13 May 2006 - A Happy 10 Years!

Well, today is nearing our 10 year anniversarry! Yup, Julie and I have been married for 10 years, on May 18! Time flies when your having fun, eh! Today was a great day. First thing this morning I headed out to meet 2 friends for a short ride on Skyline Drive. We only rode 50 miles, 25 in and 25 back, from the north end at Front Royal. Today it was good that the weathermen are not always accurate. They've been predicting rain all week for Thursday through the weekend, but so far it has just been Thursday, and did it pour!!! Today's ride was great weather ride but mostly cloudy. Returning home Julz and I got on ebay. We've been looking again at sportscars. Well, we came accross a guy selling a 1968 Corvette. It has been partially restored but needs re-assembled. Well, about 30 minutes later we became Vette owners as Julz said, "Happy anniversary, hon!" I can't wait to get started on this thing! The guy is actually heading by to TN soon to pick a car up so we'll use him for delivery. Now we just need to empty out our 1 car garage here at the apartment, which is currently our storage, to store the car. This will be no easy task! Below is a link to the ebay auction. He ended it early as we dealt over the phone this afternoon. I will be returning it to close to original as possible. 1968 "Shark" Here's what it will hopefully look like soon! 1968 "Shark" complete

09 May 2006 - House, work, and "running" around

Yup, today was a busy day. Between work, which I chose to bring home rather than stay after hours at the office, and the house building process. They finally called me back with part of the quotes they owe us. They expect the buyers to choose all options within 14 days of signing, yet they seem to take their time. I'll be calling their main office starting tomorrow to get the wheel squeeking, and loudly! Nahaniel is getting good at the ABC's. He's made it to G. He's pointing and calling out animals and objects all the time, and he loves to say "Bye-bye" and go places always wanting to be on the go. It's probably born in him with all the travelling Julie and I have done. It was either travelling to bike races or to see our families, since we couldn't get anyone to come visit us but once in a while. I'm finally getting over the stomach flu I must have had over the weekend, but I've had a few "runs" to the throne tonight. At least the nauseous feeling has past and I can eat and drink normally again. I was actually getting a slight itch to take a short spin tonight since the weather cleared. This morning it was chilly and sprinkling, but it ended up in the 70's and sunny. But with work and things to do here I couldn't take the time. This weekend is looking great for another ride on Skyline Drive this Saturday, can't wait.

08 May 2006 - Battle of the Gut

Today commences the Battle of the Gut! I'm still not feeling all that well with a continued nauseous feeling. So, I went out during lunch and bought a bunch of live organic yogurt to see if it can help me get over whatever this is. I also found some Gatorade on sale, and that was good since I am out of water here at the office. A few others have tried getting bottled water but have had no luck. I will not give in to drinking city water from the tap so I continue to bring my own. Weather is actually poor today. It is barely 55 degrees, cloudy, and breezy. It's giving me a horible reminder of Michigan spring weather! :P They're calling for rain, but that's been the case all weekend, and the weekend days were beautiful summer days! Hopefully it should return by mid week when I plan to be done with this gut issue! This weekend I'll be riding Skyline Drive again. However, this time I'll be riding with a co-worker and another friend and we'll just be riding the north 25 miles, in then out, from Front Royal for a 50 mile trip. My last ride Julie supported me and 1 other new friend for the entire park meeting me at 40 mile marks. The entire trip from Waynesboro to Front Royal to the north is 105 miles. I'll be sure to not forget the sunscreen this time...ouch!

07 May 2006 - disappointment

Well, the stomach never really got better. It seemed it was doing fine at first. Julz drove to the venue while I rested and handled Thane (which entails supplying crackers, juice, and movies to watch...kinda like his own 1st class plane ticket!). Arriving around 3PM we set-up camp. I then rolled out on a warm-up lap with the hardtail. I started out in a 44/19, but discovered it was a touch too big of a gear. It was also dropping the chain a bit too easily. At about the half way mark I moved the singulator to the 21 cog. This was a better gear and the chain held fine. With about 1 mile to go on the warm-up lap I hit a tree stump that was conveniently in the middle of the trail on a sweeping curve...BAM!...It sent my left knee right into the Lefty! I yelled-out a few times as I staggered to keep my balance and to walk it off. I thought for sure I probably cracked the knee cap. Blood immediately began oozing down the front of my leg from 2 impact slices on the knee. Returning to camp I immediately took some Ibuprophin for the pain and swelling. On the Scalpel I had a 44/20 and chose to ride it at the start for 2 reasons: 1st I've never had any issues with the singulator on the Scalpel, 2nd It would allow me more room and confidence for the night start helping to soak up the unseen rocks, roots, bumps. Waking from a nap at 10PM, after 3hrs of rest, I dressed and ate prior to the 12AM start. I felt pretty good and lined up for the Lemans run. Taking the run easy I made it to the bike in about 10th position. I eventually passed a few other SS riders and a geared rider to move up to 5th overall, but by the end of lap 1 I was in 8th overall and had the SS lead firmly in hand. Lap 2 I continued the easy pace and actually started choosing what climbs I would walk to save the legs. By the end of Lap 2 I was up to 7th overall and still controlling SS. On the 3rd lap I began feeling nauseous again. Trying to drink more fluids wasn't helping, so I planned to stop for pasta or a sandwich and to change my battery. Hitting the pits at the end of 3 I was up to 6th overall, still maintaining the easy pace and walking the more aggressive climbs. For my friends in Michigan they could compare this course to TK Lawless with the climbing of PLRA. The lap was about 8.6 miles long with about 720ft of climbing. My avg lap times were about 45minutes. Getting food the first instant I placed a fork full of pasta into my mouth, prior to even chomping down with my teeth, I felt like I was going to hurl!!! I eventually got it down with some water and tried eating a powerbar, no luck there either. So, as Julz was rubbing my legs while I sat in the chair I decided with my better judgment that I should not continue. I make it a point to take in food every 60 minutes along with 16-20 oz of water. The drinking wasn't becoming an issue, but the food obviously was. This decision was somewhat easy as last year at mid-season I had a couple of months of tests due to blood in my urine after a 6hr race. Everything went just fine before and during the event, but arriving home I noticed the issue immediately while using the bathroom. Needless to say I was a little freeked and pretty worried. That issue thankfully has passed and has not returned. So, what's my plan...I guess I'll keep riding and re-think my race schedule whenever I feel unhealthy. Hindsight, I should've stayed home from this event, but I put in a good showing and enjoyed the practice and confidence I built for myself with my riding especially knowing I was sick. If I coulda just got the food to go down I know I would've continued on to win he race! A special thanks for my wife Julie, and my little boy, for going along in support on a nice weekend!

06 May 2006 - Gut Wrenching Night

Well, this race may be a bit interesting. At about 8PM last night my gut got all weird. It felt like the stomach flu. I was up about every 2 hours all night feeling like I needed to throw-up or run to the throne. I'm feeling a little better now, but still have an achey feeling in the midsection. We're finishing up packing now, and as soon as Thane wakes up and has breakfast we should be on the road. I'm hoping to get a campsite on the trail to make it easy for Julz.

04 May 2006 - Loosen-up!

Tonight I planned to take a short ride to loosen-up as last night was not possible. Upon returning home from Julie's office banquet I had developed my own "natural gas"! It was horrible! Needless to say, after just 10 minutes on the rollers, at about 9:45PM, I had to pull a cyclocross maneuver and jump from the bike to make a run to the throne! Yah, the food was that bad! What was worse was that a co-worker kindly warned me about the food before hand, but I didn't listen and went with an empty stomach. So, after work tonight I set out to loosen-up the legs to prep for this weekend's 12hr. Julie is still undecided as to if she will go. Well, after fixing my front deraileur cable I remembered that there is a group that rides on Tues/Thurs from a place just 10mins away starting at 6PM. Getting home early I was able to get there in time for the start. At first I was just planning to sit-in as the legs were feeling iffy and I didn't want to push it. After the first few miles they began to feel good, and by the first big climb I realized they were great. Sitting in an easy cadence of about 80-100rpm I was able to ride along the front of the pack. Before others began pealing off the back they said we'd re-group in the valley on the west side of North Mountain. Cresting the top I figured I'd stretch the legs on the downhill pushing into the wind to a speed of 48.6mph. I've hit 56mph in the past without a headwind. Re-grouping we headed north the Boyd's Gap to climb back over North Mountain. I quickly found myself spinning away from the group opening a huge gap, enough to take a nature break and still reach the top about a minute ahead of the next rider. Again I stretched the legs on the downhill, this time hitting 49.8mph. This road was a bit bumpy and curvy, and having flat resistant tires (hard compound) at a high pressure I didn't think it would be wise to push any harder than I was for fear of a crash. In all my legs are feeling great and I have a good deal of confidence after this "easy" ride of 35+ miles at an avg pace of 18mph and 2,200 vertical feet of climbing. (Below is a clip of the printout for the ride.)

03 May 2006 - "Back" in 1 piece, well almost...

Last night I was able to get into see my new chiropractic doctor for some physical therapy (using electro-stimulation and ultrasound) and a re-alignment. Boy do I miss the tuned-touch of Davis (Dr. Brockenshire)! Dr. Curry nearly twisted my neck off trying to get it re-aligned. He was only 90% successful as the 4th vertebrae is still slightly out. He chose to stop so as not to hurt me any further. Everything else moved fairly easy for him and I was feeling like new as I left. I haven't been on the bike since the race! I need to get back on the saddle soon, but I may have to resort to the rollers tonight since I have an important dinner to attend for Julie's work. We'll be having a formal dinner at the Wayside Inn (http://www.alongthewayside.com/). It is the oldest functioning B&B and Restaurant in the country (I think), and has been showcased on the History channel and others due to its claims of being haunted by Civil War beings. I suggested to her that we stay the night! I did manage to get the Scalpel cleaned last night after taking a couple mile walk with Julie, Thane, and the dogs. Then I hit the sack, as I was very tired due to the weekend's race and the day's adjustment. This morning my neck is slightly stiff and aches if I cough, but it feels OK. Thane was pretty upset when I left him at daycare so I checked-in on him on the webcam and he seems to be just fine now. My uncle Edward will be picking him up tonight as we will be getting home late. This Friday the town of Winchester all but shuts-down due to the Apple Blossom Festival. Apparently it has the 3rd and 4th largest parades in the country! My office is closed, but Julie has to work. I will probably check it out with Thane, and my uncle may join us. Well, that's it for now. I'll hopefully post again before the race, but if not I will soon after with good results!

01 May 2006 - Lost Vertebrae in Maryland!

Well, it's been a while since my 1st post. I'll have to do better. Things have been very busy! We purchased our "dream home" house plans at a price of nearly $1K, to later have the builder call us at the 25th hour to say they were withdrawing...WHAT THE HECK?! So, with tempers flaring Julie and I desperately began the search again from ground zero. We looked high and low for land or a current house on the market. We ended up signing with another semi-custom home builder (Dan Ryan Homes). Our new home will now be in Bunker Hill, WV. On the racing side...A good friend, Mike Simonson, came down for a local AMBC event in Boonsboro, MD, just 20 mins from our apartment. Him and his wife arrived Saturday afternoon for yesterday's race at the Greenbriar State Park. Mike is on his way to receiving his Pro license, as he is racking up the wins in the Semi-Pro class, and actually took 4th overall this weekend. Well, he talked me into participating in the race. Honestly I was not planning to race until the morning of. I had pre-ridden the course once the week before, then again with Mike on Saturday. I felt this would be too close to my 1st 12hr which is this weekend. The course was brutal! It is a 5.5 mile course with 760 ft of climbing for 1 lap. I had to complete 3 laps. Investigations during registration was showing that others were running bigger gears. I thought I might even need to go 1 smaller! 3 climbs on the course with the 2nd being un-rideable on the SS. Yup, for those who didn't know, I am riding all Single Speed again this year, but this time in Endurance. It's been over a year since my last standard XC race and immediately 2 miles in I was again questioning my entry into the race. Again I was wondering how long I would last at this fast pace with my heart rate pegged nearly at Max! Yes, my max HR is 203 and I averaged 170 for the race and was as high as 199! I know where this was, it was the 2nd lap as I dismounted my bike to climb the 2nd half of the 2nd hill (very loose rocky steep grade). As I glanced back there were 2 riders gaining from the rear and I had just caught another ahead of me. I thought I was sitting 5th, and the pay was to the top 5! I immediately took my walk to a run, almost carrying the bike over the rocks while trying not to twist an ankle. Getting to the top I jumped on the bike and began cranking. I passed the rider in-front and dropped him. My next glance showed me a great effort rewarded as no one was behind me. I continued bomming the downhills making some extreme passes. One got a few yells from a geared rider who started 4 waves ahead of the SS class. It was a muddy section at the bottom of a downhill where I kept almost all my speed. I caught the rider very fast and yelled "LEFT!" As I did so there was a tree across the trail which I cleared without pause or worry, but the rider went bezerk yelling at me. My thought is I was able and he must yield to the faster leading riders. I kept pushing and found myself crying for the finish line on the 3rd and final lap. Crossing the line thinking 4th, they announced 3rd! The Scalpel rode great and soaked up the huge rocks and jumps better than any. I feel this gave me an advantage over most of the field as they were either with only front suspension or fully rigid. The trail is so rocky it will knock your glasses right off your face! So, now I sit at lunch at work wishing my doctors appointment was today, but instead I have to wait until tomorrow! Julie has been a great help, rubbing muscle cream into my upper back and neck as I think I left some vertebrae on the trail! My next race is the one I've been training for. 12 Hours of Lodi Farms is this Sunday. Start time is 12AM with a finish time of 12PM. Yup, starting in the dark!!! This should give me an advantage, as I have yet to be out-ridden in the dark! I'm hoping to get my 2nd win in a 12hr leading into the 24hr schedule in a few weeks. I'll be ready with 2 bikes, the Scalpel and the Optimo. Below are some photos from race day:

02 February 2006 - My first "blog"

Well, I've jumped on the bandwagon! I've created a blog. After a few years of helping run my team's web-site (http://racecanondale.com) I've decided to create my own blog. This is mainly due to the fact that I'm now seperate from the team, not in spirit but in location. I'm still the acting team manager, but I have recently accepted a new job which has relocated me to Virginia. Getting out of the automotive industry has served me well. It has also apparently served my wife well, as she has also aquired a new, and hopefully, better job. We moved in to our rental home the weekend of 14 Jan 2006. This was due to my start date at my new employer, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, on 16 Jan 2006. I obtained a position as a Sr. Product Development Engineer reporting to the VP of Engineering. I apparently got out of Detroit, and automotive, while the getting out was good. Just 1 week later Ford announced a huge lay-off and a list of plant closings. GM and DCX have also been in deep waters making cutbacks and all 3 of the OEMs have been re-sourcing their suppliers to try to increase profits. Back to the home-front...My family and I (wife Julie, and son Nathaniel "Thane") are currently trying our best to get somewhat settled into a rental home. We are working hard to get a piece of land and builder to build our custom home on the only all-sports lake in the surrounding areas. We currently have 1 option in the works, but we have only received a verbal on the cost of the land so far. So, we are still investigating the available lots that are waterfront to hopefully get a decent deal and private/direct access to the lake. The lake is just 20 minutes NW of my employers location in Winchester, VA off of state route 522. It is a nice private/gated community that will hopefully keep most of the riff-raff out. It will also keep the locall hill-people from moving in next door and planting flowers and weeds in the rusted our car and old fridge in the front yard! haha Anyhow...Be sure to check back once in a while. I will do my best to keep you posted with new updates for my family and my racing.