Betz was too nervous to go first and Wesson didn't want to get stuck doing an extra night lap due to light issues...so we shuffled things up a little...me first, betz second, wesson third, and t dog last... Once the race started, it was all about riding that bike! First set of laps went well...we had created a small gap on the first 3 laps but lost it all on the 4th...we managed to rebuild our lead some but lost our gap when we had two back to back chain breaks! Then night came...it was still a very manageable race even though we had our hands full, I was still optimistic! We were tied around 11p! I actually turned my second night lap with 2nd place...we stayed tire to tire the whole lap...we had built a small lead with wesson going back in the woods and then disaster hit! Just as I lay down for a few minutes, I hear this puking noise...I tell myself that it isn't one of my team mates...but it was...T Dog was fading fast and I knew we were in trouble...I had never had to fight with less men! Wesson and I talked and almost decided that we going to just call it and chill...pretty crappy on our part...Betz was out in the cold, dark woods and we didn't even go up to the transition area to tell him...just waited on him to get back to camp...well, once he got back, he was not happy! He told us he was going back out and for one of us to be ready...I was shutting down but Wesson, like always, stayed positive! Wesson, got me up and made me drive him to the trailhead to do his lap...I still wasn't sold on the idea...mind was playing tricks on me...I got back down to the camp and laid back down for about 10 minutes...Betz got back and was very nonchalantly talking me into doing another lap...I didn't want to at all...BUT, i summoned up a little strength and suited up, turned my 5th lap! The race was all but out of hand by this point...I think BC told me we were back by about 50 minutes...too much to pull back...once daylight got here, I found new life! Wesson finished up a nice, steady night lap, which was the last dark lap of the day, so I was turned out on to a new day with new light...I wanted to stay smooth and steady...I finished up and Betz went out. Wesson and I decided that I would do the next lap to build any lead possible on 3rd place then let him finish up on the last lap as more of a joy ride...he was getting tired...so I turned another...thinking that this was going to be my last lap, I tried to go out and do a little faster lap...turned in a 55 and though I was done...BUT, while we were waiting on Betz to get back for Wesson to go out, we noticed at the transition area, 1st place was really only up about 10 minutes up on us...after several slower laps form them and a few faster laps from Betz and I, we were WAY closer than I thought...so again, wesson talked me into going out and giving it my best to pull the leader back...I turned in a 53 minute lap and pulled back over 7 minutes from Team Buckwheat but to no avail...they won by 3 minutes...wow, what a close race!

It was a lot of work and fun at the same time...thanks brian for this experience!

JUST for a little shout out to the ladies...Clair on her big solo effort and the cougars...way to set the bar!

too long...

2008-10-28T18:09:00.000-07:00

wow...do i suck at blogging...it would seem that it gets bumped to the "don't even worry about it" list once anything else presents itself that doesn't involve typing...somehow in high school, i by passed that class and have been struggling ever since.

lots has happened since July 17th...

Max and I rolled over to the GA state Championship on random weekend...it was fun! Very hot...what else would you expect in August in the south. Fast trails...the race was hosted by Gone Riding and they do such a great job...Terri and David Berger run a top notch series. I have enjoyed racing with them for many years...thinking about joining them next year for a season!?!

there was about a month off between the GA race and our next race...lots of training, might have overdone it cause after this race I was never as fresh as I should have been...

On September 7th the SCRCS got back in full swing...on a side note, I was not a fan of prolonging our season for 2 months, it did allow me to go out of state and race some but it also made for a long season, anyway....this race was so much fun last year i was really looking forward to it this year...i had a few things working against me...i wasn't able to pre ride because of a wedding on Saturday and the wedding was late so the 5 hour drive got me up to Oxford around 12a. Surprisingly enough, I was feeling good in the a.m. and so the race went...fast, Tracy stomped the field and I hung on for 3rd out of the largest to date expert field in our series...10!

Up next was Butts...it was a good race...hard! It's always tough cause it's flat so you're going all out the whole race with no recovery...i think I finished 2nd on the day...behind Tracy martin again...that will become a theme for the res of the season!

The the finale...The 1st Annual Magee Lungbuster. it was fun...those trails have started to become my favorite little place to go and ride for a few hours...the race was organized great and the course was perfect. I had an ok race...didn't feel all that well but maintained a steady tempo for the race to round off the podium in 3rd...but good enough to win overall in Master Expert for the State Champion and the Series Champion!

Anniston, AL SERC 8

2008-07-17T14:18:00.001-07:00

The SERC race in Anniston, AL has become a permanent fixture on my racing schedule over the last few years...all though the course is not my favorite nor the kinda course I'm good at, I still really enjoy the pain! I really hadn't planned on doing it this year but was talked into going by Max and B rad...not much talking was needed. It was an awesome weekend with really perfect weather for this time of the year...considering on top of Cheaha Mtn you may really never know what mother nature is going to throw at you.

This year the course was a little shorter than last year but still very challenging! I was having a pretty good day from the gun...went into the woods about 7th, passed a few riders as they either went down or blew up...I even was able to climb fairly well, good enough to keep the leaders in sight...then things settled down...this dude from Atlanta Pro Bike and myself were yo yoing on the second and 3rd lap until my fucking chain broke...FUCK...i did have what i needed, popped in a quick link and was able to get back on the bike with only losing about 3 minutes...but I just couldn't ever get back into a rhythm...it really sucked...I had about 3 stumbles on the last lap which lost me several minutes and lots of energy...then, as I started the last climb, I realized I had knocked off my Garmin on one of the bobbles...I panicked...wasn't sure what to do...I got off the bike and thought...I've lost the race might as well go try and find it...then thought...hell I'll never find it...so I got back on the bike and finished up...7th place...BOO, should have been 5th!

Here are some pics to enjoy...I'll upload more when I can...

Max off the start!

Big Glenn form BOR...

B rad rounding the corner on lap one!

Our boy Betz on the podium in 4th

Max on the podium in 2nd!

4th weekend!

2008-07-10T11:26:00.000-07:00

Good times....

Sometimes you have to be creative with the stories you tell your better half about biking...

For the 4th, my In Laws were heading to the beach for a few days...sounds like fun...but there were going to be 10 folks...8 adults, 2 kids...Fun...yes, comfortable...no, biking...no!

So, I decided I would try and get out of it and I did...while I was doing this maneuver, I began to make plans for a training weekend!

B Rad and I decided to head to the Nox and get some old fashion training on...

Camped out at Choctaw Lake Thursday and Friday...great facilities!

Plans were: Friday = 3 laps of the race course...34 miles, 3500 ft of climbing, 3:30 rt...great workout; Saturday = 24 mile loop, 2000 ft of climbing, 2:30 rt...another good workout!

Plans were hammered out just as planned! We did git some rain at the end of the ride on Saturday and while we packed up but no biggie...

Sunday, I decided to try out a road loop that I had been wanting to try out for awhile...Red Bluff!
It's an area that has great climbs and low traffic...Max and I left out after the Tour coverage went off...25 minute drive and off we were...unfortunately, we missed our turn and rode out to Monticello...ended up doing an out and back that was about 45 miles and about 2400 ft of climbing...going to redeem myself this up coming Saturday and going to try and do the entire lap!

No pics, wife had camera...I;ll get some this weekend!

SERC on Raccoon Mtn

2008-07-10T10:54:00.000-07:00

First SERC race for me this year and I have been very excited about this weekend! I'm treating this race as a training race with some emphases on it. I trained like norm right up to the weekend and was just going to go out and do my thing.

B rad and George/Jerry came up as well to the race. So we all hooked up at the staging area to get the pre ride on...good times! We also had a friend join us from Baton Rouge, Jason Betez, who also rode with us. Pre ride was fun, about an hour 5 ride time and 12 miles...great course...lots of rocks, some climbing, some blazing fast sections, and a little pavement.

Ate dinner with George/Jerry and B rad at the Cracker Barrel and them off to clean the bikes and get some sleep.

B rad had been battling a cold all week and decided not to race...as during the pre ride his HR was reaching 160 BPM while we were taking it easy...probably a good decision!

Jerry and I just before my race...

Race Day...I love/hate the few hours leading up to the race...filled with butterflies and anticipation...warmed up for about 25 min with Betz and then got the game face on...we had about 20 racers in my class, so it was one of the largest fields I had been in this year! Game plan was to start easy and roll into a rhythm...and it started off just like that...I think I was about 8th position going into the single track. I moved around a few guys ans tried to get in a grove...it worked like I wanted it to...1st lap rt was about 55 min, about a minute off the lead group of about 4...second lap went pretty good too...was able to stay steady through the woods and only dropped about 3 minutes...3rd lap...uh oh...was starting to feel the effects of the first 2 laps and was slowing...about the middle of the 3rd lap, where the big climb was, is where I got caught by the rider behind me...finished up in 7th.

Starting line jitters

GOOOOOOOOO!

Feeling good on 1st lap!

Overall I am pleased about the finish...I just have to find a way to not die on the last lap! I cramped so bad towards the end my left leg completely locked out...it fucking hurt!

BBB # 3 Race

2008-06-14T19:59:00.000-07:00

The Briars Badlands Battle is the second MS State Championship race of the year. I was really going to use this race as just a training race...but when I saw that Kuppersmith was there, I knew that it was going to be on!

Not a huge turnout but we had 5 guys in my class so a small group. Went in the singletrack in 3rd position and moved around the fella in front of me after about a mile...and from there, I was chasing Kuppersmith...he was about :15-:20 seconds in front on me...the backside of this course is really open so I could see him most of the time, then after a short downhill I ran up on him. He said he wasn't sure if he was going right...he took a wrong turn on the last race we did...so from that point we roe together.

He asked me towards the end if we would roll the finish line together...I told him it was his, then he said he wanted me to take the V and he would push me across the line...I thought...OK!

It was hot...real hot...here are a few pics.

The chase was on...

B RAD was really hot...

Love the cowbells....worth the pain 4 sho...

Past few race weekends...

2008-06-14T19:25:00.000-07:00

Last few race weekends have been a blast. Bump and Grind is a race that I look forward to ever year and is always one of #1 races of the year bar none. I thought I was ready this year for a top 3ish finish...didn't quite go my way.

The weekend got started Friday night as we rolled up to Oak Mtn State park to set up for the weekend. We got there around 11p and just grabbed the first camp site we found...

ended up being a good spot...trees on one side then we had Max's new camper as the other wall...

we woke up normal time and went ahead and got our pre ride on...

This trail is always fast and fun...

We got to hand with some good friends from Oxford and ate another dinner...might have been one of the problems.

Sunday was fun never the less...had a good start and solid first lap, around 1:11, then pushed a little too hard thru the transition area, feed zone, which I missed my feed, and first half of the 2nd lap...runnin about 3-5 place until the half way point up the back climb...um, could you say no power...HR was low, power was low, I was really hot with chills...no good! Got my shit together after the climb and manged to pull two guys back on the downhill and then move on around them and gap them but the damage had been done...finished 8th out of 16 with a RT 9 minutes slower than last year and 11 slower than my personal goal...

a few pics...

the calm before the storm...

max off the start and on the podium...

Some goody but oldies...

2008-05-29T20:59:00.000-07:00

It's funny how things work...u c...i knocked over our lap top Tuesday this week and destroyed the screen...awesome...so i had to go dig the ole PC out of storage for the misses to use...which she is suppose to be looking for a job...? So I setting it up and take a browse thru the files...found some good pics from the a few years back...mostly at the SERC...

I love this one...it's so me...fixed up a bit by boz...

another classic pic...at Dauset Trails in GA, as you might guess it rained a little during the race

mot sure which serc this was..

But this has to be one of my favs...overall podium for sport serc...there was a lot of hard work that went in to that little trophy! all worth it!!!!!

ROCKCRUSHER

2008-05-19T19:32:00.000-07:00

The 4th race of the SCRCS was in Louisville, MS close to Starkville, home of the Bulldogs. Rightfully so, the name of the race is Rockcrusher and there ain't much rock. The race is always well run and very professional, as grass roots racing gets.

My buddy Max and I rode up together Saturday morning and like always I was late...our plans were to meet at the trails around 10:30am, we got there about 12:30...anyway, we were also worried that that the trails would be too wet from the 3 inches of rain two days prior, wasn't bad at all...on the pre ride...good hour workout, 700ft of climbing, 7.6 miles, avg hr 139, this was to be the last short loop of the course, we pre rode the long 11+ mile loop the weekend before a couple times. It was tough...1100ft of climbing per lap, techy sections, fast bench cut single track...

The race went OK...there was about 9 19-39 experts that started together. Started 4th in the woods, the first 2 miles were tough...tight single track and 2 good little climbs to break things up nicely, and it did just that. The semi pro got off the front pretty quick...Tre, Billy and I were in the chase group...on the second climb Billy and I went around Tre...Billy and I rode together for less than a mile and he pulled away from me...it stayed that way the rest of the 3 hr race...ouch! Once I got done, I was told that the semi pro took the turn at the intersection of the long/short lap and was about 3 miles behind us...great news for me...I hate to take the glory in that way but a wins a win...?!

updated with podium pic...

Been Awhile....

2008-05-14T19:47:00.000-07:00

Well...it's been quite some time since I posted...nothing more than too much to do and not enough time...3 kids...full time job...part time job...8-10 hrs a week training...ok.

Lots has happened in the last month...I'll make it brief with each event and start fresh this weekend and on.

The first event was an endurance race at Butts Park in Clinton, MS...rightfully called " 12 Hours on the Butt" ...there were 3 ways to race this 2 person, solo, or 6 hr solo. What turned out to be a great day...all of the folks who rolled in decided to race the 6 hr solo...it was a blast, easy trails, 20+ racers...finished second.

Next up...the following weekend...was the 3rd race of the SCRCS. AOS is my favorite course in the series the course is so much fun with lots of single track, rolling hills, rocks, and roots. The trail is built perfectly, so it;s easy to keep the speed up. The race went well for me...started off in the lead group, moved up 2 position when I blew a tire... I had to stop, roll the tire upside down and thankfully the stans in there was able to seal the leak up, so I shot the tire full with my Big Air and I was good to go. Unfortunately, I had fallen back two spots...I didn't panic but just shifted it in to overdrive...I quickly reeled in the first dude...then in the transition area, the guy in front dropped his bottle and I eased into the 2nd position...never saw him again. It took about half of the second lap for me to bridge back up...I was feeling good! I rode the wheel of the leader for the rest of the race...heading into the last quarter mile, we had really started to catch up with the slower sport racers...as we came around, what would turn out to be the last racer we would have to past, we yelled out "rider back, coming around" the dude obviously didn't know 2 were back...Billy went around, I started to go around...and he plowed into me...knocking me off and slingshooting me to the ground...I could have punched his ass out...I jumped back up and took off...Billy had gained about :15 seconds on me...I lost by :06! Overall...I was happy! I felt good, I had bridged back up and was still feeling good, then almost caught back up after the last wreck.

The last event that I have attended in the last month a few was the fabulous Syllamo's Revenge.This was a last minute addition to the schedule...my friend had a spot that he was willing to sale and I was willing to make a trade for it...I did the tour version last year and had a great time. I know I wanted to come back and race it...I got my chance! The weather was wet leading up to the weekend but the weather the weekend itself was perfect. When we started, there were about 300 racers...I was about 30 off the front. By the time I hit the single track I was about in the same place...within the first 30 minutes I had flatted...fixed it, took a little longer cause I had stans and a specific nipple in the rim, got passed by a ton of racers, but eventually got it fixed and was back on my way...passing riders on the reg and making up some lost time...after about 30 more minutes...I blew my tire again! I could have cussed out everyone...but whatta going to do...pulled out my last tube, only brought 2 since I had tubeless tires laced up, and pulled out my back up co2, since my big air was half empty when I started and it was now empty from the 1st flat, and went to work. Took me about 5+/- min to get it back on and I was off again...passing lots of racers...long lines...in and out, in and out, in and out...went on like this until after the 2nd checkpoint...as I was crossing the only stone bridge, I slipped and had to dismount, put my foot down and catch myself from falling into the creek...no big deal...right...SOB...my damn shoe broke! The "boa" on my Specialized shoes had snapped...leaving me with like a flip flop on to ride and hike in...all of this happened before the 1st cp. I wasn't discouraged though, so I just keep on pushing and staying steady and focused...it wasn't that bad to ride with the shoe but the walking sections...river crossings and stone sections...were the hardest so I just tried to ride as much as possible. After the cp 2 the race enters the really technical part...I was doing good but was having and had been having lots of chain issues...the "POW" I broke my chain. I thankfully had a quick link...but I had to stop, take time to fix it and get the legs going again...My goal going into the race was a rt of 5:30...I finished 5:39, but that is moving time from my garmin...race time was 6:10...39th out of 175 finishers.

This has been a fun April and start of May...this weekend we have our4th race of the SCRCS...Rockcrusher ! The races start to get in to some hills so we should start having some real fun. Then Bump and Grind is in 2 weeks...my only "A" race this season...

Picture are around somewhere for these...I'll try and post some later...there will be some to come with the new stuff...

Baton Rouge race weekend...

2008-03-31T13:13:00.000-07:00

unfortunately i was unable to attend this race. I have missed my nieces last 2 birthday parties because of races, so I promised everyone that no matter what, I would be there this year...and I was! It was fun and a good visit with my sister kristie and her family. Plus the huge bonus about anytime I go to visit with her is the fact that she lives in Birmingham, about 10 minutes away from Oak Mtn State Park....which has the best 17 mile point to point trail around, at least in my opinion.

I was gathering up my stuff the day before the weekend and realized that my bottom bracket had frozen up on mt fuel...WTF...! thank god my training buddy, max has a plethora of mtbs that I was able to borrow one from...I properly choose the Santa Cruz...it's a older proven ride that max has used in several 24 hr solos and xc races, it has been retired for about 3 years...and I had to make several adjustments to it for it to fit.

I made one major mistake on Saturday...since I had to do several make shift fixes to the SC, used up both of my tubes that I keep handy...see, I run tubeless with a splash of Stan's and it's been tried and trued!..anyway, I got to the trail head, got suited up, watered up, and tightened up then realized my Big Air is on my fuel and my back up tubes are in the tires I'm riding...dilemma fo sho...being the gambler I am, I rolled the dice and set off...

this is Mike from Chicago, I met him just at the end of the bump trail...just after I lost my bet. this very generous dude stopped and gave me his tube and let me use his co2...i would have been walking out otherwise...very cool!..needless to say, I cut the workout in half and that I took it to the bike shop after that...scored a few tubes and stuff that would get me thru Sundays ride.

saturday night brought some good rain, just enough, but not too much...what it did was cool everything off about 15 degrees and create the perfect topsoil...almost like snowboarding...I was the first on the trail and it just worked...tires hooked up, corners were fast, gears felt easy. I few pics from the first lap, I was going too fast on the second...kaheekahee

a little blood rock action

the front section

towards the end

Easter Ride 2008

2008-03-23T19:38:00.000-07:00

Well...this is the first year in a long time that I didn't go to church on Easter. My wife and I just had our 3rd child...Charlie...so she wasn't going and the in laws wanted to take the other two...Carter and Caroline...I decided that I would get my church ride on and be home after the kids were back. I headed towards Purvis with a nice 15 mph tailwind so it made for a nice start.

Got to see the FEMA trailers that were never put to any use...

this pic doesn't even do the size of this field justice, it's FULL of trailers...they have been there since about a month after Katrina.

I decided to roll thru my local state park...Paul B Johnson...only to find a dick a the gate wanting to charge me .50 cents to ride the 3 miles of road to the other side. At first I decided I would just ride back out and around but then I thought again...I went back asked to talk with the ranger. I explained that I had been riding thru this park for years and have never been asked for money to ride thru...he let me go but gave me a list of fees so I would be educated on what they charge for next time...don't think I will be making the trip that way any time soon. Hope this was worth it...

You know as many times as I ride certain roads...because there fast, or have good climbs, good pavement, whatever...I always have my favs...

This little stretch of road is one of those. It's only about a mile long but I love it, maybe it's cause I use to ride it daily when I lived on Prince George.

Today was a good workout...50 miles, 2400 ft of climbing, 19 avg speed, avg hr 159...but something ain't right about that. My Garmin 305 that I love has been going haywire...my max hr today was 240...uh, no! I have to send it back this week.

Back To The Bouge SCRCS #1

2008-03-22T19:30:00.001-07:00

The weekend started off with some killer breakfast at WH that doubled as the meeting place for half the team. We rolled down to the Mobile and arrived a little before lunch. We decided to eat a lite lunch, chill for a bit then turn the pre lap as the warm up for the short track...which was around 3:30...the warm up lap was good, about 54 minutes at about 65%...but the first section of the loop was nasty. Just so happens that the short track runs right through this...fun!

The race organizers decided to combined the expert and sport fields in the short track since there were only 3 expert racers...it was fun! Twenty five minutes + 3 laps...started out a good train thru the woods for the first few laps, things spread out over laps 3 and 5...I managed to slip away at the half way mark and built on that...ended up 1st with about :45 sec on seconds on 2nd place.

Most of the fellas camped out but Max ans I crashed out in a hotel...much warmer and comfortable. I was really cold the morning of the race and during the warm up...I was not in my routine like I should have...more on that in a bit...the start time was about 10a so by go time the temps had warmed up slightly, so I shed more jacket and headed to the start. On the line we had about 10 experts...all ages...we started off together and I went third into the woods. I felt the effort from Saturday immediately. Second place went down on the in the muddy section, so I slid into 2nd position...just before the single track started back up, the semi pro flew by me dragging along a new expert racer, so I jumped on the train and into the woods we went. I wanted to hang on and stay steady...well, these dudes put a solid pace down and i trailed them by about :20 seconds after lap 1. Lap two was a struggle to keep the power up, I stayed fluid but could tell I was running low on power, I guess I dropped about 3 minutes on that lap. It was the dreaded 3rd lap that got me good. The first little incline, the one I hammered up 12 times during the short track with easy, felt huge. I knew I had to just survive. I pushed but had no power...by the end of the lap, I was basically soft peddling. Ended up 4th overall and 1st in my age.

Some other Indian Cycling podiums...

Our BIG jr racer pulling down a 2nd place...

My boy Max...first race in a year and snags a 2nd place in 40+ sport

Clare finished 2nd in her first expert race.

And JoeJoe ended his sport career with a solid 3rd place...better enjoy, expert should be a eye opener laddy.

Now for the wrap up...

The weekend was a blast. The first race of the season is always one to be easy on yourself about...don't get to high or too low...it's long season.

For me...just a training weekend. I felt great on Saturday...not so much on Sunday. I would like to think I am in good enough shape to race two days in a row so I am not going to use that as on excuses as to why Sunday was so rough...but it is an easy scapegoat...I have some more training to do. Loner rides with tempo/intervals towards the end of the ride and shorter rider with all out effort...

I am going to keep training rides posted...coming soon!

Indian Cycling Racing and a little background for ya

2008-03-16T09:34:00.000-07:00

We are Indian Cycle Racing , an amateur mountain biking team that races and promotes grass roots cycling through XC and endurance races. We have been around for 3 years but are just now getting the team organized like it should be. We started with lots of riders/racers but have narrowed the team down to 12 dedicated racers. Out team breaks down like this: 8 dudes and 3 ladies we have representation in expert, sport, ss and the jr categories and we range in age from 10 to 42 yrs young.

We organize a regional and a state series. The South Central Regional Championship Series is a series that has races in LA, AL, and MS. It is our second year running and our first race drew 95 racers which is the 3rd most racers to date...only missed 2nd by 3 riders,so we are pumped about this year.

This is my first blog...and it's going to dedicated to the race season and the weeks between. I might be setting myself to highlight how big of a slacker I am but we'll see.