Ha ha Mother Nature

Sunday I made plans to have my son watched so I could ride.  All week I have been staring at the woods.  Getting the Fly into the woods has been an itch I have really been wanting to scratch.


Yes the trails have been clear for about two weeks.  The Fly was set up for Barry-Roubaix though, and I was committed to training for that.  As I wrote about a couple of days ago, that training paid off.  With BR over it is time.


Earlier in the week I put the 32T ring on.  Almost time.  I mounted a set of Bontrager 29-2 tires that were sent to me to try.  Thank you Trek.  I rode around my yard, doing wheelies, bunny hopping, and getting excited.

http://bontrager.com/model/08763

Wednesday came.  Sunny skies, warmish temps (above freezing).  Snow with little to no accumulation in the forecast.  Alright, the trails will be wet.  It is Spring after all.


While at work Wednesday evening snow started to fall.  Little tiny flakes very light.  The flakes got bigger.  The snow came down harder.  Heavy wet snow.  Near white out conditions.  It stuck.  It accumulated.  It is very white outside.  Thanks Mamma N.  Looks like the Fly's tires will not touch dirt yet again.


Once again I will be out riding in the snow.  Oh well, at least I get to ride.


Also the long term forecast is stating that the weather Sunday should be good for Sunday.  As stated yesterday, crits here I come.

Old guy Roadie for a month or so

April is almost here.  This year April means two things to me.  

First: 
I am moving up an age bracket.  I turn 30 this month.  The big 3-0 has no real mental effect on me other than now racing in the "Masters" class.  Yes the word "master" has many meanings. 
The one the applies here is "an artist, performer, or player of consummate skill".


I started racing young.  As a Junior I always thought of people in the Masters class as the "old guys".  No I am there and am seeing things from the other side of the fence.  Age is but a number.
On the other hand the Masters class tends to be the fastest.  Truly players of consummate skill.




Second:
The only races that are a 100% yes for April are criteriums.  One every Sunday in April except Easter.  Yes I will be a roadie for the month.  The catch is that I do not own a road bike.  I do have a single speed cyclocross bike.  Last year that bike was used in these training crits.  This year I will be racing in the A race.  I want gears to contend.


Yes I am breaking my self imposed vow of not needing to ride gears.  It will be seventeen months without shifty bits.  The thing I told people when they asked me why I was going solely single speed was that it will make me a stronger rider when I do get back on a geared bike.


Well Sunday will be the litmus test of my whole SS vow.

Not owning a bike, I am borrowing on.  A very kind person has four road bikes that will fit me.  One is illegal for sanctioned events, one is a sweet ti bike, one is a super racy carbon bike, and one is a relic.


For the big Pittsburgh race I will choose the carbon bike. It also happens to be a Trek which fits nicely with my MTB sponsor.  For the other local training races, me being me, I am choosing to race the relic.  Downtube shifters, biopace, single pivot brakes, quill stem.  I am choosing this bike simply because I know I will be competitive no matter which bike I ride, and I love causing a shock factor.  Oh ya, it is also a Trek.


Does this mean my poor Fly will be ignored and I will hang up my dark Trek kit for a flamboyant Powder Blue kit.  No.  It just means that on the weekends  will be racing skinnies.  That is the only time I will be touching a road bike.  All other rides will be on the Fly in the woods.


I am a mountain biker with mud in my veins after all.

First race, Fist podium

Barry-Roubaix is done.  Thank goodness.  The woods have been calling to me for a couple of weeks, but the bike was in BR mode with tall gearing and CX slicks.  Today it goes into full dirt mode.


The race.  Wow!  I was told it was rolling with one decent climb.  I would consider three climbs to be of note on a single speed, and there were hardly any flat stretches.  Was I really racing in central Michigan?

At the end of the day I had a third place finish in the 35 mile single speed class.  This was the largest single speed race I have done to date with 46 racers.  Overall in the 35 mile race I placed 18th out of 513.  Very happy with that.


Cold. Cold. Cold.  18 degree start temps.


The race was supposed to have a several mile neutral rollout.  Wrong.  As soon as we were out of the start/finish chute, the hammer was dropped.  I found myself near the front.  Not where I wanted to be.  I was planning on sitting in today.  Oh, well.  We quickly caught the back of the second wave (started in the third wave) and things got interesting.  Fast riders mixed with slow, experienced with weavers.  


About 4.5 miles int the race the course turns left onto a road of sorts.  The promoters refer to this section as "double track" not a road.  We got mixed up with a group of slower riders right at the turn and I got blocked causing me to slow to a near stop.  The course pitches up into a fairly steep, very loose, rocky, limb.  Not the ideal climb to be starting up from a near stop on a tall geared single speed with non knobby tires.  I lost contact with four other single speed riders, who with me made the top five.  


I rode stupid for a while trying to bridge the gap to the group that had the other single speeders.  Eventually the group behind me caught up and I sat in with them.  Working with them my brain went into "roadie mode".  At least as much as it can.  On the few flats and the long gradual downs I sat in and drafted.  The climbs were mine, pulling the group up.  The pace was good and we fluctuated between eight to fifteen riders as we dropped and caught people.  By mile eighteen I had overtaken two of the four single speed riders.  Third.  They told me the other two were with a good sized group moving well.  


Around mile twenty is a steep kicker.  I attacked.  When I crested a quick look revealed of the twelve we started with, only three remained.  We worked together and gathered a group of sixteen.  Mile twenty-eight brought pavement.  The last haul to the finish.  Mile twenty-nine brought another decent climb.  Just shy of a mile this time.  Again I attacked.  Those that ride with me know how it went.  As others were down shifting to spin, I stood up and cranked my one gear.  Sixteen to five.  That five pushed hard to the finish.  We sprinted to the line.  I was half a wheel behind the first of our group.  One more gear and I would have had him.  Our finish times are listed the same.  Great way to finish.

Next year I know what to expect.


First race on the Fly racing for Trek, first podium finish for the year.  Great way to start.  My confidence and moral are sky high.

Stiff, Supporting, Supple

Well it's been a little since my last post.  I fully intended to do posts daily, or every other day at the least.  Life happens.  I will try to be more regular from here on.


As I sit here typing on this beautiful cold sunny day I am thinking, "Why am I inside? I should be out riding."  My answer to myself is that I am racing the Barry-Roubaix on Saturday.  I am opting to rest my legs.  I have been resting all week.  For once I am listening to my body.  I need rest.

Barry-Roubaix

Training for B-R has gone very well.  These feet will be standing on the top podium spot for the 35 mile SS category.  Very happy feet I might add thanks to my new Bontrager RXL mountain shoes.


I thought my old Specialized BG Pro shoes were comfy.  They are nothing to the Bonti's.  From the moment I put them my feet thanked me.  Very similar feel to my old Sidi Dominator 2's.  The difference between the Sidi's and the Bonti's are stiffness.  The RXL's have some stiff soles.  I believe the shoe is the same as the road version, just some tread glued to the soles and no three hole pattern for road cleats.  The uppers are supporting yet supple.

Bontrager RXL Mountain

Back to B-R.  The forecast looks cold.  High around 30, low the night before in the single digits.  That is fine by me.  I always seem to ride better in extreme conditions.  I treat it just like any other day.  I am looking forward to some ice on the course.  That will let me put my MTB skills to use.  I treat every surface as fresh blacktop.  You think "ICE" and your body tenses.  If you ride alert, you will be ready to react.  The plan is to still run the slick CX tires.


Monday will bring a full race report.


I want to give a shout out to my Father who is graciously driving six hours through the night to get me to the race.  Thanks for the support Dad.

18 pound what???

I have never been much of a weight weenie.  The parts I have had on my bikes over the years were of the light enough but functional variety.  This has all changed.  After I got the phone call saying that I was selected to ride for the Trek Mountain Co-op the wheels started turning.  I have never owned a carbon bike.   Hmmm, how light could a rigid all carbon MTB end up being?  Enter the Superfly SS from Trek(Fisher).

The whole build centers around an amazing frame.  2010 was my first time riding 29" wheels.  First ride was at Raystown Lake during Dirt Rag's Dirtfest.  The bike was delivered the day before I left, giving me very little time to get it together and fitted.  That first ride had me hooked.  No turning back now.  The way the larger wheels feel glued to the ground, roll over obstacles, and smooth out the tail is something that needs to be experienced.  This love was all on a bike from a competitor of my current sponsor.  After riding the Fly all bets are off.  Fisher truly has this 29er thing down.  Where the other bike felt good, the Fly feels natural.

With that said I can't wait for the snow to melt.  The mud is calling to me.  I dream of riding in it every night.

May is when my MTB season really heats up.  One dirt race in April with a crit the next day.  I do like me some crits.  April is full of them here in Erie.  Nothing like a little nervouse energy for the pack to feed on.  An hour of racing in a circle does wonders for fitness.

The Fly when first weighed was 18lbs 12oz.  That was with tubes, mud tires, brakes off my old bike, old candy pedals, and a steel fork.  I now have CX slicks on it run tubeless (for Barry-Roubaix), Formula R1's, and the same steel fork.  Niner had a machine break and it looks like it will be May before I can install that.  Oh well.  Final light bit will be Eggbeater 11's for and est weight somewhere around 16lbs.  Racing here I come.  As I stated before,

The Podium an I are going to become good friends this year.

After I get some dirt miles on the Fly, I will give a full ride report.

Not much today

A little pick me up for those that need it.  I know that I do today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIjkW6iyXNo&feature=related

More bike related content tomorrow.

A Happy Ass; A Happy Rider

As promised yesterday here is the happy ass topic.

With a new bike comes many new parts.  I am going to review them one by one.  Today the choice part is Bontrager's Evoke RXL saddle. http://bontrager.com/model/08396  Never have I sat on a saddle that was as instantly comfortable as this one.  Never.  Several rides in and I have to think about comments because I simply don't think about what I am sitting on.  Not that I am ignoring the saddle, I just don't feel it there.  This is a good thing.  The only other saddle to give me this feeling (or not feeling) was the long gone Avocet O2Air.

All but one ride have been two hour road rides where you are seated most of the time.  Comfort until the end.  The woods ride I did with had lots of moving around due to the icy trails.  Not once did the saddle get in my way, or snag my shorts.  I have a new favorite.  Thank you Bontrager.


Had a great ride yesterday.  Temps near 40, sunny skies, slight wind.  36.6 miles.  It was nice to be joined by two others for half the ride.  A person can only take so much of riding alone.  Ever since I started riding a single speed something weird has happened.  I love climbing.  When riding pavement I plan some of the biggest and steepest hills.  Adding different ones each ride.  Perhaps it is the feeling of your muscles straining, or the speed maintained compared to spinning up in a low gear.  With that in mind I apologize to any that join me for a ride.  I am beginning to think that a good flogging is why people want to join me on a ride.  It's all good.  Riding is riding.  Still running the 44-17.  Thinking I might put an 18 on the rear for the race.  Dirt roads do have more resistance.  Weather will tell.  Dry or damp.


If you do join me for a ride please remember this;  I only have one gear.