Halloween

Reminiscing - '78

Yep, That's snow falling again 'bout 8,000 feet.  A little late getting out, but still worth the effort for sure.  Temp was something like 38° when I got home and getting pretty dark.  Next week it will be too dark to ride without lights, so getting time on the trail now is a must.  A few spots are getting a little slick and sketchy.

Not sure why, but I got to be thinking of Halloween, '78.  My parents had gone to Hawaii for a couple weeks and I had to work almost every night during that time.  That is except for Halloween.  I was bending tacos for a little joint at the time and felt like I was making it happen.  I mean, I wasn't a Rockafeller, but I wasn't hucking newspapers anymore either. Times at TJ's were pretty good.  For that matter, everything seemed pretty good - or so I remember.

That night I swung by a little church social with one of my "friends" - that I couldn't tell you his name if my life depended on it.  Don't ask why, but I do remember clearly an event that tied back to that previous Saturday, of which I wasn't really paying attention otherwise.  Nobody would ever remember this but me, however, I can still tell you of the "Foreigner"  45 RPM disc, song name and all that sticks in my head to this day.  I couldn't tell you about anything else from that day, but I remember about ten minutes as though it happened this afternoon.  Those two events and a similar time about one year later would come to play an integral part of .............. how I would see things for the rest of my life.

My parents wouldn't be home for more than another week and I would end up missing the Pheasant hunt because of it.  Still, when they did get home, I was sitting on a pile of cash from nearly three weeks of straight work - after school of course.  A week or so after they got home, I bought new skis and boots, which would prove to be another significant event.  My first love was always skiing and buying this gear was like an engagement ring.  It was mine, not somebody else's old stuff.  I had arrived.

I remember the very moment I heard John Lennon was killed and the events of that evening.  I remember exactly where I was when told Ronald Regan had been shot.  I clearly remember where I was when somebody told me about the Challenger exploding.  Key things that really didn't shape me personally, but were staggering all the same.  Yet I remember two events in October 1978 that seemed at the time completely insignificant and one other in the Autumn of 1979 that changed everything for me. At times, it is still what drives me.................................

Man, times where good.

Snow is coming.  Ride while you can.

Ride HARD!            Here's to the good 'ol boys - Don W.

Oh, Oh, Oh,..............Canada!

Back to the front..................

Seems whenever there is a crap-storm, I find myself right up front.  Another last minute booking back to Canada.  I can't be the smartest guy in the company, or we're all in trouble.  Dealing with equipment from Europe, in a building designed by Europeans, make s for a challenge.  400-volt commie-motors running on 575 volt, drives that were spec'd incorrectly.............engineering is truly overrated (sarcasm).  The Canadians I get to work with are great and make it tolerable.  These guys are pretty good at what they do and are darn good guys to boot.  Getting a little later flight got me up there just in time to enjoy the parking lot that is otherwise referred to as I-75.  By the time I got across the border and up to the facility it was nearly 19:00.  I didn't get out of there until sometime after 01:00 the next morning.  It was like that all week.  Saturday morning I had to leave Windsor around 05:00 to be to a planned power outage in Auburn Hills, Michigan.  After a long day at Auburn Hills, it left only enough time to head back to the airport - and sit in more traffic.  I kid you not, 60+ hours in four days - as an exempt employee.  What a bunch of crap!

Since my last trip ten days before, Canada legalized cannabis.   Thus the brown cloud hovering over the University, just off the Ambassador Bridge.  It's kind of like Boulder, Colorado on the Detroit River.  There was an automated highway sign up on the 401 with a Weed plant and red circle and line through it saying "don't drive high".  Huh, I guess we're not in Kansas anymore Toto.  

So what does this have to do with riding?  NOTHING, as in no riding for me.  I'd hoped to get out this afternoon for a quick trail ride, but I'm just hammered from the past couple of weeks.  The more I don't ride, the worse it gets.  I need to start building a maintenance program in the mornings.  I've already lost too much ground and can feel it.  You lose it faster than you can get it back - at my age anyway.  The registration for True Grit is November 10 and I really want to be in that race.  It isn't until March, but that isn't much time to train if I have to get it all back.  I also got a notice from Leadville, for a lottery registration in December.  I'd love to ride Leadville, but that would seriously take 9 full months of dedicated training - which would be hard with my current work schedule.  Along with this, I need to coordinate some Huntsman stuff, with the Company and Club.  Life used to be so simple.

On that note, today is October 28th.  Forty years ago, it was just another Autumn Saturday afternoon.  I wouldn't come to realize how significant that particular day was for a few years later, but it changed everything.  Man, things were so simple back then.  I should have been paying attention.

Dirt ride tomorrow afternoon -if I can get away from the office.

Only in Canada -Before and After

Ride HARD!

Need more time to ride

Problems on several fronts

Last Friday night I found myself, near midnight, standing in a rainstorm in Southern Ontario, Canada - for whatever reason.  Thing is, I didn't even know it was raining until somebody mentioned it.  That all started the day before when one of the guys that wear all the headdress-feathers (a plant manager) stopped by to brief me on a problem that I wasn't aware existed.  In other words, somebody else's problem that I needed to get in the middle of.  By 04:30 Saturday morning, I was driving back to Windsor, to the hotel, for maybe a few a hours sleep and a shower.  At this point, I didn't have a flight home and was hoping all along to be home earlier enough Saturday afternoon to ride.  When I got back to the job site later that morning, I was just hoping to be in my own bed that night - a small consolation - forget about a ride on the MTB.

So goes it since race day.  Actually, I was putting off several of these projects until after the race, but I had no idea it would be like this.  It makes it really hard to keep a positive attitude and update the blog.  I go out for a short ride, all the time thinking of all the worlds problems I'm dealing with - only to get home more frustrated than when I left.  What's the point?

This morning I went out for a ride on a familiar trail, using the Mokocam.  As expected, I had to address issues from work that "just can't wait".  I got a pretty good clip on the descent, that really doesn't do the ride justice - but................  The files are too large,. I'll need to post them on YouTube.  That will be down the road aways.

For now, I've got to head back to Canada next week with an early morning project in Michigan, Saturday morning.  The local weather looks good enough to ride every day between now and then - hopefully.  Something needs to change....................

A couple weeks ago, while driving back to DTW on a Saturday night, I caught a radio station out of Detroit that was doing a non-stop fifty-year commemoration of the mighty Zep.  It's hard to believe it was that long ago.  Three years ago, I was on the tail-end of a long couple weeks in China.  One of the guys talked me into a Tex-Mex the night before we flew home.  Out of nowhere came one of the classics from II.  Suddenly, I thought - "I can do this".  It's always good to get home, and I and II take me back home - in a way.

Click here - Your time gonna come

I can do this...........

Cold Weather Riding

Soft trails with snow on the horizon

Trying to make the most of the available time, I've been out on the mountain bike several times this week.  A couple later evening rides with a pretty nice early morning ride in the mix.  With temps in the low 40's. and always a chance for precip - cold weather gear is in order: Helmet cover, long finger gloves, and a good rainproof jacket.  With temps above 30°, warmer socks with shorts are still pretty good.  The rain has really made the trails soft and responsive - not too muddy and certainly not twitchy.  Still, an occasional blanket of thick leaves may hide rocks and stumps that can catch you off guard.

The season on these trails locally may be getting short, as this picture from this afternoon shows snow only a couple hundred feet above this location, with heavier snow not too far above that.  The forecast for tonight puts snow a few hundred feet below this point.  It likely means there will be no ride over Ben Lomond this year, but I suspect we'll have a few more weeks on the lower trails - hard to say.  What is for sure, I'll make the most of the time before I have to start riding down on the Shore Line Trail.

Something about the Autumn that takes me back.  I used to look forward to this time of year. I used to spend a lot of my fall in the field hunting - anything.  The colder, the better.  A good day didn't involve much, if any shooting, but rather just being in the field early and taking it all in. Being out with my yellow lab, literally for hours on end - it just beat just about everything. Even in the summer months, I'd like to carry my 9-pound, ultra-precision rifle (unloaded), take my dog, and hike from our house up to Ben Lomond peak.  Going up a back trail, we'd generally not run into anyone 'till about a mile from the peak.  The scope on my rifle provided great optics to spot wildlife a long way out.  All the times I did that little hike, I don't think I ever loaded a single bullet into the gun.  It just provided a great conditioning ballast and fantastic optics.  My lab has been dead for nearly twenty years.  I think I fired my last round through that gun last year - from a box of bullets I reloaded in 1997.  Shooting once a year, typically at a fence post 500 yards away - not a lot of bullets being used. I just don't get out much anymore - thus the bike.  I cover a lot more terrain, a lot faster, but it's not the same...........................

A lot to do before the snow flies and the first heavy frost.  Until then, enjoy the changing of the season.  Maybe another month and it'll be time to register for some spring mountain bike races.  Probably a good time to head south for a couple of days.

Click here for a little "Young Blood"

Ride HARD!

Off the bike for too long

Back home

After that ride to Porcupine two weeks ago, it seems there was just one more thing after the next.  Finally, last Wednesday morning, I headed for Michigan.  What started out as a busy week ended even busier.  Basically something like 60 hours between Wednesday and Saturday night - getting home just after midnight.  So much for burning some vacation............

Commitments and weather have kept me grounded until tonight.  Taking what I could get, I rode over to the horse corral trail and went part way up the back side toward Ben Lomond.  The trail was pretty rocky and washed from the  1 1/2" of rain last night so I couldn't make very good time. I should have gone for something a little more familiar.  Still, I wasn't really up for a hard ride and should have known better.  Riding the spin bike this morning was more of a strain than usual.  I guess that's what ten days off will do to you.  You lose it a lot faster than you can get it back - it a vicious thing.

More rain forecast tonight, but maybe I can get out tomorrow afternoon for a longer ride.  I could use the break from work  - and everything else for that matter.  I really don't have any confidence on my mountain bike anymore.  It's to the point that some of the technical stuff is more effort than fun, in fact, kind of tenuous.  I've gotta fix that before snow flies.

The leaves have all but turned, but not from the cold.  It's just so dry, the colors are not what they usually are this time of year.  Still, pretty darn nice just to be out and about.

Give me a couple days.  I'll come up with something................better.  The season is a changin'.

Try a little Steve Morse Click here for Ghost Wind

Suck it up! Ride HARD!

Long Distance Dirt...........

Porcupine

I love the dirt.  I was born to ride in the dirt.  It's just like everything else - just ain't good at it.  Still, there is something about riding my mountain bike that makes almost everything...........alright.

This past week was way busy.  Work, work, work commitments, and more work.  Getting ready for a busy trip out to Michigan, and its gonna be busy until then.  With time for only one ride this week I took a few liberties and decided on a long ride I'd never done before - but always wanted to do just the same.  Tuesday night I spent a few hours going through the fleet of mountain bikes; tuning, adjusting and adding racing sealant in the tubeless tires.  So Wednesday was prime for a 40 mile trip to Porcupine reservoir and back.  3600 feet of climbing and roughly 2500 calories - an effort.

Porcupine is in the next valley to the north, across the Avon-Liberty divide.  I usually ride to the top of the divide road early in the spring before the gate opens, but not when I have a broken ankle - like this year.  Needless to say, the ride to the top was kind of nice - just to say I was back.  From there it's another 8 miles down what is called South Canyon, and into Avon proper.  To the top of the dam is just a shade over 19 miles.  The last 7 miles (or so) is on rough oil, but still pretty good.  The last mile to the top is steep, rough, rutted dirt, but still a service road.  A beautiful ride this time of year - for sure!

A couple minutes to snap some picts and back on the road home.  Not sure what to expect, I called a friend that lives in Avon to see if I could swing by for some water - if needed.  I left home with one bottle in the cage and a 74-ounce hydration pack on my back.  At the turnaround, I still had more than half the bottle with Zipfiz and 3/4's the hydration pack.  Still, I stopped by his house to chat for a minute - kind of hoping he'd want to hop on for the climb home (the guy is a machine).  No luck, as he was committed to a soccer practice with the kiddos.  Riding home alone gets kind of old, but when you have the entire South Canyon to yourself.............well, you kind of forget about everything else.  It was the break I really needed and it was fantastic.  Making pretty good time, I consciously decided to push the bike for a while, simply to just take more time.  If you could put this in a bottle, it'd be against the law to sell it.

Rides like this make it all worth the effort to get and stay in shape.  Later that night, I was online looking at the rides I'd really like to do this winter and spring.  At the top of the list is "True Grit" - the race I busted my ankle getting ready for (bad grammar).  True Grit is far more technical, but about as long time wise and distance - unless I'm stupid enough to think I can bag 100 dirt miles in March.  Who knows................whoa, what am I thinking?  It's stuff like this that gets me into trouble.  We'll if I'm gonna act stupid, let's try to get into Leadville - again.  Man, I'd love to ride Leadville, but then again, I'd fight the toughest kid in the school just to say he kicked my butt.  What is with me?  Forget about it, Leadville is next to impossible to get into by lottery alone.  Still......... I'd do it in a second!

I've only got two days this week before I jet off to Michigan.  I've got to ship all my gear tomorrow and take care of a few loose ends.  A meeting Tuesday morning and a little thing with my daughter that evening.  I need to get a solid ride in before I leave Wednesday morning.  I scheduled this as tight as possible, getting home way late Saturday night just so I can sleep in my own bed.  I hate hotels.  With 12 -18 hour days scheduled all week, doing some fairly detailed and difficult tasks, I'll be scorched come Sunday morning.  Better get a long ride in before I leave.

A few things to tie up with the Porpoise, but for the most part, we're already looking at next year for something bigger, maybe way big.  We'll see.

Don't ask me why, but this link seems to fit the mood after 40 miles in the dirt.

You Can Still Rock in America - click here

Ride HARD!

LOTOJA 2018 Ride Summary

Apprehension and Expectations

The day after I broke my ankle, the ortho-doc told me I may be able to ride in September, but it wouldn't be my fastest time - if I could ride.  Undeterred, I was determined to ride and shoot for a good time.  Ha!  Riding is one thing, but conditions on a 200-mile ride/ race can change enough over the course of the day so many times, it's completely a crap-shoot.

Arrival and Start

Don't ask why, but somehow things got a little confusing on our way up to Logan.  When we arrived at Center Street, it was very congested.  So, we just stopped right off to the side of the road and threw the gear and bike out.  A quick pic and I was loaded and rolling toward Federal Avenue.  As I got to the queue, I could see my group in the starting area, getting ready to go.  With a couple minutes to spare, I got in without any time to really think about what was happening.  The count-off and start, and then we were on our way.  100 feet into the event and on to First North, we all could feel raindrops - argh!.  All the same, we're on our way.

Logan to Montpelier

The first five or so miles out 10th West to 2800 North, back to 91 is a rolling neutral.  They hold us back to under 20 MPH.  Our group had two motor-marshalls (race officials) for some reason.  One of them kept sweeping us from the roadside all the way back in the neutral to move over the fog line (emergency lane).  Fifty-five guys, riding two abreast makes this kind of dangerous.  By the time we got past Smithfield, it was getting ridiculous.  All the other riders we complaining between each other, but nobody would say anything to the cycle-nazi.  Finally, after a couple guys nearly crashed when dodging some garbage on the far outside edge, I stopped they official and told him he was going to kill someone.  Being on the roadside of the line, he told me to get over, at which point I told him it wasn't going to happen, and we were supposed to be in the lane of traffic.  He rolled back and disappeared.  I was sure he was writing down my frame number for either a penalty or disqualification.  A little while later, he came back through, but not quite as determined to push us off the road.   Through all of this, our speed into Preston was a little slow, but the rain wasn't a factor - until we got through Preston.

At the turn up to the first climb (Strawberry/Immigration), the group quickly split.  I stayed with the main body for maybe five miles but got dropped at maybe MP7, or 8.  Still, I was able to get onto some other groups up to the steep parts at MP12-ish.  As usual, over the false summit, I was able to get some pretty good speed but had a nasty headwind.  By this time, I was seeing groups that had started six and twelve minutes behind me.  Passing the neutral feed zone, I was passing a bunch of people that had passed me in the climb.  By this time, I was seeing the fastest Cat-5s, that started almost 45 minutes later.  Usually, I can get on a good group heading down through Liberty, but not this year.  I hooked onto a couple groups, but let them go, as they were way too fast for me.  I rolled into the Montpelier feed zone alone, but not too far off my target time.  I wasn't feeling too bad, rather pretty good for the two climbs ahead.

Geneva, Salt River Pass to Afton

Up Montpelier canyon, I had been fuelling (feeding) right on schedule.  I was only in the feed zone for a few minutes and felt like I had good legs under me.  Given the congestion at the feed zone, I planned to stop about six miles up the canyon to take care of some business.  Other than that, I wasn't stopping until Afton - 47 miles away.  Geneva summit was pretty much what I'd expected, but still, no good groups going down into Geneva.  A crosswind from the south was welcome, as this would be my tail-wind to KoM.  Most of this stretch was again by myself, occasionally hooking on to small groups that were still too fast.  Past the watering neutral, I really felt like I had the legs to climb, just not too fast.  Just before the KoM start, I felt very confident and kept pushing straight into the timed section.  This is four miles, with 1,064 feet of elevation - nothing I'm not used to.  The first couple miles I was passing pretty much everyone.  The last mile or so, I was getting passed by two, or three for everyone I'd pass.  Still, I was feeling okay and confident - just not super fast.  Up until about five miles before KoM we had cloud cover.  Now it was direct sunlight and getting a tad warm.  About halfway up, I was doing the full "Batman" trying to keep cool.  With no intention to stop at the neutral feed zone at the top, I took a hand-up water bottle and rolled through.  I still had to stop as I needed to zip up my jersey.  I won't risk riding with no-hands at a point like that.  There is too much to lose and stopping takes about ten seconds.  Off the top, I was still feeling pretty fresh and my overall time wasn't too bad.  The last straightaway before the bottom, I hit top speed for the day at 50.7 MPH - not as fast as last year.  The ride through Smoot and into Afton was fast with a tailwind.  Not many groups.  The ones I did find were either too slow or too fast.  The time to Afton was about 35 behind schedule for the entire day.  With a tailwind to Alpine, maybe I could make up some time.  Wishful thinking.

Afton to Alpine

The few minutes I was in the feed zone at Afton was all it took to shift the tailwind to gusting side/headwinds.  Normally I can get through this little 34 mile stretch in less than 90 minutes and as fast as just over one hour - not this year.  At about Thayne, I was nearly out of water - and that has never happened before.  My support tracked me down and gave me a fresh bottle that got me into Alpine - cooked and with a brewing problem in my right leg.  By the feed zone, I was cooked and hurting where I've never hurt before.  At this point I was done looking at a good time, now just getting the finish.

Along this stretch, I had to really get my mind straight and put everything into perspective.  Normally I can fly through this little stretch, but this time I was starting to have considerable self-doubt.  Quitting wasn't an option, but dogging also couldn't happen either.

Alpine, Hoe Back and the Finish

Going up the canyon, I started to feel the ankle.  This was causing the IT band in that same leg to burn - making it hard to pedal. I could feel the time slipping away as I let groups pass me.  I had to regularly stand to pedal with the IT band and ankle not cooperating.  I've made it a rule to skip all the neutral fed zones, but this year I decided to stop at Hoe Back for some quick caffeine.  Turns out, they didn't have what I needed and I spent ten minutes there for no reason.  Worse yet, I let about 30 riders get ahead of me - the only ones I had been riding with since Montpelier.  Worse yet, I had a solid headwind from about five miles before Hoe Back going in.  This was to be problematic (not a Ronco product).

Just passed the roundabout at Hoe Back, it was a stiff,, occasionally gusting headwind all the way to the finish.  The last hill into the Jackson Valley proved to be harder than usual with the wind.  Getting across the highway and heading west, I was totally wasted.  Somewhere along the way, I took my last Gue for the day, expecting to find a small can of Coke at the bike trail - no luck.  Instead, I stopped just long enough to let a really good group get by me - again.  At this point, my ankle and IT band were competing for attention.  I was having to stand - regularly.

At Wilson and off the bike path, I only had seven miles to go.  I had never been in such bad shape this late in the day.  Still, I held my own with nobody passing me, but I wasn't passing anyone else either.  At the 4 KM mark, I usually gear up for a big push for the last 3 miles - not this time.  I didn't fade, but I couldn't "mash" the pedals either.  I finished with a little dignity and a ton of frustration.

Post Ride and the Assessment (second guessing)

Getting back to the truck I checked my phone and saw the donation totals that came in through the day.  Truth is, having the message on my shoulders and knowing what everyone else had done to this point, kept me going.  Stopping was never an option, but I need that to push through what I thought was pain.  Putting it into perspective, I felt pretty stupid and lucky.  Still, I was not happy.  How many times do I have to do this to prove the same thing year after year? The ride over to Driggs, Idaho gave me time to think about a lot of things.  Who am I kidding....................

The next morning at the awards ceremony, I was still a little ticked about my ride.  I only stopped long enough to read the time sheets, making sure I wasn't DQ'd - I wasn't.  After talking to the Huntsman rep, I realized my time didn't matter - at all.  As a group (the Porpoise) we did really well, but HHH as a whole was down.  There were also a ton of folks that DNF'd (did not finish).  The wind played a big part.  There was a three-man breakaway that got ahead of the headwind, took a tailwind and smashed the course record.  After all was said and done, finishing when I did wasn't that bad after all.  Still, I was dead last in my group, but it also appears there were a bunch of DNF's.  My bike time to actual time was about 50 minutes off, with more than an hour from my target.  I lost most of that in the last 65 miles, where I had hoped to make it up.

While sitting in the park in Randolf Sunday afternoon, it kind of reconciled - I did what I set out to do.  I was told I was lucky to even be riding and my time wouldn't be my fastest. So.....what's the big deal.  Maybe I could have shaved a little more time off the finish and not finished last in my group, but that is how it turned out.  The Porpoise was a success and I'm grateful for that.  Fortunately, my time didn't bear on the effort of the Porpoise.  I was already thinking about what we can do next year.  Will I ever learn..................

Now I'm looking forward to a couple months on the mountain bike and considering some off-season stuff in the dirt.

Stick around.  There's still a lot to do............................

Ride HARD!