Left in the dust...

Rowan finished his race unassisted yesterday without training wheels, which is more than I can say for myself. He was beaming and I missed it because I was warming up for my "race".

Sheri felt a lot like I did yesterday but she Womaned up and finished. She raced until she had to puke, which makes her one hard chick. When she gets race fit, you chicks out there might consider recognizing because she is going to rip some legs off. She also got bit by a dog while running across the venue to look for a place to purge the devil after her finish.

Listen, assholes. If you don't have control of your animal then don't bring them to a WORS race. The offending asshole didn't even apologize and was nowhere to be found once Sheri had her wits about her later.

My throttle cable was disconnected yesterday. My legs might have been there but they didn't want to answer the call to race. I watched the Elite field walk away from me in the dusty field knowing I had no racing in me on this day. This course brings out my inner suck. Couple those things with a bike that doesn't want to stop and I had a recipe for injury. There is some good though. On the line, behind the best in the Midwest; my stomach was flipped upside-down and I was downright nervous. I haven't felt that way since starting my first Sport SS race at Iola last year, and it was exactly what I was looking for. My reality for now was that I would have had the same result no matter what number was on my bike.

Quitting is for losers, but nothing has me seeing red more than a recent dnf. 9 mile forest should make a good backdrop for redemption. Pete is pretty spooled up for this race as well. We are shooting for a solid 20 laps worth of Goat and Stringbean chasing. Sheri got the scoop on last years winning secret nutrition. I hear Chris Eatough eats babies to stay fueled. Ramen noodles are cheaper and easier to prepare.

Bear Left, Right Frog

I’ll be racing at night for the first time at 24-9 next week as a duo with Peter C. When I registered us in May, I laughed when the confirmation page said “championship” on it. Everything is coming together for these next couple of weeks though. Over several night rides at QR, I have the lights dialed. Riding fast, alone at night with an iPod full of crazy shit is pretty awesome. The lights seem to accent strange features of the trail and the trees. I keep thinking that I am running over frogs that are sitting right in the middle of the trail. The first time it happened, I nearly crashed trying to avoid squishing the poor frog. It might have been a rock doing its best frog impersonation. I did not stop to investigate.Everything was flowing perfectly in the dark last night. Only my lousy ass, noisy juicy 7s were interrupting the flow. I will try the Strokers tonight since Sheri stole the Martas. The legs feel mighty good right now also. Standing up and mashing up climbs feels effortless. I wonder how long that will last. I have firmed up my decision to race as an expert starting this weekend. I won’t come in last and I won’t be killing any dreams. In that respect it will be just like racing Comp SS, but with one more lap and much less passing. Other than that I have no idea what it will be like. It feels like the right time, and a 36x19 feels like the right choice to climb those CR switchbacks in the up direction 5 times.

Doping and Poison Ivy

We attempted to sit and watch the first real mountain stage of the TDF last night recorded earlier on the DVR. Even with the ability to zip through commercials, we couldn't stay awake through the end. It takes these non-dopers way too long to climb those damn mountains. I woke up later just in time to see that some narrow-assed Italian climber won the stage. I could have guessed that and went to bed early.

On our ride on Saturday, Ryan and I discovered rather quickly that the first few ungroomed miles of the H8TR trail are not ridable in July. The weeds were taller than us but I insisted we power through it and go looking for Charlie anyway. I have been rewarded for my tenacity with my first allergic reaction to poison ivy. I may be showing up to my first Expert race with legs that look like stubbly rotisserie chicken drumsticks. I am a dumbass.

Mid Season..... or CX base?

Last time I made a blog post attempt, I bonked mid sentence.

The WORS race over 4th of July weekend at Eau Claire was a good time. With some spirited encouragement from Sephie, Rowan learned to ride sans training wheels in about 2 minutes. I felt warmer and more snuggly inside than a basket of puppies while watching him stand up and hammer across the field. He was a bit more timid the next day and I probably got more frustrated with him than I should. He was either shaken from one of his falls, or he does much better when girls are watching.

Sheri jumped out front for the holeshot and had a good race. Rowan and I ran through the woods frantically with a camera and a sack of pre-race food trying to find Mom and cheer her on. That chick is going to be fast when she actually has time to ride and train.

My race was a bit of a mixed bag. I felt good and strong and kept it upright the whole race (from now on I think I will bounce myself off the ground at least once as part of my warm-up). I did have a hard time though just letting riders slip away from me. On the lead out, I sat right on the Curteseses but then just let them get away when gearies started coming around me on both sides. It was like getting swallowed. I think I am way too timid in a pack, sitting up when I still have some top end to spend. I have been doing the same thing this year in the singletrack. When Bill came around at Eau Claire I just watched him walk away one pass at a time without even checking into my LT. I think I'm getting beat by experience at this point, and it still takes me two laps to develop a sense of urgency. I might upgrade now to shock the system, and improve my “laps/hours driven to get to race” ratio.

I took 5 days off the bike to be completely rested for a 12 hour single speed attempt at Blue Mound. Now the rain date is the same day as the Badger Prairie CX race, so I'm torn. With the race off, Ryan and I logged 90 miles to Illinois and back on the H8full Badger trail. It was my first ride on the Ridley Supercross and it felt great but out of its element. It wants to accelerate over and over again, and it is set up a bit too racy for sitting and grinding in the dirt for hours. Back in our neighborhood, deep into hour 5, we pulled a 900watt sprint to catch a couple of nerds on scooters down Seminole. It was a much needed ride and a good time as Ryan makes a good training partner.

With the Blue Mound race off and over, I took the Vassago out of overbuilt enduro mode. With the switchblade back up front and some light, fast tires stans'd up I ripped a bunch of laps at QR last night. The good lines we once had through the rocky upper part of the climb are washing away; about 6 feet of that climb is getting more difficult and is a great testing ground for SS climbing traction.

Tired and satisfied, we watched a bunch of nobodies race over some mountains on TV somewhere in France. I think the BKB could send over a team and make Tim a GC contender this year. Tonight's stage might be worthwhile though. Like many cycling fans, I'm trying pretty hard to wrestle myself from vapid indifference over what remains of the TDF.

Tagged.....

Apparently I've been tagged. Thanks Amelia. My posts are pretty random anyway, so here is some numbered randomness.

1. Rowan likes to give Moonkee wet willies. Before you say "awww, that poor cat.", remember the cat has no damn job.

2. Speaking of Raptors, we were woke up this morning by the dreaded Kinderaptor at the buttcrack of dawn. Much like a bear attack, the best defense is to lie still and stay quite. I am much better at this tactic than Mom is, so she usually takes the brunt of the attacks.

3. At the time trials Wednesday night, I threw my bike in the truck with disgust and took off home after 1 lap. There are days like that on the bike, it was not a good one. I must be subject to some manstral cycle, because it seems to happen about once a month.

4. I played guitar in a punk band in high school. We had a bunch of original material, but also did covers from the Misfits, Dead Kennedys, and many other 80's punk classics. I did vocals on only one song, a cover of "Jesus Entering" by the Feederz. I won't link to it because it is more offensive than vomit. We didn't play at any weddings or graduation parties. We were members of the Racine/Kenosha area punk rock Elite for about 6 months though. We recorded a "Christmosh" album in Joe Cycenas' basement with a single microphone and a boombox in December of 1990. We are older than old school.

5. I have a new nephew born over a month ago that we have not driven to Racine to see yet. We have been selfishly bike racing and stuff, but it goes like that sometimes. My family in Racine seems pretty far away these days.

6. My first mountain biking experience was in 1995 in Jacksonville, FL. My old friend Pete Schiavone pushed a bike at me he had borrowed from his Dad. I think it had a kickstand on it, and didn't shift. It may have even been a woman's frame with the dropped top tube. I don't remember if it actually was, but I'll say it was just to complete the picture. He took me to Hanna Park near Mayport on the beach. They had about 8 miles of pretty fast rooted trails there, really fun stuff. I dropped Pete pretty quick with a big ass grin on my face. No helmet, no shirt, no water. I bent the shit out of that bike. The handlebar, fork and wheels couldn't be saved. Within a year I was racing in Florida, albeit getting my ass kicked. Thanks Pete.

The tagging stops here, we are packing for a bike race. The people I might tag will probably be there in real life.

Happy Independence Day. Don't let them do that to you.