With a long stay in Kaula Lumpur, I wanted to do some riding. One of my co-workers took me to a local bike shop which had a loaner bike I could use for the stay. The only thing they asked for was that I bring the bike back.
Deal!!!!
So for my first ride in another country, my co-workers to me to the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia. The ride was a little north and west of downtown KL but within view of the twin towers. We met on the back side of the park and rode to the back entrance. The one thing I quickly noticed is that KL has a lot more mountains to deal with. We started out with some easy climbs and then regrouped at the base of a long steady climb. I was able to make it up about half the hill before I ran out of legs. I don't know if it was my legs which quit or if I needed more gears. Either way, I walked up part of the hill. Not what this flat lander was used to.
After the big climb, we had some nice down hill rides on some of the gravel roads through the park. This brought us to the front of the park so we headed into one of the local areas to get a drink and something to snack on. Then back toward the park and a chance to see a short section of KL single track.
As we re-entered the park, I learned that we had a nice climb waiting us on the north slop of the mountain surrounding the park. After reaching the top, we had some nice downhill sections to make the climbs worth it.
FRIM consisted mostly of jeep road type trails, but was alot of fun.
Showing posts with label MTB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MTB. Show all posts
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Monday, November 30, 2009
Thanksgiving Weekend Rides
With the long thanksgiving weekend, I decided to get in some good riding. Since I am planning to do the Excruciation Exam at the first of January, I figured it would be a good time to get some mountain biking and road biking in.
Luckily I was able to get out of work early on Wednesday. I took the bike with me to work and stopped by Cypresswood for a ride on the trail. Trail was in good shape. I got in 11 miles.
Thursday, I went and road 30 miles with my friend in the woodlands. Came home and had the T-day meal and prepared for mountain biking on Friday.
Friday my neighbor and I headed to Rocky Hill Ranch to do the long loop. Finished the 20 miles in about 2 hours.
Saturday was a cool morning. We started at Fairfield to get in a few extra miles from Zube. By the time we finished the ride we had about 70 miles.
After all this riding, I did not have the legs for another ride on Sunday. So four good days of riding to kick the holidays off into good shape.
Luckily I was able to get out of work early on Wednesday. I took the bike with me to work and stopped by Cypresswood for a ride on the trail. Trail was in good shape. I got in 11 miles.
Thursday, I went and road 30 miles with my friend in the woodlands. Came home and had the T-day meal and prepared for mountain biking on Friday.
Friday my neighbor and I headed to Rocky Hill Ranch to do the long loop. Finished the 20 miles in about 2 hours.
Saturday was a cool morning. We started at Fairfield to get in a few extra miles from Zube. By the time we finished the ride we had about 70 miles.
After all this riding, I did not have the legs for another ride on Sunday. So four good days of riding to kick the holidays off into good shape.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Rocky Hill Round-up
Sunday November 8th I completed my second Mountain Bike race in the fall TMBRA series. The race was held at Rocky Hill Ranch just outside Smithville, TX. Since this was both the last race of the fall series, and the last time Rocky Hill Ranch will be in the fall, the race director decided to make the race a little special. They decided to make everyone ride the full 20 mile loop. This meant that everyone was scheduled to start at 8:00 with the different catagories starting at 5 minute intervals.
I ended up riding with one of my co-workers to the race. Matt was kind enough to pick me up on the way. Since RHR is about 2 hours from the house, he picked me up at 5 AM. I had a good case of pre-race gitters. I ended up getting about 4 hours of sleep, and set the alarm, but forgot to turn it on. No matter, I woke up before I had set the alarm, and got ready anyway. I was waiting and ready when Matt got to the house.
We arrived around 6:45 and were one of the first few racers to arrive. We got ready, checked in, and started our warm-up. We started out by riding up the course to see how they had routed by fat chucks, the long rocky steep hill near the start. After seeing they were bypassing the bad climb and using Mel's Way, we headed back to the start.
Matt races in the Cat 2 40-49 race. So he headed out about 20 minutes before I did. The start area was full of riders waiting for the start. Eventually it was time four our start. I decided that I was not going to go out overly strong because I knew it was a long race and longer than most of the races in the fall series.
The start came and I was right in the middle of the pack and we all stayed together until just past Mel's Way. Which was tough because RHR is nothing but solid climbing for the first 1.5-2 miles. After that it gets into some nice flowing singletrack. At this point I got in with a small group of about 4 riders. We stayed together for a while. There was a group of faster riders that came up to us. Most of the group decided to try to keep up with them. I chose to keep a consistent pace since we still had about three/fourths of the race left. Turns out that my strategy worked well. Half of the group slowed down and I caught them around mile 7. One of the guys stayed on my wheel. It was his second race and he was having fun. I followed me through the feed zone and up through the western fence line. Somewhere around mile 15 we got caught and passed by a woman that had a guy trying to keep up with her. Eventually she dropped him and I lost my previous friend and caught up with the other guy.
I remember starting to cramp a little around mile 17, so I sucked down a gel and some water and was able to hold it off. It is a bit tough to eat a gel while on a mountain bike and avoid trees, but I did it. With about 1 mile to go I looked back and I was all by myself. So I pushed forward and was able to finish about 30-45 seconds ahead of the next rider. When I finished, my total time was 2 hours 21 minutes. Which I was pleased with.
Once I crossed the line, I headed over to the truck and cleaned up, found some free beer, and got ready for the ride back. Matt and I decided to stick around for awards. After the results were posted, I saw that I was 27th out of 36. Not bad. About that time the sky started to rain a bit. luckily it held off until after the race. Since it started to rain and neither Matt or I was getting any awards, we decided to head back home. On the way we stopped for some food in Giddings then shared race stories.
Over all, what a great race. I think that RHR is one of my favorite trails in the Houston area. especially the full 20 mile course.
I ended up riding with one of my co-workers to the race. Matt was kind enough to pick me up on the way. Since RHR is about 2 hours from the house, he picked me up at 5 AM. I had a good case of pre-race gitters. I ended up getting about 4 hours of sleep, and set the alarm, but forgot to turn it on. No matter, I woke up before I had set the alarm, and got ready anyway. I was waiting and ready when Matt got to the house.
We arrived around 6:45 and were one of the first few racers to arrive. We got ready, checked in, and started our warm-up. We started out by riding up the course to see how they had routed by fat chucks, the long rocky steep hill near the start. After seeing they were bypassing the bad climb and using Mel's Way, we headed back to the start.
Matt races in the Cat 2 40-49 race. So he headed out about 20 minutes before I did. The start area was full of riders waiting for the start. Eventually it was time four our start. I decided that I was not going to go out overly strong because I knew it was a long race and longer than most of the races in the fall series.
The start came and I was right in the middle of the pack and we all stayed together until just past Mel's Way. Which was tough because RHR is nothing but solid climbing for the first 1.5-2 miles. After that it gets into some nice flowing singletrack. At this point I got in with a small group of about 4 riders. We stayed together for a while. There was a group of faster riders that came up to us. Most of the group decided to try to keep up with them. I chose to keep a consistent pace since we still had about three/fourths of the race left. Turns out that my strategy worked well. Half of the group slowed down and I caught them around mile 7. One of the guys stayed on my wheel. It was his second race and he was having fun. I followed me through the feed zone and up through the western fence line. Somewhere around mile 15 we got caught and passed by a woman that had a guy trying to keep up with her. Eventually she dropped him and I lost my previous friend and caught up with the other guy.
I remember starting to cramp a little around mile 17, so I sucked down a gel and some water and was able to hold it off. It is a bit tough to eat a gel while on a mountain bike and avoid trees, but I did it. With about 1 mile to go I looked back and I was all by myself. So I pushed forward and was able to finish about 30-45 seconds ahead of the next rider. When I finished, my total time was 2 hours 21 minutes. Which I was pleased with.
Once I crossed the line, I headed over to the truck and cleaned up, found some free beer, and got ready for the ride back. Matt and I decided to stick around for awards. After the results were posted, I saw that I was 27th out of 36. Not bad. About that time the sky started to rain a bit. luckily it held off until after the race. Since it started to rain and neither Matt or I was getting any awards, we decided to head back home. On the way we stopped for some food in Giddings then shared race stories.
Over all, what a great race. I think that RHR is one of my favorite trails in the Houston area. especially the full 20 mile course.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Dave Boyd Huntsville Classic 2009
This weekend was the Dave Boyd Huntsville Classic, hosted by Bike Lane. This was the first mountain bike race I ever attended. This year I actually got to race also. We have been planning on this weekend for a while. The plan was to camp out all weekend. We even booked a shelter early on so that we would be sure to have a campsite for the weekend. Friday came and Vanessa headed up and reserved a shelter. We were able to get shelter #1, which is the closest one to the start/finish line. We got to Huntsville about 9:00 Friday night and pitched the tent. It was dark and starting to sprinkle, so pitching the tent was a bit of fun. After we got the tent up we found out that we were missing one pole for the rain fly. So we made do and used the fly with out one pole.
Saturday morning was the big set up day. We woke up around 7:00 as it started getting light. Once we got ready, the crew was getting thing set up for the race. Vanessa and I jumped in and began helping out. It was raining, but not bad. The rain was confined to a light drizzle, which was just enough to keep the ground wet. We finished around 1:00, and got a chance to ride the course and see for ourselves how good the course was. We had been getting comments all morning about the train being in great shape. I made the lap easy and did not push it. After the ride, I got cleaned up and ready to help out for the evening. We hung out and told stories and just had fun for the evening. It was Ken's birthday so we partied well into the night. Around midnight, I had to call it a day, since I had to get up early to help with the race.
Sunday morning came early. Vanessa had to get up at 5:00 am so she could get ready for the day. Registration opened at 6:30 am. I slept in a little later, but then got up and started to clean out the tent. The more I could do in the morning, the less I would have to do after the race. I got the rain fly off and hung it up in the shelter. I thought it would help the tent to dry out. Luckily Sunday morning it was dry, but it did not stay that way. Around noon we got a pretty good rain, just before my race.
My race was the third group to start on the Cat 3 races. Around 12:40 we started to stage for the race. They called up the 19-29 group, then the Collegiate Cs. I rolled up to the line for the 30-39 group and waited for our start. When the whistle blew, I got a good jump on the crowd. I headed into the single track in one of the top 10 spots. I held a pretty good pace for a while, but lost some ground on the climb to the power line. The next section of single track was nice, but lost some more ground to a few riders just before getting to the nature center. This is where Egan caught me. I was able to hang with the next group for quite a while. Most of of us stayed together until we got to the first typically sandy section. This was where I was caught by Vandy. Once we got into the trail, he passed and it was the last I saw of him. We made it to the jeep trail to the damn, which was one of the few spots where the trail was slippery wet. There was a small group that passed me in this section. I knew that the next section would be interesting since we were getting close to the fence line climbs. One of the first really rooty up hill climbs on the course. I crossed the bridge and saw about 6 guys stopped and starting to walk. I was riding away, calling out and most moved for me, one guy just said it was not his fault, but did not move. I had to stop, get around him and take off again. That was the last time I had to stop on the course. I pulled away while we were climbing, but they would catch me on the down hill. The next climb, the same guy took a bad line, so I went far left and passed him again. After the next down hill he passed me and I did not see him again. I was feeling pretty good, but had a difficult time finding a gear I felt comfortable in. I was caught by another rider about 2 miles out. From that point on, most of the climbs were done, and those that were left were short and not bad. I put the bike in the big ring and just tried to follow the line cut by the previous racers. Just before we got to the bridges, the guy behind me said that I was setting a good pace. After we cross the last bridge, he passed me, and we both passed another rider. I decided it was time to latch on to his wheel and ride it in. There were a couple times where he started to pull away, but I always managed to catch him. Once we made the last left turn I stuck to his wheel. This is the section of the single track which is narrow and fast, but at the end, there is a short but good climb before you start the long down hill to the finish. When the guy in front of me when wide to make the turn, I went narrow. Stood up and sprinted up the hill. Left him in the dust. and caught another rider on the hill. Two down, now I set my sights on the rider a few hundred yards in front. I set up the gears, spun up and started the diesel engine running. There was a rider who latched onto my wheel, but I was able to drop him about the time I caught the rider in front. It felt good to see the rider in front of me look back and then stand up to try to get away. I caught him just before we hit the pavement and motored on to the finish line. I looked down and saw my average hit 11.0 mph right after crossing the finish line. My GPS recorded my speed at 26 mph as I crossed the line. I felt good, I expected a top 20 finish.
When the official results came out I did indeed turn my fastest lap of the course, 53:05. I bettered my previous time by about 3 minutes. The final results came out and finished 17 out of 31 riders. While there were a few slick muddy spots, over all the course was the best It has ever been since I have ridden at Huntsville.
Saturday morning was the big set up day. We woke up around 7:00 as it started getting light. Once we got ready, the crew was getting thing set up for the race. Vanessa and I jumped in and began helping out. It was raining, but not bad. The rain was confined to a light drizzle, which was just enough to keep the ground wet. We finished around 1:00, and got a chance to ride the course and see for ourselves how good the course was. We had been getting comments all morning about the train being in great shape. I made the lap easy and did not push it. After the ride, I got cleaned up and ready to help out for the evening. We hung out and told stories and just had fun for the evening. It was Ken's birthday so we partied well into the night. Around midnight, I had to call it a day, since I had to get up early to help with the race.
Sunday morning came early. Vanessa had to get up at 5:00 am so she could get ready for the day. Registration opened at 6:30 am. I slept in a little later, but then got up and started to clean out the tent. The more I could do in the morning, the less I would have to do after the race. I got the rain fly off and hung it up in the shelter. I thought it would help the tent to dry out. Luckily Sunday morning it was dry, but it did not stay that way. Around noon we got a pretty good rain, just before my race.
My race was the third group to start on the Cat 3 races. Around 12:40 we started to stage for the race. They called up the 19-29 group, then the Collegiate Cs. I rolled up to the line for the 30-39 group and waited for our start. When the whistle blew, I got a good jump on the crowd. I headed into the single track in one of the top 10 spots. I held a pretty good pace for a while, but lost some ground on the climb to the power line. The next section of single track was nice, but lost some more ground to a few riders just before getting to the nature center. This is where Egan caught me. I was able to hang with the next group for quite a while. Most of of us stayed together until we got to the first typically sandy section. This was where I was caught by Vandy. Once we got into the trail, he passed and it was the last I saw of him. We made it to the jeep trail to the damn, which was one of the few spots where the trail was slippery wet. There was a small group that passed me in this section. I knew that the next section would be interesting since we were getting close to the fence line climbs. One of the first really rooty up hill climbs on the course. I crossed the bridge and saw about 6 guys stopped and starting to walk. I was riding away, calling out and most moved for me, one guy just said it was not his fault, but did not move. I had to stop, get around him and take off again. That was the last time I had to stop on the course. I pulled away while we were climbing, but they would catch me on the down hill. The next climb, the same guy took a bad line, so I went far left and passed him again. After the next down hill he passed me and I did not see him again. I was feeling pretty good, but had a difficult time finding a gear I felt comfortable in. I was caught by another rider about 2 miles out. From that point on, most of the climbs were done, and those that were left were short and not bad. I put the bike in the big ring and just tried to follow the line cut by the previous racers. Just before we got to the bridges, the guy behind me said that I was setting a good pace. After we cross the last bridge, he passed me, and we both passed another rider. I decided it was time to latch on to his wheel and ride it in. There were a couple times where he started to pull away, but I always managed to catch him. Once we made the last left turn I stuck to his wheel. This is the section of the single track which is narrow and fast, but at the end, there is a short but good climb before you start the long down hill to the finish. When the guy in front of me when wide to make the turn, I went narrow. Stood up and sprinted up the hill. Left him in the dust. and caught another rider on the hill. Two down, now I set my sights on the rider a few hundred yards in front. I set up the gears, spun up and started the diesel engine running. There was a rider who latched onto my wheel, but I was able to drop him about the time I caught the rider in front. It felt good to see the rider in front of me look back and then stand up to try to get away. I caught him just before we hit the pavement and motored on to the finish line. I looked down and saw my average hit 11.0 mph right after crossing the finish line. My GPS recorded my speed at 26 mph as I crossed the line. I felt good, I expected a top 20 finish.
When the official results came out I did indeed turn my fastest lap of the course, 53:05. I bettered my previous time by about 3 minutes. The final results came out and finished 17 out of 31 riders. While there were a few slick muddy spots, over all the course was the best It has ever been since I have ridden at Huntsville.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Labor Day Weekend
Well after training for Hotter'n Hell, I did not want to get out of form. I had a weekend by myself, so I decided to make a biking weekend out of it. It started off with a mountain bike ride on Friday evening. After work I stopped by Cypresswood and hit the trails for a few hours. I got in about 10 miles.
Saturday I rode 75 miles on the road. Fifty miles were with a friend. We met at the back of The Woodlands and rode up to Montgomery and came back through Magnolia. After we got back, I decided that I wanted to get a few more miles. I did a 20 mile loop through The Woodlands and got lunch on the way.
Sunday was on the Mountain bike to pre-ride for the race on Sept 13th. After one lap at Huntsville State Park, I started a second lap and helped trim growth covering the trail. Between the two laps, I finished with 17 miles on the bike.
Monday, Northwest cycling club decided to ride a century. I decided it could be fun, but I needed to be at the airport by 4:00. My neighbor and I decided to start early and ride to the start. We left the house at 6:30am to be at the start on time. The route had us going through Magnolia then down to Zube Park, and back to the start again through Magnolia. I ended up getting home just after 3:00pm, and finished with 106 miles.
Across the 4 days, I ended up with 209 miles. Not a bad way to start off September.
Saturday I rode 75 miles on the road. Fifty miles were with a friend. We met at the back of The Woodlands and rode up to Montgomery and came back through Magnolia. After we got back, I decided that I wanted to get a few more miles. I did a 20 mile loop through The Woodlands and got lunch on the way.
Sunday was on the Mountain bike to pre-ride for the race on Sept 13th. After one lap at Huntsville State Park, I started a second lap and helped trim growth covering the trail. Between the two laps, I finished with 17 miles on the bike.
Monday, Northwest cycling club decided to ride a century. I decided it could be fun, but I needed to be at the airport by 4:00. My neighbor and I decided to start early and ride to the start. We left the house at 6:30am to be at the start on time. The route had us going through Magnolia then down to Zube Park, and back to the start again through Magnolia. I ended up getting home just after 3:00pm, and finished with 106 miles.
Across the 4 days, I ended up with 209 miles. Not a bad way to start off September.
Monday, August 31, 2009
HH100 Weekend
Well, another Hotter'n Hell 100 down in the books. This one was another record setter, although not for heat. The record was for attendance with 14,205 riders.
We started our weekend on Thursday and left work a little early and headed to Wichita Falls. We got to the hotel about 11:00pm, checked in and unloaded the truck. I wanted to get to town early to pre-ride the mountain bike course.
Friday morning I woke up at 7:30, got ready and attempted to pre-ride the course. I found part of the course, but it was difficult. I rode along and picked up a trail what I thought was the race course, it was marked with paint and ribbons used to mark the course. I suspect that that section was used in the trail run, and not the mountain bike course, because when we got to the actual race, we went on other trails, that I did not ride. After a 17 mile pre-ride, I cleaned up and got ready for the rest of the day. We went to the local winery, and then headed to the consumer show. At 4:00 I headed back to the hotel to get ready for the race.
The race started at 6:00. My group, CAT3 30-39, left about 6:09. The race was individually timed, mass start race. Finish order was determined by elapsed time of the timing chips. I got a good start with the group and was able to keep up until we got into the single track. The course was the tightest I have ever ridden. It was a very nice course though. I had one wipe out, and watched one guy fall over backwards on the trail. My finish time was 1:00:59, which put me in 12 place out of 39 riders. My best placing ever. After the race I headed to the hotel, and got the pasta bar, cleaned up and got ready for the road ride.
The next morning started off at 4:10 am. We got up, got ready, and were in the breakfast line right at 5:00am. By 5:30 we were in line at the start about 20 feet back from the line. The NWCC group joined us and we were all set for the start. Just after 7:00 the National Anthem was sung with the fly over at 7:05 at the end of the song. With the big boom of the starting cannon, we were off. The crowds we pretty bad for about 25-30 miles. I ended up stopping 3 times, mile 30, 60, and 77. For all my stops my computer logged a stop time of 30 minutes. My ride time was 5:15 for 101.76 miles. I got in a little before 1:00, and took my usual dip in the fire hydrant sprinkler at the finish.
I am looking forward to doing the race and ride again next year.
We started our weekend on Thursday and left work a little early and headed to Wichita Falls. We got to the hotel about 11:00pm, checked in and unloaded the truck. I wanted to get to town early to pre-ride the mountain bike course.
Friday morning I woke up at 7:30, got ready and attempted to pre-ride the course. I found part of the course, but it was difficult. I rode along and picked up a trail what I thought was the race course, it was marked with paint and ribbons used to mark the course. I suspect that that section was used in the trail run, and not the mountain bike course, because when we got to the actual race, we went on other trails, that I did not ride. After a 17 mile pre-ride, I cleaned up and got ready for the rest of the day. We went to the local winery, and then headed to the consumer show. At 4:00 I headed back to the hotel to get ready for the race.
The race started at 6:00. My group, CAT3 30-39, left about 6:09. The race was individually timed, mass start race. Finish order was determined by elapsed time of the timing chips. I got a good start with the group and was able to keep up until we got into the single track. The course was the tightest I have ever ridden. It was a very nice course though. I had one wipe out, and watched one guy fall over backwards on the trail. My finish time was 1:00:59, which put me in 12 place out of 39 riders. My best placing ever. After the race I headed to the hotel, and got the pasta bar, cleaned up and got ready for the road ride.
The next morning started off at 4:10 am. We got up, got ready, and were in the breakfast line right at 5:00am. By 5:30 we were in line at the start about 20 feet back from the line. The NWCC group joined us and we were all set for the start. Just after 7:00 the National Anthem was sung with the fly over at 7:05 at the end of the song. With the big boom of the starting cannon, we were off. The crowds we pretty bad for about 25-30 miles. I ended up stopping 3 times, mile 30, 60, and 77. For all my stops my computer logged a stop time of 30 minutes. My ride time was 5:15 for 101.76 miles. I got in a little before 1:00, and took my usual dip in the fire hydrant sprinkler at the finish.
I am looking forward to doing the race and ride again next year.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Vacation Week Mountain Bike Ride
Well last weekend, I did not ride since we were heading to South Dakota for a week of vacation. We headed out on Friday morning with the mountain bikes in tow. The goal was to visit Mt Rushmore and see the sites in the area. The first few days were nice, highs in the low 80's and lows in the mid 50's. Tuesday and Wednesday were cold and rainy. Thursday was the day to ride. The rain stopped and the sun came out, and the temperature was forecast to be in the upper 70's. Vanessa and I woke up early, and got ready.
I was a little concerned about riding, the temperature was in the low 40's first thing in the morning. Since the only cold weather gear I brought was my light weight jacket, I expected to be really cold. We headed out and it turned out to not feel to bad. I guess Houston makes cold feel colder. As Vanessa and I headed into Custer, we passed the bank, and it showed a temperature of 39 degrees.
After a brief stop at the Mickelson trail head in town to pay our daily usage fee, we both headed east toward Custer State Park. As we left Custer, the trail was paved to the State Park. This is the only section of the Mickelson trail that is not a old rail road track. This section also had a few climbs that were short but much steeper than any of the old rail road sections. I climbed one which was 14% grade. When Vanessa got to the top, she decided to turn around. We were about a mile to a mile and a half out of town. I headed on to the entrance to the park.
At the park entrance I asked the ranger if the Centennial Trail was passable. Since it had rained all day on Wednesday, I did not want to ride the trail if it was wet. He asked another ranger station, but they had no reports for the day. So I decided to head off and attempt to ride up to the trail head and see for myself. My plan was to head up to HWY 87 on one of the gravel county roads, then pick up the Centennial trail head at the Iron Creek Trail Head. The gravel road was a bit on the wet side and I threw mud all over the bike. As I got into the park, the road was much dryer and did not stick to my tires as bad.
I found the trail, which crossed a grass covered field. No big deal, I will just head across it. Well, turns out that the grass hid the fact that the ground was wet and that there was water standing between the clumps of grass. Then as I got to the far side of the field there was a small stream to cross. I was able to walk across the field by staying on the clumps of grass. When I got to the stream I was able to move quickly and get across, but not before feeling a small amount of water dampen my socks. Now I was officially on the trail. Aside from the low area at the start, the Centennial trail was very dry and good to ride.
The trail was well marked and even had some nice climbs, decents, and over all a good ride. I stopped a few places to take some pictures. After climbing the first section I came into another grassy spot. As I entered the spot, I thought, I hope I don't see a buffalo while on the trail. Luckily, I did not. The trail had another climb and when I got to the top there was a big rock formation there. I did not see the exact direction of the trail so I stopped to scout it out. It was also a good time to catch my breath. I found the trail and walked the bike across the rocky double back to find the next section of trail. I took a few pictures.
Another stop to view the sites. Being that am from near sea level, this was quite a ride. How high was I? Bike computer shows 5444 ft. No wonder I can't catch my breath.
As I headed on down the trail I came to a break in the trail. To the left Legion Lake. To the right, keep following the trail. My plan was to head to Legion Lake then catch the road back to Custer. So off I go to Legion Lake. Little did I know that the path ahead was not rideable. The trail went up a 22% grade. So I got off and walked my bike. Take a look at the up hill section.
After getting to the top of this climb, it was quite fun heading down the other side. As I was heading towards the campsites, I saw the first person on the trails. We talked for a few minutes, then I headed along the road back toward Custer. I did stop at the sign for the divide in the park. My official altitude at that point is 5383 ft.
As I followed the road down the other side of the divide, I decided to see how fast I could go. I hit 40mph on the bike. That was quite a rush. At the entrance to the park I got back on the trail heading back to Custer. I did stop on the way back and find my 3rd Geocache. All in all, this was one of my favorite rides on the mountain bike. I want to head back to Custer State Park some time and ride some more.
I was a little concerned about riding, the temperature was in the low 40's first thing in the morning. Since the only cold weather gear I brought was my light weight jacket, I expected to be really cold. We headed out and it turned out to not feel to bad. I guess Houston makes cold feel colder. As Vanessa and I headed into Custer, we passed the bank, and it showed a temperature of 39 degrees.
After a brief stop at the Mickelson trail head in town to pay our daily usage fee, we both headed east toward Custer State Park. As we left Custer, the trail was paved to the State Park. This is the only section of the Mickelson trail that is not a old rail road track. This section also had a few climbs that were short but much steeper than any of the old rail road sections. I climbed one which was 14% grade. When Vanessa got to the top, she decided to turn around. We were about a mile to a mile and a half out of town. I headed on to the entrance to the park.
At the park entrance I asked the ranger if the Centennial Trail was passable. Since it had rained all day on Wednesday, I did not want to ride the trail if it was wet. He asked another ranger station, but they had no reports for the day. So I decided to head off and attempt to ride up to the trail head and see for myself. My plan was to head up to HWY 87 on one of the gravel county roads, then pick up the Centennial trail head at the Iron Creek Trail Head. The gravel road was a bit on the wet side and I threw mud all over the bike. As I got into the park, the road was much dryer and did not stick to my tires as bad.
I found the trail, which crossed a grass covered field. No big deal, I will just head across it. Well, turns out that the grass hid the fact that the ground was wet and that there was water standing between the clumps of grass. Then as I got to the far side of the field there was a small stream to cross. I was able to walk across the field by staying on the clumps of grass. When I got to the stream I was able to move quickly and get across, but not before feeling a small amount of water dampen my socks. Now I was officially on the trail. Aside from the low area at the start, the Centennial trail was very dry and good to ride.
The trail was well marked and even had some nice climbs, decents, and over all a good ride. I stopped a few places to take some pictures. After climbing the first section I came into another grassy spot. As I entered the spot, I thought, I hope I don't see a buffalo while on the trail. Luckily, I did not. The trail had another climb and when I got to the top there was a big rock formation there. I did not see the exact direction of the trail so I stopped to scout it out. It was also a good time to catch my breath. I found the trail and walked the bike across the rocky double back to find the next section of trail. I took a few pictures.
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The path ahead.
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Just climbed this hill.
Look at the downhill section ahead.
Look at the downhill section ahead.
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Yeah!!!!!
Another stop to view the sites. Being that am from near sea level, this was quite a ride. How high was I? Bike computer shows 5444 ft. No wonder I can't catch my breath.
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As I headed on down the trail I came to a break in the trail. To the left Legion Lake. To the right, keep following the trail. My plan was to head to Legion Lake then catch the road back to Custer. So off I go to Legion Lake. Little did I know that the path ahead was not rideable. The trail went up a 22% grade. So I got off and walked my bike. Take a look at the up hill section.
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As I followed the road down the other side of the divide, I decided to see how fast I could go. I hit 40mph on the bike. That was quite a rush. At the entrance to the park I got back on the trail heading back to Custer. I did stop on the way back and find my 3rd Geocache. All in all, this was one of my favorite rides on the mountain bike. I want to head back to Custer State Park some time and ride some more.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
2009 GHORBA Big Ring Challenge
Today was the Big Ring Challenge at Double lake. Vanessa and I decided to make a weekend of it. Yesterday we went up and pre-rode the course. Vanessa also sat in on the beginners clinic held on Saturday. While she was in the clinic, I headed out for a easy warm up lap. I got back and they were still talking. Once they were finished, Vanessa and I headed out for a easy ride. She ended up falling while getting out of the way for another rider, and bruised her arm. Needless to say she sucked it up and suited up and rode today. I am proud of her considering that she was finished with about 3 miles to go to a bail out point in the trail. The trail was a little damp in a few places but not bad over all.
Today the weather was a little crazy. When we pulled up, it had just finished raining pretty hard, but the race went on. The course was a wet, muddy mess and it was slowing everyone down. In fact they decided to make the Cat 3 races only do 1 lap instead of 2. After we finished, I was glad. My one lap this year was within 10 seconds longer than last years lap average. So considering the places in the course that slowed me down, I am pretty pleased with my results. I finished 23 out of 34. Luckily by the time I raced, the track was not as muddy as the previous races. I came in pretty clean over all compared to the Cat 1 races. Next mountain bike race is at Hotter'n Hell. Friday night is the mtb bike time trial.
Today the weather was a little crazy. When we pulled up, it had just finished raining pretty hard, but the race went on. The course was a wet, muddy mess and it was slowing everyone down. In fact they decided to make the Cat 3 races only do 1 lap instead of 2. After we finished, I was glad. My one lap this year was within 10 seconds longer than last years lap average. So considering the places in the course that slowed me down, I am pretty pleased with my results. I finished 23 out of 34. Luckily by the time I raced, the track was not as muddy as the previous races. I came in pretty clean over all compared to the Cat 1 races. Next mountain bike race is at Hotter'n Hell. Friday night is the mtb bike time trial.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Mountain Bike race
Double Lake is next weekend. This will be my first mountain bike race since I raced at Double Lake last year. This week I hit the Cypress wood trail on Wednesday night. The trail was a little damp in a few places, but in pretty good shape otherwise.
Saturday, NWCC had their club camp out at Huntsville State Park. Vanessa and I headed up for the day. I only took the Mountain bike, and got in a good easy ride with Vanessa, then headed out for a lap on the race course solo. I finished the lap in about 1 hour. I hung around the camp site for a while, then a group of us went out for a lap. I finished the day with 27 miles in on the bike. Pretty good training for next weekends race. Huntsville is in bad need of rain. The entire course was littered with loose sand. Several palces were almost impossible to ride. All in all I was glad to only ride 2 laps.
Saturday, NWCC had their club camp out at Huntsville State Park. Vanessa and I headed up for the day. I only took the Mountain bike, and got in a good easy ride with Vanessa, then headed out for a lap on the race course solo. I finished the lap in about 1 hour. I hung around the camp site for a while, then a group of us went out for a lap. I finished the day with 27 miles in on the bike. Pretty good training for next weekends race. Huntsville is in bad need of rain. The entire course was littered with loose sand. Several palces were almost impossible to ride. All in all I was glad to only ride 2 laps.
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Team Ride and Weekday Mountain Biking
Well. another week of riding. What a week. I kicked off the week with a short mountain bike ride after work on Wednesday night. I talked a co-worker into showing up at the Cypresswood trails. We ended up with 6 miles of by the time we finished.
Saturday, Vanessa and I did the team ride at Carl Barton Park. I started out helping another FMC rider change a low tire before we left out. So I was among the last to leave, and needed to catch Vanessa and Harlan. Since I had planned to ride with them. The rest stops were organized just about right. I skipped the first one and headed on to Splendora. Which worked out about right. I caught up to a couple guys who decided to jump on my wheel. We worked together and made good time. I caught Vanessa before reaching Splendora high school. The small group grew a bit more with Vanessa joining in. Shortly after Splendora HS, I caught Harlan. Mission accomplished. The next rest stop was in town. After stopping shortly, I had comptuer problems and had to restart my computer. It recorded everything but as two seperate rides. Once again I let Harlan and Vanessa head out in front of me. Caught them by the next rest stop. For the last leg we were riding down 242 and Got passed by a couple more FMC riders. I jumpped on their wheel, as did Harlan. I rode with them all the way to the finish. We lost Harlan somewhere along the way, but he limpped in.
After the ride, Vanessa and I got some food then to the shop to teach our last Group Riding Skills Class before the MS150. The class was held at Bike Lane and we had 12 people. I got some pretty good feedback on the class.
Saturday, Vanessa and I did the team ride at Carl Barton Park. I started out helping another FMC rider change a low tire before we left out. So I was among the last to leave, and needed to catch Vanessa and Harlan. Since I had planned to ride with them. The rest stops were organized just about right. I skipped the first one and headed on to Splendora. Which worked out about right. I caught up to a couple guys who decided to jump on my wheel. We worked together and made good time. I caught Vanessa before reaching Splendora high school. The small group grew a bit more with Vanessa joining in. Shortly after Splendora HS, I caught Harlan. Mission accomplished. The next rest stop was in town. After stopping shortly, I had comptuer problems and had to restart my computer. It recorded everything but as two seperate rides. Once again I let Harlan and Vanessa head out in front of me. Caught them by the next rest stop. For the last leg we were riding down 242 and Got passed by a couple more FMC riders. I jumpped on their wheel, as did Harlan. I rode with them all the way to the finish. We lost Harlan somewhere along the way, but he limpped in.
After the ride, Vanessa and I got some food then to the shop to teach our last Group Riding Skills Class before the MS150. The class was held at Bike Lane and we had 12 people. I got some pretty good feedback on the class.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Mid Week Riding & New Tires
Well the rain went away and we had beautiful weather this week. What better time to get back on the bike and continue the training for the MS150. We are now 1 month away from the MS150.
Since the rain cleared up on Sunday, the hope was that the trails would be dry enough to ride on Wednesday at Cypresswood. NWCC was having their weekly mountain bike ride after work. So I took my bike with me and rode with the group. I got in a good 11 miles and got in just at dusk. The last few miles I pushed it to get in before dark. Since part of the group took the road back to the car, I did not push it to hard.
On Thursday I talked to Mike and Juan and we decided to take a quick 28 mile loop that Juan rides from the neighborhood. Overall the route is on some decent, but busy roads. Luckily people were nice and passed with space. The most interesting part was the initial sprint up 249 between our neihborhood and Boudreaux Rd during rush hour. We left the house about 6:15. I was glad I took my lights since it was just turning dark when we got home. I finished a 32 mile ride with a 18.4 average. 20 mile of the route I registered a 19.9 average. Overall not bad. After the ride we went to get something to eat.
The last thing before riding this weekend, I installed my new tires. I was doing some research online about my tubeless wheels. After having problems with my valve stems on my mountain bike last weekend, I went to www.notubes.com. I saw that they had a road tubeless kit to turn any 700c wheel into a tubeless setup. after doing some more research, I decided that this may be something to try. Since I was due for new tires before the MS150 anyway, it seemed like a good time to try it out. They arrived Friday, so who was I to wait. I came home from dinner and proceed to convert my current wheels to tubeless. Overall I was quite impressed, the whole process was not to bad. After taking off my old tires, tubes and rim tape, I noticed some dirt in the rims. After a quick cleaning, I proceeded to install the rim tape provided with the kit. Next I instaled the old tires and tubes and inflated them to set the rim tape. Once that was done I proceeded to remove the tires and tubes. Install the new valve stem, and mount the tires, soap the bead and pump it up. At this point I noticed that my rims were not welded but seated rims. even with the new rim tape, I could hear the small hiss of excaping air. Even with the his, I could hear the bead was holding. That was good. So I removed the valve core and installed the Stan's sealant, and proceed to inflate the tires again. This time I put the small leak at the bottom and rocked the tire side to side. In no time the his got less and less. I slowely rolled the tire around rocking it as I went. All hissing stopped and the tires held air. I followed the same process with the other wheel and all is good. I am looking forward to riding them tomorrow to see how it goes. The big test will be on Sunday when I do a long ride on them. With any luck I will get a smooth ride and a really good tire life. I will keep you posted on my thoughts.
Since the rain cleared up on Sunday, the hope was that the trails would be dry enough to ride on Wednesday at Cypresswood. NWCC was having their weekly mountain bike ride after work. So I took my bike with me and rode with the group. I got in a good 11 miles and got in just at dusk. The last few miles I pushed it to get in before dark. Since part of the group took the road back to the car, I did not push it to hard.
On Thursday I talked to Mike and Juan and we decided to take a quick 28 mile loop that Juan rides from the neighborhood. Overall the route is on some decent, but busy roads. Luckily people were nice and passed with space. The most interesting part was the initial sprint up 249 between our neihborhood and Boudreaux Rd during rush hour. We left the house about 6:15. I was glad I took my lights since it was just turning dark when we got home. I finished a 32 mile ride with a 18.4 average. 20 mile of the route I registered a 19.9 average. Overall not bad. After the ride we went to get something to eat.
The last thing before riding this weekend, I installed my new tires. I was doing some research online about my tubeless wheels. After having problems with my valve stems on my mountain bike last weekend, I went to www.notubes.com. I saw that they had a road tubeless kit to turn any 700c wheel into a tubeless setup. after doing some more research, I decided that this may be something to try. Since I was due for new tires before the MS150 anyway, it seemed like a good time to try it out. They arrived Friday, so who was I to wait. I came home from dinner and proceed to convert my current wheels to tubeless. Overall I was quite impressed, the whole process was not to bad. After taking off my old tires, tubes and rim tape, I noticed some dirt in the rims. After a quick cleaning, I proceeded to install the rim tape provided with the kit. Next I instaled the old tires and tubes and inflated them to set the rim tape. Once that was done I proceeded to remove the tires and tubes. Install the new valve stem, and mount the tires, soap the bead and pump it up. At this point I noticed that my rims were not welded but seated rims. even with the new rim tape, I could hear the small hiss of excaping air. Even with the his, I could hear the bead was holding. That was good. So I removed the valve core and installed the Stan's sealant, and proceed to inflate the tires again. This time I put the small leak at the bottom and rocked the tire side to side. In no time the his got less and less. I slowely rolled the tire around rocking it as I went. All hissing stopped and the tires held air. I followed the same process with the other wheel and all is good. I am looking forward to riding them tomorrow to see how it goes. The big test will be on Sunday when I do a long ride on them. With any luck I will get a smooth ride and a really good tire life. I will keep you posted on my thoughts.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Wet Week for Riding.
This has been a rough week for riding. I did get in a few miles on the mountain bike on Tuesday. Since the forecast looked like rain for the rest of the week. I figured I would get in some mountain bike miles while I could. I rode around the drainage ditches in the area. It was around dusk so I had my front and rear lights on for visibility. I finished with about a 10 mile ride right at an hour. After the ride I noticed that my rear tire was low on air, so I decided it was time to put in some new sealant. I think I finally figured out why. My valve stem was not properly seated so I was losing air slowly. Hopefully that is done.
Saturday was a busy day. We had a wedding to attend, plus it was raining almost all day. So I decided it was time to fix the mountain bike wheels, and ride the bike on the trainer. So I loaded up the 23 mile route for Montgomery, TX on the computrainer and decided to ride 10 miles of the route. This gave me a good solid 30 minute high intensity workout. Sunday I decided to forgo any training and spend time with the in-laws since this will be the last weekend they will be with us.
MS150 update:
Fundraising is going slow, but progressing. My personal goal is $1000. Last year I personally raised almost $850. If you would please consider a donation, even as small as $5 or $10 will help. I support this cause because I am thankful that I can enjoy my time on the bike. A diesese like MS could take that away from me, like it does so many others. I ride to Austin to suppor those who can't. Please consider a donation via the "support my ride to Austin" link to the right, or via the link below
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/sabeard
Thank you for reading my blog, and your support on the MS150.
Saturday was a busy day. We had a wedding to attend, plus it was raining almost all day. So I decided it was time to fix the mountain bike wheels, and ride the bike on the trainer. So I loaded up the 23 mile route for Montgomery, TX on the computrainer and decided to ride 10 miles of the route. This gave me a good solid 30 minute high intensity workout. Sunday I decided to forgo any training and spend time with the in-laws since this will be the last weekend they will be with us.
MS150 update:
Fundraising is going slow, but progressing. My personal goal is $1000. Last year I personally raised almost $850. If you would please consider a donation, even as small as $5 or $10 will help. I support this cause because I am thankful that I can enjoy my time on the bike. A diesese like MS could take that away from me, like it does so many others. I ride to Austin to suppor those who can't. Please consider a donation via the "support my ride to Austin" link to the right, or via the link below
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/sabeard
Thank you for reading my blog, and your support on the MS150.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Friday commute, and MTB on Saturday
Friday I rode to work. It is not a tough ride, nor to long, but two 17 mile rides in a day add up over time. I can tell when I have to carry my laptop with me on the bike. The added weight does slow me down. But hey, it is good training. I figured that I needed to ride the bike since I was only going to get one day of riding on the weekend.
On Saturday the wind was bad, constant at 15 mph with gusts to 25-30 mph. Time to hit the mountain bike trails. I met my neighbor and we hit the trails along Cypress Creek close to the house. Gary had not been on those yet, so it was fun. We covered most of the trails, the area at the YMCA has not been cleared out since Ike. Also we found out that they closed off the gap in the fence that let us get out when we followed the trail through there. So after a little back tracking, we ended up with a 22 mile ride. The wind was tough on the way back home.
On Saturday the wind was bad, constant at 15 mph with gusts to 25-30 mph. Time to hit the mountain bike trails. I met my neighbor and we hit the trails along Cypress Creek close to the house. Gary had not been on those yet, so it was fun. We covered most of the trails, the area at the YMCA has not been cleared out since Ike. Also we found out that they closed off the gap in the fence that let us get out when we followed the trail through there. So after a little back tracking, we ended up with a 22 mile ride. The wind was tough on the way back home.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Mountain Bike Rides
Well. It has been a while, but last Wednesday I took a 10 mile ride along the drainage ditches. It felt good to get on the mountain bike. The last time I rode it was in early December.
On Thursday, I rode the bike to work. It felt good to make that trip again. Hopefully I can make that trek more this year.
On Sunday Vanessa and I went to Double Lake State recreational area. They have a nice 8.1 mile loop. It is a fast course. Several tight turns, but mostly just nice single track. Since it rained over night in Houston, it was still wet to ride on the road. Double lake is a good trail to ride on if it has rained less than and inch or so. It drains nicely. We got to double lake around 11:00. I rode a slow lap with Vanessa. I tried to give her some pointers, but that seemed to be a bad idea. After the first lap, I rode one lap as fast as I could. I was able to complete the lap in 44 minutes and 56 seconds. This was almost 4 minutes faster than my per lap average at the race last May. I am looking forward to the race this year. I need to get on the mtn bike a few more times to do well.
On Thursday, I rode the bike to work. It felt good to make that trip again. Hopefully I can make that trek more this year.
On Sunday Vanessa and I went to Double Lake State recreational area. They have a nice 8.1 mile loop. It is a fast course. Several tight turns, but mostly just nice single track. Since it rained over night in Houston, it was still wet to ride on the road. Double lake is a good trail to ride on if it has rained less than and inch or so. It drains nicely. We got to double lake around 11:00. I rode a slow lap with Vanessa. I tried to give her some pointers, but that seemed to be a bad idea. After the first lap, I rode one lap as fast as I could. I was able to complete the lap in 44 minutes and 56 seconds. This was almost 4 minutes faster than my per lap average at the race last May. I am looking forward to the race this year. I need to get on the mtn bike a few more times to do well.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Double Lake MTB Race
Wow it has been a while since I last posted. After the MS150 I took a bit of a break from writing my cycling adventures. On May4th I raced in the GHORBA Big Ring Challenge at Double Lake near Coldspring, TX. My event was at 1:30 PM so I got to the park about 10:30 to begin getting ready.
We got to the race in time to watch Matt complete his second lap and start his third. We stuck around the finish line until he finished. He seemed to do a pretty good job.
I remember that for some reason my legs were really tight so before the race I kept trying to stretch but it did not really seem to help. While the experts raced, I made a few more trips back up and down the road to warm up.
While I warmed up, Vanessa helped with registration by marking legs. About this time the other beginners started to show up. There were several of us in the same age group. From the Woodlands we had myself, Chris V, and Seth. From work Chris E. and lastly Dan R.
When the race started we had a nice up hill sprint on the paved road before making the tight enterance to the single track. I entered the single track on Chris V's wheel. He was just on Dan's wheel. As the riders started to build up behind us we began looking for places to pass. That did not happen and as we came into a tight corner, Dan slowed up just enought that Chris and I rubbed wheels. Being in the back naturally I fell over, and lost about 10 places in the field. By this time my HR was up and I was just pushing to try to catch back up. Eventually I caught Dan and passed him. After that, I was mostly riding by myself. I completed the first lap in about 49 minutes. As I came through the feed zone I grabbed the glass of water and dumped it on my head. That felt good. I threw my cup and then passed a rider on the road that was infront of me. The second lap was tough. I needed to eat but did not want to stop, and could not find a smooth enough section to eat a gel. So I pressed on.
When I finally finished I had an average HR of over 180. Which is pretty high since my max is 199. My final place was 31st. With over 40 starting, I feel pretty good about my results.
Double Lake was my only race for the spring series. My goal is to ride the mountain bike more during the summer.
We got to the race in time to watch Matt complete his second lap and start his third. We stuck around the finish line until he finished. He seemed to do a pretty good job.
I remember that for some reason my legs were really tight so before the race I kept trying to stretch but it did not really seem to help. While the experts raced, I made a few more trips back up and down the road to warm up.
While I warmed up, Vanessa helped with registration by marking legs. About this time the other beginners started to show up. There were several of us in the same age group. From the Woodlands we had myself, Chris V, and Seth. From work Chris E. and lastly Dan R.
When the race started we had a nice up hill sprint on the paved road before making the tight enterance to the single track. I entered the single track on Chris V's wheel. He was just on Dan's wheel. As the riders started to build up behind us we began looking for places to pass. That did not happen and as we came into a tight corner, Dan slowed up just enought that Chris and I rubbed wheels. Being in the back naturally I fell over, and lost about 10 places in the field. By this time my HR was up and I was just pushing to try to catch back up. Eventually I caught Dan and passed him. After that, I was mostly riding by myself. I completed the first lap in about 49 minutes. As I came through the feed zone I grabbed the glass of water and dumped it on my head. That felt good. I threw my cup and then passed a rider on the road that was infront of me. The second lap was tough. I needed to eat but did not want to stop, and could not find a smooth enough section to eat a gel. So I pressed on.
When I finally finished I had an average HR of over 180. Which is pretty high since my max is 199. My final place was 31st. With over 40 starting, I feel pretty good about my results.
Double Lake was my only race for the spring series. My goal is to ride the mountain bike more during the summer.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Miles of Discomfort
I did another mountain bike race. This one was in Comfort, TX at a place called Flat Rock Ranch. I had been wanting to do this race as soon as I saw it on the schedule. I just did not know how to convince Vanessa that it was needed to go. I kept asking. I was also beginning to doubt if I really could hold out for the full marathon distance.
I got my stroke of luck. I saw posted on the TMBRA website that rummer had it that a special guest was going to be participating in the open class marathon race. So I called Vanessa and told her that I wanted to race, and it looked like she would get a chance to meet a famous person she had wanted to meet, Lance Armstrong. That was it. I was in. I just needed to book a hotel room
I rode to work for a safety class on 1/20/08. On the way home it became very clear that my legs were not up for a full 52 mile mountain bike ride. So I was in for the half marathon. I was going to pre-register, but missed the deadline. When I did go look, I saw that Lance was on the pre-registered list. It looked like we were going to meet him.
Saturday morning we woke up about 5:30 am to get ready and re-pack the truck. We got to Flat Rock Ranch about 7:00. I walked down to registration and signed up. We were pretty early still so there was only one other rider in front of me at registration. I went back to the truck and go the bike out and pumped up the tires, put air in the shocks and got ready to ride. The day started out in the mid forties so I kept my jacket on and my tights. So I was basically ready to race, to Vanessa and I headed down to find the other Bike Lane/Woodlands Cycling members.
Once we found Sean Ansley, he confirmed that Lance was indeed at the race. He came in Friday and hung out and drank beer with everyone. We all proceeded to warm up for the race while we waited for the start. About 8:30 people started heading down to the starting area. They began lining up the marathon racers. Here is a picture of Wink (bib #6) and Lance (bib #7) talking before the start.
After the marathon racers started, it was my turn to line up. We started about 5 minutes after the full marathon race, of course there were a lot fewer of us. Here we are just starting out. (I am in the red and blue on the left side of the picture.)
The course was tough. We started out with a good climb and a couple tight tricky areas to slow the group down. Then things spread out nicely. Several of the rocks were slick and you had to be careful. I ended up falling on one rock with a small group behind me. I recovered before falling into the ravine, but it did make me slow down a little.
Flat Rock Rance is made up of two loops. The race started on the lower loop which is the longer of the two. It does have several long steady climbs but also has lots of good descents. The lower loop as a good mix of grassy sections, tree covered sections, and rocky sections. I was about half way through the lower loop and kept thinking that we were getting close to finishing up the loop, only to find out that we had several more miles to go. At one point I had to stop and take off my undershirt. The long sleeves just got to hot. After I took off the shirt I caught two guys who had passed me earlier. I ended up pulling away from them with about two miles to the feed zone. Far enough that I had no one to watch me almost wipe out on hospital hill.
On to the feed zone I go. When I get there I strip off my tights, refill my water bottle and grab a gel. Vanessa and Jamie ask me about Kellie. I tell them that she is behind me. I ask them about Wink and Lance. Both were back through and on the lower loop again by the time I got into the feed zone. As I am leaving I hear the announcement that the first half marathon rider was crossing the finish line. I had another 11 miles to go and my race winner just finished. Out I go again.
I plug on through and into the upper loop. It is a lot of climbing on some pretty tough climbs. I get through the first half not to bad. I am at about mile 21 over all and there is a valley that we descend into and have a long rocky climb up the other side. I get about 5 peddles into the climb and my right leg cramps hard. I get off the bike, suck down some water and another gel, and decide to walk out the cramp. I get to the top of the climb and ride around the top of the hill. I see a billy goat in the distance. I end up catching another rider on the course. She was struggling with some of the descents where I would gain on her, however on the next climb, I would cramp up again. More walking. Another climb. Walk. At the top of another hill I see some cows near the course. Turns out the cows were on both sides of the trail and I had to ride between the cows. At least one was laying down just 5-10 feet from the trail.
By this point I was walking up every hill and riding down. I was about 3 miles from the finish and I hear the race leader is approaching. I got lapped by Wink. Shortly after I get passed by the second place rider. I plug on. I decided that I did not want to get passed by Lance. I press on. I run out of water, and think to myself that I got to be getting close. I get passed by another rider, 3rd place. I fight off the cramps and plug along, pass the last check point and kick up the pace. I know the finish is within half a mile. I cross the finish with a total time of 4:17:01 for 27 miles.
I mentioned that I was just trying to not get passed by Lance. I then hear that Lance is already in. Turns out that he called it quits due to cramps after his second lower loop. Off Vanessa goes to see about getting his picture. I head up to the trailer as well since it is one the way to the truck. Lance came out about 5 minutes after I got there and was very nice and willing to pose for pictures and give autographs. We posed for this picture with him, and I got him to sign my water bottle. What a great Birthday.
I got my stroke of luck. I saw posted on the TMBRA website that rummer had it that a special guest was going to be participating in the open class marathon race. So I called Vanessa and told her that I wanted to race, and it looked like she would get a chance to meet a famous person she had wanted to meet, Lance Armstrong. That was it. I was in. I just needed to book a hotel room
I rode to work for a safety class on 1/20/08. On the way home it became very clear that my legs were not up for a full 52 mile mountain bike ride. So I was in for the half marathon. I was going to pre-register, but missed the deadline. When I did go look, I saw that Lance was on the pre-registered list. It looked like we were going to meet him.
Saturday morning we woke up about 5:30 am to get ready and re-pack the truck. We got to Flat Rock Ranch about 7:00. I walked down to registration and signed up. We were pretty early still so there was only one other rider in front of me at registration. I went back to the truck and go the bike out and pumped up the tires, put air in the shocks and got ready to ride. The day started out in the mid forties so I kept my jacket on and my tights. So I was basically ready to race, to Vanessa and I headed down to find the other Bike Lane/Woodlands Cycling members.
Once we found Sean Ansley, he confirmed that Lance was indeed at the race. He came in Friday and hung out and drank beer with everyone. We all proceeded to warm up for the race while we waited for the start. About 8:30 people started heading down to the starting area. They began lining up the marathon racers. Here is a picture of Wink (bib #6) and Lance (bib #7) talking before the start.
After the marathon racers started, it was my turn to line up. We started about 5 minutes after the full marathon race, of course there were a lot fewer of us. Here we are just starting out. (I am in the red and blue on the left side of the picture.)
The course was tough. We started out with a good climb and a couple tight tricky areas to slow the group down. Then things spread out nicely. Several of the rocks were slick and you had to be careful. I ended up falling on one rock with a small group behind me. I recovered before falling into the ravine, but it did make me slow down a little.
Flat Rock Rance is made up of two loops. The race started on the lower loop which is the longer of the two. It does have several long steady climbs but also has lots of good descents. The lower loop as a good mix of grassy sections, tree covered sections, and rocky sections. I was about half way through the lower loop and kept thinking that we were getting close to finishing up the loop, only to find out that we had several more miles to go. At one point I had to stop and take off my undershirt. The long sleeves just got to hot. After I took off the shirt I caught two guys who had passed me earlier. I ended up pulling away from them with about two miles to the feed zone. Far enough that I had no one to watch me almost wipe out on hospital hill.
On to the feed zone I go. When I get there I strip off my tights, refill my water bottle and grab a gel. Vanessa and Jamie ask me about Kellie. I tell them that she is behind me. I ask them about Wink and Lance. Both were back through and on the lower loop again by the time I got into the feed zone. As I am leaving I hear the announcement that the first half marathon rider was crossing the finish line. I had another 11 miles to go and my race winner just finished. Out I go again.
I plug on through and into the upper loop. It is a lot of climbing on some pretty tough climbs. I get through the first half not to bad. I am at about mile 21 over all and there is a valley that we descend into and have a long rocky climb up the other side. I get about 5 peddles into the climb and my right leg cramps hard. I get off the bike, suck down some water and another gel, and decide to walk out the cramp. I get to the top of the climb and ride around the top of the hill. I see a billy goat in the distance. I end up catching another rider on the course. She was struggling with some of the descents where I would gain on her, however on the next climb, I would cramp up again. More walking. Another climb. Walk. At the top of another hill I see some cows near the course. Turns out the cows were on both sides of the trail and I had to ride between the cows. At least one was laying down just 5-10 feet from the trail.
By this point I was walking up every hill and riding down. I was about 3 miles from the finish and I hear the race leader is approaching. I got lapped by Wink. Shortly after I get passed by the second place rider. I plug on. I decided that I did not want to get passed by Lance. I press on. I run out of water, and think to myself that I got to be getting close. I get passed by another rider, 3rd place. I fight off the cramps and plug along, pass the last check point and kick up the pace. I know the finish is within half a mile. I cross the finish with a total time of 4:17:01 for 27 miles.
I mentioned that I was just trying to not get passed by Lance. I then hear that Lance is already in. Turns out that he called it quits due to cramps after his second lower loop. Off Vanessa goes to see about getting his picture. I head up to the trailer as well since it is one the way to the truck. Lance came out about 5 minutes after I got there and was very nice and willing to pose for pictures and give autographs. We posed for this picture with him, and I got him to sign my water bottle. What a great Birthday.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
The Talon Trails Excruciation Exam
I competed in my second mountain bike race yesterday. It was the The Talon Trails Excruciation Exam. This consisted of a lap at Bluff Creek Ranch in Warda, TX. Then a ride on back roads (gravel) to Rocky Hill Ranch in Smithville, TX. Do a 20 mile lap around Rocky Hill, then a back road ride back to the start with a short 3 mile lap there. The total distance was 87 miles.
I woke up at 3 am to drive to Warda since I did not know exactly how long it would take me. I arrived at 5:30. Which worked out great since registration opened at 6:00. There was a ride meeting at 7:00 with a 7:30 am start.
The race started with a Lemond start which involved putting the bikes in a specific area, We lined up and had to run around a tree, then back to the bike and head off on the trail. I was with the back half of the group for about half of Warda, but quickly became isolated from the rest of the group. By the time I reached Rocky Hill, I was the last rider to start the 20 mile loop. Rocky Hill took me just under 4 hours to finish, which meant that I missed the safety cut off and had to catch a sag back to the start. My time was prorated so that I still got a finish. I was never so glad to take a ride after a day on the bike.
I came in dead last, but at least I did not get a DNF. At the awards I won a park tools BBQ set. All in all, it was a much tougher ride that I should have tackled but I did it and had fun. That is all that matters.
I woke up at 3 am to drive to Warda since I did not know exactly how long it would take me. I arrived at 5:30. Which worked out great since registration opened at 6:00. There was a ride meeting at 7:00 with a 7:30 am start.
The race started with a Lemond start which involved putting the bikes in a specific area, We lined up and had to run around a tree, then back to the bike and head off on the trail. I was with the back half of the group for about half of Warda, but quickly became isolated from the rest of the group. By the time I reached Rocky Hill, I was the last rider to start the 20 mile loop. Rocky Hill took me just under 4 hours to finish, which meant that I missed the safety cut off and had to catch a sag back to the start. My time was prorated so that I still got a finish. I was never so glad to take a ride after a day on the bike.
I came in dead last, but at least I did not get a DNF. At the awards I won a park tools BBQ set. All in all, it was a much tougher ride that I should have tackled but I did it and had fun. That is all that matters.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Been a while
Wow, it has been a while since I last posted anything. After bike around the bay, I have done a little riding, but nothing to serious. I did become a League of American Bicyclist Certified Cycling Instructor (LCI). I can now teach any of the cycling safety classes that LAB offers.
New year is time to kick of the riding with a bang. We started with a short 32 mile ride on new years day, then I have a nice long mountain bike race tomorrow. So I better head off to bed. Look for the report tomorrow.
New year is time to kick of the riding with a bang. We started with a short 32 mile ride on new years day, then I have a nice long mountain bike race tomorrow. So I better head off to bed. Look for the report tomorrow.
Monday, October 15, 2007
BTU Power Pedal
What fun!!!!
I completed my first Mountain Bike race at Lake Bryan in Bryan, TX. When I knew I was getting a mtb bike, I discussed racing the BTU Power Pedal race with Vanessa. She started calling around to get a hotel. So we made a full weekend of the event.
We drove up Friday evening after work, checked into the hotel, then went to get supper. The plan was to get up in the morning and go out to the park to warm up a little then at 1:00 the NRC/Pedalmasher race team conducts a beginner clinic. The point of the clinic is to go over the rules, give pointers, and such to new riders before their first race. After the clinic they also pre-ride the course and give pointers along the way.
I also saw before leaving work on Friday that Sean from Woodlands Cycling Club was staying at the campgrounds at the park. About 9:00, Vanessa and I got to the park and started getting the bikes ready. After that we rode over to the campsite where Sean, Josh, and Kellie spent the night. They were beginning to move around and get their bikes ready to pre-ride the course. Josh and Sean got me all set up and showed me the right air pressure for my tires and shocks. After all that was done we headed over to the course.
On the way over we rode the last half mile to the finish, then rode a simulated start. On the way to the finish line there was a wash out in the course and I thought I was far enough to the left of the wash out. Oops, guess not I stopped quickly and lost my balance, rammed my handle bars into my shin. Ouch, that will hurt. As we rode my leg hurt but not to bad, so I kept riding. We did the start, and I followed Josh, while Sean was behind me giving me pointers. We rode an easy pace. At one point Josh and I saw a snake on the path, but luckily no one got bit. A little later I went to make a turn and the front wheel slid out from under me. I landed in the sand and took a little skin off my knee. We continued and I followed the beginner course when Sean and Josh followed the sport course. Now I am thinking great, I scraped up both legs and I have not even got to the race yet. How is tomorrow going to go?
Vanessa and I went to the beginner clinic at 1. It was the two of us and two other ladies who were also first time riders. I skipped out on the pre-ride since I had already ridden the course earlier.
That evening Vanessa and I met one of our friends oldest son, who is at TAMU, for dinner, then called it an early evening. Of course I put dressings on my wounds to protect them from the dirt during the race.
Sunday morning came early. The beginners started at 8:30 but I wanted to be sure that I was able to warm up and be ready for the race. We got to the start area at 6:50. I got the bike out, checked the shocks and put air in the tires. Then headed over to the camp site, which I figured would be a good warm up. When I go to the campsite I realized my front shock was really soft. After looking at it, it appeared to be out of air. We pumped it up again, then headed back over to the start. I grabbed my shock pump and carried it with me on the course. I also put even more air in the shock and hopped it would get me through the race. Now I am ready to go. I see Matt from work and talk to him for a moment. Then get my leg marked, and head toward the start line. Vanessa and Matt get some pictures and we find Chris, also from work.
Here we are waiting at the start line. (Thanks to Matt L. for the picture)
Here is another shot Vanessa took at the start.
When the race started, I stayed pretty close to the front, but I know I would not stay there long. We did a few twists and turns before getting into the single track. There was about 4 riders trying to get through the two tight trees at the opening of the single track when I got there. I had to stop and wait my turn. Then there is a bridge shortly after that, which the racer in front of me messed up on. I had to go to the left of the bridge then jump back into the trail. I lost a few placed there but Chris was right on my wheel. I rode a brisk but safe pace through the single track. Then we climbed to the top of the levee. At which point Chris took off and I did not see him again for the rest of the ride. I did a lot of twists and turns. Passed a few B1 and B2 riders. Got passed by several B4 riders. We got back to the start area for our pass through to the east loop and I was tired but still feeling pretty well. I had a rider on my tail which I eventually was able to drop in the next section of singletrack. Matt got a good picture of me leading that rider through the start area.
I was having fun by this point and was just starting into the really tight areas, I just rode at a pace where I could make the turns and stay on the bike. I would let faster riders pass if they were in a group that started after me, which by this point was most of the people who caught me.
The last 2 miles of the course was the most technical, or at least if felt like it after running all out for 45 minutes. I finally made it across the finish line in 54 minutes, and I was still smiling when the finish photographer took my picture. Over all my ranking in my category was 24/34 riders, 28 of which finished. Here is the picture that had of me crossing the finish line.
For my first MTB ride I can't complain. I had fun and accomplished both my goals. Finish and not be last.
Can't wait for the next race.
I completed my first Mountain Bike race at Lake Bryan in Bryan, TX. When I knew I was getting a mtb bike, I discussed racing the BTU Power Pedal race with Vanessa. She started calling around to get a hotel. So we made a full weekend of the event.
We drove up Friday evening after work, checked into the hotel, then went to get supper. The plan was to get up in the morning and go out to the park to warm up a little then at 1:00 the NRC/Pedalmasher race team conducts a beginner clinic. The point of the clinic is to go over the rules, give pointers, and such to new riders before their first race. After the clinic they also pre-ride the course and give pointers along the way.
I also saw before leaving work on Friday that Sean from Woodlands Cycling Club was staying at the campgrounds at the park. About 9:00, Vanessa and I got to the park and started getting the bikes ready. After that we rode over to the campsite where Sean, Josh, and Kellie spent the night. They were beginning to move around and get their bikes ready to pre-ride the course. Josh and Sean got me all set up and showed me the right air pressure for my tires and shocks. After all that was done we headed over to the course.
On the way over we rode the last half mile to the finish, then rode a simulated start. On the way to the finish line there was a wash out in the course and I thought I was far enough to the left of the wash out. Oops, guess not I stopped quickly and lost my balance, rammed my handle bars into my shin. Ouch, that will hurt. As we rode my leg hurt but not to bad, so I kept riding. We did the start, and I followed Josh, while Sean was behind me giving me pointers. We rode an easy pace. At one point Josh and I saw a snake on the path, but luckily no one got bit. A little later I went to make a turn and the front wheel slid out from under me. I landed in the sand and took a little skin off my knee. We continued and I followed the beginner course when Sean and Josh followed the sport course. Now I am thinking great, I scraped up both legs and I have not even got to the race yet. How is tomorrow going to go?
Vanessa and I went to the beginner clinic at 1. It was the two of us and two other ladies who were also first time riders. I skipped out on the pre-ride since I had already ridden the course earlier.
That evening Vanessa and I met one of our friends oldest son, who is at TAMU, for dinner, then called it an early evening. Of course I put dressings on my wounds to protect them from the dirt during the race.
Sunday morning came early. The beginners started at 8:30 but I wanted to be sure that I was able to warm up and be ready for the race. We got to the start area at 6:50. I got the bike out, checked the shocks and put air in the tires. Then headed over to the camp site, which I figured would be a good warm up. When I go to the campsite I realized my front shock was really soft. After looking at it, it appeared to be out of air. We pumped it up again, then headed back over to the start. I grabbed my shock pump and carried it with me on the course. I also put even more air in the shock and hopped it would get me through the race. Now I am ready to go. I see Matt from work and talk to him for a moment. Then get my leg marked, and head toward the start line. Vanessa and Matt get some pictures and we find Chris, also from work.
Here we are waiting at the start line. (Thanks to Matt L. for the picture)
Here is another shot Vanessa took at the start.
When the race started, I stayed pretty close to the front, but I know I would not stay there long. We did a few twists and turns before getting into the single track. There was about 4 riders trying to get through the two tight trees at the opening of the single track when I got there. I had to stop and wait my turn. Then there is a bridge shortly after that, which the racer in front of me messed up on. I had to go to the left of the bridge then jump back into the trail. I lost a few placed there but Chris was right on my wheel. I rode a brisk but safe pace through the single track. Then we climbed to the top of the levee. At which point Chris took off and I did not see him again for the rest of the ride. I did a lot of twists and turns. Passed a few B1 and B2 riders. Got passed by several B4 riders. We got back to the start area for our pass through to the east loop and I was tired but still feeling pretty well. I had a rider on my tail which I eventually was able to drop in the next section of singletrack. Matt got a good picture of me leading that rider through the start area.
I was having fun by this point and was just starting into the really tight areas, I just rode at a pace where I could make the turns and stay on the bike. I would let faster riders pass if they were in a group that started after me, which by this point was most of the people who caught me.
The last 2 miles of the course was the most technical, or at least if felt like it after running all out for 45 minutes. I finally made it across the finish line in 54 minutes, and I was still smiling when the finish photographer took my picture. Over all my ranking in my category was 24/34 riders, 28 of which finished. Here is the picture that had of me crossing the finish line.
For my first MTB ride I can't complain. I had fun and accomplished both my goals. Finish and not be last.
Can't wait for the next race.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Double Lake Recreational Area
We went to Double Lake to try the trails there on Sunday. This course is pretty flat with lots of twists and turns. Overall the route was fun. Quite a bit different than Huntsville. I was able to take the new bike out for a real ride.
This weekend is my first MTB race. I am looking forward to it. Look for the race report next week.
This weekend is my first MTB race. I am looking forward to it. Look for the race report next week.
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