Ugh!

I'm not ready for Bump 'N Grind and have decided to lay off racing until the Fall when a couple of endurance events kick off. If everything works out, I'll give those a shot and go into the winter months more focused on training. In the meantime, I've pretty much decided to just ride for fun and gradually - hopefully - work myself back into form.

Catching up.

I haven't posted in ages and I really don't know why other than it just slipped my mind. In any event, my training is s-l-o-w-l-y coming along, but I'm worried I won't be ready for Bump 'n Grind in a few weeks and may have to skip it. I don't see the point in going all the way over to Birmingham, spending all that money, only to get thumped like an overweight cat-3. I'll know more as race day draws closer.

In other news, The Mississippi River is still overflowing its banks and threatening cities from St. Louis to New Orleans. The ensuing flood is expected to be the worst in over 70 years and is drawing comparisons to the great flood of 1927.

The clean up continues from the tornadoes that hit the area a few days ago. I fortunately didn't sustain any damage, but an area maybe a mile south of my house got hit rather hard. I noticed several demolished homes and broken trees as I rode south of town.

Lea Davison

Back in September I listed my cycling heroes and ended up omitting Lea Davison. Well, I'm here now to correct that mistake.

Lea Davison became a "some to watch" in 2008 when she won both the short track and super D races at Sea Otter. She has been on fire ever since. At the 2008 mtb National Championships in Mt. Snow, Vermont, Lea took third in short track behind Katie Compton and Mary McConneloug who would go on to represent the U.S. in the Beijing Olympics. Lea beat out non other than Georgia Gould to take the last podium spot. It was an impressive showing and one I witnessed first hand. Yes, I was there watching and cheering. It was awesome! It's imposable not to like Lea Davison. If you've ever seen one of her pre or post race interviews, you no doubt have witnessed her enthusiasm and energetic personality. Lea's hero status not only comes from her racing success, but from her social entrepreneurial venture called Little Bellas. The Little Bellas is a mountain bike organization whose goal is to help young women realize their potential through cycling. This is why Lea Davison is a hero.

Privacy Fence Frustration

I've battled my privacy fence ever since it was built in November of 2010. So far, I've had to raise one section a couple of inches to help water run off and one crooked post was also replaced. The thing was so poorly built from the beginning that I get nervous every time the wind picks up. I will probably be lucky to get five years out of the thing before it has to be completely torn down and replaced. I'm dreading that day.

The gate has now been rebuilt three time due to sagging and warping. In its latest incarnation, I replaced both posts on each side of the gate because the old ones weren't level and the one on the hinge side leaned. I discovered that one only had 25 or so pounds of cement holding it in place. This third gate is reinforced with metal braces on all the joints as well as wood glue. I have four hinges holding it to the post and the posts around the door are braced with 2x4 boards making a rather sturdy frame. I'll probably add some cross braces later, but everything seems okay for now.

2012 Olympic mountain bike course

The 2012 Olympic mountain bike course has been completed at Hadleigh Farm in Essex and the reaction, at least on the Internet to the unveiling, is a collective yawn. Rather than being staged in a forest, this course is laid out on an open hillside, presumably to make it more spectator friendly and easier to televise. I can understand that and appreciate anything to give Olympic mountain biking more exposure. The lack of enthusiasm to the course seems to center around the track not having any real (natural) technical challenges beyond a few man-made “obstacles” scattered along the trail in odd places and the overly groomed nature of the less challenging sections that are more akin to a walking path than a mountain bike trail. After viewing several of the online video previews for myself, I have to admit the course does appear less challenging than one would expect for an Olympic venue. I realize the camera has a flattening effect and probably doesn’t do the climbs justice, but it does appear like something geared more for a cat-3 racer rather than the World’s best. If anyone reading this has actually been there or ridden it, I’d love to hear your opinion of the course.

Here is a highlight preview of the 2012 course along with some video of past Olympic races for comparison.

London 2012 course preview:

Atlanta 1996 (time 10:15)


Athens 2004 (time 10:00)


Beijing 2008 (time 4:00)

How did THAT happen?

I managed to get out to the Whirlpool trails after work today for a planned two hour training ride, but things just didn't work out that way. Not 30 minutes into my ride, I magically get a 5 foot long, 4 inch thick, log jammed between the chainstay and spokes of my rear wheel. ... A log - Seriously!

I didn't have my camera with me, but I promise it looked like this.

Spring has Sprung!