Rainy Day People

I'm a little disappointed with my performance last weekend at the Georgia State Championship/ Southeast Cup race in Winder Ga.  Yes it rained overnight.  And yes it rained before my race.  And of course it rained during my race.  But it absolutely flooded after the race was over.  Ahh 64 degrees, windy, and cloudy, mixed in with showers, made for a chilly start.  To say I was concerned while on the starting line would be an understatement.

On The Line

There were 11 entered in my class and we sat there in the drizzle while the wind blew off the lake, waiting for the starting whistle.  I hadn't ridden my MTB in the mud very much before this event, and I had certainly never raced in the mud.  During my practice/warm up the trail was slick in some spots but tacky in others.  I pride myself on being able to read dirt due to my many years riding moto but this stuff had me buffaloed.  I couldn't tell where or when the bike was going to slide.  I got nervous.

10 Seconds!

"Just get a good jump and survive this" I told myself.  I got away 2nd but backed off going into the woods and let 4 by me.  At first it wasn't too bad, the pace was reasonable, and my competitors in the GSC were right with me.  As the trail went down through a flat area I heard the guys up front yell something about being slick.  It was and I backed off a little more.  The first attack came from behind me on the first uphill so I followed him past a couple of SERC guys and settled into 4th.

I could stay with them on the climbs but they'd gap me on the descents.  Even in the flat sections I was being cautious and they would pull me.  We were all close the whole first lap.  I came through the feed zone still in 4th.

The End

It looks like there are at least 4 of us contesting the GSC only.  That was the group freight training through the slop on the last lap.  I was getting frustrated, I would work hard on the uphills, get a gap, a gap so big sometimes I couldn't even see the guy behind me, then lose it when it started downhill or got flat.  Somewhere during that time I got into second, I could see first through the trees, but I couldn't shake 3rd.  He managed to hang with me on the last climb, something he wasn't doing earlier, then go past on the following downhill.  Damn it!  I had beaten this guy at every race last year, and even at Macon this year.  But here he was gapping me right before the finish. 

The whole race I was convinced there was someone off the front.  If there was he didn't finish the first lap.  I rolled in 3rd, 27 seconds behind first.

Did the OMTP fail me?  Was it just the mud?  You can see I'm having doubts.

The Kid finished 4th after a good race.  He was all pumped when he met me at the finish of my race.  Of course I did the dumb dad thing when he told me he got 4th and looked disappointed.  I just knew he would do better than that and was thinking he might be bummed.  Well he was after he saw my reaction.  Oh well, just add that to the list of dumb dad stuff I do.  After all, that's all he'll remember anyway. 

"What's wrong with fourth?"

Post Race

It rained harder.  We collected our medals in the rain, loaded the Sub. in the rain, and drove most of the way home in the rain.  As my little GM 3 foursome talked after our race I learned one had had open heart surgery, the other had just finished radiation treatments.  Both of them beat me.  I don't have anything, except maybe whimpitus. 

The series results show both The Kid and I in second.  Should I stay the course?  After all the only goal I had was to be on the blocks at the end of the season.  Or should I up the intensity?  Abandon the OMTP?  I have just 2.5 weeks until the next race.  Maybe my season is already set?

People Get Ready

 

Ahhh, race weekend is here.  And the weather looks like, well, crap.  A high of 62 both Saturday and Sunday with a 70% chance of rain.  Oh this should be fun!  I'm being sarcastic, I've never raced a MTB in the rain.  Looks like I'll get a chance this weekend.  On the positive side I feel like the trail will drain well unless it gets a flood.  There are a couple of low places along the pond dam that will hold water.  We'll just have to see.  I'll forgo a practice lap Saturday if it's raining and just take my chances on Sunday.

As far as bike prep the only thing I think I'll do is put in new rear break pads, mine are getting worn and I'd hate to grind them down to metal (again).  That and some tackier chain lube should do it.  Unless you can think of something else?

Zone 2

For 2 hours was the OMTP prescription for last Sunday.  Big Jim and I tackled what I call the Amsterdam loop up in Decatur Co. Ga. on our cross bikes.  We only had a couple of bad mud holes to traverse so it was a pleasant ride.  You wouldn't think a zone 2 heart rate would be difficult but it did wear me down a bit.  Of course Big Jim was just cruising.  My zone 2 is his recovery pace.  We enjoyed beers on the porch at Joanies in beautiful downtown Havana afterwards.

 

 

"Why is that guy behind me going so slow?"

 

 

Sick Days

I managed to avoid the disease that has attacked my household during the past week.  First my Lovely Wife started coughing, then The Kid had a little fever.  I wore latex gloves the whole week and made sure I didn't touch anything after they did.  I may have taken this a little too far by requiring the Lovely Wife to only enter the kitchen after I was through and to not face my direction while sitting at the table.  I just locked The Kid upstairs in his room.  Can you see now why I'm such an amazing husband and father?  By focusing only on myself, I was able to keep them from feeling guilty about giving me their disease.  Hey, it's just the kind of guy I am.

Nothing New

I have discovered that I don't particularly enjoy riding with a large group on the road.  It makes me nervous.  Big Worm tells me I'll get used to it with experience but I have my doubts.  Like at the Heartbreaker in Gainesville, I stayed tense right up until the time I got dropped, then I started to enjoy the ride.  Granted the amount of effort I was putting out dropped also but I could feel my shoulders and neck get loose as soon as the pack pulled away. 

Maybe it's from seeing so many people doing really stupid stuff at the start of a hare scrambles, or worse, off the gate at a motocross race.  I don't mind taking chances with my skills and reaction time but I have a problem trusting someone I don't know.  I guess I'll never make it as a roadie.

After the Heartbreaker Jim said that I must be sticking to the plan because I rode so slow.  I assume he was alluding to the fact that on that day the OMTP called for 45 min. at zone 5 and that was all I did (or could do) while they went at that pace for 2 hours.  I have excuses.

No a drinking cat is not my excuse.  I just like cat pictures.

After that particular ride we stopped in for a bite at a Mexican restaurant and being all thirsty we ordered a beer.  "Would zoo like de leetle one or de beg one?" our waiter asked Tim.  "Oh bring me the big one" he announced with a swagger.  So Jim and I, not wanting to look like wimps, said "yea, we want a big one too".  We managed to force it down.  Hey I didn't want to get dropped on the beer and the ride.

 

Racing

Less than 2 weeks until GSC #2.  My weight is 1 pound over my goal, which is 3 pounds under where I was at race 2 last year.  I still fear I haven't put in enough long hard efforts.  The only comfort I find in this is that this is a "B" race as far as the plan goes.  I don't know exactly what that means but it makes me comfortable so don't tell me.

A Quick Interview With Stormin Norman After The Heartbreaker Gravel Grinder

With apologies to Tom Petty.

                                           http://ridewithgps.com/ruter/2269983/full.png

Mr. Norman, you just finished the 66 mile gravel grinder in Gainesville Fl. called the Heartbreaker, how did you feel as the ride rolled out?

It's alright if you love me
It's alright if you don't
I'm not afraid of you running away
Honey, I get the feeling you won't

What were you thinking when the first attacked occurred?

Don't do me like that
Don't do me like that

And when they attacked again in the sand section?

Well I won't back down
No I won't back down
You can stand me up at the gates of Hell
But I won't back down

When you first realized you were getting dropped what thoughts went through your head?

I'm learning to fly, but I ain't got wings
Comin down is the hardest thing

As they disappeared ahead of you what were you thinking?

God it's so painful
Something that's so close
And still so far out of reach

And when you finally got to the finish?

Oh my my, oh hell yes

So Big Jim got second.  How did he act?

It's good to be king and have your own way
Get a feeling of peace at the end of the day
And when your bulldog barks and your canary sings
You're out there with the winners, it's good to be king

Any last thoughts?

I don't know what I've been told
You never slow down, you never grow old

But you finished well behind the main group

Baby, even the losers get lucky sometimes
Even the losers keep a little bit of pride
They get lucky sometimes

 

A Rainy Night in Havana

It's getting old, these weekly deluges.  What happened to the nice springtime shower, why 4+" every time?  It's cramping my training plans.

The OMTP

Ah the training plan.  I'm in my second week of the Build, Peak, and Race phase.  I've gotten to where I enjoy the planning and the training almost as much as the racing.  It was getting confusing having the plan in Adobe on the computer, my riding stuff on Garmin Connect and Strava, and the daily stuff written in a running journal by my sink in the bathroom.  So I printed the whole plan, dated the workouts (which was a mistake), printed off calendars with the races and other events, and put it all in an old school notebook.

I have no idea why it's upside down.  You get the idea.

I know, I know, that's so 1977, but it works for me.  I can now look ahead and see what's coming up and when I need to start pre race workouts. 

I've even gotten The Kid starting to follow a plan.  Just to prove one size doesn't fit all, he was doing intervals with me last night at Forest Meadows and I noticed he wasn't breathing hard.  I however, was heaving like a water buffalo.  "Go around!" I gasped.  "Okay" was the reply, he stood on the pedals and disappeared up the hill, leaving me alone in my misery.  He needs to train with somebody who can beat him down.  I'm afraid those days are gone as far as me doing the beating.

 

 

 

 

The Trick

As I document the RPE (rate of perceived exertion) and the average HR (heart rate) from the various rides I'm finding that on certain days my RPE is low, even though my HR is up and I cover just as much ground, and on other days I can't get my HR into the recommended zone.  You've all experienced it, some days just seem easy, and some days the legs feel like lead.  I guess the trick is to get the easy feeling on race day.  Sounds pretty simple huh?

Tom Petty

I assume the ride I plan on doing in Gainesville this weekend is named after his band, the Heartbreakers.  I've never done it before, it's a 65 mile dirt and paved road ride/race around the country side in Alachua County Florida.  It's got me a little nervous because of all the roadie crap that these type of rides sometimes require.  You know, following close, squeezing in and out of a group, etc.  There's no trophies, no support, and very few rules. 

 

The group I'm going with are all stud muffins when it comes to doing this stuff and are all set on destroying the local's sense of self worth regarding their ability to ride their bikes.  Should be fun.  I'll let you know how it goes.

The Coast

The Bearded One (TBO) lined up a CX ride to the St. Marks lighthouse.  We both had Good Friday off, the weather was going to be perfect, and he had set up the route on Ride GPS.  I'll admit to being somewhat skeptical about some of the dirt roads he was using, especially since there were gates across them when I checked them out on Google maps.  Oh well, I thought, he's an experienced traveler, he must know something I don't, so I didn't mention my misgivings, I just loaded up in his new vehicle on Friday morning.

A Hint of What Was To Come

"Dammit Norman, I can't believe you didn't bring your glasses!"  "I have no idea how to get to Natural Bridge Road!".  TBO was trying to get his phone to give him directions.  He was getting a little flustered.  I knew how to get there, just not the most direct route from Midtown Tallahassee.  It was at that moment I began to realize that TBO may not have the best sense of direction in the world.  However it was his ride so I just smiled and listened to his phone give him directions to some kind of natural nursery.

We Ride  

We did finally find the Battlefield Park at Natural Bridge, get unloaded, and set out on the bikes.  After a couple of miles we came to the first dirt road turn, I mentioned that it looked like the exit had a gate across it when I checked on Google.  "Why didn't you say something about this before?" TBO asked.  I just shrugged and said "I may be wrong, lets see how far we can get".  About 2 miles as it turns out.  We back tracked to the paved road.

 

 

"We're only going to be on pavement another quarter mile, take a right at the first gate".  Once again I didn't mention that this looked like a private gate, not a gate on the St. Marks refuge.  It was locked so we hopped it.  After a mile or so we came upon another gate, this one marked posted, we headed back to the pavement.

 

 

This was taken by TBO.  He's a pro.

Port Leon

Once on the St. Marks Wildlife Refuge we rode out to the Port Leon site, thinking we might be able to make a loop.  Another dead end.  Another back track along the muddy road.  After TBO checked his phone (remember I didn't have my glasses, I won't make that mistake again) we got on a levy and turned toward the Gulf.

 

"This is where we were supposed to come in"

 

 

The Lighthouse

 

You've all seen it.  It was my first time.  It was worth the trip.  We turned north and with a good tail wind we went back to 98 on the pavement.

Once back in the car, all loaded up, TBO looks at me and says "Now how do we get home"?

Eats

It was a good ride, I'm giving TBO a hard time here but I enjoy it when someone else makes the plans. 

The Lovely Wife and I had dinner at Oscars in Beautiful Downtown Havana that night.  It truly was a Good Friday.

Blue Ridge Mountain Skies

North Georgia is only 6 hours away.  It has mountains.  It has many trails.  Why don't I live there?  Oh yea, I couldn't make a living.  But damn I love the mountains!

Race Weekend

The week started with the first GSC race in Macon Ga.  I crashed in the time trial Saturday and got 4th, The Kid got second, plus he beat my time by 19 seconds.  Hey, I did crash.  In the cross country race on Sunday The Kid and I both got second place in our respective classes.  My legs lasted until half way through the last of 3 laps then they decided they'd had enough.  Don't get me wrong I'm not complaining about a second place finish, it's just that I have quite a bit more work to do on the OMTP.  I admit it did make me happy to get to the top of a hill on the last lap and see the newbie in our class trying to stretch out a bad set of cramps.  He had been hammering hard out front since the start.  That extra lap in sport does make a difference.

 

 

 

We left Macon after the race and arrived in Blue Ridge Ga. at around 6 pm., found the cabin, and went to Ingles.  Tired and hungry is not the way to go grocery shopping.  I wish they had an Ingles in Beautiful Downtown Havana, it's an awesome store.

Anyhoo, we purchased enough to get us through that night and the next day, went back to the cabin, had a drink and some pizza, then passed out on the couch in front of the fire.

That was Sunday, Monday dawned cold and cloudy, and after coffee and bear claws, we started our recon of the area.

We put the Subaru to good use fording small streams and climbing rocky roads in search of trail heads and bike shops.  It flooded that evening, so no biking on Tuesday.

Take a Hike

But we did get to hike.  After the obligatory Lovely Wife's shopping time (which we do on every trip) we hiked up to Green Mountain.

 

 

 

The Ride

 



Wednesday I decided (against the advice of Sam at Southern Cycles) to take the fam to the Ocoee Whitewater Center and ride MTBs.  Short story is the Lovely Wife crashed when I mistakenly took her on a trail labeled difficult.  She did manage to ride 2 hours though and was kind enough to let The Kid and I do a little single track ride by ourselves.  I want to go back, the trails aren't as good as Dupont, but they're not as hard as Pisgah.  I just wish we had studied the map a little closer before we left the trail head.

 

Eating Out?

 

The town of Blue Ridge is kinda weird.  No alcohol except beer and wine in the restaurants.  Imagine the horror of eating strange Mexican without the aid of a Margarita!  The eating establishments were not always open either.  Next time we'll just buy more at Ingles and stay at the cabin to eat. 

I hope the "next time" is this summer.

As he stares up into heaven
I'm sure I know the reason why
He's thinking about, about that promised land
In those blue ridge mountain skies
(Marshall Tucker)