Death March 2014

This years Death March. It was not the same plan as previous years, but I feel it went just as planned. Over the winter I had a few thoughts on partners for the Death March, but everything fell threw. At one point I conceded that maybe this year I would not race. I have yet to miss a Gravel Grovel or Death March, but I figured it would happen some day. I was at peace with it because I had not really been training hard this winter.

I had one person that I thought was on the fence about racing with me. I think I could have talked him in to it, but I didn't feel right doing that if he really was not interested. He did contact me about someone else who was looking for a partner. I was not sure how strong he was, but at this point I was happy to just be racing. I needed the miles. After some communications it was determined to just get the mandatory check points and anything else near by. This is very different from previous years, but it sounded like a good plan to me.

Typically I spend Friday night in a cabin, but since I was late in my planning, they were all booked up. I really didn't have anyone to share them with either so it really didn't matter. I spent Friday night trying to get my bike back in to order. I was not ready for a long gravel/dirt ride. It was set up as my winter bike with the long travel fork and the big tires. I had some troubles getting everything to work, but it was as good as it was going to get. I just hoped it would hold up for the long day.

Saturday morning came early and I was on the road way earlier than I would prefer. I did end up getting there quicker than I figured. This was a good thing, but it was much colder than I was expecting. I may have to reconsider my thoughts on gear. My partner found me and after a quick chat, we were ready to hit it. At the start line the drew the remaining two mandatory check points. They ended up being easy check points to pick up with out adding a lot of miles. This was a good thing for our plan.

Since I had been out of the loop, I let my partner make the plan. He had a map and a plan. This had to be the least amount of time I had looked at a map leading up to the race. I knew about where the check points were and what the plan was well enough to get by with out looking at a map much. As the horn blew, we headed to the closest check point along with just about everyone else. It was only a mile away and it was very crowded. We snapped the picture quickly and we were back on the road toward our second stop.

As we climbed up the road, I could tell my partner was not ready to climb at the pace I was moving. We were at the second stop soon enough. We were moving pretty good so far over all. I tried not to push the pace too hard, but I was actually feeling really good. I could hear my partner breathing pretty hard and we still had a long day ahead of us. I told him to just go his own pace. He didn't have to try and keep up with what I was doing. I was just happy to be out on the bike and it was all good. Once he understood that it we were good, I think he relaxed a little and started to ride better.

We decided to skip climbing the fire tower. The time bonus was not worth the effort or the amount of time it would probably take to climb it. There were a lot of people, so the traffic would have the climbing go even slower. Some of the roads were wet and soft. Plenty of mud spraying up on my face. I could not believe I didn't think about grabbing the SKS fender that I have for my down tube. That is just how out of it I was on my planning. I was happy with how the bike was rolling and I was happy with how the tires were hooking up.

The trip out Comb's road was a mess. I knew it would be soft and muddy. A lot of people were having trouble riding this section. I rode almost the whole section both ways. I climbed the hill both directions all but one section each way where the tire sunk in a little too much. I hopped back on and finished the climb. After the long trip out to Elkinsville, we made a change to our plan. We were going to take Story over and pick up a few more check points, but since none of them were needed and the original plan was to just get the required ones and call it a day, it was not hard to decided to take Comb's road back. I was glad we went this way when I saw the VW Van rolling down the road. I could not have been happier when they were kind enough to share a beer with me. That was the best beer of the day.

Up to this point we had really been making some good time. We were averaging 10 miles per hour. If we could keep this up, we would be back in plenty of time to eat. The trip out to our second last mandatory check point was not as smooth and our pace slowed down. My partner was out of water and starting to hurt. This is when I realized that I had not been drinking very much. I was feeling really good and still had about a bottle and a half left. This means I had not been drinking near enough. I knew that he needed my water more than I did, so I gave him my second bottle.

We were still rolling and only had a little bit to go, but we were slowing down. We made it to Fleetwood and only had one more to go. The section between Fleetwood and Hickory took longer than I thought it would and I know he was really starting to hurt at this point, but we were on the home stretch. I kept trying to keep the spirits up and us moving as quickly as we could. I was ready to get back and eat. The lack of food and water was starting to catch up. Soon enough we were at Hickory and headed down the road to food. There was a little more riding in this section than I remembered. There was a section of road that I completely forgot about. Maybe it was because every other time before when I was riding this section, I was completely shot. At one time I even thought I made a wrong turn. He wanted to check at map, but I said I knew where we were going or well I thought I did. Turns out I did know where I was going.

We crossed the bridge and was back at the Horse camp in short order. They were just getting ready to start serving food and the beer was not tapped just yet. I had never been back that early before. I have had several times where they were just about out of food. I could get used to this, well maybe with a few more check points. We ended up right at the planned 50 miles and 9 check points. It took us 5:54 to complete our route. This effort found us in 43 place in the men's division and 60th overall out of 151 teams. Not too bad at all. I will say that I was very happy with out well my partner held up. Early in the day I was not so sure. My plan was completed. I went for a nice long ride and had a lot of fun.

I can not deny I had some what if thoughts. I wish I could find a partner that is a little closer to my riding (some years faster, some years slower). I have had partners that were way faster than me and some that were slower. It is hard to figure out what fitness both riders are going to be in for this race. I know that this was by far the best I have ever felt for this ride. I am sure that the trip to Florida made a big difference. I am also not sure how I would have felt if we would have rode a lot harder all day. Maybe next year I can find myself in the same or better condition and just see how it turns out. Either way it will be all good!

Playing catch up

Once again time has passed by way to quickly. I hope I can get better at keeping this updated more often. I have not been training like I should be or more probably like my competition has been doing. Oh well, it is too late to change that. I can only move forward and try to improve every week and hope to end up some place when I need to be there.

I did try to do a power block to see if I could make up for some lost time. I joined a group of guys that go to Florida in the spring to get a lot of miles in the legs with some good weather. Boy was it some good weather. It was upper 70's to 80 almost everyday. There was not too much climbing, but there were some bridges to climb and a fair share of wind to keep it from being too easy. The riders did their share to make it impossible for it to be an easy trip.

We left on Wednesday after work. I didn't get a lot of sleep Tuesday night with a lot of tossing around. Part of it was stressing about the trip and some of it was trying to figure out what I was forgetting. Work was crazy as usual and before I knew it, time to get loaded up was there. It took a little bit to get everyone loaded and ready and we were on the road. And it was going to be a long road.

15 hours later, a few stops at a gas station and plenty of times the windows were rolled down. Morning traffic was crazy, but when the sun came up and we finally could see the water, it was a great feeling. We found the condo and were happy that the cleaning lady's were nice enough to let us in. We unloaded the cars, changed clothes and I think with in 30 min. we were rolling down the street.

I could not believe the views and the change in weather. I had to make sure and pay attention to where I was going or I would end up crashing in to someone. We were staying in Clearwater Beach. We headed out to Fort De Soto. It was a good trip out and I was feeling good. The bridges hurt to climb a lot more than I thought they would. On the way back I was really starting to feel it. The legs were very heavy. Ii was struggling to keep up with the pace. I was falling off the back and toward the end I had to ask them to back off the pace a little.

When we finally got back to the loop, the plan was to head north some and try to get in the planned 100 miles for the day. They tried to talk me in to going, but I was hurting and not happy that I was holding them back. I was almost talked in to going, but at the last minute decided that I had enough for the day and it would probably be best that I headed back to rest. We still had several more days of riding and 70 miles for the first day was not bad. After some harassment, they went their separate way's and me thinking I knew how to get back to the condo. Well, that's what I get for thinking. Well, around the first corner I hit a crack in the sidewalk and flatted the back tire. I thought I was only a block or two away and didn't really want to change the tire right then. Well, after walking around in circles for a few blocks and not seeing anything that I should, I finally found someone to ask where I needed to go. I was still several blocks away, but knew where I was going now. When I got back, I was wore out and hit the shower. I am sure that the lack of sleep the night before we left, the driving 9 of the 15 hours and not being able to sleep in the car did not help at all.

Friday morning we were up early and on the road before I knew it. I was hoping that the legs felt better than the day before. This ride we headed north first to try and miss out on the traffic. We headed north to Tarpon Springs. This it self was a good little ride. I did have a little shifting issues and my chain dropped behind my cassette. A little maintenance and I was back up and running. Once we hit Tarpon we turned around. This was going to give us a 55 mile ride to Fort De Soto straight in to a strong wind. Great, this should be fun. If I have the same issues as the day before, I will be way too far from the condo and will have some issues getting back.

Fortunately the legs held on for most of the day, but I did have a little knee pain and I did struggle a little out at the fort, but took in some food. I managed to keep with the group and when we rolled back in to town the other computers showed 110 miles. My computer decided to run out of battery at 75 miles in. I forgot that I had the back light set to stay on. I am sure this didn't help anything and I am not sure it was completely charged. I could not believe that my legs did me that good after how they felt the day before.

Saturday we woke up with a lot of fog and some light rain. It was warm enough that I felt I could still ride with shorts and a short sleeve jersey. We headed back out to the Fort. The road was very wet in spots and it was hard to see. The air was very moist and I was sweating more than the previous day. I was very happy with how the legs felt after two hard day's on the bike. The pace was a little peppy as we were getting to the Fort. I kept up, but it put a hurting on me. On the way back my knee was really hurting.When we stopped to eat, a suggestion was to head back out to Fort De Soto and we would have our 100 in for the day. My legs wanted to go along, but my knee was killing me and I knew it would be a very bad idea. As it turned out, there were only two riders that went back south. Everyone else headed north toward the condo.

This ride back was horrible. My legs had the power, but every pedal stroke hurt so bad. At one point it even crossed my mind to dump it and crash myself. I figured at least then I would have a good reason to call someone to pick me up. I had to ask them to back off the pace some as I just could not go that hard. I was not the only one hurting and soon enough I had some one else drop back to keep me company. I don't think I could have been happier to see the final bridge to town. I knew I was only a few blocks away from getting off the bike. We ended up being done earlier than the previous days and took advantage of that to rest up some and also take in some views at the beach. A few of us found a nice bar that had an open window to rest up at.

Sunday morning we woke up early. Four of us were brave enough to head back out on the bike. I was not sure how the knee was going to feel, but it was doing better than it was the previous day. I figured I would see how it went and if the pace picked up too high, I would just fall off the back and get my own ride in. I knew we were on a 2 hour time limit. The plan was to head south for and hour and turn around. We did see a huge group of riders heading north while we were still heading south.

The knee was not hurting and I could maintain the pace for the hour out. We turned around and headed back toward the condo. I think there was a little tail wind or something because we were flying. I know I saw 24-26 mph for a good part of it. As we got closer to the final bridge, I was beginning to think we were going to get back in 45 min. Well, that was before the legs started to give out. I think the several back to back rides were adding up. That an the fact that we were really cruising. My pace fell off some, but was still not slow. Up and over the bridge and we were back to the condo in 50 min. A quick shower, change and as quick as the trip started we were back in the car and heading home. I had a blast on this trip. Lots of laughs and good times, plenty of warm miles and good food. Even though I was the butt of a lot of the jokes, I am ready to go back next year. I just hope to be a little lighter and in better condition. Now, if someone could just figure out a time warp for the drive, it would be perfect. How can I complain about getting in 285 miles in 4 days riding in 75+ degree weather, in February.

Winter blues

I'm not sure if it is really the winter blues or not, but this weather sure is not helping things. My end of the year slack off of riding as continued in to the start of the new year. I have only road a bike one time so far this year and it was not near far enough. I just seem to not have enough motivation to get on the bike or the trainer. I is not that I don't want to ride, but I just can get to the point of putting my leg over the top tube.

I always have big plans of being faster every year, but I never seem to do what I know needs to be done to get there. The last few years have been marginal as to what winter training I have done and not sure this year is going any better. I know it would be possible to start today and still make a difference. If I would actually do that. I will say that I have had a few more thoughts about getting on the trainer, but so far they are just thoughts. I really hate the trainer.

I do have some good gear for cold weather, but I really don't like riding below freezing. It could be done, but like I said the motivation level is not near high enough to put in that effort. There is some snow on the ground and I really like riding in the snow, but the wind is very strong and makes it even colder. My best chance would be to ride the back yard, but that will not result in very many miles or time before I would be wore out. I guess something is better than nothing, so we will see.

I have committed to joining a group in Florida for a few days of riding. That will be a good thing for my legs as the weather should be warm and the pressure will be high to get on the bike. The problem is that I am less than 4 weeks away from 4 long days on the bike and I only have 15 miles in for the year. I really need to put some work in so I could enjoy the trip more.

The only thing that I have been doing for some exercise is skateboarding. I am keeping myself to riding a small ramp to stay in my comfort level and to reduce the chances of getting really hurt. It is still possible, but not like it would be if I was doing a bunch of street riding or trying to jump down a lot of stairs all the time. Over all it has been a blast. I can't believe that I had sold all of my boards when I quite before. If I would have had one, I would have picked it up a few times over the years and still had some fun. Riding the ramp has been a really good leg work out and I hope it helps with climbing those hills this spring. I just wish the ramp was closer to the house so I could ride it more often.

I guess I have been known to quit things too good in the past. Just like skating, when I decided to give it up, I sold or gave away all of my boards. Why I have no idea. Just like I sold off my flatland bike and my bmx bikes. I have wished several times that I still had one to get on every now and then. I would still enjoy doing some flatland tricks, but I don't see myself buying a bike for that. I have too many other bikes that I would like to replace. I would like a new mtb, road bike and I would like to own a cx bike. Maybe some day after all the things that the house, car and kids need I will be able to replace them. For now I just have to live with what I have and replace as I can.

There is still time to get going, but the journey needs to start moving no matter how slow. I have a lot of work that needs to be done of several of my bikes and they just sit there. Work and some things have been too stressful and busy to feel like getting some of those things done. Some of the things I need to do I am not really sure how to do, so that does not help me either. I keep hoping to feel better about it, but for now I will just keep skating as much as I can and try to be happy.

Snow Ride

With all the snow that came down last week, I tried to get out for a snow ride. It didn't go too bad, but it was hard to keep traction going up. The next day you could not see any of my tracks and it was too deep to ride. After a few more days, I figured the snow settled down and would be better for a ride. I headed out to give it a try. I started out on the SS. I could go pretty good, but climbing was still not easy, but better than the other day.

After a few trips around, the trail kept getting better to ride. On one time around the fast section, I lost traction in the front end and slid out. When I got up, the front wheel was flat. I am not sure if I got a flat tire when I lost traction or if the flat tire caused the slide out. I knew the front tire was on the low side of pressure, but I figured it would be good for traction. I then had to push the bike back to the house and get the Niner.

This section started to experience some freeze/thaw and the top layer was getting slick. I limited my trips down the hill and kept from climbing. It was not that hard to limit my trips down since the effort it took to get to this point was adding up. The other sections were easier to roll and the snow still covered those sections better. This section has less tree coverage and is the first section that will get sun light, so it was not that shocking it was getting soft quick. I still made the most of it and got a good ride in. It was good to get a ride in while I could since it decided to rain the next day. All the trails are now bare and very soft.

On Sunday I took advantage of some free time and soft trails to do some trail work. I worked on a new section I have been doing some work on. I made some good headway, but it will need to dry out before I can give it a try. The second half of the new section is not quite ready, but it is closer than it was. I need to do some more bench cutting on one section before it will be ready to ride. I am really looking forward to getting this section open. It will be an easier section and should add some distance that does not have so much climbing. I still have several other lines pictured in my head that I hope to continue to put in.

The trail has been great to have and I hope to continue to get the benefits of having it around. The plan is to do a better job of staying in shape over the winter and even improving myself as much as I can. It would be good to start the year off ahead of where I was last year. One of the things that keeps me from riding in the winter other than not liking my rollers or trainer is being cold. Mainly my feet are the issue. I have always wanted some nice winter riding shoes, but just could not work them in. Well, I can no longer say that. I picked myself up a pair of Scott Heater shoes. I have not had the chance to try them out, but they feel like they will be much warmer than anything I have ever had before. I was hoping to get a pair of Lake MXZ boots or some 45North ones, but I think I will be happy with these. Not quite as heavy duty as those, but good enough for the riding I will do.

End of the season - The lost post

2013 Race season has come and gone. Last winter it seemed like it would never get here and now it seems like it went by too quick. I know there was a ton of time in the middle there, but it seems the busier you are, the faster time rolls on.

2013 Race Results

3/9 - Sub <9 - Death Marth - 45th

5/18 - Dino - Winona Lake - 23rd

5/26 - KPS - Ft. Duffield - 3rd SS

6/9 - KPS - White Lightning - 4th SS

6/15 - Dino - French Lick - 18th

6/23 - KPS - Cherokee Park - 6th SS

6/30 - Dino - Muscatatuck - 22nd

7/7 - Dino - BCSP - 24th

7/21 - Dino - Versailles - 21st

7/28 - KPS - Capital View - 5th SS

8/4 - KPS - Ben Hawes - 5th SS

8/11 - Dino - Logansport - 10th

8/18 - Burning Quad Crit - Cat 5 - 17th

8/18 - Burning Quad Crit - Cat 4/5 - 31st

8/25 - Dino - Southwestway - 13th

9/22 - 3 Peaks - Beech mtn, NC - 27th

11/30 - Sub <9 - Gravel Grovel - 85th

I thought this was posted a while back, but I guess it didn't get finished. I had some other garbage started, but it didn't make a lot of sense so I deleted it. I am not sure what to say about the season as a whole. There were some good times and bad times. I was not as fast as I would have liked, but I can only blame myself. I did have some moments of strong legs, but they didn't last very long. As my typical theme, life seems to get in the way of racing. I really don't mind life getting in the way when it comes to family, but I could do with out work being in that list. The only thing that I would prefer is to be able to keep up the legs better when I slack on the riding.

Now that it is the new year, I am already behind a lot of other racers out there. This is a time where I should be putting in some base miles or some weight workouts. I have yet to turn a pedal or do any lifting. What I have been doing is gaining weight. Not that unexpected, but not on the to do list. I just hope to get it under control before I gain too much. It gets harder and harder to loose weight as I get older. I know that carrying around all that extra weight does nothing but slow me down and make me feel worse. Hopefully I will figure out a plan that is easy to keep and works well. Maybe next year.

Gravel Grovel V5.0

This weekend was the fifth rendition of the Gravel Grovel. I have attended every race and don't plan on changing that anytime soon. Each year keeps on improving, but I didn't have an issue with it the first year even with any of the issues. The event keeps running smoother and smoother each time. Sub 9 has done a great job of growing this race, I just hope that they don't loose that grassroots feel. I know I always enjoy myself.

This year the weather was better than last year. I had big dreams as to getting close to the 5 hour mark. That is something I really should be able to attend or even better. I have been close before a couple years ago on my SS, so with some gears I should be able to get there. Last year I was slower than the previous year even with gears. I am not sure what my main problem was last year, but I am fairly sure that the lack of riding in the two months leading up to this race didn't help me this year. I put in as many rides in November as I did in August and September combined.

This year there was a group that was talking about going for the same goal that I was wanting to do. I was interested in trying to ride with them, but I really didn't think I could keep up. I was in the group at the start. The pack took off at a pretty good pace. I tried to keep up, but when they dropped me the second time, I figured I better just ride my pace. I know that when I start out too hard with out being fully warmed up, I end up hurting myself more than it is good. I am not sure if this was part of my problem or not, but I just didn't have the legs to climb at pace. I could climb the hills, just not as fast as I would like. Then when I would shift in to the granny I would be even slower.

I was happy to see one member of the group making an effort to wait on me. I am very thankful that Eric L. decided to stay with me. It sure made the day go a lot better. I seemed to ride pretty good for most of the route except for the climbs. I tried to let him know that he didn't have to wait on me. He was riding a lot stronger than I was. We made it to story earlier than normal, but that was because it was earlier in the race. When Charles saw me roll through the check point, he knew I would take a beer. I was the first rider to take one (no shocker there). I saw that two riders were still waiting on me, so I downed it as fast as I could and we were off again.

I am not sure when it ended up only being the two of us, but we were working well together. I had to sit on early, but later on in the ride, I felt like I had some legs to do some pulls too. By the end of the ride it seemed like I was returning the favor of waiting on him. I really don't know why I seem to do better at the end of the ride. Several people say that I ride stronger at the end of the ride than I do at the start. I am not sure if this is true or not, but it does seem like it. I think I just tend to ride the same pace for the whole ride and everyone else just slows down. I do know that as the pain settles in and the miles tick off, I get to the point that I am just ready to get back to the car. Maybe that pushes me to ride a little harder than I did when I started.

Well, we were not very close to the 5 hour mark. Actually we were almost an hour off of that. Part of me thinks that does not sound too bad and the other part of me thinks that is way slow. I really didn't think I could make the 5 hours this year and would have been happy with 5.5. So, to be only 25 min. off of a time that I would have been happy with does not sound bad. The other part of me sees some people that did make the 5 hour mark and less and think that I should be in that group. I am not sure I will ever get to the 3.5 hour mark that it takes to win, but I should be able to get less than the 5.

There is always next year. You know, the year I actually get in shape over the winter and come out swinging. I also won't drop off a few months in the middle. Yea, I am sure next year is the year. Right now I am not sure what next year will even be. The tentative race schedule looks like I will be doing a lot of driving if I am racing. It really sucks living in the southern part of the state where they don't want to have races because too many people won't drive that far. Guess what, we always have to drive that far. That was part of the reasons I quit racing so many years ago. I am looking forward to seeing the Kentucky point series. I had also thought about doing a few of the Ultracross races, but since I was almost last in the two I did this year, maybe I should wait until I can actually keep my goals threw the winter. No matter what ends up on the calendar, I am sure I will have a blast riding my bike.

I would like to thank Tania, Jonathan, Charles and the whole Sub-9 team that puts in a lot of hard work so I can have some "fun" riding/racing my bike. Thanks to the Midwest Trail rider and MTO outpost, they have one of the best start/finish areas that I have ever been to. If you have not taken advantage of the cabins, I highly recommend it as they are awesome to stay in. Thanks to all the other sponsors for helping make this the one race of the year that I just can't miss! See you for V6.0.

What day is it?

Well TV would have you now thinking about a camel, but as far as this blog goes, it is a little more literal. I am not sure what day it is or where the time has gone since the last post. The only thing I know for sure is that the time was not spent riding my bike. I was very sad to see the total miles for the month of October only adding up to 7. Yes, I said 7. No missing digits. That is a very sad total. I will say that I have not been completely worthless, but very few miles getting put in. I might have rode a couple more in the back yard, but those don't add up to much.

I have done a lot of yard work, trail work and my new cross training work out of riding the skate park. I had not been on a skateboard much in the last 20 years. It felt good to get back on it and it was one heck of a leg work out. I plan on doing that some more this winter as I can. I also plan on hitting the back yard as much as I can this winter. Either by adding some more trail sections or getting in some riding when I can.

This month I have already picked up the mileage, but probably not enough to make a real difference for my next and last race of the year. The Gravel Grovel is less than two weeks away. I am really looking forward to this event. It is such a great time even with it being a hard day on the bike. They are really making sure of that this year since they have mad some changes to the route that added even more climbs. It makes me a little happy that I decided a while back to change from the SS class to the Masters class. I still won't be able to be competitive, but at least I have a few more options to help keep the wheels rolling.

I can only hope to keep improving this winter and loosing some weight to get myself lined up for a better year than the previous ones. That may not be the case, but I hope to at least give myself a chance. It is not going to be easy, but I just hope to do at least a little better than I have in the past. I am setting myself up for some better options than before, but work and life can be very busy and can get in the way of everything.

Hope to see you at the Gravel Grovel. You can probably find me rolling with the <5 hour wolfpack group unless they drop me. I really doubt I will feel good enough to drop them. We will have to see how the day plays out.