Done

It's over. JJ, A1, and I made it to the finish line. NK and PJ both had issues, on being mechanical and the other his back so they had to drop, but up to that point we pretty much road as a group.

I'm not sure what to say. It took a long time (over 12 hours), I walked a lot, I had to urge myself to just keep moving, and I was happy but not euphoric when I finished.

Will I do it again? Most likely not. This was an epic event, but it was epic in its adventure status- not in an epic ride way. If you want to do something that is an adventure and you don't care if you walk as much as you ride then this event is for you. If you want to do an epic mountan bike ride with mostly single track that has great flow then this isn't for you. I'm glad I did it, but not in a rush to do it again! NK and PJ of course have to go back next year to get their medals! Dare I say I would consider running the 1/2 marathon up there before I ride it again.

I'll write more once my head is working, but right now I'm gonna go chuck my nasty kit in the wash and take a nap. Thank you to everyone who has supported us along the way, it was cool to talk to and hear from people at the event who were down with TWAF.

Keep riding and smiling, next up 24 Hours of Great Glen!

cheers,


DEA

let's hear it for the boys

hi. this is a very dejected, yet satisfied nK reporting on the saga of TWAF - we've reached the culmination of nine months of blood, sweat and tears, if anyone's man enough to admit shedding them.

i just about did. i say that because the race is still going on around me (A1, JJ and DEA are still on course; PJ didn't make it either), and i'm in the VIP tent, posting this.

so, just in case anyone wonders what happened to ol' korea slim, let me tell you the story: the climb up jay was, for racers kickass and amateur, mostly a hike-a-bike. it was just too damned steep and those steeps were too damned sustained to possibly kick any kind of gear up it, so there was a bataan death march of riders pushing their metal up to the peak. and you know what? all of us finished the march in the top quarter, so we felt pretty good. the ride down? faaaaaaaaaaaast. we saw the aftermath of one pretty gnarly wreck, and hit the bottom for aid station #2, where we saw DEA's lovely wife karen who wished us well and made back for north conway.

after leaving the jay base area, we hit pavement for a while, which lead to a nasty climb up to an amazing set of singletrack (where A1 went over the bars an impressive three, count 'em, three times), and the riding felt GOOD. i felt GREAT! this was what we'd trained for, and we were nailing it! ah, sweet payoff! so, out of the singletrack and onto some logging and residential dirt roads for some hurtful quick climbs and some brisk, brisk descents. from aid station 4 (the end of the singletrack) to station 5 (the end of the dirt roads) was a quick, quick 15 miles or so, putting us at roughly 30 miles, where all was going excellent (although we suspect this is where PJ left us, but we'll get back to you on that - nK's unofficial guess is the back from hell gave him some pressure).

so, we climbed a quick, steep hill and then rode through someone's pasture, where we ducked into some SWEET singletrack. this was where things went terrible. we hit a waterbar, and i heard a huge bang, and realized that i was no longer sitting on a seat. instead, my ass was introduced to the seatpost... not in that way, but it could have at least bought me a drink.

but, that's OK! i was sure i could get through that section and manage to get to the next aid station where i could fix the problem. so, i sent everyone else off, and i did some hike-a-bike once again, trying to get to a downhill section where i could actually ride. well, i found some, and as i went over a log pyramid, i heard another weird noise, and as i did that, came to a complete stop. that'll happen when your back wheel POPS OFF and you can't get it back on!!

the bike went on my back, my day over. three busted spokes on the wheel taco'ed it like a bad mexican nightmare, and i had to hike about three miles out of the woods, on course of course, to get to the aid station. AAAAAAARGH.

this kills me, because we were riding together, i felt great, and i knew i had it in me to finish, after i was convinced i'd be bagging it early on. 34 or so miles into it, i felt like a million bucks.

all i can say is, there's always next year. check in later for the finisher's reports, and wish them the best. dammit, dammit, dammit.

i gave it my all and got bit by the worst possible bug: gremlins in the equipment. total system failure makes it hard to use your tools. at least it wasn't my body giving out. that'll be tonight, as i drink myself into an absolute and horrific stupor.

with tears staining the keyboard,
north Korea slim

Less than 24 hours to go

SO I'm all packed and waiting to head over to A1's place to load up the Official TWAF Race Trailer and hit the road. Only problem is he isn't ready. He had to make a run to the dump before we can leave to go to the race. Nothing like a little reality to remind us all we are just regular guys doing something a little bit irregular. I did not sleep great the last couple of days. Lots of thoughts running through my head. Almost like Christmas eve when you were a little kid. Legs are feeling good. Actually they feel like the need a good long ride. Hope they are ready for it, cause they are going to get it. We had some major rain here yesterday, an inch plus in a half hour. Wonder if they got it at Jay as well. Wonder if I have the right tires, do you think Wal-Mart is open yet? Well I guess I better double check my packing list to make sure I brought everything I own and some stuff I don't. Hopefully I'll be able to put some thoughts down about the race early next week. Thanks to my wife Susan, sons Dennis & Sean for their support, without it I would not have even thought about doing this. Thanks as well to my TWAF teammates, great friends; and thanks to the folks I work with who have watched me coming in to work all sweaty from riding to and from work and made fun of me in spandex, etc. the well wishes really mean something. Gee, I'm getting all misty now. Have a great weekend everyone, see ya next week, I hope.

JJ

gulp

This is it. Just a couple days to go. Did our last race before Jay and I managed to hit the deck pretty hard- oh well.

Fortunately no major issues, a bit of bruising on my chest, hand, shin, and knee- but nothing that should bug me too much during the ride. Now comes the final recoup, refuel, and rest before the race. I plan on getting a half hour to hour easy spin on the road bike after work today- just to get all the junk out of the legs from yesterday, then clean the bike, clean the clothes, and pack the bags.

I know everyone on TWAF is feeling a bit itchy to get this thing started. It’s been a long road of training and getting ready for this event, and I know all of us are anxious to get rolling.

I wish I had something witty to add at this point, but I don’t. My head is spinning and I’m just ready to ride. Thanks to everyone for the support (and Sony your T and Christmas present are heading your way- FINALLY!).

Good luck to everyone this weekend. It’s time to ride.

DEA

penultimate words from nK

before i spill my guts, here's some comforting words from the head sadist/zombie who put together the challenge:

"The good news is that we did add some new single track and lots of brutal climbing. This is technical, steep and be prepared to push hard. The course has been design with a Jay challenge trade mark in mind . EXPONENTIAL. Yes as the course is increasing in length so does the level of difficulty.

The last 8 to 10 miles will mentally be the hardest. It is up and un protected. You will be in the wide open. The last aid station will be aid station 11 in the town of Westfield. Bring money with you because the Westfield General store( aid station .. 11) is the only pleasure you will have between there and the finish line I promisse (sic) you."

"You will need a brand new pair of brake pad for your standard brake or your disk brake. This is not a joke. You disk will get RED HOT. If you do not have a brand new pair, you might have to DNF since I assure you that those brake will be completely finish by the end of the race."

"ONLY 5 Aid station will be open to the public. You can only be in contact with the support crew at those designated location."

"Each Aid station will also have 5 gallon water bottle with a pump on top in order facilitate the re filling of Camel back. This should help you to be more efficient on the course."

"Each Aid Station will have a full color Map of the course with information such the mileage at each aid station to help you figure out how much more pain (my bold, not his) there is ahead."

"Aid station will provide Water, Gatorade, M&M, , Bananas, Salty cooked potatoes and Oranges." - so you can die with a full stomach! - nK

"The fastest bike is expected to come in approximately in 7 hours. Do not get discourage if you take 8 ,9 or even 10 hours to complete the course this year."

"Finally expect a fairly wet course" - soaked with the fresh tears of babies i'm sure, the sick bastard - nK

so this is it. i'm scared, excited, had my first night of full dreaming about the challenge all night long (no breaks in the pain)... and it's really time to stop talking. so, many thanks to anti-monkey butt powder for making kickass temporary tattoos (and stuff to keep your butt comfy), to accelerade for their generosity and their stuff - i'll fill out the form, i promise!

most of all, thanks to TWAF for keeping it together. all the buildup is done - it's all over but the crying...

korea slim

Useless

I can't think about anything other then Jay right now. Last night I was putting up clapboard around our new slider- all the while thinking about Jay and going through lists of what I need to bring/remember/do etc. Can't forget lip balm, put on sunscreen, should bring bug dope, start loading up on pasta Thursday night, bring a couple sets of tires, put on new rotors and swap pads, blah, blah, blah.

This is nuts, it's just a bike ride- kinds like two feet of fresh and light is just another day of skiing (hmmm, need to return to Jay this winter for that). It's a bike ride with a huge group of people, most of whom I don't know but already feel a connection to. I wonder if I'll connect with anyone at the race that I'll say in touch with? We've met people at WCAX because of the race. I've never met Gerry Hunt, the PR guy for Jay, but have emailed back and forth and I'm anxious to put a face to the name (and get him his official TWAF t-shirt). I've talked with the guys at Wingnut and Anti Monkey Butt Powder because of this race, and they both seem like great guys. I guess what I'm saying is this race has opened up a few doors and introduced us to really cool people. At the same time it has opened us up to ourselves, at least I feel that way. Assuming we survive Jay, what will we look at that we previously deemed undoable and now will say- that's nothing? Hmmmm.

Enough babble from me for the moment. A big shout out to all the competitors, volunteers, sponsors, land owners, Jay, and especially Dan. I've never met Dan, but I will this weekend, and I look forward to it. Dan if you're reading this- you're a sick puppy- and I like it! By the way- what size t-shirt do you wear?

Good vibes to everyone!


cheers

DEA

4 days and counting

Who'd a thunk we'd only be 4 days away back in the winter months when we has 150+ days to get ready for Jay. Are we ready? Did we train enough? Will we finish? My guess is the answers to those questions are as individualized as the riders on the team. No one has trained the exact same way or put in as much time as the other. Everyone has to a certain extent done what they felt was right, what their schedule(wife/family) allowed, or what the weather or conditions permitted. I have already been thinking that I should have ridden this day or that one, or maybe gone out a little longer or a little harder. Did I bank enough suffering? Am I prepared? Hard to say since none of us have ever tried to tackle Jay. Regardless, there is no more time to train or prepare, only time to get ready to ride. I hope Jay knows what its in for this weekend.

JJ

How many days?

In a weeks time we'll all be licking our wounds and sitting uncomfortably in the car as we drive back from Jay, likely with a hang-over from the post race celebration.

Sombody asked me how I feel- hmm, nervous, sore, stiff, worried, flat, weak, and most importantly feeble. Of course that is often a good sign. I'd almost be worried if I felt great right now as it would lead me to believe I'm in a spot of trouble. But who knows.

I didn't ride my bike for three days straight- not entirely intentional, but the weekends weather and other projects sort of got in the way. At the same time I had intended to take it real easy- so hopefully this will all work out. I did ride in this morning and intend of riding for close to an hour real easy after work today. Hopefully that will shake out any left over junk from last Thursday's efforts.

Nervous- yup. And now that the tour is over (way to go Floyd!) I don't even have that to take my mind off the race.

It's coming boys, rest and eat well.


DEA

Rounding into form...

TWAF had a very nice showing last Thursday night at the Dakine Race Series at Great Glen. The conditions were fast and so were the riders.

DEA posted second place finish in his division and had the fastest time of the night for TWAF. Another podium for the good Dr., congrats.

I had a personal best and finally took the top spot in my division knocking almost a minute and a half off my best time. Regardless it was nice to be in first place. I did not feel at my best but pushed as hard as I felt was OK. Thanks go out to the fine wrenches at the Red Jersey for the tune up my Yeti got last week. The new drivetrain worked flawlessly.

NK also rode well and posted his fastes time of the season.

Team Weak and Feeble also took the team division by almost 6 minutes. Nice work boys.

Amazingly, DEA doubled up on the evening so that he could race in the Red Jersey/Importech Summer Series at Cranmore. So much for rest and recovery. Well most of us have been off the bike since Thursday and taking it easy over the weekend in preparation for Jay. Here's to a good week to get ready and one more race before the big weekend.

Thanks to Accelerade for the Endurox and Accellerade. It will be much needed next weekend. Also a bit of thanks to the folks from Anti-Monkey Butt Powder for their generous contribution to TWAF. All the support is greatly appreciated.

JJ

Trail work on Sticks & Stones

From mtbr.com:

Sticks & Stones trailbuilding, N. Conway 7/23

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We'll be extending the very popular Sticks & Stones trail in North Conway this Sunday. Meeting at 9 am at the Thompson Road trailhead, working until around noon.

Bring the usual food & water, ride afterward for those who have the energy, then a swim in the Saco River.
__________________
It's all about two legs, turning two cranks, turning two wheels. Its just too simple for most people to comprehend. - DR-1

RADAIR

Landis has the answer, but we already knew that...

"Son, when you participate in sporting events, it's not whether you win or lose: It's how drunk you get."
-Homer Simpson

LANDIS IS THE MAN!!!!!

I bow down to Floyd, holy sh*t- that was the most amazing ride I've ever witnessed. Floyd is the man. I'm speechless.

DEA

Floyd

I have no idea if Floyd will win or take back any time today but that guy is tough as nails. Down and out yesterday and then going on a crazy attack today. Go Floyd, Go!!!

Active Rest?!?

So what exactly is active rest my brother asked me. Well, I tried to explain it and have it sort of make sense since it is somewhat oxymoronic. Whatever it is or is supposed to be I should be doing it. I have good intentions of doing it, but can't sem to really do it. After racing last Thursday I toasted the bottom bracket bearings on my Yeti 575 so it needed work. That took it off the road for the weekend and so I took Friday and Saturday off. Sunday I went out with the good Dr. Evil and I rode my KHS Pro ST and was reminded exactly why I bought the new bike last year. Oh well, a couple hours in the saddle in the heat & humidity was all I needed. I took Monday off as well and my legs felt pretty crappy. I decided to ride to work today and the felt much better. I was planning on riding home with Dr. Evil but ended up going out for a ride towards the end of the day with some co-workers and I ended up towing them around for 25 miles or so. My legs still felt prett snappy at the end of the ride and I even ran into Dr. Evil on the return trip home. PLanning on riding in to work and home on the road tomorrow as well and then Week 3 of the Dakine series at Geat Glen is Thursday. So much for active rest. I always have next week I guess.

JJ

The Future of TWAF

Ok a couple shots of the girls sporting the new TWAF t's, they's watching the Alp d'Huez stage while riding their trainers- watch out world here they come!

We're not the only ones climbing

Today was the big Alp d'Huez stage at the tour, a stage that while not in the race every year, is one that always ends up being a defining moment in the race. This year Landis proved to be the one to beat, and Frank Schleck from CSC helped keep CSC in the headlines for stage wins instead of disgraced team leaders.

I find myself often pretending to be the ADH during a tough climb, I wonder how often I'll think that during Jay?

I've posted a photo of todays winner, Frank Schleck- take a look and it makes a whole lot of sense how these guys go uphill so damn fast- there's nothing to the guy!

Anyway that's all I've got running through my brain at the moment.

DEA

my priorities, my fears, my future

so, as DEA said, it's now hurry up and wait for jay to arrive - the culmination of eight months (more?) of training.

and somehow i feel like i'm limping to the finish instead of kicking hard and pushing. however, i did have a bit of an adventure this weekend. my family has a cottage on sebago lake in maine, and i decided to pedal there saturday afternoon. i figured a nice 40-mile jaunt on the road would be a good head-clearer, as well as a nice muscle push. this, however, all changed when i got a bit too deep into my drink friday night, got about four hours of drunken sleep, and left an hour and a half later than i'd intended to.

and i got turned around and went off course, tacking 12 miles onto my trip. i was pedaling through hiram into denmark, maine, feeling really happy that i was riding on the road in the direction i was, because pedaling the other way just looked evil, when i got the distinct impression that something was amiss. luckily, i spotted a guy working on his tractor, and asked him the easiest way to get to route 114, my final destination. his answer? "right back the way you came, buddy!"

shit!

so, i sad and demoralized, i pointed the jake in the opposite direction and fought against gravity some more. all in all, it was a good ride, and considering my lack of sleep, energy and motivation, i did well.

but does this help going into jay? i don't know. i'm trying to be confident and aggressive, but i have moments of terror, and moments of elation about the whole thing. i think i've decided to go into this looking forward: have the most fun that i can squeeze out of it, learn a bit about myself and everybody else on TWAF, push the hell out of my legs and attempt to prove to myself that all the training was worth it.

maybe the fact that my attention's been turned to an amazing girl, and my priorities are shifting... i don't know. it's like mickey said in "rocky": "women weaken legs, rock."

who knows... all i do know is jay is 12 days away, and we're going up whether we're ready or not.

...and we'd better be ready as we can be.
nK

My RickyBobby nickname

""

Time to Rest

Friday I had a massage, and maybe I should qualify that- a Sports Massage, as when I think of a massage I think of relaxation not wincing in pain as she works knots the size of grapefuit of of my back and hamstrings. Needless to say I did feel much better afterwords, I enjoyed that loose feeling for a good hour or two before I fell through my a hole in my deck (a hole I created on purpose) landing with all my weight on my left thigh as it caught one of the joists, twisting my back in the process. But hey it was a great two hours!

Took Friday and Saturday off from the bike, the legs needed the rest and life was busy. Sunday JJ and I went for a couple of hours on dirt (I overslept again so JJ had to wait a half hour- at least I'm consistant). It was a good ride, we had a couple good sprints to get away from horse flies. Both JJ and I realized about about two hours in that it's time to start resting and we took it back to the ranch nice and easy. For all intents and purposes the training is over and the "active rest" until race day has begun. I'll commute and we have two races on Thursday this week and one next week that I'll go hard in, but other then that it'll be easy rides to keep the legs spinning- watching the food intake (no sense putting on extra weight now!) and just trying to relax (which will be tough with the deck falling off my house).

Two weeks from today I wonder how I will feel- will I be feeling good, recovered ready to go ride or will I still be dehydrated from the promised tears of the Jay Challenge mountain bike race? Who knows.

Time to rest boys, time to rest.

DEA

GGTOC Dakine Race Series Week 2

So week 2 of the Dakine series at Great Glen is in the books. I was hoping to better last weeks results but unfortunately I seem to have a hold on the second spot on the podium. The weather leading up to the race was wet and that left the trails very slick, with some open water in places and lots of mud. The ground was not near as firm which caused some additional rolling resistance which I think contributed to generally slower times overall. When I saw the results I was sort of pleased in that I was only 7 seconds slower that the first week considering the conditions and that I was able to better the rider that beat me last week by 5 seconds. Unfortunately someone new that I had not been aware of put up a pretty good time and got me by 20 seconds. From what I hear he is a former Cat 1 road racer so I wasn't completely crushed, just wonder if I can get those 20 seconds next week. Congtrats to DEA for his top spot overall. Unfortunately we were one rider short for the Team category this week but hope to be back at full strength for week 3 and take hold of that division. See ya all up at Great Glen Thursday night.

JJ

Finally the photo of DEA comes through

Congrats

DEA had a photo taken at the finish but blogger couldn't resize it due to the size of his head. Mr. Potato Head on a bike. No really, congrats.

A1

First win in a long time

It's been a long, long time (15 years) since I outright won a race, not just my catagory but posted the top time overall. So excuse me if I'm fired up about last night. Granted there weren't many real fast folks there, but still a win is a win and I'm pretty happy with that.

The course up at Great Glen was a bit greasy in spots but the little bit of moisture in the ground made the gravel roll pretty quick and some of the squirley corners seemed to offer a touch more traction.

My warm up was a 40+ minute lap with Elizabeth as she rode the short course, I have to laugh as she wasn't a fan of getting muddy. I put in a couple 10 to 15 second efforts while I rode with her to wake up the legs, but I never really got the body "hot". In all it was a pretty good warm up, except for the fact that I didn't pre-ride the technical singletrack section.

In the actual run I felt pretty good, not super fast, but good. I was able to tick over a fairly big gear and on the first sections of single track I felt pretty good, I slid out on one section but it didn't really slow me down at all, and then on first short tech climb I lost traction and almost fell over backwards- I used a couple choice words. The adrenaline was pumping at that point and I was able to push a big gear straight through to Sven's Chase (it's kind of cool to have a trail named after you, but when that trail almost puts you on the ground every time you start to wonder if it's more a curse then a blessing). I then crushed myself getting up to Whiplash thinking I could recover a bit out there, that sort of worked until I slid out on the big rock and had to run up to the top of that short section. I then felt great riding the bottom section clearing several root sections that looked to be slick, just as I was getting cocky a bit of pilot error put me on line to hook my bars on a tree and sure enough down I went. So a bit more running (never good for the recovery)and then jumping on just before the climb, needless to say I exited Whiplash breathing hard- really hard. Onto the big ring and into the downhill. I went as hard as I could and found myself airborne a couple times. On the big sweeping right hand turn I was talking myself saying "trust it, trust it" as I really didn't want to touch the breaks and it just felt like the tires were going to slide out. I used every piece of real estate on the turn but exited with good speed and carried much of the next hill. From that point on it was all out back and many times I felt like I just couldn't go faster and in fact it felt like I was going to end up keeled over and in the ditch but I was able to keep it rolling. A few minutes later I was in and finished.

I knew I was a bit slower then last week but I was anxious to see how I did against Mike, who I've been battling with for a few years- and I got him by 20 seconds.

So there you go, my first winning moment in a long, long time. Of course this could all be premature and Eli could crush me by letting me know of a timing error- but in the meantime I'll enjoy the moment.

By the way Nk didn't race last night, impacting out TWAF team standings up at GGTOC, and I'm pretty sure JJ won his division- so everyone had a good night (I say that cuz' Nk got to catch up on his beauty sleep).

One more thing- T-shirts are here- let me know if you want one! sven@glengroup.com


DEA

Floyd in Yellow!

Floyd, Floyd he's our man if he can't do it maybe Levi can. Well Levi might have a struggle since he rode my pace in the TT the other day (actually what I would give to ride his "terribly slow" TT pace.

So our fifth American in Yellow (Lemond, Armstrong, Zabriskie, Hincappie, Landis)- and this guy has a fantastic shot at winning the whole thing. And he's doing it all on a bum hip that's getting replaced after the tour- damn.

Tonight is week two of the GGTOC series. My oldest daughter will race tonight- so that will be fun- pink Trek power coming your way! I'm hoping to knock a few seconds off my time from last week- but with all the rain we got last night I'm expecting the course to be a touch slick and soupy in a few spots. Whiplash should be entertaining- off camber wet roots- gotta love'm!

Team Weak and Feeble T-shirts are being picked up tonight- $15 for one or 2 for $25- get'm while they're hot! Interested drop me a line at sven@glengroup.com. I'll get a photo of the shirts being modeled up on the site soon.

That's it from me- ride fast and smile big.

DEA

Another wet one

Went out for a wet one in the woods. I was asked to give a tour around the local trails this evening so I obliged. There was 5 of us that took a spin around the woods. I rode from home so I got a little extra time and mileage on the others but we had a good time. It rained the entire ride, quite hard at times as well. Used some more of the Accel gel this evening, strawberry-Kiwi is the best.

Did a little over 12 miles in an hour and a half with about 1,200 feet of climbing. Think I'm still in recovery mode from Sunday's epic. Hope the legs are fresh for tomorrow's race at GGTOC. Looking to better last weeks time and hopefully take a better spot on the podium. Guess we'll see what happens.

JJ

R&R

Rest & reocovery. At least that's what I'm calling it. I took onday off after DEA and I did our double metric century. I decided to ride to work yesterday and I could still feel it in my legs on the way in. Kepy the heart rate as low as possible and just eased my way in. On the way home I decided to push it some more and see how I was recovering. I felt pretty descent but could definately tell that I was not nearly 100%. It was at that point that I recalled DEA telling me he was going to ride home via Hurricane Mtn. and I had to laugh as I was very glad I had decided not to join him. I think I would have made it over but not in very good form that is for sure. Needless to say I am probably better off having taken the easier way home and gotten more of a recovery ride in as oppsed to suffering again so soon. Not sure how those Tour guys do it day in and day out. Doing a dirt ride on Davis this evening at 6pm if anyone's around.

JJ

Pine tree and pine cones

Last night after dinner I got motivated to go for a spin. Out to Pine Tree for some laps there. Somebody has been back there doing a little trail maintenance, trails were in good shape. I did confirm the need for new tires though, I get great traction but they throw way to much up, like sticks, rocks and pine cones. Yup, pine cones. On my third lap with mouth open sucking in air, a pine cone came off the front tire and right down my throat. As I ride along dry heaving until said pine cone becomes unlarged and comes out. Good times.

Anywho, about an hour on dirt. Got to play around with seat height and air pressure in my fork and shock so well worth the near death pine cone experience.

A1

Hurricane

There are times when my eyes are bigger then my legs, yesterday was one of them. I took Monday very easy after JJ and my epic ride on Sunday, but yesterday I figured I'd spin over to my folks house in North Bridgton after work. Being that work is situated where it is and the route that I wanted to take (rt 93 through Sweeden) is located where it is I thought it would be smart to take a "shortcut" and ride up and over Hurricane.

I'm not sure why I didn't listen to my body when it was screaming at me riding up to the top of Kearsarge Rd, or why I didn't listen when it was screaming as I rode the lower "flat" pitch of Hurricane. But I was listening when I was on the main pitch but at the point I felt committed to my route- so up and over (slowly) I went.

The rest of the ride was pretty good. Total time was 1:53:52- that's all I know. I don't have the data bank that Dr. Data has. I should point out I enjoy all of Dr. Data's data, and yes I ask him for updates on a regular basis.

That's it from here. Hopefully the Thursday night series will go well- can we cut any time? I hope so!

DEA

Solo on Sunday

So I decided that Sunday's death march would be best not attempted. Long work week starting at 4:00am and usually ending around 1:00am coupled with the mysterious muscle pull in my chest that feels like I broke a rib. So I was out. NK and I spoke and were going to hook up Sunday morning for a dirt ride. He called promptly 7:00am, I'm half asleep, not going. Back to bed and Nikki says you should just go. OK, call NK and left a message. So I'm going solo.

Got out for 2 1/2 hours on dirt found some good new trails around the lake. Up to Peaked for 2 laps and back through to home. Felt real good and liking the Perpetuum a lot. Got out on the road for an hour later, Mill St. to Brownfield and back. Road the hill from Brownfield to the state line twice. Nikki went and keeps a super pace.

We're getting close and honestly there is'nt a moment that goes by where I don't think about it. Excited to say the least.


A1

Monday morning, damn I'm old

Well yesterday was a long day on the bike. Once I got home and cleaned up I didn't feel too bad. A little tired, I could feel my legs going up staris, but not a complete wreck. I slept hard and woke up about 7:30 this morning. I am now more tired that I was before and my legs, lower back, upper back, shoulders, neck are all pretty sore. Looks like I'll be eating plenty of Advil today.

JJ

How could I forget PJ!

A quick shout out to PJ for his ride up Mount Washington on Saturday. K and I played host to PJ and Jenny on Friday night and then they were out the house prior to me getting up at 5:30am. I did talk to him later after he rode and heard he put up a pretty good time- around 1:50 (we'll have to get an official result later).

Either way props to PJ!


DEA

on the truly weaker side of things

well, here's to hoping that A1 got out today - here's what went down:

saturday night i was on the horn with DEA, and i hear that steak sauce is planning on doing a dirt ride instead of the epic madness that JJ and the good dr. had planned. me, thinking that discretion is the better part of valor, said that maybe i should cop out and go with him. i mean, i need the practice on dirt, right? right.

well, following that conversation i got the freak on the phone and we made tentative plans to get at it bright and early sunday morning. i'm liking this. maybe a cruise down the power lines to meet up near wal-mart, then a trip across peaked, over cranmore and down red tail. i'm liking it.

we hit sunday, 7am, bright and early, i get on the horn to call mr. steak sauce, and found that riding might not be on his agenda. fair enough, says i, it gives me more time to sleep! little did i know that not more than five minutes after i'd hung up the phone and gone back to sleepytown, A1 called back, having changed his mind. i was blissfully unaware of this situation, and continued on sleeping until around 9:30 when i bolted out of bed a full FIVE HOURS after DEA and JJ took off.

no, i'm not a slacker.

but, i did deviate from my plan a bit, going up red tail (my nemisis), down cranmore, and then around whitaker woods like a top for a bit. total saddle time, about 2 1/2 hours. not epic. but good! and despite a bit of hike-a-bike up red tail (that damned thing is just too technical for a schlub like me), it was a very brisk pace (about 45 minutes not counting passing a couple of downhillers i chatted with), which was very much worth the effort - i felt pretty good! and were i not such a hard guy to self-motivate, i definitely could and should have turned right around and gone up cranmore again. instead, whitaker woods served as a pretty decent cooldown.

unfortunately, i didn't get the massive saddle time that our two meatheads managed to put in (although i can safely say that i didn't get the sunburn they did either - i did, however, get shredded by some berry and thorn bushes, yeah!!). however, i also learned that on a hot day i go through 72 ounces of water really effing fast. something to think of as we near jay...

korea slim off to bed.

Epic Sunday Ride

The final long ride in preparation for Jay was this morning. Aside from some monor start delays (DEA overslept) we got on the road about 5:30 ish and headed out for a long one. Longest ever for me anyhow. Well DEA is busting my chops as I will give you the numbers for the ride. He doesn't mind asking about them as we are rolling along. So here they are: we rode for 8 hours; 125.25 miles were covered; 8,930 feet were climbed and quite a few Red Bulls were drunk.




I agree with DEA on his lessons learned. I am fried tonight, my arms and face that is. Way too much sun for me. Nasty cyclist tan lines. Oh well. One good thing about starting a bit later was we got to ride in some pretty good heat and sun should we see that in a few weeks. It was hot and I sweat a lot, to the point it was burning my eyes.



Best thing about the ride was putting it all together and seeing stuff I have never seen before here in our backyard. I also must give due thanks to Susan and the boys for putting up with me and the long hours on the road this Spring and Summer. Hopefully it pays off.

JJ

TWAF in the top Spot

The GGTOC Dakine Summer Series Week 1 results have been posted. TWAF is in first place with a nice margin over the other teams. On the individual front, TWAF team members posted nice results as well. DEA took second in his division. JJ also placed second in his division, only 14 secs out of first. NK finished just off the podium in 4th place. Nice riding fellas.

JJ

Final Prep

I can't say this morning started the way I had intended. JJ and I had inteneded to meet at 5am, a half hour past our original starting time. Let's just say that when I opened my eyes I was a bit confused by how bright it was. Imagine that- it's fairly bright out at 5:30am! I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs to start frantically getting dressed just as JJ called to figure out where the hell I was. So a piece of bread with peanut butter and a red bull and I was out of the house and we started our little epic adventure (and JJ had a nice half hour warm up and an extra seven miles in his legs by the time we got started).

I won't go into great detail as I'm sure JJ will have a comprehensive report with a map and stats (maybe we need to re-name him Dr. Data?) But I will say it was a great ride, and I learned a few things- 1) wake up on time to ensure you go through your normal pre-ride routine (no further explanation on why that is so important!), 2) when you're going to be out for close to 8 hours remember sunscreen!, 3) while sprinting for town lines is fun, know what you're going to feel like post sprint after seven hours in the saddle, 4) over time all these energy foods start to taste like crap.

I'm pleased, the final big ride before Jay (for me at least- next weekend I'm planning on ONLY a four hour dirt ride)- 120 miles, 7500 feet of climbing, and close to 8 total hours out on course. If I'm not ready for Jay by now there isn't much more I can do!

Now starts the fine tuning and active rest. We have the GGTOC summer series (TWAF is in first!), we have a race at Cranmore on the 20th that is a part of the RJC summer series, and we have Jay. A couple weeks later it's the 24 Hours of Great Glen- so we are here world- Team Weak and Feeble!

I'm gonna say right here that last December I think if someone told me I'd be doing the kind of riding we've been doing I would have thought they were nuts! And I've got to say this as well- a huge thanks to K and the girls for putting up with my training and tired legs. At least there is less of me to love now!

Time for a beer.


Dr. Evil

ulcer?

for some of us, it could be cirrhosis.

nK

good view of Jay

found this while searching race reports about the Jay Challenge- cool shot of the mountain!

DEA

Butterflies?

DEA, those are not butterflies in your stomach, that's what is called an ulcer forming.

JJ

last night

Race one is out of the way at the Great Glen summer series, and I’ll agree with JJ- 25 minutes of super effort is not something we’ve been training for! With that being said it felt good to go super hard, of course after looking at Mike Saras’s time I don’t feel like I went nearly hard enough!

It was good to get a majority showing from TWAF, as JJ, NK and I all made the start. PJ will be up in the Notch on Saturday as he tackles Newton’s Revenge- so good luck to him. The remaining TWAF members will embark on a 120 mile road adventure on Sunday- leaving at 4:30am- anyone want to join us?

The only major wrinkle in yesterday was my back went out on me at about 10:30 pm (amazing how you remember the time!) I was trying to do a stretch to loosen up my hip and my lower back on my right side just did something bad. K had to help me to the bad and I was a bit nervous and I’ll admit that I was also in a fair amount of pain. It took me a few minutes to get into a position where I was flat on my back and K grabbed an ice pack and after about an hour of frostbiting my back it seemed to let go and I was able to fall asleep. Amazingly enough I felt fine in the AM and was even able to pedal in- although I took it easy as I didn’t want to be curled up in the fetal position on the North South Road.

We’re getting closer boys, the butterflies are starting to form!


DEA

Summer Series at GGTOC Week #1

First week of the GGTOC Summer Series and Team Weak and Feeble makes a nice showing. One thing for sure is I have not been training to ride 25-30 minute XC races this season. My heart rate maxed out right from the start and never came back down. Definately not race pace for Jay.



JJ in the start house getting the Garmin Edge set. Nothing like plenty of data to confirm how slow you feel.


Looks like I'm off and forgot to lock out the fork. What a start.



DEA after his ride looking for some of that Oxygen stuff. He was our top rider of the evening posting a respectible time. We'll see how TWAF did in the team catagory once final results are posted.

Thanks to Eli and his crew for putting together a nice course. See ya all next Thursday for week 2.

JJ

how do i feel?

i feel like i've plateaued, and even though i haven't ridden quite as much as i did earlier in may and june, that i'm keeping my strength pretty well.

however, i'm still very, very intimidated right now. i want to finish this thing, but not at the risk of serious injury.

good times! how's the rest of y'all getting along? we've been a bit fractured and haven't had a full team ride lately. i think it's time to get back on the horse for some team-wide training!

nK

July

The month of July is already flying by, with today being the 5th- holy cow!

Monday I felt dead, yesterday I did the Bridgton Four on the 4th running race- felt ok but I still can’t run for beans (a 33 something for 4 miles- about a 8.5 mpm pace). Then this morning I rode into work- felt ok but I need to work on my stretching in a big time way as my whole body is really feeling tight these days.

The Tour is shaping up to be a good race. The dopers are gone (at least some of them) and the riders that are left are going to put on a heck of a show. At first I was pretty frustrated but at this point I just want to watch those still in it racing hard.

Only a few weeks left, times getting tight! A couple big training rides left then some quality rest and easy riding to get up to the big day.

How’s everyone feeling?


DEA

Riding while on the road

So We are spending our 4th of July Holiday weekend on the road visiting the family in Western NY. Took both the C-dale (road bike) and the Yeti for some riding. On Friday I got out for about an hour and a half on the road with some good climbing. With a mile left I flatted and walked in. Oh well. Time for some new rubber I think. 3 flats in the last 500 miles is too many for me. Saturday I got out for 2 hours of singletrack at the Harriet Hollister Rec. Area and it was a blast. I had a limited map and found a lot of other trails cut by folks who know how to build trails that were not on my map. Lots of climbing and some really cool features. Thanks to the folks on MTBR review for the recommendation. Didn't make it out Sunday or today as we were tied up with family activities and tomorrow we are back in the car heading home. Looking for some miles on Wed and then the race series at Great Glen on Thursday. We're in the home stretch boys....

JJ

The weekend

July is here. Gulp. I’m getting a bit twitchy as we begin the final countdown. Have we done enough? Have we done the right kind of work? Are we dialed in on nutrition? Are we dialed in on gear? Argh the list goes on.

Didn’t ride to much this weekend, not sure why just didn’t. A1 and I got out on road bikes for a couple spins. Saturday morning we did a 5am rip up Mill Street and then to the top of Old County Road, where we then spun around and ripped back. A1 had a need to ride fast so I just tried to hold on as he was pushing the big ring up every hill he could find. Not I, I would just watch that gap grow as he pulled away. When we got back to his place he hooked me up with some coffee pods (I was out- what a neighbor) and we planned to ride dirt later in the day. I went for another short little spin just to get the total ride time up to 1.5 hours and then headed home to enjoy homeowner fun.

Needless to say we never connected for an afternoon ride. Sunday A1 and I yet again connected early- although this time it was a more reasonable 6am ish time frame. I was riding down to my in-laws and A1 was going to tag along for a bit and then loop back. It was a typical TWAF ride- in the rain. We battled for a few town lines with A1 getting me on a good one, and I think I snagged the rest. He was still hell bent for metal on the climbs pushing his big ring while I sat back and spun away. He peeled off in Tamworth and I continued on down 25, a road I’d never ridden before but based on JJ’s recon a couple weeks ago when he pedaled down to Concord I figured I’d give it a go. It wasn’t too bad but I wouldn’t have minded a lack of rain! I was trying out the Perpetum from Hammer for the first time and it seemed to do the trick. Can’t say I was digging the taste, but I liked the way it was working.

I eventually got to where I was going but after a quick call to my support team (Karen and the kids) I realized they had gotten a slow start and would be an hour behind- and they had my clothes! With that in mind I checked in with my in-laws and realized my brother in-law was out riding. That was what I needed to hear, filled my water bottle and headed back out to try and track him down. The only issue was the roads sucked and after a few miles I gave up and did a tour around Governors Island and headed back- I snagged another 45 minutes or so of riding, taking my total for the day to 3.5 hours of saddle time. For the weekend I got 5 hours but that was about four hours short of what I had hoped to ride.

Then this morning commuting in I felt dead, so I’m not sure what that is all about. Tomorrow is the Four on the 4th running race, so that will be fun and Thursday is race one of the Summer Series up at Great Glen. Busy week.

By the way TWAF t-shirts will be here this week. One for $15 or two for $25, interested shoot me an email sven@glengroup.com. We’ll post a few photos of TWAF member sporting the new duds once they get her.

That’s it from me.

DEA


ps- as a side note this is the 300th post to the blog, is that a milestone?