The properly functioning bike and enthusiasm for the sloppy weather were short lived.
I warmed up on the stationary trainer for a bit at the Palmer cross race, though there was no protection from the steady rain that was falling. I was damp to wet before I went out for a course inspection lap. I'd been hearing people talk about it being a very mountain bikey course, something I was happy to hear. I usually do relatively well on such courses. My pre-race lap confirmed the reports, and also left me soaked and muddy before the race had even started.
I felt good from the warm up lap, I felt good on the bike though all the mud and water. Then I got stuck in the back for the start, not the most favorable place. Well, everything was pretty dicey off the start, and I didn't make up much ground, it was hard to be aggressive in such slick conditions. As things thinned out I started to move up little by little. Then, I crashed on some slick roots. Shwwooop, in a semi-over the handles bars kind of move. My right hand hit the ground hard as I tried to catch myself, three fingers went into a painful, numb kind of state (my pinky is still swollen and sore). My right shifter hit the ground and moved slightly inward too, though not horribly so. My shifting capabilities seemed to disappear though. I had maybe three gears in the back as I started back out, but quickly lost those. I was down to shifting with only the front chainrings.
My brakes faded, a lot, my hand was numb, the bars were wet and muddy, needless to say, I had a hard time controlling the bike from there. I didn't feel like I had much stamina either.
I didn't get last though. I wasn't as close to first as I wanted to be either. Finally got the motivation to not suck and start riding more again.
I found some pictures from the first race of the day. I'm not in any of them, but they paint a pretty good portrait of the race, and cyclocross in general. Check them out here.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Pre-Season continues
Hopefully the pre-season continues without further woes. The bottom bracket I bummed from Jake, didn't have much life left. It was good through the race, but managed to start making some very strange noises midway through the first ride after the race. Noises that I've never heard come from a bottom bracket. I just took it out and there is definitely a bearing or two rattling around freely. Further inspection of the tube from the flat in pre-season race numero uno finds that I had a pretty gnarly pinch flat.
I picked up a brand new bottom bracket from the shop this evening and the bike is back together. Everything seems to be in order with it, which is nice, because pre-season race numero dos is tomorrow. The weather has turned rainy, first time in a while it seems. That stint of hot sunny weather was wonderful, and I kind of like racing cross in it. I'm not complaining about the potentially sloppy conditions for tomorrow though, should make things exciting.
I picked up a brand new bottom bracket from the shop this evening and the bike is back together. Everything seems to be in order with it, which is nice, because pre-season race numero dos is tomorrow. The weather has turned rainy, first time in a while it seems. That stint of hot sunny weather was wonderful, and I kind of like racing cross in it. I'm not complaining about the potentially sloppy conditions for tomorrow though, should make things exciting.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
2009 CX Begins
Today was the first cyclocross race of the season. I'm going to call it, PRE-season for me. The plan was for it to be a warm up race, just to get my frame of reference into 'cross.
I just got the bike up and working properly, somewhat late last night. There was a last minute bottom bracket pick up from Jake, for which I am eternally grateful, there were two tubes that went flat on me on the stand, and I'm still not sure if I've got it shifting quite right, but it seemed to be riding well this morning.
Warm up went well, but at the start line I dropped a little tiny bit more air out of my tires, hoping to make some of the bumps just a little smoother. I started fairly well, feeling aggressive, I dove hard into some corners and was trying to get past one particular rider that wasn't taking, what I felt, to be good lines in the corners. I could definitely get through the corners faster, I just couldn't quite get the edge on him going through the first narrow section into the single track. I was annoyed, I should have gotten through those corners much better but he was disturbing my line and speed.
Then, maybe a third of the way into the first lap I flatted. I may have pinch flatted from letting just a little too much out at the start, or maybe I ran over something when I swung into some rough sketchy stuff to get by some guys off the start. I'm not sure yet, but I let the field get by, as it was a single track section and I would just plug everything up. Once everyone passed I rode the course to the pits, picked up a neutral support wheel.
Once I got going again, I spent nearly a full lap pretty alone. Then I started to pick off some riders. Little by little I moved up positions. Of course, I didn't get anywhere near the front, but I was happy to be able to finish, and not be last.
Next race I leave the tire pressure alone.
I just got the bike up and working properly, somewhat late last night. There was a last minute bottom bracket pick up from Jake, for which I am eternally grateful, there were two tubes that went flat on me on the stand, and I'm still not sure if I've got it shifting quite right, but it seemed to be riding well this morning.
Warm up went well, but at the start line I dropped a little tiny bit more air out of my tires, hoping to make some of the bumps just a little smoother. I started fairly well, feeling aggressive, I dove hard into some corners and was trying to get past one particular rider that wasn't taking, what I felt, to be good lines in the corners. I could definitely get through the corners faster, I just couldn't quite get the edge on him going through the first narrow section into the single track. I was annoyed, I should have gotten through those corners much better but he was disturbing my line and speed.
Then, maybe a third of the way into the first lap I flatted. I may have pinch flatted from letting just a little too much out at the start, or maybe I ran over something when I swung into some rough sketchy stuff to get by some guys off the start. I'm not sure yet, but I let the field get by, as it was a single track section and I would just plug everything up. Once everyone passed I rode the course to the pits, picked up a neutral support wheel.
Once I got going again, I spent nearly a full lap pretty alone. Then I started to pick off some riders. Little by little I moved up positions. Of course, I didn't get anywhere near the front, but I was happy to be able to finish, and not be last.
Next race I leave the tire pressure alone.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Random Notes
The last two weeks have been mostly mental rest and recovery. I just took my third ride since the 24 hour race. The first was a pretty easy going ride, the second, was a pretty tough one on the single speed, and tonight and easy going ride on the road bike.
The cyclocross bike calls though! Tomorrow morning I get it working well enough to 'race' on Sunday. I'm just going to the race to get myself in the right frame of mind. It's tough not to get excited about seeing skinny knobby tires under me.
I might also mention that I found a new bagel at the grocery store. Among all those other flavors I'm not interested I found one that I was extremely interested in. French Toast Bagels! They are quiet tasty with a little butter on them.
When does a cult become a legit religion? I'm not sure, but we have converted another rider. Lee just got himself a great looking, used, Van Dessel Gin and Trombones. Not quite the bike that Van Dessel shows on their website but still a very nice bike! I had to keep looking at it during tonight's ride, it got me rather excited for some cyclocross action.
The cyclocross bike calls though! Tomorrow morning I get it working well enough to 'race' on Sunday. I'm just going to the race to get myself in the right frame of mind. It's tough not to get excited about seeing skinny knobby tires under me.
I might also mention that I found a new bagel at the grocery store. Among all those other flavors I'm not interested I found one that I was extremely interested in. French Toast Bagels! They are quiet tasty with a little butter on them.
When does a cult become a legit religion? I'm not sure, but we have converted another rider. Lee just got himself a great looking, used, Van Dessel Gin and Trombones. Not quite the bike that Van Dessel shows on their website but still a very nice bike! I had to keep looking at it during tonight's ride, it got me rather excited for some cyclocross action.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Riding Bikes up Mt. Washington
I ventured to the Mt. Washington, NH area Friday night to support Matt Saturday morning at the Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hill Climb race. The second weekend in a row at the mountain. I just can't seem to stay away from the place.
Saturday morning was beautiful; clear blue skies and warm enough to be comfortable in a t-shirt at 6 am. Driving from Gorham to the mountain I could see the summit was perfectly clear of any cloud cover. There are very few days this nice at the summit, it was going to be wonderful for taking pictures.
After meeting up with Matt and Bill and talking for a while, Bill, Rob and I headed for the summit. Once we were there I started snapping some photos, then decided to walk down the road a ways to where I could a few sections of the road further down the road. I waited there until Matt came by then head back to watch people finish at the summit.
I was really trying to get some good shots with the camera; the scenery, the pain, the glory. I feel like I got some good ones. In doing so, I experienced an extremely emotion scene.
I rode the mountain two years ago, it ranks as one of my favorite bike rides of all time. 7.6 Miles with an average gradient of 12%, all uphill, gaining 4700+ ft. of elevation. It doesn't sound like a lot of fun, but what an experience and accomplishment. My own experience, on some level, let me into the emotion that these people were carrying into the final steep slopes near the summit. I could see so much in their faces, and then to see family and friends of all ages, just as emotional while cheering on their loved ones; the entire scene was amazing. I almost cried at one point. Unfortunately, my words don't do the scene justice. Hopefully my photographs do a slightly better job.
Saturday morning was beautiful; clear blue skies and warm enough to be comfortable in a t-shirt at 6 am. Driving from Gorham to the mountain I could see the summit was perfectly clear of any cloud cover. There are very few days this nice at the summit, it was going to be wonderful for taking pictures.
After meeting up with Matt and Bill and talking for a while, Bill, Rob and I headed for the summit. Once we were there I started snapping some photos, then decided to walk down the road a ways to where I could a few sections of the road further down the road. I waited there until Matt came by then head back to watch people finish at the summit.
I was really trying to get some good shots with the camera; the scenery, the pain, the glory. I feel like I got some good ones. In doing so, I experienced an extremely emotion scene.
I rode the mountain two years ago, it ranks as one of my favorite bike rides of all time. 7.6 Miles with an average gradient of 12%, all uphill, gaining 4700+ ft. of elevation. It doesn't sound like a lot of fun, but what an experience and accomplishment. My own experience, on some level, let me into the emotion that these people were carrying into the final steep slopes near the summit. I could see so much in their faces, and then to see family and friends of all ages, just as emotional while cheering on their loved ones; the entire scene was amazing. I almost cried at one point. Unfortunately, my words don't do the scene justice. Hopefully my photographs do a slightly better job.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Pictures and Video from the 24
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Account of the 2009 24 hours of Great Glen
Team Dirt Nuts had its 4th incarnation this year. The roster was yet again, slightly different, but contained alumni of the team. Taylor and I were now in our 4th straight year of the event. For Solin, it would be the 3rd time at the event after a year off. Jake would join us for the 2nd year running.
We jumped from the sport division to expert this year. Speaking for myself, and maybe my teammates, I had really wanted to make it onto the podium in sport. We were so close last year, problems with our lights cost us at least the 10 minutes between us and 3rd place. I knew we could make the podium, however, Jake and I upgraded our regular cross country racing categories to expert and therefore, the entire team would be entered under expert. We would just have to shoot for a podium spot in the expert division, a far more difficult task for certain.
If you followed along in the live updates, you are aware of some of the story. I would like to fill in some of the details at this time.
I would start the race off with the Le Mans style running start. A 1/3 mile lap around the pond would spread riders out a little, making things a little safer upon starting out on the bikes. The course narrows after a short distance and within a mile is a short but very steep hill. I’ve watched this area the last three years, and was quite aware that a significant traffic jam was going to occur there, no question about it. The sprint finish for 4th place, still playing in my mind from last year has me thinking that every second counts. Even over 24 hours of racing. It’s hard to say what kind of time would be lost if I got stuck in rider traffic for the first few miles, I knew I needed to get past that hill near the front of the pack. I took off in the run, holding a steady but quick pace and managed to be 5th to the bikes. I kept my pace up until I made it up and over the steep narrow hill in the clear. I then settled into my pace.
The course this year, was 99% the same as last year. The biggest difference was the course condition. It was far dryer. There was still some significant mud in places, but it was possible to ride the entire course.
Our lap times reflected this, they were a bit faster than we expected. We started the race by rotating through our entire roster of riders, one lap at a time. With the fast laps, we found that there was very little down time back at our camp. Lee, who had ridden the last two years, was our head pit guy. His plan to live in 40 minute increments had been changed to 30 minute increments. By 5 pm, I’d felt as if we’d raced far more than 5 hours by the sheer number of laps we’d gone through compared to previous years.
At this point we were holding steady in 5th place, expert class. Team UNH (University of New Hampshire) was holding steady at 3 to 5 minutes behind. Some of the lead teams had already pulled out of reach, as long as they maintained their speed without any major problems. I went out for my 3rd lap just before 6 pm, as I completed the first small loop on the other side of Rt. 16 and came back through the tunnel under the road I saw a UNH rider coming through in the other direction. Some quick math said I had approximately 4 minutes on him. I decided I’d need to put some distance on him if I could and tried to pick up my pace a little.
As we completed our third round of laps I was getting set for our night shift. The strategy would change here. Jake and I would alternate laps, such that we would each complete two, while Taylor and Solin caught some sleep. They, in turn would do the same. On my way to take over from Solin I noticed my bike handling funny, but contributed it to the bag of clothing swinging from my handlebar. It wasn’t until I was halfway to the timing tent that I realized my front tire was flat. I quickly went back to camp and changed the flat, but I was not quick enough. Solin had come in, shouted for me briefly, then made a quick decision to get back on course and not waste time. Lee and I started to rework the strategy. It would be best to give Solin a longer rest period after pulling the double lap. Jake or I could pull an extra lap during this alternating shift. Reality said that Jake was the best candidate; he was the strongest rider on the team and could handle the extra lap better than any of us.
Solin came in, and I took over. I needed to make up for time that we might have lost if Solin’s 2nd lap in a row had been much slower. Turns out that it wasn’t too bad of a time, but inevitably, the 2nd lap is always slower than the first. I had a great lap for my first dark lap, nearly as fast as I’d done the course in the daylight. Jake went out for a very fast lap, then I headed back out.
I struggled to find my rhythm this time out. I hit the steep hill, almost rode the bike over the side of the bank, and ended up falling backwards down the hill. I started to feel hungry only 3 miles in, not good. Despite putting down food constantly and eating a banana after my last lap, I was apparently running on empty and I could feel it. I took the Cliff bar out of my pocket and shoved it down the hatch. It didn’t take long to feel better, and then I started to find some rhythm. Right as I found some strength and rhythm I took a bad line while overtaking a slower rider and pounded my front wheel off of a root. “Oh no,” I thought, “my tire is surely going to go flat!” Sure enough, just a few meters later I noticed the ill handling of my bike. I pulled over to fix it.
Surprise! My frame pump was not working. I’ve had a few of these model pumps fail between uses, likely due to mud and water getting in the seals. Through some miraculous event, I’d decided to get my spare tube partially inflated before unseating the tire from the rim. When I couldn’t get the spare inflated, my first reaction was that of Ralphie in A Christmas Story when the wheel nuts go flying everywhere when he and his father are changing a flat, “OHHH FUUUUUUDGE!” Except, just as with he, fudge wasn’t exactly the real word. I felt the front tire; some way, somehow, it still had some amount of air in it, enough to suffice for riding, at least for a while. I figured, if I bang the rim off a few rocks too hard, I’ll just buy a new one, I’m riding it. It actually held up quite well, the handling was only a problem on the dirt roads on some high speed turns, where I could feel the tire trying to peel off the rim.
I came in to hand the baton to Jake, and explained very briefly what had happened to me and told him to put down some good laps while running with him to his bike. He was now going to go out for two laps to make up for the two laps Solin had done.
I took a shower and went back to lay down for some brief sleep. At first my stomach was wrenching in knots, but that faded away. The other issue was the two cans of Red Bull at early points in the afternoon and evening, and they’d seemed to help earlier while riding. Now they might be causing me trouble. I don’t normally drink much in the way of caffeinated beverages, so these were possibly affecting me a bit. My mind was racing. Despite feeling tired and ready for sleep, I couldn’t get my mind to settle down. I closed my eyes, but never really fell asleep. At 4:15 am it was time to start getting myself ready and prepared to ride again as well as eat some food. If the laps that Taylor and Solin were doing were as fast as they’d gone during the day, I would need to ride shortly after 5 am.
At 5:26 am I started my 6th lap. My legs were tired, but I was still turning over a pretty good gear on the bike. We were now back to rotating straight through the line-up. When I came back in, Lee informed me of the reworked strategy he had come up with to get us to the finish with as many laps as could fit in. Oh the beauty of technology and real time updates on lap times. This strategy had me going out sooner than I’d expected, but I’d have a normal break after then next lap. As much as I wanted to wake myself up with some Red Bull I decided to hold off in hopes that I might actually get some sleep after the next lap. That next lap I felt tired, it was my slowest lap without any problems. I finished then went back to camp to fall asleep for a little while.
That nap was great, I felt much better. I coupled that with a double dose of Red Bull, and I was ready to go. Just before 11am I headed out for my final lap. It was clear that Jake would take the final lap. As much as we’d hoped to get Taylor out before noon, it simply wasn’t possible. That final lap, I passed several people. A lot of people were out riding again, the course being sparsely populated at night. Unless we encountered a terrible failure of sorts were set to finish 5th in class (of 6) and 6th overall.
The two major goals I had going into the event would be met. I didn’t want to finish last in expert, and I wanted to be in the top 10 overall (we’d been 14th and 11th the previous two years). The goal of making it onto the podium in sport class would have been reached if we’d registered as a sport class team; we beat every team in the sport class. We could have finished first and paid for our entry with the prize money. That is something to feel good about too I guess.
The only remaining question is, next year?
Pictures and Video soon.
We jumped from the sport division to expert this year. Speaking for myself, and maybe my teammates, I had really wanted to make it onto the podium in sport. We were so close last year, problems with our lights cost us at least the 10 minutes between us and 3rd place. I knew we could make the podium, however, Jake and I upgraded our regular cross country racing categories to expert and therefore, the entire team would be entered under expert. We would just have to shoot for a podium spot in the expert division, a far more difficult task for certain.
If you followed along in the live updates, you are aware of some of the story. I would like to fill in some of the details at this time.
I would start the race off with the Le Mans style running start. A 1/3 mile lap around the pond would spread riders out a little, making things a little safer upon starting out on the bikes. The course narrows after a short distance and within a mile is a short but very steep hill. I’ve watched this area the last three years, and was quite aware that a significant traffic jam was going to occur there, no question about it. The sprint finish for 4th place, still playing in my mind from last year has me thinking that every second counts. Even over 24 hours of racing. It’s hard to say what kind of time would be lost if I got stuck in rider traffic for the first few miles, I knew I needed to get past that hill near the front of the pack. I took off in the run, holding a steady but quick pace and managed to be 5th to the bikes. I kept my pace up until I made it up and over the steep narrow hill in the clear. I then settled into my pace.
The course this year, was 99% the same as last year. The biggest difference was the course condition. It was far dryer. There was still some significant mud in places, but it was possible to ride the entire course.
Our lap times reflected this, they were a bit faster than we expected. We started the race by rotating through our entire roster of riders, one lap at a time. With the fast laps, we found that there was very little down time back at our camp. Lee, who had ridden the last two years, was our head pit guy. His plan to live in 40 minute increments had been changed to 30 minute increments. By 5 pm, I’d felt as if we’d raced far more than 5 hours by the sheer number of laps we’d gone through compared to previous years.
At this point we were holding steady in 5th place, expert class. Team UNH (University of New Hampshire) was holding steady at 3 to 5 minutes behind. Some of the lead teams had already pulled out of reach, as long as they maintained their speed without any major problems. I went out for my 3rd lap just before 6 pm, as I completed the first small loop on the other side of Rt. 16 and came back through the tunnel under the road I saw a UNH rider coming through in the other direction. Some quick math said I had approximately 4 minutes on him. I decided I’d need to put some distance on him if I could and tried to pick up my pace a little.
As we completed our third round of laps I was getting set for our night shift. The strategy would change here. Jake and I would alternate laps, such that we would each complete two, while Taylor and Solin caught some sleep. They, in turn would do the same. On my way to take over from Solin I noticed my bike handling funny, but contributed it to the bag of clothing swinging from my handlebar. It wasn’t until I was halfway to the timing tent that I realized my front tire was flat. I quickly went back to camp and changed the flat, but I was not quick enough. Solin had come in, shouted for me briefly, then made a quick decision to get back on course and not waste time. Lee and I started to rework the strategy. It would be best to give Solin a longer rest period after pulling the double lap. Jake or I could pull an extra lap during this alternating shift. Reality said that Jake was the best candidate; he was the strongest rider on the team and could handle the extra lap better than any of us.
Solin came in, and I took over. I needed to make up for time that we might have lost if Solin’s 2nd lap in a row had been much slower. Turns out that it wasn’t too bad of a time, but inevitably, the 2nd lap is always slower than the first. I had a great lap for my first dark lap, nearly as fast as I’d done the course in the daylight. Jake went out for a very fast lap, then I headed back out.
I struggled to find my rhythm this time out. I hit the steep hill, almost rode the bike over the side of the bank, and ended up falling backwards down the hill. I started to feel hungry only 3 miles in, not good. Despite putting down food constantly and eating a banana after my last lap, I was apparently running on empty and I could feel it. I took the Cliff bar out of my pocket and shoved it down the hatch. It didn’t take long to feel better, and then I started to find some rhythm. Right as I found some strength and rhythm I took a bad line while overtaking a slower rider and pounded my front wheel off of a root. “Oh no,” I thought, “my tire is surely going to go flat!” Sure enough, just a few meters later I noticed the ill handling of my bike. I pulled over to fix it.
Surprise! My frame pump was not working. I’ve had a few of these model pumps fail between uses, likely due to mud and water getting in the seals. Through some miraculous event, I’d decided to get my spare tube partially inflated before unseating the tire from the rim. When I couldn’t get the spare inflated, my first reaction was that of Ralphie in A Christmas Story when the wheel nuts go flying everywhere when he and his father are changing a flat, “OHHH FUUUUUUDGE!” Except, just as with he, fudge wasn’t exactly the real word. I felt the front tire; some way, somehow, it still had some amount of air in it, enough to suffice for riding, at least for a while. I figured, if I bang the rim off a few rocks too hard, I’ll just buy a new one, I’m riding it. It actually held up quite well, the handling was only a problem on the dirt roads on some high speed turns, where I could feel the tire trying to peel off the rim.
I came in to hand the baton to Jake, and explained very briefly what had happened to me and told him to put down some good laps while running with him to his bike. He was now going to go out for two laps to make up for the two laps Solin had done.
I took a shower and went back to lay down for some brief sleep. At first my stomach was wrenching in knots, but that faded away. The other issue was the two cans of Red Bull at early points in the afternoon and evening, and they’d seemed to help earlier while riding. Now they might be causing me trouble. I don’t normally drink much in the way of caffeinated beverages, so these were possibly affecting me a bit. My mind was racing. Despite feeling tired and ready for sleep, I couldn’t get my mind to settle down. I closed my eyes, but never really fell asleep. At 4:15 am it was time to start getting myself ready and prepared to ride again as well as eat some food. If the laps that Taylor and Solin were doing were as fast as they’d gone during the day, I would need to ride shortly after 5 am.
At 5:26 am I started my 6th lap. My legs were tired, but I was still turning over a pretty good gear on the bike. We were now back to rotating straight through the line-up. When I came back in, Lee informed me of the reworked strategy he had come up with to get us to the finish with as many laps as could fit in. Oh the beauty of technology and real time updates on lap times. This strategy had me going out sooner than I’d expected, but I’d have a normal break after then next lap. As much as I wanted to wake myself up with some Red Bull I decided to hold off in hopes that I might actually get some sleep after the next lap. That next lap I felt tired, it was my slowest lap without any problems. I finished then went back to camp to fall asleep for a little while.
That nap was great, I felt much better. I coupled that with a double dose of Red Bull, and I was ready to go. Just before 11am I headed out for my final lap. It was clear that Jake would take the final lap. As much as we’d hoped to get Taylor out before noon, it simply wasn’t possible. That final lap, I passed several people. A lot of people were out riding again, the course being sparsely populated at night. Unless we encountered a terrible failure of sorts were set to finish 5th in class (of 6) and 6th overall.
The two major goals I had going into the event would be met. I didn’t want to finish last in expert, and I wanted to be in the top 10 overall (we’d been 14th and 11th the previous two years). The goal of making it onto the podium in sport class would have been reached if we’d registered as a sport class team; we beat every team in the sport class. We could have finished first and paid for our entry with the prize money. That is something to feel good about too I guess.
The only remaining question is, next year?
Pictures and Video soon.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Fin
That's all folks! We are all done. Jake even managed to slide out in a little crash in the final grassy turn. Not as much traction as he thought. Spectacular style points! He finished at 12:24, bringing us to 24 hours and 24 minutes. 6th overall, and not last in our class. Not too bad.
Almost there
Just had a nap with the best sleep i've had in 36 hours. Too bad it was so short. I've got one more to go then Jake will follow up with what will be our final lap. Holding steady in our placing, just have to keep it up. Thank you all for the comments and encouragement. I hope you've had as much fun as we've had. See you at the finish line in a little while.
Getting ready for his bacon lap...
Time to tick off laps
Well here we are just over 5 hours to go. And go they will, rather fast actually. We will be putting laps down one at a time for each of us. If we hold steady we should stay in 6th over all. It's the final count down.
Dark things
Noticed the front tire was flat on the way over to take over from Solin. Despite a quick change I still managed to miss him. Quick thinking on him to go out again. Went out after that and really put down a good lap in the dark. Then Jake went. Then I went and had a less than awesome first half of a lap. Crashed then hit a root way to hard and semi flatten the front. Trouble with my frame pump. But the original tube was still holding some air. Decided to ride it like that and worked pretty well. Time for some brief sleep, expect to be back out about 5 am.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Flat
I was rolling over to start my lap when Solin came in and noticed the bike was handling funny. I stopped about half way to the timing tent and realized my front tire was flat. Even though it was a quick change I missed Solin. Under quick thinking he just went out for another. We'll have to make some slight alterations to the strategy. Going out next, hopefully without further problems.
Woops
I threw down another good lap, even without a pace rider. Time trial as I'd seen the team behind us when the course crossed by itself, figured we were about four minutes ahead. I mentioned that Taylor should with only one light mounted, but he went without a back up so we lost about two minutes when he had to rush back to get his other light. If that is the only problem we have, I'll take it. Solin is heading over to await Taylor coming in. Still feeling pretty strong!
So far to go
That was a good second lap, I had a pace rider for the second half of the lap. He was riding the 12 hour race on a two man team. It was quite a pace to follow but nice to have. As I type we are still 5th in class and tenth overall.
A few laps in...
Solin just left to await Taylor's arrival from lap three. The laps are very fast. I went out and got past the cluster funnel uphill before the crowds then let up just a little to find my groove. I settled in for a quick lap, around 44 minutes. Jake went for a sub 40 and we're just waiting for Taylor to come in.
Checked in and counting down
We have checked in as a team and we are #138. Real time lap results should be available at www.myrealtimescoring.com . In about two hours I will lead off the race with the le mans run and first lap. Jake will follow, then Taylor, and then Solin. Final preparations are in progress.
Sat Morning
Friday, August 7, 2009
And to all a good night
We got a pre-ride in, only minor changes to the course. The single track is greasy and muddy in places, but the rest is dry and fast. The entire team is here now and the 'compound' is set up. We are just relaxing and thinking about bed soon. See you all in the morning.
Pre-ride
Just got back from food shopping & dinner at a pizza shop. Going for a ride. Hopefully the weather stays nice! It is already cold out...
Arrival
We arrived at mt. Washington to a brief bit of sunlight then got the easy up set up. We were just getting tarps on the sides when it started to rain, then poor, then hail. It is sunny now, wait, here comes some more sprinkles.
Departure
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Heading North
Nearly everything is packed into the car, so we're pretty much ready to head North to Mt. Washington for the weekend. Hopefully everyone's training has set them in great shape, and hopefully the legs will be there for everyone. See you soon as we get some live updates going.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Live Update Testing
Live update test 1 was a resounding failure. It was almost a success, until that vital moment when I tried to place text here. Then failure. And since this is pass or fail, we got a fail. We have other options though.
Test 2 was a success if you are reading this. Plan 2 is to update the blog via email. Which seems to be working fine.
I'll fill you in on the plan. Lee's phone accesses the internet, and the hope was to use it to make some short updates when I had a chance to keep everyone up to date on what was happening at the race. Problem is, it treated the way I enter text on this one particular spot a little strangely. Plan 3 is to tether the laptop to the phone to use the internet.
Of course this is all good and well, as long we even have a strong enough cell signal at the base of Mt. Washington. There are a lot of variables, but I hope to throw out some live updates for everyone.
Keep your fingers crossed.
Test 2 was a success if you are reading this. Plan 2 is to update the blog via email. Which seems to be working fine.
I'll fill you in on the plan. Lee's phone accesses the internet, and the hope was to use it to make some short updates when I had a chance to keep everyone up to date on what was happening at the race. Problem is, it treated the way I enter text on this one particular spot a little strangely. Plan 3 is to tether the laptop to the phone to use the internet.
Of course this is all good and well, as long we even have a strong enough cell signal at the base of Mt. Washington. There are a lot of variables, but I hope to throw out some live updates for everyone.
Keep your fingers crossed.
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