Shhhhh..........

Wanna know a secret? I raced my road bike this weekend. I'm a bad boy. Read Rowbear's log to see where I should have been instead. But don't tell anyone about this, it's just between us. Anthony will be mad if he finds out.

Rowbear's New Castle D.IN.O. # 5 (i think)

Trail was in really good shape they got some rain on friday but not as much as up. Laps were 10 miles a piece sport class had to do 2. Course was fun no big climbs just a lot of short ups pretty fast overall. I used big ring almost the whole way through the first lap.

We took off through a big open field down a small hill immediately out across the open and then up a grassy hill onto blacktop then into the singletrack. I got in about fifth or sixth because I was feeling a little too full still to push too hard. One guy got of the front and after about 2 miles me and the guy and front of me passed a guy so I was running 5th. We continued riding together and I felt pretty comfortable riding with the 3 other guys. The guy who is leading the point series was leading our chase group and I was happy to be there on his wheel. After about 4 miles his tire popped and it was pretty loud so he pulled off. That was kind of neat because I was looking for the opportunity to get some points on him. So then I'm running fourth. Some guy caught up with us but then after about a mile we started to drop him a bit. The guy in front of me attacked and moved up to second position. The kid in front of me is someone I've beaten a few times and I can usually hang with him in single track just on handling skills alone. He got a little gap on me though and when I started to pull him back I started to think about how if I passed him I'd be running third so I got antsy I guess and soon enough I ended up washing out in a right hand turn at a good speed hitting my head and cutting up my shorts a little in the hip region. I rung my bell a little so it took me a second to get back on my bike. My bar-end was straight up in the air. Before I could get back on the guy who had caught up to us but been dropped came past. I got back on my bike and started riding a little too timidly and it took a while to get my head out of my ass. So suddenly I'm in fifth again.

Finish the lap and in the wide open grass section I see the 4th place rider but he is way off. I start trying to get back to rolling like I was first lap so I put it back in the big ring and try to make my chicken legs do some work. At about 15 miles in I finally caught up with the guy running 4th, it was a gray goat rider who I mentioned earlier that I feel like I can handle in the singletrack. I got around him and start laughing about how once again I was going to finish fourth. But then, at about 17 miles in I was counting my loses but I started hearing the bike of the kid in front of me, it would squeak a lot when he stood up so I realized I was reeling him in even though I couldn't see him. I caught with him with about a half a mile to go and he let me around immediately. I though, "well, alright." He didn't really contest it and I got myself a 3rd place finish. After I saw the finishing times though, I was a bit sick because I was only 15 seconds off of the 1st place finisher for my age group. Probably the best result I've had all year but not necessarily my best ride all year. Won myself a new pair a socks everyone had already taken all the cases of hammer gel and the kenda tires they have this year looked like something I would never use and would be hard to sell.

Now I'm sitting at home pretty beat up from that wreck.

Ben richardson got 2nd overall for the expert/pro field
rusty broke a derailuer (again)
john hughson wrecked a few times and looked a little more beat up than me
blaine hepner got 6th in the sport open and sport overall, those guys were rolling he probably finished close to 10 minutes before me.

rowbears new prosthetic

he heard they were fast

The Return of the Mythical Beast

That's right. You read that headline correctly. After spending the 2 months in the gym and on my bike, I am on the road to wellville (I did have a small back injury, but I have healed).

I have put a lot of saddle time in over the last two weeks, riding nearly every day in some way, shape or form. I am still fat, but my enduruance and speed is returning. Monday night I rode with Anneken Skywalker and at the last moment I beat her in the great wilderness loop challenge of 2007 to become the unified inter-gender champion of the Wooooooorrrrrld. I did have a little help from a member of Team M.A.N.

But yes, my body is coming back, slowly but surely....maybe next year I will be racing again...who knows. I definately am wanting to venture back into endurance racing....that's where its at!

Even though I am no where near the finish, getting here hasn't been easy, I have had many challenges in my life...and not trying to sound like a whiner or a victim here, I finally have overcame some of these obsticles. It wasn't easy, and actually took some courage, but the rewards of being able to ride my bike without a headache and to have a happy life in general are so worth it....They are worth the challanges, obstacles, fears, and failures we may face and endure in life....That is your F.Y.I for the week btw! :)

I went for a ride last night, the rain, thunder and eventual lightening soon changed my plans. I saw justin and one of his friends out and we gathered underneath a small kiosks avoiding mother nature's wrath. After giving an uplifting report on Tina, Justin soon got a phone call and we headed off to the shelter house across the creek and met with Britt.

Even though the riding was limited, it was nice to sit down and catch up with old friends that I haven't seen, in what seemed like ages. Mountain Biking is much more than racing, it is a community that has brought many people of different paths together. Britt and I shared some stories of our lives over the past year, some good, some bad. Sharing stories helps one put life into perspective. Even though the riding was limited, the fellowship was not.

I look forward to running into old friends and new faces in cherokee and other spots as I continue my quest...so open your arms and welcome the return of the mythical beast!

Capitol View STXC

having missed the past couple of races for a variety of reasons, I was excited to get my awesome Cannondale Scalpel back on a race course. The Short Track format at Capitol View looked like my kind of race; short, no climbs to speak of and fairly close to home.

I arrived around 9:15, plenty of time to get signed in, changed and warmed up. The first two items on the list went quickly and soon I was rolling along looking like an advertisement for Clarksville Schwinn. My pre-ride went well, with a quick loop of the course to make sure there was nothing dangerous or super-tricky followed by some quick sprints and the like to wake my legs up. I rode the starting area several times to look for a good line before we hit the singletrack as I really wanted to get a good start and not get too far behind right away.

So 24 hearty souls lined up in anticipation of 45 minutes of round-and-round excitement. Danny Peake says go and I stomp it for all I'm worth. 200 meters down the road and holy crap, I'm in front. Can't breathe, but I'm definitely in front. We enter the singletrack with me in the lead and I'm stoked, as that went much better than expected and starts are one of the things on my list to improve. About 5 minutes in and I'm still in front and feeling pretty good, wondering how many guys are on my wheel. So I decided this is a good time to wash out on a tight right-hand hairpin and crash. This brought the group behind me to a halt and it looked like pretty much everyone was right on my tail. The adrenaline, combined with the fact I was blocking the trail, allowed me to bounce right back up and take off in the lead. Still not sure that absolutely EVERYONE was on my tail I decided to crash again, this time allowing them all to pass me while I stood idly by watching. I sure got a good look at them that time, must have been about 15 guys that went by.

Then I was in chase mode, which is normal for me, but not the preferred tactic for such a short race. I made it my goal to catch as many guys as possible, so I just put my head down and tried not to crash again. It was easy to see the guys that were fairly close which gave me that little extra I needed. I ended up catching and passing a few guys including Dan Delph and Jessie from Scheller's and Charles Garner from Team Louisville. Dan and I played cat-and-mouse the rest of the race, as I would get away from him on the open sections and he'd reel me back in on the twisty stuff. Charles joined the game a little later and it was me, Charles and Dan pretty much the rest of the way in. Don Parr of Team Louisville caught and passed us about half way through the last lap and I tried to chase but he just rode away. Don rode real well despite dropping a chain early on, plus he's just coming back from major shoulder surgery last year. Charles and I manage to gap Dan just a little bit on the last little climb before the finish and we rode into the final stretch with me in the lead. The sprint was on at that point but I tried to get to the big ring at the wrong time, and blew the shift. Charles got around me right at the end to take 7th overall leaving me with 8th. This translated into 3rd in the 40-49 category which was won by Brad Wunderlich who also took the Sport overall.

The race was well run by Woodson Smith & the boys and I'd recommend it. It was a nice peek at my pre-season cyclocross fitness. Hopefully I'll do better in CX this year than I'm doing on the MTB.

Barkley, the pleasure is back

And I looked just that smooth this weekend.

Lake Barkley and Cadiz KY now mean two things two me; the finest motor lodging available via some fine Indian folks (dot not feather) by way of the Super 7 Motel (not sure if that means its better or worse than a Super 8) and pain.

This race is always hot as an oven - it is strange how, no matter what, some races seem to dictate the weather, like rain and ft. duffield. This year was like an arctic adventure compared to last, but a sizzler none-the-less. And the course, like the heat, is relentless.

I skipped the chance to ride circles in a field with Nano (aka short-track) to try to save some legs for the 3 lap death march that was gonna be Sundays race. Nuts if it didnt work. I dont know what my deal is, but motivation is lacking. A lack of sleep may have been one culprit, but suffering was not on the agenda. Eric Pirtle and Myself rode 2 laps together, and then on lap 3, he jumped and got a gap when I stopped to load up on bottles and drop my camelback. I chased, but that guy has some skills. After closing on the first big climb, my motivation just left. The thought of redlining (or as some call it “racing”) for the next 7 miles was more than a bit unappealing. So I just rode it in for second. Nano, riding Turpins Scalpel since his Reba was "molnared,” came in 3rd to round out the Pro/Semi class.

The lake, as always, felt like pee but was still nice to float in post race. I'm thinkin some time off the bike before gettin killed at Mt. Mitchell on the 22nd and then Sugar Mountain Nationals the following week might do me a bit of good. Speaking of recharging, along with a trip to Charleston that week, it will be my fist vacation in years, yessssssss. In the meantime, if you have some motivation to spare, (meth, EPO, crack, whatever), send it my way. Thanks.

North Vernon XC

Woke up around 9. Noticed a bit of soreness in my hammies a reminder of the stxc from the day before. My hammies rarely get sore so I figured it wouldn't be a big deal for the xc race. I never noticed it during the race though.

The course was around 4.5 miles of fast twisty stuff, super-fun. A couple climbs but none of them are really leg breakers. The start was in a grassy section that went behind some concrete bathrooms and a horseshoe pit. Probably not more than 100 yards before we dumped left into a fast singletrack downhill. Then we snaked around for a second before going down a little more then making a sharp right up a steep hill that can be tricky due to the steepness and the rocks and roots on it. I was able to climb it in the pre-ride but knew it would be an issue on first lap when we were still all together. So i definitely wanted a good start.

On the line I look next to me and it's a kid with flat pedals and tennis shoes. I'm thinking ole crap, try not to get stuck behind him. There were probably 15 or more for my class. We were shoulder to shoulder on the line. Brian sounds the megaphone horn and immediately the kid on flat pedals gets out front. He got a bit of a gap on us all too. He was going so hard on that start that I didn't want to even try to get around him. He got in the woods first followed by a purdue rider I believe then or maybe a graygoat rider then me. I don't know but since the kid with flat pedals was in front I pretty much figured I was going to have to dismount on the steep climb. We get to it and I dump my gears but I didn't have anywhere to go and ended up bumping the guy in front of me so I dismount as guys behind me cuss and start running. I run past the kid with flat pedals as he gets back on his bike and slowly starts riding. he didn't want to let me around but I definitely didn't want him in front of me. So as I get around him I move up to only having one guy in front of me but by the time we make it to a section that I can see further ahead of me I notice that he already has 10 seconds or so. After a mile or two I let two riders around maybe more. One of them being the kid that has been winning all the 19-29 races. We started a little switchbacked climb and caught the tale-end of the sport open riders. At that point I got confused about who was where and it was much easier for some to slip away. They don't really get more than a few seconds away and I was kind of staying in contact.

I was riding on my own with a couple a few seconds ahead of me and a couple a few seonds behind me. Then I came around a sharp turn and there was a sappling right in my line some people had gone left around it and others right. I didn't do either. I just ended up running off into the brush and flying over my handlebars. I got up put my water bottle back in the cage and tried to collect myself as two riders came around. One being Nick. So I start working trying to get back on his wheel. Then we come to a road section and he attacked the kid in front of him. I'm still trying to close the gap and as we get back into the woods and go down a hill to a ditch full of sticks I hit a hole and bobbed my front tire so hard that I came off the bike again. The two in front of me get away and I never ened up seeing nick again. I had thought about DNF'ing quite a bit during the next lap especially since Nick was in front of me and I had lost contact with him.

Nothing much happened during the second lap except for me being frustrated and worried about saving a little for the finish. I did pass the kid who had passed me previously after my first wreck.

On the last lap with about 2 miles to go I started trying to pick it up and finish strong. I was happy with the way I finished and happy with the way I rode aside from the 2 wrecks and the sluggish way I rode the first part of the second lap. I ended up finishing 4th. Nick got 3rd by 28 seconds. It was a great ride for him and he no longer qualifies for advice from me. I'm not going to tell him about races or anything anymore. He can fend for himself now. :)

So, STXC 4th place and XC 4th place. Julia tells me I love 4th place. I'm thinking she might be right. My time was 1:24 :29 , last year it was like 1:32:00 but the course had to be faster this year. Last year there was only like one guy that finished below 1:20:00. This year there was a slew of sport riders that finished below that time. I'm starting to realize that people who have told me Sport class is the toughest class might be right. It's been hard for me to make any progress lately. I'm not down about it though. I don't think I'm ever going to be pro and I'm okay with that. I do want to make it out of sport class though.

pictures and North Vernon

While making faces for the camera Anthony manages to rub tires with some guy named Jacob that has big sideburns. Jacob finished 3rd in the STXC.

Here is anthony giving some sort of gang sign during the stxc race. I'm not sure what it means.

Here is anthony blowing a kiss. He always has time for his fans. Notice the heavy fork on the front of his bike. It's a loaner from the shop while his gets rebuilt. It didn't seem to slow him down though.

All these pictures are from the STXC by the way. In this one Jean Luc is out front. He and anthony had a sprint finish. It would of been interesting to see if Brad had something for the final lap but he washed out in a gravely turn a few laps early and had to settle for 4th place.

here is anthony on the wheel of 18 year-old Brad Nelson. He's a good kid and he's super-fast.

Anthony is leading the pro/expert field on this lap. It wasn't the final lap but he finished that one in the lead too. It was a bit of a sprint although after a few seconds of it Jean Luc seemed to sit up. While anthony had no idea and was worried about two guys in front of him blocking him from getting around. I guess they really didn't want to get lapped.

Anthony brought the Venture 1080 out for the weekend. It was my first time enjoying its luxury. Pretty awesome I must say. The campground was decent. There was a mastiv like dog at the campground across from us that was a bit of a pain in the ass and some hippies at the campground next to us. I think they dropped acid when it got dark. they had an acoustic guitar and tie dye shirts. That's how I know they were hippies and why I assume they dropped acid.

As for my stxc experience. I had fun. No pictures to document it though. Anthony doesn't know how to operate fancy cameras.

The race was 30 min plus one lap. I don't have much experience with stxc so I didn't know what to expect. First lap everyone was watching each other so I was in the front leading. I was okay with that because I figure as long as I'm in front I wont get dropped. On the second lap 3 guys came around. They were all sport open riders and I knew one in particular was going to be killing it. I didn't know however that I would get lapped by him and the guy on his wheel two times before the race was over. On the 3rd lap another guy came around. He got a good gap on me but never really got out of site. So I set my goal on catching him but I tried to remain patient and not blow my load in one lap. I kept getting within 20 yards or so of him then he would see me and pedal hard for a bit and increase the gap. I could tell he was getting a bit worn out by the end of the race though because I kept closing the gap a little without trying real hard. So on the last lap I came through and saw that he was closer than ever so I stood up and pushed as big of a gear as I could. laps were only around 1:30 to complete. Right before the last sharp left hand turn onto pavement I bridged up to the guy's wheel. I wanted to make sure to nail the turn and for some reason the guy conceded the inside line so I took it and got in front of him. It was all over from there as I mashed the remaing 15 yards up the pavement into the grass and a quick little up to the finish. That put me in 4th place.

The race director was impressed and commented on it the next day at the xc race as I came through for my second lap.