Too Slo to Go Pro

Can you find me in the above pic? (no, not in the cut-off short shorts)

The wide part of the course.

So, I rode the Old Fashioned Mountain Bike Race in Flagstaff yesterday. This race was tough, but fun. I learned a few things during this race that I thought I'd share. 

First of all, I had only 3 goals for this race:
1. Have fun. 
2. Enjoy the experience. 
3. Not injur myself. I managed to accomplish all three of my goals! Granted, they weren't lofty goals, but this was my first mountain bike race. I didn't expect to place or win, i just wanted to go out & have fun. 

So, I'm pedaling along and I immediately realize that I should have trained for this race. About 90% of this race was climbing. I hadn't really ridden in the whole month prior to this race and it showed :(. My lungs burned, my legs ached, and I just didn't feel in sync with my bike. Lesson learned; next time - train!

I also learned that I need to ride more single track trails, which is to say trails that are just wide enough for a bike or hiker. When I do go out and ride, I typically don't challenge myself enough. Descending a single track is a blast! Imagine winding in and out of trees, maneuvering over and around rocks, at speeds that may tempt you to hit the brakes. Fun stuff! I'm sure I had a silly grin on my face the entire time. Climbing single track trails, however, is a little more challenging. There are typically exposed tree roots, rocks, and other obstacles not to mention squeezing in between places that is just barely wide enough for your tires. There's no shame in hoping off and carrying your bike over obstacles that are too difficult to ride. I wasn't the only person to employ this tactic!

I also need more practice at clipping in and out of my pedals on a single track. There were, more times than I'd like to admit, instances where i found myself on the ground because I either couldn't un-clip fast enough or I'd un-clip the wrong side. No biggie. Nothing more than a scraped elbow and bruise on my arm & ego. I may look into a skills clinic at the local bike shop to get some tips & pointers. 

Overall, I'd say my biggest downfall was conditioning. Next year, I will be ready. Next year, I will train, ride this course more (this was the first time on the course), and just ride more before the event. 

Here are a few observances during the race:
1.  I (used to) fancy myself a climber - I need to climb more. 
2. I LOVE this sport. The camaraderie of everyone out there was incredible. 
3. Flagstaff is awesome for mountain biking!
4. I need to ride more. 
5. The cycling community in Flagstaff rocks!
6. That old lady on the trike with the basket full of croceries was faster than she looked. 
7. I can't wait for my next event, be it road cycling or MTB. 

Below are some pics from the ride:
 

Got a little dirty

Bike was ready to go

My cool beer socks!

Just about to cross the finish line. 

The Bug

I recently sold my MTB, The Purple Pig. That bike, while fun, was a bit of a beater. The equivalent of "rock skis". Aside from the cosmetic issues, it also had mechanical issues. A noisy bottom bracket, untrue wheels, and poor shifters are only the beginning.

I found a new MTB on Craigslist and traded my old dart board for it. This bike is much newer, lighter, and is full suspension (great for an old guy). I've been enjoying riding this bike a LOT! To say that I'm once again obsessed would probably be a fair statement. I've been trying to ride at least twice a week to get back into somewhat decent riding shape. After each ride, I'm already looking forward to my next one. While riding this morning, I found myself wondering "how can I make this my job"? Wouldn't that be sweet? Either testing new equipment or exploring trails. Hmmmm. I will probably have to stick to recreational riding. That's OK, I still love it.

The other day, I rode straight out my front gate into the forestry area and had a blast! If anyone wants to come ride some sweet trails, let me know. I did learn a lesson today...Carry tools! Shortly after I left, my handlebars became loose. Loose enough so that they would twist in my hands. Not good. I had a multi-tool in my CamelBak so I could tighten them some. My bike tool would have fixed them for good. Guess what I'm doing tonight...packing my tool kit for this bike.

When I'm driving from customer to customer, I can't help but look out and wonder what kind of trails might be just off the road, or in the canyons, or mountains, or.... My mindset has gone back into a cyclist's one. I may need counseling...

The Purple Pig

When I moved to Flagstaff, I discovered that there are TONS of trails to be ridden around here. I can literally leave my house and be on a kick-ass trail in 2 minutes! I found a guy on Craigslist who was looking to trade his mountain bike for an acoustic guitar. Perfect! I can only play 3 chords on the guitar (and rarely do) and I have a cycling dependency. The MTB is a GT something or other and is a lovely light purple. The frame is aluminum but heavy. Since this is such a heavy bike (a pig), it has earned the name The Purple Pig.

Cyclists are, by nature, very weight conscious. How many grams do my tubes weigh? If I use this seat post rather than that one, I can shave valuable seconds. My attitude is "who cares". At least for this bike. My road bike & fixit are light. I can haul ass on them (at least I used to). My thought process behind the pig is that if I push a heavier bike on the trails, the road riding when it warms up, should be a breeze. I'm notout to win any races on The Pig, just have some fun.

I have refallen in love with mountain biking riding this thing. Being out on the trails reminds me of when one of my best friends & I used to ride the canyons in Southern California. The riding up here is different than So. Cal, not so much brush to ride through, but lots of trees and hills to climb. I haven't explored all of the trails around here; but when the weather warms a little, I will be out there riding like I used to. I can't wait to explore all of the trails that Flagstaff has to offer.

Cycling / Life Update

It's been a while since I've written anything. It has been a whirlwind couple of months. I'll do my best to try to catch you up.

When we last left our hero, he was feeling his age on the bike. Since then, he has moved to Flagstaff, gotten a mountain bike (again), and fallen back in love with riding the trails. I told you; whirlwind.

Let's start with the move. There are 2 schools in the state of Arizona that use a teaching style that suits my son best. One is in Phoenix, the other in Flagstaff. They are Waldorf schools which, in a nutshell, focus on the child's brain development rather than test scores. We had been on waiting lists for both schools for the better part of the year (longer for the Phoenix school). We bout some property right next to some of our best friends over the summer in Flagstaff with the thought of building a home and eventually moving up. During the kids' fall break (mid October), the school in Flagstaff called with news of openings for both kids! This was certainly a sign that we needed to be at this school. So, in 2 short weeks, we packed up the house, rented a couple trucks, and headed north. The kids love their new school and have already made friends. In fact, Matthew's "girlfriend" as he calls her, is in his class and will be our neighbor once we build our home onthe our property. We got up to Flagstaff just in time for the first snow of the season too. I wasn't sure how this crew would do in the snow & cold, but they're handling it well! We are learning to dress in layers and have enjoyed the benefits of heated seats in the van (never really needed them before).

Anytime one moves, he discovers that he has a lot of unused "stuff". We were no different. Many yard sales were had and before the move, most of the big stuff was sold. However, there was still lots of "other stuff". Many moons ago, I took guitar lessons. Enjoyed trying to play along with my brother (who is pretty good) when we lived closer. I sold my electric guitar a few years ago as it was sitting in the the closet and not getting played. Hardly fair to the guitar. My acoustic has sat for years on it's stand in the corner ready to be played at any time. I think over the 7 years we lived in Gilbert, I played for maybe 2 hours total. Knowing that buying another bike was out of the question, I decided to trade the guitar for a mountain bike on Craigslist. I found a guy who was willing to trade trade straight up. The bike is decent. Needs some loving, but for not having to shell out any cash - perfect. I immediately swapped out the saddle. It had one of those HUGE seats that could fit a couple kids at once. After my first little ride, I need tobe change out the pedals to clipless ones, get a computer, some lights, and possibly a mud fender for the rear. Definitely need to get a tool bag for under the seat and change the chain. The bike was stored outside and the non-aluminum parts are starting to rust. Overall, the bike isn't bad. It's a GT mountain bike with Rock Shox on the front. I'm not used to suspension so it may take some getting used to.

The other day I decided to take the new MTB out on the trail. Flagstaff has an "urban trail" system (FUTS), which is scheduled to be 130 miles of trails around the area. These trails are either paved or hard aggregate and about 10 feet wide. Like any good rural area, there are plenty of hiking/MTB trails that branch off of the main trail. So the number of places to ride the new MTB are limitless! Besides all the great trails, Flagstaff is a college town and cycling is a very common mode of transportation. Back to my ride. I ventured out to the FUTS right near our current house. It felt really good to ride on dirt again! The first part of the the trail I took was slightly downhill so I was cruising pretty good. It gave me a good opportunity to get a feel for the bike and how it handled. I found a nice little single track branch that had some good climbing. Luckily, the bike has a triple chain ring, because I needed the little gears. I got to the top of my first climb and was dying. My lungs were burning and it was everything I could do to catch my breath. I quickly realized "this is why athletes train at altitude". I only rode about 3 miles, but the terrain and altitude made it a great ride! I can't wait for my next ride to explore more of these awesome trails!