tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8162800912860741632024-03-13T22:40:04.760-04:00Unbroken Chain - Mountain Biking essays and race reports"Lilac rain, unbroken chain
Song of the Saw-Whet owl
Out on the mountain it'll drive you insane
Listening to the winds howl" - Grateful DeadGregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-43345478935696871172013-06-02T08:15:00.001-04:002013-06-02T12:04:28.339-04:002012 Recap
All best intentions were to keep my blog current, but I wasn't really able to do that this year. So instead, I'm going to give a recap of my riding higlights from this past year. Instead of racing so much, I did a lot more of groups riding and events.
Also I was turning 50 in the summer, so my goal was to get out to as many different places to ride as I could this year.
Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-63760549304936253832012-01-28T18:08:00.005-05:002012-01-28T18:36:47.472-05:00Dirty Dozen 2011The Dirty Dozen (DD)was an event I had been thinking of for several years, and this was going to be the year. The problem was was that I hadn't been riding very much in November. Not the kind of lead up needed to do the DD. Though I still wanted to give it a try as a lot of the hills were ones I grew up around.The DD is held each year in Pittsburgh around Thanksgiving. This year, over 300 Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-31062763731626582242011-07-01T17:33:00.003-04:002011-07-01T17:44:54.571-04:00Fat Tire Festival - Bike the Wilds Series4th place sport/masters - 1:57 - 14.6 milesThe Fat Tire Festival is the second in the Bike the Wild race series. I missed the first race of the series while I was at Mohican, so I can't get lost this year and drop a race.The course this year was almost the exact same course as last year. Some rain the night before made the trail a bit muddy and the rocks quite slick. This year they've broken Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-91359159820826015232011-06-07T21:23:00.010-04:002011-07-04T10:13:27.713-04:00Mohican 100 - barelyMohican 100k - 11 hours 8 minutesWell, at least I now know that I could ride a 12 hour solo though I absolutely have no plans to do that.It's an interesting thing to think about, why do I pay to challenge and torture myself? Well I had a lot of hours to ponder that question during Mohican. The recap of the 100k follows. It's mostly just for me to record the details, but maybe others racing Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-2506394887927174532011-05-24T13:00:00.004-04:002011-05-24T13:20:43.142-04:00Two weeks and counting.Less than two weeks to the Mohican 100. To update things, here's what's been happening. I decided not to go to the normal WVMBA xc races I usually do in the spring. Two reasons really. One - I've been concentrating on longer sustained rides for Mohican. Two - rain, rain, and more rain. I really had no energy to drive a couple of hours to race in the mud.So what have I been doing? On the Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-33759405125692195022011-04-17T20:31:00.003-04:002011-04-17T20:37:11.128-04:00And the training continuesWell the training for the Mohican 100 continues. There's been so much rain (insert ark joke here) that I've been mostly putting in road miles. I think I've been on the mountain bike twice so far. The picture above was a training ride two weeks ago, rode out to prospect and back. Took about five hours and 56 miles; not bad for April. I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around the Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-80122576048046136642011-03-21T21:46:00.005-04:002011-03-23T11:57:20.444-04:002010 look backI meant to do this back in January, but just plain forgot. I wanted to write down some memories and thoughts about the last year when it comes to riding. Last winter started with good base miles (slacked off on the intervals though) and before I knew it was I kicking off the race season at Big Bear as usual. Rode pretty strong. 24 Hours of Big Bear was canceled, so instead I went way down Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-31670726951797867972011-03-14T22:18:00.002-04:002011-03-14T22:23:01.222-04:00Mohican 100 or What was I thinking?So I did it. I signed up for my first 100 mile mountain bike race. Or to be more precise, mountain bike ride. I signed up to do the Mohican 100. My only goal, to finish. Two and a half years ago I did a 100 mile road ride. Didn't think I could pull that off, but I did. Now, I fear, a much harder goal to accomplish. I've started to train a bit more seriously, but the weather here is reallyGregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-74944405006180239822010-11-09T20:05:00.002-05:002010-11-09T20:21:04.902-05:00Month of Mud - MoraineMoraine - 11th Masters - 7th overall for series - 2:00Almost forgot to write this up. Got to Moraine, and it was a beautiful fall day. I knew that I would finish in 7th place in the series as long as I finished. That took a lot of the pressure off. I decided I would ride a strong ride, but try to enjoy the day and the trails.The experts started, and about five minutes later the rest of Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-65220961332143793102010-10-21T14:36:00.004-04:002010-10-23T19:47:57.711-04:00Month of Mud - North parkPhoto by Mike BriggsNorth Park Time trail - #14th Masters - :35.51Over 200 people? Yep, over 200 people showed up for the inaugural North Park time trial. Earlier in the week, I pre-rode the course, and on my single speed I clocked a time of 38 minutes. So on Sunday, I knew the pace would have to be high for the entire course if I wanted to get any points for the race series.Mark and I Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-18071463735529368432010-10-12T05:10:00.005-04:002010-10-12T14:44:11.921-04:00Month of Mud - Grove CityGrove City cyclocross - 15th - Masters - :58.45And then it rained some more. That was the theme for Grove City. Rain, rain, and more rain. Pulled into the parking lot and got dressed for the rain, but at least it was cold.Did a short warm up and then went and watched the experts finish their race. They were covered with mud, front and back. Soon enough we were lining up for our race. The Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-79147921303234180102010-09-28T21:33:00.002-04:002010-09-28T21:50:32.302-04:00Month of Mud - Brady's RunPhoto: Fred JordanBrady's Run - 13th place - Masters - 1:14Master's category getting pretty big now. I remember years back, there would be only like five us that might do the whole series. Now the category has really grown. The downside? Master is an open division. So quite often I'm racing with guys that are in master's expert division in the WVMBA series. I really don't have a chance.Be Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-3047934050769605692010-09-28T21:20:00.003-04:002010-09-28T21:31:14.849-04:00Month of Mud - BavingtonPhoto - Mike BriggsBavington - 17th place Masters - :57 minutesMost riders I've seen at Bavington. Weather was perfect, though a bit hot by my time. Bavington is a time trial, which I like except for the waiting part. But with me racing the day before, the wait gave me time to get a really good warm up. Sooner than I expected, I was off. I rode super solid, but had not spark in the legs at Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-78071687753539300992010-09-25T08:07:00.004-04:002011-05-13T16:57:14.875-04:00Peanut Butter Festival - Bike the Wilds18th place Masters - 1:57Overall 11th in the 36-49 division.What to do, what to do. The last race in the Bike the Wilds series was Saturday, and the first race of the Month of Mud series began on Sunday. Which should I pick? I know that I don't recover well, and doing two races in two days would mean I wouldn't do well in either. So what did I do? Yeah, chose to do both races anyway. My Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-9856154982670474112010-08-18T15:05:00.004-04:002010-08-30T06:16:42.365-04:00Two Mile Run MTB RaceBike the Wilds point series - 18.5 miles - 3:22 (you read that right)9th place mastersTwo Mile Run marked the fourth race in the Bike the Wilds point series. The training I did for this one? Went on vacation for two weeks, came back home got in two lack-luster rides in the ridiculous humidity we've been having, and ate a lot. Not a training regimen I would recommend to the timid. Oh yeah, Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-33147445119068369932010-08-02T11:34:00.002-04:002010-08-02T11:50:49.329-04:00Shannock Valley MTB Race15 miles (too many) and a DNF (more on this in a bit)This was the third race in the Bike the Wilds race series. The race was to be about 12 miles long - but not the way I race.I pulled in to the lot and talked to a couple of guys that had raced the course before. They said lots of climbing, and they were absolutely right. Lined up in the town of Rural Valley, and off we went right on time. Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-38223837374573065672010-06-23T20:52:00.002-04:002010-06-23T21:08:23.052-04:00Fat Tire Challenge16th place - 1:53 - 14.5 miles - Second race of Bike the Wilds race seriesFatty would be proud of me - a solid mid-pack finish!!!Drove two hours north to try out the second race of the Bike the Wild series - The Fat Tire Challenge. Easy drive, easy parking. I got me and the bike ready, did a quick warm up, and soon the experts were off racing. I had 10 minutes before the sport racers took off.Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-9741687214867541182010-06-22T19:50:00.003-04:002010-06-22T20:20:49.051-04:0024 Hours of Creek to Peak24 Hours of Creek to Peak - race recap - 2nd place sportA place on the podium. You'd think I'd be excited, but not really. 24 Hours of Big Bear was canceled this year. I wasn't sure what race to do that weekend, until I got in touch with Jeff. His team was looking for someone to fill a spot, so I decided it was fate.Packed up all of my stuff, why that takes so long I don't know, and headed Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-41732802651041913562010-06-06T20:33:00.003-04:002010-06-17T22:38:16.168-04:00Dash for Cash2:22 - 14.4 miles - 9TH place - 36-49 year divisionLast time I raced Dash for Cash, it was three years ago, and it totally wrecked me - physically and mentally. So it was with some trepidation that I headed back for another dose.It rained for several days before the race, and a huge rainstorm was coming in from the west on the day of the race. I registered, warmed up, then lined up to start. Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-66818911671301650662010-04-23T10:15:00.004-04:002010-04-23T12:28:11.854-04:00WVMBA #1 Big Bear 20105th place Masters - 1:47 - 14.4 milesOh sweet relief! I had so much fun at this race - what a nice change. For the last several years I've had chronic back pain from a pinched nerve. I've tried everything, physical therapy, weights, anti-inflammatories, yoga, professional bike fits, and nothing has worked. Always at some point in the race, the pressure on the nerve becomes so bad that I Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-3664556246555505352010-04-19T21:24:00.002-04:002010-04-19T21:31:46.110-04:00Getting skinnyRiding the new North Park skinny on Dr. J. Awesome trail, and it's keeps getting better.Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-48536518560752790762010-02-06T13:30:00.011-05:002010-02-06T13:38:57.075-05:002010 Snow StormSome random pictures from the snowstorm...Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-21519015628093598032009-12-16T20:10:00.003-05:002010-04-26T12:05:37.747-04:00End of Season Races - wrap upWell, it's the end of the season and I realized I really didn't wrap-up my last two races in the Month of Mud series. To be honest, not too much to summarize. This was probably my worst fall season. I actually had a good bit of fitness this year, but I ran in to a lot of odd stuff this fall. So first up, Brady's Run.October 11 - Brady's Run State Park - 11th place Master - 1:26Garmin Connect Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-4459122256137052522009-09-26T21:35:00.003-04:002009-09-26T21:59:15.107-04:00Month of Mud - Bavington18th place Masters - 53.56This could be titled The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.Arrive at Bavington to perfect weather. Trails were dry, and the finishing times would be low. This year the Masters went before Sport, so I hardly had to wait around. Bavington is always interesting because it's a time trial format.I took off, and felt solid. I wasn't sure how I'd feel. I've done more riding than Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-816280091286074163.post-25534737702018879802009-08-30T14:55:00.008-04:002009-09-19T17:24:25.702-04:00Livestrong Challenge - Philly - 100 miles(pictures will coming soon, also a warning: this is a really, really long post. you have my permission to skim)100 miles at the Livestrong Challenge in Philly. Did I really sign up to do a 100 mile road ride? I'm at heart a mountain biker, what was I thinking?Sometime over the summer, Mark mentioned to me that he had signed up for the Lance Armstrong Foundations's Livestrong Challenge. I Gregg3333http://www.blogger.com/profile/11976408936354511079noreply@blogger.com0