Cyclocross Virgin..

Hard! We had a little cyclocross race last night here in Staunton which was just one stop of the Blue Ridge cup series and it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I think I fell at least three times,it seems I don't posses the extreme balance of some people(Jimmy Deaton). I will say I had more fun than I thought I would even though I sucked badly. Bishop showed everyone how it's done and made everthing look easy. He was ahead of me then he stopped to help another rider fix their bike and then went by me like I was standing still,which I probably was, and then he past me like two more times. We were getting points for being a cross virgin and for spectators which I think I qualified for both from the position I was in. Overall it was fun and I was on my bike...Maybe I'll do it again.

Night riding season!

Fall is here and the light of day will be shorter so that can only mean one thing "night rides" will begin to be the norm. We did our first ride of the season and we had a decent turnout with 5 guys including myself. We had a newbie and a roadie and the other three of us ride anything. The new guy did well considering he only had his bike about one week. The roadie (Ron) is a really strong rider but I think he went back in time to get his bike, he had a mountain cycle circa 94. That thing is a welders nightmare and it just bounced all over the trail but he still rode strong all night. We stayed conservative in where we rode but I hope that will change and we will venture into the GWF for some of the rides. It was a good start and hopefully we will keep the people coming out unlike last year where it wound dwindleing down to no one. Anyone reading this in the Staunton, Harrisonburg or waynesboro area please feel free to join us. We will be meeting at Black Dog bikes and leaving from there at 6 pm..Joe

Assault on Liberty Mountain!

I went to lynchburg this weekend for a much anticipated race, geared not single, for me. I am still riding rigid and 29 and that will not change. The trip down was uneventful and I would have had time to spare before the race had there been any signs or markings of where the race was going to take place . So I drove down the road I thought it was on until I saw bikes and I finally found where I needed to be. I rushed through registation and hurried up getting ready,pinning #'s, changing clothes etc.etc. I was just finishing up when I ran into one of the Black dog bikes family it was Matt Trybus and it was good to see a familiar face. We talked for a moment a then lined up. Matt was riding the smaller race and I was doing the larger 19 mile race so we were not racing together so we wished each other luck and I headed off to the start line. I have to say the trails at Liberty were right up my alley ,climbing but not for six miles in a row, and technical with some nice down hills. I went off the line and into the woods in a good position with the top five or so in my age group and we were keeping a good pace but I found myself in about third and I could see the first and second place guys not to far ahead. I love to have a rabbit to chase! Myself and the guys through about sixth place all rode together trying to catch the leaders when as we were bombing down this hill we see that the TAPE was down and the trail went in several directions. We looked at each other and decided to go this way and it turned out we were wrong so we went back but as I turned around I found I had a flat tire so I reached for my tube that had been in my jersey pocket and found that it was gone. I was riding a 29er and no one else was riding a 29er that was with me so I started walking. Long story short I walked for a while until I was found by a super nice volunteer on a quad that gave me ride back down to the start area. A DNF for me which sucked because I was feeling good and for me to be so close to the front without spitting up blood was a great feeling. I love mountainbike races because of the people . I had more people than I can count ask if I was alright or if I needed anything. I even had one female racer offer me her only tube of which I declined because she may have needed it and been in the same situation that I was already in. I was disappointed but I still had fun I just hope that next year the dont just use tape but maybe some arrows as well. I read some other blogs when I got home and the same things happened to others with getting lost because of the tape being down in spots. I would recommend this race to anyone, the entry fee was $25 and you got a free shirt not bad and they had free muffins and bagels.(free is always good)

http://www.superhumanmag.com/content/view/763/92/ Check out Lance! I'm impressed it looks as though he really pushed Dave weins causing him to beat his old record.

Road ride?

I decided to finally go out for the Thursday night fast road ride. I knew I would have been dropped if it were not for my man Mark Russell who kept the slow pace I was using or dropping back to pick me up and bring me back to the others(appreciate it). The ride was fun which is not what I was expecting because I usually despise a road ride. I usually don't get to ride that much so when I do I like to make it a Mountain bike ride but last night was a nice change. First I was'nt riding by myself and it was'nt in the dirt so I did'nt feel like I was beat up. I think I will try and do this ride as much as I can it can only help my fitness and I might have some fun in the process.. thanks to the guys for putting up with me and maybe I'll be able to keep up before long..

New Snatch

I got me some gears. I broke down and got some. It's not that I didn't like the Single any more but there were just times when I felt that I needed them.(or wanted them) Will this make me any faster-no-will they allow me to keep up with the rest of the group probably not. I got them anyway . Only time will tell which will get ridden more . I would like to thank James at Black Dog bikes for all his help in getting this thing together now all I have to do is ride it. Maybe tomorrow if weather permitting..Later

Hillbert..

Camp Hilbert was this past weekend and me and some of my peeps went down to Goochland to do a little racin. It was only 25 degress when Mark Russell,James Burris , John Evans and a guy by the name James Deaton took off for the enduro event. 5 hours in the cold does'nt sound like fun to me but I would have been doing the same thing if I could have ,just don't have the stamina that they do.. I decided to do the Single speed race at noon when it was warmer. I really don't have any bussiness getting on course with these guys because half way through the first lap I was off the back and suffering by the second lap. I did finish though! I did have fun! I learned something , its going to take me alot of riding to get any where near the podium at one of these races. For a guy who says he does'nt like endurance MTB events Mr. russell does a pretty good job -8 laps . James Burris did outstanding with 7 laps as did Mr. James Deaton also with 7 laps. It was good seeing Jimmy my boy you looked like your old self out there on the trail. Hopefully you will do another dirt event.. Get back to your ROOTS my brother. I was also very impressed with John who was talked into doing the enduro event the morning of the race and I beleive he got 6 laps in before calling it quits. Awsome!! Thanks for fun times guys!! Jimmy get a 29er !! Ya Mary! Later...

Camp Hilbert...

The first race of this year for me will be Camp Hilbert down in Goochland. I'm not ready but it will give me a chance to ride and hang out with some friends so its all good..James and Mr. Russell will be joining me for the fun. They will both be doing the enduro class and I'm not sure what I'm going to do, it will be either the SS class or the old guys sport class either way I'll get my ass handed to me. I ran the SS class last year and beat two guys and that was only because they had mechanicals. My only hope to do well is if everyone has a mechanical and I don't die after the first lap. Mark will probably just do the race as if it were a training ride and still do well. James has the experience in enduro and he should do well also. I hope to see a certain person there (James Deaton) . Although he might be cutting his bars down that day..Just a little more cutting and he will be able to use both brake leveres with the same hand.. Just kidding! I hope to see you there..punk

Night Ride with my Peeps!

Did a night ride last Friday night with Mr. Russell, James and Gene at the Secret ridin spot(shhh) it's a secret. I decided to ride the the bike with the skinnies on because of the mud. I think they did well until the end of the ride when I rolled a tire off the rim because I did'nt put enough air in them . The ride was great as was the company.. I have to say Mark has great patience riding with the not so gifted like myself and he's good at giving the words of encouragement when needed or as a friend of mine said he's good at lying. Either way it helped on some of the climbs. The new section of single track is going to be great once its been riden some more , Mark and myself rode a little longer than James and Gene because as Mark said I got a kitchen pass for the night so I tried to make the most of it. I have to ride more!! Thanks Mark.James and Gene lets do it again soon..

Old Friend found!

I was going through someone I knows blog to maybe catch some pics from the Superbowl ride this past Sunday and you know how it goes you wind-up blog jumping from one to the next. As I am doing this I see a name I have'nt heard or seen in awhile James Deaton . Well it turns out that this was and is the same James Deaton that I shared a domicile with several times and rode with many many times. The last time I saw Jimmy was about 12 years ago when he came up here to visit and we went to Snowshoe for a quick ride. Jimmy was living in S.C. at the time and I was Harrisonburg, VA. ,Jimmy was married with children I was not. Lets just say our lives were going in different directions and we lost contact with each other. Let me just say Jimmy was an awsome rider then as I am sure he is now. We started riding BMX together and and then one day Jimmy started riding this Mountain bike thing and he invited me to go riding with him ..Long story short (or is it to late for that) I was hooked and me and Jimmy rode alot and raced alot together. The last time I talked with Jimmy he was playing Hockey and he was'nt riding much or at all so I'm glad to see he's riding again. You can try other things but the bike will always be in the blood. Maybe I'll catch up with him at a race this year. I'm sure not as fit as he is anymore but I'll have fun trying to catch him again.