Well I did this race looking to finish Mid-Pack and I did! Also got a medal since it was only a 10 person field. The race was going to be the longest expert race I had done this year, but 1/3 the way through the first Lap the heavens opened up. It was interesting racing in these rainy conditions. I think they favored me more cause I usually loose time on the turns and with the rain people had to check their speed more. I was riding my new Maxxis CrossMarks and these tires worked out pretty well considering they are not mud tires. I was happy when the race ended when it did cause I had some serious chain-suck going on. The funnest part of the race was riding with the DCMTBers out on the trail. I felt pretty good and would have been interested to see what I could have pulled out of this race in the full length. (photos by pushstart MORE?)
7/29/07
Cranky Monkey #1
7/26/07
W@W 4
Well I actually felt good for the part of the race I did! I only did ¾ of a lap cause my masterlink in my chain bent. So my new thing is to not have a masterlink in my chain but carry one to fix a chain. 
I started next to Matt, and things were scrambly going up the gravel climb, but once in the single-track I was feeling pretty good. The creek trail I was loosing little seconds here and there, and actually got passed by two guys, I then passed them and caught up to Matt in the open Power line section. I thought OK Matt is strong I will ride here and this should be a good race. Then back in the woods the bike started shifting weird and Matt was like, “come on”, and I was trying but had lots of ghost shifting. I ended up stopping and Joe was like, “Oh man”. So I road a little more then got off the course and walked my bike back to the start finish area. . Since I DNFed on the first lap I was able to go and cheer people on as they raced. Which was a different experience then I usually have at the W@W races.
I had a good time hanging out with Joe from Bike Lane and some of the Pedal Shop people at Kilroys , and got to talk to Mike, Joel, Joe, Matt from the DCMTB team as well. Well this weekend is the Wakefield cranky race, big difference to W@W is that the expert race is 24miles. So I have some goals I want to achieve and I will have my chain fixed by then.
7/22/07
Giro de Coppi
My third road race of the season, the Giro de Coppi, I felt this was a race that was a good fit for me. The DCMTB team was trying to set up a plan to do something in this race. I felt great, and was riding in the front a lot with Wolfgang from NCVC who I know through PPTC. On the second lap I did a dig up the climb and really put a lot of distance between me and the peleton, I thought some others would bridge, but they didn’t so I didn’t go full bore and re-integrated to the group. The third lap I didn’t attack but brought the tempo up on the climb and still no one came with me. So I was like ok I will set something up for Matty on the final rise to the finish. Well it comes towards the end and I am itching to go, and I see an opening and I go, I thought it was the 500m sign but it was the 1500m sign(Doh!) So I get a good gap, I’m going 36 mph and Matt has gotten my wheel and shooting Go Go! Well I think I did about 1000m but then I was spent. So the group flew by me and I soft peddled coming in last of the first group which gave me 15th. I am going to do this race again someday, and I am either going to be part of a breakaway that works or just save myself and gun it at the line.
7/16/07
OMGWTF!!
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| From OMGWTF! |
Yes that is the title of the ride you can figure it out.
Right off the bat, this was the hardest muscle ride I have ever done. I have been fatigued before in biking, but never so much muscle ache. This ride I felt like I worked out in the gym doing squats! The ride is 7 climbs with 5 being 1000ft in 1 mile. When doing this it is imperative to have a compact crank or triple. With my 36-26 I was still dieing. The crew we had was Bruce,Ryan and Mark. I was riding with my rival team the Bike Lane boys, but like the saying goes keep your friends close and your enemies closer!:-) Bruce is doing a topic about toughest workouts for MetroSports. He got this ride as a brutal hill climb ride. Well it delivered in spades. A couple things I noticed on the ride:
Bruce has no fear in desending! While I seem to have some fear issues still after I crashed 6 years ago going 47 mph down Harp Hill.
Ryan is coming into some good form, and he was hurting me on the medium grades.
Mark who is 51 or 52 is pretty phenomenal I mean he is 20 years my senior and rides the same speed as I do!
My form seemed pretty good, most climbs myself and Ryan would lead and Mark would gain ground going up the climb. Bruce was hampered with riding a 39-25 which I would have pulled a muscle if I used that. The hardest climbs I felt were Hamburg which is 6 miles into the ride, and it is longer then the others. ZittlesTown was the hardest, with these crazy steep pitches thrown in there. Coxy Brown was a destroyer, in that it was at the end of the ride, if it wasn’t stepped, and didn’t have this 500M of flat in the middle I would have had to walk. We weren’t racing, just going our own pace. I was feeling it a couple of times when we were doing rollers in the valley, where Ryan was tapping out a strong rhythm. I think riding the steep hills of Liberty furnace last weekend paid off; because these climbs were very similar in severity. I seemed to do my best when the climbs were at their worst. I think my strong suit is my breathing, in that I seem to do better when the climb is about just getting up the mountain, not about the speed you do the climb.
I think I am going to reroute this ride a little and do it again, it should be better, with us not going on the same roads as much. I was able to beat Ryan back to the car, but he got held up by some pickups on the downhill so I didn’t really beat him but DCMTB was first to the parking lot.
7/11/07
Catherine Furnace and Part of the Liberty Big Schloss
Day 1
This was to be the big epic biking weekend! Well it kinda happened. Sid and I went down to Catherine Furnace, and started this ride I had planned only by using Topo and PATC maps. Well lets just say there were a lot of re-routes. Well luckily I brought the PATC map with me, cause this ride was not what it seemed. We ended up hiking up the purple trail which was 3 miles with a good portion of that being hike-a-bike. We then went to the top of Catherine Furnace on the dirt road, and then instead of doing the bombing downhill that the MORE folks did in the fall we went down the orange trail, that I didn't mind but Sid Hated. We needed water and instead of doing the stream water with Iodine Pills we were able to get drinks at the gas station in New Market. We ended up doing a 10-15 mile gravel/road ride back to the car. I felt good on the day. The biking legs were in great shape. The hiking muscles not so much. The ride was a total of 42 miles and like 7 hours in 90 degree heat. The bike time was only like 4.5 hours though.
We then went to Harrisonburg and got some grub at some great burger/greek place. Finding a Hotel was the worst because of some stuff going on in Harrisonburg that night, and then in New Market stuff was booked there too. Finally got a place at Days Inn.
Day 2
The next day we met Jay at Liberty Furnace, and we all were tired(Jay had done a wedding the night before). I did good on the first climb, but had to really push it since I didn't have 34T in the back but a 32T so I couldn't go slower than 4mph. The Hike a Bike section killed me! my hiking muscles were sore from the day before, and so I just took my time. On the way down Big Schloss I ran into Mark and I rode with him and we regrouped at Wolf Gap. After Wolf Gap we went up the climb with Mark in the lead, me in second, and Jay and Sid behind. Sid's Chain broke and luckily I had some extra links, and was able to wait for them at the top of the mountain. Well Mark and I went to the lookout, and then Jay and Sid never showed up. I checked my phone (had to go up to the lookout to get reception) and they had to bail, and I had Sid's stuff in my car. Well they were waiting in the Wolf Gap parking lot, and Sid's bike blew up! This ride is not meant to be done I tell you! Twice this ride has not happened. Well I rode to the car on my bike, while the others drove there in Mark's Car. I was tired, I could have rode more, but I would have only done so if I was on the trail on the way back to the car. So the weekend wasn't a total bust, but I expected more. I think my Cross bike adventure in the fall will pan out better.
More Pics
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| CatherineF |
6/29/07
W@W 2
I didn't know how this race was going to go, but I went out and raced it anyway. I did a good warm up going to Accotink and back. The weather was really really humid, so I was sweating really bad even before the race started. This week they called us up to the line based on last week's performance. Well I was in the second row,and we started off. I had a good starting position, really too good of a position. The first lap went ok I was behind Roger again, so I thought that boded well, I was wrong :-( At one point Roger was slowing down, and then he let me pass so he could help out a turtle on the trail. I guess he gets the good Samaritan award. After the first lap I was cooked! I guess the 12 hours of Cranky Monkey caught up to me. I should not have pushed so hard that first lap, cause my second lap was terrible. Everybody complains of having to pass people well I didn't pass one person in my class! I did two laps by myself, I mean no one passed me and I passed no one. That was nice, I felt good my last lap in riding the course but my lap time will show that I was going a lot slower. Bruce who watching the race even said I was visibly slower this week. The nice thing is I seem to know enough people now that I actually heard people cheering for me:-) The wakefield course is not for me I need some long sustained efforts not just carving through trails, I guess I will keep racing it for practice for the cross events in the fall.
6/25/07
12 Hours of Cranky Monkey
This race was an example of why people mountain bike race, and especially at the relay events. The team had good energy with people helping out one another, and making sure people were eating and drinking, when their stomachs did not want to. When you have a team atmosphere things like a broken chain, a flat don’t seem as bad when your teammates boost your spirits.
This race was like Lodi but during the day, with the vibe being great, all the local teams were out contesting the race. The course suited me in that it was a slow course. There were some fast sections, but most of it had really tight turns that you could not carve, you had to slow down. There was also a fair amount of climbing which usually helps me.
I did this race with Kent, and MattyD who are two really good mountain bikers, I was hoping to help the team and not hinder it. Their lap times at Big Bear were faster than mine, sometimes 5-10 minutes faster, so I wasn't sure if I would be helping my team in this race. It was decided that I would go last in our rotation, in the eventuality that I might not have to do an extra lap. MattyD started us off and he did a great job going through traffic, and then Kent went out and did a :47 lap time! This gave us the lead that we would never give up. I was able to do lap times that were the same avg. as my teammates with a 49:30 as my fastest. By the third lap, I started to feel the power in my legs going, so I was happy I only did 4 laps. My Achilles tendon was hurting me still from Big Bear, but after the first lap and some Ibuprofen It didn't really bother me again. The only other issue I had was that I fell the last lap. The fall was because I was tired and I washed out in a corner. The ground felt like asphalt and the resulting bruise on my hip shows that it was hard. That didn't really bother my during the race, but I wasn't been able to sleep on that side of my body for a week.
This was a great race, and I can't believe how well the DCMTB/City Bikes team did; we got 1st and 3rd expert, 1st vet and 3rd open Duo. I think this will be a mainstay in Mt. calendar like Lodi if they are allowed to have it again.
More Photos
6/21/07
Wednesdays at Wakefield #1
people had. I was riding behind Roger at one point, and I was like if I can stay here this will be a good race. Well that didn't happen. I started slowing down a little, and Bruce would joke as I passed him saying things like you're only 5 minutes down you are almost there! Hence the smiles in the photos. I actually caught two people, but that was washed away when I wrecked. I was then playing catch up again. The downer of the night was Marc Gawdz passing me. I thought he was behind me, and I was hoping to finish in front of him. The good thing that happened in the race was I gave myself a realistic goal of having a finishing time of 1:12 for 4 laps. I got the time on my bike computer, but the official time is 1:13 something(my wreck took some time out and stopped my bike computer since the wheels were not moving). Next time I will shoot for 1:11 and might be able to do it, cause my shifting was messed up. I think I need a new cassette, and chainrings. Not sure of my placing but I know I wasn't DFL! It was fun seeing everyone after the finish and talking to people. May be there next week, have to see.
6/19/07
RFK Crit.
DCMTB had a pretty good turnout at the RFK Crit on Sunday.
For the men's Cat 5 Race it was Mike S. Matt D. and Me Darren B. The race was really short, and we started at 8:45am but could already feel the heat. It was cool having the three of us there, and since the field was small we were able to stick together if we wanted. The race had like 8-10 Capital Hill bike guys and I thought they would have controlled the race more, but they were not organized. I ended in second place in the peleton at one point so I then decided to go out on a solo attempt. I did it cause I thought well at least the capital hill bike guys will have to chase me down. I did a lap and some in change in front of the field, partly because Matt, and Mike were in front after I left and slowed up, making others chase me down. I did get my name announced twice on the speaker system since I was in the lead twice around the start/finish line! After I got caught it was in the last lap , the official tried to encourage me to get back to the field , but I was cooked. I did get to see Matty D get third since I was so far off the back I sat up and watched the sprint. This Mt. biker might even do another Road race this summer if it fits in the schedule.
6/15/07
24 Hours of Big Bear
So this was the return of the Tecate Team I had last year at the 24 hours of Allamuchy.
and we combined our area with my DCMTB/CityBikes team. It was fun to race and hangout with everyone.
The Race
going too fast for me. I ended up with like a 1:17 lap and I was happy with that. For my second lap I really worked on trying to get a good lap time, and for me I did a 14:59 which I was really happy with. Now saying this our team was having troubles :-( Jay had his granny gear explode on his first or second lap. I have never seen that happen before. The First Lap Sid did he had a broken chain that he had to fix twice. For Sid's second lap he ran 4-miles to the finish. With all this bad luck, we were only 6 minutes out of 1st place! Steve also lost the baton as well which was a 5 minute penalty so we were 11 minutes out of first. I did my first night lap, and did an ok ride, I like riding at night, but not racing. I don't seem able to really push it at night. Steve put in a really good 1:25 night lap and that kept us in the game. Sid's bike blew up at night, so he was out of the rotation. Now it was just Jay, Steve and I to do an extra lap to make up for Sid. Going into the morning we were in 3rd getting close to second and I was up to do a turn. I was going really strong, and Mike K. was behind me and he can downhill really strong. I should have just raced my race, but I went down the hill like a maniac and at the bottom, I must have smacked my rear dérailleur and then my bike was gone!!!!! So I was at mile 6 and thinking what to do. I was going to DNF, but if I do that I will let my team down. Behind me a guy had broke his Kona HT in half! so he had it worse then me, he had to walk/run his way out. So I make my bike into a single speed. I had it in a easy gear, so I could do the climbs. Well when you make a geared bike into a single the chain will eventually go to the next bigger cog and eventually the chain will bind and break. My chain broke again, and then I put the chain on a smaller cog, I was able to get a couple of miles out of that. Eventually there was a ticking that was the signal of the end, finally my chain would not move. I ran the last 1.5 miles into the finish. I had told people to let my team know that I had broken down. Well that lap ended up being 2:10 or something, and we finished out the race, and were able to get 5th place! I was somewhat shocked about that, I think we would have won the sport class if we had not had any issues, but that is the beauty and pain of 24 racing.