Tomorrow is the big day

Tomorrow is it. The day has finally come. This afternoon I'll be pre-riding the course. After that I'm just gonna chill out and try and get a good night's rest.

I'm keeping this update short and sweet. My next update will be a complete race report.

TTFN

Dopers Suck!

I just heard that Canadian pro MTBer Chris Sheppard got pinched for doping. What possesses some athletes to want to win so bad that they'll take drugs to give them that edge?

Dopers Suck. Plain and simple.

6 days and counting

Race day is almost here. This is going to be quite the experience for me. I think I have a real shot at getting on the podium, but regardless this will be an awesome experience. Today was my last intense ride before the race. Pat, who is also racing next Sunday, was my riding partner for the day. He really pushed me too. I never fail to be amazed at how much faster/harder I ride whenI'm riding with someone...someone who is a strong rider. Pat pushed me for an hour of solid riding. I ended up with an average speed of 12mph, covering a distance of 12.2 miles. If I can do that, or very near it, then I'll have a race to be proud of...regardless of how I place.

Ohh, here's an update on the Stan's conversion. I found out that the tires do have different ride characteristics when they are tubeless, compared to tubed tires. I've been running the same pressure in these converted tires as I was running with the tubes(40psi). Last Thursday I noticed that in our dry conditions, hitting pine straw, etc. the back end was losing traction a lot. That never happened when I was using tubes. So I decided to drop the pressure in my tires. I'm now running 35psi front and rear, and I'm happy to report that the ride/handling is MUCH better. I think I've got the tires dialed in now, and everything is good to go. Being free from pinch flats, and thorn flats is quite refreshing.

Just over a week to go

Today I found out some more details on my race on the 18th. The course is 6.5miles, but we'll be doing 2 laps, for a grand total of 13.20miles. Looking at results from last year...the fella who won maintained an average of speed of 11.76mph. I started thinking that if I could shoot for an average of 11.5mph, I stand a good chance of getting on the podium.

I'll admit that after reading those race results I started getting some anxiety. So, this afternoon I got out on the trail, to hopefully dispel some of my anxiety. I can say that I do feel much better now. I'm gonna map out a 13.20mile course, but for today I did 8.83 miles and maintained an average of 12.3mph. My HR monitor showed an average HR of 165, max 181...so based on that, I had a little bit left in me that I could've used for an attack, or a final sprint. I really think that 11.5mph avg during the race is doable for me. Now I just have to make sure I can get enough time on the course to be comfortable enough with it to be able to squeeze every drop of speed out I can.

Creatures of the night

As I previously noted, I'm gonna be competing in a 12 hr race the end of October. In a 12hr race you're gonna do some night riding(which I've only done once before), so I'm gonna need some lights for the event. One of my teammates, Dave, loaned me some nice HID lights to try out. Riding at night is weird. Trails you thought you knew, become new trails.

What is Dave measuring?

Now I've got to dig up my own set of lights, and practice with them...because if I ride as lousy at the 12hr race as I did tonight-ouch!

Stan's NoTubes verdict: Part 2

This was a long time coming, I'll tell ya. I got back from my trip, and I was hesitant to do the conversion on the back tire after that first failed attempt. I was almost at the point where I was gonna leave the tube in for the race, then the decision was made for me...divine providence, if you will. I got a flat on Friday. So I thought, what the hell I'll go ahead and to the conversion, maybe I had learned enough to get it to seal up this time. Friday night I sealed up the tire, or at least started the process. Bottom line, I finally got it to seal Sunday afternoon. *sigh.

So, after much fussing, and pouting about the whole thing, I am running a total tubeless setup. My first foray into the woods with my new setup occurred this evening, and so far so good. I hope it continues to perform well...especially during that race. I don't want to be out of the running by a damn flat tire. Being bested by another rider is one thing, but having a mechanical do you in... that's wrong.
I'll give a more detailed report on them in a few weeks, maybe after the race. In the meantime, if you decide to use the Stan's kit don't be surprised if it takes you days to get the tire/s totally sealed, instead of the 30 min-1hr that is advertised.

Road rage

I went slumming yesterday... I logged some miles on the road.

Lovely, if not bland, blacktop.

What possessed me to head out onto the road? I did a HR test, and trying to do it on the trail would've been impossible. Here's the kicker though...6 miles later, and I didn't learn anything that I didn't already know.
I'm sure that riding on the road with a group can be fun, but riding by yourself...how do I put this? Umm, ohh yeah, it's...boring! That was the longest 6 miles I've ever ridden.

It's kinda tough trying to ride at speed and snap a picture.

On a side note, I have one more week of intensive training for my race, then it'll be time to taper and take it easy that last week. Ohh, I'm also signed up to compete as part of a team, in a local endurance race...the "12 Hours of Pinelog". It will be on 10/29. Should be fun.

Mehhh.

I rode today.

It was ass.

That's all I have to say about that.

Katrina and the waves

I came home from NC to a hurricane. Hurricane Katrina was a monster of a storm. While I certainly didn't wish this storm on anyone, I'm glad we didn't get it, especially after seeing the devastation over in Ms. and La.

I was surprised at the tidal surge we got though. Even the wind was worse than I was expecting. I can just imagine what it must've been like around the Biloxi/Gulfport region.

Here are a couple pics I took.

My backyard.

A park just down the road from where I live.

Hopefully my local trails won't have too many downed branches, so I can continue with my race preparations.

Real mountain biking

I just got back from North Carolina, and was fortunate enough to get some serious riding time in at Tsali. In three days I managed to ride all the trails...which is quite a feat considering my past luck in riding there.
Since I've only ridden Left Loop one other time, I had never taken the overlook loop. I rode to the overlook this time, and I'm glad I did!

Lake Fontana, from the Left Loop Overlook.

The overlook loop is not what you would call a beginner route, but the view is worth the price of admission. You are on a bluff that has to be every bit of 500ft above the lake. What a view!

On the whole, Left Loop is probably the hardest trail in the Tsali trail system. Don't let that deter you though, it's not to be missed.

The remains of an old homestead- Left Loop

Wonderful Tsali singletrack- Mouse Branch

While I thoroughly enjoyed Left loop, there was one dark spot on an otherwise grand ride. No, I didn't break any bones, no sprains, no bruises. It was a bee. I was stung by a damn bee. I'm cruisin' down the trail, and I'd already had some thorny bushes scratch my arm, so when the bee first stung me I thought it was another thorn bush. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something on my arm, so I shook my arm to get the bug off(I didn't want to stop, that wouldn't have been right). Well, to make a long story short, I finally realized that the pain in my arm and the bug on my arm were connected. Fortunately, I'm not allergic to bee stings(never been stung before). I hope that bee died a horrible lingering death.

I did have a brush with the more painful side of mtn biking while riding Right loop. I was nearing the Right loop overlook when...well, let's just say I wound up going off the side of the trail and damned near rolled down the hill/mtn. I choose to leave out the details of exactly how I got there. Gotta maintain some dignity, right?
Anyway, some bushes stopped my fall and no bodily injury occured. The only casualty was my bottle cage. My leg hit it or somethin', and it was bent all to sh...hell. I ended up spending 20-30min at the overlook straightening it out. AS I got back up on the trail I didn't notice that my bottle cage was thrashed. What caught my attention was the fact that my water bottle was missing. It was only after retrieving my bottle from the embankment, and subsequently putting it back in the cage, that I realized my cage was caddywompus.

Dude, where's my water bottle?

Hmm, I don't think my cage should be at that angle.

After fixing my bottle cage and was about to finish my ride, I noticed a trail I'd not seen before. I thought it might be an alternate route out of the overlook loop. I never found out where that trail came out at, or if it even went anywhere. That had to be the most technical descent I've ever seen. It started out as a tight singletrack descent filled with roots. The roots gave way to rocks and a very exposed, rock filled slope down to the lake. I decided that "discretion is the better part of valor". I took a couple of pics and then went back the way I came.

Are you f**king kidding me? look at them rocks!

As drama filled as my ride may have sounded, it pailed in comparison to the poor guy who broke his hip out on Thompson loop. I'm not sure exactly how he did it. It took rescuers 2 1/2hrs to get him out. I heard that they had to get a pontoon boat to get him off the trail(for those not in the know, the Tsali trails follow the contours of Lake Fontana), so they could then get him to a spot where a medevac helicopter could fly him out. Again, I'm not sure how he hurt himself, as I rode that same trail not 20 min after he was evaced, and the area where he went down at wasn't technical. I'm thinking he must've been new to the sport and made a noobie mistake.

I had a great time at Tsali, probably the best time since I started riding there. I'll be going back in a little over a month, this time with a buddy. Riding by yourself gets old.

Here's the final tally:
-42 miles ridden
-5000 ft of climbing
-1 bee sting
-1 bent bottle cage
-rock-fu
-root-fu
-thorny bush-fu

Can't wait to do it again!

Time is growing near

There's only a few short weeks till the race. Gotta put in some overtime in the training department. I want to go into the last week really prepped and tuned, so I can taper in the final week and make sure my legs are fresh.

I'm in North Carolina right now. I'm hoping to get 2-3 rides in at Tsali. 1 of those rides will be with a couple of friends, so I won't be getting any serious training in on that ride, but that's ok. Gotta have some fun once in a while, right?
I'm on Dial-up here in NC, so don't expect any pics till I get back home to the 21st century.

I'm currently reading a very good book by Chris Carmichael, called Food for Fitness.

I never would've thought that I could've found a nutrition book interesting. Talk about changing your outlook and attitude. Once I'm down to my final weight, I'm thinking of trying my hand at some cooking(I don't consider boiling pasta and heating pre made spaghetti sauce "cooking"). Me cooking could be grounds for the end of western civilization. It could be a disaster, but doggone it, I'm gonna give it a shot!

Anywho...the book is a good read. If I never touch another product that has "hydrogenated" in the ingredient list, I'll be a happy man. I highly recommend this book though.

Stan's Notubes verdict: Part 1 (continued)

I was expecting for it to be a couple of days before my next installment regarding the Stan's NoTubes, but circumstances dictated otherwise.

I was due to go on a ride this afternoon, so I was looking forward to having a total tubeless setup. It wasn't to be though. I never could get the tire to totally seal. I had a couple of sidewall leaks, and several small bead leaks. If it had only been the sidewall leaks I would've left it in, but bead leaks worried me. So what was I left to do? I pulled it. I took the tire off, pulled the rim strip, and cleaned the sealant out, and put a tube back in.

I don't have to tell you that I was seriously annoyed over this. Now, that said I will try the process again when I return from out of town. The guy I rode with today indicated that the amount of soap you use in sudsing up the rim and tire bead was a key component to the process. I thought I had soaped up the tire and rim pretty good, but I won't rule out the possibility of using more soap doing the trick.

So, the process continues. Hopefully there will be a part 2 to this whole drama, where I can talk about how well the tubeless conversion works.


To be continued...

Stan's Notubes verdict: Part 1

I'm currently in the processing of "Stansing" up my back tire, and I havea few thoughts on the whole process. It's a pain in the ass. Ok, I have a bit more to offer than that... As with the first tire, everything up to the actual sealing of the tire went smoothly. These Kenda's were not easy, and did not seal up as fast as Stan's website, and other people's experiences indicate. I've read where people had their wheels good to go in 30 minutes or so. Must be nice. This back tire has sealed up faster than the first one, so that's good.

If you go into the process not expecting it to take 30 minutes or so, then you'll be ok. I'll also offer up a little tip of my own. In the instructions it says that as soon as you've got the sealant in the tire, pump it up to 35-40psi. What it doesn't tell you is to make sure it stays at that pressure while you're getting the tire sealed. Take the wheel I'm working on right now. I had pumped it up to 40psi and began the sealing process. There were several holes that resulted in the air pressure dropping significantly before the sealant stabilized the pressure somewhat. I continued with the sealing and finally got the leaks sealed, and decided I'd pump up the tire to the proper pressure, soap the bead once more and remount the tire. I pumped up the tire to 40psi and guess what? I had a ton of leaks around the bead. It happened on the first tire but I didn't give it much thought at that time. Oh well, lesson learned...the hard way.

Part 2 will be posted when I get this tire done and get out and ride some. Which, weather permitting, will happen between today and tomorrow.

Leaping before you look

One of my riding buds recently had a less than stellar riding vacation. Read it in his own words...

"Okay all, here's the scoop on my weekend festivities in Ruston.

Before I go on, I want you all to know that I was not particularly pleased with the results of the events and had hoped to recover well enough so that it would not have been an issue when I came back into town. Quite frankly, I was a bit embarrassed by it all. I initially told Sophie and Keri what had happened, because in the event I had been unable to drive the 7 hours back home, I was going to offer them whatever amount of money it took to come rescue me (and my truck) from the Louisiana woods. As it turned out, I was able to drive back and the pain and discomfort kept me awake the entire way.

Today I feel really good. It's the breakthrough day I had been expecting ever since the incident occurred. I have not taken any pain meds for almost 20 hours, and if I keep progressing at the current rate, I may be able to go for a spin around the block on a road bike next week. My head is still a little woozy and I get dizzy just getting up from a chair to a standing position, but the doctor looked inside my head with that little light thing they stick in your ear and found nothing. (That's a joke; he was looking for blood behind the eardrum and did not see any).

I downplayed things and tried to tough it out as long as I could before seeking professional medical help, but by Tuesday things were not getting better, so I reluctantly went to the doctor. The verdict:

Concussion

Separated shoulder (the actual term is 1st degree separation of the A/C joint, whatever that is)

Compression fracture of the lower spine

Plus some cuts and bruises that have already mostly healed

Here's my story...

We were coming out of the woods onto the perimeter dirt road that surrounds the boundary of the Park. There were 4 of us, all strong riders with lots of mountain biking experience. We were operating on some pretty fresh legs, too, as we had stopped after about 40 minutes of riding to exit the trail near the campground so Hans could fix a flat. I was in the lead on a borrowed bike; a Titus Racer X that was like riding a magic carpet. The RX wasn't the lightest mountain bike on the planet, but it was one of the smoothest and fastest. It would pliantly plow over rocks and roots like they weren't even there; stiffen up like a board and scamper up climbs as if it were a mountain goat on steroids; and rail down descents like a runaway train. I felt right at home on this bike and believed that I could take risks on the trail that I would never have considered on the DeKerf and the bike would bail me out. It had done so already on a number of occasions that day and the week before, when I had first ridden it on the local trail in Ft Walton Beach. As I exited the woods in front of my friends, I looked ahead on the trail and saw a long sloping downhill that was straight and relatively smooth. There was a small hump towards the bottom of the hill that looked to be a perfect launching point to get a little air before reaching level ground. I was the only one of us that had ridden the Ruston Trail more than once, so I would yell out upcoming features of the singletrack as we were speeding through the woods. Sometimes I would yell out a warning about soft sand in a turn, or tell them a big climb was coming up, or that there was a low tree branch ahead. The other guys were behind me and this time I called out to them: "Big Ring, Boys!"

As in: shift into the hard-to-pedal gears because this downhill is an area where we can go really fast.

I sped up and shifted gears, picking up speed as I raced down the hill towards the small hump in the trail. I was going so fast and concentrating so hard on the singletrack that I didn't really pay attention to the sign posted along the side of the trail about 10 feet from the take off point. It read: "Caution SLOW Down" and had 3 arrows pointing at the ground indicating there was a steep decent ahead. I flew by the sign and cranked one more powerful turn out of the pedals before I launched off the berm into the humid morning air.

I remember thinking that this was a really long leap I had just taken and for a few seconds was filled with the exhilaration of being free of the earth, if only by about 8 feet. The bike traveled in a gentle arc downrange, with me crouched over the saddle, my hands firmly on the handlebars and feet clipped in to the pedals. I estimated my speed at liftoff at around 28 mph, although Phil and Gary thought it was more like 30. It doesn't really matter; I was flying through the air and enjoying it. Then the front wheel of the bike started to fall towards the ground and my level attitude was pitched forward, nose down. Suddenly I was looking over the handlebars at the orange dirt and sharp rocks rushing towards me and my mind conceived a single, coherent thought just before impact: This is going to hurt.

The front tire hit first, 57 feet from where I had left the earth, and the bike pitched me over the handlebars, head first into the dirt. I didn't have time to take my hands from the handlebars and try to break my fall; my head hit squarely and I heard a CRACK! as the momentum carried my body forward. (That was my helmet thwacking the ground and cracking, perfectly doing the job it was designed for. Thanks Giro!) I rolled into my right shoulder, and then onto my back and flipped over one more complete revolution as the inertia of the crash carried me down the trail, finally coming to a rest (so to speak) an estimated 71 feet from where I had started the maneuver.

There was a lot of gritty dirt in both of my eyes, and I blinked to try to get them to clear. The right eye could see, but there was a red sticky film over my left eye and a sharp pain over my eyebrow. I could feel the blood flowing down the bridge of my nose into my left eye. My back was in great distress, and I was lying in the sun with my right arm pinned behind my back. My shoulder was screaming in pain for it's freedom from the weight of my back on it, and I tried to roll over to free it. That's about the time Hans arrived on the scene and he put a cautious hand on my chest and advised: "Don't move."

I obliged.

Gary rolled his bike slowly over the hill next and I heard a conversation going on around me as soon Phil rode up on his bike. I don't remember too much, other than the pain and being uncomfortable in the hot sun. They pointed their Camelbacks at me and hosed off much of the dirt and blood from my face and shoulder to make sure there were no deep cuts that would require immediate medical attention. Some water got up my nose and I remember being very annoyed by this. As soon as Phil determined that the Care Flight helicopter was not required, he immediately left the accident scene to race back to the campground and retrieve the video camera so he could at least salvage the aftermath of the mishap. I tried to get up once, but got very dizzy and lost my balance, falling into Phil and retreating to the earth. After about 10 minutes I did get up and surveyed the scene. Miraculously, the bike barely had a scratch on it! Somehow I got back on the bike and we all rode the asphalt path back around the lake to the campground. By then the adrenaline and endorphins were starting to wear off, and my body felt like a smashed bag of Fritos. I made it up to the washroom at the campground to shower off the blood and dirt and took some pain pills and rested. Hans, Gary and Phil, disappointed that they had not been able to get photographic evidence of the mishap as it occurred, went out on the trail to do a "made for TV reenactment". I saw the video later, and although it hurt very much to laugh (or cough, or sneeze or breathe), I could not help myself and nearly brought tears to my eyes.

That was the last riding for me for awhile, and the 7 hour drive back to Navarre was an adventure all in itself. A story for another time... "


I need some Tylenol just reading that story.

This really works...color me impressed!

I've done two rides, and so far the tire is holding up. I must admit that I was more than a little nervous at the prospect of the tire blowing off the rim, at an inopportune moment. So far, so good though. I'm sold enough on this tubeless conversion that I'm gonna do the rear tire in the next couple of days.

Tubes? I don't need no stinking tubes!

I've finally made the conversion to tubeless tires...well, partially. The front tire is tubeless. I'm gonna see how it performs before I convert the rear tire. Not long after getting the new bike, I bought a tubeless conversion kit. A couple days ago I decided to start the process of converting to tubeless, mainly for my upcoming race. If you get a flat in a race, you're pretty much through unless it is a 12 or 24hr event. I figure if I can reduce the risk of flatting(from thorns, snakebites, etc) then that will be one less thing I have to concern myself with during the race.

Most of the process went fairly easy. Drilling the stem hole larger, installing the rim tape, it all went without to much fussing and fuming from me.

Time to put the sealant in the tire.

And this is where my troubles began...

Well, I am dramatizing things a bit. The sealant went in just fine, and the tire inflated. Sealing the leaks is where I was having trouble. I followed the instructions, but the damn tire bead on one side wouldn't seal completely.

See all those white spots around where the tire meets the rim?
Why wasnt it as easy as the demo video on the notubes website?

In the end, it took a day and a half to get the tire to seal. I'm hoping the performance makes up for the trouble. If it doesn't work like it should then I'm pulling it and sticking with tubes. I will be riding this afternoon, so we'll see.

Now we're gettin' somewhere!

The race promoters have finally put the flier up for the Florida State Championship Series. The course is approximately 6.5 miles, and I assume that my class (that would be the Beginner class), will do one lap...with Sport, Expert, Pro, etc doing multiple laps. I get my entry fee sent in, and it'll be official.

I'll feel real good about this race if I can get over to the trails to ride them a couple times, and get more comfortable, or I should say more familiar with the trails over there.

Enough already!

Rain. It's raining today, it rained yesterday. It has rained every day this week. Fortunately, it subsided enough for me to get some riding in this past week, but just barely. Rain on a Saturday just isn't right. I guess it's gonna be a trainer kind of ride today. Bummer.

Lead, follow, or get out of the way

Today was group ride day. I thought I was gonna get rained out. 10 min before I was due to head out for the ride, it started raining...no, make that pouring. Fortunately, it wasn't raining at the trailhead, so I caught a break. For once.

The Thursday group ride is not for training, it's just for enjoying the company of some fellow mtn bikers. That said, there were 4 of us who kept a pretty fast pace, and left the slower riders bringing up the rear. For not being a "training" ride though, I posted a great average for the time out there. 12mph was my average for the ride, which clocked in at just shy of 10 miles. Riding with faster people, and doing those intervals have really made a huge change in my riding...losing quite a bit of weight sure hasn't hurt any either.

Sooner or later and I'm gonna have some more pictures to post.

Ride Forrest, ride!

Had a great ride today. It was one of those intense, almost painful kinds of rides...but a good kind of pain. It was just Pat and me. Pat led off, and kept a good pace for just over an hour. We didn't stop, except for Pat to clear the occasional spider off his person(that's why I let him lead...I know, I'm a jerk.). Pat is pretty damn fast, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep the pace, but I surprised myself. Which that's what is great about pushing yourself, you usually end up discovering you can go farther/harder than you ever thought possible. He'd get ahead of me, but I could always catch him.

When we got back to the trailhead, the final tally was; 12.3 miles in 1hr 3 minutes, with an average speed of 11.6mph.

If I can do a ride like that at least once a week, I will definitely be ready for Tallahassee.