So now what?

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... or something like that.
That pretty much sums up my return to the famed "Wrath of the Boneyard" mountain bike race. The picture pretty much sums up my personal performance...

I knew that it was going to be a tough day when I couldn't eat my breakfast with all the knots in my stomach. From there, I went down hill.

The cool part was that both kids raced the kid's race race right before hand. I know they were both nervous (and Luke took a few good diggers on the warm ups) but I'm so proud of them.



Noah grinding the climb...


Luke with his game face on... he wore that shirt because it's a Tony Hawk shirt...


If he's looking to me for race strategy and advice, he's screwed....


A job well done... They rocked!

So, you may ask...how did I do? Don't ask... Never made it past the first lap...
Boneyard is the hardest, most techy, gnarliest course on the Root 66 series, by far, and it reared it ugly head on me yesterday.


I don't know what happened, but the in the end, the heat combined with the rocks (LOTS of pedal strikes) and generally poor fitness leading up to race day, lead to my demise. I could tell right away I was dehydrated and the fear of heat exhaustion was kicking in.

I was around mid pack going into the first climb, which was a narrow single track "punch it" type of climb... not one of my strong suits. Well as one guy in front of me stopped, two of us went for the only line and I didn't win, going off track and down a slight embankment... game over mentally at that point.... couldn't hold a line... couldn't climb... and just bobbling all over the place...

List of excuses? There's plenty...
- Dehydrated
- It was hot
- Didn't really warm up properly because my kids were racing
- Crappy training
- Crappy eating habits
- My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts! IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD!

Ever since our vacation and the kid's being home for the summer, proper training has diminished to zilch. But in all reality, it was gut check time and I didn't deliver.

So where do we go from here? I think it's time to take a few steps back and re-build my fitness.
That means early morning work outs, better diet (as always) and be more efficient with my time. There's still some mountain bike races left that I hope to do, then it's on to 'cross.
The Goblin needs some TLC... that thing is beat up. Chipped paint, wobbly wheels, bad shifting and all.... A total rebuild may be due soon....
From there, we'll see what happens...

Final Delta thoughts, while it's still relatively stock anyways...

If you've been reading this blog you probably know that I've been riding my Airborne Delta ALOT lately which is quite the feat considering I am a mountain biker through and through. Right now I'm hovering around 400 miles on this bike and except for the cockpit, it's been a stock ride.
Because of my enormous size (easy there ladies...) I had to swap out the bar and stem to something wider and longer (again ladies... calm down).

You all know I LOVE this bike and I will gladly recommend it to anyone looking for a new cross ride (What is cyclocross? Look here...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRZOa_E9Qs8).

But here's a final summery of some small detail stuff and thoughts I have.

Airborne is stepping up to a leadership position with this bike. They're taking a spot at the front of the cross bike line by offering it in a disc brake only version while others are still on the fence by offering disc brake mounts, but keeping canti brakes on it (Canti brakes don't consistently offer the stopping power of disc brakes). Bravo to them, but in this situation it will be really important to be sure the discs are set up properly.
Here's what I mean. Mine stopped descent enough, but offered a horrible noise that let everyone know I was coming. Get rid of the noise, affect the stopping power. For a while I kept asking myself "why bother with the extra weight of the discs?"
I did some research and found and answer. If you take the pads on the BB5's and round out the outer edge just a tad with some sand paper, the "turkey gobble" goes away. Great trick. Now I have mondo brake power with out the noise.

I'm still not sold on the Double Tap shifters from SRAM. STI from Shimano seems more natural to me. Something I'll have to get used to. Also, I sometimes find the shifting to be a bit vague. It shouldn't be but my next step is going to be to upgrade the cables (for the brakes too) and see if that helps at all. That or learn the right way to set up Double Tap.
That being said, the wide range rear end is kinda nice

I hate the hoods on the Apex shifters. Thin and flimsy. Looks like I'll have to get some Hudz that will be sturdier and they come in cool colors to boot.

The FSA post with the side by side double bolt system is rock solid, but a pain in the ass to adjust.

I do enjoy riding this bike on the road alot, but keep in mind it's not a road bike. Did 50 miles on it last week end and noticed the weight penalty and the lower high end gearing. I'm beginning to enjoy the ease of road riding again, so a true road bike will have to be in my future. Maybe Airborne has something cooking? I have a set of wheels on loan from a friend and that made a big difference.

I can't really fault anything much on this bike besides nit picky stuff. For $1200 it's a winner out of the box. Of course, I have to upgrade a few things on it for this fall to bring the weight down a bit, but it's not necessary...

Don't wear bib shorts with sun burnt shoulders... (and other things I learned on vacation)

Well we finally made it back from a week at Cape Cod. That combined with the extended week end and Con off for the extra week means I wasn't able to post... too much partying. The above pic is about 100 steps away from our cottage...sweet.
The weather was great and got to spend some time with family I don't get to see often enough. Great times had by all. This year a friend of Connie's came up with her kids so I was able to bring my bike and ride relatively guilt free....
Four year old dog in an 11 year old body... poor girl tries to keep up... sounds familiar...

Most of you know that last Sunday I did the Ride for the Flame... thanks to many of you, I raised almost three hundred dollars to help Special Olympics! The ride was a fun 50 miler around the shore line where I grew up. It brought back alot of memories. Hardest part was getting back here from the Cape. Three hours up on Friday afternoon, three hours back Saturday night , ride Sunday morning then three hours back to the Cape that afternoon again... way too much driving. Big group road rides like these remind me me how much I really DON'T enjoy doing it with big groups... way too nerve racking watching others ride on the streets. Another plus though, was alot of people were interested in and asking about the Delta, so that's good.
The peloton waits for no one....

A few other things I learned this past week, and some general opinions...

- First, obviously, is not to wear bib shorts when your shoulders are sun burned... not fun.
- Fried Clams and fries aren't the best fuel when you're trying to ride. Great when it goes down, but you pay for it the next day (insert dirty joke here....).
- Ladies, if you are over 40 and your name ISN'T Jennifer Aniston, there is no reason for you to be wearing a bikini, NO REASON. I appreciate the woman form as much as the next guy, but damn girl, have some pride! They have these things now called mirrors, use them...
- How did I use to survive 2 weeks at the Cape with no TV or video games when I was a kid? At some points , my kids had a hard time with one week... Who ever invented the DS, thank you...
- I'm sorry, but there's no way the biologists on the whale watching boats can tell the difference between all those whales, they are just making those names up. And no kids, I'm not going to buy you another $2 bag of potato chips from the galley.
- The Cape Cod Rail Trail is the nicest one I've been on. Paved, marked, mapped and gorgeous scenery...
You don't see this view on the Vernon Rail Trail....
The Delta on vacation

- Why don't people say "Hi" or at least smile when they ride their bikes anymore? I did a non- scientific experiment on one ride and out of 20 people I rode past, only 3 smiled, looked my way or acknowledged me in any way. People, you're riding a bike on the Cape, enjoy yourselves! This isn't a stage of the Tour de France.
- BTW, the guy on the Lynsky tri bike, you're a tool if you expect your wife/girlfriend to keep up with you while she's riding her hybrid bike....
- Bike shops really need to teach people how to change gears. I saw way too many people in the highest (hardest) gear struggling to pedal. The bike industry needs to work on that. (maybe that's why no body was smiling...)
- If you see a seal swim up on the beach, leave it alone, there's usually nothing wrong with them. According to another marine biologist on the scene, stay 150 ft. away. This did happen, but I didn't have a camera...

We had a good time this past week. Threw in a water park trip to Six Flags yesterday, too. I'm so glad my kids aren't afraid of the water. At the Cape, they had a blast boogie boarding at high tide, too.

Scan on the ole' colon today. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Look for a "final" Delta review from me tomorrow or Friday.

Glad to be home... see ya