Merry Christmas!!!

If anyone actually reads this thing I just want to wish them a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I was riding pretty regular at a hidden single track in town but I am going to be out of comission for a while because of a little thing called SHINGLES. I always thought they were something old people got and I was expecting the hip replacement next. I found out they are'nt just for old people and that the can last for 2 to 4 weeks. The problem is where the are is on my leg from my hip to my knee and they are painful to the touch so riding shorts are out. Maybe I can ride in sweat pants?I will find a way ! To all my local peeps (James,Mark and John Merry Christmas ) Joe.....

I just had the bike powder coated and I just got it back together ,all this a week before we head off to do the 18 hrs on the farm, so I got to take it out to give it a shake down to make sure everything is everything. I'm kind of nervous about this one more so than Lodi because at Lodi we were begginers and this time we are doing sport so the comp will be much harder i'm sure. I am the old man of the group which will consist of James from Black Dog bikes, Big John who was our anchor for Lodi and our newest is a young fella who is only 20, Heath. I think we will do well and have some fun I hope I just hope I can pull my own weight.... I know I will give it my best..

Camp Hilbert! I suck! James and Mark rock!!

First of all let me just say that this was a very fun race I just raced poorly! James and Mark (Mr. I.F.) Russell and myself made the trip to Camp Hilbert race in Goochland on Sunday. This is a great course especially for me since I'm on the single speed rigid but that did'nt seem to matter because when the gun sounded I was off the back never to see the front again. My lap times were'nt horrible just not what I needed to stay in contact with the others. One guy in particular was rockin a 36x16 gear and I think he got second.. I think I was out of my league!! Ihad fun anyway and I was on the bike so thats all that matters I guess. Igot to see James from Black Dog bikes lock down a 5th place in the enduro class and Mr. I.F. bring home a solid 15th place in the x-pert vet class ..nice work guys and it was great hanging with you . I got a 6th place out of 8 only because two of the guys DNF'D. I know one of them was a mechanical(sorry Johnathan) and the other probably was also. Man I need to ride some more..http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/OrderPage.aspx?pi=0GZC000D050345&po=345&c=

Lodi.

Just raced the 12 hrs of Lodi this past weekend and let me just say I think have caught the bug! We raced as a 3 man team in the begginer class only because none of us knew what we were doing. We originally were going to race the 3 man single speed class but our other partner had to drop out due to work so we picked up our other partner last minute but he was riding gears so we just went for it. I think I can speak for us all we had a blast. The weather was not the best but we dealt with it and somewhere in the night the rain stopped and by morning the sun came out and started drying everything out. We had no expectations of anything but on one of my night laps James and John were waiting for me as I rounded the corner into the start finish and the were telling me that we were up on the second place team by 25 minutes now. This is where we started trying to pick up some more time and maybe put it out of reach for the second place team. It must have worked because by morning we had a full lap and then some on the second place team. I must say this was the most fun I have ever had at a bike race even if we had'nt won it would have been. Yes thats right we put in 11 laps and won the class. I was surprised that we finished and even more so that we won. I know it was only the begginer class but it was just the start ...I think we will be back next year .. The race was very well run and the course was a nlast even in the rain..see ya next year but not as begginers. Watch out Sport,solo,duo or what ever we decide to do ..

fork me!

I just changed my fork on my monocog for two reasons .1 weight 2. looks. I think I acheived them both without spending a ton of money. I had James at Black Dog bikes slap me a Surly fork on my bike and I think I saved about a pound in the weight department and I think the black fork looks much better than the stock fork. There is a slight difference in the fork sizes but I don't think its enough to cause me any problems when riding but we will see.Heres a few pics..

New light tested!!

Just went on a night ride last night and I got to test my new LED light and I thought it was better than I was expecting. James and myself went and rode lookout Mtn. which was my first time and the light performed awsome. This aint no HID but its just as good as a halogen at about a quarter of the price. The trail was awsome it had everything and the rock gardens were a blast. I thought I might have some soreness in my forearms because of riding rigid but I did'nt and I think its because of the 29er wheels. We rolled over everything.. It was just a great test for my new light haveing to pick my way through the rock gardens was easy because of how much I was able to see. If you need an inexpensive light that works great get a cygo hiflux and I don't think you will be disapointed..

LED light?

I just got this new LED light from James at Black dog bikes and from looking at it in my backyard last night I think it just might be O.K. .I have been looking for some time now for another light to complement my helmet light and I think I might have found it with this little LED. Its small and rather light and what I like most about it is the long run times and the cost. This unit is a cygo light and it runs off of "C" size batteries that fit into a little pouch .I think this is great because how easy is it to bring along some more batteries. It's supposed to get burn times of about 25 hrs on high and 200 hrs on the low setting. We will see how it performs out on the trail before I sing its praises to much. I'm taking it out Friday night for a little test run and let you know how it did...later

Celebrity neighbor!!

My neighbor Mark Russell has just landed a Independent Fab sponsership!! He rides it all from cross to mtb to tri's I just wish I could ride with him more maybe some of his skills would rub off on me. Mark is not only a great rider but a strong cycling supporter in our community. He has gotten many things done in our community to further our riding experience and I'm glad he's our club prez.. Congrats again Mark!! you deserve it..

Night riden in the cold!!

Just did a night ride last night at brayleys in the ice covered trails. It was'nt to bad, but as I found out the creek crossings are very cold. The trail was totally different than I remember from my daylight rides there and add the ice in the turns and it made for an exciting night. Got to test my new NR headlight and it works great but I think I'm going to need some other light before I do Lodi this year. James rode with the other member of our team the other morning at brayleys and things did'nt go as smoothly as he hit a rock at slow speed and buckeled his new salsa frame. Hope he can get a replacement before the Lodi race. We will be doing many more night rides in the coming months to get ready for Lodi and I hope some more riders can make it out its a great time.. See ya on the trail ...

Superbowl ride!!

This should have been called the Super cold ride instead of Superbowl ride!! I think the temps were about 24 when we started but I would guess by the time we reached the top of flag pole they were in the single digits. The wind was the killer it just cut through you. We all made it to the top and down and of course the only place where I wasn't in the back was on the descent on Red Diamond. I surprised myself. It really wasn't anything spectacular it just felt good for me not to be in the back and even with me in the front I don't think I was holding anyone up. Here's a few pics of the day I would have had more but I think the cold killed my batteries.. Even though I am still sore today I think the ride was a blast....

We have a team!

Rich Moore,James Burris and myself have formed our SingleSpeed team for the 12hrs of Lodi. It was sort of up in the air weather or not Rich would be doing the race with us due to the fact that he would be taking an already delayed Honeymoon and on top of that it is his wifes birthday the same weekend as the race.Well after some back-and-forth Rich will be doing the race!!! His wife must be very understanding. Now we have to come with a name for our team so if anyone has any ideas please post them. If things go well at this race I would like to do the 24hr race at big bear W.V. as a SS team again. Hopefully with the group of guys. Later....

Superbowl ride!

This Sunday I will be participating in the annual Superbowl ride. I have been trying to get out and do this ride ever since I moved up this way but it never seemed to work out with my schedule. I just hope I have enough clothing to keep me warm considering the temp should be hovering around 28 degrees (sweltering). I should by my calculations be the last one up the road to flag pole not because I will be riding a single speed but because I am in crappy shape. I know it will be fun anyways .There will be some good riding company and I'm looking forward to meeting some new people and seeing some old friends as well. If you can make it out I'll see ya there..

Monocog Flight

This is a friends M.C. I must say it looks even more awsome in person!!!

Winter is finally here!!

I knew it would get here soon enough.. We were living on borrowed time. We had warm temps all the way through Christmas so we can't complain I quess. I have been talking with James at Black Dog Bikes about teaming up to do the 12 hrs at Lodi farms race in May. This will be a first for both of us so we are looking to have some fun. I think we have decided to do it as a 3 man team so that when someone is on course the other two will be good company for each other. There is a lot of preperation that goes into one of these races and I don't mean just riding time but equipment and trying to remember to bring everything you will need to have a good time. It sounds like alot but I know we will have fun and thats the overall goal and maybe test ourselves. If all goes well I would like to hit a few more races like 18hrs on the farm and maybe the 24hrs of big bear(W.V). James is talking about getting a monocog flight 29 so we can do the race as a S.S. team which would be really cool plus I know he will love the bike!!!! later

It's like nobodys home!

I have'nt posted in awhile I have just been to busy with other things. I just made a trip to Florida last week and with the holidays i have'nt been riding much either. I have been thinking of what races I would like to do next season and if I don't get to ridin there is no reason to even go. I think I would like to go and do 12 hrs of Lodi it sounds like fun from all the reports I've read about it. I am looking for some team mates because I'm thinking solo is definatley out of the question!!! I've got alot of things to get together before I can do a race like this,lights, tent, etc. I'm just trying to be as prepared as I can . Any advice from you experienced 24 hr racers would be greatly appriciated..later