Afton..... State park

Just got back from hiking with the family at Afton state park. How perfect. We packed a little picnic lunch and went for a 4 mile hike. Had lunch under a huge oak next to the river. Perfect! One of the best none riding days of the season so far. Think we'll have to do that some more.

Next weekend-Portland.

Muddy River Rock'n Roll

Wow. What a race. Again, I couldn't seem to get into my pedal. Nerves I guess. I need to figure that one out before the CX season starts. Anyway we got off with out stacking it up. Nice! Made my way passed tons of people on the first straight(once I was clipped in). Then we took that quick left over the bump onto the other field. Made up quite a few more positions. Then we got into the singletrack. This is where the fun started. At that point I had hopped in right in front of the Grizz (Adam) and we just rocked through it. It was great! He was calling out all the turns and jumps like a co-driver in an off-road rally race. That ended abruptly when we came up the first little incline. Seems as if somebody was a little too close. There was a quick left turn at the top of the climb. I stalled out and the Grizz went down. I held up a little bit to stay with my compatriot (needed the Ligettism), but we came into some traffic and that was the last I saw of him. From that point on I just hammered. Followed a guy on a Salsa Dos Niner from Kenwoods halfway through the 1st lap until halfway through the 2nd. After that I was on my own and flying. Ok maybe I hitched up with a group at the begining of the 3rd and final lap. Once I caught them I felt like I had a bit more to give. So I attacked just before one of the slight climbs on the fast double track in the woods. I flicked over to the left onto the soft stuff and made my move. Got past the group and there was the incline. I was praying that I wouldn't fade back to the fold and look like an idiot. When I made it to the top I looked back to see that no one hand the legs to chase me down. Nice! Then I was really on my own for the rest of the race. I was feeling great! Awsome in fact. It was at that point I again remembered how great this sport is, and why you have to keep at it when times are tough. It's the tough times that make the good times feel so good. Anyway, back to the race. So I'm thinking this is pretty sweet. Then all of the sudden my grip twists off the bar and I end up in the trees. After wrestling my way free of the tree I got back on the bike and up to speed. After I stuffed my grip into my pocket I realized that the sweat from my helmet was now covering my sunglasses. So I ripped those off and stuffed them away as well. At this point I kinda loss my impetus. Things started to get a little sketchy and I knew I had to get to the finish quick. Before I knew it I was at the last right turn before the finish. Excellent! So I kicked it up a notch for the crowd or what was left of it and made may way across the line. I was hoping for a top 5 overall finish but had to settle for a twelfth overall and a 4th in my age group. I can live with that! Next up, Powder Monkey.

Nice job to all the racers especially BCR's Grizz and Rubber Band Dan!

Leg check

Was going to write something about my ride today, but the words wouldn't flow.

Think I'll just go to bed. Have to be up a 5 am if I want to get a ride in tomorrow. Ooch!

New trail, riders wanted

Recently rode Salem Hills trail in InverGrove. Reminds me alot of Arizona. There's no cacti but the trail is pretty wide open with minimal climbs. It is difficult to navigate and the begining part of the trail is very over grown. If we could just get enoungh people to ride the trail it could turn into a pretty sweet trail system. So go to the MORC website to get directions and bring some friends. I can't wait until this weekend so I can go back.

After the Bluff

So the race at mount kato went pretty well. Kinda had to since I've been sucking it up pretty bad lately.

It was obviously going to be blazing hot out so I tried to be ready for it. Drank tons of water a couple days before the race. What made the difference? Think it was the 5 gels I consumed throughout the course of the race.

Had a little scare at the begining though. Couldn't clip into one of my pedals (rookie). Immediately I thought, here we go again. Guess it ticked me off just enough to get the engines going. Once we hit the first climb I was instantly aware of how everyone legs were feeling. The pitch didn't feel that bad for me so I knew it was going to be a good race. It's been a long time since I hadn't thought about dropping out of a race. I just kept eating my gels (power bar). I felt like the Energizer bunny. don't worry, I won't say it. At the end of every climb I felt as fresh as I did at the begining. I actually thought for a while there that I was in first. Ha ha, not so. Well I ended up taking 7th overall and 3rd in my age group. A long ways from 110th overall at the Firecracker.

So it seems as if my form has been there all along but my energy wasn't. So when the MNSCS heads to Memorial park in a couple weeks, I'll prep the same and see what happens.

Not so Fire Cracker... More like a dud

Here's a little pick of how good I looked at the Firecracker




This ones for you Andy.

Opening Statement

Welcome to the Wiki Beelog.

Not sure how all this works so I'll just mess around 'til it looks good.