Bump N' Grind goes National

The biggest mountain bike race in the Southeast will likely be even bigger for 2009 as Bump N' Grind is on the new national cross country series calendar. This is an excellent opportunity to see the nation's best pro racers in action. Start training. This is going to be one wild ride!


2009 USA Cycling
Pro Cross Country Mountain Bike Tour

March 29
U.S. Cup
Fontana, California

April 19
Sea Otter Classic
Monterey, California

May 31
Bump N'Grind
Birmingham, Alabama

June 13
CTS, Sand Creek International Classic
Colorado Springs, Colorado

August 8
U.S. Cup
Mount Snow, West Dover
Vermont

August 15
Yankee Clipper at Windham Mountain
Windham, New York

September 26
USA Cycling Pro Cross Country Finals
Las Vegas, Nevada

Recital

I didn’t ride my bike today. Instead, I played the good uncle and went to my niece’s recital at the Mississippi Bandmasters clinic. She is third clarinet with aspirations of becoming a genetic scientist one day. Yes, she’s a 14-year-old genius. She also plays the violin and piano.

Grips, Gels, and Drinks! Oh My!

I’ve decided to experiment with new handgrips to address the soreness issue I had last weekend. The Ritchey TVG grips I’m currently using are great for two-hour cross-country races. They have excellent grip and have served me well thus far. However, they may not be what I need for more epic endeavors. Enter the Ritchey WCS True-Grip. Since the outer portion of my left hand kept giving me problems on my 40-mile ride over the past weekend, I’m thinking something with more cushion will help.

I’ve also given a lot of thought to what sports drink to use and have settled on Heed from Hammer Nutrition. While my research isn’t perfect, Heed appears to have everything I need without all the sweeteners found in other sports drinks. I’ve had good luck with their gels, so we’ll see how the sports drink works out. Speaking of gels, I’m also looking into which one to use this coming season and it’s a toss up between Hammer Gel and Power Bar Gels. Since I already have a 24-pack of chocolate Power Bar gels, I’ll be going with them unless I have a problem.

The most important thing I need to do is develop a training program I can follow. I would normally go to a gym, but with the economy in the dumper, I just don’t want to spend the money.

Endurance Test #1

I just can’t get my mind around it at the moment. The concept is simply too foreign. One-hundred miles on a mountain bike is nuts. Do people actually do this and survive? How do people race for 12 and 24 hours without bursting into flames?

In my quest to compete in an endurance race this coming season, I set off on a training/test ride along the gravel roads of the Holly Springs National Forest. I explored these routes on my ‘cross bike last week and felt confident in doing it on my mountain bike. The ride started well enough. I felt good and maintained a pace between 15 mph and 17 mph for about the first 15 to 20 miles. However, my left hand started to bother me around the 25-mile mark. I’m not sure if this was due to poor hand position, my thick gloves, or the grips. I definitely need to experiment more with the shifter and lever positions for rides longer than two hours.

My house of cards fell when I hit the 30-mile mark. This was likely due to not eating properly before going out. I just simply ran out of gas and crawled the last 15 miles home


The ugly statistics
40.11 miles
3:14:41 trip time
12.46 mph average
34.71 max speed

Real Housewives of Atlanta.

I do believe America is going down the toilet and it's not due to the economic crisis, a crashing stock market, or even failing banks. I blame reality TV and The Real Housewives of Atlanta in particular. I stumbled across this travesty of "entertainment" while surfing between games over the holiday and took less than ten minutes to reach a level of total disgust. Are these women real? The show should be called The Real Gold Digger's of Atlanta. While I didn't watch the entire episode, I really didn't have to because the show and the "Housewives" are so shallow and one dimensional that one can sum them up in a matter of seconds. All these women do is complain, spend someone else's money (a lot of it), catfight, and engage in over the top drama. What's that saying about lipstick on a pig?

Bama Cross Update

The results for the Bama 'Cross race at Heardmont Park were recently updated and it seems I finished 7th in a field of 20 rather then the 9th place I was given on race day. I'm not sure what happened, but I'll take it.

50 miles on a CX bike

I took my cyclocross bike out today to scout some training routes and to do a little unofficial training for whatever endurance events I make next season. After looking over a county road map, I found a promising route through the Holly Springs National Forest along county road 225 and 2066. The route is roughly 40% gravel road, 55% pavement, and 5% grassy road shoulder.

It took me 3 hours and 40 minutes with an average speed of 13.6, which is disappointing. However, I did tinker around a bit when I was on the gravel road and even stopped a few time to consult my map when I was unsure abut a turn or two. All in all, it was a good ride and a good route. I have a few more routes to explore in the coming days, one of which looks to be around 65 miles.