Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Tree Houses are fun.
Single Speed Worlds 08, Napa, California
Sunday morning, race day… I found a comfortable place perched next to bacon and eggs with the Colorado Crew. It didn’t take me long to figure out what kinds of trouble I would find myself in. When YaYa told me his plan was to build a tree house, I figured that this was much to interesting to pass up. I already had a bit of an idea of what kinds of fun and adventure these folks were capable off, see Juts blog, re: freds well. Beams, ropes and later a platform were xtracycled up to the tree by Devon and YaYa. After a day of watching the race and eating far too little food, the party rocked in the trees until busted by the cops.
I went to the worlds to spectate and helped YaYa build a tree house.
Although the pictures can’t really show how unreal the dance party in the tree house was, at least you might get a bit of the idea.
SSWC 09 – Durango. Start planning the fun.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
California with Friends
Marin Headlands
So I made it to San Fransisco, as well as the Pisgah Works Band from NC and beyond. SSWC - The Single Speed Worlds are here in Napa, California. The party began with a reuniting of the band with Bruce and Justin arriving from the desert, on their two month tour of the west. After no sleep and many hours on the road, they met Robb and I at Annandale State Park for a good ole fashioned group mtb ride. Up and over the sandy rocky trails down into Santa Rosa, to the SyCip Headquarters. By the time we make it into Santa Rosa my knee is blowin up and I am riding with one leg here and there. Beer and tacos and good times.. but the ride back is not going to be fun, for someone like me with all of my complaints re: my knee. (Which, btw, is going to keep me from my frist 100 mile race... bummer dude. well anyway.) 
Whiny Jut and I manage to find a ride back to the car while Bruce and Robb head back to find a few hematomas along the way: 
Whiny Jut and I manage to find a ride back to the car while Bruce and Robb head back to find a few hematomas along the way: 
Here in this last picture is YaYa! who smashed his eye somewhere in the desert of
Nevada.In the middle of the desert is a bike shrine. I don't know if there is much I can say about this, mostly because I haven't been there. All I know is that I wish I had made it there, and I will hopefully make it there one day.
Thanks to Aunt Pam for hooking us all up. We are getting ready to head up to Napa to start the real Worlds party.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Night Train pic less report
how boring.. no pics.. for pics go here, I'm in disguise though.
ok.. here we go.. it all starts at ORAMM (see below).
Basically, after blazing past Ian on kistuma's decent, at the end of ORAMM, He asked me to be his 12 hr duo partner. Of course I was super game and started to talk lots of shit with my soon to be coworkers - Eric Krause and Chris Kqxjfast- Who were going to be our main competitors that we knew. We didn’t really know who else would be competing against us, but we were just out to beat them no mater where we stood in the "field". We got to the race and without even realizing it we were sizing up our small field. Kylie and Alex were going to be serious challengers. Little did we really know how true this was going to be…
The week before, legs of lead all week, never really put in any good efforts, was lazy, actually got depressed and realized it was because of a lack of riding, spun out on Friday for an hourish, ate pizza and watched ROAM from THE COLLECITVE (for the 10th time), passed out and woke up at 6 to ride to Fontana Village, to the NIGHT TRAIN.
Breakfast bagel pre 7 am.. what's open? Dunkin Doughnuts! awesome. One stop shop, gas for the almost 2 hr drive, food, bathroom, we're off! Set up shop.. What a crew! Biowheels and SUS suspension Experts were set up side by side right at the start finish line.. On the freekin’ line, we were pulling kids and dogs off the course all day. or not, or we were dodging them. You didn't need to be going fast through there anyway. One was supposed to DISMOUNT and walk the transition. It would be not very interesting but somewhat interesting, to see the percentage of people who walked through and who rode through. I once, only once, saw someone pick their bike up and walk it back and forth through the transition because they were so scolded?.. not too sure about this one. ANYWAY.
Our plan was for Ian to ride the first lap because he had more XC experience than I (with none)and then, for us to switch off each hour. Correct prediction: 1 hr laps (under 10 mile laps, under 3,000 ft of climbing.. Incorrect prediction: 6 laps each. I thought taking 2 laps at a time might be better considering my tendency towards endurance and the time saved in transitions but Ian didn’t want to do it that way, at all, so that was our plan and that was what we did, until the end when it all changed. Since Ian was going first, it would mean that I should do the last leg and that, well, ... didn't work out so well. I did 5 laps and Ian 7 as he took my last leg (he offered?!) so anyway... here is the race:
A Lemond start, running across the bikes (?!?) and off, up a stupid steep long section of trail... __lots of_ elevation over _a good few miles.. it was hard to warm up near the start because the terrain was so up and down, so it was close to a cold start each time for me, although I tried to ride in circles to stay warm. Either way it was always the hardest part of every lap... this first freekin part, Turkey Shoot? I think is its name. Where people usually go DOWN this trail, we went up. The first part presents you with the opportunity to go straight up or take a switch back. In my first 3 laps I rode up the straight up part, cutting people off on the 2nd and 3rd lap each time. And on the 4th and 5th I rode the other way, slower and ending in a hike-a-bike up the steepest section of the start where.. ugh.. if you don't have energy, you're kinda screwed.
Ian was off.. I was beginning my day of not knowing how much or when to fuel up, hang out, stretch, chat, warm up, mingle, sell Tee Shirts for Pisgah Works, loose sunglasses, find food, find water, find lights, loose lights, charge lights, find sunglasses, loose sunglasses.. want to drink beer, don't drink beer, use porta-john on the hill, talk shit, stand at the transition area waiting waiting waiting.. then I was OFF!
lap 1: At this point, we might have already realized that Eric and Chris were going to kick our collective asses. Either way, Ian came in before Alex (Kylie's partner) and I took off. Hey Park! Park, participating in the 6 hr solo class he was on his second lap and I was on my first. Good times chatting with Park up Turkey Shoot. We actually talked up this climb, that I nailed all of-only on my first lap, with Park, who was soon to be getting a flat tire. I loved the first decent.. actually.. I loved MOST of the rest of the course after that first (hardest) part of the race. You get to the top, quick switch back up and left and then down, down, flat, fast, little up, little down.. on to the CLIMB.. two track where you cross paths with the competition way in front or way in back of you. Decent Gravel Climb. On to switch back steepness for not very long. I was warned by teammate Matt Johnson to “save up” some for this last pitch to the top of the climb. Good Advice Matt. Seriously. It was on this last piece of steep switchback, that I first saw Kylie, and our RACE began. She is a freekin climber.. Kylie- last years, collegiate national champion.. *cough cough* *aahemm* anyway! She is working to catch me on this climb. I see her a switchback or two below me and I start racing. Awesome.. I’ve got to be more than halfway through my lap, and.. AND, the decent (I’m a pretty fast descender) is coming up. Sweet! I take my first run on this killer fast long rocky switchbacky decent.. I never saw Kylie on this lap.
Alex and Kylie’s plan I believe was as follows: Alex #1,2 Kylie #3,4,..and so on.Or maybe A#1, K#2, A#3,4, K#5,6, A#7,8, K#9,10, A#11,12. ?(which would mean more for Alex? huh) It started this way, or someway, but like Ian and I, their plan shifted too. So.. actually I am very confused at the moment as I reenact this in my head, which lap I was with whom.. maybe I can work that out later and edit this post but in the mean time. Don’t worry about it and just pretend it makes sense.
Lap #2 for me, #4 overall, I’m racin’ Alex, who.. if my poor memory serves me correctly he finished in front of Ian? On lap 3, and I never saw him, he finished in front of me.
So Kylie and Ian started the next lap, where Ian passed Kylie. Ian pulls in to the transition, me about to begin my 3rd lap and Ian tells me he just passed Kylie.. she’s right there! So I’m off, on my worst run. Ugh. The initially killer climb: my right knee starts aching, something that started the morning after ORAMM. I try to spin in as low a gear as possible on the climbs. And I ride… and start to wreck all over the place. I am slow and hesitant on the rocky decent and I realize this slowness is making it harder on me so I let off the brakes and the sudden switch of speed screws me and I’m down! Generally unharmed just freekin annoyed at myself to the point of loud cussing, I get back on the bike as quickly as possible. Later I whack my too wide handlebar on a tree... this just shouldn’t be happening.
I kept thinking she was right behind me and pushing myself wasn’t really working. She doesn’t catch me on the climb this time, but somewhere on the final updownupdown before the long finish, I am stopped at the top of a little steep spur, and she passes, I give her props and don’t really even try to catch her as I’m clearly fkd, bonking because I don’t know how to race a 12 hr. Now I do. But anyway.
In between lap 3 and 4. I eat! And take care of myself! Yeah. It helps. I love lap 4. I start lap 4 with Ian telling Kylie that Alex has had a flat and had been riding on it, and he had to give him I his pump. So Kylie is not going to rest this lap, she is going to ride with me. I ride hard but am not stressed about Kylie catching me. And she doesn’t (if my memory serves me correctly). This was where their schedule (1:1 then 2:2) got a little off. Anywho, I felt great and remembered that consuming calories most often equals feeling stronger and less tired. It’s amazing how that whole thing works. Food = energy. Wow.
During this lap Kylie still was making time on me and then Ian, maintained our lead and came in before Alex on the following lap when I took off on my 5th lap. I figured we were up from the whole flat tire thing and I’m cruzin. Jeremy, 2nd-place-12-hr-solo-biowheels-super-fast-dude, rides behind me for a while as I “pace him out”, he eventually passes me and then when we get to the gravel rd part of the longer climb, I pass him and I am a good numbera’ yards in front of him when I realize Kylie has caught him. I hear him giving her props. I look back confirming my suspicion and I start cursing loudly because this meant the race was back ON, and a flat tire wasn’t killing it. She blazes past me and says “you’ll catch me on the decent” and I knew… I just knew, there was no way at that pace with that much hill left I was going to catch her on the decent, especially considering I was already more cautious because of my generally weakened state. And as much as I can descend kinda fast, it doesn’t make up for her stellar climbing.
When I come in, not too far behind Kylie, Ian tells me in so many words: If I want him to do 7 laps I should bring him stuff. He was offering. And I was way freekin ready to accept an offer as such so I did. But. BUT I still couldn’t relax as I ran the whole idea, of me slackin and doing 5, Ian doing 7, by everyone. I should be ready to ride, i.e. not get too comfortable, read: not drink beer.
Another reason it was easy to have Ian do the last lap was because he was running faster laps. My rough memory remembers me with around 1 hr +/- 3 min lap times… Ian around 52-56 min. If we had a chance at winning he would ride it.
Another reason it was very hard to get the motivation to do 6 was that I was getting very cold, wrapped in a towel, ate real food finally, and Chris Ivory was in the house, so I wanted to take a load off my aching knees and throw down finally. Excitingly enough, Ian and Alex came in from this final to last run at the exact same time 8:50ish? 25 min before cut off time and Kylie’s ready to ride and goes. I am not ready to ride, Ian pulls in and asks me what’s up, I hand him food and water and he takes off after Kylie. He never sees her. I wait and wait and eventually Kylie pulls into the finish. We got third. And then Alex of Team Boner (Kylie's team) made sure I knew that we got third when he first saw me after Kylie pulled in... the competition we had was awesome! They deserved 2nd and I was happy we gave them a run for their money. Back and forth all day was killing us! But even after 2 flats they managed to pull it back every time. Super fast kids.
Meanwhile, out on the course, Ian ran out of food, then water, then light. It was pitch black andhe couldn’t see anything. A rider in contention for 2nd in the 4-person class rides by and Ian tries to catch his wheel but is bonking enough that he can’t hang and eventually Tom of team 411 of Knoxville, rolls up and hooks Ian up with his second light. As the story began to unfold, I started to feel pretty bad, but then didn’t really as an Epic, as much as some of us like to throw that word around, is hard to come by and Ian got to have an Epic ride out there and my slackerness was a part of that, and, AND he didn’t make me feel bad about it.
ok.. here we go.. it all starts at ORAMM (see below).
Basically, after blazing past Ian on kistuma's decent, at the end of ORAMM, He asked me to be his 12 hr duo partner. Of course I was super game and started to talk lots of shit with my soon to be coworkers - Eric Krause and Chris Kqxjfast- Who were going to be our main competitors that we knew. We didn’t really know who else would be competing against us, but we were just out to beat them no mater where we stood in the "field". We got to the race and without even realizing it we were sizing up our small field. Kylie and Alex were going to be serious challengers. Little did we really know how true this was going to be…
The week before, legs of lead all week, never really put in any good efforts, was lazy, actually got depressed and realized it was because of a lack of riding, spun out on Friday for an hourish, ate pizza and watched ROAM from THE COLLECITVE (for the 10th time), passed out and woke up at 6 to ride to Fontana Village, to the NIGHT TRAIN.
Breakfast bagel pre 7 am.. what's open? Dunkin Doughnuts! awesome. One stop shop, gas for the almost 2 hr drive, food, bathroom, we're off! Set up shop.. What a crew! Biowheels and SUS suspension Experts were set up side by side right at the start finish line.. On the freekin’ line, we were pulling kids and dogs off the course all day. or not, or we were dodging them. You didn't need to be going fast through there anyway. One was supposed to DISMOUNT and walk the transition. It would be not very interesting but somewhat interesting, to see the percentage of people who walked through and who rode through. I once, only once, saw someone pick their bike up and walk it back and forth through the transition because they were so scolded?.. not too sure about this one. ANYWAY.
Our plan was for Ian to ride the first lap because he had more XC experience than I (with none)and then, for us to switch off each hour. Correct prediction: 1 hr laps (under 10 mile laps, under 3,000 ft of climbing.. Incorrect prediction: 6 laps each. I thought taking 2 laps at a time might be better considering my tendency towards endurance and the time saved in transitions but Ian didn’t want to do it that way, at all, so that was our plan and that was what we did, until the end when it all changed. Since Ian was going first, it would mean that I should do the last leg and that, well, ... didn't work out so well. I did 5 laps and Ian 7 as he took my last leg (he offered?!) so anyway... here is the race:
A Lemond start, running across the bikes (?!?) and off, up a stupid steep long section of trail... __lots of_ elevation over _a good few miles.. it was hard to warm up near the start because the terrain was so up and down, so it was close to a cold start each time for me, although I tried to ride in circles to stay warm. Either way it was always the hardest part of every lap... this first freekin part, Turkey Shoot? I think is its name. Where people usually go DOWN this trail, we went up. The first part presents you with the opportunity to go straight up or take a switch back. In my first 3 laps I rode up the straight up part, cutting people off on the 2nd and 3rd lap each time. And on the 4th and 5th I rode the other way, slower and ending in a hike-a-bike up the steepest section of the start where.. ugh.. if you don't have energy, you're kinda screwed.
Ian was off.. I was beginning my day of not knowing how much or when to fuel up, hang out, stretch, chat, warm up, mingle, sell Tee Shirts for Pisgah Works, loose sunglasses, find food, find water, find lights, loose lights, charge lights, find sunglasses, loose sunglasses.. want to drink beer, don't drink beer, use porta-john on the hill, talk shit, stand at the transition area waiting waiting waiting.. then I was OFF!
lap 1: At this point, we might have already realized that Eric and Chris were going to kick our collective asses. Either way, Ian came in before Alex (Kylie's partner) and I took off. Hey Park! Park, participating in the 6 hr solo class he was on his second lap and I was on my first. Good times chatting with Park up Turkey Shoot. We actually talked up this climb, that I nailed all of-only on my first lap, with Park, who was soon to be getting a flat tire. I loved the first decent.. actually.. I loved MOST of the rest of the course after that first (hardest) part of the race. You get to the top, quick switch back up and left and then down, down, flat, fast, little up, little down.. on to the CLIMB.. two track where you cross paths with the competition way in front or way in back of you. Decent Gravel Climb. On to switch back steepness for not very long. I was warned by teammate Matt Johnson to “save up” some for this last pitch to the top of the climb. Good Advice Matt. Seriously. It was on this last piece of steep switchback, that I first saw Kylie, and our RACE began. She is a freekin climber.. Kylie- last years, collegiate national champion.. *cough cough* *aahemm* anyway! She is working to catch me on this climb. I see her a switchback or two below me and I start racing. Awesome.. I’ve got to be more than halfway through my lap, and.. AND, the decent (I’m a pretty fast descender) is coming up. Sweet! I take my first run on this killer fast long rocky switchbacky decent.. I never saw Kylie on this lap.
Alex and Kylie’s plan I believe was as follows: Alex #1,2 Kylie #3,4,..and so on.Or maybe A#1, K#2, A#3,4, K#5,6, A#7,8, K#9,10, A#11,12. ?(which would mean more for Alex? huh) It started this way, or someway, but like Ian and I, their plan shifted too. So.. actually I am very confused at the moment as I reenact this in my head, which lap I was with whom.. maybe I can work that out later and edit this post but in the mean time. Don’t worry about it and just pretend it makes sense.
Lap #2 for me, #4 overall, I’m racin’ Alex, who.. if my poor memory serves me correctly he finished in front of Ian? On lap 3, and I never saw him, he finished in front of me.
So Kylie and Ian started the next lap, where Ian passed Kylie. Ian pulls in to the transition, me about to begin my 3rd lap and Ian tells me he just passed Kylie.. she’s right there! So I’m off, on my worst run. Ugh. The initially killer climb: my right knee starts aching, something that started the morning after ORAMM. I try to spin in as low a gear as possible on the climbs. And I ride… and start to wreck all over the place. I am slow and hesitant on the rocky decent and I realize this slowness is making it harder on me so I let off the brakes and the sudden switch of speed screws me and I’m down! Generally unharmed just freekin annoyed at myself to the point of loud cussing, I get back on the bike as quickly as possible. Later I whack my too wide handlebar on a tree... this just shouldn’t be happening.
I kept thinking she was right behind me and pushing myself wasn’t really working. She doesn’t catch me on the climb this time, but somewhere on the final updownupdown before the long finish, I am stopped at the top of a little steep spur, and she passes, I give her props and don’t really even try to catch her as I’m clearly fkd, bonking because I don’t know how to race a 12 hr. Now I do. But anyway.
In between lap 3 and 4. I eat! And take care of myself! Yeah. It helps. I love lap 4. I start lap 4 with Ian telling Kylie that Alex has had a flat and had been riding on it, and he had to give him I his pump. So Kylie is not going to rest this lap, she is going to ride with me. I ride hard but am not stressed about Kylie catching me. And she doesn’t (if my memory serves me correctly). This was where their schedule (1:1 then 2:2) got a little off. Anywho, I felt great and remembered that consuming calories most often equals feeling stronger and less tired. It’s amazing how that whole thing works. Food = energy. Wow.
During this lap Kylie still was making time on me and then Ian, maintained our lead and came in before Alex on the following lap when I took off on my 5th lap. I figured we were up from the whole flat tire thing and I’m cruzin. Jeremy, 2nd-place-12-hr-solo-biowheels-super-fast-dude, rides behind me for a while as I “pace him out”, he eventually passes me and then when we get to the gravel rd part of the longer climb, I pass him and I am a good numbera’ yards in front of him when I realize Kylie has caught him. I hear him giving her props. I look back confirming my suspicion and I start cursing loudly because this meant the race was back ON, and a flat tire wasn’t killing it. She blazes past me and says “you’ll catch me on the decent” and I knew… I just knew, there was no way at that pace with that much hill left I was going to catch her on the decent, especially considering I was already more cautious because of my generally weakened state. And as much as I can descend kinda fast, it doesn’t make up for her stellar climbing.
When I come in, not too far behind Kylie, Ian tells me in so many words: If I want him to do 7 laps I should bring him stuff. He was offering. And I was way freekin ready to accept an offer as such so I did. But. BUT I still couldn’t relax as I ran the whole idea, of me slackin and doing 5, Ian doing 7, by everyone. I should be ready to ride, i.e. not get too comfortable, read: not drink beer.
Another reason it was easy to have Ian do the last lap was because he was running faster laps. My rough memory remembers me with around 1 hr +/- 3 min lap times… Ian around 52-56 min. If we had a chance at winning he would ride it.
Another reason it was very hard to get the motivation to do 6 was that I was getting very cold, wrapped in a towel, ate real food finally, and Chris Ivory was in the house, so I wanted to take a load off my aching knees and throw down finally. Excitingly enough, Ian and Alex came in from this final to last run at the exact same time 8:50ish? 25 min before cut off time and Kylie’s ready to ride and goes. I am not ready to ride, Ian pulls in and asks me what’s up, I hand him food and water and he takes off after Kylie. He never sees her. I wait and wait and eventually Kylie pulls into the finish. We got third. And then Alex of Team Boner (Kylie's team) made sure I knew that we got third when he first saw me after Kylie pulled in... the competition we had was awesome! They deserved 2nd and I was happy we gave them a run for their money. Back and forth all day was killing us! But even after 2 flats they managed to pull it back every time. Super fast kids.
Meanwhile, out on the course, Ian ran out of food, then water, then light. It was pitch black andhe couldn’t see anything. A rider in contention for 2nd in the 4-person class rides by and Ian tries to catch his wheel but is bonking enough that he can’t hang and eventually Tom of team 411 of Knoxville, rolls up and hooks Ian up with his second light. As the story began to unfold, I started to feel pretty bad, but then didn’t really as an Epic, as much as some of us like to throw that word around, is hard to come by and Ian got to have an Epic ride out there and my slackerness was a part of that, and, AND he didn’t make me feel bad about it.
What a hard freekin ride. I have never hurt more after a race. Thanks to Chanley- who I got a nice deep tissue massage from today, Matt Fucsco, CTR rider- who came on my last ‘shop ride’ this evening and told me all about his amazing adventures, and to Kylie, who I enjoyed a few beers with tonight as we talked racing n’ stuff, who I can’t wait to ride more with… So I can chase her up the hills and teach her something about going down on a bike.
-B Rob
Sunday, August 10, 2008
The Night Train
I'll be working on the full race report tomorrow, but for now I'll just say that: I'm not sure I've ever felt this rough after a race. I can't really bend my right knee very well (I need to ice it more), strained due to over exertion? maybe? I'm full and tired and ready for a serious night of sleepin' at the Crow's Nest.
Results: Ian and I came in 3rd in the duo class (2 "man" teams).. after a strong effort to beat Kylie and Alex, as we battled ALL DAY for 2nd place with them. It just didn't work, they are both strong and amazing and I was quite happy to be riding so close to them most of the day minus the pain of that closeness.. If only Alex had been prepared! and didn't get two flats we might have had a much different day.
Thanks to all of the Biowheels crew out there riding their asses off and helping me do so at the same time. Thanks to Chris Ivory who came and helped usher me into the after party and thanks espcially to Ian who took the extra lap and made the day not just fun and long, but EPIC in all respects as he sat in the woods, with a dead headlamp, out of water and energy waiting for help or death. I won't forget that I owe ya one.
Time to heal.
Results: Ian and I came in 3rd in the duo class (2 "man" teams).. after a strong effort to beat Kylie and Alex, as we battled ALL DAY for 2nd place with them. It just didn't work, they are both strong and amazing and I was quite happy to be riding so close to them most of the day minus the pain of that closeness.. If only Alex had been prepared! and didn't get two flats we might have had a much different day.
Thanks to all of the Biowheels crew out there riding their asses off and helping me do so at the same time. Thanks to Chris Ivory who came and helped usher me into the after party and thanks espcially to Ian who took the extra lap and made the day not just fun and long, but EPIC in all respects as he sat in the woods, with a dead headlamp, out of water and energy waiting for help or death. I won't forget that I owe ya one.
Time to heal.
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