Rumbling Across the (Un)Pave.

Another addition of The Tour of The Battenkill has come and gone in a blustery fashion. I managed to finish in the lead group. I had the opportunity to go with the winning move and elected not to (read my excuse as Uncle Jerry's favorite excuse, "Sorry guys, I suck!"), erring on the side of caution. Hindsight on these things is always 20/20 though, even if your hindsight lies. Cruikshank and Drew also did roughly the same front 3rd of the pack finishes. So all in all for results, it was a mediocre weekend.

The course this year was the same as last year. More of a Flanders style rolling hilled extravaganza than a flat Roubaix. Since Napoleon didn't do us the grace of marching across North America and building cobble roads, the (un)pave sections were half packed dirt farm roads. These were probably a little less sketchy than pave, but probably near as much fun. This year served up a nice dose of 38mph wind gusts that really made the course feel "Belgian".

That's all for now, I will post more about the housing "situation" and some pictures later.

Oh yeah.....

+



=Oh yeah.

By the Numbers: Team Relay

Huge props to the Tay-Lord for showing us what fast looks like this past weekend. Here are the lap times for the day:

This is How You Crush....

Intense....



but, that's not how I crushed this weekend at the relay....Taylor did though! All in all the team performed admirably. We all pulled off decent, consistent laps of around 15 minutes. Giving us 16 laps total. The old guy didn't even fall apart. coughErikcough

The race format of the relay fun because it lets you race in a laid back atmosphere. You try to pull of the best lap times you can, but essentially you get stuck in lap traffic or, in my case, ride sloppily in the tightness. Imagine randomly throwing a bunch of spaghetti on the ground and you basically have an overview of the course. Taylor is a freak though; it's like he's a heat seeking missile for the finish line in the tight courses, pulling off about 30 second faster laps than Erik, Tim, or myself.

Speaking of heat seeking (theme song)....



This weekend reminded me of one thing though; mountain bike racing is fun, and I can't wait to get this season rolling.

Syndicating like a Pro

I do a fair amount of bloggery in my spare time. Most of the time, my writings serve only minor purposes: cool videos, good music, rants, and race recaps. However, some of my posts have significantly greater exigence.

Recently, I scribed a few blog posts for CyclingDirt.org (a fantastic resource for MTB lovers) documenting my preparation for the Trans-Sylvania Epic. Please take a few moments to read the posts and leave a comment or two in support. While you are there, check out the incredible coverage CyclingDirt offers for the mountain biking community.

The most recent post can be found here:
http://www.cyclingdirt.org/blogs/blogger/fancyshpants/11176-the-trans-sylvania-epic-take-ii-where-the-rubber-leaves-the-road

And the first post in the series resides at this web-location:
http://www.cyclingdirt.org/blogs/blogger/fancyshpants/10865-the-trans-sylvania-epic-or-how-im-learning-to-stop-fearing-training-programs

Check back in a couple weeks for another installment. Once the race begins, I will be providing video and blog coverage of the event for those of you who aren't able to participate. This event is a huge part of my 2k10 season, and I greatly appreciate your interest and support. Thanks, all!

Thrice on Goals

For this year I have two major goals:

1) Ride Smarter/Ride Faster - I say "ride" instead of "train" because "training" sounds like a leach on the fun that "riding" has in store. Last year I was fairly close to getting my pro xc mountain upgrade, but both plateaued in riding and managed to hurt myself. This year (so far) I have managed to minimize the intensity earlier in the season, to rather build a strong base to grow on. Also, I think that racing cross last fall may have helped my handling skills....but, we'll see about that.

2) Don't Get Hurt (as much) - 'nuf said.

In any sense, this year I'd like to pull of some bigger results in more regional events and become more consistent. This being opposed to having a couple big results, sprinkled with pack fodder.

This weekend will see the inaugural event of the Mid-Atlantic Super Series (MASS). Look out for Tim, Taylor, Erik (Mr. Shop Owner Himself), and myself representing State College's finest as The Big Hairy Test Cycles p/b The Bicycle Shop Inc. at "PAValleys.com International Intergalactic Global Open Mountain Bike Team Relay Championship of the Universe Including the Anti-Matter One. (There, That Should About Cover It.)".

4 hour duration
~15 minute laps
80 degrees and sunnny
100% awesome.

More on goals

While Tim and I were doing our lazy pace get out and move the legs ride this afternoon, I brought up the fact that I have yet to set any concrete goals for the season. This will be my first moderately-real racing season since 2006, and the first season I've given any real thought toward riding as training other than for the sake of purely turning pedals. I have been seriously overburdened with school work this semester, and as a result my training schedule lacks any and all consistent structure. I keep coming back to something that my coach Mike Kuhn once told me in high school. The hour you put in is better than the three you don't. When debating whether or not my time constraints include training, these words always pop into my head. Somehow, that hour always turns in to two, or more. So, this little piece of advice is what has been keeping me motivated this year. Oh yeah, and goals. Sleep more, do less homework, ride that hour that turns into 3.