Catch 22

" Your kidding right? Run around the house, then shot gun a Milwaukee's best? OK, I'm in!"







The more and more I do longer races, the better and better I feel and the more I am able to control myself and focus on actually attacking and counter attacking. Lord knows it took me years to figure out how to race a short race and thankfully it seems like I'm picking up the skills for a longer race a lot quicker. I didn't win, but I did go fast and I finished the race with no pain in my ass (or anywhere else for that matter).

It was a crazy day before and a crazy morning off. Big Papa posted a course map that gave details on how the course was going to be. And it proved to be pretty accurate but after visually scouring the map it looked like there was going to be a fair amount of road, sidewalk, bike path and double track. Which is fine by me, but if I'm running a single geared bike, the choice was going to be important. So I made the choice to change my rear cog to an 18tooth which was 2 to 1 ratio on a 29er and should prove to be adequate for the varying terrain.

Well I made the mechanical adjustment, went to my secret trail to test it and noticed the rear cog was skipping. Somewhere between the cog and the singulator there was either a chain line problem or the cog was worn but it was driving me crazy. I jumped in the car raced back home making several calls to Broadus (Bikeworks single speed expert) and Ted (aka the general from the MTB forum), asking for any and all advice. After working furiously for an hour, I decided to give up on the singulator. I took it off. Measured the chain from chain ring to rear cog, removed a link and cranked it on. It worked. It felt strange to back pedal. But I decided with two power links and some extra chain links in my pocket, I should be alright. I managed to overcome my potential disaster and went to bed, much later then I expected, ruining my plans of rising early and getting a good breakfast.

Instead, I rose late, and spent my morning trying to wedge myself in the middle of the aggressive drivers that where on the road with the hopes of shadowing my excessive speed by having one speeder in front and one speeder in back. It all worked and we made it to Big Poppa's house at 8:45am.

I prepped, got ready and hit the line. I looked around and notice that Ryan Woodall was there as well as Mr.Martin Cox, which happen to be some of the fastest guys I know. Also a hosts of other riders that I don't know but sure did look like they would prove to be fast guys. I was speaking to Luis, and he was informing me of the high probability of getting lost. Which I kind of shrugged off at the time, but he would prove to be more then correct before the days end.

On the line I decided to joke with Ryan telling him I was going to put him into the wall, humorously referring to the Mike Wallace Geico commercials. He got a laugh as did I and I was really digging the overall feel of the morning, very relaxed, as we lined up for our Le man's style start. I was thinking as I rode that day, who the hell was Le man and why did he like to run so much. Any how, ever since the alley cat race,I had re thunk my running strategy, and decided, from my first experience at the razorback 12 hour, that running fast was the way to do it, slow is not the move. And that was what I did, I ran my butt off and was in the lead bunch at the beer chug and with the lead bunch on the bikes.

Like always, the start was chaotic and the woods was proving to be interesting, I could see the front group as I made my way thru the tight twisty single track. I got passed by a handful of riders in the woods but quickly started pulling some back in. Especially when the trail got technical. As I hit the long stretch of dirt road, I could clearly see the lead bunch of ten riders and the couple that I was with. We worked hard to try and close the gap but it seemed like everyone was pretty much moving at the same speed. We ended up on the road where I was eventually by myself and caught a group of 8 chasing riders at the light. We started riding and working together and quickly noticed after momentarily shaking the riders that navigation was going to be a critical element in the race.

Eventually we were all again together hitting the power line trail that led to a monstrous climb. Now I saw several riders chugging up the climb, literally taking off to attack it, but right before it began there was a hard right into single track and it seemed that several riders, had unintentionally cut course. And unfortunately I believe this happened more then once. Mountain Bikers, are an honest bunch, and I don't think anyone did it with the intention of gaining an unfair advantage. I did notice some of them come back, especially all the ones I was riding with, but the ones that I saw close to the top, I don't think ever knew the differance.

I got into race mode and attacked the bunch I was with, leaving them behind in the tight and I mean tight single track. I came out to another big climb and I was churning to the top wishing I had one or two less teeth in my cog. Got off to push the crest of the climb and got passed my three of the riders I was in the bunch with. We went over the hill and right before the bottom there was another tight turn. Now those guys either got super fast or they missed the turn and went straight cause I never saw them again.

Regardless I rode hard, till I got really lost. Like lost for 30 minutes. At that point I realized that trying to race might be pointless and I needed to keep my focus on the cues on the road and in the sand. I probably rode an extra hour and and extra seven miles in miscalculations and missed turns. One guy from the original bunch caught up to me and we yo yo ed the last 12 miles. I was with him at one point, right behind him and figured I could easily keep his pace, but I dropped my water bottle and I needed it as I was getting close to the end and low on water.
I did eventually see him and another guy in the end both from the crazy eight that had met up at that light earlier in the day, but they were several turns in front of me and I didn't see them again till the end.

I had a fantastic ride and the terrain and conditions were spectacular. I kept a fast and strong speed the entire ride and I must say I was more then satisfied with my performance. I felt great too at the end, I could not even tell I had ridden close to fifty miles that day. The riding I did was similar to what most of my training rides are like, bike paths, sidewalks, dirt roads, road and single track. I almost felt like I had inadvertently trained perfectly for this event. I wish I knew the course by heart cause I honestly believed I could of taken up to an hour off my time and maybe closed the gap to the lead bunch.

In the end, I got free beer, food and excellent company. What more can I say an excellent event put on by even better people. And I got this T shirt! Cant wait till next time!

Ride Report

Well, I completed the Unification ride today. It took me 5.5 hours and covered 60 plus miles. I did it all on my SS 29 and it was a pretty mellow affair. The bike has a 32 X 20 gear set up which was fine in the single track but nothing on the road even on the climbs. I felt like I was teaching a spin class after a couple of hours.
The bike feels real good as well. Just needs a longer seat posts and I believe I have one in the garage. Because I rode with a seat post that was an inch or two too short, my ass is a Lil chapped at the moment. O well, what can you do. I also noticed my front wheel is seriously out of true so I will get that fixed tomorrow.
Other then that sweet ride, just not going to ride it on the road ever again. I kept wishing I was on the bitch and hoping I could mash some gears to pick up the speed, off road the new set up should be perfect. Plan on testing it thoroughly at the secret trail on Wednesday.

Laters....

The New Weapon in my arsenal

Well, it took a full 6 hours or so to put together. Total cost about 190 dollars if you figure in all the parts my buddy Jeff sold me and the singulator I had to purchase to make the XXIX + G into an XXIX. She is a glossy beauty and superfly. At 25 lbs she is just one pound lighter then my fully geared salsa, aka the bitch.

Big Thanks to Brian E. From the Orlando Bikeworks West Store, the number one choice for my bicycle needs for me and the entire Clan. I plan to take it on the Unification ride today and plan on doing several more rides on it during the week in preparation for the Catch 22 single speed race next weekend. Then after that race is done it will probably sit on the rack for a month while I continue my preparation for my first 12 hour race up in bay county Florida. Enjoy the pics, they were taken with my camera phone, I will give a full write up on the ride performance either later today or tomorrow.

O My, how they've Grown, Congrats Daddy, Time for an Upgrade.

This picture is all the way back from 2005. Kain on the right was state champion for Florida in the 6 to 8 division. Won a couple of races with a broken arm.

Well my prayers run deep that the legacy will continue and it seems it will. My Son Kain is dedicated to his skateboarding as was I in my youth. My Son Kailan as of last week updated to Kain's Old race bike which is a bad ass little S works with all the trimmings. I am taking it up to the shop to add some dual control shifters hoping it will make it easier for his delicate fingers to trigger the shifting mechanisms on his bike. Plus I can take the carbon fiber brake levers and throw them on my single speed build. Gabriel, who knocked out 4 miles at Reddick over the last weekend, is now upgrading to a full 20 inch BMX with a 32 tooth ring so he can do the long rides. In fact just today we did a tough little 8.5 mile route and Gabriel hung in there the whole way at a 8 mph pace with climbs; not too shabby for a four year old. He had two spooky wrecks cause he has not mastered brake levers as of yet. But, he is most promising and I'm looking forward to taking them out for more and more rides. Great timing considering how many miles I have to ramp up for in the next month.


Stay tuned for the new build pics coming very, very, soon...

My Road Bike is my Mountain Bike, My Mountain Bike is my Road Bike.

I have a new position at my job. Its kind of awesome because it allows me to make some modest cash without having to work to much which I think is every ones goal in life. Even better is the opportunity it has afforded me for more ride time. Sad part is that I have yet to take full advantage off all the spare chances I have had to ride.

Its been a real crazy couple of weeks since I last posted. August and December are the toughest months of the year and the most financially taxing. The boys get off to school and it can turn into a VERY expensive endeavour preparing three children for their educational journeys.
Despite of all, I have had more chances to go out and skateboard and have even began working on a father and son skate video of which I will gladly share some clips. I figure I better get some footage while I'm still able to throw down on the board before the day comes that I cant or I don't want to. Not too long ago we made it out to this skate park in Longwood called MESH. It was a top notch facility, a Lil expensive for my taste, but great riding nonetheless. I played the equivalent of a soccer daddy and gave my son and two of his friends a ride up there for a 6 hour session. Unbeknowst to myself a pro skateboarder showed up named Roberto Lopez Mont. If you watch fuel TV and watch a show called skate maps he made several appearances on it. The guy was an animal. He jumped a 12 foot gap to a flat top to a 15 foot suicide drop on the other side and stuck it after just a handful of tries.

I have acquired a new hobby as well. I'm becoming the quintessential urban mountain biker. Utilizing the Internet prowess of the satellite pictures on Google Maps, I have been searching for single track in my local woods. It has been extremely successful as well. I have now located, dirt roads, paths, old rail beds and single track in the Four town area. Which has now afforded me the ability to one day soon put together what I call the Unification ride. I figure it will be slightly over fifty miles with 18 of it being some type of off road riding thru four cities that surround Deltona. For Florida, it does host a good amount of climbing and it has a fair amount of road riding and some of my favorite urban single track sidewalk surfing. After I do it several times, I plan on maybe inviting someone, anyone to come on down and join me on the tour.
There is a single speed race coming up on September 22nd that has become my recent focus. I missed the trail to trail and the 13 hours of Santos due to various reasons and decided since I had made a commitment to this single speed race I would focus my time, effort and resources to make an appearance and hopefully do well. I have a single speed bike, a mono cog, that is a classic beauty. But it is a 26 inch bike and frankly, all I have been riding for over a year are big wheeled bikes. I thought better of returning to the 26 and decided to put together the Raleigh XXIX + G frame into a single speed.

The budget is extremely tight, but I managed with the help of my friends Jeff, Aka the post man, And Brian from Bikeworks, to gather enough parts to make a pretty interesting build. I plan on building it tomorrow and hopefully take it for some test rides several days this week. I have intentions next week of beating one person at that race and one person only. He does not know that I have the desire, but I think my intentions will be clear enough the morning off when I pop up next to him on the start line and follow his wheel, patiently waiting that he makes a mistake vs. dropping me.

I do consider myself to be a capable single speeder. As a matter of fact the first podium I ever got was on a single speed. I was racing against geared folks and managed to snatch fifth place, was closing in on fourth and even beat my team mate who was decidedly faster then me, with the exception of that day. The first time I rode my mono cog at Reddick was at one of the 12 hour races where I completed the 11 mile lap in 56 minutes. So I have been known to throw down some serious speed, lets see what happens.

The other day I was on a ride, cruising on this sidewalk at a good pace when I see a Honda Element on the shoulder and a lady and a child standing outside of the car. I don't think much of it at the time and as I pass I notice that she is snapping a towel at something in her car. I briefly make eye contact with her and recognize the look of distress. I grab some brake and make a U turn to discover that she has stopped driving because a dragonfly was in the car. Apparently she is scared of the bug, to which after gaining her permission I grab the bug, and gently release it into the wild.

This past Sunday I made my way to Reddick with the wife and my youngest son. I had some friends that came up from Miami and PostMan invited me to come up and hang out as well. So I decided to kill two birds with one stone. Got a late start, ate late, got there late, started the ride late, everything was late. But, I met up with my friends from Miami and we started one of the expert loops. Three miles in, I was amazed at my riding, I was climbing up hill at close to 11mph, effortlessly to say the least. I was cruising the flats well, but after grannies revenge, the heat started getting to me. And the three miles that followed, were a little bit rough, with constant over the head water showers and some slow riding. Eventually, I told the guys to roll on, cause my lunch was in my throat, and rode out the last four miles and a good pace and feeling OK. Got to the parking lot and never made it out again. Seems in all my late afternoon evening riding, I had forgotten how important it was to eat Long before you ride, when you ride in the heat. I will remember that next weekend on the 22nd.

I think that about catches me up with whats been going on. I will post pics of the single speed when its done I'm hoping it comes out looking very nice and riding even nicer. The Florida State championship series is kicking off. Of which I plan to make a couple of races for the fun of it and the training. October should be a big month for me as well as I plan on attempting my first 12 hour race. We will see how it goes, I have about a month to fine tune my preparation which basically means, get out and do lots of ridiculous long rides. Indeed, I do have my work cut out.

Till then, stay smooth and stay fast....