Final Ride for the week before the winter storm

We hit 50 degrees on Wednesday, and I wanted to get one more ride in before Thursday's winter storm arrived. I had hoped to go with my friend Drew McMurrin on a night ride, since I had not had the chance to use my light set yet. He ended up not being available. It was dark, and I didn't want to go ride alone in the dark. I sent out a mass text to see if anyone would go. It ended up that Jason from the bike shop was going. He told me to bring Brad Nielsen along and that he would have a light for him. After waiting 20 minutes (after 10pm) for Jason to arrive, Brad and I decided we couldn't wait any longer. We took off to do a lap in Slaughterpen, with me riding behind Brad with my headlamp to show the way in front of him. We both had a FANTASTIC time. It was exilerating to ride at night, and we both felt great about our ride. It was a total blast, even with just one light.
So I figured that would be my last ride before the 8 inches of snow that we got, but Dave Neil said we should ride Thurs afternoon before the winter weather arrived. So Dave, Chris, Brad, and I headed for the trail. The sleet began to pelt Brad's truck before we even got there. Traffic leaving town was crazy as we headed the opposite direction of traffic toward the trailhead. We arrived, gathered ourselves, and headed out. The ride was not near as enjoyable as the night before, but we were not disappointed about going. We did have ice forming on our helmets and Camelbaks.
So that's it for the week, right?...then Friday afternoon as the snow is piling up on the ground, Dave sends a text that says," Snow ride?" I ignored the text.
That didn't work. 20 minutes later, Dave and Chris are on my doorstep, geared up and on their bikes saying Let's go. I said, "Give me 5 minutes..." , and we were off. We didn't know where to go, but ended up riding to Brad's house, a 7 mile round trip in the snow with MASSIVE hill on Trafalgar that I swore I would NEVER climb on a bike in good weather...but I did it on a snow-packed street. I just kept riding when my buddies dismounted...Dave said "It's bragging rights if you make it to the top."
We chatted with Brad for 20 minutes or so before heading for home. It was yet another great ride with the light. The snow was falling the whole time, and few people were out driving, but we did it.
Chalk up 3 rides in 48hrs, baby....

Training for my first 24 hour race

So I officially began training for the race on Jan 13th. That's only a month out from the actual event! Reminds me of my high school track days when we would only be a month out from our first meet when track practices began, and Coach Lair would send out out the first week to just run the streets of Chillicothe, MO for an hour or so.

The weather has been less than helpful the last several weeks. We got lots of rain, and then, lots of snow and ice (for this area) at the end of Dec. and just this week, so getting out on the trails has not been happening much. Lucky for me, my coworker Mike has a bike trainer that he brought to the office, and lucky for me, he said I am welcome to use it. I don't have the shoes for his bike, but, lucky for me, I still had the rear wheel from my old 2004 Stumpjumper that Shane Santos bought from me. He replaced the rear wheel and gave me the old one, cassette and all. So I took the wheel and put a smoothe beach cruiser tire on it. Now all I do is swap wheels out on my Enduro and pedal in the office.

Knowing that a 24 hour race will require that each team member ride multiple times during the event (team members usually trade off laps, which means 3 or 4 laps per rider) I am trying to train more than once per day. I know in the past how tough it is to get out and ride after having given it your all already in the same day. Hopefully I will be ready....ok there is NO WAY I will be ready, but I hope to be more ready than I would have otherwise been.

More results from the Specialized Trail Crew Contest

I'll admit that there have been a few moments where I felt a little down trodden, having missed an opportunity to be on the trail crew. I do have some positive notes about this experience. I met a few guys though the contest, one of them being Rob Kelsey from Arizona. Rob and I got to know each other before the final results were announced, and we were both pulling for each other. Rob has a great big red Specialized "S" tatooed on his leg....how could they reject a guy like that? Though neither of us made the trail crew, we have continued to talk, and Rob decided that I needed to come be on his race team for the 24 hours of Pueblo. I have not had an opportunity to particpate in a 24 hour race. I did 2 12hr races in Missouri in 2004, one on a team of 3 or 4, and one in a duo with my friiend Shawn Force. That is a tough race! Now to do a 24 hr. seems overwelming. I told Rob it would be cool, but I didn't have the money to get there. Rob has taken care of that, as well as sent me his old light set (which doesn't shine like an old light set) and a couple of old pair of gloves he is not using (which don't look like they are old). I don't know what I did to deserve such treatment because I have never even met Rob, but all I can say is that he is a true friend to mountain biking. I can't wait to ride on his team and hope I will do my part for the team.
So on Feb. 11th, I fly to AZ and meet Rob. We will ride some trails the few days we have, and then Saturday at noon, the race begins. There will be posting for sure that night. I hope to take time to post something between each leg of the race that I do.

No, I haven't given up riding

The blog posts are few and far between these days. What do you expect during the off season? I'm only getting to ride a couple of times per month right now. Now if I had made the Specialized Trail Crew, things would be a little different right now....
I have been busy starting a new job and taking car of family needs. I did get out and ride this morning with my friend Brad and my new boss Mike. We rode despite the rain because none of us had seen the trail in too many days. Despite the intermitant sprinkles and a few showers, we did just fine. I was even able to clear a few wet technial sections.
So my new boss Mike is a rider. We were introduced at the trailhead one day last summer by Gary Vernon, a mutual friend. I ended up cleaning windows at Mike's house, and he later informed me of an open position with the company he works for. Now I work with a fellow mountain biker! I am sure this will mean many stories are soon to follow.

Cold and Alone...

The title describes my 63oam ride today. Since the time change last weekend, my riding buddies have decided to revive our morning rides. The sun is coming up around 630 now. However, between sick wives and children, none of us have had perfect attendance this week.

I was the only one that showed this morning. Though the group had planned to ride the new trails, which I agree are fun because they include challenging climbs and sweet jumps and banks, I decided to detour back to the Ridge trails, Razorback and Rocky. I enjoy the good push up the hills, cruising around on top, and the dive back down to the bottom. I feel that our new trails only give you the option of going up or down, not much in between. Don't get me wrong, I like the new trails and will continue to ride them. However, it seems that they have become the destination. I see them as part of the ride, and not the entire ride. I need diversity!

Winter isn't far away

This is why we don't go to Moab in March anymore. At least it shows our dedication to the sport however. Bring on the winter, we will still RIDE.

Results from the Specialized Trail Crew Contest

The phone call came last Friday from Tan at Specialized. Sounds like I made the top 8, but they only chose 6. Pretty sad to be that close and miss a huge sponsorship like that. I discussed possible job opportunities with Tan, and he gave me a person to contact in HR. Could this be the beginning of a career? I've thought that before.

I consider myself pretty upbeat after the rejection. Long live mountain biking. Specialized is going to send me something anyway, I believe.