I did two MOM races (Grove City & Moraine), neither was my best performance and after the last one I ended up with sign that I shouldn't have done it, a cold sore. This is a sure sign I am getting run down, so it's being done with keeping up with everyone for me for awhile and into some easy cross training and relaxing. Congratulations to everyone in MOM, DH and others! There were so many new faces this year too:-)
Justin and lots of others are still racing into the Cyclocross Season.
Now that I have planned to 'rest', I will be working on keeping up to speed on my 'rest' schedule for the next few months. Most of this I do on my own (jog, weights, commute to work), but I find I still need a little more oommph to keep bike rides on schedule around commuting. So, enter the scene of 'group rides'. This creates a perplexing situation, as usual the people that will show up in colder weather never have the same goal in mind, therefore you either have to ride too fast, too slow, too many hills, or no hills, etc.
This year, a trusty but rather fair weathered rider Michelle (TOP) has decided to overcome this obstacle by organizing 'girl rides'. So far, she has got together a group of motivated people hoping to extend the end of summer riding buzz and they are organizing rides like little bees! On the flip side, I have so far decided most of these rides will not be for me. It is time to get used to my new Singlespeed, while giving me the rest I need to get ready for the tough January/February/March months. Hopefully the 'girl rides' will still be going on in those months when I'll really be looking for some reliable buds.....
On-On-Ruth.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Month of Mud
Month of Mud Series, Pgh PA
This is a nice local series held in the areas close to Pgh. Usually I attempt to do them all, but not so much this year.
Justin, on the other hand, has decided to focus on MOM and is so far having fun and doing pretty good. The other DH boys have taken the same stance, as I assume they will all be attending weekly which is good.
Good Luck to everyone racing MOM!
This is a nice local series held in the areas close to Pgh. Usually I attempt to do them all, but not so much this year.
Justin, on the other hand, has decided to focus on MOM and is so far having fun and doing pretty good. The other DH boys have taken the same stance, as I assume they will all be attending weekly which is good.
Good Luck to everyone racing MOM!
Revenge of the Rattlesnake-40 Miler
Well since traveling costs more than it used to, I have had to be more selective with which events I would spend time/money getting to. I've done enough in different areas over the last several years to know those that are my favs and this weekend was one of those. Talking the Pro Bikes pair, Todd & Lee-Ann, into carpooling down was easy so off we were to Davis WV, to the Blackwater Bikes annual Revenge of the Rattlesnake-40mile.
Friday night was the typical drive down and hotel stay....NOT. We got stopped for speeding in a 25 zone, but cop felt like talking about football and didn't give us a ticket! Then we lucked out and unexpectedly got a FAH-REE comfortable place to spend the night. SAH-WEET.
Morning comes I start the ritual of getting ready. Alas, my partners in torture had a different method of getting ready and I was nervous with my routine not the same, but it was ok. This year's course was set point to point, so for those that would need it they set up a shuttle meaning we had to be there extra early before the actual start time. Even though the weather was guaranteed wet and more rain, carousing the bike shop early the expected WV faces started showing up: Jason Cyr, JR Petkso, Ben Klimas, The Riddles, etc. But in the crowd were also lots of Pittsburghers who are well aware of the what the day has in store: Josh Cohen, Don Powers, Brad Schmalzer, TJ Platt (TOP), Holly Forsythe (Pro Bikes), Tom Hong, Matt Ross, Brocc, etc. I was glad to see I am not the only one thinking it was a good idea to drive 3-1/2 hours for this event! I was also glad to realize that several strongest females on this course were not going to be present, alas I picked a perfect one for cherrypick:-) : Sue Haywood(trek) unfortunately still recovering from broken leg, Chrissy Buerkle (pro bikes) got a hook up to Nova Scotia, Betsy Shogren (Cannondale) was doing Cross.
Due to routing the soon to be off limits Dolly Sods North into the course, the start was at Timberline Resort where we caroused the ups and downs that others glide on, headed into Dolly Sods, and finally turned North on our way to Canaan and eventually Davis. When you start at a SKI resort, it is absolutly necessary that you immediately go UP what others ski DOWN. Great way to thin the pack as this hill was friggin long, but very rideable. Not sure if it was the right thing to do, but after my usual lagging start, I got myself to what I thought was 2nd in the row of girls about 1/2 way up the hill (it was actually first, but I had lost track of fast stuff Mandi (Vicious Cycles)). I was very worried that there might be more climbs like this during the day and that I was starting way too fast, but knowing how I am, I always figure I want as many miles under my belt and be that much closer to the finish in case anything bad happens like mechanical, bonk, run out of water, sore butt! Later in the day this approach DID prove to pay off!
Hitting the single track turn after this climb was not quite the recovery period you can usually get, as it actually climbed some more, was loaded with bigger sized baby heads and loose rock for several miles. It wasn't long before out of nowhere, fast stuff Mandi came bombing past me and I never saw her again, although I was really motivated to at least catch a glimpse of her, it never happened.....she was off to first place. A few unlucky, Todd included, missed this turn and continued up the hill for some extra climbing, and then the dreaded effort of catching back to the pack. They passed me as we were getting into the exciting bogs of the Dolly Sods, one of which I took a clipped in spill to, quickly realizing my prized pocketed Peanut M&Ms were now drenched in slime. I laughed as I got my muddy self up as I also realized shifting and holding on were going to become very hard as my gloves and handlebars were covered as well. Off I went, glad so far to see no other females behind me yet.
Riding alone for a huge portion of the course after this, only seeing the unlucky with mechanicals or a few guys in the distance ahead and behind every now and then, was nice and peaceful and I tried to keep remembering it was a RACE and not slow down just because I was alone. Negotiating the course alone takes slightly more effort, and I frantically was looking ahead for pink flags and yellow arrows.
Attempting to fly down the slippery Timberline DH course proved a challenge but I was happy at the bottom because it meant the first third of the course was done, it also meant that the suspicious rattle I had heard before the DH was now miles behind me! Off to the North, and a quick road section with some bumpy horse trail worked in proved to be an area I began to notice a dreaded problem, this was ~mile 20. Too much sandy mud had worked it's way around and was causing the front derailleur and shifter to jam up. Getting stuck in the big ring when going from the road back to the singletrack allowed 3rd place, Eileen, to catch me, smile, say hi, pass me, and spin away. The rest of day would prove a battle between me and the derailleur as I continually banged on it and used 1/2 my water, and several creek crossings to continue to keep cleaning it off after every muddy section. It was getting stuck sporadically, but I still tried to keep shifting, knowing I should have just picked a gear and stuck with it instead, this meant quite a bit of walking/jogging when uphill not always getting out of granny on downs. This meant back and forth with Eileen for the rest of the day.
The Allegheny Trail at ~25 miles started sucking the life out of me, but I kept moving, eating, jogging, and being VERY hopeful that I could somehow still finish second, no hopes of seeing first now. Finally getting to familar territory ~mile 30 and the easier rocky and more dry sandy Plantation Trails was a blessing. I started counting down the miles, figuring no more big climbs and maintaining a pace by finally getting my chain in and staying in the middle ring I finally pushed past Eileen, picked up the pace for the last downhill and then the tricky 'pine tree' section, and hit the gravel road for the sprint to the river crossing that lead to the finish. It was with a mixture of sadness and glory that I realized I had not even gotten to ride a mile with the other Pittsburgh girls, Holly & Lee-Ann, which I expected we would be together more to share in the torture and motivate each other. I found out later they had ridden together for quite awhile and actually finished together only moments behind me. Lee-Ann caught a stick and had rear der. issues, along with losing a screw from her back brake caliper....can you say, 'sucks to be you'? She didn't let it get to her and she rode out the course, made all the time checks, and was happy to reach the end, even with her drowning episode in the last river crossing! (we were clearly instructed it was best to walk this one, but somehow LA missed that and attempted anyway, the mossy rocks taking her down still clipped in and struggling keep her head above water, thanks to Holly and the spectators for saving her life!)
Overall, Pittsburgher's put on good show:
Pgh Men:
1-TJ Platt (TOP) 3:56!
3-Jason Cyr (ex-pgh)
9-Brocc
18-Don Powers
20-Matt Ross (DH)
21-Todd Schoeni-(Pro Bikes)late midnight stiches required!
22-Glenn Martin
30-Josh Cohen (DH)
Pgh Women:
2-Ruth (DH)
6-Holly(Pro Bikes)-WVVUS Series 1st Place.
7-Lee-Ann(Pro Bikes)
Thanks to great hosts, Blackwater Bikes/Matt Marcus and wvmba for great event. And esp to JRP for photos, cheering and just about anything else people ask for!
See full Revenge results: iplayoutside.com
See full Endurance Series results: wvmba.com
Friday night was the typical drive down and hotel stay....NOT. We got stopped for speeding in a 25 zone, but cop felt like talking about football and didn't give us a ticket! Then we lucked out and unexpectedly got a FAH-REE comfortable place to spend the night. SAH-WEET.
Morning comes I start the ritual of getting ready. Alas, my partners in torture had a different method of getting ready and I was nervous with my routine not the same, but it was ok. This year's course was set point to point, so for those that would need it they set up a shuttle meaning we had to be there extra early before the actual start time. Even though the weather was guaranteed wet and more rain, carousing the bike shop early the expected WV faces started showing up: Jason Cyr, JR Petkso, Ben Klimas, The Riddles, etc. But in the crowd were also lots of Pittsburghers who are well aware of the what the day has in store: Josh Cohen, Don Powers, Brad Schmalzer, TJ Platt (TOP), Holly Forsythe (Pro Bikes), Tom Hong, Matt Ross, Brocc, etc. I was glad to see I am not the only one thinking it was a good idea to drive 3-1/2 hours for this event! I was also glad to realize that several strongest females on this course were not going to be present, alas I picked a perfect one for cherrypick:-) : Sue Haywood(trek) unfortunately still recovering from broken leg, Chrissy Buerkle (pro bikes) got a hook up to Nova Scotia, Betsy Shogren (Cannondale) was doing Cross.
Due to routing the soon to be off limits Dolly Sods North into the course, the start was at Timberline Resort where we caroused the ups and downs that others glide on, headed into Dolly Sods, and finally turned North on our way to Canaan and eventually Davis. When you start at a SKI resort, it is absolutly necessary that you immediately go UP what others ski DOWN. Great way to thin the pack as this hill was friggin long, but very rideable. Not sure if it was the right thing to do, but after my usual lagging start, I got myself to what I thought was 2nd in the row of girls about 1/2 way up the hill (it was actually first, but I had lost track of fast stuff Mandi (Vicious Cycles)). I was very worried that there might be more climbs like this during the day and that I was starting way too fast, but knowing how I am, I always figure I want as many miles under my belt and be that much closer to the finish in case anything bad happens like mechanical, bonk, run out of water, sore butt! Later in the day this approach DID prove to pay off!
Hitting the single track turn after this climb was not quite the recovery period you can usually get, as it actually climbed some more, was loaded with bigger sized baby heads and loose rock for several miles. It wasn't long before out of nowhere, fast stuff Mandi came bombing past me and I never saw her again, although I was really motivated to at least catch a glimpse of her, it never happened.....she was off to first place. A few unlucky, Todd included, missed this turn and continued up the hill for some extra climbing, and then the dreaded effort of catching back to the pack. They passed me as we were getting into the exciting bogs of the Dolly Sods, one of which I took a clipped in spill to, quickly realizing my prized pocketed Peanut M&Ms were now drenched in slime. I laughed as I got my muddy self up as I also realized shifting and holding on were going to become very hard as my gloves and handlebars were covered as well. Off I went, glad so far to see no other females behind me yet.
Riding alone for a huge portion of the course after this, only seeing the unlucky with mechanicals or a few guys in the distance ahead and behind every now and then, was nice and peaceful and I tried to keep remembering it was a RACE and not slow down just because I was alone. Negotiating the course alone takes slightly more effort, and I frantically was looking ahead for pink flags and yellow arrows.
Attempting to fly down the slippery Timberline DH course proved a challenge but I was happy at the bottom because it meant the first third of the course was done, it also meant that the suspicious rattle I had heard before the DH was now miles behind me! Off to the North, and a quick road section with some bumpy horse trail worked in proved to be an area I began to notice a dreaded problem, this was ~mile 20. Too much sandy mud had worked it's way around and was causing the front derailleur and shifter to jam up. Getting stuck in the big ring when going from the road back to the singletrack allowed 3rd place, Eileen, to catch me, smile, say hi, pass me, and spin away. The rest of day would prove a battle between me and the derailleur as I continually banged on it and used 1/2 my water, and several creek crossings to continue to keep cleaning it off after every muddy section. It was getting stuck sporadically, but I still tried to keep shifting, knowing I should have just picked a gear and stuck with it instead, this meant quite a bit of walking/jogging when uphill not always getting out of granny on downs. This meant back and forth with Eileen for the rest of the day.
The Allegheny Trail at ~25 miles started sucking the life out of me, but I kept moving, eating, jogging, and being VERY hopeful that I could somehow still finish second, no hopes of seeing first now. Finally getting to familar territory ~mile 30 and the easier rocky and more dry sandy Plantation Trails was a blessing. I started counting down the miles, figuring no more big climbs and maintaining a pace by finally getting my chain in and staying in the middle ring I finally pushed past Eileen, picked up the pace for the last downhill and then the tricky 'pine tree' section, and hit the gravel road for the sprint to the river crossing that lead to the finish. It was with a mixture of sadness and glory that I realized I had not even gotten to ride a mile with the other Pittsburgh girls, Holly & Lee-Ann, which I expected we would be together more to share in the torture and motivate each other. I found out later they had ridden together for quite awhile and actually finished together only moments behind me. Lee-Ann caught a stick and had rear der. issues, along with losing a screw from her back brake caliper....can you say, 'sucks to be you'? She didn't let it get to her and she rode out the course, made all the time checks, and was happy to reach the end, even with her drowning episode in the last river crossing! (we were clearly instructed it was best to walk this one, but somehow LA missed that and attempted anyway, the mossy rocks taking her down still clipped in and struggling keep her head above water, thanks to Holly and the spectators for saving her life!)
Overall, Pittsburgher's put on good show:
Pgh Men:
1-TJ Platt (TOP) 3:56!
3-Jason Cyr (ex-pgh)
9-Brocc
18-Don Powers
20-Matt Ross (DH)
21-Todd Schoeni-(Pro Bikes)late midnight stiches required!
22-Glenn Martin
30-Josh Cohen (DH)
Pgh Women:
2-Ruth (DH)
6-Holly(Pro Bikes)-WVVUS Series 1st Place.
7-Lee-Ann(Pro Bikes)
Thanks to great hosts, Blackwater Bikes/Matt Marcus and wvmba for great event. And esp to JRP for photos, cheering and just about anything else people ask for!
See full Revenge results: iplayoutside.com
See full Endurance Series results: wvmba.com
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Wilderness 101
While a lot of pittsburgh MTBers were heading to the super popular 6HOP this weekend, a few DHers traveled to the infamous Wilderness 101 near State College looking for some usual fun. Scott, Justin, Ruth met up with Jake & Steve to claim a large piece of weekend real estate. Once camp was set up, it was out for a little spin on the end of the course. Looked great!
After an evening meeting up with racer-type friends from all over (Mark, Gerry P., Andy G., THE WV clan), good dinner and sleep it was up at 5 to get as ready as you could for the long day. With a 7AM start, the group was off on what would turn out to be a nice hot day promising the usual long mountainous climbs and bumpy descents. Depending on what you have trained for this year, the course treated us all differently, but as with all hard efforts, it's happy to finish whether you had a good day or bad one! A lot pain subsides as you finally reach the home stretch of rail trail leading staight to the partying tunes of the camp site.
Once back, it's a sweet outdoor shower or the creek bath and then to check out the kegs.
Steve---used experience to grab a ---th place!
Justin ---knew what he's getting into, respectable finish----
Jake The Fast Driver---(first MTB 100, will he do another??)--9.5 hours, including the high speed need to bunny hop an opossum munching nest of rats.
Scott-1st Masters ----- & chipper as a squirrel afterwards.
Ruth---head on collision with a R-snake, but didn't speed me up too much. Barely finished, 13 hours.
No pics as it was a busy day, but results posted on shenendoah touring site. Thanks Shenendoah Touring, Chris et al, and all the volunteers for another great ride. For details about the course/event: http://www.mtntouring.com/
After an evening meeting up with racer-type friends from all over (Mark, Gerry P., Andy G., THE WV clan), good dinner and sleep it was up at 5 to get as ready as you could for the long day. With a 7AM start, the group was off on what would turn out to be a nice hot day promising the usual long mountainous climbs and bumpy descents. Depending on what you have trained for this year, the course treated us all differently, but as with all hard efforts, it's happy to finish whether you had a good day or bad one! A lot pain subsides as you finally reach the home stretch of rail trail leading staight to the partying tunes of the camp site.
Once back, it's a sweet outdoor shower or the creek bath and then to check out the kegs.
Steve---used experience to grab a ---th place!
Justin ---knew what he's getting into, respectable finish----
Jake The Fast Driver---(first MTB 100, will he do another??)--9.5 hours, including the high speed need to bunny hop an opossum munching nest of rats.
Scott-1st Masters ----- & chipper as a squirrel afterwards.
Ruth---head on collision with a R-snake, but didn't speed me up too much. Barely finished, 13 hours.
No pics as it was a busy day, but results posted on shenendoah touring site. Thanks Shenendoah Touring, Chris et al, and all the volunteers for another great ride. For details about the course/event: http://www.mtntouring.com/
Monday, July 21, 2008
WVMBA-Valley Falls
After hours of driving from Vermont, the nap at the truck stop and a hurried trip to a real bed, I was up early in MoTown and quickly found the Starbucks. What a good start to a day away from home:-)
The short drive to Valley Falls was nice, the park pretty quaint, hiding all the hills very well as we drove in. Rumor was this one had some climbing, so I wondered what to expect as Valley Falls hasn't been on WVMBA in the last few years.
We roll in and since this race isn't too far of a drive, we see a few more Pgh faces than usual. How nice! It's just Mandi and me for the women ex , Betsy (the usual winner) decided a recovery day was needed after she did really well in Vermont. I knew I was tired but thought this would be a good race for me with the climbing. I soon found out that was dead wrong. The start was a climb and I fell back faster than usual, even the sport pack caught me in what seemed like shorter time than usual. Bummer. This was going to be a long day!
2-1/2 laps later I was suffering to finish, but even that would give me a well needed 19 points for the series, so I rolled in 16 min behind Mandi, glad to be done!
This was a fun (and could have been fast) course, see the write up for more info and a bit of press DH riders got! http://iplayoutside.com/Events/2008/07/10567c.html
The short drive to Valley Falls was nice, the park pretty quaint, hiding all the hills very well as we drove in. Rumor was this one had some climbing, so I wondered what to expect as Valley Falls hasn't been on WVMBA in the last few years.
We roll in and since this race isn't too far of a drive, we see a few more Pgh faces than usual. How nice! It's just Mandi and me for the women ex , Betsy (the usual winner) decided a recovery day was needed after she did really well in Vermont. I knew I was tired but thought this would be a good race for me with the climbing. I soon found out that was dead wrong. The start was a climb and I fell back faster than usual, even the sport pack caught me in what seemed like shorter time than usual. Bummer. This was going to be a long day!
2-1/2 laps later I was suffering to finish, but even that would give me a well needed 19 points for the series, so I rolled in 16 min behind Mandi, glad to be done!
This was a fun (and could have been fast) course, see the write up for more info and a bit of press DH riders got! http://iplayoutside.com/Events/2008/07/10567c.html
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