Beacon CX

I had heard good things about the Beacon course, and although the race was quite a distance from home, I made an effort to make it happen this year. Art had an install half way between the race and home. He scheduled the install for Friday night, this way the trip down seemed more worth the time. Well, that is what we thought. Art was a tad behind schedule and rush hour traffic was insane. This is NJ .... what were we thinking? Six hours later, we finally got to our hotel to catch some sleep.

By this time the weather forecast had turned from light rain or snow showers to a full blown Northeaster. The weather guys were spot on, and it was raining when we got up. I certainly do not mind mud or cold, but cold and wet combined is not something I enjoy. Perhaps I never got over doing the freezing "Running of the Dogs" race years ago, but I am not looking to go there now. So as we had made the trip down, spent hotel fare and paid our entry fees, my thought was "It's only 40 minutes", so we went to race. Deep inside, I could not wait to be done, as I knew it would be cold. I stayed in the truck as long as possible to avoid hanging out in the rain, even as far as skipping a pre-ride and warming up on the trainer in the truck, but eventually we had to face up and go out and race in the rain.

Once on course, it really was fine for me. I actually enjoyed the handling conditions, but For Art it was not so much fun as he suffers from Raynaud's condition in his hands. Many sections of the course were completely under water, and others were all mud. I could not believe how hard it was to get up the amphitheater steps or even the barriers with all the mud. By the time I was done, temps were dropping into the low 30's, and Art was quick to get me to the truck to change out of my wet, mud incased clothes. This whole process was not much fun, and I certainly questioned wether I am indeed cut out for cross. Still shaking from the cold, I agreed to pack up and head home without even checking results as we were expecting snow up north. To my knowledge I may have been 4th in my race, but was too cold to really care either way.

As we drove home in the rain, I noticed the colors of the trees in south jersey were outstanding. I do not know if it was the contrast of the colors against the dark sky, but seeing them was a short special moment in my day. From there, we drove into a snowstorm, and were pretty stressed trying not to end up like the many cars we saw off the highway in ditches for the next five hours. It was a bit odd to arrive home to shovel the driveway and then take out the hose to wash muddy bikes and clothes.

As much as we both wanted to race at HPCX on Sunday, I could not bring myself to get up early an do all that again. The race itself is fun, but sometimes the clean up and sitting in the car wears me down.

Granogue CX

The race at Granogue is special to me. Last year it was my first of the year testing race, and got me sucked in to the whole cross deal. The course is a little more than a flat field with mud and some running. It has some hills, trails, textures and some pretty impressive scenery. Taking place on the Dupont estate, this race is quite unique and perhaps the witnessing of the tail end of a bittersweet era. For now, I am loving it for what it is, and giving thanks to all those of this era that have been generous enough to let a bunch of bikers come out and ride on their lawn.

This years race was no less symbolic, as I had my first crash. I have witnessed many falls while on course and always wondered why everyone fell down. I knew my time would come and Saturday was it. There was a good field for 45+ with several elite women racing down for whatever reason. I may have been a tad intimidated but also really excited to have the honor of racing these ladies. I was up for the challenge!

Day #1: I had an ok start, but always struggle sorting out before I can settle in. There were plenty of back and forths, mis-shifts and some spills in front of me, but finally I found myself chasing 4th place down, with 3 out of sight off the front. Near the end of my 3rd of four laps, I let it hang out a bit on the descent in hopes to bridge up, and in a fraction of a second, my front tire slipped out on a greasy off camber. As soon as the hood hit the ground, I was ejected off the front giving me a very clean landing in the grass just in front of my bike. I'll admit, I was a tad surprised that I had gone down, but nothing hurt, so I was back on the bike quickly and flying down the hill in hopes that my rear brake lever was still in working order, which it was.

I chased down for a half lap, but could not see the rider in front. I finally went to stand up a hill in a final effort, and my drive train halted. "What a time to brake a chain" I thought, but after looking down, I found the chain jumbled and off the chain rings. I got off the bike and moved to the side of the track. My chain came free and I quickly placed it back on but my rear wheel would not turn. I tried to stay calm and think. I decided to check my rear skewer, and sure enough, the wheel had pulled out of the drop out. In the mean time 3-4 ladies had gone by and I was hoping not too many of them where in my class. As it turned out, only one of them was, and I held onto 6th place, but it felt like a disorganized race for me.

Day #2: Art and I thought that my fall on Saturday had loosened my skewer or maybe I did not get it tight enough after my wheel swap from the warm up on the trainer, but once I was racing on course the small half of my cog set was all jumpy making it hard to concentrate or pedal smoothly. I should have checked all this out after my race on Saturday. Now I had to deal with it in the race. It took me a lap or two, but I finally figured I would shift chain rings more and use less of the cog set.

The run up was really exciting this day, because of the off camber mounting area where you had to turn and shoot down into a steep bumpy descent with a turn at the bottom. This made for some uncertainty and choices in risk, and was lined with spectators. I remember last year, having no idea how to handle this and just giving in to running up and down, which worked fine last year. I practiced mounting in this situation for this year and got it every lap on Sunday, no problem. Practice and confidence does really help! I was certain I finished 6th but I must have gone by someone without realizing it, and I took fifth. Art checked my bike on Monday, and I had pulled the barrel adjuster out of the DR body stripping the last few threads. I was thankful I was able to finish the race fairly well.

The weather was fabulous this past weekend. Warm days are winding down and although I enjoy cross, I am not looking forward to winter. It was wonderful to have spent both days out side soaking up the sun. I enjoyed every minute of it.

Some photos below of a hike Art and I took at Brandywine River Park on Friday afternoon, after driving down through many rain storms. A hawk was waiting for us in the tree in the first photo.

... And Snap, Fall Is Here

The last few days have been #10's on the scale of beautiful days. After what seemed like a month of rainy, humid and cloudy weather, New Jersyites have been blessed with warm sunny days. I was beginning to think that the soggy climate would brown the leaves and drop them without color. Today I was able to confirm that the colors have started.

Six weeks has passed with races every weekend, ... sometimes two races a weekend. Today was a treat to just take an easy ride in the park and enjoy the change of seasons. This is my favorite time of year to ride a bike in the woods. Soft reds were spreading upward out of the swamps and the trails were covered in many shades of leaves. Frogs leaped into puddles as I passed and the smell of autumn was on the trail.



The past two weekends were dedicated to mountain bike racing, and will probably complete my mountain bike racing for 2011. The Campmor H2H Leaf Blower and state championship was probably the wettest race I have done in 15 years. I am grateful that leaves are currently falling and helping to reclaim any traces of us racers. The promoter was very diligent to remove sensitive trails from the race and I am very thankful.

My equipment (Sram drivetrain and Industry Nine wheels) held together and worked flawlessly throughout two and half hours of over the axle water and mud, and wet rocks. Thanks to my Hammer Heed, I finished strong and cramp free taking 3rd in the Pro/open field and claimed the 40+ New Jersey Champion title. Thanks to all of you that cheered me on. Racing under these conditions reminds me how lucky I am to have such supporting friends and supporting sponsors.

Last weekend was the Bagels and Bacon Short Track. I thought this race would be good training for cyclo-cross, plus the venue and course is pretty cool, and was for the Boy Scouts of America. I really enjoy Short Track when it is technical and hilly like this course. I won a six pack of beer and was invited to eat unlimited amounts of pork and bacon afterwards. I may not have taken full advantage of that pork offer, but what a fun day!

Farewell to September Rains

Whirlybird CX

When I arrived at the race, Tammy told that Jenn, the lady who has ben killing my class, moved up to elite for the day. There were still a bunch of strong ladies at the race, but my hopes of 2nd or 3rd just raised up a notch. Robin, another fast lady was there and she usually kills me on the long straights, something that my attention span does not handle as well. I am always looking forward to the turns and sketchy off cambers to get a quick recovery. I suppose you just can not take the mountain biker out of a mountain biker. Either way, I am aware of that weakness, and make that the place where I push the hardest.

I had front row line up, yay! ... and filled in #3 during the opening sprint. Eventually Robin sprinted by all of us and I had to sit in #4 until a slight uphill off camber where I saw Robin start to pull away so I made my move up to second position. I struggled but was able to keep her in sight. She eventually fell in a wet section which gave me a second or two to catch up. I think we got to the top of the run up at the same time, but she mounted immediately and I ran up to speed and got in front. I have been practicing my mounting and running, and I think the practice is paying off!

Now the problem was holding her off and riding clean myself. I had to dig really deep, as I felt like crap. There is something about being in the front that motivates you, and I continued to keep digging my way through the pain cave. Robin was on my wheel the entire race and the 3/4 women were now nipping at my heels as well. I almost went down once, but managed to keep it upright. I did not waste too much of my time trying to ride the steep wet ups, I just ran them as not to make any mistakes. Usually a handful of 3/4's, who start a minute back, come by, but not today. I finished first rider in , which is a first for me in the Mac series.

I was super pleased with my race, but learned that I need to pay better attention to where the awards are to be. I was a bit rushed not being able to find them, that I forgot to take my helmet off for the picture. I thought this would be a good time to thank my sponsor Bell for keeping my head protected and so comfortable that I did not even realize my helmet was on.

At Home Again in Mud

Although watching summer give way to fall brings some sadness, Cyclo-Cross has brought the love back into fall for me. I am not exactly sure what it is about this crazy sport, but being in the company of mud-splattered smiles seems to help make up for losing those wonderful long days of summer.

Last Saturday was the season opener at T-Town with the Nittany Lion Cross. The race fell on the heels of hurricane Irene and a tropical storm, both that soaked much of the northeast with rain causing major flooding. I was a bit apprehensive when the promoter kept sending out updates of flooded parking and road closures the day before the race, but much to my surprise we had no problem parking or getting there.



This would be my first race since MTB National Championships in July. I knew it would be muddy, but I was more nervous about lasting 40 minutes than I was about dealing with mud. I do not consider myself an experienced cyclo-cross mud racer, as it was dry most of last year, but I suppose I do have several decades of mountain bike race experience in all conditions, and I was somewhat curious to see what this mud stuff was all about on a cross bike.

I pre-rode the course in the morning and it was somewhat muddy, flat and not technical. However after the Cat 4 race went, the mud puddles got bigger and one became a giant long slog that would need to be run or walked. I felt fairly confident in my technical skills on this course and was looking forward to plunging into the water on my first lap. I always get a chuckle on a first plunge of the day. I don’t think I ever ran through puddles as a kid, and who would have imagined I would get into that when I was 50?

I went to the line and although I had some “first race of the year” nerves, it felt good being there, and I quickly felt at home with this group of women. The women at the Mac series are a nice bunch of ladies, and it is a thrill to see so many women that come out to race. I was not certain of how the mud thing would pan out, but my main mission was to move ahead whether on foot or bike and figure it out as I go. The nice thing about multiple laps, is that you have the chance to master it by the last lap.

I did not pay close enough attention at the start, and was alarmed to hear clipping in while I was daydreaming for a second. So although I was last out of the start, I stayed calm and safely worked myself up to maybe 5th within a minute. This was not a bad place to be, and before I knew it, I was chaffing a bit, but steadied up a tad until passing space looked good. By the end of the second puddle, I was in the lead. That only lasted a short while, and the eventual winner came by me.

As soon as things opened up a bit, she started to pull away as I started to pull away from those behind me. The first lap is always exciting as a wet course can change greatly as the races go on. Having to run a long section while shouldering your bike sends your heart rate through the roof, but I kept moving forward like I had planned. On lap 3, my bike, which was covered in mud, slipped out of my hand while setting it down from my shoulder and bounced up and struck me hard behind the knee. For a second, I wanted to give in to the pain cave, but I resisted and moved ahead. I think my last lap was my smoothest, placing me in second place with a two minute margin on both sides of me.

This was a much better result for me than I expected. Spent 40 minutes on the bike wash line with all the other muddy chicks, and then it was time to pack it up and head home to get ready to race Jungle Habitat mountain bike race on Sunday.







Jungle habitat is uber technical and on top of that, it was wet. By the time Cat 1 raced, it was extremely slick and would be a race for bike handlers more than fitness. My plan on Sunday was to ride technically clean, and to look at the race as a longer and more aerobic paced ride. Considering the slickness of the course, it was probably the most sensible plan.

I decided to ride my Titus 26” full suspension, which I had not ridden in 6 weeks. It was probably not the smartest choice, but I was thinking the 100mm fork on my 26" bike would be better than 80mm on my 29er at Jungle. I struggled a bit on the first lap readjusting to the feel of the smaller wheels, but eventually settled in by lap 2. Once again, I think my third lap was my smoothest, cleaning the entire chute and only 1 dab on goat. I cruised in for 4th place in the elite field. I was a good distance off 3rd place, but a strong finish none the less.

More bike washing, then time to rest my little legs....

Vermont Sampler

Art and I took a little trip to Vermont to visit my brother and get some riding in with him and my nephew before my nephew started school. We decided to check out some new places to ride and see what Vermont had to offer. The result was pretty good.


Our first day, we rode in Pine Hill Park in Rutland. It's not very big, but do not dismiss it because of it's size. The trails are well designed, well marked and offer great riding for many levels. Even though it was a town park, you felt like you were out in the woods. They even had a suspension bridge that was built by local volunteers. I certainly recommend this spot for a day trip if you are passing through or spend time in Rutland.







The next day we rode at Perry Hill in Waterbury, thanks to a recommendation from Mergs. We did not have a guide or map, but followed the Kiosk and signs and figured things out. One thing to keep in mind in this place is to know that the loops are only marked one way and connectors are not marked. If you want to do all the loops there is a preferred order or you will have to climb the main road four times. We figured it out by the second time up the hill and made adjustments. Burning Spear Trail was awesome! We accidentally did it backwards, but it was good that way too. There is some great trail building going on in this park for sure.

Art actually did a second ride this day with a friend in Richmond/Hinesburg, but I stayed back to enjoy dinner and wine on the my brother's awesome deck. We also walked his property to scope out some possible trails building projects.

A taste of Vermont life:











On the third day, my brother gave us a tour of his "little patch" local trails in Waitsfield. We started on Chain Gang trail in Phen block and worked our way over to Cyclone trail in Howe block. The trails in this area are more oriented in the fall line and do not come cheap .... you pay in climbing to get to them. They were a little more technical in spots, but in my opinion the effort to get to them was much greater than the short time spent actually riding the good stuff. The trail system could use more low angle contour line trails for climbing and descending. My nephew reports that the kids in his school will take up any other sport to avoid mountain biking and it is my guess that most these kids give up on the big road climbs before they even make it to the trails. I guess that is Vermont life? In contrary to that, my brother is killing it on his bike from riding all those hills!

Day four and five ..... on to Kingdom Trails in East Burke to meet up with some of team Campmor.

A Summers Worth of Trail Building

As I type this, I am already 65 hours into this year’s trail project and I have had a plethora of experiences on this special mountain. I have worked in extreme heat, in clouds of mosquitoes and in thunderstorms. I have witnessed beautiful water falls that I did not even know existed. I have been blessed with beautiful sunsets and gentle breezes. Every Thursday has been spent with hands in the dirt and moving rocks to create a pleasing path for others to take. I hope you will take it.











Ringwood-Ramapo Trail Project: For those following this project, we (Jorba) have been making improvements to the Ringwood-Ramapo (red) trail from the intersection of the (blue) bridge all the way up to The Old Guard Trail (green/white) intersection. The project started with two years of planning and approvals, and then three years of actual trail building to date. This trail traverses and climbs through some very extreme grades and numerous rocky areas. When Art and I first took on this project, we knew it was ambitious. Trying to keep volunteers motivated to work on something that they may not be able to ride for years was tough, but I think we have finally crested over the top of that hill.



After getting Lyme disease and tearing my rotator cuff while out on the planning stages of this project, I am finally reaping some positive vibes as people start riding this trail. Of course this is not because of me, but because of all the volunteers that spent their days working on the trail.

Thank you workers ….
Joe
Ty
Adrienne
James
Steve
Zsuzanna
Allen
Jessica
Jeff
Joaquin
Elizabeth
Leigh
JD
Joey
Bill
Patti
Tim
Henry
Tom
Dar
Dan
Kathy
Chris
Phil
Randy
Michael
Marianne
Willy
Tahir
Jennel
Tara
Manny
and Art. This trail will have your signature on it.

Please go out and ride here:

Sun Valley National Championships

Les awaiting the first Idaho ride.





Some may wonder why I would book a trip to National Championships on a year that I have not been training or racing too much. I wonder myself, but it was just a set of circumstances that started rolling, and I went with it and never looked back. I had never been to Sun Valley and heard it was very beautiful and worth the trip. The rumor was spot on, beautiful indeed, and very bike friendly. I would go back to ride again for sure. My only regret was that I spent too many days pre-riding and racing on a limited race course and would have preferred to be riding the great vast trail systems in the area everyday.




Reading maps at 50 ....


... go ahead and laugh, you will be here one day too.




How many water bottles do four people need?




Very much a bike friendly town.


Bike paths running all over town.


A bike shop / bike fit / bar ....


that welcomes these folks.




Flags on street corners without traffic lights.....


to aid in crossing the street by foot.





My race: Not being in top form this year I was unusually nervous the few days prior to my race. Once I admitted to myself that it did not matter where I placed in the race but mattered more that I had fun, I was instantly freed of my nervousness. Obviously I would make an effort to stay ahead of the riff-raff off the start, but for the most part, my goal was just to ride and ride hard.

On the opening climb, I found the wheel of a rider from Roaring Mouse that seemed about my climbing pace. My heart rate was maxed out with the steep hill and being higher altitude than I am accustomed to at home. The course, which had some flaws, forced riders off to push up a super steep short ramp to get onto the singletrack. This put me over the edge a tad and my mount was a tad slower than roaring mouse. I quickly coasted my way back onto her wheel in several hundred feet. First switch back came and it was jammed up with women walking. Already I was in traffic. Two turns later and the same thing, this time roaring mouse fell walking and made it very difficult to get past as she jumped back up and mounted again, but she never really got going. I saw a narrow opportunity to pass on the high side and took it, I may have startled her, but she was trying hard not to let all of us by, and she seemed to be struggling with her bike handling.

I’m glad I made that move because the next turn had been added in the day before and none of us had pre-ridden it. I came in a tad hot and my front wheel drifted out side the berm, and I was hanging on stretching the tape. Those big wheels held on perfectly and I brought myself back on track without even a foot down. I heard a bunch of noise behind me, and I was glad to be in front of it. Flew over the flyover and headed toward the imported rock garden. Yes, they imported rock and made a rock garden. Imagine that? We just call it riding in New Jersey.

World champion, Ellen Gutherie called herself coming around before the rock garden. She got about twenty feet in and tangled up. I managed to find a line and ride past her to the end. All was going well up to the big climb, and then I hit traffic. I was now penetrating the back end of the younger classes, and this trail was less than 24 inches wide and very side hill exposed leaving no room to pass. If it were just a short single climb, it would not be so bad, but it was like this for almost a mile. I spent way too much mental and physical energy trying to pass and being forced off my bike to push up climbs so steep that it nearly cramped my legs. I will not dwell on the negative thoughts of this course too much more, as up is only half. Too bad the promoter did not have two good trails, one to go up and one to go down. It was a disappointing climb that left me wishing I was riding my bike elsewhere. Thankfully the way down was a blast.

I was lacking my spark on race day, and finished 6th in an unusually large group of strong 50 year olds. Not too bad for what I have put in this year, but by no means a great race for me. I came to this race with an open mind, and to support my team mates. My teammates did not let me down, but the course was a bit of a disappointment. As much as I love racing, after seventeen years, I may be feeling a bit more selective of which race courses to race in the future.


Imported rocks to add interest to a buffed out XC course.




Campmor skirts getting us a photo op with the Mayor of Sun Valley.


Tara, National Champion in Super-D.


.....Four Friends.

What made this trip worthwhile was to see Tara ride so well. After she spent 4 years out of racing, struggling with her health and thinking she would never race again, it was awesome to see her in a National Champion Jersey on top of the podium. It was a good day and a good trip for sure.