Going Fast

With my recent upgrade to Cat 1, I've been training. Hard. My old race pace is now my training pace. I've reached speeds that I didn't think were possible. And I still need to go faster. Cat 1 races are generally 50% farther with top lap times 12% faster than Cat 2. Fortunately, going fast is self-perpetuating. The faster I go, the faster I WANT to go. 

Riding at race pace is a completely different experience than "normal" riding. I find I'm having to unlearn some concepts I was taught by the rigid single speed. Things change when approaching Mach 3. Obstacles become a blur. I no longer focus on finding smooth parts of the trail. Instead, I focus on setting up for the next turn like a billiard player thinking ahead for the next shot. Maintaining maximum speed through a turn involves finding the most traction and holding that line. Roots be damned. Strangely, quick steering becomes a moot point. It's all about flow. It often feels like I'm going break my bike hopping it over logs, root clusters, ditches, and whatever else without bothering to slow down. It's a rush. I'm addicted. 

This infection is even spreading to my road biking, as it's easier to train on the road after work than drive to the trail. However, my comfortable, *cough*30lb*cough* road bike isn't great for intense riding. I've got my eye on a Flyxii road frame...just as soon as I recover from my last spending spree. Still, it's a whole lot cheaper than brand names. 

By this point I'm sure most people feel compelled to say "be careful", but the truth is, being careful is incompatible with racing. I'll do my best to keep it rubber side down though. 

Dust 'n' Bones

Yesterday's race was more like Mud 'n' Bones! Two hours before the scheduled start time of 3pm, the trail was in nearly perfect shape. Damp enough to be tacky, but not slick. At 2pm, however, the sky decided to dump buckets of rain for 20 minutes or so, then continued to drizzle off and on. The race was postponed till 4pm and cut short due to so much mud. Cat 2 and 3 only did one lap consisting of 8 miles, while Cat 1 did two laps.

This was my first time racing with gears and wasn't sure what to expect. Sizing up my competition at the start line, I noticed they all had racing tires - not so good for mud. I was thankful I had some bigger knobs and knew that would be a big advantage as this course mostly consisted of roots and wooden bridges with a lot of mud in between. I carefully selected my starting gear, key for gaining the holeshot, which I did. I usually can, but holding on to it is another story. The longer the race, the more strategy needed for pacing, but 8 miles is basically a sprint. My competition stayed on my heels for the first mile or so, then slowly slipped back. By the halfway point, I knew I had a good lead and decided to back off a notch. I was still riding fast, but I quit taking as many risks. I passed several single speeders and the back of the Cat 1s who had started 2 minutes ahead. I crossed the finish line ready for another lap, but the race was over.

I ended up getting 1st place overall for Cat 2 with a time of 48:15. I had over a 1 minute lead on the rest of the pack. Not trying to brag, but honestly if felt too easy. Still, the top Cat 1 lap times were around 42 minutes. I can't imagine shaving 6 minutes off that lap. It might be my last victory for a while though; I applied for a Cat 1 upgrade today!

The Time Has Come

The carbon hardtail 29er is coming soon. I'm aiming to step up my racing, and my current steel hardtail is too heavy. It might seem crazy, but 20-30 mile races are won and lost by a matter of seconds. A few extra pounds can be a significant disadvantage.

The new frame is an FR-202 sold by Flyxii. There's no telling who makes it, but most likely it's made right next to the big name-brand bikes in the exact same factory and sold for a fraction of the cost - like 1/5 of the cost. Structural quality seems on par. It might be a tad heavier, but hopefully, that can be attributed to it being over-built. The only issue I found was a little overspray in the headtube, but that can be corrected easily enough. While this bike will have multiple gears, I won't stray too far from the name of this blog. The rigid single speed will be up and running soon enough, though I have to cannibalize it temporarily.

I'm hoping to race Cat 1 soon, but I'll still be Cat 2 for the race next weekend as there's an application to advance to Cat 1 with requirements of placing twice in Cat 2. It's been a while since my last race, so it'll be good to see where I stand. I can't help but feel like I "peaked" during my last semester of college, but getting beat by riders twice my age gives me hope that there's always room for improvement.

The Swan Song to this Adventure

As luck would have it, the house I was renting sold, and I had to be out by April 1st. However, I wanted to work till the 8th to finish out the winter season. I'm sure I could've found a place to crash for that week, had I wanted to. Instead, I opted to move out on the 28th, store my big stuff at work, and sleep in the back of my truck for a week and a half.

At first it was strange not having "anywhere" to go, but I got used to it. I rode my bike with Lucy, went out to eat, and sometimes, stayed at the shop to shower, use the Internet, cook, etc. No one else stays late, so it was easy to go unnoticed. I even slept in the parking lot. For the weekend, I went south to Cortez to get in some Colorado mountain biking. It'll probably be the last time for a while.

I've come to realize that being homeless isn't always obvious. I was curious what my minimum comfort level would be, and I think I would at least need a slide in camper. I need a place to relax and cook, as well as a place to sleep. I would also need a source of heat, though I've been fairly comfortable even with temps into the twenties. I'm looking forward to staying put for a while and buying some things I've put off for the sake of moving ease, such as: a waffle maker, french press, other cookware, and of course more bikes.

Good-bye Colorado

The great experiment: mountains v. ocean. For me, the ocean wins out. Of course that wasn’t my only reason for coming here, and it’s not my only reason for leaving either. But it was a great curiosity of mine after college, and I never would’ve known had I not come to the mountains.

While the mountains are more than amazing in the summer, the warm weather is brief, and winter is quite the buzz-kill. Bike trails are only ride-able for three to five months depending on elevation and snowfall. That’s not going to do it for me. I’ve also discovered that snow sports really aren’t my thing. It seems that skiing is largely just a status symbol, like owning a house here. Hopefully I’m wrong about that, but the cost to fun ratio seems way off. I like the challenge of going uphill and the freedom to go just about anywhere that biking gives me. If I intended to stay here longer, I’d look into fat bikes and/or cross country skiing. Still, riding dirt seems more fun, hence my recent trips to Moab and Fruita.

My other big reasons for leaving are education and a career. I’ve realized that a “fun” job just isn’t enough; besides, the right coworkers can make just about any job fun…or not. I need to reach my intellectual potential, and I certainly can’t do that shoveling snow or in the parks and rec field for that matter. Although I could get in-state tuition in Colorado now, I miss home too much to stay here that long. I’m planning to return to Ole Miss for a degree in science/technology, though I’m not sure what type of job I’ll be looking for just yet.

There were things I needed to do, that couldn’t be done back home. It’s hard to put them into words, but I think I’ve done those things. I might could say I needed to “find myself”, though I still don’t know what that really means. But, I’ve got a better idea of what I want in life, and I’ve gained a new perspective of what home is. I think I’ll like travelling more as a hobby than a lifestyle. I’ll try to remember to post here when I do travel. It seems that everywhere will have problems whether they’re social, political, geographical, or climatical, most likely some combination of the above. I’d just rather deal with the problems of the South and enjoy the positive aspects.

Cutting it Close: Fruita, CO

Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve posted here. A lot’s been going on, just nothing post worthy. Recently my weekends in Colorado became numbered (I’ll explain in another post), so I decided to head up to Fruita for some mountain biking. I meant to take some pictures, but it’s difficult to adequately capture the beauty of the desert with a camera. My desert pictures always seem dull. Fruita is only a few hours from Moab, but the trails are quite different and more varied. In general, Fruita trails are less technical, which means more riding and less walking. I like that.

My first stop was the Kokopelli Trail System. These trails have some pretty technical spots, especially when you ride them in the wrong direction like Lucy and I did right off the bat. After a good look at a map, we found a much easier trail. By the time we finished, we’d been riding for nearly three hours, and Lucy was getting pretty tired. I dropped her off at the truck, grabbed a snack, and headed back out for what was supposed to be a relatively easy fifteen mile loop: Mary’s Trail to Troy Built to the frontage road back to the trailhead.

Somewhere around mile eight I came to a fork in the trail and a sign with words too faded to read. There are many trails cutting off to the right from Mary’s Trail, so I went straight thinking Troy Built was a few miles further. After three or four miles, I hit a dead end in a cattle range. By this time, there was just over an hour till sunset. I hightailed it back to the fork, and upon closer inspection of the sign, I could just barely infer that the direction I had gone was private land. I’m not sure why the sign had an arrow pointing that direction, since no one should be going that way. I continued on in the other direction, eventually reaching a sign that only had arrows for Lion’s Loop and Mack Ridge written in permanent marker with no reference to Mary’s Trail or Troy Built. I remembered Mack Ridge from the map and knew it went in the direction I wanted to go but was more difficult and might take a while. I decided to go for it anyways to avoid getting lost again.

Mack Ridge ended up being my favorite trail in that system. It was technical but fairly fast. I got back to the frontage road just after sunset and back to my truck with about six hours of riding for the day. That’s a lot of riding even when you’re pacing for it, which I was not. I usually carry a light if my chosen route is long or not yet determined, but that day I didn’t since fifteen miles on a heavily used trail system shouldn’t be that difficult. I think I’ll start carrying one anytime I’m somewhere new, regardless of route difficulty.

As is now customary, I went to the local brewery, Suds Bros., for a killer hamburger and some craft beer. I slept for nearly twelve hours at my campsite just out of town. The next I day I hit the North Fruita Desert for some smooth flow trails that were much better marked. I rode there for another five hours before heading back home, exhausted.

Mountain Bike Mecca

If I wanted to spend my weekends turning a wrench, I would’ve bought a jeep. Nevertheless, my truck was incapacitated for two weeks due to worn out inner tie rods and steering rack mount bushings. So, with those replaced, new tires, and an alignment, she was finally drivable again. Almost handles like a sports car now! I headed to Moab for a mini-vacation and to get away from my roommates who have become even lazier since getting Direct TV.

My first stop was the Amasa Back Trail System. In the parking lot, I met some hipsters from Boulder who were just about to go ride their early 80’s, coaster-brake clunkers. I decided to tag along, since I wasn’t familiar with the trail. It was a casual ride as one of the guys was new to mountain biking. The other, I’ll admit, was a pretty good rider, even with his old tech.  As we were riding back at sunset, we got to watch the other part of their group base jump from a cliff called Tombstone. It was scary just watching. We talked biking and base jumping over some PBRs before departing. Quite an interesting way to start the trip!

The next morning, I rode more of the Amasa Back System, then headed to Porcupine Rim for an afternoon ride. These are some of the most technical trails I’ve ridden in a while; I probably crashed half a dozen times, even though I was riding cautiously.

For the third day, I went for something easier. Poison Spider is a jeep trail that ends with an awesome view of Moab. Most of it was fairly easy, though there were some highly technical rock sections and a good bit of deep sand. I really wanted to ride some more, but by this point I was sore, scraped up, bruised, and slightly sun burnt with it being near 70̊. Instead, I concluded the trip with a stop at the Moab Brewery for some fish tacos!

It was a great way to spend the weekend, especially with the lousy snow conditions in Telluride. Lucy had a great time too, even though it was a little warm for her winter coat. I’m looking forward to more trips there this spring, before it gets too hot!