Woodshed

I raced the final OMBC race of the season yesterday@ Mohican Wilderness. I am not sure you can even call it a race against other people because it is decidedly a race against your self. I forgot how much climbing and technical riding there is at the Wilderness course. I had a smile from ear to ear during the race because of the purity of mtbing on a tough course. I lost the race by 7+ minutes and wasn't even upset afterwards. I gave what I had and that was enough to feel like an accomplished rider. Congrats go out to all who were hard enough to win yesterday. Ben Ortt won the expert class by over 4min on Walker. Not an easy task!

Muddy #$@%@! cyclocross

Well the first true test of the new rig in its full tubular glory was this past Sat at the Cross your heart and hope to die cx challenge in Willoughby. This place is notorious for its wall run up, and all was complicated due to a serious dousing of rain. As with any muddy CX race it was a suffer fest. The only thing I had going for me was my tubies (which worked really frickin good, I'm hooked), and the fact I only weight 160...so I don't sink as much see...at least that's what I was telling myself. I held as tough as I could and didn't get lapped in the ever-present high quality A field and ended up 16th I think. I had a taste for the top 10 for a spell, but that was all it was good for, a spell of a couple laps. You know its bad when we only get 7 laps in on a pretty short course. After 2 laps the course marshall showed us 5 to go, and I'm thinkin...no frickin way...how can I make this?!

One thing that was a really cool but cruel deal was the spiral snail-shell of a path carved into the murky baseball diamond. Somehow we all kept rotating around this thing to the center, then back out, without crossing paths...like onna them-there labyrynth thingies. PURE GENIOUS course design...too bad it was through the frickin muddiest, gooiest, slime fest section of the entire park! Greg and the folks at Spin do a nice job with this race, and its always great to stop up at the pub for "the results" at the end of the race. Thanks to all for the encouragement! ...and I saw quite a few with some really nice camera's pointed at me and others...where can I find those pics?

Not settled...

Mohican State Park OMBC race did not disappoint! It brought out the best Ohio had, just as I hoped. Its a stellar course, one that I hoped to smash. I have not been able to put together a solid lap there all year. I always ran out of gas at around the 21 mile mark. That weekend was no different, I just got there alot quicker under race conditions. You could hear the shockwaves of my explosion all the way down to the Miami River. Oh well, I actually really enjoy racing this way, at least I know its all left out there. The start was a bit jambled, but those that got away did it on their own, no excuses. If I'da tried to make up ground I'da probably blown up at the 16 mile mark...hmm, maybe I'll do that next time, heck, if you're gonna go out and blow up, might as well blow up with the leaders! Settled for 8th in the Vet Open. Thanks Wess for the words of encouragement "Ya, I saw ya up there, you were up on the front of your saddle mashin like hell and goin' nowhere!"....now that's a friend for ya! That's how we roll!

As for the Davis thing, the issue is still unresolved. We had a real good gig goin together then meat head has to go and bust his chain. Well, I wasn't waitin' around fer his arse. So we are tabling the grudge match for this Sunday at Mohican Wilderness....aka the House of Pain. The slogan is "decend into the fog of Mohican"...what they don't tell you is that its the fog of pain and suffering that is clouding your vision...nothing to do with dewpoints and humidity.

Mohican State Park

How awesome was that, to race that course ( the course) in Ohio with that many quality guys toeing the line? I had the privilege of racing the entire 25.5 mile race either directly in front of, or right behind the Jedi! Race came down to a sprint to nowhere(no real finish line) at the end, I was tapped the winner. 1:51 is a race time that blows my mind.

In my opinion Jeff Pendelbury stole the show riding to a third place on a single speed, finishing a minute back of Walker and I! I am excited for the day he gets gears, of course he may not need them. Jeff is only 22yrs old, so look out Ohio!

I can't imagine what a race would feel like there if 331 put it on? A course like that needs course marshals and a professionally run race to really give it justice. Hopefully that dream will become a reality sooner than later.

Congrats to the rest of the Solon team on a strong showing. Thanks to Solon Bike shop for the sponsorship and all your help along the way this season. Thanks to Hammer for the fuel to keep the engine running!

Sunday Sunday Sunday!!

Its the grudge match...the clash of titas...old men on bikes...mayhem and madness...brute force vs finess...rugby vs. runner...bourban vs whiskey...beer drinker vs beer drinker...

Thats right, its a heads up mano y mano grudge match between two old expert racers. Who will prevail this Sunday at the Mohican State Forest OMBC race? The compact and powerful Brett Davis...or the lean and mean Bobby Rodgers. With a 24 mile loop and no place to see inbetween, it'll be a nail biter to see who pops out of the trail first.

"Davis is just too fat to be fast...sure he can break cranks, but you can't go very fast with a broken crank..." spouts Bobby regarding his teammate and mayhem wingman, Brett Davis. "He's got a lot of power, but so does a semi truck, and they don't get going very fast". "I've spent alot of time at MSP this year, and I know where the speed is...he's got no chance."

Davis, surprized and appauled at his rival teammates comments..."That little fricker, I'll crush him...CRUSHA!!". "Sure, he may look like a fast mountain biker, all small and stuff, but the dude's been a roadie for much of the year and he can't drive worth squat...I must break him". "...he's gonna have to put himself in the hurt locker just to keep me in sight".

Despite this seemingly imbedded hostility toward each other, the two have recenetly been spotted enjoying conversation over several pints of beer at a local pub. Is it media hoopla, or are they really out to stab the other in the back and claim the coveted prize as Solon's Fastest Old Guy?

The only thing we know for sure is that only one of them can be the first man out of the woods...and each thinks the other hasn't got a chance.

Back in...brown?

...dirt that is...

Late summer has brought on a migration from the road, back to where it all started...on the dirt. Hey, any dirt track racer or fan will tell you..."dirt's for racin, ashfalts for gettin' there". That couldn't be any more true than in cycling. Only the road time trial comes close to miniking the mano-y-mano world of mountain bike racing...and that only covers part of the motoring aspect...say nothing for the ability to actually drive a bike and put it where you need it despite the terrain doing everything it can to use your bike as a personal ejection seat when at speed. Well, I brought the motor from the road, but without routine MTBing, its tough to stay sharp on the trail...ya, and that nice smooth round pedal motion...chuck that garbage, just push 'em and go! While not at my best driving form, I have still been able to step on the podium a couple times, and help remind some old friends that I'm not dead yet (just because I did alot of road racing this year).

So the NEO Power Series has come and gone. In the old man Expert class I took a 2nd at Manatoc, 3rd at V-Knob, and 4th at the Reagan TT (frickin Davis got me by 7 seconds, and we both crashed so I can't blame that...guess it was too much bourban the night before). As you can see from the venues, as driving quick became more important, my results suffered, but in the end it was good enough for 3rd in the series.

Man its good to leave a race with a dirty bike, good stories, and good ole fashioned rubbin's racin' kinda attitude. Its good to be back on the dirt!

Al-----most

Second place by one second in the Regan Park time trial.

It was a great day, and another great event put on by the dominant promoters of mtb racing in Ohio. Thanks to Kevin and Dusty for a fun safe time trial!

Completely Crossed...

...all crossed up...don't be cross...criss cross...That's right yins all, cross season is upon us. The first race of the season is this Sunday. Come pull a double header with me this weekend and contest the second of three races in the MTB NEO Power Series at Vultures Knob (5pm Saturday start), then hit Wendy Park Sunday am.

I've gone bike crazy, and this is my latest addition. A total cross weapon! Look closely...that's right kids...those are tubulars on there!! The basis of this machine is Salsa's Chilli con crosso Scandium aluminum frame. The components were scavanged off my previous cross bike and are generally of the 105 level. Rolling stock is a new set of Vittoria tubeys affixed to a used set of Mavic Kysrium SL's. The bike looks great and looks fast. I'll do my best to actually make it go fast, but image is everything, so I can only garentee the looks, not results. I'd like to thank my little helper for her assistance in the build.

Groomed

Props to the gang at Daum race productions for putting together the best groomed trail I have raced this season. I managed to complete the 27mile race with out one scratch! Those of you that know me, can attest to me being a Sally when it comes to mtb riding.

The Solon boys had a good showing, not great but respectable. My personal favorite was passing Tiff at the bottom of the days hardest climb only to get to the top and look back to see her cresting the climb about 50ft. back. She is one tough cookie that has humbled me more than once.

Good luck to all competing in the N.E.O Power series.

Missed it

Missed the Milk Race for a family day back in Brookfield. I'll be heading to the Shreve Challenge Road Race this Saturday. I guess it has hills...I need those to level the playing field...these flat crits are killing me...but I'm training the weakness.

This week's Westlake A race didn't hurt as bad as it did last week. Probably because I didn't have 2 races already in my legs from the weekend...so I should have worked harder. It was sketchy though. The big boys didn't jump out and run away...don't know if they were letting others have a crack at it or not, but I tell ya, when the peleton is not being lead down the road by those that should be leading it...its mayhem. No one or team or group of riders stepped up to take command of the race, and there were times where it felt more like a track race standoff than a crit. Didn't like it that much. Why didn't I go up front and work?...well I did, but I tell ya, I can't hold 28 miles an hour for very long, so its kinda pointless...ya, I'm a wheel sucker, but I aint the worst one out there by far. I shoulda put my nose into the wind a bit more tonight than I did...its just good training...so what if after a few efforts I get thrown off the back, its a frickin training race who cares...but its easy to say that sitting at the computer...much different on the road.