The reason that I’m writing about this venture is because the team is raising money for the Pablove Foundation. I have posted a link below in the picture of my fund-raiser website, which explains the details. What I want you to do is click on the link and donate some money, even if it is 1,2,5,10,25 or $50. Be a part of our team even if you aren’t racing on it.

The mission of The Pablove Foundation is to fund pediatric cancer research and advances in treatment, educate and empower cancer families, and improve the quality of life for children living with cancer through hospital play, music and arts programs.

2011 has been an amazing year. My racing stepped up and the results have been super. I rode across the USA on my mountain bike. Now that is freaking cool. I had so many adventures and shared them with wonderful people. I look forward to 2012 with optimism and curiosity. I can’t wait to jump back into the swing of racing and exploring new places and meeting like-minded folks.

Every year at this time we are reminded of how thankful we are. I truly am blessed and thankful to so many people. I want to thank my sponsors, Price Point and Sette, for always having me in their corner. They put me on my machines that I ride in the coolest places ever. I thank my fellow racers for the comradery and competition. I thank my friends that come to races and help me. I thank my wife for supporting my passion. I thank my family for all they have done for me. I thank my friends that ride and train with me, it is truly a treat to be with you out there in the back country where we jam with nature.

To an amazing year, I salute you. 2012, here I come on a wheelie!

Cheers

Now, time for a summary of a great race to end the season. My buddy, Chris, and I have been doing some duo races this year. We started last year and we are always competitive, but have come up short of the top spot on the last 3 occasions. We always get in first place, but lose it at the end. We have taken second the last 3 times, but this time we showed up to do business. Now, I must say my body is tired and I have drained every ounce of push out over the year, so I was hoping for the best and I knew that I would last the course. Just not sure how fast I could keep it. Chris showed up in good form.

The interesting thing about the 18 Hours on the Farm is that most of the time you are in the dark. Start at 4 pm and end at 10 am the following morning. It also just happened to be the day the time fell back. Shorter days means more dark to play with the spooky ghouls on the trail. I set off and got the hole shot, I don’t know why but I did. I quickly had a jump of the gears and had to jump off and run up a hill. Best thing that happened to me the whole race, because it allowed me a moment to assess my strategy. I realized that I needed to calm down and understand that 18 hours is a long time. Once I had this connection made, I got into a steady rhythm that I was able to do the rest of the race. Because of the gear skipping I was encountering on the bike, I switched out to my second bike. On my second lap I was jamming and burning. What the heck….my pedal fell off a half mile into the 9 mile lap. Crap, crap, crappp…. Ok, just pedal the best you can and I did for the next 8 miles on a toothpick spindle and still managed a decent lap time. So it goes, I usually never have a mechanical. Two in one race, I guess I was due. We had a competitive field in the Men’s Duo. As the race progressed we managed a top 3 ranking. Eventually through the night we creeped right up into first and held it to the end. It got really cold out there at the Farm, which is near Richmond. Best I heard, it got down to 30 degrees. Our secret weapon was our main man, Trevor, who runs support like no other. He had us hot soup ready and a warm truck to get in and dry our clothes out and warm up. Like I said it was cold out there and when you’re jamming you sweat. When you stop and that cold sets in on that sweat, you get down right frigid. The course was a windy, rooty and fun 9 mile loop with a 1000 feet of climbing. It was also wet due to some rain earlier in the week. This made sections of the lap sloppy and you had to drive hard and keep your eyes on the trail at all times. When it was all said and done, Chris and I knocked out 17 laps in 16 hours (153 miles and 17,000 feet of climbing). We built a lead up through the night and were able to stop early. We stayed steady and efficient all night long and that led us into a lead that the others couldn’t match. I’m very proud as we finally broke the 2nd rung we have been stuck on the last year. The management put on a good event and had one heck of a breakfast for us at the awards ceremony. We stood up hands high and took our check with smiles.

That brings 2011 to an end for racing. I want to thank Trevor, who has helped pull support all year-long for me. I credit him for keeping me rolling and supplied with what I need. Without him, I wouldn’t have had the success I had this year. Like I always say, it is who you surround yourself with that makes the difference in success being achieved or not. Thanks to Chris for being a true warrior and cranking it out with focus in every race. It paid off brother.

It is time for having fun during the holidays now. I plan to ride my dirt bike, shoot guns and watch college football. Yeah, I will train, but for a while I will take it easy. More to come as I start to formulate my winter and spring training plan. Over the next month or two, I should have an idea of the races I will take on next year. Even though I’m tired and ready for rest and recovery, I can’t wait to start another race season. I love it, I truly do.

Cheers

Big Race and Big Result. No better way to end an amazing race season. C-Ham and the Captain rocked it out all night long with our devout support crew, Trevor. A writeup to come soon.

Cheers

Picture taken by Chris Baker

First, I have to send a big shout out to the Total Cyclist team in Charlotte, NC. They are an amazing group of riders. Specifically, I would like to thank Cricket Butler who turned me on to Chris and Tracy Baker who put me up for the weekend, cooked and pitted for me. Scott and Sherry who allowed me to pit with them in their accommodations at the race. Without these fine people I would have had a hard time getting the win. Cheers to them all and I look forward to racing with them in the future. Chris Baker took the pictures and allowed me to use them in this post, thanks Chris.

The Tree Shaker 12 Hour Mountain Bike Race was one heck of a race and very well put on. Great course, food, awards, and people. The race was held at the Anne Springs Close Greenway outside of Charlotte, NC. The course was 9.5 miles of fun, twisty and flowy single track. So it should have been easy, right? Well there is a thing that must be acknowledged up front when doing the Tree Shaker, “The ROOT Factor”. Oh, its not that bad for 6 or so laps, but after that your body wants to convulse and fall over as the pounding becomes somewhat of a torture test that sends the cringe factor needle out the top. Jack hammers have nothing on these roots. Matter of fact, I think it should be mandatory for jack hammer operators to ride this course in order for them to operate that piece of machinery. Lets get to the race shall we. I started off the line casually as I knew 12 hours would be long and a steady pace is what was called for in order to be up in the rankings. I set out for the first 6 laps delivering an 80% speed effort, which worked well along with mental cues to remind self to keep the pace manageable. Then on lap 7, cramps set in, what? This never happens to me. Yes, my right quad seized up and caused some major discomfort. I watched this cramp literally pulsate out an inch or two. It looked like an alien was trying to come out. I would have to fight the cramps for lap 7,8,9 and 10. I kept moving even though I wanted to sit and rest. I would walk some to stretch the cramps. Eventually, I found a pace that kept the cramps at bay. I drank and ate every lap as I normally do. I can’t really place my finger on why this happened. The only thing I can break it down to is that I must have been under hydrated before the race. The temps were in the low 70s and beautiful as Fall begins. I sweated a good bit and lost a lot of salt. I kept trying to replace the loss, but it was a slow process by that time to recover. However, I kept at it and due to the positive support I had in the pits, I was able to keep the lead and continue reeling out laps. I made it in by the cutoff in order to go out and do a 13th lap, but it wasn’t needed as I had built up a lead that gave me a buffer for the victory after 11 hours 20 minutes of racing. All in all, I had a fantastic time and met some wonderful people who love mountain biking, PLUS. The Sette Serum did great, no mechanicals or flats. The Sette Serum continues to amaze me as I subject it to one course after another and it always answers the call and delivers me to the podium.

Picture taken by Chris Baker

Final tally of the race: 12 laps (114 miles) of single track, 9250 ft of climbing, 10.2 mph/avg, 11 hours 20 minutes of racing, 1st place Men’s Solo Division

This year has been a blast and a big success. Couldn’t have done it without great people supporting me. I have one more race in November.

Again, a big shout out to the team over at Total Cyclist. By the way, Scott and Sherry who allowed me to pit with them, both won their divisions at the Tree Shaker (Men’s Singlespeed and Women’s Solo Division)

Cheers

There is nothing sweeter than riding a mountain bike in the fall. That is what I have been doing and enjoying every minute of it. It has been in the 50s the last several days and how sweet it is. I grabbed my buddy, Dave, for an epic out in the George Washington National Forest last Friday.

We shredded all day and barely got in before dark.

Snow was predicted that night on the mountain top where we destroyed ourselves all day. It was one of those days that remind you of why you started riding in the first place. It was off camber, rip-roaring, back country riding at its finest. I just love those days. I couldn’t do anything wrong.

The Sette Elite was dialed and I was just along for a flowy good time. Since this ride I have been hitting the single track at home and it has been great. A bit tacky and cool weather allowed for a never-ending seamless flow as I bounced along with my Ipod going. Fall is the best time of the year to ride. Get out and get your flow on!

Cheers

I have started back to work and what an adjustment after being off for the summer. This summer I trained and raced. I created my daily schedule around it as I didn’t have work to balance. Now back at work and getting into a routine with that and training seems to be a slow lethargic process. I recently did an XC race, which isn’t my focus but is good for shaking things up and working on speed. I felt good, but I was lacking in the POW department. My result was 5th in the expert vet class, not bad. However, I knew that I was capable of more and should have finished higher. What I have realized is that I have had a big year with multiple endurance races and my body is tired. Now with work going, I have to balance myself and rest is even more important. We racers have to remember that rest is just as important as training and racing. I have a few races left on the year. My focus is going to be on having fun and getting rest. I have had one heck of a season for an about to be 40-year-old.

So, if you’re feeling tired from training, racing and work take some time to kick it back a notch and get some rest. Remember mountain biking is a lifestyle first and it should be fun, not work.

Happy Riding My Friends

What a day! Hilbert once again was fast and flowy. I set up the pits and happened to set up right by our competition. I recruited Chris to race with me at Hilbert. We have been training together since I got back from the Tour. He has helped me get my pop back in my legs for the faster races. We decided to alternate laps one for one for the first 6 laps and then go to a 2 lap rotation. It worked good for us. We laid down fast laps that stayed consistent throughout the day. We battled back and forth with Eric and Frank all day for 1st. It really made a great race. I felt good even though the heat and humidity was sucking the energy right out of me. The battle of competition kept me alive and cranking hard. The course at Hilbert is so fun with flow all around the 6 mile lap. You can really jam on it as the roller coaster trail spins you and throws you out. The Sette carbon bike was a jewel for me and absorbed everything I could throw at it. Chris and I both showed up in good form and were pleased with our efforts. We ended up taking 2nd place in the Men’s Duo. I’m very proud of our efforts as we slipped in and out of 1st throughout the day. We kept Eric and Frank honest all day as they did us. In the end they created a 5 minute gap over 9 hours of racing. I recommend racing the Hilbert races, really well put on and a friendly atmosphere along with a fun course. Final tally was 18 laps in 8 hours and 49 minutes. Not bad for a day’s work. Training continues for me as I feel like I still have some pop to recover in my legs, but I’m close. I really felt great at Hilbert and I look forward to the rest of the season with vigor. Another great podium on a year that has already been filled with accomplishments and wonderful memories.

Cheers

Rocktown

Some of the places I have recently ridden:

United States National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, NC – super fun and flowy, must do

Southern Traverse in the George Washington National Forest, VA – delightful backcountry riding, but beware it is tough

Bayley’s Pond in the George Washington National Forest, VA – tough country, ran into 3 black bears, got shredded with stinging nettle and thorn bushes, awesome

Liberty Mountain in Lynchburg, VA – miles of sweet trails, will be back for winter training

Hillandale Park in Harrisonburg, VA – short but fun, very rocky as it is Rocktown

Sherando in the George Washington National Forest, VA – more backcountry riding that is very technical, especially Torry Ridge

USNWC

So, that is what I have been doing along with my local training rides. I also wrote an article for XXC Magazine. Work starts back in a few weeks, but before that I will be sailing off on a cruise with my wonderful wife. Look for a race report from the 9 hours of Hilbert in the next few weeks.
Cheers!