Dave Taylor
Rex kwan Do
Awesome dooood!
IGVENTURE
- Thread starter pooriggy
- Start date
There are some mtb races that for me, become must do's, not because the course itself is that good but rather the event marks a notable point in time, one in which I feel the need to spend it with the mountain bike community, and have a purpose to train and race. This past Saturday marked such a tradition, I raced Cathedral Pines for the 8th year, this always occurs the Saturday before Thanksgiving. It being the last mtb race of the year makes it notable plus the fact that it's around Thanksgiving, a time when we come together with others to give thanks for what we have, eat a shit ton of food and more or less be there for each other.
As a Jersey guy, going to Long Island is usually something you avoid at all costs, I mean if you live and work there that's cool but to have to travel to and from there, well that is the opposite of cool. This is why some folks shy away from this race, you're 100 miles out on LI, going there in the early morning isn't bad, but coming home is another story.
The key to getting there is to carpool, I always do this race as a team so I have someone to go with, I used to do this 6hr endurance race solo, let's just say I wised up. Me and Brian teamed up, if you recall, we teamed up at BS50, that race that I looked good but sucked at racing. Brian is a younger version of Iggy when it comes to power , since he is younger he is a bit stronger, although when I was his age I was not as successful at racing but if you took the Iggy of today and subtracted 16 yrs it would be Brian Power...does that make sense?
Since Brian was on a geared bike and me on my SS, we decided that he would go first, the mass start is a one mile race up a road to single track. The key to this race is to get into ST in the top 20 riders, with 250 people trying to funnel into the course, things back up and there is little room to pass on that 1st lap.
They changed it up this year and had a pace car control the lead out, since the start is always sketchy AF. This changed nothing, the start was still a mess, Brian crashed hard, the only difference this year is there was a car in front of the shit show.
The reason this start is a mess is because everyone is starting out on a road that looks like this. If you're riding solo or with a few buddies, you can negotiate this, however when you can only see the tire 6" in front of you and you are going 20mph...lets just say it's not good. What they need to do is fix the GD road, get 75 tns of stone, a tractor with a box blade and a county employee to fill in the holes. C'mon people wake the fuck up.
Ok, Dave Taylor rant over, actually I came up with a solution to a problem, so my bitch was not pointless. Well, back to Brian, I knew something happened when I did not see him in the top 20, I'm gonna guess that he was about 65ish, when I saw him he told me he crashed and i can see black mud stains down the right side of his kit. At this point he was pack fodder which does not allow you to pass because the trails are tight and there are about 40 people in front of you who should not be in front of you. As a result you get frustrated because your HR is no where near race pace and there is not much you can do about it.
I texted him to shake that lap off as I sat in the car waiting for him to finish. He came around and I headed out to do my lap. Despite sitting in the car for 30 minutes, I felt good as I zipped around the course, there where a lot of greasy corners, which in a way made the course easier, since you had to back off on speed and not take the turns too fast. I'd say my first lap was greasy conditions, not really muddy, although I did go out after 250 people made it around the trails, which dried things up a bit. The trails where actually drying with every lap. Overall, compared to the 2 muddiest cx races I did this year, CP was like the Sahara desert or Sara Lee desserts, really tasty, who doesn't love her pound cake.
After a few laps me and Brian where sitting in 3rd. These pro guys showed up from Brooklyn and did day of reg, they where fast. To be honest, the trails are fun, fast and flowee however I didn't feel like I was racing anyone, the 2nd place team was up about 4 minutes on us, I never got a glimpse of them on the trails. We had a good lead over the 4th place team, so I was riding in no man's land quite a bit, good thing we only do 4 laps each, this race can be mind numbing. I remember when I used to race this solo, doing that 8th lap was zombie mtbing, I don't know how I did it. Even doing my 4th lap Saturday felt like an effort, I ended up slowing down almost 2 minutes from my previous laps. It's hard going out for the last lap when everyone else is finishing up and Mitch is on his 3rd beer already. The last lap was uneventful, it felt good to be done and join in the celebration.
Brian had to leave right after the race to get home to a party, he is still in GF mode, where you can't wait to get home to see her, when your in wife mode, you know you're gonna get yelled at when you get home, so there is no rush to get home.
We hung by the fire pit drinking beers and getting silly while the podiums happened, Mitchy stood in for Brian, they had so many categories, the podiums took forever but the beerz and fire was toasty.
Finally the awards were done and we piled into Mandell's truck to go get pizza. We ended up at some local place, where we met a local crazy lady. As if we don't get enough attention when seen in public, a truckload of loud talking mtbers post race and beer'd up but add a crazy person to the mix and I feel like I'm in a carnival. We had some good laughs then hit the road back to NJ. The ride back, despite the length is enjoyable with good conversation. Getting to and from this race is probably more fun then the race, if you do it right.
As a Jersey guy, going to Long Island is usually something you avoid at all costs, I mean if you live and work there that's cool but to have to travel to and from there, well that is the opposite of cool. This is why some folks shy away from this race, you're 100 miles out on LI, going there in the early morning isn't bad, but coming home is another story.
The key to getting there is to carpool, I always do this race as a team so I have someone to go with, I used to do this 6hr endurance race solo, let's just say I wised up. Me and Brian teamed up, if you recall, we teamed up at BS50, that race that I looked good but sucked at racing. Brian is a younger version of Iggy when it comes to power , since he is younger he is a bit stronger, although when I was his age I was not as successful at racing but if you took the Iggy of today and subtracted 16 yrs it would be Brian Power...does that make sense?
Since Brian was on a geared bike and me on my SS, we decided that he would go first, the mass start is a one mile race up a road to single track. The key to this race is to get into ST in the top 20 riders, with 250 people trying to funnel into the course, things back up and there is little room to pass on that 1st lap.
They changed it up this year and had a pace car control the lead out, since the start is always sketchy AF. This changed nothing, the start was still a mess, Brian crashed hard, the only difference this year is there was a car in front of the shit show.
The reason this start is a mess is because everyone is starting out on a road that looks like this. If you're riding solo or with a few buddies, you can negotiate this, however when you can only see the tire 6" in front of you and you are going 20mph...lets just say it's not good. What they need to do is fix the GD road, get 75 tns of stone, a tractor with a box blade and a county employee to fill in the holes. C'mon people wake the fuck up.
Ok, Dave Taylor rant over, actually I came up with a solution to a problem, so my bitch was not pointless. Well, back to Brian, I knew something happened when I did not see him in the top 20, I'm gonna guess that he was about 65ish, when I saw him he told me he crashed and i can see black mud stains down the right side of his kit. At this point he was pack fodder which does not allow you to pass because the trails are tight and there are about 40 people in front of you who should not be in front of you. As a result you get frustrated because your HR is no where near race pace and there is not much you can do about it.
I texted him to shake that lap off as I sat in the car waiting for him to finish. He came around and I headed out to do my lap. Despite sitting in the car for 30 minutes, I felt good as I zipped around the course, there where a lot of greasy corners, which in a way made the course easier, since you had to back off on speed and not take the turns too fast. I'd say my first lap was greasy conditions, not really muddy, although I did go out after 250 people made it around the trails, which dried things up a bit. The trails where actually drying with every lap. Overall, compared to the 2 muddiest cx races I did this year, CP was like the Sahara desert or Sara Lee desserts, really tasty, who doesn't love her pound cake.
After a few laps me and Brian where sitting in 3rd. These pro guys showed up from Brooklyn and did day of reg, they where fast. To be honest, the trails are fun, fast and flowee however I didn't feel like I was racing anyone, the 2nd place team was up about 4 minutes on us, I never got a glimpse of them on the trails. We had a good lead over the 4th place team, so I was riding in no man's land quite a bit, good thing we only do 4 laps each, this race can be mind numbing. I remember when I used to race this solo, doing that 8th lap was zombie mtbing, I don't know how I did it. Even doing my 4th lap Saturday felt like an effort, I ended up slowing down almost 2 minutes from my previous laps. It's hard going out for the last lap when everyone else is finishing up and Mitch is on his 3rd beer already. The last lap was uneventful, it felt good to be done and join in the celebration.
Brian had to leave right after the race to get home to a party, he is still in GF mode, where you can't wait to get home to see her, when your in wife mode, you know you're gonna get yelled at when you get home, so there is no rush to get home.
We hung by the fire pit drinking beers and getting silly while the podiums happened, Mitchy stood in for Brian, they had so many categories, the podiums took forever but the beerz and fire was toasty.
Finally the awards were done and we piled into Mandell's truck to go get pizza. We ended up at some local place, where we met a local crazy lady. As if we don't get enough attention when seen in public, a truckload of loud talking mtbers post race and beer'd up but add a crazy person to the mix and I feel like I'm in a carnival. We had some good laughs then hit the road back to NJ. The ride back, despite the length is enjoyable with good conversation. Getting to and from this race is probably more fun then the race, if you do it right.
Dave Taylor
Rex kwan Do
Well put. On your DaveTaylorism however I’ll say what they always say to me. We all raced down the same road and on the same course. The craziest thing I have seen in a race is 3 crazy high speed mtb crashes on a perfectly straight paved road at the Mohican start. Great racing btw and even better write up. Thanks for keeping me from dying after lap 3.
liked for this nugget of wisdom . . .
Dave Taylor
Rex kwan Do
I lol’d at this too. Perfectly written haha
Great write up Sqiggy and good racin. Always a great event with good peeps and beer. The start is always a fk but being slow on the SS I go into the woods with like 150 people in front of me. I knew something was wrong when halfway up fire road I saw O&B kit and it was Brian. I did tell him to be careful on the start but these kids don't listen.
How come you never drive to a race? I call BS.
How come you never drive to a race? I call BS.
I don't drive if I don't have to, I did drive to CP last year with Jaime, that's how I got him to race.
It's officially the off season and man things do seem like they have been off. Everything I own has been breaking. Broken pipes, broken tools, people bending broken rules. My furnace is dying a slow death, it's replacement is scheduled next Monday. If I can give you any advice, never buy a Burnam boiler, it's the equivalent of spending $8,000 on a huffy. 2 wks ago my kitchen sink backed up, after the typical homeowner remedies didn't work I had to rent a machine to clear the pipes. It's not real complicated what has to be done but dealing with black doodie water is really disgusting and also why plumbers charge what they charge. My faucets in the shower need to be rebuilt, the washers are not doing there job any more, this is a simple job with newer mixing valves however I have an old style mixing valve, basically I am going to have to beat it into submission. All this stuff would be ok on any other day but the winter has a way of pissing people off and this shit breaking is just the catalyst to anger.
Luckily there is still fun stuff to do, I think the winter is an even more important time to have something fun to do. It's easy to be pleasant in summertime, you know summertime, when livin is easy. While winter is not as carefree as warmer months, one can still find joy in its cold, hard simple beauty. I like the way snow on the landscape can make everything look homogenous.
So, fun things to do, of course there is mtbing, but there is also xc skiing. I went upstate on Saturday with Paul to hit some groomed trails. The start of Saturday followed the everything is broken theme, my car battery was dead. As I'm replacing my battery in the driveway in 25 degree temps, my wife is yelling at me from the front porch. Mary doesn't get mad a lot but when she does Its full on. We're that white trash couple who has those occasional front lawn displays. Originally I was planning to stay upstate overnight but we had a lot of things to do around the house, so the great compromise was that I come home after skiing and decorate the house for Christmas on Sunday.
I've heard it said that happy couples do indeed fight, that makes Mary and I one of the most happiest fuckin couples ever. Don't get me wrong, my wife is awesome, but when she's had enough of my shit, she let's me know it.
Of course I get that text on the drive up to the adks from my wife saying she doesn't want to fight and have a good time skiing. I lol as the mental image of my wife yelling at me from the front porch pops into my head. This makes me feel better and we exchange heart shaped emojis.
It's good to have buddies to mtb with, Allaire is kinda bland without them.
It's always good to ride with Woody too.
I don't recommend going to NYC to see the tree. It's just too damn crowded. It amazes me that millions of people will flock to this artificial display, yet only 100s of people will visit a state park.
The famous xc ski run, up and back in a day. I really owe Kevin for this jacket, he gave it to Evan for mtbing but Ev doesn't want to be outdoors in winter, so I took it over. Back pockets in jackets are like Batmans utility belt, anything you need is in your back pocket.
Luckily there is still fun stuff to do, I think the winter is an even more important time to have something fun to do. It's easy to be pleasant in summertime, you know summertime, when livin is easy. While winter is not as carefree as warmer months, one can still find joy in its cold, hard simple beauty. I like the way snow on the landscape can make everything look homogenous.
So, fun things to do, of course there is mtbing, but there is also xc skiing. I went upstate on Saturday with Paul to hit some groomed trails. The start of Saturday followed the everything is broken theme, my car battery was dead. As I'm replacing my battery in the driveway in 25 degree temps, my wife is yelling at me from the front porch. Mary doesn't get mad a lot but when she does Its full on. We're that white trash couple who has those occasional front lawn displays. Originally I was planning to stay upstate overnight but we had a lot of things to do around the house, so the great compromise was that I come home after skiing and decorate the house for Christmas on Sunday.
I've heard it said that happy couples do indeed fight, that makes Mary and I one of the most happiest fuckin couples ever. Don't get me wrong, my wife is awesome, but when she's had enough of my shit, she let's me know it.
Of course I get that text on the drive up to the adks from my wife saying she doesn't want to fight and have a good time skiing. I lol as the mental image of my wife yelling at me from the front porch pops into my head. This makes me feel better and we exchange heart shaped emojis.
It's good to have buddies to mtb with, Allaire is kinda bland without them.
It's always good to ride with Woody too.
I don't recommend going to NYC to see the tree. It's just too damn crowded. It amazes me that millions of people will flock to this artificial display, yet only 100s of people will visit a state park.
The famous xc ski run, up and back in a day. I really owe Kevin for this jacket, he gave it to Evan for mtbing but Ev doesn't want to be outdoors in winter, so I took it over. Back pockets in jackets are like Batmans utility belt, anything you need is in your back pocket.
Gocker, I'm at a loss.
Eggplant, peach, raindrop?
He wants to put his eggplant in your peach and make you cry.
thegock
Well-Known Member
New to the emoji game, grasshopper?
thegock
Well-Known Member
Tears of joy doe, iggy
ftfy
ChrisG
Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
Eek.
Nothing says the off season like winter, shorter, colder days, with rain and occasionally snow mix. It's easy to understand why the forum can get combative at times, when it's 75 degrees with 13hrs of sunshine people are generally in a better mood.
Despite the winter I try to embrace it. I was busting Mitch's balls yesterday for drinking crappy beer, he said doing so allows him to appreciate good beer more. I guess the same could be said for the weather, making the best of the winter allows you to appreciate those summer days of bliss more.
My winter riding has been strictly mtbing, it's been too cold for road rides and I'm just not motivated to fight the cold at 20mph on my road bike. During the week I've been riding my SS at Allaire or Hartshorne with Mitch or other Monmouth Co locals I can find. It's easy for me to ride after work, these places are close by and I can start by 3:30, which allows me to get in just enough time before dark. The wknds are spent up north on my Tallboy with Utah, Kirt and sometimes 6er and Kris. Occasionally we meet up with other north Jersey locals for a bigger group and there is also the monthly MTBNJ group rides to attend, which is very social.
In the fall I began cleaning up my diet, less processed food and sugars. After listening to this Ted Talk Podcast, it motivated me to do so.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/59If0fcp21g7a0AFnQ7rTu?si=gJOQRdw6RqaVqo6r1Noucg
The whole talk was highly informative, however if you don't have the patience to listen to the whole thing, you can fast fwd to 15 minutes in. I have always heard that processed food and sugars are bad for you, but this explains why, once you know why it's easier to make changes.
I'm 5'9, 150 lbs, I didn't need to loose weight but rather focusing on foods with nutritional value makes me feel better and in the process I've lost 5lbs of belly fat. Feel better and loose weight...I've heard that line before and it kinda makes you want to punch someone in the face, however if you do eat clean for several months you find out that those words are more then a cliche.
With the weather being rainy and crappy a lot, I've been doing more yoga as well. This is something I enjoy doing with Mary, there are several yoga studios in town and we mix up hot yoga and conventional yoga. What I like about yoga is that it relaxes the mind and body as well as wear pretty outfits from Lululemon.
After wearing this fleece on my face for 2hrs, I'm not sure if the cold weather(-3)was making me feel ill or the fact that this fleece has been in my bike bag for the last year and smelled like a dirty sweat sock.
Finally I like snow. Hopefully we get more of it so I can get out on my xc skis. I wanted to do some racing this year but it's just not working out with schedule and finances. I don't have the money to stay upstate for wknd getaways and Mary would shoot me for taking off on her.
I road trip to New Paltz when they have snow and ski when I can.
Despite the winter I try to embrace it. I was busting Mitch's balls yesterday for drinking crappy beer, he said doing so allows him to appreciate good beer more. I guess the same could be said for the weather, making the best of the winter allows you to appreciate those summer days of bliss more.
My winter riding has been strictly mtbing, it's been too cold for road rides and I'm just not motivated to fight the cold at 20mph on my road bike. During the week I've been riding my SS at Allaire or Hartshorne with Mitch or other Monmouth Co locals I can find. It's easy for me to ride after work, these places are close by and I can start by 3:30, which allows me to get in just enough time before dark. The wknds are spent up north on my Tallboy with Utah, Kirt and sometimes 6er and Kris. Occasionally we meet up with other north Jersey locals for a bigger group and there is also the monthly MTBNJ group rides to attend, which is very social.
In the fall I began cleaning up my diet, less processed food and sugars. After listening to this Ted Talk Podcast, it motivated me to do so.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/59If0fcp21g7a0AFnQ7rTu?si=gJOQRdw6RqaVqo6r1Noucg
The whole talk was highly informative, however if you don't have the patience to listen to the whole thing, you can fast fwd to 15 minutes in. I have always heard that processed food and sugars are bad for you, but this explains why, once you know why it's easier to make changes.
I'm 5'9, 150 lbs, I didn't need to loose weight but rather focusing on foods with nutritional value makes me feel better and in the process I've lost 5lbs of belly fat. Feel better and loose weight...I've heard that line before and it kinda makes you want to punch someone in the face, however if you do eat clean for several months you find out that those words are more then a cliche.
With the weather being rainy and crappy a lot, I've been doing more yoga as well. This is something I enjoy doing with Mary, there are several yoga studios in town and we mix up hot yoga and conventional yoga. What I like about yoga is that it relaxes the mind and body as well as wear pretty outfits from Lululemon.
After wearing this fleece on my face for 2hrs, I'm not sure if the cold weather(-3)was making me feel ill or the fact that this fleece has been in my bike bag for the last year and smelled like a dirty sweat sock.
Finally I like snow. Hopefully we get more of it so I can get out on my xc skis. I wanted to do some racing this year but it's just not working out with schedule and finances. I don't have the money to stay upstate for wknd getaways and Mary would shoot me for taking off on her.
I road trip to New Paltz when they have snow and ski when I can.