Assateague Beach

To Assatague

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This is a quick write up I decided to try and bike to Assateague Beach instead of just going to the beach then doing a ride. I got dropped off in Heborn and then did a southern route that had me going over a ferry and then back up north to Berlin then to the beach. The route was completely flat which is not my favorite terrain but it was nice for a change of pace. I had only one rest stop and it was to be at mile 35 of a 72 mile ride. Well that was before I took a wrong turn  so the ride ended up being 82 miles and I was on fumes with no water coming into the rest stop(after about 40miles). The weather was very hot I think in the 90’s and I was just baking out there. There were hardly any cars on the roads besides the major ones, but they had 8 foot shoulders so it was no problem. The only issue I had was that this ride confirmed that I had a cracked frame at the BB(still ridable) also learned that even though the WTB Rocket V is a great seat for a Mountain biking I need a wider seat for road biking. The best part of the ride was doing the bridge to Assatateague Island.

The second ride I did that weekend was just a 30mile ride with others that I had done before with Jeff. We started off together then I rode with Diana in the back for a bit, and at the shortcut I gave her the map and I took the cue and then did a 8 mile time trial and caught up with the other people. That was a good workout doing that. I did the rest of the ride with Rob on his new bike I helped him pick out. After the ride we ate at a nice ice-cream shop and had milk shakes and hamburgers now that is the way to end a ride!!!

Assateague Beach 2007

Going Long at Gambril/Shed

Well the 18 hours of Scouts honor was canceled, so I wanted to ride because the weather was great. I talked to Ryan and we decided to go to Gambril / Shed and do some stuff we hadn't done before. I brought the map I had, that I color coded to be able to know where things were. Two things happened at the start of the ride, first I forgot my helmet!!!!! and second my shock was blown barely holding air. I ride with a helmet all the time, and in Mt. biking I actually use my helmet, with my head hitting low branches and the sort. The shock kinda worked, I have ordered a Cane Creek Cloud 9 for the SM100 it should be better and looks easy to service.
We met Paul from Fredrick and he was a great help, he knew the area and was a chill laid back kind of guy. I did some trails that I have never done before, I went past Moes Cut, to the Lookout which was nice, and we did this thing called little Cannan which was fun. I am getting better at doing rocks, but there is much room for improvement. Ryan was riding really strong, I think he is peaking at the right time for the SM100. I bonked on this ride, after we ate(at the lookout) we road a more direct route back, and I will say that I could still ride but I was paying the price for not having enough food for breakfast. I felt bad cause Ryan kept waiting for me, even though I told him to go ahead. After the ride Ryan and I went to DogFishHead for some food and brews and it didn't let us down. I must say the IPA 75 where they combine the IPA 60 and the IPA 90 is a winner. I feel like with Paul's help I have allot better handle on the watershed area, so I will plan some more mountain biking up there and do some of the trails we did again.

gambril Aug 4th

Elizabeth Furnace

This was a ride with Matt, Ryan, and Bruce. We were a good group seemed to be able to ride well together. The weather was great for being August, the temps were in the low 80's couldn't ask for much better. I drove up with Matt and his wife Katey. It was cool to meet her, after knowing Matt for a bit. We got there late, but Bruce and Ryan had not left yet. We did the fireroad climb and I really liked the wooded section unfortunately there wasn't more of it. We did the climb and Ryan seemed to be riding strong, I was second up the climb, then Matt was behind us with Bruce coming up the rear(I think he warms up slower and had ridden more that week). I have never been to EF, but had heard about the hike a bike. Well this lived up to it's reputation. The ridgeline was not all that rideable. I wreaked a couple of times and the 3 of them were slow ones because I couldn't unclip. I have used performance pedals for years and have not had a problem, but the new Carve pedals don't do well with me. So I was frustrated with that and after hurting myself on the downhill I was just going slow. Well after the first lap we talked about doing another lap. Ryan and decided to just do the Fire Road climb again, and come back down, while Bruce and Matt decided to go up the more technical downhill we had just came down. I started a good pace up the climb and had some space from Ryan and decided to push myself to see how much time I could get on him by the top. Well I pushed it pretty hard and let it all out since the way back was mostly downhill. Well Ryan bailed and went back early so I waited at the top, and ended up talking to some hikers. We saw Eric, Dietrich, and Mike Piece. Saw Joe from the Bike Lane and I talked with a NCVC woman rider I have seen at the races. So there were alot of people riding EF on Sat. Well the ride was not what I expected but the 2 hill climbs were a big workout. I like Liberty Furnace better, it is basically the same terrain.

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EF Aug.11 2007

Mountain Momma Century

I found out about this century and I thought it would be good training for the SM100. I was able to talk Steve, Mark, and even Bruce into doing this. Mark and I left Friday around 6pm and we didn't hit much traffic which was surprising. Well we had 4 guys sleeping in this Hotel in Stanton If you were there it was a funny site to behold. We got up early and headed to Monterey to the ride start. We get there with plenty of time, but as usual I goofed around and I had to hurry up to get to the start. This was not a race, but I was going to ride a consistent pace, and try not to stop too much and try out my sport legs, electrolyte combo for during the ride. So we start off and I see some of the usual PPTC suspects Brian, Rudi, Wolfgang, Joyce, Roger, Mariette. I took off pretty fast on the first climb which I shouldn't have done in hindsight. The down hill was scary fast and I was not descending very well. At one point I thought my tire was going flat, so I stopped and checked the tires, false alarm. Well when I stopped Bruce went by me so I caught up with him and we were riding, pretty much by ourselves until this group came that had Ryan and Matt in it. We rode with them for a few miles to the rest stop. I was trying not to take too much time at stops, and Bruce was good for this cause he didn't stop at a couple of stops that I had to for water. The climb after the rest stop at mile 30 was the steepest, but I felt fresh and went strong up the climb, going faster then Wolfgang. I was by myself for a bit after the summit, and then Wolfgang caught up and I knew I needed to let him go. So I rode by myself for a bit and decided I was going to stop at the next rest stop. While I was there Ryan, Bruce, Rudi, and Matt caught back up to me. I was thinking even though this isn't a race, funny how people can catch right back up to you. Well Bruce rolls out real quick, and I had been there for a bit so I follow. Rudi joined us and we thought Ryan and Matt would join us as well but they didn't come. So we started the next climb and we ran into Bruce's friend TJ who is fast but was dropped by the front group. He said that he wasn't feeling so well(found out later he had a kidney stone, that he passed at mile 80 and felt great after that!) So now it was just Bruce and I and it would be that way for the next 40 miles. As the day wore on I was getting slower and slower on the climbs at first I was minutes in front of Bruce on the climbs then we were just climbing together. Bruce's endurance I think was coming into play as well. The climbs are not killers, just long. I like my climbs more like 3 miles then over. With these 3-4 mile approaches that were not steep, but not flat, then 3-4 mile climbs I was getting drained. I had to play catch up after one stop where I got the bottles filled and Bruce was still going. Bruce was going pretty good on the downhills, and I will say I was under geared on the downhills, I couldn't pedaled faster then 36 or so(riding a compact 50T big ring) if I got going fast I would just get into a tuck. After the second Allegheny Climb a new technique seemed to click for me on descending. I put more weight back and let the seat rest lower on my thigh then it was before where it would be be my upper thigh by my crotch. That seemed to do the trick. I was able to keep up with Bruce on the descents. In the end Bike Lane got me :-(, I had a faster ride time, but with Bruce's not stopping when I did he was able to finish in front of me. I was pleased though I did a 5:45(ride time) Century with over 10,000ft of climbing. My rest stops added up to less then 20minutes so that was good too. The other thing was this is the first long effort I have ever done and not have my legs cramp up with Dehydration. So onto the SM100!

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MountMomma Century 2007

Cranky Monkey #1

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?)

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.

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.

OMGWTF!!

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.

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.

Darren & Sid's Epic Catherine Furn Adventure

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CatherineFurn7-7-7

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.