No Expectations

Is it here already?  The last race in the Gone Riding Georgia State Series is this weekend in Helen Ga.  Am I prepared?  Not really.  And I'm not just saying that because Santa and FRSS will be reading this.  The OMTP (Old Man Training Plan) has run it's course.  I'm ready to just ride my bike when and how I want to.  No more hard days followed by recovery.  If I want to be stupid and hammer for three days straight and wind up feeling like crap I want to be able to do it, without any worry about how it might effect my next race.

Was it worth it?  Yea, I enjoyed the regiment in the plan.  It got me on the bike when I might have just had a beer on the porch instead.  It forced me to look at my diet, just look mind you, not really do anything different.  I learned I didn't start out the plan going hard enough.  The sport class has been much more difficult than base was (no offense R. H.).  If I get another chance at sport next year I'll be better prepared.  Awww, look, I'm already thinking about next year.

I just need to get through this weekend first.  The trail at Helen is the biggest elevation change we race on.  The forecast is for rain both Saturday and Sunday.  I don't do long sustained climbs very well.  Only one point separates me from 3rd place.  I really thought that if I placed in the top 5 at every race I'd be sitting on the box easily by the time we got to Helen.  Wrong.  Even in the base class lat year I had to beat R. H. plus put a rider between us to secure first place.  It's sad, I just wanted to be able to "show up" this year without worrying about how I did. 

Anyhoo, the crazy thing is I may get promoted to expert for next year.  Really?  Santa and Clydesdale will go also.  FRSS says he's retiring after this year.  I have no business in the expert class.  As a friend of mine said "I like beer too much to be an expert".  At 57 I,ll only have 3 more years till I can move back to base (if I choose).  I'll be the only expert rider who can't get over an 8" log.  It'll be embarrassing.

The kid has second place wrapped up so he'll be able to relax and enjoy his lap in the mountain's.  So however it turns out it's been fun.  I have an adventure coming up which will cause much envy amongst some of the 5 people who read this.  Stay tuned.

There Must Be Some Kinda Way Outta Here

I was having a hard time getting up for this past weekend's XC race in Macon, Ga.  The forecast was for temperatures in the upper 90's and that just didn't sound like mountain bike racing weather. Maybe  a little burnout is starting to settle in even though I'm not going over my recommended cycling hours in the OMTP and heck this was only the 4th race out of 6.  Still, as I lay awake in my Hampton Inn hotel room on Sunday morning I had to remind myself why I do this.

Anyhoo, we loaded up the new roof rack Saturday morning and headed out.  Even though it was the week of the 4th of July traffic was about normal for I-75.  It was 97 degrees at Arrowhead Park when we kitted up for our practice lap.  The trail was mostly machine built, a lot of loose off camber corners, and some steep punchy climbs.  Nothing technical, almost perfect for my lack of skills, except I couldn't get comfortable.

The kid and I had signed up for the short track race at 5:00, having no idea how it would work.  Ever done one?  We hadn't either.  It went like this; line up all the white wave riders, say go, climb a steep paved road for what seemed like a mile, turn right onto single track, descend the same distance that we just climbed, get back on the paved road, repeat for 10 minutes plus 1 lap.  My thighs were on fire before I got to the top of the first climb.  All three of my "friends" from the 50+ sport class were there and all three were ahead of me.  For that matter so was the kid.  My only moment of redemption came when I passed Santa at the top of the hill on the last lap.  I really thought I'd do better than that but 3 out of 4 was all I had in me.  It said 103 on the Subaru thermometer when we got done.  I already felt like I had done a XC race and it had only been 13 minutes.

It didn't get much cooler over night.  On the line at 11:30 Sunday morning we got the option to go 2 instead of 3 laps.  I voted for 2.  It was a good move.  We all got off the line without incident and began that paved road climb from Saturday.  I just wanted to stay with my group of "friends" and not let anybody get in between us.  Of course a local jumps in the middle of things, then goes down in the first corner of single track.  I just barely miss running over him but after we got by all that our little foursome formed the conga line we've had the whole series and settled in.

I may not be much of a cyclist but I raced moto for 25+ years, I know how to race.  If you're faster than me, I'll let you by, especially early in the race.  Just ask.  By this point in the series we pretty much know who we're racing against.  So I was a little surprised by an inside move by a rider I've been beating all year.  Like I said, just ask.  Of course he faded on the first set of climbs and after I passed him I never saw him again.  I even let my closest rival by, heck, it's just the kind of guy I am.

Ah, my rival, I used to call him FRSS (fully ridgid single speed) even though he hasn't ridden that since the first race.  I settled in behind him (I do a lot of settling) and we started to gain on second place, Santa was long gone in first.  I started to hear FRSS grunt every now and then.  He started going wide on turns.  I politely eased by him at the top of one of those short punchy climbs and tried to catch second place.  After a few minutes of that silliness I decided it wasn't worth dieing for so I focused on just staying alive and in third.

In the end I was happy with third, it was sooooooo hot.  I don't think any of us could have done another lap.  The kid had some new riders in his class and ended up fourth, along with his first taste of cramps at the finish.  I bet that's the last time he laughs at me as I scream and hop around when I get up off the couch after a day on the bike.

So why do I do this?  Is it because I get to spend the weekend with my family?  Is it getting to share something with my 16 year old son?  Is it the challenge of doing something difficult?  Is it the opportunity to push myself a little beyond my comfort level?  Is it meeting new people my age who like to do something besides play golf, fish, and watch football?  Of course you've figured out it's all of the above.  Even though I may not meet my original goal of a top three series finish look at all the other stuff I got instead.  And that's why I do this.

Look at Mother Nature On the Run

It's not quite as dramatic as the title implies, but while I was headed out for a solo tour of the Munson area in the Apalachicola National Forest (ANF), I came across a cyclist with a yellow extension cord wrapped around his handlebars.  He had no shirt or helmet and was wearing cut off shorts.  He wouldn't meet my gaze nor did he respond to my friendly hello.  I became suspicious.

It was a balmy 97 degrees last Sunday afternoon and the parking lot at the trail head was almost empty.  I ran up on my extension cord friend not long after leaving my truck.  Since I was on a verrrry leisurely ride I was taking the opportunity to look around and groove with nature.  Something that I find hard to do when riding with others.  As the trail passed the first wet weather pond I noticed some garbage on the bank.  I stopped and eased the bike off the trail to get a better look and found that some trees had been cut down and sort of a rough camp set up.  Had I found Mr. Extension Cord's summer home?  Creepy.

I saw the same thing happen to the Ocala National Forest as urbanization surrounded it.  Garbage, parties, meth labs, bums, and all the other effluvia that comes when we make the woods easier to access and people press in from all sides.  In just my life time the Ocala went from being a place where you had to have 4 wheel drive just to get around to being filled up with motor homes.

Anyhoo, right after leaving the camp site I found some old moto trail (again) that the horsey people had been riding, and followed it for an hour.  The moto trail was sandy, bushes and smilax vines scratched my legs, I fell over twice.  But the tunes on my mp3 were good (yea, on Sunday I was that guy) and I found my happy place.  I could smell the heat coming off the wire grass and was content to just poke along.  Before long my water started getting low so I got back on the ribbon of orange and headed for the water fountain next to the paved trail.

After filling up and rinsing the sand and blood off my knees, I took the connector over to the Twilight trail.  When my head started to get hot the wind would blow, the sand crunched under my tires, Neil Young sang, and all was right with the world.  I just kept thinking "if I only had a yellow extension cord this would be a perfect day".

I'm Not Missing a Thing

Except the last 4 miles of the Wednesday Chaires Ride.  Yep, the old legs just stopped working, even though I had been "sitting in" for 51 of the 54 miles of the ride.  If you've ever had that happen you know how frustrating it is to be telling your legs "pedal dammit" and they just barely turn the cranks.

I owe BJS for this humiliating beat down, turns out he chose the route for my first Chaires ride.  This road ride goes off every Wednesday during the long summer and has a reputation of being hard.  It was, at least for me, so why did BJS pick 54 miles of torture to initiate me?  Could it be payback for the humiliation he suffered during the Micosukee sign sprint a couple of months ago?

I did learn a few things during the 2+ hours we rode through the rolling hills of Leon and Jefferson counties.  One is, the larger the person in front of you the better the draft is behind them.  Two, some riders have a smooth pedal stroke so you don't get treated like a Slinky at the back.  Three, it's not always easy being the tail end.  Four, it's frustrating to watch the group disappear into the distance.

I'll do it again though not during a pre race week or a recovery week. Maybe if I had been doing this type of ride earlier in the OMTP I wouldn't be sitting in third behind Santa and Clydsdale.

Beast of Burden

I really do love racing my bike.  I mean I really really do love it.  I just wish I was better at it.  I had goals at the beginning of the Georgia State Series and so far I'm within my expectations but secretly I was hoping for more.  I probably didn't do enough high end work earlier in the OMTP.  Yes, I have some doubts. 

This past weekend was the 4th round of the series which was held at the Flat Rock Park in Columbus, Ga.  The trail kinda sucks, it goes from wide open to so tight you can barely get your handle bars between the trees.  No flow at all.  My race strategy was to get out front early so I could get through the only real technical section first.  I bet it's the last time the group lets me get away with that.

I lined up on the outside and got a good jump on the 11 other old farts and was able to keep it till we got to the rocks.  I had had trouble clearing this section in practice (the kid did also so it wasn't just me).  You threaded your way between rocks and into a rooty off camber turn, which amazingly I managed to clean, then onto a rock ledge which turned 90 degrees down hill to another 90 degree turn at the bottom.  I unclipped one pedal and pivoted at the apex of the second turn.  Unfortunately for the pack just off my wheel I may have inadvertently come to an almost complete stop before making the turn.  I heard "Ohfffffff" followed by bike parts making contact with rocks.  Then "rider down".   I pedaled like mad to the up hill switch back where I immediately fell over, blocking the whole trail and forcing me and anybody left behind me to run the hill.

I lost 2 places at the top of the climb.  The rest of the race was pretty uneventful.  A local rider who was not in the points got out ahead of Santa Claus who was in front of Clydesdale who was in front of me, leaving me in 4th.  In the last woods section I could see Clydesdale just ahead of me but I was spent.

I spent the whole race at or above 90% of my maximum heart rate and I don't know about you but I think that's too much.  At the finish I was wasted.  I rode by the top three guys after the finish line and gave them a "good ride", they didn't flip me off so maybe they forgot my first lap fiasco.

The Kid got another second, MB got a second, and PB got a first.  The Tallahassee contingent is getting smaller.

There's just 2 more races left in the series.  I supposedly have "peaked" in my training cycle but I haven't noticed much difference between peak and build as far as my fitness goes.  Then again, if I'm having fun, does it really make any difference?

I Think It's Gonna Rain

It had become the "I Hope It Doesn't Rain Ride".  It was my first big road ride (as far as the number of riders goes).  I had no idea what to expect.  Plus it didn't fit in with the OMTP.  I wasn't really looking forward to it.  Big Jim had been putting the hard sell on me to sign up so when Wrecking Ball (WB) called about doing the metric route I decided to give it a try.  The thing that did it for me was the fact that Lil WB was going to go so The Kid would have some company that was close to his age.  We said that we were riding as long as it wasn't thundering while we sat in the parking log before the start.

The start came early on Saturday, like 6:30 am early.  No it wasn't thundering, in fact it was kinda cool, cloudy,and not even raining (yet).  Our little crew was all together under the starting banner, I had assumed (wrongly) that we would try to ride together.  That lasted until we got onto the road then they all disappeared into the gloomy morning, leaving The Kid and I trapped amongst what must have been 200 roadies.

"OK", I thought to myself, "just keep your cool, Big Worm said it would all thin our pretty quick".    After we had been mired in this group for at least an hour I had had enough.  It was always "SLOWING", or somebody drifting out of their line, or somebody barely able to climb the smallest hill, I was miserable.  I kept thinking how much this sucked and how much more fun I'd be having on my MTB doing the torture loop at Forest Meadows.  Turns out The Kid was thinking the same thing.

I'll admit my inexperience at group riding was what had me stuck.  I didn't know how to move up and every time I tried somebody jumped in front of me or got on my left and we slowed down again.  Finally I just moved to the left and with The Kid behind me we just started passing.  At that point I would have rather ridden in the wind than continue being boxed in with that bunch.  About the time I was closing in on the front I heard "hey David" and looked over to see WB and not too far behind him LWB.  We rode with them till we hit the second (?) sag when both the juniors said we should stop and I was thankful we did.

Of course I got in the line for the Port a Potty right behind the only guy who had to take his morning constitutional. 

We grabbed cookies, filled up water bottles, and hit the road.  Oh that was sooooo much better.  No crowds, we could go at our own pace.  I started to enjoy the ride.

We rounded the courthouse in Monticello Fl. and started back towards Lloyd before the rain started.  We all took turns on the front and listened to WB give advice, directions, and corrections.  The rain came down hard from Lloyd until right before we got back to Tallahassee. 

In the end we had a blast.  The Mexican food and a XX grande after the ride made me want to find the couch.  I'm not sure I'd do it again though (the ride I mean, I'll gladly eat Mexican and drink beer).

The Forest

It's 600,000 plus acres and it's right in our back yard.  Yes, it's a little sandy in spots, and a little wet in other spots.  But it's a FOREST!  Don't we ride bicycles made to be ridden in FORESTS?  Do we have to ride only in the manicured and easily navigated parks, dodging inattentive runners and piles of dog crap?

Somebody else has been riding down there (in the FOREST), I've seen the tracks.  But we spent 3.5 hours riding in the FOREST last weekend and never saw another human.  I know it's not buff single track and it requires you spend a lot of time on two track and graded roads.  Plus the sand makes pedaling hard.  Oh, and don't forget those horrible bushes that scrape your legs.  But the possibilities for adventure are endless.

If you know me, right about now you're saying "Old Man, you're so full of crap, you love machine built trails, and you whine constantly if you have to get off your bike for anything technical".  That's true and it may be because I spent so much time in the FOREST in my past incarnation as a moto head, but I feel comfortable there.

On second thought, I don't want you riding in the FOREST.  Too many people is what ruined it for moto and the same thing may happen again.  I like the fact that it's hard to find your way around, heck that's part of the challenge.  If everybody starts riding in the FOREST then the Feds will decide we're having too much fun and corral us back onto the spoon fed trails of Munson.

Ah, Munson.  I liked the old Munson, but I also like the new one.  Even though an orange ribbon of clay running through a sandy wiregrass upland assaults my sense of aesthetics, it is fun.  But it's not the real FOREST.  Someone even thought the trees were too close together on a section of Munson so they took it upon themselves to girdle them so they would die. 

So, yea, come to think of it, never mind about riding in the FOREST.  It's not at all fun, in fact it sucks pretty bad.  You wouldn't like it.

I know none of the 5 people who read this blog would ever girdle trees, I'm just ranting for fun.  Silk, I was just kidding about the bushes.   YOU like the FOREST.