CBC Racing

Ok, so after the ACL surgery in Feb. 2010 i new i was out for the spring and early summer races.  That meant the Maxxis Series and the Greenville Crits were out off site.  So I started slow and stayed away from Jim S. rode when I could with little speed and even less distance.  As the the spring came and went I looked at ORAMM to be a focus for the Mt. and Crossraods to be a Goal for the Road.  Well ORAMM came pretty quickly and I knew that I was in for a Long day when EHarmoy called me at 4:45am and told me he was carpooling with C-DUb and I.  So I’m very quiet in the morning and my Mexicans know not even to utter a word before 8 if they wanna keep a job.  Eric is not quit a Mexican if you know what I mean.  I did have him scared though when i told him rather blankly I would leave him in Old Fort if he didn’t cross the finish line in 7 hours.  It’s good to be the driver sometimes.  Needless to say EHarmony passed me on the way up Mills Rd with a smile since he could tell I had a rocket in my mouth.  Jason the Canadian killed it and took the CBC crown in great form as he crushed the downhills and stayed in control and consistent on the climbs.  Mark and Buddy also virgins to ORAMM did very well considering the 96 degree temps and 11000 feet of climbing in 63 miles.  EHarmony podiumed and  didn’t even feel it as far as my dehydration head ache could tell on the way home.  He makes me laugh!

Crossroads was also quite an event.  Mocksville was good and pretty quiet until 2 to go and I clipped the pedal in turn two and landed off line and peeled my tire off the rim for a DNF.  So now I’m out  for the overall so I’m looking for Points now as to atleast get $150 back.  Concord was good and the points were coming in.  Salisbury was WET and me with all my Mt. biker Skills dumped it with 4 to go and I’m still coddling my road rash as we speak.  Statesville was another WET course and I was sooo Gun Shy that I couldn’t take my turns aggressively and therefor lost my position in front of the pack and finished mid- pack.  Harrisburg was good and DRY but the riders were on and I was fighting to keep a wheel and this little 14 year old kept calling every position in every turn and totally got in my head.  The field sprint was ugly as you could expect with a bunch of 4-5’s. All in all i think I finished 8th in Points and 17 in Leader.  So much for all the waiting and late season training I seem to peak fast and go down hill even faster.  Next update will be about the Summer Series and if I can Keep the Lead till the end.  5 to go! Then SWANK.  Anyone in?

Ok it’s been awhile since my last blog, I think we were talking
about the Collier Lilly ride and a pre-ride up ORAMM.  Well since then
I’ve been racing more than I’ve been training.  7 races in the last 25
days.  I typically do the Wed. night Mt series and I far as I’ve been
told I’m in first place in the expert standings.  I’ve moved into cat
4 also and have placed 8,9,1 and 14th.  The State Games were cool and
to race back to back road and Mt was a unique experience.
Ok about the bikes.  I raced the Superfly Hardtail on Wed. at
the WWC and Then the Superfly 100 on Sat.  I raced the same course in
the same temps against the same group of competitors and had more or
less the exact same time and results.  I worked as hard and fought
about the same trying to hammer and then holding position.  The 100 is
my winner though  because the next day I didn’t have the lower back
muscle tension.  I use more body language on the Hardtail and stand
almost constantly.  The 100 has a tighter cockpit and there for better
handling and therefor less body movement and less fatigue.  I also
rode in Atl. during the 4th of July weekend and broke my seat rail to
the point that I almost packed it up and went home.  Didn’t want to do
that so I stayed at Chicopee and did the loop twice.  I never sat and
rode the 100 all day standing and surfing the trees.  No BOB none.  I
‘m serious they (GF) figured it out, it rides as a hardtail if need be
and does it flawlessly.  I’m very impressed, and thats hard to do!
Crossroads is coming up and so is ORAMM.  Hang in there for the
next results and hopefully some good stories.

What to say a big Thanks and Congrats. to Nick, Brunner, Tim,
Scott, Mike T, Buddy, Travis, Cricket, Jim, Gary, Mike S, Kelly and
any one else I’ve Forgotten who has been racing the last two months.
We are lighting up the town because of ya’ll and the black and orange
are getting noticed at every starting line!

Rock on! Cricket Butler photo as she finished the Tour Divide
self supported Mountain Bike Race. 2796 miles later, Cricket was the
only woman finisher in 2010. Averaging 105.8 miles per day, Cricket
finished in 26 days, 9 hours and 36 minutes. Unfortunately, the race
had one casualty with the death of Dave Blumenthal. Dave was riding
alone in Colorado and on a fire road descent he strayed into the path
of on oncoming truck and succumbed to massive head injuries suffered
during the crash. The race began on June 11 in Banff , Canada and
ended at the border of Mexico . 48 starters from all over the world,
24 finished.

Congratulations Cricket!!

Ok this might go back a week or so. 24 Hour Burn! A wet course full of roots and slippery switchbacks. But we had a support camp so full of everything anyone would need to get it done. We had 6 popup tents a camper 3 stoves and 3 girls that were taking care of every little detail. Lap times, food, drinks, snacks, setup, lights, clean towels the works. All we had to do is just show and ride. I’ve done 5 burns in a row and and this was by far the best. We road as the 5 man team and did as well as possible. No mech, no bonking, no mental breakdowns. The Fisher bikes were awesome and honestly helped over 24 hours to keep us in contention. We ended up third in the overall open class. Second looser but we r happy to have it out of 25 teams. Really happy.
I rode the Tuesday night caboose ride in the rain and the few guys that made it out had a good ride that ended up with sunshine and a few beers.
On Saturday morning we met at Davidson College for the annual Collier Lilly ride. It went out nice and slow but eventually picked up to a nice pace that had the front group whittled down to about 25 guys and gals. The Fisher road team was there and did a nice job up front keeping it fast and in control. I’m not saying nothing but the first guy who crosses the finish line wins right??? Thanks y’all.
ORAMM reconnasense ride. Sunday at 6 we left concord for Old Fort. We pre road heartbreak ridge, star gap, Curtis creek and heartbreak again. Looong day in the mountains but it was overcast and the air felt like AC. It was beautiful to be in the mountains but the mountains won again. We bailed early after 5.5 hours in the saddle. We talked big and bad about taking Kitsuma on the way back but wanted none of it when it came down to making a right turn towards it. Mark J looked really good out there and Chris W. lead the pack as usual. What a two weeks, I’m beat but faster for it. Ain’t that the idea!

I just needed to say a few things about the Grind on the Greenway. First to my duo teammate Darren. Nice job out there, I appreciate the effort and I know you gave it all you had. Second place is only ‘ok’ when first place is your teammate or teammates!
Totally an awesome job by all. Every single teammate podiumed this weekend and no other team came even close. Eric H 1st, Jim & Jason 1st, Chris B 1st, Travis B 1st, Mike T 2nd, Mark J 2nd, Darren & Noel 2nd, Chris 3rd expert. Now that’s domination!
The totally amazing Gary Fisher Superfly 100! Flawless and Fast. I’ve raced and ridden soooo many great bikes in my time and I can say honestly nothing rides like a Superfly 100. Quick, nimble, smooth, consistent, trustworthy, light, easy…
In summation; GREAT job by all things & racers of the CBC/ Gary Fisher-Subaru Mtb. racing team. I very proud to be a part of this team.

Well OK Lets dont tell Scott or Dr. Perry but its time to race. I’m gonna start with the small regional stuff and then see whats out there later.
Part 1
I raced the CSC summer series MTB on Wed. night at Col. Francis Beatty park and felt good and relaxed upon the my new SF100. The trail is loaded with roots and I havent raced there since 2001 and it hasnt changed much. It was the typical line-up, Marion, Fish, Pile, Cannondale Team dude and then the Fisher crew. Everything was good till lap traffic became a issue. I groped some middle aged lady as she turned exactly sideways a nano second before i came up on her. Nothing between my right hand and her ‘va-jj’ but some black lycra. So I jump back on and try to put it out of my mind and out of no where a lilipution kid pops out and so I go down this time and try to keep the language to a minimum as now im popped and still looking at a lap to go. I settle in and ride Fish and his wheel to the end.
Part 2.
I got to Lake Norman State Park for a little SS training on my new SF with a Convert. As i come off the itsui trail and onto the road i hear the all too familiar sound of a police siren and full on Blue lights from the Loser State Park Ranger. Yep you got it, pulled over for running a stop sign at the trail head! Wait it gets better much better. I listen to his banter about how bikes and cars are the same and I have to obey all the same rules… So i excuse myself a little prematurely from his lecture and hit the Mambo loop one last time. As I come up tho my car I see Three Ranger trucks just waiting on me. (now just to be fair “i” had a run-in with these losers last year also and came out cleam as a whistle) So this is the first word I hear “Your that Guy” from the head Ranger. “Yep” i say. $185.00 later I lose the battle of ‘leaving my Dog unattended’!!! C U in Court MAy 19th.
Part 3
DIlworth Crit 4-5 Masters. 8:50 start with a bunch of old dudes and Jason W. Yep, Jim youre an old dude, sorry. Ok so it goes off, everybodys numbers like kites and pasty white old vein ridden legs. Gross. We have NO strategy and Jason is off in front, nose in the wind from the very start. Jim and I are talking on the second lap and off goes Chris Sugar from the HT team. Now I know Sug. and I also know he can be fast and dangerous to a 5. So I go up with him and say as I catch him “u wanna Work?”. Its on. I’ve always wanted to lap the field. I always thought it was cool when Harkey did it at the Kannapolis Crit. So off we go and we are sharing the load perfectly. Sug. pulls up the hill and I back down and around the 4th corner. I now know i should have let him pull that last hill and got him at the line. But the nice guy I am pulled and lost by 50 feet. Next time boys.

Ok, this week started slow with the training and then we finally got in a 38 mile training ride on Thursday.  The business park was full of orange and black and CBC definitely controlled the pace.  The after party was good and a lot of new faces showed and hand shakes were passed.  The Short track winter series went on even though Charlotte got 3” of snow and the loop was as sloppy as orange oatmeal.  We had alot of racers from CBC show and keep the pressure on for the series and final team points.  It was double points Saturday and the results should post on Tuesday.  Jim, Eric H. and Ian won their categories and with fingers crossed we made up some points towards 1st place.

Got the new road ride this week and gotta say Fisher is on to something with a bike this lite and stiff.  The team paint scheme is Way better than the stock paint it comes with and I’m glad because it really turns some heads at the business park on Thursday.  She is weighing out at 14lbs and seems to feel really comfortable with her tall head tube.  On the trainer she is also very rigid and has much less flex and sway than my previous bikes.  All in all Gene yes Gene did a great job on the build and thanks to reg. Kelly for the quick fit at the shop and seat post binder.  Ok the bad news is I’ve got a torn ACL and will bit the bullet and get it fixed on Feb 19th.  Gonna use a dead mans old tendon should be back helping the team by Mid March.  sorry, but I thought i was a way better skier than I actually am.  Oh well keep training, I’ll bridge up.

Album of the week : Transference  by Spoon

the winter is supposed to be for LSD rides and just plain old time in the saddle.  Well thats just not working out to well.  Once week I go to the Total Cyclist and get on there computer operated pain machine.  Its essentially a trainer stand with some wires that hang out and go to a laptop then to a large flat screen TV.  On the TV it shows you and everyone else your Watt, Cadence, MPH, Distance, Calories Burned, max Watt, Heart Rate and Princess Factor.  Now this sucks because the computer is different for everyone and turns the screws on the people of its choosing.  It chose me last week and deep fried my poor LSD legs.  Here is my weekly snapshot of my winter training. :————————————————-
Date:  Jan 19, 2010
Type of day:  Workout
TypeOfRide:  Interval
Distance:  48.00 (mi)
Duration:  2:21:00 (H:M:S)
AvgSpeed:  20.43
Group Ride:  YES
Effort:  7
————————————————-
Date:  Jan 18, 2010
Type of day:  Workout
TypeOfRide:  Hill
Distance:  30.00 (mi)
Duration:  1:30:00 (H:M:S)
AvgSpeed:  20.00
Effort:  7
————————————————-
Date:  Jan 16, 2010
Type of day:  Workout
TypeOfRide:  LactateThreshold
Distance:  23.00 (mi)
Duration:  1:9:00 (H:M:S)
AvgSpeed:  20.00
Effort:  8
————————————————-
Date:  Jan 15, 2010
Type of day:  Workout
TypeOfRide:  BaseMiles
Distance:  40.00 (mi)
Duration:  2:15:00 (H:M:S)
AvgSpeed:  17.78
Group Ride:  YES
Effort:  3
————————————————-
Date:  Jan 14, 2010
Type of day:  Workout
TypeOfRide:  Interval
Distance:  30.00 (mi)
Duration:  1:37:00 (H:M:S)
AvgSpeed:  18.56
Effort:  6
————————————————-
Date:  Jan 13, 2010
Type of day:  Workout
TypeOfRide:  Hill
Distance:  21.00 (mi)
Duration:  1:13:00 (H:M:S)
AvgSpeed:  17.26
Effort:  5

Artist of the Week: Eilen Jewell: Sea of Tears

Holy cow I knew I was in trouble as I was completely gassed in the first 2 minutes of a 5 five minute first lap out of 8 total laps.  Racing masters 35+ is no joke and the ‘masters’ thing has a tendancy to throw people.  Masters really means I’m your Daddy, NOT I’m your Grand Daddy. But all in all it was a cold clear day that was perfect for a cyclo-cross event.  CBC and Neal did a great job with the set up and event location.  The turn out was really good and there were people from just about all over the state.  No Boone Bike boys that I saw though.  Gordon the diesel made the grade with a first place in the single speed event.  Special K. was there and raced cat. 1-2 with the big boys  but Marion was there also so I’m not quite sure how that ended up.  Oh well I’m gonna erase that one from the memory books with ORAMM from last year.  Short Track next!

Album of the week :  The Shout Out Louds- Howl Howl Gaff Gaff