Uninspired, but not Disinterested start to 2017
- Thread starter Pearl
- Start date
Please define? unascertainable is one word.
Mountain Bike Mike
Well-Known Member
I agree with @UtahJoe and @stb222 and you mentioned it with the car world you were in.. Phases of life... You made some serious life changing things happen within the past year. Of course it will never be the way it was. Welcome to the new phase of your life. Make the most of it because you sure lived the ef out of that last phase.
Dave Taylor
Rex kwan Do
I never nap lol, two lottle guys under 4 since I have been riding/racing. I get it when I can. On the other hand it makes me work for it and get in and out fast. It's really tough with kids because you can train, ride and race but you have to make your best attempt to not do it selfishly. On a side note, Jersey sucks but the mtb life in jersey does not. Thanks to all the great riding buddies I have met over the last 2-3 years.
rlb
Well-Known Member
Statement rejected. Where are the dick jokes?
1speed
Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
The good old days are largely a trick of memory. People seem hard-coded to recall things in a more positive light than the actual experience would suggest. Even when something turns out to be a total shit show, it becomes a story you can laugh about later, and that - at least in part - transforms the memory into something positive. It seems almost like a coping mechanism or something. When the memory actually is positive, it becomes something you chase later on. But the funny thing about that is that it creates a feedback loop of its own. For example, while today's ride will seem to be a mere shadow of a ride you enjoyed long ago, some day you may look back at today's ride as a benchmark that your future rides are judged against.
This riding thing has never been something I've felt nostalgic over. I've been "in the game" for MTBing for probably 17 or 18 years now and I occasionally run into someone from back in the old days of the first few years of MASS or the old timey racing/riding that happened back then. But that's never engendered a sense of nostalgia in me. I think it's largely because cycling doesn't exist on a timeline in that way for me. This is something I do to offset the many things I don't want to do but have to (e.g., work.) So any ride I do will never be something I compare to another ride in the past. Instead, I compare it to something I could be doing right then that I don't want to, and in that way every ride is pretty good, whether it's with a group or solo.
This riding thing has never been something I've felt nostalgic over. I've been "in the game" for MTBing for probably 17 or 18 years now and I occasionally run into someone from back in the old days of the first few years of MASS or the old timey racing/riding that happened back then. But that's never engendered a sense of nostalgia in me. I think it's largely because cycling doesn't exist on a timeline in that way for me. This is something I do to offset the many things I don't want to do but have to (e.g., work.) So any ride I do will never be something I compare to another ride in the past. Instead, I compare it to something I could be doing right then that I don't want to, and in that way every ride is pretty good, whether it's with a group or solo.
Mountain Bike Mike
Well-Known Member
I had some out of the blue nostalgia happen last week. @stb222 forwards me an IG pic of a dude selling a dirt jumper cheap. I expand the post and then expand the dude's intagram page since he is a local bmx guy. I scroll through his board and see a pic of a shopping mall sign that jerked my memory in to high... AND the dude's comment said something along the lines of "who remembers what used to be behind this?"... I immediately knew it was the Drexel Hills / Drexel Wood trails. I added a comment that only a few people would know and the dude picked up on it.
Then the dude started following me on IG, found a pic of me racing at Bensalem BMX and he commented he remembered me and also mentioned my local trails. That flipped me out... I couldn't remember this dude to save my life. I reach out to him and swap some pm's and it turns out to be a dude I used to race with and bum rides off of. He never left the BMX game and I found it very interesting that Kevin knows the guy from Kevin's local trails in Ewing. Small world + blast from the past had me tripp'n for a good two days about it. That encounter had me reminiscing hard on the past and thinking about lots of really good memories. I got out of the local PA BMX life back in 1994ish... The last time I was at my local trails was 2001. So to have that past life cross paths with this life freaked me out.
I may meet up with this dude and ride some trails. I wonder if I'll run in to more old buddies.
Then the dude started following me on IG, found a pic of me racing at Bensalem BMX and he commented he remembered me and also mentioned my local trails. That flipped me out... I couldn't remember this dude to save my life. I reach out to him and swap some pm's and it turns out to be a dude I used to race with and bum rides off of. He never left the BMX game and I found it very interesting that Kevin knows the guy from Kevin's local trails in Ewing. Small world + blast from the past had me tripp'n for a good two days about it. That encounter had me reminiscing hard on the past and thinking about lots of really good memories. I got out of the local PA BMX life back in 1994ish... The last time I was at my local trails was 2001. So to have that past life cross paths with this life freaked me out.
I may meet up with this dude and ride some trails. I wonder if I'll run in to more old buddies.
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
In a world full of new technology and carbon this, full suspension that, everything about XC racing is about tackling the trail head on as fast as you can. People train for climbing hills faster and ripping some enduro descents as fast as they can. Everything comes down to seconds and being faster than everyone else. Even when I first started riding with “the crew”, it was still about being faster than the next person, just on another level.
Being fast and crushing an event is a feeling you cannot top, I’ve touched on that before. At this juncture in my amateur cycling career, it’s not a hidden fact that I feel kind of lost. Maybe all the training and technology has just been getting to me. I always think about how to get back to that good old days place we have discussed. I feel like I’m starting to get back into a groove that I was in before we left for NJ, which is good. Looking forward to riding again and I’m slowly getting back into the routine.
Racing the singlespeed category for short track brought back interesting feelings. The last time I consistently rode a single speed MTB for more than 2 weeks (the weekend before SSAP and the race) was when things were much, much simpler.
The first singlespeed, remember this @THATmanMANNY ?
Driving all over the tri-state area to race, talking trash to my friends, eating crappy and just not giving AF. I remember the whole attitude of riding singlespeed and the general “fuck it” consensus. If we did well, if we sucked, it was whatever. The whole vibe of it was part of how I originally got into cycling, before I made it too serious. The hardest part about riding back then was getting everyone to agree on a place to ride. That and if we were manly enough to run a bigger gear. The past 3 months it was too easy to talk myself out of getting out. Thankfully that is changing now.
So on a whim, I decided to breathe life back into this rig. Look familiar?
I have aspirations of racing more singlespeed races and just generally adopting the singlespeed vibe again. Part of this is because of the U40 Cat 1 XC is lumped with Pro, which is an ego crusher and as you know I am a flower. The new rig will make the local trails even that much more fun to me. For pure speed, the Scalpel is still the tool for the job, uphill, downhill, sideways, all that stuff. I’m not kidding myself here. I kind of look at this as riding in that 1960’s classic car that doesn’t have power steering or brakes. Something about cruising around and either racing it or chilling with it, I’m thinking it’s going to be a completely different experience than riding the Scalpel. Which may be inviting, may turn over some new interest.
I rode the new rig today on the local trails and I must say, it was fun. It felt different than my Scalpel in a good way. It changed the way I rode and brought some smiles to my face. I enjoyed it. It was only 26 seconds slower than my Scalpel too, which will be fun to compare as time goes on.
What else is going on? May these 3 endurance races I'd like to do. I'm doing 2 for sure. If I can pull off the 4 endurance races AND the XC race this weekend, I will be impressed:
Dark Grind XC SS
This is held at the same place that the Warrior Creek race is on, but a little bit more raw of a trail, I've heard. Read delicate flower post above for SSing instead of Open.
6 Hours of Lake Norman SS
I thought I swore of lap races, but this seems like a fun one. It's also semi-local. It seems the winners do 70-80 miles, which I'm not sure I'm ready for, but it will be a good way to get some miles in on the MTB. @jShort rode here with me and it is a very singlespeed ripper course. I'm afraid if I race with gears I will kill myself in the first 3 hours. I think the singlespeed will keep me alive longer.
Pisgah 55.5k (the one i got lost at and almost died)
Need redemption here. Going to bring a cell phone as well as a TCX of the course this time. I have no idea what to expect from my fitness for this one. I learned last year that anything uphill here seemed to be hike a bike anyway, so maybe I should start running?
Jimmie Johnson Fit Fest 4 hour, Memorial Day
The Fit Fest has names like Hincapie, Lance Armstrong, and a few other ex-pro guys. When else can you ever be on the same reg list as them? Jimmie Johnson is racing too, the day after he's riding 5 hours in circles around Charlotte Motor Speedway, which by the way, I'm going to. Going to see how many Ricky Bobby lines I can drop.
Being fast and crushing an event is a feeling you cannot top, I’ve touched on that before. At this juncture in my amateur cycling career, it’s not a hidden fact that I feel kind of lost. Maybe all the training and technology has just been getting to me. I always think about how to get back to that good old days place we have discussed. I feel like I’m starting to get back into a groove that I was in before we left for NJ, which is good. Looking forward to riding again and I’m slowly getting back into the routine.
Racing the singlespeed category for short track brought back interesting feelings. The last time I consistently rode a single speed MTB for more than 2 weeks (the weekend before SSAP and the race) was when things were much, much simpler.
The first singlespeed, remember this @THATmanMANNY ?
Driving all over the tri-state area to race, talking trash to my friends, eating crappy and just not giving AF. I remember the whole attitude of riding singlespeed and the general “fuck it” consensus. If we did well, if we sucked, it was whatever. The whole vibe of it was part of how I originally got into cycling, before I made it too serious. The hardest part about riding back then was getting everyone to agree on a place to ride. That and if we were manly enough to run a bigger gear. The past 3 months it was too easy to talk myself out of getting out. Thankfully that is changing now.
So on a whim, I decided to breathe life back into this rig. Look familiar?
I have aspirations of racing more singlespeed races and just generally adopting the singlespeed vibe again. Part of this is because of the U40 Cat 1 XC is lumped with Pro, which is an ego crusher and as you know I am a flower. The new rig will make the local trails even that much more fun to me. For pure speed, the Scalpel is still the tool for the job, uphill, downhill, sideways, all that stuff. I’m not kidding myself here. I kind of look at this as riding in that 1960’s classic car that doesn’t have power steering or brakes. Something about cruising around and either racing it or chilling with it, I’m thinking it’s going to be a completely different experience than riding the Scalpel. Which may be inviting, may turn over some new interest.
I rode the new rig today on the local trails and I must say, it was fun. It felt different than my Scalpel in a good way. It changed the way I rode and brought some smiles to my face. I enjoyed it. It was only 26 seconds slower than my Scalpel too, which will be fun to compare as time goes on.
What else is going on? May these 3 endurance races I'd like to do. I'm doing 2 for sure. If I can pull off the 4 endurance races AND the XC race this weekend, I will be impressed:
Dark Grind XC SS
This is held at the same place that the Warrior Creek race is on, but a little bit more raw of a trail, I've heard. Read delicate flower post above for SSing instead of Open.
6 Hours of Lake Norman SS
I thought I swore of lap races, but this seems like a fun one. It's also semi-local. It seems the winners do 70-80 miles, which I'm not sure I'm ready for, but it will be a good way to get some miles in on the MTB. @jShort rode here with me and it is a very singlespeed ripper course. I'm afraid if I race with gears I will kill myself in the first 3 hours. I think the singlespeed will keep me alive longer.
Pisgah 55.5k (the one i got lost at and almost died)
Need redemption here. Going to bring a cell phone as well as a TCX of the course this time. I have no idea what to expect from my fitness for this one. I learned last year that anything uphill here seemed to be hike a bike anyway, so maybe I should start running?
Jimmie Johnson Fit Fest 4 hour, Memorial Day
The Fit Fest has names like Hincapie, Lance Armstrong, and a few other ex-pro guys. When else can you ever be on the same reg list as them? Jimmie Johnson is racing too, the day after he's riding 5 hours in circles around Charlotte Motor Speedway, which by the way, I'm going to. Going to see how many Ricky Bobby lines I can drop.
soulchild
Well-Known Member
This is the perfect summation of what led to my complete meltdown. Dustin and I were just talking about when it stops being fun. At the end, I was almost bothered about being on the bike. I miss it though, like you said - what it used to be.
Obviously I've been away so I didn't know you were going through this but I'm glad it's turning around.
But it ain't never going to be the same as it was even if you try and make it the same as it was. I have learned this from stepping on a skateboard and when I got back into BMX again, it is the same but totally different at the same time. I think a big part if moving forward is just accepting that it won't be the same, and that is OK.
Was there ever a @soulchild blog? WTB revival.
THATmanMANNY
Well-Known Member
word man. You came to buy it. Offered you a beer and you said you didnt drink. AWKWARD
We had a few exchanges and we would always shoot the shit. Miss that
Keep life simple. Minimalism within reason
We had a few exchanges and we would always shoot the shit. Miss that
Keep life simple. Minimalism within reason
Pearl
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
If history keeps repeating itself, I will have a 27.5 Habit in 4 years.
Photo Dump:
The last couple of days I've been checking out this old fisherman trail along the river too. I decided to check out where it went and bring a rake/pruners.
nature TTF.
The river is soothing.
Needs a lawnmower/weedwacker, but that's out of the question. It's sort of rideable as it is.
Saturday
I ended up riding over 8 hours last week, which is nice to get back into the groove of things. I was able to be pretty consistent this week too, and I was able to cap it off with this ride with Jerry and his friends. 60 miles with the local peoples. 46 at the start but 65 at the finish. I confirmed with @stb222 wear and it was spot on would use service again. I kept a bunch of my matches in the book just in case, and towards the end I still felt pretty good. Apparently we went kind of fast too. If I'm going to do these long events, I'm going to need to figure out how to ride long on the weekends. So far it's working.
Secret Short Track MTB Training Grounds
maybe @gtluke can explain this, but I found this weird jeep track that goes near our development. No way they are going to develop this into housing/roads, but they have these raised manholes. Some are 5 feet out of the ground. Is it just a sewer service road? It's about a mile loop.
View from top of climb.
Either a nasty chunky downhill or deathly climb.
Kind of Scenic view of Rocky River.
Sunday I bailed on the race to bank more open weekends for the next 3 events, so I'm good on that front. 1:40 one way to do a XC race just seemed meh. I smashed around on the singlespeed at the Allaire of Charlotte and it was very entertaining. Seeing people on straight hybrid bikes, people who have never seen a rigid singlespeed, etc. I left my phone at home, so I didn't take any flicks. My arms are still sore from riding this thing, but I realized this Monday morning I had the Ergon grips on the wrong way. WOOPS. Maybe that will help. Or maybe I need to HTFU. Not sure if I may need a longer stem, or if I'm just used to seeing the lefty fork sticking further out than the old traditional fork.
Heres to another week of beautiful weather to have no excuse to ride during lunch! (except today, I got shits to do)
Photo Dump:
The last couple of days I've been checking out this old fisherman trail along the river too. I decided to check out where it went and bring a rake/pruners.
nature TTF.
The river is soothing.
Needs a lawnmower/weedwacker, but that's out of the question. It's sort of rideable as it is.
Saturday
I ended up riding over 8 hours last week, which is nice to get back into the groove of things. I was able to be pretty consistent this week too, and I was able to cap it off with this ride with Jerry and his friends. 60 miles with the local peoples. 46 at the start but 65 at the finish. I confirmed with @stb222 wear and it was spot on would use service again. I kept a bunch of my matches in the book just in case, and towards the end I still felt pretty good. Apparently we went kind of fast too. If I'm going to do these long events, I'm going to need to figure out how to ride long on the weekends. So far it's working.
Secret Short Track MTB Training Grounds
maybe @gtluke can explain this, but I found this weird jeep track that goes near our development. No way they are going to develop this into housing/roads, but they have these raised manholes. Some are 5 feet out of the ground. Is it just a sewer service road? It's about a mile loop.
View from top of climb.
Either a nasty chunky downhill or deathly climb.
Kind of Scenic view of Rocky River.
Sunday I bailed on the race to bank more open weekends for the next 3 events, so I'm good on that front. 1:40 one way to do a XC race just seemed meh. I smashed around on the singlespeed at the Allaire of Charlotte and it was very entertaining. Seeing people on straight hybrid bikes, people who have never seen a rigid singlespeed, etc. I left my phone at home, so I didn't take any flicks. My arms are still sore from riding this thing, but I realized this Monday morning I had the Ergon grips on the wrong way. WOOPS. Maybe that will help. Or maybe I need to HTFU. Not sure if I may need a longer stem, or if I'm just used to seeing the lefty fork sticking further out than the old traditional fork.
Heres to another week of beautiful weather to have no excuse to ride during lunch! (except today, I got shits to do)
Last edited:
rlb
Well-Known Member
It's probably sewer "trunk line" easement. As more and more sewage is collected and the flow gets closer to a treatment plant the pipes get bigger. Think trees, the branches reach out into neighborhoods to collect and it all eventually flows to a trunk which leads to a treatment plant. Because the water flows through the pipes by gravity the trunks are usually in low lying areas and/or follow rivers. Since those areas are prone to flooding they often have the MH lids a few feet above grade to prevent flood water from flowing into the sewer system, which in turn could overload the treatment plant.
The Heckler
You bring new meaning to the term SUCK
59th