SingleSpeedRacer

Wake up call....

2012-01-30T07:33:00.001-08:00

OTB in the creek,

First of all....If your not having fun, it's just not worth it...

Gerry said to me sometime last week "What the hell ever happened to all of us just riding together?"
It's true... There was a time when you could just show up at a ride. It didn't matter what jersey you were wearing or what shop you were representing. Roadie or mtb'er. Or what clique you belonged to. Mtb rides of over 20 were common and these rides were fun.
Gone are those days. Everybody seems to be worried about series points or specific training intervals. Or worried about burning out too early. At what point did it become a sound training strategy to isolate yourself for months at a time all while staring at a power tap? No amount of intervals replaces the pain of hammering to keep up with a group or drilling it on a climb to maintain your position. When was the last time you felt the stress of having to "make" something or get the hell out of the way quick? Not by yourself, that's for sure.
Riding with others is fun and having fun keeps you interested and fresh. Going into a race season it's better to be having a good time and to be motovated than to be super tuned and completely burnt.
On Sunday I headed up to Ct. to meet with Charles, Josh and James. We played a little. Some on the bike fartlek. The trails at Case Mountain are sweet and to be with some like minded people for the day was refreshing. This is what it's all about.

This past week has taught me plenty. And I feel wide awake now:-)

Put away the Advil and give that boy some Pamprin...

2012-01-17T10:50:00.000-08:00

With morning temps in the single digits and a total lack of time on the snowshoes this year (I'm not complaining), The gang and I decided to put the bikes aside and revisit the hike loop from hell. Four hours of fartlek was on tap. No mercy, run/hike. It's a total drop ride with this group, only no bikes. There is sure to be some bitching. Who would be the first to crack?

My better half. A female point of view...

You might be a redneck... Once the snow comes the trail becomes harder to follow...
On the ridge, the "trail" becomes a little less defined...

Greenwood Lake...
My favorite pic from the bunch...
It's steep and icy at points...
Dreaded but beautiful, Frost Heave...
Happy trails means I can open it up...

I'm so glad to have a cog changing chick...

2012-01-09T07:12:00.001-08:00

She's taking a single speed to Arizona. Not wanting to be stuck with only one gear option, we knew this day would come. Wrench turning independence. After a short tutorial, Joc is changing cogs like a champ...
Now if I could just teach her to bleed brakes I'd be set...

The coolest greeting card ever...

2012-01-05T07:12:00.000-08:00

Maiden voyage...

2011-12-19T07:10:00.000-08:00

My Tomac Carbide SL arrived last Friday. I took my last personal day of the year from my day job to get in a long solo ride, and upon my return I was greeted by foreign tracks in the driveway.... and this....
The following week was a planned rest week anyway so it would be a perfect time to build a bike without being in a rush to get it together for the next ride. No midnight oil this time. Take my time. By Wednesday I was ready to go, I thought....
The rest of the week was spent dreaming about taking this 23.2 lb monster into the woods. I'd hit a couple (easy road) recovery rides on it and thought I had it dialed but my first excursion into Wawayanda on Saturday had me scratching my head. I'm a 23 inch top tube with a 110 stem guy. I never waver from that. Never!! Every bike is slightly different and little changes can make a huge difference, I know. So I swapped the 110 for a 100, raised the bars a half inch and swapped the Fox fork for the Specialized brain. It won't work I thought.... I was dead wrong!
What a difference. The minute I hit the single track on Sunday I was in love. My buddies and I were meeting at 10am at Jungle and I rode down early just to see how it would feel. I'm amazed! The Tomac Carbide SL is hands down the best bike I've ridden on the tight and uber technical trails of Jungle Habitat. After about 15 minutes I found myself hitting lines that were impossible at speed on any other bike. That confidence had me off the brakes at points that usually require heavy braking. On the rare occasion that we would pause to grab a bottle or regroup I would check the rear shock. The recommended pressure for my weight on Tomac.com was right on point. I never bottomed but hit full travel. Perfect.
These trails are bony and can be rough on bike and body, the kind of place that can leave you feeling defeated and wanting to take up spin or some other sport. The nimble Carbide and I quickly made great friends. It's rare you find a bike that handles the tech this well and has no problem motoring on the road also. I think I found the perfect do it all machine....

Many of you are still racing, my "off season" is coming to an end....

2011-11-29T13:30:00.000-08:00

Jocelyn rocked it at the Cathedral Pines 6hr last week. Winning the SS womens and making a dent into the SS mens. Nice job Joc!

First off I'd like to thank my new sponsors for showing their support. Tomac bikes and Gu energy labs. I'm grateful for the support and am looking forward to 2012...I'm stoked to have you on board...Awesome!!!

I'd like to use the phrase off season to describe me laying on the couch, taking in a movie or maybe getting together with some non biking friends. This is not my reality. My laying on the couch follows me splitting wood for three hours straight or exhausted from the gym or waiting to go to a 7:30 yoga class, I get up at 4:30 BTW. The movies are Net Flix or some cheap slasher flick (can't tell you the last one I sat all the way through) and the friends are the local freeride crowd. I should ride with them more, it's eye opening. The point is, during the off season at some point I realize I'm actually training more than normal. This is all because I stop writing my workouts down. The training log causes me to realize that I'm doing too much. Crazy? Maybe. I just love being active. I'm enjoying it. Even if it's working me over. Let the structure begin.

The first week of December has long been marked on the calendar as the official start of my 2012 season.
I'm looking forward to March where I've worked out the logistics of my West Coast campaign. I'm front loading the season. Don't want to say too much but things are gonna get a lot tougher. Racing super fit competition in March will hopefully jump start my season. I require a few races to get my season on track.
At the end of April I'm registered at the Cohutta 100 (NUE series #1) in the open class. That's right, no single speed this year. This decision was easy. The single has treated me well but I have a "been there done that" feeling that I can't shake. I haven't even been on the single since the last short track race back in the beginning of October. I won't be at singlespeed-a-palloza to defend my three time title either. Hopefull some local will step up. Rog? Sean? James? Ron? Maybe Thom? I hear of a comeback.

How many NUE's will I do? That depends. In addition to Cohutta we have a cabin booked at Mohican and Jocelyn keeps talking about unfinished business at Lumberjack. Probably the W101 and Shenandoah also just because those races are so good. Who knows, with any luck I may be making a trip to Georgia for the finals. Well see....

Cyclocross........NOT!!!

2011-10-21T07:22:00.000-07:00

Had my heart set on some sort of cyclocross season this year. Like many years past, this never came about. Earlier this week I even went out to do an on and off road time trial to keep the fire stoked for cross. It went well, I beat my best time by 45 seconds. Great, haven't lost much at all. It's just that it felt too much like training again. Don't get me wrong, I like training as much if not more than racing but in order to go forward I know you sometimes need to take a step back. I plan on taking a major step forward next year. I believe you only have so many matches to burn in a season and twenty five seems to be about my limit. This year it was twenty five big ass matches...Flares maybe. Next year will be bonfires....

Last night I took a bikram yoga class. I amazed even myself with my balance and flexibility. I haven't done much yoga this year, I don't even stretch much but I had an "on night" with laser like focus. I'm paying for it today but I'll be back with bells on next week. Figuratively of course. Note to self: Bring lots of towels to hot yoga.

Looks like I'm gonna be at the Mountain Man biathlon next week. In 2006, I won this race and the win gave me the confidence to get where I am now. The next year I won the H2H single speed overall and a shitload of races, upgrading to semi-pro late that year also. It's been a long trip since then, and even though the mountain man wasn't the start of this journey I believe it was the springboard. Many don't know I got my start to this debacle through duathlon and running races. You can learn alot from other sports.

My gym and trail running...

2011-10-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

The Gym....Split once here, Deadlift and farmers walk to the splitting area...

Logs are down the hill to the left....Get the Idea?
The finished product, all split by hand...

Since the hurricane, the Appalachian now runs right down my street. I've been running on the AT and other trails that are "no no's" to mountain bikers...

Maybe splitting wood in running shorts is a bad idea?

Weak as a kitten???

2011-09-28T07:13:00.000-07:00

A season of racing will always do it. The tell tail signs are there. Moaning while lowering yourself to the couch, unable to pick things up that you've dropped, aches and pains. A sit up or a push up seems a million miles ago. Hell, even on the bike I'm not as chipper as I should be. It happens every year. De-conditioning!! A dirty word.

Selene Yeager (Bicycling magazine's fit chick) said: "Amazing how you can get fit and weak simultaneously" Don't know how it happens, but it does.

For the next three months I'll be attempting to become athletic again. Today is a 15min "jog" in the woods and a yoga type tape. Not a lot, but I know from experience to take it slow and easy for a while. Soreness tends to be high with these workouts and with good cardio fitness I tend to get a little crazy, often doing too much too soon.

Does this mean you wont see me on the bike or even at a race here and there this fall? Not at all, but these rides and races will be secondary to becoming a fit and flexible athletic person again. 2012 will bring new challenges and the prep begins now, off the bike....

Happy trails....

Bagels and Bacon...

2011-09-19T07:11:00.000-07:00

Pic by gtluke Pucker up sweet cheeks, there's like a whole 4 inches of air under that wheel...

Once again the Mtbnj.com crew hit the nail right on the head. They managed to put on another competive but low key event at the perfect time for me. With Michaux coming up I have been riding long and super technical for the last two weeks so I knew I wouldn't be able to go to Blue Mountain for the H2H race on Sunday. I would be just too tired. Besides I had plans of meeting Gordon for the Ringwood super loop that day. Short track on Saturday worked out perfect.

Bagels and Bacon short track #1 was less like a true Norba short track and more like a mini mountain bike race, thats a good thing. The 1.5 mile course was awesome, the bagel with cream cheese hit the spot and to boot I got the top prize of two sixers of Dale's and enough bacon to last me a month. I've heard the next one is on the ninth of October and runs at the same time as Jorba fest (I can't confirm this statement). The leaves will be falling by then and the mountain bike season will soon be coming to an end. So come check it out. What have you got to lose?

Shenandoah 100...

2011-09-07T07:09:00.000-07:00

Gerry won the race and the series, keeping me off the top step twice this year. For this, I jack your pic....Congrats!!

Bad Idea #1, 34x18...My memory must have been fogged from 2009. Winning a race can do that to you. I remember the downhills to be long and somewhat smooth, and a lot of flats. The downhills are really long and pretty darn techy and the flats are much shorter than I remembered. I was relieved to see that Gerry Pflug (Salsa Cycles) decided to run a rigid also but on the first descent realized I could have been going way faster. Gerry took the hole shot and I sucked wheel for quite a while. The opening climb I was quite comfortable keeping Gerry in sight, knowing that he wasn't going anywhere. Towards the top, the pace seemed to slow and I closed the 25 yards he had on me real quick. We entered the single track wheel to wheel and the whole first downhill I was relieved to see that I was in control with no danger of getting dropped. Matt Ferrari (Freeze Thaw/Hubcap Cycles) was close behind and closed the gap to us shortly after Aid station 1. Just as Matt got up to us, the pace lifted (thanks to the gearies), and Matt was dropped before the switchback climb section. Gerry lead into this section and even though I felt walking would have been faster and more efficient we stayed on the bikes for most of it. After a couple of technical bobbles I ended up in front of Gerry. We were all off and walking some of the steeper sections at this point and I managed to put a few riders in between me and him, mostly due to the steep pitches that the gearies were attempting to ride, and failing on. I got to the top just thinking of getting down the other side at my own pace. I thought Gerry would chase hard and possibly make a mistake or two. When I popped out on the road, I thought I would see him. He was not there. Instead two Trek 29er guys were trading pulls and I jumped on. We were flying, probably over 25mph and I was dangling, just hanging on. This would prove to be my undoing. I should have just soft pedaled and waited for Gerry and Matt. My race after all, was behind me. I showed I was strong proving to myself I could get away, all I needed was to play the game a little, bide my time. My head got the best of me and on what I would consider to be the hardest climb of the day, I began to feel the effects of the pace line to Aid station 2. Gerry caught and went by me near the top. I didn't chase. Actually, I had to walk a little just to compose myself. I figured I would catch him on the downhill and after reading his race report, I would have. If not for an unfortunate chain of events.

Bad Idea #2, Rigid fork...I felt the rim hit rock a couple times before it actually happened, the dreaded pinch flat. I stopped to put air in knowing that the sealant most likely won't work and continued on my way. What seemed like 20 seconds later I'm on the side of the trail and attempting to get the Stan's sealant (that shot off the tire and on my face) out of my eye. Back on the bike and 50 yards down the trail I realize I need more air so I stop and empty the rest of the cartridge into the tire. Back on the bike, 75 yards later, A yellow jacket, flew into my jersey and stings me under my armpit. I stop to kill the sucker and pull the stinger out. This is when Matt goes by like a freight train, I don't think he even saw me. I ride the rest of the downhill like a pansy with 7lbs of air in my tire knowing I have co2 cartridges waiting for me at the next Aid station. My race is gone, and I become depressed. So depressed that I considered quiting, instead I decide I'm just gonna ride to finish.
"My race is over", I thought. The next two hours I talked to people, rode with them, didn't pay any attention to heart rate zones or effort level and basically just tried to have fun. That's when Dylan Johnson (Oasis Bike Works) came up behind me at the base of the big climb. He asked me "how many are in front of us"? I thought the kid was crazy, we were in like 50th place. Until I realized he was talking about other SS'ers. Dylan and I rode together to bring back Matt at the top of the climb. Looking back, I should have attacked and put some daylight in between us but I was having fun riding with the 16 year old prodigy. He dropped me on the long loose downhill, I rode like a small child at this point. I made a feeble attempt to pull him back on the road before the final climb but never even caught view of him.

I was over-geared and under-forked, but managed to hit the podium anyway. My time of 8:31 was a full 29 minutes slower than when I won this race in 2009. Speaking of 2009, my course record of 8:02'02 was shattered by the three time single speed winner. Gerry Pflug.

Shortly after this race I decided that next year, I'll compete in the N.U.E. series. I'll be doing the required amount of races to qualify for the overall. Hopefully I'll be banging bars with all you guys again next year. The series is top notch and the competition is stacked. It's where I want to be...

Mooch Madness, Hurricane Irene and Shen...

2011-08-30T07:46:00.000-07:00

Weird trophies are a part of winning mtb races. I've got my share of bricks, bones and rocks
Saturday was sweet. Mtbnj put on the first annual Mooch Madness at what was supposed to be in Allamuchy state park. Waving his wand and closing the state parks, our Governor extraordinaire decided on Friday that because the world was supposed to end sometime Sunday morning that we should all stay home and think about what we had done wrong to have mother nature unleash the potential wrath of god upon us. After some tweaking of the course to keep it on BSA property, Norm and the bunch decided to put the race on anyway. This decision was spot on. The rains for the most part stayed away and we all had a blast in the face of impending doom. Every other race on the Eastern seaboard was called off and many stayed home but the core bunch came and we had a ball on the perfect course. The run up section was awesome and a feature other promoters should consider adding to their courses.
My day was spent trying to get my pacing down for the Shenandoah 100, on the bike and with the setup that I'm likely to run there. I've been racing a lot of XC lately and am not so sure how my lack of endurance training will treat me around the eight hour mark. For four and a half, I'm golden. Probably stretch that to six no problem. But eight? Guess we'll find out.
Speaking of Shen, I'm flying under the radar for this one. After not showing up at the 101 because of personal reasons, I guess the single speed course record holder for the SM100 (me) doesn't really deserve a mention in the race brief. It's okay, I like nobody knowing I'm coming, takes the pressure off. Maybe I won't be a factor at all, Hmmm?
I like the Shenandoah 100, the course suits me perfectly and I will be "going for it". If any of you have raced me in the last few weeks you might have noticed a change in my strategy. This will continue in the coming weeks. We are in the meat and potatoes part of the season...What have I got to lose?

Ike, looking at the pond that used to be a creek across the street from the house.
The "pond" has taken over the end of the street also.

Rattling 50....

2011-08-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

Rattling 50 results...
Choosing the right gear for a race you've never been to and won't have a chance to preride is a art form. Mistakes often are made, but there is a simple equation.

Fitness level multiplied by mileage, minus elevation change, divided by finishing times of single speeders in relation to geared finish times equals.... Oh, you're just guessing anyway.

At Rattling Creek I decided to use the same gearing I use on my local trails at home for the equivalent distance. I almost ran a tooth harder but was glad I bailed on that idea late Saturday night. Racing against gearies in cross country races I'll usually go a tooth harder but at a 50 miler you have to consider how you'll feel after 3 or 4 hours at race pace. Rattling creek is billed as a single speed friendly 50 miler. What does that mean? To me, a good single speed course is all up and down with very little flat at all, but then again I race gearies every week. Any place they get to big ring it on you can put you in distress real quick. When you're racing other singles, they just don't have that option.
I'd say Rattling Creek was a great SS course. It was all up and down but nothing so steep you had to walk much. As a matter of fact, I found the climbs enjoyable. One of my strengths is long tempo climbs and this course had plenty. Another thing it had was plenty of was rocks. In North Jersey we have large rock features that you ride over or around, and baby heads, lots of baby heads. In Pa. they have sharp pointy rocks that you have no choice but to ride on top of. Nothing that would throw you over the bars per say but the ever threat of tire damage will keep you on edge. I'd describe it like riding Split Rock and Buddha (at Waway) for 50 miles. Tough, to say the least.

This event was super sweet and well organized, going off without a hitch. The promoters even figured out how to keep the thunder storms away until after most of us were finished. The fireworks display was saved for a hundred of us huddled under a tent at awards while lightning struck just about every tree in the area. Next year definitely check this one out. The trails and the race are well worth the drive...

Leaving at 5am and getting home at 9:30pm is a long day no matter how you cut it. Having Chris and Jane along for the ride made the traffic on Rt80 almost fun...

Kenda Cup East at Bear Creek

2011-08-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

All fueled up and ready to go...

Ominious clouds blanket the mountain for the day two XC race...

First off, if you have never been to Bear Creek for an event you must check it out soon. The hotel, lodge and venue are second to none. It's just what a mountain resort should be like. The trails, well they are challenging to say the least. You can make a trip here anytime to ride these trails (just check in at the lodge first). I'd recommend a suspension bike for the ultra technical trails. Of course I opt for the rigid single-speed. I like it hard.

I was hanging by the Giant tent pre-race when one of the juniors asked me...
Puzzled looking Kid: "Why would you chose to ride that bike here? What do you hope to prove by riding a bike with one gear and no suspension?"

Me: "Because in riding this archaic torture device at such a technical course I get to make the competition feel even worse about themselves if I beat them."

Puzzled looking Kid: "Really?"

Me: "Yeah!!!"....(under my breath) "Nahh it just goes up hill really fast."

Matt Miller (Giant Mid-Atlantic) must have overheard this conversation because even after my best effort to put enough time into him on the climb he still abused me like a stepchild on the downhill. Finishing just a few seconds in front of me. Enough for his 8th place, I finished 9th. The cross country in the rain was a blast, bringing back memories of my first years of training (when I used to ride in the rain more often).

The real story for me was the short track...
Short track is awesome!!! Every event should have a ST Saturday. Full on for 20 minutes with the guy in front who you can never catch and the guys behind doing the same to you. It's predator and prey all wrapped into one. You're the predator, and the prey. Eat or be eaten. Do or die. Just awesome. My heart rate was through the roof the entire time. I haven't gone that hard in quite a while.

The Super D...
Lets just say, I should have taken the time to pre-ride the course..

What would a trip to Bear Creek be without a stop at T-town?

The rain kept me from enjoing some sweet roadie SS action...
Single Gear God!!!

A nice suprise...

2011-08-08T07:27:00.000-07:00

Got home from work on Friday and found this in the mail box...

Even though I wasn't able to attend the 101, Shenandoah Mountain Touring sent me my T-shirt anyway. Class act promoters. That was a nice surprise...

Sunday I head out to the 909 for a H2H series race. The shortened lap and the cross country length race suited me well in the humid conditions. The H2H races have a reputation of being too long with the pro's often finishing over 3 hours. It was a nice change of pace to be able to race from the gun without worrying about cracking late and getting picked off right before the finish. Maurice (Team mtbnj.com) was a bit too much for me today, (he's flying this year) but in chasing him we both managed to put a healthy gap on the rest of the overheated field. My topsy turvy world of mountain bike racing is back in order. There are good vibes on the single for me. Fitness is coming around and I'm having fun. Rigid and Single is how I roll...

Next up is Bear Creek. I'll be racing my single speed in the triple crown pro series. Short track, Super D and Cross Country. I just might bring the suspension fork along for the ride.

A good set of family values....

2011-08-01T07:20:00.000-07:00

Mine's the muddy one..Greg and Jason,
Thanks for coming to the Dark Horse 40. I had a blast...

Group rides...

2011-07-25T07:15:00.000-07:00

It's hard to improve on the perfect single speed, I've upgraded my SS situation with the carbon version. I'm hopefull it treats me as well as Stumpy...

The heat has been oppressive in the North East of late. Temps in the high ninety's and eight percent humidity have really sucked the life out of me in the past week. This week was supposed to be a final push for the upcoming races on my schedule but was a complete wash. With the exception of this weekend.
Saturday, Jocelyn and I decided that if we were going to get out at all, we better do it early. Not 8am like I tried and failed at on Thursday. SIX!!!! Who rides at 6am? People who live in the desert maybe. It's been so hot so that when I suggested it she just groaned "I'll do it". Jocelyn is not a morning person. A couple strokes of the keys and I posted the ride on Facebook also just in case anyone else wanted to join in our sleep deprived suffer fest. It turned out it was just her and I but we were fine with that. We rode all our favorite trails and Jocelyn even turned me on to some super sweet single track I'd never seen before. This early Saturday ride was great, getting me home like a normal person at a reasonable hour to do some chores. I may make it a regular thing.
Sunday morning we headed up to Stewart to ride this years Dark Horse 40 course. A big group ride was on tap. I often don't do group rides but I rode with a few guys on Tuesday and had a ball, so I figured, why not? Stewart lends itself to a good group paced ride because the trails are so fast and flow well not to mention the 40 course was marked so if anyone dropped off the pace they wouldn't get lost. Roger Foco, Gordon and I ended up floating off the front after a while and proceeded to lay the smack down on the course. We all traded pulls the whole time only slowing to get by the small groups of preriders that we would come up on once in a while. About mid point of the second 20 mile lap the pace was starting to slow so Gordon got to the front and put in a monster Jens Voigt type pull snapping Rog and I out of our funk. Gordon was all business, Laying a solid pace down that had me thinking that if he had gotten in to the race he may have been a lock for a top ten finish. Shortly after, we finished in the rain, it felt refreshing on this hot and humid day.
The whole experience of the day had me thinking that if I could ride like this every week I'd be a very dangerous person on the XC circuit. Hmmmmm, maybe a group ride isn't so bad after all.

It's a hundred in the shade...

2011-07-22T07:17:00.000-07:00

Just when you think you're starting to gain some momentum by putting in some consistent training hours, mother nature strikes again.
Winter was a bitch with freezing cold temps holding on till late April, it seemed. Spring was a wash (pun intended) with what would turn out to be biblical rains on a daily basis. Now the oppressive heat of a north east summer. Come on already! Freezing cold and fourteen inches of snow sounds good right now. At least I could go outside in the winter. I will never bitch about the winter again. NEVER!

Overgeared again....

2011-07-12T07:11:00.000-07:00

It's a strange feeling when your legs give out before your cardio, too big of a gear can cause this to happen. I've been over estimating my fitness a lot lately

Goal #1: Ride cross country race like it's a 20m short track...

Goal #2: After cracking, finish the best you can...

I've not done much cross country this year so I lack a good bit of pop, I wanted to race this way to work on that but also because I need to know what it feels like to crack and come back from it right now.
For me, endurance racing is all about avoiding the rough patches. I often come up on guys who were super fast at the start of an endurance race who look like crap four or five hours in. My goal in the endurance game is to avoid that. Training is part of it but pacing is crucial.
On the other hand cross country racing is about postponing the walking off a cliff feeling. If you can do an hour and a half at full speed, you'll win a lot of races. Right now, I have about 52 minutes in me. Don't get me wrong, it's getting better. Two weeks ago (Lewis Morris) I lasted 40 minutes then had to slow down so much to recover that it wasn't even worth finishing. This week at Fair Hill was better. Upon slowing, I was picked off by a few riders, dropping me to about 23rd place but was able to recover at a pace that somewhat looked like racing. The good news is, in the last 20 minutes I dug deep and managed to work my way back to 18th place. So I got through it, and from experience I know it will only get better. Room for improvement? Yes, but I can only go up from here and I'm okay with that....

Back to my roots (and rocks)

2011-07-01T07:26:00.000-07:00

Pic from Lumberjack 100, (nothing at all like Cannonball)

Been back at Cannonball lately. That's what it's all about. This is where I got my start and learned how to ride a mountain bike. Trial by fire most would say. These trails are ultra technical and super raw. The challenge is to stay on the bike, that's how you go fast here. Smooth is fast. Perfect is fast. Almost Impossible to be perfect here. Once in a while it all comes together and it seems effortless, other times the trail reduces you to a blubbering mess. What makes riding here great is you're 'on' the whole time. No sections of easy fireroad to rest on, if you're moving you're working hard. If you want to clean these sections you've got to work and the rocks just keep coming. On my typical ride here I'll often go through everything I might go through in a long race. Feeling good? It will not last. Cracking? Suck it up cupcake, it gets better. Dizzy? Better eat. Feeling like a rock star? Flailing like a idiot? Whatever, just keep plugging away. The ultimate goal is true trail dominance. It's something you strive for but it is unattainable. In the long run the mountain always wins!

Switching gears...

2011-06-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

I'll be attending...And...
On this... Fueled by this...Is there enough time left to prepare? I don't know, but I can tell you for the first time in quite a while "I'm hungry again". It's gonna be fun thats for sure...

I'm Back (sort of)...

2011-06-21T06:58:00.000-07:00

My self imposed blackout has come to an end. I bailed off facebook and blogger for a while in an attempt to 'get back to my roots'. It didn't work. You can't go backwards in life, cycling or anything else for that matter. "Just stay the course and let things happen" I'm told, it is how it's supposed to be done.

After the Bearscat 50 I wasn't interested in endurance racing at all and often joked that I would specifically train for short track or super D. I was dreading the trip to Michigan for the Lumberjack 100, Often acting like a baby, kicking and screaming "I don't want to do this".
I haven't been riding my single speed much. Only like three times this year total. Once before Singlespeed-A-Palooza, once at Singlespeed-a-Palooza, two times on the road (to prepare for Lumberjack) and that's it. The rest of the time has been spent on learning to ride gears and most often a full suspension 26er. With this in mind how could I expect to do well at a 100 mile mountain bike race on a single speed against the top guys in the country. Delusional? You can't!!!
I lined up in the third row, knowing I would get swamped before the single track and totally accepting of that fact. While we were staging, Matt Ferrari turned around to scan the crowd, asked me how I was feeling today? As I secretly wished I was invisible I replied "we'll see". Cyclingnews made my presence known to the world a few days earlier and little did they all know I was about to implode. Or at least I thought. I spent the first part of lap one riding behind Amanda Carey and Cheryl Sorenson until I could get on some really good wheels going down one of the very few road sections. We were flying, picking off groups of riders ten at a time on the road and a few more in the single track. At about a hour and a half I felt the pace of my mini group slowing so I decided to set out on my own. It wasn't a attack or anything, just me getting to the front and looking at clean trail for the first time of the day. Fellow single speeder Ron Sanborn, was in my group and looked like he was interested in riding with me (dangling about 50 yards back for quite a while) but I was in the groove and working on pulling back the Pflug train that included super strong Matt Ferrari and up and coming star Jorden Wakely . I chased for what seemed like for ever, asking gearies "did you see any single speeders? "Oh, they're way ahead" I would hear this often, and it was somewhat demoralizing at times. I'd be lying if I said I didn't think of quiting at least once. Shortly after entering the final lap I caught a glimpse of a figure up ahead, this gave me a adrenalin boost. It was Jorden, Matt wasn't far ahead of him and the sight of another SS'er had me all 'full of piss and vinegar'. In the next half hour I pulled back the entire SS field. I felt great, I was gonna win....Then the cramps came. Maybe it was the 34x16 gear I choose or my lack of single speediness of late that had me cramping, at this point it didn't matter.
I did my best to stay with Gerry Pflug but in the end I couldn't muster the final push to win the race against the two time NUE series champ. 13 seconds was the final gap, so small a gap but yet so far. THIRTEEN seconds after a hundred friggin miles...WOW!!!

Game Changer...

2011-05-03T07:17:00.000-07:00

"Michaux is the granddaddy of painful and challenging technical mountain bike races - in the eastern US or anywhere else. Nothing compares. Many otherwise hardcore racers avoid it like a 'ho with a case of the clap. Others are attracted to the danger, the challenge, and the rush of fear and adrenalin". -Brian Kemler

There are races that you do for fun and there are races that you do for training but once in a while you run across a race so hard that it changes the course of your entire season.
Up to this point I've entered five races this season and had won three so you could say I was confident coming to the Michaux Maximus this weekend. Maybe even cocky. Dave Lyons said it best at the first aid station (at this time I was pondering my further involvement in the sport) "Monte, you can't win every race". He was right, that comment knocked me right off the 'pity potty party' I was having. I thank him for that.
Long story short, The course handed me my ass. That was the toughest race I've done since I was a beginner. Back then every race seemed tough. It was tougher than Shenandoah, tougher than the Stoopid 50, tougher than the muddy Mohican that I battled out with Harlan last year. I was reduced to a bumbling mess mid way through this race...By the course, not the competition. They were gone, never to be seen again. Fucking hard ass men at Michaux.
Experience tells me that everything will seem easy from here on out, That's for sure. I have loops in Ringwood that I usually avoid because they are too tough for "purposeful training". I can't wait to ride those tough loops again. A week ago I was in a fog as far as riding and racing was concerned, now my head is as clear as a bell and I have a new purpose. Changes are being made, UST tires will be purchased.
Meeting and talking with Cheryl Sornson (who did the Cohutta 100 the day before) was inspiring and made me think further into the season, where I will now attempt to pull my own multi state mini stage race (details will follow). Cheryl is a machine. Losing only to Sue Haywood by a second. Sue Effing Haywood!!! The girls were starstruck and couldn't stop talking about it the whole way home. Hell, I was starstruck...
Jocelyn and Jane had a great time also, knowing they had raced the best and gave it their all. One of my favorite quotes was "There are no out of shape mid packers to battle with when you fall apart here".

It was true. Only the Hard Core apply...

Road Trip....

2011-04-25T07:58:00.000-07:00

Michaux
Just feel like something different this weekend. Looking to chill after the pressure cooker of Singlespeed-a-Palooza. Forty miles of rocky and rooty fun awaits.
After doing a couple short races in the last few weeks it just feels like a long race weekend to me. So much of what I do is based on "feel", I don't think there is a cookie cutter made for me. I've been known to change directions, sometimes often. It works, I think.
So, we will be waking up at 2ish to drive four hours for a race when there is a race in the same friggin town I technically could ride to.
Oh, and James will be there...

It just feels right!!!!!!

Bliss

2011-04-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

Back on the fully.
In my home trails.
Loving the Wawayanda woods, and the bike.
Single speed shananagans are over....Thank god!!!!

Three-Peat...

2011-04-17T15:06:00.000-07:00

Nuff Said!!!!

Ride the scream machine to Fair Hill

2011-04-11T07:37:00.000-07:00

Results With fifty pros at Fair Hill, The racing was full on the whole time to say the least...

Been ripping on the full suspension and having so much fun lately. So when faced with the question on what bike I would ride in this weeks M.A.S.S. opener at Fair Hill I was confused to say the least. Would I take the 18lb hardtail to this mostly flat and windy course? Or would I ride the fully? The eleventh hour decision to ride the full suspension was made. After all many of the heavy hitters are on fullys, so why not me?
Riding down to Maryland in the scare bus with the core group of VTC'ers, driven by (thank god he lives on the other side of the park) "Dave aka Panhead", was quite an adventure. I knew it would be a long ride when he said "don't be surprised if we get pulled over, we don't have any taillights". With the luck of the Irish (German), we arived safe and very warm at the venue where I proceeded to dive from the truck and kiss the muddy ground. Shortly after I went out for a prelap while the rest of the VTC group decided to take a nap. The course was wet but tacky with some corners that had some mud but nothing too hairy. After my lap I came back to the truck to get my bottles, ten minutes before the start of the race and somehow I was not surprised to find everyone sleeping in the truck. After waking just about everyone up I rolled to the line for pre staging.
I had decided earlier that I was gonna race from the gun trying to make the lead group and stay there as long as I could. This is a departure from my normal slow start and pick people off single speed strategy. I make the lead group in part because of my early season fitness and part due to the way I was able to ride the first doubletrack downhill with reckless abandon (while flipping through songs on my Ipod) mostly due to the suspension. Entering the singletrack section in about 10th and able to see all the way to the front rider was good enough for me. I could hear that behind me a few others had made the initial selection and were on the Schalk (Trek Bikes) train also. I rode the opening lap on Dylan Alesio's wheel, never feeling overly taxed. Coming through the start area after the first lap I considered attacking the group but with the caliber of riders remaining I had abandoned that train of thought quickly and so I stuck with the strategy of "hang on as long as you can and see how it pans out". There were many accelerations in that second lap and right before you cross the road I got caught out, leaving me dropped. Keeping the back of the lead group in sight but never being able to get back up there kind of sucks, but my thoughts are now turned to preserving my lead over the chasers and possibly picking off any stragglers. Going into the final lap I can see David Wood (Bike Doctor) chasing. I decided that I will keep my head down and make it as hard as possible for him to catch on, I managed to keep the gap at about 50 yards for the entire 7 mile lap. He did get up to me at the end of the final lap due to some lap traffic but I took the sprint for 7th quite easily.
This was my first XC distance race this season and I felt great, dare I say the race seemed short.
I'm competing in the M.A.S.S. series this year and if the races are all gonna be this competitive it's gonna be a blast....

"It's too muddy" "You own a hose, right?"

2011-04-05T07:43:00.000-07:00

You keep looking.....

But I'm saying nothing.....

Think of this as an out of office message.....

Only I'm in my office, The woods.....

Ripping the trails.....

Enjoying wet roots.....

And moss.....

See you soon.....

In case you're wondering, you'll find me here...

2011-03-05T19:01:00.000-08:00

White Tanks (marathon podium)Photo by Salvatore Crochiola

I finally put my schedule together for this year. I'd been putting it off for a while going back and forth on what I want to do. Just having a idea of what races I want to attend and actually putting it down on paper is two different things. First off I always say I'm gonna do more M.A.S.S. and never do. This year I registered for the series. I would like to do the required eight races to qualify for the series championship. I've also decided to go for the M.A.R.C. series. With two of the races local for me and Bear Creek only two hours away (I only have to travel for Greenbrier) this will be my local racing series this year.
Sadly, I won't be at much H2H this year, missing many local races due to conflicts and to avoid burnout. I'll miss seeing all the familiar faces but look forward to racing some new competition. I've heard they are guaranteeing Pro payout at H2H this year, but by still paying cash in Cat1, and other competitive Cat1's worried about series points, I fear many won't make the leap. That will leave us Pros with a small or diluted field.
On the endurance front, The Bearscat 50, Lumberjack 100 and the Dark Horse 40 will keep me riding the long training days. There is a outside chance at the Wildcat Epic and the Shenandoah 100, if I bail out of either M.A.R.C. or M.A.S.S. early. I would like to go back to the VT50, I feel I have unfinished business there but that's much later so we will just have to see how it goes....

Feb 5th: Estrella Hedgehog Hustle
Feb 26th: White Tanks Whirlwind
March 26th: Michaux Mash
April 10th: Fair Hill (M.A.S.S.)
April 17th: Singlespeed-A-Polooza presented by Dark Horse Cycles
April 30th High Point Hill Climb (TT)
May 1st: Granogue (M.A.S.S.)
May 7th: French Creek (M.A.S.S.)
May 15th: Tymor Park (M.A.R.C.)
May 22nd: Greenbrier (M.A.R.C.)
June 5th: Bearscat 50
June 18th: Lumberjack 100
June 26th: M.A.S.S. Festival (M.A.S.S.)
July 11th: Fair Hill Classic (M.A.S.S.)
July 17th: Bulldog Rump (M.A.R.C.)
July 31st: Dark Horse 40
August 7th: Sewell Summer Sizzler (M.A.S.S.)
August 13th: Bear Creek (M.A.R.C.) Or Wildcat Epic???
Sept 4th: Shenandoah 100 ???
Sept 11th: Coal Cracker Classic (M.A.S.S.)
Sept 18th: Bear Creek (M.A.S.S. finals)

If you see me, say hi....

Training day: "Monte style"

2011-03-03T18:14:00.000-08:00

Fresh off her win on Saturday, Jane and Alex came down to casa-de-mom in Tucson for a couple days. Monte training, was on the Pearson's menu. I would take them down to check out the trails by Colossal Cave...

A little road to get to the trails never hurt anyone. Most people would drive, then again, most people aren't training for 100 mile mountain bike races...

I like combining the road and trail in one ride, Keeps you honest and gives you time to work on pedaling circles...

Once you get to the trails I always forget about the long road ride out, I've gotten myself in trouble this way but I can't resist...

Wheel sucker? Or a painful reminder to stay off the brakes?
Going home, we quickly realized why we were so fast on the way out. Needless to say, the smiles were all turned upside down at this point...
Feeling depleted, a couple of roadies passed us. They went by so quick I thought It was Liz Hatch and Andy Schleck or something. They must have been chasing pretty hard because shortly after it unraveled for them, We gave chase and pulled them back rather quickly. When we went by the man, he had gained 30 lbs and the woman aged 30 years and both were weaving like a drunkard on the hills. It was like Liz and Andy had pulled off to take a pee and let the stunt doubles take over. I was almost embarrassed for chasing....Almost!

My rides tend to sneak up on you. A nice steak and some fresh roasted veggies will cure all of that...

Thanks for coming out, I had a great time...

(My) Sram XX 10 speed review...

2011-02-27T08:47:00.000-08:00

Pushing the 12/28, flawless operation at White Tanks...
Been riding the Sram XX for well over a hundred hours now, so I feel qualified to give my opinion on the super light top end XC race group. My 2011 S-works Stumpjumper hardtail came equipped with the group. Much like the Stumpy, the Sram group is meant for "race day only" use. Dark Horse has hooked me up royally when it comes to equipment, but believe it or not, I only have one Stumpy. I don't believe in jumping from one bike to another so I end up training on my race bike quite a bit. Hard on equipment, I've been called or as Gerry says it "You can break anything".

Rocking the 140...

I'll start by reviewing the XX disk brakes. My bike came with the super tricked out XX carbon levers that are integrated with the shifters. Very clean looking the way the brake lever and shifter pod mount together on the handlebar. The braking power is good considering I have a 140 rotor in the rear. No fade or chatter is detected at all. The XX rotors are still true, even after being crammed into a bike box and shipped across the country. I believe this is due to the fact this is a two piece design, much like the XTR rotor with a aluminum core. After leaving the bike alone for a few weeks I did notice the front lever was a little low, a quick adjustment on the little red knob under the lever brought that back even with the rear. This adjustment required no tools, but cannot be completed on the fly, due to the awkward position of the barrel adjuster under the lever.

The front derailleur and shifter pod work flawlessly from the first day I rode the bike. I've not even needed to adjust for cable stretch. One of the nicer features is being able to shift under load on the front chainring. Not full on sprint type load, but you don't need to back off much to complete the shift. The chainrings have held up well. Until recently (when I changed the cassette to a 12x28) I would mostly stay in the big ring (pretty much all the time), so the big is showing some wear. I'll change that soon.

I really liked the crispness of the Sram 9 speed stuff. Either the XO or the X9, both were borderline harsh, Snap! Shifts went off without a hitch. You knew you changed gears, even at a hundred and eighty beats per minute.
The XX seems to have adopted a lighter (Shimano type) touch. To shift to a harder gear is crisp enough, but the thumb paddle to go easier has a soft feel. Sometimes I, over (or under) shift, it's a little annoyance I thought I had gotten used to until I jumped back on my other bike with the XO group. To me, a night and day difference, maybe not a deal breaker, but worth a mention. The rear derailleur looks fragile but other then a cracked jockey pulley hasn't given me any issues... I do wish Sram would make a short cage option so I could shorten the chain a bit, avoiding annoying chain slap and getting it further off the ground to avoid rocks and sticks and stuff. Important in the Northeast.

The cassette is where this group really falls short for me. It's super light, it's super expensive, it's super fragile. It worked flawlessly for about a week, then it started to make noise (first sign of wear). I don't know anyone who has XX, and after a very short time hasn't replaced the cassette, most likely with a XT. Aluminum doesn't work on a cassette, it's just not a good place to save weight and at close to three hundred bucks, Naaaa.
I replaced my cassette with an 12x28 Ultegra, This gives me the most usable combinations for my fitness level, the gearing is tighter and the shifts are better. I actually use the inner ring now, but the low gear isn't gonna climb up the side of the empire state building. If your looking for that, get a triple. For me, if it's that steep, it's quicker to run.
This is a race bike, ya know...

So to sum it up....
Brakes: 4 out of 5
Front shifter and derailleur: 5 out of 5
Rear shifter and derailleur: 3 out of 5. note: I'd give XO a 5 and XTR a 3
Cassette, 11/36: Pffffft...Forget about it...

Back To The Tundra...

2011-02-11T07:05:00.000-08:00

No, not this Tundra...

This Tundra...

Reggie misses having his window open...
We're running out of wood...

A marathon in the desert...

2011-02-05T18:53:00.000-08:00

Estrella Hedgehog Hustle...
I'm not ever sure of where my fitness is this time of year, especially this year. With the exception of the last two weeks "training" has been epic snowshoe battles with my friends back home as well as running and rowing at the gym. I hate the trainer so I've not exactly been getting in the miles, most of you know what I mean. So when faced with the option of doing the cross country distance or doing the marathon I choose the later. More miles are better this time of year and race miles are best, Right?

Podium shot...

Take note of the super consistent laps. This is the way to win an endurance race...

Winning bike. The 26inch hardtail ruled the day today. "This will be the year of the 26in hardtail"...

It's nice to be able to review the course, the number of laps and other incidentals before the race, without having to bother the very busy promoters...

P.I.R. Phoenix International Raceway, in the background...

One more ride tomorrow then I fly home for two weeks rest before the next trip. I'll be back in Phoenix for White Tanks on the 26th but I'm skipping the US cup at Bonelli park due to logistics, so I'll just take that time to train. Race season back east starts soon, the preparation continues...

Roadie Dreaming...

2011-01-30T17:14:00.000-08:00

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and make a bold statement, "If I was raised in Tucson I'd probably be a full time roadie".

Let me explain...
I started my racing "Career" as a roadie. Back in the days of steel frames and downtube shifters. Back when 10 speed meant two in the front and five in the back. Back when Greg Lemond was dominating the Tour-De-France. I lived down the Jersey shore back then and used to take my Nishiki out on epic all day rides, dreaming the whole time I would be racing in the tour myself someday. Well obviously that never happened. Somehow I ended up in Rutherford N.J. and after a few uneducated rides on those super dangerous Bergen county roads I gave up road cycling for running and ice hockey. It just wasn't the same. Until a friend at work introduced me to mountain biking. I was hooked and it's been full on ever since.

If I lived in Tucson would I ever been exposed to mountain biking? Doing a road ride out in the desert is awesome. The views, the other riders the endless rolling terrain all adds to the fun of road riding out here.

Leaving this morning on my mountain bike I decided to keep it on the road today. Following the endless parade of roadies out Old Spanish Trail was like racing in a time trial. Hammer a little, pick a few off and set your sights on the next group. I'm sure I took more than a few by surprise when I passed on a mountain bike, some try to jump on, sometimes successfully (I always make them pull through though). It makes me think what could have been if I could have ever attained this level of fitness as a roadie.

I'm almost sad to say but when I go home I'll soon be back to riding mostly in the woods maybe a little bit of mountain bike on the road just to get to the trails. Jersey has some great mountain biking, but the road? It's just not the same there.

"Feets don't fail me now"

2011-01-28T18:41:00.000-08:00

I awoke today with excitement. Yesterday I planed on riding the final piece of last years SSUSA course but my legs were total shit from the previous two days. A boring recovery ride was in order so when I awoke today and the soreness was gone I knew just what I was gonna do. La Milagrosa baby!

The infamous climb up Redington Road, still on the pavement at mile zero. I timed this climb today. It takes about 20 minutes to get to this point from moms and the watch read a hour seventeen at the top. Fun, fun, fun.
Just to make sure I gave the proper review the other day about the High Chiva section of the course, I rode it again. That's where I ran into this guy and a couple of his friends. The climb to Chiva still sucks...

The entrance to the best hour and a half you will ever have. If your thinking on bailing on this race after the first loop, DON'T. You will soon be greatly rewarded.

After riding for a few minutes on the Bellota trail, I got a flat. While trying to find something to stick in the hole to fill the void the Stan's wouldn't, I had caught the attention of some bees. One bee turned to a few, so me and my flat tire high tailed it down the trail a bit to get away from the bees and complete the repair. I would repeat this at least three times. Finally I gave up on the Stan's and put a tube in. As I was pumping up my tire the bees seemed to start to swarm. Run!!! Fifty yards later, I finally got air in the tire jumped on the bike and never looked back.
The entrance to Milagrosa ridge trail,

The following pictures are of the actual trail. It may appear I just took pics of some random rocks but rest assured there is a trail there. Just concentrate on staying on the bike. Try to ride this too fast and you will make mistakes. Mistakes are extremely costly here.As well as here...

The views on the Milagrosa ridge are amazing. Try not to be awestruck and keep you eyes on the ultra techy trail...

Remember, If you open it, close it...

Coming soon: La Milagrosa...

2011-01-27T17:47:00.000-08:00

Not that I'm attending...

2011-01-26T14:58:00.000-08:00

Today I prerode the SSAZ course. What the course was last year I should say. Not the whole course, just the opening 9 mile climb and the first loop. I had intended to do the whole thing but I got lost (again) and by the time I got back to Redington Road the watch was creeping up on 3hrs 30m. With the second loop being about a hour and a half then the 30m ride home I quickly did the calculations and realized I had not enough food or more importantly drinks to continue. No biggie, coming down Redington at mach one was a load of fun also. So much so I got rejuvenated and managed to pull a 30min race effort at the end of the ride surprising even myself.

After a 6 mile neutral start you will be treated to the opening climb of Readington Road...
Don't be alarmed by the gunshots. There are many areas where future assassins get to hone their skills. Worried about taking pictures of people with guns, I snapped a photo of the only vacant target area...
Keep going...

At this point the climb gets less severe... It's not over till after mp12 but it rolls after mp10
Finally the payoff...
The Arizona trail is some of the sweetest single track I've seen out here. Rocky, flowing and loose in sections it can be ridden very fast but takes some steady handling to do so. Unfortunately it's over in just a few miles and after a few fences and an annoying washed out stream bed comes the part of the course I disliked the most last year. The climb to High Chiva...
Watch your nuts while jumping the fence...

Washed out stream bed. I emptied my shoes after this, you of course will be racing...

The climb to High Chiva is best described as the fire road climb from hell. Estimated at 3 miles long, this fire road isn't your typical Ringwood fireroad. There could no truck in the fleet that could traverse this climb. To add insult to injury, The descent is worse. My chest was on the seat many times and the surface is extremely loose. By far the hardest unfun part of the course.

A little more single track then a rocky fireroad climb will bring you back out on Redington. I made a left to head for home you will be making a right to climb back up to the Arizona trail, this time you'll head the other way on the Arizona trail. Your SSAZ experience is about to get a whole lot better.
I'll check that out tomorrow for ya...

Today I ate a year old Lara bar...

2011-01-25T18:32:00.000-08:00

Flying in to Tucson late last night, the first order of the day was to build the bike I sent FedEx last week...
Piece of cake (Thanks to the expert packing of Mike at Dark Horse cycles)
It's only 11:30 and I'm ready to go. Notice the full Camelback and the two bottles...
Fantasy Island was on tap today, super fast with tons of corners. Took the long way there to get some road miles in before the fun. Riding like a man on a mission, I passed a couple of roadies wearing Canadian national jerseys on Old Spanish Trail, pleasantries were exchanged, then I'm on my way. No time to waste, I've got business to attend to...

Oh! the Lara bar. It was left in my pack from when Jocelyn was here last March. At first I was confused, forgetting she was here later then me last year. I almost felt violated, like some stranger had worn my Camelback since I was here last. then I remembered, and proceeded to chow down on her "food of choice".
A year old Lara bar tastes just like you would expect....Like cardboard.

68' today...

Swan Song

2011-01-14T07:49:00.000-08:00

Meaning
A final gesture or performance, given before dying or retirement.

Origin
This term derived from the legend that, while they are mute during the rest of their lives, swans sing beautifully and mournfully just before they die. This isn't actually the case - swans, even the inaccurately named Mute Swans, have a variety of vocal sounds and they don't sing before they die. The legend was known to be false as early as the days of ancient Rome, when Pliny the Elder refuted it in Natural History, AD 77:

If people ever did believe in the 'singing before death' story, few would now claim to do so. 'Swan-song' is now used figuratively and most commonly to refer to celebrated performers embarking on 'farewell tours' or 'final performances'. Those ironic quote marks were never more appropriate than in the case of Nellie Melba, whose swan song consisted of an eight year long string of 'final concerts' between 1920 and 1928. This led to the popular Australian phrase - 'more farewells than Nellie Melba'.

Lets go out with guns blazing...

T-Minus 7 weeks...

2011-01-05T15:27:00.000-08:00

Seven weeks till race season for me. Sounds crazy, Right? It's only January I know, but I've been doing my prep work and things seem to be going well. Very well I must say. Without saying too much....
Right now it looks like I'll be leaving frosty New Jersey for the Grand Canyon state around the 24th of February. On the 26th I'll be opening the season at White Tanks mountain park in Waddell, Arizona (near Phoenix). The next weekend off gives me plenty of time to prep in the sun for the U.S. Cup race #1 at Bonelli park in San Dimas, California. I hope to be doing the whole triple crown thing with the XC on Saturday and the Short Track and Super D on Sunday. This being a UCI class 2 event I'm sure all the big boys will be there. Flying back from LAX should be an adventure with the U.S. cup site specifically stating that "LAX is 1 hour 15 minutes WITHOUT traffic". Did you notice the capital letters? If you know me and my love of driving at all you would guess right that I'm sure to have muttered "I could have driven to Jersey by now" sometime during this trip at least once. Getting back to Jersey will be a shock with the freezing cold still hanging around. But not to worry, Two weeks later I'll be at Michaux.....

Winter Solstice...

2010-12-22T10:41:00.000-08:00

Shortest day of the year,
going for a ride means pulling on the winter gear...
Rush home like a jerk,
spent my whole day at work...
Railroad pays the bills, that's good for the bottom line,
but my passion is in the mountains and that's good for my mind...
Wearing lots of clothes cause it's cold outside,
I mount my steed for what should be a 2hr ride...
I little bit of road before the trails,
the wind is brutal and not at my tail...
Come Hoeferlin, Plymouth, Banker and Rock-a-dendron...
Then Cherry Ridge, Lookout and Hemlock-n-load...
I'm killing it today, just totally in the zone,
In spite of how the wind beat me on the road...
Daylight is running short, do I have time to reverse?
"Eff it! Just do it". I mumble with a curse...
Because I know without risk comes no reward,
Today I won the race against daylight, Thank you Lord...

Happy Holidays....Y'all

I now know how Jan Ulrich feels...

2010-11-10T14:52:00.000-08:00

Sweet photo, Gtluke strikes again

While many of you are enjoying the highest level of fitness so far this year. I'm enjoying the last week of my off season....
Nahh, I can't say that. Truth is I can't wait to get back to training, the off season thing is driving me crazy. Don't get me wrong, I know that in order to improve you need to step back a little. It's just that holding down the couch is not my thing. Last night I had a dream about racing and this morning I awoke wanting to go for a ride. This is a departure from the last few months where I would often awake dreading a ride that day, and even though I had no ride scheduled would feel guilty at the end of the day for not working out. Crazy, Huhh? Mi vida loca!
Originally I was not gonna start training till December. To tell the truth if I wait that long I may never get off the couch, or I may weigh so much that I won't be able to.
Being a endurance racer is great. Training for hours a day not only keeps you in great shape but when you do overeat you see no weight gain at all. Hell I've actually gone off the deep end at times only to wake up the following morning to a three pound weight loss!!!
But when I'm in the off season "I'm fucking ravenous". I can't seem to get enough food. It sucks, and I'm not working out enough to burn it off.
I don't know what I'll do when I decide to retire from bike racing but then again being a fat ass won't matter then anyway. I'll just take my blood pressure meds and blend into society.

Anyway.....
In a attempt to "up my game" I hope to be racing some larger fields in faster races this year. Maybe a lot of M.A.S.S., and with H2H guaranteeing payouts 15 deep I'll have to see how things pan out on the local scene also.
March 5th looks to be my first race at Estrella Mountain Park in Goodyear, Arizona. Estrella is one of the more technical courses in the M.B.A.A series. I raced here two years ago and finished in fourth. A pretty good result for a snowbound easterner. The race was four laps. Two long laps followed by two tech. I remember only getting to preride the tech lap and thinking the long lap was way more technical. Oh well, fun race anyway.
March 19th I'll be at Sierra Vista. It's a new venue from 2010 and I've never raced there. I hope it's nothing like Gardner Canyon that I did in 2008. That place just had way too much rubbly ass fire road. Not to mention I finished 17 out of 17 in the pro field. My worst outing as a pro ever.
M.A.S.S. hasn't posted their schedule yet but I'm almost positive I'll be at Fair Hill. It's always in early April and a blast to race on those super buff trails.
Root66 is a early April option also. Hop Brook and Winding Trails are always super competitive.
Back to New York for singlespeed-a-palooza on April 17th. I'm the two time winner of this event and I wouldn't miss it for the world. At this point I probably won't have even been on the single much so the racing will most likely be the most competitive yet. Can I pull a three peat?
Wawayanda comes next. The H2H opener usually has a good turnout and it's right in my backyard. Recipe for disaster?
After that I'm gonna work on the endurance game for a while. I'm a possible for Mohican again. Maybe focusing on the N.U.E. series for a while or possibly chasing the fifty's. I'll keep it pretty loose after May to avoid burnout while I take another run at the all elusive Dark Horse 40....

Sounds like a plan....Kind of..

62ATE

2010-11-01T07:42:00.000-07:00

Six Two Eight.... Those three little numbers alone mean almost nothing but coupled with a punch card a bunch of bikes and two dozen of your closest friends they make for a great day. The underground event was put together in the diabolical minds of the Mayor and Sir Raveinator and was meant to be finished in under three hours. Three Hours? No way, try 55 minutes....Killers we are.
We don't need no stinking maps!!

When George asked me who I wanted to be teamed up with I jokingly replied C-dubs. The Mayor would never allow such a stacked team for sure? But he did, and we proceeded to kick some major ass. Learning from last years beer cross that the "chill approach" will only get you tackled by a drunken fool. C-Dubs and I devised a plan to pick up the five points as well as the bonus point in one big loop.

Apparently a guy from North Jersey coupled with a guy from New York City should have no chance against the local boys in the forest land known as Stewart, navigationally speaking that is. What they didn't count on is that in my many failed attempts to win the Dark Horse Forty I've actually acquired a massive trail knowledge of this area. I'm like a Tom Tom of the woods. Hell, If I say so myself I'd like to consider myself a bit of a explorer. I've sucked up trail locations like Google maps. It's fun to me, and the bike makes it super easy to cover massive ground in a relatively short time. Like Lewis and Clark. Only Lewis is me and Clark's wife won't let him come out and play anymore. You get the idea. Or maybe you don't, oh well.
We came, we saw, we kicked ass!!

The non-race was super competitive with Webb's team giving us a scare, as well as Walter's team providing some last minute pressure.
My teammate C-Dubs gets the major award for hanging in there way longer than he should have and rumor has it we will be training this winter together. Should be fun....

Season closer...

2010-10-04T07:32:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy of Gtluke
Sunday at Ringwood brought my mountain bike season to an end. I say this with relief and sadness at the same time. Relief from the daily grind of training rides, naps, early bedtimes and travel. Sadness because it just feels like this season could have been so much more. Sure I won a couple big races. Singlespeed-a-polozza for the second time was huge, the Mohican 100 was great too as well as a shit load of podiums. Until recently, I felt like I just never got myself going on the shorter stuff. Maybe some intervals would have helped, maybe it was too much emphasis on the endurance stuff. Not enough time in the gym? Distractions? Who knows.

Changing from a single speed 29er to a geared 26er was a bit of a shock and took some time to get used to. I still feel like I'm learning and I continue to get better each race. That's encouraging and I look forward to further improvement. Every ride is a new adventure for me again. Old trails seem new on a different bike and trails that previously were unridable present a new challenge. Improvement feeds the fire for me and every year I seem to get better. So with that I look forward to next year. Many changes will be made and rest assured I'll be back with a vengeance next year.

So whats next? Nothing scheduled for sure. I plan on some off season cross races (gotta work on getting that cx bike together) and I look forward to trail running again as well as beer cross and the 628 challenge. Basically just lots of rest and decompression for me, nothing serious for a while. December base miles will be here soon enough....
See you then....

Don't believe the hype!!! The Vt50 recap.

2010-09-28T07:16:00.000-07:00

All year long I've been hearing how this was the easiest of all the endurance races to win. My confidence was high coming into this race. Despite the fact that I've only ridden gears in three races leading up to this, I felt like the distance and lack of any "real pros" showing up in the past could lead to a win for me. Boy I was wrong. Andrew Freye is here, Adam Snyder is here, Jason Sager is here as well as a full cast of familiar faces from the pro class at the Root66 series, all licking their lips seeing me on gears for the first time. I almost expected Jeff Shalk himself to pull to the line at 6AM to jam his pump in my spokes (breaking away style), but he didn't, Thank god.
Start was in the dark at XC race pace, No scratch that. The start actually felt like a Cat5 crit, until the first climb where Jason Sager (Jamis bikes) took the lead followed by yours truly. Going out this hard in a endurance race is normally suicide and this was no exception. After about 45 minutes I was unwilling to hold Jason's wheel for any longer and was quickly gobbled up by the chase group where I came to the realization that I'm the only 170 pounder in the bunch. Hell I might be the only one over a buck fifty. After a long climb and a rubbled decent I was dropped from the chase group. Dropped on the downhill? Effing full suspensions and effing New Jersey. With the lack of any sustained downhills at home how do I develop this skill? I would eventually find my groove after a few miles alone and thanks to the ginger ale refill at one of the many aid stations would begin the laborious task of pulling cracked riders back. Working my way past Adam Snyder with 5 miles to go gave me a boost and I cruised to the finish. 5th overall and second in my age only to Sager. Not bad considering my tactical errors at the start and a victory for my continued development on the gears. I started hard, cracked, came back, cracked again and still finished, all the while not making too much of a ass out of myself. A victory!
I only have one more endurance race on my calender and after that I'm gonna take a year to work on speed. So don't look for me at anything over 2 hours next year and don't look for me on the single....

Northern bound...

2010-09-23T07:32:00.000-07:00

Team Dark Horse heading to the Vermont 50 this weekend...
Loads of shenanigans I predict...
Little wheels and gears on tap for me...
Long Trail on tap for others...
Should be a hoot...

The bestest hamburger....

2010-09-13T07:27:00.000-07:00

"Wow check that out, the rain totally straddled us at blue, bet it rained north and south of us. Awesome! Looks like we are in the clear!" (gtluke)
Blue mountain is awesome. I can't say this enough times and frankly I never get tired of hearing it either.
My plan for the race was to start slow and build into the pace picking as many off as possible. Usually a good strategy when you have little confidence in your anaerobic endurance. Good plans go by the wayside very quickly when you find yourself in the lead group five minutes in.
Recently I decided to wear my HR monitor on my wrist instead of on the handlebars like I usually do. Good choice today because I hit some heart rates I don't want to ever see in a endurance race. I surely would have slowed down when I hit 184 no matter how I felt but not being able to see it I went off of my perceived exertion. I think this was a success today.
Looking at the start list I believed it could have been anyone's race. Jordan has been strong, the Alesio brothers are always a threat, Sean and Johan from Bethel have been coming on lately, James and Josh always give me trouble, Brian just won some big money race in Ct. and Greg Waggoner has found his stride this season. This race had like four different leaders in the first two laps with a chase group only about 30 seconds back. No room to make any mistakes. Lap 3 I lead with James on my tail and Eddy dangling about 30 seconds back, on lower stinger I could feel my legs start to go and in a technical section I bobbled, begrudgingly letting James take the lead. This would be the winning move for him. I gave chase but could never catch on again. Making a few more technical errors in the process of chasing let Eddy catch me right before the final ultra technical section. I knew I would need 30 seconds or more to hold Eddy off in that section but with him on my wheel my fate was sealed. Third place, a success on the gears for me. A success because I was in contention the whole time and even in control at points. Much improvement over the last few outings.
Afterwards, my good friends took me out for my birthday dinner. That made the day special. The Birdsall house in Peekskill may have the best hamburger EVER....

Thank god for fall....

2010-09-10T07:03:00.000-07:00

Blue Mountain in Peekskill, N.Y.
One of my favorite places to ride and race. Fast and tons of flow would best describe these trails that were made by mountain bikers for mountain bikers. No hike a bike sections here, every one of the challenging technical sections has a way through (on the bike). You just have to find it.
After somewhat of a summer sabbatical, I'm racing on Sunday. And I can't wait. I'd never ridden a geared bike at Blue and quite frankly wasn't sure if it was the faster option. In the past the single had been quite good to me at this venue. The way Blue is set up it favors a single (very little flat) so last Sunday with the Bethel boys I head off for a preride.
Bottom line is; "It's scary effing fast on gears". That's a good thing, I think.....

Windham world cup

2010-09-01T07:33:00.000-07:00

Just a couple notes...

These guys are effing fast...

U.S.A. cycling girls are a force to be reckoned with...

U.S.A. cycling boys are way behind...

Lots of 26er hardtails... Hmmmm...

Much more like Bruce Leroy...

2010-08-17T07:17:00.000-07:00

There's something about riding gears that makes you think it's gonna be easier than riding a single speed. It is, if you want to be slow, but if you want to go fast it's actually harder. Much harder. A single speed bike is forced pacing....
Sunday 909 Pleasant Valley, N.Y. (while on the first trip up the infamous bulldozer climb) Aaron Snyder (Scott Bikes) decided the group we were in was too slow for his liking, so he jumped. Like a well heeled roadie, I followed.... Right move? Wrong!! Sean Cavanaugh (Bethel Cycle) would later tell me that there was no way he could keep with that acceleration and was amazed that I did. Well my single speed brother, I couldn't either. Sean caught me on the downhill after the ridge and then shortly after I took a spill. Like a pickpocket on the train he then stole 4th place from me, never to be seen again. No longer in contention and a little shook up from my tumble I began to look for the easier gears. Riding like this for a while Johan passed me followed soon after by Greg Waggoner. Not yet recovered from the early heroics I could grab neither wheel. Then It was Scott Feltmate's (Bethel Cycle) turn. Scott says "Monte, lets work together to bring these guys back". Sounds good to me and I jump on Scott's wheel. Scott sets the pace for a while then falls off, so I'm back in no mans land. On the final lap I can see Josh Wilcox (503 Cycleworks) making his way up to me. Shit!! Josh takes the lead on the descent off the ridge and I follow. He's trying hard to get rid of me but I dig deeper than I should and end up mounting a last minute attack to take my 7th place back. Three hours four minutes and change, 42min first lap, 45 second, 48 third and a 49 on the fourth lap. Not good, but better than last week.
So what went wrong? First of all I knew prior to the race I was gonna cover every move I could. This type of race plan is normally a mistake for me, I just don't recover after going that deep. Constant pacing is the way to the podium in a three hour plus race, but constant pacing often puts you alone in no-mans-land. Not knowing how to ride gears, I need someone to copy off of, "bootleg their style" so to say. Plus one of the reasons for me riding gears is so I can make that front group and you can't do that from 15 riders back with a "I don't want to blow up" mentality. The second mistake is that while alone I tend to get into a mindset of "oh, just finish now". This never happens on a single because of the sit stand or walk principle. On a single you either go fast or go home. Forced pacing, right?
I need to find the perfect balance on the gears, Neither too hard or too slow. So this weekend in a attempt to find some flow, I'll do what I know best...

Norcross Scurry and the 909

2010-08-09T07:03:00.000-07:00

Keith Stone is smooth...With gears...I'm not!

With my mountain bike season officially over at this point it's time to have some fun. Knowing I'm gonna be racing geared next year I've decided to start paying my dues early. With the exception of experimenting with a one by nine setup (34T and a road cassette) for a race or two last year I haven't ridden a geared bike since 2005. Back then I was a sport class rider, now I'm a pro with sport class geared skills. Let me explain.
Shifting is not a natural thing for me in the trails. Normally I pedal hard and when I see a hill: I pedal harder, when I see a steeper hill: I sprint and when I see a hill that's to steep to ride: I run. Sit, stand or walk that's the three gears a single speeder lives by. On a geared bike it seems like you need to plan ahead (way far ahead) because if your going mach 1 on a flat section you most likely have to slam on the brakes, dump a bunch of gears and spin like a madman to get going again.
Repeating this like a million times in the first two laps I was completely spent. Normally my lap times are very consistent with not much difference between the first and last, I pride myself on this. Not today though. Losing the lead group because I drove the front wheel into a sandy downhill corner causing a complete yard sale at about mile one. I was now left to figure out the geared thing on my own. My plan was to ride Josh's wheel for a while to see how it's done but instead I resorted to riding my geared bike like a nine speed single speed for a couple laps. Thirty one minute lap followed by a thirty three followed by a thirty six. Do I need to go further? you get the point? Thanks to the granny ring I didn't have to DNF (it may have been less embarrassing). Around lap 4 I was off and smelling the flowers as the top expert guys started coming up on me. I would try to jump on but it didn't last and would fall off after a few minutes. Amazed at how fast everyone can spin I knew I needed to get going again when a couple sport class riders (on a preride) bridged up to me and shouted words of encouragement "He's just ahead, go get him". Demoralizing to say the least. I finished the race in 2hrs 16min. Fifteen minutes behind James who I beat by five minutes last week on my single at the 40. Hmmmm. Much room for improvement.

Sunday I went to the 909 to try to learn this geared thing again, only this time I enlisted the help of Jane Pearson to show me the ropes and the Kelly brothers to set the pace. Riding Jane's wheel I learned where and how to shift and keeping up with Brian and Rob I actually learned how to ride. At the 909 that is. I don't know if it will translate to other venues but there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel for me and this geared thing. Stay tuned..

Dark Horse 40 race report

2010-08-05T07:12:00.000-07:00

Jocelyn had a great day, winning the womens single speed. (as if there was any doubt)

The week before the 40 I was completely relaxed. My fitness is good, my speed is good and I feel totally comfortable with the course. There was only one thing that worried me about this race. It's something that is a issue for all of us that ride a single speed against geared riders. The downhill start....
Thirty seconds in I realized I was in trouble....
Doing my best Robbie McEwen impression (sprinter with no leadout train) I grab what I think is a good wheel only to have him sit up. "Going on your left!" I call...No, not move to your left, on your left... Now I'm in the weeds... Totally boxed out I slowly enter the single track at a near standstill, in about 15th place. Holding Harmon's wheel someone tries to go by on my right so I throw my elbow out and rest my shoulder on his. I'm not quite pulling a Mark Renshaw, but letting him know this is not a move I'm gonna let go. Oh shit! It's Rob Stine. It figures, one of the only guys in the field I wouldn't want to put into the bushes and I do. Sorry dude. Busting my ass to gain some spots on the first road section puts me in the red for the first time. Hammer the roads and sit behind slower riders in the single track. This would be the theme for the first 12 miles where I would finally make the lead group. After some pleasantries were exchanged (eventual winner) Terry Kolb (clockwork construction) proceeded to put me into the pain cave for a while. Not that I wasn't in the hurt already but he seemed to know just where and when to hit me. The next 20 or so miles were spent dangling off the back of Terry's wheel. Bridge up on the climbs, get dropped on the roads and just survive the downhill sections was how it all went. I was never in any kind of control and in constant threat of being dropped completely. Patiently waiting for this war of attrition to sort itself out I was the first to pop. Feeling like I'm moving backwards now, I do all I can to hold off third place James Harmon (503 Cycleworks).

This race was supposed to be the finish of my mountain bike season but reflecting upon it I feel depressed and somewhat unsatisfied.... Wendi: enter your comment below.

Gonna race gears at Norcross this weekend and all of next year, should be fun. I haven't raced gears since I was a sport rider and will probably make a total ass of myself. More on that later.

Dark Horse 40 results

Training partners needed! Will train

2010-07-22T07:11:00.000-07:00

Seems a little early to start thinking about next year already but I am, so here goes. If I were to place an ad in the local mountain bike newspaper in the search for training partners, it might look like this...

Training partners needed. Must have road bike, mountain bike, trail running shoes and a love of the cold. Knowledge of local trails and roads (N.J. and N.Y.) a plus, but not necessary. Light work starts mid November and progresses thru spring with superior early season kick ass fitness as payment for your services rendered. A high level of technical skills are a must as is a mid expert level of base fitness (or higher). Riding locations vary, with Northern N.J. and the Hudson Valley being the core training grounds. If your looking to get to the next level and would like to share in the pain it takes to get there, shoot me a e-mail (monte2282@yahoo.com) and we'll get started on our best seasons yet. -Monte

Well?

Bulldog Rump

2010-07-13T06:55:00.000-07:00

Kittatinny and I have this love hate thing going on. Preparing for the Bulldog Rump in the weeks before has always went well. Race day has always been another story. Three years ago, after the race I had to sleep in the car before driving home (yes I was that beat up). Two years ago, my crank arm fell off (DNF). Last year I flatted in the fifth lap with about two miles to go, only to fix it and flat again about fifty feet later (DNF). So when my Saturday morning road ride was rained out and against better judgement I decided at the last minute to try my fate again. Jocelyn's mom was visiting, so with no idea what time the race was even starting, how many laps, or even a inkling on what gearing to run I head out alone. The drive over had a weird feel to it, kind of like when I drive up to Phoenix to do a race (from my moms house in Tucson). Radio blasting and not a care in the world, It felt like I'd step out of the car and not even know anyone. Just like the early season races in Arizona. I had no anxiety about the race at all. How could I have anxiety? I haven't done a race in over a month, haven't even thought about it, and definitely have done zero prep work for this one. Hell, if it weren't for the rain I wouldn't even be here.
Feeling way relaxed, I pulled to the line. Looking across I see there's a dozen or so pros lined up. The gun goes off and the pace seems slow but I'm not complaining. I follow Brian Lariviere's (Team Bulldog) wheel and am sitting about 6th. Watching a small group float away, I don't chase. Before long I see Maurice (MTBNJ) flatted as well as a short time later a Scott bikes sponsored rider. Cool, sitting 4th with 3 laps to go is good. I pull back Matt Miller (Giant bikes) and we go back and forth for a while. Feeling good, I take the lead from Matt and begin to chase for 2nd place. I catch the Alan bikes rider going into the final lap and don't even hesitate to dispatch him. It seemed like everyone was cheering going into the final lap so I get a little shot of adrenalin and now believe I can win. It's all up to Jordan. If Jordan Kahlenberg (Giant bikes) cracks at all I will catch him. I dream about sprinting it out at the end with Jordan. I'm on a mission. I feel like I can not lose....
Unfortunately I only got a look of Jordan in the final field. He finished about a minute in front of me.
The weather was great, the course was awesome and second place was a lot of fun today....

Jordan's write up on the giant site

Dark Horse 40...

2010-07-07T07:07:00.000-07:00

My ride is payment for my gluttony and my sloth...
My ride is 40 miles of punishment and pain...
My ride is my eventual salvation...
Embrace the pain, for you can not hide this year...

Maybe I'll get lucky....

2010-06-30T07:07:00.000-07:00

As if the gods answered a prayer. As I launched my attack at Mohican it started to pour...It's no secret, I'm good in the slop. A mudder they call me. A favorite to win any race that's is cold and snotty. Unaffected by the cold and wet has its benefits, but riding in August is not one of them. Tired of watching others (seemingly unaffected by 95* temps) just float away, I'm gonna make a bold statement. I know I'm not gonna make anyone happy when I say I hope it rains at this years 40. I'm not talking about a little sprinkle here and there. I'm talking a category 3 (or better) hurricane. Ninety mph winds and horizontal rain would feel nice about now. Just close your eyes and think about it. You can keep your dry sunny days, I'll embrace the slop. Maybe, just maybe I'll get lucky...

Just playing around

2010-06-22T07:03:00.000-07:00

The perfect flickable machine...I forgot how fast you can ride on a geared bike, and how much fun a 26er can be.
"Borrowing" Jocelyn's Vicious Cycles Metal Guru for the last couple days has been fun. Flying through rooty corners on the Vicious with it's telepathic handling and nervous trail manners makes me wonder why I ever went 29er. Coming home with a smile on my face I told her "It's just a super fun machine to ride". She agrees. The Vicious is definitely a East Coast bike, built by a local frame builder from New Paltz N.Y.
Guess what kiddies? we live on the East Coast, not Marin County Ca.
Just wondering what ever became of Vicious Cycles. Lots of rumors floating around, hope Carl can pull it out and give us a alternative to the big three. I'm getting kind of tired seeing the same bikes over and over...

Keeping it local

2010-06-15T07:02:00.000-07:00

Pennsylvania... Home of Pump-n-Pantry
Pump-n-Pantry... Home of sausage, egg and cheese pizza...WTF?
After the last few weeks I'm fried.
Fried from the racing but mostly fried from the travel. Vermont three weeks ago, Ohio last week and Pennsylvania (for the Stoopid 50) this week have left me depleted. I just can't drive that much. It wears me out....
Not to mention the car....
Three years old and 74000 miles later it's time to give it a rest. The check engine light is on and my clutch has developed a leak so I've decided that there will be no unnecessary car trips in the near future. I won't be at Lewis Morris either. Two weeks away and I'm looking forward to blowing this one off. Call it a vacation from racing. Instead I'll be out getting reacquainted with the Ramapo Mountains. Just riding my bike and trying to recharge before the Dark Horse 40. Want to ride? leave me a message. Or just jump on if you see me in the woods.
Till then....

Mohican 100 NUE Series #2

2010-06-06T16:23:00.000-07:00

RESULTS...

Change of plans

2010-05-24T07:18:00.000-07:00

flip Flop
flip flops
Friday eleven P.M....Winsted is out, Tymor in.....

Jocelyn is used to it by now....The flip flop I'll call it. Why you ask? With the Weeping Willow in Massachusetts and Tymor in New York it was looking like Winsted was gonna be the sacrificial lamb (all three on the same day) and not pull a good field. So the decision was made and off to New York we go.
I haven't raced here since my first year as a semi pro. Then I was happy to beat anybody, now my expectations are higher.
This course has two heads, first is basically a fun section of single track around the lake (twisty and flowing). Going way hard not thinking of what's ahead I get blocked and miss my opportunity to make the front group almost immediately. Only thinking of picking off the stragglers now, we get to the infamous climb, (head #2). At 175 bpm I can't go much harder but if you don't want to walk you will, so I do. I saw 183 at one point but refused to look after that. A sketchy off camber desent offers the only "recovery" on this course. Four laps go by like a blur and I finish fifth.
I must be getting better since those first semi pro races because I didn't walk nearly as much as I did back then and dare I say, "I actually found the course to be quite enjoyable". On the fitness front I know where I need to improve and plans are being made already to do so. A course like this will expose you for what you are or are not. Could I had gotten the same eye opening experience at Winsted? Maybe, but at Tymor I was guaranteed to be exposed for what I am right now.... pack fill....

UCI international license...$150 please

2010-05-18T07:48:00.000-07:00

Because I don't have one of these..
I won't be going here..
So instead I'll be here....

See you there....

The Ramapo Mountains

2010-05-10T07:22:00.000-07:00

Long technical rides, lugging stones off the hill and splitting wood. That's how my weekend was spent. No race at French Creek for me. I just spent some time getting reacquainted with the Ramapo mountains and doing some neglected strength (yard) work. Five and a half hours in the saddle on Saturday, followed by dead lifting logs into the back of two trucks then a hour of weed whacking left me throbbing on Saturday night. If that wasn't enough I also did a five banger on Thursday and on Friday constructed a rock wall to line my driveway. Cross Training....I LOVE IT..
Sunday I went to Stewart for a short three hour tempo ride...It felt like a cake walk. This week is done and a season high of twenty three hours were hit. Shouldn't tell you that, Right? It doesn't matter, nobody reads these blogs anyway.
On the way to work this morning I saw a huge black bear. He must have been 500 lbs. As he was sitting in my neighbors driveway (waiting to get back into the garbage can he was eating from) I wondered how many times will your garbage get tossed before you wait till morning to bring it out?
This coming weekend is the Rob Stine north south ride in Rhode Island. I'm quite sure Rob isn't bringing us up north just to ride some rail trails. Should be fun...
Ike, enjoying the new rock wall...

Ike, Not liking the truck in the yard...

Fork you...

2010-05-05T07:28:00.000-07:00

Change can be good... but not in this case.
Mistake#1
After riding with T.J. and Roger on Thursday at Wawayanda I decided to run a 35x20 to "kill it" in the singletrack. Roger was riding easier gears and seemed faster today. Riding the singletrack like a superstar was great but spinning like I had no chain on the fire roads while everyone dusted my ass was not fun and left me exhausted. Ultimately I ended up dismounting the same sections I would have run anyway. Lesson learned!

Mistake#2
Suspension forks are heavy, climb like shit, track even shittier and late in the race make me even more tired. I know I'm gonna hear some flack over this one but the 3 seconds you gain on the downhills are lost immediately on the climbs (and much more). I like to go up hill fast and the sussy fork doesn't. Not to mention my fastest lap on Sunday was ridden (unintentionally) locked out. Wanna go fast uphill? leave the squish at home. Lesson learned!

I have a riding style and when I take others advise on gearing, lines, strategy, etc. it hardly ever works. It seems like I need to relearn this every year. From riding alone Ive taught myself to ride efficient and fast. Maybe not as fast as you on a given section but an overall fast that equals a good race performance. Good race performance was no where to be found this week at Wawayanda. Sure it was hot but that's not what the only problem was. I listened to too many others. So don't be offended from now on if I don't listen, cause your wrong....For me that is.

Feeling like a overheated Chevy Nova on a hot summers day
I must admit I have a weakness. Finishing races in the blazing sun has always been hard for me. It saps the energy from my legs reducing me to a pile of no powered poop. Normally on these occasions I would do a lap, drop out and live another day. Not today. Why you ask? Because I D.N.F. too many races only to realize I would have done well if I had just stuck in there. I promised myself I wouldn't drop out of races this year just because I'm hurting, Stupid promises. I can't say I wasn't aiming recklessly into rock gardens to try and puncture my front tire but no such luck. So I finished, and I'm happy...I think.
I'm looking forward to the next few weekends to just go out and ride my bike. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and the temps will stay mild. See you out there...

Come over here big boy....

2010-04-29T07:31:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to you...
Happy Birthday to you...
Happy Birthday to the Mayor...
Happy Birthday to you.....And many more..

Closet single speeder?

2010-04-28T07:36:00.000-07:00

After not riding a Singlespeed since last years SSAP, Josh Wilcox (503 cycleworks) laid major smack down on many New England bigs.
Whats up with that?
Conventional wisdom would tell you that even a gearie as talented as Josh when thrown into the biggest Singlespeed race on the east coast should not do as well as Third. Not against the Mighty SBC. Surely not against Foco or Stine. Not to mention Dejay Birtch. But he beat them all.....Hmmmm
I tried to get info about this phenomenon after Singlespeed-a-palooza but Josh just smiled. Has James rubbed off on Josh like some kind of osmosis or something?
Na, I'll tell you what I think....Josh is a closet Singlespeeder, riding his single all winter and probably as much as possible in the spring, Josh has developed into a Singlespeed threat. Coupled with James a possible double threat...probably not a good thing for me since I race these guys often. Put this guy on a 29er and we may all be in trouble. Will Josh be racing a single in the future? Any thoughts?

What happens at Singlespeed-a-Palooza

2010-04-26T07:38:00.000-07:00

Typical East Coast weather was in store for this years race, Sorry Dejay.
Call ups are cool. Not having to sit at the start line for 20 minutes in the rain allows us to maintain a sunny disposition. Just a little tip, Leave the trainer at home and invest in some rain gear to warm up in. It will keep you nice and dry while warming up on the greasy trails.
Nice pic, I think this was first lap. James was just off to my right (taking the wrong line), I kept my mouth shut. Do you blame me?

This was the flavor of the day. No it's not my bike, my bike was completely clean due to my excessive use of lemon pledge the night before.

Suck in that gut for the cameras. This pic makes me look like a real cyclist (big ass). Don't ya think?

1st place on the day and lots of fun had by all. What more can you ask for? I'm actually having a hard time finding the words to go along with this story (the mud must have seeped into my brain) so all I'm gonna say is "What happens at SSAP stays at SSAP." If you want to know what its all about, cobble a bike together and sign up next year. You won't be disappointed.

Note: Photo credit George, Talented guy..check it out....

Series leader

2010-04-19T07:37:00.000-07:00

Looks like after 2 races in the root66 series I'm now the series leader. I was in this position last year after Winsted woods and decided not to contest. I will not be contesting this year either. That series is brutal. With the points going 10 deep and only 5 points separating most positions it's the hardest series to win. No dropped races in this series means you'll be full bore into the fall, traveling all over New England. Often the men or women who go for it (after winning) never make it back the following year. Not cool.....

Winding trails is a drag race. Start is fifty yards on hard pack then right into a sand pit. I got pushed off the good line and ended up on the right. Good thing since on the left there was a crash tangling up at least a few riders allowing me to get to about 15th place, a good spot on this fast and largely untechnical course. Working my way through the field on the first lap I can see Sean Cavanaugh and Johan Koserius (both of Bethel Cycle) ahead. I bridge to them and hardly pausing set my eyes on John Foley (GF29er crew). Foley is a very consistent rider and normally he is a great wheel to follow but on this course the dual suspension seems to be hurting him. Looking past Foley I can see Harmon in the lead group about fifty yards ahead and slowly work my way up to him. He's drilling it and not backing off much so it takes me the better part of the whole lap to close the fifty yards. I caught James when he took the smoother but longer line going into the second lap. Sitting on James wheel I was feeling good and started to think of bridging up to 3rd place Kevin Hines (Favata and Matt O'Keefe had checked out never to be seen again) so going into a small piece of singletrack I took the lead. Chasing Kevin Hines for about a lap. Bridging slowly but surely I catch him and in about a half of lap he's dispatched off the back. Going into the 5th lap I start to feel my cadence on my trusty 35x16 is starting to slow on the power climbs. James is coming hard and with less than 3 miles to go I just put my head down and grunt it out, Finishing 3rd place.

Anyone who says Winding trails is a easy race has no idea what they are talking about, My average heart rate was 2 beats below threshold (bleeding through my eyes)and I could have gone no harder. Someone once said "If the course is so easy, Let me see you win." True that, message board man..

With Jane winning the women's race and most notably Jim winning the expert SS in a sprint it was good day all around. Chris also won his class at Tour De Tykes. Congrats to my friends and training partners. It's shaping up to be a good year.

Jim, Top step of the podium..Sweetness

Ike's (Winding Trails) statement

2010-04-14T07:27:00.000-07:00

Enjoying a good swim at Blue Mtn.

Translated to English....

Hi, many of you know me from the venues of years past. I've been coming to races for as long as my parents have allowed me to. I have never been a problem. Getting along with everyone has been my thing. Recently I discovered that if I show up at Winding Trails I will be asked to leave. WTF? You can't choose who your parents are. Is this racist or just a feeble attempt by the man to keep me down (literary). I've been to this venue before without problems, begrudgingly putting up with the uncivilized mutts that reside there. My mom always cleans up after me and quite frankly I'm a lot cleaner than most of the heathens that call the woods at winding trails their home.
I begged Mike to go to Tour De Tykes this weekend but my whines fell on deaf ears. He keeps talking about James and how he needs to redeem himself, or something. I guess they had a battle last week and feels he needs to face off with him again. Sometimes I don't understand this whole racing thing but apparently I will be staying home this weekend, holding down the couch and keeping the bears at bay.
Anyway I guess I'll see you guys soon....Ike

Le Tour De Monte recap (Fair Hill)

2010-04-12T07:28:00.000-07:00

M.A.S.S. Bikeline at Fair Hill...(results)
Woke up Sunday feeling rather chipper, Must have been the extended cooldown I did after Hop Brook the day before. Loaded the car (Jocelyn and Ike in tow), picked up Chris at Home Depot and we are on our way. The M.A.S.S. series is so popular that while I was talking to Chris in the rest stop bathroom the guy in the stall next to us started to tell us about how he races expert SS and he's going to Fair Hill also. Not wanting to make acquaintances in the men's room at a rest stop I politely sneaked away, leaving Chris and his new friend. Shortly after, while washing my hands Chris tells me "I think that guy just peed on my leg". Oh My! Well that must have been the good luck charm he needed, Chris went on to win his class. Congrats. Add a stolen (sport class) 1st place medal and a bonty 29.3 tire to your pee stained sock and it equals a win. Who would have known? What an equation.
For me there was no urine soaked sock to propel me past the super fast Aaron Snyder (Scott bikes). Just a pretty good day on the bike. From the warm up I felt like I was firing on all cylinders. Heart rate in check I pushed myself to the front row. Front row at a M.A.S.S. race. Big balls? Of course the second the gun went off I was dropped to the back (couldn't get clipped in again) Shimano pedals suck! I want my ATAC's back. Working my way through the field on the opening lap I must have passed about 30 riders. On your left! On your right! The passing is so aggressive in a field this big with nobody wanting to relinquish even one spot. Super fast and tons of flow at this course put me in the groove and going into the final lap I could see Andrew Alesio and Christopher Beck (GF29er crew) ahead of me and I set my sights on them. Beck seemed pissed to be getting passed by a singlespeeder, Yelling at Andrew telling him to "go faster, a singlespeeder is about to pass you". By mid lap I had gotten rid of them and concentrated on my kick to the finish.
5th place and after a lengthy wait for awards, a c-note for my troubles.

I won't write much about the traffic on the turnpike or solar panels. I'll leave that to Jocelyn.

Hop Brook Dam....(The day before)
Feeling way too relaxed at the start is never good. I knew when James Harmon (503 cycleworks) cracked a smile as I told him I haven't raced since SSUSA it was gonna be a long day. The gun goes off and like usual I can't get clipped in. Front row to nearly dead last at the drop of a hat. Fortunately Seamus Powell lead the first twenty riders in through the out door (going up the wrong trail in the first piece of singletrack). That allowed me to reestablish my place in the pack (6th at the time). Seamus would later motor by us like a man on a mission to capture the win. He has changed his coach and made improvement over the winter and man it shows. Nice Job Seamus.
This race for me was about keeping James in sight. He's on a single speed also and my whole purpose in the pro race is always to win against the other singles first then work on picking gearies off. It's been working for me for a while so why change. Only this time James was working me over, apparently the preparation for his race in Cali coupled with my lack of racing has closed the gap between us. Digging very deep to keep him in sight I made my move on the last lap managing to put about 30 seconds into him on a very steep part of the course. Riding like a maniac to keep this gap (barely keeping from crashing) I nearly managed to bridge to John Foley (GF29er crew) but I ran out of real estate before I could make a move. 4th place and in the cash not too shabby for the first real race of the season.
It was way too hard of an effort, considering I was also registered at Fair Hill the day after. Or would it be?

Le Tour de Monte

2010-04-07T07:03:00.000-07:00

It's like my own mini tour De France (only I'm the only one going for the G.C.)

Yesterday the thought crept into my head. Why not do them both? So sometime on Tuesday I hatched a plot to do just that.
On Saturday morning I'll be hitching a ride with Gerry up to Connecticut (Hop Brook Dam) Banging bars with Stine, Harmon and Parsons only to come home, wake up on Sunday morning to drive to Maryland (Fair Hill) with Jocelyn and Chris. What a weekend. How will it go? Okay, I think...I can't be sure but I think I have decent fitness this year.
When I told Jocelyn about my plan she immediately replied "I'm not going" but I didn't expect you to I told her. I understand that even one cross country race in a weekend is sometimes too much (especially in April) but understand I'm hungry and I don't want to miss a thing at this point. Of course I may not feel this way come August. I'll probably be fried by then. Who cares, It's all about the now... Right now at least.
Experience tells me that I need to conserve somewhat on Saturday to have enough left over for Sunday. You only have so many matches to burn and unless the race develops into a legitimate shot at winning at Hop Brook for me, I will be burning as few as possible.

Fair Hill is awesome and there will be top level competition but Hop Brook brings out the best in New England. Neither one are key races for me, so with a eye on Mohican I'll do both....Should be fun.

SSAP?????

2010-04-05T07:43:00.000-07:00

This speech is my recital, I think it's very vital
To rock (a climb), that's right (on time)
It's Tricky is the title, here we go...

It's Tricky to rock a climb, to rock a climb that's right on time
It's Tricky...it's Tricky (Tricky) Tricky (Tricky)
It's Tricky to rock a climb, to rock a climb that's right on time
It's Tricky...Tr-tr-tr-tricky (Tricky) Trrrrrrrrrrricky

In New York the people talk and try to make us climb
They really (hawk) but we just (walk) because we have no time
And in the city it's a pity cos we just can't hide
Tinted windows don't mean nothin', they know who's inside

Stewart is flat, Right?

Fair Hill....

2010-03-31T07:35:00.000-07:00

The M.A.S.S. opener is on the horizon, Bikeline's race at Fair Hill. Fast, Relatively flat and short (Only 22.5 miles), Fair Hill offers a formidable challenge. The challenge will be in the form of 50+ riders to start the elite race. With names like Eatough, Schalk and Price the race will be competitive to say the least, with me most likely not even sniffing the front.
So why would I go you ask? I love the big fields. the feeling of racing wheel to wheel in large packs of riders is exhilarating. Back off one pedal stroke...Bam someone goes by. Plan your attacks wisely because cracking will leave you at the back. Drop a bottle? Forget it... Who has time to drink anyway?
Two years ago I was 27th, last year 9th, This year who knows? But I will tell you, it'll be fun.....

P.S. Fair Hill is a fair weather race only. So if it rains I will go to Hop Brook (where it will definitely rain) See you somewhere soon.

It came to me in a dream...

2010-03-22T07:17:00.000-07:00

I woke up the other day with a new training loop in mind. It would include all of the elements that make up many of the races we do. Fast swoopy doubletrack, fun technical singletrack, a steep and long access road climb, some super raw hike-a-bike stuff and of course some low lying swampy areas.
So this week I made some calls and set up a ride for Saturday. After applying mucho amounts of peer pressure (often relaying false trash talking between them) Chris, Jim and Gerry joined me on this beautiful day. I warned everyone to bring supplies because although I rode the loop in four hours the day before, with a group this large you never know. Fortunately there were no issues to slow us much.
Anyway, without giving away too much... The first real mountain bike ride of the 2010 season went off without a hitch. We all learned in what areas we need to make improvements, and adjustments will definitely be made before race season starts.
Soon it will be tough to get people out on rides like this. The race season will be under way and everyone will be protective of their fitness, not wanting to stretch it on a long adventure trail ride. I for one will continue to ride my monster loop, because I love the epic days...It's what I live for...

Working on the mud skills!

2010-03-15T14:11:00.000-07:00

When you go for a mountain bike ride the day after a Nor'easter, only one thing is for sure...Your gonna get wet...Mud flavored Heed...Yummy
Jars Of Clay

Rain, rain on my face-
It hasn't stopped raining for days-
My world is a flood-
Slowly I become one with the mud-

Chorus:

But if I can't swim after forty days
And my mind is crushed by the thrashing waves
Lift me up so high that I cannot fall
Lift me up
Lift me up - when I'm falling
Lift me up - I'm weak and I'm dying
Lift me up - I need you to hold me
Lift me up - Keep me from drowning again

Aversion training....

2010-03-04T07:53:00.000-08:00

On each occasion that thou art betrayed into thinking that thou art sworn to avoid, cut thyself sharply upon the wrist or forearm with a razor; even as thou shouldst beat a disobedient dog. Feareth not the Ox the Goad of the Ploughman? Thine arm then serveth thee both for a warning and for a record. Thou shalt write down thy daily progress in these practices, until thou art perfectly vigilant at all times over the least thought that ariseth in thy brain.

Jumping in with the roadies this weekend. Punishment miles are mandatory!!!!

Cabin Fever

2010-03-01T07:43:00.001-08:00

After shoveling for just about all of Thursday, Friday morning I woke up to this.
And this.
The road is out there, somewhere.
Sometimes I start to wonder if I'm training for mountain biking or if mountain biking is training me for life.
When mother nature throws 3 feet of snow your way over 48hrs the word "training" takes on a new meaning. Two a days become three and four a days, "strength" becomes snow removal, A long ride becomes a four and a half hour snowshoe epic just to get a cup of coffee. These are all workouts, shit you not and it is one of the reasons the strongest athletes come from the higher elevations.
I was not aware of the toughening I would experience by moving here. The forced workouts have hit me hard. Lying on the couch last night with my legs throbbing from the 20hr training week I just completed I came to the realization that the mountain will make you strong. It's not the Jersey Shore "look at my pecs" gym type strong. It's the farm boy strong, that the Canadian kids use to kick our asses in hockey strong....
Just hope it works for me....I'm not Canadian ya know.....hoser!

When the dog starts complaining. That's when you know it's been a hard winter.

Monte's "death camp ride"

2010-02-22T07:18:00.000-08:00

I started riding to High Point in the mid 90's. I was living in Greenwood Lake, N.Y. and with the beautiful Warwick valley just on the other side of the mountain, how could I resist? Of course back then I was a summertime roadie, didn't even know what a mountain bike was and didn't care. Hockey was my main sport and everything I did in the summer was to make the winter leagues and tournaments more enjoyable. I remember this ride being tough, and out of all the old loops I used to know this one survived in the memory banks. I would revisit this training loop at least once a year, often bringing "guests" along for the ride. This winter I bought a house near Wawayanda and started exploring some old road loops again, only this time on a singlespeed mountain bike. Why ride a mountain bike on the road? Because its effing cold and up these parts the roads are salted and sanded so heavily that skinny tires would have trouble. Plus I don't need to go as far. Let me explain. Last fall I did a 100 mile road ride (by myself) and covered that distance in 4hr 47m. I needed to do just about every loop in the northern N.J. area and not even accomplish a 5hr ride, The same ride on the SS would have taken close to 7hrs. That's if I could have averaged 15mph. Not a easy feat. This Saturdays ride was 5hrs on a 35x18 at 13mph av included the famous High Point hill climb and to add insult to injury the 5 mile climb up Brady Mountain (at times 17%) comes at the end of the ride. According to Jim from Pawling Cycle (he has a I phone) we climbed close to 6000ft.
So what should you take from this? I'll tell you. A bike is a bike, and in the winter as long as your pedaling your body doesn't know the difference. As a matter of fact most mountain bikers need to learn to ride more constant so you would think road miles would be good.
But then again, I'm just a dopey Singlespeeder...

Jim cresting the climb on Brady Mtn.
Some turned back early and hide their heads in shame

Douchebag of the year

2010-02-18T07:25:00.000-08:00

T.W. is a douche bag! Let me tell you why. For the last three months since his scandal broke the Almighty has been in hiding. Sex rehab? Gulf coast? Maybe Mexico? Nobody has been able to track the philandering golf great down. There were rumors that he may surface in Arizona for a tournament earlier this month. But he didn't. Good, Bad, Do you care?
So when does the Idiot decide to rear his sorry head? Smack dab in the middle of the Olympics. Yesterday I'm watching speed skating (a event that I get to see only once every four years) when Bob Costas announces that El Tigre will be holding a press conference in Florida on Friday.
Front page news this morning wasn't Lyndsey Vonn's Gold on a badly bruised shin. Nor was it Shonny Davis repeating gold in the 1000 meters. It was the idiot of the year. Narcissistic, media hungry ahole.
Do us a favor and keep yourself hidden for a few more weeks. When the athletes who worked their asses off for years (for five minutes of face time) are done performing.
Then we can go back to talking about how many chicks you banged.

Homeward bound...

2010-02-11T08:06:00.000-08:00

Took my last desert ride today. Nine miles over to the SSUSA course, did a lap on the 35x18 then rode home. Sixty five miles total. I don't ever count miles, They're relative. Thirty miles at home could take 4 hours. Today's ride took 5. Go figure? or don't...
The feeling of dread has been building all week. The realization that my annual trip to Arizona that normally brings me back to Jersey by late February (a week or two from spring) this time will time bring me back February 13th. With at least four more weeks of northeast winter to go (FU Punxsutawney Phil) I have to bear down and pray the next few weeks are kinder than the rest of the winter has been. Riding lots of hours in 20* weather and snow sucks but that's what is in store for me. Ya see I made my bed and now it's time to lay in it.
For those that remember the 80's classic, American Flyer's. "RES FIRMA MITESCERE NESCIT" Loosely translated to "once you've got it up, keep it up". Thanks John Amos.
There is no backing off now. Just keep pushing ahead. Soon it will all get warmer..... And then we'll become one with the MUD!

See you at the Mash....

Reggie,(warm inside) enjoying the snow from his window.

SSUSA Tucson, AZ

2010-02-06T20:44:00.000-08:00

I always suck at lemans starts! It seems like I can never find my bike and then spend the next 5 minutes trying to catch up. This lemans start was no different. By the time I was reunited with my machine the lead pack was a hundred yards away and already around one of the many switchbacks on the opening climb. I worked my way up through the field to the front group dragging Niner pro rider Tim Allen with me. Last year at the Estrella hedgehog hustle, Tim went flying by me fast enough to make my head spin (he had gears) en route to the eventual win (I got fourth). This year was different. The lead group had about 9 riders including John (Fuzzy) Mylne (Niner Bikes) among others. There was a acceleration from Tim, splitting the group and dropping his teammate Fuzzy. Often when the pace slows a little after a acceleration there is a counter move and this time was no different. Climbing well within in my range I went with this move. Dax Massey (Bach Builders) and yours truly off the front 10 minutes into the race. The pace vehicle goes by shortly after and someone screams out of the window "Don't you guys watch the Tour De France? The initial break never stays away". We yelled back "yeah but they get the best photo ops". Dax and I worked together to lengthen the gap and after about a hour of racing had it to only about a minute. The 3 mile climb up to high Chiva would finally break the spirits of the chase group but unfortunately put me into the red zone and with not much intensity in my legs as of late I found some slight cramps beginning. Still hanging with Dax we worked our way back up the road into the final section of the race. This section would prove to be the most challenging with short punchy climbs, tough technical descents and so many small drops and roll offs my arms will be sore for weeks. Dax would get a gap on me here and there wasn't anything I could do about it. I was now in survival mode. The efforts to get rid of the rest of the field proved successful but at a cost. I was cracking. Keeping the gap respectable (mostly due to my preride of this ultra technical trail) I rolled into the finish 2 minutes behind Dax for a sweet 2nd place.
It was nearly 15 minutes before third would come in...

Later, the party was kicking and Dejay announced "who ever wants to host next years event, pick a partner and sign up". I picked my new bud Keith from Massachusetts and we proceeded through many heats to make it to a tug of war finals against a team from Colorado...
Sorry George, SSUSA is not coming to Rock Tavern, N.Y. next year.
So close but yet so far. Maybe if I didn't ride as hard I would have had something left for the match.

Racing for Dark Horse has made me somewhat of a minor celebrity. Seems like everyone knows of our kooky little team from N.Y.
The guys from Dales Pale Ale say hi...
.............................................................
James, Very happy with his 5th place finish

Ha Ha, your bike isn't that big after all (think 36er)

Many pizzas were consumed

And a good time was had by all...

Quicksand....

2010-02-02T09:11:00.000-08:00

Rode up to check out the first half of the SSUSA course yesterday. I had so much fun on the back half the other day I'd thought I'd give it a whirl. This half started off the same. Instead of dropping into the Arizona trail on the left (at the top of the 9 mile climb) I would go right.
Super fast swooping single track for about 3 miles dumps you out on a road. On this road you go about a half mile to a series of gates. The gates on the left go into a corral with no singletrack in sight. Can't be that way, right? So even though the map says left at gates I continue to follow this road hoping to see the trail somewhere. A few miles later and I'm back on Redington Rd (the opening climb). Ok,a slight detour, I'll just jump back into the singletrack I started on and in a few minutes I'll be back at the gates, at least I'll get to know this piece well. Back at the gates, I go through the corral and see a washed out stream bed ahead. This is the trail? Must be! Using my backwoods tracking skills I follow a Kenda Nevegal footprint through the stream bed. Sometimes riding, sometimes walking this is tough going. The stream turns to trail and eventually dumps you out on FR4426 where you make a left. FR4426 is a long exposed climb up to the top of Chiva Falls where you make a right on FR4405. We all know I love riding fire roads (sarcastic tone).
Here's where the story gets good: I'm looking for a corral then a piece of singletrack under a tree (great description). Finding the corral (I think) but I can't find the single track, Must be up the road further. I descend on this fire road with my chest on the saddle for what seems like miles until I come to a river. This river looks to be about 6" deep with a sandy bottom so I pull a wheelie drop off the bank into the river, fully expecting to ride right across.
Wrongo!! Front wheel goes into the sand up to the headset (no bullshit), I manage to put my left foot down before going OTB and am now stuck in quicksand up to my hip. Looking like I'm pulling off some strange yoga pose (standing crane with bike between legs) , I manage to wriggle myself free. At this point this is not fun anymore, I'm in the middle of the desert, lost, stuck in quicksand and know I have a lengthy walk ahead of me. Remember all the fun downhill? I now have to backtrack to who knows where, Maybe the whole course? And it's getting hot. After a long hot walk I come back onto the corral and right there, plain as day is the missing singletrack. How did I miss it? I curse under my breath and take the remainder of the course out to Redington Rd.
I arrive back at my mothers house an hour or so later a beaten man. My 3hr planned ride turned into a five and a half hour epic and I averaged 140 bpm the whole time. Not what I was looking for four days before a race.
James is coming in later today and I'm sure he'll want to ride. I think I'll rest till then...

P.S. If your strategy for the race this Saturday was to follow me? You may want to rethink that...Under my direction, we might not make it back for the after party...

It's On!!!!

2010-01-30T16:20:00.001-08:00

You in?

Its my rock and roll fantasy

2010-01-28T19:20:00.000-08:00

$4 airport coffee

Sunrise at 10,000 feet

Reunited with my new baby

It's like the Stewart State Forest of the desert, only faster. Much faster

Rainy day in Tucson was not gonna get me down today. Getting off the plane at noon than sprinting for my mom's house (no time for lunch mom), building my bike and getting in a ride all before dark. Seems like a tall order but that's just the way it is. I don't like to waste not even one day out here. She understands.
Sure it was only 50* and raining but compared to what happened back on the mountain this morning I was fortunate.
I laugh at desert rain. It's like "oh the streets a little wet" and "the sun isn't out" makes for a shitty day for a Tucson native. For a Jersey boy, It's perfect...

Oh, it's a big pretty white plane with red stripes, curtains in the windows and wheels and it looks like a big Tylenol.

2010-01-26T07:35:00.000-08:00

There's no reason to become alarmed, and we hope you'll enjoy the rest of your flight. By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?

Striker, listen, and you listen close: flying a plane is no different than riding a bicycle, just a lot harder to put baseball cards in the spokes.

See you in Tucson......

-Stoopid plans 2010-

2010-01-21T07:22:00.000-08:00

After much thought (about 10 minutes) I have set my schedule for 2010.
There are a number of changes from the past years plans.
You may notice the endurance theme later in the year. This is because the shorter races in the past have burned me out by August, why fight it? Long races are fun, too.
Most of the races I picked were picked because of field size. I purposely left some races out (even though the courses are fun) because they just don't pull large enough fields. This in no way is a knock on anyone or any particular series, I just like the bigger fields better.
At the time I'm writing this I will be putting my toe on the line in about a week. January 30th is the earliest in the year I've ever started racing and there is no better place to start than Arizona...
Check back sometime in July to see if I'm still as enthusiastic.

White Tanks 1/30
SSUSA 2/6
Branchbrook #1 3/6
Branchbrook #2 3/13
Michaux Mash 3/14
Johnny Cake #1 3/20
Johnny Cake #2 3/27
Fairhill 4/11 or Hop Brook Dam 4/10
Fat Tire classic 4/18
Single Speed a Palozza 4/25
High Point Hill Climb 5/1 ????
Wawayanda Spring Cleaning 5/2
Iron Hill 5/23 or Winsted Woods 5/23
Mohican 100 6/5
Bulldog Rump (AMBC)7/11
Fair Hill Classic 7/18
Darkhorse 40 8/1
Wildcat Epic 8/7 8/8
Shenandoah 100 9/5
Vermont 50 9/26
...........................................................
A little inside joke or a riddle if you will:

"sand bagger alert:
sport single speed is meant for SPORT riders....competing in the 8 day absa cape epic in South Africa (on a rigid SS), well that's a bit beyond the grasp of a sport racer, I think everyone will agree.....nobody likes a sand bagger."

Who is this comment author speaking of?
What race are they talking about?
Ice cold PBR for correct answers....
50 lashings for incorrect ones....

Niner One Nine build

2010-01-13T07:15:00.000-08:00

2010 race rig, Thanks to the boys of Dark Horse cycles for the sponsorship and support.

Niner one nine SS frame
Niner carbon fork
Shimano XT crankset
Shimano XTR pedals
Thomson stem
Thomson post
Thomson seatpost collar (sweetness)
Hope hubs SS/trials edition (steel freehub body)
Stans ZTR 355 and Arch combo
Ignitor front Karma rear (subject to change, depending on conditions)
Origin 8 carbon bars
Avid Juicy 7 brakes

19.2 LBS

Been testing out the new race rig the last few weekends...
Just a few things of note...

Weight:
Dropped a pound and a half off the Stumpjumper for a weigh in of 19.2 and this was without really trying. Lighter parts were available and I'm sure I could have cracked 18.5 without much effort but with me durability is often a issue so I went with the tried and true setup. The bike rides light and accelerates well.

Handling:
I always felt like the Stumpjumper steered like a truck. Switchbacks were a bit of a chore requiring lots of energy wasting body english. The handling is a little quicker than the Specialized but in a good way. The Niner is not twitchy by any means, I wouldn't want anyone to think that. It's handling lies somewhere between my old Vicious Cycles monolith (nervous 26er) and the Spec. Just right. Switchbacks are now a breeze.

Technical:
Riding trials type stuff as well as jumping logs is a matter of timing and proper angle on the approach. I have noticed this bike is balanced better (more to the center) than the Spec. That requires a small adjustment in my wheelie hop but I'm confident that one or two urban shredding sessions will cure me of that. Riding super technical trails will take a little getting used to. I believe a stable bike is better technically, That being said this is a race rig (designed to go fast) not a trail bike so trade offs will be made.

Cornering:
I've yet to let it go in any corners mostly due to ice and snow but have noticed that the bike seems to stay under you a little more. I'm not sure why this is but suspect it has to do with the rider being more centered on the bike. Arizona is all about cornering and with the Ignitor up front and the Karma on the rear I'm fairly confident there won't be much adjustment needed in order to go fast.

At the current time my bike is on its way to Tucson Via Fed-Ex so no pictures are available. If you need to see the machine catch me at an upcoming event. I may even let you take a spin....

...Damn, this kit makes me look sexy...

-The Official Rules of the Euro Cyclist-

2010-01-06T07:17:00.000-08:00

Rule# 25. Any physical activity other than cycling is STRONGLY FROWNED UPON. This includes any form of running or swimming and their derivatives (this includes walking). The ONLY TWO other sports with a recognized degree of euro are: cross-country skiing and long track speed skating.

Sustained 40mph winds and temps in the teens forced me to break rule #25 this weekend.
On the other hand, rule #2 strongly states that "Training shall be based solely on feel, while racing shall be guided by sensations and instinct: that is to say, “soul.” The Euro Cyclist will never accept tried or tested scientific training methods." Guess I could interpret that as a little cross training is OK?

"The dog days of winter"

2009-12-31T07:29:00.000-08:00

Winter riding has it's challenges, Make no bones about it. The short dark cold days can get to you if you let them. It's the men who can get through it that have a distinct advantage come spring. Winter riding is not for the faint of heart. I too, often have trouble sticking to "the plan". Like today for instance. Snow is falling, cold as shit and somehow I have to squeeze in a 2hr plus ride. Do I go to the woods? Yesterday the trails were sweet and clear of snow. Today may be different, and you run the risk of not getting any quality riding if the snow is too deep. Do I go on the road? So tired of riding the road. The trainer? I don't think so, save that for really crappy days.
The only thing that keeps me going is that I know I'll be on a plane to Arizona by the end of January. That's only four weeks away. SSUSA here I come....Ready or not.

Firsts

2009-12-28T07:34:00.000-08:00

Did my first ride out of the new digs on Friday. A two hour jaunt, featuring some quad trails, a small piece of the AT (shish) and a very little bit of Wawayanda. The snow was still too deep so I did a lot of hiking but the rain held off so I was happy.
It feels weird riding such sweet trails right down the street. Normally in order to be in the woods I would have to deal with a long car trip, many stops at Dunkin Donuts and inevitably some mall traffic. This was surreal, an almost I could die here feeling. I looked at the sky the first night we were here and ran back in to tell Jocelyn, "I can not only see the stars, I can see whole constellations"
The best part is when I'm done riding the recovery can start Immediately....After the chores that is.....

Lasts

2009-12-21T13:22:00.001-08:00

Been riding from the apartment a lot lately. I don't know if I'm trying to save some gas or maybe just revisiting a few places that I know I'll never ride once I move, but it is nice not loading the car for a ride.
Jocelyn and I maybe ride from home 1 in 10 times. That means a car trip almost every day (sucks).
The house were buying is plopped right in the middle of the trails and roads I ride and I will be able to ride right out of the house (road and Mountain) 100% of the time.... Sweetness
I didn't realize it today when I was riding but we are closing this week, Wednesday they tell me. What this means is today's Lake Hiawatha loop is probably the last ride from East Rutherford. No more city road rides, no more Mills, no more Hilltop (sorry Chris) and no more red lights. I HATE red lights.

By the way; No more laundromats

Stoopid rides

2009-12-13T13:27:00.000-08:00

Gerry, prepared to put the hurt on me today with his cheater bike

It seems like every year I make a similar mistake. There is always one ride that shouldn't have been done. Last year I ripped my derailleur of my cyclocross bike deep into "no cell phone coverage zone" many miles from the car with a 20mph wind on a 30deg day and walked on the road back to the car. Embarassing to say the least. The year before was the day after a nor'easter. With rising flood waters, I could do the out but not the back and shivered for hours in a Burger King while Jocelyn came to rescue me.
This year was the Ice Storm ride.

Today started out well enough, well enough for a road ride on a 25 degree day with a chance of rain (mistake). Rain is no problem, sleet and ice is. First two hours went without a hitch good tempo work with a couple of lead outs. Coming out of Harriman in the rain I became aware of a crunchy sound coming from my tires, better be careful I told myself. On Long Meadow road thru Stirling Forest I had the scare of my life. I came down the hill by International Paper at about 35mph completely out of control. The bike was sliding all over and I had to keep telling myself "stay loose, no brakes and no sudden movements". I considered ditching the bike in the snow bank when a salt truck passed me on the opposite side of the road but that would have meant a definite crash and most likely a long limp home. I don't know how but some how I managed to hang on. After that my nerves were shot. I could hardly ride the flats it was so icy and mostly rode on the unpaved shoulder on the downhills. 700 x 23c tires on dirt are not too good but a lot better than on ice. I hang my head in shame because when a passing motorist offered a ride I took it. I was soaked to the bone, covered in ice and shivering when to add to my embarrasment I started to defrost in the warm SUV. I was dripping water and road grime all over the seats. Thanks for the ride, for your hospitality you get a lengthy cleanup in your RX300. No seriously, "Thanks for the ride". Next time I will stick to the trails on a questionable day.

Until next years stoopid ride, that is.

Beer Cross Part 2

2009-12-08T15:44:00.000-08:00

...LandShark laying out the non-rules...

Between Rossi trying to get "man friendly" at the start and Jocelyn throwing the stiffarm I had no chance, These distractions would compromise my position in the peloton. Like any good cyclocross non-race you can't make up for a bad start...

Check out this write up for a feminine view of the non-race of the year...

By the way, NEVER choose the dizzy bat option!

N.E.C.S./Dark Horse Beer CX

2009-12-06T15:47:00.000-08:00

Jocelyn, prepping for the nonrace

Happy promoter and resident land Shark, C-Dubs

I now know why they call him 3 beer...

Due to a undisclosed "upper body injury" Top Chef didn't race but showed up in costume anyway...

Eventual winner, Free Range Mark Waters

Who would have known Ike doesn't like organic chicken?

"The Mayor"(with antlers) Tackling the barriers...

Run, George, Run

Frosty cold PBR...

Thanks guys, lots of fun on a snowy day...

Crunches Blow!!!!!

2009-11-24T07:31:00.000-08:00

How I hope to look for Singlespeed-a-palozza in 2010
Gonna rip the cranks off the bike! (your bike that is)

Ab work sucks.....Its boring and I loath the time I spend on the floor doing many sit ups, planks, leg raises and such. Just riding the bike is so much easier, but conventional wisdom will tell you that you can only get so far just riding a bike (pun intended). I have read many articles on training and the general consensus is that cycling just doesn't stress the core muscles enough to make changes in performance. At the end of a long race what hurts the most? Often the lower back. Lower back pain usually equals week core. You do the math.
So here I am on the floor (working my abs) looking for the elusive step to the next level. Will I find it? Who knows. But as sure as shit on shoe I'll try and maybe unleash my inner Hulk in the process....

Week one: In like a lion, out like a lamb

2009-11-16T07:35:00.000-08:00

This week started off like hell, I was suffering badly. So badly that I was wondering if I even wanted to do this to myself again. Fortunately just as I predicted I found my groove. Somewhere out there was that rhythm and it took about five days to find it. That constant whirrrrrr of the drivetrain that I want to hear was not present early in the week. More like a vooop vooop vooop. Sloppy pedaling sucks the life out of you , makes you slow and is inefficient. Who wants to work hard to go slow? Not me sir...Leave that for the others..

Frustration station

2009-11-10T14:04:00.000-08:00

Buying a house, Maybe? Maybe not....
Seems like a good time to make a purchase. Interest rates are low, prices are low and sellers seem desperate.
Make appointments,talk to Lawyers, Realtors, Inspectors and mortgage agents.
Found a house, offer accepted, Blah Blah Blah....
Wow those closing costs seem high..... Whats that? I thought you said no points! Whats that? I thought you said no P.M.I.!
Kaboom!!! Deal falls apart... Mostly due to the fact that I refuse to take it in the REAR..Oh well. I'll try again tomorrow. My dream house awaits me. It's out there somewhere.

On a lighter note I have begun foundation work for 2010, and its painful. Seems my mind still wants to put the hammer down but the body is unwilling. Going by years past it usually takes about a week or so to "find my pace".
I know its a little early to start training but the job situation is right (getting done at 1pm, sweet!), the body knows when its time (I'm getting a little doughy around the middle) and the mind is ready. So lets go.

Coming soon: Goals for 2010...

"This sport is stupid"

2009-11-02T14:04:00.000-08:00

Somewhere around December I will begin beating my head against the wall.
In my attempt to prepare for the coming season I will endure wet leaves, ice, frozen trails, angry hunters, even angrier drivers and expensive plane tickets. I will use most, if not all of my vacation time to "train" during the worst possible conditions and the coldest weather all for the off chance of a few early season wins. A little glory if you will. My little slice of the pie.
All of this pain for naught it would seem because in starting this early I'm sure to be toast by July. Or maybe August the latest.
So why do I do it? The truth is I love this shit...

"True fitness, It's not a destination its the journey".

The training gives me a purpose and I would not be lying if I said I enjoy it more than the actual racing. I'd be training even if there were no races! No shit! I've been doing it for years.

A couple things I've learned in the last few years.
Number one: In order to be 10% better next year I'll need to do 50% more. Smarter + longer = stronger
Number two: Always have fun doing it. Yeah its hard work but every once in a while you've just got to let it go and just go ape shit giddy.
I'm now unofficially in "training" for Darkhorse beer cross. Watch out C-Dubs..

Busy bee

2009-10-27T06:55:00.000-07:00

Been way too busy to post. Not much going on in the mountain bike world (my world that is). More later....

"Pumpkin Run"

2009-10-10T09:20:00.000-07:00

Skipped the Heart of the Highlands for a more local race, the Rutherford "Pumpkin run". Drive an hour for a 20 minute workout or do one that I can walk to? Kind of a no brainer, Right?
Left the house about 9:50 for a 10:30 start.

Joc and I walked down to registration and after a short warm up the gun goes off.

Who's that guy with the freakishly huge legs?

Looking nothing like a good runner.

In the pain cave.

Normally envious, Joc was happy to be a spectator today.

My time for the 3 miles was 17:32 and I finished 6th overall. For the non runners that's a 5:51 average mile. Not bad, even if I say so myself.
Don't get me wrong, this race was painful. Just as painful as the 100 miler but in a different way (a puke in your mouth way).
As I write my legs seem to be getting increasingly sore, think I'll be feeling this one for a while.

Runners high...

2009-10-07T10:57:00.000-07:00

The running season is upon us and I have decided to give a 5k a whirl. Haven't put my toes on the line at a running race in a couple years, two years to be exact. As a matter of fact this was the last running race I did. The only thing I can remember from the 2007 race was I got 3rd overall and my legs felt like they were gonna fall off for about two weeks. Seems like good bike fitness doesn't translate to good running fitness and vice versa. The only difference is this time I have been doing some trail runs leading up to this so maybe it won't hurt so much. I'm hopeful I can beat the fairly slow 6'10 pace I set in 2007. I'll be happy just not being crippled on Sunday. Stay tuned..