Single speeds may truly be dead!

Recently in order to fund my 2016 race campaign I decided I was going to sell off some stuff. First on the block is my 29er specialized carbon single speed frame. I started this auction on eBay with a very low price of $450. The frame is in great shape. It's got a few hours to go and has no bids. Carbon single speeds are truly rare anymore, due to the fact that the bike industry just wasn't selling enough of them. They couldn't continue to manufacture these frames just to have them sit on the warehouse shelf. Now if you want to single speed you only have a couple choices or custom. 

So it seems I have the 1982 Camaro of bikes in my possession. Not old enough to be cool but not cool enough to be current. Guess I maybe making custom mailbox posts out of old frames or just leave expensive frames in the basement to collect dust. I hate you bike industry. For changing something that is basically unchanged for a 120 years, every two years or so.  

The problem lies in nobody seems to be interested in anything but a fat bike recently. So a small niche of riders that were single speeders are now fat bikers. Leaving the small amount of single speeders that there originally were even more emaciated then we are. So in conclusion, the bike industry would have you believe that the 1x11 has killed the single speed (I've read) but in fact it's the fat bike that seems to be the single speeds demise. 

What's next? Boost 148 making everything else obsolete? You bet your sweet ass. And how are they going to get you to buy it? They're  going to tell you it's lighter and stiffer, like everything else they've sold us.  We're going to eat it up because we're a bunch of idiots looking to reinvent the wheel. On something as simple as a bicycle. 

-M

Into week 3 of the whole30

Whole 30 2 weeks down. 

This has been the toughest week. I'm moody and cranky. Workouts are going really crappy. Cravings really aren't there but I've considered sneaking a muffin or two. I've lost zero weight since the first week. I know you're not supposed to weigh yourself on this program but as a cyclist I can't help it. Although I'm not eating much different than I normally do, I'm bored out of my mind with the food I've been consuming. Seems the odd sweet here and there makes eating healthy all that much easier. Not only that but my workouts have taken a turn for the worse mostly because my diet is so perfect. It's the nothing to work off theory. Eat crappy, drink, work your ass off to pay for it. That's how it usually goes. Now it's eat healthy and ah what's the point? 

I'm still committed but I'm not gonna lie, things need to get better, soon. 

-M

Sketchy shit!!

Well we took that tree down. The one that was gonna fall on the house. My buddy Dave came over and immediately declared "I don't feel comfortable cutting that" Thanks to the whole 30's  deep long sleep, I dreamed the night before about how to winch it back away from the house then roping it off so it would fall any other way. After much discussion about deductibles vs cost of tree service, planning of escape routes and backyard physics, we decided to give it a go. The hardest/scariest part for me was climbing up 25' or so to get the rigging on the dead tree. I was shaking in fear while holding the ladder. Lol. He did the climbing. Seems someone else being up in the air elicits the same fear of heights response in me as if I were up there. Once the rigging was up, the chain block made short work of this leaning 60 foot oak, pulling it straight in no time. I knew at that point it wasn't going toward the house. From there we tied it off to the side and he set out to notching it. We had a short discussion about the way it would react with three different pulling forces on it. The way it wants to fall, the rigging pulling it up and the rope I'm going to be pulling on. Escape routes were planned, the saw starts and in no time he yells "PULL". I can tell you that standing under a falling oak is way less scary than climbing it. As the tree began to fall I stepped to the side and it slammed to the ground not 10' from where I was standing. Exhilarating!!! 

I'm so glad it's down, the worst thoughts I had, were interestingly enough, that I was gonna have to waste the entire weekend making phone calls and waiting for tree service guys. Being held hostage made me actually consider just letting it fall on the house. I hate that shit!! 

Thanks to my friend Dave for his backwoods experience and daring. 

I owe you one. 

Now we can go ride bikes. -M

Whole 30. Day 10.

The urge to quit the whole 30 is high now. I've been told that days 10 thru 14 are the hardest. It's true. Grumpy as hell. Craving all kinds of stuff. Only knowing that eating or drinking those things will lead to regret. I've broken protocol and been sneaking peeks at the scale. Whole 30 says "no weighing yourself". My pants seem looser but I've not lost much at all. That's a bummer. Riding the bike yesterday was like, umm, kind of like I've never raced a bike a day in my life. Legs wouldn't spin. Legs wouldn't mash. Hurt to stand. Hurt to sit. You get the picture.

 To add to the grump factor, I was walking the dog and noticed a tree leaning toward the house. It's in my yard and dead. It's beyond calling anyone. Imminent doom!  I can't tell if it's gonna slam, graze or miss completely. It's gonna come down today. High winds and rain forecasted. The only consolation is its tall and very skinny. We'll see, I guess. -M

All bikes can be fun at different times, I suppose.

Everytime I start thinking the whole 30 is easy it turns around and kicks me in the nuts. Saturday I felt great on the bike. Hammering up the climbs. Maybe like mid season fitness almost. At least it felt it. Sunday was met with a complete lack of enthusiasm to even ride and a really heavy feeling in the legs when I did. I managed to get a test lap out on the 34:19 but nothing more. Another 1h 11m time. Is no equipment change on the bike I make gonna make a difference? Seems only the effort level to pull the same time changes. Hence the age old ss problem. "You can only go so slow, but you can only go so fast too".  

The last few weeks on the single speed has been fun but just like mid summer I'm starting to doubt that it's a viable race machine for me. 

My buddy Gordon says that, particularly at our age, doing a stage race (let alone two) on a ss is crazy. I'm really starting to believe that. If you look at the times of the ssers and compare them to the other classes, they're not even close at stage racing. Surely not every sser can be a drunken fool at these races? I know I can compete in a one day event but the day to day grind? My thoughts are, the guys in the geared classes just recover faster. Leaving them fresher for tomorrow. Stage racing is tough enough. Why make it tougher? 

So what do I do? I'm registered in 40+ at pisgah stage race. I'll stick with gears for that, reassess, regroup and think about TSE. Maybe race ss at the xc stuff? Or maybe the ss is just something that I'm holding onto. Something that defined me in the past. Made me what I am but needs to be let go. Am I no longer a singlespeed racer? Am I just a mountain bike racer? Does it really matter? -M

Vegetable juice???

My whole 30 is going well. Today will be the seventh day. Yesterday marked the first day I did a hard ride. Just a couple hours at Stewart state forest with my buddy James. 

 Because you can't have any sugar on the whole 30 I purchased organic apple juice, organic vegetable juice and a few coconut Lara bars. To ride with!! James just shook his head. I put a pinch of salt in the bottom of each bottle and cut the juices 50/50 with water. To make a long story short, I felt great. I was able to go pretty deep. It almost felt like peak mid season fitness. Everyone talks about how bad they feel the first 2weeks. Aside from being tired (mostly at night when I should be) I've not experienced much of this. I've been a bit tingly and few days in I had a rough patch with some back pain but other than that it's been good. I look forward to this "tigers blood" phase they say hits at about 2 weeks. 

Now the bad news. 

Jocelyn and I received news the other day that our team, Toasted Head racing is folding. Yep, remember the anti-Facebook rant? Now I need it. Awkward!!

 Next year I'm registered at pisgah stage race as well as TSE. My secondary goals were gonna be local xc to prime myself for those events. Local xc doesn't exactly make you attractive to teams. At least the teams I've considered. I don't know if I want to spend the year doing nue's and traveling the country again. Those are the teams I have connections with. We've talked about maybe starting our own thing. That could be exciting. It is a bit late but if we act quick it could work. We certainly have the connections to make it happen. I don't know. All seems stupid sometimes. -M

Day 5. Whole 30.

I'd like to tell you that the whole 30 has been tough so far but the fact is it hasn't. Maybe if my normal diet consisted of fast food and cereal it would, but I'm pretty much a meat and potato guy anyway. I'm used to cooking breakfast before work. No adjustment there. The thing I thought I miss the most (beer) hasn't really even crossed my mind this week. I've been going to bed earlier. Mostly just to take advantage of the extra sleep. As a matter of fact, I woke this morning half hour before the alarm. Bright eyed and bushy tailed. I'm not riding much now anyway and it rained quite a bit this week so I've not felt the dreaded bonk from the carbohydrate depletion. 

Thursday was the best day this week (day 4). I felt great. Today my energy is high but the back pain is lingering. Tapering my optimism a bit. I was kind of hoping for a great metamorphosis but maybe it's not to be. Jocelyn tells me "the first two weeks are miserable". I can't say that, but I haven't experienced any euphoria either. 

She's doing a whole 30 now too. We're doing it together so the added pressure to not fail is there. I'm committed. I've seen her accomplish amazing things following this program. I'm hoping it helps me too. 

Looks like I'm going for a couple longer/harder rides this weekend. I'm told that pineapple juice or apple juice (unsweetened and organic) is allowed. As well as figs, dates or Lara bars for fueling. Gotta hit the store and stock up. 

Excited to see how I'll feel. -M

Rigid fork vs suspension fork findings.

The last few weeks I've been doing some testing of different setups on my bike. Ive chosen a local loop at Ramapo Mt. for this testing. It has a good mix of everything you'll find in a race. Long fire road climb. Techy downhills. Techy single track and even some jeep road double track. The loop is just over 10miles and I hold the Kom at 1:08:58. On a 27.5 rigid ss with a 34:20. 

Tested the suspension fork yesterday on this test loop. I can't help but feel like it just eats up a percentage of the pedal stroke. It's almost like the bike has to "load up" before moving forward. This is most obvious when standing. As any single speeder will tell you, you're standing a lot! I was working the lockout too. Clicking it on every uphill and opening it up on flats and downs. The effort for this test felt harder than previous tests. The conditions were basically the same. 

Just a few observations from my rigid vs. sus tests. 

(1) instead of being aggressive, I tend to stay on the seat and let the tech "come to me". This leads to slower trail riding overall. 

(2) on the fork, I can be more aggressive on the downhills but it's a effort to do so. Not allowing proper recovery for next climb. 

(3) there were some steep pitches that I just breeze up on the rigid that I actually had to get off and walk. I attribute this to not being able to use proper body english to maintain momentum. 

(4) bike really seams vague and washy in the corners. 

(5) I was pretty sloppy in the tech. Making many mistakes. Probably because I could get away with it on the forgiving sus fork. 

My strava times were telling. I was 1m slower than my Kom even though I felt faster and with a higher heart rate than all other attempts. In the middle of the loop I was sure I was on record pace. All of the downhill segments I was faster on but only marginally. All of the uphill segments I was slower and I seemed to lose even more time uphill as the ride went on. Losing 48sec on the final 9min climb. 

What does this all mean? I think I'm gonna be running a rigid for at least the xc racing this year. Obviously in the longer stuff the comfort factor will come into play but seconds are seconds and on a single you only have one game against the gearies. That's the ability to out climb them.

-M

Next up, 27.5 vs 29 rigid testing...

Rambling

My bike seems to have permanent residence in the back of the Impreza. A blanket thrown over it to keep any passer by from getting too curious. My car also resembles what I would imagine it would look like if I were living in it. The last few weeks I've been working a lot so little things like keeping the car tidy have been ignored. I had planned on riding my bike yesterday but when I got out of work at 1pm it was raining so that didn't happen. Same plan today. Although it's still raining now. 

The whole 30 is going well. Been sleeping a lot. The time change has helped with that also. Last night I was in bed at 7:30. I've not had much trouble with the food on the whole 30. It's pretty much the way I strive to eat anyway. Minus the occasional fuck up. The big thing is the lack of beer. Quite frankly, that hasn't been an issue yet. It'll be a bit strange swapping sugary Gatorade for coconut water but I'm gonna keep my rides short for now to avoid the dreaded bonk. 

My lower back is angry this morning. Probably from laying in bed so much yesterday. Or maybe the layoff since Sunday? Or maybe the weather? I did put the suspension fork on the bike. My rigid experiment seems to get shorter and shorter each year. I know it's faster but the beating seems stupid now. I remember doing 20+ hour weeks on a rigid. Those days are gone. I like not having tingling in my fingers and it's just too much on the upper back. 

As I write the sky looks like it's clearing. I'm getting excited knowing in a few hours I'll be on the trail. Coconut water, don't fail me now!! -M

Day 1. Whole 30

Woke up knowing I need to change. Another sleepless night led to this decision. 176 lbs on the scale is eye opening enough. 

First thing in the morning I decided I was gonna do a whole 30. Other recent attempts at "cleaning up my diet" have failed. Too loose for me. I'm better with structure. Dumped out all three beers that remained in the fridge and trashed the remaining granola. The granola has been giving me the shits anyway. In the last few years I've begun to realize that I'm some sort of oat intolerant. Doesn't keep me from trying though. 

The beer. Uggh!!!

Beer has been a part of my life almost every day since I turned 21. It's a rite of passage for me. End of the day activity. Also a bad habit. I once did 5 years without any beer at all. It started as a competition between a buddy and I. Who could go the longest... I won. 

The first few years of racing without beer I had hit a level that was truly amazing for me. Then one day I woke and thought "what's the point?" 

I actually amaze myself that I can hit such a high level racing, all the while consuming 3 to 4 beers a night. Hell, I've won quite a few races hung over. On the flip side, I've had quite a few fails also. 

I'm hoping the whole 30 can help me reset. This is what it claims to do. I realize (and I'm warned) that there are rough days ahead. I'm ready. -M

So much has changed, so much has stayed the same.

 

I've bailed off of Facebook. I found I was spending way too much time on nothing positive. Either getting jealous because someone is doing something I'm not or getting angry at someone I hardly know just wasn't working for me anymore. It's been a few months and I can honestly say, I hardly miss it. 

I am, however going to attempt to resurrect the old blog. Only this time it's not gonna be a race post only blog. I'm hoping to use it as a journal for my 2016 race season. Not the same old race reports but a journey into the struggles and sacrifice that it takes to be competitive at high level xc mtb racing after 40. 

As I write this I'm on day one of a whole thirty. As well as in the middle of some (somewhat) scientific testing on the single speed. 

My fitness is nowhere near race levels and my alcohol consumption and diet has been poor for a while now. I'm at 176lbs. That's about 9lbs over my race weight. Not only that but it takes a real effort to feel excited about going hard on the bike. My coach and I will start training in December and I'd like to be well into creating good habits by then. At the same time getting rid of the bad ones. 

In an attempt to do this I'll be doing a daily blog post. Mostly just to keep my thoughts in order. -M

Gone Squatchin!!!!

Squatch ride: Any ride that has a high chance of completely getting lost on unfamiliar trails due to the exploratory nature of the ride. These trails may and often include sections of hike-a-bike, pipeline, swamps and many other potential pitfalls. Heart rate monitors and power taps are swapped for extensive mapping programs and security flares... Leave the flimsy race tires at home. Durability is paramount because a breakdown when your lost can leave you stranded on the mountain overnight or worse. A high level of fitness is not a prerequisite but helps at hour 5 with fading daylight and little idea where you are. These rides are not for everyone but for the chosen few eventual salvation awaits...-M

Do you know what time it is? It's 6:50 my friend....

I've not been blogging much, or using facebook for that matter either. It's not that I'm in hiding, or retired from racing, or what ever you may imagine. It's I've just had not much of anything to say. Or at least anything you would want to know about. Until now.....

34x19 (29) - 34x18 (650b)
Guess what one is faster?

Now many of you will say "oh I've heard this before" but I'm going to say something controversial.

I hate 29ers!!!

Actually it's a love-hate thing.
I love the idea of being able to roll over things more comfortably but I hate the sluggish handling. I hate the extremely flimsy tires and the ever increasing flimsy components to make the 29er a competitive weight. At what point did a 21lb bike become a porker? I hate my handlebars being even with my saddle. Even with a negative stem and a flat bar. I don't even like the way the 29er looks in the medium size I ride.

I really HATE the low bottom bracket!!!!!

Combined with a stretched out wheelbase a 11.8 in bb becomes nearly unridable in technical terrain. That is if you want to pedal anything that resembles a circle. Yeah, I know, "You get used to it". I don't want to get used to it. If I have to make adjustments to ride well, whats gonna happen when I'm tired? I'll probably run into something I shouldn't, puncturing one of those 535 gram paper thin tires. Or worse, I'll strike a pedal and be thrown. The bike should feel instinctive. It has nerves in it. It should be a extension of your body. It shouldn't require you to jack the cranks and pedal to get the front wheel over a 6inch log.
Okay, I'm exaggerating, maybe it's a 8in log.

I don't want this to be a negative post. I'm working hard at seeing the positive side of things lately. So here you go.

If you're over 6ft.... You may like a 29er.

I have many friends that are tall and they look really normal on those bikes. I actually don't know how someone who is 6'4" rode a mountain bike 10 years ago, before the 29er craze.....

I'm 5'10", on a good day.....

Now I'm gonna tell you something that I'm not proud of.

In the fall I started to mess around with a 650b. I loved it as a trail bike. The higher BB and short wheelbase was great on my local trails (Ringwood and Wawayanda). I was clearing stuff I've never cleared on any bike and riding fast. Ultimately my head got the best of me and I decided I needed a 29er to keep up with the big boys in the race game. I may have a year or two of this racing shit left in me so I purchased a 29er frame in January and built it up just in time to take it to Tucson for a 10day training camp at casa-de-mom. That trip went well. I got some crazy hours in on my timed loops in Southern Arizona and enjoyed the bike. It was fine.
Not blow your doors off fine. Just fine. This was to be my race bike.

Until I came back here a few days ago.

I brought the 650 to Tucson this time. I figured what the hell. I plan on riding it occasionally anyway, we're still a way off from race season. Riding a different bike couldn't hurt.

Holy difference Batman!!!

I'm now bouncing off stuff and hitting lines that were a passing thought on the 29er. I'm having a ball. The bike corners well too. Dare I say, at least as good as the 29er. Po Po to you and your contact patch.

"I can climb about the same but the descending and my single track skills seem to come so much easier. I'm riding faster, with the same effort."

I rode at South Mountain (Phoenix) on Saturday and 650b was amazing. I made shit that I never thought I would. I always try to clear everything but often have to bail midway. I was riding up (and down) stuff way above my pay grade.
To confirm or debunk my good feelings, I went to ride the SSUSA course from 2010 (I did on 29er in Jan too). This course starts with a 9mile dirt road climb up Redington Rd. and hits High Chiva, sections of the Arizona trail and finishes up on the super technical La Milagrosa trail. 48miles and 7500ft vertical. I ride from home so it adds about 20 more miles too.

The verdict is....I was 25min faster than my 29er jaunts just a month ago and in striking distance of my race time in 2010. I put no extra effort in and even got turned around at one point so I lost a few minutes there. I was just able to flow so much better. I noticed I was off the brakes much more and was able to ride drops and roll offs that I never could on a 29er or even the full suspension I had out here last year. How is this super high bottom bracketed bike so stable but delightfully twitchy at the same time? I have no frigging clue. I will tell you though.

I never hit my cranks.... Not once....And

I think I wasted a bunch of coin on a 29er!!!



Next time..... I'll review the Voodoo Bokor 650B I'm riding now. -M

Make Lemonade!!!!

It's been a great winter thus far. I'm back riding my single speed and having a great time doing it. I seem to have wonderful people around me who are interested in doing the same. The days are ticking by and dare I say the sub 20deg temps don't even seem that bad. I'm not even in a rush to race this year, probably because it's been so much fun training again.

So what has changed????

Only my mindset... I'm not thinking about training for racing now. I'm training to be healthy and athletic. Happy and fast seems to be following close behind. I know I'll be fast because of what I've been doing, and if I'm not, than so be it. This season I'm not committing to sponsors or any series or anything else. I'm committed to having fun! I'm committing to being in the best shape I can possibly be in! I'm really looking forward to enjoing it. It's not a job and it shouldn't be a huge struggle to ride. Who wants to win 10 races and be miserable to place 2nd somewhere? A total failure!! I've been there....

 I don't follow Facebook anymore. Never been a big fan of Strava either. Don't care much to see if you're doing less, or more. Either way it could potentially bum me out. I'm doing what I'm capable of, and if it's not enough than so be it. I don't watch the weather either. I have all the tools to get a great workout no matter what happens in the world. I will use them to the best of my ability.

 In other words.. "When given lemons, I'm gonna make lemonade"     -M

Choosing your battles...

Whats the chance these will still look good come April?

I've gone and registered for  the Cohutta 100 again.
After last year, I swore this race off. A definite no!!!
I even have stated that I'm not doing any 100's this year.

So what made me change my mind?

Cycling Dirt.

I started to watch the videos of the interviews from last years races and the memories of pain went away. Afterward I was left with only accomplishments. True, I didn't see all the hundreds thru. I bailed on the W101 and everything after it. I burned out. I guess that happens sometimes, but what I'm left with is a hunger to go back. I miss the camaraderie. I miss the 80 miles of pleasantries and 20 miles of cut throat all the hell out racing. I miss the sprint for the line at mile 99.9. I miss the hugs and the crying.

I've been riding my single speed again and loving it. I don't feel very fast but I've been having no trouble logging heavy hours. This made the decision to do Cohutta again easy. How could I not go back? That course handed me my ass last year. I can tell you one thing for shit sure. I'm gonna enjoy it this time.
I'm not saying I'm doing all 100's. Just Cohutta. For now.

I've also made the decision not to race every single weekend this summer like I've done before. I'm looking at every other. This gives me some time to work on my fitness and hopefully have a better summer and fall. I tend to get into a race and recover mode when I do almost no training at all and the fitness suffers. Plus I think I'll look forward to the races more. I'm gonna be missing some races because of this. I'm okay with that. So maybe 15 really good races instead of 25 or so.

I plan on XC Nat's at Bear Creek too. Gonna race the SS there too. Sounds like a plan??? -M



Rigid baby!!!

Just a couple random thoughts...

Cheap imitation: Not cool!!!



Way tasty after a long ride!!!





Recent addition to the quiver!!!



Gonna hit some of these, Super stoked!!!

Goal is to hit this level again, Or better???

I love my bike!!!!

It feels so good. The handling is telepathic. It's not a piece of inanimate metal and carbon. It's a living thing. I can feel the frame flex. The tires have nerves in them...

It's nice to try something new and have it work for a change. There have been many failures. Some came highly recommended. Some were complete disasters that I'd rather not mention.



Lemmus lemmus



You see, a bike is a personal thing. What I think is good you may find unridable. One of the most popular bikes on the market today, I wouldn't ride it if you gave it to me.

Try something new, You may get lucky. Or maybe not...

Don't be a lemming!!!



I could tell you what bike I'm riding, but I won't...

Only that I'm loving it to death...

Today I rode my bike

This morning I had a plan.

I've been dreaming of this for a while.

To get on my bike and do a real training ride....

I was successful.....

I'm going to do it again tomorrow. and the next day, and the next.

I'm loving it....

It's the time of year.....  

See you out there  -M

Reflection and Rebuilding....

Now that I am officially out of the game and have pretty much been forgotten.
I feel like making a comeback....
I've learned a lot in the last two years. Strengths, weaknesses, what works (and doesn't work) How to do it, how not to do it. I won't bore you with the details.
My big mistake was not realizing how special of a thing I had, when I had it. Hindsight is 20/20...LOL

When I set out, I had no delusions of grandeur, just to get in the best shape I could with the body god gave me. Somewhere along the line, It all got out of hand.
I think that it's pretty clear the direction I need to head in now....

The bottom line is: It's just riding a fucking bike!!!!

Hurt and Burnt

Have you ever broken up with someone only to get back together with them a few months later? At first it's all great and maybe even better then it was before. Sex is amazing and you can't seem to remember why you broke up in the first place....Only one day it comes to you? "Oh! I remember why we broke up"



I'm not quite sure if my HR is 189bpm because of the dificulty of the race or the fear factor?



That's what I'm going through with the single speed, and more specifically the 29er.

Now I know I'm gonna get a lot of negative comments about this post. 29ers are the best thing since sliced bread, I'm told. And if it's said on the Internet forums, it must be true. I too believe, in certain situations a 29er and definitely a single speed can be the quickest option.

But......

I'm now hurt, Again...And I'm blaming the fucking 29er!!!!!

At Fair Hill, while grunting up a roller. I hit my pedal on a small stump. This sent me catapulting through the air and shoulder first into a small tree. Even small trees don't give much when you run into them. At first I thought it was no big deal and the pain was just a bruise but as the days went on I realized I either broke a rib or strained the cartilage holding the rib to my spine. This is not the first time for this injury.

 I have a third degree separated shoulder from a crash years ago. My collar bone is no longer attached to my shoulder blade. When I fall on my shoulder now, the ribs take the brunt of the force....Not fun....

Getting back to the 29er Single Speed...

(1) I've not crashed all season on a 26er (8 months). In one month I've been thrown 3 times, with countless close calls on 29er. WTF??? with the bottom bracket height Mr. Bike Industry?

(2) I actually think I'm slower in xc on a ss. Mostly due to the start speeds. This is not true for endurance though where the pacing of the single speed is needed.

(3) Unless I awake on Saturday with some Pat Roberts type "You Are Healed!!" miracle, I'm gonna be pulling out of the Wilderness 101. Sucks!!! 2 years in a row I've donated money and not done this race.

On the plus side...

I've becoming reacquainted with my road bike. Doing a couple weekday crits and even registered for the Tour of the Catskills (3 day stage race).

My mtb season was scheduled to end soon anyway and it kind of sucks that just when I was hitting my stride I get hurt but thanks to the road bike I'll be using my fitness in another way. Maybe getting something I've been missing in my fitness too? Wanna sprint???