Frederick Watershed Trail Days

Photo by Blue-eyed Devil

Saturday and Sunday we will be working at the Frederick Watershed. Saturday we need 4 or 5 people to help us with the prep work for Sunday. We will be chainsawing a bunch of stuff up. Also we will be riding to the work site so bring your bike. Sunday will be the grand opening of the 1 mile reroute we recently completed. We will be closing the old eroded section. Then we will have a cook out. Burgers, dogs and fine Clipper City products will be served.

So if you done mind a little work then getting fed and drinking beer. Come on out lend a hand.

Let me know if you can make it either day. Thanks, David (dkegley@gmail.com)

details for Saturday and for Sunday

2009 East Coast Technical Riding Championships (The Griz)

Stop for some Pinball and a Bunny Burger.

Sign of things to come

I think everyone was excited about the snow. Darius just stopped in the middle of the road. Todd and Frank took the opportunity to build a snowman on this car.

We had to cut our way into camp

2009 East Coast technical Riding championships Foosball champions. Todd won the appetizer contest in which he won the Griz Mug. This was way cooler.

We could not not find a Bull. So Frank had to ride this jet fighter

Early afternoon indoor Crit.

We practiced our hiking up a mountain in the snow skills. There was about a foot and half deep snow at the top. And pretty much clear on the other side.

Saturday night indoor technical session.

Sunday ride on the trail which were to hold the the championships.

Trails for the most part were in good condition.

Ripped bead nearly ended my ride.


It was a great weekend of male bonding, beer drinking, riding, roughing it, and all things Caillou.

Iron Cross VII

The race totally sucked. Not one person handed me a beer during the race. What kind of operation is YBR running up there?




OK all joking aside. This was the first race in a very long time I was nervous about. I began this season feeling really good. Sometime in late July or early August I started having problems with breathing. It seemed to be getting worse as time went by. Being someone who does not like going to the doctors. I put off going till last week. He is convinced it is exercised induced asthma. I got all the inhalers again. I am not convinced that is the problem. More tests to come. I went for a ride last Thursday to check the gearing on the SS. I could not make it up the first hill without losing control of my breathing. At that point I decided I should rethink racing the coming weekend. The more I thought about it on Friday and Saturday the more I was leaning towards not racing. I called to talk to Todd on Saturday. After a few minutes I decided I was going to race. This was one of my main goals this year. Finish the Iron Cross on a SS. I felt if I did not at least try I would fall into such a deep biking depression that I may never recover :)

On the drive up I was babbling to Todd about how bad I felt. How I most likely would be out of the race within the first few miles. You know that nervous babble you do when you are nervous. My plan was to start slow then catch a ride with Brett in the sag/beer truck. I started with the race pacing myself with Jody. He was going to ride with Sue to help her finish (I think that was the plan). It was a smart thing for me to do. I did not try to do the normal shoot off the line and push yourself to hard start. We rode for a mile or two. Then we got to the first climb. I guess he slowed up to let Sue catch up to him. I hit the climb fairly easy. But as the climb went on I picked up. I felt good. If I started breathing hard I just backed it down till I caught my breath. I tried working with several groups. It is hard to work with people climbing when you are on a SS. You have to say on top of the gear. So I would try to stay in a group but I would wind up passing them and move up to the next group. I was feeling pretty good at this point.

The race went on. I was just slugging out the climbs, resting on the downhills. We hit Lippencote early. Which was awesome, I was ripping it up till I caught a bunch of people walking down the fun down hill section. They were walking in the line which cause me not to clean it. Oh well.

We came to the dreaded first run up. For those who have never done the IC, the run up is pretty much the limit you can climb without ropes and ascenders. My legs were screaming about half way up. To add punishment there was a second run up right after the first. Thankfully there was a aid station at the top of the second run up. After refueling the race was on again.

I have forgotten what came next. I think some descending then some climbing then some more climbing with some flat spots mixed in followed by some more climbing then a descent then a climb but no beer stops.

At checkpoint 3 or 4 we had to start the bitch of a climb that is Hogshead rd. I had forgot what a bitch it was. I cannot put into words how I felt on parts of the climb. But I made it and did not have to walk but a short section. There was a aid station at the top of the climb. Which would have been perfect for a beer stop.

I was pretty damn tired after that climb. But we again got to hit some single track shortly after. The single track gave me a burst of energy. I again entered the single track basically alone and wound up catching and passing a bunch of racers. That was until we hit the 3rd run up. I was caught and passed by some of those I had recently passed. My legs were cooked after the run up. There still was a double track climb to the road. I wound up walking it. My right leg was beginning to cramp. I stopped to stretch it out, got back on the bike and finished the last 5 or 6 miles.

The Iron Cross is an awesome race, one of the best. It by far is my favorite race I have done.

Great Job to Todd, Trish, Chuck, Jody, Rob and Sue. And to any I forgot to mention. Thanks for the encouragement , it was a big help and appreciated.

SSWC09

Well I picked the Single Speed World Championships for my first trip out west. All I can say is that 90% of the people who were there are going to BURN IN HELL! What a bunch of freaks If it was not for the people I went with my head would have exploded. I swear everyone in Durango was stoned and worshiped the devil. I had to bathe 7 times when I got home to feel clean again. It was total debauchery. Men dressing in woman's clothing, people drinking, women in real tight slutty outfit. Straight men slapping streakers on the butt as they run by. People totally out of control.
Finishing up the race
Photo by Jo Jo

Some guy saying look at my Balls

Baby Elvis

Scary

Beer Man at beer stop #1

Myself enjoying that beer at beer stop #1

Some girls butt

Baler celebrating the loss.

Dead Guy

I have not done a beer review in a while so....

Most of you may have already tried this ale before. But on our way back from Huntingdon PA this Sunday it was very hot. So Todd, Frank and myself stopped in a beer store to pick something up to quench our thirst. Now those of you that never go to PA may not know that you can't just walk in a beer store and pick up a six pack of beer. You have to buy a case. PA does not have beer stores (for the most part). They have beer distributors. They are some loop holes or something that allow grocery stores or bars to sell 6 packs. But they do not seem common. Anyways since Todd drove up Frank and I split the cost of a case of Rogue's Dead Guy ale.

It is OK. Not too hoppy. Something you could drink at 5am without paying a penalty or on a 95 deg 95% humidity day. I would say on the medium to light side of beer.

Appropriate?

Photo added for Larry Camp.

The other morning I was approached by my wife. She told me "we need to have a talk, I have to show you something". Being a veteran of "we need to have a talk" and not having my coffee yet, I was not the least bit concerned. She said something must be wrong with our satellite TV, "we are getting channels we did not get before" We went downstairs and sat on the ottoman. She grabbed the TV remote and began to tell me what happened. She said that Jake and her were flipping through the channel when they came upon a station that was not appropriate for a 9 yr. My curiosity began to peak. My mind began to wonder of the possibilities of what she was going to say. She went on to tell me as she turned on the TV that they came upon a station that showed a man and woman having sex, PORNO! I shrugged it off thinking she was exaggerating all the while the excitement of a FREE PORN! was racing through my mind. As she was trying to find the channel again she said she saw a man mounting a women from behind. Snickering on the inside I shouted OH NO! That is not right! I asked did it show everything? She said yes, everything. Inside I was saying Fuckin' Awesome! I put a concerned look on my face looked at her and said if we had upgraded our service we could have blocked the station but we don't have that ability with our current service (Bullshit). About that time she reach the said station. There was some older dork (no pun attended) in a room with 5 busty bikini clad fake blonde non acting whores acting out a bad scene. We watched for a few moments. My heart began to sink, I asked her again "did it show everything". She said Yes it did. I said everything? Vagina? Penis? penetration? She said well not all that. I shouted I knew this was to good to be true, this is SOFT PORN. I stood up and began to walk away. I turned around and told her if it does not show penetration then it is not inappropriate. Then I mumbled "Fuckin Softcore Porn Sucks" and walk up stairs.

Darius on Cagney and Lacy

This has been a different year of riding for me so far. First, I have been doing a lot more road riding then I have been doing in past years. I am not real crazy about riding paved roads by themselves. But it is good training for whatever I am training for. Which at this point I am not sure what I am training for. I guess the Iron Cross race in October or sometime near there.

Second, I have been riding a lot of mixed surface rides on my cross bike. This has been what I really have been enjoying the most. I really enjoy hitting the road from my house then hitting some single track then cinder roads. Just mixing it up as much as I can. Or driving up to the Shed and punishing myself on the roads and trails up there.

Third, as for racing I have started off doing 5 races really early. Now I am not so interested in racing. I do enjoy it but just not interested. I missed my favorite race this past Sunday. The Curse of Dark Hollow which is up in Michaux. I just did not feel like doing it. I instead headed up to Rothrock State Forest outside of State College (Penn State) Pa.

Fourth, I have been riding in more newer places then I have been in the past. Douthat, Canaan, Parts of the GW National Forest, Rothrock and I am planning on riding in Santa Fe and Durango this September. I really think the Watershed has spoiled me. As good as some of the stuff I've rode is, the Shed is still some of the nicest stuff around. I am always comparing everything to it. As is the case with Rothrock.

Darius was able to talk me into heading up to State College Pa. for a day trip to Rothrock State Forest. Darius has talked about these trails ever since I met him. The lure of rocky technical trails was too much for me to pass up. Rothrock did not disappoint. Some of the stuff reminded me of Michaux while some of it reminded me of Gambrill. I guess it is all east coast rocky stuff. Which is the stuff we love.

I still have a sense of humor but I have seemed to misplaced it.