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Thursday 30 June 2016

24 Hour Summer Solstice MTB Race - A Review Part 2

So...to carry on from last post...where did we leave off?  Oh yeah....Blaze was getting my bike set up with lights for night riding.  Also need to mention that Unglued was helping out in the pit around this time.  Thanks Unglued!!  Better get the positive 'Unglued' references in now, because there will be some less civilized references regarding Unglued a little later on.  (See kids...that there is foreshadowing...).  Stay tuned!  And no peeking ahead!   :)

So we are now through the hottest part of Saturday...Blaze and MattyTee (and Unglued) have done a masterful job running the pit.  Really, I cannot say enough how thorough and dedicated they were...and how important they were to any success we were  to have!  To give you an idea...Blaze had us fill out a questionnaire ahead of time...to give him an idea of our individual, specific needs...from bike, to kit, to nutrition, sweat rate, medical needs...etc.  Our pit was professional level...from quick pit stop cold water wipe downs during the heat of the day, to balancing nutrition, electrolytes, pure water, coffee, coke for each individual racer.





Gettin a cool down in the pit...(Photo by Apex Race Photography)

And Blaze kept our bikes maintained...with regular cleans and lubes (and I have to say the product GreaseMonkey Wipes were a big part of the maintenance...I am not a product pusher guy, but these things work better than anything else I have seen out there...I could do an entire post on them...another day, perhaps...) and any other maintenance required.

Actually, Giant was the only one with a major mechanical that had the potential to be disastrous...but Blaze caught it and repaired it as quick and efficiently as any pro level bike shop...and had Giant back out on the course in minutes.  In fact, other racers from other pits recognized how great our pit was and were bringing their broken bikes to Blaze to fix, which he did keeping in mind we were his priority (repaired a broken wheel, shifting, brakes...even lent out our back up bike for a couple of laps).  The level of ability, and hard work of our pit really paid off for us...we cannot express our appreciation or thank them enough.  Anyways...I am getting way, way off track here.  Usually it takes at least Swedish cheerleaders to get me this distracted.  Speaking of...there were a couple of pits along the race course that were rather distracting...  Ah well...before I get off track again...let's get back to the review of the race, shall we?






So we had made it through the afternoon on Saturday...7 or 8 laps of the course in.  It had been hot as hell...one of the hottest days of the year...well over 30 degrees...but Blaze and MattyTee had kept me well hydrated, fed, and cooled down.  And I continued to feel surprisingly strong.  CoachRob's training program was doing it's job!  Energy levels were great....lower back was not a bother at all..
So, I headed back out into the evening....light's in place on the bike, and my helmet.  I had moved up from 3rd place, now into first...so now I had to hold that first place spot.



Through a rock garden (Photo by Apex Race Photography)

I managed to get a lap and a half in before it got dark enough to have to turn the lights on...and once on they were a huge pain!  It was so dry and hot the air was filled with sand dust....and the lights reflected off the dust creating a huge blinding barrier...like driving through a snowstorm.  So many fast, speeding downhills where I prayed not to roll off track, or hit an obstacle the wrong way.  Through the twisty singletrack, concentrating to see through the glare.  At one point I came around a corner blind...and unexpectedly, there was one of the rock gardens!  I hit it, unable to see to determine a good line...bounced and rocked, but made it through safely...thankfully.  The conditions made for slower going...but were also mentally draining.  Then came lap 11...and trouble.

I am what the doctors call a 'short sleeper'...I normally need 3-4 hours of sleep a night.  I don't know how or why...it's just the way it is.  The problem is...when I get tired it hits me like a wall of bricks...almost narcoleptic.  It hit me on lap 11.  I felt it coming...I tried to shake it off...shaking head to stay awake...shaking hands out...unclipping and shaking feet...thinking 'stay awake' things...(don't ask).  It didn't work...at one point I woke up riding through the bush and leaves.  Not good...I walked back to the trail...trying again to shake it off, then continued.  I tried to go extra slow in the hope that the cooler night air would wake me up.  It didn't...this time I woke up hitting the hard pack ground on one of the downhills.  I was scraped and bruised...but otherwise OK.  The jarring still didn't permanently wake me up.  When this happens nothing but a quick 10-20 minute nap will break me out of the need to sleep.  I had to get back to camp.  I ran with the bike for a good portion of the rest of the lap...or rode super slowly when I felt safe enough.  Other racers passed...and asked if I was OK...I've said it before...the MTB community is such a group of great people.  I eventually made it back to camp...intact.  I got off my bike saying, "I need a nap!"  Blaze: "You can't 2nd is right on top of you now, that lap was so slow!"  I explained, "I crashed falling asleep...I just need 10 minutes, or it could be worse."  Blaze handed me a concoction (5x strength coffee) I drank as I sat in the gravity chair...MattyTee had instructions to wake me in 15 minutes.  I went out...dreamed for what seemed like hours...shook awake by MattyTee 15 minutes later.  I opened my eyes to see 14Stone standing over me with a bag of Doritos...not exactly the kind of thing you want to wake up to (no offense sir!).
The nap worked...I was groggy...but awake.  But that lap took 2hrs 44mins.  I had time to make up...and Blaze reminded me of that fact.  MattyTee handed me some food (rice balls I think...and fig newtons)...I choked them down quick got on my bike which Blaze had 'refurbished' and ready...and off I went; back in the race.

I finished lap 11, not even looking at the leaderboard...and headed out into lap 12.  Soloing a 24 the night can be daunting...seemingly never ending...it depletes your energy reserves...until you hear the birds.  When the birds wake...their song is the first hint that night is over....and the sun will soon appear.  Then when the sky starts to lighten...it is like a breath of life.  The mind relaxes a bit...you feel a new surge of energy...it's like being reborn.  That was my lap 12.

Coming through the pit, as MattyTee takes the lights off my bike, Blaze says, "We may have got lucky...it looks like 2nd place also stopped when you did...you may still be in first!"  I finish off the lap, look at the leaderboard...it's confusing, but I think I'm still in first.  (What had happened is 2nd place stopped so long he -GregAB- fell to third and the leaderboard had not yet properly updated the change).  Anyways, all I can do is keep going.

Lap 13...now starting to feel the exhaustion, as the day heats up.  The continuous exertion...the repeating hill climbs...starts to really take its toll on me.  I keep the hydration and nutrition going...but fatigue is happening...but it was expected.  However, when you hit a certain point, the extreme exhaustion really strips away the physical part of you...it's like it gets so tired it stops to be...and all that's left is raw emotion.  I was getting so physically tired, I would go from determined mountain biker, to blubbering mess...and back.  Through the pit...it is now getting hot again, Blaze orders me off the bike while he refreshes it...MattyTee hands me hydration and food.  Lois is here...cheering me on!!  14Stone is in the pit...he has crashed...he is ok, but he is out of the race.  His story is here...

14Stones blog.


Off I go to finish lap 13.  Check the leaderboard...still in first...by almost 2 laps!  Can that be right?  Into lap 14, now totally exhausted....every hill a struggle.  And pain from exhausted muscles...but mostly the contact points...joints hammered to mush...skin torn and raw...(skin is still not healed).  The mind wants to keep going...but the body is struggling.  Into the pit...Blaze says, "It looks like you have 1st place sown up...just need one more lap for insurance!"  Confirmation of what I expected.  I said, "I figured so, but won't be a fast lap....I'm cooked!"  It didn't have to be fast...it just had to be a lap.  Blaze said I even had time for a 10 or 15 minute rest...but I did't want to....I wanted to get finished.  Out I went...finished lap 14...still comfortably in 1st.  Another lap probably not necessary...but I had time...and a 15th lap would be insurance.

But it was tough...I had little to nothing left.  Every hill was extreme...I ended up walking a couple of times for a few meters...and pain, in my hands, arse, feet...it took forever...but I made it to the pit, and kept going....just wanting to be done.  Into the finish for the last time...swipe my chip...go to hand it in...but there is Unglued...insisting that I need to do another lap.  No...I don't.  But he demands that I do.  No...I don't.  I physically do not have time.  Still, he is adamant...but wrong.  Another lap is not necessary.  I fight the urge to slap his helmet (I couldn't anyways...I barely had the energy to stand...seriously, I almost collapsed arguing with him...).  Even though my brain was mush, I knew I had it wrapped up.  I had to drag him to the leaderboard to prove it...I had 15 laps...2nd had 13...the best second could do was 14...he couldn't catch me.  I guess lawyers are not good at math??  I was done.  I couldn't believe it...I had won my category.  Still hardly believe it, really.  (Thank you dskunk for doing the Tour Divide!!)

There was MattyTee...with a big hug for me.  We stumbled back to the pit...I collapsed into the gravity chair...and collapsed again, so totally, completely, exhausted...I bawled like baby.  There was a whole lot of Riot left on those trails...I wanted to be sure that if I didn't win, I would give it my all...and I did...there was no reserve left...but it had all worked out.  The perfect pit (again...couldn't have done it without them); perfect coaching preparation (thanks CoachRob!!); perfect day with perfect conditions...and first place.







Still dumbfounded...really??  I won???



JeffS...A first place medal in his category.  He raced on a team with his daughter...26 laps...unbelievable lap times!!!  His daughter passed me once like I was standing still (maybe I was?)...I shouted "Shikaze!!" at her (that's Metis for "Wow, you are fast!!") as she went by.  I don't think she noticed.  Really...26 laps!!


A couple of NuckingFuts...Oggie and Guy...first in their 5 man team category...always at the top of the leaderboard.


Giant...first in his category...21 laps solo....amazing!!



SSSarah...first is solo women...20 laps on a single speed...not fathomable!!



Jim's Nuts....first in their 5 person team category...good to see more BW jerseys out!!


And I don't have a pic, but I need to send huge Kudos to Raph...13 laps on a fatbike...and stopped enough times to enjoy 8 beers during the event!!

Also...PinoyPedalPushers clearly had the most fun pit in the event...and took the most video footage.  Check it out at their facebook page!



I even managed to get a pic with ApexTed...he's normally more elusive that Samsquanch!!  BTW, you can find ApexTed's pics of the event here.  ApexRacePhotography


Getting a pic with ApexTed warranted me other attention!


If you are very careful, one day son....all this could be yours...




Yeah...I was powering down fast...

Anyways...I was asked if I would do this again.  Of course I will...it is fun...and it is a challenge of limits, dedication, and a test of the quality of the work you did to prepare.  Plus, it's fun (yeah I know...already said...but repeated for effect...).  Besides...I know I can do better...yeah I came in first...but my goal was 20 laps...I managed only 15.  If Giant can do 21...if SSSarah can do 20 on a sisnglespeed...then I can do better than 15.  Next time...a goal still to shoot for.

For now...I am still recovering.  I am not healed yet...joint, muscles, and energy levels are mostly back up, but skin is not healed in a couple of spots...mostly hands and arse.

Arse feels like this...






Remember, I warned you about the nudies?  Sorry, but it could have been worse...it could have been a real nudie....like this...












Huh???



Anyways...I guess this has gone way too long...too many cat pics (wait, what??)...the story has been told.
What more could be said?

Stay posted!



9 years into forever...happy anniversary, my love...

Tuesday 28 June 2016

Summer Solstice 24 Hour Relay Race - A Review Part 1

So, here it was...my 'A' race of the year...the one I've been training with CoachRob for since last fall...and competing in other races to prepare for this one.  The Summer Solstice 24 Hour Mountain Bike race held at Albion Hills Conservation Area near Bolton, Ontario;  promoted by ChicoRacing, an experienced, well honed race promoter always pulling off a stellar event...and this year proved no different!!

MattyTee came up from his home in Windsor to help man my pit.  And a few weeks ago Blaze offered to be pit master since he wasn't racing...and with him being a racer and decent wrench I knew this would be a great help for me...maybe even a chance at podium.

Then Giant's pitcrew bailed on him last minute...and Blaze and I agreed that he could race out of our pit; then I found out 14Stone was looking for a pitcrew and so there you go.  With three racers to tend to, should keep Blaze and MattyTee engaged the entire 24 hours without time to get bored.

So Friday, MattyTee and I pulled Team Headquarters up to Albion...and picked our solo pit spot...




With appropriate paraphernalia...(don't tell Lois I stole the extendible dust pad rod!)


And the pit set up appropriately right along the race course...


Oh....and the TeamRiot Cheerleaders....





Those is some sexy ladies!  Is it OK for me to say so if they are my sisters??


Anyways...MattyTee and I pre rode some of the course Friday...made some supper...then hit the hay early.  In the 30+ degree temperatures the course was so very dry and sandy....should make for some very interesting race conditions.

Saturday morning Blaze, 14Stone, and Giant show up...and we all get ready.  The solo pit area is super crowded...there are a tremendous amount of solo racers.  Some familiar faces...Jeremiah is racing solo...but with a hand damaged from a 'crash' last week...RafRyder racing a fatbike...Jack racing a fatbike...GregAB who beat me last year taking third place, pushing me to fourth.

And the temperature is heating up...to close in on 40 degrees for the weekend.  Blaze gives us three a motivational speech (if threat of Caber tossing our gear across the field if we didn't respect his efforts can be considered motivational).  But it's true...the extreme effort, deep exhaustion, and the heat wave often make for emotional outbursts in these events...and usually directed at an undeserving target.  So, we were warned...don't do it.

Here is Blaze practicing to pit the event....






So, after the big speech, Giant, now extra motivated, leaves the pit early to get a spot at the front of the paddock.  That doesn't work for me...if I start too hard on lap one, I am spent for the rest of the event.  So 14Stone and I set out in time to get to almost the very back of the paddock for the 12 noon start.  With 2200 racers in this event, we were a long ways back!!

However, this forced me to start slow and easy...not blowing away all of my energy at one go.  With 24 hours to go, I had to play it smart.  We were so far back in the paddock, when we heard the start shot, we still had to wait several minutes before we got going....then the first half of the lap was waiting for bottleneck after bottleneck.  But this kept me honest, dawdling along...moving but conserving precious energy for later...


Off the start...like a blazing turtle...on a sightseeing ride...

Then on the second half of the loop it started to string out enough could get into a proper pace, almost.  Through the solo pit area to grab a new bottle from MattyTee or Blaze as they had them prepared.  BTW, Blaze had the pit set up like a full service bike shop...white board to track times, and riders individual needs...tools, stands, overhead lights for night lighting...chargers for keeping bike lights charged, tables, even a carpet flooring...we were set...

Anyways...finally the first lap done...out for two...this time able to ride the features and hill without bottlenecks.  And there were hills!!  The hills didn't seem like much for the first few laps...but through the heat and repeated, continuing effort...added up to holy hills!!  The start hill; the steep little up switchback near the start; the brown monster; the rutty gravel road; the grassy climb past the solo pits; the looong rooty climb;  the short, steep, switchback, deep sand with a root in the middle; the beach sand deep, double switchback climb at the top of High Roller; the steep, little, loose, sandy climb after the two way bridge....and on.  I will give hard tail riders an advantage on the climbs.  Of course, the climbs meant there had to be plenty of descents...and there were; several great ones, in fact.  However, some of them were bumpy as hell.  Some fast but rooty that shook your hands and feet; and 3 or for with seriously deep braking bumps that rattled the hell out of rider and bike...and anywhere the two connected!!  Full suspensions would have been much more comfortable rides on these.

And so we went into the hot summer afternoon...then about 4 or 5 hours in, Blaze pulls me over at the pass by the pit for a quick rub down with a cold, wet, towel (felt like heaven, and so refreshing!!), change of bottles, quick bite of real food, and supplements.  (Blaze had all of this figured out specifically for each rider in the pit...and Matty quick to assist as needed).  Blaze alerts me that I am currently in 3rd place, but steadily moving up on 2nd and 1st.  Wow!!  After that slow ass start, I wasn't sure where I placed.  So, refueled and refreshed on I went.

This pic is at about 4:30 Saturday afternoon...notice the salt deposits on my jersey from sweating in the heat...



The last two pics are compliments of JeffS.  However, JeffS' greatest off-bike accomplishment on this day is likely this pic.




Yes, that is ApexTed!!  Finally, hard confirmed proof of the ninja skilled camera master!!  Always considered a mythical creature lurking on the edge of reality, JeffS captured this hard evidence of his existence.

So, now ApexTed is working hard getting his pics of the event ready, soon to be available at ApexRacePhotography.  Here is a bit of a preview...



Me and 14Stone (can you guess which is which?)...somewhere in the middle of the race...

So...a couple of more laps...getting into the evening...Blaze pulls me over again as I pass into the pit...
He tells me to eat, and stretch out as he sets my bike up for lights for the night laps.  He also tells me I am now in first place.  Holy shite!!  1st place in a 24 hour!!  I can barely fathom it...seriously.  It actually scares me.  So, now the struggle would be to maintain...otherwise nowhere to go but down!

And now, heading into the most fatiguing part of the race....the night laps.  And lights glaring into clouds of dust.  The perfect brew for the potential for disaster.  And potential becomes reality...






Relax...it can't be that bad...can it??

Anyways...we will find out Thursday...my arse still hurts too much to sit at this computer any longer...and my hands hurt too much to type any more too...





Sorry...but there is too much more to tell...to much for one post...need to stretch the boredom over a couple of posts...

There might even be a nudie in Thursday's post...






Relax....it can't be that bad....can it??

Stay posted!

Thursday 23 June 2016

Preparing for the 24

So...this week has been all about getting ready for this weekend....the 24 Hours of Summer Solstice Mountain Bike Relay race.  This iconic race is sold out...pretty much anyone with a mountain bike within 1000kms of here will be there.  This is my major 'A' race of the season.

In case you are not familiar with this race it is held at Albion Conservation area near Bolton, Ontario, and is promoted by ChicoRacing.  The course is a 17-18km loop of a mix of single track and double track.  The loop has a few minor obstacles, but is typically a technically fun, easy course to ride.  Each lap should take approximately 50 minutes to an hour to complete at fresh race pace....longer as the race plays on.  There will be teams of 6-10 people, 5 people, 2 people, and solos.  I will be racing solo.

I am fortunate enough to have help.  Matty Tee will be arriving today from Windsor to help his old man (yes, that means me...but hey, not so old...right??).  Also Blaze will be managing my pit.  It is Blaze's job to see that I get 75 laps in...if so he earns his badge of honour and new title...



SuperBlaze!!!

Actually, I am predicting it is going to take 20 laps to make it to the podium...so I guess that is my goal.  A stretch perhaps....but what the hell.

And to make sure Matty and Blaze don't get too bored looking after just little old (there's that 'old' again!) me...we have invited a few other solo racers to share the Team Riot pit...14Stone, Giant, Jesse will all be hanging out/racing/suffering/crying...together...





 14Stone



Giant




Jesse


Actually, I don't know Jesse...never met (they are Blaze's friend)...so I have no idea what he/she looks like.  And there may have been some mixup in the picture placement...sorry...I am not a technological whiz by any standard...which is why I bring in help for these posts...








Anyways...CoachRob has me tapering into the event with a couple of recovery days.  
And, some of my high octane 24 hour race food is prepared...



Filipino Champorado with a Canadian Metis twist...


More options for food to be prepared today...
And the Raijin is shined up, prepped and ready to rage...





New decals included!


Actually....it's a little tough to get the bike ready when you see this innocently watching you in the back yard...




Seriously....that's what we deal with here...tough, eh?

So...mostly ready to go...now to get loaded up.  
In the meantime...Lael Wilcox has won the TransAm Bike race.  The first woman to win...and she crushed it!!  You can follow those still finishing on the facebook pages..
and at trackleaders...


And if that wasn't enough to keep me preoccupied the Tour Divide is still on....and our friend dskunk is still in it!!


Careful, if you click on any of these links....these races can be addicting!!

Anyways...short n' sweet today (OK...not so sweet...); I still got stuff I gotta do to get ready.
Me and Matty Tee will be heading out tomorrow (Friday) in the new TeamRiot trailer...




If you get a chance stop in and say hi...we will be parked in the solo area...likely near that damn long grassy climb.  We should be easy to find...






Oookay....anyways...

If I survive this thing...I will let you know...next week!!

Stay posted!



Tuesday 21 June 2016

The Wild Ride - Race Review...plus some Humbler

There were a couple of local races on this last weekend...but before both were an option, I had already registered for this one...the Wild Ride...as a tag team with Blaze.



So, with the opportunity to race new trails (trails absolutely new to me), support the lung association (a cause that meant something to me), in a rather low key race, with a good friend (yeah, I mean Blaze)...I was looking forward to this.  The trail was 95% twisty, rooty, 'singletrack' (some rather wide, almost doubletrack, but still twisty...something I struggle with); a 25 km loop around the Wildwood Conservation Area Reservoir....and other than being rather rooty, was not at all technical.





Locked and loaded.



As a two-male team we started with the team wave (which started 10 minutes after the solo wave).  In the team wave all team members rode together...and the ride times of teammates were averaged to come up with an overall team time.  There were a few familiar faces there, including Duke, who was racing his fatbike in the solo 50km (two loops) category, SteveS who was racing his fatbike in the solo 25km category, and Unglued who was racing in the mixed team category (Unglued was the male, partnered with a female Lapdog team member).




Duke, 'suffering' for the camera...



SteveS, decked out in his hard-to-miss pink Ride The Earth kit.



A couple of the organizers and one of the best pics of me from the day.


At 11:20am, our wave started...and off the gun Blaze was off like a rocket!!  Seriously...ablaze!!  Unglued hit all his jets in an effort to keep Blaze in sight.  I, on my usual slow start, giggled in stunned awe.  By the time we crossed the 300 or 400 meters of doubletrack start, and dove into the singletrack Blaze was a good 100m ahead...followed by Unglued, then a couple of racers between me and Unglued.  

Note:  Blaze is a sandbagger!  He says he is slow, fat, and out of shape...he is definitely NOT.  Blaze is back in form.  At worst, he is overly tentative on anything technical...which was not at all an issue on this course...so he was free to fly...and he did.

So now I had serious time to make up...in twisty singletrack (have I mentioned this is not my forte??), and worse, it was unfamiliar trail.  So it was hammer, hit the brake at an unexpected twist, turn, accelerate; hammer, hit the brake at an unexpected twist, turn, accelerate; shampoo, rinse, repeat; shampoo, rinse, repeat...   The repeated, interval-like efforts had me constantly redlined...then when ever we hit any climbs or open areas I gutted myself to try to make up the time I lost off the start, and continued to lose in the twisty stuff.  And now we were starting to catch the back of the solo wave that had started 10 minutes ahead of us, and had to work to find safe areas to pass.

Then we came out onto a gravel road...I turned left up the road and hammered...for about 30 seconds...before I realized there were no signs and I must be going the wrong way.  I went back...and a racer I had recently passed pointed out the proper direction.  So, at it again.

Then, I eventually came up on that familiar pink jersey...SteveS flying on the fatbike.  Steve's brother JeffS is one of the fastest racers on any circuit...so I was not used to catching one of these guys!  So a quick chat...then onward, through the twists.  

With about 10km to go I started to worry that I would run out of time and trail and would not be able to catch Blaze or Unlglued...the race was too short and fast.  Then with maybe 5km to go we came onto a longish bit of paved road...must have been almost a kilometer long...and at about 600 or 700 meters ahead, there was Unglued!  And far ahead, there was Blaze turning off the road back into the singletrack.  Well...maybe I had a chance to catch them after all...I gunned it on the road...but so did they.

Back into the twisty stuff...then the final 3/4 of a km or so opened up into the final stretch to the finish line...and there was Unglued...about 100m in front of me.  I dropped a couple of gears and hammered...beyond redlined...heart pounding in my ears; with about 500m to go I passed him.  He swore something repeatedly, but rather unintelligible (he doesn't speak proper English)...and sprinted to catch me...but didn't.  I crossed the finish...seconds ahead of Unglued...but 2 minutes behind Blaze (the sandbagger...he KILLED it this day!!!).  That's OK...Blaze is my teammate...and I beat Unglued...and it was a beautiful weather day on ridiculously fun trails.

It took a couple of recovery pops for Blaze and I to determine how we had placed.

We took second in male tag team!!


I blocked Blaze's podium pic....
   



I relented...




The three Amigos!!  
Duke took third in the Fatbike 50km cat....amazing!!




Oh my??  OK, then...




Oh...and hey...Unglued and his partner took second in the mixed team cat!!  
So, he can't be that unhappy...(plus he has his house slippers on...just be happy its not zebra stripes...)

By the way, SteveS writes a great blog about racing/riding mountain bikes (who would do that??).  His plan is to do 50 significant races/rides this season...this one was number 24!  You can check out his version of this race here at RideCycleSpin!


The other race that happened this weekend was a SubstanceProjects race...the Humbler, the 3rd race of the XC Marathon series.  (I love Dan's races!!)  Of course, this was the one I didn't do, so I can't give a proper report...but Oggie (who took third in Master Men cat...cuz he is fast like that!!), summed it up great!  "Great race indeed. Dan nailed it this year with the format, starting times, signage and pricing. Great food, great organization and positive vibe were already there in abundance. The Humbler is one of the best venues and I can't get enough of it. Just the right measure of challenge and lots of fun."

I will do my best to make it to the 4th race of the series...the Kingston Trophy!

For the rest of this week, Blaze has me running around getting ready for the 24 hour race this coming weekend...he is managing my pit for the race.  Extra shoes, kit, helmet...check.  Cheerleaders....check...




Anyways...CoachRob has my training rides pinned to get me ready...one more tough ride today...then taper into the weekend.  Sydenham hill repeats today if anyone wants to join...enough to get in 1500m of elevation...anyone...anyone...Buehler???

I expect my quads to look like this by the time I'm done...



Quit staring at the shorts Fig!!


Anyways...I'm drifting and rambling again.  I guess this story is done...prepping for next weekend now.  

I will let you know how it goes!

Stay posted!



Another T shirt!!  When will they give away Audis??